Chapter Five

Dalton

A little after two in the morning, I stand in Judge McIverson's chambers, my heart pounding, unable to take my eyes off Tempest.

She's a fucking vision with her red dress clinging to her curves, her cheeks still flushed from her orgasm.

Christ, I can still taste that orgasm on my tongue. It's taking every ounce of my control not to drag her into my arms and devour her right here and now. But I can't do that. Not yet.

Cash and Riley Jamison are beside us, here to stand witness to this marriage. They were at Memphis's bar with me before I left to go see Tempest. I had them on standby with the judge. I knew before I ever showed up at her hotel tonight that I wasn't leaving until she agreed to marry me.

I don't care if I didn't play fair tonight. When it comes to her, I won't. One way or another, this marriage was going to happen, even if I had to carry her to the fucking altar, wrung out and incoherent. I think I decided that much before I even left her hotel yesterday. She's mine. My future. My wife.

The judge is speaking, but I don't hear a fucking word. All I see is Tempest and those amber eyes. There's so much emotion in them—hope, desire, a fierce determination that takes my goddamn breath away. And something else, something I pray to fucking God isn't just my imagination because it looks a whole lot like love.

"Dalton, repeat after me," McIverson says. "I, Dalton James Grady, take you, Tempest Reign Evernight, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and to cherish, till death us do part."

I tear my gaze away from her to focus on the words spilling from my lips. My voice shakes as I promise to love, honor, and cherish her for the rest of my life. Not because I don't want this, but because I'm fucking terrified that I'll fail her, that I won't be the man she deserves.

That I'll fuck up and destroy this somehow.

I can't fail her.

Her voice is steady as she echoes the vows back to me. It doesn't waver or shake. She's strong, sure. Fuck, she's incredible, a goddess made flesh.

Somehow, someway, I'm going to be a man worthy of her. Even if I have to work every goddamn day to prove it, I will. This marriage won't be a prison for her. I won't be a jailer. She'll be happy. She deserves that much.

Cash nudges me, his elbow digging into my ribcage.

I blink, and quickly realize everyone is looking at me expectantly. Shit. I missed something important.

"Ring," Cash mutters.

I slip my hand into my pocket, pulling out the diamond ring. It belonged to my mother. It wasn't her wedding ring—they never recovered that. But she always loved this ring.

I slip it onto Tempest's finger.

Goddamn. It looks good there. Like that's where it's supposed to be.

"With the exchange of rings and vows complete, you are now joined together in this most sacred commitment of marriage," McIverson says, a smile lighting up his craggy face. "By the power vested in me by the State of Tennessee, and by the power of your own commitment and choice, I now pronounce you married. Dalton, you may kiss your lovely bride."

I reach for Tempest, my eyes locked on her gorgeous face.

Fuck. I can't wait another second.

I haul her up against my body, crushing my lips against hers in a searing kiss. I don't give a fuck who's watching—I kiss her like we're the only two in the world. She gasps, looping her arms around my neck as she melts against me.

I devour her sweet mouth, groaning at the taste of her, the taste of us together.

"Wife," I rasp against her lips. My cock throbs painfully in my slacks at the sound of that word on my lips. I like it…Christ, I like it far more than I ever thought I would.

Tempest pulls back slightly, her eyes blazing with heat as they meet mine, and I know she likes it just as much.

"Husband," she whispers back, and I nearly come in my fucking pants. I'm in deep, drowning, and I don't even want to come up for air.

As soon as I release her, Cash claps me on the back, grinning. "Congrats, brother. Never thought I'd see the day."

Riley pulls Tempest into a fierce hug. "I'm so happy for you both," she says, genuine excitement in her voice. Of course she and Tempest already know one another. That's the thing with Riley—in this industry, she knows everyone.

We thank them before turning to sign the marriage license. My hand is steady, but Tempest's shakes, the only sign of nerves she's displayed since we left her hotel.

Does she regret this?

Fuck, I hope not.

"Let's get out of here," I murmur, my voice rough. I just want to be alone with her. I need to worship every inch of her sweet body until she's trembling and crying my name. Until she believes in this as much as I do.

One way or another, I'm going to convince her to give this a real chance—to give me one. Maybe I'm not worthy and I don't deserve it. I don't fucking know. But she's mine now. If I have to fuck my way into her soul to lay siege to it, I'll do it. Whatever it takes to claim her heart the way I'm pretty fucking certain she's already claiming mine.

* * *

The divider is up in the limo, giving us privacy, but Tempest is uncharacteristically quiet as we wind through the deserted streets back to her hotel. Her gaze is fixed out the window, her mind miles away.

"You regret it," I say softly, watching her.

If she says yes, it'll fucking end me. But it's not like I can blame her, can I? She agreed because I wrung it out of her perfect body, not because she trusts that this is really what I want.

She turns to face me, doubt ravaging her expression. "No." She swallows hard, glancing down at her hands. "I'm afraid you will."

My heart cracks at the vulnerability in her voice. Fuck. She wants so badly to trust me, but she's so goddamn afraid to let herself. She still doubts me, still doesn't understand that this is precisely what I want.

If I fuck this up, it's going to destroy her.

I reach for her, dragging her onto my lap. Despite her fear, she comes willingly, melting against my chest. I tip her chin up and slowly, deliberately meet her amber gaze.

"I'm not going to regret you, Tempest. Not now, not ever. You're mine. It's as simple as that." I seal my vow with a deep, bruising kiss, trying to pour every ounce of certainty and need into it. "Trust that. Trust me."

She studies my face for a long moment and then nods. "I'm trying," she whispers. "I just…"

"I know." I rub circles into her thighs below the hem of her skirt. "We can work up whatever contract you want to work up about the company. Whatever verbiage you want. Date it for yesterday or the day before or last month. I don't care. I didn't marry you for your company."

"Then why?" Her teeth sink into her soft bottom lip, her eyes flickering across my face again. "I don't understand you, Dalton."

"I married you for you, Tempest. I married you because I want you. I meant every word I said in your hotel." I brush my nose along hers. "I want every fucking inch of you. Every piece. Every goddamn thought. All of you. You've got me all twisted up in knots, wife."

She trembles when I say the word, so I press my lips to her ear.

"Wife," I whisper, nipping the shell of it. "My wife."

"Dalton," she moans. "Please."

Fuck.

There's that sound—the one that says she needs to come.

I slide my hands up her thighs, slowly inching the fabric up her gorgeous golden-brown skin.

"Dalton," she gasps, her eyes darting to the privacy screen. "The driver."

"Fuck the driver," I growl, palming her thick thighs possessively. "My wife needs to come. I'm going to make her."

I hold her gaze, silently daring her to stop me as I push her skirt higher, exposing her lacy black panties.

She says nothing, her eyes locked on my face, pupils dilated with need. I spread my legs on the seat, forcing hers further apart. Christ. I'm glad I waited for her. Exploring sex with her, discovering her for the first time…she was fucking worth the wait.

I keep my eyes locked with hers as I slip her panties to the side, groaning when I feel how fucking wet she is for me. "You're already soaked for me, Tempest. You love this, don't you?"

She bites her lip hard, fighting a whimper as I slowly circle her clit. It's intense, our eyes locked in a silent battle of wills—her refusing to make a sound or admit she's loving this as I tease her tight little hole.

Her lips part, rapid breaths escaping, but she still doesn't make a sound. Yet.

I slide two fingers inside her, feeling her walls pulse and flutter around me. She rocks against my hand desperately, trying to take me deeper.

"That's it," I murmur. "Take what you need. Ride my fingers until you fall apart."

The sight of her—cheeks flushed, tits bouncing, juices dripping down my wrist —nearly sends me over the fucking edge. I grit my teeth, hanging on through sheer force of will alone. I won't be satisfied until I hear her crying out my name as she comes undone for me.

I press my thumb to her clit, and she jerks, a little whimper escaping.

Fuck. There it is.

I rub harder, her wetness squelching obscenely in the confines of the limo.

"Let me hear you, Tempest. Let me hear everything."

She shakes her head, denying me. Fighting me.

I curl my fingers inside her, seeking that magic spot.

She thrashes when I find it, her mouth opening in a silent scream.

"Come for me, wife. Now."

Her pussy clamps around my fingers like a vise, and she's unable to stay quiet this time.

"Dalton," she whimpers, her voice breaking on my name as she falls apart, shattering like crystal. She writhes, her hushed cries of pleasure somehow more beautiful, sexier, and more intimate than any wild shout or scream.

God help me, but she's going to own me, every fucking piece of me. I already feel it happening, feel my whole soul falling into her keeping. And that doesn't terrify me nearly as much as it should. Not with her in my arms. Not with her whimpering my name. And not with my ring on her finger.

I want this—every terrifying fucking second of it.

The hotel room door slams against the wall as we stumble through, my hands on her ass, hers yanking my tie from around my neck. She spins suddenly, launching herself at me.

The momentum of her desperate attack sends me stumbling against the door. "Fuck," I grunt, grabbing her perfect ass to pull her closer. Her heat brands me through our clothes, and my cock throbs, hard as steel. "You want me, baby?"

"Yes," she sobs, grinding against me, shameless and needy. "Please, Dalton."

I grin, loving how sweet she sounds begging for my cock. That breathy please spilling from her lips is my new favorite sound.

"Then take what you want, wife. Claim what belongs to you." I lean back against the door with my hands behind my head, smirking. My cock twitches at the feral glint in her eyes. Fuck, I've created a monster. And I couldn't be happier about it.

She bites her lip, looking up at me through her lashes as she plants her hands against my chest. Her fingers curl around the buttons of my shirt. I suck in a breath as she yanks as hard as she can, sending buttons flying as she rips it open.

Her hungry gaze practically eats me alive as it trails down my chest, sweeping across the ink etched into my skin.

"Like what you see?" I tease.

She rakes her nails down my abs in response. I groan at the sting, my abs clenching as she follows the path with her lips and tongue.

"Fuck, Tempest, what are you–?"

She cuts me off by dropping to her knees in front of me. Her wild eyes meet mine. "You got to taste me. It's my turn now."

Ah fuck. My cock jerks in my pants as her meaning sinks in. She wants to taste me. Suck me. Put that perfect, pouty mouth on my most unworthy fucking body.

Some rational part of my brain screams that I should worship her body like the goddess she is before I let her put her mouth on me. But that part short-circuits when she reaches for my zipper, unabashed hunger in her gaze.

"Tempest…" I'm fucking writhing in anticipation as she slips her hand inside my pants. "Ah fuck." Her perfect hand wraps around my cock and my mind ceases to function at all.

"Jesus, Dalton," she whimpers, eyes widening as she sees me for the first time. "You're so beautiful."

I choke on a strangled laugh. "Keep talking about him like that, and this will be over before it even starts, wife."

Her gaze flies to mine, shock in her expression. "You meant it, didn't you? That you've never…?"

I nod, jaw clenched. "I meant it. You're the first. The only."

She smiles sweetly. "Want to know a secret?" Her voice drops to a whisper as she leans in, brushing her cheek against the head of my cock. "So are you."

Goddamn. I buck helplessly against her, groaning as precum spurts from my slit to paint her cheek. "Fuck, sorry." I lean forward to clean her off, but she beats me to it.

She swipes a finger through the sticky fluid, then slowly, deliberately brings it to her lips. Her tongue darts out for a taste.

"Tempest. Jesus." My stomach muscles clench hard as she fucking moans, her eyes rolling back like I'm the best thing she's ever had in her mouth.

"I like the way you taste…husband."

Ah, fucking hell. My cock jerks again at the sound of that title spilling from her lips. It sounds too goddamn good, like she's claiming me.

I cup the back of her head, gently urging her forward. "Suck me, Tempest. Put that pretty mouth on me and take what you want. What's yours."

She whimpers eagerly, leaning in to run her tongue up my shaft, exploring me with little licks that drive me fucking crazy.

I groan and fist my hand tighter in her hair as her lips close around the head of my cock, her lips stretched obscenely around my girth.

"Fuck, baby. Just like that." I fight to hold still, to let her get used to having me in her mouth. But it's not fucking easy. Especially when she looks up at me with those amber eyes, holding my gaze as she takes me deeper, bobbing up and down on my cock.

A string of curses flies from my lips as she finds her rhythm, her confidence growing with each suck and swirl of her tongue. I buck my hips, unable to tear my gaze away from her, wrecked, in heaven. Goddamn. That mouth. This woman.

"Goddamn, Tempest," I rasp. "You're so fucking gorgeous with your mouth full of my cock. Are you trying to suck the soul right out of my body, baby?"

She bobs her head in a nod, her eyes dark as she takes more of me. A desperate, garbled noise vibrates in the back of her throat, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes as I bump the back of her throat. It closes around me, and I fucking snap.

My hands tighten in her hair and I thrust forward once, twice, a third time, only pulling back when she gags around me.

"Too much?" I ask, my voice rough as I brush away the tears and saliva from her cheeks.

She shakes her head, her eyes blazing as she pants for breath. "More, Dalton. I want it all."

I roar in response, madness and pure fucking obsession crashing through me. She's ruining me, completely annihilating me.

I snatch her up off the floor, tossing her onto the bed. Before she can move or say a word, I'm on top of her, my body pressed to hers as I kiss the breath from her lungs.

Her dress tears beneath my hands, but I don't have it in me to care. I'm wild above her, a goddamn force of nature set free by the way she sucked me and then demanded more.

She sobs, writhing and arching beneath me—clawing and biting.

"You're so fucking beautiful," I groan, leaning back to take a good look at her once the dress is in pieces beside us. Every inch of her is golden brown and soft. Every roll, every dip, every mark is perfection. And it's all fucking mine. "Christ, baby. I want my lips everywhere. Want you to feel me everywhere, every goddamn minute of the day."

I drag my lips down the column of her throat, sucking and biting at her soft skin, leaving a trail of marks in my wake. She's mine now, my wife, and I want the whole fucking world to know it.

She whimpers and writhes beneath me as I work my way down her body, my hands sliding over every gorgeous curve, committing each dip and swell to memory.

I lave my tongue over the tops of her breasts, teasing myself with the taste of her skin.

"Please." She arches up, desperate for more, begging so sweetly.

Cupping one heavy breast, I draw her nipple into my mouth, flicking it with my tongue before biting down.

"Dalton!" Her back bows off the bed. "Please…"

I smirk around her nipple before releasing it. "Please what, baby? Use your words and tell me what you need from me."

"Your mouth," she whimpers. "I need your mouth on me."

"Like this?" I press a soft kiss to the swell of her breast.

She whines, shaking her head wildly, her hands buried in my hair as she tries to push me down her body. "No. Lower."

"Tell me, Tempest. Where do you need my mouth?"

"I need your mouth on my pussy," she sobs. "Please, Dalton. I'm aching."

Fuck, I love hearing that word on her lips. Please. Begging so sweetly for me to do filthy shit to her.

I kiss a fiery trail down her body, stopping long enough to dip my tongue into her belly button…relishing the sweet little gasp she gives me. Her sweet, tangy scent has my mouth watering as I hover over her mound.

"Spread your legs for me, wife," I demand. "Let me see what belongs to me now."

She slowly slides them apart, flashing that perfect, bare, dripping pussy at me. I've never seen anything prettier. Never tasted anything sweeter, either.

I settle between her spread legs, draping them over my shoulders. "You've got a problem, Tempest." I press a soft kiss to her inner thigh. "You made this perfect little thing mine for life." I flick my gaze up to her. "Good luck keeping me out of it now, baby. I'll be right here morning, noon, and night, worshipping on my knees like a good husband should."

"Dalt—" Whatever she was going to say bleeds into a moan as I lunge, burying myself face-first in her pussy. I bat her clit with my tongue, holding her open with two fingers so I can get closer, eat more of her.

Her nails scrape my shoulders, her heels digging into my back as she bows off the bed beneath me.

"Say my name, wife," I growl against her sweet cunt, already mad with the taste of her, the smell of her, the sheer fucking pleasure of eating her. "Scream it. We both know how much I fucking love the way it sounds breaking on your lips."

She grinds against my face, yanking my hair as her thighs tremble and shake. "Dalton," she gasps. "Oh God, yes!"

I groan against her, eating her like a wild man. I can't get enough of her taste, of the way she responds to my every touch, my every lick. She's honey and wildfire on my tongue, sweet and scorching. She's so fucking responsive, so goddamn perfect.

I thrust my tongue deep inside her, fucking her with it as I press my nose against her clit.

She wails my name, her thighs clamping around my head as she shatters apart. Her sticky juices flood my mouth as she bucks beneath me, babbling incoherently as wave after wave of ecstasy slams into her.

I don't even wait for the last one to recede before I drag her into my arms. If I'm not inside her soon, I'm going to lose my fucking mind.

"Kiss me," I order, my hands wrapped up in her hair as she trembles against me, still mewling. "I want your breath in my lungs while I'm fucking you, Tempest."

She stretches forward eagerly, her mouth meeting mine. I get lost in her sweet mouth and the way she squirms on top of me, her hot little pussy writhing all over my cock as she positions herself.

I grip her hips, lining up at her entrance.

She whimpers as she sinks down without hesitation, taking me inside inch by perfect, torturous inch.

Ah, fuck. She's tight, hot heaven around me, that pussy strangling my cock. I groan, burying my face in her throat…fighting to breathe, desperately trying not to lose it.

"Dalton, Dalton," she chants, her nails embedded in my shoulders as I sink deeper into her perfect heat.

I buck my hips, greedy, desperate, fucking starving for her. Her barrier tears against my cock, sending a jolt through me,

Ah, shit. She's mine in every way now—bound to me in a way that nothing can ever undo—not time, not distance, nothing. For the rest of her life, this piece of her will always be mine, just like this piece of me will always be hers.

She claws my back, sobbing my name, and the haze of lust momentarily clears, allowing me to think straight.

"Are you in pain, baby? Does it hurt?" I ask, worried that I'm hurting her, that this is heaven for me and hell for her. The thought is intolerable. She should feel nothing but pleasure in my arms. That's what I want for her—ecstasy.

"No," she gasps. "You feel s-so good, Dalton. So good. More, please."

I groan, unable to deny her anything. I dip my head to hers, claiming her lips in another searing kiss as I buck my hips again, pushing the rest of the way inside her. Her perfect ass lands against my thighs with a little bounce, and she sobs against my lips.

For a long moment, I don't move. I just hold her, kissing her, reveling in the fact that she's mine. All fucking mine. For a man who never wanted any of this shit, it feels pretty fucking amazing to be in the thick of it.

"Ride me," I command, my voice rough as I tip her head back to meet her wide, dilated eyes. "Take what you need, wife. Use my cock however you want."

She rocks slowly at first, moaning into my mouth as she adjusts to the thick, hard length of me splitting her open. Her walls flutter around me as she lifts up and then sinks back down, her confidence growing.

"Like this?" she asks, her voice breathy.

"God yeah, baby," I rasp against her lips. "Ride my cock just like that. Take what you need."

She whimpers, her head falling back as she grinds against me, riding me until I swear I feel her in my fucking soul. "Dalton," she moans, her ass landing against my lap with every bounce. "You feel so good inside me. So big, so deep."

I roll her dark nipples between my fingers, pinching just hard enough to make her whimper. "These were for my hands, my mouth. I'm going to suck on them for hours, Tempest. Bite and tease until you're begging me to let you come."

"Please," she whines, arching into my touch. "I need…"

I smirk up at her. "Tell me what you need, Tempest. Let me hear all those filthy desires spilling from your sweet lips."

Her cheeks flush, her teeth sinking into her lip as she rocks faster, riding me harder. "I need you to fuck me, Dalton. I need you so deep I forget my own name."

"Fuck." I groan, flipping her onto her back and driving into her hard. "You want me to ruin you, baby? Want me to fuck you so good that you forget everything but me?"

"Yes!" she cries, clawing at my back. "Ruin me, Dalton. Wreck me."

How the fuck do you resist a plea like that? You don't. You can't.

I pound into her, the bed shaking with the force of my thrusts as I claim her, branding her with my cock. The sounds of sex—of skin on skin and our cries of pleasure—echo around us. But it's not enough. I want everything she has until she's wrecked beneath me, unable to think about anything but me and my cock. Until she eats, sleeps, and breathes me, the same fucking way I already do her.

I bury my face in her neck, biting and sucking, leaving my mark all over her perfect body. "This pussy is mine," I rasp in her ear. "This body is mine. You are mine, Tempest. My wife. Say it."

"I'm your wife," she sobs, trembling beneath me.

I slide my hands down to her ass, spreading her wider. I want to be as deep as I can get, want to feel every inch of her.

"You like that, baby?" I rasp in her ear. "You like feeling your husband stretching you open and making you take every inch of his cock?"

"Yes!" She rocks beneath me, desperately trying to meet every hard thrust. "I love it. I love feeling you inside me, Dalton."

I capture her lips in a filthy kiss, my tongue plundering her mouth as I slide a hand between us, finding her swollen clit. I rub hard circles, making her thrash and wail beneath me. Her pussy flutters and clenches. She's so close. So fucking close.

"That's it, Tempest," I growl. "Squeeze me with this tight little cunt while you come all over me."

"Together," she demands, panting for breath, mindless with pleasure. "Come together."

"Fuck yeah," I breathe, kissing her deep, willing to give her anything, even my fucking heart. I feel it beating, pounding like a drum in my chest—alive and whole for the first time in decades. Beating because of her. Beating for her .

Her pussy clamps down on me like a vise, rippling and fluttering as she shatters, screaming my name. It's too much, too good.

I shout her name, slamming into her without rhythm as I explode, pumping her full of my cum. Even then, I can't stop touching her, can't stop kissing her. And I know— I fucking know —that I can't lose her. I can't fuck this up. If I do, it won't just destroy her. It'll destroy me, too.

Because she already has me—every fucking piece of me.