Page 97 of Walkoff Wedding

I’ve been up for hours, since the sky was still dark and moonlight painted Addie’s naked body as she slept, draped across my chest. My arm fell asleep a while ago, but I wasn’t moving, not when I finally had her in my arms.

Not when I spent the entire night memorizing every inch of her body, committing every freckle, every curve, every whimper to memory. She was exhausted, and she needed to rest.

And I’d rather watch her sleep. It might just have become my new favorite way to pass the time. My eyes rove over her face, drinking in the thick, dark fan of her eyelashes that flutter as she dreams. Her rosy, pink lips are pursed, and I wonder if she’s dreaming of me.

I feel like I’ve spent the last year dreaming of her, and I’m scared that if I blink, she’ll slip through my fingers. That the past twenty-four hours have been one of those dreams, and once I wake up, it’ll all be over.

If it wasn’t for the fact that she’s sleeping contentedly in my arms, then I would believe that it was all just a fever dream. It’s the only thing that reassures me that she’s finally fucking mine.

And not just because we signed papers to legally get married.

No, Addie is mine in every sense of the word, and I’m not letting her go. Not now, not when the probate process is finished, not when the bakery’s finally transferred into her name. Not ever.

She’s it for me, and after what she gave me last night… a piece of herself that she held so close, I know that there’s no walking away.

Those warm rays of morning light move over her face, and she stirs slightly, the sweetest moan cascading from her lips at the intrusion.

I trail my fingers lightly down her spine and then back in a path that somehow feels as if I’ve done it a hundred times. As if somehow my soul knows hers, even in the dark, even when distance separated us.

“Mmmm,” she hums sleepily, her eyes still closed as she burrows further into my chest. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, beautiful.”

Her pouty lips curve into a smile, and I brush my thumb along her bottom lip, suddenly thinking about how I spent the entire night kissing them until they were swollen and red.

And how I desperately need to kiss her again, or I might lose my mind.

I don’t think there’s anything that could surpass waking up with the girl I love in my arms and feeling her naked, sleepy body pressed into my side. I’d really fucking love to do it for the rest of my life.

“How are you feeling?” I ask. I’m worried that she’ll be sore this morning, but I’m hoping that the pain relievers helped before she went to sleep last night.

She lifts her head from my chest, and a shy smile pulls at her lips as a slight flush works its way down her cheeks and to her neck. “I’m okay. A little… achy, but I feel fine.”

I keep the steady swipe of my fingers along her skin as I wince. “I’m sorry, baby. I fucking hate that it hurt you. I wish that I could’ve taken it all away.”

Her piercing blue eyes hold mine, and she shakes her head adamantly, “No, it was… It was perfect, Grant. It was everything I imagined it would be, and I don’t regret anything. Do… Do you?”

Something in my chest constricts as her words wash over me, and I tighten my arms around her, wishing that I could somehow pull her even closer.

“Fuck no, never, Addie. The fact that you trusted me with something that special… It was everything to me. You’re everything to me.”

Rising on her elbows, she props her chin in her hands and smiles. The freckles that are scattered along her nose and cheeks are more prominent in the morning light, and I fucking love them.

Then, her sleepy smile shifts to a curious look. “So… what do we do now?”

My eyebrow arches as my lip twitches in amusement.

She quickly backtracks, her eyes widening. “I mean… now that, you know…”

I laugh. “Whatever you want, baby. I think you should let me run you a warm bath and make you breakfast, for starters.”

At the mention of food, her eyes light up.

“You hungry?” I ask.

She nods. “Starving. My stomach is growling.”

“I know,” I tease. “I’ve been listening to it for the last hour while I watched you sleep.”

---