Disclaimer: I own nothing of Clare B. Dunkle's work, although I wish I did.
The anxious look in her eyes changed to relief as she caught sight of him, and he took her into his arms and kissed her…(from In the Coils of the Snake).
Nir's kiss was as different from Catspaw's as night was from day, just as she had known it would be. His lips were soft and warm on hers, his tongue coaxing her to open her lips for him. When she did, his tongue slipped inside to duel with hers, sending hot, tingling sensations all through her belly. She moaned low in her throat and held him tighter, unable to help what she was feeling. Such a kiss belonged to marriage, she thought to herself, and smiled, realizing that she was his wife. That she had been his wife the entire time.
With that thought she pulled back from him angrily. "Why didn't you tell me what the Seven Stars spell did? Why didn't you tell me we were married the whole time?"
Nir ran his hands back through his beautiful silky hair, unable to understand her upset. "Sika, we are married now. Why aren't you happy? Why does it matter if we were married always or if we were just married?"
"It matters. I love you, but I have to trust you completely before I can live in this world with you." Her large brown eyes were filled with tears, begging him to understand how badly she needed him to share with her. "And you….you have to trust me, too."
"I do trust you, Sika." He said, smiling again.
"No. You have to trust me to know you, to really be with you. You have to share with me. I have to know who you are."
" Sika, I didn't tell you at first because you were too scared, too uncertain of me. And later, when you confessed your love for me….it no longer mattered what the Seven Stars spell did."
"It mattered to me." She said heatedly. "Everything about you has always mattered." She kissed him, twining her fingers in his hair. After kissing her back passionately for several minutes, he pulled away gently.
Laughing, she asked, "Does this mean I can call you Ash now? 'Nir' sounds too…subservient."
"Servile, you'll never be my beautiful fox." He replied with a smile, sucking on her fingertips. "I would like nothing better than for my wife to call me Ash."
"If you keep doing that, the entire camp will be wondering why we retire before the sun starts to come up."
"Well then, my Wife. What're we waiting for?" He stood up and held his hand down to help her to her feet.
She stared at his hand for several minutes, then looked into his clear, timeless eyes. She laid her hand in his.