— Ours, — I reply with just my lips.
A mistake. This is a mistake! That’s what the offended part of me screams. But the other… The other willingly opens up to him. Only to him. Because it’s right. He explained everything… Told me. Almost everything.
The space between us disappears. My heart burns with love. Every cell of my body, every atom, every patch of skin that he touches is on fire. It burns mercilessly, as if I want to be consumed entirely by this flame.
Vlad slowly unties the corset. Not in a hurry, but rather stretching each moment. Lightly, like the wind, he caresses and touches my skin, and the dress falls to the floor like a cloud of soft fabric. Gently yet firmly, he pulls me to him by the waist. In his hands, I am the dough from which anything can be shaped. I am his canvas, on which he can paint whatever he wants. Father wanted someone else… Father wanted another man to feel like this right now, as I do. Father lost this game.
I smile. From satisfaction and happiness. I meet Vlad's lips and plunge into our closeness, filled with a sense of joy. A feeling that my freedom from my father is close, as is my mother and brother…
The Saint tenderly kisses, gentleness sharply contrasted with the strength of his embrace. Body to body. Skin to skin. Strength to weakness, which slowly becomes my strength as well.
It’s allowed. Because we are married. For real. I wrap my arms around his neck and stand on my toes. I feel bolder, as I can’t wait any longer. I was so afraid that I would never kiss him again, inhale this scent, plunge into the deep blue, feel the strength and confidence that come from the depths of a man’s soul. So now, I challenge my fear. I drive away the images and insecurities and do what I do best with Vlad — something for the first time.
I deepen the kiss. I caress him and press my entire body against the strong form of the Saint. He groans hoarsely, whispers my name between kisses, and lifts me up. Madness engulfs us both. It screams: to hell with everything! There is only us! And I agree with him! I’m ready to move forward because Vlad is beside me. With him, I feel safe. With him, I feel strong and confident. With him, I can achieve anything.
I want to be his canvas. To be his brush, held by his fingers. The paints that will be alongside him. I want to be everything for him. The meaning. Because he is the meaning for me. How could I fall in love when I don’t even know what it is? How could I let Vlad touch my heart when it had withered from a lack of love? How could I go from an arrangement that suited me to becoming the wife of a man I didn't even know?
Soft and passionate masculine lips erase the images and pain inflicted by my father while I had to live at home. As if Vlad knows what I had to endure before the wedding. He knows and repents, trying to wipe away the past days with kisses. And I allow it. I forgive the blood, the tears, because there has to be a reason. There must be. It must exist; otherwise, I don't know how to explain living with my father before the wedding… and justify him.
Trembling touches bring pleasure. As if every time Vlad's fingers touch my skin, a pulse full of life courses through my heart. He allows me to breathe deeply. Grants me the chance to be myself and see the path to freedom, where my father will have no power over me. Urges me to be bolder. Not to be silent, for the world does not hear the silent.
Tender caresses evoke delight. Vlad’s sensual kisses are everywhere. He gifts me a love I didn’t know before.
I adore how the man holds me close. I adore that he allows me not to feel ashamed. I adore that even the darkness helps in this. I go wild when Vlad catches every soft moan with his lips as I arch my back, and he tightens his fingers around my waist, as I get lost in our mixed scents, and suddenly I smell of danger and the forest, of paint and the upholstery of a car, while he, it turns out, absorbs my scent into his skin — floral. I never knew I smelled like this.
It feels so good that we are together. It feels good to melt in the strong arms of Vlad himself.
The wedding night stretches into the morning. The Saint grants me true pleasure, time and again drawing more emotions from me, making me genuinely brave. He shows how strength and power can bring true ecstasy, incomparable to anything else in the world. Euphoria penetrates every cell of my body. The forest darkness of the Saint’s soul imprints itself into every atom. The aftertaste of influence lingers on my lips like a sweet intoxication.
By morning, when the first birds begin to sing, the Saint pulls me into his embrace and falls asleep. I, however, cannot. My mind is filled with thoughts that prevent me from sleeping. My body aches from pleasure. Yesterday feels like a terrifying nightmare. At least my brain wants to position everything that way.
So, now we are husband and wife. Vlad and Timur aimed to punish my father, and they succeeded. They deceived everyone and became the leaders in the “AMB” company. As far as I remember, it was created even before me with a few of my father's friends, and what followed is unknown. If we rely on this knowledge, then it turns out that Vlad's and Timur's parents (though I still don’t understand why Timur has a different last name) collaborated with mine… So what was the reason for the hatred towards Dykyy? What did he do that made the brothers want revenge, to find me, learn everything they could, to know where to press? How did it come to be that my father doesn’t know Vlad? He spoke to Timur at the Saint's exhibition, even though I didn’t see him, but not to Vlad. Vlad hardly hid. He loves control, that was clear from yesterday's wedding, as he watched everything from the forest. Ultimately, the understanding that you can influence the lives of others compels one to be strong and keep a finger on the pulse.
I shift my thoughts to the last time I saw Vlad. Back then, I didn’t know that signing the marriage contract would lead to living with my father. But did he know? Did he plan this? Because that’s what worries me the most. Not that my father will earn less, although the safety of my mother and brother is quite a pressing issue. Not that I will become poor… Freedom costs a lot. But whether he intentionally sent me back to my father? And if so, what was the reason? Why couldn’t I live with Timur? Or elsewhere, if not with Vlad?
— Are you an early bird? — Vlad’s hoarse voice catches my attention.
I snuggle into his arms, lying on my stomach, propping my hands on Vlad’s abs, and looking into his blue eyes.
— Can I ask?
A lazy smile lifts the corners of his beautiful lips upward. His blue eyes sparkle with curiosity and gradually darken.
— No. — I blink, bewildered. No? The Saint sees my reaction, smiles even wider, and adds: — Ask away, Yuliana.
I clear my throat. The answer is important to me. I don’t know what to expect next, as I still remember the man’s words about not promising anything. I dove headfirst into his embrace. So the question comes out softly:
— Why did you send me to my father before the wedding? You abandoned me! Knowing, — my voice breaks. My body still remembers the blow, the fear, and disgust. — Knowing that he’s a tyrant!