Epilogue #2
Mace slips out of me and slaps my ass. “Any complaints?” he asks as he stoops down to pull up my panties, and dresses me.
I turn around and tears blur my vision. “No complaints,” I whisper. “You do things in your own particular way, and I love you for it. I love you.”
Mace peppers kisses across my wobbling lips. “And I love you.”
“Just remember,” I say, because I have to have the last word. “We’re a partnership now. We do things together. We make joint decisions.”
“Sure. Anything you say.”
He looks me straight in the eye as he says it, as if he hasn’t already made another huge decision without my knowledge. Of course, I don’t know this until we arrive home and drive through the main gates.
We’re waved through by security guards, which isn’t unusual in itself, but they’re not usually so blatantly ready and armed.
As we draw closer to the house, I see lots of other strange activity.
There are large trucks that weren’t there when we left before dawn, as well as a collection of cars of every shape and size. One looks like Kaitlyn’s red Ford.
I sit up in my seat. We’d stopped off for lunch and I’d been dozing on the drive home, but now I’m fully awake, pulse racing. “Has something bad happened?”
Mace puts the SUV in park. He’s smirking. “Not yet.”
My body tenses. Whatever this is, it’s been caused by my future husband. “What have you done, Mace?”
He turns in his seat to face me. “Before you start yelling, I have just one request.”
“What?”
He leans over and kisses my cheek. “When you go inside, can you promise me you won’t take a shower,” he says, devilment dancing in his eyes. “I want my cum dripping out of you when we get married.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I screech so loud I scratch my vocal cords.
Mace
I’m standing up front with Ash at my side, both of us wearing matching dark grey tuxedos and Griffin-red ties.
The winter sun casts strands of light and shadow across the marquee and the small congregation gathered inside.
Wedding guests have been limited to only those we can trust for reasons of secrecy and security.
It wasn’t only Lily I didn’t want finding out about my plans.
Barrett would love to show up unannounced, but we’ve tripled security.
Rolling from heel to toe, I stretch my feet and shake the tension from my legs. Hunter leans forward so he can see past Ash. “Worried she won’t show up?” he asks, a smug look on his face.
“At least I didn’t have to abduct my wife,” I hit back.
“And Mace does hold the record now for the shortest time between proposal and wedding,” Reid pipes up. He’s standing next to Hunter.
Ash stretches an arm in front of our brothers, forcing them to straighten up again. “You do know being the best man is supposed to be a supporting role?” he asks. Just when I think he’s got my back, he sniffs. “This is why you should have just picked me.”
There had been a heated discussion last week over which of my brothers should be my best man. I thought picking all three would stop the arguments. Apparently not.
I don’t care who’s here, and in what role.
The only person I’m interested in is Lily.
I thought long and hard about how I should propose, and tried my best to put myself in Lily’s shoes and imagine what she’d want.
The happy conclusion I reached was that she wanted me, and all my fucked-up ways.
So here we are in the most fucked up way I could think of to get her down the aisle. Or, here I am. Alone for now. Waiting.
“I was thinking,” I whisper to Ash. “If I can break into the Poulton Springs house, there are a couple of devices I could plant that won’t get flagged when Barrett has the house swept for bugs.”
“And leave your bride so soon? Don’t you think you’re in enough trouble with Lily as it is?”
“But now that Quinn Jamieson’s in town, we could find out exactly who she is, and what she is to Barrett,” I argue.
Quinn had reappeared on the radar only a couple of hours ago.
After pulling the surprise wedding stunt on Lily, I’d distracted myself with work while my fiancée calmed down and got ready.
Hunter leans forward again. “It’s a good idea, but it doesn’t have to be you planting the bugs.”
“I could go,” Reid says.
I’m about to object when movement catches my eye.
It’s Simon. He looks smart in his tux as he gestures to whoever’s just out of my range of sight.
I managed to poach him off Calder, and he’s now Lily and Maddie’s personal body guard.
From the broad grin on his face, he seems to be enjoying the challenge, but it’s another woman drawing his attention.
Kaitlyn steps through the door in a flowing forest green dress, and is followed soon after by Maddie.
I’d say they both look stunning, but my thoughts are stolen along with my breath when Lily appears on the arm of her dad.
Her silk dress has a scoop neck and shows off every one of her curves as she glides down the aisle towards me.
Maddie assured me that she’d had enough conversations with Lily to know what dress she’d want, and from Lily’s glowing cheeks, I’d say my sister-in-law chose well.
I can’t know for sure because Lily hasn’t looked at me yet.
She’s too busy scanning the faces that turn towards her, offering smiles.
She reaches out to give her mom’s hand a squeeze as she passes, and their eyes shimmer with tears.
Kaitlyn takes the bouquet of crimson roses and white lilies from the bride, and Lily takes her place by my side. My three brothers step back so I face her alone. When she finally looks at me, her eyes catch with fire and the world around us evaporates. It’s just me and her.
She leans forward to whisper in my ear. “You’re in so much trouble, Shade.”
I press a hand to her back before she can step away. “Did you do as I asked?”
She arches an eyebrow, then leans in again. “Considering I might just cut your balls off for this, I suppose I should keep your last shot as a memento.”
“And those are the words I’m going to look back on fondly when I think of our wedding day,” I say, nipping at her ear.
“While I’ll look back at your proposal and remember what you were doing when I said yes.”
My hand moves to her neck and I lift her chin. “I love you so fucking much, Lily. Especially when you’re mad at me.”
“And you make me so damn mad, Shade,” she replies, then breaks into a smile. “It’s why I love you.”
Her kiss demands I open my mouth, and I let her in. I open myself to this woman, body and soul.
Being loved, and loving someone in return, is a hope I’d buried in the darkest corners of my soul, starved of light by a mother who didn’t think I was worthy.
Lily made me see the light because she is the light. And my wretched soul doesn’t feel so wretched anymore.
The celebrant clears his throat, and I feel a hand on my shoulder as Ash attempts to separate us. “Could you at least wait until you’ve exchanged your vows?” he whispers.
Lily wipes pink lipstick from my mouth. “Mace doesn’t follow social norms. It’s what I love about him.”
Thank you so much for reading Wretched SOUL.