Chapter 22
Lucius took both of my hands again, and although I’d become conscious of all those around us as the ceremony had progressed, everyone seemed to vanish once more, as if Lucius was a magician who could summon and dismiss whole gatherings at will. There was room in those deep, black eyes to hide an entire wild garden, and a lot more wonderful tricks, too, I was sure…

“Kiss me, my wife,” he invited softly, breaking protocol by speaking. But neither of us cared about decorum at that point. “Kiss your husband.”

His eyes were still full of love, but there was mischief there, too – one of my favorite aspects of Lucius – as he stepped toward me, and I found myself smiling, almost laughing, nearly overcome by a joy that had been held deep, deep inside of me, experienced quietly, but which suddenly bubbled up, no longer able to be controlled at the sound of Lucius’s teasing command.

Kiss your husband…

He stepped even closer to me, so his tall, strong frame was pressed against my much smaller body, and slipped his arm around my waist, drawing me to himself. I bent my head back to look up at him, and at the very last second, just before his eyes closed, I saw the teasing mischief replaced by a solemn promise. My laughter faded away, too, as he moved his hands up to cradle my face, turning it to whisper directly in my ear, his rough lips grazing my skin as he said, “I love you more with each passing moment, Antanasia – and this is just the beginning.”

Tears welling in my eyes, I allowed Lucius to turn my face again so he could place his mouth against mine, and we kissed for the first time as husband and wife – a kiss that summed up everything we’d just experienced together. The nervousness, the anticipation, the breathtaking sight of one another, and the awe of that moment when we’d both known we were one.

He pressed a little harder against my lips, so they opened just a bit – just enough for us to taste the blood that lingered upon one another’s tongues, and so I could feel that his fangs were beginning to form, as mine were in my own mouth.

And then, because we weren’t really alone, we pulled back, and Lucius rested his forehead against mine, both of us smiling again, and the kiss kind of continued in our eyes, more privately, with the promise of everything yet to come, until someone – I had a feeling it was Mindy – began to applaud.

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