Walking into that hall, I was more nervous than I’d ever been in all my life. Until I saw him.
Then I knew right away I’d made the right decision.
As Amma had said, all would be well.
In d’Almerita.
The door opens. No fur-covered blankets adorn the massive bed inside. Instead, airy curtains give the chamber a very otherworldly feel.
Vanni closes it, turning the key with a click, which announces his intentions clearly. I’ve thought about this moment so many times that when he reaches me, his hand sliding behind my head, I wonder if this is actually happening.
Without a word, he closes his eyes and kisses me. Tenderly, with a longing and need that I completely understand. The kiss is tentative at first, but it quickly grows deeper. I pour all of my frustration and sadness, my hope and love into him.
When he pulls away, I’m left utterly breathless.
“What took so long?”
“Mmmm,” he responds, kissing behind my ear. “I had to make arrangements.”
His lips move down my neck, trailing a path of fire in their wake.
“What type of arrangements?”
He stops his ministrations to pull away and look at me.
“We were to leave tomorrow for Highburn Castle, to meet with Lord Hinton.”
“Were?”
“Aye. The journey has been delayed for a day.” He pauses, looking into my eyes. “For our wedding.”
I open my mouth, but before words can come out, he adds, “I’ve learned my lesson, Aedre. If you would prefer to wait, we’ll wait. But I didn’t wish to be parted from you for any reason, and things are different here than in Murwood End. I’d not have you travel with me amid whispers of impropriety. Unless you wish it, then whispers be damned. ’Tis your choice, but I would very much like to make you my wife on the morrow. If you’ll have me.”
I rest my hand on his cheek.
“’Tis what I came here to do. But is it safe, to go to Highburn Castle with you?”
His hand covers mine.
“Aye. I would never put you in danger.”
Vanni doesn’t wait for my answer. Instead, he spins me around to face away from him, the move so perfectly executed it’s as if he’s planned that all eve. I can feel the dress loosening with each tug.
“How did you know it was tied back there?”
His laugh has a dangerous edge. He finishes loosening the ties, slipping my sleeves down ever so slowly. If I thought the anticipation of seeing him again could not be outdone, I was sorely mistaken.
I step out of the dress and reach down to slip off my shoes. When I stand back up, he’s behind me again, and I can feel every inch of him.
“How could you have undressed so quickly?”
I try to turn around, but he won’t let me. Instead, Vanni presses against me. One hand wraps around to my breast as the other slides up my thigh.
“I’ve skills you have yet to learn about, Aedre,” he whispers in my ear.
And then his hand is there, at the core of me. As is a chair that he apparently moved closer without my noticing.
“I guess you do,” I say, referring to his trick with the chair.
“Lift your leg. There.”
When I prop one foot on the chair, his fingers enter me fully, his entire length pressing against me from behind.
“Tomorrow we wed,” he says, his breath tickles my ear. “But tonight I make you mine, Aedre.”
Last time, the pressure built and built until it finally spilled over. This time, maybe because the anticipation has been building for so long, I begin to shudder almost immediately.
When I look down to see his bare arm around me, strong and sure, the tremors intensify. With the same deftness that saw him disrobing so quickly, he lifts my shift over my head, moving us toward the bed.
Once on it, Vanni lies back and pulls me on top of him.
“You are in control as much as I am,” he says, reaching up to touch me just about everywhere. I’ve never felt so . . . worshipped. “In bed and out of it.”
I get into a more comfortable position, knowing how this works even though I’ve not yet experienced it.
I am, after all, a Garra. So, reaching down, I stroke Vanni as if I’d done so many times before. His moans of pleasure encouraging, I guide him toward me. Seeing me struggle, Vanni lends his help, sinking in deeper and deeper.
This time, there is no pain.
Propped up with my hands on his chest, I revel in the feeling of finally being joined with him again. Revel in . . .
“Oh!”
Vanni grabs my hips, pulling down. We move in rhythm, the feeling entirely different than it was the first time. It’s just as good, though, maybe even better. When his lips part, his eyes rolling back in pleasure, I feel more powerful than I’ve ever been.
This is why the Garra have been hunted. Mocked. Ridiculed. Even killed.
Every moan that escapes from Vanni encourages me until our movements verge on frantic. His hips thrust up from the bed as I circle him, so close . . .
“Vanni.” My voice is breathless.
“Aye, love. Come for me.”
I let go then, screaming both from the incredible release and the gift my soon-to-be husband has given me. I am in charge. His guttural cry follows mine as his fingers dig into the flesh of my hips. I welcome the sensation, collapsing atop him.
Vanni flips me then, though we are still joined. His smile is a teasing one.
“I am an overly sexual creature, and thoughts of you occupy me too often. Perhaps you can help with that affliction.”
“I’ve heard those words before,” I say through laughter. He kisses my neck, then trails kisses down to my breast, taking it into his mouth.
