Daughter of Asteria (The Daughter Trilogy) (40 page)

“The only thing improper is the overreaction you’re all giving me. I’m still Adisia. Don’t act

like that fact has changed. I still don’t want to be the Emperian either,” I gripe.

“Don’t you see? You took control the moment trouble entered the picture. You assume the role

of Emperian better than I ever did,” Deidra pronounces.

“Feeling protective and being in charge are two different things,” I exasperate. “I need more

vodka.”

I storm to the bar, and the bartender is cowering in the corner as I lean over to grab the bottle. I

roll my eyes and turn back to face the group.

“Someone needs to erase that crap from his mind,” I growl.

Theia walks past me to do as I ordered.
Oh great. I ordered her around.

Devin walks up and hands me the only unbroken glass I see in the room. His eyes are swirling,

and I know he’s been thoroughly turned on by all of this.

“You’re sick, you know?” I say with an insuppressible grin.

“I know, but you can’t blame me,” he boldly tempts.

I just roll my eyes, and he pulls me into his arms as I continue sipping my drink. Hale walks over

and props his feet up on a trembling chair.

“Well, I feel better about our odds now,” he gloats.

“Perhaps you can resurrect the power of the cosmos again without letting Asteria consume you,”

Theia theorizes.

“Right now, I’m going to see how much alcohol it takes to get an immortal drunk,” I huff.

“Well, it appears we have the whole bar to ourselves, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to lay the

liquor to waste,” Hale chirps.

“You going to join me on my venture?” I ask quizzically.

“Of course. I’ll go see if there are anymore glasses in the back that haven’t been shattered,” he

continues.

“Grab me one too,” Devin chimes in while pulling me back into his lap.

“I’ll help you,” Jace murmurs while holding his head.

This has all been a lot to digest for everyone apparently, but Devin seems so amused by it all.

“Why are you grinning like that?” I muse.

“Because there hasn’t been a dull moment since I’ve been with you. I’m tired of feeling the

intensity of it all, and I want to enjoy the wins when they come along. Therefore, this is me enjoying

my beautiful bride-to-be after an effortless victory. You almost made it look too easy,” he says with

such seeping adoration.

“So Medusa, eh?” I question as the name rattles back to my mind.

“Let me guess, you were expecting snakes for hair and the body of a serpent from the waist

down,” he chuckles out.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting
Simone,
” I grumble. “I was expecting less of a pretty face.”

Devin chuckles a little at my obvious distaste which triggered my initial aggression toward the

bitch I was all too happy to destroy. In fact, it almost scares me how much I enjoyed all of it.

I wanted there to be bloodshed, I almost craved it. Is that me, Asteria, Aphrodite, or Kaos?

I shrug off the unwanted thought just as Kahl’s hand reaches for mine.

“I’d like to dance with my daughter if that’s okay?” he says softly, and I hear the music being

played slowly.

Devin nudges me to prompt a response, and I hesitantly take his hand. He pulls me out to the

dance floor, and his eyes sadden as I stare into them.

“I want you to know how proud I am of the woman you’ve become. I promise I watched you

grow up even though I couldn’t be there,” he murmurs emotionally.

I feel a tear trying to work its way out, but I suppress it. I lean my head against his chest, and I

feel the relief spread through him. He hugs me like it’s something he’s wanted to do for years, and I

just let him have his moment.

The music changes and I feel my hand sliding into a new one. I look up to see Devin smiling at

me, and Kahl offers me an affectionate smile as he returns to Persia.

Devin’s arms pull me against him, and he hands me the alcohol I’ve promised to fully obliterate

before the night’s end.

I guzzle down the glass, and Hale dances over to refill it as if he was waiting for that hasty

consumption.

I chuckle at his ridiculous moves, and he chugs on to the next empty glass. I almost inhale the

next glass, but I’m still not feeling the effect just yet.

Devin dips me playfully, and then I hear Deacon yelling as he hops on the table.

“Drinking game proposition. Every time someone kisses someone, a drink must be devoured,” he

laughs, and then he pulls Camara into his arms. “Kiss me, love,” he murmurs without any seduction,

but she laughs and does as he says.

Devin hands me another full glass, and we clink our glasses before guzzling it down. I smile as

he kisses my alcoholic breath, and then I hear Hale flashing by as my glass refills.

“Another kiss, another drink,” Deacon urges.

I laugh harder as I gulp the next glass, and then I stare into Devin’s eyes.

“I want to do it right now,” I blurt out.

His eyes gape at my bold request, and he looks around as he blushes. I realize all eyes have

suddenly crept to my brazen demand, and I also assess how it must have sounded out of context.

Considering the context was in my mind, obviously no one has a clue why I just popped that out.

“I mean I want to get married right now, here,” I murmur with a touch of humiliation.

The embarrassed stain washes free from his eyes, and excited shock emerges in its place.

“What?”

“I want to get married right now. I love you, and I don’t want to wait any longer. Let’s do it,” I

repeat.

His lips rush mine, but no one is clinking glasses together as they stare at us in complete

disbelief. He lifts me higher so he doesn’t have to bend, and I wrap my arms around his neck to pull

him closer. He draws back a little breathlessly, and then purses his lips.

“Our immortal bonding ceremony, or our mortal wedding?” he asks curiously.

“Both,” I say with a shrug.

“We do have a priestess,” Theia says softly.

Then Devin sighs gently as disappointment shadows his perfect eyes.

“You don’t really want to do this right now. Your parents are still in a hideaway, Clara has just

been moved to another one of Persia’s homes, and it’s not safe to bring any of them out of hiding. We

can wait,” he sighs. “I shouldn’t have been so pushy. I don’t want you feeling rushed.”

“I don’t feel rushed. Devin, you’re immune to my powers, and that’s all I needed to know. I

can’t hurt you, and I want to be with you right now. My parents and Clara don’t have to attend. We

can have a mock ceremony for them another time,” I urge.

His lips rush mine again, and this time he scoops me up completely. I feel him walking with me

tightly pressed to his chest, but I don’t question where we’re going. I’ve never trusted someone so

completely in all my life, and it’s so liberating.

“Tomorrow then,” he breathes into my mouth.

“Why not now?” I murmur against his lips.

“Because I want you to be in a wedding dress of your choosing. My mother can send for anything

you want right now, and with the amount of money I have, it can be here by evening tomorrow. I want

you to feel as though some preparation went into this. I don’t want you to feel as though you

squandered your chance to enjoy our wedding,” he explains, and he’s so incredible when he’s

thoughtful like this.

“I won’t feel like that. Like I said, we can have a flashy wedding to include everyone when it’s

safe. I just want to marry you right now.”

“Tomorrow,” he murmurs again before his lips reclaim mine.

“Tomorrow,” I breathe in agreement.

He flashes us back up to the very suspenseful room awaiting our decision, and Devin smiles as he

announces it.

“Tomorrow,” he roars, and the applause is almost deafening.

Hale slides over and pours me a drink again.

“I guess this is the bachelor and bachelorette party,” he jokes.

“I suppose so,” I chuckle out before downing the glass’s contents.

Devin puts me down and joins in by gulping down another glass as well. Jace struts up, and props

up on the table.

“Do ya need a best man?” he slurs.

How is he getting drunk, but I’m not?

“I’ve already got one,” Devin murmurs very dismissively. “Isn’t that right, Kry?”

“Really?” Ther and Deacon both sound out in unison.

Devin laughs and nods. “I’m sorry boys, but Kry has been with me the longest,” he snickers out.

“Not to mention, I look piping hot in a suit,” Kry jokes.

“Drinks are on me,” Devin laughs.

The bartender is still unconscious from Theia’s memory wipe, and there isn’t exactly anyone to

stop us from drinking for free, but since Devin is loaded, I’m sure he’ll leave behind a hefty lump to

accommodate the bar for its losses.

“Do you feel drunk at all?” Devin asks with eager anticipation.

“Not even a little tipsy,” I huff.

“Good. I don’t want to think you chose to do this because you were under the influence,” he

breathes in relief.

I laugh a little at his unnecessary worry. “You thought I wanted to get married because I’m

drunk?”

“Well, it was a little out of nowhere,” he explains.

“Let’s enjoy our out-of-nowhere night before our wedding,” I playfully add as I throw my arms

around his neck.

“Let’s do. We can celebrate your last night as Adisia Titan,” he smolders.

I suppress a giggle and slide my hand up the side of his arm as I seduce, “Tomorrow you can call

me Adisia Cole.”

“That sounds so good,” he replies with a wolfish grin, and then his lips cover mine. “Now go tell

my mother what kind of dress you want,” he says while slapping my ass.

I laugh a little at his uncharacteristic action, and then Theia walks over after eavesdropping.

“What do you have in mind?” she asks while holding her phone up in ready-to-type mode.

“I don’t know really,” I bumble out.

Persia walks over and hands me her phone. There’s a picture of a brilliantly white dress with a

corseted top that juts out just barely over a slightly puffed bottom. The fabric flows into bunches

strategically gathered at different points with red roses. I smile as I look back up, and nod.

“It’s perfect,” I murmur with tears in my eyes.

Theia starts to make a call, but Persia puts her hand over her phone to halt her.

“I’ll get this. Her father and I have always planned on paying for her wedding when the time

came. I know Devin’s capable of footing the bill, but we’re not so bad off ourselves,” she jokes.

Theia smiles, and bows out gracefully. Persia kisses my forehead before walking off to make

some rushed magic happen.

“I’ll get a few strippers to swing by before we go to bed,” Kry jokes, and my green eyes spring

forth to threaten him.

Devin and Kry both chuckle and I roll my eyes back to blue. Devin kisses my shoulder, and his

lips stroll over to my neck as he pulls me back into his body.

“I love you, baby,” he murmurs against my neck.

“I love you,” I say with a fool’s grin.

“We’re finally getting married,” he murmurs.

“Finally? You make it sound as though we’ve been waiting for centuries,” I tease.

“Baby, I have waited centuries for someone like you. Why do you think I was really in such a

hurry to get married? No one has ever made me feel the way you do, and I never want to lose that,” he

whispers.

I turn to face him, and I almost want our bodies to meld together.

“You never will. I love you too much to ever go anywhere,” I promise while holding up my ring

finger. “I’ve got the proof permanently marking me,” I tease as I slide the ring back.

He kisses it as he has so many times since he first saw it, and pulls my hand to his chest.

“You have no idea how much this means to me,” he says while motioning to the tattoo.

“I would have done it along time ago had I known it was possible,” I smolder. “I’ve been yours

since you turned me down for a dance,” I giggle out.

His head drops back, and he sighs in exasperation.

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?” he laughs.

“Nope,” I joke.

“If I recall correctly, I was the one who asked for the dance the second go around,” he sizzles out.

“Yes you did, and I never did get that takeout you promised me that second first night before you

pulled me astride you in the car. I believe it was probably the hottest I had ever felt, until my

memories returned,” I heavily seduce.

“Oh really,” he says with excited eyes. “I believe I can arrange dinner after a repeated seductive

dance and ride,” he says with the most delicious tone.

“Good,” I giggle. “Because I can’t remember the last time I ate, and I actually am kind of

hungry.”

He starts laughing instantly and takes my hand in his. “Two or three days ago, I think. I can’t

remember either,” he says as he pulls me toward the motorcycle.

“We’ll see you guys back at the house,” Devin murmurs to the others before offering a wave.

“Ah, come on. You can’t leave yet. This has officially become your party,” Deacon grumbles.

“I can leave, and I’m going to,” Devin chuckles. “I’m taking my girl back to get something to