King Cave (59 page)

But throughout the entire wedding progression, Judge conducting it and Jury filming it per our earlier request, all I could think was that I was marrying the man I loved. The man my heart and mind chose without an ounce of magic.

We were crazy perfect for each other. Simply, we fit.

“
I love you
,” I mouthed, love pouring through my veins like an elixir.

Ezra’s eyes crinkled, he was smiling so blindingly, and he mouthed, “
I love you, too.
”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Judge said quietly. “You may now kiss your bride.”

Ezra hummed softly, “I don’t mind if I do.”

“And I don’t mind if you do,” I whispered.

Ezra surprised me, though, lifting me straight off my feet. I squealed like a girl, wrapping my arms around his neck. Lips hovering in front of mine, his Vampire riding his voice hard, he purred, “
Wife
.”

A soft moan escaped as his lips found mine, our mouths moving together possessively. Spicy heat transfused my senses as our tongues collided, gliding together sensually in blatant ownership of each other’s mouths, but at the same time, I didn’t even need to have a Vampire’s senses to feel the pure adoration and love pouring off the two of us through our embrace. It practically filled the room, our emotions so potent they made me dizzy. My wolf rode my own voice, albeit a bit breathless when we eventually pulled apart, as I whispered, “
Husband
.”

Our eyes were glowing fiercely as they met.

We were married.

Filling out all the paperwork was a bit ridiculous. There was a damn form for everything. Cahal had already called, checking to make sure we were alright, but chiefly to complain because Brann and Brenna were starting to get restless in the strange, dark house, wanting to see us before they obeyed their father and laid down for bed. Both Ezra and I were feeling guilty, leaving his dad there as he was to handle them, so Ezra had both Judge and Jury working to finish this up, no time for celebration.

I had also tried to hide my middle name when I was signing the paperwork in front of him, the God-awful name that it was, but he had seen it and choked on his coffee, which Jury had brought in earlier. “Not one word. I plan to legally change it to Zeller later, and if you want that, then I would suggest you not make a comment.” I wouldn’t be able to take his last name, and he knew it. I could just imagine a Shifter asking me if I was Queen Ruckler, and I saying yes, but the Shifter smelling the
lie
. It couldn’t happen.

And it wasn’t my fault my mom had been so doped on Mys pain meds after my birth that she’d spelled my middle name wrong. It was supposed to be my grandmother’s maiden name. Shiltz. But she had left out the ‘l’, making it Shitz.
Nice.

Ezra’s lips trembled as he stared between my face and the piece of paper I had just signed, but in the end he kept his trap shut…like a good husband. Of course, I already knew his middle name, which was Cahal after his dad, but now he knew why I had never mentioned mine to him. I still glared when he stoically signed his name underneath mine. He raised an eyebrow, lips pinched. “I didn’t say anything.”

I sighed, handing the sheet over. “You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”

He made an odd gurgling noise, but luckily for him, he still didn’t say a word.

As did Judge, who blinked at the sheet in his hand. Stared. His lips twitched, but no comment was forthcoming, even as stoned as he was, which was damn remarkable. He then glowed golden, disappearing with our paperwork and taking it himself to wherever Mysticals turned in their paperwork for marriages so it would be kept quiet without passing through the hands of anyone else who would see our names together.

During the lull, I ran my hand ran up and down Ezra’s thigh. We had changed back into our normal street clothes. It was soft leather over heated skin I was touching. “Maybe I should have Jury take a picture of us, so I’ll have a photo of you in these pants.”
Mmm.
I grinned as Jury rushed out of the room, not even needing to be really asked, quite the dutiful assistant. We had the DVD of our wedding in hand, but I wanted a picture. “Where did you get them?”

He rested back further on his chair, spreading his legs wide. “I borrowed them from a store.”

I laughed outright. “Borrowed?”

“Indefinitely, naturally,” he murmured, lighting a cigarette and smirking. “So, you do like them? You haven’t said anything yet.”

I leaned over and stroked his lips with mine a touch hungrily, tasting spice and tobacco. “Uh-huh. They hug your ass perfectly.” And, dear merciful heavens, did they. And said ass was
mine
. My wolf growled a little.

Ezra’s chuckle vibrated against my lips. “I’ll have to borrow a few more if they make you react like this all the time.”

Ignoring the fact I was panting a bit, I nipped his lip. “Promise?”

“Oh, yes,” he whispered, eyes roaming my face, flaring with heat. “Most definitely.”

Jury took two pictures for us. A close-up and one at a distance — to get his pants in the picture — then she quickly scanned them, printed the shots, and deleted the images from the memory card. Judge reappeared right about that time, grinning like the devil as he waggled the copy of our official marriage certificate in his hand. All went into an envelope — marriage certificate, pictures, DVD — that we addressed to the spelled PO Box I had in New York, since it wasn’t safe to cart items like these around, risking being caught. Ezra had surprised me initially by mentioning the PO Box when I had sat stumped after they had asked for an address, apparently he having memorized the list I had given him about all my hideaways worldwide, but it was genius. So after we watched Judge physically sigh in resignation, his fun done before completing the memory spell on both himself and Jury, we left the house unnoticed, both Judge and Jury snoozing and completely oblivious to the events that had taken place in the study. We had our stamped envelope, our rings, and a life together ahead of us.

“You’re so mine,
wife
,” Ezra rumbled against my ear, holding me from behind as I unlocked Lynn’s SUV.

“Yes, I am,” I purred, turning my head to kiss his bristly cheek. “And you’re so mine,
husband
.”

“Mmm.” He nuzzled against my neck, growling softly, “Yes, I am most definitely yours.”

Dropping off the envelope at the post office took hardly any extra time since there was one close to the vacant house. Upon entering said house, we quickly jetted past Cahal, who had a brand new bottle of whiskey in his hand — the other empty by his feet — while he growled a little under his breath at us. We headed straight for the room where we could hear Brenna and Brann still up and playing, even though it was close to midnight. Lynn was half passed out, completely exhausted, and we took a few minutes to quiet Brenna and Brann, only leaving the room when their breathing evened out, their eyes closed, tucked next to each other under a sleeping bag Lynn had been quick enough to pack.

After shutting the door quietly behind us, Ezra moved swiftly, backing me into the far bedroom. I grinned, but I placed a gentle hand against his arm as he shut and locked the door behind us. “Ezra, I understand if you don’t want to do this right now.” I turned his face toward me when he froze. “Other than the fact your father will be able to hear every damn thing happening in here,” in the other hotels, we had made sure to get rooms far away from his parents, “you’ve had two very…trying…days. We can just rest.” I stroked his clenched jaw. “I know you feel like you should, but we don’t have to.” It wasn’t like we had to legally consummate the marriage after the ceremony. It was only tradition, Judge had whispered to me earlier when he had realized I didn’t know everything about Mystical weddings.

I saw his lips thin in the dark bedroom that was barely lit by the streetlight shining through the lone window. He turned, pulling my front flush against his chest. His warmth surrounded me. “I want to.” There was a bit of desperation to his tone,
truth
his scent. “And we can be quiet.”

My gaze darted back and forth between his. He was hurting and hiding it damn well, but more than likely re-entering this house had made his anguish resurface, decent thoughts gone. I nodded slowly. “Whatever you need.” In the next second, the way his mouth attacked mine, and later the quiet but extensive lovemaking session, told me just how much he needed to forget, to be soothed, and I helped by loving him physically and mentally, giving him all that he needed.

A scream brought me awake.

I sat up, pulling away from Ezra, who also shot up a second later, both of us sitting in silence with our heartbeats already thumping rapidly. The scream came again, and I was instantly on my feet finding the first shirt I could to put on. “It’s Antonio.” His scream was one of pain.

Ezra was already stuffing his legs into his pants. “I got that.”

Grabbing my gun from the ground, fear consuming me, I raced out the door, scenting the air as I went, while Ezra blurred past me into the room where Antonio had been sleeping. Lynn exited his own room, closing the door behind him, gun in hand and eyes glowing just as I turned into the bedroom. I stopped dead, eyes assessing as Lynn followed me in.

It was the barest breath. “What’s going on?” I couldn’t understand what I was seeing.

Cahal was sitting on the floor, back to a wall, holding Antonio’s back to his chest with his arms tight around Antonio’s middle, trapping Antonio’s arms. Cahal’s legs were wrapped around Antonio’s while Antonio arched against him, drying blood running down the side of his face, his eyes glowing brightly and another shout falling from his mouth as he fought inside Cahal’s hold. There was the scent in the air of plenty of blood, and dark splatters of blood all along one of the walls, each area rounded and curved into the sheet rock as if Antonio’s head had gone through it repeatedly. The bottle of whiskey was spilled next to them as Cahal grunted when Antonio twisted enough to sink his teeth into Cahal’s shoulder, more blood scenting in the air…then Antonio began banging his forehead against Cahal’s shoulder. Hard. Cahal’s hands and legs blurred and he instantly had Antonio flat on his stomach, holding Antonio’s head, shouting, “Get his fucking book!”

Ezra ran a hand over his face, eyes wide, but nodded, blurring out of the room only to return a heartbeat later with Antonio’s bag in hand. He held it while I holstered my gun, and shock and worry ate at me so much my hands shook as I unzipped the bag, listening to Antonio scream in endless pain. Curses flew past my lips when I didn’t find it immediately. Of course he would hide the damn thing at the bottom. Finally having it in hand, I dropped to my knees next to Antonio’s sweat and blood covered face, which was being restrained by Cahal so he didn’t continue to bash his head against anything.

“Antonio,” I yelled, placing the book in front of his face. “I’ve got your book.” He continued shouting and a large part of my heart broke, seeing a part of him I never had before. Seeing a part of him he had hidden from me all these damn years. My eyes instantly welled as he continued struggling and screaming, tears quickly tumbling down my cheeks. I dropped the book in front of him and pressed my forehead against his, holding his cheeks on either side, whispering, “Dad…,” I choked, calling him for the first time ever what he had always been to me, between his cries, “Daddy…please stop. I’ve got your book.”

Suddenly, there was silence so loud it seemed to echo with its intensity.

His flaring golden eyes blinked. “Lil?”

I sucked in a breath, my chest heaving, and my voice trembled, “Dad, I’ve got your book.”

His face scrunched further in pain as he whispered, “I need it.”

“Okay,” I nodded, taking a hand off his cheek, grabbing the book and holding it so he could see it. “It’s right here.”

“Pen,” he murmured, sounding like he was gurgling on agony, his breathing hitching.

“Ezra?” I asked hurriedly.

“I’m on it,” Ezra stated before I felt a brush of wind against my back.

My lips trembled as I stared at Antonio. “You scared me.”

He grunted, again that odd gurgling noise making its way from his throat. “Leave.”

“No,” I grated low, leveling my eyes with his. “You hid this from me.” My forehead banged against his. “
How could you hide this from me?
” Tears fell in a torrent again when he couldn’t answer me, biting his lip so hard it bled, and I sobbed, “God, I’m so mad at you.”

Again the choking noise as I felt wind whip at my back. “Love you.” He gasped hard. “Please leave.”

“Here,” Ezra whispered, placing the pen on the ground between our faces. He grabbed my shoulder, tilting me away from Antonio. “He doesn’t want you here for this.” He tried pulling me away as Cahal started moving Antonio. “Come on, sweetheart.”

“No, goddamn it!” I shouted, brushing his hand away and quickly grabbing the book and pen, getting on my knees, and holding them out when Cahal had his back against the wall again to restrain Antonio when he bucked. “Here,” I grabbed one of Antonio’s hands, placing his needed items there, “Here’s your book and pen.”

He was trembling inside Cahal’s hold, but he calmed some and automatically began flipping through pages like a madman, intermingling this with thumping his head back against Cahal’s shoulder hard enough to break bones. But he still gritted through his teeth, “Get her out, Ezra.”