Page 56 of The Proposal Pact
“Sophia Levidis, do you take Callum Clover Lovinski to be your lawfully wedded husband from this day forward and into every next life—to have and to hold, in good times and bad, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. Will you love, honor, respect and cherish him? Will you support his inner peace and follow his heart’s desires? Will you follow his footsteps until the end of days and in every life thereafter?”
“Yes,” I whisper back.
Anne claps, the sound breaking us out of whatever state we were in, and I nearly jump, startling. “Callum, Sophia”—she takes our hands—“I now pronounce you husband and wife. May you always share this road called life. You may now kiss your bride, Callum.” She giggles, placing my hand into his.
Kiss? Um, we never discussed a kiss. My panicked eyes lock on his matching ones. I can’t kiss him. Nope.
We have to kiss, his say.
We do?mine respond.
That’s what married couples do.
Right.
Let’s make it quick and be done with it.
Yeah, okay.I nod.
Okay, a quick, short peck will do. Clover closes the space between us, my hand still clasped in his. His skin feels rough and hard on mine, but not in a bad way. Quite opposite, actually, it feels safe. Like he’s got me.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that before and the fact that it now comes from my fake husband is quite unnerving.
It’s just this ceremony. It got to me, that’s all.
I pucker my lips, in preparation of that peck…but instead he steals my air and…and so much more.
14
Callum
“A kiss may not be the truth but it is what we wish were true.” — Steve Martin as Harris Telemacher in L.A. Story
Mint.
Fucking mint. And this fucking kiss.
My lips barely grazed hers when the scent sent my mind into spiral, needing more. Like a junkie who got his first hit after years of being sober. And the next thing I know, my tongue slides over Sophie’s soft lips that she opens up to me, welcoming without hesitation, and the taste of mint explodes over my tongue.
I’ve never tasted anything better. Never felt this desperate need to keep going, to drink it all up. And I never want it tostop. My fingers fist into something soft and silky. My body pressing against something delicate and warm. My cock, rock-fucking-hard against…
Fuck. My eyes fly open. That thought sobers me right up, ripping me out of the haze I fell into, and I pull away from Sophie with a sharp jerk.
Those deep, brown eyes watching me intently, her chest heaving, lips swollen from what was supposed to be a peck for the show. A custom we had to follow and somehow got caught up in it.
Igot caught up in it.
Fuck! What the fuck is wrong with me?
I’ve lived for years without this, and now all of a sudden, I lose all sense?
“Ah, it always makes me so happy to see young love,” Anne claps her hands together, drawing our attention away from each other and to her. “Oh, I almost forgot! Do you have the rings?”
“No, not yet,” I tell her.
“Do you want to get the ones we offer? They are just simple, silver bands but they are of great quality and are infused with Loverly Cave spirits.”
Before Sophie can get me into any more trouble I say, “No, thank you. We are fine. So, is it done? Are we married now?”
