Married For Magic

Chapter Three: Consummation

Dahlia swallowed hard and stared up at Antonio. Her mind and heart were racing a mile a minute. What could he possibly want to talk about now, she thought. Her body shook lightly, she contemplated the idea that maybe Antonio was going to tell her that he didn't want to carry out their wedding night. Dahlia shook her head at the thought. To be rejected by her husband on their wedding night was the worst possible outcome. Not only would their marriage be resolved, and her reputation tarnished, but she would be forced to return to her parents. Dahlia shuddered at the thought. Her stream of anxious thoughts came to a close as Antonio cleared his throat again.

"Are you...okay, Dahlia?"

Antonio's voice was hesitant and tense. Dahlia nodded, forcing herself to seem calm and attentive.

"I...well, we...are expected to do certain things tonight..."

Antonio's face flushed lightly in the flicker of candlelight, but he powered on.

"There are traditions we need to follow, and one of those can be seen as rather uncomfortable, especially for a dignified lady such as yourself."

Dahlia's breath hitched in her chest. Her mind played through all the worst possible scenarios. Maybe he truly is the s****l deviant he's rumored to be, Dahlia thought. Or maybe, she thought, his family was one of those creepy old-fashioned types that had a maid or butler watch them complete the deed. Dahlia stared intensely at Antonio now, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Antonio eyed her cautiously, noticing her distraught demeanor. Choosing his words carefully as to not upset her further, Antonio began to explain.

"What I mean by that, is that...after we...consummate our marriage, so to speak, the maids will want to collect the sheets for, you know, evidence..."

Antonio trailed off, watching Dahlia's face for any sign of reaction. In the past, this alone, had scared off one of his would-be wives. The poor girl had panicked and confessed to an affair long before they met, then she'd fainted in his arms. It all would've been fine with him, but unfortunately, tradition, and more importantly his family, dictated their magical lineage be carried on by a pure individual from a family in waiting. They had decided, in a rather sexist move, that the best way to do so would be to provide the magical noble families with virgin brides. Antonio sighed in defeat, he wouldn't hold it against her if she found it primitive, or if she had been with another man. Looking her over again, Antonio found her quite attractive. Her dark brown hair and deep tan skin played nicely with her bright hazel eyes. It didn't hurt that she was curvy with perky bountiful breasts either. He would bet she had plenty of suitors where she came from. Suddenly Dahlia broke the tension, and his wandering eyes, by speaking quietly and firmly.

"Okay...so, the maid comes in after...our marital stuff? And she collects the sheets as evidence for your family or whoever, and that's it?"

Antonio raised an eyebrow in a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. He caught himself and nodded curtly.

"Uh, yes. That's right."

Dahlia mulled it over for a moment between nodding her head affirmatively.

"Okay. No problem then. I mean it's not ideal, and it's a little sexist. But, well, it could be worse and it's only a little embarrassing."

Dahlia giggled, and a light blush spread across her cheeks. Antonio's mouth fell open in surprise. He had prepared himself for a variety of responses from her, but he was realizing now that this might have been the one response he wasn't prepared for. Before Antonio even had a chance to collect himself or respond, Dahlia bounded through the doors of the master suite leaving him in her dust.

"Wait, Dahlia, hold on!"

Antonio rushed after her into the suite, nearly slamming into her as she had stopped just inside the doors. He watched as Dahlia gasped and twirled into the center of the room. She was wide-eyed and giddy, taking in the king-sized bed drowning in blankets and pillows, as well as the extravagant meal splayed out on the table in the back of the room. Dahlia squealed and turned to face him.

"Antonio, this room is amazing! It's so warm and inviting. I absolutely love it!"

Without thinking, Dahlia flung herself into Antonio's arms, lacing her fingers around his neck. She realized immediately what she had done, and a hot flush consumed her face. Even still, she lingered on him for a moment, taking in the feel of his breath hovering above her face. Dahlia was suddenly overcome with embarrassment. She released Antonio's neck and took a step back, staring at the ground. Antonio took a moment to gather himself, the feeling of her body pressed against him had stirred a primal feeling in him. He had wanted desperately to close the gap between their mouths but he had practiced self-control. It had taken everything in him to not act on his feelings, but he wanted to finish their conversation before anything else.

"Dahlia...I, I'm happy that you're happy with the room. But, we need to finish talking now.

Okay? There's something else you should know."

Dahlia lifted her gaze from the floor to meet his eyes with a innocent look of confusion. Antonio took a deep breath and tried to avoid her gaze. The longer he looked at her, the more he realized how badly he wanted her. He needed to spit it out before it was too late.

"There is another reason for my tenuous love life that I did not mention earlier. Have a seat, please."

Dahlia continued to eye him with curiosity, but she complied and found herself sitting on the edge of the bed. Antonio strode closer, but stopped a few steps in front of her.

"There's something I need to show you."

Dahlia watched carefully as Antonio began to remove his suit jacket and shirt. She stifled a gasp as his bare forearms sprang free, revealing defined muscles and a band of tattoos on his right arm. Dahlia shifted her gaze, allowing a soft whimper to escape her lips as she examined the chiseled v-shape peeking out of his pants. What she did not notice, at first, was the black spidery scar spread across his chest. Antonio watched her with wary eyes, he had heard the soft whimper escape her lips and initially mistook it as a reaction to his scar. However, the longer he watched her the more confused he became. He noted the pink flush in her cheeks, her glossy eyes, and parted lips. Was she attracted to him, he thought. Antonio closed the gap between them and knelt at her feet.

"Dahlia, do you see this scar?"

Antonio gestured to himself. Dahlia allowed her eyes to follow his hand. She tilted her head sternly and examined his chest. A dark black spot sat squarely in the center of his chest with spidery branches extending outward and up to his shoulders. At first glance it could be mistaken for a tattoo, but at a closer look the pattern seemed to breathe and snake of its own volition. Dahlia slowly reached out a hand and placed it on Antonio's chest. Despite the pattern seemingly breathing, the pattern didn't feel like it was moving beneath her fingers. She could feel Antonio's heart rate quicken beneath her hand and suddenly felt guilty for touching him so abruptly. Antonio's hand snaked around hers and squeezed it gently.

"Are you not afraid of it?"

His eyes peered up into hers intensely, searching for something hidden in her glossy expression. Dahlia shook her head softly and trailed her fingers over the scar.

"Did it...does it hurt?"

Dahlia's words were a soft whisper, and her voice sounded pained. Antonio shuddered under her touch, and squeezed her hand tighter.

"It did. It doesn't anymore."

"How did it happen?"

Dahlia stared into Antonio's eyes now, her own eyes becoming small wet whirlpools. Antonio shushed her and pulled her hand closer to her chest.

"It's all in the past now. It's just an old war wound. Like I said, I have little magical aptitude and it never served me."

Dahlia wiped her tears and pressed both hands against Antonio's chest.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you."

Dahlia's voice was still a whisper, though she sounded less pained and more solemn. Antonio watched her face much closer now. At this distance he could feel her breath against his face, it was almost intoxicating. That combined with the gentle, genuine tone of her voice had Antonio resisting the urge to pin her to the bed and take her right that second. Dahlia looked into his eyes with rising curiosity. She couldn't place the look on his face, or the pace of his breathing. Antonio stared at her helplessly. In a mere matter of hours, he had come to find that she was not like the other ladies in the court at all. She was kind and genuine, she was poised and empathetic to a fault. He also found her to be wildly attractive, more so, when, unlike the others, she hadn't run at the sight of his chest. Most importantly though, she was his wife. His, and his alone, and for some unknown reason, that fact was driving him wild with desire. Dahlia lifted a hand and placed it on his jaw. Antonio tensed on instinct.

"Are you okay, Antonio?"

Dahlia sounded sincerely worried, and the expression on her face was soft and sweet. Antonio couldn't help it any longer. Without hesitation, he leaned forward and captured her mouth with his. He cupped her face with his hand and guided her deeper into his kiss. His lips tugged on hers softly and he heard a small moan escape into his mouth. That was all the invitation he needed. He pressed forward, swirling his tongue around her mouth, and sucking on her delicate swollen lips. Dahlia inched closer and closer to his body and her eyes rolled back in pleasure. Antonio was reveling in the view. He watched her lips part for his tongue eagerly, when suddenly her hand pressed against his chest, pushing him away. Antonio released her lips from his embrace and leaned away from her, seemingly shocked at her response. Dahlia blushed, and hid her face behind the sleeve of her dress. She's embarrassed, thought Antonio. Of course, in his haste to take his new bride for himself, he had forgotten that this was her first time. He cursed himself silently, condemning himself for behaving exactly like the s****l deviant she had expected him to. To his surprise, Dahlia spoke up.

"Shouldn't we eat first?"

Her voice was small and shy, though he didn't detect any hints of fear. Antonio smiled at her softly.

"Don't you think the dinner can wait?"

Dahlia smiled weakly and clutched the blankets beneath her. From the moment they had stepped into this manor something had stirred in her whenever she looked at Antonio. She felt a warmth in her body, and an ache in her chest that only felt satisfied when his lips had finally crashed into hers. None of this changed the fact that she was absolutely terrified. Dahlia desperately wanted to give herself to Antonio, especially after he had shared such a vulnerable moment with her. She felt closer to him, and suddenly the idea of him being her husband didn't seem so foreign to her. Either way, Dahlia was utterly inexperienced and unprepared for the events of the evening. She was embarrassed to already be failing at what she viewed to be marital duties, and so she did her best to avoid it at least a little longer. It was getting harder to do that though, as Antonio was staring at her waiting for a response. Dahlia swallowed hard and decided to face the problem head on.

"Antonio, it's not that I don't want to, and I know we have to...it's just. The truth is, I'm inexperienced and I'm not sure what to expect. I don't want to embarrass myself or disappoint you."

Dahlia blushed and attempted to hide her face behind her sleeve again. This time, Antonio caught her face in his hand, tilting her chin up until their eyes met.

"I haven't known you long, Dahlia, but you have yet to disappoint me. I doubt you could ever possibly disappoint me, especially in this particular area."

Dahlia allowed herself to melt against the touch of his hand, savoring his words. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and focused on the sound of his breathing. Antonio moved closer, pressing his lips to her ear.

"I made a mistake earlier. I promise to go slowly and guide you through every step. So, do you think you can trust me? Even if it's just for tonight?"

Antonio's voice was a husky whisper in her ear, she shuddered as his breath tickled her neck. Dahlia opened her eyes and looked deeply into Antonio's. She took a deep breath and nodded slowly. A smile spread across Antonio's face, and he leaned forward, quickly capturing her lips in a long soft kiss before pulling away.

"I want you, Dahlia, all of you."