Wyvern's Trim and other stories by Nix Whittaker Page B

she
said, “I just don’t understand what it means.”
    The elder gave her a sympathetic smile and
said , “It means you
married the man, child.”
    He looked at Sebastian who
nodded . “She is mine, so
I will stay with her.”
    The elder looked thoughtful and
said , “This is
unusual.

    They were out of the garden before Ash could
collect herself and blurted out, “Married!”
    Sebastian glanced at her and said calmly,
“L et’s go to your room
first before we have this discussion.”
    The fact that he
sounded so reasonable frustrated her and made her angry. When she
tried again to start the conversation he refused to engage and so
she rushed her steps so they could get to her room.
    Ash realised her mistake when Sebastian closed the
door of her small room and she was trapped in a small space with
him. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the look on his
face. He stalked towards her and framed her face in his
hands.
    He asked , “Do you deny that you are
mine?”
    She blinked confused with the way he was putting
things. “You never asked me. You just decided. You never said
anything about marriage.”
    She thought back to it all. The first time
he had stated she was his was when he was ill just a few days ago.
She pulled back and glanced down at her hand . “Was that it. The only thing you needed
to say we are married.”
    Ash rubbed at the brands. They had stopped paining
an hour ago but they still tingled. She could feel the power in the
brands. Defeated she flopped to sit on the edge of her bed. Tears
blurred her eyes. Sebastian sat on the bed next to her and with a
finger under her chin turned her to look at him.
    He murmured , “Hush.”
    Then he kissed
her. It was gentle, which surprised her. He was such a large man
and filled with a constrained violence inside him. He moved his
hands to rest lightly on her waist. That reminded her of the kiss
before.
    Ash pulled back and asked, “Why? I mean you could
have waited and explained things.”
    Sebastian sighed and said, “I thought you
understood. I thought you stopped things earlier because you wanted
the binding first. Before you would let me take you. The idea of
binding us together pleased me so I did it. I thought you knew what
it all meant.”
    She blinked staring at him for a moment.
Anger rushed through her and she pulled back
further . “You never said
anything. Ever, Sebastian. You don’t tell me anything, how am I
supposed to understand or know what is going on inside your head
when you are so stoic with me. How was I supposed to know a bloody
kiss was a marriage proposal?”
    His eyes darkened and she was afraid for a
moment. He surprised her though by saying . “Sorry.”
    He stood up then and started undressing.
Gaping she asked , “What
are you doing?”
    “ You
are upset. I will comfort you.”
    Her words choked in her throat then she
went breathless as he completely disrobed. He sat on the bed again
and she finally shook off her stupor . “Wait Sebastian. This morning when I stopped you
it wasn’t because I wanted you to marry me first it was because I’m
not ready.”
    He brushed the back of his fingers over
her cheek and said , “You
only believe you are not ready because you are afraid. I will not
harm you and you will know that there is nothing to
fear.”
    His logic was infuriating. She pushed away
his hand and said , “You
aren’t listening to me. Yes, I am afraid. I’m only seventeen and I
haven’t... well before I hadn’t even been
kissed.”
    “ Good.”
    She shook her head . “You don’t
understand.”
    Sebastian leant forward and she quickly put her
hand on his chest to push him away. Ash could feel the heat of his
skin and the beat of his heart. She was breathless. Panic mixed
with confusion.
    He put his hand over hers on his chest and
said , “You are afraid of
the unknown. So I will give you the experience so you will no
longer be afraid.”
    She shook her
head, confused and tingly. He tugged on the