Page 51 of Always and Forever

She steps off the sled, and I’m frozen in place, watching her in awe as Rhia helps her shed the heavy coat she wore for her journey here, replacing it with a fur shawl.

When she steps onto the carpet, her eyes fixed on mine, I run to her.

I don’t care that I’m meant to be waiting for her at the end of this make-shift aisle. I need her in my arms!

My angel meets me halfway, and I scoop her up and twirl us. Her joyful laughter fills my ears, and her scent invades my nostrils. I want to fill my lungs with it… forever.

Then her cold lips connect with mine, and electricity shoots through me.

For this perfect moment in time, we get lost in each other, everything else around us melting away.

She’s my happy place.

My world is right when she’s in my arms.

Laughter around us makes me pull away from her reluctantly. She holds onto the lapels of my woollen coat, resting her forehead against mine.

“I don’t think we’re at the kissing part yet,” she whispers, looking up at me through her dark lashes. The smile she’s gifting me with is blinding.

“You and I are always at the kissing part,” I tell her, pecking her lips and twirling us another time for good measure.

Then I set her down and jog back to my position under the tree, as if nothing had happened.

Ella returns to the end—or is it the beginning?—of the rolled-out carpet runner and stands proudly with a huge smile I can feel from my spot by the altar.

I drink her in, letting my gaze wonder over her from head to toe.

She’s ethereal in her rose-pink dress; it contrasts beautifully with the snowy backdrop. A silver belt cinches her waist, catching the torchlight and sparkling like a constellation. She told me Rhia had made something for her wedding outfit years ago and brought it with her on instinct—this must be it.

Even beneath the layers of clothing I hope she’s wearing, her baby bump is protruding. Enormous pride swells deep within me whenever I look at it.

It’s a burgeoning testament to the richness that Ella has brought into my world. I want to see her belly grow bigger and bigger, and then repeat the process over and over again.

My cock stirs in my pants. Who knew I had a breeding kink? But now is not the time for this… now is the time to bind myself to this woman… forever.

Rhia appears by Ella’s side. She’s wearing a dark plum dress that compliments Ella’s. She pats down her red, wind-blown locks and then looks at her best friend’s head, bursting into giggles. Reaching up, she removes the light brown fur hat.

Ella’s long, blonde hair cascades in long waves over the fur shawl draped over her shoulders. The sight is breathtaking, and my heart swells with love. Then it jumps into an erratic beat as my angel smiles at me.

I swear I forget how to breathe as all the air is knocked from my lungs.

“Proceed,” I tell Claudette through the lump in my throat.

Let’s get this ceremony rolling.

I want… need to make Ella mine.

Chapter Twenty-One

Ella

Myheartispoundingin my chest.

The freezing cold eating away at my face only a few minutes ago is completely forgotten.

That kiss!

While only brief and chaste by our standards, it touched my soul, my heart, my everything.

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