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Vivian held her breath as seconds ticked by, her heart humming and thrumming as she stood under Leo"s burning gaze. After entering back to his room, he had let go of her hand, the warmth dissipating from her palm of her hand letting the surface turn cold.

Seeing him look down at his hand, to remove the ring which he often wore on his index ring which was a family heirloom that she had seen Mr. and Mrs. Carmcihael wear; he took it off. The next second he picked up her hand and slipped the ring on to her ring finger.

"Now it feels complete," Leo beamed at her with a boyish smile making him look of his age as he rarely smiled keeping up with a stoic face since a young age. She saw him loosen the b.u.t.tons of his s.h.i.+rt, remembering that she was wearing his cloak she removed it quickly. Not knowing where to place it she looked left and right as the stand to hang the cloak was on the other side of the room.

Leo had given a heartfelt confession at the church before Sister Isabelle had announced them to be husband and wife with a quick ceremony. He seemed calm as if things nothing had changed while she came to realize that she was his wife. And as the thought pa.s.sed through her mind, she felt her heart melt.

She was Leonard"s wife. Thinking about it she felt a warm fuzziness fill up her chest.

"Give it to me," Leonard offered, taking the cloak from her hand he turned his back to walk to the stand and hang the cloak there before turning back to her, "You look like a scared mouse," he stated, going to unb.u.t.ton the cuffs around his wrist and folding the sleeves which gave his appearance a more relaxed feeling as he was at the mansion now.

"Leo..."

"Yes?" he tilted his head in question of what she wanted to say. Seeing her pause as if she were wondering what and how to speak, he instead spoke to her, "Was it too sudden?" She shook her head. They both loved each other so she didn"t see why they couldn"t marry now. It didn"t matter if it was no or later as it would still be the same. "I promise to keep you happy, Vivi. You are my wife now," he said making up for the lack of her words right now.

"I will try my best too," her earnest response made him smile, the smile that was reserved only for her.

Her bare feet padded on the cold floor as she walked towards him, going to stand in front of him with both her hands holding each other. Raising herself on her toes she pressed her lips on his. Letting it linger for the briefest moment but the Duke took the opportunity to encircle her in his arms to bring her close to prolong the kiss.

For a person who had loved the girl forever since they were young, Leonard wanted to possess everything about her. Though he had touched her before now it felt different as there was a ring of her being his wife in the air. The proof being his ring that rested on her finger. His hands ran through her clothed body, feeling every curve while wanting her closer and wanting to become one with her body and soul.

How long had he waited to call her as his own? Too long. She was his person finally. It might have appeared to be hasty to marry her in the middle of the night but he didn"t see the point in delaying it any further. He wanted her and there was nothing more he could ask for in this world. His heart and mind felt settled, a calmness was.h.i.+ng over him at the thought of Vivian being his lawfully wedded wife.

He sensed the anxiousness she felt as they kissed as if she were afraid that everything right now was a dream. A lie and a figment of her imagination which would disappear when the morning would arrive.

She kissed him back with the same ferocity, her hands went to lock around his neck as her hands formed into loose fists. Her lips moved against his, feeling him tug on her upper lip which was sweet torture as he drew it out with his teeth with a flicker of pain before caressing back with his warm tongue tenderly. Licking the seam of her lips, he slipped into the sweet cavern of her mouth. One of his hand had made through the back of her hair while the other rested on the top of her hip to bring her close to him as they kissed. Tongue clashed each other with need, and Leo"s mouth had suddenly turned to an Oasis of water to Vivian who was like a thirsty traveller who had been stranded in a dessert. She was the gasoline and he was the fire that burnt the remnant of her soul, imprinting himself on her.

Not breaking the contact, Leonard manoeuvred her towards his bed. He sucked and nibbled her lips, pulling away from the embrace she saw him take a step back away from her.

Leonard pulled his s.h.i.+rt over his head swiftly which was followed with him taking off his pant and other clothing off of him.

At the sight of him, she felt her heart beat loud enough that she could hear it in her own ears. She looked away from his naked body where she had seen the taut muscles. Though she had been bare in front of him before, it was the first time for Vivian to see him completely without clothes. Not able to keep up with her shyness she had turned away to look at something less appealing when she felt Leo place his finger below her chin to gain her attention back to him.

"Look at me," he commanded her so that she wouldn"t avert her eyes.

Leo didn"t mind her bashfulness when she tried to hide the blush when he had stripped himself naked for her to view. He surprised her by picking up her hand and placing it on his chest to see her black eyes widen slightly. It might have been the first time for her to be seeing him like this but he didn"t want her to feel embarra.s.sed about it. They were going to do more embarra.s.sing things in the future than her innocent mind could have conjured which only made him hard at the thought it.

She was the apple that he had eyed for so long he could remember. A delicious apple that was hanging from the highest branch of the tallest tree and he had swatted away any possible picker who would have eaten this fruit of his. Now that he had picked it for himself, he wanted to sink his teeth and taste it.

Vivian could feel his firm muscles underneath the touch of her hands, blood rose up from her neck to settle down in her cheeks, "I-isn"t it too early?" she asked him meekly as his eyes held her in place so that she wouldn"t look away.

"Indeed. It is too early to sleep right now," she gave him a playful and an accusing look to say,

"This is why you married me," he chuckled, nodding his head.

"That is right. You were the one to bring up the wedding. I only obliged to your wishes. Isn"t that right, darling?" his tone turned to one which was serious. Leo knew she was nervous and if he gave her more than a year, she would still continue to be nervous and try to wiggle out of his arms to run away from him, "Let me take these off for you," he said looking down at the dress she wore and made her turn so that her back faced him.

Placing his hands on her waist he brought her close to lean forward and catch the little piece of metal with his teeth to unzip her dress. The zipper made a pur like sound as it went down till her lower back. Pus.h.i.+ng the parted material away as he stood back up he helped her slide it down to fall down around her feet.

The fire continued to crackle in the fireplace when Vivian felt him pull her almost naked back towards his bare front to feel the warmth as she stood there wearing only her underwear. She could feel his hardness on her b.u.t.tock cheeks that had settled itself in between snuggly making her breathy. She felt him sway their bodies gently which provided the necessary friction to the need that had come to brew between them.

Running his hands up and down her waist his lips attached to her shoulder, peppering kisses all over the skin and up to the back of her neck one kiss after another. Vivian sighed blissfully in his arms until she cried out of the dull pain which was caused due to Leonard biting her earlobe. He bit and suck her earlobe. First tenderly, and as she fell into a state of euphoria, a sting of pain brought her back to reality.

"It hurts," she whined softly.

"It was meant to hurt," he nibbled her ear to go back to kissing the nape of her neck.

When he turned her around she looked up at him with those innocent black eyes of her as if waiting for his word on what to do. Wanting to tease her, he c.o.c.ked his head, "It"s okay to look down, Bambi. You need to familiarize yourself with it as you"ll be seeing it often," at his words, Vivian felt as if the temperature of the room had skyrocketed.

She gulped as he waited for her instead. Waiting to see if she would obey his words, "Give me your hand," he spoke to her sweetly and when she did, he guided it down to his chest and then to his stomach. Moving it further down she touched his manhood which felt warm and hard in her hand, "Don"t be scared."

"I am not," she replied back while keeping her ground to not be intimidated. She took the courage to look down at the pulsing length in her hand.

"Stroke it," he guided her to move his hands on top of hers.

Vivian was thankful to have him say what was to be done as it gave a push of motivation to her due to her beating heart that about to jump and run away. Feeling him move his hand up and down, she followed it on cue, his hand slowly letting go of her hand as she continued her hand movements. Remembering what she had seen in the night theatre when Leo had taken her there, she decided to increase her speed.

Peeking up she saw his head which was thrown back with his eyes closed to only be opened timely to look at her and she couldn"t look away. His lips parted, a sigh escaping his lips which fueled her enthusiasm in pleasing him after seeing the pleasurable look on his face.

Her hand suddenly stopped when Leo caught hold of her wrist to stop her from moving any further, "Is it not right?" she asked him worried that she had done something wrong.

"You did more than well," he kissed her cheek and then pulled her to him as his hardened length pressed on her stomach. He trailed his finger across her lips, staring and taking in her features when he pushed a finger into her mouth while giving her a heated look. Wanting to do what she had seen the actress did to the actor on the stage that day, she tried to speak.

She mumbled something, making him c.o.c.k his head in question as he pulled out his finger that had pressed down on her tongue.

"I want to do it too," hearing this Leo"s eyebrow arched in question.

"Do what, Bambi?"

"Umm, that-me, the same thing you did..." she trailed. He wanted to bully her but this being her first time, he decided to let her off. Seeing her this fl.u.s.tered only aroused him that much more. As if already knowing what she wanted to do, he asked her, "Are you sure? You don"t have to do it right now," he tucked the piece of hair that came to hinder her eye.

"I can"t?" she asked him to have her face caressed.

"It isn"t about you can or can"t. You don"t have to feel the need to do it right now to make me feel good, because I feel plenty good pleasuring you," Leo saw her stare at nothing in particular and his eyes softened, "Let"s keep it for another time," he took her to the bed, kissing her on the lips but to his surprise, Vivian pushed him down on the bed with her meek hands so that she could touch him. Seeing him raise his brow at her action, she smiled back at him shyly.

Like an eager kitten, she hovered over him and he let her to what she felt like so that he wouldn"t scare her away. At least for now.

Vivian ran her hand across his chest and then his shoulder, bending forward she pushed the blonde hair away from his forehead with her hand to leave a gentle kiss on his forehead. Her lips lingered more in time with her eyes closed before she pulled away to look at him, who had adoration and love in his eyes for her.

"Don"t kiss me so sweetly, Bambi. I might not be able to hold back myself with you," he stated to see her smile. Her fingers trailed the muscles on his body as she was sitting on top of him being careful. She felt the hard muscles and his beating heart when she moved her hands down. Bending down she left a trail of kisses from his neck to his chest. Running her hand down the contours, she nibbled on his chest, sucking it until it turned red in colour.

Mimicking what Leonard had done to her, she did the same by leaving kisses on his skin only difference being while Leo was harsh, Vivian"s bites were little nibbles which were quite endearing in Leo"s eyes. Not able to resist further, he caught hold of her arms and turned them upside down such that Vivian had her back against the bed while Leonard was on top of her. Tracing both her hands with his, he linked the fingers together on either side to leave a toe-curling kiss.

Kissing her until she was left breathless, he moved down to tend to the two mounds on her chest which sought attention that had turned dark. Lowering down his mouth, he caught it in his mouth to suck on them before moving down to discard the underwear she wore by hooking his fingers either side of it.

Vivian"s toes continued to toe curl further when he slid down the last piece of clothing from her body leaving her bare and open to his touch. As her eyes met him, she received a smile until a gasp bubbled out of her throat with her back arching from the bed as he had pushed his finger between her legs.

It being her first time, he made sure to prepare her well so that he could push himself in later. There were some gasps she tried to hold in and not too happy with it, Leo had pushed his finger further in to get the reaction he wanted from her. Her eyes fogged with a mist of desire, her lips parted and her hands tried to hold in the pleasure which was churning at the pit of her stomach. Feeling heady with the blood in her veins singing of desire, she sunk herself in the feeling of what Leo provided her.

Leo dropped a couple of more kisses on her neck and then lifted his head to look into her eyes to make sure she was feeling the same way he was. Her eyes were dilated in l.u.s.t. He saw her blink as if it would disappear the headiness she felt.

As he stared into her eyes, he saw it flicker with a hint of red which made him frown. At first, he thought it was the light in the room but he had good sight, better than most of the pureblooded vampires. While she was trying to come back, Leonard looked into her eyes which flickered with red colour. It wasn"t dark but a bright red one which appeared and disappeared. He wondered if it was her pureblooded genes that were trying to surface in while trying to fight the human traits of hers.

After getting back her vision she saw Leonard staring into her eyes as if looking into something with a frown on his face. Noticing her, he gave her a smile and she smiled back to touch his face as if treasuring him in this time of s.p.a.ce which she was scared would disappear if she went to sleep and woke up again. The sides of the ring she wore on her ring finger shone due to the light coming off from the fireplace.

"Vivi, I love you," confessed Leo to her. Her eyes softened, a smile on her lips as she looked at him.

"I love you too, Leo," Vivian responded, a kiss falling right on her forehead as she had kissed him.

Coming to position himself between her legs, Vivian drew in a breath and felt his caress her thigh, "Don"t be scared. It is only the beginning that hurts. It will feel much better after it," he promised with a gentle voice, coaxing her to relax. Letting her one leg rest on the bed, he picked her other leg to place it on his shoulder so that she wouldn"t close it when the time came. Holding it firmly with one hand, he used the other to rub his manhood against her entrance to see her initially flinch as if expecting pain.

When Leo had touched her s.e.x between her legs with his manhood she had expected to hurt but the pain never came as he rubbed it up and down. For some reason, it felt so much better than his finger. Rubbing it against her s.e.x was like two stones flicking together to create a spark of fire and when the spark grew into the hot fire, she felt a searing pain making her cry out.

"Ahhh!!" tears came to settle in the corner of her eyes. Her insides felt as if it were torn, a sensation of burn as Leo waited for her to adjust with his size.

Wanting to ease her pain, Leo gently picked the leg that was resting on his shoulder and laid it down on the bed to lower himself so that his face was in front of hers. He smoothened her hair strands that had stuck out wildly, caressing her neck he hoped the pain would fade away.

"Shh. Breath, sweetheart," he cooed to her while licking the tears from both her eyes with his tongue. As her anxious eyes sought out for him, both her arms reached out for him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Tilting her face and letting him kiss her as she tried to forget the pain, "Wrap your legs," at his words, Vivian did as he asked by wrapping her legs around his waist.

Giving her enough time to grasp he slowly began to move inside her. Beads of sweat perspired off their skin with their heavy heartbeats clas.h.i.+ng against one another. The sheen of sweat glistened in the light, their breathing mingling as moans and sighs of pleasure was what heard in the quiet room. Her hands twisted on the sheets that laid beneath them, with every push her back arched more and more did he enter deeper, pus.h.i.+ng himself to want to consume her and posses everything she had to offer him.

As they continued to move, Vivian could feel her leave her inhibitions and embrace the feeling Leo was giving to her. Gasps and cries filled the room by her and she could tell Leonard enjoyed every bit of her response. Soon she felt something build up and at the same time, she caught sight of Leonard"s face contoured with emotions she couldn"t grasp which appeared sensual with every movement of his. Reaching the height of the pleasurable peak she cried out his name,

"Leo....!"

Her lips parted with her head thrown back as she felt him spill into her. Her legs went limp and so did her entire body so that her back finally touched the bed. Her chest heaved up and down, her breathing laboured with the amount of pleasure her body had received which hummed its own song. During the time they were connected, with Leonard pus.h.i.+ng her to a new edge she had felt her soul leave her body which only returned back when she felt his hand being placed gently on her cheek.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked her, making sure she was alright and wasn"t in pain. He himself had lost his breath as he had tried to tame and hold back himself at the fear of breaking her. Pulling himself carefully, he saw her flinch and then open her eyes again before he went to lay down next to her. If it weren"t for her pleasurable cries that had turned him on where she had called out his name with every thrust he had made, he would have been worried.

"Yes," she gave him a breathtaking smile. He pulled her in his arms, hugging her close to hear her whisper, "Thank you, Leo," not wanting to tease her when he knew about it, he replied with, "I know," as he ran his hand through the top of her head.

They didn"t speak further and stayed in each other"s embrace. Basking in the aftermath of the lovemaking, subtle smiles on their lips while the humming of the fire could be heard before it fizzled out.

Vivian didn"t realize when her eyes drooped to fall asleep but when it fluttered open, the curtains were draped on the windows without being pulled out. It was one of the gracious days for the land of Bonelake who were able to experience the sunny day for the second day in a row. Before she could turn around she felt Leo"s arm around her waist with her back facing and his breathing on her hair which moved a few strands of her hair every time he exhaled.

The embrace was warm and she couldn"t stop herself from pus.h.i.+ng herself back to feel his arm tighten around her waist even more. A smile crept up her face, lightning-like Christmas had arrived already.

She didn"t move yet she could feel as if Leo was still inside her, filling her up as he did a few hours ago. The movements were still fresh from their lovemaking. A blush came to join on her face, and she lowered her eyes to think about what they did, what had happened in the middle of the night. She had cried his name as he had pushed himself in and out of her in a continuous rhythm.

With the clock hung on the other side of the wall in the room it was hard to say what time it was. Her bare back felt good on his bare chest. Carefully she turned around so that she could look at Leo"s sleeping face.

The side of his face was pressed against the black pillow, his eyelashes dusting against his cheek with his eyes closed. He looked peaceful as he slept, his dreams must have pulled him deep as she could see the light movements of his eyes behind his eyelids. The tranquillity on his face was something she wished she could provide him every morning from now.

She continued to stare at his handsomeness, not able to believe that he was her husband now and his wife. How did she end up landing such a loving man who was not only sweet to her but also caring, smart and a good looking man? Her stars must have been blessed thought Vivian to herself. He was the kind of man who wouldn"t spare a look at anyone and here he was who had given his entire life in her hands. To love and live with him.

"Staring is rude."

Suddenly out of nowhere, she felt herself being pulled towards him. Had he been awake all this time?

"You"re awake," she whispered.

"I have been for a while now," he answered to kiss the top of her head, she nuzzled subtly as she was still embarra.s.sed with what they had done, "How are you doing?" he asked concerned to pull back and look at her, "Is it uncomfortable?" he continued with his question.

"Ah, I am fine," she smiled back with an awkward smile while looking at his chest which slowly trailed up to meet his eyes.

"I am glad to hear that," he played with her back by running his finger in zig-zag haphazard lines. Vivian waited for him as if she were waiting for him to say or do more and her reaction was cute enough to bring a bubble of chuckle through his lips, "What is it?"

"What?" she furrowed her brows.

"If you keep looking at me like the way you are doing right now, I will have to continue with what we did. Don"t tempt me, my vixen. You"re so adorable that I might eat you up again."

"Don"t eat me!" Leo laughed at the quick response he received and she smiled to see him smile this early during the day when they had only woken up from sleep. As silence fell over them, Vivian fell into thoughts before she asked with a quiet voice, "Did you...enjoy it too?" she felt bad that she couldn"t return the amount of adoration he showed to her. She had offered to do things she had seen but he had refused it telling they could do it some other time. It would be selfish of her to not please him.

"I did. Why the doubt?" he asked her intrigued before it dawned on him on what she was thinking and talking about. Picking up her hand which rested between their chest, he kissed the back of her fingers, "I am more than satisfied with having you in my arms. There are days and weeks and years to come where we can take out time in loving each other," he a.s.sured her.

"I didn"t do anything," she said as if disappointed by her lack of action.

"Hmm," he hummed looking at her as if looking like an animal with her ears drooped in worry, "How do you plan to please me?" he asked her calmly with a poker face but the girl"s face lit into fire.

But she didn"t step back and said, "Licking you," Leo kept a straight face while he looked down at his Bambi to kiss her nose. With a grin on his face, he replied back,

"Sure. You can lick me next time."