Their Wicked Wedding by Ember Casey Page A

only this pleasure, this truth. We promise ourselves to each other in a matter of days, become one in the eyes of law and society, and yet at times like this, we are already closer than that. My cock is already awake, wanting to complete the union, to join me to my other half, but I won’t wake her. Not now.
    I don’t move—no more than I must, anyway. I can’t stop my fingers from tracing her spine, or keep my lips from finding their way across her hair. And the way she murmurs in her sleep and presses closer to me only makes it harder.
    “I’m sorry,” I whisper against her hair, so quietly that I can hardly hear my own voice. And then, “I love you.”
    Her lips open and close against my collarbone, but she’s still asleep. She must be exhausted. But I don’t mind. I can say my piece without waking her.
    “I should have been honest with you,” I murmur. “I thought I was protecting you. But you don’t need my protection. You need my faith and my trust. And I do trust you. I know you’ll be with me through anything. That you’re strong enough.” Stronger even than me , I find myself thinking.
    She nestles closer to me.
    “It’s a hard habit to break,” I continue softly. “Feeling protective of you. I can’t help it. I’ve never had anything as precious as you in my entire life. I still fear every day that something might tear you away from me. And even the thought of that—”
    I can’t even bring myself to finish.
    “I never want to do anything to hurt you. Or make you cry. I never want to do anything but bring you the deepest love and happiness,” I tell her. “And I promise I’m going to spend the rest of my life making this right.”
    She shifts again. “You better.”
    The words are so soft that for a moment I think I’ve imagined them. But her arm comes around me and her face tilts up until her lips are right against my throat.
    My arm tightens. “How long have you been awake?”
    I feel her smile against my neck. “Does it matter?”
    “No.”
    She makes a sound that’s half laugh, half sleepy sigh. I press my lips against her hair again before pulling her away from me so I can look her in the eyes.
    “Good morning,” she says, a groggy smile stretching across her face.
    I respond with a kiss—a rougher, more passionate kiss than I should probably give her when she’s still half-asleep, but she doesn’t seem to mind.
    After a moment, I force myself to break away.
    “Before we say anything else,” I tell her, “I need to apologize.”
    She starts to argue, but I cut her off.
    “I shouldn’t have kept anything from you,” I say. “I thought I could handle it on my own, and I didn’t mean—”
    She stops my words with a kiss. Only when I stop trying to speak does she pull her lips away.
    “Lily—”
    “It doesn’t matter,” she says quickly. “I shouldn’t have gotten so angry.”
    “But—”
    “No. It’s my turn to apologize.” She pushes herself up on one elbow. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I’m sorry I got angry when you asked for my understanding. I’m sorry for storming off last night.”
    I reach up and thread my fingers through her hair. “I can explain—”
    “Not now.” She leans forward and brushes her lips across mine in that way she knows drives me insane. “There’s time for that later.” When she kisses me again, I know exactly where this is leading.
    I chuckle, and the sound comes from deep in my chest. “Have you given up that madness, then?”
    “Madness?” she asks, faux innocence in her eyes.
    “The game where you tease me and then tell me we’re not allowed to have sex until after the wedding.”
    “I’m not teasing this time. I promise.”
    Her tone makes my cock strain against my briefs. Oh, she’s a cruel one. And so intoxicating that I can hardly think straight anymore.
    “We should talk,” I tell her, even as I kiss her neck. I still haven’t explained everything to her.
    “We have a lifetime to talk,”