Respect gleamed in the minister’s eyes. “You’re right. Leo has many excellent qualities, and he treats humans as equals. He’s unfailingly polite and gives of himself to help those in need.”
“So you’ll marry us?” Gwenyth asked, her breath catching as she waited for the minster’s reply.
“Others might question the validity of the marriage,” the minister cautioned.
“I love Gwenyth, and the marriage will be real to me, to Gwenyth. We are the ones who matter,” Leo said.
“Your family will not feel the same. They’ll be furious.”
“Plead ignorance should any of them accuse you of helping me to get out of the betrothal they arranged for me.”
“Your parents are formidable foes,” the minister said, still hesitating.
“I will donate to the church,” Leo said. “My friends and I support many in the village by purchasing our goods here rather than from the dragons.”
Allen grinned. “Blackmail, it is then. Let the ceremony begin.”
9 – Lots of Kissing
“I pronounce you man and wife,” Allen said, his bearded face one big beam of happiness and satisfaction. “You may now kiss your bride.”
Leo winked at her, his broad and happy smile punching her right in the chest. Gwenyth found her lips curving with the same awe and exhilaration. Leo’s excitement at their marriage was difficult to resist. While she liked Leo—heck, she’d fallen for the handsome, caring dragon—reservations swirled in her. Her lack of recollections worried her because monsters might swim in her forgotten memories. Was she even a decent person?
Who knew? She didn’t.
Gwenyth stared at the sparkling ring he’d slid onto her finger. The red-and-blue stone picked up the light while the rose-gold band glowed, even inside the church. It was breathtakingly gorgeous.
“Hey.” Leo clicked his fingers in front of her face. “Something wrong?”
“No, everything is perfect.” Gwenyth leaned closer and offered her lips.
Leo’s mouth closed over hers, and he drew her nearer. Everything in her current world faded to the background while her new husband tasted her, seduced her, and left her weak-kneed with his kiss.
“Ahem,” a voice trespassed into their private world. “Ahem!”
Leo drew back without haste as if he hated to release her.
“This is a church, a place of god,” Allen chided, although his eyes twinkled. “Where are you going now? To the castle?”
“Not straight away, no. I have a surprise in store for my darling wife.”
Leo drew her against his side. His warm strength and familiar scent brought a sense of comfort—a welcome.
“Congratulations,” Mary-Anne, Allen’s wife, said. “You couldn’t have a better dragon for a husband. Let me see your ring. Oh, it’s gorgeous. A Marquess, by the look of it. You lucky woman. A handsome husbandanda generous one.”
“A Marquess?”
“The most highly skilled and sought-after jewelry designer in the Dragon Isles. The identity behind the brand is a cosmic mystery. No one knows who he or she is,” Mary-Anne gushed. “Your husband is spoiling you already with a unique Marquess ring.”
Gwenyth slid a glance at Leo, a breathless lightness taking her by storm. “I am lucky. It’s a wonder a clever woman hasn’t snapped him up earlier.”
“From what I hear, many have tried,” Mary-Anne said. “Isn’t that true, Faith?”
Faith, their other witness, had said little either before or since the marriage ceremony,but now she nodded with enthusiasm. “Congratulations to both of you.”
The door to the church opened, and Allen’s three children spilled inside with Jenny chasing them. The wolf-pup skidded into a pew and released a surprised yelp.
Leo chuckled and scooped up the pup.
