Under My Skin (Skin Deep) (15 page)

We stayed wrapped up in each other, not speaking, watching as the shadows lengthened across the room, until we both succumbed to sleep.

Chapter 16

“Emma. I never imagined that I’d be standing here a year after you literally fell into my life…saying these words to you, and meaning every single one of them more than you will ever know. I know I was an overbearing ass-” Luke broke off, grunting as Emma wacked him across his mid-section, whispering ‘
church, remember?
’ and giving him the evil eye.

He cleared his throat and continued, grinning down at his breathtakingly beautiful bride. “As I was saying, at first I was overbearing,” he paused to make sure she wasn’t going to hit him again, “but you stuck it out. You bewitched me from the beginning and I quickly learned that I couldn’t live without you. I need you waking up beside me every morning; cuddling close to me in bed every night. I want to watch your belly grow full with our children, who I will love unconditionally and irrevocably, even more so because they will have come from you, from our love, but I want to grow old with you, as well. I want to be that old couple sitting in the rocking chairs on the porch, our grandchildren crowded around us as we regale them with tales of everything we’ve done and everything we’ll do…” He paused again.

“Well, maybe not
everything
,” he said, chuckling along with the rest of the congregation crowded into the church to witness Luke and Emma’s wedding. He smiled tenderly at Emma. “When you smile at me, it warms my heart. When you kiss me, you make me feel invincible. And when you hold me in your arms, you make me feel like I’m home. And you know what home is to me…and to Brandon. You’ve given me and my brother the family that we never had, and there’s no way I could ever repay you for that.”

I watched Emma reach up and brush a tear away as Luke took a shuddering breath, visibly trying keep it together in order to finish his vows.

“And so, Emma Marie Jensen, I promise to love you today, and every day for the rest of our lives. You are my heart and soul, and I will spend every day showing you how much I love you. These are the vows I make to you, sugar. Always ever.”

A little voice piped up behind me exclaiming, “Hey!” in surprise. Jenna quickly shushed Hayden, who was apparently having a hard time figuring out whether or not to be mad or ecstatic that her ‘Unca Wuke’ had just said her special phrase. She’d had a hard time saying always and forever when she was younger, so it came out always ever, and it stuck.

Hearing Hayden, her niece, yell out, Emma turned and winked at her, grinning back when Hayden decided she was happy and giggled like crazy, before turning back to the ceremony and her rather handsome groom.

I blinked tears away, wishing I had had the foresight to hide tissues somewhere on my person. I moved Emma’s bouquet to my other hand, clutching it together with mine, and I reached up to cautiously wipe the moisture away.

It had been a journey, that’s for sure, but the day was finally here. I glanced around the church, packed with family and friends, decorated simply but elegantly. It was beautiful. But nothing held a candle to my best friend. Emma was absolutely radiant in her gown, and the look on Luke’s face when she started down the aisle was priceless. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the area after that, and especially not after Luke’s vows.

When Luke had been speaking, I’d snuck a look and saw
Jackson, looking delicious in his tux, staring at me. He’d winked and I couldn’t help but blush, reading his feelings and intent clearly in his eyes. Brandon, also looking absolutely hotter-than-hell (and I don’t mean heat-wise) in his tux, had smiled wickedly at me when I looked at him, and between the two, I was fidgeting more than the four year old standing next to me.

I snapped my attention back to the wedding when Emma’s voice rang out clearly.

“A year ago, I let my best friend talk me into accompanying her to the tattoo shop so she could get her tongue pierced. Today, I stand before all of the people I love, my friends and family, and I have to thank Allie for that. So, Allie,” she looked over her shoulder at me, “Thank you.”

I winked at her and inclined my head.

“That day was the day that I met the man standing before me. A man that I never in a million years imagined would ever speak to me, let alone order me to go on a date with him. Yes, I said order! Seriously, though, I felt like everyone I knew was finding their true loves, getting married, or at least had boyfriends, while I was sitting at home like ‘I like food’!”

Everyone laughed at that except for Luke, who gave her a stern look. She just smiled up at him and kept going. “I’m not perfect; I’m stubborn and crazy and so is pretty much everyone in my life. You’ve been my rock through so much, and put up with me when I’ve been irrational. But you, Luke, you made me- make me- feel like I am the most perfect and sane thing in this world. You look at me like I’m the most beautiful woman in the world. You hold me like you never want to let me go, and I fit perfectly in your arms.

Taking her own shaky breath and wiping away more tears, Emma continued. “And so I make my vows to you, Lucas Tyler Crimshaw. I promise that I will love you more today than I did yesterday. And I promise that that love won’t even come close to the love I’ll have for you tomorrow, because I fall in love with you more and more each day. I promise to give you as many babies as you want, and grow old with you so we can rock on the porch together, just like you said.”

“You are my everything, and you have all of me, every day for the rest of our lives. I love you, Luke. Always Ever.”

By the time the last word had left her lips, Lucas had her in a lip-lock so solidly that her feet weren’t even touching the floor. It went on for a minute until the minister cleared his throat, chuckling good naturedly when Luke finally set Emma back on her feet. He smiled sheepishly at the minister and steadied his suddenly dazed looking bride.

With a smile and a shake of his head, the minister began speaking, finishing up the ceremony and then introducing the beaming couple to everyone, who began clapping, cheering, and hollering. We made our way down the aisle behind them and took our places in the receiving line, all of us wiping tears away and laughing like school girls.

The rest of the night passed in a blur of champagne toasts and dancing. Everything turned out so perfectly; I couldn’t have asked for anything better for Emma. And to think, it all started with a little piercing…

It was almost two in the morning by the time we got everything cleaned up and packed away from the reception hall. We’d sent Luke and Emma off on their honeymoon around midnight, more because we were getting a little worried that Emma wouldn’t be able to contain herself any longer. Usually it’s the groom that’s itching to get to the wedding night fun, but given five seconds alone, I’m betting Emma would have had her dress hiked up to her ears and jumped Luke in the coat closet. I’m still not convinced it didn’t happen anyway…

We got home and Jackson and Brandon carried Chloe and Leah into the house, depositing them both into Chloe’s bed. I’d only had a couple glasses of champagne, but those two girls...wow. That’s all I could say. Of course, they weren’t the only ones. Jenna had let loose more than she ever had and poor Noah had to practically tie a rope around her to keep her dress on. Thank God Noah’s parents had taken the kids home with them earlier in the evening!

Jenna was also the one who started the table dancing movement, too, although I can’t really say anything about that one. Pretty much everyone in the wedding party did that, including my mom and Jan. Nanny had tried to get up there, but I’d managed to get
Brandon to grab her down before she got more than one little chicken leg up on a chair.

As the guys were settling the girls in, I made a beeline for the bathroom to remove my makeup and get ready for bed. I was exhausted, but it was a very satisfying exhaustion. I heard the guys come into the bedroom so I went out, turning my back to Brandon, who was standing by the dresser. He unzipped my dress and I let it fall to the floor, kicking it out of the way as I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of my panties, shucking them down my thighs and off. My strapless bra quickly went the same way.

Fully undressed, I turned as I stretched, smiling as I took in the glazed eyes of both my sexy ass men. I knew what that look meant; but it didn’t mean that I was going to make it easy on them.

Slowly and deliberately, I arched my back and stretched even more, pushing my full, hard-tipped breasts forward, the soft, full, firmness of them swaying with my movement. Pivoting delicately, I made my way to the bed, crawling onto it languidly. Every move I made was precise, designed to maximize the tease factor.

Behind me, I heard clothes falling rapidly and I smiled as I felt the bed dip of either side of me. Hands slid up my spine, smoothing over my skin soothingly, and I sighed in pleasure. I turned over, laying on my back and smiling at them towering over me. I reached out my hands and put on each of their thighs as they knelt on either side of me.

“Kiss me,” I whispered, turning my head toward
Brandon first. He obliged, leaning down and pressing his lips to mine gently before moving back. He sat there quietly, unmoving, as did Jackson. I got the message pretty quickly.

This was all about me. Like it had always been, but this time, they were gonna make me ask for what I wanted.

I turned my head towards Jackson and pleaded with my eyes, wanting him to kiss me. He gave a slow shake of his head, the corner of his mouth turning up in a sexy little smirk. I huffed out a breath and glared for a second, pouting.

“Kiss me,” I growled.

As soon as I asked, he did the same thing Brandon had, leaning in a pressing his lips to mine sweetly and altogether too briefly before sitting back on his knees again.

I sat up and shifted between them, situating myself and then reaching out with both of my hands, each one seeking and finding a length of heated, velvety steel. Twin gasps sounded on either side of me as I began stroking them in tandem, squeezing them gently and twisting my hands on the upstroke. After just a few strokes, they both grasped my wrists, stopping me with gentle pressure.

I scowled up at both of them as they rose above me. Brandon grinned and shook his head at me, and Jackson smirked again. I blinked and they were off the bed, moving away from me.

“Hey!” I exclaimed in frustration, throwing myself off the side of the bed and standing in front of them. I gulped as I took in their gorgeous, lean, perfectly muscled and tattooed bodies, my mouth watering, and heat pooling between my thighs.

“What do you want, baby?” Brandon asked, his voice low.

“You. Both of you,” I replied.

“Where do you want us?” Jackson asked, moving around in front of me as Brandon circled behind.

“Inside me,” I gasped as
Jackson pushed me back against Brandon, my back flush to his chest. His head dipped and he took my left nipple in his mouth, nipping with his teeth sharply before laving it with the flat of his tongue.

Brandon
’s hands encircled my waist, pulling my hips back and up until the length of him prodded between the fleshy cheeks of my ass. I moaned softly, willingly conceding my control to them, thrusting my hips back against Brandon harder even as my hand rose up to pull Jackson in closer to me.

His lips blazed a fiery path between my breasts before closing over my right nipple, treating it to the same sweet torture as he did the other. I moaned again, louder than before, as pleasure burst through me when his hands came up and massaged the tender globes roughly at the same time that Brandon tangled his hand in my hair and pulled my head back, sinking his teeth into the side of my neck.

Sensation flooded me and I closed my eyes, letting myself fall under the wicked spell they were weaving around me with every touch…kiss…breath…against my body. They knew how to play me; they were rough but not too rough, walking that fine line between pleasure-pain and outright pain with perfection. They pushed me when they knew I could take it and brought me down when they knew I was flying too high. I loved it…I loved
them
.

A sudden cool breeze down my body snapped me back from the haze settling over me and I opened my eyes to see that they had both stepped away from me. They moved in tandem, like a well-oiled machine, moving me to the bed and making short work of positioning me. I ended up on my hands and knees,
Brandon reclining against the headboard, his thighs bracketing my hands. The hot, hard length of him bobbed softly against my lips, begging me to taste him while Jackson slid his head between my thighs, his breath searing the tender, dripping wet folds of pink flesh hovering inches from his mouth.

I licked my lips in anticipation, gazing up at
Brandon with a heavy-lidded glance before I flicked my tongue quickly over the bead of moisture gathering at the tip of him. He gasped and then moaned as I took him deep in my mouth, holding him there for a second before moving back up the length of him, sucking and scraping my teeth lightly.

Before I could take him in my mouth again, I let out a long, breathy moan as
Jackson seized my hips and brought my sex down on his mouth, his tongue spearing into me without prelude, thrusting in and out before tracing a wet line of heat to my clit. He circled the engorged nub, teasing but not touching, making me wild.

I braced myself with one hand on the bed and wrapped the other around
Brandon’s girth, squeezing lightly, and then leaned down to take him in my mouth again, even as I shifted, grinding my hips down on Jackson’s mouth. He gave up teasing and plunged his tongue deep inside me once more. He fucked me with his mouth, making me whimper around the thickness sliding between my lips.