DECLAN

"What time is it? They're late." I prowled the altar, lighting the last of the candles, an ear cocked for the telltale crunching of wheels on gravel.

"Don't worry, cousin. Your beautiful girl isn't standing you up. How could she? You've given her a dream wedding—well, minus the shotgun aspect of it all. In fact, don't you think it got a little over the top?" Ian glanced up from his task and gave me a wink.

Ian had shown up at my office, ostensibly on leave, earlier in the week, not long after we’d applied for the marriage license. The family was never quite sure what Ian did as a naval officer assigned to the British Embassy in London, but quite a bit of it seemed clandestine in nature. My bet was it was a cover for the CIA. I held my tongue around him when it came to the family businesses, but for anything else, Ian was my go-to sounding board. He was one person I'd never lie to and trusted to keep all my secrets. Until now, Eileen had been one of those secrets. I had hoped to keep my family out of this until Eileen was irrevocably mine, but the universe had other ideas. Thankfully, Ian was the one who ended up on my doorstep, rather than any of my brothers.

We had spent the day at the little stone church in the center of the village, transforming it. Now it was part stone ruin, part woodland glen. Carraig's housekeeper, Bridey, was a willing co-conspirator, and a truckload of flowers did the rest. She’d even made sure to get a photographer.

"How can you say that this is over the top?" I railed. "You know my stepmother. This is subtle by comparison. She'd have the Cathedral in LA full of people I don't know, and Dad would be doing some shady business in the vestibule. It would be all about them. Eileen doesn't deserve that. She also doesn't deserve her wedding to be a backroom deal standing in front of the vicar's desk. No wife of mine is going to be shamed for marrying me, no matter the circumstances. Eileen deserves something beautiful to remember, and I'm going to make sure she gets it. She's carrying my child. We're building a family of our own. Not a subsidiary of Drazen, Ltd."

My child. My family. I'll finally be my own man. Not a puppet of my father.

"And there it is. You're marking your territory. I hope this works. By keeping your parents out of this, at least you're guaranteed a peaceful service. Otherwise, it would've turned into…" Ian shuddered. He was a first-hand witness to my father’s ruthlessness, as well as his relentless need to turn everything into a business opportunity. My wedding would've turned into a loyalty test for all of those invited. "Aren't you afraid he's going to try and somehow use Eileen's family to his advantage?"

"What about Eileen's family?" I tried to sound nonchalant. If Ian knew about the McInerneys and McGilbrides, that meant Carraig's activities, and possibly mine, were probably on somebody's radar they shouldn't be. Time to tread softly. "Is there something I should be worried about?"

"Dec, everything that's going on in this country is something you should be worried about. You're a Drazen. You're marrying the last of the McGilbride family. They've been Irish Nationalist royalty for three hundred years. The old man has the ear of people who have the attention of Number 10 Downing. And not in a good way. Someone is going to start doing the math and not like the results. Be careful." The twinkle was gone from Ian's eye, replaced by a surmising look that worried me.

We were cut short by the crunch of gravel, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"See, I told you she wouldn't stand you up." His affable expression back, Ian punched me in the arm and bounded up the aisle, where he closed the double doors to the vestibule, then showed me to my place at the altar like an old mother hen.

Father Fallon tottered out from the rectory office, across the transept, and took his place at the top step before the altar.

Ian slid into his place beside me, giving his pocket at final pat. "Are you sure? If you've got cold feet, we can still make a break for Dublin." He elbowed me, knowing my answer.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life. That girl is meant to be mine, and it will take heaven and earth to stop me." I took another deep breath, closing my eyes to clear my head, and waited for the doors to open and my future to appear.

"Will you look at that? No one would believe me if I told them that Declan Drazen does have a romantic bone in his body. You can do this, cousin." The laughter in Ian's voice was gone, and bemused wonder took its place.

I don't know how I earned that faith in Ian's eyes. I only hoped that Eileen had the same faith in me.

My eyes locked onto the closed doors, and I sensed rather than saw our guests move up the side aisle and take their places in the pew. The door swung open, and the foyer was a kaleidoscope of jewel tones, courtesy of the setting sun and stained glass. My eyes were locked on the doorway, waiting for Eileen to step into the aisle and irrevocably into my arms. Time stood still when she appeared, a swirl of color. An ancient goddess clad in flowers and mist, her long, titian hair snaked down to her waist, tiny white flowers scattered through its waves. The air crackled with magic. Fuck the priest. Fuck the ceremony. The urge to sprint up the aisle and drag her into the night and make her mine in the most primitive way possible almost overcame me in that moment.

My breath escaped me as she made her way down the aisle, the colors falling away. The candlelight transformed her from a pagan maiden to beautiful bride, floating in a cloud of white lace. She was a princess. My princess. When she looked in my eyes as she confidently took her place next to me, I felt like a king.

"So beautiful. Just like the first time I laid eyes on you," I murmured, my heart full of joy that the girl who has haunted my dreams would soon be mine.

Despite Eileen's unexpected choice to come to me unescorted, Father Fallon nevertheless asked, "Who gives this woman?"

Carraig stepped up to the altar behind us, clasping our hands in his heavy work-worn ones before placing them together, giving Eileen to my care. The weight of responsibility settled on my shoulders as Father Fallon launched into the Order of Service for Nuptial mass, his voice ringing out in the almost empty nave, our responses quiet but strong.

“Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?”

"Yes."

“Will you honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?”

I looked into Eileen's eyes and was emphatic in my affirmation.

“Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?”

Eileen's response was a shy, whispered, "We have."

Luckily, my "Yes" drowned her out. Even though everyone in the room knew the secret, it seemed cheeky to acknowledge our stumble at the altar. I loved her even more in that moment.

"Since it is your intention to enter the covenant of Holy Matrimony, join your right hands and declare your consent before God and his Church."

I brought our already joined hands to my lips and brushed a gentle kiss across Eileen's knuckles. That earned us a sharp rebuke from Father Fallon.

"May the Lord in his kindness strengthen the consent you have declared before the Church and graciously bring to fulfillment his blessings within you. What God has joined, let no one put asunder. Let us bless the Lord."

"Thanks be to God," we spoke as a group.

I glanced out and realized our little congregation had grown by two—one of the Sisters from Laurel Hill and Eileen's roommate, Bridget.

Father Fallon prompted, "Now I invite you to exchange your vows before God and the assembled company."

I pulled her close, shoulder to shoulder, our clasped hands filing the space between us. "I, Declan Aloysius Drazen, take you, Eileen Marie McInerney, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I will cherish you and keep you close, laying down my life to protect you and our children."

Her eyes shimmering in the candlelight, she responded in a soft voice meant for God and me alone. "I, Eileen Marie McInerney, take you, Declan Aloysius Drazen for my lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I give my love and my body into your keeping and will guard your heart with my life." She leaned into me, the adoration in her eyes more than I deserved.

That was Ian's cue. Ever the clown, he made a show of it, fumbling for the rings with a wink for Eileen as he drew them out of his uniform pocket, then he offered them reverently for Father Fallon's blessing.

"Bless and sanctify your servants in their love, O Lord, and let these rings, a sign of their faithfulness, remind them of their love for one another. Through Christ our Lord." He displayed them to our assembled witnesses before he placed them in our upraised palms.

"Eileen, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." I gently kissed her palm, marveling at its delicacy in my brutish one, before I slipped the plain gold band on her finger and offered her mine.

Her hand was trembling, but her voice was clear as a bell. "Declan, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." She slid my matching band onto my finger.

We were officially wed.

With a final blessing, Father Fallon invited me to kiss my wife. I took her beautiful, hopeful face into my hands, carefully spearing my fingers into her fiery hair as I kissed her tenderly, reining in my urge to consume and brand her with my lips the way I wanted to.

It's done. She's mine.

"Hello, Mrs. Drazen," I whispered, her blue eyes widening.

"Hello, husband." Her lips curled into a shy smile.

"Shall we sign on the dotted line and close the deal?"

She nodded, suddenly too shy to answer out loud. I tucked her ring-clad hand in the crook of my arm, and we followed Father Fallon behind the altar to the sacristy and parish registry. Eileen found her voice and invited Ian and Bridget  to stand as witnesses for the license, with the rest of our tiny parish crowded in behind them. Four signatures later, we were Mr. and Mrs. Declan Drazen as far as God and country were concerned.

Last, but not least, we signed the parish registry. I wanted to make sure we left a record of our "belonging" for posterity and Eileen's sake. She’d seemed so desolate after her parents turned their backs on her. Signing the registry may have been a small gesture, but it cemented her place in this village and with her extended family. I'd never let anyone set her adrift again, and I'd never forget that Bridget and Sister Margaret stood by her. She was mine, but  also a McGilbride, and that carried weight in this part of the world, not to mention a measure of protection with the people I did business with. Business she was going to find out about sooner or later. I'd cross that bridge another day, preferably with her grandfather alongside to explain just how deeply entwined he is in it all.

POP!

The champagne brought me out of my reverie and back to the here and now. I would have the rest of our lives to deal with those who made Eileen feel anything less than treasured and wanted. I needed to focus on the moment.

A glass of champagne was placed in my hand by my always prepared cousin, who managed to smuggle the makings of a small celebration, including Bollinger's, into the sacristy. I pulled Eileen close. "One sip won't hurt the baby. We only get one wedding day, love."

She accepted a sip from the glass, her nose wrinkling from the bubbles. "That's delicious." She giggled as she reached for a second sip. And a third.

"Better watch it, Dec. Your wife has expensive taste." Ian laughed, hugging us both. "Welcome to the family, Eileen. I'm Ian, Dec's better-looking, smarter cousin. Imagine my surprise when I dropped in this week to find out I'm getting two more cousins. No one can accuse Dec of oversharing. I needed to check you out for myself, so here I am, at your service, Mrs. Drazen."

I found myself holding my breath. Would the two people I loved without doubt or reservation love each other?

She winked, and I could breathe again. "Do I pass muster, Lieutenant Drazen?"

"With flying colors. He's never looked so relaxed and happy, which is doubly amazing given his lack of familiarity with spontaneity. Thank you."

"Actually, our whole courtship was spontaneous. If he hadn't stopped to comfort a strange girl…" She nestled her head on my shoulder, and I felt ten feet tall in that moment. Even though I was sitting on a secret I was going to share, once we were alone.

We finished our pictures, champagne, and it was time to go. One round of tearful goodbyes later, with Eileen repeatedly insisting, "They're happy tears," and her grandfather clapping me on the back with a friendly admonishment to take care of them both, we were on our way.

The roadster’s passenger compartment struggled to contain the explosion of veil and dress, and the intoxicating blend of jasmine and Ellie.

"Can we keep this car forever? It's where I fell in love with you," she blurted out in a rush, her hand on my thigh as I shifted and headed toward the highway. "Our last night of holiday, when you confessed you knew all along who I was but you gave me time and space to figure things out—anyone else would've called me out for being a liar, but you ‘got’ me. No one else really ever has, except for my grandmother and Bridey. Not to say you're like a grand—oh, I'm making such a muddle of this. You see the real me even when I can't seem to find her myself."

"The girl who's haunted my dreams for almost a year has agreed to make a family with me. I'm ecstatic with the deal I've made." I maneuvered onto the highway and squeezed her hand.

We drove in companionable quiet for a time, as dusk turned to darkness. The warmth of her hand radiated through my body, soothing my racing thoughts and provoking my hunger all at once. I brought her hand to my lips, nipping each knuckle and soothing the sting away, glancing away from the road to gauge her reaction. The glow from the dashboard only accentuated the heat rising in Eileen's cornflower blue eyes.

"We're almost there." I dropped her hand onto my lap before downshifting and pulling off the highway.

A flower-bedecked gate greeted us, beckoning us down a hidden country lane that tunneled through the oak trees standing sentinel on either side of the highway. More of Ian's handiwork.

"Where's here?" Eileen's voice was breathy with concern. "I thought we were headed to the airport in Galway? Won't we miss our flight to Los Angeles?"

"Los Angeles?" I chuckled. "What made you think we were spending our honeymoon in the States? If we set foot in the US, I would have to share you. I plan to keep you to myself as long as possible, my love."

"Honeymoon? I've upended your life enough. We don't have to do this. A honeymoon takes you away from your job. I don't want to get in trouble with your family. I've been nothing but a distraction already." Her voice betrayed the shame she still carried, and it angered me.

"First of all, you're my family. No one else's opinion matters. No more talk about our child being a problem or a burden. We made this decision to be together. No one forced me. I love you, Eileen Drazen, and I am so, so proud that you're my wife and I'm excited about building our life together. Our child is just the first step." I tempered the forceful tone of my words with a joke. "Besides, even the boss's son gets a vacation now and again."

Eileen relaxed, the tension flowing out of her body. We rolled to a stop, the gravel and shell that passed for a driveway crunching under the tires, in front of what would be our hideaway for the next week. By now the moon had risen, illuminating the clearing and revealing a stone house covered in ivy.

"What is this place? It's beautiful!" She turned her attention away from the house and to me, her expression rapt.

"It's the gamekeeper's cottage from a country estate that was established after the Flight of the Earls. The manor house is long gone. All that's left is this. The stories say it was a love nest to a pair of star-crossed lovers—one Irish, one English. They used to sneak off and rendezvous here."

"Do you know how it ended?"

"They abandoned their duties and family and ran off to America to start a family of their own. It sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it?" My lips curled in a smile. "But this is our night. Shall we?"

Eileen fought a losing battle, attempting to wrestle her dress into submission as I emerged from the driver's side and came to her rescue. I scooped her out of her seat, a lace-wrapped hummingbird, all excitement and fluttering heat. I felt as though I could rule the world when she grabbed my neck a little tighter and snuggled in against my shoulder as I strode toward the door.

"You had better not be tired. I have a long night planned for us."

"The first of many, I hope." Her eyes had a gleam I had never seen before, and I hoped it would never leave.

As I struggled to unlatch the door, arms full of Eileen, I stopped for a moment. "I have a confession to make. I wasn't kidding when I said I fell in love with you at first sight, but that first sight was long before I ran into you at Christmas. I was walking in the woods last summer. I got lost and stumbled on this pond. It was tranquil and quiet, but I wasn't alone. This beautiful redhead was basking on the rocks, engrossed in a book and soaking up the sun. A siren who could tempt Zeus down from Olympus. A woman men would wage war over and lose their souls for. While I didn't do anything quite that dramatic, I will say that she has been the star of my dreams ever since. When she walked into my arms that winter night, I just knew…"

She didn't need to know I found my way back to the pond that summer, and that she wasn't alone when I did.

We stepped over the threshold, and I set her down in the middle of the room. Moonlight streamed through the bank of French doors across the back of the house, illuminating the main room, which was dominated by a large brass bed that looked more like a flower-strewn cloud. I flung open the doors to the sultry breeze. The night-blooming lilies and jasmine glowed, their perfume wafting in.

"We're officially married." She giggled, spinning around giddily, arms outstretched.

And we're finally alone.

"Well, there is one more tradition…" I quirked an eyebrow as I shed my suit coat and tie. "Probably the most enjoyable one. Consummating our marriage."

Her veil continued to swirl around her as she stilled, the hunger in her eyes at odds with the blush that crept across her cheeks. "Could you get my bag from the car? I'd like to freshen up. And I'll need some things from it."

"Don't move. It'll just take me a second."

I bounded out the door, eager to complete my wife's first task for me. God, I love the thought of that. I fumbled with the car latch, my nerves getting the best of me. Declan Drazen, Jonathan Drazen's sinister hand, a nervous bridegroom. No one would believe it. I grabbed our overnight bags—Ian had dropped off food and supplies for the rest of the week—and headed back in. I toed off my shoes at the door, confident we wouldn't be venturing out again for days.

But Eileen was gone. Did she get cold feet? Run off? Kidnapped? My mind spun with a hundred horrible scenarios. The sound of running water broke through the haze of my momentary insanity. Is this what "having and holding" is like? Feeling the air being sucked out of your world at the mere possibility of losing them? I need to get a fucking grip. I won't be able to protect my family if I don't. I set her bag at the bathroom door as the water stopped.

"Dec, stay right where you are and close your eyes. I have a surprise for you."

There was no sign of the tremulous girl at the altar in Ellie's musical voice, so I did as instructed, fully expecting my surprise to consist of my wife—fuck, my new favorite word—in a lacy and ultimately lady-like negligee, hopefully in a pale blue to set off her eyes.

"Keep your eyes closed and hold out your hand."

I did as she asked, and she clasped mine. The soft rustle of fabric was followed by our clasped hands being wrapped in that same fabric. One loop, then a second.

"Where you first saw me, that was my place to learn and dream—mostly about this land and its magic. No peeking."

I'm not going to get much past her.

"Did you know that tonight is said to be a time of strong magic? It's Beltane. The fires are lit and thanks is given for all the new life coming forth from the earth." Her voice softened to a sing-song whisper, her warm breath tickling my ear. Her nearness electrified my skin and made me hard. "Do you know how they gave thanks, dear husband? With their bodies, by the light of the fire and the full moon. Marriages consummated on this night are said to be doubly blessed." Her lips caressed the edge of my jaw, like butterfly wings. "Open your eyes, my love."

The sight that greeted me stopped my heart. Eileen, naked. Dipped in the silver of the moon, her veil swirling around us, the end of it binding our hands. My heart knew that this was the moment she would truly become my queen, my heaven. That exchange of words dictated by a church, whose goal was obedience, was mere artifice. Now, as the air thrummed with something ancient and powerful and the rightness of the moment settled in my bones, we would finally and irrevocably become one. She wanted to join in the Old Way. I was powerless to deny her.

She gripped my hand tighter, and my body answered in kind. In that instant, I knew exactly what she was about and we recited the ancient pledge, binding ourselves to one another.

"You are blood of my blood, bone of my bone. I give you my body that we two become one. I give you my spirit, 'til our life shall be done."

I placed a tender kiss on our bound hands, transfixed by the energy that passed between us. I began untangling the veil with my free hand, unwilling to let her go. But she had other ideas.

"Let me. We need to get rid of a few things." She released my hand, and the veil floated toward the floor as she unbuttoned my shirt, her fingers nimble and sure.

When she smoothed her warm hands up the planes of my chest, sliding the offending bit of cotton off my shoulders and down my arms, my cock went on high alert. Her newly found confidence was sexy. My breath shuddered out as her hands dropped to my belt, which she made short work of unfastening, then the zipper. The clatter of the buckle as my trousers hit the floor was drowned out by the sound of my blood pulsing through me—the whoosh in my ears and the pounding in my cock. She turned me into one raw nerve with a single, subtle act of dominance.

And then she was crouched at my feet. "Just one more thing." I stepped out of the pool of my trousers as she slowly peeled off one sock then the other, marveling at the pale hair dusting my shins, her fingers leaving a bloom of heat in their wake. "It's so soft. It's not how I imagined it. I suspect most things aren't." She rested her cheek on my thigh. "I know so little…"

I pulled her up and into my arms, gathering her hair and veil, and settled my hand on the bare skin at the nape of her neck. "The fun is in the discovery. We have all the time in the world to explore every one of your imaginings. Let's find out what we like."

I kissed her softly, one corner of her mouth, then the other, brushing her soft, smooth lips with mine before kissing her. It quickly grew in intensity, Ellie's curious tongue making short work of my control. She sweetly coaxed her way in, the seam of my lips breached by her insistent tongue. I let her take the lead for the moment, reveling in the taste of ginger and Ellie, but it didn't last long. I took control of the kiss, devouring her mouth, sucking and nipping at her lips and tongue. But she wouldn't acquiesce, her hunger driving her to answer my lips and teeth and tongue with her own. Her hands slipped into the waistband of my boxers, shoving then down my legs. My cock sprang free, catching fire when it met her belly with a smack. I broke the kiss for a second, Ellie chasing after my lips, as I struggled to lose the boxers, shoving them down then off with my foot.

Once I was free of the last bit of clothing, Ellie raked my ass with her nails and ground my cock into the wet heat of her core. "Please." It came out a keening whine.

"Not yet. We're just getting started." I pulled away, looking for obedience in those silvery-blue eyes. I grabbed her face in both hands, our teeth crashing together as I cut off any further protest with a hard kiss.

Our kiss turned into a battle of wills as I backed her toward the bed, breaking to catch our breaths as the post of the bed frame stopped our progress. I attacked her neck, kissing and sucking, leaving a trail of hickies to finally mark her as mine. She struggled a little, trying to respond in kind, only settling when I sank my teeth into the meaty intersection of her neck and shoulder.

I soothed the sting, tracing the indentations that my teeth had left behind with my tongue. "Let me savor you. I want to make this night amazing for us."

Ellie struggled to slow her breathing. "Just let me show you how you make me feel." She tugged my wrist toward her pussy, cupping her soft wet curls with my hand. "You set me on fire. I want to crawl out of my skin. I don't know if I can bear it."

"You can crawl out of your skin after I worship every pale, delectable inch of it. Like this." I left a trail of soft kisses along her collarbone. "And this." My knuckles brushed against her nipples, coaxing them to life, only to pinch then until she gasped, closing her eyes as if she were memorizing the sensation.

I wrapped her veil around her fidgeting torso, the translucent netting rough under my fingertips as I smoothed it over her breasts. Happy with my handiwork, my hands spanned her rib cage, my fingers and thumbs almost meeting. Marveling that she sheltered our child in such a small and seemingly delicate space, I caressed the undersides of her breasts with my thumbs, coaxing a giggle out of her. She's ticklish.

That giggle caught in her throat when I blew softly on her nipple then sucked on it through the veil. Her nipple instantly bloomed and hardened, thanks to the gritty sensation created by the veil. I sucked and swirled, giving both breasts equal attention as her fingers curled into my hair and her breath quickened. My hand trailed down and I dipped one finger, then two into her wet warm pussy, gathering her juices and swirling them around her clit, pressing the knot of nerves. Every time I touched or flicked her hard little button, she urged me on, murmuring my name until it became a keening whisper. The combined attention to her nipples and clit was making her too hot for her own skin. The blush that washed over her pearly skin soothed me. The rasp of the veil on the tip of my tongue and her fingers softly tugging my hair with each change in sensation grounded me, keeping me in the moment and anchored to her, rather than surrendering to my blinding need.

She arched her back as far as she could, thrusting her hips wildly toward my hand, using the bedpost as support as she tried to make contact. "Dec, pleeeeaaaassssse."

I let go of her nipple with a pop and kissed my way down to her belly, eager to taste that juicy pussy. I stilled for a moment, wrapping my arms around her waist and resting my head against her belly, hugging my family tightly. My family. The air went out of my lungs at the realization.

After a moment, I spoke, my voice laced with panic and awe. "Do you think he knows what happened today? Does he know how much his parents love one another?"

Eileen calmed at my question. The whole world went still, the air heavy with promise. I tilted my head, and her eyes were shimmering with tears.

"Of course he does, my love. How could he not?" she whispered. "I've felt it in every fiber of my being, from the moment I saw you at the altar tonight, waiting for me. In every touch. Every kiss."

I covered her still-flat belly with kisses, murmuring promises and words of love, as I kissed my way back up to her lips, pouring my love into every one of them. I stepped back and worked the veil loose from Eileen's hair, letting it drift to the floor at the foot of our marital bed and carry all my dirty fantasies for the evening with it. Suddenly, tying her to the bed with that length of tulle while I showed her a hundred ways to come seemed childish and empty. I just wanted to crawl inside her and stay forever.

Need and promise and forever sparkled in her eyes, now gray blue in the dim light. The girlish apprehension had burned away. Suddenly, those eyes were full of answers. Answers to questions I didn't even know I had.

She laid her fingertips along my cheek, tracing the lines of my face with her thumb, lingering on an almost imperceptible scar left behind by some long forgotten brawl with my brother, as if she wanted to memorize me with every one of her senses. I couldn't bear it if she thought I would leave her, ever. I reflexively answered her soft touch with one of my own, carefully brushing aside the soft curl that was stuck to her cheek. My thumb slid across her soft pink lips, her tongue darting out once, twice before she sucked my thumb into her mouth, holding it in place and working it like my cock. Her touch sent shockwaves straight to my cock. It got harder and more insistent, thanks to her ministrations, brushing her belly, precum weeping from its tip.

She leaned in close, swaying her hips against mine, as she took my cock in hand, her delicate fingers surprisingly strong. She stroked my shaft, alternating between long strong pulls and light, curious touches, exploring the delicate ring at my crown. She sent shivers up my spine as she memorized every ridge and valley by touch, softly scoring my cock with her nails as she found her way to my balls. Cradling each in turn, she squeezed and caressed them. I felt my skin tighten over my cock as every one of my nerve endings came to life.

I pulled my thumb from her mouth. "Time for bed, my love."

I nuzzled her curls, redolent of the jasmine scattered through them, before I scooped her up and deposited her in the nest of pillows and quilts on her back, her feet dangling off the edge. I stalked her like a jungle cat, crawling up her body until I had her caged in the shelter of my arms, one on either side of her head, propping myself up on my elbows. She giggled for a moment as I played with her hair, craning her neck to steal a kiss. The kiss deepened and changed as tongues swirled and prodded, our hunger rising. Eileen matched my hunger—nip for nip, stroke for stroke. She squirmed playfully under me, welcoming me between her thighs.

I settled there, my hips forcing her to wrap her legs around me, her feet settling at the small of my back. She tried to take the lead, swiveling her hips like a belly dancer, coaxing my cock to find its way home. I eased my weight onto her soft, welcoming body as we caged each other, her hands cradling the back of my head as she tried to hold my lips captive; mine laced in her wild red hair, tugging and soothing. Our mouths called with bites and kisses and answered with sighs and groans as we learned each other's secret tender spots. Our kisses and caresses found the rhythm of our love, and it was a hypnotic, undulating thing, Eileen's body writhing under me as my cock found then lost his way in. I grabbed her hand, and together, we guided my cock into her slick, tight pussy. The head of my cock finally seated, I pushed in an inch at a time as Eileen gasped and whined at the invasion. Once I was all the way in, her pussy was snug and slick and clenching around my cock. I reveled in the feeling of skin on skin, our friction creating its own pulsing energy.

We stilled. We locked eyes, hers burning with the silvery-blue fire of the will-o’-the-wisp.

"Own me. Make me yours." Her throaty whisper was more command than plea.

I withdrew slowly, dragging my cock against her slick walls, and slammed back in, grinding against her clit as I bottomed out. I teased her with the slow, steady rhythm as our bodies grew slippery with sweat, despite the cool, fragrant breeze wafting through the French doors.

Drag. Slam. Drag. Slam.

We stopped, focusing on the spot where our bodies joined, my cock in her pussy, shiny and wet, the sum total of our universe concentrated on that tangible evidence of our coupling. Eileen urged me to grind on her harder, using her hips and strong rider's legs.

After giving her a taste of what she craved, I increased the tempo until I was relentlessly slamming into her pussy, my grunts answered with a guttural sound halfway between a sob and a gasp. We were chasing our orgasms together, sweating and groaning, grinding our bodies together until I felt my balls tighten against my body, Eileen's walls pulsing against my cock, our releases shimmering just out of reach. She clamped down on my cock. The sensation spread up my spine like a bomb blast and ricocheted back with a roar. It seemed like forever as I came and came with Eileen. I felt her tremble as her orgasm coursed through her body. Skin to skin. Her body welcoming the weight of mine.

I slowly pulled my still-hard cock out of her, our mingled juices leaking out of her as I rolled to her side. I swiped my finger through it and crossed her heart, then mine with it. "You own me. I treasure you."

"I love you, Declan Drazen," she whispered between her sweet, sleepy kisses.

I gathered the comforters over us and drew her close, her back to my chest, my hand splayed on her belly to protect our growing child. "Sleep well, asthore. I'm here to watch over you, now and always."

Her soft, even breaths were like the ocean tide, hypnotic and relaxing, lulling me to sleep as I wondered how I had ever fallen asleep without her by my side.