His hands were on her ass, both hands, and with a tiny hop, her feet were no longer on the ground, her legs were wrapped around his hips, and the thick length of his erection was pressed against her core, driving her wild as he lifted her, grinding her against him.
She was mindless with need, chanting his name over and over as she gripped his head.
Grady groaned, raised her slightly, and then lowered her onto his cock. The feeling… Her eyes nearly rolled back into her head. His hips pumped and she held onto him tighter, his breath hitting her shoulder in hot puffs.
Her body tightened, quivered, and with a gasp of ecstasy, she went over the edge. A moment later, as her body still quaked and pulsed around him, Grady joined her with a guttural shout.
Their rough, panting breaths were the only sound as Grady lowered to the ground, her legs still wrapped around him, until she was sitting on his lap.
She heard him swallow hard. “That was…”
“Incredible?” she gasped. “Amazing? Intense?”
“All of the above.”
Her fingers, tender now instead of gripping, stroked over the short brown hair that was steadily growing in on his head while his fingers gently slid up and down the length of her spine.
“Thank you,” he suddenly said, and something in his voice drew her up short, making her wish she could see his expression.
Her fingers stilled. “For what?”
“For showing me how full my life could be. That I’m not just a soldier, a killer.”
The backs of her eyes burned and her chest went tight that he’d ever thought that about himself. “You were never just that, Grady. You were also a son and a big brother.” She thought of his friend who he still mourned. “You were a friend.” She thought of his service record. “And an honorable leader.”
He shuddered in her arms and she held him close, kissing the side of his face. “You were never just a killer. Even when you couldn’t remember, youknew.You fought. You, Grady Carter, are an amazing man. The man I love with all my heart.”
Raising his head, he released a ragged breath. “The way you see me… It takes my breath away. God, I love you so much.”
She cupped his cheeks between her palms. “You saw me too,” she reminded him. “You opened my eyes and let me see myself through yours. You let me see beyond what was different, those parts of me I always hated. You let me see that I was worthy of love – yours, but especially my own – so thankyou.”
Finding his lips with her own, she kissed him, communicating without words how much she loved him. Breaking the kiss, she didn’t pull away. Against his lips, she told him, “And we’ll keep reminding each other, as many times as needed, because we love each other.”
“Always.”
Lark smiled softly and cuddled against him. “Always.”
Epilogue
“Areyoureadyforthis?” Jace asked, tugging at the collar of his tuxedo shirt as they stood under a white arch covered with flowers.
Grady smoothed the lapels of his own tuxedo. “Hell, yeah. You?”
“Damn straight.”
It was their wedding day. When the suggestion had first been made about a double wedding, he’d been hesitant, thinking Lark and Paige would want their own special day, unique to them and their tastes, but the women had surprised him. They’d both been thrilled by the idea.
Paige still had some friends up in New York, but she decided she didn’t want to put them through the hassle of traveling, while his old friends, as far as he knew, still thought him dead. So, since both his and his sister’s guest list consisted of their parents, the General had agreed to have it here at Black Bay. That way, all the Beasts – even the ones who were skittish about leaving – could attend. Grady had no doubt his parents would honor the need for secrecy of what Black Bay truly was.
His mother was rapturous. She and his father had arrived at Black Bay a few days ago, and while Garrett Carter had hit it off immediately with the General, the two of them spending time at the shooting range, and sharing stories about their glory days, Penny Carter had immediately taken over supervising the wedding preparations. She’d go from being a social butterfly one moment, to a general barking orders the next. He was pretty sure the Beasts that had volunteered to help had been highly amused.
They’d done a great job. The central green area of Black Bay had been transformed. In addition to the flower arch, a white runner created a center aisle for Lark and Paige to walk down with guest chairs on either side, the end seats draped with flowers and ribbons. The trees had been strung with white lights that twinkled amidst the green leaves and chamber music played softly over the PA system.
There’d originally been talk of hiring a string quartet, but given the top-secret nature of the base, that idea had quickly been squelched. He didn’t think anyone minded. The benefits of having the wedding here far outweighed that one tiny hiccup.
He looked over the familiar faces in the seats. Beasts as well as human staff and soldiers – some of them his former shadows – all dressed up for the much-anticipated event. None of the Resurrection soldiers were here but that was no surprise. Doctor Blackmore had been working overtime with the memory tech, attempting to undo what had been done, as well as modifying their chips, but there was still a long way to go. Unlike him, those soldiers didn’t have a sister here to remind them of who they once were. They didn’t have someone like Lark to lean on as they came to terms with their new reality. Their rehabilitation would take time.
ORION, however, was with him as always, a silent presence in the back of his mind. An observer who was learning, and growing as it saw the world through Grady’s eyes and the potential that existed outside of war. There was still a lingering question as to whether the AI would prove problematic in the future, but he wouldn’t borrow trouble. Especially not today.
The music changed. The Wedding March began, and Grady snapped to attention as he searched for his Lark. Spotting her, arm-in-arm with the General in full dress uniform who would be walking her down the aisle, he felt his heart kick in his chest. The rest of the world fell away, and he only saw her. Beautiful, deadly, perfect, his…
Dressed in a strapless, body-hugging white sheath of a dress that fell to just below her knees, she took his breath away. She’d left the brilliant fire of her hair down, the thick locks falling in loose waves around her shoulders and her scales shimmered under the late afternoon sun.
How had he gotten so lucky? The irony of it all… All of the pieces that had to come together to get to this moment. The tragedies and the victories that had to unfold. Was it worth it?
Lark’s vivid green gaze met his and a gorgeous smile lit up her uniquely beautiful face.
Hell, yeah it was.
