“It’s so beautiful up here,” Jessica said, leaning her forearms on the rim of the basket, her glass of bubbly held loosely between her elegant hands.
Sed moved to stand directly behind her. He shifted to lean against her back. Not too solidly—he didn’t want to put too much pressure on the baby after the poor little tyke had been squashed into a corset earlier that day. Not that Jess hadn’t looked fucking hot in that corset. She had. He’d just felt a bit sorry for Sed Junior. If his son was anything like him, he liked a bit of room to let it all hang out.
“I was going to do this at the ceremony,” he said, “but things didn’t go exactly as planned.”
And maybe that unexpected deluge of rain had been a blessing.
“Do what?” she asked with a giggle. “Poke me in the ass with your junk?”
He rubbed his semi-hard cock against her ass. “My junk? Surely it deserves more respect than that.”
“Very well. Poke me in the ass with your magnificent specimen of man-meat. Your love hammer. Your one-eyed anaconda.”
He chuckled. “That’s better.” Maybe… “Our vows,” he said, burying his face in her sweet-smelling hair. “We never said them. Not the real ones.”
She stiffened and covered her mouth with her hand. “You’re right. How could I have forgotten?”
She tried to turn to face him, but he held her front firmly against the basket. He cupped her breasts in his hands and nuzzled the back of her neck. His cock leapt with excitement, more than ready to be buried within her slick heat. Jessica instantly went limp in his arms.
He sang the words to her; somehow they meant more that way. He held her tightly in his arms, swaying back and forth to the cadence in his head.
“There are few things that steal my breath. They would be you, you, you. And few things that I’ll love ‘til death. Also you, you, you. From the moment that you caught my eye, and I knew I had to make you mine, I wondered if I should give my heart to you. I do, I do, I do.”
“That’s so sweet,” she whispered.
He wasn’t finished.
“Only one thing makes me more complete.” He slid a hand low to cover her belly. Their child. “Part you, part me, inseparably. No way to ever untangle us two, when two become one and one becomes three.”
“Or ten if you have your way,” she said with a soft laugh.
“True. But that didn’t rhyme,” he said before continuing.
“There are few things that could steal my heart. Only you, you, you. And few things that could tear us apart.” He spoke the next line. “Or nothing. You’re stuck with me now, Jess. Like it or not.”
“I like it,” she insisted.
And then he finished the song in his baritone. “It’s true, true, true. I love you, you, you. Say I do, do, do.”
“I do!” She laughed. “I mean I did! But I still do. Did you write that?”
“Of course I wrote that. That’s why it sucks so much. My lyrics come out better when I’m angry or pissed off. So forgive the lameness of my sap.” He rested his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes. His heart was still thudding like a spooked jackrabbit in his chest. Mushy love songs were so not his thing. He’d prefer to growl and scream about fire and brimstone any day.
“It doesn’t suck, baby. It meant a lot to me and brought tears to my eyes.”
“Oh yeah, sure,” he said. “You and all the angels in heaven.” He chuckled and rolled his eyes toward the weeping angels above them. They were probably weeping because it had been so ridiculous and stupid.
“My turn,” she said and squirmed sideways. “But I want to look at you when I say mine.”
He gave her just enough space to turn around before drawing her against him again, belly to belly. He was surprised to see she really was teary eyed. So many females in his past had used tears to try to get him to respond or react in a certain way, so usually tears didn’t affect him. But these tears—even though they hadn’t left her jade-green eyes—had his heart clenching in his chest. Or maybe it was the look of utter adoration in her eyes. His Jess was really his now. He stole a kiss—unable to help himself—and then stared into her eyes as she spoke her heart to him.
“We will share many perfect and happy moments in our lives together, Sed. Unfortunately, we will also share heartaches and tragedies. For all the good times and the bad, as well as everything between, I promise to be by your side and ever in your corner—to support you and defend you. You are my greatest champion and my most difficult challenge, which is why, no matter what life throws at us, I know we’ll make it through. Our love will be stronger for our efforts. It’s a true and lasting love. One that cannot be denied or destroyed. It’s forever, Sed.”
She took his hand and rubbed the wedding band she’d already placed there, reminding him that these were her vows to him. “Today I take you as my partner in life and in love. I trust in you and in us. Separately, each of us is strong, but together, there is nothing we can’t overcome. I promise to cherish each moment with you, my husband, and occasionally let you get your way.”
She winked at him, and he laughed. He hugged her against his chest, his hand cupping the back of her head to hold her as close to his achingly full heart as possible.
“Well no angels are weeping over my spiel,” she murmured, snuggling even closer.
He blinked the moisture from his eyes and kissed her hair. “No angels,” he said in gruff voice, “but maybe one sinner.”
“I’m not going to look,” she said to his chest. “Or I’ll be a blubbering mess.”
He gazed out over the countryside as he held her close. The sun was beginning to set on the distant horizon, and as much as he loved embracing her, he couldn’t rob her of such a beautiful sight.
“I think you should watch our first sunset as husband and wife,” he whispered.
She lifted her face from his chest and turned her head. Brilliant pinks and streaks of orange decorated the few residual clouds in the sky.
“Breathtaking,” she said, turning in his arms to face outward once again.
He stepped close behind her and cradled her lower belly in both hands. Resting his cheek against her hair, he closed his eyes and treasured the feel of her in his arms. He was definitely breathless. No sunset did that to him. But she did. “That’s what he said,” he murmured.
“I think you should grab your trench coat,” she said. “Put it on now. You must be chilled.”
Sed stiffened as he recognized what her suggestion meant; she wanted him to make love to her right here, right now. With nothing but a long leather duster to shield them from prying eyes. The pilot had assured him that he’d give them their privacy, but the basket was relatively small. There was little privacy to be had.
“You sure?” he asked, remembering a time when their lust for public displays of affection had nearly destroyed her happiness and her career.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m sure.”
He retrieved the trench coat from the floor of the basket and slipped his arms into the sleeves. It draped him all the way to the ground and was a few sizes too large on purpose. He wrapped his arms around her, completely enveloping her with his body and the cover of the heavy leather. She took the free edges of the coat in her hands so the sides would cover most of her and leave his hands free to do as he would. He’d touch her, he decided, and give her release, but he wouldn’t risk penetrating her. Not here. He could wait.
He cupped her firm breast with one hand, massaging gently. She shuddered against him. Recently her breasts had become incredibly sensitive. He touched her far more carefully than he would have liked, but knew she couldn’t handle rough treatment since he’d gotten her pregnant.
“Sed,” she said breathlessly, “touch my bare skin.”
He slipped the straps of her dress and bra down over one shoulder and lowered the fabric so that the top half of her breast was exposed. Arm crossing her body, his fingers delved beneath the cup of her bra to stroke her stiff nipple.
> “Oh,” she gasped.
While he had her distracted with pleasure, his other hand moved to her thigh and slowly slid the skirt of her dress upward. Her bare flank quivered beneath his feather-light touch. He glanced quickly over his shoulder to find Gary paying them absolutely no mind as he watched the scenery and controlled the balloon’s flight.
Sed slid his fingers beneath the elastic at the leg of Jessica’s panties, rubbing his fingertips against her skin from her hipbone to one soft, swollen lip. Her body jerked in response, thrusting her breast into his hand and pressing her ass against his burgeoning erection. Yeah, he could wait about five minutes before penetrating her, he decided. She did bring out the beast in him.
“Please, Sed,” she whispered breathlessly. “Take them off.”
“Take what off?” he growled low in her ear. He knew what that tone of voice did to her, and the trembling of her flesh proved she was as hot and eager for him as ever.
“My panties.” She groaned as his fingers delved into the moisture pooling in her pussy.