Page 110 of Guarded from Havoc

I get it. Blade and Arrow isn’t just a place to work. It’s family.

It’s being there for each other through thick and thin.

It’s knowing that no matter what, we always have each other’s six.

“Congrats, man.” Enzo stops at our table and claps my shoulder. “I know I said it before,” he adds with a smile, “but I’m really happy for you.”

“And the wedding was lovely,” Winter adds. “I was crying through the whole ceremony. When you read the vows you wrote…” She shakes her head, smiling softly. “It was really beautiful.”

“What was beautiful?” Rafe asks as he walks over. He shakes my hand. “Congrats.”

“Erik’s vows,” Winter replies. “We were all crying when he read them. Me, Lark, Rory…”

“I always knew Erik had a secret soft side,” Rafe says with a grin. “A true romantic.”

I punch his arm. Not hard, but enough to make him wince. “Laugh it up. Just wait until it’syourturn.”

Rafe shakes his head. “No way. I’m not interested in relationships. Or marriage. Not that I think anything’s wrong with it. But it’s just not for me.”

“That’s what I thought.” I glance over at Tate again. She spots me looking and smiles. Then she says something to Ally and Julia before leaving them to head in my direction. “But all it takes is meeting the right person.”

Tate comes to my side, putting her hand on my shoulder. She bends down to kiss my cheek. Her hair brushes my skin, soft like satin. “Sorry I was gone for so long,” she says. “Ally and Julia were asking all about the ranch. And about our honeymoon.”

I loop my arm around her waist and draw her onto my lap. Then I kiss her, tasting a hint of salt mixed with the sweet tang of white wine. “It’s fine. I don’t mind if you talk to your friends.”

“I know.” She meets my gaze; her love a visible thing. “But I want to be with my husband. Celebrating our marriage.”

My heart expands to triple its size.

Rolls over.

Squeezes.

Fuck. I love her so much. And I can’t believe she agreed to marry me.

I don’t give a shit that everyone at the table is watching me. I frame Tate’s face and kiss her again, more deeply this time. She turns in my lap to face me, her small hands clutching my biceps. A small hum of pleasure sounds in her throat, the sexy sound making me wish we were on our honeymoon already.

When we break apart, her cheeks are pink and her eyes are sparkling. She glances around the table, noticing everyone grinning widely, and her flush grows deeper. “Sorry,” she blurts. “I kind of forgot where I was for a second.”

“You’re at your wedding,” Sarah replies. “And if that’s not a time to make out with your husband, I don’t know when is.”

“You can kiss me any time,” I tell Tate. “Anytime. I mean it.”

As we look at each other, heat flares in her eyes. She shifts on my lap, wiggling her ass just enough to make me even harder than I was already. Then she lowers her mouth to my ear. “Maybe we can sneak away for a little bit. After the speeches but before we cut the cake.”

Need throbs, hard and insistent. “I like the sound of that.”

As the conversation around us shifts to other topics, Matt asks, “Has anyone seen Tyler? I know he was at the ceremony. But I haven’t seen him since then.”

Dante frowns. “He may have needed some time alone.” He pauses. “Honestly, I was surprised he came. Considering…”

Tate’s brows wing into a worried V. “I hope it’s okay that we invited him. Erik called and said it was okay if he didn’t come. But we just thought, after everything he did to help, and being part of Erik’s team… How could we not ask him?”

“He was glad you asked,” Matt says. Isla comes up beside him, and he kisses her before taking Dove into his arms. “He told me when I picked him up at the airport. He wanted to be here for you guys.”

Isla sits beside Matt and takes a sip of ice water. “Are you talking about Tyler? He’s still here. I saw him outside with Nolan, Ace, and Indy.”

“I’m really surprised Indy came,” Rafe comments. “But he looks good. Don’t you think?”

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