Axel comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me, nuzzles my neck. “God, I can’t get enough of your smell,” he says.

I arch into him, smiling. “That’s because you’re a slut,” I say sweetly.

He reaches up and grips my hair. “Oh, is that right?”

The flash of pain instantly makes me feel submissive. “God,” I breathe.

“I told you before,” Axel says, turning me toward him. Biting my collarbones until I squirm. “I’ll be any deity you want me to be.”

He leads me into our bedroom, pushes me onto the bed. Since he moved in with me last month, we’ve worked on integrating the apartment to make it his, too. But him owning me, possessing me right now? Yeah, that does it.

Axel strips my pants and shirt off. His gaze is hot and hard as he stares at me in my bra and panties. “Take them off,” he growls.

A small, bratty part of me is tempted to tell him to take them off me. But I’m so desperate for him that I don’t want any delay. I whip them off and lie before him, bared naked.

I want my beloved to see me this way. I want him to possess me.

“Kendra,” he breathes, dipping down to capture my nipple in his mouth. I sigh and arch toward him, dig my fingers into his hair. Oh God, the way he touches me, owns me, it drives me mad. I love the suction of his mouth on me, how his fingers search out my eager skin.

And he doesn’t disappoint. Minutes later, I’m vibrating beneath him, desperate for him to enter me. Almost begging him to.

When he slides deep in me, I can’t help the gasp of pleasure that escapes. I wrap my thighs around his waist and draw him deeper.

Our eyes lock, and every day, every minute, I fall more in love with him than I ever was before. The intensity between us is electric; I writhe against his body as he kisses me all over, nipping me with his teeth. But I want harder.

“Baby, please,” I beg as I tighten my grip in his hair.

“Mmmmm.” Axel pauses making love to me, his fingers sliding up to grip the back of my neck. He tugs so hard that I gasp. “My dirty girl needs to be fucked, doesn’t she?”

“Yes,” I whimper. I want to be a wanton, brazen woman for him.

Axel holds me close, almost painfully so, as he pumps into me. My pussy soaks around him, and I arch to him, begging him for more.

“Please,” I beg. It doesn’t matter what I’m begging for; I just want him to do what he wants to me.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” Axel breathes as he leans down and clamps his teeth on my neck. I groan from the pressure and then keen as it grows in intensity and pain. Oh yes, I want him to do that all over. To claim me. Anyone who sees me will see his mark on me, know that I am his.

Soon my orgasm is building. He drops his hand down to stroke my cleft, my clit, and then I’m exploding on him as he bites on my collar bone. It’s intense and sexual and magnificent. A moment later, he’s coming in me, and we’re clenching each other, wrapped up in the intense moment.

After a few moments, we curl into each other, drawing in steadying breaths.

“That was amazing,” I say against his chest.

“Yes. Yes, it was,” he says. “If you worked with me, we could do that all the time.”

I bark out a laugh. He’s been not-so-seriously trying to convince me to work at the tattoo shop, but I told him no. I need to make my own way for a while, to forge my own path. At some point in the future, I’m sure it’ll make sense to work with him.

But not now.

So I kiss him on the brow and chuckle. “I love you, baby.”

He huffs an exaggerated sigh. “I just want you near me always.”

I know he’s teasing, but I also know he means it. The words wrap around me and make my heart skip.

He flips me around until my backside is cuddling against him. “You know your dad is planning my bachelor party, right?”

I chuckle. “I’m sure that’ll be fun.” Knowing my dad, it’ll probably be a night at the casino.

Sure enough, Axel says, “There won’t even be any strippers.”

“How sad,” I say with a mock gasp, wrapping his arm around me and kissing his forearm. “I’m sure you’ll get through it.”

I know he’s teasing; he’s commented about how glad he is that he and my father are becoming close. It makes my soul happy that my father and my fiancé are able to get along. Daddy and I have begun repairing our relationship, as well—since I’ve become independent, he’s started seeing me as more of his equal. It’s not a quick process, but our relationship is evolving.

Things could be worse. A fact I remind myself of every day.

But here I am, drifting off to sleep after the man I loved made passionate love to me. I’m one lucky woman.

* * *

“Kendra Rochester,” the elderly pastor says, looking hard at me. “Do you promise to take Axel as your husband, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, until death do you part?”

I peer up at the man in the suit who’s cupping my hands, the intensity of his love pouring from his eyes. “I do.”

The pastor smiles at us. “Then before God and these people, I now declare you man and wife. Axel, you may now kiss your bride.”

My heart gives a slow flip as my now-husband leans toward me and gives me a kiss that melts me down to my heels. When he pulls back, he whispers, “You look so fucking beautiful. I’m the luckiest man in the universe.”

“I love you,” I breathe against his mouth.

Our families are clapping like crazy, so we turn and face them, heading down the center aisle. I want to keep kissing him, but there’s time for that. He’s my husband now.

Holy shit. I’m married to Axel Beckett.

We take pictures, then go to our reception. The Beckett brothers and cousins are already in fine style, singing along with the music and waving at him as he enters. I laugh and shove him toward them. I’m so glad that he’s repaired his relationship with them.

The DJ plays some crazy song, and the brothers and cousins sing along, screaming it at the top of their lungs. I laugh and clap, and Michelle, my maid of honor, comes up beside me and wraps her arm around me.

“Those men are insane,” she declares. “I’ve never seen a wilder group of people.”

“Yes, they are,” I say. But I’m glad I married into this family. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite all the shit that happened between them over the last few years, they’re reunited now, all smiling and laughing in the middle of the dance floor. It might sound silly, but I’m glad our wedding brought them together. I know how hard Axel has tried to fit in with them, how much he felt left out.

But they’re all here, cutting it up and having a good time. I can hear them talking on the floor about their crazy vendettas of the past, their fights and heartbreak. No one is mad though; they’re laughing about how absurd shit got before they finally pulled their heads out of their asses.

The DJ puts on a slow song, and one by one, their women come up and claim their men, and they begin to sway on the floor. Axel eyes me and steps toward me, and I can’t help but move in his direction. I need him more than I need to breathe.

“I fucking love you,” he says as he draws me into his arms. I feel like a part of his family, and I lean toward him, loving that I’m now a Beckett.

“I love you too,” I whisper.

The Beckett code has lived on, even if he hasn’t realized it. I have though. I can look at my new family and I see the connection. The Becketts stand for family, for pride, and they’re here today, representing that very thing. The code has lived—it’s just changed with the times, and it’s better for it.

Axel cups my lower back and rains kisses on my face. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

“And you’re mine too,” I whisper to him. “We belong to each other. As husband and wife, but also as family.” I glance over and see my dad smiling at me as I dance with my husband.

I didn’t lose anything. I gained so much more than I ever dreamed. And I never imagined that I could be so lucky as to marry into such an amazing, loving family.