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maggie

A fter everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours, I should be full of panic, fear, and worry.

I should be freaking the fuck out. But my sick and twisted mind can only focus on one thing.

Vladi looks sexy as fuck in that suit. Heat curls around inside me as my mind wanders back to the night we met when he wore a tux.

How he was on his knees eating me out in a damn tux.

And now we’re standing on a beach, on opposite sides of the altar, watching our best friends get married.

My thoughts should be on them. I should be standing here, holding my best friend’s bouquet as she and Hayes exchange rings, my heart gushing with overwhelming happiness for them.

And while I am very happy for them, I can’t keep my eyes off the man standing beside the groom.

The man literally almost murdered someone for me.

Vladi beat that guy’s face to a pulp. For me .

I should be terrified, I should be afraid of the rage I saw him unleash, but for some reason, as the events are all finally setting in, I’m…

turned on . The long dress I’m wearing hides the sight of my thighs squeezing together.

A full shiver runs down my spine, knowing he was willing to do anything to protect me.

I’m a strong, badass bitch, and I don’t need to be rescued.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not nice to have a guy in my corner to beat the living fuck out of someone who would try to hurt me.

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,” the minister says as the happy couple kisses. Olivia looks back at me with a giant grin on her face as I hand her back her bouquet. “Ladies and gentlemen, please clap your hands for Mr. and Mrs. Larson!”

The applause echoes in my ears, but my gaze is locked on him .

I bite the inside of my cheek, realizing he hasn’t moved his from mine either.

It’s almost like deja vu. Yesterday was painfully perfect.

Until it wasn’t. And while I’ve been present physically, my mind’s been elsewhere.

I spent this entire ceremony trying not to think about the one thing that’s been pestering me like a little troll with a hammer inside my head.

Can we figure this out and move forward together?

We haven’t talked anymore about what went down.

He just held me tightly, caged in his arms all night.

I had to get up to use the restroom at one point, but I was too paralyzed to say anything.

I stayed there so long I almost pissed in the damn bed before I finally got the courage to wiggle out from his grip.

When I came back, he was wide awake, watching my every move until I was able to curl up next to him, where he pulled me in even tighter.

After he woke up screaming bloody murder, I almost lost it.

Watching him struggle to breathe after getting pulled off the skeevy captain.

Watching him spiral. Watching him transform back into the scared seven-year-old boy left on the street.

I just wanted to make sure he knew, without a doubt, he did keep me safe.

That he knew this incident with me, what happened with his mom, none of that was his fault.

But now, I feel like a can of worms was opened—and I’m afraid it can’t be shut.

His constant need to make sure I’m safe.

He insisted on walking me to the room where all the ladies were getting ready this morning.

One floor away from our room. I only protested for a moment, understanding the gravity of what he’s dealing with.

Then he texted twice to make sure I was still there and remind me to let him know if we were moving locations so he could escort me.

My throat tightens as I take a rough swallow.

How do I help him and not feel under constant watch?

There’s only one thing that helps me shove down these overwhelming feelings—my lust for this man.

He walks toward me, flashing me a smile I’ve never seen on him before.

It’s gentle yet noticeably more possessive.

I smile back as he extends his arm to me.

Placing my hand around his bicep, I rub the thick muscles beneath his jacket as his scent engulfs me.

Even here, his citrus and amber fragrance makes my knees go weak.

I lean into him even more than I did yesterday, nearly touching my face to his jacket.

Johnny flashes me a wink as we walk past him while the other guests clap and cheer for our friends.

This man has me in a full-on chokehold. He takes his free hand, placing it over mine and sending a spark through me that has me aching to climb him like a koala bear on a tree right here on the beach.

I need him. Now. Damn these maid of honor duties keeping me from grabbing him and taking him directly back to our room to fuck the ‘whatever the hell happened last night’ out of our systems.

After drinks, lots of speeches, toasts, peach pie, and ice cream, it’s time for the couple’s first dance.

I sit at the head table, knocking back my glass of champagne as the breeze from the nighttime ocean air flits across my face.

My heart swells as I watch Hayes and Liv take the floor, gliding around like they were meant to be together.

And dammit…they were. They are so perfect.

In every way. I tilt my head in awe of the love story I was lucky enough to witness.

I know everyone’s path is different, and theirs is definitely not mine.

That’s not me, and that’s not Vladi. And yet…

sometimes there’s beauty in imperfections.

Could we have an imperfectly perfect life together?

I bite my lip as a familiar scent pulls me out of my thoughts, his warm presence beside me.

“Would you like to dance, Magdalina?”

My heart races as he reaches out to me. He’s asking me to dance.

With him. I smile, placing my hand in his as he effortlessly pulls me from my chair and guides me toward the other couples already out on the floor.

Spinning me around to face him, he holds one of my hands in his, the other hand firmly placed on the small of my back, pulling me in so damn close.

As we sway back and forth surrounded by the people who mean the most to us, he doesn’t seem to care that they see us together, and that sends thousands of butterflies fluttering away in my stomach.

“You look beautiful tonight,” he murmurs, his deep voice reverberating through me.

“Who me?” I look up, batting my eyes as a low heat creeps into my stomach.

“Only you, lisichka.” He places a quick kiss on my forehead, my body full-on melting into his.

Goddammit, I could stay here forever. “I shouldn’t admit this, but I wasn’t paying much attention during the ceremony.

” His gaze moves across the room as his voice lowers, “I didn’t hear the minister ask me for the rings. ”

I throw my head back with laughter. “I got the sense your mind wasn’t on the wedding when he asked for the rings twice.

Don’t you think for one second I missed that little detail.

” I smirk, peering up to look at the smile I so rarely see him display in public.

“Tell me, why was the top goalie in the league, Mister Focused, not laser locked in on the one task you had today?”

Sparks flicker across my skin as he rubs his thumb in circles on my back. “The maid of honor was distracting me. ”

I shudder in a sharp breath, the longing in my chest begging for this moment to never end. Even the cool breeze drifting off the water can’t chase away the simmering heat on my skin from our bodies swaying together.

“I didn’t realize I had that kind of power over you.”

His throat bobs, his hand squeezing mine. “More than you know,” he whispers.

I swallow hard, fighting for composure, my breaths short. Is this what opening your heart to someone feels like? Like the greatest feeling in the whole fucking world?

I lean into his intoxicating embrace, burying my smile in his jacket. “I can’t believe you asked me to dance, Wolfie. Last night I was dragging you out here, but tonight you practically begged me to be in your arms.”

A wicked grin crawls up his face. “I’m not sure I would call it begging. But it was an excuse to get my hands on you.”

My breath hitches as he slowly moves his hand lower down my back, just grazing the curve of my ass, then pulling it back up where he had it.

I smirk, shaking my head. “You’re such a tease, you know that?

Don’t you think for one second I can’t play this game too.

” I move my hand from where it rests on his chest slowly between our bodies, dragging down just an inch at a time, pausing at each button on his shirt, until I finally run a finger inside the waistband of his pants.

My pulse races as I feel him twitching below.

But, as promised, I drag my hand back up his shirt until it reaches its resting place on his chest, rubbing my fingers playfully against the piercing hiding beneath.

He lets out a groan, the music around us drowning it out for anyone but me to hear, and once again, I want to climb this man like a tree.

He squeezes my hand a little tighter, and I draw in a sharp breath as his hand roams once more.

This time it settles on my waist, slowly gliding upward, his fingertips brushing the curve of my side as his thumb runs underneath my breast. I shiver with want, my knees weakening at his touch. Goddammit, I need this man.

“Do you think,” I run my fingers down his chest again, “anyone would notice,” one inch at a time , “if we disappeared for a few minutes?” I ask, reaching his waistband as his lips curl into a lustful grin.

“What did you have in mind?”

My smile matches his. “Come with me.”