Chapter Ten #2
I shake my head at her, heart stilling, lungs barely working, but she nods up at me, taking her hands away from my face and lifts them between us.
You told me you treat me like you love me because I deserve to be treated like you do.
Every day you prove it even when I’m lost at sea.
She juts her chin towards the ocean but still does not take her gaze off of mine.
I vow to choose us, every day, despite whatever comes our way.
I vow my heart and my devotion. I vow to fight for us, and to not let the current take me because I know you’re waiting for me.
“Je jure de t'aimer toujours.” I vow to love you always.
And it’s more than enough. Her lips part but I haul her to me, cradle the bottom of her skull with one hand, the other on her hip, and cover her mouth with mine. When we break apart we’re both breathless. “Toujours, Amourette.” I murmur against her lips.
I slip my third of the ring onto her finger as she puts mine on and it is the most incredible, weightless feeling- this eternal feeling. That everything is as it should be. I then step aside for Jonas.
Jonas
I don’t take her hands. When Damon steps back, mine find her hips and travel to the small of her back.
I kiss her and then break away when I remember I’m not supposed to be doing that just yet.
“You look so pretty, baby. My heart is so full right now and beating so fast. I forgot my speech again. I’m sorry. ”
She giggles and I wipe at her tears. “It’s oh… kay. I love you so much-” I don’t think I’m supposed to be getting hard already- “Jonas… you are my beacon… of light. You… mm-make every day b-better.” She sniffs. “Jonas…”
Fuck, I love it when she says my name. I beam. I can’t believe it’s customary to stand so far away from each other. Okay, I’m only like, a foot away but still. I should be able to hold her. No, yeah. I’m gonna hold her. I yank her back to me making her giggle again. I love that so much.
“I vow to love you-”
“Always, baby?”
She smiles so pretty my whole heart smiles, too. “Always.”
“Fuck, I love you. I love you so much every day that it hurts but in the best way because I know you love me the same. I promise never to stop telling you how pretty you are. I vow to keep my promises. Like this one? Remember that? I said ‘I’m going to marry you one day. Mark my words. You will be my wife.’ in your dorm room after I tickled you and you snort-laughed. It was so cute.”
Her eyes go wide and she snort-laughs through her happy tears.
“Like that. I may not be able to remember my speeches but I remember every promise I’ve ever made to you.
I remember everything when it comes to you.
I may have known I loved you the second I saw you, but it was everything in-between then and now that has kept me falling for you every day.
I never want to be without you, baby. I want it all with you.
All the time. You make life better. You make me better.
I don’t know how you do it but I know that you do.
I know that I don't want to live without you. I know that when I have dark thoughts you push them away. I know that when I think about our future I feel the happiest and when you’re with me… I… can breathe.
“So if you vow to love me always, then I vow to love you always and forever after that. I vow to make you as happy as you make me.” I tip my forehead to hers.
“I’m sorry I forgot my speech. It was a good one, I swear,” I whisper, kind of embarrassed now, hoping she doesn’t think I’m an idiot and regrets falling for me.
My heart frowns and tears spring to my eyes at the thought of her ever not loving me.
“You’re inside of my heart, my head, my soul.
You own me. Damon’ll have to surgically remove you from me and I’m glad he’s not a surgeon ‘cause I’m keeping you forever. ” I rasp.
“Jonas Anderson?”
I close my eyes and inhale sharply. “Yeah, baby?”
“Mmm… make me your wife n-now… please.”
I let out a soft laugh of relief, tears falling. “I thought you’d never ask.” I dip then kiss her, growing hard again. “You’re my heart, baby.”
“You’re my ss-soul, baby” she chimes back and it’s everything. We slip our rings on each other, kissing her one last time before letting her go to Mav. I step back into Damon’s embrace, just to kiss him, too.
Maverick
With shaky fingers, I nervously push my frames up my nose that have been idly slipping down due to the tears escaping me.
I clear my throat and grab her hands, keeping them between us, and the trembling ceases.
I let my thumb run along her knuckles, feeling the soft skin underneath them, and take the sight of her small hands in mine.
Lethal hands that feel like silk. Dangerous hands that touch me tenderly, like I’m the fragile one… I sniff, blinking back the tears once more before I look into eyes I know will cause my heart to stammer.
And when I do peer into them, those radiant twin amber flames are highlighted by the setting sun. They ignite my soul and make my heart pump steadily in its wake. Steady and strong, like her love. I beam down at her. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”
She nods, the breeze plays with her hair, making the lazy chocolate and silver curls cascading over her shoulder lift and fall consecutively. My god, what a fucking sight.
I tuck one of her hands to my other so I can still hold both with one of mine and pull out the folded piece of paper.
I hear Jonas groan then mutter, “Ahhh I should’ve done that,” under his breath.
I glance down at the square and shake my head.
“I wrote my vows. I thought of every word I would use to be able to memorialize this monumental moment between us, to tell you how much you mean to me. But when I look at you…” I sniff again and tuck the piece of parchment back into my pocket.
“When I look at you, Siren…” my tongue traces my bottom lip as another tear slips free and she wipes it away for me, keeping her hand on my cheek, ready to catch more.
“Those words become irrelevant, another whisper in the wind to be carried away and possibly forgotten. I don’t want that.
Damon may not have known just how lonely this world could be, but it’s all I’ve ever known…
until you. I thought I was fine in my solitude and it turns out I was just waiting for you to disrupt it. Not someone like you, but you.”
I blink rapidly as I take in another steady breath.
“So here is my vow. I vow to make sure you never feel alone again. I vow to replenish what I take from your cup. I vow to love and cherish you. I vow my heart-" I croak. “I vow that my heart will only love you ever. I vow… ah, shit. I vow my devotion to the only religion I’ve ever known, which is you. I will love you and only you and that is my vow.” I slip my ring on her finger, all three now in the order they’re supposed to be- keeping us aligned forever.
Raven wipes one more tear from my cheek and then wipes her own, sniffling in the process then clears her throat.
“I vow t-to accept you as you are. To love you and s-s-support you in th-this life a-and…” more tears cascade and it’s my turn to wipe them for her because they are breathtaking.
“And the n-next. Th-that is m-my v-vow to y-you.” She lifts both hands and begins to sign between us.
I vow to disrupt your solitude. She slides my ring onto my finger- black titanium with an amethyst in the middle.
Same as the others and yet, not. Because it’s ours. It’s mine.
I chuckle and lean in to whisper against her lips. “Good.”
With our kiss, our parents cheer for us and Damon and Jonas join me as our officiate legally binds us. It is everything. And so much more. It is the beginning of our forever.
Our reception is held in a small resort- just dinner once again in a private room with our family as our friends have other things to do. Sabrina, Maksim and Parker are in England attending Sabrina’s mother’s vow renewal.
Tasha was supposed to be here but well, one of the Syndicate members we’ve been tracking who we now know was involved in the sex-trafficking ring Donahue was a part of, was spotted in California and she wanted to deal with it immediately.
My involvement with the FBI has been kept low profile due to my job as a professor at Columbia but also because I do not have the yearning to be away from my wife longer than I have to be.
Jonas didn’t invite his teammates due to the mischief we have coordinated with Aleksi and Ivan Sokolov, Elena’s bodyguard, who are currently tracking Sofia. So when I hear my phone ringing and see it’s Maksim, I’m a little surprised. “This is unexpected.”
Maksim huffs out a soft laugh. “My wife just showed me the pictures Raven sent her. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. It feels good to be a married man.”
I glance over to see Raven and Damon dancing closely together to the soft music playing.
Jonas is dancing with both Elena and Amelia, making them laugh as he twirls them.
His sister sits holding her new baby as her husband, Theo, deals with the older ones.
They’ve been coming around a lot more often as well.
Both with Elena and alone. Both Henry’s or as I’ve called them The Henry’s sit at the table talking and eating with Enrique.
I blink, feeling the corners of my mouth lift with the realization I’ve gone from having absentee parents and not even one cousin to a full room of people I can call family.
All because one dark little angel of death dry-humped me on a damp carpet in the restricted manuscripts and archives section of a dimly-lit library hiding secrets.
Maksim grunts in agreement. “Listen, I’m sure you know how it is, wanting to make your wife happy and all, so I wanted to invite you to my family’s villa in Verona.”
I furrow my brows. “I’m pretty sure Aleksi told you what we’re doing for our honeymoon?”
“Which is why I’m calling. She’s been captured, friend.
He’ll be sending you the coordinates soon.
But I meant when you’re done? We’ll be heading to Verona tomorrow.
I have a few things to settle with my father’s lawyers over the vineyards and of course, my wife is very sad she missed your wedding.
I think this would be a good way for you all to truly relax after your post-wedding…
activities. A well-deserved honey after the moon. ”
I think about it, watching our nephews grab Raven by the hands, dragging her away from Damon and begin to dance with her to a faster paced song.
She laughs with them, signing and they sign back.
She does a weird version of some dance and they mimic her.
She’s going to be a great mother and I plan on keeping her pregnant for a very long time.
“Is the villa big enough? I’m not going to lie to you, Maks, I have other things planned. ”
This time he laughs heartily. “There’s an entire other section of the villa that’s never used. You’ll probably only see us for breakfast and whatever other trouble our wives get up to.”
I groan. The last bit of trouble included them playing strip-hide-and-seek in the cemetery in the middle of the night with the cops being called by Mrs. Silverstein. Yes, they were very drunk. “Let me talk to them. This last bit is our wedding gift to Raven so…”
“I get it. No worries. Just wanted to extend the invitation. Congratulations again.”
“Thank you. Do me a favor and call again in a day or two. I need you to ask Raven yourself. She hates surprises.” I hang up and go join The Henry’s and Enrique to watch my wife be silly with her twin brothers-in-law.
My wife.
Fuck.
My beast purrs and I can feel my eyes dilating, zeroing in on my wife’s dancing form. Oh yeah… I can't wait to punish her later for whatever fate she chooses for Sofia.