Page 93 of Merciless
"Would you marry me?" I mumbled on our slow, lazy descent back to earth.
Mari's legs relaxed around me, but her pulse was still racing as she panted out a soft laugh.
"I thought we were already married." She leaned into me, resting her temple on my shoulder as she placed soft kisses on my neck. The sensation made me shiver and she hugged around me tighter.
"If we weren't already, would you?" I brushed a kiss along her forehead, then nudged my face lower to look at her eyes. "If I asked you for the first time now, after everything that's happened, would you still?"
She cupped my cheek, staring at me for a moment before answering confidently, "Yes. I would." She caught my mouth in a kiss and I poured all of the elation and relief building in my chest into that kiss. "I'll marry you again, if that's what you want."
"Hm." I ran my fingertips up her naked back, in no rush to see her clothed again. "A ceremony might be nice. With all the guys."
Mari leaned away, her blissed-out expression sobering. "Would you want to marrymeagain, after all this?"
I let out a scoff. "First of all," I tapped my index finger to her nose, "I ask these questions, young lady. Not you."
She huffed, a smirk pulling at her lips before I leaned in again, just short of a kiss.
"Second of all," I whispered. "Yes. My answer to you will always be yes."
"I want that in writing." She grinned. "In your vows."
"Don't get any crazy ideas, missy."
We laughed, kissed, and held each other lazily, lingering in our precious alone time until she mentioned that we should probably check on the party. I grumbled out a reluctant agreement and we quickly got decent before leaving the bedroom, holding hands on our way out.
The air was cooler out here, soothing to my heated skin as we came out of the hallway together. About half of the people who’d settled into the living room had taken off. Slick had his new girlfriend in his lap inmyarmchair, making out like fucking kids.
"Get a room and use condoms," I yelled as Mari tugged me away toward the kitchen.
"Whoo, I'm gonna be a daddy!" Larkan yelled from somewhere in the backyard for the seventeenth time that night.
"Or you'll end up like that guy," I added.
Mari slapped my arm. "Leave them alone. You're going to be an uncle!"
"Yeah." Truth be told, I was excited for Noelle and Lark.It'll be our turn soon, I thought.
Mari wanted to become a doctor and I didn't want to impede those plans, but I also really, really wanted to raise a family with her.
We'll talk about it soon. There's no rush, I assured myself.
"Where have you two been?" Jandro and Gunner were putting leftovers away, eyeing us across the kitchen counter. Behind us, Shadow's tattoo machine buzzed as he worked on someone.
"We went off to fuck, what do you think?" I snatched a rib from a plate, sucking the meat off the bone while Mari snorted and slapped a palm to her forehead.
The guys didn't bat an eye, although Gunner laughed at her embarrassed reaction.
"We have too much food. Here, send people off with these." Jandro shoved foil-covered plates at us.
"Are we kicking people out?" Mari loaded several of the plates into her arms.
Gunner yawned. "Yeah, I'm beat. Don't think I've ever danced, drank, and socialized more in my life."
"You got plans tomorrow?" I started loading up on to-go plates as well.
"No, and don't give me any." Gunner leaned his elbows on the counter and rubbed his eyes. "Let me sleep in 'til noon tomorrow, please."
"Jandro?"
