“Feel any different?” he asked on the way to the kitchen.
“A little.”
“Me too.”
He set me down on the counter. “Stay there,” he said. “Evil spirits might still be lingering.” He moved around the kitchen, grabbing water bottles from the fridge, a box of Wheat Thins, and a bag of chocolate chips. “This should do it,” he said. “Now we go to the bedroom—but this time, I want your legs around me.”
“That’s going to be tough in this dress,” I said.
“I can help with that.” He put the food and water down and squatted at my feet. He took his time removing my boots, dropping them on the ground. As he ran a hand up the outside of my calf, he pushed my dress up with it. “My only regret today is that I didn’t get to shave your legs this morning. Spending the night apart was a terrible idea.”
As he touched me, I leaned back onto my hands and closed my eyes, only partially aware of what he was saying. “I love you,” I said.
“I know you do, my good girl.” He moved my dress up higher and kissed the inside of one knee, sliding his palms and the fabric up my thighs. “You’re the sweetest of everything,” he said. “Better than cake or pie or even cotton candy.”
“I doubt that,” I said, sighing.
“Then you should taste yourself.”
I had tasted myself, at Manning’s demand, several times. I shivered at the memory of his fingers in my mouth as his hands inched higher, inviting the night air against my skin. “You’re going to torture me tonight, aren’t you?” I asked.
“I’m going to do everything one man can between sundown and sunrise,” he said. “And I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.”
“Are we starting here?”
“No. We start in our bedroom.” He stood, bunching my dress up around my hips to free my legs. I wrapped them around his waist, sliding up until I felt him hard and long through his pants.
“Get the water.”
I picked up a bottle in each hand, wrapped my arms around his neck, and held on. Manning gathered the rest of the food and walked us down the hall to our room. I shifted against his crotch, warming myself up. “You know,” I said, pulling myself more tightly against him, “you should be extra turned on right now.”
“I doubt that’s possible.”
I kissed his cheek, murmuring, “You’re protecting, providing, and mating me all at once. Keeping the evil spirits away. Bringing snacks you foraged from the kitchen, and . . .”
“And?”
“The mating part.”
“The best part.” He reached our door, which we’d closed off and locked in case any guests had come into the house. “Fuck.”
“What?”
“My hands are full, and the key’s in my shed.”
“Why?”
He dropped the food on the ground. “I didn’t want to carry it in my pocket all night.”
With my back to the door, I only heard the knob wiggle. “What’re you doing?”
“Breaking it.”
“Manning.” I sighed with exasperation. “You can’t go around breaking locks all the time.”
“This one’s extra strong, too,” he said proudly. “Installed by the best—yours truly.”
“So let’s go find the key.”
His bicep flexed against my ribs with the effort. “I can get it.”
“You’ll splinter the whole thing.”
“Then I’ll fix it.” With a snap, I looked over my shoulder as the door swung open. “There we go.”
“The food—”
“I’ll go back for it.”
“But Blue might get into it.”
“That mutt,” he griped, nudging the crackers and chocolate into the room with his boot before kicking the door closed. We had to shut it to get alone time, or Blue would interrupt us—we knew from experience.
Manning pushed my back up against the nearest wall. “I want to fuck you in your wedding dress, Lake.” His mouth was suddenly hot on my neck, his hands squeezing my ass. “Will you let me fuck you in your wedding dress?”
I let my head fall back, giving him better access to my throat. “I have special lingerie for you.”
“And I want to see that, too. I want to taste you everywhere tonight. I want to be wearing your scent like cologne by dawn. But the first time as a married couple, I want your dress on.”
I dropped the water bottles. They thudded heavily on the wood floor, rolling under the bed. I answered him by undoing his belt buckle. “Only if you leave your suit on, too.”
He held me up by my waist so I could get his zipper down. My mouth watered at the sight of his beautiful cock against the fine fabric of his suit, at his urgency to spoil my cream bridal dress bunched between us. I lined him up against me, sliding his head through my wetness. “You told me once you wanted to blemish me. Ruin me. Now’s your chance.”
“Careful, or I’m going to rip right through your dress.”