I woke up for the second time on the same day in the Dragonfly Inn. The first time I was naked and alone. Thankfully I was dressed the second time.
“Eyes, Konuna.”
I swatted the hand, tapping my cheek. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know my Phantom was cradling me.
“Go away.”
“Good, she’s alright. I was worried with the way she collapsed.”
“Konuna, open your eyes.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Why would I not?”
Really? He wanted to have this talk while I was spread out on the floor like a bear rug with Mrs. Dansbury standing over us? Fine. I was past caring if the town gossips found out I had a one-night stand.
I glared at him as I pushed out of his hold. Not that he tried particularly hard to keep my head in his lap.
“One, I have no idea what it means. It’s rude to call people names they don’t know. For all I know, you're calling me easy. Two, you left. You didn’t even stick around until I woke up. I know you didn’t make any promises last night, but being treated like a disposable lover hurts.”
I snatched the blanket off the floor and used a chair to help me stand up. My legs were fine. I just couldn’t fight the damn dress to get up on my own.
“Three—I don’t have a three. One and two are good enough.”
“Ask me where I disappeared to.”
“No. I figured it out. Mrs. Dansbury told me Lord Svero got married last night. I assume you went to the breakfast reception. Let me know the story you told your family so I can collaborate it if one of the town gossips asks.”
I straightened the blanket around my shoulders to stop myself from looking at him. I didn’t want to remember him angry.
“Wait, I found a number three. It’s rude to skip out on a big wedding to have a quickie. You should’ve gone to what’s his name’s wedding.”
“What?”
Anger forced me to meet his angry gaze. “You heard me.”
“You think I skipped out on a relative’s wedding for a ‘quickie’?”
I held my ground when he took a step towards me.
“I left to fetch you clothing.”
“Why in the world would you fetch me clothing?”
“For the reception.”
I snorted. I had no desire to go with him to the wedding reception. The fantasy was ruined when he disappeared this morning; all I wanted was to go home, burn my dress, and drown myself in a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.
“Why in the world would you want a ‘konuna’ to go with you to a wedding reception?”
The scowl on his face when I said konuna confirmed it wasn’t something as lovely as sweetheart.
“Do you remember nothing of last night?”
I closed my eyes to block him out. “I remember everything. It was a fantasy come true. A handsome stranger asked me to dance. He stole my heart when he kissed me in a moonlit garden. We played a game. Then you took me to what I thought was your room and…”
I cursed myself when a tear slipped down my cheek. “And then I woke up alone in a room that held nothing of yours. I felt cheap and foolish. When you didn’t come back I realized we both got what we wanted, but I believed it was real. That’s my fault. Not yours. You made no promises.”
I clutched the blanket tighter around my shoulders and moved towards the door. Everything was out in the open. We were both adults and could deal with this like adults. I mean, people had one-night stands all the time on tv. Surely there was some kind of protocol that would get me out of the door.
“Eyes, Konuna.”
I made the mistake of not shutting my eyes when he warned me. One second we were standing in the kitchen at the inn. The next we were in my living room. Well, he was standing. I was bent at the waist, trying to keep what was left in my stomach in my stomach.
“What the hell?”
“You and I have different memories of last night.”
I had so many questions, but none of them were how his memory of the night before differed from mine.
“Did you just break into my apartment?”
“Konuna, I …”
I stood up so quickly my head spun.
“You seriously need to stop calling me that!”
Eldur moved so fast he was a blur. I went from standing in the middle of my living room having a fit to being pinned against the front door. My hands held above my head in one of his. The other gently pressed against my mouth.
“I met a beautiful woman last night. I fell for her the moment I held her in my arms. I asked her to marry me in a moonlit garden. I knew she was the right woman when she gave me a quest so easy I didn’t have to leave her side to complete it. I accepted her quest gift and declared the marriage sealed. I took my Konuna, my wife, to my bed-chamber where we claimed each other until exhaustion took her from me. I was at peace for the first time in two hundred years when I woke with her in my arms. The only reason I left her side was to prepare the breakfast feast, to find her home, and bring her fresh clothing.”
What. The. Shit.
There was one glaring memory from his night that was different from my night. The fight drained out of my body when I recognized the truth in his eyes.
“I think I missed a couple of things that happened during your night.”
“I think you did.”
He didn’t let me go when I tugged on my hands.
“You think we’re married?”
His hard stare told me he more than thought it. He believed it.
“Konuna means wife?”
“Beloved wife.”
My heart skipped a beat, but my brain refused to give up the fight.
“What about your stuff? There wasn’t a single trace of you in the room when I woke up this morning.”
I followed his gaze to a large duffel bag sitting on my couch. How deep was I sleeping that I missed him packing his bag?
“How did you know where I live?”
“Mrs. Dansbury told me. I found a key in your bag.”
“Uh-huh.”
A firm hand stopped me when I tried to slide to the left.
“I need to wrap my head around this.”
Eldur finally took a step back after what felt like forever. I shot him a smile as I slid from between him and the door. There wasn’t far for me to go in a one-bedroom apartment anyways.
“I need to change. I’ll be right back.”
Eldur was in the same spot I left him when I came out in a sundress I grabbed off the back of a chair. I couldn’t read his expression. He was somewhere between resigned and angry.
“Are you hungry?”
I almost rolled over like a puppy when Eldur glared at me, “We can eat at the feast.”
“I have questions.”
“Ask them.”
“When you asked me to ask you for something last night, you were proposing?”
“Yes.”
“And when I picked a pillow out of the pile, you took that as a yes?”
“Yes.”
“So you were giving me an easy quest to show that you wanted me to succeed when you asked for a flower in the middle of a rose garden?”
A nod.
“So, when you asked for the words and said ‘It is done’ that meant we were married?”
Another nod.
“So, we had our wedding night last night?”
Another nod.
“Do you know that it doesn’t work like that here?”
I bit my lip when he crossed his arms across his chest. The pose did amazing things for his shoulders.
“Do you not want me?”
I wrapped my arms around my stomach while I considered his question. Anyway, I looked at it I wanted him. I wanted his soft kisses, the way he took care of me, I even liked the way he got pissed off when he thought I was leaving.
“It might be crazy, but I do.”
He let out a soft sigh of relief as the tension eased from his shoulders.
“Our traditions might differ, Konuna, but our souls know each other. I took you as my wife on Samhain, and I will not give you up.”
Oh. My. Pants.
“What about …”
I knew he was done with my questions when he stalked towards me. I never thought my apartment was big enough for a proper stalk, but he pulled it off. I didn’t resist when he pulled me against his chest again.
“We will work through all your fears together. All you need to know is I pledge my heart to you, and I will not let you go.”
I tugged the front of his shirt until he leaned closer, “One more question.”
I couldn’t stifle my giggle when he sighed. It wasn’t a regular sigh, but one of the most put-upon sighs ever heard from a grown man.
“When exactly do we need to leave for this feast you keep talking about?”
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