Marrying Her: The Keeping Her Christmas Wedding (The Keeping Her Series Book 5) (11 page)

David finally stepped up
to the foot of the raised platform someone had arranged beneath a trellis arbor
of live roses. Demon had no idea who, but he could admit it was a nice touch
with all the little white lights floating around.  David paused, gave Clytie a
hard hug and helped her up the stairs until Demon took her hand and the task
fell to him.  He pulled her closer than was strictly necessary so that she
bumped into his chest.  He heard a harrumph.  He turned his head and caught the
eye of the pastor, a distinguished grey-haired man in his fifties, also
arranged by someone not him.  Clytie cleared her throat and stepped back with
an adorable blush on her cheeks.  Demon fought the need to snarl at the man.

“Dearly beloved, we are
gathered here today to join this couple in holy matrimony,” the man started.  Demon
interrupted him.  “I have my own vows.”  Demon heard Clytie choke at the
words.  Since they had never discussed it, he could understand her surprise.

“You want to say your own
vows?” the pastor asked, looking down at his book and then back up.

“Yes.” He had heard the
words at the rehearsal and he wanted to say something different.  He nodded and
turned back to Clytie, catching her wide-eyed.  He figured he should get on
with it because she looked like she was ready to have an aneurysm.  “We never
discussed writing our own vows, so I expect Clytie is a going to be pissed,” he
started.  A few people in the audience laughed.  Demon glared at them.  Clytie
rolled her eyes.  Demon pulled in a breath and said what he needed to say.  “When
I first asked Clytie to marry me, I didn’t really get what it meant and I
fucked it up.”  Clytie closed her eyes as if she was in pain and he heard at
least one groan coming from his best men to join the gasps and titters from the
crowd.  The pastor harrumphed again.  Louder. 
Shit. She doesn’t look happy.
 
Moving on. 
“But watching her come to me in that dress, looking so
fucking beautiful, it makes my eyes hurt just looking at her, my pack and
brothers around me, her family at her back, I get it.”  Clytie’s eyes were back
on his, scrunched just a little in that fucking adorably confused way she had. 
He held her eyes and spoke to the crowd, but every word was for her.  “Because
they all know who she is; good straight to the fucking bone, and she loves me. 
It defies every fucking sense or explanation.”  He had to take a breath when
her eyes softened and melted for him. 
Fuck.

“I have always been proud
to wear this uniform, but never more so than today, when everyone that matters
can see I must have done something right along the way, something worthy.”  He
watched that hit her, her eyes overflowed, and she sucked in a ragged breath. 
He kept going, picking up speed as she cried harder with each word.  “Because
she’s my reward, and I will honor her, protect her, and love her until the day
I die.”

Then Clytie lost all composure
and threw herself at his chest.  He caught her and lifted her up so her feet
dangled off the floor, her bouquet crunched against his neck, and he ignored it
to bury his face in her soft hair that smelled like flowers.

“I fucking love you,
Clytie,” he said and she clutched at him harder, her body rocking with her
sobs.  “The words never seemed enough, not for you.  But they’re the best I
got.”

After that, it took a
while for Clytie to be able to speak coherently.  She finally managed an “I do,”
thank fuck
, which was the best anyone could hope for.  She did not,
however, release Demon to do it, so the preacher had to pronounce them man and
wife with Clytie’s face still buried in her new husband’s neck.  She did throw
back her head and kiss him as soon as the pastor gave the okay.  And if Demon
had any doubts about how Clytie felt about his vows, the passion and promise
she put into that kiss left no doubt.

Demon growled against
those hot salty lips and wished their pack, family, and friends,
gone
.

Eventually, they got the
message and headed for the family room for the modest reception.  Demon and
Clytie even eventually joined them and cut the cake.  But it took a while.

By the time most of the
guests had left, Clytie wasn’t the only one exhausted.  She had made the
mistake of sitting down after her last round of dancing, and she could tell
that she would not be getting up again.  Instead, she sat scooched back against
the big soft sectional that had been pushed against the wall under the enormous
Christmas tree that Demon, Mac, Ben, and Crow had cut down after Thanksgiving
dinner.  She was staring at the twinkling lights in the green branches that
every one of her family had helped decorate, zoning out with a smile on her
face when she felt the cushions beside her sink.  She turned to see that Cassandra
had joined her in her scooch.  And she looked just as tired as Clytie.

“Ben is escorting out the
last of the guests,” Cassie said at the end of a long sigh.  “Sara told me to
tell you she wanted to see us all when you get done with your honeymoon time. 
She’s got presents.”

“Mm, hmm.”  Clytie saw
Demon come in from taking a comatose Roxy to her bed. He zeroed in on Clytie on
the couch.  It was the second time he had to carry someone to bed that night. 
Essie had passed out on the dessert table slurring her words and warning
everyone that the end was nigh, politically speaking.  Demon had carried her up
to bed when she started to snore.

“I have to say the ‘plan’,”
Cassie air quoted feebly, “was
good.
”  The way she practically purred
the word made Clytie snort out a laugh, but she was not wrong.  “I thought I
was going to go permanently blind from the sheer hotness boiling my brain.” 
That had Clytie laughing again, even while her eyes were drawn to Demon
stalking her way.  Just that fast she was ready to purr herself, but he got
stopped by Lucas, and Cassie went on. 

“I thought the party went
well.  Half fancy shindig, half hootenanny.  I saw some of the digitals your
photographer friend took of everyone, awesome.”  She looked around the fairy
light bedecked room at the mess no one was up for cleaning just yet.  “Miley,
it must be said, knows her way around event planning.  Those little sausage
thingies were scrumdiddlyumptious.  And, hey, you guys made it through without
Demon carrying you off for hot sex, well except for that quickie you
disappeared for around nine.”

“Cassandra!”  Now she was
definitely awake and glaring at her cousin.  Though it must be said, she was
not entirely wrong.  They did have a hot and heavy petting session until they
were called back to cut the cake.  Clytie smiled at the memory. Demon had not
been happy. 

“What? Am I wrong?”  Cassie
had the gall to laugh.  “You know no one is ever going to be able to top this wedding.”

That had Clytie rolling
her eyes.  “You mean the part where the bride was never able to stop crying
long enough to say her vows, or the part where she jumped her new husband like
he was the last chocolate chip cookie on the planet, and didn’t even notice when
the guests left?  Ooh, how about when she crushed, dropped, and stepped on her
bouquet thereby making the bouquet toss impossible to perform?”

Cleo dropped onto the
couch beside them offering helpfully, “Or when the groom said ‘fuck’ like four
times, and every time, the pastor would get redder in the face, until it looked
like his head was going to explode?”

Clytie grimaced.  “Thanks,
Cleo.  I didn’t actually notice that.”

“Or when Ian tried to
seduce your friend, Megan, in the laundry room until Roxy walked in on them and
tried to bite her?”

Clytie had absolutely
nothing to say to that.  Cassie pursed her lips.  “Was that when Essie started
shouting about hussies and horny pussy, because that made no sense at the time.”

Clytie grabbed the
cushion off the couch behind her and buried her head in it.  Maybe if she tried
really hard it would kill her before the embarrassment did.

“Oh, yeah,” Cleo said,
and even through the cushion Clytie could hear her glee.  “Then Meg started
screeching at Ian
, ‘You’re seventeen?’
and wailed on him with the Tide
gallon jug.”  Cleo mimed the pounding with a chuckle full of evil
satisfaction.  “Good times.”

Clytie dropped the pillow
to her lap.  “I hate you all.”

Before they could
embarrass her any further, Mac came over and dropped beside Cassie.  He leaned
over her slouched form and kissed the smile on her lips thoroughly.  Then he
pulled back just enough to talk against her softly parted lips.  “Merry
Christmas, Cassie.”  His smooth voice was tender and sexy at the same time; in
those few words Clytie felt chills go up her spine. 
Man, he is good.

Then she registered what
he said and looked around for a clock.  It was 1:30 in the morning.  Christmas
Day.  She looked for Demon, and noticed the pack gradually drifting closer to
the Christmas tree and each other.  Most of the presents under the tree were
for Roxy, when she woke up, or the rest of the brat pack as they were starting
to call Ian, Liam, and Crow.  Crow, she had noticed, had very carefully not
looked under the tree.  Boy, was he going to be surprised.  He didn’t have the
sheer number of Roxy’s haul, but he was a close second.  But that was for
later.  There was only one present that Clytie couldn’t wait until morning to
give.

When Demon finally made
it to her side, the rest of the pack came with him, some of them dragging
chairs with them.  Not Demon though; he lifted Clytie off the couch and sat
down in her place, causing both Cassandra and Cleo to move fast before they got
sat on.  So, Clytie was laughing when he settled her into his lap and grumbled
a bit under his breath.  She turned and placed one of her hands on his neck
over his wolf tattoo.  The other hand went to the scar on his cheek.  Her eyes
met his, and she watched him soften just from that.

“I want to give you your
present now,” she said softly and everyone turned when Cassie shrieked
excitedly, her hand slapping over her mouth when the rest turned to look. 

She pulled her hand away
with a grimace and waved Clytie on.  “Sorry.  Proceed.”

Clytie shook her head at
her cousin and turned back to Demon.  “Let’s try that again, shall we?”

He snorted his amusement
and looked her over expectedly.  “If you tell me my gift is under that dress, I
will be a happy man.”

Clytie gave him a
blinding smile followed by a watery laugh.  “Oh, it is.”  She leaned back and
took his hand, placing it on her belly with a big nervous exhalation of air. 
She met his eyes.  “You’re going to be a father.”

It took him a second, meanwhile
every sound in the room disappeared.  Then, as if the world had to take a
breath, she felt every muscle in his body lock up beneath her.  His eyes went
wolf gold in a heartbeat and he sucked in a much needed gulp of shuddering
air.  Then he looked from her face to the hand he held over her belly.  His
eyes trailed back to the tears falling freely down her cheek and the tender
softness in her eyes.  Everybody started talking around them.  They didn’t pay
attention to any of it.  All Clytie saw was Demon move his second hand to cover
the first, and then he leaned down and placed his head over the same spot,
moving his arms away and wrapping them around her hips to pull her closer.  She
hiccupped and cried, ran her hands over his stubbled head, and held him as
close as she could against their child growing inside her.

Best Christmas ever.

<<<<>>>> 

The
Keeping Her Series

Keeping Her

Loving Her

(A brief brush of
the Keeping Her world in
At One’s Pleasure
)

Claiming Her

Craving Her

Coming in 2016    Hunting
Her

Check out more
from this Author at
Kellylucille.com