Chapter Twenty-Nine
Harper
His kiss is so passionate I blush. And when he pulls back and whispers, “I love you,” in that soft and tender way that makes me doubt all the stories about the people he’s killed, I melt.
He melts me.
He pulls me out of my life and places me in his.
There’s a ceremony. Just the three of us and the Company minister attend. I hear the words. I say the words. But the only thing on my mind is James. He is the only thing I see.
The room is massive. The setting extravagant. There are flowers in my hand. A perfect bouquet of short stemmed white roses wrapped in silver ribbon. James holds both my hands in his while the minister talks. He asks us things and we say yes. And then, just before the minister is about to complete the ceremony with a kiss, James puts up a hand and says, “Not so fast.” He turns to me and smiles. I am the only thing he sees. “It’s not over yet, Harper.” I glance at my father and see a look of confusion on his face. But I trust James, so my attention is right back to him. “I waited twelve years for you. I’ve imagined this moment happening so many ways, but this one,” he leans into my ear to whisper, “lionfish. This one is the perfect way to end all that waiting.”
He pulls back just a few inches, so my father and brother can hear us now too. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. And I promise you won’t regret choosing me.”
James. I almost say it, but I stop myself before it slips out. So I lean in, just like he did, and whisper, “You’re mine, Fenici. If you go anywhere, I will hunt you down.”
He wraps his hand around my neck and pulls me towards him, laughing into my hair.
The minister takes over in our silence and tells James to kiss me.
As if he needed permission.
He kisses me like no man should kiss a girl in front of her father.
He kisses me like a husband.
When that’s over, he takes my hand and leads me outside onto the patio. It’s bustling with workers setting up for tomorrow, and there’s no music, but he draws me close, his hands on my waist as we sway slowly. He brings my head to his chest and breathes a sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry it was such a long wait. I hope this night makes up for time lost. I can’t promise you that you’ll never fall, Harper. But if you ever need me for anything, I’ll be there. I’ll catch you. I’ll fix it. And if we ever have to be apart, always know that we’re together.” He lifts my wedding ring to his lips and kisses it. “We met years ago. We drifted apart to become these two people. And now we’re back together. One soul, cut in half, reunited.”
I’m breathless as the killer they call James declares his love for me. In the backyard of the brother he stole me from, in full view of anyone who cares to watch.
“Did you know Vincent was going to try and marry me tonight?”
He gazes down on me, the light catching his green eyes, making them light up for a moment. “I know everything, Harper Fenici.” I smile at that. “I may not always remember everything, but I have it all locked away up here.” He taps the side of his head.
“I can’t decide if you’re a brazen fool, an evil mastermind, or a gentle man.”
He grins. “I was foolish enough to believe I could have a woman like you. But my determination paid off. I’ve had my share of evil moments. But evil begets evil. And the people I killed were doing their share of begetting. As far as a gentle man, well”—he smiles—“only with you, Harper. And our children, when they come.”
I rest my head against his chest again, and we dance that way, barely moving, content to be in each other’s arms, even if we are in the lion’s den. Until finally my feet are tired and I get sleepy. And then he leads me upstairs to my room and we undress each other slowly. He touches my body like he’s never touched it before. He worships it. Not sexually, although it turns me on so bad, my nipples perk and my sex throbs.
I touch him too. I search his body for scars. I search his mind for misgivings. But on both accounts, I find none.
No scars. Just a perfect man.
No misgivings. Just his honest love.
And in that moment, I release myself to him completely.
“I am yours, Six.”
“And I am yours, Come.”
He takes me to bed. I stretch out on the white sheets. Naked. Bare for him. And he worships me in a new way. Our first night as Six and Come is filled with talking and laughing. Touching and loving. And the climax of my night has nothing to do with sex.
He fills me up in a different way now.
He fills me up with love.
The next morning he wakes me slowly with a light touch across my breasts. “It’s time, Harper.”
We promised each other we would not talk about today until it was really here. And now it is. “I’m listening.”
So he talks. And he tells me all about this day before it even starts. He gives very elaborate details. He gives a timeframe and backup options—just in case. He gives me everything I’ve ever wanted to know about what this day means. What my code means. And what we need to do in order to have a future together.
He gives me hope.