Page 8 of Married to the Vampire Prince

Silas led me to the head of the table, where we sat down, right next to the king, queen and my parents who had followed us inside. Even though the dinner would mostly consist of blood mixed with wine since most of the guests were vampires, the table was laden with exquisite-looking food as well; only the best for their human wives and husbands.

Caviar, shrimp, steak – whatever their hearts desired had been prepared by the finest cooks the palace employed.

I placed a small portion of a salad on my plate. With the confusing emotions in my heart and the stress from feeling like everyone was watching my every move, I doubted I would manage to eat a lot tonight. I’d also never had any reason tolearn proper table manners, so the plethora of cutlery next to my plate made me nervous. What would happen if I used the wrong fork? Would a photo of me making a fool out of myself end up in the tabloids tomorrow?

Luckily nobody made a snide comment on my choice of a fork or took a photo of me eating the salad, so I was able to dine in peace. The queen asked me questions about my life prior to marrying her son. I gave short but not impolite answers. She had a gentle aura to her, but with how stressful everything was to me, I couldn’t relax enough to enjoy the conversation.

“We don’t have to dance tonight if you don’t feel like it,” Silas whispered to me.

Startled, I dropped the fork onto my plate. Luckily it didn’t make a loud sound, only landing softly in the salad.

“W-We don’t?” I stuttered quietly.

My husband must have heard me because he nodded with a serious expression. “I know you’re not familiar with our dances. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

I bit my lip and gave his suggestion a moment of thought. It would really be best if I didn’t dance. Even though my name was Grace, I wasn’t very graceful. I could see that observation appearing as a headline in a newspaper tomorrow. Reporters liked that kind of humor.

“I can make an excuse for us to get away,” Silas continued when I didn’t reply.

I gave him a small smile, but with how stiff my face was from nervousness it must have come as more of a grimace. “Y-Yes.” I hated how stilted my voice was. “I’m not ready to dance tonight, and… I’m very nervous.”

“I can see that,” Silas took my hand underneath the table and squeezed.

A wave of reassurance washed over me. He had noticed my discomfort and wanted me to feel better.

I breathed a sigh of relief, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, my eyes widened and my jaw fell in surprise. Silas’ face was right in front of mine.

He kissed my lips, more gently this time than during the passionate kiss at the chapel. I felt myself melting into the kiss, my worries washing away. When he broke it – too soon for my liking – he leaned back with a much wider smile.

“I think my wife and I would like to escape to the comfort of our rooms,” Silas chuckled – a playful sound.

I gaped at him, stunned. So he could display more playful emotions too?

I shook off the feeling. The laugh was only for show, I realized, to pretend that we were normal newlyweds who wanted to… run away to consummate our marriage. The idea being that we couldn’t keep our hands and lips off each other.

I blushed, feeling my cheeks burn like wildfire. I wasn’t sure what was flustering me more – the idea of remaining at this table, too nervous to enjoy my own wedding dinner, or the idea of rushing away for our wedding night and finally sleeping with Silas.

Wait, why was I looking forward to having sex with him? He was a scary vampire, after all. Yet… so far he had never treated me with anything but the utmost care.

Silas’ parents laughed out loud, and my parents smiled as well.

“Go ahead, you can leave.” The king clapped his hands. “I’m so glad you two are attracted to each other. It bodes well for a good marriage.”

If I could have blushed even more, I would have. I wanted the earth to swallow me.

Silas got up and, before I could protest, picked me up from my chair. That action got the attention of everyone at the table.

“Excuse us,” he said in a cold tone as he started walking the length of the room, passing everyone by.

I saw smiles on everyone’s faces. I heard some encouraging hoots as well.

Everyone was so happy with the union that would soon happen between Silas and I. I knew vampires were more open about sex, given that the act of drinking blood was often connected with intercourse. However, it was one thing to be familiar with their customs and quite another to witness how encouraging everyone was.

This moment was so embarrassing.

I hid my face in Silas’ chest. He smelled like the forest after rain; a fresh, invigorating scent. The scent of a man. It was comforting and exciting at the same time.

My husband carried me up the large staircase without a word. Only when we arrived in front of the room that was assigned to me did he put me on my feet. He leaned over me to open the door. I was very aware of his closeness and felt myself brace for his touch.

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