I never gave much thought to my wedding day.

I suppose I pictured it like most girls do. A gorgeous chapel full of family and friends, surrounded by bridesmaids and groomsmen and all of that. Flowers and live music, dancing on into the night with my one and only until a stretch limo pulls up and whisks us away to our happily ever after.

But that fantasy ultimately pales in comparison to today.

Just me, my parents, and my one and only at a lonely cabin out in the woods. Pictures were taken and drinks were had. Stories were told and tears were shed. Lives were changed.

Forever.

Ultimately, I think all breaks in grand tradition were worth it just to see the look on my father’s face as he and my mother ride off in a car with no driver.

I wave at them from the cabin’s porch with one hand, the other lovingly clasped in my husband’s palm. I mutter one final goodbye to them, somehow finding the strength not to cry anymore, as the tail lights disappear into the night.

I exhale slowly. “Now what?” I ask.

Ari smirks with one shoulder casually leaning against the banister. “It’s still your day, Tannis,” he says. “What do you want to do?”

Blanks. I can do anything I want, go anywhere I please. But still, I draw blanks.

“What do you want to do?” I ask him instead.

Ari pushes off the banister. He stands beside me, his hand still softly nestled in mine, as he gazes at me. “I want to give my wife a wedding night,” he says.

He scoops me up into his arms before I can say a word. I chuckle, barely able to even think, as he walks us through the open door of the cabin. He moves with ease, kicking off his shoes and kissing my cheeks at the same time. A feeling washes over me, the same one I felt ten-thousand feet above the earth.

Safe.

We reach the bed and Ari gently sets me down. I settle onto it but I still cling to his arms, not wanting to let go of him for even a moment.

Ari sits down beside me and brings my hand to his lips. “Unless,” he smirks, “you have a better idea.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “No.”

He kisses my palm before holding it to his chest. “You looked so beautiful tonight.”

I sit up, biting my lip as I admire his suit. “Didn’t look too bad yourself,” I say as I lovingly tug on his tie.

He grunts softly. “Never been a big fan of ties.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Well, it’s a fan of you, my friend.”

He laughs as I loosen it with both hands. I slide it free and drape it over his shoulders, letting his collar hang open.

“Better?” I ask.

“Better,” he repeats.

I pull on both ends, forcing him to lean toward me, and we meet in the middle for a kiss. Ari slides closer and brings his warm hands to my cheeks, taking me with an even deeper kiss that I feel all the way down to my toes.

“My queen,” he whispers, our mouths blending together. His hands slide up my back and he pinches the zipper at the nape of my neck. “I need you.”

My lips curl against his. “You said that last time.”

He rests a firm hand on the back of my head as he slowly pulls the zipper down with the other. “Nothing,” he says, looking me in the eye, “in this world or the next will stop me tonight.”

My dress hangs loosely around my torso as his kiss drops to my neck. “Except me,” I say, jokingly.

His teeth etch a gentle line along my shoulder. “Yes, I will stop if you tell me to.” His desperate breath tingles my skin. “But I really hope you don’t.”

I kiss his cheek and he raises his head to crush our lips together, fueled by an aching fire between us. I clumsily open the buttons on his shirt, my fingers shaking with nerves from the top to the bottom. He straightens up as I push the shirt down his shoulders, exposing his perfect body to me once again. I admire him in the firelight, biting my lip and swallowing hard as urges strike me down.

His touch trails along my back, fingers hovering over the clasp on my bra. “Tannis,” he whispers my name, asking permission.

“Keep going,” I say, offering him a soft kiss. “I want you to…”

He easily unhinges it and the strapless bra tumbles from my breasts to my lap. Ari bites his lip as he keeps his eyes on mine and I nearly laugh at his restraint.

I shimmy my dress and panties down my hips. I cast them aside, letting them fall off the bed to the floor, and lie down on the pillow with my body completely exposed. For a moment, I feel silly as if I’m a platter of food on a table, but at the same time, not so silly at all. It’s honorable, in a way, to offer myself to my king.

Ari looks me up and down, his chest rising and falling fast. I study his face as a shadow falls over his eyes, blocking the extreme desire for a brief moment.

I reach out to caress his cheek. “What are you thinking about?” I ask.

He blinks twice. “It’s not obvious by now?”

I run my hand down his neck to his body, letting my fingers ride the waves his abs. “You went somewhere else for a second,” I say. “Where’d you go?”

He pauses, his throat bobbing as he swallows. “A hiker in Spain,” he mutters. “He fell.”

I sit up, sliding forward to be as close to him as possible.

He rests his head on my shoulder and exhales. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I run my hands through his hair. “For doing your job?”

“For interrupting…” His voice fades away.

I kiss his head. “You don’t have to apologize,” I say. “You wanted a companion, didn’t you? Here I am.”

Ari lifts his head and gives a short smile. “You’re an amazing woman, my love,” he says.

I shrug a shoulder. “I’m all right.”

He chuckles as he cradles me in a warm embrace again. “When I touch you, it stops.” His lips graze mine. “I hear nothing, see nothing… but you… and I remember how it feels to not feel so numb.”

I kiss him and he clings to me the way I clung to him. “I’m here,” I whisper. “I’m yours.”

Ari takes hold of me and quickly shifts us both onto the mattress. I lie back, my pulse quickening as he towers over me. He kisses me with lust on his breath as I reach down to slide his belt free. His muscles flex as he watches my hands between us. I push his pants down over his rear and he sits back to kick them the rest of the way off.

I spread my legs and he positions himself between them as he balances over me on his arms. His hardness presses into my hip and I involuntarily clench as my body remembers the sharp pain from before.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’m…” I nod a few too many times. “Just nervous.”

He kisses me softly and shifts onto one arm. “So am I,” he says, smiling. “But I’ve got you.”

My skin tingles as he moves a hand down my body. My nipples bead beneath his wandering palm and I quiver as it touches my belly and lands on my inner thigh. He distracts me with a kiss before teasing his hand closer.

I gasp as his fingertip traces circles. “Ari…”

He silences me with a hard kiss, tasting my moans as he plays with me. Every touch rattles my core with new pleasures, igniting an instinct for something more. He slides a finger inside of me and I tremble from the wild thrill of it as I hold onto him. The heel of his hand presses into me and I buck from the throbbing sensations begging to be released.

A second finger pushes inside and I feel a dull stretch. I clench again but the desire building in me makes me forget the discomfort before it even begins.

“Oh, my god,” I gasp.

Ari smirks. “Yes?”

I laugh as I grab him and pull him closer. Ari takes his hand away and settles between my legs. Our bodies align like perfect puzzle pieces and my nerves subside.

I want him. I want him to take me and make me his queen.

Ari shifts his hips forward, teasing me a little bit more. We lock in, completely entranced with one another. Every touch and sound sparks a scolding fire between us until we can’t take the tease any longer.

He thrusts slowly and his tip eases inside of me. I grow tense, expecting the same pain as before, but I feel a slow-building pleasure deep within me instead. Ari watches me closely, ready to stop when I say so, but my body relaxes on its own. I lean up to kiss him, silently urging him to continue, and his body answers with another shallow thrust.

Ari moves slowly, making me feel everything. I lose myself quickly to quivering breaths and throbbing muscles. Blood travels to places I’ve never felt before, bringing with it a pleasure I can’t begin to describe.

“Ari,” I moan his name.

He smiles in response and guides my hands upward, firmly pinning them to the bed. I turn my head, stealing a kiss from his nearby lips. He kisses me back, softly grunting as he grinds me a little faster. I tremble, gripping his hands as I fall to pieces beneath him.

“Fuck,” Ari whispers. He rests his head on my shoulder, his manhood still throbbing inside of me, as his breath heaves in and out. “You feel amazing,” he says.

I entwine our fingers and he pins me even tighter. “Don’t stop,” I tell him, burning for him.

Ari kisses me, enveloping my mouth as he takes me harder and faster. I angle my hips to meet his thrusts, relying on some wild instinct to make us both crumble.

“Tannis—” He releases a deep grunt as he lets go of my hands. “Hold onto me.”

I wrap my free arms around him, happy to obey him. He grabs me by the waist and lifts me up, making me feel dizzy as he shifts himself into a seated position and sits me onto his lap. I curl my legs around him as he guides himself back inside. I instantly freeze, unsure what to do.

“Don’t think about it,” he says, smiling at the panic in my eyes. He eases me closer, pushing himself deeper inside, and I gasp at the new pleasures radiating up my spine.

I place my hands on his legs beneath me to find balance. He keeps his hold on my hips and kisses my chest, drawing a tender line up my cleavage to my collarbone.

Heat spreads throughout my core. Blood pulses beneath my skin. I close my eyes, bewitched by the feeling of him. His hands on me. His body in mine. Tears build in my eyes but I don’t want to stop. I never want this night to end.

I sway my hips, an awkward test for sure, but I gasp as I feel lightning strike within me as I move him in and out. Ari nods, the corners of his mouth turning upward as I shift again. We hold on to each other, bound in a steady rhythm with our lips locked and tongues dancing. I moan into his mouth, nearly losing all control as the tension mounts within me. Ari digs his fingers into my skin and I purr from the delicious pain mixing with passion.

One more thrust and my body breaks. I collapse onto his shoulders as climax tears me apart. It sends Ari over the edge as well. I feel his rough touch on my skin as he pulls me down and holds me as he comes inside of me. I stop swaying. He stops thrusting. We hold onto each other, our lips refusing to give up our endless kiss until exhaustion itself forces us apart.

Ari cradles me once more and eases me down onto the pillows. He lies beside me with our legs helplessly entwined together and his head halfway on my shoulder.

I kiss the sweat on his brow, finally allowing for a tear to tumble down my cheek. “I love you, too,” I whisper in his ear.

I’m not sure what makes me say it now. Perhaps hormones or the thrill of the moment but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that it’s true. I love him. From the bottom of my heart to the end of time, I love him.

My king.

Ari turns his head up and kisses me back. He says nothing of the tears on my face but he runs his thumb over my cheek to wipe them away.

“You have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that,” he whispers.

He wraps an arm around me and pulls me against him. My body vibrates in his embrace, tired yet so full of life.

Life.

With life comes death.

It’s the end of one thing so that another can begin.

Ari gazes back at me, his amused eyes reading my own. “What?” he whispers.

I fill my lung with a strong, stable breath. “I still owe you a third kiss,” I say.

He nods slowly. “You do.”

I lick my tingling lips as I tilt my face toward his. He gazes back at me and his focus shadows for a split second. I touch his face, bringing his solemn eyes right back to mine.

I kiss him.

And then, I fall.

I open my eyes on a dark and old ceiling. A black, silk sheet hugs my naked flesh, still warm as velvet from last night.

My wedding night.

I must have fallen asleep.

I sit up and glance around the room. It’s Ari’s room with the deep, dark curtains and the tall fireplace. A smile teases my lips as flashes of perfect memories come back.

The other side of the bed is cold. How long have I been alone?

How did I get here?

I turn to plant my feet on the floor. As soon as my toes sink into the carpet, a single conscious thought makes my blood run cold.

I fell asleep.

I clutch the sheet around me as I stand up. A cool wind blows past me, softly billowing the curtains across the room, and I catch sight of a dark figure lingering outside. The sheet whispers the floor as I tiptoe over to investigate without fear.

I push the curtain aside, exposing the balcony overlooking the world. The sky is gray and full of clouds, floating above countless souls drifting off until forever.

A man stands at the edge of the balcony in a black suit, watching over the void with dark eyes and a heavy expression.

The king of the dead.

My new husband and lover.

For eternity.

A warm ribbon clenches around my heart and I smile.

“Ari,” I say.

Ari turns around and smiles back as the loneliness leaves his eyes.

“Welcome home, Tannis,” he says.