Page 9 of Sweet Wicked Vows
Her photos were nothing compared to seeing her in real life.
Hair more vibrant than the depths of hell, skin the shade of fresh blossom petals, and sweet, full lips that the second they parted, blood rushed to places it shouldn’t.
A strange, undeniable urge to touch them, feel them on and around me, and ruin them beyond repair snuck up on me.
Evelyn Reynolds stared at me. A line formed between her brows, and her hands curled into two white-knuckled fists at her side. Defiance flickered across her face, yet there was no hiding the unwelcoming acceptance of what was about to unfold.
Sweetness mixed with a hint of spice encased my senses, claiming and marking me as I closed the distance between us.
“You’re late,” she snipped. “I don’t like when people waste my time.”
Her bluntness caught me off guard, rendering me speechless.
“Jaxon Dade, I presume?” The officiant finished her notes.
I regained myself. “That’s me.”
“Glad you can finally join us this morning.” The officiant cleared their throat. “Is Mr. Ryans still here to act as a witness to the union?”
I shook my head. “Unfortunately, he had a medical emergency to attend to. If you need a witness, I can get someone.” Taking out my phone, I made a quick call to Benny outside the courthouse. “Come inside. First door on the left.Non,leave the coffee in the car and come here now… now, Benny.”
Evelyn rolled her eyes as I hung up the phone. “Good to see you have your brother’s friendly personal skills.”
Her voice stilled everything within me. My mind short-circuited as I tried to think of a response, to say anything to her,but all I could do was stare at her lips. She pursed them together, not shying away from my gaze.
Before I got the chance to speak, Benny marched through the door, wiping what I assumed was pastry crumbs from his lips. “What do you need, boss-man?”
“You’re going to act as a witness,” the officiant replied. “Simply watch the ceremony and then sign the marriage certificate to confirm that both parties willingly and knowingly entered into a legal marriage.”
Evelyn’s body stiffened. Her arms flattened against her sides and her chest began to rise and fall at a slow and unsteady rhythm.
Was she nervous? Scared?
Oh,douceur, wait until you have nowhere to run. That’s when you should be very scared.
“We don’t have to do this.” She exhaled quietly. A secret meant only for me. “I know your brother is behind all of this, that all of this is his idea. You…wecan still walk away.”
The officiant began to flick through their papers and speak through the proceedings.
A meaningless smirk curled on the corner of my mouth. “Let’s get one thing straight, my brother doesn’t make me do anything. I’m doing this for the same reason you are,douceur.”
Her chin tilted to meet my gaze. That sugary sweetness with a sharp hint of spice invaded my nostrils as I inhaled her scent. Her teeth skimmed her bottom lip, and god dammit, I tracked the movement like a man starved. “And what’s that?”
“For family.”
The rest of what happened was a blur. Words went in one ear and straight out the other. No more than twenty minutes later, with a ring around my finger, I was being asked to kiss my new bride. The officiant may as well have asked Evelyn to go sky-diving without a parachute. The sheer panic on her face waslaughable.
To keep face, I lowered my lips to the corner of her mouth.
A peck.
Barely a whisper of a touch.
She stood frozen on the spot, the breath in her lungs seizing until I pulled away and we were asked to sign the marriage certificate. I put my signature on the dotted line right beside the woman I just married.
Mrs. Evelyn Lydia Dade.
Setting the pen down, a wave of triumph washed over me. I was one step closer to getting what I wanted.