Mace, not surprisingly, was his best man, but Jess couldn’t and wouldn’t decide between May and Sabina. So both would be her matrons of honor, although they hated the “matron” thing. Said it made them feel old.

Lord, he just wanted this thing over with.

He rounded one of the giant bushes dotting the property and Smitty smiled when he saw Jessie Ann sitting on one of the white stone benches. She leaned back, her hands propping her up. Her face lifted to catch the bright afternoon summer sun, her eyes closed.

She wore her wedding gown and looked beautiful in it. She had two. This one would be for the ceremony, styled after some medieval gown she saw in a movie. Only his Jessie Ann. The other, which would be easier to move and dance around in, was a sexy little strapless number he told her to buy.

Smitty didn’t worry about seeing the bride before the wedding. True, he could be a superstitious man when necessary, but at the same time he didn’t really believe in marriage. No piece of paper would make him any more committed to his Jessie Ann. The woman meant everything to him. Absolutely everything.

And last Thursday, when they woke up and realized she’d gotten pregnant the night before, everything became perfect... and just the beginning.

He sat down next to her and kissed her cheek. “Hey, darlin’.”

“Hey.” She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

“Couldn’t take it, huh?”

“All the fussing... and the crying.”

“Who? Momma?”

“Are you kidding? That woman is a Marine. Ordering everybody around. Keeping everybody in line. It’s been quite a sight to see. And Sissy Mae looks like she’s a few hours away from going after her with one of your team’s guns.”

“If there’s one thing my momma knows how to do it’s push Sissy’s buttons.”

“She wasn’t pushing, Smitty. It was much more of a stabbing Sissy’s buttons.” Jess smiled. “I’ve really been enjoying it.”

“If Momma’s not crying, who is?”

“Ronnie Lee.”

“You’re kidding?” he demanded on a laugh.

“I wish I was, but that woman is balling like a baby. I couldn’t take it; I had to go before I punched her.”

“I’m sure Sissy punched her after you left.”

“That I believe. She looked pretty fed up between Ronnie Lee and your mother.”

He leaned back on the stone bench, his hands braced to keep him up, just like Jessie Ann.

“Tell me again this is almost over,” she practically begged.

“It’s almost over, darlin’. Tonight we go on our honeymoon, and I have every intention of fucking you silly. Startin’ on the plane.”

“Sweet talker.”

“How are you feelingotherwise?”

“A little cranky.”

“I’m guessing it’s going to be that way until she’s here.”

“Well, I remember my mom telling me that when she was pregnant she glowed and was unbelievably happy.” Jessie squinted at him, the sun full in her eyes. “But my daddy said she was a liar.”

They laughed, and Jessie added, “So buckle up, cowboy. It looks like it’s going to be a wild ride.”

“And I can’t wait.”

“You always were a glutton for abuse.”

Smitty rested his head against Jessie’s. As different as they were, he always felt right when she was around. Centered. Without even trying, she made his life so much better and it hadn’t been that bad in the first place.

“Explain to me how I’m supposed to get through the next six hours.”

At first Smitty didn’t really hear her, too busy nuzzling her neck and kissing her cheek. She always smelled so damn good.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“I’m trying to figure out how I’m supposed to get through the next few hours.”

They looked at each other at the same time and, after a good three minutes of mutual staring, they shook their heads and moved to opposite ends of the bench.

“We can’t,” she said.

“You’re right,” Smitty said, even as his cock begged him to argue with her.

“You have to be in there in, like, what? Ten more minutes?”

“Somethin’ like that.”

“And then the whole thing starts in another half an hour with my dumb butt walking down the aisle.”

“Right.”

“So we’ll just have to wait. It’s no big deal. It’s like an hour.”

“Right.”

She stared up at the trees for a while until she finally said, “But you know, there’s all the toasts and the dinner and the dancing and the photographs, and it’s not like we’ll actually have any time alone for quite a while.”

“That’s true.”

She grabbed his hand. “That’s asking too much of me.” She yanked him off the bench with a strength he had no idea she possessed and dragged him behind the bushes. She slammed him up against a tree; then her hands were making real short work of his pants.

“Jessie Ann—”

“You’re not going to stop me, are you?” she snarled, her brown eyes burning into his. “I’m a pregnant female predator. The most dangerous animal on the planet. Give me what I want or I’ll show you how dangerous I really am.”

He’d never had a woman tell him how much she wanted him in such an artful way before.