The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale (11 page)

“
Derek’s
younger?” she asked, distracted from her annoyance
.
“But I thought…
.
”
S
he stopped herself before she repeated the gossip she’d heard
before
the picnic.

“You thought what,
d
arling?” Damian
said, nestling her neck again.

She wondered that she was becoming so accustomed to his freely touching her, but
his affection
was
so easy and natural,
she would feel
ludicrously missish
for
stop
ping
him.

When Genevieve still hesitated he said in that iron tone he sometimes used, “
Say
what you were going to say, Genevieve.” 

“I’m sorry,” she answered, flustered.

“Genevieve, you’re apologizing again
; now answer,” Damian whispered
,
giving
her a
little
bite on her ear as a
warning
.

“It’s just that I heard that Derek attended the
Bridal Week
—
that both of you did
.
I assumed you were older.”
Though now t
hat she thought of it, they did
n
’
t seem older.

There was an uncomfortably long pause before Damian said, “I’m the eldest, but I command the
garrison
that guard
s
the
demon gate
.
We were experiencing some problems with the Reavers the first year we discussed my attending, and Declan asked me to postpone
and let my brothers go first.”

“Honestly Damian,” Donal said
.
“Declan knew you had the best chance
.
H
e made no secret of it to Derek and me
.
He wanted us to have our try, of course, but we never questioned that you should go last.”

“I don’t understand,
” she said
.
“The best chance?”

“Well obviously, since Damian’s so much prettier than Derek and me, we knew you village maidens would be falling all over him
,” Donal said, winking at her.

Genevieve grunted
.
Except for her foolish self, the “maidens” had kept their distance, and anyway the three brothers were so similar looking, it would be hard for those who didn’t know them to tell
them apart.

She turned to Damian
.
He gently pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear
.
“From the time Titania first gifted our people with the
heartwood
boxes, only one son in each generation of the Bl
ack family has found a bride.”

“Declan always knows which brother it will be,” Donal added in a
n
eerie tone
.
“It’s
m
aaaa
agic!”

Genevieve frowned as the information sank in
.
Both Derek and Donal had gone to the
Bridal Week
knowing they would not find a bride
—
how painful that must have been
.
And to sit now with their brother who had found a bride, knowing that they would likely never marry
.
Wouldn’t they feel resentful
?
Jealous of their brother’s good fortune?

Her expression must have given her away
.
Donal gave her
a
puzzled smile
.
“You look so worried, little one
.
It’s not like that.”

“No Black would ever dishonor himself with petty jealousy,” Derek said angrily, and to her dismay he walked off.

Donal gave her a rueful smile
and jumped up to follow him
.

“I didn’t mean…
” she
stumbled.

“A bride is a blessing to us from Titania herself
—
the greatest she can give us,” Damian said carefully
.
“To envy our brother is to turn away from her, to say that such a gift is not enough
.
It would be a great dishonor
.”

“Damian, I meant no offense!”
She squeezed her eyes closed, afraid she might cry.

“Hush, darling, I know you didn’t
.
To cope with Derek, the first thing
everyone
must learn is that he is absolutely impossible
,” he said, kissing her nose.

“Brothers can be jealous, even when they know it to be wrong and unfair
.
We can’t always control our feelings,” she whispered, thi
nking of her own dark moods.

“What do you know of brothers, li
ttle one
?
What you say is true
of other families
.
You must trust me on this
.
Derek’
s honor is everything to him.”
Damian hesitated and for the first time since she
’d
met him appeared uncertain
.
“I haven’t spoken to you about
what our life will be after we’
re married.”

“No, you haven’t
.
”
S
he turned on him in surprise
.
She hadn’t had a moment’s leisure to even think about such topics, and y
et they would marry tomorrow.

“The
c
astle is really a military fortress
, designed to hold the entire garrison, especially during the winter
.
So
in the time of Declan’s grands
ons, a separate house was built within the grounds,
specially warded, where the bride may live
.
You need to understand, Genevieve
.
From the moment your box changed, your protection became the first priority of all the males of my family
.
I will have to be away at times
as part of my command
.
During those times, Derek and Donal will take care of you
.
Either of my brothers would give his life to protect you, just as I would.”

“Damian!” she protested
.

“That is the male’s right, darling, and not for you to question,” he said, firmly tapping her chin
.

His tone brooked no argument, and she shivered at how serious he sou
nded
.

He kissed her nose again
and then continued
.
“One reason we work hard to root out even the hint of jealousy is that the tradition within our family is for the unmarried brothers to share the household with their married brother.”

“Your brothers will live with
us
?
All the time?” 

“That is our tradition,” he said, looking at her carefully
,
“
s
o long as the bride agrees.” 

“
You mean
if I said no, you would respect my wishes?” 

Dami
an looked deeply pained
but said, “Yes
.
It’
s the bride’s right to say who
will
share her household
.
You may refuse one or both of my brothers
.
I would not hold it against you
—
no one would.” 

“They’d really wish to?” she asked
.

It made no sense to her that Derek and Donal would wish to be saddled with any responsibility for their brother’s wife, let alone live with her.

“You must trust my judgment on this, Genevieve
.
T
hey wish it more than anything
.
Both
of them.” 

His tone was urgent and looking into his eyes, she could not doubt his sincerity
.
She knew at that moment that her answer was supremely important to her new family, though she still couldn’t understand it
.

There was no hesitation in her response
.
“I will trust your judgment then, Damian
.
If you’re
sure
they don’t mind, I certainly don’t
.
I appreciate your giving me the choice.” 

To her surprise, he clutched her tightly, and she felt how great his fear had been
.
It was a measure of his love for his brothers
.
She squeezed him back, feeling the rightness of her decision
.
I
ndeed she felt deeply grateful that she had found a man who felt such devotion for his younger brothers
.
It told her much about his priorities
.

When he finally released her, she felt the need to lighten things after his solemn request
.
Her eyes brightened mischievously
.

“So your brothers are to live with us.”

“I believe that is what we just decided,” he said with an answering smile
.

She pretended to ponder and then said, “Damian, I do not like tongue
—
neither in a sandwich nor in any other preparation
.
I also do not like
headcheese
, mushrooms, or b
lood-rare meat
.
I detest liver
and will not eat it under any circums
tances, including starvation.”

She raised her eyebrows in challenge.

Damian laughed loudly
.
“Understood
.
Fortunately, it is the wife’s right to decide the meals
.
But I must warn you, darling
.
Unless I am greatly mistaken,
Derek has decided that you do not
take proper care of yourself
.
And now that I have made a promise to your mother, you will have the chance to discover why Declan calls him the most stubborn male in the
history of the Black family.”

“Damian, no!”

“I’m sor
ry, darling, but it is the male’
s right to intervene if he feels the bride is not taking proper care of herself.”

“You keep speaking of rights
—
what does that mean?”

“It means that in our home there are areas where you decide and none of us may challenge your decision
.
And then, my love, there are areas where I decide, and you may not challenge me.” 

He gave her a devilish smile, which left her licking her lips, wondering that his look could promise wicked things, though she didn’t yet know about any wicked things
.

Damian read something in her look because he pulled her up and pressed his lips to hers
.
He’d been giving her little kisses since they met, but none like this
.
This kiss was intimate, sensuous, and left her body humming with desire
.

She reached up to grasp his shoulders, suddenly desperate to get closer to him
.
He responded, clutching her neck and tilting her head so he could take her lips more thoroughly
.
Gentle but insistent, he explored her mouth, guiding her until her lips parted just enough
.

And then suddenly
the kiss
shifted
.
H
e drove his tongue into her mouth ruthless
ly
, as if he were demanding her surrender
.
As new desires cascaded through her, Genevieve felt helpless, desperate for things she didn’t understand, but which some part of
her
recognized she could only get from Damian
.

“Children, children, the wedding night isn’t until tomorrow.” 

Blessed Titania, it was Donal!  Genevieve had never felt so mortified
.
She shoved away from Damian, who pulled her in so that she could hide her face against him
.

“Donal, did you require something?”  Damian asked impatiently
.