Two days later, I woke up with a feeling of butterflies swarming around my stomach. It was similar to how I’d felt the morning of my fate ceremony, but this time Raydir lay in bed beside me with one arm draped over my body.

Today was the day, and all I could think about was how we were doing this as a compromise to my father’s wishes. It might be the last time I ever saw him. I shuddered at the thought. I wanted today to be happy. I wanted to pretend, just for a few hours, that I had my family back together.

Wiping at the tears that had formed in my eyes, I pressed a kiss to Raydir's lips and he smiled in his sleep.

“Morning,” he murmured, his voice husky and sweet. “We’re getting semi-married today, you know.”

“Mm hmm,” I replied, soaking in the moment together. Having him by my side felt safe. I never wanted to leave his embrace.

He traced a finger along my jawline. “But we still have several hours.” He kissed my cheek. “Maybe we could find something to do in the meantime.” A kiss to my ear, then a trail down my neck to my mark.

I clutched at the bedsheets between my fingers as his lips moved lower.

“Ray,” I moaned. My fingers wove through his hair.

His hands slid down my body, rubbing small circles on my stomach. “I love you so much.”

I tilted his head up to mine and let our lips meet, hungry for more. His tongue swirled around my mouth in a battle for dominance. I pulled the sheet up over us.

Ray smiled, reaching out to touch my mussed hair.

“It’s too long,” I said, blowing my hair out of my face.

“It’s perfect,” he replied. “And sexy. And so are you.” As he went in for another kiss, a knock sounded at the door.

“Oh my!” a voice cried out.

I shrieked and clutched onto Raydir, who laughed.

“Who needs privacy when we have maids who come in and ruin the fun?” he teased.

“Lady Arwyn?” the voice asked.

I poked my head out from the top of the blankets. “Ginny! What—what are you doing here?”

“I am still employed by your family. What are you doing here?” Her gaze traveled away from me to Raydir’s form next to me.

“Um, we”—I glanced at him for help.

“We heard what happened to Arwyn’s father,” he finished for me. “And we came back to be with him during this time of need.”

“Yes, yes. I’m aware of all of that. Your mother sent me to Runswick this morning to pick up your dress. What I meant is what are you and Raydir doing right now?”

Heat rose to my cheeks.

Wasn’t it obvious?

“I mean, considering it’s your wedding day,” she continued. “The groom is not supposed to see the bride before the wedding.”

“It’s not a wedding,” I explained. “It’s a love ceremony.”

She waved aside that detail. “Regardless, you're late for the morning preparations. We have a busy day ahead of us.”

Reluctantly, I started to get out of bed before realizing I wasn’t wearing any clothes. I pulled the sheets back against my bare skin, leaving Raydir just enough to cover himself. “If I promise to deal with whatever preparations are taking me away from Ray, will you leave so I can put my nightgown back on?”

Ginny smiled. “Of course. And there will be plenty of time for you two to be together after the ceremony.”

“Thank you.”

She left the room and Raydir and I fell into a fit of laughter on the bed.

“That was close,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

I whacked him with a pillow playfully. “That’s your fault, Ray. God, I can’t believe Ginny almost caught us.”

He grinned. “Now that she’s gone—ow!” He fell back dramatically.

I fell on top of him, giggling. “You’re going to get us in so much trouble.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But we live for trouble.” He brushed my hair away from my face and kissed me again before letting me go get ready for the day.

I gave him a bit more tease, slowly standing up from the bed so my body could taunt him just a little longer.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Arwyn,” Raydir addressed my breasts, “you really should get going.”

I grabbed my nightgown from the ground and let Raydir slip the straps back over my shoulders. He nuzzled my neck and the straps fell back down.

“Or maybe we can last a few more minutes,” he murmured.

I giggled, turning around in his arms. “A few more minutes before we have forever.”

He kissed me and leaned us back on the bed again. “I have an idea.”

“I’m sure you do,” I murmured against his mouth.

Raydir sat up on the bed, letting the sheets pool around his waist. His green eyes flashed with mischief.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What?”

“C’mon.” He grabbed my hand and took me into the bathroom that was adjacent to my bedroom. “No one will bother us here.”

“I should hope not. It’s my bathroom!” I giggled as Raydir reached to turn on the facet, letting the water run into the tub. Once it was warm enough, he climbed in then held out a hand for me.

“You were going to need to get clean for the ceremony anyway,” Raydir murmured in my ear, reaching for the soap and a sponge. “Why not just do it together?”

I gazed up at Ray and his eyes gleamed with desire. I complied, sitting with my back to Raydir. He combed his fingers through my hair, sending shivers down my spine.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

“Mmhm.” I nodded.

Raydir soaked a sponge in the water and began to run it over my sore muscles, washing away the grief, the pain, the craziness of the last few days. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. As he bathed me, his lips nestled their way into the crook of my neck. I reached back with one hand, tugging at his hair as I moaned happily, yearning for his touch.

His fingers rubbed circles over my back before working their way over to my front. I leaned my head to the side to give him access to my neck. His tongue swirled over the skin before his lips nipped at the spot just above my collarbone. He tugged ever so slightly with his teeth.

We moved in a rhythm, letting the water consume us. Eventually, I turned around to straddle Raydir. I gathered his hair up, slicking it back with water and curling my fingers through it so I got it out of his face.

“This will make things easier,” I whispered as I peppered kisses along his jawline. I took the sponge and slid it carefully over his torso.

He groaned at my touch, biting his lip and gripping the sides of the tub as my hands went lower. “Mm.”

I grinned and pressed another kiss to his lips. “Enjoying this, are we?”

Raydir grinded against my hips, pulling me against his body. His eyes flashed with a familiar yearning lust. “Absolutely.”

Our bodies moved as one in the water, and we stayed there until our fingers turned wrinkly and the water ran cold. We each sat wrapped in one of the fluffy white towels from my bathroom. Raydir sat behind me to dry my hair, working carefully to squeeze the water out of the ends. My hair tumbled into damp waves down my back, and Raydir pressed a kiss to the side of my neck just above my mark.

“Better?” he asked.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Absolutely.” I leaned in to kiss him, only to be interrupted by frantic knocks at our door.

“Lady Arwyn, you really must come out of there,” Ginny said. “There will be time to, er, be with Raydir later.”

I started to laugh but Raydir covered my mouth with his hand. I wriggled out of his grasp, letting my towel fall to the floor.

“We’ll be out in just a minute, Ginny!” I called out to her.

Raydir brought his mouth down to mine, lingering a few extra seconds as his hands brushed through my hair before breaking us apart. “I’ll see you at the ceremony, Ar.”

I grinned. “Bye, Ray.”

***

The wind blew a light breeze around me as I stood on one side of the Flower Arch waiting to step into the next chapter of my relationship with Raydir.

The bodice of my pure white dress was delicately decorated with white flowers. The sleeves fell halfway between my shoulders and my elbow, made up of thin strings of pearls. The skirt cinched at my waist before flowing out around me. I truly felt like a princess. My veil was secured on each side of my updo by pearls that adorned the pins. Thin rows of beads connected the two sides of the fabric as it flowed down my back.

“Are you ready?” My father stood by my side. He was still recovering but insisted that he was well enough to walk me down the aisle.

“Yes.” I nodded, reaching out to take his arm.

His fingers gripped a walking cane with the other hand and we slowly moved down the path.

Soft music played as we walked and my heart fluttered when I caught sight of Raydir standing on the other side. His hands were clasped in front of him and he wore a smile that reached his eyes. He wore a crisp black suit with a white shirt and black bow tie. A beautiful pink rose that matched my bouquet was pinned to his left lapel.

Before I reached Raydir, I stopped and pressed a kiss to my father’s cheek.

“I love you so much,” I whispered.

“I love you too, my darling daughter.” His blue eyes twinkled as he handed me to Raydir. “It’s time to start your next adventure.”

Raydir and I stood facing each other with our hands together. He spoke first.

“Arwyn, you have been my best friend since we were nine years old. And every day I consider myself incredibly lucky to have you by my side. This time, with family as my witness, I promise myself to you, Arwyn Magnolia Kingston.” As per the tradition of the love ceremony, he took this moment to return my promise ring to my finger. Part of the tradition included taking something special from both members of the union and returning them at the ceremony to symbolize the everlasting bond between the two individuals.

“Raydir. When we were nine, I asked you to promise me that we would be together forever. Now you have fulfilled that promise and I have never been happier. Through every laugh, through every fight. You have been the one I hold on to and will hold on to forever more, Raydir Alexander Phillips.” I slipped a thin silver band over his index finger to signify our promise.

My father cleared his throat. “As witness to this declaration of love, your union is sealed.”

Taking this as his cue, Raydir swept me into his arms and kissed me. He kept one hand firmly around my waist with the other one tucked behind my ear.

Something inside me sparked as I kissed him back. A fire, a hunger, a desire. In that moment, nothing else mattered.

Then a haunting voice that sent a shiver down my back: Just wait until you get back to Darqua.

I pulled back from Raydir. Did you just link me?

He looked up at me and frowned. No. Why?

No reason. It’s fine. Maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me. No way that had been who I thought it was. No way I still had that link. The Alignment was supposed to relinquish it. I tried to convince myself that was true and forced a smile.