by J. E. Taylor
An elegant white wedding dress.
A chill ran down my spine. I turned and the figure sitting on the edge of the bed wearing a black suit caught my breath. It was Jaden.
“Give me five minutes,” he said, and the girls high-tailed it out of the room.
His green eyes pierced through me, and everything fell into place.
“I still don’t know what to believe. I haven’t been able to decide if you are what I always believed you were, or if you are worse than my mother ever was.”
“Jaden.” I took a step in his direction, but his hand went up, stopping me.
“I heard everything you accused my mother of. If you knew those things all this time—”
“When my father transferred his magic, he transferred his memories,” I said. “I had no idea that he was still alive when your mother had him locked up. If I had known that... You’re right, I could have never abided what she did, and either your mother or I would have died years ago.”
He stood and grabbed the crutches. That was when I noticed the black suit he wore wasn’t a suit at all. It was a finely fitted tuxedo. My gaze shot to the wedding dress, and my heart jumped in my chest.
“I hope for your sake that you are telling me the truth.” He glanced at the watch on his wrist. “Because in exactly thirty minutes, your intentions will be put to the test.”
I blinked at him. “Excuse me?” My hands found my hips.
“This is the only way I can be sure about you. If your intentions aren’t pure, you’ll end up like Eleanor.”
“Fuck you. I’m not marrying you today.” Aggravation welled up inside me alongside the conflicting exhilaration at actually marrying Jaden. But this was nothing like the dream. It was nothing like our ‘what if’ conversation in the jail cells. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be between us.
“Yes. You are. And if you run, I swear I will hunt you down and cut out your lying tongue before I lock you up for the rest of your life.” His glare chilled me to the core.
“You want to marry someone you don’t love? That makes no sense.”
“Nothing makes sense to me right now, so this is just par for the course.”
“Do you love me?”
He stared at me and then slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought I did, and if you are the same girl I forced to tell me the truth on top of our building, then I will happily pledge my future to you. But if you aren’t...” He shrugged.
I crossed my arms. “This isn’t exactly how I envisioned being proposed to.”
He crutched over to me. “I don’t really give a damn. This is how it’s going to be.”
“You did all this?” I twirled my finger around the room and then at my face and hair.
His lips pressed tighter, but the tell-tale dimple appeared for a brief moment along with a reddening hue. “The girl I thought I loved would have kicked my ass if I sprung this on her without letting her have some prep,” he said and headed to the door.
“Jaden?”
He stopped but didn’t turn. “I’m giving you the chance to prove to me that everything you’ve ever said is true.” Then he left.
The dress was perfection on a hanger and everything I did not want. I didn’t want to be forced into marriage, even if it was Jaden standing at the end of the aisle.
Nancy and Anne stepped in a moment later, their eyes averted.
“So, all this?” I waved at my face. I didn’t need to say more. Not when their entire faces turned crimson.
“Yes, ma’am,” they both said in unison and restlessly shifted in place.
“We were told that if we blew it, it would mean our jobs,” Anne burst out.
“Jaden told you that?” I wouldn’t put it past him, not with the ultimatum he just issued.
“No, ma’am, our boss did,” Nancy said, sending a glare in Anne’s direction.
“I think I’ll need to have to have a talk with your boss after the wedding.”
Both their gazes landed on mine.
“I’m assuming that’s why you’re here. To make sure I make it to the ceremony.” They nodded and I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to run.”
“Aren’t you worried about the curse?” Nancy asked.
“What curse?”
“The one that killed his last wife?”
I chuckled. Neither of them had been in the salon when I had the conversation with the hairdresser. “No. I’m not worried in the least. That was a protection spell, not a curse. And he didn’t cast it.”
They traded a confused glance and then looked back at me.
“I saved his ass because I wasn’t about to see an innocent man persecuted for my mistake.”
“Your mistake?”
“Why in god’s name do you think I was stupid enough to run outside the barrier?”
They exchanged another glance and shrugged.
“I cast the spell. I was trying to protect the man, but it backfired.” I turned to the dress. “And now I have to marry him, not because we both want this, but because he is insisting on proof I wasn’t out for revenge when I maimed him and killed his mother.” I sighed. “So let’s get this thing on.”
They hustled to my side and helped me into the tailored satin. The dress fit like it had been specially made for me. I stepped in front of a full length mirror to inspect the final presentation. The image was as stunning as the glamour had been when I attended his last wedding.
I stared into my dark eyes, wondering why I was going through with this. Why was I letting him corner me this way? And on the heels of that thought, I wondered if I would pass my own test.
I wasn’t sure if all the hurt and anger brewing in my heart would taint my intentions. My heart was still his, even though I didn’t want to admit it. But was that enough? Were my reasons pure enough not to be turned to cinder?
If I ran, he would find me. I only had one hiding place, and he knew it well enough to navigate it on crutches. Besides, if I made that choice, he would never forgive me. The anger in his eyes when he issued his threat would be realized, and I believed he would follow through with every word of it.
But that wasn’t what my heart wanted, even though my mind was resisting this.
I couldn’t run away.
I couldn’t say no.
I couldn’t lose Jaden, even with the ultimatum he had set forth.
I’d just have to see if what was in my heart was enough.
Chapter 25
I stood outside the looming doors of the grand ballroom on edge. Nerves bit at my skin, and I chewed my lip. I held a beautiful rose bouquet and shifted from foot to foot.
“Are you okay?” Anne asked as she straightened my train.
I gave her a nod, but I wasn’t okay. I was terrified, and it had nothing to do with the curse. It was the realization of a dream that I had had for years.
I was actually marrying Jaden Mallory. Under duress, but I was actually going to be his wife.
A light sweat broke out on my exposed back. I stifled a shiver.
The doors opened, and I stared into the dark room filled with strangers. A spotlight shined on the altar. Jaden stepped into view with a single crutch. When his eyes met mine, everything around me disappeared.
Hope. Fear. Anger. Lust. A rainbow of emotions resided in that single glance.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, and my feet moved forward on shaking legs.
I stopped next to him, and his gaze moved from head to toe and back. The smile I was accustomed to flashed, along with a spark in his eyes. He pressed his lips together, squashing the glimpse of happiness before he took my hand and maneuvered onto the altar.
My heart raced as the minister started the ceremony. Jaden kept my hand tight in his, like he thought I might flee at any moment. Everything moved in a blur, even our vows. Jaden didn’t hesitate when asked if he took me as his wife. His ‘I do’ was firm and loud enough to fill the ballroom.
When it was my turn to pledge my life to this man
, I caught his gaze and took a deep breath. The eyes looking back at me were full of the old Jaden I knew, and not the prick I had been exposed to in the last couple of days. When I didn’t answer right away, his hands squeezed mine, hard, as fear raced across his eyes.
“I do,” I said loud enough for only the minister and Jaden to hear.
Jaden’s grip on my hands loosened, and the tightness in his jaw relaxed. He blew a slow stream of air out like he had been holding it in until that very moment. A soft smile found his lips.
When the minister asked for the rings, Jaden pulled two out of his pocket. I had less than a second to register what was in the minister’s hand before I glanced at Jaden. He held the diamond Jaden took from me yesterday. A dimple appeared in Jaden’s cheek, but he didn’t look at me. He was too focused on the minister.
As soon as the minister blessed the rings, he turned to Jaden, offering him my wedding band.
“Repeat after me,” the minister ordered.
“With this ring, I thee wed,” Jaden said, repeating the minister’s instructions, and slid the band onto my finger.
The diamond solitaire was soldered together with a diamond studded band. I sighed as I stared at it. The lengths Jaden went through for this moment conflicted with his ultimatum. Everything he did took time to prepare.
The minister interrupted my musings with a clearing of his throat, and I took the ring he offered. Jaden’s band was heavy with a single diamond chip embedded in the black gold.
“Repeat after me,” the minister said.
“With this ring, I thee wed,” I said and pushed Jaden’s band onto his left ring finger. Then I looked up into his sparkling green eyes.
For a moment, I thought this might be a dream, but the moment the minister announced us husband and wife and instructed Jaden to kiss his bride, that thought shattered.
Dread filled Jaden’s eyes. His hands squeezed mine. I stepped closer so he wouldn’t need to.
He dropped my left hand and cupped my cheek. His gaze dropped from my eyes to my lips. I licked them, smoothing out the sudden dryness. He leaned close and paused.
“I love you, Star,” he whispered. The dread in his eyes filled his voice. He closed the distance.
His warm lips covered mine in such tender tentativeness that my heart melted. It was sweet and scared all in one motion. He pulled back, still cupping my cheek.
I opened my eyes and met his gaze. The entire room sat silent waiting for me to become a pile of ashes. I waited as well, giving my fate to the gods. If they deemed me unworthy, I would follow in Eleanor’s path.
I think I counted to ten before the spark in Jaden’s eyes ignited and his lips were on mine again. This time it was hungry and intense. I opened my mouth welcoming his tongue dance that set my body on fire.
The room erupted in applause, startling both of us. The kiss broke and so did the magic of the moment. His soft gaze hardened as he looked out at the crowd. The music started, and he grabbed my hand, crutching out of the ballroom with no acknowledgement of the clapping.
I glanced at him as we headed for the elevator. “No reception?”
“No. I didn’t feel like celebrating with a bunch of strangers that were so hell bent on seeing me die less than a month ago.”
I understood his aversion, but the people of the sector were truly poisoned by Samantha’s rule and only doing what they believed she wanted. She had proven so many times that if someone stepped off that path, she would destroy them. It wasn’t a personal choice; it was self-preservation. Of that I was sure, especially after the conversations I had today both in the street and within this hotel.
I followed him up to the penthouse in silence. He swiped his card key and held the door for me, following after I stepped inside. In the center of the room sat a small table that held a wedding cake along with a bottle of champagne. I smiled. He had thought of almost everything, and it warmed my heart.
The door closed, and he leaned against it with his back to me. The tension in his shoulders and back stood out in the tight fabric of his tuxedo. Whatever demons he had held at bay downstairs during our vows came back.
“Can I at least have a first dance with you?” I asked. There were still some wedding traditions I believed in, and the first dance was one I was not willing to forgo because of his anger or his ego.
He glared over his shoulder. “Is that a joke?”
“No. It isn’t. You’re more than capable of balancing on one foot.” I waited in the center of the room.
His eyebrow rose, but he crutched over to me. “I’m still pissed.” Even his voice was filled with the bitter anger he still held onto.
“Dance with me first, then we can talk.”
“Star...” he started, but I didn’t care.
I ensnared his neck with my arms and pressed my body against his. Reluctantly, he wrapped his free arm around my waist, pulling me closer.
“There’s no music.”
“I don’t care.” I put my head on his shoulder and just swayed slowly in place.
The warmth of the moment penetrated every cell, and being this close to him turned my nerve centers into a collection of sensations. Summer rain filled my nostrils as I inhaled his fresh scent. The softness of his cheek against my forehead lulled my eyes closed. His hand ran gently over my exposed back.
“Is this real?” I whispered.
He huffed a laugh, and his body went rigid again. “Doesn’t fell like it, does it?”
“No.” I looked up at him. “Why did you do all this?”
“Because no matter how angry I am, I realized I need you.” He glanced away and broke contact, almost pushing me from his arms. “Which pisses me off even more.” He crutched to the chair near the window and collapsed in it.
I took the seat next to him. “So your little declaration downstairs that you love me was all for show?”
He stared out at the dark remnants of the city and sighed. “No. But I honestly thought you were going to turn to dust. I thought you snowed me just like you had snowed my mother for all those years. But then again, it’s your spell, so who the hell knows.”
“Jaden, I’m still that girl you followed up to the top of that high rise. I’m still the girl you made love to in that little storage room.”
He glanced over at me. “But I’m not that guy anymore.”
“Why, because you lost part of your leg?”
“No, because everything I believed was destroyed in one moment. I thought my mother loved me, but that was a farce. I thought the council would believe me when I told them I didn’t kill Eleanor, but that was a fantasy. And I thought Frankenstein was just a mutated ravager, even though the science never added up. Now it all makes perfect sense, but the fact that I doubted the scientific facts means my belief in my abilities to discern fact from fiction is crap. And above all, my mother was truly the monster in this little fairytale, so what the hell does that make me?”
I listened to his rant and kept my gaze on the cityscape, watching his reflection in the glass. I let the question hang in the air because I saw a little of the monster he was capable of becoming when he was under Samantha’s control.
“Star?” he said after the silence became uncomfortable.
I turned, meeting his gaze. “I don’t know. It depends on what path you choose, Jaden. I can’t change what happened to either of us. I can only move forward and fight whatever demons seem to exist between us. But I can’t do that alone. It takes two people to make a relationship work, and neither of us knows what that looks like. All I know is I won’t be your slave, and I don’t expect you to be mine.”
It was his turn to be silent as he mulled over my words. “And if I somehow am destined to become a monster?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “That’s a choice, not a destiny. If you choose to be a monster, then I will not stand by you, despite the pledge I just made in front of all those people.”
He balked. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’m dead
serious. If you choose to be a cold-hearted bastard, then we have a problem.”
His hands clenched the chair arms, and his jaw line jumped with tension. “There are times I just want to smack you.”
His glare lit my own aggravation. I stood. “Then let’s go. Let’s see what you can do.” I waved him in like a sparring partner in the ring.
He continued to glare at me from the chair. “You’d hit a cripple?”
“You bet your ass. Just like you have it in you to beat the shit out of a woman.” I knew it was a low blow, but it came out with such ferocity that Jaden’s eyes narrowed.
He stood and stepped in, crowding me, his green eyes holding a wave of darkness like I’d never seen. “You really want to do this?”
My fists clenched. “I want payback.” My eyes widened at the subconscious slip. I knew I had some issues to deal with, but the conversation was bringing forth some ugly feelings.
His eyebrows rose. “For what?”
“For the shit you put me through.” My hand jumped to my mouth. I glared at him as the burn of anger ran through my blood. “You did it again, didn’t you?”
He actually smiled and pulled the mint sprig out of his cheek, tossing it on the edge of the table. “Damn straight.”
The bastard plied me with truth serum. “What about you? You really want to do this?”
“No. I want to rip that dress off and have angry sex with you until neither of us can think,” he growled. His eyes sparkled.
If I was under a spell, he certainly had to be too. My eyes narrowed as I studied him. “You’re affected by this as well, aren’t you?”
“Yes. It’s the only way I could think of beyond the wedding to figure out how much of this is real. Why do you think I’m babbling like a fucking idiot?”
Anger rose from the depths of my heart and I swung. He was ready and grabbed my wrist, pulling me against him.
“I’m pissed at you for everything you did to me,” I yelled, struggling in his grip. “You had this entire town shun me, and then when we were in that cell, you beat the shit out of me. If I hadn’t head-butted you, you would have raped me.” It all came forth like a giant surge. “I’m also mad because you just gave up. You were going to let those filthy beasts tear you apart without a fight.” Tears sprung to my eyes. “And I’m angry that I had to hurt you. I never wanted to do that, but I couldn’t let you turn and be killed. Hell, I didn’t even know if it would work.” I tried to push away from him, but he held fast, bracing himself with the crutch.
