Chapter 42

Shay

We’re separated by our friends and loved ones as Dylan Gossett’s song “Beneath Oak Trees” ends.

My determination to keep Jayce by my side, despite all the warnings that newlywed couples barely see each other after the ceremony, fails with every purposeful step I take in his direction. I keep getting pulled into congratulatory hugs by family members I haven’t seen in years.

At least Lisabeth maintains the drink in my hand. Cill asked her to make sure the wine kept coming for both of us.

I’d nearly reached Jayce’s side when my sister’s hand stops me to look at a picture Elena is passing around.

“It’s a boy. Hopefully, he’s the spitting image of Jamie.” My new sister-in-law shoves the sonogram in my hand.

One look at the black-and-white photo of a shape that looks nothing like a baby and Elena’s words trigger a flicker of a thought. What would a tiny Jayce made from our love look like?

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Shit. Damn it. Fuck no. All the words Priscilla deems trashy screams in sync with the tick-tock.

Jayce’s eyes find mine from across the room. I’m certain there’s a look of panic written on my face.

His eyebrow raises with a hint of mischief behind his eyes as he brings a glass filled with whiskey to his lips.

Jayce pushes his way through the throngs of people, demanding our attention.

This doesn’t change how I feel about babies , I mouth before he gets to me.

His lips crash against mine once he reaches me.

The taste of whiskey on his tongue mingles with the wine on mine. He doesn’t pull away until I’m breathless.

“My promise stands. I’ll never push you to change. I want you for you and not someone I mold you into.”

The truth in his words is clear in the sparkle in his eyes. “How much longer do we have to endure our friends and family?”

Jayce sniffs the air over the pulsing of my pussy. “I think we have to wait for the big send off my cousins have planned.”

“Is there a signal or something you can give, telling them we’re ready?”

My new husband, my mate, tosses his head back and laughs as my need for him has me nearly begging to get him alone. Jayce grabs me by the hand as we search for Damian and Nikolaos.

Emjay stands off in the corner by herself.

Tomorrow, Jayce and I are escorting her to her old herd. Along with Damian, Anjal, Cill, and a few other volunteers. The women need to know they’re free. We put this wedding together in a week because these heifers freedom is important.

I’m not ready to let her off the hook for abandoning us without trying to keep us. Maybe one day.

“I don’t see them. Hopefully, they’re outside waiting for us. If not, they’ll forgive us for sneaking off,” Jayce says with a kiss on my forehead.

My parents are heavy drinkers at weddings. Otherwise, I’d feel remorse over not telling them goodbye, only I know they won’t remember if I did or not. I blow Cill a kiss on my way out the door with Jayce.

We’ve made love nearly every day, sometimes twice a day, since I discovered my vagina therapy worked.

My need for him grows, and he’s happy to accommodate my greedy pussy now that she knows what she’s been missing all these years.

Jayce buckles me into his truck before racing to his side. He cracks the engine and pulls away from Damian and Nikolaos just as they finished tying coke cans to the bumper.

Jayce pokes his head out the window and blows a kiss in their direction.

I laugh. I love this man. No matter where life takes us.