They stepped through the doorway and Nadia crossed over to her father. “Thank you for being here.”
He stroked a finger down her cheek. “He’s a good male. Your nan and I are happy for you.”
She hugged him tight. When the music changed and the wedding march echoed through the speakers, Nadia took a deep breath and entered the room, striding confidently along the silk, rose-petal-strewn aisle way and past her beaming mother. There at the front, resplendent in a tailored tuxedo, stood her mate. Tray stood beside him but the male’s eyes were only on Bethany. It hardly mattered because the look on Gunnar’s face held Nadia enraptured. The love shining in those blue eyes drew her to him like a magnet.
He held out his hand. “Come, my bride.”
Mikhail coughed. “Unconventional.”
But, Nadia ignored it and as soon as her father released his hold on her, she took Gunnar’s warm hand and moved to the altar. Before her was a white draped table. It held all the accoutrements of a human wedding. Candles, wine glasses, and a Bible. Beside it, though, was a dagger and golden goblet.
Maybe they weren’t so unconventional after all.
When they said their vows, and Gunnar slipped the engraved wedding band on her finger, she could hardly contain her jubilation. The minute the officiant declared them husband and wife, she felt giddy. It was when Gunnar kissed her, compelled the man to leave and offered his blood in a sacred goblet, that Nadia slipped over the edge of happiness into sheer and utter joy.
“Does this mean I can call you husband?” she whispered as she lifted his goblet and sipped.
He laughed and shook his head with a playful expression lining his forehead. “That’s what the honeymoon suite is for.” He captured her hand and held the base directing her to take another sip. “I can’t wait to get you out of that dress.”
Nadia winked, downed the rest of Gunnar’s essence and set the goblet aside. “Just wait ’til you see what Bethany gave me. I’ll give you a hint; it’s blue.”
Nadia had no chance to reply. Gunnar lashed his arms around her and in a blink, they were teleported to the elegant penthouse suite where for the next several hours, Gunnar showed her exactly what the difference was between a husband and a blood-bound mate.
The End.
About the Author
Strict professor by day. Romance author by night. Lover of all things alpha-male twenty-four hours a day. Christa Paige writes contemporary romantic stories featuring the brave men and women in law enforcement. Christa’s expanded Kan Asma series includes alpha-male vampires fighting against all odds for their mates. Also, Christa writes sweet Regency love stories. A native SoCal girl, Christa loves knitting, Star Wars, LOTR, Austen, and Disneyland.
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Mated in Treason Page 35