Page 2 of The Breath Before Forever

She didn’t have a quick reply.

Vaslav was already moving on, saying, “Although, what I know of it, it couldn’t have been too bad of a year. My release was coming up.”

Vera tried to imagine herself from thirteen to beyond her current age, under incarceration. How did something like that change a person? She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it, or maybe the living, breathing man holding her was a testament to why she shouldn’t.

Even though she shouldn’t ask, Vera was too curious to stop herself. “What was that like—growing up in those places?”

Pulling in a deep breath and pausing to hold it before releasing the air in a long woosh, Vaslav’s brow lifted in his contemplation. “How do you explain it if you don’t know anything different?”

She had never thought of it like that, either.

Vaslav then untangled his left arm from hers to circle his fingers around her wrist before dragging their connected hands high enough for him to kiss her engagement ring, and the new matching band made of simple white gold resting beneath the larger diamond.

He picked the wedding band out. A classic choice, and she absolutely loved it. His, also one he chose, was a thicker band in the traditional gold. Amongst his many others, the wedding ring wasn’t that amazing, and it certainly didn’t stand out between ones topped with rubies and onyx stones.

Except she hadn’t asked him to wear a wedding ring at all after they married, but he did so anyway. Without prompting, his band showed up wrapped in a similar box to hers from the same jeweler, according to the invoice. And now, she couldn’t see any of his other rings except the one he chose to represent her.

“I can think of better times to have this particular conversation, no?” he asked before kissing her hand, and ring, again.

His gaze never left hers. They were still terribly close, too.

How was she to argue with that?

Vaslav arched an eyebrow, waiting for her reply.

Vera only whispered, “Fair enough.”

On the room stereo, where Hannah had connected her phone via Bluetooth to play through a playlist of songs she created for the evening, the tune changed. Vaslav and Vera’s semi- not-quite-a-waltz came to a stop. Too busy getting lost in the arms of her new husband—was that so bad?—and she hadn’t noticed the lyrics of the singer sweeping through the space until her husband had stopped them on the spot. A song meant for a father and his daughter.

Although, no one else in the room except for them seemed to notice the change in tune first. Vera didn’t step back from Vaslav right away, but his tight hold around her didn’t loosen up, either.

“Did you pick the songs, or no?” he asked.

She grinned. “I didn’t know Hannah even made the playlist until this morning, actually. I had very little to do with it.”

Nothing about the wedding had been intricate in the details or planning. It might have seemed like it on the surface, but mostly, things fell together when she needed them to, and Vera was fine to let it happen. Maybe it wasn’t a huge event—instead of the ballroom dance floor at a swanky hotel for her reception, she danced with her husband behind the safe walls of their home.

And that—all of it—was perfect.

She couldn’t ask for more.

Vaslav smiled back. “Ah, well—she picked good songs.”

Vera had to agree, and made a mental note to thank her friend in a special way once all of this was over, and she had the chance to do something meaningful for Hannah. The girl deserved it for simply coming through to do her part at the wedding when she hadn’t even been asked to in the first place. Never mind the fact that Hannah’s initial thoughts about the marriage had been less than great. What were best friends for?

“Oh—go, Demyan. I think this one’s for you,” Vera heard her mother urge.

As her father came closer, Vera noticed Igor slipping past Claire to leave the room. Hannah, and Vera’s mother both had phones at the ready for what was to come.

Vaslav leaned in, and kissed Vera on the shell of her ear before murmuring, “Dance with your father and make the most of your time. I don’t plan on letting you out of my sight for a few days after tonight. It’s my time with you now, and we both know I’ve earned it.”

His promise came laced with sin. The kind that set her nerves on fire, and had her mind racing with anticipation. By the gleam in his eye and smirk toying with his lips, Vaslav witnessed her inner war, and reveled in it.

“You shouldn’t do that to me when we still have guests,” Vera scolded under her breath, but it did nothing for the heat flooding her cheeks.

Vaslav winked as he pulled away, asking genuinely, “Do what?”

Vera shivered from his question; his dark words caressed her skin like the silk of her gown did with every movement she made. Despite picking a second, more appropriate dress to wear after the ceremony, she continued wearing the heavy gown. Tight to her body, it had been a risk. Silk always was a risky choice when without much structure underneath, the fabric could be unforgiving to parts of a woman’s figure that she might prefer to hide. Soft and constricting at the same time, Vera couldn’t stand the thought of taking it off.