He spoke directly to me, his eyes bright. "But I needn't have worried. You are just the person that she needed in her life, for so many reasons. Thank you for seeing the same thing in me. Thank you for never trying to diminish what she and I are to each other. Thank you so much for never questioning, never complaining about this package deal you got."
I nodded at him, eyes suspiciously moist.
He raised his glass to me. "Welcome to the family, brother."
I tucked Bianca's body into mine, kissing her temple, then nuzzling my face into her soft, white blonde hair as we danced. I'd intended to behave myself for a few more hours, or a few more songs, at least. Really, I had. But it was useless.
I spoke into her ear, "Are you wet?"
Her step faltered. I'd clearly caught her off guard.
"I'm going to take you into the woods and ravish you. I'm going to bind you, claim you, brand every inch of you as mine. Mine."
I heard her breath stutter in and out unsteadily, waited a beat for it to steady, still dancing with her, a slow sway to the music.
"I have the perfect spot," I added. "It's a bit of a walk, but we need some distance."
I let her process that before I added, "This won't be quiet."
I could feel her trembling.
I smiled into her hair.
I didn't make our excuses to anyone. It was our wedding, and we'd be back because one thing was certain, we wouldn't be sleeping tonight.
I simply walked off the dance floor, slipped away from the party, and pulled her into the woods.
I'd set a lantern out for us in a spot on the trail that led from the reception tents to the house. There was enough moonlight for me to see the trail, but not much else. I'd be finding the lantern by memory, since I'd hidden it here unlit.
We were nearly to it when I heard a noise that had me stopping in my tracks.
I pressed Bianca to me, putting my hand over her mouth.
"Shh," I breathed in her ear.
There it was again, a soft voice in the dark, one that I recognized.
"Tristan," Danika said softly.
A short ways up the path, I could make out the shadow of a couple embracing.
A few beats later, the sounds of lips clashing drifted to us, followed by some unmistakably passionate moans.
"Holy shit," I whispered in Bianca's ear.
She didn't answer. She couldn't. I still had my hand over her mouth.
I started inching toward the spot with my lantern, figuring at this rate, if we didn't leave, we'd soon be hearing them having sex.
Danika started whimpering loudly, and it wasn't from pain.
Tristan moaned almost as loudly.
More, louder whimpers, another deep-throated, desperate moan.
I inched a little closer to the lantern.
One of their shadows seemed to climb the other, and they began to move away.
Tristan had picked her up and carried her off. Like a f**king caveman. I covered my mouth with my free hand to stifle a laugh.
Bianca started struggling against my hold, and I took my hand from her mouth.
"Was that Danika . . . with Tristan? Were they . . . ?" Bianca paused for a long moment, clearly at a loss. "What on earth was that?"
"That was about damn time is what that was."
"You approve of that? Them hooking up?"
"Wholeheartedly."
"Well, I don't think I do. He hurt her. Badly. I'm team Danika on this one."
I sighed. "He did. But people change. He won't hurt her like that again. I'm certain of it."
"So you're team Tristan, then?"
I pulled her against me in the dark, finding and kissing the tip of her nose. And copping a feel. "I'm team happily ever after, love. And as impossible as it seems now, those two won't be happy with anyone but each other."
She made a disbelieving noise. "I think you're wrong."
"Well, only time will tell."
"I think we should stop them. Danika will regret that later."
I started walking, tugging her with me. "I think not. We're not interfering."
"That's not what you said when Tristan rigged the seating in his favor. You were all for interfering then."
I smiled in the dark, and knew she could hear it in my voice when I spoke. "Team happily ever after, love."
I snagged an arm around her waist and started tugging her again.
I found the hidden lantern, lit it, and headed into the woods, away from the house and the reception. There was no trail, but I knew the way.
We walked for about five minutes in silence before we came to a clearing. The sound of a nearby creek and our progress through the brush was the only noise that accompanied us.
"Stay there," I told her, and lit four torches I'd driven into the ground earlier.
The clearing was small, surrounded by a tight circle of trees. I'd chosen the area because it was secluded, and one of the trees had branches that were just the right height and strength for what I planned.
Everything was already laid out: Spreader bar with white leather ankle cuffs, an armbinder that had been designed to match her wedding dress, a white riding crop.
I grabbed the armbinder. It was a conical, single glove sheath that hugged her arms from her fingertips to just above her elbows.
I tugged her to stand under a strong low-hanging branch, pulled her arms behind her back, and began to bind them tightly together.
"You planned this out rather meticulously," she pointed out breathlessly.
I smiled down at her, a wry twist of my mouth. "Are you surprised?"
She laughed, a joyful sound. "I shouldn't be."
"While you were off getting hair and makeup done for the wedding, I was planning bondage and debauchery in the woods."
She let out another happy laugh. It rang out loudly.
I pulled her arms up high behind, and strung her from the tree with a strict strappado—a position that stretched her into helplessness.
I pushed the riding crop into her mouth, making her bite down on it, and left it there. It was not meant for spanking, not tonight. Tonight it had other uses.
A dark, heavy anticipation pumped through my body, making me throb.
I circled her.
I kneeled behind her, getting under her long skirt, spreader bar at the ready. I softly kissed the back of each lithe stocking-covered leg, then swiftly strapped and buckled her ankles into the contraption, spreading her legs far apart to do so.