Page 11 of Valentine's with the Cartel

I gazed down at him as he peeked up at me from beneath his lashes, still flushed and slightly stunned-looking. My heart clenched in an unfamiliar squeeze I refused to acknowledge just now.

"Shall we get married then?" I asked softly, only for his ears alone. "Seal our bond before these witnesses?"

Anan swallowed thickly, glancing out at the sea of faces with a mix of apprehension and something else that glimmered in the depths of his eyes. He met my gaze again and I saw it—that same heady desire mingled with trepidation that was so intoxicating.

"I look like such a fool right now," he breathed after what felt like an eternity but could only have been mere seconds. "So, do I even have a choice?"

And just like that, everything in me settled, a deep contentment suffusing my very being as I gazed down at the precious omega in my arms on the eve of Valentine's Day - our wedding day.

The ceremony room was lavishly decorated, with velvet-draped walls and gilded furnishings that gleamed under the soft glow of dozens of candles perched in sconces along each wall. A long aisle bisected the space, leading to an altar draped in white lace and adorned with cascading bouquets of blush pink roses. It kind of reminded me of someone, I thought with a smile on my face.

At the front of the room, two thrones sat side by side, waiting for us to take our places as husband and, of course, also husband.

As we approached, I spotted Mara again, a look of barely suppressed fury on her face. No doubt she was shocked to see me carrying Anan like some blushing bride, but that was hardly my concern right now.

The officiant was there waiting for us—a tall, severe-looking man with cold eyes and a thin mouth curled into a sharp smirk as he watched our entrance. He clearly thought this whole situation was laughable.

"Ah, Rafael and Anan," the officiant purred mockingly. "So lovely of you to join us at last."

I flashed him an easy grin in return even as my arm tightened protectively around Anan's waist. "Wouldn't miss it for the world," I replied smoothly. "As you can see, my omega and I got a little... caught up before the main event, if you will."

The officiant chuckled, eyeing Anan with undisguised amusement. "I can certainly understand that—such an exquisite specimen deserves to be savored thoroughly indeed." And meanwhile, I never thought someone like him would ever say something like that.

Anan stiffened in my arms at the bald innuendo, his cheeks flaming with embarrassment and outrage. But before he could respond, I forestalled him with a subtle squeeze of his hip.

"Not here," I murmured for his ears alone as I strode down the aisle with him held firmly against me. "Let's save such private... delights for after we're husband and husband."

I settled us on the thrones, arranging Anan on my lap with a possessive hand splayed across his lower back. He wriggled slightly against me in obvious discomfort but didn't try to pull away. He knew that doing that wouldn't be appropriate and that I wouldn't like it. As much as he hated me now, he knew that it wasn't really genuine. Much more than that, he wanted me. He wanted every inch of me.

As the officiant stepped forward to begin the ceremony, I leaned down to capture Anan's chin between my fingers, tilting his face up to meet my gaze. His eyes glared daggers at me.

"I will make you pay for this humiliation," Anan bit out under his breath, all bravado and sass despite the tremor that rippled through him. "Mark my words."

"Promises, promises," I chuckled throatily against his flushed skin, reveling in his spirit even as it amused me to no end. This was going to be a wild ride indeed.

And with a sharp clap of his hands, the officiant began intoning the words of the wedding rite that would bind Anan andme together for all eternity, no matter what my little rebel may have thought about it in this moment.

With the officiant still speaking, I gazed down at my omega with an expression of pure adoration, knowing full well that he was already irrevocably mine.

My heart. My world. My everything.

And heaven help anyone who dared stand between me and what was rightfully mine on this Valentine's Day—as the officiant continued his drone—I would rip them apart piece by bloody piece with my bare hands if it came to it.

I didn't care about what he promised—he could make as many threats and vows of revenge as his little heart desired. It wouldn't change a thing.

He was mine now, bound to me in the most intimate and primal way possible. And I would enjoy unraveling him at my leisure over the rest of our lives together.

As he squirmed against me in outrage, I tightened my arm around his waist and pulled him flush against my chest, letting him feel how much I wanted him even now in the middle of all this ceremony nonsense. Let him writhe and rage all he liked—I would simply enjoy every second of it.

And when the officiant finally pronounced us husband and husband, sealing our fate with those time-honored words that would echo through the ages?

I sealed Anan's promise to me with a thorough kiss that left no room for doubt about who owned his very soul now. Who would worship him like a god until the end of time itself.

Finally leaving the room, I gazed down at my husband with a blistering intensity that made even Mara pause in her seething displeasure to stare openly at us both. Her reaction was a delight to my eyes.

"I love you," I declared for all to hear without hesitation or qualm. "Forever and always."

Anan gasped softly against me, shock and something like hope flashing briefly across his flushed features before it was replaced by the stubborn set of his jaw that never failed to make my heart clench in a way I could no longer deny.

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