At first, I think he’s referring to his massive boner, but then I see it. “What did you do?” I reach out to gently finger the raw skin above his piercing, reading the black script that definitely was not there a week ago. “Property of Li’l Bit.” I pull in my lips, smothering a laugh at what’s obviously a very fresh tattoo. “You didn’t.”

“I most certainly did. Now,” he says, bending to retrieve his pants. “Get up.”

I do, watching as he tucks his shirt back in, righting his clothes in the full-length mirror on the back of the closet door. “Anything else you wanna get off your chest?”

“No.” I shake my head, trying to ignore the desire burning in my loins. “That was all.”

“Great,” he says, taking me by the hand. He lifts my fingers to his mouth, pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to go marry the woman who owns my heart…and now my dick.”

“Well,” I say, blushing, “what the hell are you waiting for?”

Chapter Eleven

The vision of my wife standing on the rocky shore, staring off into the pristine blue water, her long blonde hair whipping in the breeze as we watch the sun set, will forever be burned to memory.

I didn’t think it was possible for there to be a more beautiful bride than she was last week. But the way she looks tonight, in a lace, full-length, nude-colored dress with a crown of flowers resting atop her head? With the water kissing her bare feet? So simple, yet elegant. Such a timeless beauty. Without question, I was mistaken.

I take a deep inhale of the salty air, letting it cleanse me of any lingering stress. I signed away the weight of the world when we endorsed that marriage license today. “We did it,” I say, pulling her close and planting a kiss to the top of her head. “After all these years, you’re finally, truly mine.”

“No take backs,” she teases, pinching my side.

“Never.”

“It’s so beautiful, Lyle.” Her voice has a dreamlike quality as she takes in the orange and purple glow where the sun is quickly disappearing behind the waves.

When Anika showed me this place, I knew it’d be the perfect spot to spend our honeymoon. The pictures did it no justice.