People sworn to love and protect me surround me, but I’ve never felt more alone. As the night wears on, not even Eliza’s beautiful face or Lucas’ ridiculous jokes can cure the dread growing inside me. Tonight I’ll be giving myself to him…Darius, and I don’t know what scares me most…falling in love with him, or knowing he may never feel the same way about me.
Our gift table is littered with the gifts of those trying to outdo each other in the hopes of gaining favor with the Draven’s. We have so many gifts that Melissa has to open up an entire room to house them all.
I’m seated to Darius’ right but his attention is noticeably elsewhere. His eyes began following her the moment she entered the room and I’ve been painfully aware ever since. Still, I must play my part. I am now Mrs. Darius Draven, or Lady Draven as some have already begun to call me.
Once the guests are settled and refreshments have been given, the lights are dimmed and Darius and I are called to the dance floor for our first dance. Our eyes meet for the first time since our kiss and I can already see the look of regret in his eyes.
Again he looks past me and when I follow his gaze I find Aria staring back at him with that same pained look in her eyes.
“Would you rather dance with her?” I ask.
“No,” he quickly replies, giving me his full attention.
Darius pulls me into him, one hand at the small of my back and the other holding my free hand. For the most part I have his affection, but I know better than to trust it. I know where his heart lies. I may have his affection but she definitely has his attention.
After our dance, he tells me he has to use the restroom and makes a quick exit. I scour the room and realize Aria is also missing. It doesn’t take much to put two and two together to figure out where he went. He went after her.
I take my seat at our table and watch the clock. He’s only gone for ten minutes but anyone watching him the way I’ve been watching him knows what he’s up to. Aria reappears a few moments after he does and its obvious she’s been crying.
“Is she okay?” I ask.
“Who?” Darius plays dumb.
“Aria.”
He eyes slide over to meet mine and he doesn’t bother insulting me by pretending not to know what I’m talking about. Instead he takes a deep breath and looks out into the crowd, plastering a fake smile on his face.
“No, she’s not.”
“Do you want to-”
Darius cuts me off before I could finish talking and says, “What I want is to not talk about it. Focus on the celebration and less on me,” he snaps at me.
And so it begins…the train wreck I knew I was walking into. I can no longer pretend to smile. I’m not happy. All I want to do is leave, but I can’t. I’m stuck here just like I’m stuck in this marriage.
Looking out into the crowd I see my father and Elizabeth dancing. They seem so in love. It’s the kind of love I want but I know I won’t get. Then I spot Lucas dancing with Eliza. He twirls her around so many times that she gets dizzy.
Wrapped up in my family’s joy, I barely notice Darius moving closer to me until he places his hand over mine and entwines our fingers together. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you the way I did. I’m just…I’m worried about her,” he explains.
Darius kisses the back of my hand and flashes me a heart-stopping smile. Damn his smile…in no time I’m reduced to a blushing, bumbling fool and have to look away just to breathe.
“Mind if I ask your bride for a dance cousin?” Asher walks up to our table.
“You’ve moved from kidnapping to asking to spend time with her,” Darius glares at him, “Are you turning over a new leaf or do you just have a death wish?”
“Perhaps a little bit of both,” Asher smiles, “She owes me something and I’m simply here to collect.”
“You cloaked her, so whatever it is you’re after must be good.”
I feel like prey trapped between two ferocious lions. Darius remains seated and poised, while Asher keeps a respectable distance away, but the look in their eyes and the hidden innuendos in their words are predatory, through and through.
“Oh it is,” Asher smiles, “you see, in exchange for her life she agreed to spend at least one day a week with me at my leisure.”
Darius practically leapt over the table to get to him, but Jackson came out of nowhere to hold him back, “If I were you I’d keep that nasty temper of yours in check. We wouldn’t want to draw any unwanted attention, now would we?”
“What do you want?” Darius growled at him.
“Convince your father to reinstate my father’s visits with Esme and I’ll release your precious bride from her obligation.”
“Go fuck yourself,”
“No…I think I’ll save that for one of my visits with your wife unless you do as I ask,” Asher smirks.
Again Darius tries to rip into Asher, and William comes to help hold him back. “I won’t do it. I just won’t go,” I tell him, trying to calm him down.
“Our oath was bound by our blood. Your free will has no play here. I call and you’ll come whether you want to or not.”
Darius lets out a hollow growl that reverberates throughout the room capturing everyone’s attention. The music stops and so does the chatter in the room. All eyes are now on Darius.
“Is there a problem?” Viktor approaches with Esme on his arm.
“None here,” Asher smirks, “I simply came to collect what’s mine.”
“And what would that be?”
“One night a week with Darius’ new bride. She’s bound to me by a blood oath,” he turns to Viktor and smiles, “that is, unless you’re willing to reinstate my father’s visits with Esme.”
All eyes shift over to me. I have no recollection of any oath. I don’t know what he’s talking about, shrugging I say, “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
“Oh yes…that little problem,” Asher sighs. He touches my temple with his index finger and instantly my memories are returned to me.
I look to Darius and nod.
“I should kill you,” Darius got in his face.
“I die…and she dies.”
“Do whatever you want with her. My wife is off limits,” Viktor replies.
He walks away with Esme in tow, leaving both Darius and I vulnerable to Asher’s games. Pissed, Darius storms off and his brothers go after him. Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any worse, it does.
“I have nothing against you Giselle, you’re just a pawn in a chess game. I’m sorry for whatever pain this will put you through.”
Pain? He has no idea what he’s done to me. With Asher looming over me like a dark cloud there’s no way Darius will allow himself to return any feelings for me. If I were Darius I wouldn’t. As if he needed another reason to regret marrying me.
Scouring the halls, I search for Darius and find him talking to his family. The moment they see me, they stop talking and leave to give us some privacy.
“I didn’t know, Darius. I’m sorry.”
“He’s going to use you against me,”
“Let him try. As long as we trust each other, he won’t succeed.”
Darius laughs, “I trust no one.”
“So you’re just going to let him win?”
“You let him win!” He shouts at me, startling me.
Great. He blames me for this. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“You knew we were at war with them. You knew what he was capable of.”
“Yes, but at the time I made that agreement I was afraid for my life. I was scared.”
Darius hisses at me, and I stop talking. He scares me to death when he’s angry. And the last thing I want, especially today of all days, is for there to be discord between us.
“Of all the things for you to do…” Darius stares at me like I’ve betrayed him somehow.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize, “I didn’t know what else to do. He was going to kill me.”
“He was never going to kill you. He just needed you afraid enough to believe he would and you played right into his hands,” he massaged the bridge of his nose.
That possibility never even dawned on me. Now I feel foolish. I want to make things right, but how? Things have already gone so wrong and we haven’t even begun our life together yet.
“I want to fix this. Tell me how to fix this?”
“You can’t.” He started to leave and I don’t know why, but I stepped him front of him. “Move,” he demanded.
I couldn’t. I haven’t been his wife for a whole day yet and already he hates me. “Please don’t hate me,” I sulk, “I didn’t know.”
“Duly noted…now move.”
Reluctantly, I moved out of his way and he left. So far married life is hard. I can tell he doesn’t want to be anywhere near me, which only makes me worry about his intentions with Aria. I’m sure he’s thinking about how she would never do something like this to him.
Tears form in my eyes and movement in the doorway catches my attention. It’s Esme. “Here, dry your eyes,” she hands me some tissue.
“I suck at this,” I sniffle.
“You won’t get any arguments from me there, but it’s not completely your fault. Someone should’ve informed you on how things work around here. But like most men in our culture, the Draven men treat us as if we’re on a need to know basis. And we don’t know, until they feel we need to know. Usually by then its too late.”
“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
“More than you know,” she smiles at me, “now come on, dry your tears, hold your head up high and don’t let him see you squirm.”
After drying my eyes Esme took me back to the banquet hall and stayed by my side the entire night. I kept my distance from Darius at his father’s request and watched in silent torture as he flirted with Aria from across the room. This is exactly what I was afraid of. Still, I held my head up high and stayed strong. For hours the party went on, but I couldn’t hang. I asked to be excused and Viktor had Esme take me home.
I bathed and put on the nightgown that was picked out for me specifically for this night. I tried waiting up for Darius but fell asleep at some point. When I woke up the next day, he still hadn’t come home. When the doors to our bedroom opened I was hoping it was Darius, but it was Cara.
“Has Darius come home?” I asked.
“Yes, but you were sleeping and he didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Right,” I sulk, “Because its perfectly normal for a groom not to want to sleep with his bride on the night of their wedding.”
“Do you mind me asking what happened?”
“I did something I can’t take back,”
“Okay…that’s a very cryptic explanation.”
“Don’t say another word,” Darius spoke from the doorway. Cara scurried out of the room and he locked the door behind her so no one else could come in. “Sit.”
I sat down on the edge of the bed and he sat down next to me. He seemed to be in better spirits at least. “Does this mean you don’t hate me?” I asked.
“I don’t hate you,” he replied, “and I’m sorry for abandoning you last night. I was angry and I took it out on you and I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to hurt you or make you angry. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“I know. Don’t worry about it. I have my people on it.”
Being in close proximity to Darius makes me feel things I’m not sure I want to feel. We’re husband and wife now, but I still have my reservations about being with him completely. My fear is that once I open that door to my heart I won’t be able to close it again. Not with him.
I’m afraid to look in his direction. Instead, we awkwardly sit next to each other in silence. I’ve never had a boyfriend before so I’m not exactly sure what to do. My heart nearly skips a beat when I realize he’s leaning in to me.
His lips touch mine, and he parts my lips with his tongue. My mind goes blank. His tongue sweeps through my mouth awakening my senses. It isn’t until he pulls away that I’m finally able to put a thought together. And all I can think of is how good it feels when he touches me. A growing, throbbing pressure begins to build between my legs.
Darius places his hand against my inner thigh and the sensations it sent through me as his fingers inched closer to my center made my eyes roll into the back of my head.
I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything in life, but he takes his time…taunting me with every kiss, lick and flicker of his tongue. Meanwhile, his fingers invade the folds of my center and a soft moan escapes my lips. Darius’ lips curve up into a smirk. It’s just as I suspected. He’s perfected the art of driving women to the brink of insanity. The pressure of his fingers inside me is wonderful and it correlates with the pulsing pleasure between my legs.
Darius’ hands smooth everywhere, branding my skin with his touch. My senses are practically begging for more of him.
Using the weight of his body, he gently forces me to lie back and climbs on top of me. My blood begins to pump faster.
He hovers over me, taking me in with his eyes before crushing his lips to mine again. I drink from his lips with a fervor I hadn’t realized I had in me. In one swift motion he slices the front of my gown open with a sharp fingernail and my breasts pop out.
I’m frozen. Is this really happening? Slowly I unbutton his shirt revealing his bare chest underneath and run my fingertips over the muscled ridges of his abdomen. When I reached his belt I waste no time undoing his pants. He pulls back for a moment and smiles before taking my bottom lip in between his teeth. A gentle prick of my lip from his teeth and I taste blood. It makes him go crazy. He loves to bite me even though it’s the one thing about him I can’t stand.
Darius kisses my shoulder and then my neck. By the time he moves back to my lips I’m ready for him to put me out of my misery. He yanks my necklace off and tosses it onto the floor. My underwear is next.
I can feel his hardness rubbing against my center and I want him inside me now. Responding to my thought, he slowly thrusts his hips forward. All of the air in my lungs disappears, and I try to sit up but the weight of his body has me pinned to the bed. He pushes himself further inside me and I cry out in pain.
Darius cups his hand over my mouth to stifle my cries. I can’t breathe and I‘m afraid to move. He’s pushing every inch of him inside me and I’ll be damned…I feel like I’m going to split in two. He chuckles at my thought and slips his tongue into my mouth. He’s trying to distract me, and it works, until he retracts himself and then pushes himself back inside me. My legs are shaking now, and I can feel his full girth between them. I’m frightened.
“The more you tense up and the more you resist, the more it’ll hurt. Try to relax,” he whispers a warning to me. Taking a deep breath I force myself to relax. Darius drowns me in kiss after kiss to distract me again, but it’s no longer working. I’ve come to anticipate the discomfort of him sliding inside me and brace for it every time. I still can’t breathe and I’m clenching the sheets so tight that my knuckles are white. “Relax Giselle and breathe.”
“I can’t,” I sigh, “It really, really hurts.”
“Look at me,” he forces me to look him in the eyes, “I’ve barely even scratched the surface and if you’re wound up like fort Knox you’re going to make this next to impossible.”
Sensing his irritation, I force myself to relax. Kissing him usually distracts me, so I crush my lips to his. I focus on drowning myself in his kisses. He retracts himself completely and replaces his hardness with his fingers. I’m grateful for the temporary relief. Moments later the discomfort returns and I have to fight the urge to bite his tongue as he plunges deeper and deeper into my center.
Throwing my head back I let out a cross between a moan and a scream. He stops to give me a moment and then he presses forward forcing me to bite down on my bottom lip in order to stop myself from crying out in pain again. After what seems like an eternity, his full girth is finally inside me. I keep waiting for relief, but it doesn’t come. Moving his hips in a slow circular motion, he loosens my center and God it’s uncomfortable. Again he stops.
He regains his composure after a few moments and slowly impales me over and over again with his hardness. I try to hold it together, but the pressure proves to be too much for me. I can no longer stifle my cries of passion and he doesn’t bother trying to stop me either. His tongue grazes my nipples and then he sucks them into his mouth one by one, driving my senses wild.
Feelings and sensations I‘ve never felt before overwhelm me. Eventually the discomfort subsides and the friction caused by his girth massaging the walls of my center creates a feeling in me that I’ve never felt before. I feel like I’m going to melt into the sheets beneath me.
Hungry for more of me, Darius grips my inner thighs, forcing my legs wider apart, allowing him to bury himself deeper inside me. There’s a little discomfort at first, but then it goes away and a feeling I can’t quite put my finger on starts to build.
The feeling continues to grow until I’m literally rendered speechless, my eyes roll into the back of my head and I temporarily stop breathing. When I’m finally able to take in a breath I smile, but I don’t know why. Darius smiles too. He stops everything and gently kisses me for several minutes while I catch my breath.
To my surprise, after several minutes of him teasing me with his tongue in my mouth and curling it around my nipples, I’m aroused again. He continues his onslaught inside me and I can’t believe how wet I am down there. This time however, Darius is a little less gentle and forgiving with me. My cries of passion fill the room and it turns him on. At least three more times I experience what I’m pretty sure is an orgasm at this point, even though I’ve never actually had one before.
As my body seeks release, Darius bites down hard on my neck. His body jerks and his muscles tighten. He finally goes rigid on top of me and lies there trying to catch his breath.
I’m exhausted, but once Darius catches his second wind, there’s no stopping him. My center is throbbing and swollen, but that doesn’t seem to deter him in the least bit. He works himself up again and I wrap my arms around him, holding on to him.
I wait for him to finish, but he’s not satisfied. He wants me to climax again and I don’t know if I have it in me. Still, somehow he manages to do just that and I cum harder than the first two times combined.
Finally he’s satisfied. He retracts himself from inside me and lays down next to me, pulling me into his arms. I fall asleep in no time.
ns 15.158.61.42da2
