Page 91 of Irresistibly Wicked

“No. It’s all the same. I tried learning to read music, but it was too frustrating. Mads saw me struggling and taught herself to play the guitar when she was twelve so she could teach me to play by ear.”

“Wow. That’s amazing.” She lifted his hand and touched the tattoo on his middle finger. “Now this musical note makes sense. It represents you, doesn’t it? Trapped by your dyslexia? The barbed wire?”

He tilted his head. “You know what a sforzando is?”

“You have a tattoo of my initials on your finger. Did you think I wouldn’t google it to see if it was really a musical abbreviation or if I’d married a psycho stalker?”

He almost smiled, but he glanced at the tattoo, his expression serious. When he finally said, “Yeah, it’s me,” it came out raw.

A distant boom drew their attention, the telltale hiss of fireworks nearly drowned out by the roaring falls. An explosion of red burst into dazzling streaks of light as sounds of excited awe rose from the crowds around them. She and Zander lowered themselves to their backs on the blanket to watch the show. But as fireworks bloomed against the night sky, she couldn’t stop thinking about the magnitude of what he’d shared.

She wanted to share something with him, too. “You know that beach party you drove me home from on my twentieth birthday? The whole reason I was there was for the sparklers. When I was little, all the other kids were allowed to hold them on the Fourth, but my parents wouldn’t let me. They said they didn’t want me to get hurt, but I think it was really because they didn’t want me to feel like the other kids. They didn’t want me to be as happy as they were, because then I might notice the difference in our families. How unhappy mine was compared to theirs. I really don’t think my parents knew I felt that difference every minute of every day.”

Zander’s fingers curled around hers. “I’m sorry, darlin’.”

“Me too. Brian had heard that the people who threw the party on the beach handed out sparklers. That’s why we went. But we never got that far. We hooked up with kids we knew and got rip-roaring drunk and high before heading to the beach. I was my own worst enemy.”

“You were a frightened girl trying to make it in a world you were never taught to navigate. My parents host that beach bash on the Fourth every year. We’ll go this year and celebrate your birthday.”

She longed to celebrate with him and his family, but she had to work, and nobody liked to swap shifts on holidays. It wasn’t like she was used to birthday celebrations anyway. Birthdays had never been a big deal when she was growing up. Her parents would give her a small gift and present her with a store-bought cake, both of which had felt like obligations. They’d gone to see fireworks a few times when she was a kid, but not often. Brian gave her a card every year, and she’d miss that this year as much as she missed him.

“I wish I could, but I have to work.”

“You’re doing good work, Angel.” He squeezed her hand again, and they went back to watching the fireworks. The air crackled with excitement as thunderous booms rang out, showering them with a visual feast of vibrant colors. When he laced his fingers with hers, she glanced at him. His jaw was tight, and he was staring absently at the sky. She wondered what he was thinking and pressed a kiss to his shoulder, then rested her head there.

A few minutes later, he said, “Hey, darlin’.”

“Yeah?”

“Nobody else knows what that tattoo means.”

The heady emotions in his voice stirred something in her chest, as hot and bright as the fireworks. “Your secret is safe with me.” Not wanting him to worry about her breaking that promise after their obligation was over, she added, “Always.”

His chest rose and fell with a long exhalation, as if he had been holding his breath. He held her a little tighter and pressed a kiss to her forehead, murmuring, “Yours, too.”

THE LAST SHIMMER of fireworks faded into the night, leaving only the roar of the falls and the murmur of the dispersing crowd. The fireworks were incredible, but it was the way Zander held her, the closeness she felt once she fully let her guard down, that had her wishing it could continue all night.

She started to get up, but Zander kept her close and said, “Let the crowd go first.”

In no rush for their night to end, she smiled against his chest, drenched in happiness.

They stayed that way for a long while, eventually making their way back to the hotel. The night replayed in her mind as they walked into the suite for the last night of their honeymoon. The sight of separate bedrooms made her nerves prickle. Would it be wrong to ask him if they could stay in the same room again? Should she expect they would? She looked from the bedrooms to him, at a loss for words, and blurted out, “I’m going to take a quick shower before bed.”

He stepped forward, sliding his strong arms around her waist, heat rising in his eyes. “Then do I get to fuck my wife again?”

Yes, yes, yes! “Is that all I get? Just a fuck? That’s a little disappointing after last night.” Feeling saucy, she pushed from his arms and said, “Why don’t you make a better plan while I rinse off?” She turned on her heel and sauntered toward her bedroom.

He scooped her up, and she laughed as he charged through the bedroom door.

“What are you doing?” she asked through her laughter.

“I made a better plan. We’re showering together.”

Through laughter and kisses, they stripped off their clothes and ducked into the shower, locking lips as the warm water rained down on them. His kisses always turned her inside out, but with water seeping between their lips and his rigid cock sliding against her belly, it felt sinful and erotic. They groped and caressed, his every touch taking her higher, until she felt like she was going to burst. She reached for his cock at the same time he pushed a hand between her legs.

Yes…

They moaned into fervent kisses. She stroked as he teased, their hips thrusting and rocking. She was on fire, and she wanted more. She wanted to feel his hard length in her mouth, taste his salty skin, and see him lose his mind for her.