“Hell, yeah, only with me.” Her pants were off, then her blouse and bra. Her panties were somewhere in Millennium Park, but there was nothing she could do about that. “I’m going to do my damnedest to keep you naked for as much of your life from here on in, soon-to-be Mrs. Colgrave.”
“Fine by me,” she whispered, thrilling at the name even as he hauled her up and carried her to the bedroom.
*
What a difference a day made, Alice marveled, laughing as Loki spun her around the dance floor and showed her yet again that at least in his arms, she could give Ginger Rogers a run for her money.
Far from being upset over her streaking arrest, Loki found it hilarious that his woman now officially had an arrest record while he, a Gravedigger legacy, didn’t. His best man, Tyr, gave her a fist bump and welcomed her to the “drunk and disorderly” club, of which he claimed to be president, though he was impressed with how she’d put a public nudity spin on the charge.
Apparently that was a mountain he’d never climbed.
With a shaky start like that, Alice had no idea how her actual wedding day was going to go, though she had visions of doom and gloom throughout the morning as they proceeded to the small chapel in Lincoln Park. To her amazement, everything went off without a hitch. In no time at all, she and Loki exchanged vows and enjoyed their first kiss as husband and wife in front of their friends and family.
For his part, Loki managed to take the traditional trappings of a wedding in stride. But the moment the deed was done, he let out a rebel yell, hauled her over his shoulder and threw her onto his Harley parked right outside.
Alice never did see if their wedding guests were able to throw the congratulatory birdseed their way.
Even making their way to Gus and Joelle’s place, where Joelle had insisted they hold the reception in their never-used Victorian ballroom, Alice had a vague feeling that something was going to happen to take away her happiness. Life was so perfect now it was almost scary. To love a man who loved her back as passionately as only Loki could, she half-feared that it was all going to somehow be taken away from her, and she’d once again be left with nothing.
But again, everything went beautifully, from Tyr’s hilarious best man’s speech, to her first dance with Loki, to the cutting of the cake, to throwing her bouquet and Loki tossing her garter. As the reception began to wind down, Alice wasn’t sure why she couldn’t shake the shadow hanging over her, almost like she was waiting for something to happen.
“Hey.” Loki nuzzled his mouth against her ear, holding her close as they swayed to a sexy slow dance. “This party’s great and all, but I’m ready to grab my wife and bounce. You ready to get our honeymoon started, Mrs. Colgrave?”
A thrill went through her at the new name. “I did promise Joelle that we’d hang around until the last hors d’oueuvre tray was served.” She glanced toward the kitchen before giving him a wicked smile. “Why don’t I go and dump every ounce of party food that’s left onto a tray so we can leave? That way, I can keep my promise, and we can get the hell out of here.”
“That’s my woman.”
Hell, yes, she was.
Loki kissed her hand, his eyes promising all sorts of panty-melting sex before he let her go, and she couldn’t help but fan herself as she made her way to the kitchen. Joelle wouldn’t blame her for the mess she was about to make, she told herself as she hurried to the fridge. When a man looked at a woman like he couldn’t wait to give her all the screaming orgasms she could handle, surely Joelle would cut her some slack—
“Alice.”
Alice snapped around, in the process of digging out the last trays of herbed cream cheese and salmon pinwheels. In the open back doorway stood Felix, looking leaner and so somber he was almost unrecognizable. Gone was the pretty, polished spoiled brat she’d always known, and in his place was this stranger, an angular, haunted man who couldn’t quite look her in the eye.
“Felix.” She stood there for a long moment, not sure what to do before she set the trays aside and laced her hands together. “This is a surprise.”
“I know. I, uh, just wanted to wish you all the best on your wedding day.” He shifted from one foot to the other, as if he didn’t know how to position himself while she continued to stare at him. “You really married that Loki guy?”
She nodded slowly. “I did.”
“And you’re happy?”
“Loki is the greatest man I’ve ever known—protective and loving, and he thinks my flaws make me more beautiful.” She couldn’t help but smile as she spoke. Just describing Loki and his love for her filled her with an almost unbearable sweetness. “It’s kind of a shame you never got to know him, but I guess that’s understandable. You were probably too busy getting your ass kicked by him to exchange small talk.”
Felix offered a twisted smile. “I guess. He’ll take good care of you from now on, though, yeah?”
After all her foster brother had put her through, she almost asked him if he actually cared one way or another. Then she realized she wasn’t angry enough to dig up that old bone. It was done and in the past. All she cared about now was the future. “We’ll take good care of each other.”
“Good. I’m glad you have someone who makes you happy, Al,” he said, and to her shock his voice wobbled. He cleared his throat and looked away with a sniff, and she watched his throat work. “After everything you’ve gone through in life, and… and after everything I put you through on top of that, you deserve all the happiness in the world.”
Well, well. At long last, Felix was taking some responsibility. If she fainted from shock, she would’ve ruined the moment. “Thanks, Felix. And thanks for lying about Loki. In a weird way, you brought us together.”
“Can’t take the bows for that happy accident, but I’m glad it turned out all right for you.”
“What about you?” she asked, then gripped her hands tighter. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She’d gotten sucked into that terrible pitfall of caring about Felix, only to be burned time and again. She just didn’t know how to stop that caring completely. “I mean, I’m not prying or anything. I’m just hopeful you’re in a better place in life now, that’s all.”
Felix grimaced and rubbed a hand over his face, and the gesture was notably weary. “Stringer was my bookie and a smalltime mob guy. My debt with him should’ve been wiped out when he kidnapped you and, as a result, had his whole operation dismantled by the Gravediggers. I’m not even sure if Stringer’s still, you know…around.”
She never asked what Tyr and the Gravediggers had done after Hades set Tyr’s faction up to be weakened by Stringer’s operation. All she knew via the local news was that the warehouse where she’d been held had burned down to its foundations while she spent the night in the hospital with Loki by her side. While she didn’t understand the intricacies of the situation between Tyr and Hades, she knew Tyr couldn’t afford to look weak, especially after his uncle had clearly attacked them by using Stringer as a proxy.
A proxy, she suspected, who was no longer among the living.
Considering what Stringer had put her through, she figured the world was better off without him.