Nobody's Lost (Rescue Me Saga #5) (30 page)

She opened the box, revealing the arrangement of pale pink roses and baby’s breath. “Oh, Patrick, it’s beautiful!” Holding onto the bouquet she wrapped her arms around him. “Thanks so much for being here.”

He picked up her camera case. “You know I wouldn’t miss it—not that you would have waited for me.” She grinned. The man knew her very well. “I’ve been practicing to use your video camera. Hope I don’t mess up recording your big day for Mom and Adam.”

“Nothing will mess this up short of my groom being a no-show, and Marcia assures me they’re all up there waiting for us.” They found the clerk’s office, and when she walked inside, she was surprised to see Ryder in his dress blues. He crossed the room to her.

“Breathe, Red,” he said as he bent to kiss her, taking her breath away a second time.

“You look even more handsome in your uniform.”

“Well, I don’t have many occasions to wear it anymore, but I had to today.”

“I’m glad you did.”

After introducing Patrick and Marcia, they filled out the paperwork and waited to receive the license then they all walked the few blocks to meet with the justice of the peace who would perform the ceremony.

They informed the justice of the peace that they had written their own vows, and the ceremony progressed rapidly to that point. With Ryder’s arm brushing hers, Megan didn’t hear much until she and Ryder were instructed to face each other. He was prompted to speak his vows first, and everyone else in the room faded away.

With his shaking hands holding her own, he said:

I, Ryder, choose you Megan,

To be no other than yourself,

Loving what I know of you,

Trusting what I do not yet know.

I will respect you as an individual and my partner in life,

and as someone who will help me to grow and heal.

I promise to laugh with you when times are good,

and hunker down with you when they are bad.

I will adore, honor, and encourage you.

And I will love you always.

Megan smiled through her tears. Overcome with emotion, she accepted a tissue from Marcia to wipe her eyes before she began her own vows.

The sun smiles on us today, our wedding day,

and how can it not, for our love is stronger than forever.

Our hearts beat together as one.

Ryder, I promise to be a true and faithful partner

from this day forward,

as we face all of life’s circumstances together.

In the joys and sorrows,

the good times and bad,

in sickness or in health,

I will always be there for you,

to comfort, love, honor, and cherish you,

today and every day of my life.

They exchanged the rings they had chosen at a unique jewelry store in Santa Fe and promised to live by their vows forever.

After a brief invocation wishing them a happy future, the JP announced, “You may kiss your bride.”

“Not yet, ma’am. There’s still one thing we must do.”

Megan had no idea what he planned until he turned to Carlos, who presented him with a pottery vase with two spouts and a single handle between them. The tan vase had been painted with corn stalks and other symbols using black and a reddish-orange paint, and then the vase had been glazed.

“This vessel was made by the wife of the shaman who conducted my purification ceremony last—.” Ryder’s eyes grew misty and his voice broke. Megan took his hands and squeezed them, encouraging him to continue. “—last week. The shaman prayed a blessing over the water in this vessel last night and again this morning, one that wishes us many happy years as we continue on our earth’s journey together. The two spouts represent our separate lives and the handle our joining together as one.”

Now the tears were in Megan’s eyes.

“You will drink first, and then I will drink from the same spout.” He held the vase to her and tipped it for her. The water came out a little faster than expected, and she dribbled some. Ryder smiled as he asked her to tip it for him so he could drink. Not wanting to mess up his uniform, she lifted it carefully so as not to spill any.

“Now we do the same from the other spout. I will drink first this time.” They repeated the process in the reverse order and she smiled. Ryder took several steps and stood side by side with her. “One more time. This time, we want to try harder than ever not to spill any because it is said if the couple can drink from the vase at the same time and not spill a single drop, good understanding and a cooperative spirit will always be a part of their marriage.”

“Oh, we need that!” She winked at him, hoping he didn’t think she was making light of the ceremony, only agreeing to the importance of not spilling a drop.

“Among other things. But we are strong and together even stronger. Still, if the Great Spirit will favor us even more with understanding and cooperation, we will go far together.”

Unable to speak, she swallowed hard and nodded. Ryder brought his head closer to her height—already showing his cooperative spirit—and they placed their lips on sides of the two spouts. In unison, they lifted the vase slowly until the water first touched her upper lip. She opened wider and drank the holy water. Overcome by an intense emotion she felt a tear slid down her cheek. When Ryder began to turn the vase upright again, she was reluctant to release it, but when she did, not a drop spilled.

Ryder handed the vase back to Carlos before turning to face her again. At least there would be no curse on them for having tears of emotion as far as she knew. But she thought she smelled her daddy’s aftershave and knew at least one of her parents witnessed the ceremony today. More tears did spill, but she didn’t care.

Ryder smiled and turned to face her. He cupped her. “Megan Wilson, you’ve done me the greatest honor a man can know. I will work harder than ever to provide for you and be the man you deserve.” He bent to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, wanting to be as close to him as possible.

When they broke the kiss, she took a deep breath, not wanting to even be a few inches apart from him.

“Today begins the adventure of a lifetime with the man I never even dreamed of finding. Thank you, Ryder. I can’t wait to get our journey started.” Silently, she thanked her coyote spirit animal—and her brother Adam—for helping her find such an unexpected treasure.

Epilogue

R
yder opened the door to their home. “Wait here while I put our wedding vase in a safe place and stow your suitcase.”

He flipped the switch and went into the kitchen where he placed the vase on the counter for washing later. What made it even more special was that the shaman from the sweat lodge had instructed his wife in the creation of this vessel more than a week ago as he prepared for the purification lodge ceremony. He told Carlos he had received a vision of Ryder drinking from a wedding vase just like this one.

The Universe continued to prepare the way for when he was ready to move forward on his life and spiritual journey again.

Ryder carried her suitcase into the bedroom and returned to fetch his bride.

“Your wife’s freezing out here at a time when she should be hotter than a recently fired pistol.”

Ryder grinned.
Impatient woman
.

He met her outside the door and, without hesitation, scooped her into his arms. She squealed in surprise, although she must have realized by now he was a traditional man. Megan smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. He bent to kiss her as if he’d never done so before stealing her breath away. When she shivered, he lifted his head from hers. “You taste better than any nectar on earth, Mrs. Wilson.”

My bride.

Her smile warmed his heart, and he carried her across the threshold for the first time as husband and wife. He might just carry her into the house every time. Any excuse to have her in his arms.

When he started to set her on her feet, she hugged his neck even tighter. “I do believe there’s one more threshold we need to cross.” The smoldering look in her eyes left no doubt what she meant.

He kicked the door closed, turned to click the deadbolt in place while still holding her, and proceeded to his bedroom.
Their
bedroom. This first night would be special. He’d prepared the room for her before leaving this morning for Albuquerque. The waning daylight would make the candle glow perfect. He’d light them while she was in the bathroom doing whatever it was women did on their wedding night.

Not much else he had to do but strip and hang up his uniform.

When they entered the bedroom, he set her on her feet and turned the dimmer switch to give just enough light to see. Turning back to her, he lowered his mouth to hers once again for another taste. His hands stroked down the back of her lacy dress, and he cupped her ass, pulling her against him.

Megan looked so sexy in the form-fitting dress. She’d kept some traditions herself, not letting him see the dress she’d chosen when she and Marcia had gone shopping yesterday. When she walked into the clerk’s office, he hadn’t been able to keep his gaze off her.

“Before we go to bed, I want us to spend some time in the sauna together. Just one more symbolic way of shedding the past and starting our new life together.”

“Just let me get out of these clothes, unless you’d like to watch me strip.”

His cock throbbed to life. “Watching might be…enlightening, too.”

“Ah, but we’re going to turn the tables. First, I get to watch you take off that stud-muffin uniform.”

“Hey, respect the uniform.”

“Oh, I respect this uniform very much, as well as the man wearing it.” She reached up and fiddled with the hook and loop at the collar of his blouse a while before finally releasing the tight closure. “Man, it’s good you didn’t have to fight in this thing. No wonder you stand so straight and tall in it.” Her fingers moved down to the first gold anodized brass button.

He had no desire to stop or help her, which would bring this to an end sooner than he desired. No, he planned on enjoying tonight at her pace, and if this is what Megan wanted to do, she’d damn well do it. Besides, the smiles she flashed him were not sweet and innocent at all, but sultry and sexy instead. The woman went after whatever she wanted—and she wanted him.

Holy fuck! How did I get so lucky?

For days, he’d worried about tonight, given that he would be her first lover, but as with everything else, Megan just charged in without succumbing to fears.

She’d once said she could tell he would be a gentle lover. No doubt, given how quickly she took to kink, the rough stuff would come later. But tonight, he would be slow and gentle.

Even if it kills me
.

*     *     *

Megan worked her way down the line of buttons on the front of his jacket. His white crew-neck undershirt peeked out as she reached the halfway point. Her heart beat harder, and a current seemed to flow through her fingers and up her arms as she touched the uniform in such a personal way. She’d always thought Patrick’s uniform looked good on him, but Ryder’s…well, as much as she enjoyed seeing him in it, she couldn’t wait to see him out of it.

When she reached the white belt and its brass buckle, she squeezed the two ends together and it popped open. She grabbed the belt before it fell and tossed it on the bed before spreading open the jacket and drooling over the pecs stretching the white t-shirt.

No longer wanting to wait to see his bare chest, having only seen hints of it under his vest during their forays into kink, she pushed the jacket down his arms. Wanting him to see she could control herself, she carried it over to the closet and hung it up. When she turned, she watched Ryder untuck his undershirt and pull it over his head. The bulge in his trousers told her he was as turned on as she was.

She returned to him and reached for his web belt, quickly opening and dispensing of it as she had done the jacket belt. Next came the hook-and-loop closure, and she reached for his zipper.

He grabbed her hand before she could unzip them. “My turn.”

Her breath caught in her throat. The thought of his hands on her made it difficult to breathe. With his index finger, he motioned for her to turn around. He wound her hair around his fist as he had done their first night in this house. Her nipples peaked and a strange sensation low in her abdomen left her longing for his touch.