Chapter 32
Chapter
Thirty-Two
SAVANNAH
ONE MONTH LATER
I smoothed down the front of my stunning gown. Getting shot in it wasn’t ruining this dress for me. The owner had wanted to give me this replacement for free because she felt so bad that I was shot in her store. It was totally unnecessary. If anything, I should’ve been apologizing to them for bringing that shit to their door.
The butterflies in my stomach had been going crazy all morning. Nathan and I were already married, but this was different. I hadn’t fought him the first time, but it hadn’t been the happiest day of my life. Today was a new beginning for us as a family. Every time I thought about it, I teared up and already had to fix my makeup three times.
I looked over my shoulder at the knock, and Goran poked his head in. “You look stunning,” he said.
“No hitting on my wife,” Nathan said from somewhere out in the hall, making me smile.
“I’m allowed to say that she’s beautiful. She looks like a queen, and it would be rude if I just stared,” Goran argued back. “Anyway, your annoying husband would like to see you.”
“I think I liked you better in employee mode. You’re a lot more irritating as my best friend,” Nathan grumbled, making me laugh. Some of the tension lifted as Goran rolled his eyes at me.
“Tell him it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, and we don’t need any more bad luck.”
“Oh, he already has that part covered.” Goran opened the door, and I covered my mouth to hold back the laugh as he led in a blindfolded Nathan. I shook my head at the pair of them.
“You’re crazy,” I said, walking to meet him in the middle of the room. He looked incredibly sexy, wearing an all-black suit with a red rose pinned to his lapel that managed to accentuate the dark and dangerous vibe he wore like a cloak. He held out his hand, and as soon as I put mine in his, Goran gave me a smirk and left us alone, the door closing behind him.
“You’re right. I am crazy and certifiably insane when it comes to you.” Nathan stepped in close to my body. The heat radiating off him wrapped me in a blanket of warmth while the dark cologne he wore filled my senses. “I’d accepted that my life was dark as easily as I accepted that the sun would always rise in the east and set in the west, but what I hadn’t expected was you. Now, even on the stormiest of days, there is light, and that light is you. You’re my beacon to sanity, but my love, like the rest of me, comes with a dash of depraved. It runs through my veins as surely as my blood. I’m an obsessive man. I’ll be possessive over you to the point of being dangerous and unhinged, but you, Savannah Mikhailov, are the only woman who will ever touch my heart, soothe my soul, or quiet the demons that claw at my mind. You’re mine, as I am yours.”
Tears trickled from my eyes, and there was no point in trying to stop them this time as he kissed my knuckles and placed my hand over his heart.
“Are you practicing for your toast later, because if so, that was….” I cleared my throat of the emotion that made it hard to swallow. “That was beautiful.”
“No, I’m just getting warmed up.” He tipped my chin, and even with the blindfold, he didn’t miss the mark as he dropped his lips to mine. I’d never been to an Orthodox wedding before, but I was happy not to do vows in front of everyone. I’d be a mess after the first line.
“Where’s the wall,” Nathan asked, his lips still touching mine.
“Why,” I asked suspiciously. “The ceremony is starting soon.”
“Just trust me. They can’t start without us.” Nathan smirked.
I had a feeling I knew where this was going, but I wasn’t going to stop him. Taking his hand, I led him to the closest wall and placed his palm against it.
“Perfect.”
I squealed as he cupped my face and pushed me back. Nathan kissed me like he was devouring my mouth, his lips and tongue demanding. When he broke the kiss, I gasped for air, but there was no letting up where he was concerned as he nipped the side of my neck while devious hands grabbed at the dress.
“Undo my pants,” he ordered. I was already wet, but my body responded to the gruff edge of his tone that bordered on desperation.
“Don’t ruin my hair, husband. At least, not until after the ceremony,” I said, half teasing. It had taken two hours for the stylist to get my unruly hair to look nice with the flowers mixed in. I refused to sit through that again.
“I might ruin it during the ceremony if I don’t get to have you right now. Not sleeping in the same bed as you last night was horrendous. I’m never doing it again,” he said as I freed his cock. He was extreme about everything, and I loved every second of it.
Getting the material of the dress pulled up, he slipped a hand between my thighs and groaned. “You’re such a good fucking wife not wearing any underwear, and you’re so wet.” I gasped as two fingers rubbed over my clit before slipping inside of me. “Does my sexy wife want to be fucked?”
“Yes,” I moaned and grabbed his hard cock, stroking him from base to tip and then playing with the rings.
“Say it again,” he growled, replacing his fingers with the tip of his cock. Lifting my leg, he wrapped it around his waist and slid his hand up and down my thigh. I’d never grow tired of the feel of his hands on my skin. Rocking his hips, he teased me with just the tip slipping in and out of my pussy.
“Fuck me, please fuck me,” I begged, wiggling as I tried to get more of him inside of me.
“Oh, you can do better than that.”
Anger rippled inside of me as the aching need to have him turned into a feral frustration. “Fuck me right now, or I swear….” I started and then cried out as he thrust all the way in and filled me up.
“You were saying? You swear…what?” He pulled out and thrust home again, and my body trembled as he rubbed all the right places like he’d been made just for me. “What were you going to do? Smack me? No, it’s not that. You know I love it when you’re all fire with me. Cut me off, maybe?” I bit my lip, my eyes rolling back as he picked up the pace. Even though I couldn’t see his eyes, I could still feel his imposing stare through the blindfold material.
“You wouldn’t do that. You’re as much of a slut for my cock as I am for this tight, hot pussy of yours,” Nathan said as his thrusts got stronger. I would’ve agreed to anything to make sure he didn’t stop as the orgasm built. My leg tightened around his waist, and I hung on to his shoulders, riding out the powerful thrusts.
“No, I wouldn’t do that,” I managed to say, even though my mind was a jumbled mess.
“Oh yeah?” Nathan nipped at my bottom lip. “Then what exactly was my naughty wife going to do?”
“Bleach your hair in the night,” I said and then kissed him, letting Nathan swallow my scream. His entire body hardened, his muscles flexed under my hands as I broke the kiss, panting.
“Oh fuck, yes, fucking perfect.” He growled as he came, his body jerking as he pressed me harder into the wall. “Fuck me. I can’t get enough of you.” Nathan rested his forehead against mine. “I can’t believe you’d bleach my hair. That’s just cruel.”
I smiled as I caught my breath and basked in the afterglow. “With silver tips for the silver-haired fox look,” I said. Nathan shook his head at me.
“Pure evil.” Smiling, he kissed me softly, and this was just another layer to the man that I couldn’t live without. As hard and demanding as he could be, he was also just as soft and tender when he wanted to be. I ate up all sides of him. Coaxing and savoring each one to the surface. Setting my leg down, I wasn’t sure I could stand, let alone walk down an aisle without looking like I needed a sobriety test.
“I know, so you better watch out. I need to get cleaned up and put my little blue thong on. I had a feeling you’d be visiting me.”
Nathan grabbed my arm and tugged me in tight to his body as he waggled his finger back and forth in front of my face. “You know me so well, but no, don’t put it on.”
“But….”
“Don’t bother. I plan on having you again after the ceremony, then after dinner, and then in the car on the way to the jet, and I’m sure a few more times after that. If you weren’t already pregnant, you would be before tomorrow night was through.” Kneeling in front of me, he ran his finger up the inside of my leg and wiped up the trickle of come that had escaped. He held it out to me, and I sucked his finger into my mouth. He growled with a shudder. “Fuck, I could take you again right now.”
“And here I thought I was the insatiable one.”
Nathan ran his knuckles down my cheek. “When it comes to you, I’ll never get enough.” He moved his head around. “Mind helping me to the door? I’m supposed to be getting married today, and my wife is insanely jealous. If she found out about you, she’d probably kill us.”
“Stepping out on your wedding day, that is a new low, and yet I’ll do it with you all over again in a heartbeat.”
“I love you, Savannah. I can’t wait to marry you again. The way it should’ve been the first time.”
“I love you too.”
N athaniel
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Savannah as she walked down the aisle. Her cheeks were still flushed, and a few pieces of her perfectly styled updo were out of place. I smirked at my handy work, knowing that I’d hear about it later and looking forward to every second of the tongue-lashing.
Savannah’s mother dabbed at her eyes along with my mother. I was still shocked that Savannah decided to invite her, but for the few days she’d been here, there hadn’t been any issues. If that changed, I’d personally put her on a one-way plane ride out of town.
“Mommy looks beautiful,” Cutter said. I looked down and smiled. He stood tall in his suit and held the small pillow with the rings attached. Hailey and Holly were sitting right beside him with flower collars around their necks. He’d been taking his duties as ringbearer very seriously, and Titus had been feeding into it by having him practice his walk with the dogs. I glanced at my brother and wondered how we all ended up so different. Ronan refused to come if Father was banned because we were still family. How he expected me to call Dimitri father was beyond me.
Savannah asked if Goran could give her away, and I thought my best friend was going to cry. I’d never seen him shed a tear during our entire friendship, but he got choked up and feigned being called out to the guard house after he agreed.
My heart pounded in rhythm with each step she took until it felt like it was going to burst right out of my chest.
“You look like an angel,” I whispered, making her blush a bright shade of red. As I took her hands, Goran stepped up to be my best man while Kaylani stood by Savannah as maid of honor. After all the big plans, the guest list had been reduced to thirty people, most of whom were family and a couple of close friends like my secretary Cassandra and her partner Julie.
“You look so pretty, Mommy,” Cutter said, and Savannah smiled wide.
“Thanks, baby, you look very handsome,” she said before her eyes found mine again. “You look exceptionally handsome as well.”
“Careful, sweet talk like that will have me thinking naughty thoughts.”
“When aren’t you?”
“Touché.”
“Are we ready to begin,” Father Isaiah asked. I didn’t care that the priest just overheard us talk about having sex, but the blush on Savannah’s cheeks darkened. It only made her more beautiful and harder to resist.
“We are,” I said.
“Then please take your candles.” Turning to face him, we picked up our candles, and Isaiah held out a silver cup for us to sip from. We each took our three sips before Isaiah led us around the table three times. We’d just finished the three circles when a booming voice I’d know anywhere rang out from the back of the room. I growled profanities under my breath.
“So, you were really going to get married without your father? I thought you were brought up with more respect.” I ground my teeth together, happy that I’d left my gun with Goran, or I would’ve ruined this wedding, too. We turned to see Dimitri and Ronan at the back of the open garden. I couldn’t tell what Ronan was thinking, but he seemed less interested in being here with my father than my father did. “Well, invitation or not, I plan on staying.” He marched up to the front like this was his boardroom and sat down beside my mother. She turned her disgusted glare on him before purposely sliding further down the bench.
Clenching my fist, I took a step toward him, but Savannah grabbed my arm. “Let them stay.”
“What?”
“This is our day, and we won’t let them ruin it by showing up. If we have guards drag them out, it will be the only thing we think about on our wedding day, and I don’t want that.”
“But after what he did, what we almost lost….”
She smiled at me and cupped my cheek. “What better way to show him his opinion doesn’t matter to us than to marry in front of him? We don’t want bloodshed today, and Cutter is here on top of all that. So let them stay, and we can prove that no matter what he throws at us, we will stand together.”
I glared at my father’s arrogant face and then around at those quietly watching to see what would happen next. It was so quiet you could almost hear the butterfly wings as they fluttered by. The fury that had me wanting to charge my father and beat him until he stopped breathing was very real and alive in my chest, but Savannah was right.
“Fine, but I don’t want to hear another word from you or Ronan,” I said, and he smirked.
Sighing, I turned to face Isaiah again and decided I’d let Goran shoot my father if he tried to get up to do a speech later. I didn’t want to hear one word he said ever again. There was nothing he could say to make up for what he almost cost me. A father didn’t do that. I looked down at Cutter and knew in my heart that I’d never be that way with my children.
“I love you,” I randomly whispered to Savannah partway through the ceremony.
Her lip twitched up, and her blue eyes, which had to have been made from gems and stardust, glittered as she looked at me.
“I’ll love you forever,” she said.