Page 82 of Worth the Vow

“You’re fucking right I would,” he whispers, grabbing my neck and pulling me toward him for a quick but intense kiss.

“Well, this is new,” I hear Gianna comment. I rarely get to interact with Gianna, Dominic’s oldest sister. She and her husband Travis live slightly out of town with their child, and she’s thinking about opening up her own party planning business. Originally the special events coordinator for Everlasting, she went on maternity leave, and Hannah, Luca’s girlfriend, took her place.

I laugh against Dominic’s lips as everyone chimes in on the public display of affection. I assume they’re talking about seeing us kiss.

“Yeah, Dom never kissed any girl in front of us. Definitely not in this house,” Alex teases. I feel Dominic sigh and shake his head slightly. “What? You know I’m speaking the truth, Dom.”

“This is different,” Dominic murmurs.

“Why?” Alex asks.

Dominic sits back slightly so he can look at me. Taking my head in the palm of his hand, he smiles sweetly. “Because this is forever.”

I swear my heart stops beating. Hearing Dominic say things like that, out loud, makes me almost believe him. But I’m so damn scared. I lean slightly closer and whisper, “Please don’t say things you don’t mean.”

He gives me a puzzled expression. “When have I ever lied to you?”

I struggle to come up with one, letting out an awkward snort. “Do you want me to sit here and think of examples? I’m sure there are things, like saying a meal I cooked was good, but in reality it tasted like shit.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ve possibly told you a couple of little white lies. But those aren’t important. They’re trivial. Stupid things everyone says to keep the peace. The important stuff, Katharine, I’ve never lied about.”

“And the whole threshold thing,” Luca pipes up.

“What?” I ask, and at the same time, Dominic says, “Holy shit! We crossed the threshold!”

I look at him in confusion. I have a vague memory of some kind of myth all the Santo kids believed, how they were all cursed because of something dumb. “Refresh my memory, please.”

Arianna comes to sit next to me. “Alex made this ridiculous bet that none of us could carry a significant other over the threshold of this house. Seems silly, right? But no one did it. None of us accomplished it for years.”

I turn to Dominic. “Not even Savannah? Not even —”

“No one,” Dominic interrupts, saving me from saying Alex’s wife’s name. I cast a quick look at Alex and find him staring at the floor, a pensive look covering his face. Now that he’s retiring from the National Guard, he’s been growing his beard out. A recent Colorado law allows police officers to have facial hair, and evidently Alex will enjoy that new benefit.

I turn to Arianna again. “But you did, with Stone, right?”

“Yes. I had to carry him, because Alex was a complete asshole and made the bet that the Santo kid had to carry their partner over, which means me, Gianna, and Isabella have to carry our guys over.”

“Learned my lesson,” Isabella says from the hallway. “I’m never trying that again. No one wants a fat baker anyway.”

“Isabella!” Sofia gasps. “You are not fat. You are beautiful.”

Isabella rolls her eyes. “It’s fine, Mom. I know I’m fat. You can say it.”

Dominic opens his mouth, and I glare at him. “Don’t you dare say it.”

He chuckles before opening his mouth anyway. “Belly, you aren’t fat. You are voluptuous, beautiful, and talented. Any man would be lucky to have you.”

“Wow,” Isabella blurts out, blushing. “Thanks, Dom.”

“So now we’ve had four successful couples make it through the front door!” Luca says loudly. “Who’s next?”

Isabella and Alex both turn to walk in opposite directions, clearly not interested in volunteering themselves as tribute for the Santo Family Dating Game.

“Dominic,” I whine. “You know I can’t stay quiet.”

“You better be quiet, or I’ll have to spank you.” The light from the crescent moon makes his eyes sparkle as a gentle breeze whips my hair around my face, blocking my vision of him momentarily. I swipe at my hair, aggravated that it’s ruining this phenomenal moment, because my husband is on his knees in front of me, in the middle of his backyard, his face buried between my legs.

I shudder in ecstasy as he resumes slowly licking my clit. The things this man can do with his tongue should be illegal. And as much as I’d like to delve into why the thought of him spanking me is incredibly hot, I’d prefer to keep Dominic exactly where he is.

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