“Do you think the dress is okay?” Her gaze drops to where her hands are nervously smoothing over the fabric.
This woman.
“I don’t think it’s okay, Nenoka.” Her amber eyes widen, her brow crinkling in a frown, and she opens her mouth like she’s going to defend herself. “It’s not okay, because it’s magnificent. You chose perfectly.”
Her mouth drops into a relieved smile. “Even though you probably blackmailed that shop into giving it to me.”
“Not everything is that complicated.” A smile tugs up the edge of my mouth. “It was just good, old-fashioned burglary.”
“They’ll know who did?—”
I chuckle. This is the best day of my life, and Nina’s worried about a bridal shop.
“They won’t say anything. Not after I paid them $100,000 to bump all of their other clients for your fitting, and then they insulted you. And my daughter.”
I sweep my thumb over her lower lip. “You need to stop being so nervous. It’s destroying this lovely makeup.”
Her lips are painted a peachy pink. With her dark freckles and her wide brown eyes, it only adds to the impression of innocent perfection.
“Now, you were saying I could help?” I trail my hand down herneck to the heart-shaped neckline of the dress, then back up.
Nina nods, her eyelids fluttering as I trail my hand over the nape of her neck, caressing one silky curl. I can feel her pulse racing, her breath hitching in her throat as I touch her.
“Please, Art. I know there are superstitions, but I don’t care right now. I want you.”
How I survived five years without this is beyond me. It’s not that I ever forgot it, or ever moved on, because every part of her is burned into me indelibly, irremovably, as permanent as the tattoos that mark my skin. But to have her in my arms… It’s everything.
I fall to my knees.
As she drags the layers of white lace carefully up around her waist, it feels precious. Today is about making up for my mistakes five years ago.
I should have tried harder. We should have gotten here sooner.
But now Nina is begging for me, her voice soft, looking down with her eyes full of a vulnerable longing that lets me know these five years ruined her just as much as they ruined me.
Nina is not the same as she was, but she’s letting me in, and that’s all that matters. Her hand twines in my hair. I can feel the metal of her engagement ring resting against my scalp.
Mine.
This woman is about to be all mine. She spreads those curvy thighs apart, and I run my mouth along each one, inhaling deeply.
My cock hardens just from the scent of her.
I can’t wait until I have a ring too, something to show her that I’m hers as much as she is mine. I trace my fingers over the placewhere her thigh meets her hip, then push her further apart.
The panties beneath the skirts are anything but innocent. The white lace is a scrap of fabric that only just covers her.
I trail my hand up her thigh slowly, feeling the silken warmth of her skin, then push the lace aside carefully and shove my fingers inside. She’s wet already.
“The next time I fuck you, I’ll be your husband.” I move my fingers in quick thrusts and Nina grasps my wrist. “But I like the thought of you walking down the aisle with me dripping out of you.”
My words are rough and hurried with arousal, and I haven’t even tasted her yet. I hook my thumb under the pieces of silk that just barely hold the panties together and strip them off Nina’s legs.
The moment my tongue connects with her velvet skin, she gives a sigh of relief that sends a throb straight to my cock. I run my tongue over her to taste every drop of her nectar, and it’s like my prayers have been answered. Nina’s here, ready and willing, about to walk down the aisle. For me.
I feel her relax, the tension unwinding from her, as I devour her sensitive skin. Nina opens herself up to me, lets me feel how much she needs me, arching her back, as I taste her carefully. Her sweet, silky clit is swollen against my tongue.
As much as I want to make this slow, gentle, the anticipation of what’s to come has given me a sense of urgency. I can’t go easy on her.
