Page 75 of The Wolf's Kidnapped Mate

Liam touched our shoulders. “You swear?”

Fred and I laughed as we nodded.

“We swear,” we said in unison.

Liam clapped his hands together. “Good enough for me!”

Blake and Troy both cleared their throats from the front row.

Liam cringed and offered a friendly grin while adding, “I mean, uh, may this union bring peace.”

Cheers exploded from the crowded beach. In all the chaos, I wasn’t sure how we were dragged from the edge of the water to a clearing just beyond the tree line. People I hardly knew were giving me hugs and kissing my hands. Fred was angrily glaring at whoever touched me, which only made me laugh loudly while I yanked him to my side.

“Easy, soldier,” I teased. “No one is going to hurt me here. Jermaine swore there wasn’t any attack on the pack.”

Fred relaxed slightly. Enough to kiss my cheek. “Fine. But I reserve the right to be grumpy.”

“Granted.”

Blake and Troy met us at our table. They each congratulated us on our nuptials as Liam joined us. Both alphas brightened at the sight of Liam.

“Speaking of,” Blake started.

Troy grinned with his eyes closed. “We’re happy to welcome you to the pack, Liam. We can get you moved into Kylie’s old apartment if you’d like.”

Liam raised a glass of champagne. “Can I start tonight? I need a place to crash that isn’t the love nest.”

I playfully punched his arm. “Stop being rude.”

“How am I being rude? Was that rude, Freddie Teddy?”

Fred smiled tightly while cracking his knuckles. “Remember the last time you called me that, Liam?”

Some things never quite changed. It was comforting to watch my brother and my new husband bicker like they had in the old days. It made my heart feel full. It made my soul want to soar.

It made me feel like I had finally found a home.

***

The house hardly felt small to me. How could it when our affection made me feel like we were larger than life? I swished my skirt around while gazing up at Fred through heavy lashes, the exhaustion from the day finally settling into my muscles. I wiggled my bare toes against the wooden floor.

Fred looked so dashing in that dark suit. The black shirt was unbuttoned, revealing the swirl of black ink that made up the giant ship on his chest. He peeled off the charcoal-black blazer, tossed it aside, and reached for me, closing the space in half a second.

All so he could thread his fingers through my hair.

Flower petals tumbled from my hair where he massaged my scalp. My cheeks ached from smiling. My feet hurt from dancing.

Yet I didn’t feel tired of him. His touch enlivened me, sending shivers right down my spine as I rested my hands on hischest. Lightness like this—tenderness—would have alarmed me in the past. It would have frightened me to my core.

“Fred,” I whispered. “Just Fred…”

“Your Fred.”

He capped my smile with a bruising kiss, one that carried more yearning than I could stand. Hunger sat beyond his lips. Rumbles of longing came with his plunging tongue. Heat swelled between us as I felt him grow hard, our kiss seeming to double our desire for each other.

What started as a casual touch became desperate. Swift kisses emerged, my breathing labored as I struggled to undo every button of his shirt while fighting to keep my lips forever pressed to his. His fingers trailed from my hair to my shoulders, yanking at the straps of my white satin gown to free my breasts.

He groaned as he cupped them, thumbs roving my nipples and hardening them instantly. I whipped his shirt from his shoulders as he scooted my dress down over my hips. Our kiss briefly lapsed—and only because the zipper on his pants got stuck. He chuckled while backing me into the wall, teasing me with short bucks as I tried to grab his cock.

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