Chapter 23 #2
I take my place at the front, nodding to the officiant while everyone else gets into place.
Nina smiles at me and takes her spot off to the side so she can interpret the ceremony for Bran.
The crashing waves are the perfect backdrop, and when the music starts, I watch my brother and cousins walk down the aisle with Sitka’s family, my heart beating faster with each passing minute, desperate to catch a glimpse of my fiancée.
When I see her walking towards me, her arm wrapped around her dad’s and a huge smile lighting up her face, I can feel everything else disappear. There’s no one else but her, and I’m completely mesmerized by the sight of her slowly walking towards me.
They stop in front of me, and when I meet Volodya’s eyes, I can see what this is costing him.
We’ve grown closer over the last several weeks, but this is still his only daughter he’s about to hand over to me, and I know it’s killing him to do it.
He looks from me to Sitka, lets out a heavy sigh and then leans down to kiss her cheek.
He tells her he loves her and then puts her hand in mine.
There’s an unspoken command in his eyes when he keeps his hand locked around ours for several seconds, a very clear I will kill you if you hurt her look that’s impossible to miss.
“I love her,” I say, knowing he’s heard me say it many times before but also knowing that he needs to hear it once more. “And I will never hurt her.”
He holds my stare for a few more seconds before nodding and letting us go.
He takes his seat next to his wife and sons while I grab both of Sitka’s hands and face her.
Her dress is strapless, a simple, white wedding dress that ends at her ankles and looks amazing on her.
She’s painted her toes a pretty pink color and the small crystal hairpins she’s wearing sparkle in the sun while they hold her hair in place.
Instead of expensive jewelry, she’s wearing the shell I gave her, and I can’t resist reaching up so I can run my finger over the small horn-shaped cone.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whisper, ignoring the officiant, even though I’m sure he’s saying some really nice things.
Her grey eyes stay locked on mine during the entire ceremony, and when I see a tear start to fall, I wipe it away with my thumb and kiss the back of her hand.
Slipping the custom-made wedding band onto her finger calms something deep inside me, and when she slides mine on, I look down at the black zirconium band, catching a glimpse of the gold interior before it’s securely on and feeling like it’s where it was always meant to be.
Nothing has ever felt as right to me as this moment, and when we’re finally pronounced man and wife and I kiss my bride for the first time, I know I wouldn’t change a single thing about my life because it all led me right here.
It’s a life I never could’ve dreamed of, never thought was even a possibility, but that only makes me appreciate it all the more.
I thought my life would be one where I constantly had to hide parts of myself, a ruined thing that would never experience a love like this. Sitka changed everything for me.
“I love you,” I whisper against her lips, just as in awe of her as the first time I saw her.
“I love you too,” she whispers back, making me feel like the luckiest man alive.
Our family cheers as I pick my pregnant wife up and spin her around.
She laughs and clings to me while everyone claps and then rushes in to hug us.
Nyx and her brothers nudge their way through, wanting to love on Sitka too, and then all the kids join in.
I grab Roma, holding him in my arms while he laughs because Nyx is licking his foot.
I look over to see Misha, Yuri, and Dima putting together a giant pile of driftwood so they can light a bonfire later.
They’ve already shed their jackets and rolled the sleeves of their shirts up.
Allie walks past them to join Yulia, and it’s impossible to miss the way Dima tracks her every move.
I’m guessing whatever is brewing between those two won’t stay hidden for much longer.
Soon, everyone else starts to join them while tables are set up and food is brought down.
I see my uncles passing around a bottle of vodka with Sitka’s dad and uncles, and I know we’re in for one hell of a night.
“Our families are crazy,” Sitka says.
I smile down at her and cup the back of her head before kissing her again. I can never seem to get enough of this woman, and now that I can kiss her anytime I want, I’ve been taking full advantage of it.
“They are,” I agree.
I pull her back against me and rest my hand on her lower stomach. She’s not showing yet, but I like knowing our baby is in there, even if they are too small to feel right now.
Perfect.
That’s the only word to describe this feeling as I hold my family in my arms and watch our families celebrate our marriage. With my face close to hers, I brush my nose along her hair, breathing in the scent of forest and ocean and huffing out a laugh when I catch a slight hint of gasoline.
“Did you sneak in a ride before the wedding?” I ask.
She turns her head to grin up at me, and I love seeing that wild spark in her eyes, the one that I hope never dims. “Just a tiny one,” she says. “Bran and my brothers went with me, and I made sure to take it slow.”
I kiss her cheek, knowing I can’t be the overprotective ogre my inner man is telling me I need to be.
She needs the freedom, and the last thing I want is to take away something that means so much to her.
I will never make her shrink for me. I married my little besyonok, and I have no desire to tame her.
“Maybe we can take a ride later.” I nuzzle her neck and kiss the sensitive spot behind her ear. “It’s a full moon tonight. We can take a ride down the beach, maybe even have a run through the woods.”
She smiles at that and nods her head. “I know the perfect spot,” she says, already wiggling her sweet ass against me.
I grin and nip at her ear. “Looking forward to it, wife.”
Turning her head, she kisses me and says, “Don’t get too cocky, husband. You haven’t caught me yet.”
I laugh and kiss her again. “Come on, baby. You need to eat something. You’re going to be burning a lot of calories later.”
She threads her fingers through mine, following me as we join our families and step into our new life together.