“I know you don’t think so right now, Beth, but I promise you it will be okay. We will be okay,” he insists, his hands holding my hips loosely and his eyes boring into me, willing me to believe him. Again, Latch’s words haunt me: You need to have more faith in your man.
“I’m scared, Skull,” I whisper. It’s the most truthful I’ve been with him in what feels like way too long. “I’m terrified.”
He reaches over to the nightstand drawer and pulls out a gold chain. He holds it up, letting the gold wrap around his inked fingers. It gleams with the light of the lamp. At the end of the chain is a locket in the shape of a heart. It has two letters woven together—an S and a B. I recognize them before the tears flow heavier and it blurs everything. He holds each side of the chain apart, never turning away from me. I bend my head and he pulls it down so it rests against my neck. The heart lands perfectly between my breasts. The cold metal sends a chill through my bare skin. His hand comes to my cheek, holding it gently, and I lean into him.
“I take you, Beth, as my lawfully-wedded wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health,” he whispers to me, his eyes never leaving mine, and I don’t bother stopping the tears as his love wraps around me as surely as his words do. “From this day forward, we shall walk hand-in-hand in this world and into the next. I promise to love, honor, and protect you. Put no one or nothing before you. I vow to worship your body night and day and never let you forget who you belong to, and not stop until you come so hard in my arms every night that your fucking toes curl, your body is weightless, and you hear angels singing.”
“Now that’s a fucking vow,” I whisper, returning the same words to him that he’d given me earlier.
“Just wait till I deliver on them, baby,” he whispers, leaning up to take my mouth.
The last thought I’m able to hold onto is that Latch is right. I need to have more faith in my man. I’m going to hold on. I don’t have a choice. With my decision made, I give myself to him and lose myself in his touch.
“Rise and shine, querida,” Skull tells me. He’s standing at the foot of the bed. Me? I’m curled in a ball under the covers. It’s too early to be that cheerful.
“What? Why? What time is it?”
“It’s six, sweetheart. We have to leave early to go to Beast if you’re spending the day there. I have a meeting with Diesel and his crew today when they make it in from Tennessee.”
“I don’t want to go to the hospital today,” I yawn, trying to ignore the sliver of fear that hits me. “I thought I’d stay here today and be close to you. That way, if you got some time, you could sneak off and make good on your promise.”
“My promise?” he asks.
I smile up at him, my hand going to the locket he gave me. I slept in it because I can’t bear to take it off. “Yeah. Remember? The whole worship-my-body thing? I think I heard mention of my toes curling and angels singing, too,” I joke. I know every word he said. I’ll never forget last night for as long as I live.
“Is that a fact?” he says. He’s smiling and, for the first time in days, I see happiness in his eyes.
“Si,” I tell him saucily. “And it was my wedding night, so I’m hoping you weren’t overestimating your abilities.”
He throws his head back and laughs.
“That does it,” he says, undressing.
“What are you doing?” I ask him, which is a stupid question, but I wasn’t really expecting this reaction. He yanks me out of the bed, tugging on my hand. Then he takes my mouth in a hard kiss. When we break apart, I look up at him. “What are you doing?” I repeat like an idiot.
“Giving my wife good morning sex. Now turn around.”
He kind of manhandles me so that my back is facing his front. I smile at his use of the word wife. My arms rest upon his, which are wrapped around my waist, and I take in the heat of his body for a minute. I love the way it feels when his skin presses against mine. It never fails to give me a feeling of contentment.
“Skull, sweetheart, I know I’m the new one at all of this, but I kind of think you have to turn me around to get to the goods.”
“Oh, querida, I’m afraid I’m been neglecting your education.” He hadn’t, not really, but I decide to play along.
“I probably didn’t marry well,” I tell him with a playfully heavy sigh.
His hand comes up to my neck, holding me with force. Chills of excitement course through my body. I feel the graze of the stubble on his jawline rub against my neck. A second later, warm breath touches my ear.