“You cannot possess me, for I belong to myself, but while we both wish for it, I give that which is mine to you. You cannot command me, for I am a free person, but I shall serve you in every way you require. You have my love, devotion, and loyalty that even death may not overturn.” James slid the ring onto my finger.
It was a stunning ring, the emerald a quality cut, and I could tell it was a mage ring from the inscriptions on the band on either side, tiny though they were. He had clearly meant it when he’d said he was going to propose during the ball, because this ring had taken time to craft.
I looked up into his amazing green eyes and felt all doubts and nerves fall away. I knew this was the right decision to make. It still scared the hell out of me on some level, but choosing James could never be a mistake.
“Edwin Grantham, speak your vows.”
“You cannot possess me, for I belong to myself, but while we both wish for it, I give that which is mine to you. You cannot command me, for I am a free person, but I shall serve you in every way you require. You have my love, devotion, and loyaltythat even death may not overturn.” I meant every word. I’d honor this vow until I was laid into the ground. I slid James’s ring onto his finger and had to wonder when he’d even had these made. Mine was a perfect fit and exactly the style I’d choose.
Judge Galbraith laid his hand over our clasped ones. “By the power conferred upon me, I pronounce you married. May no man, woman, child, or beast try to render asunder what has been promised on this day. Live long, well, and happily. The king is married. Long live the king!”
Every voice but my own and James’s rose in echo, some happy, some sounding like a dirge. “Long live the king!”
James leaned in and kissed me, soft and slow, lingering before he drew back. I felt every bit of love, relief, and excitement from him in that kiss. Shared it. I knew the work would really start now, but I couldn’t help but bask in the knowledge that I had this man. I wouldn’t be forced to share him with another or face the heartbreak of lying alone in bed at night, knowing he was with someone else.
The past two hours had been nothing but a whirlwind, almost too surreal to be real. “I love you. Which is a good thing, because you’re seriously too crazy for your own good.”
James laughed and kissed me again. “You wouldn’t have me any other way.”
Well, rather hard to argue with that.
Although gods and goddesses, just what had I let myself in for?
Sixty-four
Edwin
I gave stern orders for no one to bother us for the rest of the morning. I deserved at least four hours to, first of all, process the fact that I was now royalty, and secondly, to spend some time with my new husband. I insisted upon this.
James was right in step with me, firmly shutting the bedroom door behind us. I shed my jacket as he did so, tossing it over the back of a chair, then snagged him by the belt and pulled him toward the bed.
“I do owe you fantastic sex,” James said cheerfully, following along with a lecherous grin.
“You do. I’m glad you understand this.”
I wasn’t entirely patient in stripping his clothes off him. James was obviously delighted by my single-mindedness in getting him naked and cooperated fully, his hands also tackling my clothes. I didn’t know how to frame it in words, the relief I felt. I would have honored my promise in staying by his side, no matter who he’d married, but knowing that future would nevercome to pass—that was heady relief. Also a joy that permeated every fiber of my being.
He was mine. Only mine.
James took my mouth in a hungry, bruising kiss, and I felt swept away. I kissed him back with equal fervor. Or tried to. My head was rather spinning. Strong hands found my bare ass and played with both cheeks, squeezing, and I felt my knees falter. He knew how weak I was to ass play, but apparently his plan was the same as usual—to drive me mad and have me helplessly drowning in pleasure and at his mercy.
For once, I would turn the tides.
In a spurt of energy, I seized him under the thighs and forcefully lifted and moved him toward the bed. Honestly, if surprise hadn’t been on my side, I wouldn’t have managed it. James was more than strong enough to stand there like a rooted tree. His back hit the bed, legs dangling over the side of the mattress, and he laughed a little as he bounced.
“Oh, you are in a mood,” he murmured, those green eyes twinkling.
“I am. Cooperate, won’t you?”
“I’m at your leisure, my love.”
I deviated from him for only two steps, snagging the bottle of oil from the nightstand, then returned and promptly leaned over him. I placed one knee on the bed, just to balance, as I peppered kisses over his chest, laving a nipple with my tongue. I knew what James liked after so much time together—what made him melt. So I worshiped his nipples with tongue and teeth, pulling delicious noises from him. I loved how vocal he was and how well I could play him like an instrument.
His fingers slid into my hair, carding over my scalp.
Only after both nipples were puffy and abused and James’s breath came in hitching little gasps did I slowly trail farther down, shifting to kneel on the carpet. His pale skin begged to bemarked, so I nipped little love bites into his inner thighs while gently massaging and rolling his balls, occasionally brushing a finger against the sensitive skin just behind them. When his breathing took on a ragged note and his thighs quivered, I slid his cock into my mouth, tonguing the slit. The moan he let loose sounded punched out of him. One of his hands came to rest in my hair, grip tight enough to be pleasurable, loose enough to be undemanding. I let my tongue idly play around the head of his cock, stimulating without trying to bring him to climax, occasionally dipping lower with a light suction. As delightful as making James lose his mind was, my own arousal demanded I move things along. I uncorked the oil and coated my fingers before bringing them to my ass, prying myself open because my real goal was to ride him.
Honestly, I liked James’s fingers in my ass far better than my own. I wasn’t sure why it felt so much better, it just did. The angle might have something to do with it. Anyway, the very second I was ready, I pulled off with one last hard suck and moved up onto the bed. I dumped oil on his cock before corking the bottle and tossing it aside. He was a well-endowed man, and it always took me a second to seat myself. The more oil, the better.
