Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
And we’ll both need wedding bands. The officiant offered to sell us rings, but Julian declined, telling me that he wants my wedding band to match the engagement ring. I’ll need to order him a wedding band once we’re home. The thought of him wearing a black zirconium or maybe a platinum ring on his fourth finger to indicate he’s taken is more of a turn-on than I thought it would be. But there’s just something about knowing he’s committed to me and only me. When everyone looks at his ring, they’ll know—oh shit! Everyone … including my dad!
When he finds out I ran to Vegas and got married, he’s going to flip his shit.
“What’s going through that beautiful head of yours, wife?” Julian asks, making me jump.
He steps into the shower and wraps his arms around me from behind, kissing my shoulder. “It looked like you were a thousand miles away.”
“I was just thinking about last night,” I tell him as my brain whirls with thoughts of having to tell my dad that I’m married.
He turns me around and glances down at me. “So, no regrets?”
When I hesitate, his brows furrow together. “Talk to me.”
“We skipped so many steps,” I say, “like dating, and went directly to living together. I don’t regret it because it’s our story, and not every story is the same …”
“But…” he prompts, worry etched on his features.
I try to figure out how to explain the thoughts that are going through my head, but no matter how I put it, it’s going to sound bad.
“Ana, talk to me.”
“First, we were fake engaged…and then we got fake married.”
Okay, that’s not how it was supposed to come out.
But before I can do damage control, Julian takes a step back. “What the fuck are you talking about, Red? Because when I said my vows, there was nothing fake about them.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I move toward him, hating the space between us. “It’s just that…I had been drinking and—”
“So help me God,” Julian says, “if you tell me you were too drunk to remember marrying me…”
“No! No.” I shake my head. “It’s just that in my slightly inebriated state, I didn’t think about the fact that my dad wasn’t here to walk me down the aisle. He’s going to be so upset. Not only did he miss me getting married, but it looks bad…it looks reckless.”
“Don’t do that,” he demands. “Don’t take something that was meaningful and turn it into something dirty.”
“I’m not! But you can’t deny how it’ll look to an outsider. I know I said I didn’t see myself getting married, but a part of me still fantasized about it. The beautiful venue, the white dress, my fiancé dressed in a sharp tux. My dad would tell me I looked like a princess, and then he’d walk me down the aisle and give me away.”
I get choked up, thinking about it. “My mom isn’t alive anymore, but my dad is. And…I don’t know.” I shrug. “I just didn’t imagine myself getting married in the middle of the night in Vegas.”
“So, you do regret it,” he says softly.
“No.” I shake my head and circle my arms around his neck. “I don’t regret marrying you, Julian. I love you. I just need some time to come up with a way to tell my dad that I’m married without sounding like what we did was reckless. That even though we did it in the middle of the night in Vegas, it was still meaningful. Please tell me you understand.”
“I get it,” he says after several beats. “I won’t say anything until you tell me it’s okay to do so.”
“Thank you.”
I lift onto my tippy-toes and kiss the corner of his mouth. Before I can pull back, he fists the back of my wet hair and yanks my face up. He kisses his way down my throat, nipping at my flesh as he does so, sending a shiver racing through my body.
Spinning me around, he pushes me up against the cool marble wall of the shower and slaps my ass, making me yelp in a mixture of pleasure and pain.
“I might not be able to claim you as my wife in public,” he murmurs against my ear. “But make no fucking mistake … you. Are. Mine. Mine to kiss.” He turns my face and claims my mouth with a fierceness and passion that makes the rest of the world disappear. “Mine to touch.” He reaches around and palms one of my breasts roughly as his other hand slides down my body and cups my pussy. “And mine to fuck.”
He parts my folds and circles his thumb around my clit in the perfect way he knows I like that will get me off quickly. I’ve never been with a man who paid so close attention to everything about me. My likes, dislikes. Julian is not only a selfless lover, but he’s also like that in every aspect regarding me. He knows what I prefer to drink, what my favorite foods are. He noticed quickly that I need to read to fall asleep, and if I leave my book somewhere, he puts it on the nightstand before bed.