Chapter 30
THIRTY
EDDIE
Eddie didn’t know what made him wait so long, what held him back from this last act of love and devotion. Perhaps it was fear that he would never be good enough for Jett. Perhaps it was the intangible nature of ‘love’ and ‘forever’ that he feared.
But none of that mattered as they stood in their grove in the Rose Garden and Jett was across from Eddie, radiating pure, untainted joy.
For just one day—one hour of one day—they were allowed to be themselves. Allowed to revel in their love for each other. And, for now, they were alone, two men anxious and nervous with hope and expectation.
“You’re beautiful, Ji-tae,” Eddie exhaled.
Jett crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat. “I’m yours, Farm Boy.” His eyes were soft, the golden glow so subtle, yet so bright.
“Mine?” Eddie slid his arms around Jett’s waist, taunted by the tawny skin peeking through silky black fabric. Jett’s outfit clung to him, leaving little to Eddie’s imagination. And imagine he did, because as of the day before, Jett was healed. Internally and externally sound.
Jett wiggled in Eddie’s arms, his skin cool to the touch, ice beneath the fire that burned in Eddie. They were each other’s opposite in so many ways, but that only made their love stronger.
“Yours.” Jett whispered, pulling Eddie down to his level. “Now, and forever.”
Jett’s lips danced across Eddie’s for a second before he retreated once more.
Eddie hungered for Jett. It’d been a torment to live together, to sleep together, but not have the chance to be intimate. It kept him on edge, made his kisses more intense, more passionate.
“Are you two ready?”
Captain Ro-nold stood in the entry, dressed in his most formal uniform with thick epaulets and golden knots at his cuffs.
“Yes, we are.”
Jett stepped up before the Captain and held out his hands for Eddie. They were warmer to the touch after their earlier fondling, and Eddie couldn’t help but yearn for more. He held out a hand and Eddie stepped forward to take it.
You’re finally getting what you’ve wanted for years, love.
“Edward Markus Stone.” Eddie cringed at the formal use of his full name, but Jett beamed up at him, and he found that just this once, it wasn’t too bad. “Do you wish to lawfully bind yourself to Ji-tae Valla, born on Charon, under the eyes of the laws of the Three Systems?”
Eddie squeezed Jett’s hands in his. I’m sorry it took so long.
“I do.”
“Do you, Ji-tae Valla, wish to lawfully bind yourself to Edward Markus Stone, born on Ganymede, under the eyes of the laws of the Three Systems?”
Jett nodded. “I do, more than anything.”
A second passed as he stared up at Eddie like there was nothing and no one else in the System, in the universe. It was just the two of them and their enduring love.
“Then by the laws of the Three Systems, and under the blessings of the Astral Gods, you two are wed, until death or dissolution.”
Two large hands engulfed their clasped ones. “I am happy you asked this blessing from me.” He smiled at them both. But beneath the smile a twitch in his skin worried Eddie. He’d have to save it for later though.
Jett flushed a pale, peachy pink and Eddie had to grind his teeth to avoid saying something crude. “Thank you, Augustus.”
“It was my great pleasure, Edward.”
Eddie didn’t see when the Captain snuck away. His whole mind was on the man across from him: Ji-tae Valla, his husband.
Eddie didn’t know what he’d expected to feel, but this wasn’t it. Not in a bad way, but he felt like it should feel different now that they were married. It was almost anticlimactic after everything they’d been through. And what they would soon endure.
“Disappointed, husband?” Jett teased him, pulled him closer so they could share more kisses. So they could feel each other.
Eddie sighed into Jett’s hair, closed his eyes against his unreasonable disappointment. “It feels so mundane, like our lives haven’t just changed.”
“But we know they have, Ed. We chose to make the changes and that’s important.” Jett placed a kiss at the base of Eddie’s neck. “That’s what healing is all about.”
Eddie squirmed under kisses across his throat, up under his chin. “If you aren’t careful, husband, you might find yourself bent over that bench. Again.”
Jett chuckled, hands playing at the waist of Eddie’s pants. “Take me home, Eddie.”