Page 101 of The Forsaken Heir

Rasp walked Sophia down. The girl looked happy, and Rasp, for once, managed to look dignified and regal rather than like a preening peacock.

Behind them, Vince escorted Collette. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sahalie wave at him.

Vince grinned, his cheeks taking on a rosy hue as he walked the rest of the way.

Collette took her place behind Sophia, and Vince behind Rasp.

The bride’s side of the room wasn’t as full as the groom’s.

The Laurent family was still bitter about how things had gone down, but many had seen the writing on the wall and had relented in their condemnation of their house being led by a woman who couldn’t shift.

Most, if not all, were in attendance. Many hadn’t survived the battle, and her parents were now in exile.

Even if they weren’t, Elle wouldn’t have wanted them here.

Personally, I’d have sent them to Antarctica to freeze, or maybe to live in a hut in the Saharan Desert.

Instead, Elle had allowed them to retire to some Caribbean villa they owned when she’d have had every right to make their lives miserable.

She’d chosen mercy and kindness. It showed me, for the millionth time, how good of a person she was.

It was nice to see all the wolf shifters sitting alongside dragons. It hadn’t happened in many centuries.

Finally, Freddy stepped out with Delphine on his arm.

Freddy’s fiancée was in attendance at the wolf side of the room.

Their own wedding had been postponed. Even when Elle had tried to get him to change his mind, Freddy and his lady love had been stern in their assurance that they were fine with it, and that they wanted Elle to get married first. Something about how she’d been denied her birthright for much of her life, and as the eldest sibling, she deserved to have a special day first. That alone had sealed the deal for me, and I’d asked Freddy to be one of my groomsmen that afternoon.

Freddy gave Delphine a slight kiss on the cheek, then shook my hand. “She looks gorgeous, Aurelius. You’re not gonna believe it.”

Freddy grinned and joined the other men.

The quartet ceased playing for a few beats, then struck up the Bridal March.

My heart thundered wildly as I waited for the woman I loved more than anything in the world.

When Elle finally rounded the corner, all the breath left my lungs in a rush.

She was glowing, and beyond gorgeous. Her hair was adorned with ribbons and flowers.

Her dress, a flowing white with a long train, shimmered under the chandeliers hung from the roof of the tent.

The lights caught on the crystals embedded in the gown.

Seeing my face, Elle grinned, then stopped beside my father. I frowned, and a murmur went through the crowd as Elle leaned down to speak to him. This wasn’t part of the plan.

“Since my father doesn’t want to be here today, would you do me the honor of giving me away, Cassius?” Elle said.

My father’s face brightened, and tears shone in his eyes as he stood. I’d be lying if I didn’t feel the backs of my own eyes begin to ache with unshed tears of my own.

Dad held his arm out and cleared his throat. “It would be the honor of my life.”

Elle hooked her arm through his elbow and allowed him to lead her up the steps. When they stood in front of me, Dad raised his voice to be heard across the tent.

“I, King Cassius Decimus, do bestow Brielle Maire Laurent to be wed to Crown Prince Aurelius Decimus.” He slipped her hand off his arm, and placed it in mine. “May you treat her like the queen she will one day be.”

I nodded. “I will, Father.” I squeezed Elle’s hand, running my thumb along her knuckles.

Dad took his seat again, and I turned to Elle. Our eyes met, and neither of us could stop smiling.

Kaskawan raised his hands toward the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, we gather here today to join this man and this woman…”

“ L et’s party !” Rasp shouted as Elle and I walked through the door of the ballroom for the reception.

The crowd roared, and a dozen pops sounded around the room as the staff opened bottles of champagne.

Now that the vows had been said and the rings exchanged, even the wolves looked more at ease and happy about joining their house to the dragon king’s.

Elle and I took our seats at the head table, nibbling on canapés, our hands entwined beneath the table.

I glanced at her, and the grin she gave me in return told me she was thinking exactly what I was.

We couldn’t wait to get our hands on each other, but that would need to wait a while longer.

After our guests had enjoyed a few glasses of champagne, Rasp tapped on a microphone.

“Hi, everyone.” He raised his glass. “I think it’s time the bride and groom come out to the dance floor for the first dance, right?”

The crowd clapped and cheered. I put my lips against Elle’s ear. “I promise I won’t step on your toes.”

“Oh good,” she said. “I wish I could say the same.”

She was much better than she let on, and even if she’d been terrible, I’d have enjoyed feeling her body against mine.

After a few minutes, others joined in, filling the dance floor.

Elle rested her head on my chest as we swayed, and I couldn’t help but smile watching Vince and Sahalie drifting across the floor.

“Elle, I’m really happy for you,” a woman said.

Elle gasped and turned to hug her. “Lorraine! Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you came.”

The woman patted Elle’s cheek. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I’m at a table with the other girls from the store. Will you stop by and say hello to them? They’d love to see you.”

“Oh, of course. I’ll swing by after dinner.”

Lorraine poked Elle playfully in the ribs and pointed at me. “No offense to my grandson, I love him dearly, but you definitely did good with this one. I’m glad you didn’t let me pawn him off on you.”

Elle snorted and hugged the woman again. “I’m sure he’s a fabulous guy, but yeah, I don’t think I could have done much better than this.”

Lorraine’s eyes narrowed, and she lowered her voice. “What exactly is he a prince of? I heard his father say he was a king .”

Elle’s eyes went wide, and she glanced at me, then did her best to cover it up. “Um, well, it’s more an honorary thing. They’re family goes way back, and, uh…” She glanced at me, a silent plea for help.

“Like she said, more an honorific than anything,” I said.

Lorraine frowned, but she patted my shoulder. “You rich people are sweet, but very weird. Well, I’ll let you get back to enjoying yourselves.”

The woman gave Elle a brief hug and vanished back into the crowd.

“Do you think she bought that?” she asked.

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Come on, they’re gonna serve dinner any second.”

The food was fantastic, but what I enjoyed most was sitting beside Elle.

I had a sense of pride knowing she was mine.

Up here, I was a prince, soon-to-be king, but what I was most proud of was having this beautiful, smart, caring woman as my wife.

Surreal as it was, my mind buzzed with excitement at the prospect of a future with her.

I gazed out at our guests. Julian was at the bar, laughing with Freddy and Sophia. Dad had offered the healer a spot in our household, and the man had gladly accepted.

Vince and Sahalie were huddled in a corner, watching everyone.

Vince had a huge grin on his face, and Sahalie had her hand tucked behind him, holding him close.

My throat tightened, and I had to swallow back happy tears.

My friend deserved this, and I couldn’t be more excited for him to have found his person.

Rasp was on the dance floor again with a few small children, looking like a loveable uncle or older brother.

Seeing those kids laugh and spin in circles brought a smile to my face.

Elle and I had talked, and even though we would never have kids of our own, we could adopt.

Sadly, many kids had lost their parents during the fighting.

A young dragon or wolf shifter might complete our family one day, or perhaps Elle and I would be enough.

That was a question we could answer later.

Right now, all I wanted was to bask in the happiness of this day.

The night went on with more toasts, more dancing, and the cake cutting. I kept close to Elle, not wanting to be away from her for even a second. Just like the first night I’d met her, I was drawn to her. By the end of the evening, my face hurt from smiling so much.

Eventually, things wound down and the guests lined up outside, all of them bundled up in coats to stave off the cold, to wave goodbye to me and Elle. I gave my father and my friends a hug, and Elle did the same, then we got in the limo and drove off.

“Did that really just happen?” Elle asked, collapsing into her seat as we rounded the corner.

“It did,” I took her hand, lifting it to kiss her fingers. “Pretty amazing, huh?”

She gave me a weird, little smile, and her cheeks pinked.

“What’s on your mind?” I said.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, seriously, what’s up?”

“I guess that it’s hitting me all of a sudden,” she said with a sigh.

“What is it?”

“I’m a princess now.” She shrugged. “Every little girl’s dream.”

I laughed as I kissed her. “Well, I’m here to make your dreams come true.”

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?”

“That’s a surprise,” I said as she leaned in against me to enjoy the ride to the airport.

Given how cold it was where we lived, I’d decided to go for something a bit warmer. When we got to the airport and I showed her the tickets to Tahiti, I thought her jaw was going to fall off.

“Are you serious ?”

“Wait until we get there. I’ve got a surprise for you,” I said. I loved it when she was so excited.

The ten-hour flight was not quite how I’d imagined spending our first night as a married couple, but the first-class amenities made up for it a bit.

Unfortunately, we didn’t become members of the mile-high club.

As badly as we wanted each other, there was no privacy for anything like that, and honestly, I quite enjoyed the buildup and couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d do to her when we were finally alone.

When we finally arrived at the resort, it was far better than I’d thought it would be. Complete and total paradise. I’d booked a bungalow on the water, and once our steward had us settled into the room, Elle walked out onto the rear porch, gazing out at the huge expanse of azure water.

“Do you like it?” I asked.

Elle gave me a mischievous smile. “I do. Do you know what I’d like better?”

“What’s that?” I said, grinning back at her

“You with your pants off.”

“As you wish, my lady,” I said and began unbuckling my jeans.

Elle strode toward me, eyeing me like I was a buffet meal, and she was a starving woman.

When she got close, she pulled me to her and pressed her lips to mine.

There was an intensity to her kiss that hadn’t been there before.

Blessedly alone for the first time since our wedding, we both knew what was coming.

A final, powerful, binding of our lives together, sealed with passion and pleasure.

My own hunger surged forward as I worked to unzip my pants.

My dragon snarled, thrashing in my mind, desperate to claim her once and for all as ours. Our wife. Our mate. Forever.

“I’m gonna make you feel so good, baby,” I murmured.

“Prove it,” she gasped, and then yelped in surprise as I tossed her to the bed.

Powerful desire and hunger consumed me. Even as I pulled her pants and panties down, I imagined her thrashing about on the bed, and the image alone made my cock rock hard.

“Come here,” I growled as I spread her legs.

Bending low, I slid my tongue across her clit, drawing a moan from her that only urged me on.

Gripping her thighs, I feasted on her. Fucking her with my tongue, sucking at her clit, and swirling my lips all across her pussy.

This wonderful, gorgeous woman was all mine.

I had been searching for her all my life, and she was right here.

All I wanted was to show her how much she was loved.

Elle ran her fingers through my hair, crying out in pleasure. She pressed her hips upward, shoving her pussy toward my face. I rubbed her clit with my thumb as my tongue flicked over her entrance and lower to her ass. Even while I had my mouth on her, I still couldn’t get enough of her.

“God, Aurelius,” she hissed. “Fuck… I’m gonna come.”

I could feel her climax coming. Her body tensed, hips grinding against my face. I could smell her arousal, pheromones exploding off her body, sending my own desires skyward. My cock ached, desperate to be inside her, but I wasn’t done yet.

Elle arched her back and cried out as her orgasm crashed over her.

I held her thighs down and buried my face in her pussy, thrusting my tongue deep inside her.

Unable to speak, all Elle could do was curse, groan, and cry out as I pulled orgasm after orgasm out of her.

Finally, overstimulated and exhausted, she pressed her heels into my shoulders and pushed me away.

I grinned as she rolled over, pressing a hand to her pussy and giggling like a mad woman.

My dragon let out a joyous shout. This woman was ours. Mine. All mine. I wasn’t sure if I could love her more than I did in that moment, and I couldn’t wait to find out.

“Holy fuck,” Elle said into a pillow.

I stripped my clothes off until I was standing before her, my cock erect and throbbing. I knelt on the bed, stroking her back and legs, gliding my fingers across her breasts and nipples. Her body, soul, and mind bewitched me in a way I never knew could be possible before meeting her.

“How was that for a start?” I said, smiling down at her.

“A start? Does that mean you aren’t done yet?”

Throwing my head back, I laughed, then gazed down at her. “I don’t think I’ll ever be done. Not in all the years and decades we have left together. I could do this to you every day and every night.”

She looked up at me, eyes glazed with pleasure. Even though she wasn’t a full shifter, the hungry growl that erupted from her throat when we locked eyes sounded as wolfish as anything I’d ever heard, and it turned me on more than I would have imagined.

Elle got to her knees and curled her fingers around my cock, stroking me as she peppered kisses over my chest.

“I love you,” she whispered, then took me into her mouth.