Page 66

I laugh, the sound catching in my throat as he kisses me softly on the neck, and then—without letting me down—he begins to walk with me in his arms.

The music fades behind us as we cross the garden. I hear cheers, clapping, and whistles, our guests breaking into applause and laughter as they realize what’s happening.

“You better take care of my sister, Nickolas.” I hear Zayn yell over the noise.

I hide my face in his neck, laughing, flushed with emotion.

He carries me straight to the waiting limousine, the driver holding the door open with a knowing smile. As we slide inside, the doors close and the world outside falls away.

“Where are we going, Nick?” I ask, trailing my fingers slowly over his chest, needing to feel him—needing something that grounds me in this moment that already feels like a dream.

“No,” he says, voice low, laced with authority, “you can’t call me Nick from now on. The only thing you can address me as is ‘husband’—or anything short for it,” he says, shaking his head, a wicked smile curling his lips. “We’re going to the Hartho Hotel, and I’m going to spend the entire night making love to my wife… and fucking her like the desperate man I am,” he adds, eyes locked on mine, burning with hunger.

My breath catches, and I bite my lower lip, leaning in just enough so he knows I’m right there with him.

“Oh, yeah?” I murmur, teasing. “Sounds like you’ve got big plans for your wife tonight, husband.”

His jaw clenches, eyes darkening. “Fuck. My cock is so fucking hard, Ser. Please, don’t tease me. If you don’t want to be fucked right here in this limousine, in your wedding dress…”

Nick threads his hand through my hair and pulls hard, bringing my mouth just a breath away from his.

“I spent the entire night sharing you with everyone. Smiling, posing, being polite… while all I wanted was to tear that dress off you. I can’t wait any longer to have you. So you better behave, Mrs. Hardy.”

I’m about to crawl into his lap, to give in to the need that’s been burning in me all night, when the driver’s voice cuts through the tension, clear through the small speaker.

“We’re about to arrive at Hartho hotel, Sir.”

I blink, caught between laughter and frustration.

“Saved by the driver,” I say, breathless, smirking against his lips.

But his answer wipes every playful thought from my mind.

“Oh, no, wife. Nobody’s going to save you from me tonight… or for the next five days of our honeymoon. Believe me.”

His words settle in my chest like fire and silk all at once. My pulse quickens from the overwhelming truth that I’m his. Entirely.

That this gorgeous man is my husband.

Mine.

I smile softly, leaning into his arms as the car slows. “You have an entire night to fulfill your promises, husband.”

“No, I have our whole lives, wife.”

THIRTY

Nick

I carry her in my arms as we step out of the elevator, her soft laughter brushing against my ear like a secret only I’m allowed to hear. Her breath is warm against my skin, light and giddy, as if the happiness in her chest is too much to hold in.

Still cradling her, I type the room’s code with one hand, the familiar beep echoing softly in the hallway. The door swings open.

And everything in me stills.

I don’t take another step.

I just stand there… caught in the golden warmth spilling from inside, the kind that doesn’t just light up a room—it lights up something in your chest.