Somewhere, somehow, I hear violin music playing, as he continues to kiss me. My body moves with his, as the dance begins. He lifts me so that my feet are mere inches off the ground, while my body grows tighter and tighter, slightly different from before.

It gets even harder to think, and the world gets dizzying, as the fog expands, leaving us in a blurry roomful of people, who are watching us on the dancefloor.

The obscure faces slowly fade into nothing, as we take the room for ourselves. I’m not sure when he stopped kissing me, or when his lips moved to my neck, or when my lower half started aching in some pretty extreme, desperate, maddening ways.

What I do know is that it feels like hot ice shoots through my veins when his fangs sink into my throat.

It’s hypnotic.

It’s drugging.

It’s powerful.

It’s…just as consuming as I knew it’d be.

He becomes all that exists, and my body starts grinding against his, desperately seeking friction and as much touch as I can soak in.

He growls at my throat, and his grip gets tighter.

I’m not sure what happens. One second we’re in the shower. In the next, I’m pinned to the bathroom floor, and Arion is pushing inside me.

Wild.

Growly.

A little rough…

My nails slide against skin, desperately trying to pull him closer, as his body moves over mine with control, dominance, and more desperate desire than I’ve ever felt from anyone.

It’s the freedom and completeness in which he loves that scares me more than anything.

My eyes roll back in my head, my nails dig in deeper, and my back arches, lifting my body that much closer, when the sensations that have been building explode through my body with no mercy.

Arion only grows that much more aggressive, as my head rolls through that fog. It almost feels like my body detaches from my soul.

It all slams back to reality when pain surges through my neck. It’s brief, followed by a gentle kiss, even as a lingering burn begins to spread downward, traveling through my body with the blood in my veins.

His hand digs into my hair, as his kiss turns into another bite, stinging far less and feeling…more exciting this time.

My toes curl in anticipation of the next building wave of wild sensations that crash over me.

His mouth is suddenly on mine, stealing every last rational thought and replacing it with reckless abandon. His hips still inside me, and the kiss gradually fades from intensely fierce to almost reverent.

The slick floor beneath us becomes more and more obvious, as the fog leaves my brain with a chilled, bereft wake. I miss it immediately, because it feels like that’s a moment I’ll never get back.

Is it over already? Damien’s lasted for days. So did Emit’s.

I expected the vampire to be the same, and I feel slightly cheated. Not that I’d tell him as much.

Arion’s lips break from mine, and he pants for air, while possessively holding me to him. Inky-black, wispy hair hangs just shy of his eyes. When he lifts his head and he stares down at me, that lost-boy look is in his gaze once more.

My heart kicks my chest when his eyes glisten with just the tiniest hint of wetness.

He sighs a sigh that sounds like it’s been trapped for thousands of years, as his lips slowly curve in the most boyish grin I’ve ever seen him don.

My own stupid lips curve in response, because his smile is so real and free that it’s infectious.

“You’re my bride,” he murmurs, lips brushing over mine.

“I guess so,” I say, not having any other idea what to say right now, because…he was the last thing holding me back from thinking too much about the fact I’m semi-permanently or permanently tied to four guys for all or most of eternity.

I’ve been accused of having commitment issues in the past.

The grip he has on my hair loosens to a softer, gentler hold. The reality settles on me, and I try not to get really nervous. Loving Arion is too exciting for me too ever feel safe, because it’s like a constant roller coaster ride.

Part of me is so excited that I want to scream, but another part of me is terrified—

“Idun’s been kicked, baked, dropped, and fried! Now the vampire finally has his slutty bride!” Anna shouts…from what sounds like the damn rooftops.

I fucking hate her.

Swallowing hard, I watch Arion’s smile only grow less boyish and more darkly excited.

“You’re my bride,” he says again, this time his tone sounding decidedly more devious.

“Don’t make it scary, Arion,” I warn, narrowing my eyes at him, even as his look takes on shades of mischief.

“I’m a vampire. It’s my nature to be scary,” he says as though he’s assuring me of that.

Dipping his head, he kisses the side of my neck.

“Have another shower, love. There’s still soap in your hair, and I’ve certainly made a mess,” he says in a way that suggests he’s very proud of himself, being the typical, arrogant vampire he is once more. “We’ll celebrate properly.”

Seriously? He’s already leaving me?

This is…a little disappointing, but I try not to compare it to the others and start seeing it for what it is. We plunged into the vows, and then we immediately consummated the marriage. Now I can get ready for the honeymoon.

You know, like a mostly normal impromptu, low-key, cheap wedding and honeymoon.

It’s okay to be normal sometimes.

Feeling like a bad bridezilla for even considering feeling disappointed, I pull him to me and kiss him. Hard. Almost like an apology for a mistake he doesn’t know I made.

He makes a pleased sound against my mouth, and his hands roam freely across my body, in slow, methodical motions. Just as I’m extremely ready for round two, he abruptly breaks the kiss.

I barely bite back the curse on the tip of my tongue, since he immediately smiles down at me, bursting my crazy-girl anger bubble. His grin turns boyish once more, and like I can’t help myself, I mirror it once again.

There’s nothing but a breeze of chilled air in the room with me in the next instant, and I hear the door click shut.

Sighing, I stand up, look in the mirror, missing Arion already. I’m starting to think I’m way clingier than they are.

I watch my smile slowly fall away when I see the side of my neck.

Two small scars.

All those bites, and I only have two, already-healed wounds that are scarred. That must have been the bite that did whatever gypsy/bloodmagic/cosmic bonding thing that just happened.

How did this vampire bridal ceremony come about?

Are the Vampyres all this romantic?

Why is my smile taking up my whole face? I don’t feel so happy that I’m just bursting at the seams or anything.

But I can’t help the painful smile that won’t seem to go away. Anna pops up, props her hands under her chin, bats her lashes, and gives me a wistful sigh.

My smile flatlines the second I see her.

“You broke almost all the rules.”

She grins broader. “Only because I know them better than you do.”

“Only because you, my subconscious-capturing monster, suppress all the things you don’t want me to know.”

“Isn’t it freeing to finally be able to talk about it? Careful, though. They’ll be coming out of the cellar soon. Just waiting on Idun’s scent to be fully washed away,” she tacks on, speaking around a mock yawn. “Then you can curl up with your four boyfriends, who now want us—the real us, Violet.”