Page 46 of Mated to the Enemy
Klaue kept his gaze moving upward, and when he met her eyes, he saw the twinkle of approval in the hazel orbs. She was happy, and felt beautiful, he could tell.
“Jess,” he breathed, looking at her hair. It was pulled up into some sort of intricate high bun shape that looked like it had taken hours to create. Hell, it probably had. The twirls and loops came down just low enough to accentuate her jawline. “Stunning.”
“Thanks,” she said demurely, lowering her head slightly as she blushed. He watched the red trail down her neck and across the top of her chest. It was quite an intriguing trail he wished he could follow further down.
Klaue tensed up, unsure of what to do now. His mind was fixated purely on the sight in front of him. He was positive in all his life he’d never seen something so beautiful.
Jessica walked out of the bathroom and did a little twirl. “You like?”
His eyes took in the way the dress hugged her rear and he nodded furiously. “Yup. Yes. You look amazing. Wow.”
She giggled. “Thanks!”
Klaue grinned. He couldn’t wait to take her to the wedding and show her off. Fuck what the others thought of her, none of their mates looked likethat.The colors and the cut and fit, it was as if the dress had been made for her.
“May I?” he asked, holding out his arm for Jess to take.
He wasn’t sure if she would or not. She might be coming to the wedding as his date, but in her mind she wasn’twith him. They both knew that. Maybe this was a turning point though. Weddings could be weird like that, bringing out emotions and things from people.
“Why, how gentlemanly of you,” Jessica said with a smile, snaking her arm around his and resting her hand lightly on his forearm.
Yes, something haddefinitelychanged. Just what the hell had Nat said to her, he wondered? Freaking girl talk, so mysterious. He would never understand what could be said in a few hours between them that he hadn’t been able to convey in several days.
They exited the room and headed toward the Grand Hallway. Already a spectacle on its own, it was now decorated with fresh flowers, white banners of fine silk and a thousand other decorations. House Ursa did thingsbig.
“This is incredible. Look at all the history here,” Jess said, gaping at the tapestries and paintings on the wall of scenes from the history of House Ursa, including former Kings and Queens, historic battles and more. The closer they got to the Throne Room itself, the older things got, dating back almost to the founding of the House.
A set of ornate copper double doors was held open on their left and they joined the queue of other guests all lining up and slowly proceeding inside. Klaue nodded at several of the men under his command, some working, some with their mates or dates. They all returned his looks and nodded politely at Jess. None of them gave a shit, and he was buoyed at the reminder that not everyone in the House was being a jerk to his mate about the situation.
“Klaue and Jessica,” he said to the usher, a young member of the House he didn’t recognize. “Groom,” he supplied before the nervous teen could ask which side.
“Thank you,” the youngster breathed and showed them to their seat.
“This room is gigantic,” Jess observed as they walked two-thirds of the way down the nearly empty pew toward the front and sat.
The ballroom had been divided in two by white curtains. On the other side, he knew from experience would be the tables and such that people would sit at after the ceremony. While they ate, employees of the wedding company would clear out the pews and other decorations before taking down the barrier to turn this side into the dance floor. It was a finely-tuned thing at this point. The Grand Ballroom hosted a dozen or more weddings a year easily, some years twice that number.
He glanced over at his date once again, still marveling at how beautiful she was. Around them the press of the crowd grew, and he saw more than a handful of glares directed his way. Just as his men couldn’t care less about Jess, there were others more than willing to let their feelings be known, even in a situation like this.
Damn you, Canis. This is what your uprising has done. It’s fractured our House, turned Ursa against Ursa, and fostered suspicion everywhere. Nobody is willing to trust now, not after it was so painfully shattered.
He reached out and took Jess’ hand, giving it a squeeze to reassure her that everything was fine. Just then, the background music gave way to something a little stronger that took its place as the wedding party began to enter.
Klaue sat up straight and went to pull his hand back, but Jessica’s fingers tightened, pinning it in place. A ripple of surprise ran through him, but Klaue couldn’t do anything, not just then. All the focus was on the copper doors as they opened wide to admit Natalia.
Watching the ceremony unfold, Klaue later wouldn’t remember much of it. His mind was entirely focused on the woman next to him as he tried to puzzle out what the hell was going on. Why was she holding his hand? What had changed?
More importantly, what the heck did it mean?
