Eternally Seduced (91 page)

Athens, Greece

I looked at Carole in desperation. “Mom, I’m serious. I think I’m going to be sick.”

She didn’t even look up. She was on her knees on the carpeted floor, busily fixing the hem of my dress. “You can be sick later. You will not get out of this.” She never bought that excuse when I was young, and she still didn’t buy it now. Moms could be so heartless.

Alyx grimaced. “No kidding. I think I’m going to be sick, too.” Actually, she looked like she was already seasick, and her green face didn’t exactly go well with her rose-colored velvet dress.

She glared at me when she caught me looking at her with pity in my eyes. “I hate you,” she said without heat.

I tried to laugh, but it just got stuck in my throat. My knees quaked, and I hastily clutched the railings attached to the wall. They were made of varnished wood, but they felt extremely cold between my fingers. Or maybe it was the other way around.

“I’m really going to be sick,” I wailed.

“Stop being a baby and hush!”

“I hate you,” Alyx said again.

“Shut up.” I tried to snap at her, but it just came out as a mumble.

“Sensible people fly to Vegas when they want to have a quickie wedding. Which would be great since we were in Florida and that means just driving interstate. But NO. You had to go crazy and tell your fiancé that you would only marry him when all your friends were present. You thought he’d back out, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” I admitted in a small voice.

“Then you’re CRAZY,” Alyx yelled. “He loves you! Of course he’s going to do what you asked even if it’s crazy! And because of you, I had to fly in a freaking copter to get to Nik’s damn yacht!” Her chest heaved. And then she was yelling again, “When I’m SEASICK!”

I decided I didn’t hate her then.

“I love you.”

Alyx glared at me even as she said, “I love you as much as I hate you but you better damn well marry him because by God, I am not going to do this again and if I have to force you to say yes, you are going to say yes!”

The door opened suddenly and Walter poked his head in. “It’s time, folks. The priest’s here.”

Alyx told me dourly, “You’re going to hell if the priest turns out to be seasick, too.”

I didn’t pay her any attention. I was sick, too, and I didn’t need the ocean or the sea to be so. Everything in my body felt strange, like it was floating one moment and then gravity was trying to pull it down the next moment.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I whispered, looking down at my mom.

She slowly came to her feet. Like Alyx, she was also dressed in a rose-colored gown. Whereas Alyx’s was strapless and figure-hugging, hers was a Grecian-styled gown with Juliet sleeves. Her only accessory was a pearl necklace, a gift from Constantijin – and a declaration of truce. For tonight at least.

Carole kissed me on the forehead. “Now chin up, my dear. It’s time to walk down the aisle.”

When she stepped aside, Alyx slowly walked towards me to give me a quick hug. “I love you, Yanna. I know I don’t say that often enough and I’m bitchy most of the time, but really, you’re the sweetest girl in the world and I’ll kick C’s ass if he hurts you.” She stepped back. “But you see, I don’t think he ever will. So take pity on him, put him out of his misery, and take his name, okay?”

“I told him I’ll use a hyphen.”

Alyx grinned. “You and I both know that’s not going to happen.”

The door opened again and this time, Walter said impatiently, “Come out now. Everyone’s waiting.”

As Constantijin cooled his heels inside the huge reception area of Nik’s yacht, memories of the times he had spent with Yanna came to him. It succeeded in keeping him calm, cool, and collected – or at least look like it.

He remembered the first time he had seen Yanna, and how his emotions were all over the place that time. He was irritated at her for wearing red, exasperated because she had actually mistook him as  another applicant, and above all, he had lusted for her because she had been so sweetly and hilariously…innocent.

He remembered the first time they had fought and how hard – God, it had been so damn hard to walk away from her and
keep
walking away. He had missed her so damn much all those days but he had been too proud then. Had he ever told her that he used to watch her leave his building from his office window?

He remembered the first time they had made love, and it was a night that he would never forget, not even when he was a hundred years old. He had been her first lover, her virginity a gift he didn’t deserve.

If only he could remember just as clearly all the words he had to say when he made his personalized vows.

“Are you nervous?” Staffan Aehrenthal asked slyly. He was Sweden’s #1 Sex God and a fellow Pussketeer, a rock star who used to spend every night with a different woman. But now, he was rather famous for being possessive and completely in love with his wife.

Constantijin said very politely, “Go to hell.”

Staffan burst into laughter.

“We are your friends,” Rathe Wellesley, the blue-eyed Duke of Flanders and also England’s #1 Heartthrob, intoned in a solemn voice.

Constantijin looked at him and between barely moving lips, he gritted out, “Join Staffan in hell. Please.”

Rathe clapped him on the back. “You’ll survive.”

He politely gave them the finger. He wanted to kick them out of Nik’s yacht, but he forgot all about revenge when he saw the woman standing at the doorway. Her hair had been twisted up, a lace veil pinned to her curls, with the rest falling down against her bare shoulders. Her gown was also made of velvet, with a white corset-styled top that tapered to a full skirt the color of a fully bloomed rose.

His heart slammed against his chest.

Yanna.

His treasure.

His schat.

Always and forever his schat.

Who was looking at another man.

His head snapped to wherever Yanna was looking. She was gazing at one of the male guests.

Drake Morrison.

Constantijin stiffened, realizing that in her gaze was a plea of help for the other man to take her away.

The wedding music that played in the background came to a screeching halt, the live musicians Constantijin had also flown out to Greece pausing in confusion when they saw the groom stalking angrily towards his bride.

Nik suppressed a smile when Yanna squeaked in surprise, belatedly realizing that a very angry Dutch billionaire was heading her way.

She froze at the look on his face. “I’m sorry, Constantijin---”

“I’m sorry too, schat, but I’ve had enough.” Did she really fucking think he would let her look at another man – and especially
that
man – and release her? She looked at Drake like he could carry her away on a white horse.

Well, fuck that.

He had a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, one of only nine models that made up the most expensive vehicle line in the world. His car could beat Morrison’s damn horse anytime, and Constantijin would never let Morrison get close enough to Yanna to take her away.

He swung her up in his arms and, ignoring her screech of surprise, he took her with him as he walked back to the priest. “Start the ceremony, Father.”

Father Anthony, who was a newly minted priest, gulped at the determined look in the groom’s eyes. Oh dear Lord, he prayed, let this wedding truly be a union of two loving hearts. Because if it was not, he would need miraculous strength to keep this man from marrying the woman in his arms.

“Dearly beloved …”

Yanna started to struggle. She had to get out. She had to leave. She had to…she just had to do whatever she had to do to stop this marriage. It was insane. They weren’t ready. Too much had happened, and too little time had passed for her to forget how very easy it was for Constantijin to treat her like she was a waste of his time.

Constantijin picked Yanna up and when the priest stopped talking, an astonished look on his face, Constantijin said calmly, “Don’t stop, Father. She wants to marry me. She only needs to get past her paranoia.”

Father Anthony cleared her throat. “…we are gathered here…”

Behind him, he heard the groom say, “Everyone, please turn your backs. I won’t ask you again.”

Constantijin didn’t wait for their answers. He lowered Yanna to her feet, cupped her face, and kissed her. Knowing how sensitive her breasts were, he simply dug his hands into her strapless top and cupped them.

Everyone quickly turned their backs upon realizing what was about to happen.

Walter roared, “What the---”

Carole elbowed him. “You know how stubborn your daughter is. Iron head, remember, dear? I think it’s time for us to excuse ourselves. We’ll come back once it’s safe.” Walter was still growling, but Carole successfully dragged him away.

She murmured soothingly, “Let’s just go to the deck and enjoy a breath of fresh air.”

It was a good thing they had left by then as not a second later, Yanna had let out a moan, Constantijin having sucked on her nipple.

Yanna was torn between embarrassment and arousal. Why was Constantijin doing this to her?

Constantijin lifted his head. “Father, you’re not speaking.”

The priest jumped and then said hastily, “…in the face of this congregation and these witnesses…”

Constantijin calmly lowered his head again and returned to sucking her breast.

Yanna’s fingers sank into his hair, trying to futilely pull his head up. She opened her mouth to demand that he let go of her, but when Constantijin bit her nipple at the same time, she ended up moaning instead.

Alyx stole a look at Daria, who was giggling next to Nik. “We’re not looking, but we still hear her so there’s really no point not looking, you know?” Her voice was pained.

“…we, their families and friends, form a community of love---”

“Is this even legal?” Saffi whispered to her husband.

Staffan, who had been uncomfortably feeling aroused at the knowledge that a couple in love was also making love in the same room as they were, looked down at Saffi and swiftly looked away right after. If he looked at her longer than a few seconds, he was pretty sure he would start making love to her, too.

“Staffan?” Saffi insisted.

“---that we may support and encourage them…”

“He will make it legal. That is all that matters.” Staffan’s voice was strained.
Damn you, Kastein,
he thought. If this ceremony didn’t end soon, he was going to leave with his wife and fuck her in the nearest private corner.

Constantijin straightened up, only releasing her breasts when he heard the priest was midway through the ceremony. Yanna had a confused expression on her face. But he knew it wouldn’t last for long.

And it didn’t. He saw the moment her senses came back, and when she frowned at him, he didn’t give her a chance to throw a hissy fit. He was doing this for their own good, and soon she would see it his way, too.

Constantijin closed his mouth over hers, swallowing whatever she had to say.

“The covenant of marriage is sacred and is not to be entered into lightly…”

His hands shaped her bare breasts, caressing them with sure fingers. Yanna was still struggling in his arms, beating his shoulders half-heartedly.

“Do you, Constantijin Kastein, take Yanna Everleigh to be your beloved wife…”

When the priest paused for his answer, Constantijin lifted his head and growled, “Yes.”

The priest cleared his throat. “Do you, Yanna Everleigh, take Constantijin Kastein to be your beloved husband, to have and to hold…”

When it was Yanna’s turn to answer, Constantijin used that exact moment to flip her skirts up so he could hold her thigh. Yanna stiffened against him, but ignoring it, he let his hand move further up. She was panicking now, thrashing and shaking her head wildly.

He held her head secure with one hand, kissing her still, while his other hand continued with its upward journey until he found his target. His fingers held the silk of her panties. He caressed her flesh over it before determinedly tearing it apart.

Yanna moaned against his mouth.

He was not yet done, though.

His fingers quickly encountered her wetness. She was not just moist. She was drenched, and he sank one finger in. She moaned again, the sound of it telling him that she had surrendered to his touch. “Do you want more, schat?” he whispered against her lips before moving his head up.

She moaned one word very clearly, “Yes.”

The married couples exchanged heated looks at the sound of it. Those without partners looked away uncomfortably.

Every time she was required to say yes, Constantijin simply raised the heat factor a notch higher. He thrust two fingers in and then three, increasing the speed and force of his thrusts. As the ceremony came near to its end, Constantijin knew it was the same for them. Yanna was nearly sobbing now, and he was panting with desire. The only way he was able to keep them from making too much sound was to keep on kissing her.

But he still wouldn’t last forever. It was only a matter of time before they both came, and he sure as hell hoped they wouldn’t be forced to do so here.

He lifted his head again. “Father, could you please get to it?” He did his best to be polite, but the words came out as a growl.

Father Anthony tried to speak faster. “…with the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.”

As everyone clapped, Alyx muttered in relief, “Thank God.”

Constantijin’s breath whooshed out of him.

It was done.

He slowly raised his head. “Yanna?”

The priest said, “You may now kiss the bride.”

She slowly opened her eyes, which quickly filled with tears. Gradually, she became aware of what was happening – and what had happened. She was
married
now.

Yanna waited for the panic to hit her again, but it didn’t come.

Instead, she felt the most absurd kind of happiness, the kind that threatened to consume her from within. She was that happy.

She looked up at Constantijin and placed a hand lovingly against his cheek. Looking into his silvery eyes, which were bright with the sweetest and most tender kind of love, she whispered, “Thank you for being so patient with me.”

Their lips met, a chaste kiss that was somehow sexy and satisfying at the same time.

“Can we look now, man?” Staffan asked laughingly.

“NO FUCKING WAY,” Constantijin answered readily. Yanna was still half-naked, after all.