Page 38 of Her Dragon Outlaw

LORI

If I thought the Lake House was beautiful before, now it looks like the ending scene from a fairy tale.

Like that final moment when all the characters gather together, all the colors are brighter, and the sounds are more melodic. Where happiness is the punctuation, the end to all the pain and misfortune the journey had brought.

But this wasn’t a fairytale.

And this moment would only be the first image amongst all the others that have yet to pass.

I drink it in, standing at the start of the isles waiting for my cue behind a flowered archway. Dozens of white chairs are lined up on the lush green grass, each has a simple tulle bow draped over the back. The lake glitters like sapphires behind the small whimsically draped platform Cody and I will be standing on.

It’s as if nature agreed that this day everything would be perfect. The wildflowers sweeten the space with their fragrance, each inhale is soft and robust against my nostrils. Guests fill the rows- family and friends - chatting excitedly among themselves. Tammy and my mother sit in the front row on the left-hand side and I can't help the fluttering in my chest.

For as long as I could remember it was just us three. I knew Tammy would eventually get married but I never once considered this my future. My plans were simple: get the money I needed, go back to school, and start my career as an architect. After, maybe I would find time for dating and anything else life could offer.

But none of that matters now.

Because I went to that lab and let them inject me. Because I met Cody. Because life had other plans.

Now so did I.

The music starts and I move without thinking. The fluttering in my chest skips from dove to hummingbird as I round the corner.

It is like gravity. The moment when our eyes meet, I’m pulled into the vortex of his gilded gaze. The eyes that trail my movements fade the closer I get to him, and when he takes my hand, pressing his soft lips to the back of my hand, the world fades.

My skin heats everywhere, his eyes graze. He stares at me like I’m gonna slip through his fingers if he looks away. Like he needs to memorize this moment just as much as I do.

“Absolutely perfect,” he whispers so low only I can hear.

Heat rises up my neck. “I was going to say the same thing.”

That earns me a smirk.

The official begins to speak, words that become incomparable to the man in front of me. I hear them like whispers of consciousness that narrate our day-to-day lives, waiting for the pause that will bind Cody to me forever. The end reaches my ears, and I fight the tremors in my body as the floor opens to me.

Cody's stance is powerful and soothing. He looks like a god coming to earth to claim his sacrifice. The setting sun creates a halo around his well-groomed chocolate hair, it heightens the sharpness of his cheekbones and the slight angling of his roman nose.

His.

The thought sends a shiver down my toes. I've never wanted anything more.

“I met you when my life was falling apart. When all I had was hope and preservice. I’ve never leaned on anyone, until you. A stranger who offered himself for nothing in return.” Each of my words transforms his features into a vortex of emotions he refuses to hide from me. Relief, hunger, enchantment, devotion, love. My vision blurs.“ Now I offer you me, to stand by your side, walk through your fire, and love you beyond measure for the rest of our lives. I love you, Cody.”

A flash of warmth trails opposite my tears. I lean into the calloused pad of his thumb as he reverently brushes them away.

When he speaks the thick, gravelly baritone is more intimate than his touch. “Lori, I never wanted to be anyone's hero until I met you. When you came into my life, all I wanted was to keep you safe. Even before I knew you were my mate, your presence drew me past the walls I built around myself. You're a part of me I thought I’d never get back, and now I’m never letting you go.”

The official's blessing falls on my ears as his mouth covers mine. I gasp from the force of his possession and he slips his tongue between my lip with a growl. My whole body is on fire as he pulls away from me with obvious effort and we face our cheering guest.

He leads me back up the aisle, our fingers intertwined with each other.

“Ready to celebrate,” he says, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

“Never been more ready in my life.”

The reception was loud and energetic, full of laughs and smiles and well wishes. Mother had all but gushed over Cody as if he was the best thing that walked on earth. And he was, at least for me. Even Tammy can't resist Cody's easy charm. It made me smile when he danced with them, taking the time to make the people that are most important to me comfortable.

As the night wanes, Cody takes my hand and leads me toward the dock. The moon's reflection is clear on the dark water.

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