“It took me nearly losing you to realize exactly how much you mean to me. I love you, Veronica.” He kissed her, and let the world melt away. “Forever.”
Epilogue
One year later
Whidbey Island, Washington
As Logan stood beneath a rose-covered altar on the beach in front of his vacation home, his feet were surprisingly warm. His knees weren’t knocking and not one doubt was spinning in his gut. Logan had never been surer of anything in his life. They’d be together until the end of his days; he knew it with every bone in his body.
Veronica was his.
They’d moved in together a few months after Leah and Jake’s wedding. Logan had laughed more in the last year than he had in his whole life. He’d been worried about their connection weakening, but instead, their bond intensified. Their love didn’t fade with time or make him question whether he was pretending to be happy or if he really, truly was.
He used to believe people who got married were simply looking for someone to take away the ache of loneliness. The only times he felt lonely was when Veronica was missing from his side. It wasn’t that he wanted to be with someone. He wanted, needed, to be with her.
“Here we go,” Jake said from behind Logan. “You ready for this?”
A lifetime dedicated to Veronica? If the last year was any indication, he couldn’t imagine living a life without her.
“Hell yes.”
Logan stared across the empty beach, to where his future sister-in-law walked toward them, a single long-stemmed pink rose in her hand. She smiled as she met them, and then took her place on the opposite side of the sandy aisle. Besides Jake, Leah, and Drake—he’d happily agreed to marry them and welcome Veronica into the family—there were no other guests in attendance. No one to distract from this moment.
It was perfect.
With the soothing hush of waves lapping against the shore behind him, Logan gazed up the beach and caught sight of his bride. His chest swelled with pride. A white dress hugged her curves and fell to her feet in flowing ripples of lacy fabric. She was angelic and heart-stopping, holding fading pink roses tied with a white ribbon. As a warm breeze moved through the locks of her hair, the scent of devotion hit Logan’s senses. It was sweet and pure, melting him from the inside out. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.
As she stood beside him, radiating happiness, Logan squeezed her hand.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said, unable to take his eyes off her.
She smiled, her cheeks flushing pink. “Thanks. You’re not too bad yourself.”
Stepping forward from beneath the arch, Drake spread his arms between them. “Logan and Veronica, you’ve come here on this glorious day to celebrate the love that you have for each other. Over the course of this year, I’ve come to know you as a couple, and I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people who love each other more than you do. You cherish your differences, confronting challenges with no fear. Only love. That’s what life is all about.”
Logan could barely make out Drake’s words over the rush of blood in his ears.
“Do you, Veronica Vale, take Logan Black to be your wedded husband?” Drake asked.
Her glossy pink lips curled into a smile. “I do.”
Logan couldn’t have prepared himself to hear the words. Her voice caused a full-body assault to rack through him. His teeth clamped down. His eyes pinched closed. Air whooshed past his lips and his legs weakened.
“Will you love him like no other and care for his well-being over your own?”
Logan sensed the hard pounding of her heart.
She squeezed his hand. “I will.”
“Do you, Logan Black,” Drake said, turning to him, “take Veronica Vale to be your wedded wife?”
Those words. That fluttering heartbeat that beat for him. “I do.”
“Will you love her like no other and protect her, even if it means giving your own life?”
“I will.” Logan swelled with pride.
“You may now exchange rings and declare your love to each other,” Drake said.
Logan turned, taking a two-carat solitaire from Jake’s hand. “I’d do anything for you, Veronica.” He slipped the ring on her finger and brushed his thumb over the back of her knuckles. “I’d walk through Butchart Gardens to get to you, smell every flower across the fifty acres and find you the most fragrant one. I’d dance with you until dawn every day, just to see you smile, and carry you to bed when your feet got tired. I’d do anything to see your face light up, to watch you smile and hear you laugh. I love how you look in the morning, with your hair a wild mess and your eyes all cute and puffy. I adore how you stare at the skyline of Seattle like it amazes you, and hope you look into the eyes of our children the same way, in sheer loving wonder. I’m in awe of the way your body molds to mine. The way I can see your fighting spirit in your eyes. I’m beyond grateful that I’ve found you and will dedicate my life to making sure you feel happy and loved every day, from this day forward.”
She swayed into him, adoration glistening in her warm brown eyes. She took a silver band from Leah and slid it on his finger. He’d never wanted a ring to settle there, but if it meant he would be with Veronica, he’d never take it off.
“Logan, I can’t imagine my life without you. You make me feel safe, precious, and treasured. My heart knew it loved you before I did. With every beat it drew me nearer to you, and I’m so glad I finally listened. On the outside, we may not look like we fit. I’m more on the serious side, and a cat person till I die.” She smirked. “And you’ll never convince me to get rid of my pussy.”
He laughed at the word pussy, throwing his head back. “That’s my girl.”
“Had to squeeze it in there.” She shrugged as Jake and Leah erupted into hoots of laughter. “But beneath the surface, we want the same things. I want you, Logan. Just the way you are, with your gentle heart and whacked sense of humor. I want to laugh with you and love you, every day, from this day forward.”
He’d never felt more whole in all his life.
Grinning, Drake said, “By the power vested in me by the Seattle Wolf Pack, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Logan, you may now kiss your mate.”
“Don’t need to tell me twice.” Logan slipped his hands around Veronica’s waist and pulled her against him. She gave a little squeal and bent into him as he stamped her mouth with an openmouthed kiss. It was heat. Passion and promise. The realization of a dream he never knew he wanted.
It was love.
Their lips parted, but Logan kept Veronica tucked against him.
“Thank you for asking me to perform the ceremony,” Drake said. “I’m glad I could be here.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Logan shook Drake’s hand. “And now, with your permission, I’m going to bring another wolf into the pack.”
Drake turned his attention to Veronica and clasped her hand in his. “On behalf of the Seattle Wolf Pack, we’d be honored to have you as a member of our family.”
Veronica seemed to melt, the rim of her eyes pooling with tears. “Thank you, sir. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
…
After Leah and Jake had disappeared into their rented beach house next door and Drake took off, Logan led her inside his home. Their home. His arms were around her waist, and his step was in time with hers. As they shuffled down the hall to the bedroom door, her head fell back against his shoulder. He kissed her cheek, and she sighed.
“I love you, Mrs. Black,” he whispered into her ear.
His breath was warm and hot, sending tingles down her neck. “I love you more.”
Logan reached around her and opened the door, then nudged it the rest of the way with his knee. Petals littered the floor. Candles flickered on every dresser. Wine and two crystal glasses were set on a dresser against the far wall.
“This is amazing,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re my husband. Are you freaked yet?”
“With you as my wife, that’ll never happen.” He kissed her shoulder. “Are you ready for tonight?”
She’d be bitten, and begin the transition of turning into a werewolf.
She’d been scared before, and she’d been foolish. It didn’t take long for Veronica to realize how prejudiced she’d been. How blind. Logan was rough around the edges, stern and commanding. But beneath the exterior, he was a generous, patient man. One of the most loving she’d ever met in her life.
“I’ve been counting down the days,” she said.
She’d just vowed to love him; now she would become his forever mate.
The instant the bedroom door shut, a wave of heat licked through Veronica’s body. She could feel Logan’s touch before he placed a hand on her body. His desire was almost palpable. When his arms snaked around her body and he buried his face in her hair, she let out a deep sigh.
Things had never felt more right. He was her other half. The man who made her heart skip with a single smoldering glance.
Her husband.
“Remember I would never do anything to hurt you,” Logan said, his mouth hot against her neck. “I would hurt myself before I allowed you to feel a single ounce of pain.”
She leaned her head back against him and rolled her body against his hard length. “I know that.”
As his hands drifted up her body, to her neck, then her shoulders, Veronica felt him kneel behind her. “What…” …are you doing, she’d wanted to say. But her words died off as one of the strings on the lacy back of her dress loosened. “Oh…”
He was using his teeth.
Slowly, Logan untied her gown. And when the fabric fell away from her back, he kissed her. Softly. Sweetly. She shivered beneath the heat of his mouth, her skin pinpricking with gooseflesh.
He untied her dress the rest of the way with his fingers, then tossed the straps aside. Trailing his mouth up her back, Veronica closed her eyes and absorbed every quivering sensation that pulsed through her. No one had ever undressed her this slowly before. It was as if he was unwrapping a present and wanted to savor every moment.
“Logan,” she said, her arms crossing to keep her dress from falling to the floor. “Make love to me.”
He stood, spun her around, and cupped her chin in his hands. “With pleasure.”
She stood on tiptoe and brought her lips to his, brushing him with the softest of kisses. He moaned, wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her right off her feet. Dangling in midair, Veronica roped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth wide to let him in. He took the invitation, sliding his tongue along hers, rousing a spark deep in her heart.
He walked her to the bed, and then laid her down gently. Knowing exactly what she needed, Logan peeled the gown off her body and shed his own clothes. He kneeled at the edge of the bed. Hooked his hands around her thighs. Finally, teasingly slow, he dragged her to meet him. He planted a smoldering kiss on her center that made her back arch and her thighs tremble. Using her rolling hips as a guide, he licked and kissed her tenderly, speeding his pace when she clenched and tightened against him. And when he gripped her hips, urging that peak to close in, she cried out. Melting.
As the waves of the orgasm waned, Logan gripped Veronica’s thighs to keep her still. He stamped a kiss to her inner thigh. His mouth was wet. Smoldering. He sucked, pulled on her skin, and she held his head there while his tongue flicked out to lick her.
Logan glanced up her body, his glare hungry and hot. She slunk up the bed and called him over to her with heavy-lidded eyes. She parted her legs, willing him to take away the ache that was burning inside her.
He was on her in a flash, plunging his tongue past her lips, settling his body over hers. God, his weight, the pressure on her hips…it was glorious. In his kiss, she tasted a hint of her sex, but then his tongue dove deep and she tasted nothing but him. Heat and core-rattling desire.
“My wife,” he said against her, then dove down to claim her breasts. He held them in the palms of his hands, his thumbs grazing her nipples, before sucking them into his mouth. She could feel his shaft press against her leg and shimmied lower to try to get him to enter her. “I’m just as eager, baby,” he said. “But I want to ravish you first.”
“I’m ravished.” She shook her head frantically against the pillows. “Believe me, I’m there.”
Smiling, he moved up her body, holding his weight on his arms. He poised his shaft at her center, then caught her gaze. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.” His eyes glimmered with awe. “And you’re mine.”
He slipped his tip into her heat.
Veronica groaned, her body opening up as he pushed inside. Her legs wrapped around his hips, hugging him there, with his shaft swollen inside of her. This moment—when she’d be joined with her husband—was the one she’d been waiting for. And it was greater than anything she could’ve imagined.
“I’m yours,” she said, heart drumming so loud that it thumped in her ears. “Forever.”
Pleasure washed over Logan’s face as he thrust inside her, slowly, a grinding rhythm that drove her to the edge of another orgasm. Pressing against her head to hip, he gripped her hands and interlaced his fingers with hers.
“Palm to palm, heart to heart.” He groaned and kissed her, sucking on her bottom lip as he pulled back. Keeping their hands cemented together, Logan buried his face in her neck and smudged wet kisses from her jaw to her collarbone. “From this moment forward, we never shall part.”
Something pinched in Veronica’s heart. Something changed. Shifted. Her skin tingled where Logan trailed his mouth, and her eyes rolled back in sheer ecstasy.
“The words…” His voice was husky and rough. As if he could barely speak. “…bond us.”
The bonding ritual. She’d have to say the words back. He’d prepped her for it, but in the heat of the moment, she’d nearly forgotten.
“Yes,” he answered as if he could read her mind. “My love, my wife…my mate for life. Say it with me and seal our bond forever.”
As their hips moved together in a blissful rhythm, Veronica gasped, the words ripping straight from her heart.
“Palm to palm, heart to heart.” She shuddered. “From this moment forward, we never shall part.”
The words sent off surges of ecstasy that clashed against Veronica’s bones, rattled her rib cage and sucked the air from her lungs.
Logan groaned, his body going rigid and tight. And when he pitched over the edge, releasing his seed into the deepest, most intimate part of her, Veronica cried out, clutching on to his hands as the most intense orgasm of her life wrung her out. They moved together, and in that moment they were one, in more ways than Veronica could’ve ever imagined.
When Logan collapsed on top of her, his breath fanning against her neck, his shaft still inside her, Veronica stroked her nails down his back. He breathed heavily, his heart thumping against her chest.
She could’ve stayed here forever.
“Are you okay?” he asked, rising on his elbows to look at her.
She couldn’t hold back the giggle that bubbled out of her. “Yeah. I think I’m more than okay.”
His fingers grazed over her neck. “I think it’s going to heal fine. You hardly bled.”
“Bled?” She tried to look at her neck, but couldn’t. “What will heal—did you bite me?”
He smiled as though he was thoroughly satisfied with his work, and rolled off her. “I was hoping to distract you enough that you wouldn’t notice.”
“I didn’t feel it at all. I mean, I felt you kiss me there…” She touched her neck and came away with a tiny smudge of blood. “I thought you had to bite me twice.”
“I did.” His hand brushed her thigh. “I tried to piggyback the bite on your orgasm so endorphins would kick in and take away some of the pain.”
Sitting up, Veronica spotted two pink marks on her inner thigh. She barely remembered him kissing her there. It was warm to the touch. Tingly. But it didn’t hurt.
<
br /> Things were still processing, but a smile pulled at Veronica’s lips.
“So that’s it? I’ll transition into a wolf now?” she asked, feeling absolutely no different than she had before. “It’s finished?”
“No,” Logan said, kissing her square on the mouth. “Our future is just beginning.”
He pulled her over him and showed her how sweet beginnings could be.
Acknowledgements
There are so many wonderful people to thank at Entangled Publishing: Liz Pelletier, Kaleen Harding, and Candace Havens for their gems of editing advice. Erin Crum for her mad copy-editing skills. Heidi Stryker for designing a gorgeous cover that has quickly become my favorite. Jaime Arnold, J.J. Bonds and Katie Clapsadl for being promotion goddesses, and Tahra Seplowin for having all the answers.
Thanks and cheesecake to Nalini Akolekar, my lovely agent, for having my back and pushing me in the right direction. (We didn’t get cheesecake this year at RWA, did we? We’ll order double next year to make up for it.)
Huge thanks to the wildly talented Katie Reus for giving such an incredible blurb for this book.
Much love to my stalwart beta reader and critique partners: Aggie Smith, A.J. Larrieu, and Lisa Sanchez. I’m constantly amazed by the quality of your feedback. I feel like I’m in Wayne’s World and I’m not worthy. (80’s child…forgive me.)
Most of this book was written during a weekend mountain retreat filled with wine, laughs, and chocolate. Thanks to Kate Perry, Sara Ramsey and Susan Hatler for providing crazy-good inspiration. (We lived—I told you we would! As long as we didn’t take that “trail”…)
Thanks, as always, to my friends and family for understanding exactly how much this “writing thing” means to me. I can feel your support every step of the way. Justin, Kelli and Gavin, you three are my light and always will be.
Lastly, I’d like to give my deepest thanks to the readers and book bloggers who read and loved Gone with the Wolf, Seattle Wolf Pack #1. Thanks to your emails and reviews, Logan came to life and Four Weddings and a Werewolf was born. I hope you love him and his story as much as I do.
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