The-Wrong-Bride-Ares--Raven’s-story-(Maura,-Catharina)_bibis

to mine that a simple turn of my head would have my lips brushing over his. If he really was mine,
that’s exactly what I’d do. I’d bury my hands in his hair, and I’d kiss him so hard he’d be dying to get
us to the privacy of our home. But he isn’t mine. Not truly. “You’ve been quiet since we walked out,
baby. What’s wrong?”
I look up at him, unsure of what to say. “Moment of honesty? I feel guilty,” I tell him. “I’m scared
of feeling even a single moment of happiness with you because I can’t help but fear that it’ll all be
ripped away from me. Sometimes, I feel like I’m on borrowed time, and though I try to fight that
feeling, I can’t always escape it.”
I avert my gaze and inhale shakily. “I just want what any other woman would want, Ares. I want a
happy marriage of my own. I don’t want to deprive myself of anything I desire, yet I can’t take what I
want without hurting others, without—”
Ares leans in and kisses me, cutting me off roughly as his lips take mine with an urgency I didn’t
expect. A soft moan escapes my lips, and his hand threads through my hair, his grip tight as he forces
my lips open. The way he kisses me leaves me breathless and needy for more. More of the way he’s
making me feel, more of the way he’s taking away every single doubt, even if it’s just for a moment.
He pulls away and drops his forehead against mine, his breathing as ragged as mine is. “Fuck
everyone else, Raven. You’re my wife. It’s my honor and duty to make sure all your needs are met,
whatever they might be — I don’t care if it’s the interior of our home, our wedding rings, or the way
we interact with each other. If you want it to change, it’ll change. We didn’t start off right, but allow
me to make amends, baby. This is new to me too, but I don’t do things halfheartedly. I’m a Windsor,
Raven, and you know as well as I do that marriage means something in the Windsor family. The
moment I married you, I became yours. Maybe my heart isn’t quite there yet, and maybe it never will
be, but everything else is yours. Only yours. So take what you want. Ask for anything you want. If it’s
within my power, I’ll give it to you.”
“Even if what I’m asking for is your body? Your devotion? Passion? What if what I want is
everything that used to be hers?”
He smiles as he caresses my cheek with the back of his fingers. “I’m yours,” he repeats. “And
there’s nothing I’d rather do than make you mine in return.”