Bonds of Blood [Lords of the Expanse] (Siren Publishing Classic) (5 page)

Her free hand moved up and around his neck, fingers spreading in the short midnight hair as she opened willingly, freely to him. She had been kissed before, but nothing, nothing ever like this. The feeling was like liquid fire in her bloodstream, the touch of his tongue to hers causing her breath to leave her lungs and her body to press closer to him with a soft moan escaping her voice box, only slightly muted by their mouths fused together. The kiss was anything but innocent and gave the final seal to the marriage according to her peoples’ customs. When she pulled back, she licked her lips and looked up at him, her thumb lightly stroking the base of his head where she held on for dear life. “Can we do that again, only for us and not for the sealing of the ceremony?” Her words were whisper quiet, not picked up by the recording sphere, just his sensitive ears.

He felt the urge, an odd urge, to smile at her words. He resisted. Nodding slowly, he stared into her eyes. “Later though. Without the audience is preferable,” he murmured as quietly as he could. Straightening, he led her to the table once more for the final signatures to the wedding documents. Letting her sign first, he scrawled his signature to the papers and then watched as the minister put his seal on each of the nine papers, rolled them into sets, and took one himself, handed another to Andries, and took the other to the chancellors as the recording sphere was shut down and a duplicate made. The little disc was handed to Xandra’s assistant as well as a copy of the papers and the affidavit the chancellors had written up and signed.

Diego shot the little whore a look that told her all too clearly he would ensure she paid for all of this. The beating he would receive he would revisit on her tenfold. “Thank you.” With that he turned and stalked away, the diva in him making him flip his long brown hair as if to tell them all to kiss off.

“Now what, Andries? Now we are wed and I am honestly”—she looked up and heaved in a deep breath—“I am at a loss for what to do. I don’t know the place where we are. You are the only one I know.” And that wasn’t a bad thing. “So now what?” She had clenched her hands at her sides after signing the final wedding document, clenched them because, strangely, they wanted to touch him.

“Now we will go to the meal that was prepared for the celebration, and after, we will go to the housing where you will see our city living space. I would take us to the country house this night, but I have a meeting here in the morning on a mission that is coming up. But in the afternoon we will go there and you can see if it is acceptable,” he informed her. Moving the papers to his other hand, he laid the free one on her back and guided her out of the room toward the small dining room that had been prepared in anticipation of the wedding.

She paused and smiled at the people milling around getting their meal ready and then looked up at him as something clicked in her mind. “You’re not leaving me behind, are you?” He had said he had a mission coming up, and if that was the case, was she to be left behind? “If you don’t have time to show me around, you certainly don’t have to, Andries. I can find my own way if I need to.” He likely had a million things to do in preparation for the coming mission.

“We’ll talk later,” he said in a low tone, one that suggested she drop it for the time being and promised he would speak of it later. Guiding her to the table, he held out her chair and moved it in as she sat. Sitting to her right, he looked at the chancellors as they all sat, most seeming not quite so nervous as before. The fact that he could smell the spirits on most of the breaths alerted him to the fact that they’d started drinking, early from what he could determine.

When the server approached with two pitchers, Andries looked to her as the liquids were poured first for her and then himself before the server then continued around the table. “This is just water. You may need it for some of the foods they’ve prepared as they do have a bit of bite to them,” he said, pointing to the one on her right. Indicating the one on the left, which was just as clear as the water but with a faint tint of pink, he added, “That is a local spirit. It is quite potent and is best to have during the first course and the meat course.” He leaned back as the cheese and fruit platter was set between them.

“Thank you.” She looked at the fare around them and knowledge of her upbringing told her that she had to wait for him to begin to eat first, had to allow him all of the choicest pieces. However, he didn’t seem to want to begin without her. “I don’t know your customs,” she whispered as she leaned close to him. She felt completely stupid in that admission. However, she couldn’t not tell him her thoughts. “Do I wait for you to begin, for the others to begin, what?”

Andries touched her hand lightly and shook his head. “We wait for all others to be served first,” he said softly as he watched the servers move around.

Once all the platters were down, the eldest chancellor stood, lifting his glass of spirits, and gave the wedded couple a small bow. “We are honored and humbled to have been a part of your day. Bless you both with long lives and may the gods ensure many and healthy children.” The others lifted their glasses and gave their agreements before everyone drank.

Andries lifted his glass and looked to her, amused when she quickly picked up hers. Tapping his to her glass, he took a small sip. “Small drinks only,” he warned as he leaned forward slightly to set his glass down.

Sitting back, he picked up a piece of cheese and, when she leaned back, held it up for her to take, watching as he saw some confusion flicker in her eyes. “The choicest pieces of every meal go to the female of a couple. The male always feeds her before he eats anything,” he supplied in a low murmur as she continued to hesitate.

“It is opposite in my father’s home,” she whispered and accepted the cheese from him. “Thank you, Andries.” For understanding that she didn’t know what to expect, how to act. “Is there somewhere that I can learn customs and mannerisms from?” She hated that she was so backward. “I don’t want to embarrass you and really want to be able to make you proud and not make you second-guess taking me to wife.”

Picking up another piece of cheese, this time a different type, he held it for her to take. “Your assistant will help instruct you in everything you’ll need to know. If you wish to learn more after her lessons then we will see about finding another source,” he told her quietly.

“If you feel that she will be sufficient, then I will accept that.” She smiled at him and took the next piece of cheese and licked her lips. “I think I like this one best,” she whispered to him and moved her hand to touch his, lay over his. “I’m sorry I didn’t have the proper training before coming to you. I’m afraid you are going to have to ensure I am taught everything.” Normally her people were at least given instruction on how to make love, how to join bodies even when not ridding the woman of her virginity. She, however, hadn’t had that. “I believe you were given the short end of the bargain, Andries.”

“If you believe that, then why agree to placing yourself in a position of such disadvantage?” he asked her as he picked up a third type of cheese and offered it to her. It was milder than the one she’d had before but was rich and smooth. “Seems not the best choice for yourself to purposefully make yourself uncomfortable,” he pointed out as he watched her chew, trying to gauge her reaction to the foods.

“I actually”—she accepted the cheese and frowned—“I don’t care for that one,” she murmured. “I am actually very comfortable at your side, Andries. I just wish that I knew more, was a better woman for you to take as your wife.” She shrugged and took a small sip of the pink-tinged liquid. “As for why I would place myself in your care”—she shrugged—“You are a good man.” She smiled. “I know you don’t believe that, but I know you are a good man.” Because she had known true evil all her life, and he wasn’t it. “You won’t kill me before our children, make me suffer for each failure you have made in life, and you won’t force other
things
on me.” She revealed far more than the words with that statement.

Andries pushed the soft cheese to the side of the platter and picked up a piece of fruit and offered it. “This is a little tart at the beginning but it sweetens as you chew,” he told her as she took it. He wanted to ask her about her words but knew that there were too many ears around paying too much attention to them for freedom of discussion. He made a note to ask her once they were alone in their suites. “Tomorrow during my meeting, your assistant, who you’ll meet after the meal, will help you to choose a new wardrobe as she instructs you on our customs, if that is acceptable to you.”

“That would be nice.” She took the fruit offered and her face puckered with the first bites. However, as she chewed it became less and less tart and sweeter. “Oh, I like this. I like this one a lot,” she said, smiling happily. “I’m sure my father had funds transferred to your accounts. My dowry is”—
what would be the polite term
?—“vast.”

“It will be set aside for your personal use,” Andries said quietly, unconcerned about talk of money. “For your wardrobe and anything you wish for either of our living spaces, you have full access to the accounts,” he told her as he offered her a new piece of fruit. “This has almost no flavor, but is juicy. It’s the texture that you will either like or not,” he warned as he placed the bite on her tongue.

She took the bite from his fingers and curled her tongue around his finger, licking the juice from his digit greedily. “Thank you.” She frowned and shook her head. “I don’t like the texture. It’s stringy even though it is juicy.” She licked her lips and grinned. She waited several moments before saying, “Will you come with me tomorrow, shopping for a new wardrobe? Will you help me pick out things that you might like?” She wanted to please him, hoped she would please him.

“If the meeting is concluded in time, I will return to our suite to help you choose. You’ll be able to choose all your materials, colors, and styles from there as I hadn’t the time to arrange a showing in a shop. That we will do later,” he told her as he fed her more of the cheese she’d liked. “The dressmaker will assist you in the appropriate styles for our nation, and your assistant, Aleina, will guide you in the color palettes that best suit you.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t think she would ever be able to thank him enough. He gave her so very much. He gave her the chance at a real life, was looking out for her well-being by giving her an assistant, arranged for new clothes. “I would like to have you there. However, if you can’t, I completely understand.” Looking at the new plates of food coming their way, she pulled back. “Why aren’t you eating with me?” She hadn’t noticed if he had been eating or not.

“I will this second course,” he told her softly. “Only the cheese and fruit platter as well as the dessert platter do you get hand fed.” His voice held a hint of warmth to it that was extremely rare, but he knew that she wouldn’t realize that yet. “The second, third, and any other courses we dine normally,” he said as the server appeared to show him the plates. Nodding at the selection of greens and bread crisps, he leaned out of the way so that it could be put before her. “The dressing is light, a bit of something you would term vinegar with a sweet touch of a blended fruit juice. The crisps are good with the dregs left at the bottom as well as for helping to corral any of the little pieces,” he told her as he moved his napkin to his lap and lifted his utensil.

She lifted hers as well and leaned close, flashing a rare smile as she whispered, “I believe that I preferred the first course as well as dessert then because I do get hand fed.” She felt strange saying that, but it was the truth. There was something about him feeding her, and even though they just met, it was erogenous, made her feel…needy.

Lifting a brow at her words, he looked to the chancellors and said to hell with the way things were done. Shifting, he stabbed his utensil into her greens and lifted the bite for her to take it. “Traditions can be changed,” he said at her look. “Besides, it is our wedding meal. We are allowed some lenience to our actions on such a night.”

She looked at him and leaned in, taking the bite from his fork. She didn’t miss the way the Chancellors all leaned in to each other, how one crossed himself in an ancient symbol of protection of Earth Gods. “Why are they acting like that?” As if Andries was some kind of monster, because he wasn’t, at all.

“Because they don’t like me and worry at the same time that they will gain my attention,” he said to her honestly as he stabbed some greens from his plate to eat. Swallowing, he fed her another bite. “While I am a necessary evil with my position, they also know if our world was to ever war again just which of us would survive. You may notice it when you go to market or walk through the streets. You will get respect because of your position and who I am, but behind your back many will do the same in the hopes that they, too, never gain my notice.”

She placed a small hand on his arm and paused his food as he was about to make a second bite. “I don’t see you like that.” She didn’t think she did from the first second she met him. “I see the truth of people.” She whispered a confession no one knew. “I see the chancellor who stilled me from leaving as a truly good man. He is terrified of his own shadow, but is good. The one who crossed himself”—she leaned in closer, whispering so that it was just their own personal conversation—“he really likes young boys.” Her thumb stroked his arm and pulled back. “And in you I see a good man. Honest, brutal yes, when you have to be, kind, giving, and caring for those that can’t care for themselves.” He was the exact opposite of her father. Shaking her head, she pulled back. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

Her words hit him like a violent storm, so much kicking through him all at once and bringing up a lot he’d rather have left in the past, where it belonged. “Don’t apologize to me, my lady. There is no need. Should there ever be need for an apology, I’m sure you will know it.” Setting his utensil down, he looked into her eyes, glad she didn’t flinch from his gaze even as it amazed him as well. “These are only half the chancellors. The others are in a nation to our north working on an accord for shipments to pass freely between our borders. These members are not Vampire as I am which is why they are a little nervous. Normally when I need to deal with the Alliance, they ensure the others are available.”