My skin prickles with awareness and I think about the dark presence waiting at my apartment last night. I put my hand over Kassam's, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze and silently asking him not to say anything that might alarm my mother. "Let's get this show on the road, then. We probably shouldn't linger."
I want nothing more than to hug my mom and have her help me with all of this, but I worry if she gets pulled in, it'll be dangerous for her. Better to stay away.
"Yes, of course," my mother says, opening her book again. "While I was preparing my clothes last night, I also looked up handfasting rituals. And I registered to be an official priestess of one religion and a minister of another, so I figure we can make this ceremony stick. A handfasting is just as legitimate as a wedding, and you don't need a license for that, which solves your problem." She gives us a firm nod, flipping open a book. "Give me just a moment and we can get started. No time to waste. The sooner we get you protected, the better."
"Right. Sure."
"Is he certain he wants to go through with this?" my mother asks, licking a fingertip and flipping pages in her book.
I turn toward Kassam. "Well?"
He gives me that lazy, dimpled grin and puts a hand to his chest, directly over the game logo on his wrinkled shirt. "You mean I get a choice?"
"Honestly, no. You get about as much choice as I do." I give him an insincere smile and reach out, pretending to smooth a wrinkle on the front of his shirt. "But this is to protect me and to bind you to me, and if you want my help scratching any sort of itch in the next while, you're going to do this or I'm abandoning ship right now."
Kassam huffs with amusement. "As if you could. We were bound to one another the moment your hand touched mine."
"That may be, but there's a big difference between a willing Carly who goes along with your schemes and one that won't participate at all. I can make this really, really hard on you." I'm also bluffing, because I'm utterly powerless in this moment and I hope he doesn't realize it. I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't agree to marry me. It won't make a big difference, but my mother thinks it'll protect me and I need all the protection I can get.
He gazes down at me, expression thoughtful. His hand covers the one I have on his chest, and my inner channel contracts with the force of my orgasm, hot prickles rushing through me. Bastard. I can't believe he did that in front of my mother. I glare at him, because I know this is jockeying for the upper hand. "And what do I get out of this?"
Is he serious? "A willing companion? Someone to help guide you on the way home?" I lower my voice so my mother doesn't hear. "Someone who scratches your freaking itches?"
But he just waits. "What else?"
What does he mean, what else? His gaze flicks to my mouth, and then I realize what this is about. He doesn't like that I've refused to kiss him. I wonder if Kassam has ever been refused anything at all. "Not that," I say. "That's mine. But you know that everything else is on the table."
He grunts, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand. "And you will not give me that?"
"Kissing belongs with love. There's no love here, just mutual using."
His eyes spark, as if he's just figured out something important. Kassam leans in, murmuring in a low voice. "I have decided that I am going to make you love me, Carly."
I laugh. Genuinely laugh. "You are talking to the ultimate non-finisher, Kassam. I never go all the way in anything, remember? The queen of unfinished projects?" I shake my head, amused. I've never been in a relationship that didn't go sour quickly. I always bail on the guy when things start to get serious. "Trust me, it's never going to happen."
"We'll see." The challenging look is back in his eyes.
"Are you two going to whisper all day or can we get this handfasting going?" my mother calls from across the store.
17
A short time later, my mother has married-slash-handfasted us in four different ways. We've repeated a half-dozen vows, all of them promising to honor and obey and cherish one another. Several times, Kassam has had to promise to look after me in sickness and in health, and to guide me through all of life's perils. He’s vowed to cleave only to me, to protect, and to be true. I don't know how much is Mom's ad-libbing and how much is true, but as Kassam binds a long, red length of cloth around our joined hands, tying us together, it feels…heavy.
Sacred.
I'm married to a god.
A really annoying, really sexually charged god who just wants his itches scratched, but whatever.
"Should we seal things with a kiss?" my mother asks cheerfully as she closes her final book.
Ulp. In that moment, I could cheerfully scream at my mother. She beams at us, oblivious to the can of worms she's just opened. Kassam gives me a look, pulling me toward him. "Yes, my light, let us kiss and ensure that the ceremony is binding."
He angles his mouth toward mine, and I turn aside at the last moment so he kisses my cheek. When Kassam pulls back, there is a challenging look in his eyes, and I suspect I've waved a red flag in front of a bull. Doesn't matter. I'm not going to give him what he wants just because he demands it.
"Well," my mother says as we pull apart. "You're as safe as I can make you, Carly honey." She clutches the book on ceremonies to her chest, her gaze misty. "Never thought I'd be the mother of the bride quite like this, but we'll get it all figured out, right? Have you had any luck with contacting his world?"
I opt to glaze over the dangerous elements. "Not much yet, but we'll get there. Right, Kassam?"
"Actually," Kassam says, squeezing my sweaty hand. He glances down at the red handfasting ribbon holding our joined palms together. "The ceremony is not complete until we have consummated the marriage, is it?"
I freeze in place, turning toward him. My nostrils flare and my jaw clenches with sheer outrage. That son of a bitch.
"Well," my mother hesitates. "I figured that wouldn't be a problem for you two, but yes, that is part of quite a few of the ceremonies—"
"Then it is best we do so promptly to ensure Carly's safety." He gives me the barest smile. "Since that is what this is all for."
Bastard. It takes everything I have not to blurt the word aloud. Maneuvering, sneaky-ass bastard. I won't kiss him so he's going to turn this into a game? This is my fucking life. "I'm sure we can wait a few hours—"
But Kassam looks right past me and at my mother. "The sooner the better. She is already in grave danger. Did she not tell you of last night's encounter?"
Oh, double bastard. At my mom's worried look, I shake my head, plucking at the red handfasting ribbons on our hands to untie us. "It's nothing, Mom. He's just being dramatic."
"After Lachesis warned Carly, another god showed up in her dwelling," Kassam states. "Someone is seeking her out. This is why we must be careful. If these vows are sacred and will bind Carly to me, then we must make sure she is bound, yes?" He snatches my hand the moment I untie the handfasting bindings and heads into the back room, the one my mom uses for her card readings. "Give us a few minutes. This will not take long."