Page 134 of Onyx Cage: Volume II

Her defiant features certainly made more sense now. Even the commanding way she had entered the room. She could haveworn a dress that revealed the scars with little commentary, but she had opted for one that highlighted them.

It was a warning to my stepmother that she wouldn’t be silenced—and a message to the rest of the guests that she wouldn’t be tamed.

Pride warred with frustration, but neither of those things were helpful now, so I cast them aside.

However I felt about what my dearest wife had done, I only had two options now. If I showed even a hint of my disapproval, every person in this room would be proven right about my wayward Lochlannian wife. The plans I had been forming to slowly integrate her as something more than a typical Clan Wife, something she might not feel quite so stifled by, would unravel before they even began.

We would both lose the respect of the Bear lords if they believed I had no sway over my own wife, let alone the dukes.

So really, I only had one option, and that was to make my full support clear. Better it look like we both decided to let the room know that she would not be cowed by the men who had been prepared to send her home in pieces or the woman who nearly did.

I would find a way to deal with my father later.

Returning her feral grin with one of my own, I pitched my voice just loud enough to carry. “You look ravishing today, as always, Princess.”

Let them make of that what they will.

“And you as well, My Lord.” Her smile turned softer, and I knew that no matter what the consequences had been, I never could have left her alone in this moment.

She was mine to protect, even when the biggest threat was from her own storms-damned recklessness. Which it usually seemed to be.

I had never been more grateful for the custom of giving the new couple a moment alone than I was by the time our ceremony finally ended.

Her familiar scent of amber and citrus invaded my senses with each passing minute, taunting me with visions of our single night together. Energy hummed from our single point of contact, and I wasn’t sure I could get through the next several hours of our reception without having my lips on her.

I walked stoically at her side, keeping a foot of space between us until the moment the guard shut the door. My self-control followed him right out the door.

I spun Rowan around, letting down my mask to show her exactly how much I had missed her in the weeks we were apart. Her eyes blazed into mine with the same intense wave of desire. Lifting her up against the wall, I had just enough restraint to avoid the carefully applied cosmetics on her face, instead pressing my lips against the bare skin of her jaw, her neck, and the bare edge of her collarbone.

She tasted exactly the same, her gasp sounding in the room around us. Her dagger dug into my hip, only adding to the heat that spread through to my limbs.

Of course, she was armed underneath this dress.

It was probably a mistake, giving myself even the smallest moment with her when there were hours still before I could take her to our bed, but I was desperate to feel even a fraction of her warmth again. To remember that my hands were capable of more than slaughter and warfare, that there was still a spark of color in the bleak unending landscape of myresponsibilitieshere at Bear.

“How long do we have in here?” She panted out the words.

At least I wasn’t the only one who had suffered during our time apart. As much fun as it would have been to take her up on that implication, we would be expected to return far too soon.

I chuckled darkly along her skin, reminding myself of all the reasons we couldn’t afford to tempt fate anymore today.

“Not long enough,” I told her.

“Well, that’s a shame.” Her lips tilted down into a pout that tested me all over again.

“Der’mo, I missed you, Lemmikki.” Storms knew I had missed her body, but I had missed this, too, all the teasing and forthrightness that had driven me insane from the moment I’d met her.

“I missed you, too,” she breathed. “No more plans like that.”

Though I had no desire to be apart from her again, the plan had been a success.

“It worked,” I said in lieu of the agreement she wanted. “You’re here, safe.”You didn’t have to return to my father’s wrath or spend the weeks before our wedding watching me play executioner.

Not that I thought we’d be so fortunate for the rest of our marriage. My role here was a reality of our lives together, but she was hardly ignorant to that fact. At least, now, my father couldn’t demand she be part of the carnage.

“And now, with the protection of a Clan Wife,” I added for my own sake as much as hers, running my thumbs along the bare skin on the sides of her ribcage. The dress had plenty of perks, whatever fallout it created. “Even Iiro wouldn’t risk his tenuous position thwarting one of our most sacred laws.”

She rested her hands on my shoulders, and I couldn’t bring myself to put any space between us yet.