Echo - Nicolae/Sebastian

Chapter 22: Valerya

Marriage had never had a meaning for Valerya. Ima had been married to a haish hara, the bad man who made her skin black and blue. 'Aba has only painted me,' Ima used to tell her when she was too young to understand. 'And paint does not last forever.' Young Rayna believed her for a time – until she came of an age where she could no longer hide behind her mother's skirts. Then, she understood what it was like to flinch with fear at the weight of her father's hand. The marked child, Sersyn's leaders called her as a cruel pun when they had discovered her paintedskin and broken lip. Marriage. The humans placed innumerable value on the meaning of matrimony, and she recognized Nicolae had more humanity in him than what she could ever have from the first eight years of her life when she had been human. Despite the uncertainties and the challenges their differing natures would bring, she wanted him. Marriage was an empty word to Valerya, but a future with Nicolae was the only dream she had ever dared allowed herself to dream, for it was a vision of hope and a silent prayer for a future filled with love and joy.

"Yes," she answered his question as she stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. He wore a contagious smile upon his lips that she could not help but match. In their private cocoon, under the kwanzan cherry tree's shelter, they lay in each other's arms, bathing in caresses and swimming in a sea of hope.

༻❀༺

The morning rays entered Valerya's room through her new cobalt blue curtains and window shades, coloring the walls in a sky-blue hue. It could have been heaven or another dream, but none of it mattered as she laid in the arms of her husband-to-be at their Cape Cod escape. "We could come here to get away," she suggested. Nicolae had siblings to look after, and as such, Valerya had a new family to get used to having around.

"Does my new bride have trouble sharing?" Nicolae teased as he slipped a hand under Valerya's short cream satin gown.

"Only certain parts of you," Valerya confessed as she reached inside Nicolae's trousers to excite what rested between his legs. It amazed her how much confidence she had gained in her sexuality in the few short weeks after she had first surrendered her body to him. Her purity had been guarded by her fosters like a fortress, making every time she gave herself to Nicolae all the more satisfying. With every intimate moment they shared, Valerya thought of her destiny and willingly rebelled against it. Every orgasm she experienced was a revolt against her fate. She and destiny were at war, and Valerya was winning every battle.

After their morning carnal desires had been sated, the pair started for the first-floor office. Nicolae sat on his desk chair reviewing and editing contracts by hand while Valerya drafted cover letters for the contracts Nicolae returned with revisions and counter demands. His cursive was neat and elegant, prompting Valerya to admire the lettering of every word. Nicolae preferred a pen and paper to technology, something she appreciated about him as well.

"I have the wedding dress alteration at two forty-five," she reminded him with a peck on the cheek as he scribbled his notes down on paper. Valerya had chosen a slender white court train wedding gown with off the shoulder long sleeves and a neckline that plunged down the bodice of her chest and back. The ceremony planned would be intimate, an event to be shared between two lovers and Nicolae's family. Nevertheless, Valerya's dress would be tasteful, and everything expected of a traditional human wedding. With only the cinching of the waistline left to alter, the date was fast approaching.

"I have not forgotten, love." He reassured her. "We will head out half past two."

He had barely spoken the words when they heard loud rapping on the door.

Valerya turned to look at Nicolae. "Are you expecting someone?"

"I am not," he responded before abandoning his chair and starting for the door. As Nicolae opened the front door, they were both taken aback by Peter's presence. "Peter, is something amiss?"