Chapter 10 #2
I knew full well what was meant to happen later. I’d always imagined I’d at least have met my husband a few times and even spoken longer than an hour before I was expected to hand my body over to him.
I also always expected a little more than a make-shift wedding tent in our backyard with even fewer guests than some parties we’d hosted.
Looking around as Papa floated me over the small dance floor, I almost laughed.
Besides Klara, nobody was there for me. How sad.
But not surprising. From the outside it appeared I had everything.
Really all I had was hanging onto my mother’s dream in her restaurant, and Klara.
The other employees were wonderful and we had a very family-feel.
But they all knew who I was. They were coworkers and employees.
They weren’t truly my friends, even though I cared for them all dearly.
As the song came to a close, the announcer came back on and said it was time for the first dance for the newlyweds.
Papa kissed my forehead, then my hand before passing it to the waiting Hawk. Papa’s eyes narrowed on him before he exited the stage, but Hawk didn’t seem at all bothered by the look. Instead, he threw my hands around his neck, then pulled me close by the waist.
“I don’t really do ballroom dancing,” he said in my ear.
His warm breath sent goosebumps over my arms. The heat of his large palms on my back with my breasts pressed against him sent all the blood in my body straight to my core.
“You smell nice,” he said.
Clearing my throat, I told him, “So do you. I meant to tell you before, you look very handsome.”
He pressed a light kiss against my neck, and my body stiffened. But he kept swaying us until the song was over, then he led me back to our seats.
The rest of the evening was awkward. I sat quietly as the men laughed and drank, Klara sat with me mostly but did grab a dance with Niko. Still, I couldn’t have any real conversation with her. She’d already helped me prepare for later.
Once we cut the cake, most of the party began to thin out.
Hawk had fed me a small piece, and I did the same. Then we mingled through the crowd. He shook hands, made small talk, and I stood quietly with my champagne.
He finished one conversation then led us away, this time instead of his hand at the small of my back, his arm was across my back and his hand grasped my waist. I assumed he was making his rounds, but he started to guide me back to the main house.
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
“You look tired,” he answered, taking my flute and placing it on a table on our route.
Looking back, I said, “But there’s still guests. And Klara.”
“I’ll have her meet us inside,” he said as he pulled out his phone and sent a text, still guiding me towards the house.
“But–”
He grabbed my hand that was pointing toward the tent. “I don’t care,” he nearly growled. “You’re tired, I’m over it. You’re my wife now, so don’t worry about them.”
Just as we were making it to the French doors that led inside, the click-clack of quick moving heels caught up to us.
Looking over my shoulder, I put my hand to his chest. “Can I have a moment with her?” I asked.
He let me go and pulled out a cigarette. “I’ll be in once I’m done with this,” he said before he lit it and stepped away from the door.
I reached out for Klara’s hand then we snuck inside.
She looked around then hissed, “What are you doing? Are we making a run for it?”
“What?” I laughed. “You know that would never work.”
“I mean, for you, I was willing to listen to the plan.”
I cupped her cheek. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
She put her hand over mine and her eyes glistened. “We will talk all the time. And we’ll visit as much as we can. You’ll come home, surely.” She looked over and once she was satisfied we were alone she whispered, “But I must say, well done.”
Giggling, I said, “Shh. But yes. Very easy on the eyes.”
“He’s huge. I bet all of him is,” Klara said with a wink.
“Well, it’s not like I’m the most experienced woman.”
“You’ll get used to him, I’m sure. So do you have the thing?”
Nodding, I said, “Yes. Thank you. Papa brought it up during our dance.” I rolled my eyes.
She cringed. “Eww.”
“I know. He’s probably going to be done soon.” I grabbed her, pulling her closer and squeezing hard. “I love you, my friend.” My chin trembled and I swallowed hard.
“Hey, none of that. You call me when you get there. Video call, though. I want to see everything,” she said, her words watery.
We both shook as we fought back tears. Then the door clicked so I squeezed her harder for a beat before pulling away. She swiped the tears from my cheeks.
“Love you.” She looked towards Hawk then leaned in to kiss my cheek and whispered, “Have fun and be prepared to tell me everything.” She smiled over at Hawk.
“Lovely to meet you, but I think I’m going to head home.
I don’t even want to know what shape the restaurant will be in tomorrow. Good night and pozdravlyayu tebya.”
He looked at me with pinched brows.
“She congratulates us,” I told him.
“Thank you, Klara. Do you need an escort home?” he asked.
She waved him off. “Oh no. I drove myself here this morning. But thank you.”
Once she turned and was out of earshot, he put his arm across my back again and led me upstairs. I still didn’t feel completely in the moment, but understood the gravity of the situation and my pulse raced.
Once we were at the top of the stairs, he stopped. “Which one is yours?”
Licking my lips, I pointed in the direction of my room.
Once there, he said, “I’m all the way down at the other end of the hall. Once you’ve gotten your change of clothes and whatever else you need for the night, you can find me there. I’ll give you some privacy.” He pulled the door closed and I stood there.
I waited a few seconds, wondering if he was returning.
When he didn’t, I turned and looked around.
Most of my room had been packed up. I of course had some pretty and sexy sleepwear, along with the corset and garter belt with matching panties and stocking beneath my dress.
Should I walk back in with my dress still on and undress for him?
Should I remove all of this and put on a cute little nighty?
But I still had to walk from here to there. What did he expect me to collect?
Blowing a breath through puffed cheeks, I nodded. “Clothes for tomorrow.”
Of course. I couldn’t throw my wedding dress back on and do the walk of shame to my room in the morning. Or, I guess it wouldn’t be considered a walk of shame if I was married, right?
Slamming my hands on my vanity and staring in the mirror, I clenched my jaw. I was not some meek little lady. I was Katarina Petrov.
Turning and rifling through one of the bags, I found an outfit suitable for traveling. Comfortable, lightweight, but cute. Surely they didn’t mind if I didn’t dress up.
I’d saved a small toiletry bag as well with some travel size items, mascara, and lip gloss. I also had a travel size lotion of my fragrance. Remembering he complemented it earlier, I squeezed a little and rubbed it up my arms, then over my chest.
My hair and makeup were still perfectly in place so I grabbed the small bag, grabbed the outfit and shoes for the next day, then walked to his room with my chin high.
He left the door ajar, but I still tapped lightly before pushing it open. “It’s just me.”
“Come in,” he said.
Once inside, I pushed the door closed and froze when I turned. He was in the bed. And from what I could tell, he was naked. Or at least shirtless. Looking at the pile on the floor, he was at least down to his underwear.
The lamp next to the available side of the bed was on, but everything else was off. His leather vest was draped over one of the chairs near the window.
“You okay?” he asked, not leaning up or moving.
“Yes. I’m just going to put these in the bathroom.”
I made my way to his bathroom, then closed the door and laid my things on the counter. Deciding to lose the dress and go out in my corset, I worked it off. The design was simple and only had a zipper to deal with that was hidden on the side seam.
My hair had been pinned up in a beautiful design, but I imagined once it hit a pillow, it would be a mess, so I pulled all the pins out.
After being sprayed and curled and pinned into place, I had to work my fingers through to make it look halfway decent.
After working some nice waves from the wild curls, I moved to the final step.
Dipping my fingers between my breasts, I pulled out the small capsule that Klara brought me earlier in the day. I wasn’t a virgin, but I was supposed to be. Holding it up to the light, I tried to steady my breathing. It was delicate, but wasn’t supposed to break open until it was forced.
Dropping my panties, I sat on the toilet, took my long overdue pee, then wiped and parted my legs, gently sliding the capsule in, as far up as I could push without pressing too hard.
My finger came out wet but clean. Just to be sure, I pulled some more toilet paper off the roll and swiped. All clear.
This plan seemed a little crazy, but it was the only one I had.
After washing my hands and making sure my getup was in place, I opened the bathroom door and stood as I waited for some kind of sign of what he wanted me to do.
“Can you turn the light off?” he mumbled.
Confused, I did as he asked but waited.
Nothing. No movement. No orders. No anything.
Clearing my throat, I stepped further into the room, taking very short, slow strides.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I–Where do you want me?”
He finally leaned up on his elbow, still laying on his side. His eyes raked over me and I let him get his fill.
“You gonna sleep in that?” he asked.
Shrugging, I said, “I suppose not.”
I started to unzip the white corset but he sighed and threw the covers off, jumping from the bed. His hand pushed mine away, and he grabbed the zipper. My breath hitched, waiting for my breasts to fall from the stiff article.
Then they didn’t. They squeezed again as the zipper went back up.
His face was inches from mine and he leaned close. My eyes fluttered and my panties were damp.
He stopped just short of my lips and my eyes closed. “Not tonight, Katarina.” Then his hands fell from me.
“But–”
“Not…tonight.”
“It’s our wedding night, though,” I protested.
He gripped my chin. “I’m not in the business of fucking women that don’t want to fuck me.”
My brow furrowed. “What? But we have to–”
“No, we don’t.”
Looking down, I struggled to fight back tears. “But we do. They’ll know. They’ll check.”
“What the fuck?” he asked, bewildered. “Check what?”
“You know.”
“Yeah, we definitely aren’t doing this tonight,” he said, letting go of my chin and wiping his hand down his face. “What are they going to check? I won’t let them touch you.”
“They’ll check the bed.”
He cocked a brow. “Look, we signed the wedding certificate, we had a ceremony. We’re good. It’s done. Now let’s get some sleep. We have a long ride ahead.”
He started to turn to the bed and grabbed the glass of water on the nightstand, taking a sip.
“No, they won’t confirm it until they have proof we consummated.”
He put the glass down then turned. “And what will they look for?”
“Well, blood.”
He leaned down, grabbing his pants from the floor. Okay. This is it. He’s getting a condom.
But instead, he pulled out a knife and flicked it open, his pants dropping to the floor. He took two long strides and stopped short of me again. Heat rose in my chest as my heart beat wildly. My mouth went dry as he stood with the open knife inches from me.
He lifted his empty hand, his palm up. With the knife in the other, he stared at me as he sliced his hand open and I stared with wide eyes, my jaw hanging open.
He balled his fist, then turned back to the bed, leaned over, and ran his hand down the sheets. “Like that?”
He walked to the bathroom as I stood staring at the bed. After the water ran shortly, he came out, the knife closed, and he put it back in the pants pocket before he walked across the room.
Up to that point, everything happened so fast. Watching him walk across the room in his boxer briefs was the first time I really took him in.
He had detailed tattoos from his shoulders to his wrists, and his back was nearly covered with them as well.
His muscles were round and well defined.
And his ass. His legs. His back. I’d trained with plenty of men that were strong and very athletic.
This man was God-like. Better than any statue I’d seen.
When he turned around, I couldn’t help but notice the absolute weapon he was packing. And I may not have been very experienced, but I wasn’t a virgin, and he was hard.
He handed me something as he came closer. “Go change, then come to bed. To sleep.”
Looking down, I fumbled my words. “I–you’re–”
“My cock is hard. I’ll fucking live. Not tonight, Katarina,” he nearly growled.
Then he got back into bed.
I went to the bathroom with the t-shirt he shoved at me, full of questions and a newfound insecurity.
As I fished out the pill that was supposed to support my virginal lie and create a red mess, confusion and doubt ate at me. Was something wrong with me? Did I not live up to his standards?
Why didn’t my husband want to have sex with me?