Page 23 of Legacy

The traditional wording. Their possessiveness implied I would be Elias’s, not that he’d be mine or that we’d be each other’s.

I shook the thought away and waited to see if Elias actually planned to kiss me. Nothing with him had gone as expected. Why would this?

His focus landed on my lips, almost like a physical caress, and they tingled in response. I took in an unsteady breath, and immediately, his expression darkened.

As if in slow motion, he cupped my face. The brandingof his hold and the heat of his touch shot through me, and without thought, I leaned toward him.

I kept my eyes on him as he dropped his mouth to mine. Desire spiked through me, a tingling from head to toe. It was the barest, briefest brush of his mouth against mine, too short and too tender, but a knowing settled over me.

The kiss sealed my fate to his in more ways than marriage. One of us would fall, one would break, and one would hurt the other.

I went still, unable to let him see how much the realization had the back of my throat burning.

As he stepped back, still holding my hand with the ring he’d given me, his expression revealed he was as unsettled as I was.

Seven

Avra

I found myself at the periphery of a crowd gathered in what used to be a lovely enclosed garden veranda belonging to my family. Now, it showcased only the ostentatious displays of an insecure man longing for validation and eager to assert his dominance in the hierarchy of influence and wealth.

Even after fifteen years, Ozias Xenos refused to accept that one could show power without shoving it in the faces of others. You embodied it, lived it, and carried it.

My gaze settled on Elias, who stood in the center of a group of European and American syndicate heads invited for the occasion. They were in the middle of an animated discussion.

The business and politics of our world never ceased, even during a wedding. Elias seemed fully engaged in the conversation in front of him. Yet, something about his posture indicated that he was aware of everyone around him.

Especially me.

From the moment we left the church, we barely exchanged more than a dozen words with each other, even during the couple’s dance. Yet, in that moment, staying silent was for the best. The unspoken attraction between us pulsed as if it were a living thing, making it clear that the sex to come would be far from gentle.

Shit, this wasn’t the time for that train of thought.

In the next instant, my gaze locked with Elias’s. It was disconcerting how we seemed to sense each other, whether across the large room or within reach.

Perhaps it was a blessing that the activities of the wedding reception kept us busy, playing Ozias’s puppets as he showboated as the actual guest of honor.

The proud papa who bagged a Vitalis for his son.

He wanted this moment, so be it.

And from the way Elias shook his head every time he noticed his father’s antics, he made clear he believed Ozias the fool for the behavior he displayed.

Ozias’s roar of laughter boomed out throughout the room, and I muttered, “Idiot.”

“Naughty, naughty,” Laya said with a smirk as she approached. “Don’t let anyone else catch you displaying disgust at your father-in-law’s need for attention.”

“This isn’t my wedding. It’s his.”

Laya shrugged. “You were aware of this going in.”

“Seeing it on display is different. The man is an older version of the ‘pick me’ boy.”

“I can’t believe you said that.” Laya laughed. “I’m happy Cali didn’t hear it, or she would only add fuel to that fire.”

I spotted her across the room with Vik, who looked as if he were giving Cali a lecture of some type. “I can only assume she is sharing her views with Vik at the moment.”

“At least she only gives her opinions to us. I was proud of everyone for keeping calm during the photography session and throughout dinner.”

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