Page 59 of Eros
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t. Come here.”
She smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d seen in a while. It had been a long time since she graced me with her smile. She’d been carrying so much on her shoulders since this shit with her father, but I was glad she was moving past it.
Her beautiful hair was tousled and untamed, like she had been thoroughly fucked, and her body still glistened with sweat. When she leaned forward, the warmth of her breath feathered across my lips as I looked in her eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. This is forever.”
I knew she had some trust issues, but my heart was all in this. This between us was always going to be until I no longer walked this Earth.
I kissed her.
Slow. Intentional. A silent promise, she was mine, and I was hers. A promise to never leave. My lips brushed hers. She was a goddess I’d worship forever.
Her hands slid to my head, her fingers threading through sweat-damped hair. I pulled her closer, our bodies already familiar with the other. However, this was different. I knew it, and so did she.
This was a declaration between us.
The kiss lingered as we promised each other not just to love one another, but to fight for one another as we built this new life that would survive anything as long as we stuck together. We had already proved this was something no one could come between as long as we remained each other’s rock.
When she pulled away, her eyes glistened. “Yes.”
I couldn’t help the grin that crossed my face. “You’ll be my old lady?”
She nodded.
I flipped her over, pushed her legs apart, and settled between her thighs. As I slid inside her, my heart swelled inside my chest. She was my heart. Other than my son, and our future kids, no one would ever be as important as her.
“I love you, Janea. Forever.”
Her hand cupped my face, and I kissed her palm as I continued to move in and out of her. “I love you too, Niko.”
Epilogue
Eros
TheWedding
Three years later…
The Grand Hall of Flood Mansion stretched out in front of me. It was 140 feet of polished stone and gilded molding, lit by the morning light trickling through arched windows that framed one side of the room.
I stood at the front with my hands clenched behind my back, trying not to fidget but fucking failing miserably. My father who stood beside Ambrose had already busted my balls because I was so nervous. It wasn’t like she would leave me standing at the altar, but I was still nervous as hell waiting for her to come down the aisle.
The vaulted ceiling above me was painted blue and gold like a cathedral. My brothers lined the back rows, wearing their leather cuts over pressed white dress shirts, along with polished, but worn motorcycle boots. They all coordinated withme because after the wedding, Janea insisted we all take a photo together before going to the reception.
But I wasn’t thinking about them. I was thinking about her.
Just as soon as the notes of some R&B song she said she had always wanted to walk down the aisle sounded, I immediately stopped shifting and faced the doorway.
The officiant cleared his throat. Someone coughed. A breeze moved through the open courtyard doors, carrying the scent of eucalyptus and the salty air of the Bay. Then, a few moments later, she stepped through with her armed draped through her brother’s. Brent walking her down the aisle was the only thing she asked for other than getting married at this place.
And I made sure it happened.
Her white tulle dress trailed behind her like a sea of soft clouds. The front was cut just high enough to show her heels. It wasn’t flashy, or over the top. It was just Janea. Simple but beautiful. The satin and lace bodice hugged her like a second skin. She pulled her curly hair into a side bun at the nape, adorned with a big white flower and a short, airy veil partially covering her face.
As she sauntered down the aisle escorted by her brother in a black tux., I didn’t breathe until she reached me. Her brother kissed her on the cheek, then shook my hand before he took his place beside her. He was pulling double duty, since they didn’t have any family left.
“You ready?” she asked, her voice low, tinged with happiness.
