Page 86 of Unhinged Cravings
“That’s what I like to hear.” I nuzzled her neck before letting her legs go. “Now be a good girl and clean up. We have a graduationparty to attend and I’m going to have a tough time sharing you with anyone else for the day.”
She pulled my head down and kissed me. “I promise I’m all yours when it’s over.”
“Damn right you are. And that dress stays on because I plan to strip it from you when we get back, although I might have you leave the heels. That’s a sexy look.”
I really wanted to keep her in her apartment for the rest of the day, but since I’d missed her graduation, I had to at least make it up to her by going to the party with her. She didn’t have to know that was why I was subjecting myself to this, but it was the reason. Besides, it would give me time to talk more to my brother about this new venture we were about to enter. The Tides empire expanding across the provinces. Now that I’d taken my real name, people were even more frightened of me. It had me looking forward to the next chapter in my life, the one that would involve Ava at my side.
Later that night, after hours of discussion with Greyson and Brinks that unfortunately involved Raines, after hours of keeping my eye on Ava as she bounced around the party, talking and laughing, drinking and eating, smiling like she was the center of the world, I took her back to her apartment and ravaged her a few more times.
My fingers ran through her hair as hers drifted over my tattoos. She lifted, studying my Omen tattoo and peeking up at me. “You changed it?”
I had. Adding that annoying snake Henley had used to the center of the dagger. Its head came out of the skull socket, its tail out the side of the mouth, but the dagger plunged into its middle, blood dripping from it. A sign that I had crushed my enemy and a warning to anyone else who wanted to fuck with me. Henley had left me at rock bottom, ready to give up, but Ava had brought me back to life.
“I added another one, too.” I twisted to show her the new oneon my shoulder blade she hadn’t noticed in our frenzied lust for one another.
“A wildcat,” she said, tracing the jaguar I’d added the day I returned home without her. She followed its movement, its hind feet springing, jaws wide and ready to attack its prey. “You got that for me?”
She looked back at me, her eyes misty.
“I needed a reminder of you,” I admitted.
“I love you,” she said, laying across my chest.
“Always,” I said. “And forever.”
Her kiss was soft, leading to more, and I realized this was what life with Ava would be. Filled with the danger that had always been there, but now with smiles and kisses, laughter and love. Things I’d never known I needed, but ones I knew I could no longer live without.
Epilogue
EMERSON
Stop fidgeting,” Greyson told me.
“I hate these monkey suits. This is why I don’t do those fancy events you go to.”
“Would you two stop?” Mason scolded, and I shot him a look. “The music is starting. Get your shit together up there.”
I tugged at my necktie. Tuxes were confining, and I hated them. It was one reason I rarely wore full suits.
The doors opened and Angie walked in, her dress a soft blue that complimented the decorations of the venue. She wore a white scarf around her shoulders as a cape, its ends twisting over her arms where she held a bouquet of white roses with blue frosted tips.
“Damn, I’m going to enjoy ripping that off her later,” Tyson muttered.
“Really?” I asked. “This is a wedding, not a frat party.”
“Shut up Tides… Shit, I can’t say that anymore without pissing you both off. Just keep your mouth shut or I might just fuck her while we’re here.”
I bunched my hands.
“Why are we doing this again?” he asked.
But my eyes were on Ava as Greyson hissed, “Because I promised Riley a Christmas wedding and since she didn’t get it, we’re renewing our vows this Christmas. Now shut up before my fist shuts you up.”
I would have joined in, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from how gorgeous Ava looked. She had bleached her hair blonde again, and added the pink streaks to it that I adored. Her diamond sparkled in the side of her nose, her brown eyes shimmering brightly with gold eyeshadow highlighting them. She gave me a ravishing smile and took her spot next to Angie. The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur because I couldn’t stop looking at her. Even as Riley came down the aisle in a gown fit for a winter fairy and she and Grey exchanged vows, Ava was the only thing on my mind.
It seemed like I had come full circle. Standing in as my brother’s best man for a wedding I had once tried to destroy in my desperation. Being accepted into this strange, sometimes high tension, family he now had and having the joy of my life standing across from me with a smile she reserved just for me.
The ceremony was small, just family, held at a winter resort I owned in the mountains. My offering to make up for the damper I’d put on their first wedding. No big party, just a celebration of my brother and his wife. Some skiing, lots of drinking, some business, and plenty of time to relax.
