“Thank you. You both look hot and totally fuckable,” she replies in a low voice so only we can hear.
Knight’s brows climb to his hairline, and I can tell he’s wondering what the fuck is going on. I had been forced to keep my relationship with Ash a secret, and Knight wasn’t in our company much to know that was a lie. He has no idea Chad and I shared Ashley for the better part of two years, so I know where the confusion lies.
I wonder what he will make of his sister marrying both of us.
Guess we’ll find out soon.
Threading my fingers in Ash’s, I lean down and kiss her cheek. “Ready to make this official, Temptress?”
“I was born ready.” She squeezes my hand and dazzles me with an expansive smile. Happiness radiates from her every pore, matching my own. She turns to her brother. “Thank you, Knight.”
He kisses her cheek. “It was my pleasure.” Knight walks off to take his seat beside his father.
Ash and I stand facing one another before the officiant as the ceremony begins. We clasp hands and lock eyes the entire time, and I barely even register the words, our surroundings, or the other people around us.
I only have eyes for my gorgeous bride.
When it’s time to say our vows, we repeat the standard vows first. The Luminaries are traditionalists, and I didn’t want to give anyone any reason to claim this marriage isn’t legitimate or real. After, we make our own personal vows, which are similar to the promises I made Ash the night I proposed and the ones we both made later with our bodies.
We pledge our love, exchanging rings as we vow to love, honor, and obey, in sickness and in health, for the rest of our lives. My hand is shaking as I slide the ring on my bride’s finger, and my heart is pounding in my chest. Potent emotion sweeps through me when the officiant pronounces us husband and wife. I don’t wait for her to tell me I can kiss my bride, reeling Ashley into my body, dipping her down low, and pressing my lips to hers.
I kiss her passionately and deeply, pouring all my emotions into every sweep of my lips and every brush of my tongue as our guests clap and whoop and holler. When I straighten us up and break our lip-lock, Ashley presses her brow to mine. Tears are glistening in her eyes again, and her chest is heaving. “I love you,” she says. “I love you so much, Jase.”
“I love you too, my love. My wife.” I can’t contain the grin on my face from finally getting to say that word.
Snaking her arms around my neck, she kisses me again, and I hold her tight, savoring this moment.
Ashley is my wife.
She is finally mine for all eternity.
There is no better feeling.
We circle our arms around one another as the officiant wraps up this ceremony, and then we sign the necessary paperwork to make it all legit and legal.
With a discreet nod, the officiant conveys we are ready for round two.
I kiss my wife one more time, and then I release her hand and trade places with Chad.
“Please remain in your seats,” the officiant says over our heads. “We have another ceremony to conduct.”
Hushed chatter rings out behind us, broken by Rhett Carter. “What do you mean? What other ceremony?”
Ashley grabs Chad’s hand and turns them to face where her father is standing and staring. “Chad and I are getting married too.”
“That’s…that’s preposterous! You can’t legally marry two men.”
“I know, but it doesn’t need to be legal to be legitimate in our society, now does it?” She fixes Rhett with a smug look. “We have done our research. There is nothing to stop me marrying Chad as long as we pledge our love to God. Our ancestors married multiple partners, and if the commitment was made with God’s blessing, it was recognized and honored.”
“That was hundreds of years ago,” Rhett retorts, stepping up to the aisle.
“That may be so,” I interject, “but there is nothing written into our laws that says this can’t happen.”
“They speak no lie,” the officiant says. She is from a master’s family and well aware of our customs and traditions. “I have conducted many ceremonies like this.” I was intrigued when we first spoke to her, and she shared that little nugget of information. We are definitely not the first marriage of this kind within Luminary circles, so there is nothing Carter can do to stop this.
“This is happening.” Ash’s tone brooks no argument as she stares at her bio dad. Pamela has yet to say a word or show a flicker of emotion, so it’s hard to know what she’s thinking. Ash’s mom had asked Chad to marry Ashley before, to try to circumvent Ash’s initiation, so I know she approves of him. Whether she approves of both of us marrying her daughter is another matter.
One I couldn’t give a flying fuck about.
