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ChapterThirteen
Despite the wedding reception being small and simple, there were still a lot of people to speak to. With a whiskey in one hand, he kept his gaze trained on Avalynn as they both mingled with the few family members he’d had flown in for the event as well as the Sentry team. The private photographer and staff at Chez Nous added to the number of people he wanted to personally thank.
“The winery couldn’t be more perfect for us,” he told the owner, a forty-something woman with a quick smile and an obvious mind for business. “We appreciate everything you’ve done.”
She nodded and smiled. “It’s my pleasure. And when you want to return for your anniversary, the stay is on us.”
His chest tightened. Their anniversary. In a year, they probably wouldn’t be together. This would all be over, and Avalynn would go back to having a normal bodyguard rather than the FBI and a task force.
Heat also flooded his chest at the idea of returning to this beautiful place and spending time with…
With my wife.
His gaze sought her so often that it was as natural as breathing.
She stood with Dove and Lark, her skin lit by an inner glow he’d only seen a couple times. Once when she performed the song she wrote for him. When she looked over at him and their gazes locked, she’d been incandescent.
The other time he saw the glow was just a few short hours before, when he sprang a wedding on her.
He couldn’t look away from her. Every detail he branded on his mind. The way her brown hair waved off her face, pinned back in places with long tendrils falling to skim over her shoulder or her collarbone. The shell of her ear and a tiny diamond stud in the lobe that glinted whenever she moved.
His fingers curled at the thought of touching her, drawing her up against his body and capturing those sultry lips that every guy in the world lusted after when he saw them. Only Julius had a right—or at least her permission—to claim a smoldering kiss while he explored her with his tongue and hands.
The thought was making him hard. Getting an erection of his size in formal pants always made for an uncomfortable few minutes, but he’d spent most of the afternoon and evening hard for his new bride. If anybody snapped a photo of his not-so-little problem, they’d know for a fact that he wasn’t the man on that video, but his ego took zero hits from claiming it was. He only cared about keeping Avalynn safe.
As she talked, she had a way of leaning toward a person and making the conversation so much more personal. It was shocking how small-town she’d managed to remain despite her fame. It was one trait that he’d admired about her from the start.
And god, those curves in that lace. His hands itched to skim over her ribs to her small waist and to the flare of her hips…right before he tugged them against his.
The thought of sinking into the woman he was bound to in a new and unexpected way had his balls aching and his chest swelling.
Jennings and his father approached. They’d both congratulated him after the ceremony, so now they just launched straight into talk of bike engines. He kept one ear on the discussion while watching Avalynn joke and laugh with Lark and Dove.
It wasn’t lost on him that she fit in well with those women. He couldn’t help but wonder if she could learn to love the Sentry family as much as he did.
“What are your thoughts, Julius?” his father interrupted.
He gripped his dad’s shoulder. “I’m going to talk to my bride.”
Their chuckles followed him. As he passed a table, he set down his shot glass and walked up to Avalynn.
Her back faced him, but as if she felt his presence, she turned, her gaze fixed on him.
A blast of need mixed with the love building inside him like a goddamn forest fire, and every second that she stared at him like that was more gasoline.
Whatever she saw on his face made her excuse herself from the ladies and drift to him on those sky-high heels that made her taller than usual.
She gave him a small nervous smile. “Hi.”
“Hi, honey.” Touching always put her at ease with him. He took her hand.
She curled her fingers upward around his. “Julius…I love everything you’ve done for me—for us.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you like it. Now…I’ve always wanted to dance with you.”
Surprise lit her brown eyes. “Always?”
He nodded. Gripping her hand, he led her to the center of the dance area off to the side of the tent.
