“What is he to you, Ka’ya?” Legend asked later that evening.

Ka’ya glanced at her father and pursed her lips. She returned her focus to the arrows she was making. After everything she had learned earlier this evening, she wasn’t sure she was ready to talk to him. She still had a lot to process.

“He’s my husband,” she said without thinking before she bit her lip and silently groaned.

“Good,” her father said with a nod.

Ka’ya’s head jerked up in surprise. “Good! You are not upset?” she demanded in astonishment.

She watched her father’s face soften. “It will save me having to kill him. Vampires are not easy to kill,” he stated with a shrug before turning when Dirt called out to him. He turned back and gave her a brief smile. “You made a good choice. He is a fierce fighter and a smart man.”

Ka’ya watched her father walk away in stunned silence. She hadn’t meant to lie to him. The words had slipped out before she had realized it. Claiming Alexandru as her husband had been what she planned to do in Perth if she needed an excuse.

“It would have been easier to have just let him go over the cliff or let you eat him,” she grumbled unhappily to the wolfhounds.

A soft groan escaped her when all three of the wolfhounds tilted their heads and whined in what she hoped was sympathy and not at her stupidity. How was she going to explain that she hadn’t meant it the way it sounded? She released a string of expletives. This was just another example of how crazy her life had become since she met Alexandru.

Snatching up the arrows, she placed them in the quiver and picked up her bow and sword. She would confess that she hadn’t meant that Alexandru was really her husband – she had just planned to use that as an excuse if she needed to when she reached the city.

She had only taken a few steps when the sounds of delighted laughter and the loud yells of the men warned her that something was going on. Her eyes widened when she saw Alexandru turn to look at her with a stunned expression that turned to amusement. Her father was slapping Alexandru on the shoulder and talking to the men around them.

Ka’ya stumbled back several steps when the women rushed toward her. She was shaking her head at their excitement. Before she could protest, one of the women had removed her quiver and bow while another took her sword.

“The only sword you’ll need tonight is that of your husband!” one of the women teased.

“I… What are you doing?” Ka’ya demanded as they surrounded her and began ushering her backwards.

“Did you have a ceremony joining you?” a woman asked.

Ka’ya’s head was turning to try to see who was talking. Between the dark and the excitement, it was hard to see who was who. She finally gave up and shook her head in frustration. The women seeing her shaking head mistook it for her not having a proper wedding.

“No, I mean. I… Wait… You don’t…,” Ka’ya tried to protest.

She gave up when the women pushed her into a medium-sized tent. In a flurry of activity, her clothing was quickly removed while other women brought in a large tub and buckets of hot water. She wanted to growl at them, but they talked right over her protests.

A gasp escaped her when they practically pushed her into the tub. The younger women giggled and teased while two older women sprinkled lavender soap in the water and poured water over her head to wash her hair. Ka’ya, shaken by all the attention, drew her legs up to try to retain some form of modesty among the half dozen women flowing in and out of the tent with pillows and blankets.

Nearly an hour later, she was wrapped in a finely woven silk robe and a brush was being run through her hair one last time while the tub was carried out. She looked up when the flap of the tent opened. A rare blush rose in her cheeks when Alexandru was pushed inside followed by her father, Dirt, two other men and the older women who had bathed her. She nervously stood up and stared at Alexandru. He looked breathtakingly handsome. His hair was still wet from his bath and he was wearing new clothing of finely woven fabric. The black pants hugged his thighs. Instead of a shirt, he wore a black jacket - the well-defined muscles of his chest clearly evident.

“Father, I have to tell you…,” she started to say.

Her voice died when Alexandru stepped forward and lifted his hand to caress her cheek. She stared up at him in confusion, unsure if he understood exactly what was happening. Her lips parted but the words never came. Instead, they were caught when he captured her lips in a deep, soul-searching kiss that left her breathless.

“My daughter has claimed you, Alexandru. I accept her claim,” Legend said behind them. “Nabuta jut tamua. In the words of my people, may your lives forever be bonded in peace,” he added before he turned and left them alone.

“What have I done?” Ka’ya whispered, gazing up at Alexandru in despair.

“I believe you just married me,” Alexandru replied with a slow grin. “In the words of my people, I may now kiss the bride.”

Ka’ya’s lips parted under his. Her hands slid up his chest and wound around his neck. Warmth spread through her, spreading a tidal wave of pleasure through her when he released the belt of her robe and it fell open.

“I like the words of your people,” she whispered when he released her mouth and moved his lips along her jaw to her throat.

“We have another saying,” he breathed against the side of her neck.

“What…. What is it?” Ka’ya breathed out as the fire of desire ignited into a raging inferno inside her.

Alexandru ran his tongue in a small circle. “You may now bite the bride,” he murmured.

“Oh, yes!” Ka’ya cried out.

The same wild exhilaration filled her when she felt his teeth pierce her skin. The flash of pain turned to white hot pleasure that left her melting in his arms. He slid his arm down and caught her when her knees gave out. Stepping forward, he lowered her onto the bed, following her without ever releasing his hold on her.

Her body arched toward him as the pleasure intensified until she felt the first uncontrollable release sweep through her body. Warmth pooled between her legs and they fell open, waiting for him. She fought to contain her cry of pleasure when his hand slid down her body and he slid his finger over her swollen nub.

“I want you inside me,” she groaned.

Alexandru’s hand slid across her stomach and under her. He silently lifted her hips and aligned her channel with his cock. The moment he was aligned, he thrust forward, impaling her. She reveled in the movement of his hips and the feel of his skin against hers. The slight tug on her neck where he drank from her sent a wave of heat cascading through her.

Yet, she craved more. She wanted to taste him the way he had tasted her. Her hands moved restlessly over his heated flesh. She couldn’t get enough of him.

He released her neck, sliding his tongue over the area he had punctured before sitting up, pulling her with him and holding onto her thighs while he watched her face. Ka’ya reached up and cupped her breasts. A smile curved her lips when Alexandru grunted and leaned forward just enough to grasp her hands and encouraged her to play with her breasts.

“Squeeze your nipples,” he ordered, rocking his hips back and forth. “Harder, like this.”

Ka’ya gasped when Alexandru reached down and pinched her nipples and pulled them up as if he were sucking on them. The combination of the pleasure and pain make her vagina clench around his cock. A wicked smile curved his lips and Ka’ya eyed him warily.

“You like that,” he said. “I felt your body react to it.”

“What else would my body like?” she asked daringly.

“Do you trust me?” he asked with a wicked smile.

Ka’ya immediately nodded. She could feel the excitement building inside her. She felt curiosity about what he meant.

Her lips parted in protest when he pulled out of her. She had been on the verge of another orgasm. She decided they were something that she could get very used to. The pleasure leading up to them was nothing compared to the burst that soared through her when she came.

She gasped when Alexandru rolled her over and pulled her up onto her hands and knees. The feel of him sliding his cock back and forth along the crack of her ass sent a shiver of awareness through her. This was a position that left her vulnerable – yet, also empowered. She spread her legs wider and glanced over her shoulder at Alexandru. He was gazing down at where he was sliding his cock back and forth.

He leaned forward when she tilted her hips back and lowered her upper body onto her arms. This position opened her wider for him. A soft groan escaped him and he slid his cock deep into her. Cupping her breasts with his hands, he began moving again. His slow movements soon became hard and desperate. His hand tightened on her nipples, rolling them between his forefinger and thumb and pinching them until she cried out and thrust her hips back against him. Her head lowered and she bit into the covers of the bed to keep her loud cry from sounding throughout the camp.

Her body pulsed around his cock. Her swollen channel greedily sucked at it, trying to keep him from pulling out. Her orgasm sent Alexandru over the edge and he covered her back with his body, his teeth sinking into the flesh of her shoulder sending her over the top once more.

It was several minutes before Ka’ya became aware that they were lying pressed together, her back to his front. They were still connected. Alexandru’s arm was wrapped possessively around her stomach.

“Alexandru,” Ka’ya whispered.

“Yes, Ka’ya,” he murmured.

“Thank you for not telling my father that we were not truly married,” she said.

A soft chuckle escaped Alexandru. “You’re welcome,” he said, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “Ka’ya….”

“Yes, Alexandru,” she said, turning her head to glance at him when he rose up slightly.

“Thank you for not telling your father I was your captive,” he teased, pressing a kiss to her nose.

“You’re welcome,” Ka’ya said, a tiny smile on her lips.