The Unspoken Vow

Chapter Eight

Ivan

It was right here, in this moment, that I truly felt content. With my arms around her and her head on my chest, I felt the stress slip away from my body.
As we swayed to the music, I felt the urge to kiss her grow stronger and stronger by the moment, until I had no control over my actions anymore and I tilted her chin up with my finger, her brown eyes twinkling when they met mine.
"Can I kiss you?" I asked her before I could even think about it, my voice surprisingly husky. 
Her smile faltered then her eyes became searching before she nodded, her eyes fluttering closed as I lowered my face to hers.
I let my hand rest at the base of her neck, and I brushed our lips together softly, her lips pressed against mine, her hands in my hair. She tasted so sweet, the kiss deepening into something tender, something I wanted to cherish forever.
When she pulled away, I lingered for a moment, my eyes closed, trying to memorize how it felt, then I realized that no, I didn't need to try, I would have no trouble remembering this moment.
When I opened my eyes again to look down at her and her eyes looked at me in that generously gorgeous way they did, I wanted nothing more than to take her away into somewhere private and kiss the life out of her. But the sudden cheer that erupted around us broke the spell of tranquility and I wanted to burn this damn place down for interrupting our moment like that.

~~~

I had left the rest of the wedding planning to Nyah, her mother and Eliana, not only because I wanted nothing to do with the chaos of it but because her mother had forced me out of the way to buy suits with my brothers.
Now, even two days after the engagement party, the moment on the dance floor still flashed through my mind unexpectedly and I couldn't get rid of images of her.
    She had worn a thin strapped white dress, and even in the matching heels that adorned her feet, she was still shorter than me. When she leaned her head against my chest I felt like carrying her off somewhere private and holding her close to me for the rest of eternity to keep her safe and away from anything or anyone that could hurt her. The memory of our dance reminded me of all the good things that came out of this marriage and a strong protectiveness over her hit me like a brick wall. It was becoming very clear to me that Nyah had an effect on me and it was becoming even clearer that I could do nothing about it.
    "You know, all my life I thought you were the best at keeping your emotions to yourself, Ivan." Malachi said, taking a long sip from his beer. "But ever since the whole marrying Nyah event, I've been proved wrong."
Kaian shook his head, the slightest hint of amusement on his face.
"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning.
"I mean it's obvious you want her. Why aren't you trying to hide it?"
"I don't want to hide it. I want everyone who sticks their nose in my business to know I have my eyes on her and that she's gonna be my wife." I said, not intending the bite in my voice.
"Alright, Ivan, just saying." Malachi said with a shrug. "Never thought you'd be the one to be head over heels for a woman."
"I'm not, but she makes a very good exception."
We arrived at the store and we were welcomed by a woman who was already drooling over Kaian. He didn't even look at her as he passed and went into the shop. Malachi winked at her and followed Kaian in.
"Anybody else in here?" I asked.
"No sir, the store's booked for just the three of you, we were already informed of your sizes and have a few for you to try on, but if you would like to browse, feel free to do so." She said, smiling, her eyes still trailing after Kaian.
"I'll try whatever's ready,"

~~~

After what felt like hours, we were finally finished fitting the suits we were meant to try on. Apparently, I had tried on six different styles, they all looked the same to me, but I decided on something simple. The wedding was Nyah's day and I wanted the spotlight to stay on her, though she didn't really need to try in that department. She could wear rags to the damn wedding and I would still lose my shit trying to understand how she always looked so damn perfect.
We had set for the wedding to take place towards the end of August, a little more than two weeks from now. A summer wedding by the beach because apparently, according to Eliana, it was what Nyah had always wanted. The ceremony would take place in the early evening, while the sun sets in the background, and hell, it would be a lie to say it wasn't at all like her to choose something like that. Her very being, her presence reminded me of summer.
Now, with my suit chosen and Eliana handing me photos of different venues, as if they all didn't look the same, I couldn't help but feel the pressing issue: Nyah was taking up space in my mind forcing me to think about her and only her. Not that this was new, she always showed up in my mind before our arrangement started, but not this frequently. It was distracting, an undeniably welcome distraction, but it wasn't looking good for the tasks I've set up for myself. I've canceled three business meetings and rescheduled a business trip because I couldn't fathom the thought of leaving Nyah. Especially after that damned kiss and the feeling that maybe, just maybe, she liked it as much as I did. My brows furrowed at the memory, she pulled away first, did that mean she didn't fucking enjoy it?
"Ivan, you're gonna rip the damn picture!" Eliana exclaimed, snatching the photo from my hands.
I sighed, then noticed a red bruise on her neck. "Who the fuck gave you that?" I asked, my hand clenching.
Nyah looked up from her place on the table, her eyes darting to Eliana and Eliana looked startled, her hand going up to her neck to cover the mark.
She frowned. "It's none of your business, Ivan, I'm twenty five for fuck's sake." She grumbled.
"As long as you live in this damn house, it's my fucking business-"
"Ivan! Shut the fuck up! Not everything has to be about you, who I fuck is none of your fucking business!" She glowered, her eyes bloodshot and that's when I first noticed it. Eliana was high on something and judging from the faint smell of it, she was fucking high on weed.
She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her and something like glass crashed in the next room.
Nyah stood up quickly, walking out behind Eliana, I followed her to find a glass vase knocked over and Eliana already on her way to her own house.
Nyah looked at the vase then at me. "Something's wrong," she mumbled and I noticed her hand shaking.
"Look, don't worry about Eliana, I'll deal with it."
"She's my best friend, Ivan, I can't not worry about her, and I feel something's different with her." She began.
I grabbed her shaking hand out of sheer will and kissed it. "Let me talk to her, 'kay?"
She sighed, "I don't think you should though," she said then pulled her hand away. I tried not to dwell on how that made me feel. I wanted to grab her damn hand again just to make me feel better.
"Maybe we should leave her alone for now, she needs space, I think." She added.
I blew out a breath. "Yeah,"
She looked out the wide front window then back at me, giving me a tight smile. "I think she's still grieving your dad," she said softly.
I couldn't do anything but nod.
"Come on, I made lemonade again, want some?" She asked.
I followed her into the kitchen where she took out a pitcher filled to the top with pink liquid. She poured ice into two glasses, followed by the pink lemonade and garnished it with mint.
She handed me one of the glasses and our fingers brushed softly, the feeling of her skin against mine earning a reaction from my dick and I had to clear my throat from the intensity of it.
Her eyes went to my groin and widened at the sight of it, I took a sip from the drink to conceal my smile. She quickly looked away, finishing off her lemonade. She went to the sink, busying herself with her now empty cup and I went behind her, she wore a backless summer dress giving me easy access to run my hand down her spine. She took in a sharp breath, her back arching slightly.
"Does it feel good to know you make my dick hard, Nyah?" I asked, against her neck and she inclined it, giving me more access to kiss it.
"Ivan," she whispered.
"Yes, love?" I asked, my hand going to her waist, then pressing a kiss to her shoulder. She let out a soft sigh of pleasure, motivating me to trail my hand down her hip, then her thigh, finding the slit of her dress, sliding the thin fabric aside, then caressing the inside of her thigh slowly, enjoying her scent as she leaned against me, her eyes fluttering close. I continued to kiss her neck, her shoulder, my hand moving up her thigh.
"I want you to kiss me again," she mumbled, bringing her hand up to cradle the back of my neck.
Without another word, I spun her around to face me, making her gasp, her arms went around my neck without hesitation and our lips collided in an intense kiss. The warm, fluid need deep in my groin making me dizzy.
We stayed that way, lips locked, hands all over each other. My hands tightened on her hips, lifting her up onto the counter, her hands tugging at my hair, her legs wrapped around my waist, pulling me to her, my bulge meeting her center. I could feel her warm and wet against me even through our clothes and fuck, that made me hard.
She pulled back, breathless and I kissed her neck, making her moan, my hands going up her thighs.
"Fuck, Ivan, I need you," she whined, her hands gripping my shoulder.
That was enough to bring me to my fucking knees but the door creaked open and a gasp interrupted us. "Ay, dios mio," I pulled away to find our chef, Maria, by the door, her eyes closed, her lips moving in silent prayer.
I turned back to Nyah, resting my forehead on hers and she kissed me lightly, a smile playing on her lips. I helped her down from the countertop, brushing my lips against the crown of her head, she squeezed my arm, a silent communication and moved past me as if nothing happened.
"Sorry, Maria, were you gonna get started on dinner?" She asked, turning her attention to the chef, leaving me standing there looking after her like a lost dog, not knowing what to do about my erection