Chapter Thirty-Four #2
While waiting for it to arrive, she tiptoed toward the other bedroom, slowly and carefully opened the door, and peeked inside.
Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at him.
Conor lay on his back, one arm flung above his head, the other resting across his bare chest. He was gorgeous and soon he would be all hers.
Smiling, she eased the door closed, wondering how she would ever wait for night to fall.
~ * ~
Conor woke with the setting sun, his first thought for his bride. Throwing the covers aside, he took a quick shower, pulled on a pair of pants, and went in search of his woman. He found her in the master bedroom brushing out her hair.
“Good evening, bride.” Moving up behind her, he slipped his arms around her waist. “How did you spend your day?”
“Sight-seeing. Gambling. Counting the hours until the sun went down.” She laid the brush aside and turned in his arms. “I missed you.”
“Did you?” He smiled a knowing smile. “Took a peek at me, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?”
He shrugged. “I’m aware of what’s going on around me even when I’m at rest.”
“Oh.”
“We’re getting married in an hour.” He’d made all the arrangements in advance. Nuzzling her neck, he said, “We’d better get ready.
She nodded as excitement thrummed through her. An hour, she thought. It couldn’t come soon enough.”
~ * ~
The wedding chapel was white inside and out. Fresh greenery and baskets of red roses added a touch of color. The minister, a tall, gray-haired man clad in a black suit and tie, smiled at them as they walked toward him.
Bryn looked up at Conor askance when she saw Conor’s parents sitting on the front row.
“We needed witnesses,” he said, with a shrug. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No. It’s a nice surprise.”
Kadie smiled at her. Saintcrow nodded.
“Mr. Saintcrow, please take your bride’s hand.”
“Gladly.”
“We are gathered here this night to join Conor Saintcrow and Brynlee Davis in holy matrimony. If there be any here who object to this marriage, let him speak now or forever hold his peace.” He glanced briefly at the couple on the front row.
“Conor, do you take Brynlee to be your lawfully wedding wife....”
Brynlee never took her gaze from Conor’s face as he recited his vows, nor did he take his from hers.
They might have been alone in the chapel.
Her heart swelled as she murmured, “I do,” knew without a doubt that she had made the right decision when he took her in his arms and kissed her ever so tenderly, then whispered, “I will love you forever.”
After the minister took his leave, Kadie hugged Bryn. “Welcome to the family, daughter. We’re so happy Conor had the good sense to marry you.”
“Me, too,” Bryn said, with a grin.
“Saintcrow men always pick the best women,” Saintcrow said, giving Bryn a bear hug. “If he gives you any trouble, you come to me.”
“I will,” Bryn said, thinking she was happier than she’d ever been in her life, even as she wondered if her own parents would be as welcoming.
“No doubt you two want to be alone,” Saintcrow said, waggling his eyebrows, “so we’ll see you when you get home.”
“You came all this way,” Bryn said. “At least stay and have a drink with us.”
“It’s sweet of you to ask, but I think Rylan is right.” Kadie glanced at Conor, who was obviously anxious to be alone with his bride. “We’ll see you in a few days.”
There were hugs all around and then Kadie and Saintcrow left the chapel.
“You didn’t want them to stay, did you?” Bryn asked as they followed his parents outside.
“Did you?” Conor asked.
“Well....” She felt her cheeks grow warm. “Not really, but it seemed polite to ask.”
“Did I tell you how beautiful you are this evening?”
“Not in words, but I saw it in your eyes.”
Her heart was pounding double time as they left the chapel. Soon, she thought, as he transported them to their hotel room. Soon she would be his in the most intimate way. His hands were already undressing her. In moments, they were lying in each other’s arms.
Bryn was glad they had waited for marriage as she eagerly touched and tasted Conor.
His kisses seemed sweeter somehow now that he was truly hers and she was his.
His body was firm and muscular and she sighed with pleasure when, at last, he rose over her, his dark eyes filled with love and desire as his body melded sweetly with hers, carrying her away to places she had never imagined.
Later, curled up against his side, one hand splayed on his broad chest, she blew out a sigh.
His tongue laved her ear. “Something wrong?”
“No. I was just thinking about our future.”
“Oh?”
“How does this sound? I’ll keep working for a year while they’re building our house. The next year we’ll adopt a baby boy. And two years later, we’ll adopt a little girl.”
“Sounds good so far.”
“And when they’re old enough to be trusted, we’ll tell them about their father. And when our girl turns eighteen, I think I’d like to be a vampire, too.”
“Bryn!”
“You approve of my plan, then?”
“I couldn’t have thought of a better one myself.”
“I love you.”
“I know,” he said, with a wink. And drawing her into his arms, he showed her how very much he loved her and her vision of their future.
~ The End ~