I sweep Pruitt off her feet and carry her bridal-style down the aisle. The whole time I make my way down the flower petal-laced ground, I keep my eyes on my wife.
“One ceremony down,” I whisper into her ear, and the heated look she gives me in response almost has me breaking into a sprint to the place I’ve set up for us, “one to go.”
47
Pruitt
Ryker has set up a beautiful space with pillows and blankets on the dock behind our house. I don’t know when he had time to set all of this up today, but he did an amazing job, and I couldn’t have picked a better place for us to complete the mating ceremony. The full moon casts down on us, and the soft sounds of the water on the lake moving under us is peaceful. After the amazing wedding he had planned for us, I didn’t think I could be any more in awe of him. But I was wrong.
“This is perfect.” I look between him and the moon. “Everything today has been absolutely perfect, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”
“That’s all I ever want for you, Pruitt. To be happy and safe.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. I had left my long veil back with Addison before we retreated, so it didn’t get dirty as we walked through the woods to get here.
“I can’t believe we’re married.” I look down at both of our joined hands where our new rings sit. “I bet you lose that ring the first time you shift,” I can’t help but joke.
“Oh yeah, this thing will be gone within the week.” Ryker chuckles. “I’ll just go get a wedding band tattoo.”
“I like that idea.” I smile up at him. “Maybe I should get a tattoo too. I feel a little left out.”
Ryker leans down and kisses my shoulder. “Don’t, I love how perfect your skin is, and the only mark I want to see on it is my mark.”
I shudder when he runs his fingertips down my spine. My backless dress gives him perfect access to the exposed skin there. I lay my hands on his chest and tilt my face up to his. There is intensity in his eyes when he brings his mouth down to mine. No matter how many times I touch Ryker, I never get used to the toe-curling electricity that shoots through my body when our skin meets. It’s even more powerful when we kiss.
I take on the task of undoing his buttons on his dress shirt while he deepens the kiss. I never pull away to look at what I’m doing. Instead, I go completely on feel. I’m thankful he chose not to wear a tie tonight because I don’t want to waste my time undoing it.
When my fingers brush against his hard stomach, I feel him shiver beneath my touch. While my hands work on taking off his shirt, Ryker’s works on taking all the pins from my hair, and one by one, my hair falls in soft curls down my back.
Once I have the buttons undone on his shirt, I reluctantly pull away from his mouth and push his shirt and jacket off his shoulders. I will never get tired of looking at all of his tattoos. Every time I see him shirtless, I swear I find a new one. I lean forward and press my lips into the center of his chest, where the tattoo with my birthday sits.
“Loosen the corseting at the bottom,” I tell him as I turn around so he can untie the ribbons at my lower back and butt. I love my dress, but I want it off as soon as possible.
Once the ties are loosened, Ryker is able to push the thin straps off my shoulders, and the whole dress falls down around my feet. I carefully step out of it and step toward him fully nude, since I didn’t wear any undergarments under my dress. I watch as he pulls the zipper down on his slacks, and soon, he’s standing in front of me naked as well.
I don’t feel the wave of self-consciousness I usually do when I stand in front of him this time. Ryker was right when he said as a shifter, you get used to nudity fairly quick.
“Come here,” he growls at me before he reaches down and lifts me up around his waist. I wrap my legs around his torso and guide his mouth to mine in a passionate kiss. His strong hands dig into my thighs, where he holds me up against him.
I hold on tight when Ryker lowers us onto the bed of pillows and blankets he had set up. Instead of lying us down, he stays sitting up, and I find myself straddling him. Ryker breaks the connection between our lips to kiss a trail down my neck and then to my shoulder. And like every time he does it, electric shocks radiate from every spot he scrapes his teeth against.
The combination of the cool wind and Ryker’s touch causes my nipples to harden. I moan and jerk when the pad of thumb tweaks one. The sensation causes my hips to tilt forward against him, and that’s when I feel his hard arousal against my thigh. Feeling bold, I snake my hand down between our two bodies and lightly stroke him with the palm of my hand. When Ryker hisses out a breath, and his eyes close tight, I figure out fairly quickly what makes him moan, and I find pleasure in knowing I’m doing that to him.
I’m no longer able to stand the distance between us—I want him touching every inch of me. But more importantly, I want him inside of me. I raise up on my knees and guide him into my hot center. We moan in unison, and I throw my head back as my body sinks down onto him.
“Fuck.” Ryker hisses
