Page 188 of Tamed By Her Touch

“And you are certain you still wish to proceed?”

Kaelus almost laughed at the question. He hadn’t been certain of anything since he’d gotten to Titus Four and started pretending Clair was his wife instead of his lab partner.

“Yes,” he said, because what else could he say? He did wish to vow himself to Clair and bind her to him for life. He wanted it more than he wanted his next breath.

But he was certain that once she found out he had Bonded her against her will, Clair wouldn’t want him anymore. So the ceremony they were about to engage in felt hollow.

Still, at least he would have one chance to speak his heart to her and tell her how he really felt, Kaelus told himself. Even if he had to let her go afterwards, he would be able to bare his soul to her just this once.

He only wished they could be together forever, but he knew that was impossible.

32

KAELUS

The ceremony was held in the garden courtyard behind Varell and Maera’s home rather than in the Council chamber, for which Kaelus was glad. Clair had once told him that human weddings frequently involved flowers, so he was certain she would appreciate the setting.

Pale blue blossoms hung from silver-barked trees in long cascading vines while tiny luminous insects drifted between them like floating stars. Beyond the low stone wall, the violet-blue lake reflected the last light of the setting suns, and the lavender sky had deepened toward indigo. Only Maera, Varell, and five members of the Council were present, all dressed in formal robes.

Then Clair stepped through the garden doorway and Kaelus forgot how to breathe. Maera had dressed her in deep emerald green, and it suited her beautifully.

The gown wasn’t elaborate by Titus Four standards, but on Clair it was devastating. Soft fabric hugged her generous breasts and waist before falling in loose folds around her legs, and her curly hair had been gathered partly away from her face with tiny silver flowers woven through it.

She wore no shoes, as apparently the Vow required both husband and wife to stand barefoot upon the earth, and there was something unbearably intimate about seeing her small bare feet beneath the edge of the gown.

Her warm brown eyes found his and she smiled.

At that moment, the Bond slammed against the barrier in Kaelus’s mind with such force that he almost lost control of it.

Mine, said a voice in his head. Mine—she should be mine forever!

It wasn’t the Savage voice this time—wasn’t the virus speaking through him. It was just how he felt. Clair should be his and he should be hers. They belonged together—he knew it. She ought to be his wife—his mate. She was the woman he loved—the woman he would always love and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

Kaelus forced the thought away, though it didn’t want to go.

Fake—this ceremony is fake, he reminded himself.

But then why did it feel so real?

Clair walked toward him with Maera beside her.

“Well, big fella, you clean up pretty nice,” she murmured.

His chest tightened painfully.

“As do you, Lissa’ra.”

“Just pretty nice?” She lifted an eyebrow. “I was going for spectacular.”

“You succeeded,” Kaelus said quietly.

Her teasing expression softened.

“Well, thank you.”

Kaelus wanted to tell her she was the most beautiful female he had ever seen. He wanted to pull her into his arms, bury his face in her curls, and tell her the truth about everything.

Instead, he held himself motionless while Varell stepped forward to begin the ceremony.