Read Under His Guard for Free Online

hand snuck into the crook of my elbow. Jonquil kept her gaze ahead as she joined me. She was everyone’s favorite former flirt, well, except for Cannon’s. She’d taken great pleasure in terrorizing him with her feminine wiles his first few days in the commune. Now she was married, more mature, and well on her way to motherhood. 
    â€œSurely you’ll walk a mother-to-be to the gathering, Darke.”
    â€œAnd where is your husband?” I fell into an easier gait beside her.
    â€œI do believe he took to the merrymaking early.”
    â€œAs he did with you.”
    She patted the proud swell of her belly with a secret smile. “Yes. And I have no complaints on that, either.”
    The meadow had been transformed during the afternoon. An altar was swiftly raised beneath an arbor dripping with blooms of brightly colored lilies. The table before Eden and Hills held the priapic wand and a length of red ribbon.
    The villagers assembled, dressed in their finest, whatever shape that took on this muggy July evening, but always with the Freelander hint of red. Votives lit the path down which Liz would walk, and more candles on the altar added a beautiful glow to the night as dusk descended in dark blues and vivid violets.
    Leon made his way to the ceremony after me. He didn’t stand beside me or anywhere near me. He wouldn’t look at me, although I stared at him continuously. I couldn’t help it. His hair was tied back and tamed for once. His shirt was bright white against his skin, and his lips moved rapidly as he made little Calliope—one of Micah’s young daughters—laugh.
    A hush fell over the crowd. Cannon appeared on the crest of the grassy hill, Liz on his arm. She wore some sort of ivory dress that could have come only from Farrow’s collection, baring her shoulders and part of her midriff. I chuckled when my gaze fell to her hips, where her Desert Eagles were holstered. They were her only accessories, except for a circlet of white flowers in her softly spiked black hair.
    I glanced at Linc to see his mouth drop open before he snapped it shut. When Liz passed me, I noticed the way she kept blinking, trying to keep her tears at bay. Next to her—tall as a tree and as large as me—Cannon did the same. He deposited her in front of Linc at the altar, where they exchanged a few terse words before Liz drew their gazes to her gun belt with a wide smile.
    The opening kiss Liz and Linc shared was slow and passionate. I stared at the side of Leon’s face, willing him to look at me, to share this moment with me, but he trained his sights steadfastly ahead. I felt a sharp poke in the ribs from Tommy, which returned my attention to the couple in front of us.
    Their vows were spoken in low voices—a rumble from Linc as he clasped her face, a throaty whisper from Liz when she kissed the tips of his fingers, placing his hand against her heart. Tears slid down their cheeks, their eyes fastened on each other as their lives soon would be. I didn’t need to hear their words to feel the power of their love.
    Rings were exchanged once the ribbon was wound around their arms and hands, binding them together, no matter what might come. Linc closed his eyes and smiled at something Liz said as she slid his wedding band home. When his ring came to rest on her finger, the villagers went wild. Shouting, whistling, clapping, and hugging one another.
    I was embraced by one person after another as I slowly made my way to the center circle trying to locate Leon. Goose bumps erupted on my skin when I found him a meter away, his eyes locked on me.
    Neither of us moved until a flurry of red ribbons from each Freelander’s hand waved and weaved into the air amid shouts of “Live in Freedom! Love at Will!”
    The barrage of hollers and the press of people carried us away from each other and across the meadow. I fumbled in my pocket for my own ribbon and set it loose in the wind.