Page 24 of No Saint

My patience. It was thin.

I stare towards the door, waiting for her to arrive. She was late.

But it was only a moment later when I saw her, dressed in white, in a dress I did not select, plucking petals from her bouquet as she walks, dropping them to the floor beneath her feet.

She was stunning of course, with her dark hair curled and pinned, her face glowing with whatever cosmetics they had applied but there was fire in her eyes and a shit ton of skin on show.

She meets my eyes from the end of the aisle. And she grins.

11

His glare was one for the record books.

Truly it was.

His stare burned into me as he took in the skin I had on show. The slits in the dress on both sides parted as I walked, opening to the hip, and clearly revealing I was wearing no underwear as the openings were too high to get away with. A ballsy move perhaps, but I was in it now and that irritation on his face, well it was worth it. The plunge was altered to the original plan but that was fine, the seamstress did an incredible job, and I wasn’t flashing a nipple which would have happened in the previous design. Instead, she’d gave it the plunge to the naval as I had asked and then joined the two sides together with a similar lace mesh to the sleeve, sheer so you still saw it all.

His eyes run down the length of me, following the curves and I swear there’s a war within them. A war between desire and anger. I pluck the petals off the flowers as I walk, leaving a trail behind me until I finally reach him, and the flowers are now bare and merely stalks in my hand.

“Aren’t you going to tell me I look beautiful?” I sneer.

His jaw muscles jump as he clenches his teeth.

“Where is the rest of the dress?” He hisses.

Behind us, I hear the whisper of voices but don’t tune in enough to make sense of them.

“I made alterations.”

His nostrils flare.

I grin at him, teeth and all.

“Are we ready to begin?” The priest asks.

“Yes,” Gabriel snaps, turning to him.

“Something wrong, Gabriel?” I ask sweetly.

He side eyes me, but ultimately, says nothing. I turn to the priest, my boobs and bare bouquet in full view. His eyes widen and Gabriel just becomes more irritated, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

“Get it over with,” he hisses under his breath.

The man swallows, a sweat breaking out across his brow. He begins the ceremony, a shake in his voice the entire time. There are no vows apart from the ones they provide and when the rings are produced, my heart leaps into my throat.

Gabriel takes the ring from Devon, holding the glittering jewelry between his fingers as he is ordered to repeat the vows. He slides it to the knuckle, his deep baritone washing over me, burrowing under my skin and then he slides it on.

For a second I stare at it. At the rock adorning my finger, the diamond shining so bright and clear. I’m forced out of the trance when a ring is forced into my hand by Devon, his glare enough to rival Gabriel’s. He was still sour about the plate, I got it. I take the ring, but I don’t copy what Gabriel does, I leave it at the end of his finger while I recite the vows and then I shove it down. Hard enough that the edge of the metal scrapes against his skin as it goes until his finger is red and the ring sits where it needs to.

The side of his mouth cocks up, “Leonessa,” He drawls, “You tease me.”

The ceremony is over before it really begins. I reluctantly say I do, the only reason the words leave my mouth is the view of my son in the front row, nestled comfortably in an older woman’s lap, giggling at the toy he has in his hands. I was thankful he didn’t really know what was happening here.

“You may kiss the bride…”

Gabriel only stares at me for a moment before he leans in swiftly, grasping my face in his hands and slamming his mouth against mine. It was vicious and powerful and yet I found my lips parting for him, allowing his tongue to sweep in to caress my own. I swear I feel the vibration of a growl inside my mouth, his thumbs gently circling on my cheeks.

A first kiss.

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