“I think that could have gone worse, what do you think?” James asked quietly, and Thalia laughed.
“As long as no one picked up on their comments, I guess we’re safe.”
Stealing one more kiss, James smiled. “I still might hit him later.”
“I think a fight would entertain Master Kalen too much,” she whispered, and James laughed just before he was distracted by someone from his side of the family reaching over to shake his hand. James stood, and Thalia stood as well, ready to greet the guests.
There were a few random people in the line that she smiled politely at, said all the appropriate thank you’s and so glad you could come phrases that were required, and then Katherine stood on the other side of the table, smirking with a devious tilt to her lips that reminded her of James plotting something. “Hey, Katherine,” Thalia said, laughing a little.
“I’m your sister now, and that means we tell each other everything.” Leaning across the table, she lowered her voice. “Such as just how close are you two and Kalen and Maggie?”
Crimson heat filling her cheeks, Thalia pulled back, and Katherine’s trilling laugh made her gawk as she stumbled over her answer. “We— we’re great friends.”
Winking, Katherine planted her hands on the table and leaned further forward, beckoning Thalia towards her. When she complied, her new sister spoke directly into her ear, “It’s alright. I have great friends I like to play with too, just don’t tell James. He gets so overprotective.”
Thalia was dumbfounded. Not shocked by Katherine’s behavior in her personal life, just surprised she had picked up on what should have been a series of inside jokes. Somehow, she managed to smile as she whispered, “Dear God, please don’t tell James you noticed.”
“Talk to my brother about that?” Katherine waved her hand as she stood upright again, keeping her voice low. “Absolutely not. But…” The blonde turned her head towards Kalen, her green eyes roaming slowly over the man’s broad, muscular shape under the tux. “You can always share details about other things with your new sister, right?”
“You are going to get me in so much trouble!” Thalia hissed, but she was laughing, and Katherine was too. The woman who had terrified her on their first meeting in New York smiled like she was in on a secret with her.
“Not if you don’t say anything, because I definitely won’t. Sisters don’t repeat what they say, right?” The bright smile on her lips was something Thalia would have given anything to see at one point, and now it was so common that it made her chest ache. A sister, a family, a husband, and friends that loved her completely.
How did she end up so lucky?
Smiling, Thalia leaned over the table and pulled Katherine into a hug, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I will always keep your secrets as you keep mine, and because you helped us book the honeymoon I’ll call you when we get back and we can… chat.”
Pulling back, Katherine’s sea glass green eyes were wickedly bright. “About him?” Her head tilted towards Kalen, and even though Thalia blushed, she nodded.
“Only if you swear to keep it secret.”
“Sisters, right?” Lifting her pinky finger between them, Katherine grinned.
Linking their little fingers, Thalia nodded. “Sisters.” Just as Katherine moved to step out of the receiving line, Thalia held on. “Wait! Thank you for accepting me, Katherine. I want you to know how much I appreciate it.”
“You’re lovely, Thalia. More than I could have hoped for James.” She tightened the grip on their pinkies for a moment, and then let go. “I’ll see you later, sister!”
“See you later!” she called after her, smiling to herself. She wouldn’t tell Katherine everything. Not the BDSM for sure, definitely nothing about Purgatory, and not the exact details of the fun the four of them had together, but she’d give her a taste.
And she’d definitely warn Maggie that Katherine might offer to join. The mere idea of Maggie’s cackle had Thalia laughing as the next guest approached, and she returned to hand shaking and platitudes, wondering when she’d get some time alone with James in all the festivities.
Chapter Six
Having his arms around Thalia felt like coming home. It always did, every single time he got to hold her, but the foreign weight of a wedding band on his finger made it… different.
Made it better.
As soon as the music had come on, the guests had poured onto the dance floor, and even though they were outside the speakers managed to make it loud enough to envelop them, pulsing with energy. No more string quartet, no more tuxedo jacket. James had the sleeves on his shirt rolled up and Thalia tucked against his front as they moved to the music.
He could watch her like this forever.
Eyes closed, a soft smile on her pink lips, completely happy and free as she shifted in perfect time to the beat. Moving his hands to her hips he tugged her closer to his front, ignoring the twitching of his cock that urged him to end the bloody party early and finish the plans he’d started thinking of earlier in the day.
Nothing better for stress relief than planning a scene… except actually doing it.
Which would happen tonight.
The thought made him smile as Thalia wrapped her delicate fingers around his hand, holding him to her skin as she rolled to the music, and he pressed his lips against her hair, breathing the scent of her shampoo, her perfume — her.
Absolutely intoxicating, and she was finally completely his, woven into every aspect of life.
Married.
Since when had that been a word he’d looked forward to? Before Thalia ‘marriage’ had felt like a death knell, like a cataclysmic life event that would ruin everything he enjoyed about life, or at least everything he’d allowed himself to enjoy about life.
But, then he’d seen her. Fallen for her bravery on that fucked up video stream, and he’d wanted her. His first urge had never had a thing to do with marriage, it had always been just to have her. To save her before they ruined her. To touch the fire inside her that blazed fierce enough to survive against the Williams brothers… but then he’d met her, and she had been so much more than he’d ever expected.
Bloody hell.
He had completely cocked up his vows, skipped half of what he’d wanted to tell her. She was so much more than her fierceness, her bravery. So much more than the memory of an angry, naked girl on a video stream. She was kind, generous, strong enough to submit and still be her. Her submission was a gift he wouldn’t have had words for, even if they had been appropriate to say during the ceremony. James had been completely unable to articulate it even at the branding ceremony, but just the knowledge that she wore his ring and his initials branded into the flesh of her hip — obliterating the Williams brothers’ mark — it made him want her even more. Want to possess her completely, and as the beat changed in the music he dug his fingers into her hips, knowing just where the brand was.
Thalia’s soft gasp, followed by her sweet laugh, was bloody torture. She rubbed herself against him in time with the music, and James finally lifted his eyes from her to look at the dance floor around them. Gorgeous, massive tiles between two of the buildings of the Hampton Court House, and just in front of them Chloe and Lauren were sandwiching Brad on the dance floor.
A perfect distraction.
With those two girls dancing, no one was investigating exactly how hard he gripped Thalia’s hips, or the way he lowered his head to taste her skin. Grazing his teeth over the place where her neck met her shoulder, he smiled when she shivered, her hand tightening over his. “I am going to fuck you so hard, pet,” he growled just below her ear, and her whimper was music to his ears.
“Promise?” she asked, breathy, desperate, and he couldn’t hold back the devilish chuckle.
“After I make you beg, and plead, and scream… absolutely.”
“Master,” she sighed, her head dropping in front of him as she ground her ass against him in a devious tease that had him glancing around again to check on ju
st exactly which table his parents had chosen — but he was shocked to find them on the dance floor. Arms around each other, swaying to the beat like they were at an elegant gala, and he couldn’t help the brief flash of envy.
Someday, he had to hope that he and Thalia would still be leaning against each other like that. Still in love enough to want to sway to whatever music existed in another forty years.
The music changed and the digital beeps of the song he’d requested came over the speakers. He felt Thalia go rigid in front of him, her recognition making him grin.
“James, did you—?” she started to ask the question, radiant joy in her voice as she spun around in his arms.
“Yes?” He couldn’t help but smile as she cheered and reached for Analiese, grabbing onto her friend just before she started reciting the lyrics to Travesuras by Nicky Jam. The Spanish rolled off her tongue with the ease of too much practice. It was bittersweet to see her and Analiese dancing to it, and he shrugged at Nick as their women abandoned them for a moment on the dance floor.
It was the song that had helped to pull her out of too many nightmares, a single memory of their time in Barcelona that had somehow become important to the both of them. A silly thing at the time, when he had been there for work and the song had been on the radio constantly. Thalia had fallen in love with it, stood up in a bar to sing it when they were having drinks, and that single shining moment had become a lifeline for the both of them.
When he worried about her, the song made him remember her smile, her wild and carefree laughter. And she always said it reminded her of feeling loved, feeling safe.
Judging by the way she danced and smiled, it had been right to ask Antonio to request the song from the DJ. She was having fun, not even paying attention to the guests watching her Analiese. Not a single hint of her old anxieties, and that had James smiling, unable to pull his eyes from her. Finally, Thalia turned towards him, rushing back to wrap her arms around him, hugging him tight to her as she sang in Spanish about being unable to contain herself, her attraction. When she spun and rocked her hips to the beat, grinding against him, James loved the song even more than before.
“I think I like you in this dress even more than the green one, baby.” He leaned down to say it directly into her ear, and she laughed and leaned back to kiss him. Holding her carefully, he deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue so he could taste her, a cruel temptation of what waited for them after the party was over and they could leave the guests without being rude.
Even though all he wanted to do was throw her over his shoulder and walk to the nearest car, steal it, and leave. Or just find another empty room inside the house — at this point, he wasn’t feeling very picky, he just wanted her. To hear her sighs, to have her begging again like she had earlier in the day, to make her come and watch her body rise and fall for him.
Submissives were addictive, and Thalia was the perfect drug for him.
Tailor made. Bespoke.
His.
Yet, it was their wedding day, and that required meeting certain societal expectations. Jumping through the hoops of civility so he didn’t have to be civil later tonight. Thalia chose that moment to break the kiss, her urgency to finish the last lyrics of the song making her sing them almost breathlessly as she found the beat again with effortless ease. It was only because of his grip on her hips that he managed to get back in rhythm with her, laughing at the way Thalia pulled people in with her sheer enthusiasm for the song.
Because all around them were their chosen family, smiling and laughing right along with them as their song ended and the music changed again.
Kalen and Maggie were tightly pressed together to their left, Analiese and Nick dancing as if they were not on the grounds of Hampton Court House, and Lauren and Chloe? The way they danced was bordering pornographic, and Brad had the same boyish grin he always did when the girls misbehaved and he was enjoying the results.
The fact that no one had stepped in, no matter how many lingering touches the three shared, spoke volumes of either the tolerance, or rigid formality, of the guests from his side of the list.
Scanning around them, he saw that Antonio had both hands on Julie’s stomach as he leaned close to kiss her, and in a flash James could see Thalia glowing and perfect, round belly carrying their child — and it made him pull her closer. Not just his submissive, more than his lover, she was his everything. His future. His entire life in a beautiful, smiling, radiant package. She laughed and leaned against him, the next song just as energetic, making her shift in the most delightful ways against the growing ridge of his cock. Of course, she noticed, and she took full advantage as she swiveled her hips, grinning at him over her shoulder.
“Minx,” he growled, leaning down to nip her ear. “Maybe I should have left the plug in to remind you who’s in charge.”
“That wouldn’t have helped with how wet I am, Master.” Thalia kept the words in a hushed tone, but she may as well have had a live wire threaded into his pants. The mere thought of her tight heat squeezing him and he was grinding against her like a teenager… but he somehow managed to stay on beat.
She laughed, bright and airy, and he wrapped his arms around her waist to hug her closer, even though it ruined their dancing. “Have I mentioned just how much I love you?” he asked, directly against her ear.
“A few times today,” she answered, obviously smiling. “And you know I love you too, more than anything.”
“More than everything,” James answered, and then he felt a tap at his shoulder that reluctantly pulled his head away from the intoxicating scent of her skin. He was irritated for only a moment, before he realized it was Jake standing beside him, a flash of something in his smile that made James stand to attention.
“I need to talk to you,” Jake spoke just loud enough to be heard over the music, and then he glanced at Thalia with a questioning look, but James simply nodded as his heart rate picked up considerably.
“Let’s talk, all of us.” Adjusting his grip, and mentally focusing on telling his libido to stand down, he reached for her hand. “Come on baby, this is important.”
The music faded in her ears as she turned to find Jake and James facing each other with serious expressions, and something deep inside twitched to see the two of them like that. It brought back uncomfortable memories, thoughts that were unwelcome today. But then James smiled at her, reassuring and loving, and even Jake managed a grin — so Thalia made herself follow them off the dance floor. They walked as a small group, nodding at guests that smiled and congratulated them as they walked out onto the grass, near one of the tables that had been abandoned by its occupants.
“So?” James asked as soon as they were alone, his hold on her hand tightening slightly.
Jake’s smile went wide, stretching his cheeks. “It’s done.”
“Bloody finally! Are you sure?” Releasing her hand, James shoved his fingers into his hair, breathing out a huff as he moved a half-step closer to Jake.
“I swear. I wasn’t going to interrupt until I was sure. This was too important for any kind of error.” The mercenary who had been present on one of the worst days of her life smiled at her, winking before he returned his eyes to James.
“What are you two talking about?” she asked as the men moved closer together.
“Show me the proof,” James demanded, and Thalia’s head spun.
What the fuck is going on?
“I should have visuals in the morning, but for now I’ve got this.” Shoulder to shoulder, the two men closed her out, huddling around Jake’s phone as she stood there. Glancing back at the dance floor, she saw Maggie and Kalen at the edge of the tiles, holding hands as they watched them.
“Is someone going to tell me what’s happening?” Thalia asked, her irritation increasing with every moment the two men kept their heads together, mostly ignoring her. “Jake!”
His head lifted, and then they both turned to her, although James was now holding the phone, still looki
ng at something on it. Jake opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped, glancing at James as if seeking permission, which James did not provide.
“You’re not his employee tonight, Jake, talk to me.” Crossing her arms, Thalia stared him down, and Jake ran a hand along the back of his neck, blowing out a breath.
“Actually, I am.” He held his hands out in front of him when her temper spiked, almost exploding on them both, but she waited for him to continue. “Not as being one of his groomsman, I was honored he asked me, and I was absolutely here to support the both of you today. That’s just not all I was doing today.”
“For the last week and a half,” James mumbled, eyes still glued to the screen, and Thalia clenched her fists at her sides.
“James.” As soon as she said his name, those perfect sea glass green eyes lifted to meet hers above the device in his hands. “What is this all about?”
“A wedding gift,” he answered cryptically, a smile tweaking the edge of his lips as he moved a little closer, holding the phone where she could see it. The screen was filled with text, and she pulled it from his hands to read.
Starting at the top she was confused for a moment, and then she saw the name: Anthony Williams. Her heart stumbled over itself, forgetting to beat for a moment before it beat triple time to make up for it, battering her ribs from the inside as if the panic she felt at that name made it wish to escape. Only, the other words in the document seemed to steady her pulse into a rhythm more appropriate for a moderate cardiac arrest situation.
Violent incident.
Handmade weapon involved.
Prisoner found dead on arrival.
Thalia tried to process the words, scrolling through the details about locations and cell blocks and guards’ names and none of it was sinking in, except the one possibility that seemed too dark to actually hope for. Lifting her eyes to the two men who seemed to be waiting for her reaction, she felt frozen. Jake’s jaw twitched, and so she looked at him first, “Anthony is dead?”
Tying the Knot (Thalia Book 4) (The Thalia Series) Page 7