He'd put a serious amount of thought into this one ring. "I know," I said, fighting the lump in my throat. "It's beautiful, Jude."
He slid the ring down my finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."
The wedding band with the three members of my family's birthstones sparkled above the engagement ring I'd worn solo for three years. It was happy to have its mate.
I had to wipe my eyes before I grabbed his left hand. "Mine's not nearly as thoughtful, but it'll work. For now."
"It'll work forever," he said, admiring the band.
As I slid the ring down his finger, I realized it would work forever. It suited him. "With this ring, I thee wed."
Father Joe looked between us. "And now, by the power vested in me, I hereby declare you husband and wife. You may-"
"Yeah, Father," Jude said, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. "I memorized this part, too." His mouth covered mine, and he kissed me. It was a bit like our first kiss, timid and hungry, and a little like it would be our last kiss, slow and consuming.
My first kiss as a married woman was pretty damn amazing.
Only when we had to surface for air did Jude's lips leave mine. He sighed. "Finally."
"Yeah," I said, kissing his scar. "Finally."
"Congratulations," Father Joe said, his eyes still sparkling. "Be good to each other." Giving us one last smile, he backed away from the podium and headed out of the chapel, along with our silent witness.
"What now?" I asked, tugging him toward the door. "Now that you've made an honest woman out of me, what have you got in mind next?"
"We should probably get that official wedding license thing so I can hang it on the wall," he said, grinning ear to ear.
"We're as official as you and me need to be," I said, "but a framed wedding certificate would be a nice touch to the Ryder family home." Wherever that home would be. We were in something of a TBD state in the home department. "But when I asked 'what now' I was referring to the next few hours future, not the next few days future."
"In that case . . . how about a nice dinner? Candles? A bottle of champagne," he said, catching himself. "Or a bottle of sparkling water?"
Shoving through the door, I pulled him along. "Dinner sounds good," I said, pulling him faster down the hall, until we'd passed the elevators and nurses' desk. "But I've got a better idea." Pausing at the last door at the end of the hall, I slid inside and gave it a quick once-over. It was empty, and had a lock on the door and a freshly made hospital bed against the window.
"I'm all for better ideas, Luce," Jude said as I pulled him inside, "but what does sneaking into a hospital room have to do with it?"
Locking the door behind us, I shoved him up against the wall.
"This," I said, kissing him. Hard.
"Better idea," he said in between my frantic lips. My hands grabbed the hem of my shirt and tugged it over my head. "Much better idea."
His shirt was the next one off, and then his fingers were releasing my bra. His hands skimmed around the front, covering my breasts.
"Shit, Luce." Jude pulled away from me, and his eyes dropped to where his hands had just been. They widened. "What the hell?"
"Being pregnant has its advantages," I said, glancing down where my baby Cs had blossomed into full-on Ds in the wake of baby making.
"Hell yes, it does," he said, lifting his hands back into position.
"Plus, I've got increased sex drive," I added with a wink. "We're talking crazed, panting, do-me-in-the-morning-afternoon-and-evening kind of increased sex drive."
"If I don't get inside you soon, I'm going to bust something," he said, lifting me up and beelining for the bed. "Your huge tits and your dirty mouth are doing a number on me."
"Well, you'd better hurry then," I said, kissing his neck as my hand slid inside the front of his pants.
"Shit, baby, I'm serious." He groaned when my hand tightened around him.
"So am I," I replied, gliding my hand down him.
Then he had me on the bed and was crawling into the space between my legs. His face took on a serious expression all of a sudden.
"Can we be doing this?" he said, still breathing heavily. "With you being pregnant and all?"
If we didn't do this I was fairly sure I'd burst into flames. I grabbed the top button of his jeans and tugged it free. "Does it seem weird to you that you want to abstain from the act that made the baby because of the baby?" I made quick work of his zipper.