on the sheets and climbing up towards me. He sunk between my parted thighs, and I took a moment just to appreciate his charming smile and bright teeth. His green eyes appraised me with equal enthusiasm, and I felt my heart warm with happiness. I wanted this all. I wanted him more than anything.
Patrick eased inside of me slowly, and I felt myself stretch at his invasion. I surged with electric awareness, but it didn’t hurt. My body accommodated his size like we were made for one another. “This feels so damn good,” he whispered over my skin. He was holding his breath, like the air in his chest was too much.
“Breathe,” I chided before pushing closer to take him deeper. “So, so good,” I writhed before grabbing his hips and pushing up and down, showing him the motion I wanted. He took the cue with ease and started following my lead, rocking into me as he hissed out in pleasure.
He moved slowly at first, then faster. Then he was pounding into me so hard that the bed shook, and all I could feel was him bumping that sweet spot deep within me, calling forward another orgasm.
And then we were falling apart, splitting at the seams. Crashing and climbing then crashing again with his name on my lips and a satisfied sigh escaping his chest. “How’d that feel, Patrick?” I asked while squeezing him tighter for one last jolt of pleasure.
“Damn perfect, Mrs. Black.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Five months later
The leveled ground where the new Black Manor was soon to be built didn’t seem like an appropriate wedding venue for the newly elected president of the empire, but it’s what I wanted. So, Cyler told every newly elected official to trek to the outer corner of the empire for our outdoor wedding in a long forgotten town. Dormas was just as ruined as before. Ironically, we’d been living at Stonewell Manor, now called Black Manor. But I had hoped to rebuild this place and relocate. Cyler promised me that, at the very least, he’d build a beautiful retreat here for us to go to.
“Will you stay still? I don’t know why you wouldn’t let me put more straightening serum in your hair. How do you even deal with these curls?” Jules asked in exasperation before twisting my crazy mane into an intricate updo with spirals cascading in waves down by my face.
“The guys like it curly,” I replied with a shrug. Jules looked beautiful; she wore all white, which was customary for the family of the wedding party. Beside her, Mia was chomping on her lip and tugging at her stark white skirt I managed to get her into. I spent more time doing her hair than I did worrying about my own mostly because, after months of searching, Cyler finally found a clue that led to her man.
A knock on the door drew my attention, and I tried to keep a calm face when I asked Mia to answer it. She rolled her eyes while twirling her knife before opening the door with a casual, “What do you want?”
“You.”
I spun around, not really caring that it was intrusive or presumptuous of me to watch. As expected, Mia did the unexpected. She slapped the poor man as hard as she could.
“Atta girl,” Jules whispered.
“You? That's the line you come up with after having me worried sick for months?!” She started speaking in a rapid procession of her native language before Aarav nodded at me then yanked her outside the tent and shut the hanging partition. Her ranting was cut off, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he finally kissed her speechless or if she ran away. Either way, I knew he’d catch up to her. He lost her once and wouldn’t be doing that again any time soon.
“I thought people were supposed to be giving you gifts. It’s your wedding after all,” Jules said while rolling her eyes. She was brushing some powder onto my cheeks, making them look rosy.
“Your brothers are the gift, believe me,” I replied.
“Gross,” Jules replied before digging in her bag. She yanked out a leather satchel and tossed it in my lap before leaning against the vanity. She watched me open it and pull out six rings. “Tallis makes jewelry. I know setting up artisans hasn’t been a priority, so you haven’t really been worried about getting them rings, but I had these customized for you.” She reached into the pile and grabbed two that looked