The judge nods. I’m tempted to ask her whether I’m to repeat it verbatim, but I think it’ll only piss her off, so I take out the added commentary, stare directly into Ruby’s eyes, and say only what’s necessary.
“To love, honor, and cherish?—”
“To . . . er . . . love, honor, and cherish.” My heart beats faster with every lie I’m telling, because while I wholeheartedly admit I can be a dick, I never lie.
I don’t see the point. It doesn’t get you anywhere. And I’m not very good at it.
But I continue and follow it up with another.
“Until death do us part.”
“Now put the ring on her finger.” It’s at this point that she catches sight of Ruby’s engagement ring. “Jeez Louise, you could black someone’s eye with that.”
Ruby ignores her, too focused on what I’ll do this time if it doesn’t fit. The skin at the base of her throat hammers like Morse code, and I’m tempted to repeat last night, just for the reaction. But today the ring slips on perfectly. Ruby commences with her portion of our vows and breezes through them with barely a blink about making promises she won’t keep.
“I now pronounce you man and wife.” The judge picks up her coffee and sits back, taking a loud slurp. “This is where you kiss. And make it a good one, marriage only goes downhill from here.”
Behind me, Hendricks snorts, and even Ruby’s lips quiver in amusement.
I don’t know what to do. The judge stares like she’s waiting for a show, and in any normal circumstances, she’d get one. Max is peering up at us, and he may as well be holding a looking glass from the scrutiny I feel under his gaze.
Jesus, I’ve never been so hesitant to kiss a beautiful woman.
“Well? What are you waitin’ for, boy? Kiss yer wife.”
So I do.
Stepping into her space, I take her face in my hands. Her skin’s as soft as it looks, and I hope the calluses on my palms don’t scratch her. I know we’re being peer pressured into this, but I don’t want Ruby to do anything she doesn’t want to, and that includes kissing her new husband. Time stretches out as I lean in slowly and wait for her to tell me no.
It doesn’t come.
Instead, she mutters something indecipherable but sounds a lot like “get on with it,” grips the front of my shirt, and pulls me to her.
My mouth surrounds hers, and I fight the urge to keep it chaste, but need wins out and my tongue slips past her lips. Peppermint bursts on my taste buds from the gum she’s chewing, and I feel her boobs pressed against me, setting off a spiral of thoughts I won’t forget in a hurry.
Somewhere along the way, her hands loosen on my shirt and slip up my chest, past my collar, and move into my nape, scratching through my curls. The band of her engagement ring is barely warm under my skin, but it heats my whole body.
I’ve always thought I can take or leave kissing—it’s a means to an end. But Ruby’s changing my opinion on many things today, including this. This kiss is something I can get behind. It’s something I could get addicted to.
We stay fused, our mouths moving together like we’ve been doing this for years, have a lifetime of knowing what each of us wants, what turns us on.
More disturbingly, Iwantto know the answers to those questions, and based on the soft moan echoing down my throat, so does she.
It’s Max loudly whispering, “Daddy, how long is Uncle Miles going to be kissing?” that pulls us back to reality and brings much-needed levity to the situation.
She steps back. “We’re done.”
I take pride in Ruby’s gravelly voice and high amusement in how she won’t look at me.
Only my hold stops her from wobbling over. She’s glassy-eyed and blinking furiously, looking as perplexed as I am at the hotness of our kiss. Her eyes drop to my groin, and the semi she felt rubbing against her, and the smirk she sends my way has my dick harder than if she’d stroked my balls.
We walk out to the sound of “one eighty-two” being yelled into the tannoy, and I look around to see a couple wrapped in each other, barely coming up for air. I’m not sure how theycan see where they’re going, glued to each other like that, and I wonder briefly if our sham marriage is all the more obvious when compared to that couple.
“You okay?”
I turn to find Ruby staring at me curiously, her hand still in mine. “Yeah, just looking at them.”
Her gaze follows the direction where I nod. I watch her nose turn up in disgust and let out a chuckle.
