by Kaylee Ryan
Chapter 44
McKinley
I always thought I would be nervous on my wedding day, full of jitters for the future. I was wrong. As I stand here, my hand in Evan’s and him holding Lexi, I have not one ounce of nerves. All I feel is…complete happiness.
“McKinley, do you take Evan to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Aaron repeats to me.
I tear my gaze from Aaron to look at Evan, his eyes are shining with an emotion I can’t name. Lexi decides it’s time to let out one of her shrieks, causing me to laugh as a lone tear flows down my cheek. Evan brings our combined hands to gently catch it with his thumb. “I do.” The words fall from my lips effortlessly. I have no regrets. I just hope my heart can heal when this is over.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss…wait,” Aaron says, causing me to gasp. He grins and reaches for Lexi, taking her from Evan. “Now, you may kiss your bride.”
Evan doesn’t hesitate. He steps into me, slides one hand to the back of my neck and the other lands on my waist. He closes his eyes and we’re kissing. It’s not just a peck. It’s a long, closed mouth kiss, ending with his forehead resting against mine. I close my eyes and take it all in.
We’re married.
I’m not sure how long we stand like that, with our immediate family there to witness, but little Miss Lexington decides she needs some attention too and starts to babble. Evan and I pull away from our embrace, both wearing huge smiles. I reach for Lex and she grins. Tapping the end of her nose, I look at Evan. “Now what?”
He chuckles and places his hand on the small of my back, leaning in close to my ear. “Now, my beautiful wife, we eat.” He guides me down the aisle and into a back room of the church. It’s set for a mini reception. There’s a small wedding cake sitting on one table. On the other is an array of finger sandwiches and picnic type foods. The sight brings tears to my eyes. When Evan and I talked about weddings and the meaning, I made the comment I would want it to be relaxed like a picnic, not some overpriced meal no one even likes. He took my words and created that today.
I look up to find him watching me. “I hope I got it right,” he says sheepishly. “I wanted today to be special.”
Standing on my tiptoes, I place a quick soft kiss on his cheek. “Evan, this is special. The entire day’s a huge surprise and it’s perfect. I couldn’t have planned it any better myself.”
“Let me have her. You all will be leaving tomorrow and I don’t know when I will see her again,” Evan’s mom says, taking Lexi from my arms.
“Hungry?” Evan asks.
I nod and follow him to the food. We each make a plate, Evan carrying mine to the table. Everyone is laughing and talking, and Lexi is soaking up the attention she’s getting. As I take it all in, trying to memorize the sound of their chatter and the happy laughter, I slip my hand into Evan’s under the table. He links his fingers through mine while turning to give me a questioning look. “Thank you, Evan. This day is amazing.”
He leans in—to everyone else it looks as though he telling me a secret—and he is, but he also places a wet open-mouthed kiss on my neck. “You’re amazing and so fucking beautiful. Aaron had to remind me to breathe.” He pulls away, his eyes sparkling.
I raise my eyebrows, telling him I’m not buying what he’s selling. Evan places his arm on the back of my chair and leans into me, looking at Aaron who is sitting on my other side. “Aaron, tell your sister what you said to me as she walked down the aisle.”
Aaron grins, swallows a drink of his sweet tea, and wipes his mouth. Taking his sweet-ass time to reply. “He stopped breathing when he saw you. I was afraid he was going to pass out.”
The look on my face must show my surprise. “He’s a goner, that husband of yours.” Aaron winks and stands from the table.
“You two ready to cut the cake?” Mom asks.
“Yes.” Evan stands and offers me his hand. We make our way to the cake and go through the tradition of cutting the first piece together. We feed each other the first bites with no mess. When I thought about us getting married over the past couple of weeks, I never thought about any of this—the traditional wedding events. I just figured we would be in the backyard, say I do, and go on as usual. Clearly, my husband had other plans.
We spend the next hour talking, laughing, and eating. I could not have asked for a more romantic wedding. It’s intimate and personal and everything I could ever want.
“Guys, we got you a gift.” Mom hands me an envelope. I look at Evan and he nods for me to open it. Inside, I find a room key. “We thought, under the circumstances, it would be good for appearance’s sake for the two of you to have a ‘honeymoon,’ even for one night. We are going to stay at the house in Evan’s room and keep Lexi with us.” She motions to Carol. The grandmothers are already staking their claim.
“I’ve never left her overnight,” Evan blurts out.
“I know, but she knows me,” Mom says gently.
“With Sarah being there, she will feel more comfortable since she spends a lot of time with her. You two need to do this,” Carol adds.
Evan looks down at me. “McKinley?”
“She’ll be fine. She’s already used to your parents and mine. As far as appearances go, we don’t know if they are watching us. I wouldn’t put it past them.” Evan’s attorney filed a petition to have the custody case dropped. By now, Misty’s parents have been notified. We can’t slip up now.
Evan still looks unsure. I reach out and slide my hand into his. “She’ll be fine. They’ll call us if they need anything,” I reassure him.
He nods and reaches out to take Lex from his mom. “Baby girl, you’re going to have fun with the grandparents tonight. Daddy and M…Kinley are going to spend the night in a hotel. I promise we will be there bright and early to see you.” Lexi just chews on her fist and babbles, not a care in the world. He kisses her on the forehead and bends down so I can do the same.
We say the rest of our goodbyes and Mom informs us we have a change of clothes already in the room. They really did think of everything.
When we step outside the church, there is a limo waiting. Lifting my head to look at Evan, he shrugs his shoulders. I shake my head at his cheeky smile as we climb into the limo. As soon as the door closes, his lips are on mine. The kiss is…hot…wet…passionate. It’s all consuming. His lips never leave mine until the limo stops and we hear the driver announce through the speaker that we’ve reached our destination.
Chapter 45
Evan
I groan when the driver announces we’ve made it to the hotel. The last thing I want to do is stop kissing her. A few more soft pecks and I climb from the car, holding my hand out for McKinley. We make our way into the hotel and are immediately greeted. “Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlin, we’ve been expecting you. Your stay has already been taken care of. Please let us know if you need anything,” a young concierge says from behind the desk.
I nod and smile, all while pulling McKinley toward the elevator. Unfortunately, an older couple follows us in, so I have to restrain myself. “Congratulations,” the lady says.
“Thank you,” McKinley answers softly. I watch as a slight blush tints her cheeks, and I can’t fucking help it, I lean down and kiss her lips. I don’t devour her like I want to, but I needed to feel her lips against mine. The remaining floors took too long to wait.
McKinley places her hands on my chest and pushes back until my back hits the elevator wall. Instead of keeping her distance, she walks toward me and slides her arms around my waist. Her head rests on my chest, and I wrap my arms around her, holding her tight against me.
My wife.
The older couple seems to sense we don’t feel much like small talk and the remainder of the ride is silent. When the elevator dings at the sixth floor, all four of us exit. We turn one way and them the other. McKinley is still in my arms, where I want her, as we walk slowly down the hall.
“Room 628,” I say.
“There.” She points to the
door just ahead. I hand her the key then lift her up into my arms. “What are you doing?” she laughs.
“Carrying my beautiful wife over the threshold,” I tell her.
“You’re crazy,” she laughs, and I swear I want to bottle the sound. I love hearing her happy.
She manages to get the door unlocked and I shuffle us inside. Kicking the door closed, I set her on her feet and then step forward until her back hits the door. My hands caress her cheeks, and her eyes lock on mine.
“We did it.” Her words are soft.
“We did,” I confirm as I brush a loose tendril of hair behind her ear.
“We’re married.”
“You’re my wife,” I say, needing to hear the words, needing to repeat them so I can verify this isn’t a dream. She’s opens her mouth to speak, but my lips mold to hers, cutting her off. I can’t wait any longer. I need to kiss her like I need to breathe.
Her hands find their way around my neck, pulling me close. Mine, which were cupping her face, are now on a mission to roam every single fucking inch of her body. Her bare shoulders are soft against the skin of my rough hands as I trace circles on the delicate skin of her back until my hand reaches her dress. Her wedding dress, which I wanted to memorize her wearing just hours ago, is now in my way. I want to remember what it looks like lying on the floor of this hotel room. My mind is working overtime to remember every fucking second of this day. I never want to forget.
“Need you out of this dress, baby,” I say in between kisses. I don’t give her time to answer before my lips are back on hers. I find the zipper and gently pull until I reach the stopping point. Stepping back, I give her my hand. “Step out.” She does, and I lift her dress, tossing it across the room, then turn my attention back to McKinley.
Un-fucking-believable.
Standing before me is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. Her tan skin is a contrast to the barely there white thong. That’s it. That’s all she’s wearing. If I had known…let’s just say our little “reception” would have been a hell of a lot shorter.
“Fuck,” falls from my lips.
“Surprise.” She smiles. “I couldn’t get the bra to work, so I just went without,” she shrugs.
I can’t take my eyes off her—the way her hair falls over her bare shoulder, the swell of her breasts as her tight nipples point toward me, begging for my attention. Then there’s the thong, if you can call it that. It’s a thin scrap of white material that leaves nothing to the imagination. That’s the thing about white clothing, when it’s wet you can see through it.
I can see all of her.
My eyes travel over every delectable inch. When I reach her red, swollen lips, I step forward and kiss her, my tongue gliding past her lips. Her hands tighten in my hair and I’m suddenly not close enough. My hands find her ass, gripping tight as I lift her. Her legs wrap around my waist and my cock settles against her wet, barely there thong. I’m still fully clothed, but I can feel her heat. I want inside of her so damn bad.
“Evan,” she mumbles against my lips.
Tearing my lips from our kiss, I rest my forehead against hers. “Yeah, babe?”
“Can we…?” She stops. That’s not going to work for me.
“Can we what?” My eyes are closed as I focus on the sound of her rapid breaths in sync with my own.
“It’s just…” She stops again.
Lifting my head, I see her eyes are also closed. “McKinley, look at me.” She shakes her head no. “Please?” I kiss the tip of her nose. Her eyes flutter open. “Tell me,” I say softly.
“We’re married now, so it’s not wrong,” she blurts out.
“What’s not wrong, babe?” I watch as she bites her bottom lip. “McKinley, you can ask me anything,” I say gently. I mean every fucking word. No matter what it is, I would try like hell to give it to her.
“Will you make love to me?”
Her voice is soft, like she’s afraid I’m going to say no. Does she not realize what she does to me? “Is that what you want?” My heart tells me I need to make sure she really wants this. My cock is screaming to be unleashed.
“I want you.” Her voice is no longer soft. Her words are strong as her eyes bore into mine. “You said you wanted this to be real, the time we’re together.”
“I did say that and I do. You’re my wife,” I say it again because I’m fucking excited as hell to call her that. Regardless of the how and why, she’s McKinley Chamberlin.
With her hands still in my hair, she tugs me close, her lips a breath from mine. “Make love to me, Mr. Chamberlin.”
“With pleasure, Mrs. Chamberlin,” I say, pressing my lips against hers.
Chapter 46
McKinley
This kiss is different than all the others. I feel this one all the way to my toes, like a bolt of lightning thrashing through my veins. I was scared as hell to ask for this, afraid that when—not if—when we cross that line and this…arrangement ends, we won’t ever be able to go back. Back to being Evan and McKinley, two good friends who did what they had to do to keep a little girl with her daddy. Two friends who have shared laughter, intimacy, and…love.
I don’t ever want to lose that.
Evan pulls us away from the door, his lips never leaving mine. I feel the soft mattress hit the back of my legs, as he climbs onto the bed, me still wrapped around him like a monkey. I pull my hands from his hair and start working on the buttons of his shirt. He sits back on his knees and rips the last two free, pulling his arms from the sleeves and tossing it across the room. Leaning down, he kisses just above the hem of my thong, a wet open-mouthed kiss before sliding off the bed and making quick work of discarding his pants. With one knee on the bed, he freezes.
“Shit,” he mumbles and looks up at me. “I don’t have a condom.”
“Oh.” I want to tell him it doesn’t matter, that I want him inside of me anyway I can get him, but I don’t. “Check the nightstand,” I say, hopeful that maybe the hotel started leaving condoms in the nightstand instead of mints on the pillow.
Evan pulls open the drawer and his eyes go wide. I watch as he pulls out a box of condoms with a note card attached. He reads the card with a look of awe on his face.
“What’s it say?”
He hands me the card.
Evan-
Take care of her.
Aaron.
“Holy shit!” Aaron knows how I feel about Evan, and he thought ahead. I’m sure this was hard for him, watching us get married, knowing my heart is on the line. I don’t know many older brothers who would do what he did. I’m shocked, embarrassed, and grateful all at the same time.
“One of a kind, my best friend.” Evan grins.
“Brother-in-law,” I correct him. His eyes lock on mine.
“That’s right.” He rips open the box. “Enough talk about brothers. I promised my wife I would make love to her.”
Finally!
Evan grabs a strip of condoms from the box and tosses them on the bed before throwing the box back in the nightstand. A shiver of anticipation runs through me. “You cold, babe?” He doesn’t wait for me to answer; instead, he reaches back and pulls the quilt, which was folded at the foot of the bed, over us.
I notice right away it’s not something that fits in with the décor. “Where did that come from?”
He chuckles. “My guess is my mother and grandmother. They go to Quilting Bee’s on a regular basis.”
I run my fingers over the stitching. “It’s a wedding ring quilt,” I say.
“Yeah, Mom’s made them a few times as wedding gifts growing up.”
“It’s ours,” I say, trying to fight back tears.
“It is,” he says, burying his face in my neck.
I fear he has changed his mind with all of my chatter, until I feel his lips against my skin. His tongue traces the column of my neck, and I tilt my head, allowing him better access. He hums in appreciation.
“I need you naked,” he whispers in my ear.
He sits back on his knees, his hands finding my hips. “Lift.” I do as I’m told as he moves his body down the bed, my panties sliding down my legs like a magnet being pulled with him. I feel the material slide over one foot and then the other. I watch as he tosses them over his shoulder, his eyes roaming over me. Closing my eyes, I will my racing heart to slow its rhythm.
I shudder when I feel his lips against the side of my foot. I keep my eyes closed tight as he places open-mouthed kisses up my left leg. When his lips leave my skin, I take a breath, exhaling loudly when I feel them on my right leg, repeating the same slow torture.
“Evan.” My voice is pleading.
“I’m not going to rush this.” He rises above me, his eyes locked on mine. “Never thought I would be inside you, I would get to taste you, and I would be with you like this. I’m taking my fucking time.”
I have no reply for that. If I could speak, I would say hell fucking yes! However, his words have rendered me speechless.
I bury my hands back in his hair as his lips slide over my breasts. I bite back the moan that lingers at the back of my throat. His tongue works over my nipple, his teeth gently nipping as he soothes it with his tongue. His fingers pinch and roll the other, sending electric currents throughout my body like a damn on and off switch.
The room is quiet except for the sound of my rapid breaths and his lips against my skin. It’s erotic and paired with the feeling of those lips as they devour me, yeah, I’m ready for him.
“Please,” I whisper. I need more; more than what he’s given me to this point. We’ve had months of foreplay, and I’m ready for the grand finale.
He releases my breast with a pop, his eyes finding mine. “I want you, McKinley. More than anything or anyone, I want you. I want to know how it feels to slide inside of you, to feel you from the inside. I want to watch you and feel you as you come apart for me.” He leans down and kisses me, soft and slow. “I want all that, but I also want to cherish you, show you…I want this to be a night neither one of us will ever forget.”