She sucks in a breath that shudders against my chest, so I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her impossibly closer until naught but a sliver of wind could pass between us. She allows this, then takes it a step further, twisting her head and ducking until her face is pressed against the sensitive skin of my neck.
I shiver.
“Your family are not fix-it lovers,” she says.
“My found family are not fix-it lovers,” I confirm. “Myfamilyfamily, on the other hand… Well, I suppose it depends on the day. Stone, for instance, has done quite the fix-it, I believe.”
Her face contorts against my neck. “Should we call him back? Or… any of your family? To be here for the wedding?”
I hum, nuzzling her hair. “No, he’ll be long gone by now, enjoying his cocktails. And the rest of my family won’t mind missing this. We can have another later for them.” Ah, but… “What about you? Do you wish to delay for your family’s sake?”
Her head shakes, a hard no. “They’d only try to stop me. We can… we can invite them to the other, if you still want it in the future.”
Oh, what a funny bride I have. “I’ll want it,” I assure her, then sigh, disentangling us. “But first, we must have this one.” I wrap my fingers around hers and pull, delighting in the catch of her breath as she tumbles toward me. “Come, love. Cast aside your stress and let me teach you what it feels like to be loved the way that you love. Later—when the honeymoon has passed—we will tackle the fix-it lovers, and perhaps together we can teach them how to recognize when things ought not to be fixed. Me and you, husband and wife, lovers united against this great, big, scary world, lovers united to terrorize those who terror.”
She blinks against the few straggler tears still welling in her eyes, but smiles. “Terrorizing those who terror does sound pretty nice,” she agrees, squeezing my hand.
Slowly, a grin cracks across my face.
“You havenoidea.”
Chapter Nine
?
Sarelia
“Do you, Sarelia Prim, take this moron to be your not-so-lawfully wedded husband?” Stryker asks.
I stare into his unnerving blue eyes as we stand before Archie’s family on the edge of where the compound’s road ends. The beauty of the Kentucky forest surrounds us, a backdrop of spring blooms and budding greens—the beginning of a new season wishing us well.
“I do,” I reply, pinching my wrist.
Stillnot a dream, somehow.
“And do you, Archibald Pine, take this woman to be your wife, to cherish and to treat like a person deserving of respect and love for the rest of your life?”
Archie snorts. “Am I not to be treated like a person deserving of respect and love, then?”
“Just answer the question,” Stryker grunts, glaring at my groom.
My eyes flit between them as I nibble at my cheek.
Archie’s gaze wanders to me and softens. “I take this woman to be my wife, and I promise to cherish her and treat her in any and every way she wishes, no matter how respectful and loving they may look from the outside.” His eyes darken and a rogueish glint winks at me from their depths. “In fact, I hope that some of the ways she asks to be treated lookverydisrespectful from the outside.”
I blush when his eyes dip down, then back up.
Mygoodness.
“I’m going to throw up,” Millie groans.
“Me too,” Heidi concurs.
“I think it’s romantic,” Rosie says. “May you always have that spark.”
“Please stop talking about Archie’sspark,” Millie complains, gagging. “I can’t take it.”
Stryker scowls. “If she vomits,you’recleaning it up.” He shoves his massive hand in Archie’s face, index finger out.
