Page 57 of The Demon God's Desire
Dean, Allan and Marcus have worked their way into becoming my most trusted men in this endeavor as well. It’s strange how I used to see men like Vythor and Hiphilo as my most trusted men as well as my friends but they turned on me in the end.
Whereas Marcus, Dean...they distrusted me from the moment I arrived but they later came to trust me and accept me as a true friend. Allan and I aren’t the closest of friends but he does come to me for advice when he decides to ask Dean’s sister to become his mate.
It’s very different from the life I lived growing up, or life in the service. I find I have to take a moment sometimes just to gather my emotions so I don’t become a mess when I think of how grateful I am to have friends and even a sort-of family surrounding me.
Miss Judy and Miss Sarah have all but adopted me as a son and are always asking me to come fix things for them or ply me with tea and buns. I never had any kind of real maternal love in my life before and it’s touching.
Bridget plans the ceremony, the two of us deciding to forgo most dark elf customs. Between my upbringing and our recent face-off against several of the gods themselves, I’m wary of inviting any more into my life.
The only thing I requested was to forgo a priest’s blessing. I have no desire to get the gods involved in our lives any more than necessary at this point. We decided to ask the village leader to join us as mates instead.
The day of the ceremony is bright and hot, as usual. In deference to the heat, Bridget wears a white vest, embroidered with beautiful brown thread in complex curled circles with long chains of thread above and below. Underneath is a lightweight, simple white dress and she wears a silky veil embroidered with the same patterns on the edge.
Her hair flows down her back, the veil held in place by a circlet of dazzling desert stones. Her honey eyes are rimmed in kohl and her lips are painted with something shiny to make them look even fuller and more round. She’s more beautiful than I could have imagined and her eyes shyly meet mine as she walks to me, over a scattering of flower petals.
“Do you take Bridget Hamza to be your mate, through all that shall come to you, in this life and the next?”
“I do,” I tell her, looking deep into her eyes as the village leader repeats the question to her.
“I do,” she says, smiling at me through the veil. I lift it up and kiss her soundly when he declares us mated—a human tradition.
The villagers all clap for us as we break apart, holding our hands up together. We made it through so much and there is much to come but for now I have the woman I love by my side.
There is a tent erected in the center of town for everyone to congregate under while we feast and make merry. Some people play instruments and others sing for us as we dance.
They brought in an entire wild desert dripir for the feast and the villagers gifted us an additional capra from the herd. It’s quite touching how much they have welcomed me into the fold now. I feel unworthy but I know I must do my best to rise to the challenge and protect my newfound people.
And Bridget looks radiant in her white garb. I wear a soft brown tunic with bold black embroidery on the neckline and sleeves. I think I look alright but not half as nice as my new mate. Grabbing her to my side as we dance, I dip her and give her another deep kiss.
The crowd whoops and hollers at us and when I bring her up for air, she’s blushing and holding onto her veil with one hand, looking sheepish.
“I love you,” I tell her, smiling at her.
“I love you too,” she says, kissing my cheek. We hold hands and sit down to take a breather and eat more of the delicious feast together.
“Don’t fill up too full,” I whisper in her ear. “I’ve got plans for you tonight.”
A shiver runs down her spine and I see her honey eyes darken with lust. “Oh?” she teases back.
“Yes. Do you want a sneak preview?”
“Behave,” she tells me, even as I slide a hand up her thigh to gently caress it.
When the celebrations are starting to wind down and the bonfire has grown low, we say our goodbyes and leave in a shower of well-wishes and a few saucy comments from our friends.
I pick her up and carry her princess-style back toourhome and bring her through the door and into the bedroom.
“Hello,” she says, smiling up at me from where I lay her on the bed.
“Hello yourself,” I smirk and reach out, touching the tip of her nose. “You looked beautiful in that outfit but I have been waiting to peel it off you all evening.”
“I have too,” she says breathlessly, sitting up to start taking it off.
“Let me,” I tell her, stilling her hands. Her smile blossoms wider and I start gently, slowly unbuttoning each button of her vest, all while whispering praise and sweet-nothings into her ear. I want her to feel good, relaxed and happy tonight.
She’s made me the happiest man alive and I want to make her feel just as good as she’s made me feel. By the time I slip her vest off her shoulders, her body is already a quivering mess.
“Can’t you hurry?” she whines as I mouth over each of her clothed breasts in turn.