Page 120 of Shielded Heart 1
Her smile softened as she slid a hand up, lightly tracing hisqalwith her fingertips until she reached the dot on his bottom lip. “I did a little research about yourqal.”
“Oh? And what did you learn? Please tell me you figured out how to turn these marks into an erogenous zone.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “I learned that the volturians take the markings of their mates upon themselves. Humans have a symbolic exchange, too, but it’s nowhere near as permanent, when we get married. We exchange rings and vows.”
His smile broadened into a grin. “Are you asking me to marry you, Samantha? Trying to tie me down?”
Her cheeks warmed, and she glanced up at him for a second before returning her eyes to hisqal. “I…guess I am. That is…if you…” She grimaced. This wasn’t turning out at all how she’d hoped. “I thought with us being mates—”
“Samantha Dawn Wilder,” he said, calling her attention back to his face, “would you do me the indescribable honor of becoming my wife?”
Her brows rose in surprise that was rapidly swept aside by joy. “That’s exactly how a human would ask…”
“You aren’t the only one who’s done some research, Samantha. And, according tomyresearch, I would traditionally present you with the ring I purchased…but it was unfortunately destroyed along with the rest of the compound. I was planning to wait until we were settled into a more permanent residence to find a worthy replacement.”
“A ring doesn’t matter.” Sam smiled up at him through tear-blurred vision, taking his jaw between her hands. She couldn’t believe he’d already obtained a ring, that he’d already been planning to propose to her according to human tradition. “I would much rather take yourqal.”
“Hmm.” His eyes swept over her face, and his thumb continued its lazy back and forth across her skin. “As flattered as I am by that, I don’t want my marks on your skin.”
His words struck her like a heavy blow to her chest. She turned her face and dropped her hands. “Oh.”
“Ah, Samantha.” Arcanthus grasped her chin and forced her to face him again. “I am not rejecting you. Sharingqalis a volturian tradition, one that my people abandoned long ago. And I am two decades removed from my culture, on top of that. I don’t need you marked as my property. When I look upon you, I want to seeyou, not a reminder of myself. I have mirrors if I want to see myqal, but there is only one of you. I want to see your face, your skin, yourbeauty.”
“I just thought…” She took in a shaky breath, and a tear fell from the corner of her eye to disappear within her hair. “I wanted to show you that I was yours. Always.”
“Ah, my precious flower. You show me everyday, in everything you do. Every time you look at me. Every word you speak to me. Every little touch, every smile, every moment. As jealous as I become when other males look at you, Iknowyou are mine, just as I know I am yours”—he moved his hand down, settling it over her heart—“here. There is much in this universe that we may doubt, Samantha, but you and me? We’re one of the few certainties.”
With a small sob, Samantha threw her arms around his neck and pulled herself up, pressing her mouth to his. Arcanthus groaned as he returned the kiss, his lips and tongue moving with hers in a sensual dance. He slipped an arm around Sam, holding her against him as he ground his pelvis between her legs.
A breathy moan escaped Samantha’s lips as delighted shivers stole through her.
“You never answered me, little terran,” he said against her mouth. “Will you be my wife?”
Samantha smiled, meeting his eyes as she pulled back. “Yes. Your wife, your mate. Yours.”
“Mine,” Arcanthus growled as he reclaimed her lips in a searing kiss. When he pulled away, he raised his torso and hooked his fingers beneath the waistband of her pants. “As my wife-to-be, you are to enjoy certain benefits. Terran traditions are not the only things I’ve researched.”
Panting softly, Samantha stared at him while he drew off her pants and underwear. Her nipples were hard and achy against her shirt, and her sex pulsed in need. “What benefits?”
Arcanthus grinned that devilish grin and lowered his mouth between her thighs to show herexactlywhat he meant.
