“You are a masterpiece,” he whispers.
My eyes gloss again, and I press up on my toes to kiss him again before Riel clears her throat and ushers us the rest of the way down the make-shift aisle.
The sea breeze is cool and lovely, the sun still warm on our skins as it slowly makes its descent over the island. Brandon holds my hands in his, our tear-filled eyes flicking back and forth between each other’s as Riel’s officiant reads the sweet but short ceremony we selected. He has us laughing and smiling all the way up until he says it’s time for us to exchange our personal vows.
The entire time, all I can focus on is where Brandon’s thumb smooths the top of my knuckles, a sensual promise of what’s to come after the vows.
“Brandon Church,” I say first, and his dazzling smile makes me smile, too. “I wish I could say I’ve known since the moment I met you that you’d be my husband one day, but the truth is, I was doing everything I could back then not to think of you as anything other than my boss.”
That earns me a chuckle from Riel and the officiant, both.
“But I knew… something. From the moment you stepped into the elevator, from the first time our eyes met and I heard your voice, a part of my heart that had been dormant all my life came alive. I stirred beneath your gaze, and though I tried to deny it, tried to fight it, I think I knew even then that there was no way I’d be able to stay away from you.”
“That makes two of us,” Brandon chimes in.
I chuckle. “I don’t think either of us can deny our chemistry, but it’s our love that makes me happiest. I know at the end of the day, no matter what we go through — you have my back, and I have yours. There’s no better feeling than that.” I squeeze his hand. “There was a time when I didn’t know if I’d walk life alone or with someone by my side, a time when I wondered if life was worth living at all. But then I found you. And you saved me.”
“We saved each other,” he amends.
I smile, nodding with tears glossing my eyes once more. “I love you. And I am yours, for today, tomorrow, and evermore.”
Riel sniffs and wipes a tear from the corner of her eye before it can fall. I offer her a soft smile before Brandon clears his throat, pulling my attention back to him.
“Contrary to the many public events in which I have delivered speeches deserving of a standing ovation, I have to admit… I failed every time I tried to write down in words what you mean to me, Ashlei Daniels.”
My heart throbs in my throat, and I swallow it down as my eyes blur.
“I never knew what it was to be truly hungry until I laid eyes on you and knew I couldn’t have you. That desire, that wanting is something I will never forget. But as you said before, what started as something so carnal swiftly turned into something I couldn’t place, couldn’t name, because I’d never experienced it before in my life.” He takes a breath. “Love. Love so pure and powerful and sweeping that I had no choice but to get caught up in the wave of it.”
I bit my bottom lip.
“You are, without a doubt, the strongest, smartest, most incredible woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. You own every room you walk into. You command the attention of every man, woman, and child. You, my sweet wife—”
“Almost wife,” I correct.
“Are going to take this whole damn world by storm,” he finishes. “And I am just honored beyond measure to be the man who gets to stand by your side while you do it.”
I smile, squeezing his hands, desperate to get to the kissing part now.
“Our love has been tested,” Brandon says. “But if nothing else, we have proven that even when we hurt each other, we know at the end of the day that there is no one else. Your love was meant for me, and mine was meant for you. We are souls destined to find each other in this lifetime and every one after. I vow to treasure each moment with you as if it were my last, and to spend every moment away from you praying for your return to my arms. I will make you happy, Ashlei. I will care for you, protect you, and most of all, respect you.” Brandon’s eyes are sincere, heavy as they hold mine. “That is my promise.”
My bottom lip trembles as I nod, accepting his vows, knowing their truth. And once again, everything fades into the background — the water, the breeze, the sunlight, the music, and even the officiant’s voice as he declares us husband and wife and allows Brandon to kiss his bride.
In the next moment, I’m swept back in a dramatic dip, and all around us, sailboats and yachts and tourist ferries alike roar with applause.
But for me, it’s just Brandon’s arms around my waist, his lips on mine, his heart forever joined with the one beating in my chest.
And just like that.
I’m Mrs. Ashlei Church.
“Please don’t make me.”
I cross my arms and bat my lashes, hoping the wedding hair and makeup is still intact enough after our breezy sunset dinner for Brandon to show mercy on me.
He chuckles, crossing the space in the master bedroom to hold my elbows in his massive hands. “I’m not doing it to be mean, my love. You’ve gone all day without it. The doctor said—”
“I know what the doctor said,” I growl, wrinkling my nose. “But it’s so ugly, and bulky, and not sexy.”
“You are sexy no matter what you wear.”
“You say that now, but when that strap is smushing down my boob…”
Brandon plants a soft kiss to my lips. “First, let me help you out of this,” he says, fingertips walking down my hips and slipping under the high slits of my dress. He tugs at the fabric as my breath catches. “And then, we put the brace on, and I fuck you as my wife should be properly fucked.”
I pout. “But—”
Brandon catches my bottom lip with his teeth, biting hard enough for me to yelp before he releases me. “Stick that lip out one more time and I’ll bend you over my knee.”
This time it’s me who bites my life, my thighs clenching with the thought of being punished, of being spanked.
Yes, please.
Brandon’s lips are on mine in the next breath, his kiss soft and slow and purposeful as he backs me up more and more until my spine hits the window. With the added support, he presses me into it, careful of my shoulder as he hikes one of my legs up and slides my dress skirt up over my hips.
“Every time the wind blew, I’d see your thigh, this little spot where your hip meets the muscle,” he teases, running his fingertip along my hip flexor. “And it drove me mad, knowing I’d have to wait to kiss that spot, to have this pussy,” he husks, his hand dipping between my legs without warning. His fingers skate under my panties and slide through my desire, a groan of approval on his lips when he adds, “My pussy.”
“All this talk, but no action…” I tease, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I want desperately for him to pin me against the window and let me hold on for dear life as he eats the pussy he was just raving about.
But the bastard is too worried about my safety.
He laughs against my lips, giving me a brief kiss before he pulls away. “Too much pressure on your shoulder to hold on like that,” he says, reading my mind. “Tonight, you’ll have to be content with me ravaging you the way I want to.”
I’m tempted to pout again, but then Brandon holds my hand in his — the one connected to my good shoulder — and gives me a little spin, the skirt of my dress flaring as I turn to face the window.
His lips are warm, little kisses pressing against my neck and the top of my spine as he carefully undoes each button at the back of my dress. When it’s loose enough, he slips one strap off my shoulder, and then the other, letting the fabric pool at my feet.
He moans when he sees what he no doubt suspected with the open back of the dress — that I’m not wearing a bra — and before I can prepare for it, his hands palm each breast, weighing them, massaging as he presses his hard-on against my ass.
“I can’t believe I get to touch these for the rest of my life.”
“Even when they�
��re old and saggy.”
He almost laughs, but the slight pressure change on my nipple has me gasping, moaning, arching back into him and begging for more contact.
“No more jokes,” he whispers in my ear, and then his fingers slip under the bands of my lace panties, and he strips them down my thighs, too.
I want to protest again when he pulls out the brace, but I’m so desperate to have him inside me that I just let him help me into it. I catch a glimpse of how stupid I look in the mirror and make to tell him so, but he kisses me silent.
I’m swept into his arms in the next breath, his mouth still on mine as he carries me over to the master bed. It’s lush on an average day, but with brand new sheets with a higher thread count than anything I’ve ever slept in, it feels like being laid down in a cloud of cool silk when he deposits me.
He stands then, his eyes drinking in every inch of me as he shrugs off his suit jacket, unbuttons his dress shirt, makes quick work of his belt and his dress slacks. Hunger grows in his gaze as much as I feel it burning in my soul at the sight of this powerful, sexy man stripping for me.
My man.
My husband.
Desire pools between my legs at the thought, at the ownership, and as soon as he’s out of his dress shoes, I pull him onto the bed and down on top of me.
His mouth eagerly devours mine, swallowing my next breath as the hard length of him slips between my thighs. His shaft glides through my wetness and over my sensitive clit, making me shudder, making my nails dig into his flesh to beg for more.
“Easy,” he teases, kissing my brace as I fight the urge to roll my eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“I want to keep it that way.”
Brandon balances on his elbows then, his eyes searching mine as he sweeps a bit of my fallen braid out of my face. His thumb drags down my nose, over my lips, tracing my jaw before he wraps my neck in a gentle but possessive embrace. “I meant every word I said,” he whispers. “I am yours, Ashlei.”
My brows tug together, and I nod, pulling him down to kiss me. I don’t have to say it. I know he feels it without my words.
I’m yours, too.
I want him to fuck me against the window. I want to be bent over the railing so all of St. John can watch. I want him fast and hard and furious, desperate and needy — the way he was the first time he had me on his private jet.
But I know we’ll have a lifetime for that.
Tonight, I’m limited, and perhaps more than that, it feels… more. It’s not just his skin on mine, our mouths fused, our breaths labored between us as our bodies ache to be connected.
It’s a union, a promise, a tender turn of the page that starts a new chapter in our story.
“I love you,” Brandon whispers against my lips.
And then he hikes one leg up, kisses me with enough pressure to bruise, and fills me.
I cry out at the first thrust, the way it leaves me breathless as always. His long, hard, thick length stretches me, but the burn fades quickly, pleasure taking its place.
The waves rock the boat in time with him flexing inside of me, in and out, and I hold on with my good arm while letting my other rest.
Fire licks at my core quickly, with the way he brushes my sensitive clit with every thrust. Or maybe it’s the wedding, the vows, the fact that this man is mine in every way there is to be.
Forever.
“Ashlei,” he groans, kissing me hard as his pace intensifies. “Come with me, baby. Find it.”
I reach down between us, and he presses up onto his palms to give me the space I need to rub my clit and find my release. It doesn’t take long, not with him towering over me like that, not with the wicked grin he gives me as he watches me play with myself, watches himself sink inside me deeper and deeper with each thrust.
My legs spread wider, toes curling as I quicken my circles and find my release, panting and screaming out his name. And he comes undone with me, a grunt loud and feral ricocheting off the cabin walls as he spills inside me.
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
Even after he’s done, he continues to move, in and out, feeling his slick release leaking out of me. And before we have the chance to come down, to breathe and prepare, he’s already hardening again.
“Round two already, Mr. Church?” I ask, arching a brow.
“Followed very quickly by round three, Mrs. Church.”
I bite my lip at that, and Brandon smirks, rolling until I’m on top.
And this time, I ride my husband until we both come again, and realize my wedding night might be the most sleepless of my life.
A WEEK BEFORE THANKSGIVING, I text the girls and call an emergency video chat call.
It takes more back and forth than I’d like for us to nail down a time for the call, given everyone’s schedules, but somehow — miraculously — I get them all to agree on six p.m.
Erin comes over to my room for the call, her hair wet from her shower and a bottle of wine in hand — along with two glasses.
“I don’t know what this is about,” she says, shuffling in in her fuzzy slippers. “But something tells me we’ll need this.”
I motion for her to hand me the bottle as I connect my laptop to the video chat, and then I pour us two full glasses as the other girls click into frame one by one.
Cassie and Skyler are together, too, cuddled on Skyler’s bed. Ashlei looks happier than I’ve seen her since the accident where she sits on her and Brandon’s couch — and a little too tan for all the moping she’s been doing.
I don’t even let the small talk happen. I just take a long swig of wine and say, “I’m calling an emergency Friendsgiving.”
Skyler frowns. “What’s going on, J-Love?”
I shake my head, tears already forming in my eyes — and provided I cry about as much as Cassie skips class, all the girls instantly sit up straighter, Erin’s hand smoothing over my back.
“I need you. All of you. I have no idea what to do. I feel lost and guilty and fucked up and sad. I’m so, so sad,” I admit. “I don’t care where we go, but I need us all to get away. Out of town, out of the vicinity of everything here. I just… please. I need you.”
“I’m there,” Erin says instantly. “I can’t bail on my family for Thanksgiving. I’m bringing Bear home for the first time. But I don’t have to be back at the office until Tuesday, so… long weekend?”
“That works for me,” Skyler says.
“Same,” Ashlei chimes in. “I can’t take more time off work, but we have Black Friday and the following Monday off already.”
I arch a brow. “What do you mean more time? Are they seriously punishing you for the whole two days you were out of the office for your surgery?”
“Um… not exactly.”
She bites her lip, and the girls and I exchange glances, waiting.
“Instead of a Friendsgiving… how would y’all feel about a belated bachelorette?”
I blink.
Cassie tilts her head.
Skyler and Erin both frown so intensely I’m worried they might get wrinkles on the spot.
And then Ashlei bites back a smile and holds up her left hand.
Showcasing a very large, very shiny, very new diamond ring.
Chaos erupts. Skyler and Cassie are bouncing up and down on the bed, their video frame shaking wildly as they squeal and demand details. Erin claps and grabs my laptop from me to see the ring closer, to which I smack her hand and grab it back, pushing a shortcut on the keyboard to make the window go full-screen.
“Jesus Christ, Lei! It’s gorgeous!” I scream.
“It’s huge,” Erin adds.
“What the hell happened?” Skyler asks.
Ashlei holds up her hands to calm us with a giggle. “He proposed,” she says simply with a shrug. “And then… we eloped. We just packed a bag and got on the yacht and sailed away. We shopped for everything we needed when we got there.”
“Got where?” Cassie probes.
&nbs
p; “St. John.”
A collective sigh from the group makes Ashlei chuckle.
“You better have pictures, bitch,” I warn, pointing my finger at the camera. And though I’m joking and smiling and joining in the celebration, I can’t deny the way my chest aches, the way I feel both happy for my best friend and still wholly gutted for me.
“I do. Video, too,” she promises.
“Alright, that settles it,” I say, clapping my hands together. “Bachelorette party, next weekend, Black Friday through Cyber Monday. I’ll take care of everything. All you bitches need to do is pack and show up at the airport. And also help me figure out my life once we get there.”
“Where are we going?” Skyler asks.
I wave her off, letting her know she can find out once I do.
“Um, small problem…” Cassie says, holding up her finger. She sighs. “I’m sorry, but I’m flying to see Adam. And I don’t want to miss this. God, I don’t want to miss this, Lei,” she says more pointedly at Ashlei. “But I haven’t seen him since July, and things have been so hard lately, so…”
Her voice fades, and Skyler gives her a sympathetic look before squeezing her arm. We all know how hard it’s been for her and Adam doing long distance.
Long distance is what killed me and Jarrett.
It’s what killed Skyler and Kip.
We don’t need another casualty.
“I’ll allow your absence,” I say. “Just this once. Only because I love Adam, and you, and the two of you together. But you’re sponsoring a round of shots.”
“Of course,” she says, but her smile isn’t one of relief. I know that look of FOMO, and I’d have it, too, if I were in her shoes.
“We’ll party when you’re back, too,” Ashlei promises. “Don’t worry.”
Cassie nods, and then I rub my hands together again.
“Don’t stuff yourselves too full of turkey and mashed potatoes, ladies,” I say with a wicked smile as I pull up my phone, already searching for resorts. “I’m thinking… Mexico.”
That earns me a group of squeals, and Skyler starts talking about which swimsuits to pack as Ashlei says she’s almost positive Brandon has a timeshare at a resort in Cabo.
Greek: A New Adult College Romance (Palm South University Book 7) Page 20