The Dark God's Bride Trilogy, #3 (34 page)

“About Rion?”

He shook his head and frowned at her assumption. “I remembered you when I couldn’t remember you…if that makes any sense. I remembered a woman whose face was shadowed by my incomplete memories. I remembered a lover I had loved and lost. I remembered everything about you, but I couldn’t remember…
you
. I was full of rage and I wanted retribution for what I had lost.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t because of Rion?” Her voice was tinged with feminine distrust.

If he wasn’t mistaken, that was jealousy he’d detected in her tone of voice. Amusement laced his face. He did not want to revisit the subject of Rion, but there was a need to put his bride’s suspicions to rest. He refused to let her continue to believe that she was living in the shadow of another woman. Amara had a place of her own in their home and he would not let her doubt that fact.

“Before Rion attempted what she had, I offered her a new home and a fortune of her own. She refused and stubbornly wanted to chase you out of your own home.”

“Well, I–”

“She’d pushed me to dissolve our marriage,” he purposely interrupted. “By our laws, an unconsummated marriage may be nullified at any given time.”

“Because of me?”

“Not entirely. I was putting an end to something that should never have begun in the first place. Things would have ended similarly with or without your presence. I could not have cared less where that woman is concerned.” 

His bride wrapped her arms around her abdomen. “Are you still holding a grudge against her because of her one mistake? Any woman would have done the same, you know.”

The gaze of his eyes sharpened. “Would you have?”

“I don’t know what I would have done in that situation. I’m only human.”

“Let us never find out.”

“Hypothetically…if I did…”

“I wouldn’t be in the right mind to find out what I would do to you either. Looking at you then would injure more than just my pride.” His tensed face eased into a knowing grin. “But I would never allow the slightest chance of that.”

“You sound so sure,” she taunted.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” He asked conceitedly. “I will keep you in my bed tonight and every night afterward. I will cater to you; fill your body with so much mind-blowing pleasure that all you will be able to think about during the day are thoughts of me. And when your womb ripens with another child as a result of our many, many love making sessions, I will know with certainty that it is
mine!
”

“You are so bloody aggressive about everything.”

He smirked as he dipped his head to kiss her. She swerved her head to avoid him and planted her hands against his chest. He sighed. “The answer to your question is ‘no’. I do not hold a grudge against her anymore. I just simply don’t care.”

“Is it a habit of yours to stop caring?” she asked curiously.

“Perhaps,” he said, and then added, “but one thing is certain.”

“What is?”

“I will never stop caring about you or the children we will have in the future. I will do everything in my powers to protect our family and our home.”

She smiled at his answer.

“Have you truly agreed on having my child, Amara?”

“Hmm,” she said as she wiggled her body to find a comfortable position. He loosened his hold to give her more room to move.

Noctis smiled to himself. Their child would have the best from the both of them. If a boy, then he would inherit his father’s powers and his mother’s unconquerable spirit. If a girl, then she would inherit her father’s good looks and her mother’s ability to win people over. It would be nice if they inherited his bride’s stunning not-so-blue and not-quite-grey eyes.

Gender topic aside, Noctis had never been more proud of the gift he had given to his future offspring. His bride had the warmth of a nurturer and the fierce protective instincts of a mother. Her heart was gentle, but she was also capable of standing firm. His offspring could not have a more suitable mother and he could not find a more suitable bride even if he were to spend the rest of eternity searching.

He pressed a light kiss on her soft coral cheek and said to the future mother of his children, “You are worth the wait, Amara Spelling.”

The End.