In Which Rona Is Sparked and Sparked Again

January 5, 1178

Jadin blinked and Isidro's brow knotted. Bernardo took one step into the room and stopped to gape. "Uh, Rona?" Her brother-in-law twisted his mouth into a grimace as he searched for the right words. "Aren't you supposed to be naked?"

Hmph. She'd be sure to tell her sister he'd sounded disappointed--whenever her sister sobered up, at any rate. "They were all pretty drunk."

"And they just left you here?"

Not sure what else she had, Rona offered an apologetic shrug. "I guess they forgot what they were supposed to be doing?"

Frowning, Isidro glanced down at the still-made bed and shook his head. "Shouldn't have believed her when she said she'd go easy on the liquor."

"What's the matter?"

Bernardo stepped aside to make way for Ashe. Embarrassed, Rona tried to smile but barely managed a flash of her teeth. Her husband--God, that was a strange thought--glanced her over and returned it with a warmer grin. Not that she could have expected any less, she supposed. Ashe didn't do cold. "I take it the ladies were a bit...?"

Jadin snickered. "Wasted? Sounds like it. On the plus side, I guess we're all getting laid tonight."

Isidro groaned. "Do you ever have any thoughts that don't somehow involve your penis?"

"Please don't answer that." A little annoyed, Jadin's open mouth shut. Ashe shot Rona an uneasy wink before changing the subject. "Uh... is Electra still awake, by any chance?"

If her presence at the banquet had been any indication, Rona doubted Electra could find the laces even if she was. "She didn't pick the best night to try wine."

His men exchanged a few strained looks; Ashe himself, however, just stepped forward and gestured toward the door. "It's all right. You three get back to your wives; from the sounds of it, they'll be needing you to hold back their hair pretty soon."

Isidro's eyes narrowed and Bernardo's face scrunched, but neither argued--Isidro even grabbed Jadin by the arm and dragged him along with them. All six boots now safely in the other room, Bernardo shut the door; Rona and her bridegroom were alone.

"You're so beautiful." He rested one hand on her arm and slipped the other around her side and to her back, fingers running along her spine. "I know I've said it a dozen times today, but... God."

"Mmm." She supposed she ought to tell him how handsome he looked, but she already had; they hadn't both avoided the fear of redundancy. Or maybe that wasn't what she feared at all. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for the laces."

"So you're my maid for the night, then?" He gave a nervous sort of laugh, then ushered her further into the room where the light was a little better. "Better you than Jadin, I suppose."

"I'll say." He fished out the start of the concealed lace from the back of the lining and pressed a swift kiss to her neck, one of many places she'd never been kissed before. His lips left a spark as a souvenir and it shot through the rest of her flesh; she wondered where else he might kiss her tonight. "Do you think you could get your hair while I take care of your dress?"

Nodding, Rona removed the blossoms from their blond bounds, letting them fall to the floor as she undid the knot. Hair rained down in front of her face but missed Ashe's fingers by a good few inches; they had taken to the laces as ducklings to the pond--gentle, efficient, even practiced. "Are you sure you've never done this before?"

"Uh... beginner's luck?" He sounded sheepish. She didn't need to turn around to see his hesitant smile. "Done. I'm going to let it fall now--is that all right?"

She nodded and he did as he'd promised. The gown slipped down her form and cascaded to a silken pool around her ankles. It was done. Her wedding day was over and her wedding night would soon begin. She'd never wear that dress again. Perhaps some years down the road it would relive its day of glory on the body of her freckly, green-eyed daughter.

"Is it wicked of me to say you're even prettier naked?"

Relieved that he hadn't noticed just how fat she was without any fabric to hold it all in, Rona giggled. "A little--but I can't say I mind."

She stepped forward from the discarded dress and he picked it up with a cautious grip, shaking it out and folding it as he made his way toward the dresser. How many men folded clothes? Ashe did, apparently. He even seemed to know how to deal with such gowns. "Really--you swear you've never done this before?"

Ashe laughed as he placed the dress in the drawer, continuing to do so as he pulled his tunic over his head. "All right, you caught me--I was once lady's maid to the most brilliant, ravishing, altogether enchanting noblewoman in all of Europe."

A small smile coming on, Rona stifled a snort. "You're such a liar."

Still chuckling, Ashe kicked off his boots and proceeded to the hosen. Whatever modesty Rona had left compelled her to focus on his lightly-toned torso. She would look upon his lower half before the night was up, but with all the fuss of such a hasty wedding she hadn't had much time to brace herself for the sight. For now, the upper was more than sufficient. "Nice biceps."

"What can I say? I aim to impress." And yet, she thought she caught a hint of a blush. He laid his clothes to rest in the drawer and returned to her. She'd seen grown men's chests before--overheated workers did like to take their shirts off, and any woman was bound to walk past construction every once in a while--but never up close. The sculpted detail was nothing short of art, each groove and indent a precise highlight. "Are you nervous?"

"A little," Rona admitted, though in truth it was a slight understatement. "Are you?"

"Honestly? Terrified." He flashed her a twitch of a grin as his arm wove beneath hers one more. She worried that he might be aiming for her ass, but his fingertips instead landed on the small of her back. The spark from the neck-kiss surged once again. "But the good sort of terrified. I love you, Rona. I love you, and you're all I've ever wanted and more."

Rona didn't know much about love. How to answer that was no exception.

Not wanting to say nothing, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled herself against him. He kissed her forehead and she distracted herself with the sight of his neck. "You're not quite naked. You're still wearing my key."

He slipped his hands beneath her thighs and lifted her to eye-level, nose to nose, mouth to mouth. "Told you I'd never take it off."

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