“I, Erika Sarah Hill, vow to be your safe harbor in every storm. I promise to love you and cherish every sunset and sunrise, every quiet moment, every hectic day, and I swear to stand by you through every adventure. Today, now, always, and for the rest of our lives, through thick and thin, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, I will love you, support you, and cherish every minute of every day. Forever.”
“Having reaffirmed your love,” the celebrant draws a close to the ceremony, “it is my honor to declare your vows are renewed. May your love mature, deepen, and strengthen with time. May each day be filled with laughter and unwavering devotion. Go forward hand in hand with your hearts open. You may now kiss.”
Reclaiming her lips, I crush mine to hers, our vows sealed with a kiss, branding the memory of us into my mind for eternity.
The sound of our friends clapping pulls us apart, and then everyone is on their feet.
Ash launches himself at me. “Congrats, brother.” He squeezes me hard enough to break a rib, then pushes me out of our hug. “Not sure I’ll ever get used to watching you kiss her though. Makes me feel a little nauseated.” He holds his hand over his stomach.
“You’ll not want to hear what I have planned for tonight then,” I tease because I know he can’t break my face while our family is here.
“Kissing, that’s all you’ll do, right?” He shudders.
“Yeah, just like we did the first time in her dorm.” Fuck, I shouldn’t have said that.
Erika sidles up next to me and loops her arm into mine. “And the equipment room. I was twenty-two, just in case your brain is trying to keep up with that.”
“What?” Ash exclaims, looking confused, his demeanor changing and his eyes widening like a bull’s. An angry one.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, Ash.” Lily sounds exasperated. “Do you honestly think they haven’t kissed before Erika jilted Huck?”
“No, I didn’t.” Ash’s nostrils flare on the verge of charging me and tackling me to the ground.
“About that…” I hold my finger in the air. “Sorry.”
“Sorry?” he snaps, redness blotting his neckline just above the collar of his shirt.
This is too much fun. “I couldn’t help myself. I’ve loved your sister longer than you know.”
Curling his fingers into his palm, he extends two fingers toward me, then toward himself. “I’m watching you. You and I, we’ll talk later about this.”
Lily whisks him away, grabbing his hand and dragging him behind her. “If only you knew how stupid you sound talking to Leon like that. Now, can you help me get the kids sorted? Blaze has just socked Theo in the nose.”
“Those fucking kids will be the death of me,” Ash grumbles.
“Till death do us part, Ash. That’s what you told me all those years ago,” Lily counters.
“Till death do us part, Tiger.” Ash catches up with her and plants a kiss on her lips when she looks up, every part of him softening.
I slip my arm around Erika, letting my hand rest in the hollow of her back, and watch Ash and Lily animatedly talk as they move off the ice. “I love how much she bosses him around,” I say.
“Would you like to boss me around?” Erika asks, sounding amused by my confession.
“Yes, yes, I would, Dr. Hill.”
“Then take me home and make love to me.”
As if I’d say no.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Leon
Sliding my cock in and out of Erika’s wet heat, I thrust slowly, deeply, and with all I have. We’re back at the house, in my bed—our bed—the place she should have been years ago. I’m not bitter about not having spent more years together because our friendship made our bond stronger, sweeter, and she was worth the wait.
Bathed in moonlight, she tilts her head back, her back to my chest, with barely a millimeter between us, and I’m unsure where I end and she begins.
“Come again for me, baby.” I pinch her nipple between my fingers, making her whimper.
