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He collapsed against me, his face buried in my shoulder so I could feel the violent pounding of his heart against my chest. Our skin was slick and sticky, our minds drunk with pleasure. I felt him pull out of me. Felt the immediate loss of heat as he rolled onto his back.
Pulling me into his chest, he wrapped his arms around me and I relaxed against him, too spent and lost in the afterglow to think of anything but him.
Being his plus one was a bad idea.
But he was my addiction.
And I wasn’t ready to get clean.
BULL
“You know there’s still time to run,” Joker said, giving Maverick a pat on the shoulder.
“Ha ha, motherfucker. You’re so fucking funny,” Maverick growled, giving Joker a dark look. He tried to look tough but failed. Looking a little green, he was moments away from bringing up the three shots of whiskey he’d just downed.
“Just letting you know your options, buddy.”
“I didn’t propose to Autumn seven fucking times to suddenly decide five minutes before the wedding that I don’t want to marry her.” He straightened the cufflink on his jacket sleeve. “Plus, the woman owns a shotgun and knows how to use it. She’d shoot my balls off and use them as earrings.”
Joker shook his head with a grin. “You’re so pussy-whipped.”
“Don’t think she wouldn’t shoot off yours for encouraging me to ditch her at the altar.”
I watched the exchange between the groom and best man from the couch where I sat with Cade and Caleb.
We were on the River Queen, a nineteenth-century paddle wheeler that cruised up and down the Mississippi hosting weddings and other celebrations. She was a tame old girl now, but once upon a time she was the queen of the river. Her colorful past was steeped in debauchery and intrigue, including a stint as a floating brothel during the turn of the last century, and an illegal floating casino during the prohibition. Local lore also talked about bootleggers and a stash of treasure buried somewhere along the intricate trails of secret tributaries and estuaries of the Mississippi that only an experienced steam pilot would know about.
“Is that why Autumn picked a boat to get married on? So you’d have to swim ashore to get away?” Joker asked.
Caleb and Matlock started to laugh.
“Don’t fucking encourage him,” Maverick said, still fussing with his cufflink.
Taylor appeared in the doorway, and my heart went to my throat. She looked stunning.
“Indy asked me to tell you that they’re starting in ten minutes.” For a moment our gazes locked before her beautiful brown eyes moved over to Maverick. “Wow, don’t you scrub up well.”
“Yeah, well, I’m twenty seconds away from tearing off this damn shirt and putting on a t-shirt. Whoever invented cufflinks was a sadist.”
Taylor stepped into the room. “Here, let me help you.”
I watched as she helped Maverick with his cufflinks, my stomach tight with an unfamiliar longing.
“There,” she said, once she’d secured them onto each cuff. “You look perfect.”
“Perfectly terrified,” Joker said.
“Maverick, I love you, buddy, but I think you’re just not made for a shirt and tie,” Matlock added.
“Don’t listen to them, Mav.” Taylor gave him an encouraging wink. “You look very handsome!”
Maverick’s face softened as he looked at her. “Thanks, T.”
She stepped back and gave him a reassuring smile. “Good luck.”
I walked over to her.
“You look beautiful,” I said, taking her hand and feeling a strange comfort in the feel of her cool fingers tangled with mine.
Fuck.
I felt like a love-sick teen on prom night. Giddy and full of goddamn butterflies.
And it was crazy. I didn’t know what had come over me.
All I knew was that she looked fucking beautiful, and I wanted to lose the night kissing her.
She looked up at me and stars twinkled in her eyes. “You look pretty good yourself.”
I leaned down to kiss her. “Ready for your first Kings of Mayhem wedding?”
She grinned. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Ruger joined us, dressed in a suit and tie, his baby son secured in his big arms. Jenna, one of the old ladies, appeared beside him.
“Would you like me to take Will during the ceremony?” she asked.
He shook his head and gave her a wink. “He’s right where he needs to be, darlin’.”
After nearly losing his wife and son, Ruger wasn’t letting them out of his sight.
We followed him out of the room, and I slid my arm around Taylor’s waist. The top deck of the River Queen was set up with rows of chairs and a red carpet leading up to an altar. Behind it, the Mississippi glittered in late afternoon light, the sky turning gold and pink as the sun dipped lower.
We took our seat in the second row of chairs, while Maverick, Joker, Matlock, and Caleb walked down the aisle to the small lattice archway that had been erected near the bow of the boat. The heavy perfume of the magnolias and marigolds woven into the latticework filled the warm air, while silk bows draped from the ceiling rippled in the gentle river breeze.
