“Yes.” It expires from him in less than a whisper. “You do.” He takes up my hand, and we walk to the door like a couple. No sooner do we get outside in the bitter chill than Brody wraps his arms around me. He cups my cheeks in his hands and looks tenderly at me, heartfelt, with tears glossing his eyes. “I’m sorry, Raven. I’m sorry that I ever even remotely thought you might be outfor—”
“Don’t say it,” I whimper. “I couldn’t take hearing it from you. And I’m the one who needs to apologize. All of those months hanging out at the bar, thinking I was too good to work here? When I desperately needed the cash? I’m ashamed of my behavior. Who could blame you for wondering? And who could blame my brother for being so hideous?” I scowl at the thought of Levi. Him I’m still a little miffed at. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull this beautiful being in. Brody Wolf is so damn handsome he makes my entire body go pitter-patter. “I love you so much. I never meant to hurt you. There is no one on this planet I would rather be with. A world without you in it isn’t one I want a part of.” My chest bucks with emotion as I struggle to fight backtears.
Brody relaxes in my arms, his warm breath brushing soft against my face. “You know I could never stop loving you. And I have a confession to make. I’ve wanted you for as long as I can remember. I held every girl up to your standards, and that’s why I’ve been alone all these years. No one else could ever live up toyou.”
A quivering breath escapes me, and just like that, the dam breaks and tears flood out of me faster than the icy wind can lick themaway.
“I have a confession to make, too.” A rumble of laughter trembles through me. “I left my career to come back for you. I left everything just to give us achance.”
“Raven.” He ticks his head back a notch as if I’ve gone too far. “You did that forme?”
“I did that for you—forus.”
His brows knot together, and I recognize that worried look. “I can’t have you throw your life away just for me. You worked hard to get where you were. I don’t want to take that away fromyou.”
I shake my head furiously into the bitter wind. “I swear, it’s not what I want. I thought it was. I thought advertising was my calling, but I hate it. I missed you and Hollow Brook so bad I would have given every inch of my hair to get it allback.”
He tips his head back and barks out a laugh. “Now I know you’re serious. Those tresses are one of the naughtiest things about you.” He grabs a handful and twists it around his wrist twice like athreat.
“I think I like where this is going.” I jump up on my tiptoes and take a gentle bite out of his bottom lip. “And I think I know where we’renotgoing. The overlook might be better suited for another day. I hear kittens and dragons like to play in dark, warm quarters, preferably on a softsurface.”
He offers a playful, sinister look. “I hear Jessie has a new sofa she needs brokenin.”
I’m quick to swat him over the arm. “Say it again and the dragon is down oneplaymate.”
Brody wraps himself around me completely, covering me in the entirety of his warmth. “Maybe kittens and dragons are better suited for another day, too.” For a second I get lost in those deep, soulful eyes, but my hairless kitten is quick to snap me out ofit.
“Hey!” I butt my nose to his. “I was promised a fire-breathing good time, and I’m collecting. You might be able to wiggle out of your debts with those vendors you use to supply the bar with, but not with your wife. I can assure you she is meaner than any fire-breathing dragon, demonic leprechaun, or haunted troll you have tooffer.”
“Troll?” he mouths theword.
“Come at me, bro, and see what I bring withme.”
“I’m a bit terrified to find out. Why are we talking? My mouth has far better plans foryours.”
“Proveit.”
And he does. Brody lands a kiss to my lips, parting my mouth with his own as he swims inside me, warm, relaxed as if he were home, right where he belongs—and he is. Brody Wolf belongs right here with me, in me, warming my body withhis.
We fly to Hollow Brook Hills, to his little perfect house with its white picket fence, and Brody picks me up as we cross the threshold as if I were a new bride, and in a lot of ways I feel like one. He rushes us to his bedroom, to his overgrown king-sized bed, and we utilize every square inch of it as our bodies leash together as one. Brody makes love to me with his whole body. He leaves no stone unturned in his unadulterated act of outright worship. This bedroom is transformed into holy ground as we unite in body and soul. Every move, every lick, touch, and feel exudes our love for one another. This is far more penetrating to the quick of who we are than anything we’ve had before. His every last kiss is far more intense, far darker, richer than those we’ve previously shared. We swim in the deep end of our love, our affection, our outright lust for one another all night long. And we do pull an all-nighter, a long morning, right up until a late afternoon when we collapse over one another like a dying star. Brody and I expend all of our affection and pour our love into one another right down to the marrow. It’s as if all of those years we spent pining, yearning, and aching for a subtle act of affection had detonated, and it almost took us right out with it—but it didn’t. We survived and here we are. We charge the sheets with our electricity. We spark a fire that rips through the proverbial walls of our love. Brody and I altered one another’s destinies forever. We seal our hearts together, melt them over one another like wax, leaving them inextricably intertwined, forever entangled. And that’s exactly what I want to be with Brody—forever inextricably intertwined, entangled in the very bestway.
My lids flutter open, and I’m still dizzy from our love-fest while Brody lies peacefullysleeping.
“I love you, Brody Wolf,” I whisper. “Forever andalways.”
Brody
Awedding is something sacred,honest, raw, and true—holy—especially on Christmas Eve. And somehow all of those visceral emotions still feel viable this evening even in the banquet room of The SloppyPelican.
This isn’t the first wedding in this very room. Levi and Low tied the knot right here. The flowers are a bit more subdued, red and white poinsettias everywhere, gracing us with the luxury of their presence, a simple garland-laced arch sits where the minister waits to do his part. Axel stands, shifting from foot to foot, decked out in a black tuxedo, each of his groomsmen, including myself, in matching formal attire. Lex has gone old school, and it looks cool, old school Hollywood with the girls all in matching off-the-shoulder champagne-colored dresses with Raven looking as if she were the star we had all come to adore this night. That’s exactly who I showed up for—Raven. It’s who I always show upfor.
The music gets underway as the guests fill in three rows of ladder-back chairs. Lex has a pretty good-sized family and so does Axel, so the swelling body count doesn’t really surprise me. Lex’s sister and relatives walk down the aisle first, then Teagan and Shep, Axel’s siblings. Levi and Low are next with Low bawling as if it were Lex’s funeral. But I know she’s happy for them. Hell, Low and Raven rooted for the two of them even when Lex wasn’t quite on board yet. I’m pretty sure Axel has been on board the entiretime.
Raven and I step toward the open aisle just as the wedding coordinator instructed last night and link arms with a smile. Her skin glows with a hint of blush, and her lips shine like twin rubies. And that dress hugs her curves in a way that makes my boxers twitch with both pride and the desire to land her on the nearest table and have my way withher.
“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure to lay my eyes on. Merry Christmas.” I mean everyword.
Her chest bucks with a silent laugh as her gaze lingers to mine. “Merry Christmas to you, too. And by the way, you are the most handsome man in the room, but I wouldn’t tell my brother or the groom.” She gives a little wink as we pace our way down the petal-strewnaisle.
