His eyes went wide, but he only made eye contact with me for a fraction of a second. He probably wasn’t used to being chastised, but this was grievous. “We did,” he said, but he didn’t sound at all convincing.
“Why do I feel like you’re lying?” He was totally lying.
“No, we did!” he insisted. “I touched my lips to yours.”
The noise that came out of my throat was closer to a squawk than any kind of speech. “That’s not a kiss!” I finally responded.
He huffed, and I could have sworn he rolled his eyes at me. “That was the point. I’m not going to kiss someone who isn’t conscious enough to consent.”
My eyebrows pinched together in my confusion. “I—You—It was ourwedding,” I stuttered. “It’s part of the marriage ceremony!”
Victor scowled at me from where he lay on the pillow. “The fact that you don’t remember if I kissed you or not tells me I made the correct choice.”
This was outrageous. “We’re not married,” I told him as a taunt and then flopped back onto my pillow.
It was his turn to prop himself up. “We are married!” he insisted indignantly.
“We’re not. My family is probably going to pop up any moment and drag me back to Faery.” I wasn’t entirely teasing. Hadn’t he ever been warned about making bargains with the fae? My family was no exception. They very well could do something like that just for the slight. But I knew I’d hit my mark when he leaned over me with that scowl still on his face and said, “I’ll kiss you now, then.”
I raised my eyebrows and waited, which probably wasn’t the most welcoming expression, especially since I was still blotchy-faced with red-rimmed eyes from crying. But Victor didn’t seem to notice any of that. He was staring at my mouth as if trying to solve a mental equation. I couldn’t help but huff a small laugh. “Have you ever kissed anyone before?” I asked, the sudden realization dawning.
He met my gaze with that shifty-eyed squint again. “Obviously.”
“Otherthan when you ‘kissed’ me at our wedding,” I clarified.
He didn’t answer for a long moment. “Does the top of a small child’s head count?” he asked slowly.
I melted into a pile of goo.He’d truly never been kissed?The odd mixture of hesitancy and petulance on his face suddenly made more sense. “You’re thinking about it too hard. Come here.” I reached up and took him by the chin, tugging him down until his lips brushed mine.
He lingered there for half a second before pulling back to look at my eyes.
I burst out laughing. “I’m not going to bite you. Kiss me,” I coaxed him, tugging him down again and raising my chin to meet him partway. His lips grazed mine, and I nibbled on them with my own. They were as soft as they looked. I kept it gentle, light, allowing him to get used to the feeling of my mouth on his. I explored him carefully, enjoying the slip slide of our lips and matching my breathing to his. The scent of him in my nose and the heat of his body over mine was a delight. His breaths started to become shaky, and I didn’t know if it was desire or nervousness. I decided to end it with a hint of what was to come and darted my tongue out just enough to taste his bottom lip before releasing him.
His head jerked back a few inches, as he narrowed his eyes at me in the dark, and I laughed delightedly. “That’s how it’s done at a wedding,” I told him. “You don’t kiss me like you kiss your sister.”
“I don’t kiss my sister,” he said petulantly, dropping to the pillow beside me again.
“I think we need more practice,” I said, trying desperately to say it with a straight face.
“I think you need more rest.”
I failed at keeping my composure and grinned until I fell asleep.
Chapter 17
Celeste
“Ididn’tthinkabouthow long my family might take to bring your trunks when we left,” Victor murmured the next morning as he finished securing the buttons on the back of my dress for me.
“What do you mean?” I asked, raising my gaze to meet his in the dingy old glass of the mirror.
His eye contact was a flicker, there and gone as he focused on his task. “If I’d known they were going to take this long to rejoin us I would have brought more than three changes of clothing for you.” He frowned at the final button in thought. “Would you be comfortable with me asking Yasgrot to send a tailor? They could come and measure you for some new outfits,” he offered. “They won’t be like the style you’re used to from home,” he cautioned, “but maybe they can make something you will like.”
I quirked an eyebrow at him. “As long as they fit, I’m fine with whatever you would like for me to wear,” I told him with some amusement. True, I would miss the cheerful colors I often wore back home, but my clothing choices had never really been my own. Clothing was to keep the body warm or cool, sometimes to preserve one’s modesty, and to declare your status and role within the courts. Although I was no longer within the courts, I still had a role as this man’s wife, even if it wasn’t as an ambassador for my kingdom.
He still hadn’t released my button even though he was finished, and his expression grew concerned for some reason I couldn’t understand. “I would like for you to wear whatever pleases you.” His gaze flickered to mine again before skittering away, a blush touching his cheeks. He seemed even more shy than usual this morning.
I didn’t know what to say to that. Was this some kind of test? My pleasure had nothing to do with my duties.
