ribbon somewhere before?”
Terror cleared his throat. “Well, it’s from the same
spool.”
Vicious blinked. “Don’t tell Hallie where it came from,
Ter. She’ll faint if I have to explain that particular trick of
yours.”
“We wouldn’t want that.” He laughed and reached into
the pocket of his dress uniform pants. “I’ve still got these,
by the way.”
Vicious glanced at the silver wedding bands he’d
entrusted to Terror earlier that morning. “I was worried
you’d lost them in the air ducts.”
Terror shook his head. “I was extra careful with them,
Vicious.” He paused. “I know I’ve been busting your balls
about this wedding thing but I get it, Vee. I know how
much she means to you. I’m beginning to understand why
so many of you are choosing to enter the Grabs.”
“Is that your way of telling me you’re putting your name
in for the next one?”
“Hell no!” Terror looked aghast at the very thought.
“Unlike Menace, I’m not crazy.”
“I heard that,” Menace grumbled from his seat in the
front row.
Terror tossed the bouquet to Menace. “Make yourself
useful and take that to the general’s lady.”
Menace looked less than thrilled to be holding the
bouquet for the second time today. He muttered under his
breath but took it out of the room and into the hallway
where Hallie and her sister waited. Without her father to
walk her down the aisle, she’d chosen her sister to fill that
role. Vicious preferred that choice to coming face-to-face
with the bastard who had terrorized Hallie for most of her
life.
When Menace returned, he was flanked by General
Thorn and his wife, Leda. Vicious hadn’t expected them
and smiled as he walked down the aisle to meet them.
They shook hands and he nodded in Leda’s direction.
“Ma’am.”
“General, I hope you don’t think we’re being too
forward in coming without an invitation.” Leda patted her
husband’s arm. “I’ve never seen one of these weddings.
I’m curious about them.”
“That makes two of us,” Vicious admitted. He turned
his attention to General Thorn. “We’re happy to have you
with us today.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Thorn replied.
“I like this idea of blending cultures. It’s good for the men
to see their superior officer making an effort to support
and respect his wife’s culture. Especially after the Crow
incident,” he added grimly. “I was sorry to hear about how
that went down this afternoon. Ugly business.”
Vicious nodded. “Hallie is safe. That’s all that matters
to me.”
“As it should be,” Thorn said. “You should know that
I’ve talked to the rules-and-regulations committee about
your ring query. You’re the lead officer of this ship. You
can make any changes to the on-ship uniform codes you
like.” He smiled. “Wear your ring, Vicious.”
“Thank you, sir.” Vicious was glad to have that issue
fixed. He’d already had three other men who had
performed secret ceremonies ask about wearing their rings
in public. He didn’t see an issue with the men wearing
them so long as they weren’t working with their hands,
like the mechanics and engineers.
“You’ve started the move to the general’s quarters?”
Vicious realized General Thorn might have wanted to
use them. “Just a few things, sir. If you’d like to use the
quarters tonight, we’ll be happy to move to a different
apartment.”
General Thorn shook his head. “Leda and I won’t be
staying. We took our transport shuttle a little out of its way
to be here. We’re off to the
Arctis
later and then on to
Harcos Prime. No. I wanted to be sure you were taking
advantage of your new living space.”
“We will be.”
“Good.” Thorn gestured to the seats arranged on the
right side of the room. “We’ll sit here, I think.”
“Yes, apparently the groom’s family and friends occupy
this area.”
Vicious returned to the front of the room where Terror
stood. Menace slid down two seats to make room for the
general and his wife. Raze and Venom sat in the second
row. On the other side of the room, Lenny and Sergeant
Hawk occupied the few seats there. A handful of women
Hallie had reconnected with from Harper’s Well and the
neighboring villages sat behind them with their husbands,
all of them sergeants.
Admiral Orion entered from a side door. He walked to
the front of the room and tapped his tablet. His voice
lowered, he said, “I checked this with your wife’s sister
and Lenny Hawk. The ceremony is simple and
straightforward.”
There wasn’t a religious man onboard and the judge
was on vacation. Orion was the only man who outranked
him aboard the ship so it made sense to ask him to
officiate.
“I appreciate you doing this for me, Orion.”
Orion clapped him on the shoulder and squeezed.
“We’ve been friends and colleagues a long time, Vicious.
I’m happy to do it.”
“Maybe someday I’ll return the favor.”
Orion laughed. “Doubtful.”
Vicious still chuckled as the softest notes of music
filled the ceremony room. Unlike the usual brassy notes of
military marches, this was gentler and more ethereal. The
doors opened and Hallie and her sister came into view.
His breath caught in his throat. He’d never seen her in a
dress. The effect stunned him.
The pink flowers and red ribbon popped against the
gauzy white lace gown she wore. Her feet were bare, her
toes peeking out from her skirt with each step. She wore
her hair down in the way he liked. Simple. Unadorned.
Beautiful.
When she came to stand before him and placed her hand
in his, he understood why this was so important to her.
He’d considered this a romantic gesture that would mean
more to Hallie than it ever would to him. How utterly
wrong he’d been.
Standing there, holding her small hand in his, Vicious
trembled slightly. In front of their family and friends, they
recited the vows of her people. Each word, each one
especially chosen, sealed their bond in a way he’d never
imagined possible. This act eclipsed the commitment he’d
made to her by stealing her away from her planet and
placing his collar around her neck.
By taking her hand and sliding his ring onto her finger
while he swore to love and cherish her, Vicious cemented
their commitment in a deep and surprisingly gratifying
way. When she did the same for him, his heart threatened
to burst in his chest. Heat prickled at his eyes and he
blinked furiously, refusing to let even one tear escape.
Hallie squeezed his hand as if to reassure him. She
smiled up at him, her mouth curved in an impish, teasing
way. His heart warmed at her playfulness. Even in a
moment as serious as this, she found a way to make him
grin.
When their lips first touched, this time as a proper
husband and wife, the spark of love and lust seared him.
He slid his hand into her hair and cupped the back of her
neck as he kissed her tenderly. Though he wanted so much
more than that chaste lip lock, he knew this wasn’t the
time.
Later, in the privacy of their new home, he would coax
more than a gentle sigh from her lips.
* * * * *
Exhausted but happier than she’d ever been, Hallie hung
back as Vicious walked the last of their guests out of their
sparsely furnished new quarters. She ignored some of the
more ribald advice offered by a slightly drunken Terror.
When the door shut, she leaned back against the couch and
waited for Vicious to emerge from the entryway. He rested
an arm on the wall and stared at her.
“What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just enjoying the view.”
“Oh?” She experienced a tremor of excitement.
Knowing Vicious, he probably had something incredibly
sexy in store for them. “Maybe we should move this to the
bedroom where the view is even better.”
“I like the way you think.” Vicious crossed the space
between them and gathered her into his arms. He lifted her
up and cradled her to his chest. “I think it’s customary for
a new husband to carry his bride across the threshold of
the bedroom, yes?”
She didn’t have the heart to correct him. Besides, she
rather enjoyed being carried by him. “Yes.”
He set her down at the foot of their bed. She eyed the
massive piece of furniture with a critical eye. “This is
new, right?”
Vicious laughed behind her and started to flick through
the pearly buttons lining the back of her dress. “Brand
new, especially ordered and paid for by me.”
“Good.” She let out a relieved breath. “I was really
worried that…well…you know.”
“That we were going to sleep in a bed where General
Thorn’s orgies took place?”
She couldn’t help but smile at his teasing. “Yes.”
“I wouldn’t dare, Hallie. Everything in this place is
new or from our old quarters.” He slid the unbuttoned
dress down her shoulders. “Is it strange being back here?”
“A little,” she admitted. “It looks different than the last
time I was here.”
“The last time we were here, you were dressed up like
a cat and scared out of your mind. I’m sure the details of
the floor plan escaped you. I had them strip the walls and
change the lighting. I wanted it lighter.”
“And less dungeon-like?”
“Something like that,” he agreed with a chuckle. “Thorn
definitely has a different taste in décor than we do. You
can make whatever changes you like to our new space.”
“The plants help.” She smiled at the thought of the
potted plants he’d acquired for her. Some of them were a
flowering variety. It wasn’t quite the same as walking out
into the garden or the fields behind her childhood home to
pick beautiful blooms but it was a start.
“I’m glad you like them. Getting them onboard the ship
was a nightmare. Thankfully I know someone who’s good
at smuggling things onboard unnoticed.”
“Terror?” she guessed with a laugh.
“Terror,” he confirmed.
“I thought he behaved rather well at the wedding and
reception.”
“You sound surprised.”
“Well, he didn’t try to hide his feelings while we were
planning this.”
“He’s not always the most diplomatic about things but
he does support us.” Vicious dropped his lips to her bare
shoulder. “Enough talk. Time for sex.”
She giggled and stepped out of her dress. He carried it
to a reading chair in the corner while she slipped out of
her panties and bra. When she turned around, he was
starting to undress. Hallie shoved aside his hands and did
the honors herself. She flicked through the buttons and
tugged on the zippers to free him of his shirt, undershirt,
pants, boots and socks. His boxer-briefs came last, her
fingers tugging them down over his muscular thighs as
slow as she dared.
That cock she’d come to love so much tantalized her.
Licking her lips, she climbed onto the bed and stayed on
all fours. She motioned for Vicious to come closer to the
edge of the bed. He walked forward until his knees nudged
the mattress. The bed was the perfect height for what she
had in mind.
“Hallie!” Vicious groaned her name as she cupped his
sac and stroked his big, throbbing cock. He pulsed in her
hand, his skin blazing hot and ruddy. Lips wet, she
wrapped them around the head of his shaft and swirled her
tongue over him. He moaned even louder and sifted his
fingers through her hair. “Oh, Kitten. Hell!”
She laughed around his massive erection and took him a
little deeper with each down stroke of her mouth. She
fondled his balls in her hand, using the kind of pressure
and slight tugging that she’d learned he liked. Deep
throating him completely was still out of the question. As
long and thick as he was, she simply couldn’t do it. That
didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.
“Ah!” Vicious cried out in surprise as she took him as
far into her mouth as possible. The crown of his cock
nudged the back of her throat. She relaxed her jaw and
held him there a moment before humming loudly. He
growled at the wicked sensation. His fingers tightened in