When it came time to repeat our promises of love and devotion, Stefan pulled out both of our wedding bands—he’d thought of everything.
“There never were any loose stones, were there?” I teased.
“I may have arranged for my jeweler to intentionally mislead you,” he admitted, grinning.
“What a sneak,” I said.
He held out my ring to me. “Look on the inside.”
I did. There was a new inscription on my wedding band, as well—this one said, “I’ll always choose you.”
My eyes were stinging with tears. “I choose you, too,” I whispered.
“I love you,” Stefan said, sliding it onto my finger alongside my solitaire. “You are my everything.”
“And I love you.” I slid his ring on him, and we were pronounced man and wife. Again.
Stefan wasted no time in sweeping me into his arms, and giving me a long, deep kiss that had all of our guests cheering, except for Emzee—who put her fingers in her mouth to let out the loudest whistle I had ever heard. Max was laughing and Anja had tears in her eyes. She mouthed “congratulations” to me, and I nodded.
After the ceremony, we all gathered further up on the beach where a beautiful spread of food had been laid out for us under palm trees draped in twinkling lights, and a string quartet was playing just for our party. I was so full of love and gratitude that I could barely eat, focused instead on trying to take in everything that was happening around me.
All of the people I cared about were here, together, to celebrate me and Stefan. It meant so much to me, after all we had been through, that we could have this time together. I watched as Michelle and Emzee and Grace talked, their heads bowed close together, no doubt discussing fashion or art, something all three of them were well-versed in.
Max was running up and down the beach, having a great time, while Anja looked on, laughing joyously. The most surprising thing, however, was Luka. I had fully expected him to be chatting up the many beautiful bikini-clad women that were walking along the sand, but instead, he kept close to Anja, occasionally joining Max, the two of them racing across the sand. Luka didn’t even seem to notice the other women. I even saw him put his hand on Anja’s lower back as he leaned closer to tell her something that had her burst out laughing.
Was there something between them that I hadn’t been aware of?
“I think I spoke too soon about Luka and Grace,” I whispered to Stefan, nudging him and gesturing in his brother’s direction. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“I’m seeing my beautiful wife,” Stefan said, tugging me out of my seat and gently pulling me back toward the sand. “Let’s walk.”
I’d have to find out about Luka and Anja some other time. Right now, I was happy to focus on my husband. The man who had made a deal with me all those months ago—a deal that had turned out to be the best deal imaginable.
We strolled along the beach, with the sound of the waves our only soundtrack. It was so beautiful here and I felt completely relaxed, completely at ease. I leaned into Stefan as we headed toward our private cabana.
My heart beat began to pick up as he unlocked the door to our room and pulled me inside. Finally, we were alone. Finally, I could do what I had been imagining all day.
He drew me into his arms and kissed me. It was like the kiss on the beach, at the wedding, but now that no one was watching, we were free to let our hands wander. His went immediately to my ass, pulling me up against the hard bulge of his cock. I moaned against his mouth, my own hands going down to his waist where I slipped my palms beneath his shirt, eager to feel his skin against mine.
Without warning, Stefan scooped me up into his arms.
“You deserve to be carried across the threshold properly,” he said.
I laughed, feeling completely giddy as he navigated into the bedroom, toward the huge, soft bed I had been so eager to sink into. Stefan laid me down before covering my body with his.
I loved the weight of him over me, the way we fit together like puzzle pieces as he settled on top of me. I spread my legs so he could settle between them and align his hips with mine, the perfect, hard ridge of his arousal grinding into me exactly where I needed it.
Yanking at his shirt, I pulled it over his head and tossed it across the room. His hands skirted up my thighs, pulling my dress up along with them. I wiggled beneath him, and with a single smooth tug, my dress was up and over my head, leaving me in just my underwear
“You’re beautiful,” Stefan murmured, his hands stroking my naked skin.
All I was wearing was a tiny satin thong and matching bra. Stefan made quick work of both and then pulled my head back so he could kiss and bite and lick his way down my neck before heading even lower south.
I moaned as his mouth found my nipples and he began to tease them with hot flicks of his tongue. My hips writhed against the bed and I gasped with needing him so badly.
“Take off your clothes,” I demanded between breaths. “I want you.”
Stefan lifted his head and gave me a naughty look.
