Page 18 of Infinite Love Novella

“We needed each other,” I concluded. It was funny how easy it was to admit that to her. I wouldn’t have been able to get the words out in front of my friends, and we had been through everything together. Maybe that was it. They knew me too well. Confessing to this kindly old woman was freeing in a way.

“It’s a wonderful thing. Don’t ever take it for granted.” The song ended, and she patted my cheek with one gnarled hand, her skin paper thin—a reflection of time. “Thank you. That was delightful. Don’t be surprised if I flag you down later the next time I’m cornered by gossip hounds.”

I tucked her arm in the crook of my elbow before escorting her across the dance floor. “They were admirers,” I countered. “They’re dying to hear every word from your mouth.”

“Again with the charm.” She didn’t have me fooled. The way her eyes twinkled told me she enjoyed a little charm now and then. “But I’ve spent too many years around people like that to see them as anything other than hungry little gossip hounds. I suppose I’m showing my age, becoming a curmudgeon.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.” I kissed her cheek before murmuring, “You are never too young to be curmudgeonly. Ask my wife. I can be pretty grumpy, myself.” Farrah was laughing when I left her sitting with Ari’s parents. His relationship with them was friendly enough, if not exactly warm or loving. The same seemed to be true of their relationship with Farrah, but I guessed it had something to do with the fact that they were never in town for very long, always jetting around the way they had been all of Ari’s life.

That was one thing I would never do. My children would see me. They would know me. I had no interest in being an absentee parent.

That was one of many areas where Evelyn and I agreed. There were different reasons behind it. She had suffered for years under the cruelty and abuse of her monster of a father. There were still times when it amazed me that she and Barrett turned out as well as they had. Some people looked to their parents as an example of the kind of parent they wanted to be. She approached it from the opposite direction. She would be the parent he could never be. Our girls would never know what it meant to be openly mocked and ridiculed by a parent. They would only ever know love, support, and patience.

Lourde noticed something over my shoulders as I approached them, and the wide, knowing smile that spread across her face told me who I would find when I turned around. “It’s about time!” she called out, teasing the happy couple as they entered the tent. Once the guests registered their presence, a round of applause rose along with the clinking of cutlery against champagne flutes. It only got louder when they kissed as requested, and the cameras flashing was almost blinding.

Once the commotion died down, they joined us and gladly accepted champagne from a passing server. “It is all so beautiful in here,” Olivia sighed as she looked around the space. I couldn’t pretend to disagree with the countless strings of lights strung up overhead, the over-the-top floral arrangements adorning every flat surface, and the candlelight. The effect was magic.

“You have a lot of very happy, impressed guests,” I told her and Ari. “People are going to be talking about this wedding for a long time, and not only because we had to make a run for it when the rain started.” The storm was nothing but a memory now, and the clouds were beginning to break. The air was cool and sweet, the only way it could after a storm that intense. It would be perfect for the elaborate fireworks display set to start later on after Ari’s surprise guest arrived.

First, there was a matter of dinner, meaning we had to take our seats while fresh champagne was poured. The wedding party sat at a long table draped with floral garland and lined in candles and crystal from one end to the other. Once we were settled, I peered down the table and found Barrett standing with his champagne flute in hand. Somebody handed him a microphone which he tested before speaking. “This is around the time the best man tries not to make a fool out of himself,” he began with a chuckle. “I promise not to embarrass either the groom or the bride. I promised my wife I would take it easy on the drinks until after my speech.” He looked down at Lourde, who didn’t bother pretending he wasn’t telling the truth as she shrugged.

Once the laughter died down, he got serious. “There’s something special about watching one of your best friends getting married. Ari, Magnus, Connor, and I have decades of friendship between us. We’ve seen each other through all of life’s ups and downs, and I have no doubt we’ll continue doing so for the rest of our lives. I’m that sure of my friends. They’ll be there for me just like I will for them. The way we always have been.”

He looked down the length of the table, and his gaze softened. “The only difference is nowadays, we don’t have to support each other alone. I don’t have to worry about my friends because I know they’ve all found their true partners… their soulmates. That’s not a word I would have used before finding my own. If you know me, you know how true that is,” he added, and those of us at the head table could only laugh knowingly. “But it’s true. Ari and Olivia were meant to be and one of those things that’s written in the stars. They found each other when they needed each other most, and the same was true for the rest of us. I’ve had the pleasure of watching all of us become the men we were meant to be, thanks to the presence of the women we were meant to be with. Looking down this table, I couldn’t be prouder to be part of this group. Here’s to many more celebrations like this one. Here’s to many years of love and happiness for Ari and his beautiful bride, Olivia.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. We all had found our true center after years of searching for what we never knew we were missing. With these women by our sides, there was nothing we couldn’t do.

When Barrett raised his glass, we all did the same, toasting the happy couple and the many years ahead. “Now,” he concluded with a grin, “… let’s eat so we can get the party started.”

11

MAGNUS

There were worse ways to wake up than with a mouth wrapped around my dick.

A knowing smile stirred my lips as I became aware of Evelyn’s lips moving up and down my shaft. Her tongue lapped at the underside before flicking the bundle of nerves beneath my head. I gently moved my hips, working my way deeper until I hit the back of her throat. “Good morning to you, too,” I muttered, opening my eyes and lifting my head to watch her work me.

Fuck, there was nothing sexier in the world. So many women complained about giving head, but my wife enjoyed it. Because she enjoyed it, not to mention wanting to satisfy me, she put her all into it. That only made it better, the way she let herself go and gave herself over to the process of giving and sharing pleasure.

Her low moan sent vibrations running through me, and I closed my eyes again, succumbing to the sensations racing through my body. I couldn’t help but reach down to cup the back of her head, burying my fingers in her hair. “You’re so good to me,” I groaned out while she bobbed up and down, slurping on me. Her hands ran over my abs and chest, adding to the sizzling pleasure that began to build in my core. There was only one place I would rather have my dick than in her expert mouth. Knowing my wife, she’d be good and wet by the time she finished.

She increased the pressure, her cheeks hollowing out. It was too much to stand. While it would’ve been easy to let go and fill her throat, I pulled her away. “Why don’t you climb on me and let me put that pussy to work?” I grunted, pulling the covers back so I wouldn’t miss anything. I wanted to see every inch of her as she lost herself.

She gave me a seductive smile as she worked her way up to her knees. Her body glowed in the morning sunlight streaming through the windows at her back, highlighting every soft curve. She was an angel. Only there was nothing particularly holy about the way she straddled me and wasted no time running my swollen head through her folds. “I thought you’d never ask,” she whispered.

Sure enough, she was dripping wet. What had I done to deserve a woman who got off on giving me head? Whatever it was, I planned on continuing to do it for the rest of my life because there was nothing better than this.

Once I was thoroughly coated in her hot, ambrosial juice, she guided me to her entrance. We both lost our breath as she slowly descended. All the while, she watched me, her eyes trained on my face while I indulged in the firm softness of her tits. “You are so goddamn beautiful,” I told her once she took all of me inside her, settling at my base.

Her lips stretched in a smile as she leaned down to kiss me, rocking her hips in time with every slow, sensual thrust of her tongue against mine. With her dark hair hanging in loose waves on either side of my face and her body wrapped around mine, she was the only thing in my world at that moment. It was only the two of us lost in each other.

She broke the kiss with a gasp, bracing herself with one hand on either side of my head and arching her back, thrusting her tits close to my face. I took advantage, kissing, fondling, licking, and sucking, driving her wild the way she drove me crazy with every deliberate stroke.

“Make yourself come for me,” I growled out, running my hand down her sides until I took her hips and pressed my fingers against her soft flesh. I knew her by heart but never got tired of every inch of her. She was an endless source of pleasure.

Especially when she let herself go the way she did now, chasing her high, single-minded in her purpose. There was nothing for me to do but grit my teeth and hang on for her sake. She had already worked me up until it was sheer willpower keeping me from exploding. Not yet. Not until she got hers.

I slid a thumb between us and found her clit. Her mouth fell open before a cry filled the room. “Oh God, yes.” She gasped when I began tracing circles over the sensitive bundle of nerves, soaking in every helpless moan that tumbled from her lips.

---