Chapter 30: Wedding Nights

The wedding celebrations lasted at least a week but I don't really remember most of it, or really any of it. What a woman remembers about her wedding day and night has nothing to do with nobles or cities or even citizens. On that day, it is only about herself, her newly acquired husband and the friends and family that she loves. On that day, those are the only things she cares about. Is it so surprising that I can tell you nothing more than about the wedding night?

I was nervous as dinner was coming to a close. I could tell Sebastian was too. He would shoot me anticipatory, sidelong looks that were filled with excitement but also anxiety. The tension began to rise and feeling my heartbeat pound, I leaned my head against his shoulder and curled into his side as his arm wrapped around me. I stared up into clear, sky-blue eyes and murmured, "Enjoying yourself?"

He smiled and kissed me gently, "Of course, Evelyn Hawke Vael."

I grinned at the way he emphasised my new last name and he smile stretched a little further as he asked, "What of you, my wife? Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, husband. Very much so," and kissed him again, deeper and more passionate than before. Fenris coughed and everyone around us tittered.

All through the night nobles made inappropriate comments to some other nobles, laughing and giggling about our consummating our marriage. I laughed, "And they don't even know I'm pregnant."

Nicholas commented, "We'll have to make the announcement soon to avoid scandal."

Everyone nodded aside from Isabela. She rolled her eyes. Varric looked uncaring for he said, "They'll talk anyway. That's what nobles do. They talk."

I teased, "A little like you, then?"

He only chuckled and conversation flowed for a while longer before the night drew to a close. Sebastian began to become tense. He growled as more nobles came up to congratulate us and under the table, his hands became fists. He was at the end of his patience. I gave a grin to Bethany and she rolled her eyes, trying hard to suppress a blush that crossed her cheeks.

I stood up and standing behind Sebastian, I whispered in his ear, "I do believe you're ready to leave our guests, my husband. Perhaps the Prince of Starkhaven should take his leave and meet me in the royal bedchamber?"

I did not wait for an answer. Hustled away by the females of my group to remove the veil and uncurl my hair, I left him to his devices. Still, I heard a distinct and hurried scrape of wooden legs against the floor and a hasty announcement of his leaving.

I stood outside the door and took a deep breath. My hair had been unveiled and lay loosely over my shoulders. Though I still wore my wedding dress and had been wearing it all day, I felt different. I felt like a wife. I wasn't just Sebastian's lover anymore and that thought made my insides bubble up with glee. The extra ring on my finger would take some getting used to but it was a wonderful feeling to be had.

Sebastian was stoking the fire, wearing only the white tunic and the black breeches. His boots lay in a heap on the side and as I closed the door behind me, he looked up. The firelight that glowed in his eyes seemed to amplify the love and passion I saw there. He came to be with purpose and pulled me to him before he fastened his lips upon mine. He pressed me closer to him, his large hands covering my back, kissing me deeper. My mouth yielded to his and the kiss… it was not a kiss like any we had ever shared before.

I lean back to break it, breathless from his kisses and he whispers, "You are mine. My wife. My Princess."

Yes, the kiss was different. It was pure possession, the kind of possession that only a husband has over a wife. His next kiss is different again, just as possessive but gentler, like he is exploring my body again as his wife. My mouth parted with a sigh and his tongue pressed into my mouth, running the tips over my teeth and sliding over my tongue. My fingers thread deep into his auburn hair and I quivered in his arms, overwhelmed by that feeling of ardour that sliced through me.

Then his fingers searched, explored, remembered, traced every arch and curve. Over my cheeks, my jaw, my neck and then down to my collarbones and shoulders before a single finger traced my spine. It made me shake and he smirked against my mouth. His fingers searched, searched for the opening to my dress and finding nothing, he pulled back and groaned, "Your dress is maddening."

I took two steps back and smiled sensually, staring at him from under my fan of eyelashes. Hunger punched at him and his breath hitched as his eyes darkened to the colour of sin. I whisper, "Do you want me to strip for you, my Prince?"

Sebastian swallowed, his fingers twitching to make a grab for me. My dress had been cleverly made. From the outside, it seemed as though there was no way of undoing my gown but it was possible. I slid my finger between my cleavage and pulled out a thin, white ribbon and when I tugged it, the dress fell apart and dropped like water into a puddle of silk. I was wearing a tiny slip of something Isabela called 'lingerie' and it was a minute scrap of lace that made his jaw drop.

"Maker!" exclaimed Sebastian, "You are even more maddening than that dress." His hands came for me but I pushed them away with a purely feminine smirk. I slid my hands up his chest, gathering his shirt and pulling it from his head. As his hands made to grab me again, I took a step back and giggled, "Not yet."

Sebastian swore and said, "You're a bad wife. Very bad. Teasing your husband like this is-"

My answering hand at his groin cut him off, his growl trembling through his body. His fingers tugged at his breeches, kicking them off quickly to the opposite corner of the room. With a single hand at his chest, I pushed him backwards, causing him to land on the new furs on the bed. His arms came around me as I crawled towards him on all fours. He murmured, "Are you trying to keep me from your body, because," his hands unhooked the breast band before sliding the lace off my hips, "this tiny material will not save you from my hunger." He hooked the lace upon his index finger, whirling it about before tossing it aside.

My hands caressed him from chest to stomach, from stomach to his sex. His breath hissed through his teeth as I gently fluttered over him and he held my hands in his, curling my fingers with his own around his bourgeoning arousal. Together, we stroke, fondled, rubbed and caressed as his hips bucked.

Then he flipped us over and slid deep into me. We moaned in unison. He murmured in apology, "I could not take any more."

I confessed, "Neither could I."

It was like a fiery arrow had been shot into my system. I was on fire with need and those flames licked at me all over and I tried to desperately brush them away by arching into him. It only made it worse. We moved together, our thrusts matched and our mouths fused together. I clung to him as his hands caressed every inch of me he could touch. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear my own voice, chanting out his name, moaning loud enough for anyone to hear but I didn't care. All I cared about was the next movement into me, the next light push towards the inevitable freefall. I wanted it, needed it.

My body felt flushed and he whispered, "I love how you blush for me… it has nothing to do with propriety but everything to do with sexual desire… tell me how much you enjoy my touch, love."

My breath had been hitching, holding as I came closer and closer to that fall but when I stayed silent, he slowed down, making the fire simmer too low to push me over the edge but high enough to torture me. "Tell me, Evelyn…"

I whined and whimpered, "I love how you touch me… how your body slides over mine… how… oh yes, how you thrust into me…Maker, Sebastian! Don't stop!"

He grinned down at me but as I writhed against him, squeezing around him intimately, he lost the smile and found a lust-filled scowl. He shuddered and growled, "Minx. Hussy. Temptress. Coquette. Wife. You will be the death of me but you are mine."

He surged forward, gripping my hips to pull me back to meet his movements. The smell of sex and jasmine filled the room as his thrusts became frantic and we sprinted towards climax. Sebastian's fingers reached between us and I threw my head from side to side, that ache throbbing into an almost pain that exploded into my release. Stars danced behind my eyes and with a single roll of his hips, he followed, spilling hot seed into my warmth.

Strength left me and he gently caressed my body, tracing patterns around my skin. We stared into each other's eyes as the fire crackled in the background, curling into one another before he whispered, "I love you, Evelyn."

I smiled and told him, "I love you too, Sebastian."

His arms curled around me ardently and as my head tilted back for his mouth to kiss my neck, a clear thought came unbidden in my mind before I surrendered to his lovemaking.

Life could never be perfect. Life was a mess of chaos and peace, of good and bad but I enjoyed it. I revelled in it. I had the perfect family. I had the perfect lover. I would have the perfect children. It didn't mean that there would be no trouble, no arguments, no fears and worries; it just meant that for every obstacle I had to face, I would have my loved ones beside me.

And if one day, more obstacles came my way, I welcomed it for I would face each and every one of them with Sebastian at my side just as he would have me:

My heart, my body, my mind, my soul.

A/N: Alright! That's it! That's the end of the sequel. I hope you all enjoyed it. I start Uni tomorrow so I will be taking a brief break but I promise that I will either do a couple one-shots soon or I will do another sequel. I haven't decided whether it's going to be a humourous story about Hawke going through her pregnancy or if its going to be a new villain out on the loose. Maybe it will be both. I have some villains in mind but feel free to let me know what you all think!

As always, please R&R! As always, you have my thanks and gratitude for reading and for reviewing!

Love, Ann