Page 84 of Released

And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.’

Tears fill my eyes at the words, and I have to swallow hard to stop them from falling, my grip on Loki and Kai’s hands tight. My whole body feels alight with feeling, my heart so full that it’s a wonder it’s not exploded.

“And now, your vows and the handfasting,” she continues, smiling broadly at us.

Loki lets go of my hand, Kai using his grip to turn me to face him. We place our hands between us, and Oleta brings out a beautiful woven rainbow cord, made up of ribbon, the colours matching my dress perfectly.

“You were my light when there was only darkness, Sweetheart,” Kai begins, and my eyes stare into his honey brown ones, the image wavering at the edges with my unshed tears. “You showed me that there was something to hope for, that I could be loved. You are my soul, my heart, and my light.”

As he speaks, Oleta wraps the cord around our hands binding us together. The tears fall by the end of his speech, tracing a hot path down my cheeks, and he reaches up with his spare hand to wipe them away, his smile beatific.

Loki steps up next to us, placing his hand over the top of ours.

“I knew that you would change my life, our lives, from the first moment that you stepped out of that shower,” he tells me, his emerald eyes glowing in the sun. “I just never knew how much you would become a part of me. You are buried so deep inside, Pretty Girl, that if they were to cut me in half you would be there too, in every part of me.”

I bite my lip, my breath hitching as he speaks, the cord wrapping around his hand and binding him to us. Jax is next, the massive bastard stepping up behind me and reaching around to lay his huge palm on top. He’s so close I can feel every ridge, every outline of him, and it sends a heat searing to my core when he leans down to rumble in my ear, letting only me hear his declaration.

“You are mine, Baby Girl, and I am yours until we draw our last breaths on this cursed earth. And even then I’ll fucking hold your soul to ransom and I dare anyone to take it away from me.”

Gods, this man. When he makes a love confession, he doesn’t do it by halves. My body aches for him, my heart soaring, and I don’t know if I’m more emotional or turned on right now. Grey eyes capture mine, as Jax’s hand is bound to mine, Loki’s, and Kai’s. Ash steps to the side of Kai who shifts a little so that my dark Knight can stand in front of me.

“You are the best part of me, Princess. You taught me how to love again, how to live again, how to breathe again. You arrived like a shooting star, burning all the bad that came your way and leaving only good. We were destined, it was written in the stars that we would be together, and I will never stop worshipping you, never stop thanking whatever god decided that I was worthy of you.”

Ash always had a way with words, and he’s just proven it to all our friends and family. I stare into his intense eyes, full of swirling emotions, and feel a completeness deep in my soul. His hand, too, is wrapped in the cord.

And then it’s my turn. Taking a deep shaking inhale, I look at each of them in turn, my lashes dotted with tears.

“You all gave me love at a time when I’d lost everything. You gave me hope when I felt hopeless. You gave me back the parts of myself that I never knew were missing. You captured my heart, we are all bound together for eternity, and I never want to be released from your love.”

I pour all that I have, all that I am into my words, and know that they affect my Knights as much as they do me when I look into jewelled eyes, all glistening. Jax pulls me closer, and I feel the shudder of his shaky breath.

The final knot is tied, and Loki pulls our clasped hands upwards to a cheer of the crowd behind us. Laughter falls from my own lips as tears drip down my cheeks, my body feeling weightless with happiness. I glance over and see all of our loved ones here; my grandparents, Ryan and Lexie, Enzo and Rosa, plus Tom who’s holding our daughter, who seems delighted by the whole thing and is beaming a huge, gummy grin.

Jax’s mum is here too, standing with Loki’s sisters who whoop and cheer. Ash’s mum is in rehab, undergoing a withdrawal from years of being drugged by his dad. Loki’s mum has fled the country, having emptied the family bank account upon hearing of her husband’s arrest. I’m glad, I never did like her, so we’re looking after the twins too, our woodland home full of life and laughter.

“Well, I believe you have rings you’d all like to exchange?” Oleta asks, her own smile wide, and we all laugh again as we almost forgot that part.

I manage to place simple bands of platinum on each of the guys’ left ring fingers, Willow holding them out for us. Kai then takes the puzzle ring that they had made for me; four intertwining bands of rose gold, platinum, gold, and white gold. One band for each of my men. He places it on my left ring finger, Loki taking over to push it down a little, then Ash follows, and Jax pushes it the rest of the way. The cool metal warms quickly to my skin and having taken off my wedding ring and engagement ring when I ‘died,’ a sigh of relief leaves me at having the familiar weight back on my finger.

“And that concludes our celebration,” Oleta says. “All that’s left for me to say is—”

She’s cut off by Loki grabbing the back of my head and slamming his lips to mine. I laugh into his kiss, soon having to hold back a moan as his tongue caresses the seam of my lips, begging me to open to him. He kisses me soundly, my toes curling in my shoes when Jax’s free hand wraps around the front of my throat, clearly not giving two fucks about our audience.

Loki pulls away with reddened lips pulled up into a shit-eating grin, and gives me a roguish wink. I just shake my head, my movement stopped by Ash grabbing my jaw and pulling my lips to hover milimetres from his.

“My turn,” he says in a low voice, the words caressing my skin before his lips close the distance and he destroys me with his kiss. It’s all Ash; hard, controlling, demanding yet full of tender worship, and I give in to him completely, my free hand resting on his chest, feeling his heart beating underneath my fingertips.

He pulls away with a lingering peck, and my eyelids flutter open to find Kai waiting. His free hand cups my cheek in a gentle gesture, and I nuzzle into the touch, my eyes briefly closing at the comfort. Achingly slow, he brings our mouths together, peppering light kisses over my lips, a small whine leaving mine. I can feel the smirk just before he finally deepens the kiss, plunging his tongue into my mouth and stealing my breath. His kiss reinforces his vows, tells me how much he loves me, and I return it, confessing my truth into his own mouth until we part, both gasping and needy.

Jax moves his grip from my throat to my jaw, turning my head to an almost uncomfortable angle before he lowers his lips and presses a soft, chaste kiss to my own. He pulls away just enough to stare into my eyes, his own filled blue fire.

“I’ll get a proper kiss between those sweet thighs later, Baby Girl,” he murmurs, stroking my lower lip with his thumb.

Fuck.

Me.

Boom, there goes my knickers. Grinning with a look that tells me he knows exactly what state he’s left me in, he lets go of my jaw, but moves his palm to the top of my collarbone, holding me in such a possessive way that I can feel how ruined my panties really are.Fannymuncher.

---