Dark Masterpiece (Serendipity Series 3) (33 page)

Wife
. The word lingered in her mind. The sound of it on his lips…
She looked into his eyes and she knew she would love him for all
eternity. She had been waiting for him, too. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Please, yes.”

He smiled and pulled the ring out of the
box, slipping it gently onto her finger. He pressed a delicate kiss
to her jaw. “My fiancée,” he murmured.

Her heart flipped and she stared down at the
ring on her finger. Tremendous joy welled up inside of her, pushing
out the shock she was feeling. She grinned and squealed again,
unable to contain her happiness. She flung her arms around him and
kissed him passionately. “I love you.”

“I love you too, angel,” he whispered.

She pulled away with a quizzical frown. “Seth
knows, doesn’t he?”

Traevyn nodded with a chuckle.

Evie rolled her eyes. “He
has been smiling like an idiot at me
all
day
. You two are bad for each
other.”

He grinned and tucked her hair behind her
ear. She had taken her cap off a little while ago and he now had
free reign.

“No tux,” she stated.

He shook his head.

“And your hair needs to be down.”

He met her eyes. “Yes, sir.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and
pulled herself up onto his lap. “And wherever we go for our wedding
night, you had better make love to me until I can’t walk.”

His eyes smoldered as he held her, his hands
caressing her back. “Oh I plan on it,” he purred.

Delicious shivers worked through her body at
his sensual voice, and she leaned in to kiss him. Her blood burned
and she ached to touch his skin, to explore every part of him. It
had been agony to wait all this time. She couldn’t count how many
times she had cursed her virginity. She was amazed at her own self
control. “I think we should get married as soon as possible,” she
murmured.

He held her face in one hand as he kissed
along her jaw line. “I can change the plane reservations.”

She grinned. “I’m liking this plan.”

He pulled away to look at her. “Whatever you
want, my love.”

She slipped her hands
inside his jacket and ran them up his chest. “I want
you.”

“I wonder how long the Justice of the Peace
is open,” he teased.

She giggled.

He sighed. “We should go inside. Your
friends will want to hear the news.” He flashed her a devious
grin.

She smiled and shook her head. “My parents
are gonna flip. Barrett will crap his pants.”

He smirked. “Good.”

They stood and headed back inside, their
fingers entwined in the same way their hearts were.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Crater Lake Lodge, two months later

Evie awoke slowly, sore and exhausted, but
happier than she’d been in her whole life. She felt Traevyn’s body
against hers and she opened her eyes. His back was toward her and
she snuggled against it, pushing his hair aside so that she could
feel his warm skin against hers. She sighed and let her mind replay
the last twenty-four hours, savoring every fantastic detail.

They had been married at
Lithia Park in Ashland, at dusk. Everybody, and she did mean
everybody
, had shown up.
Traevyn had asked Seth to be his best man, much to the dismay of
his own brothers. Traevyn claimed that he had Seth to thank for
opening his eyes and thought it was only fair that he should stand
at his side on his wedding day. This, of course, made Seth feel
very important.

Evie had met Traevyn’s parents and his
brother Julian earlier in the week. She had been absolutely
awestruck with how much Traevyn resembled his Native American
father. She figured, if Traevyn looked that good when he got to be
his father’s age, she certainly wasn’t going to complain.

Julian had been gentle and soft-spoken, but
just as beautiful as Traevyn and Talis, only with golden blond hair
instead of black. He had the same dignified, refined air that both
of his brothers possessed, and she had enjoyed his company. He had
been extremely helpful and mannerly.

Traevyn had worn all black with a black
jacket that still made Evie drool to think about. The long sleeves
had come down to his knuckles and had several silver buttons up the
cuffs. In slight diagonal rows across the front were eight strips
of narrow, black velvet with three lines of small, silver buttons
in downward rows. It had been tailored to hug his lean body
perfectly, and it had looked better than any tux. His hair had been
down, flowing free, and his gorgeous eyes had held hers the entire
time she’d walked down the aisle, shining with more love than she’d
ever thought someone would show her.

Her dress had been of a Renaissance style,
off white and simple with belled sleeves and a panel of
cream-colored crushed velvet down the front. A wreath of white
flowers had adorned her head rather than a veil.

Evie looked down at her ring finger as she
absently caressed Traevyn’s shoulders. She grinned. She loved the
way the diamond sparkled in her engagement ring. More than that,
she loved the way her wedding band looked right next to it. Her
husband… Traevyn was her husband. Traevyn Whitelaw. It still seemed
surreal to her.

She sighed. The wedding had been everything
she had ever dreamed of and more. She was pretty sure that they had
taken up most of the park with their massive party, and she was
actually a little surprised that they all hadn’t been carted away
for disturbing the peace.

The reception had been an all out
free-for-all with lots of laughter and dancing. They had stayed
late into the night and the party had still been in full swing when
they’d left. Evie had no doubt in her mind that most of their
friends and family members were nursing hangovers.

Traevyn had booked them two nights at the
Crater Lake Lodge, a historical hotel that offered them an amazing
view of the lake, which was the most brilliant shade of azure blue
Evie had ever seen. She thought it was ridiculous that she had
lived in Oregon her entire life and claimed to be an artist, but
had never seen Crater Lake. It was a beautiful work of art created
by nature, and she was happy that Traevyn had thought of staying
there.

They were leaving for Italy in two days and
they could spend the time up till then relaxing, enjoying one
another, and admiring Nature’s art.

Evie ran her hand along Traevyn’s side and
hip, loving the texture of his skin and deciding that she would
never be able to touch him enough. She sighed and closed her eyes
as she relived their first night together.

He had been so gentle with her and had
nearly driven her to the point of insanity with his unhurried
exploration of her body. She’d been a little nervous at first, but
burning, molten desire had quickly replaced her jitters as soon as
he put his hands on her.

The sun had been rising
when they’d finally made love and, when they’d become one, Traevyn
wept, whispering emotion-laden words to her before sweeping them
both away in a tidal wave of passion. Evie had come to the
conclusion that she had been correct in her original assumption:
Traevyn
was
a
fantastic lover. At least, that’s what she imagined. She had never
been with any other man, but generally, she thought seeing stars
was a good sign.

Traevyn turned over and fixed his eyes on
Evie’s, smiling softly. “Good morning, my gorgeous bride,” he
murmured.

She yawned and stretched. “More like good
afternoon.”

He smiled and leaned over to kiss her neck,
running his hand down the length of her body as he did so.

Evie sighed, luxuriating in his touch on her
bare skin.

“I had a fantastic dream,” he whispered.

“Oh yeah?”

He nodded and kissed along her collarbone. “I
dreamed a beautiful angel came to me and took me to heaven.” He
pulled her into his arms and held her close.

She snuggled against his chest and listened
to his heartbeat. “I had a dream too,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“I dreamed I found a man in a painting, a
man in pain, in the darkest of places. I braved a journey into that
dark place and found a masterpiece.”

He pulled back a little and gazed down at
her, framing her face with his hand. His eyes were soft, but
serious. “A lifetime is not long enough to show you the magnitude
of my love,” he whispered.

She smiled and wrapped one leg around his
waist. She rolled on top of him and sat up so she was straddling
his hips. “Well, you’ll just have to try,” she said with a wicked
gleam in her eye. “And you can start by refreshing my memory on all
those things we did last night. My recollection of them is a little
hazy.”

He arched an eyebrow and smirked. “Oh
really?”

She nodded. “Yes, I definitely think I need
a refresher course.”

He reached up and placed his hands on her
hips. “Well, whatever my apprentice needs…” He squeezed her sides,
causing her to squeal with laughter. He rolled her over onto her
back and settled himself against her, his lips inches from hers,
his hair falling around them like a silk curtain. “…she most
certainly will receive,” he whispered, his voice a sinful caress
against her skin.

Evie looked up into his eyes. The eyes of her
husband, her soul mate, her world. She saw her whole life in those
eyes and she loved how life looked. She welcomed his kiss and
wrapped her arms around him, her body catching fire to match the
love that already burned like an inferno in her heart.

Epilogue

Three Years Later

It was late when Traevyn returned from his
trip to San Jose. He had gone for two days to meet with a dealer
who had been interested in some of his paintings, and he was now
far beyond exhausted. Home had never looked so good.

He opened the door and entered quietly,
knowing that Evie and Julia would be asleep. He spotted Seth
sitting on the couch, eating some concoction and watching
television.

“Hey, welcome home,” Seth said, barely
looking away from the TV.

Traevyn grinned and set his keys and bag
down. Seth had come to live with them while he was at college, and
he was actually being very responsible about the whole thing. He
lived in the dorms on campus during the week, but was with them on
the weekends and during breaks. He paid rent during the summer,
helped with the chores, and had been a lifesaver when it came to
babysitting. Traevyn had watched him slowly morph into a man, and
it made him proud to see the person he was turning in to.

“What are you doing up so late?” Traevyn
questioned.

Seth sighed. “I have a gigantic mid-term in
psychology on Monday. I was attempting to study.” He rolled his
eyes. “That’s not working out so well. Studying was never my strong
suit.”

Traevyn chuckled and sat down next to
him.

“How was your trip?” Seth asked.

He shrugged. “Boring mostly. I just wanted to
come home. You know how I hate being away from your sister.”

Seth nodded. “We were all wishing you’d come
home soon too since you’re the only one who can get Jules to sleep
before two AM.”

Traevyn grinned and looked around at his
living room. It was still basically the same, but it had Evie’s
touch all over it. Above the fireplace hung the painting he had
done for her, and he had hung several of her paintings that he
liked as well. She had taken one whole wall and decorated it with
pictures of their family and friends, which he particularly liked.
It made his home seem like life had come back to it after it had
been so cold for so long.

Seth had taken over the basement, which he
had turned into some kind of rock music lair, and one which Traevyn
usually tried to avoid at all costs. There was always various music
equipment strewn everywhere and it tended to smell like feet and
bologna ninety-five percent of the time. He generally didn’t mind.
His house was enormous. He could sacrifice one small piece of it if
it meant having Seth around.

“Well, I’m going to bed,” he announced. “I’m
barely awake as it is. Good luck with your studying.”

Seth wrinkled his nose and grunted.

Traevyn started up the stairs. At the top of
the staircase was another wall that Evie had claimed for her own.
She had taken it over, forming it into a collage of pictures of
just the two of them. Most of them were wedding pictures and shots
from their trip to Italy, and he adored it. He stopped to admire it
as he always did and smiled.

Quietly, he moved down the corridor that had
once been inhabited by his wife and her brother. He swung open the
door that had been Evie’s and his heart sighed in warm contentment.
There, looking dwarfed in her pink bed slept his daughter, Julia.
Evie’s greatest gift to him. He noticed she was wearing her pink
and purple pointed princess hat they had gotten her at Disneyland.
With a chuckle, he went to remove it.

“Seth put it on her,” Evie’s soft voice came
from the doorway. “I told him she was too young to appreciate it,
but he didn’t care. He thought it was cute.”

Traevyn smiled and took the hat off, then
smoothed back his daughter’s dark hair before pressing a kiss to
her forehead. He studied her for a moment, marveling over her
perfection. She looked just like Evie. He glanced over at his wife,
standing in the doorway wearing a flannel shirt and baggy pajama
pants. He grinned and went to her, wrapping his arms around her and
pulling her close. “What are you doing up?” he murmured. “It’s
late.”

Evie closed her eyes and rested her head
against his chest. “You know I can’t sleep when you’re gone.”

He tightened his arms around her and sighed.
“The whole time I was gone I just wanted to be home with you.” He
guided them out of the room and closed the door softly before
giving Evie the kind of kiss he’d been dreaming of giving her since
he’d left.