The Girl I Used to Be by Heidi Hostetter (that summer book .txt) 📕

she was swamped in Rider’s leather jacket he insisted she wore. Smiling the entire way home with her arms wrapped tightly around her heaven.

Rider would laugh if she shared that with him. He’d tell her he was far from heavenly.

Mine. She thought.

This one here is all mine.

“One wedding down. One to go.” She declared once they were home.

The house was quiet for now. Her parents had taken the kids out to eat. Rider caught her around the back of the neck until she bumped up against his chest.

“Kiss me, wife.” He gruffed, already taking her mouth fast. Wet, sweet, and hard. “And then, gonna fuck you and make this official,” he shared, fisting a hand into her hair, tipping her neck back where she could see the color of his eyes.

Her sweet biker-man, the love of her life, was turned on.

She thought he’d be on her the second the front door locked. Zara had wanted it, had braced for it with her stomach and heart tumbling crazily.

But this was better. Sweeter. As though he needed to be a softer man for her. She went up on her toes, kissed him gently until he growled, and bit her lip, made her open wider for his spearing tongue.

Ahhhh, there he is, she thought. Her deviant biker-man.

His grip hurt so lovely. His kiss swelled her lips, and his taste—oh his taste, became rushing sounds in her ears.

Two big hands mapped her hips, around her softened stomach and up between her breasts. “Mine,” he said, almost to himself.

“I’ve always been yours, biker-man.”

Sloppy, uncoordinated kisses followed.

She all but climbed him until he latched her legs around his lean waist, striding through the house, up the stairs, and didn’t stop until he bounced her on their bed.

“You surprised the fuck out of me today.” He said, crawling between her legs, dragging the cotton of her dress up until they exposed her briefs.

“I have to keep you on your toes too, baby.”

His laugh was rough. It was sex and promises, and it went straight to her erogenous zones.

Zara stared at him. The gathering of his bunched shoulders; he seemed bronze-dipped, muscles stark and firm on his torso, decorated in his ink. Damn. Oh damn. Tremors ran up her calves, shaky anticipation for what was to come, making her uncoordinated.

And then he lifted his head and looked up at her, and her mouth went dry.

Holding her gaze, he slid his hands purposefully up between her thighs where she was already wet for him. He made a low, pleased sound in his throat, pushed up to his knees, and put his mouth to her. The pleasure was like a speeding bullet rushing underneath her skin.

“Oh, my God.” She kicked her head back against the soft pillows, shuddering under his wicked tongue. She raked her hand through his long hair, holding a handful in her fingers.

“You are so good at that.”

His answer was a sly sweep of his tongue that threatened to take her out if he lengthened the pressure.

They only had an hour.

But it was the best hour.

She cried his name, and he groaned hers.

And when they were only panting breaths and hammering heartbeats, she curled all four limbs around him, chanting her love for a man who’d changed her life.

They didn’t share their secret with their parents that night at a family dinner.

Zara smiled across at Rider, already staring at her, and felt their love expand around them.

Being a Marinos never felt so right.

SEVENTEEN

“We do. Again.” - Rider

 

Wedding day.

The sensation of waking up in her husband’s arms was one Zara wasn’t ever going to get used to. And the day was only going to get better.

“Wake up,” she poked his ribs, “Ambrosio Marinos, it’s time to get up so I can make an honest man of you. Again.”

He was faking it, because he smirked with his eyes still closed.

She kissed his closed lids, along his stubbled cheek, then glided her lips over his beard, down his chest.

“Fuck yeah, keep going lower, see what surprise waits for you.” He gruffed in his sleepy voice. A hand came out of the sheets and burrowed into her hair while she peppered kisses on his neck.

What a man she was marrying, she grinned.

They might not have gone in for the tradition of spending the night apart. With what happened this week, Zara couldn’t bear to have Rider anywhere else but at her side. But once her mom got into military mode that morning, she made sure they dressed apart and then went to the hotel venue separately.

“I love you, Ambrosio.” She yelled down the stairs when Zara heard he was leaving with Hawk and his parents. She caught him chuckling from the bottom of the stairs. “Love you, Icy. Don’t keep your man waiting.”

A thrill rushed through her at his husky command.

The photographer got the photos he wanted of Zara and the kids.

And then it was time to leave.

The day was beautiful.

The first surprise was walking down the aisle to her favorite song being played by a quartet orchestra. And then, seeing Rider at the end waiting for her in a dark gray suit floored her.

Everything fell away.

She saw only him.

Looking like the hottest, sexiest man alive.

Holding her dad’s arm, surprise stole her steps before she started moving again. Her eyes only for Rider, who smirked as if he knew what he’d done to her.

She knew he’d want to wear clothes he was comfortable in, she was more than fine with that and hadn’t pushed for him to suit up.

This was typical Rider to turn her on at the worst possible time.

She grinned so big at him.

As she hugged her dad, Rider stepped forward to take