The Wedding Night
MAIKA STARED AT HERSELF in the bathroom mirror of the private courthouse. Pinch. PINCH. PINCH. Each one hurt more and more, which meant...this was real.
Just one hour ago, she had been an ordinary college student.
Now, though?
The dress he had chosen for her was perfect. Cream silk, cap sleeves, a hem that hit just below her knee. It fit perfectly, but that only made things worse because it meant someone had gotten her measurements without her knowing.
And her groom, looks-wise? He was perfect, too. And...and he had promised to take care of all those loans she hadn't taken out. And she was...well...she was attracted to him, too, but that was something she was NOT going to examine too closely right now.
If she thought about it, there were a lot of things working in favor of this wedding. Why they married might not be the usual reason, but how they went on from here, well...
They could still make things work like a normal couple.
Right?
She stepped out of the bathroom, and Orion was still standing outside her door. She couldn't make up her mind if he was acting more like her warden than her bodyguard, but since she was about to marry his boss...
Warden, for sure, Maika thought to herself. People in the world they belonged to were the distrustful type, after all.
"Shall we, Ms. Nolan?"
She nodded, and as he escorted her to where the judge was waiting, it was almost like he was walking her down the aisle, and the thought made her eyes smart.
Who knew she'd be this emotional?
She turned her gaze to where her groom was waiting, and...gulp. He really was beautiful. And dangerous. Like the most gorgeous predator in a tux, especially with the way he was staring at her. Those golden eyes tracked her from the moment she appeared, and they didn't waver. Not once.
Maika's throat tightened as she finally came to stand by his side. His nearness made her tremble, and she also started having difficulties understanding what the judge was saying. It was a good thing that Mykos was always the first one to answer, and so she simply had to echo what he said.
But while his voice was low and strong, Maika couldn't quite keep her voice from shaking every so often.
The wedding felt like it had lasted for eternity.
But at the same time, it also felt like the wedding was over in a blink because the next thing she knew, they had already exchanged I dos, and he was now taking her hand in his.
The possessive heat of his touch had her swallowing hard, and when he slowly slid a ring down her finger...
His.
And when she slid a ring down his...
Hers.
"You may kiss the bride," the judge called out.
Maika couldn't help holding her breath as he slowly cupped her face. Her eyes closed, her heart pounded. She was trying to convince herself that he would only brush his lips over hers, but no, of course that was impossible.
This was Mykos Ravensworth, after all, and so he simply claimed her lips in the deepest, hottest, and most possessive way a man could claim his wife, and it lasted so, so long that by the time he lifted his head—it was as if she had run a mile.
She couldn't catch her breath, and every cell of her body felt as if it was burning and melting at the same time.
He cupped her cheek, his touch somehow terrifying in its gentleness.
"You asked me before," he said, his voice low, "why I wanted you to be my wife."
Her heart slammed against her chest. Was he saying that because—
"It's because..."
Maika held her breath.
"I need you..."
Here it comes, here it comes!
Was he going to say he had taken one look at her and fallen in love?
Or that she was his long lost fiancée?
Or that—
"To keep me from becoming a monster."
Because she was so...so hideous that even monsters were scared of her?
MYKOS COULD NOT REMEMBER when was the last time he had found himself sharing the backseat of his limo...with a girl who just kept on talking and talking and talking.
"I really can't believe that's your reason for marrying me."
He was used to being feared by everyone who knew him and of him. And when they first met, this slip of a girl had been no different. The moment she had laid her eyes on him, and realized who he was, she, too, had been frightened.
But now?
It was as if the ring he had slipped on her finger had magically destroyed her fears. This time, when she looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers, he could see that she only saw him as Mykos...her husband.
"Can you believe it, Orion? He actually said he married me to scare the monsters away? Does he think I'm a Ghostbuster or something?"
And on and on she went, and when Mykos met Orion's gaze through the rearview mirror—
You picked the right one, sir.
Did I?
Yes, sir.
Mykos looked at his wife of less than an hour.
"Maybe you have a different standard for beauty in your world," she was saying huffily. "But I'll have you know, Mr. Ravensworth. I've got boys lined up around the block—"
Mykos's gaze narrowed. Oh, did she now?
Maika stopped speaking when she noticed the way the great Mykos Ravensworth was looking at her. Could she...did she perhaps...say a little too much than what was good?
"Um, you know what—ah!"
How in the world had she suddenly ended up back on Mykos's lap?
"What was that you were saying, wife?"
"Uh...nothing?"
"Is that so?"
Maika could only gulp at how his voice had suddenly turned silky. Why did she have this feeling that this was the tone he used to use...just before knocking bad guys unconscious?
"Because I can seem to recall..."
"I remember now," Maika blurted out. "I was saying I've got boys lined up around the block...but none of them could hold a candle to you!"
Silence.
Maika nodded vehemently. "I swear it's true!" And thank goodness she wasn't lying about this. "All of them were just...boys. While you're...you're not a boy, obviously. Instead, you're...you're a man. No, wait, not just any man, but the man."
Mykos saw Orion's shoulders shaking at the way his wife was earnestly doing her best to lie her way out of the hole she had dug herself into.
Unbelievable.
With his wife still rambling, she didn't notice how he had pressed a button that had the privacy window sliding into place right behind the driver's seat. And as soon as they were out of Orion's view—
A gasp escaped Maika when her husband suddenly curved a hand around her nape. Her stunned gaze flew to where Orion was, and then she could only gasp again when she saw that the privacy window was up, and when her gaze swerved back to Mykos...
Ooooooh.
His kiss had her body melting against his in an instant, and because she was now his wife for better or for worse, she didn't even have to resist. Instead, she was completely free to kiss him back, her arms wrapping around his neck, and...
oh, the kiss went on and on and on, and now his hands were on the bare skin of her legs, and... and...
His fingers traced a slow path from her knee to her thigh, and the sensation was so overwhelming that a sound escaped her, something between a gasp and a whimper that she would have been mortified about if she'd had the capacity to think.
But she couldn't think. Not with his mouth moving to her jaw, and then to the sensitive skin just below her ear, and oh, she was gripping the lapels of his suit so hard she was probably wrinkling them, but she couldn't make herself let go, and she didn't want to, and—
His other hand slid around her waist and pulled her closer until there was nothing between them but the hammering of two heartbeats that had somehow become one.
"M-Mykos..." His name came out breathless, trembling, and she felt him smile against her neck, which was unfair because that smile did something to her that should have been illegal—
He lifted his head.
Why did he just stop?
"We're home."
They were where?
Home?
She was still in a daze as she looked outside their window.
His limo had just pulled through the gates, and she tried her best to assimilate what she was seeing.
Concrete walls, iron fences, security cameras blinking from every corner...
this was more like a military compound than a home, but hey, at least it was safe, and... oh.
At the end of the driveway was his actual home.
It was all old brick and beautiful French windows, with climbing plants trailing up the facade and a fountain running somewhere just out of sight.
She was so busy admiring the view that she didn't notice how the car had already cruised to a stop.
It was only when Orion was suddenly blocking her view, and he was already opening the door, did she realize what was happening.
Aaah!
Mykos was amused at how his wife scrambled off his lap like she didn't want to be caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
She then stumbled out of the backseat like a fiery-cheeked drunk, nearly tripping over her own heels on the gravel, and by the time he stepped out of the car and took her hand in his—
He could see it in the way every member of his staff was smiling at her like they didn't notice her messy hair, rumpled wedding dress, and kiss-swollen lips.
His wife had completely won them over without even trying.
Maika felt as if she had woken up and found herself living a fairytale.
His home was beautiful, yes, but it was how his staff looked and smiled at her that had Maika's throat tight with unshed tears.
A housekeeper who introduced herself as Portia pressed both of Maika's hands between her own and welcomed her in Greek.
Two men from the security team stood at respectful attention, and when one of them said, "Kalós oríses, kyría"—welcome, mistress—Maika had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from falling apart.
She tried to smile, but her chin was wobbling, and it was useless to pretend otherwise.
For almost her entire life, she had been alone. But now...was she being silly and ridiculous to suddenly feel like she had a family to call her own?