She nodded. “I do.”
“Okay, Pat. Call it. Make ’em legal.”
Everyone in the room laughed. Pat wiped his eyes. “By the power invested in me by the State of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
A moment later, as if he knew how long it would take, Kaden piped up. “And I now pronounce you Master and slave. Go ahead and kiss her. She’s all yours, buddy.” He smiled.
Seth gently held her, kissing her. It felt different than all the times they’d kissed before.
The right woman.
And she was all his.
Of course, Kaden wasn’t quite finished.
“I want you two to be happy. We’ve talked about this. Seriously. I know you both need time to heal, and that’s fine. Try to enjoy life. Find some simple pleasures to start with. Ed’s got some more—surprise—instructions for you. My orders for both of you are to enjoy what’s next and try to focus only on each other for the next couple of days. It’s been a long haul. I know you two are worn out. Don’t feel guilty about taking this time together, okay? Please? I need the two of you starting out on the right foot. It would really harsh my mellow if you didn’t.”
At that, Leah and Seth both laughed.
“Fucking ballbuster,” Seth muttered.
“I love you, Leah,” Kaden said. “And I love you, too, Seth.”
“I love you, too, dude,” he said. “But I’m still not doing you.”
“I’m still not doing you either, buddy.”
Seth froze, then laughed loud and heartily as Leah tightly hugged him.
The DVD ended.
Kaden knew Seth and Leah wouldn’t be in much of a mood to socialize. He’d instructed Ed to offer some very light refreshments, just enough to be polite, before the celebration broke up. Leah and Seth signed the marriage certificate, as did the judge, Tony, and Ed.
“I’ll save the DVD for you with the others,” Ed said.
“So when do you tell us what’s next?”
“There’s an envelope in the limo. You don’t open it until you’re on the road again. The driver knows where to take you.”
They said good-bye to everyone, hugged Tony, Ed, and Pat, and then Seth helped Leah into the limo.
The sealed manila envelope lay on the seat.
Leah cuddled tightly against Seth’s side as he took a deep breath and slipped his finger under the flap.
On top, another card in Kaden’s handwriting.
Congratulations! This is your honeymoon. Now don’t get freaked out, for chrissake. You two need a fucking vacation after what you’ve been through with me, admit it. A few days away that I know you normally wouldn’t take. I meant it when I said I want you two starting out on the right foot.
The two of you have never had a chance to just be alone and just be together. I want that for you. That’s my wedding present to you. No guilt allowed, and try not to rehash what’s happened. Just try to enjoy each other, go for some quiet walks, hold each other, talk. Hell, watch TV if that’s what you want to do. Recharge. I’m not saying I think the two of you can just drop your emotions and party, but I want you to try to relax, kick back. Just…be for a few days.
Inside were plane tickets, their passports, reservation information for a small resort in the Bahamas. A five-day stay. A handwritten note, from Ed, detailing their itinerary.
The limo took them to Tampa International Airport where they caught a short flight to Miami. From there, another flight to the Bahamas. A man waited for them at arrivals with Seth’s name on a sign. He helped them with their bags and drove them to a small, secluded resort.
Too tired to do anything else, they fell asleep almost immediately after check-in, tightly curled together.
The next morning, Seth awoke with a start. Leah wasn’t in bed with him.
He sat up, heart racing.
“I’m here,” she softly said.
He turned and saw her standing at the open window. A sweet, salty breeze blew in.
He walked to her and put his arms around her. They had a gorgeous view of the ocean. The sun rose from behind them, painting the turquoise water with a golden glow.
Seth kissed the back of her neck. “Are you okay?”
She hugged his arms tightly around her. “Yeah,” she said. “Just…sad. Not about you,” she quickly added.
“I know. I understand.” Now he understood why Kaden hadn’t included any “toys” in the packing list. Would have been hard to explain some of those to the TSA and customs agents. “Do you feel like breakfast?”
She nodded.
He ordered room service for them. Seth had to admit Kaden was fucking smart to do this, to totally get them out of their usual setting, away from reminders and normal routines, to jar them out of their funk.
But how the fuck had he lived all those months, well over a year from the looks of him on the videos, knowing damn well what he’d done for them? The videos he’d made, the messages he’d left?
Seth realized Kaden was telling the truth when he said he could share her. In Kaden’s world, he’d already married her off to Seth and said his final good-byes to them.
Seth and Leah just didn’t know it.
An almost lost feeling filled him. Today Leah seemed…peaceful. He suspected the worst of his worries over her safety were over, but he still worried about her health. The months of accumulated stress on both of them wouldn’t just magically disappear.
Without Kaden to care for, without a vigil to stand over Leah, Seth was left wondering what was next for them both.
After they ate they took a long, warm bath in the huge sunken tub. They didn’t speak, just lay there soaking in the water. Seth had finally taken a good look at the new bands. Matching, of course. Intricately engraved with a vine pattern. Not quite like the other bands but similar.
Leah twined her fingers through his. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He kissed the top of her head. “For what?”
“For everything. For being there for him, and for me.”
He tightly hugged her. “Babe, I love you. This was a no-brainer.”
She took a deep breath. “I meant it when I said if you really want out at the end of the year—”
“Stop.” He turned her to face him. “Let’s get this straight right now. I said it before, and I meant it. If you want out, you can tell me. As far as I’m concerned, this is for life, babe. I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t mean it for life. I don’t care what Kade planned. I’m not leaving you unless you tell me you don’t want me anymore.”
She threw her arms around him, tightly holding him.
Then her tears.
It relieved him that she could cry without help. He settled back in the water and soothed her, consoled her.
When she relaxed in his arms she looked into his eyes. “Can we stay in the room for today?”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
She caressed his face. “Please make love to me.”
It’d been over a month for them. Even though Kaden had encouraged them to make love, neither Seth nor Leah had been in the mood to do so. They’d opted for power cuddling together, the three of them in bed, Leah firmly sandwiched between them.
Seth drained the tub, dried her off, and carried her to bed. He knew what Kaden wanted them to do—spend their time bonding in a way they really couldn’t before when it was the three of them.
He brought her hand to his mouth and feathered his lips along her knuckles. “Are you okay, babe?”
She nodded.
“Do you need to feel the bite?”
She shook her head. “Not now. I think I’m cried out in the good way for now. At least for a day or so.”
He kissed her, taking his time, savoring her. He was intimately acquainted with every centimeter of her body already. But this was different.