79

Word Count: 1999

~Sienna

I step out from the bathroom, slipping a loose dress over my shoulders before turning to my mate.

"I feel amazing," I announce, flopping down onto the bed with my arms stretched wide.

Onyx steps from the bathroom, steam swelling around him in great billows. He rubs a towel through his wet hair, standing entirely naked before me.

I drag my teeth over my lower lip as I admire him. Every muscle, every sloping edge of tattooed skin is magnificent to gaze upon. It has heat tingling between my legs again.

"Tired?" He asks gently, setting his towel down before reaching for some clothing...much to my dismay.

I look out through the glass doors that are opened up to let in the sea air. "A little. Mostly relaxed."

It's late, but sleeping seems to pre-emptive. I want to make the most of every possible moment with him, in this place. Time is slipping away far too quickly for my liking.

"Too tired for a game of cards?" He angles his head, a playful challenge in the tilt of his lips.

"No." I sit up on my elbows. "It's been forever and I get the feeling you need to be humbled."

He holds his hand out to me. "Come on then, let's go down to the beach."

Together we make our way through the house and down the dunes. The tide is high, so we stay far up the beach. Onyx lays a blanket down on the sand for us to sit on, which offers a soft, albeit lumpy canvas for our game of cards.

"It's so warm here." I look down at the sea, now inky and splayed with moonlight. "I love this place."

"You look so happy here, so relaxed." Onyx presses a card from his hand down onto the pile.

The good thing about being his friend before his lover is that he never felt obliged to let himself lose to gain favour. We've always been competitive when it comes to this game, and I like to think I'm slightly better than him.

"I'm probably so relaxed because of all the orgasms you gave me." I eye him under heavy lids, noting the lick of desire across his expression before I drop my attention back to my cards.

"I've dreamt of moments like these since I first fell in love with you," he murmurs. "I still can't believe this is real."

Shaking my head, I bite back my smile. He has no idea. I'm still convinced I'm back at Zion's and this is all a cruel dream.

Wiping that thought from my mind, I rest another card down on the sand, watching Onyx grimace before examining his hand.

"I thought about this too." I smile a little at the memories. "I should have told you I was in love with you a lot earlier. I'm not sure what I was so scared of."

He seemed so frightening back then, so forbidden and untouchable. Even when he was just my friend, I never thought I could get a true grasp on him. Maybe at the time I didn't believe I could be enough for him...now, I know we belong together.

"I came close a few times," he admits.

My eyes widen, my pulse quickening. "Like when?"

"The first time you smiled after your mother died. A true, happy smile that stunned me when I first saw it." He looks at the sea, his eyes glazed as he recalls the memory. "I don't think I spoke for multiple minutes, I was just staring at you dumbly, realising I was completely enthralled by you."

The cards in front of me are suddenly unreadable. I set them down, forgoing the rest of the game, far more interested in what Onyx has to say.

"I remember that day. I was smiling because you made me laugh, and for the first time since my mother died, I thought there was a chance I could be happy again." Emotion blooms in my chest, a raw ache gripping my heart. "I also thought a stroke might have been to blame for your staring and muteness."

He laughs roughly, sweeping his loose waves off his forehead.

Onyx was always prompting out of my bedroom when I was recovering from my mother's death. He gave me time to isolate and come to terms with everything, but as the months wore on, it was him encouraging me to enter the world again.

The day of his recalled memory, he made a joke, and for some reason, I felt myself capable of laughing again.

"Regardless, I nearly blurted out that I was falling in love with you right there, but I held back." He shrugs, sighing wistfully. "I figured the last thing you needed at that time was more to think about."

If he had told me he loved me then, I'm not sure I would have had it within myself to love him back as he deserved at the time. But it would have started this incredible thing between us much sooner.

We are mates after all. Regardless of how it happened, we were always destined to find each other.

"A wish you had." I brush my hand through the sand, which has cooled off now. "I nearly told you I loved you one night when we were playing cards out in the barn. You were crushing on this girl and you were finally bringing her over. I was so jealous, I almost admitted I had feelings for you, hoping you wouldn't have spent the night with her."

That horrible, gut wrenching jealousy was something I felt a lot back then.

Some nights I would spend pacing back and forth in my bedroom, nearly wearing footprints into my rug. I never sabotaged Onyx and his relationships, but I was always tempted to.

By the time he had to pick a wife, that jealousy had diminished. Some part of me accepted that him and I would never be together, so I chose to prioritise his happiness instead.

"I wouldn't have spent the night with her, or continued that relationship at all if I had any idea you felt that way," he insists.

"I know that...now."

My fingertip draws small patterns in the sand as I think. I was worried at the time that he would laugh me off, or turn me down. I thought it would destroy our friendship, and that we wouldn't be able to continue without awkwardness between us.

"There was nothing that could have made me compromise our friendship, and I was afraid of ruining the best thing that ever happened to me, so I kept my thoughts to myself," he tells me. "That meant trying to move on from how I was feeling, which was never possible."

I did the same. I deluded myself into thinking Kayn was enough. I put distance between myself and Onyx to make it easier to move on, but it only made me yearn for him more.

"I had the same mindset. I couldn't lose you." My voice is so soft it almost gets lost in the waves rolling against the sand.

"Refraining from telling you I loved you was difficult, but my reservations for coming off strong always stopped me." He rubs his jaw. "Not kissing or touching you, however, was almost impossible to refrain from."

I nod knowingly, my skin warming under the intensity of his stare.

My body reacts to himself instantaneously. So easily, my body is ready for him again, as if our tryst earlier did little to sate me.

"I agree," I murmur, letting sand sift through my fingertips.

"Do you remember the morning before I was set to address the girls coming in who I was supposed to choose to marry?" He asks darkly.

I sigh. "Unfortunately, yes."

I try not to think about that time, but it's hard not to reflect on. Onyx felt an obligation to appease the members of his pack and stick to ancient tradition, and I was scrambling, trying to find where I fit into it all.

"You sat on my lap to pluck my eyebrows. Just having you on top of me like that drove me mad." His eyes darken at the memory. "It was all I thought about the entire morning, facing women I was expected to want to marry. I thought about taking you right there, regardless of the consequences."

I let out a shuddering breath, taking my time brushing my hair back over my shoulder so I can get my bearings. I remember that morning, and how it felt like everything was changing.

"I wish you had."

"And when you and Alex were choosing dresses, I saw you in that black dress and my entire mind melted." He tips his head back, shaking his head. "I thought about you like that all night."

Poor Alex had to endure a date with the man after that. It's a reminder that she deserves true love, and not the ruse my brother has her unwittingly engaged in.

"A day hasn't gone by where I haven't wanted you, if I'm honest." I close my eyes, letting the breeze gust over my warm skin. "I think had I been forced to wait even longer for you, I would have lost my sanity.

Onyx collects the cards into a deck before setting them aside. He reaches for me, pulling me across the blanket and onto his lap facing him.

I melt into his arms which band around me. My fingers raise to brush against the strong arc of his cheekbones before gliding into his hair.

"Most of all I just wanted to know you were mine. I wanted to kill Kayn the moment he showed you any interest, but I've always respected your freedom. I wanted to be your choice." His breath coasts over my mouth, his words so earnest they make my heart swell with emotion.

Onyx will always be my choice. Over and over again.

"You are my choice. Now and forever," I affirm, letting my arms drape over his shoulders, my breasts pressing against his chest.

He angles his head, adoration welling in his eyes. "There is another surprise for you tomorrow, if you're open to it."

I straighten. "What is it?"

By now I think I've cashed out on all the surprises I deserve. This already feels too good to be true.

"Every incredible moment I've had has been with you. Not much can surpass marrying you, but the ceremony didn't feel right. It didn't feel like what you and I wanted." His thumb grazes along the line of my jaw. "So tomorrow, I want to marry you again. Properly."

"Really?" I whisper.

"Yes, right here on the beach. Everyone you love is invited." He gestures out over its great expanse.

I pull him into an embrace, overcome with joy. The ceremony at that old motel with Alston watching didn't feel right at all. Not without my friends and family there, watching two mates come together in an ancient ceremony.

"I would love that," I breathe, cupping his face in my hands before kissing him.

He hums pleasantly against my mouth, his arms tightening their hold around me as he allows me to explore his mouth. When we pull apart, I smile down at him.

"Shall we go for a swim?" He looks down at where his cock has hardened in his pants. "I think I need to cool off."

I grin, already moving to stand. "Yes, lets."

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