Chapter 24

May 1st

2:09 A.M.

As much as he didn't want the magic to end, Axe also couldn't wait to get his wife alone.

Not that he had any intention of hurrying her.

The smile on her face was everything, and the peace in her eyes was even better. He would bet anything that she wouldn't be apologizing again for saying she hated him. Although he was looking forward to hearing her tell him that she loved him, that he could listen to all day, every day, and never get bored of hearing it.

Beth was giggling as she and Cooper Charleston, team leader for Prey's Charlie Team, came over to where he was standing in a quiet corner, enjoying the magical atmosphere of the castle ruins, and the joy on everyone's faces as they danced well into the night. The kids had mostly fallen asleep and were curled up on chairs dotted throughout the ruins, but none of the adults seemed ready to call it a night yet.

Guess he'd have to wait a little longer to get his wife to the hotel and naked in the bed .

"Coop has to go, something important came up," Beth told him as she took the hand he held out as she approached.

Maybe it was weird considering it was their renewal of vows, but Beth had spent more time dancing with everyone else than she had with him, and it didn't bother him in the least. Other than the Charlie Team and Delta Team guys, everyone else was happily married, and the men on those teams were like brothers. This was Beth's family, always would be even if for some reason they weren't married, and he wanted her to enjoy her day with the people who loved her.

Besides, the smile on her face and the pure, unadulterated joy as she was spun around the makeshift dancefloor would have made it worth it even if he hadn't liked the idea of her dancing with other men.

"Thought maybe you'd like to take your wife for a spin," Cooper said. Although the man's smile was genuine, something in his gaze told Axe this wasn't just something that had popped up. Given what he knew about Charlie Team—which was comprised almost exclusively of biological brothers—he could guess what the something was and knew it was more important than hanging around at a wedding party.

When he saw that the other Charlie Team guys had also said their goodbyes and were waiting near the door for Cooper, he met the other man's gaze. "Good luck. Hope you finally find the answers you need."

Nodding in acknowledgment, Cooper leaned down to kiss Beth's cheek. "I'm glad to see you so happy, you deserve it more than any other person I know. Enjoy the rest of your night, sweetheart."

"Want to dance, wisp?" he asked when they were alone.

"Well, maybe just once, then what I really want is you, alone, naked, and in bed," she whispered, then giggled.

Axe groaned. "Honey, you can't say things like that to me while we're surrounded by our family."

She just giggled again. "I think everybody here knows that we're going to be having sex later. Pretty sure even the already married couples are going to be heading straight to their hotels and getting naked and into bed."

Couldn't argue with that.

Love was definitely in the air tonight .

Guiding his wife onto the dance floor, he tucked her against him, and they began to sway to the music.

"You know who's a really good dancer?" Beth asked.

"Who?"

"Thunder. You'd never guess to look at him."

He couldn't argue with that either. The Delta Team man was huge and looked like he'd be much better at stomping and clomping than dancing.

"If you didn't know them, those guys would be scary," Beth said. "I wish I knew a way to help them."

"Think they have to figure out their own path," he said. There were so many rumors about those guys it was hard to know what was truth and what was fiction, but if even a small percentage of it was true, those men had reason to be angry. Their lives had been played with and he hoped they were eventually able to get the justice they deserved.

Dancing with his wife was the perfect ending to a perfect wedding, candles still flickered, the sweet scent of flowers hung in the air, soft voices chattered, and the moon and a sky full of diamonds shined down on them.

Perfect as it was, Axe was ready for alone time with the woman he loved.

"Ready to get out of here?" he asked.

"Thought you'd never ask."

It took them a solid thirty minutes to say goodbye to everybody and thank them for dropping everything to fly across the world for a wedding, and another hour to drive to the five-star hotel he'd chosen.

The suite was huge, and Beth's gasp as they entered it reminded him that she hadn't grown up in his world. Not just in his wealthy, privileged world, but not even in a regular person's world. She'd stayed in his old place with him after being discharged from the hospital following her initial rescue, but then she'd lived only at the compound. With the targets on their backs, and Beth's need to feel safe, they'd never ventured far from it. This was her first time traveling—excluding being sold to Leonid Baranov and taken out of the country—and her first stay in a five-star hotel.

While he fully intended to drag their honeymoon out, taking her all over the United Kingdom and Europe before they headed back home, tonight he didn't want to play tourist, he just wanted to make sweet love to his beautiful wife.

As soon as he locked the hotel suite door, he had her in his arms. "You are absolutely stunning in this dress, you look like a sexy angel dropped down from heaven, but I still can't wait to get you out of it," he whispered as his lips trailed a line of kisses up the column of Beth's neck.

She shivered, and a breathy sigh escaped as she tilted her head to give him better access. "Mmm, naked sounds good."

Carrying her through to the bedroom as he continued to nuzzle her neck, when they got in there, Axe set his wife on her feet and then moved to stand behind her. Inch by inch he eased the zipper down, exposing soft, creamy skin. There were old scars there, thin white lines that were easily visible, and as much as he wished he could erase them, erase all the pain she had suffered, they were a testament to her strength and bravery.

They were part of what made her the woman he had fallen in love with.

When the zip was undone, he eased the material over her hips and let it fall to her feet in puffs of silk and chiffon. She wasn't wearing a bra, just a scrap of lace covering the part of her he couldn't wait to touch, and taste, and bury himself in.

"So beautiful," he murmured. His hands spanned her waist, and he lifted her out of the pile of wedding dress, setting her down before him. With the heart diamond at the base of her neck, the diamonds scattered throughout her hair, the white heels that made her legs look like they went for miles, and the delicate lace thong, she was the sexiest bride that had ever existed.

"Hurry up, Axel, I need you to touch me," Beth whimpered as he raked his gaze over her.

"Not as much as I need to touch you," he told her as he guided her backward and onto the bed. Once he had her laid out before him like a delicious snack he couldn't wait to devour, he climbed onto the bed and nudged her legs apart so he could settle between them. "You know there's something I've always wanted to try."

"What?" Beth asked, looking up at him through heavy-lidded eyes .

"This." Grabbing the scrap of lace, he gave a hard tug and ripped the thin material from her body, making Beth give a breathy laugh.

"That was way too sexy," she told him. "But not sexier than seeing your head between my legs."

"Not sexier than this either." Touching the lightest of kisses to her opening, he then swept his tongue across her center and blew a soft breath. The puff of air against her wet flesh made her shudder, and he liked knowing he could affect his wife in the smallest of ways, with the barest of touches.

Later, he'd take his time and draw out her pleasure, but not this time.

This time, he was burning to feel his wife come around him, share that journey with her as they would share every journey from here on out.

Coating his fingers in her wetness, Axe slipped it inside her as his mouth closed around her bud. While he worked her bundle of nerves with his mouth and his tongue, and his fingers stroked deep inside her, Beth's hands came down to clutch at his head, tangling in his hair as he feasted on her.

He could feel the orgasm building inside her as his fingers grazed the spot inside her that Beth had at one point been convinced didn't exist, he could feel her internal muscles begin to quiver.

Her head fell back on her pillow, the fingers in his hair tightened their grip, her breathing grew faster, more ragged, and then his name fell from her lips as pleasure exploded inside her. Not for a second did he let up, thrusting his fingers, sucking hard, flicking her bud with his tongue through her pleasure, dragging it out for as long as he could.

"Axel," she murmured as he shoved off his clothes.

"Yeah, wisp?"

"I made you a doctor's appointment for when we get back home."

Caught off-guard, he froze with one leg in the air, mid-removing his pants. "For the reason I think?"

A sweet giggle tumbled from her lips. "If you think it's for reversing a vasectomy then yes."

"You're ready for a baby?"

"I am. Are you? "

"Yeah, I'm ready. You're sure?" he asked as he quickly took off the last of his clothing.

"Never been more sure of anything in the world. I love you, I love our family, and I'm ready to start our own little family with you."

Kneeling on the bed, Axe ran a hand over Beth's smooth, flat stomach. "I can't wait to see this rounded with our baby growing inside you."

Stretching out above his wife, he kissed her as he slid inside her. She was hot, tight, wet, and perfect, and he quickly set a steady rhythm. One hand balanced his weight so he didn't crush her, his other touched her where their bodies joined, starting a fresh wave of pleasure inside her.

His own pleasure was quickly mounting.

It grew bigger and bigger until it was too big to contain.

The second Beth's internal muscles clamped around him as her orgasm hit, Axe let go and allowed his own to consume him.

"My man," she whispered against his lips.

"My woman."

"My heart."

"My life."

His everything.

Will Cooper Charleston find the answers he needs to finally clear his mother's name in Egypt or will this be another dead end? Find out in the first book in the action packed and emotionally charged Prey Security: Charlie Team series!

Deceptive Lies (Prey Security: Charlie Team #1)