Page 87 of Faithless Vows

I smile against her skin, kissing higher still, close enough now that the sweet scent of her makes my mouth water. “Shh. Just feel.” I lean in and drag my tongue through her, tasting her for the first time.Christ, she’s sweet. Then I lick slow circles around her clit, feeling her grow wetter. “Oh—Ronin,” she breathes, hands sliding into my hair. Her hips rock against my face as I keepteasing. I push a finger inside, working deeper with each stroke until she’s taking it all, curling to find that spot while I suck her clit into my mouth. Her breathing turns ragged, thighs tensing around my head. I don’t stop—swirling faster, building her higher. “Ronin—” she gasps, hips moving harder, chasing it. I grip her hips and increase the pressure, sucking harder, flicking my tongue until she comes against my mouth with a cry. I keep licking through it and feel her shake and clench around my finger, her hips bucking as she rides it out.

When I finally pull back, I drag the back of my hand across my mouth, then kiss my way up her body—her stomach, her ribs—until I’m braced above her on my forearms. When I reach her mouth, I kiss her again, letting her taste herself on my tongue. She makes a sound deep in her throat—low, surprised, hungry—then kisses me back harder, pulling me closer like she can’t get enough. Like she needs this. Like she needs me.

“Are you sure?” I ask, nipping at her lower lip. “You always said you wanted to wait. Until we were married.”

The corner of her mouth lifts. “We were married.”

“Doll—”

“And maybe,” she says quieter, colour rising in her cheeks, “if you wanted to... we could be again.”

I catch her hands, threading our fingers together and pressing them into the pillow above her head. “Give me a day and a time,” I say softly. “And I’ll have us at the courthouse.”

Then she smiles. Really smiles. It’s the one I’ve been waiting for since she walked back through that door. I loosen my hold, and her arms slide around my neck, pulling my mouth back to hers. She kisses me deeper, legs wrapping around my waist. “I’m ready, Ronin,” she whispers. “Please.”

I take myself in hand and drag through her slick folds, teasing her clit until her breathing turns heavier. Then I line up at her entrance. She’s wet, but still so tight. I push in slowly, just the head at first, then another inch, watching her face. When she tenses and a small wince crosses her features, I freeze. “Easy, Alannah,” I mutter. “Breathe for me.”

She gives me a small nod, her fingers tightening on my shoulders. I push in deeper. She stretches around every inch of me as I sink in the rest of the way. Her nails bite into my skin,and a small, broken sound escapes her when I bottom out. I press my forehead to hers, jaw clenched, fighting the urge to thrust. My whole body is rigid, trembling with the effort of holding still while she adjusts around me.Son of a bitch.She’s so tight, so hot, wet and perfect.

“You okay?” I manage, voice barely recognizable. “Tell me I can move, sweetheart. Tell me you’re ready.”

“Yeah,” she whispers, eyes locked on mine. Her chest rises and falls quickly. “You feel... so full. I can feel every bit of you.”

I lean down and kiss her again, slower than before. I want to remember every second of this. “God, Alannah,” I murmur against her mouth. “I love you so much. I’ve dreamed of this for so damn long.”

She lifts her hips, pressing up against me. “Move, Ronin,” she says, voice shaky. “Please.”

I pull almost all the way out, feeling the slick drag of her cunt along every inch, then sink back in with a slow, deliberate thrust that makes her moan. Again. And again. The rhythm builds—deep, steady, relentless—until her heels are digging hard into the backs of my thighs, trying to keep me buried. She’s soaked, taking everything I give her, breath breaking into ragged little gasps that only drive me harder. The heat of her, the tight wet grip, the way she moves under me… I lose myself in it completely.

Her grip on me tightens, and she gasps out, “Harder, Ronin. Harder—it’s happening again.”

I don’t need telling twice. I pick up the pace, driving deeper, the bed creaking under us. I grip her hip, holding her right where I want her. “That’s it,” I rasp against her ear. “Come on my cock. Let me feel you.”

She tightens around me, her body arching against mine as she comes, crying out my name while her walls squeeze and pulse around me. It drags me right over the edge with her. I bury myself as deep as I can and groan low, coming hard inside her, thick, heavy pulses thatseem to go on forever as I press my face into the crook of her neck.

Neither of us moves, my face tucked against her neck while her arms hold me close. Her fingers move lightly through my hair, and I close my eyes. I’m not ready to leave this moment. Not when she’s still warm around me. Not when she’s still holding on. She presses a kiss to my throat. “I love you, Ronin,” she murmurs against my skin.

My arms tighten around her, and I roll us onto our sides, keeping her tucked against me, her head resting on my shoulder. She wraps herself around me again like she isn’t ready to let go, and I press my mouth to her hair. “I love you too,” I whisper. “So damn much.”

I let my hand drift over her back. For the first time since I moved into this house, it doesn’t feel empty. It feels warm. Lived in. Like it had only been waiting for her to come home. “Stay with me,” I murmur into her hair. “Don’t go anywhere.”

She presses a soft kiss to my shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere,” she says, a yawn catching at the end of it. “It’s my bed too, isn’t it?”

I close my eyes, smiling at her words. “Yeah,” I whisper. “It is.”

Epilogue I

Alannah

The courthouse ceremony was quick and simple. Just the two of us in front of a judge, saying our vows again. I wore the white sundress I’d bought the day before, light cotton with tiny blue flowers and a skirt that brushed just below my knees. Ronin couldn’t stop looking at me the whole time.

It had taken two weeks to get everything we needed before we could marry again. I would have married him the next day if it had been up to me, but these things take time, so we spent the days leading up to it talking and learning each other again. We had both changed during our time apart in ways I don’t think either of us expected, but the pieces that mattered were still there. He was still my Ronin. Still my best friend. And somehow, after everything, we still fit. We also spent a great deal of time making love, which I can’t pretend I minded.

Now we’re pulling up the gravel drive to the house. He cuts the engine, then turns to me with a wide smile that makes my stomach flip. “Mrs. Byrne,” he says, his voice low and warm. He lets out a quiet breath, like he still can’t quite believe it. “Finally.”

Before I can say anything, he’s out of the car and coming around to my side. He opens the door and scoops me up like I weigh nothing, one arm under my knees, the other around my back. I let out a startled squeal that turns into a laugh as I wrap my arms around his neck. “Ronin, you don’t have to—”

“I’m carrying my wife over the threshold,” he says, already walking toward the front door. “Feels like I’ve been waiting forever to bring you home like this.”