I expected Angel to excuse himself and go back to his study but he didn't. In fact he never left my side.

Maria had baked us a small wedding cake and we cut it together. A photographer took some photos. It would be nice to have some memories from the day to keep.

There were moments I felt a pang of guilt for the fact that Kaiden hadn't been there. Even though I argued he was dead set against the union, I still felt bad. I wondered how he was going to react to the news. It probably wasn't going to go down well.

Would he have done something to stop it if he had known about the low key ceremony? I wouldn't put it past my brother to do everything he could to stop what he felt wasn't in my best interest. But it was my life and I got to make my choices, even if he didn't agree with them.

Maybe it would be better for me to tell him, then for him to find out in another way. I would call him tomorrow and let him know. I felt better that I had come to some resolution about Kaiden so I let the guilt go.

I was no blushing virgin but when we finally went upstairs I felt nervous and I couldn't figure out why. We had already been intimate, it wasn't like he hadn't seen it all before but this time seemed different for some reason.

Was it the fact that I now realized loved him that made things different?

I slid my high heels off and returned them to the closet. When I reentered the bedroom Angel had loosened his tie and his jacket was off. He loosened the cuffs and rolled up the sleeves.

I hated how nervous I felt. I didn't want to feel different around him but I couldn't simply just turn off my emotions. Finding a way to deal with him in the same way I had before was my top priority. I wouldn't allow him to control me with my heart.

He walked to where I stood.

"You're safe now Kira. No one would dare harm my wife."

Our eyes met. Wife. I was now his wife. The word felt foreign to me. Would I ever get used to it?

Our lives had always been intertwined but I would never have predicted this outcome for us. And as much as I was his, he was mine.

I held onto the small thing that he had done that day to make it special for me. I looked down at the dress and touched it with the hand glittered with the pink diamond engagement ring and wedding band. My heart felt like it was going to burst. His hand touched mine and I lifted mine to meet his.

His gaze sent an awareness through me. Bringing me to life, my skin under his touch.

What would it feel like to be able to give into the emotions that tormented me? To be able to love him like my heart craved, instead of hiding it so deep inside I felt numb. Why did everything have to be so hard? Why did I have to fight what I wanted the most?

"You were very quiet today. It was unlike you." He missed nothing. He studied me.

"It was a lot today." I swallowed nervously, hoping he wouldn't see how I truly felt about him. "I never imagined I would be trying to get ready for my wedding in an hour."

"I had complete trust in you." His words were light but that lifted me up.

"Thank you for the dress. It was a nice surprise." His hand was still on mine. Only he mattered when he touched me, my heart wanted to open up and flourish in the warmth of the feeling he created in me. But I fought the urge.

"Did you really believe I was going to let you wear a garbage bag to our wedding?" he asked softly.

I shrugged. "Honestly, I wasn't sure."

"You took my breath away today."

How was I supposed to fight how I felt when he said things like that?

"You don't have to say things like Angel. I know what kind of a marriage this and I don't need you to make it into something it isn't."

"Our marriage will be real Kira. I meant my vows."

"But you don't love me."

He frowned. "I don't know why you get to hung up on a fickle emotion that is usually confused with lust."

That wasn't true. Just allowing myself to feel a fraction of the love I had for him lifted me to the heavens. If he had ever been in love he would know what it felt like.

"Maybe I crave something I feel like I missed out on growing up." I sighed. "After my mother died I felt so lost, my father certainly didn't make me feel loved and Kaiden...well he was too busy with his own life to see that I was floundering."

His hand tightened on mine and I found myself staring into his eyes. "I was there."

My heart constricted causing a physical pain as well as an emotional one.

"You were," I found myself whispering as our gazes locked and I was unable to think of anything but how close he was to me.

He pulled me close and I looked up to him. My eyes went to his lips and I wanted him to kiss me so bad.

"You will never be alone, I will always be there."

It was the most romantic thing he had ever said to me and my heart soared. How was I supposed to keep my love for him under wraps when he declared things like that?

He kissed me and I held onto his shirt as his tongue explored my mouth before sliding against mine. My fist tightened on his shirt and pulled him closer.

I needed him, more than the air that filled my lungs with each breath.

I pressed my body up against his, my breasts flattening against his chest.

He lifted his mouth from mine to turn me around. I put my hands to my waist as he began to undo the dress and then he slid it down. His mouth touched my shoulder as the garment dropped to the floor. I closed my eyes and rode out the sensation, feeling it cover my entire body. Making every touch more sensitive.

His mouth trailed up the side of my neck and I arched to give him better access. His hands went to my waist and I turned to lift myself up on my tiptoes to kiss him. Linking my hands around his neck I groaned.

I wanted to stay just in the moment, never leaving the bubble of want that coursed through me and or the love that beat within me for the man who was now my husband. A foreign feeling of possessive settled over me.

He was mine. And I was his.

Our mouths fused together as our hands worked at undressing each other.

Once we were both free from the confines out our clothes, he lowered me to the bed and I gazed at him. Allowing myself to feel every heart flutter as his body covered mine.

Between heat, touch and panting he got protection on before he joined our bodies together. I held onto him as his body moved within mine. My mind soared with every hope while my heart beat solely for him.

He knew my body so well. He knew what every touch would illicit and how far to push before I tumbled over the edge. My fingers dug into his skin as I let out a long groan while the orgasm washed over me.

It wasn't long and he shuddered into me. I held him close, our bodies gleaming from sweat.

He made a move to lift his body from mine but I refused to let him go. "Just lie here with me. Just for a little while."

"I'll be just a minute." He went to the bathroom and then reappeared moments later to join me in the bed again.

His eyes held mine and he lay beside me, pulling me closer. I lay my head on his chest and inhaled the scent of him, trying to engrain every moment I had with him so I would never lose this moment with him.

His lips touched my forehead and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to believe, just for that moment that he loved me as much as I loved him. That our union was only about love and nothing else. There was no one out to get me, there was no danger ahead.

I lay my hand on his chest and could feel the steady beat of his heart.

I replayed his voice in my mind, saying his marriage vows. I let myself believe every word, promising myself that when the sun came up the next morning I would let it go and be content with whatever he could give me. Not allowing him to see how much I loved him, hiding it so deep it never saw the light of day.