Page 69 of His to Take

Only when Ryker began to speak did I really listen.

“As your husband, I vow to protect you, always. I vow to take care of you, to love you, and to give you all the happiness you deserve,” he stated with warm sincerity.

His vow to protect me surged through me, a sudden warmth cascading through my limbs.

“Repeat after me, Dr. Vaughn,” the officiant said. I glanced back at him, nodding that I understood.

“As your wife, I promise to be obedient,” he intoned, then paused briefly, lifting his eyes to mine with one slightly raised brow. I was profoundly aware of the importance of this particular vow to Ryker. “I promise to love and care for you in return, always,” he continued, providing the rest of the vow I was expected to make.

I cleared my constricted throat and repeated every word with feeling, all while holding Ryker’s gaze. I blushed when I promised obedience, knowing exactly what would happen in our marriage bed if I failed to keep that vow.

“Do you, Dr. Naomi Vaughn, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” I whispered, my voice shaking with emotion.

“Ryker Gates, do you take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” Ryker answered, his voice steady and sure. My heart pounded in my chest.

“Then I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Ryker pulled me toward him, wrapping his arms boldly around my waist as he captured my lips in a kiss that shook me down to the roots of my soul. He kissed me with a fierceness that had never been there before. I was his wife now. I belonged to him, and he was sealing his claim and his ownership with this unprecedented kiss.

When he pulled away, I was trembling in his arms, but he held me steady.

“I love you, Naomi,” he purred, brushing an errant happy tear from my cheek. I’d never cried happy tears before.

“I love you too, Ryker.”

He swept me off my feet and carried me off down the winding path. There were glasses of champagne waiting for us in the car as it ferried us back to his home for our first night together as man and wife.

Soft string lights lit the entryway. Ryker carried me through the front door. There were flickering candles everywhere. The table was laden with meats, breads, fruits, and cheeses, much like what I had made for the first night he’d stayed over at my house but much grander. There was wine and a bottle of champagne on ice. He set me down in a chair with a grin and another kiss and fed me bite after bite by hand until I was full. I was surprised when he let me feed him too. With a wink, he popped open the bottle of champagne and we both burst into laughter as it bubbled up in a golden fountain, as if celebrating with us. Hepoured glasses for each of us and showed me how to link arms to share this momentous sip.

“To my perfect wife,” he toasted, his smile revealing his happiness.

“To my perfect husband,” I returned the sentiment with joy. Feeling like I was floating on air, I moaned with delight as the bubbles tingled against my tongue.

“I’m relishing the sight of you in that gown so much that I almost don’t want to take it off of you,” he drawled, with a sly look on his face.

“Almost?” I questioned.

“Stand up, my beautiful bride.”

I obeyed, of course. He stood and lifted me up into his arms. I wrapped an arm around his neck as he carried me into his bedroom. When he set my feet on the floor near his bed, he lifted his hands to my shoulders, his touch lingering on the sensitive skin of my throat.

“Let me look at you,” he murmured. I stood silently, heart pounding, as he circled me slowly, dragging his fingertips along my flesh. His touch caused fiery tendrils of sensation to go slinking through me and I bit my lip, hopeful that tonight would finally be the night that he fucked me.

All the romance novels suggested that that’s what happened on the wedding night. They called it "making love”, and I liked the sound of that tonight, very much.

His palm cupped the side of my neck. It was gentle, but it felt possessive enough for a fire of desire to blaze to life deep inside me.

“Ryker,” I breathed.

“My beautiful, blushing bride,” he leaned down to me and breathed the words into my ear, sending goosebumps racing down my arms and making my nipples hard.

Without another word, he drifted behind me and slowly unbuttoned the line of pearls down my back. One by one he bared my flesh. My impatience almost got the best of me several times and I had to bite my lip to keep quiet.

I felt like I had been waiting forever for this moment. When the gown was fully undone, he pushed the draped sleeves all the way down my arms. The dress loosened around my hips, and it took little effort on his part to push it down to the floor. Carefully, he helped me step out of it. Standing there in nothing more than my bridal lingerie and a pair of heels, I watched as he took the time to drape my wedding gown over a wingchair by the window.

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