CHAPTER 27
“Have I told you how beautiful you look, Mrs. Jameson?” a voice whispered in my ear.
I blushed as my shy eyes glanced into those blues that gave me butterflies. “Yes, just a thousand million times,” I whispered. “And that’s today.”
“But you are, Mrs. Jameson.” Jay grinned, his eyes shining with love.
My blush deepened; I didn’t think I was ever going to get used to him calling me that. And he said it in every sentence.
“I love you, husband,” I muttered, stealing a kiss that only made him grin wider.
God, his boyish charm played a tug-of-war inside me, like a flutter vortexing my heart at one end and heat spiraling between my thighs at the other.
It’d been hours since we married, but I still couldn’t get over it.
The ceremony was beautiful. Only moments passed as we both stood lost in each other’s eyes, and it was already time to say “I do” and “kiss the bride.”
“Fuck, I love when you call me that,” Jay groaned, burying his face in my neck. “I don’t think I can last another second here.”
“Jay. We can’t just leave in the middle of our wedding reception,” I chided as my eyes scanned the people here for us.
Jay invited everyone close to us. I was so grateful I didn’t have to lift a finger to figure out the guest list.
Bekah and Will were here, and so were Liam and little Marie, with whom I’d grown closer over these past few months. She was currently deep in conversation with Macy, Tyler’s niece, who was also my friend. I couldn’t believe kindergarten kids were now my friends, but it gave me an excuse to watch endless Disney movies and eat sugar all day, so I wasn’t complaining.
The Flemmings were here, and I’d also connected with them a lot. Louisa felt so guilty about what happened during the night of the incident, and we soon bonded. Her captivating charm and her juicy Hollywood gossip roped me in quickly.
Jay’s parents and a few of his close friends from the industry were also here. Julian couldn’t make it but instead sent us a flower arrangement so big that two people had to carry it in.
I felt so loved and cherished the entire night that this was the first party in my life that I felt truly comfortable.
And it was so beautiful amid the twinkling lights, the lull of the quiet lake, and the summery flowers. It almost felt like a fairy tale.
It took a couple more hours for the reception to wind down, and most of the crowd retired for the night, except for a few who lingered in the bar area and our friends at our table .
“I think we should call it a night,” I yawned, the high of the day finally crashed on me.
“Fuck yes.” Jay jumped to his feet, and before I could blink an eye, I was swooped into his arms.
“Jay?” I asked wide-eyed as he fast-walked out of the tent while all our friends cheered loudly and heat bloomed through my skin.
“Happy wedding night,” Mikey shouted, grinning.
The rest of them hollered while they all watched us with a knowing smile on their faces.
“That was embarrassing,” I mumbled, looping my arms around his neck as I leaned into him. His delicious scent swathed my senses as he carried me toward the main cabin in the quiet of the night.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about?” Jay raised a brow. “I think I have every right to carry my wife to bed.”
I shook my head, kissing his cheek. “I love it when you call me wife, husband.”
“Then I shall call you that for the rest of your life, wife.” He hurried his steps. “I can’t wait to get you out of that dress. It’s been cockblocking me since this morning.”
I giggled as he ran up the cabin porch and dashed upstairs.
The playfulness in our energy dropped the moment we burst inside the room.
His eyes darkened, and my heart quivered.
I swallowed as he gently sat me down on the edge of the bed, and a low tremble ran through my spine.
“You. Are. So. Beautiful,” he said, pressing soft kisses all over my body between each word.
The warmth of his lips caressed the depths of my soul .
He took his time to slowly remove each article of my clothing, slowly unlacing my dress to carefully rolling down my garters at a deliberate pace. All with a ton of kisses and words of love until I wore nothing but my skin. And it took me right back to the moment when he first made love to me right at this place.
My blood pulsed when I repeated the same for him until he stood bare in front of me. The light from the warm golden candle flickered across his chest, glinting on the dragon that spelled my initial.
“I love you, Jay. I want you inside me,” I whispered softly as I cradled his cheeks. “Make love to me.”
“I love you more.” The glow of love in his eyes mirrored mine.
Soon, we were a tangle of breathy moans and exquisite pleasure as he made love to me, drawing and teasing and caressing the deepest parts of me in slow, deep strokes, pumping into me at a reverent pace.
It was tender, adoring, endearing, and, at the same time, consuming, fervent, and sacred.
We spoke with only our eyes, and that was all we needed.
The quiet of our eyes spelled our love loud and clear.
And it wasn’t long before breathless moans raised a pitch, and the tightness in our core flamed a scorching high, and the ebb of it drew us both together as we spiraled into pure bliss.
It took us a while to come back to our senses, and only our ragged breaths filled the air as Jay shifted, gathering me in his arms .
A chilly gentle breeze floated through the window, carrying the scent of fresh rain and forest as it washed over our heated skin.
“You ready?” I asked, tilting my chin toward him.
“Yes, Mrs. Jameson.”
“Okay.” I smiled shyly. “I wrote everything down.” My hand stretched out and tugged the nightstand drawer to retrieve the paper I had carefully folded last night. “Here it is. Don’t you have one?” I scrunched up my nose as I eyed him.
“It’s all up in here.” He gave me a smug grin, tapping his forehead. “You go first.”
“Fine.” I narrowed my eyes. “But don’t you dare copy me.” Jay and I decided to say our wedding vows in private. It was quite unconventional, but it was what we wanted. Our very own private moment that we could cherish.
He chuckled, pulling me closer. “I won’t.”
His hand ran along the slopes of my side as I started, fumbling with the paper. “I, Evelyn Jameson, vow to love, support, and cherish my husband, Jay Jameson, for as long as my soul shall live. Jay, I knew from the moment I met you, that you were going to spin my world around on an axis that I’d never see coming. And you did. You taught me to love. You taught me to live. I didn’t know I waited for you my whole life until my soul met you, and that was when my life truly began. And I know as long as I have you, I’ll always be living instead of existing, breathing clean air, seeing colors I never saw before, and experiencing the wonder that is love. The word ‘love’ isn’t enough to explain how I feel about you, but if it is the only word that exists, I’ll tell you anyway. I love the love that you brought me. I love the love you gave me. And the love that we shall both give our children.” I smiled, glancing up at his blues glowing with adoration. “I love you. And with this kiss, I promise that.” I leaned over and brushed my lips softly across his.
“That was beautiful,” he whispered over my lips.
“Now it’s your turn.”
He nodded, and my excited self leaned back into the pillow, watching him expectantly.
His eyes locked on me. “I promise to unconditionally love my wife, Evelyn Jameson, now, between, to death and beyond. No matter when, where, or how, there won’t be a day where she won’t be loved unconditionally. And with this kiss, I promise that,” he said in his low, husky tone with such steady conviction that it made my heart flutter.
I was breathless when he tugged his lips away.
“Why was yours so short but so much better than mine?” I pouted, sweeping away his escaped velvety soft lock that fell over his forehead.
We lay side by side, facing each other, while his hand ran circles over my back.
“Because I am so much better than you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ass.”
“You asked?” he replied in an innocent tone before drawing me closer to him.
I sighed, so in love as the comfortable quiet flowed between us.
“Have you ever wondered if we’re soulmates?” I asked a moment later.
He shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t think much about that nor know what it means. ”
My eyes flashed to his as I started softly, “It’s when two souls are bound together for lifetimes. It’s the familiarity when you meet them, the undeniable connection that you can’t help but love them, as if you were romantically involved with them in past lives.”
“Makes sense. We probably are. I did have this sudden sense of familiarity when I met you, and something in me just wouldn’t rest till I had you.”
“I know we are. It’s why we fell in love so quickly—so easily without barely knowing each other.”
He smiled, kissing my nose before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
My eyes shined with love as I gazed at him. “Funnily, I was reading about soulmates just the night before I met you. Have you ever heard about the red string theory? It’s based on a Japanese legend.”
He shook his head.
I gave him a soft smile, taking his left hand in mine. “It’s an invisible red thread that is tied between our pinkies, and no matter the circumstances, destiny will tug us together. An invisible bond, from me to you and from you to me.”
“So we have a string tied between us?” He raised a brow, looping our pinkies together. “But we’re together, so now what?”
I frowned. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe,” he whispered, softly bringing his lips to me. “The string becomes one. From us, forever.”
A wide smile tugged my lips as my hand cradled his cheek, feeling the stubble brush my palms. “I think I like that theory. ”
Looking into his eyes, here at this moment, I knew. No matter the pain and suffering, I’d go through it all again.
Because here I was, in the end, in his arms. It was all worth it.
“I love you, husband.”
“I love you more, Mrs. Jameson.”