The Beast in Him
Page 100
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And the second reason? she asked, breathless.
Because youre crazy about me and Im afraid itll crush your delicate little heart if I dont marry you.
You are such an arrogant ass
He kissed her again, both of them laughing.
Marry me, he repeated, against her lips. Marry me, Jessie Ann.
Okay. Ill marry you.
Good.
Smitty slid his hands around her waist, pulling her toward him, when the sound of bodies colliding with the door cut into his next move.
Auntie Jess! Are you up yet? Mom said to come for breakfast.
O
Smitty covered her mouth with his hand.
Tell your momma well be down later.
Jess pulled his hand away. What are you doing?
Gettin my morning Smith greeting. He tugged on the sheet covering her body and Jess slapped at his hands.
Stop that! Theyre right outside! she squeaked.
Yall get away from that door! he yelled.
They must be tusslin, a pup complained.
Well, hurry up, another barked.
Well be down in a minute, he promised, giving her a healthy leer as he went to his hands and knees and rose over her. As soon as were done tusslin.
Jess slapped at his hands again. Tussling? Have you been teaching them that?
Oh, you want me to be more specific? he asked, finally snatching the sheet from her body and sighing happily as he stared down at her. Lord, you look good in the mornings.
I thought you had a hangover.
Its gone, he said, pushing her onto her back. He brushed his fingers against her mark, unable to stop touching it. She arched into his touch, her arms reaching out for him.
We cant do this now, Smitty, she protested, even as she opened to him. Even as she took him into her body. Theyre waiting for us for breakfast.
They can wait, he groaned against her neck.
Poor thing, she had no idea hed be waking her up most mornings like this.
Jess wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He rocked into her slowly, taking his time, his lips resting against her temple.
Mornin, Jessie Ann, he murmured against her soft skin.
He felt her smile, her breath catching in her throat. Mornin, Bobby Ray.
Epilogue
It was bad enough he was in a tux. It was bad enough they made him cut his hair. But the sobbing had to stop, and it had to stop now.
Smitty started to stalk across the room, but Mace stepped in front of him andheld him back. No, youll regret it in the morning.
But itll make me happy now.
As soon as the wedding is over, Im sure hell stop. They both looked at Smittys father. Bubba had been crying for nearly two days straight. He said it was because the boy was bringing shame on the Smith Pack by actually marrying someone. But at the same time he clearly adored Jessie Ann. He kept hugging her, telling her how pretty she looked. Then Jessie assured herself the lifelong love and protection of Bubba Smith when she asked him to walk her down the aisle because her own daddy wasnt there to do it. After that everything had to be perfect for Jessie Ann, and anyone who looked like they might even think about annoying her had to face off against Bubba Smith. Theyd already changed caterers three times. At least one was filing charges for assault.
Lord, the man would be an absolute mess during the ceremony.
Why dont we get your mom to handle him and you go for a walk. The ceremony doesnt start for another thirty minutes.
Yeah, okay. Smitty glared again at his father before walking out through the sliding glass doors of the lower floor bedroom. The dog, hed named him Shit-starter after Sissy Mae, right by his side. He finally had to start bringing the damn mutt to the job since wherever Smitty went the dog went too. He seemed to think of himself as more wolf than dog and refused to hang out much with the other dogs of the Pack house. As far as Shit-starter was concerned, he was a Smith Packmate and expected to be treated as such.
Not that Smitty minded. He liked the little bastard, although hed never say it out loud.
He had no idea how this wedding got so out of control. Hed thought Jessie had been exaggerating the first time they talked about it when she said 300 guests. She hadnt been. Between the Kuznetsov Packs business contacts, the Smiths from all over the Southeast, nearly half of Kenshins entire Pack, and an unhealthy number of geeks, they were nearing 400. They actually had to rent a castle on Long Island. A real, honest-to-God castle. Smitty thought you had to go to England to find those.
In the end, though, Jessie and Smitty had little to say about the entire event. Momma, Sabina, and May had taken over, the three of them getting along like theyd known each other for the past century. They went mostly for traditional except they couldnt have groomsmen or bridesmaids. Sissy and Ronnie Lee had every intention of standing up with him. Phil and Danny with Jess. They ended up with the more politically correct grooms-people and bridespeople. Smitty still thought it sounded ridiculous, but he was glad his sister would be with him while he stood there in this stupid monkey suit waiting for the torture to end.
Because youre crazy about me and Im afraid itll crush your delicate little heart if I dont marry you.
You are such an arrogant ass
He kissed her again, both of them laughing.
Marry me, he repeated, against her lips. Marry me, Jessie Ann.
Okay. Ill marry you.
Good.
Smitty slid his hands around her waist, pulling her toward him, when the sound of bodies colliding with the door cut into his next move.
Auntie Jess! Are you up yet? Mom said to come for breakfast.
O
Smitty covered her mouth with his hand.
Tell your momma well be down later.
Jess pulled his hand away. What are you doing?
Gettin my morning Smith greeting. He tugged on the sheet covering her body and Jess slapped at his hands.
Stop that! Theyre right outside! she squeaked.
Yall get away from that door! he yelled.
They must be tusslin, a pup complained.
Well, hurry up, another barked.
Well be down in a minute, he promised, giving her a healthy leer as he went to his hands and knees and rose over her. As soon as were done tusslin.
Jess slapped at his hands again. Tussling? Have you been teaching them that?
Oh, you want me to be more specific? he asked, finally snatching the sheet from her body and sighing happily as he stared down at her. Lord, you look good in the mornings.
I thought you had a hangover.
Its gone, he said, pushing her onto her back. He brushed his fingers against her mark, unable to stop touching it. She arched into his touch, her arms reaching out for him.
We cant do this now, Smitty, she protested, even as she opened to him. Even as she took him into her body. Theyre waiting for us for breakfast.
They can wait, he groaned against her neck.
Poor thing, she had no idea hed be waking her up most mornings like this.
Jess wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He rocked into her slowly, taking his time, his lips resting against her temple.
Mornin, Jessie Ann, he murmured against her soft skin.
He felt her smile, her breath catching in her throat. Mornin, Bobby Ray.
Epilogue
It was bad enough he was in a tux. It was bad enough they made him cut his hair. But the sobbing had to stop, and it had to stop now.
Smitty started to stalk across the room, but Mace stepped in front of him andheld him back. No, youll regret it in the morning.
But itll make me happy now.
As soon as the wedding is over, Im sure hell stop. They both looked at Smittys father. Bubba had been crying for nearly two days straight. He said it was because the boy was bringing shame on the Smith Pack by actually marrying someone. But at the same time he clearly adored Jessie Ann. He kept hugging her, telling her how pretty she looked. Then Jessie assured herself the lifelong love and protection of Bubba Smith when she asked him to walk her down the aisle because her own daddy wasnt there to do it. After that everything had to be perfect for Jessie Ann, and anyone who looked like they might even think about annoying her had to face off against Bubba Smith. Theyd already changed caterers three times. At least one was filing charges for assault.
Lord, the man would be an absolute mess during the ceremony.
Why dont we get your mom to handle him and you go for a walk. The ceremony doesnt start for another thirty minutes.
Yeah, okay. Smitty glared again at his father before walking out through the sliding glass doors of the lower floor bedroom. The dog, hed named him Shit-starter after Sissy Mae, right by his side. He finally had to start bringing the damn mutt to the job since wherever Smitty went the dog went too. He seemed to think of himself as more wolf than dog and refused to hang out much with the other dogs of the Pack house. As far as Shit-starter was concerned, he was a Smith Packmate and expected to be treated as such.
Not that Smitty minded. He liked the little bastard, although hed never say it out loud.
He had no idea how this wedding got so out of control. Hed thought Jessie had been exaggerating the first time they talked about it when she said 300 guests. She hadnt been. Between the Kuznetsov Packs business contacts, the Smiths from all over the Southeast, nearly half of Kenshins entire Pack, and an unhealthy number of geeks, they were nearing 400. They actually had to rent a castle on Long Island. A real, honest-to-God castle. Smitty thought you had to go to England to find those.
In the end, though, Jessie and Smitty had little to say about the entire event. Momma, Sabina, and May had taken over, the three of them getting along like theyd known each other for the past century. They went mostly for traditional except they couldnt have groomsmen or bridesmaids. Sissy and Ronnie Lee had every intention of standing up with him. Phil and Danny with Jess. They ended up with the more politically correct grooms-people and bridespeople. Smitty still thought it sounded ridiculous, but he was glad his sister would be with him while he stood there in this stupid monkey suit waiting for the torture to end.
