by Jayha Leigh
“You don’t like the dress?” She purred.
“I love the dress so much that it took every ounce of patience I possessed to hold back from hauling you upstairs and fucking you into submission while Indy shouted the marriage vows through the door!”
“Ianikut, the dress covers everything.”
“That’s not the point.”
Sensing that Ianikut was approaching a dangerous mood, Aloha made an admission. “Ianikut, I selected this dress because I wanted to wear something worthy of you.”
“You were born worthy of me. It’s I who has to prove my worth to keep you.”
“This is the one gown that made me feel beautiful when I put it on,” Aloha whispered.
“Angel, even when wearing Carolina paraphernalia, you’re too beautiful for words.”
“Oh,” she gasped.
“It’s a good thing that I have iron-clad control,” he said.
Having felt his raging erection against her, Aloha challenged his assertion of self-control. “You think that you had ironclad control because I didn’t see any evidence of said control on the dance floor.
“Angel, if you knew how much I wanted you in that moment, you would applaud my control.”
“Well, that’s what you get after that stunt with the cake,” she harrumphed.
“That’s your fault for having such a delectable mouth. I might have to forbid you from eating in public. Angel, you are so beautiful,” he rasped.
“I love you, Ianikut,” she whispered.
Ianikut brought the car to a complete stop and spent the next fifteen minutes kissing her. “I love you more, angel moya.”
“You do not,” Aloha exclaimed.
“Yes, angel. I do.”
“Take me home and prove it,” she challenged.
Ianikut restarted the car and headed home. Aloha started undressing only to have Ianikut stop her. “I’ll only have one chance to unwrap a woman from her wedding gown,” he whispered.
“You might get married again,” Aloha teased.
“I’ll never marry another woman, Aloha. I can’t, so don’t tease me about this.
“Ianikut, you’re probably going to outlive me being vampire and all,” she said.
“No, angel. Mated vampire couples die together.”
“I’m not a vampire, Ianikut.”
“But I am. When I made love to you and took your blood, physiological changes took place within me. I’m attuned to you. When you cease to be, so will I, angel.”
“But that means that you’re condemned to human life expectancy ‑‑ not the standard long ass vampire one,” she whispered.
“Yes, angel, but that is a small price to pay for the privilege of being married to you.”
“Oh, Ianikut. I…”
“Don’t tell me that you’re sorry for marrying me, angel, when I’m both honored and grateful to be your husband.”
“You gave up so much life for me though,” she wailed…honored beyond belief. “Why didn’t you tell me before we got married?”
“Because you would attempt to ‘save’ me not knowing that I would willingly give up everything for you.”
“Ianikut.”
“Perhaps now you understand why I’m such a protective bastard when it comes to you.”
“Oh, Ianikut.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Ianikut was cognizant of every detail. He realized that he would never have another first time to carry his wife over the threshold, or carry her up the stairs or make love to her. So, he vowed to take his time. As soon as he reached their bedroom, he placed her on the bed and dropped to his knees. Closing his eyes, he prayed for strength. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing. His heart was full of so many words, but he wasn’t sure how to say them. “Angel, angel, angel” he whispered.
“Ianikut,” she answered.
“Oh, God, Aloha. You are my Marya.” He had known, those many months ago when he refused to imagine life without her. Like Sansoni, his world revolved around two things: his God and his woman. Like Sansoni had started loving his God when he realized that it was God who had given him this woman.
“Who is Marya?” Aloha asked.
“Marya was the wife of Sansoni. To our people, there is but one romance ‑‑ that between Marya and Sansoni. That remains the romance to which all other romances are compared. No one is sure where Sansoni came from only that he was not Russian. He was a man, who was known for one thing: for being a law unto himself. It was said that there was no worse enemy than Sansoni. Men feared him, but women only knew gentleness from his hands and heard only pleasantries from his lips.
But when he fell in love with Marya, he became known for two additional things: his love for Marya and his love for his God. Never a churchgoing man, nevertheless he frequently sang litanies to God for gifting him with Marya. When people asked him how much he loved Marya, he responded, ‘Like Christ loves the Church.’ Aloha, you are my Marya.
I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. It doesn’t seem as if three words can ever convey everything I feel in my heart. Saying I love you seems insufficient. You will never know how much I care for you, need you, want you. This is the first time I’ve ever been scared. I’m scared that I’ll fail you in some way…that you’ll leave me. I’m scared and I’m honored that God has seen fit to gift me with you. The money, the houses, nothing measures up to you, angel. I deeply and truly love you.”
Aloha listened to this man who had humbled himself to her…who had exposed his heart and his vulnerability to her…who had not only admitted having a weakness, but admitted that she was his weakness. And she too thanked God for this man. “Thank you,” she gasped. “Ianikut, you honor me. You’ve given me love that I didn’t even know I needed. And if I am your Marya, then you are my Sansoni.”
They were both crying as they poured out their hearts.
“If I don’t stop crying, I’m going to be a mess.”
“You’ll always be beautiful, angel, regardless of how messy you get.”
Aloha gave Ianikut a moment to ogle her before she undressed him. She wasn’t careful with his suit because she was anxious to have him…to make love with her husband…to be made love to by her husband. In moments, she had him undressed although she wasn’t sure where she had chucked his clothing.
Pulling her to her feet, he slowly unwrapped her from her gown. And when she stood before him in only her veil, he wept again at her beauty and his blessing. Though the alpha in him was present, he didn’t want to dominate Aloha this time, he wanted to make love to his angel. His hands shook as he gently pushed her braids away from her face. He caged her in with his massive upper body. Taking her hands in his he stopped and just looked at the gift of his beautiful wife. Ianikut stared into her eyes willing her to see the depth of his love for her. When he saw the same love mirrored in her eyes, he took her mouth and kissed her until they were both breathless and then he entered her. When he was planted deep inside her, he stopped. “Aloha, I love you.”
“And I love you, Ianikut.”
“I really love you, angel. With everything I have. With everything,” he declared as he stroked into her with excruciating slowness. He loved hearing her respond to his lovemaking and treasured each sigh he coaxed from her; every moan she gave up. Her pleasure was a gift to him, one he would never take for granted. The pure beauty of her climax absolutely amazed him. His angel’s eyes filled with such wonder right before she threw her head back and gave herself over to the sensation. She was joy personified. He always tried to hold his own pleasure in abeyance so that he could witness the beauty of her taking pleasure from his body. It was a testament to her trust and her love for him, and it never failed to humble him for he knew that she was a woman who closely guarded her heart. He also knew that this woman loved him, both the man and the vampire.
Aloha always enjoyed making love with Ianikut. He had loved her every way there was to love her and all of them led to the same thing ‑‑ a cataclysmic o
rgasm. This time was different. Ianikut touched something within her with every caress. Each kiss carried promises. He gently opened up her soul and inserted himself there. She read incredible dreams in his eyes. And she knew without a doubt, that whatever came, she would spend forever with this man; she would die for this man; and she would live for this man.
Even after they had made love many times, they couldn’t let each other go. They lay face-to-face whispering I love you’s to each other before lapsing into the comfortable silence that preceded deep sleep.
“Aloha,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
“Aloha, promise me you won’t leave me.”
“Ianikut, what’s wrong, baby?”
“Promise me you won’t leave me,” he repeated his plea.
“Baby, why do you think that I’m going to leave you?”
“Because you might after I make this confession.”
Aloha attempted to sit up, but Ianikut pulled her under him and used his weight to press her into the mattress.
“Is there another woman?”
Ianikut felt her agitation and did his best to calm her. Her heart beat much too fast and he felt the adrenaline building within her. How could she think he’d want another woman? He had to quickly dispel such insane notions lest she attempt something foolish like leaving him.
“There can never be another woman, angel. Never think such nonsense, because that’s all any such thought would be. I love only you!”
“Then, what is it?”
“The Aleksandrovich lineage is categorically the most powerful vampire family in existence. My father is King of all vampires. That title has passed to the eldest male in our line for the last few centuries. It’s supposed to pass to me.”
“Okay, so you’re like a vampire prince?”
“There’s not really a human comparison, but I guess that’s close enough.”
“And what’s the problem exactly?”
“My father, isn’t happy with our marriage.”
“Is it because I’m not a vampire, non-Orthodox, or black?”
“Yes, yes, and yes.”
“But your father has met Atlanta,” she said.
“And he despises her,” he answered. “He thinks that American women are too headstrong ‑‑ black women in particular.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before we got married?”
“That my father despises Atlanta? Because pretty much everyone despises Atlanta and she doesn’t give a damn.”
“Ianikut, you’re so close to perishing right now. That is not what I’m talking about. Why didn’t you tell me all of this ‑‑ the regency thing, the way your father despises black, non-Orthodox American nonvampire women.”
“Because, angel, you would’ve attempted to avoid marrying me.”
“You said attempted.”
“Yes, attempted because you’re my heart, angel. There’s no way that I would allow you to run from me forever.”
“You are so…so…”
“Handsome? Wonderful?”
“Yeah, you’re all that, but I was going to say delusional.”
“Aloha, we’re married and that’s that.”
“Oh, really, because we have this little procedure called ‑‑”
Covering her mouth, he stopped her speech. “Don’t even utter the d-word. There will never be a divorce between us, Aloha.”
Seeing that she was working up a good amount of anger, he took the alpha down a notch. “You promised me that you wouldn’t leave me. You promised, angel. You cannot leave me.”
“I’m not going to leave you, Ianikut. I have a thing or two to say about your omissions, and later in our marriage I’ll trot that out. But right now, I need to know what we’re up against.”
“Aloha, my father can challenge me. He can cut me off from my people and forbid me to use the Aleksandrovich name…for starters.”
“A, I’m not changing my last name again, and B, why are we going to Russia considering what you just said?”
“Because I have to. My father has to make an official decree. If I don’t go, angel, it’s as if I’m doing something shameful. Marrying you is worth any price I have to pay; worth any punishment that he may mete out. And I am sure he will mete out punishment but he will have to look me in the eyes to do it, and when he does he will see that my love for you overrides anything he can do to me.”
“What if he tries to fight you, Ianikut?” She sobbed.
He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “Then he will die, angel. I have much to live for. And one of the first lessons males of any species learn is that it’s dangerous to come between a male and his female.”
“Don’t you mean a vampire and his mate?”
“That too, angel, but before I am a vampire, first I am a man.”
“We need to tell Jack in case he gets a bunch of other vampires to jump you. And I bet Reign knows how to kill vampires.”
“Angel, my brothers have chosen to go into exile with me should that punishment be handed down. There’s no vampire who can stand against me, and no group who can stand against all of my brothers and live.”
“I hear that, but we don’t leave for Russia for two weeks. That’s plenty of time for me to form my own contingency plan. Now, make love to me and convince me why marrying you was a good idea.”
“And when this is over, I want a tiara since you’re a prince and all.”
“So you’re confident that I’ll be victorious?”
“How can you not be with me by your side?” she answered.
Chapter Twenty-six
They made love throughout the night and straight through the week. They decided to postpone their honeymoon, which made perfect sense considering their upcoming ceremony in Russia. Though she was concerned about it, Ianikut distracted her from any worries that clouded her happiness with his superior lovemaking.
Aloha reveled from Ianikut’s lovemaking. He always loved her with a thoroughness that left her breathless, soft, and amazed that this man was so turned on by her. The question must’ve been in her eyes for when she came down from the crest of the last orgasm and opened her eyes, Ianikut pulled back.
“What’s wrong, angel moya? Did I not please you?”
What the hell was wrong with him? She was pretty sure he wasn’t stupid, yet he asked that asinine question. She didn’t realize that she’d spoken aloud until he answered.
“I’m glad to know that you don’t consider me stupid in spite of me being a Duke alum and all. Regardless of how it may seem I assure you that it’s not an asinine question, angel. There’s an emotion in your eyes other than absolute pleasure.”
“I,” she stopped.
“Go on, angel. Tell me what it is.”
“I just don’t understand why, Ianikut. You can have your pick of women. Every time I see some leggy, porcelain-skinned woman with a silken cascade of hair I think there goes a woman worthy of Ianikut and I feel that you’ve been cheated. That feeling is tenfold now that I know about your father. And then I realize how selfish I am because even though those women are beautiful and can give you so many things including acceptance from your father, I’m not willing to give you up.”
Ianikut knew that she felt that her words held truth but he needed to quickly disabuse her of that notion.
“Angel, how do you think that I, the Ianikut Maksim Aleksandrovich, feel when you’re surrounded by your cult like following of males? It’s not simply the handsome, successful black men that concern me, it’s all males regardless of race, paranormal affiliation, or university ties.”
“But those guys are just my friends.”
“Angel, I have excellent vision and hearing. I had to call the berserker and warn him that I’d kill his brothers if they made a move on you. When you walked out in that gown at Atlanta’s wedding, I growled out a warning so that I wouldn’t ruin their wedding by starting a brawl.”
“Actually, that might’ve helped it.”
Iani
kut spoke as if he hadn’t heard her. “And at our wedding. Angel” ‑‑ his voice croaked ‑‑ “I…I had no words. I only knew that I would do anything to keep you by my side. Anything, angel.”
“You don’t have to do anything more, Ianikut. You’ve already done enough to catch me so now you’re stuck with five and a half feet of stacked black woman with kinky hair.”
“Even though you’re five foot three, there’s no other woman who can stand against you.”
“I love you, Ianikut even though you cannot measure.”
“And I’m glad that you love me in spite of this fault.”
“You said fault without making it plural.”
“I told you I was damn near perfect.”
“And you ain’t never lied, Ianikut. You are damn near perfect but I’ll never admit that outside of our bed,” she sighed into his mouth.
“Well, then, I shall simply keep you in the bedroom.”
* * * * *
While Ianikut took care of the last minute plans for their trip to Russia, Aloha planned a siege with the Posse. Clearly, Reign was the general in charge of the complex plans involving copious subterfuge and Jack was the commander who would carry out the devastation that Reign concocted. Though Reign might be slightly insane, she was clearly in her element and more dangerous than any of them gave her credit for. Regardless of her inanity, Aloha was glad that Reign was on their side and told her so.
It was a good thing that Ianikut had his own jet because Aloha was pretty sure that everything Reign had planned was illegal pretty much everywhere. General Reign had just wiped the board down with glass cleaner when there was a knock at the door. The total lack of panic in the room could easily lead one to believe that the ladies were doing nothing more than watching cartoons and gossiping. Then again, that’s what the scene was set up for: the windows were open, fragrant potpourri perfumed the air, there was even a pitcher of lemonade and a tray of snacks laid out on the table. All visitors would see was a picture of domestic tranquility ‑‑ not the deadly weapons that each woman knew the precise location of. Reign’s motto was it’s easiest to pull off subterfuge in plain sight.
