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and her in pearls, fuck-me heels, and satin lingerie
all wrapped around him.
    “I look good on you,” she whispered.
    He caught her eyes in the mirror and then turned to her, a
devilish smile on his face. “Yes, you do. Not that I’m complaining, but why
aren’t you wearing a bra?”
    “It looks like the wedding dress I’m getting doesn’t allow
for one.”
    He grimaced. “Elle’s idea, right? Maybe I should have paid
more attention to the dress.”
    “Maybe you should have.”
    He slid his hand to the lace at the top of her stockings and
her garter belt.
    “Love the white, virginal underwear.”
    “Good. I’ll be sure to wear something similar for the
wedding. Although I’m not sure the dress allows for panties either.”
    “Fuck, baby,” he cursed in a low growl. “You come to our
wedding without a bra and without
panties, and I can assure you we won’t make it to the reception. Hell, we’ll be
lucky if I’m not inside you the second you say yes.”
    Of that, she had no doubt whatsoever. “Duly noted, honey.”
    “If you’re taking requests, then this hairdo needs to go,”
he added, grabbing the loose knot at the back of her head and unraveling it. “I
want this gorgeous hair of yours flowing around you as you walk down the aisle
to me.”
    Her chuckle was shaky at best. “Why? So you can drag me into
your lair in the event I refuse to marry you?”
    He cupped her neck, locked gazes with her. “No, so I can
feel it against my body as I make love to my wife for the first time.”
    Her eyes filled, and her lower lip began trembling.
    Make love. Yeah, no matter how hard they fucked, and they
did, it was always making love. It had always been, since the beginning, even
when she’d stubbornly refused to admit it.
    “You got it, baby,” she somehow managed to say. “Hair down
it is.”
    She blinked fast, praying for the tears to stay at bay. Man,
she was a wreck. She was going to take up tai chi, chi-kung, or whatever shit
would help her survive this. Thank God she had a self-defense class with Mike
down at the gym today. It was great for stress relief, especially as he always
let the girls kick his ass. And not only his ass, but the collective asses of
the rookies Max sent their way from the kickboxing session.
    She kissed him fast and then tightened her embrace, hiding
in his neck again.
    “Baby—”
    She didn’t say anything, just shook her head imperceptibly.
    He let out a long breath, his fingers sinking in her hair.
“What am I going to do with you?” she thought she heard him murmur.
    His next words she understood. “You know you can trust me,
right?”
    She nodded into his throat, not trusting herself to talk
without breaking down.
    “Let’s get out of here, princess,” he said. “There is this
new Thai place I want to take you to.”
    “Love you, baby,” she mumbled, her face still buried in his
neck, embarrassed the only thing she seemed to know how to do was hide and
repeat she loved him.
    She was spending so much energy trying to keep it all
together that she was exhausted, emotionally and physically, her body literally
aching from the strain. But James deserved the very best in this world,
certainly a happy bride, dammit, not a guilt-ridden, sorrow-filled one, and by
God, she was going to give it to him, even if it frigging killed her.
    She took in a deep, calming breath and, lifting her head,
offered him a blinding smile. “Let’s go.” As he lowered her to the floor, she
noticed there was a certain expression on his face she didn’t know how to read,
but she was so relieved he wasn’t pushing the matter that she decided to let it
go.
    One disaster averted. A gazillion to go.
    * * * *
    “What bug crawled up your ass, man?” Max grunted as he
landed on the basketball court. “I thought we were just unwinding until Jack
and Cole got here. You need me in top form if we want to beat them. Those
grandpas are damn hard.”
    “Sorry,” James said, holding his hand out