Disclaimer: They are not mine but playing with them is still fun.
WARNING: M Rating for explicit sexual scenes and language.
A/N: Epilogue is posted at the same time, read this first, it is at last, complete. Thanks for reading.
"I think you broke it." He was looking down at his drained member, still steadying his breathing.
Temperance laughed, the sound brushed against his chest and floated out over the water. "I promise you, it's not broken. It'll work again in a little while; your glands just need time to recuperate. I merely emptied them."
"You know that statement really lacks any romanticism." He was chuckling at her somewhat clinical response, she could feel the rumbling against her where she lay curled against his chest..
"So you think it would have sounded romantic for me to say I gave you a blowjob while finger fucking you and massaging your g-spot, using my hand to hold the base of your penis until the pressure was too great and then letting you cum?" She felt him suck in and hold his breath as she spoke, he hadn't known men had a g-spot, maybe there was something to be said for being a squint.
"So that's what you did. Okay, maybe it's not broken, I think I felt a twitch of life." She burst with laughter again.
"You're too easy Seeley." She stroked her hand down his chest.
"I can't help it; there is something about hearing you use profane language from that sensuous mouth that is normally spouting facts and logic that makes me crazy." He sighed deeply.
"So if I called you at work and told you that I wanted you to come home and fuck me, would that get your attention?" She was teasing him, and enjoying it in a way she never had with any man.
"Temperance, you're making my balls ache with this conversation."
"That's because it's too soon, we should change the subject. I don't want you to be in pain." She was only half serious, knowing he didn't want to change the subject, not really.
"To answer your question, you'd hear my key in the lock before you had the phone back in its cradle." More laughing, he could hear that sound for the rest of his life and not tire of it.
"Is it just the word fuck, or will any sexual suggestion do?" She really didn't need any help, but she couldn't resist torturing him in this subtle way, with just their words and the idea of what they meant.
She could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke, "well why don't you give me some suggestions and I'll tell you if they work." He wanted to hear her say some more and was curious as to what she would choose as profane.
"Seeley, this feels like a ploy to get me to talk dirty to you."
Such a smart, smart woman. "Is that okay, if it is?"
"You know you don't need a ploy, all you had to do was ask." In a simple statement, there she was, the Temperance he knew and loved so much, direct, to the point, painfully honest.
"So I'm asking you, please, for the rest of my life, will you spontaneously talk dirty to me?" Laughing again, it makes him so happy to hear, it's almost as good as the sound of her during sex, almost.
"For the rest of your life? That was ingenious of you. I guess I could agree to that." They fell silent for a moment, both of them aware that amid the sexual play they had just admitted that they would spend the rest of their lives together.
He whispered thank you into her hair as he pressed a kiss there and she closed her eyes, knowing it was for the idea of them being together forever more than her promise of erotic conversation.
"Temperance, do you think you'll marry me one day?" He figured she was half way there; he might as well see what happened.
She tensed slightly in his arms, "define marriage."
He thought she was toying with him, "you know, two people in love, standing before a priest, swearing to God that they'll love one another, and no other for the rest of their lives, with a hundred or so of their closest friends and relatives to witness."
"No, you know I don't believe in God, it would be wrong of me to participate in such a ceremony." She could feel the disappointment in him, but had prepared herself for this conversation, after all the talk of children, it was inevitable. She rose up on her elbow and turned his face so he was looking at her, "I would however stand before some sort holy man and swear to you that I will love you for the rest of my life with a hundred or so of our closest friends and relatives to witness. That I could do, one day that is, right now we need to find out if we can still work together."
The grin that broke his face was dazzling, "if I have learned anything in the last few weeks it's that I've already found out everything I need to know about you, the rest we'll work out together, as equals, our own private version of quid pro quo, remember?"
That brought a smile to her, she did remember, "yes, I do, but it's too soon Seeley, we've only been together a couple of months, although I do weigh the fact we have known each other for over a year." She'd been thinking about it and that alone made him hopeful.
"How long is long enough to know one another before we get married?" He was sincere in his asking, there was no hint of pressure.
"A year, if we're still this happy in a year then I'll marry you." She stroked the stubble along his jaw and kissed him softly. Theirs would always be a relationship of compromises and this one was something she could give him.
"So, does this mean we're engaged and that in 366 days we'll be getting married?" Now he was pushing, but just a little, he hadn't expected her to say yes, he thought he would get a lecture on the evils of the institution of marriage.
"Technically you haven't asked me yet, but if and when you do, I suppose you can call us engaged if that makes you happy. Personally I have other ideas for the word engaged that are far more entertaining, if only momentarily." She kissed him again, slipping her tongue along his lip and moaning from deep in her chest when he opened his mouth to her.
God, how he loved this woman.
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The fire was crackling and popping from the damp wood he had added and they watched as though it were a show they were afraid to miss. Temperance had recreated their nest on the floor and they discussed the possibility of watching a movie but both were content to lie together and watch the fire. They had showered, rubbed lotion on their sun kissed skin and eaten dinner before relaxing with a glass of local red wine.
"Hey, let's go down to the dock, I want you to see the night sky, it's beautiful this time of year and we should be able to see the Big Dipper low on the horizon." She was already moving into a standing position and holding out her hand to him.
He smiled as he took it, "you know, I can do it myself." She broke into a grin and shook her head, warmed by this simple phrase that would always be a private joke between them.
They sat on the bench at the end of the dock and looked up into the sky; the display of stars was breathtaking.
"It's humbling to see the sky like this and realize what a small part of the universe we really are, just a flicker in time really." He was watching her as he spoke; she snuggled closer, warming herself against the night chill.
"It does give you some perspective to look out into the universe like this, suddenly all your problems seem manageable, maybe that's why my parents loved it here so much."
"I think you're right about that, this was probably one of the few places they felt they didn't have to keep looking over their shoulders, they could relax and just enjoy you and Russ." He spoke gently, never sure when she mentioned her parents how far she wanted the conversation to go.
"They did pay attention to us here, took us places, taught us things, just spent time with us. It was nice." She fell quiet, and he knew she was thinking back to some day in her memory, when they had been together and happy.
A falling star shot through the sky above them, blazing a distant trail of light and he heard her gasp.
"Temperance, when we get married, will you take my name?" He had been thinking about it since the afternoon boat ride, actually he had been thinking about a lot since then, but when he spoke it out loud it seemed to have come from no where.
"More about the marriage, really, you're worse that a teen aged girl." She was smiling and stalling, so many questions about their future. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and acted for one second like he was going to toss her into the dark water. She cried out in surprise, immediately fighting him.
"Seeley Booth I would come out of that lake and kick your ass." He had already settled back down and was holding her against him as she squirmed.
He was laughing, "okay, okay, I'm not going to do it and there is no doubt in my mind that you would, but don't call me a teenaged girl, that's damaging to a man's ego."
"Your ego can take it." She tucked her hand into the waistband of his jeans as she relaxed back against him. "Just remember, if I go in, you're going with me and at this time of night that water would make this afternoon feel like a warm bath." Her threat made him shudder with the memory of the cold dip he had taken earlier.
Several minutes passed, the silence comfortable between them as the night folded over them. It took him a second to follow her conversation; he didn't realize she was still thinking about the question he had posed to her. "I suppose I could, other than on my books, I'd still have to write under Temperance Brennan but I could use it as a legal pen name which is kind of ironic. I expect most people at work would continue to call me Dr. Brennan; I'm not sure how that would work. It doesn't matter though; legally I would be Temperance Booth. That sounds really strange to me, you might have to say it over the next year so I can get used to it." She was having second thoughts just talking about it and it was a year away.
"It makes you nervous, doesn't it?" Sometimes it was like he could hear what she was thinking. "You know it's normal to be nervous when you talk about getting married, even the surest of people get the jitters."
"Jitters, is that a medical condition of which I'm not aware?" He was chuckling, she was teasing and he was glad to see that her sense of humor remained intact. His hand found her breast, cupping it lightly he began to lazily circle it, the tips of his fingers like a whisper through her shirt. She lay quietly against him as her body responded to him.
His head dropped until his lips were softly kissing her ear, sending a chill through her, tightening her nipple which stood in anticipation of his fingers. He moved torturously around the peak, his tender touch agonizing as the ache within her gathered. "Hhmmm, Temperance Booth, Mrs. Temperance Booth, personally I like the sound of it, the way it rolls off my tongue." He slipped his tongue around the edge of her ear, sucking the lobe between his lips; she answered him with a low moan into the night. "Say it for me."
She arched into his hand trying to direct his touch to where she was desperate to feel it but he continued his tantalizing stroke.
"Say it for me Temperance." His warm breath moved over her cool skin and the fine hair on her neck rose causing her to pull her shoulders up, the accompanying moan became louder and deeper.
Her voice thick with desire, she tipped her head back, speaking more to the stars than to him, "Mrs. Seeley Booth." His fingers closed over her nipple, tightening until she gasped, her hips lurching into him. He tipped her face toward him and kissed her deeply, wanting somehow to taste not just her, but the moment.
When he released her, she moved away from him, "let's go back up to the house and I'll let you keep trying to convincing me of how natural it sounds."
"If I didn't know better I would swear that was just a ploy to get me to have sex with you when really all you had to do was ask." He was laughing, knowing he had busted her in the same way that she had him.
She placed a hand lightly between his legs, wanting to feel his reaction. "So Agent Booth, would you take the future Mrs. Booth back up to the house and fuck her deeper and harder than you ever have?" She paused for just a second, moving her mouth against his ear her voice was so low he almost didn't hear her, "please."
She felt him swell against her hand and then he was frozen for just a second before jumping up with such force they stumbled dangerously close to the edge before regaining balance. As he took her hand and moved quickly down the dock she smiled at the urgency with which he moved and how powerful those words were over him.
He was moving quickly but trying to be careful, his penis ached, she was making him crazy, driving him to some desire laden world of insanity. He wanted to say something back to her, be clever or romantic but only one of his heads was getting blood flow at the moment so all he could manage to do was move. He wanted to take the stairs two at a time but the tightness in his jeans and his grip on her hand made that impossibile, so he just moved steadily up them, her words still bouncing around in his head. As he reached the back of the lawn, moving under the star clad sky with intensely colored leaves swirling around his feet, he realized that he had never felt so alive and so sexually charged. He suppressed the strong urge to stop, throw her over his shoulder and run the last few yards knowing it would evoke cries of protest and a lecture about primitive barbaric responses to biological imperatives. He laughed as he reached the door, pausing to open it for her as though they had just come from a leisurely stroll.
She entered the house and walked directly to the bedroom, grabbing the crimson comforter off the bed in one tug and letting it pool to the floor. She walked over to him and quickly pulled his shirt over his head, they couldn't get undressed fast enough. He undid her pants and was pushing them down her hips as she unzipped him, they switched tasks, removing their own jeans, stripping without hesitation. When they were suddenly both naked he pulled her roughly to him, kissing her aggressively, and she answered him with equal urgency. His hand moved between her legs, sliding her lips apart and dipping into her slick depths, she groaned into his throat. He laid her back onto the bed, locking his gaze on the endless blue of her stare, slipping her leg up over his shoulder as the other one curled high around his waist; he entered her in one thrust. She cried out, not in pain, but with immense gratification at having him inside her, she clenched around him with all her might and heard him gasp as she relaxed and then seized her muscles once again.
He adjusted his footing, leaning his knee against the side of the bed, curling his hands around her sides and tucking his thumbs strategically above her hip bone. He thought about going slowly, about making love to her as his feelings for her washed over them but that wasn't what she had asked of him so he arched his back and released himself, full force, full speed. He didn't stop when she cried out his name, or when her first orgasm tore through her and she arched up into him. He kept on going, relentless, undaunted, riding an edge so high he thought his heart would burst in his chest. He felt her hands on his wrists, her nails sinking into his flesh, her body bowed up, her walls pulsing wildly around him and he let go. Cumming was like running off of a cliff, his entire body tensed and clenched as the heat poured out of him and he felt himself falling through space, his mind rushing, light bursting behind his closed eyes, her body throbbing around him. He stood there, pressed against her, every small move he made causing her body to twitch. She released his arms and he eased out of her, collapsing on the bed next to her, both of them still gasping for breath.
Temperance rolled onto her side, facing him, she placed her hand lightly on his heaving chest, "well you were certainly right, all I had to do was ask." She saw his grin just before closing her eyes. A few moments later she felt him kiss her cheek and she looked at him.
"Am I wearing you out?" He couldn't have looked more pleased with himself.
"No, I could still get up from this bed and beat you down the peninsula to the point. I'm not going to, but I could." She was smiling, knowing that unless the house caught on fire she would not be running down the street.
"There's my competitive Temperance, the woman I know and love." She was shaking her head. "Seriously, you really have opened up and you're a funny, entertaining, warm, amazing woman. You're so different from the woman I met that stood before me with her hands clenched into fists shoved deep in her lab coat pockets."
"Seeley, I can't promise you that the woman you describe won't reappear when we return to work, at least sometimes. I brought you here because at home I'm Temperance Brennan the author and at work I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan the forensic anthropologist, but here I'm just myself, before I lost my parents, before I became anything else. I can't promise you that we won't have problems; you know I didn't want to call anyone family because it just gives you someone to lose. I'm comfortable enough with you to be myself but it still scares me sometimes."
"It's okay to be scared, I think you underestimate how often other people are scared in their lives, it's really a very common occurrence. Pretty much I think if you're alive and living any kind of a real life, then you're also scared." He reached over and moved a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear and smoothing her cheek.
"I just want us to make it Seeley; I don't want to be one of those couples that walk away in a couple of years."
"I think if we don't want to be then we won't, just being aware of it gives us a fighting chance."
"Do you think there are people that were happy their whole lives?" He looked at her and knew that for her to believe in happiness was like asking her to believe in ghosts, she just didn't think it existed, at least not long term.
"I do, I've seen people that are in their eighties and they will tell you they've been happy most of the time and that's all you can hope for isn't it? That you get to the end and still think it was one hell of a ride."
She was smiling at him now, "I guess so, I know it's starting off very well."
He pulled her to him, kissing her gently and she curled herself around him, content.
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A year slid quickly by them and Temperance found herself thinking about the first weekend they had stayed here, when she first agreed to marry him. She peaked through the blinds from the bedroom where she was dressing, watching almost everyone she knew gather in the yard. The day could not be more beautiful, the sky stretched a brilliant blue and the autumn leaves hummed vibrantly all around the yard, stretching out around the lake. She was nervous and she drew a deep breath to calm herself.
He had formally asked her two weeks after they returned home last year, naked, in the middle of the night, too excited to wait for the next day, he lit a candle and sank to his knees next to the bed. Not a single fiber in her hesitated to tell him she would spend the rest of her life with him.
They bought each other rings, Temperance made him wear an engagement ring, claiming that they were both engaged, that they were promising themselves to each other, she was not just promising herself to him. They wore simple bands that would sit next to their wedding bands, she didn't want a diamond, it was too hard to get her gloves on and off all day at work and she wanted a ring she didn't have to remove. The engagement bands were both engraved inside, Quid Pro Quo and the wedding bands would have the dates engraved in them, they were simple and Temperance actually loved them. Despite all her objections when she was alone in her office at work it made her feel strangely more connected to him to look down at her ring. She would never admit it to anyone but she knew, for the rest of her life, she would never take it off.
She had the sudden urge to wander through the house and find him, knowing he was getting ready in the downstairs bedroom, but Angela had separated the two of them yesterday stating the old adage that they couldn't see each other the day before the ceremony. She turned to the bed and looked at her dress, realizing she was supposed to be getting ready. Just as she was about to slip into it there was a knock at the door.
Angela came in and quickly shut the door behind her, "Sweetie, why aren't you dressed, people are arriving and you need to be ready."
"It's not like they're going to start without me Ange." She was smiling good naturedly at her friend.
"Come on, lets get you into this dress and get this show in the road."
"Have you seen Seeley?" She wanted news of him as though he was in some far away place. It had been only a day and it wasn't even that they hadn't been apart for longer than that, it was just that right now she really wanted to see him, for a quick moment, a reassuring hug, just the feel and scent of him always made her feel so much better.
"He's fine, I just came from downstairs and I have to admit, he looks amazingly good today. Now let's get you dressed." Angela picked up the dress, the palest of blues against Temperance's summer tan was going to look stunning on her and the cut hugged her frame to her hips, showing every perfect curve of her body. As soon as she had pulled it over her head Angela smiled, the blue of the dress made Temperance's eyes light up in her face, with her auburn hair and glowing skin she was a reflection of their surroundings outside, all clear blue skies and fall colors. "I hate to admit it Bren but you were right about not wearing white, that dress looks beautiful on you."
"I'm a little nervous Ange." She blushed slightly at the compliment as well as her admission.
"Everyone is nervous on their wedding day. Let's see, do you have everything, something old, your moms dolphin is pinned in your hair, something new, your shoes, something borrowed, my necklace, something blue, your dress and a sixpence in your shoe. I already put that in there."
"Angela, that's just superstition and I am not walking on a coin all day."
"Yes you are, it's down by your toes, you'll hardly feel it in a minute and this is not just superstition, its tradition, think of it as an anthropological requirement for the society in which you live."
"Very funny, it's still a coin in my shoe."
"Temperance Brennan, you leave that coin there, it won't hurt you and it makes me feel better. Now turn around once so I can make sure you look okay." Temperance turned around once and stood before her. "You have never looked better, your hair came out great, I know you weren't all for wearing it up but it really works with the dress. I can always take it down for you at the reception dinner if you like." Just then there was a tap at the door and Angela stepped over to open it, not wanting Booth to sneak a visit this close to show time.
It was Zach, nervously twisting his fingers, "I was told to see if you're ready, the guests are seated and we're about to begin."
"We'll be there in a minute Zach, go ahead and have Booth get into position." She turned back to her friend, "Okay sweetie, this is it."
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"Come on g-man my only job today is to make sure you're standing at the edge of the guests so you two can walk toward one another and do this thing." Jack was smiling broadly at Booth, almost as excited as he was.
"I still can't believe she's going to marry me."
"To be honest, I didn't think she would either, she does have it all, brains, beauty and a killer body." Booth shot him a dirty look. "Hey man that didn't come out right, it's just that she has the whole package and was very clear that she'd never marry anyone, a woman like that is certainly in a position to call the shots in this life."
Seeley couldn't help but smile, he knew Jack was right, but Temperance had agreed and was indeed waiting at this moment to become his wife. He looked at the crowd as he took his position at the front corner of the group. When Temperance appeared the soft music would start and they would walk to one another meeting in front of the priest. Seeley had won the argument about the priest but the vows were completely rewritten by them to eliminate the god aspect and gear the ceremony toward a commitment between them, to one another. Once he took his position he realized everyone was looking at him, his mother winked when she caught his eye. He squared his shoulders, the tux was a little stiff but Temperance had picked it out and the fitted cut did look sharp. Seeley scanned the crowd; everyone he knew was there, his family and friends, everyone from the Jeffersonian, Parker and Russ, Temperance's friends here on the peninsula that Seeley had gotten to know quite well in the last year and her publicist, who they were trying to set up with Sid. His eyes scanned over the crowd once more and as he finally looked straight ahead his gaze fell on Temperance and she literally took his breath away. They locked eyes and smiled at one another and the rest of the crowd disappeared for them, they could see nothing but each other. The priest stood and the first strains of music filtered over the crowd. Temperance nodded slightly at him and they slowly walked to one another, when he reached her, he gently kissed her on each cheek, took her arm and turned to the priest for the ceremony to begin.
Angela was already crying but she noticed the crowd as a whole had become very still. There was just something about Temperance and Seeley, something so profoundly right about this union, that it felt as though they were all watching a very intimate moment. When they turned to face one another to say their vows even the most stoic amongst them was feeling the emotion and the truth in every word they said. Temperance had originally wanted the kiss to be left out but was now glad that she had left it in because when the priest said to Seeley, you may now kiss the bride, she had desperately wanted at that moment to do just that, and kiss him she did. The crowd cheered and the priest had to yell as they turned to the face the group, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Seeley Booth.
They walked arm in arm through the crowd and out. As soon as they were out of view he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, as though the passion was new, as though the fire had just started.
Pulling away, he looked at her, "you know you just made me the happiest man on earth."
"Well, after these guests leave I'll let you make me the happiest woman on earth." She was smiling brightly, a twinkle I her eye that he had come to know well.
"Mrs. Booth, how soon can we ditch this crowd?" He began kissing the smooth column of her neck.
"Well, there is the dinner and cake, pontoon rides on the lake, a toast and I don't know what else Angela slipped in there but I do know it's going to be a while."
His hand slid around her waist, stroking up the defined muscles of her back, his fingertips grazing over the ridges of her spine. He ducked his head further into the curve of her neck, his tongue snaking out and running between the stands of pearls around her throat. Her hand moved into his hair and a soft moan hummed from her lips.
"Hey you two, break it up and save that for later, right now you have to go be seated at the wedding table." Angela barged forward, "I can see we're going to have to keep tabs on you all night, don't think I don't know that you've had sex during almost every major social function we've had this year. There will be NO sneaking off, you can go like bunnies once the honeymoon starts, but that's not until after the events of this evening. Everybody clear?" The bride and groom were both blushing at the lecture and having been caught, because they both knew that they were about to sneak off to some corner of the house with a locking door.
"Okay, okay Ange, we'll come and sit down and we'll try to be good, I promise." Temperance was laughing because even as she was promising Seeley's hand was squeezing her ass through the back of her dress; this was going to be a very long day.
Dinner went well and there were toasts abound, it seemed almost everyone had something to say about the happy couple. Temperance was caught off guard when everyone began tapping their spoons against their glasses; Angela leaned over and whispered to her that every time the crowd did that she was required to kiss her new husband. Temperance thought she was crazy but the second she kissed Seeley the noise stopped. At first she was uncomfortable with the forced public display of affection but after her first glass of champagne she began to relax. After the cutting of the cake some of the guests left and they were down to those going out on the pontoon boats. The bride and groom were to ride in the first one that was decorated with streamer and a Just Married sign. Temperance and Seeley were allowed to go change; Angela instructed them that their clothes were in the master bedroom. As soon as they were in the house she realized her mistake but decided to give them a few moments of alone time, while the group going out on the water rotated in and out of rooms, putting on warmer casual clothing.
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Seeley locked the door and leaned against it, grinning at her. "Alone at last."
"Don't think Angela won't be banging that door down in just a few moments." She had moved to the center of the room and he watched as she reached behind her and slid down the short zipper on the back of her dress.
"She can pound all she likes; I only get to watch my wife strip off her wedding dress once in my life." Temperance turned to face him, reaching up she slid the straps down her arms and let the dress pool at her feet. She carefully stepped out of it and her shoes, now wearing thigh high nylons and a white lace bra and panty set. She reached up and pulled the pins from her hair and with a shake of her head it cascaded to her shoulders.
He emitted a low wolf whistle in her direction and she walked over to him, placing her leg between his she slid it up against his thigh until she was pressing against his erection and rubbed herself gently against him. He closed his eyes and tilted his head against the door and felt her press her body full against him, her arms around his neck, her lips kissed his chin, sucked softly on his adams apple at the edge of his collar and then moved to the side of his neck and bit him. He groaned into the room, grabbing her hips and grinding her against him. He suddenly lifted her up and dropped her onto the bed. He was stripping out of his tux as fast as his hands could move.
"What happened to me being able to enjoy my husband stripping off his wedding tux?" She couldn't hold onto the laughter.
He was down to his boxers when he stretched out beside her. "I'll put it back on and take it off slowly tomorrow as many times as you like." He was grinning, his hands already moving over her body and the laughter on her lips settled into a sigh. His fingers danced over her, stroking the delicate flesh of her thighs, moving between her legs and pressing against the dampness as she pushed up against him. He pushed his arm beneath her and popped the clasp on her bra, suddenly he was everywhere. He leaned down and kissed her, his hand on her breast, his other hand in her pants, fingers sinking between the slick folds and into her. She arched up against him, moaning into his mouth, pulling him closer. She moved her hand into his shorts, wrapping her long fingers around the thickness of him, stroking her hand along the landscape of him that she knew so well. Her fingertips moved up over the ridges to the soft smooth spot on the inside of the head and she heard him gasp.
There was a rapid knock on the door, "Seeley, Temperance, are you almost ready?"
Seeley pulled back from Temperance and froze, watching the shock on his new wife's face. "Angela sent my mother to get us? I swear I'm going to kill her." As they looked at one another they both started to laugh.
"We'll be right there mom, Temperance is taking forever." She was trying to be quiet but it was impossible, she smacked Seeley in the arm, the laughter escalating.
"Get off me traitor, I'm not taking too long. We might as well get dressed now, there's nothing like a mother to ruin the moment." She was gasping with laughter and they both scrambled to get dressed. Seeley watched, trying to maintain a pout as she peeled the nylons off and slipped into socks and jeans, but his chuckle kept returning. They pulled on their clothes, grabbing the sweatshirts that had been left on the bed for them. They were matching white sweatshirts, one that said groom and one that said bride.
"I'm going to kill Angela for this." He was still smiling.
"For sending your mother or making us wear these shirts?" Temperance was dressed and came over to kiss him before leaving the room.
"Both!" He kissed her gently, sighing heavily as they separated. Then he opened the door, almost running into his mother. "Hi mom, we're ready, have you seen Angela by any chance?"
"Yes, everyone is waiting for you down at the dock."
He took her hand and they headed across the yard, at top of the stairs they could see everyone gathered to go out on the boats, most of the family was in boat two while the wedding party and close friends were all in the wedding boat. Angela was hiding on the second boat.
As they reached the dock Seeley called out to her, "Angela, you're part of the wedding party, you're supposed to be up here with us. Come on now, I wouldn't want to take this ride without you." Temperance was laughing as Ange marched off the boat and faced him.
"It was Jack's idea and look how well it worked, you were down here in no time. Now just put any revenge thoughts right out of your head because if you think I'm going in that water today you have another thing coming, wedding day or not, I'll hurt you." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, immediately stopping her ramblings.
"Ange, I'm not going to do anything, at least not today, your day will come." He was smiling at her, a wicked look on his face.
"Okay why didn't that make me feel better? That was just creepy."
Laughing they all boarded, Seeley sat at the end of the bench seat and blushing slightly, Temperance sat between his legs and leaned back into him. It was just family and friends and it was their wedding day but in truth she needed no excuse, she just wanted to be near him. She looked out across the water, it was a perfect day, everyone they loved was here with them and everything had gone perfectly.
As she snuggled against his chest she felt his warm breath in her ear, "thank you."
She smiled against him, "for what?"
"For saying yes." She turned and kissed him, for the first time in her life she was completely happy, completely content and looking forward to the future.
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Last chapter, epilogue will also post today, so, press the little button and let me know what you thought.