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He’d ordered it back in LA and hadn’t put too much thought into it, wanting only big and flashy. And flashy it certainly was, a blue diamond set in a platinum band and surrounded by smaller diamonds. It looked too big for her hand and the second he’d put it on, he wanted to take it off, get her something more suitable. Which was ridiculous when none of this was real. It wasallpretend.
‘You don’t have to pretend, not with me...’
The memory of her voice from their aborted dinner wound around him and he found himself staring into the velvet darkness of her eyes, seeing the anger burning in them.
You hurt her that night.
Of course he’d hurt her. He knew he had. That’s why she was so angry with him now, wasn’t it?Theos, she had every right to be. He’d told her he wanted her, had kissed her, then had turned around and told her it wouldn’t happen, before walking away without even giving her an explanation.
No wonder she was so upset with him.
Regret shifted in his gut, another emotion he never let himself feel these days.
She doesn’t need your mission. She doesn’t need rescuing. And her hurt is easy enough to heal. You can’t fix what happened to Ismena, but you can fix the way you treated Glory. You could give her a wedding night.
The thought hit him like a lightning strike, stealing his breath. No. No, he couldn’t. He’d told himself right from the start that he wasn’t going to touch her. She was now part of this mission and he couldn’t complicate it by sleeping with her.
She wants you. And once you put that ring on her finger, everyone will think you’re sleeping with her anyway. If you make the boundaries clear, where’s the harm? Besides, you want her too, don’t lie to yourself.
The priest coughed, glaring at Castor’s silence.
‘Begin,’ Castor ordered, his voice rough as the thought dug its claws into him. Because he could, couldn’t he? He could give her one night.
It could be...a wedding present even. It wouldn’t mean anything. He’d be clear about that.
Glory’s chin jutted as the priest began the ceremony, but she said nothing.
Castor couldn’t look away. And as the ceremony went on, he watched the blush in her cheeks deepen, the scattering of freckles across her nose looking like fallen stars, and her lush mouth soften. The anger died out of her eyes, something hotter and more intense shifting in the velvety darkness.
His heartbeat thumped in his head and when they took each other’s hands to exchange rings, he felt her touch on his skin like a brand.
Then somehow the ceremony was at an end, the priest murmuring that they were husband and wife and that Castor could kiss his bride, and he found himself holding his breath.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted to kiss a woman so badly.
‘You don’t have to,’ Glory said, her cheeks flaming despite the edge in her voice. ‘I know you didn’t—’
But instinct had him in its grip and he didn’t even think, taking her face gently between his palms, tilting her head back and covering her protests with his lips.
She went very still, but he could feel the shiver that shook her.
Her mouth was so soft and she tasted of mint, along with something sweet. Instinctively he deepened the kiss, because it felt like for the past couple of days he’d been holding himself rigid and yet now, with her lips under his, he could finally relax.
You don’t need to pretend with me...
Yet pretending was all he’d been doing for years. Pretending to be someone he’d never wanted to be. Pretending he didn’t feel all the emotions he’d tried to cut himself off from. Pretending he was fine with all the things he’d had to do in order to keep up this ridiculous act.
But he’d never been fine and the little girl he’d done it all for was gone. He’d lost her.
Glory wasn’t though. She was here and kissing her felt like drinking a cold glass of water after years in the desert. Sheer relief.
He tasted her deeper, sliding his hands lower till they rested at the base of her throat, his fingers caressing her neck. Her skin was smooth and silky and warm, and he wanted to lay her down and discover if she was just as warm and silky everywhere else.
She trembled, then began to kiss him back, shyly at first and then bolder, her tongue exploring his mouth as he’d explored hers, winding his desire tighter and tighter.
She was so responsive. He’d been a fool to deny her. A fool to deny himself. He could teach her so many things, give her so much pleasure...
The priest cleared his throat once again, ostentatiously, and Castor belatedly remembered that he was in a church and he was kissing his new wife in a way that was probably not appropriate.
