Chapter 33
Tasha stared at the lovely, young girl. Her hair was a gorgeous shade of dark brown now. She wore only minimal makeup, but it was expertly applied. And instead of the ripped jeans and bulky sweaters, she wore a regular pair of jeans and a sweatshirt that still hid her figure, but somehow seemed flattering.
Still, it was the hopeful look in Marianna’s eyes that tore at Tasha’s heart. When she looked at Raj and Joran, two men who had teased her for the past year whenever they’d come to the palace, they both looked as if they were ready to...what? Hide her away if she didn’t agree to marry their older brother? Banish her?
Neither option seemed very appealing.
Before she could come up with an answer, Khal stepped in front of her, blocking his siblings from view. “I don’t want you to marry me because some prick is threatening you, Tash,” he murmured, his voice low and grumbly. He was the only one who shortened her name and that felt significant somehow.
“You don’t?” she asked, her throat tightening as emotions flitted fast and furiously through her mind.
“No. I want you to marry me because you love me.” He cupped her neck, warming her pulse as his thumb stroked her cheek. “I want you to marry me because you can’t live without me. I love you, damn it. And I want…,” Khal paused, looking into her eyes. “I want you to marry me because you feel the same.” He lowered his head to brush his lips over hers. “Will you marry me, Tash?”
Well, when he put it that way! “Yes,” she sighed, tilting her head back as she gripped his upper arms for balance. She wanted another kiss. And so much more! She remembered the way he’d woken her up this morning and sighed with longing.
His deep, sexy chuckle only increased that need. But the dratted man pulled back and Tasha blinked, startled by the bright light. His broad shoulders had blocked out most of the light as well as their audience.
It took Tasha a moment to realize that they hadn’t been alone. In fact, Raj, Joran, and even Marianna were grinning, standing shoulder to shoulder as they witnessed the scene.
“You’ll be my sister!” Marianna gasped, bouncing on her toes.
Raj and Joran glanced at the young girl, clearly enjoying her delight. Then they looked back at her. “We’d truly enjoy having you as our sister, Tasha,” Joran added, then he flung his muscular arm over Marianna and that made the entire “proposal” absolutely perfect!
“Yes!” Tasha gasped, covering her mouth with her fingers. Then she bounced as well, glancing up at Khal who looked like he’d just done something miraculous. And he smiled! The grumpy grouch actually smiled! It was just a slight curl of his lips, but Tasha loved that expression.
Before she could say anything else, Marianna squealed and rushed over to hug Tasha. “Oh, this is going to be perfect!” she whispered into Tasha’s ear. “I’ve always wanted a big sister!”
“What about big brothers?” Raj asked, obviously amused at the scene.
Marianna pulled back, but remained close to Tasha. “Well, I hadn’t ever–”
She didn’t have a chance to finish that statement because Raj lifted her up into a huge bear hug, making her squeal again.
Tasha felt Khal step closer, then his warm, muscular arm pulled her against his hard chest. His arms wrapped around her and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She heard his whispered words, “Thank you,” in her ear and Tasha felt as if she were glowing with happiness.
Marianna was laughing as Joran swung her around on his shoulder. Raj rolled his eyes and Joran chuckled.
They were a family. Finally, a family. It would still take some effort to help them remember that fact, but Tasha wanted this more than she’d ever realized. It felt as if, finally, all of her dreams were coming true.
Another knock on the door interrupted the squeals and, instead of putting Marianna down, Joran simply turned towards the sound. Marianna’s head popped up, but she couldn’t see what was going on because her long, dark hair covered her eyes.
“Who’s that?” Marianna gasped, looking around comically. “Put me down!”
Joran ignored her, swinging her again, this time so that he could look at the door as Khal called out, “Come in!”
The door opened and a man stood in the doorway. “I apologize, Your Highness,” said one of Tasha’s assistants, “but you said to let you know when the minister arrives.”
“Send him in,” Khal replied with a nod.
Tasha twisted around, looking up at him. “What did you do?” she asked, wary now.
Joran lowered Marianna to the floor and she pushed her hair out of her eyes. Joran slung a brotherly arm over her shoulder and Raj came to stand on her other side, flanking her and looking very protective and brotherly.
Khal moved in front of her. “I want to marry you, Tasha. I love you. You’ve brought light into my life. It was grey and tedious before you came to Lativa.” He lifted her hands, kissing her knuckles. “However, I also want to protect you. From everything. Especially Nathan King.” He tightened his grip on her fingers. “Will you trust me?”
Tasha didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” she whispered, feeling a glow of happiness. Was he really going to do what she suspected he was going to do?
“Then will you marry me? Now? Right this moment.” He jerked his head towards his siblings. “With them as our witnesses. I know that you probably want the huge, elaborate wedding with the dress and the–”
“No!” she gasped, then saw his stunned expression. “I mean…” she closed her eyes for a moment, then looked up at him, moving closer. “I mean, yes, I’ll marry you. Right now. Right this moment. But no, I don’t need the elaborate wedding ceremony.” She lifted her hand, touching her cheek. “I need you, Khal. Just you.”
“Hey!” Joran called out.
Raj chuckled. “You need us too!”
Tasha laughed, looking over at the trio. “Yeah. I need you three as well.”
Raj winked at her, grinning delightedly. Even Joran grinned and Marianna smiled happily, nodding her agreement of the entire event.
The minister stood by the doorway, nervously clutching a book. He obviously wasn’t sure why he’d been brought to the palace.
Khal turned to face the man, his arm still around Tasha’s waist. “Sir, I need you to perform a wedding ceremony.”
The man’s eyes widened, and he looked around at everyone again. “Umm…of course. But…who am I marrying?”
Marianna giggled, but Khal took Tasha’s hand. “Tasha O’Connor and I.”
The minister looked around, collected himself, then smiled and bowed slightly. “I would be honored.”
Fifteen minutes later, Khal pulled his new wife into his arms. “Finally,” he growled and kissed her.
The start of Tasha’s new life with this man as his wife was spent laughing as he tried to seal their vows. Khal growled, sliding his fingers into her hair and pulling her head back to nip at her neck in punishment.
The door to his office opened again and a palace servant stepped in with a tray filled with sparkling champagne.
“To the newlyweds!” Joran announced, lifting his glass in the air.
Everyone cheered, including the growing crowd in the hallway, the palace staff and bodyguards filling up the space. There were cheers inside the office and outside and Tasha laughed, delighted with her sudden wedding. The man had even thought of rings and she looked down at the diamond wedding band now sparkling on her finger.
The chef had gotten word of the wedding and had whipped up a fast and simple feast. Their wedding guests were the administrative staff, bodyguards, Joran, Raj, and Marianna. It was the oddest, and most glorious wedding Tasha had ever attended. And Khal kept her by his side throughout the feast, whispering what he was going to do to her as soon as he got her alone.