Grinning, Ronan spun her away and off the dance floor. “I think it’s time for us to take our leave,” he muttered in her ear as he wrapped both arms around her, bringing her back flush with his front.
“Oh, really? Don’t you think our guests will notice?”
“Yes, but they’ll just drink a toast to the possibility of a future heir to the throne and make vulgar jokes about wedding night activities.”
He couldn’t see it, but Ronan was sure Dominique rolled her eyes.
Using his magic, he blurred their appearance, making the guests look past them so they didn’t get caught up in another conversation about marriage and all the advice the older couples were inclined to give.
Within moments, they were out of the great hall and moving through a passage that would take them back to his room. He could have transported them instantly, but he wanted to give the staff a chance to prepare the room as he’d asked. He’d signaled Jessel as he was guiding Dominique from the great hall, and it would take a few minutes for her workers to get everything ready.
Plus, he didn’t want to use up all his energy with magic when he had far better ideas of how to exhaust himself.
“What are we doing?” Dominique asked, her voice breathless from dancing and laughing.
“We’re building the anticipation,” he answered.
She scoffed but let him lead her down the hallway. Her aquamarine eyes sparkled in the dim light of the hall, and she radiated joy, her mouth curving into a small smile as she walked hand-in-hand with him.
They emerged from the staircase and his steps grew faster. He needed to be alone with her, to peel that dress from her body, and stake his claim on her. Fae rarely marked their partners with mating bites anymore, many considering it too barbaric and a throwback to a time when their people were uncivilized, but Ronan felt the urge so strongly that his teeth ached from instinct.
He pulled her to a stop, turning so Dominique’s back was against his door. He crowded her space, looming over her, and pinned her in place, his hands on her hips.
“I want to mark you,” he said, lifting one hand to brush a few strands of hair away from her neck, revealing the sweat-dampened skin of her throat. “Here.”
His thumb brushed over the spot where her neck and shoulder met. Her pulse quickened in her throat, throbbing visibly as she looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes.
“Will you let me?” he asked.
He held his breath as she studied him. He’d fumbled things so badly in the beginning, he wouldn’t blame her for wanting to wait or saying no altogether. He would be disappointed, but he would live with it. He would have to because he couldn’t live without her.
Her hand lifted to his throat before coming to rest over his left pectoral. “Only if I can bite you here.”
Ronan’s skin burned beneath her touch, as though he could already feel her teeth sinking into his flesh. “Fuck, yes.”
Neither of them spoke as he reached behind her and opened the door. With one arm wrapped tightly around her waist, he walked her backward into the room. Ronan slammed the door behind him, using his magic to turn the lock and set a ward to keep everyone out.
No one would bother them for the rest of the night unless they wanted to die.
Finally alone, Ronan did what he’d wanted to do all night—he crushed her to him and kissed her.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Dominique’s headspun as Ronan kissed her.
No, not Ronan.
Her husband.
Not only had she married him, but he loved her. She could see it and feel it now that the curse was gone. The dark cloud that hovered over her for the past few decades was gone.
She had blamed herself for so long that it seemed only natural for him to do the same when he came to her with his idea of a marriage of convenience. Maybe she should have been angry with him, kept him at arms’ length, but she couldn’t. Somehow, even when he was angry with her, when he was cold and distant, he’d managed to slip past her defenses. He defended her and protected her, even when she thought he loathed her.
Maybe that made her weak, her willingness to forgive him so quickly, but she didn’t care. Now that the curse was gone, she could feel his love for her and the bond that vibrated between them.
Soulmates.
When he’d asked to bite her, to mark her as his, her heart slammed against her chest and began racing. She’d very nearly begged him to do it right there in the hall. A primal part of herwanted to carry the brand of his teeth on her skin, to show the world who she belonged to.
