Free Forever: A Seaside Novella (BOOK 3.5) by Rachel Van Dyken Page B

after seeing such a beautiful ceremony. Not after experiencing what we did last night. Can we just… not talk?”
    “I think that’s the first time a girl’s ever asked to make out with me…” I joked.
    Alyssa rolled her eyes but I could see a small smile forming on her lips, she pressed them together and looked out the window.
    “Trying to hide your amusement?” I grasped her chin and tilted her face towards mine.
    “Ass.” She sighed, lips trembling.
    “Come on, you love this ass.”
    Full-on laughter escaped her lips. “Ugh, I hate how easy it is to forget when I’m hurt or angry or upset with you.”
    “I don’t ever want you to feel like you can’t talk to me, Lyss, but honestly? I’m glad you don’t stay upset for long. I’m not sure my heart could take it. You’re my entire world; therefore, all my focus is always going to be on making you happy, and trying to distract you from moments when I’m a complete jack ass.”
    She sighed heavily. I waited for her to say something; instead she kissed me lightly across the mouth. “Kiss me, Demetri Daniels. Make me forget I’m upset with you.”
    “My pleasure,” I whispered against her pink lips.

Chapter Twenty
    Nat
    Naked.
    I was naked.
    And I was already pregnant.
    So I should have been totally fine with the fact that Alec specifically asked for me to wear nothing. He even gave me a time limit. Five minutes and he was coming back into the hotel room.
    The man was insane! He’d helped me out of my dress then turned when it fell from my body. He’d said something about ’do overs’, which to be honest, I wasn’t really sure I was comfortable with. As far as I was concerned, I didn’t want a ’do over’, I just wanted him.
    A knock sounded at the door.
    I took a few deep breaths and answered, “Come in.”
    The door opened and closed so fast I jumped in my chair.
    “Perfect,” Alec’s dark voice radiated throughout the room causing me to tremble in my chair. He took a few steps toward me and then stopped.
    I watched as his eyes drank me in — all of me.
    Uncomfortable, I started to shift in my chair.
    “Don’t.” His voice was hoarse; he tugged his shirt from his pants and began slowly unbuttoning. With each button my breathing picked up until finally he threw his shirt onto the ground.
    And my husband was a god. Guys shouldn’t be so good-looking; they shouldn’t have such ripped abs that they looked airbrushed. His blue eyes darkened as my chest rose and fell with effort to remember to breathe.
    “Look at me,” he coaxed.
    “I am.”
    “Watch.”
    I licked my lips as he unbuckled his belt and then dropped his pants to the ground leaving nothing but his briefs and muscle… if he got bored with singing he could always support us by being an underwear model. I gripped the chair as he walked toward me.
    I expected a kiss.
    Instead he traced the curve of my face with his fingers and grabbed my hand. “I said a ’do over’… what I meant was…” He closed his eyes, his jaw flexed. “I wish I would have waited until tonight to see you like this for the first time. Regrets suck, you know that? But in the end, I can’t bring myself to regret being with you, to regret giving myself to you, or to even regret that we got pregnant.” His eyes opened. “Look at me, Nat.”
    “I am.” My voice shook.
    “Good.” His smile was slow, his voice purposeful. “I vow to always look at you like this.” He knelt so that we were at eye level. “I vow to love you forever. I vow to take care of you when you’re sick. I swear to love you even when you put on weight. I promise to protect you, to provide for our family… but the biggest promise, the biggest commitment I believe a man can make, is to vow to treasure his wife above all else. So, right now, my ’do over’, my gift, my vow, my promise, my oath — is to keep you first. When I wake up, my first thought will be Nat.”
    He reached for my head and cupped my chin. “Nat, the