Page 81 of Rook of Ruin
Simon starts moving to the rhythm of the music, coaxing me back onto the dance floor, and with a laugh, I follow him out. Tess and Paul join us, and I’m quickly caught up in the fun. Paul spins me, singing while Tess hands Simon another shot of spice, but Zane sits unusually quiet, not bothering to be the life of the party. Couples disappear into the woods and reemerge adjusting their dresses or suits, but in the late night, the crowd dwindles. Tess and Paul give me and Simon drunken hugs.
“I love you both.” I look at my friends.
Tess points her tattooed finger at me. “We fucking love you.” She points to Simon. “I like him too. He brought me back for you.”
“Have a great adventure, O.” Tess, Paul, and I hug each other, but Zane is oddly nowhere to be seen.
“Have a great adventure, you two.”
Simon lets us have our moment, and when it’s over, he holds my hand.
We watch them go, and a little piece of my heart goes with them. We give our farewells to the people left in the pavilion, then Simon picks me up and holds me in his arms as he carries me to a carriage waiting for us.
He opens the carriage door for me and holds out his hand to help me up, then I take it with a sly smile, and he throws his head back and laughs. “All it took was marriage for you to take my hand.”
“I had to make you work for it.”
He laughs even harder until he slides in next to me, his large body taking up most of the seat. “I like Paul and Tess. They were exactly how I thought they would be.”
I laugh. “Except when you thought Paul and I were lovers.”
Simon puts his arm around me. “I told you it wouldn’t have mattered.”
“And why is that?” I ask as I lean my head against his shoulder.
“Because”—he kisses the top of my head—“I’m the one you chose to marry. I’m the one who is going to win your heart. I’m the one who protects you at all costs, and one day, our children too. To me, it doesn’t matter what happened before us. What matters is now.”
I snuggle in closer to him.
When the carriage ride ends at the castle, Simon offers his hand again, and I take it. “Twice in one night.” He whistles. “I don’t know what to do with myself.” His dimples deepen, and I wink at him.
Simon holds my hand as we walk through the castle, but realization that we aren’t going to my room sinks in when we take a route that has us arriving at a different set of doors. Ones reserved for visiting royalty. I become very nervous as Simon opens the door and shuts it behind me, revealing a small foyerand a large sitting room twice the size of mine. It is decorated in blue and ivory and too much gold.
I flush. “Simon. I need to tell you something.”
He drops down onto a dark blue sofa by a roaring fire and flips off his black shoes. He turns towards me, and I sit on the opposite end.
“I need to tell you that I’m not a virgin.” I lower my eyes, not out of embarrassment but because I never exactly told him I wasn’t. “It was only once, and well, there’s something else . . .” I shrug, unsure of how I should say this. My mind races. Hells, we haven’t talked about a lot. “If you were hoping to have children right away, I can’t. As a Rook, it is highlysuggestedthat you take a potion, asterlyn, once a year to prevent pregnancy.” I clear my throat. “I have a couple of months left.”
“You know I’m not a virgin either.” He laughs, waving a dismissive hand. “I told you that. I’ve slept with more than one woman, and I’m not a bit ashamed of it. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve loved before and lost horribly, painfully. Do you judge me for that?”
I shake my head. “No. Why would I?”
“Exactly. It’s good that you felt comfortable enough to talk to me about asterlyn. I’m happy you’re honest about it—some people aren’t.” He chuckles. “Especially on the night of a wedding, which, by the way, I wasn’t going to pressure you to consummate.”
“I know you wouldn’t.”Truth.
Simon shifts his body slightly. “I would like children one day. I think it would be an amazing adventure to create a family together.” I smile, and he continues, “We can speak on that later. For now, it’s just nice to be just us.”
We sit in comfortable silence, watching the fire, and my mind works through the day. I run my teeth over my lip.
“O, until we—you—decide you are ready to consummate our marriage, stop biting your lip. I fucking hate it.”
“Oh.” I fidget with my dress, feeling embarrassed, hurt, and unsure.
He grabs my legs and pulls them up onto his lap, taking off my heeled shoes. “I fucking hate it because I can’t, and I won’t, do anything about it. Hells, Iwantto do something about it.”
My face warms, and I practically whisper, “Tell me, Simon. What do you want to do?”
