“Natasha, forgive me. I cannot seem to forget that you will be gone from me tomorrow. I am not ready to lose you. Even if we’d spent eternity together, I would not be willing to give you up yet. You truly are my other half and it is painful to know that I will be without you again. It was not so difficult before I knew you, but now it is as if Zeus himself has placed a lightning rod in my heart.” He tilted my chin so I was looking into his teal eyes.
The love and pain in those depths tore at my heart. This man truly loved me. I lifted myself very slowly from my crouched position and brought my lips toward his, never losing eye contact. He blinked just as our lips met in the chastest of kisses and twin tears spilled down his cheeks.
“Don’t cry, amada. I’m here,” I whispered against his mouth. I kissed the tear tracks from his cheeks. I kissed each of his eyelids. I kissed his mouth a few more times, very lightly. They were chaste, virginal, kisses. I wanted to cherish this moment for as long as possible. I pulled back, bringing my hands up to caress his face. He was such a strong man it tore at me to see him so sad. “I love you,” I whispered as I cradled his cheeks in my palms and kissed him like I’d wanted to all day. I kissed him as if I couldn’t get enough of him, because I couldn’t. I held his face immobile and devoured him. His eyes flew open in surprise at the first intense contact and he kissed me back with every ounce of passion he felt. He moaned in my mouth, his strong hands roving across my back to lift me onto his lap.
I pulled away, breathless. I wanted this, but I wanted it slowly. We had the entire night to worship each other and I didn’t want to waste it. I also vainly didn’t want him ruining yet another dress. I was rather fond of this one. It was, after all, the dress I’d gotten married in.
Holy crap, I’m married.
I felt the color drain from my face as it finally hit me. What timing. I was about to make love to the most incredible man on the planet, and that’s when I decided to freak out about the fact that the man was my husband. Why couldn’t this have happened earlier in the day, preferably when I was alone? I swallowed, trying to moisten my suddenly dry throat, and sat heavily against him on the bed.
“Natasha, what is the matter? Have I done something wrong?” He took my hands in his; forcing me to look at either his face or our matching rings. I chose his face as the rings had me hyperventilating.
“We were married today,” I said, my voice shaking. He smiled at me.
“Yes, that is part of mating. I thought every woman dreamt of this day from childhood. Does it bother you?”
“I just never planned on getting married. It was never something I wanted, and now that it’s happened, I’m not sure how I feel about it.” I wanted him, but since Keith, I had never envisioned myself as a bride.
“Amada, do you love me?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Then what does a ceremony matter? It is tradition for my people to assist the souls in the merge, nothing more. We already started to merge the last time we were intimate together. I know you felt it. Cleito insists that we must do everything as she and Poseidon did in order to properly break the curse on our people. I don’t believe all that was necessary, but when dealing with the fates, it is better to be overly cautious. Does it bother you to be married to me?”
“What? No! I love you, and know that I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I’m being silly. I guess I just didn’t expect this.” I looked down at our intertwined hands. Circling his finger was a band made of orichalcum with a vine carved around it, and mine bore the match. The only addition to mine was a small opal in the center. I smiled, remembering that opals were his favorite stone.
I shook my head as if that movement would help me clear it. I was married. To an amazing man that by all rights shouldn’t even exist. I smiled at my foolishness, sobering quickly as I remembered I would need to leave all too soon.
“Is there any way that I can stay, that I don’t have to leave?”
“No. Unfortunately the oracle decreed that we must willingly separate to reunite our people. I wish there was another way as well. I will miss you dearly.” I snuggled closer to him, resting my head against his heart, listening to the beat. We sat in silence for a few minutes, simply holding each other.
“I’ll miss you as well,” I whispered. I stood up and removed my dress, placing it in the corner of the room. I walked back to him, completely nude and not the least bit self-conscious. It was hard to feel insecure when he was looking at me like I was to be his last meal. A slow, seductive grin spread across my face as I reveled in his adoration.
“Love me, amada,” I said as I pressed him onto the bed.
I was bolder than I’d ever been in my life. Straddling my legs on either side of his hips, I licked a path slowly up his abdomen to his chest. I stopped for a bite at his nipples,
