Page 19 of Dark Chains: First Link
But Ruvon was gentle and patient and had respected her decision to wait without a single complaint, even though the waiting was difficult for him. He had never pushed, never pressured, never made her feel guilty for needing more time. He had simply loved her and let her set the pace, which was the most attractive thing any man had ever done in the history of the world, as far as she was concerned.
She was ready.
She was pretty sure she was ready.
She was at least eighty percent sure she was ready, and the remaining twenty percent was the residue of her past that was not going to get any smaller by waiting longer. It would only shrink by being replaced with a different experience, a better one, and Ruvon would make sure of that.
Fates, how she wished Drova were here.
Her best friend was such a badass warrior that Arezoo felt braver by association. Drova also had a habit of quoting passages from the smutty romance novels she devoured and practically forced Arezoo to read, and the blush-inducing exposure was doing wonders for Arezoo's desire to finally experience those pleasures herself.
Their little book club of two was the best remedy for her pre-wedding jitters. Drova's approach to Arezoo's virginal anxiety included a breakdown of what to expect based onfictional sources of questionable accuracy, and commentary so inappropriate that Arezoo would be too busy being scandalized to remember she was nervous.
But Drova was in Safe Harbor, and she wasn't scheduled to arrive until tomorrow. She'd probably come straight to the cocktail party from the clan's airstrip, which meant Arezoo wouldn't get any private time with her before the event.
"Are you freaking out again?" Laleh asked.
Arezoo blinked. "Why would you think that?"
"Because you are staring into the middle distance and your face does this." Laleh scrunched her features into an expression that was supposed to look contemplative but actually looked constipated. "You're thinking about the wedding night and getting scared."
"I am not."
"Your cheeks are doing that blotchy thing they do when you're embarrassed, which means you are thinking about sex."
"My cheeks are not blotchy."
"They're a little blotchy," Donya confirmed.
"I hate both of you."
"No, you don't. You love us, and you're going to miss us horribly when you move into Ruvon's place after the wedding, and you'll probably cry about it at least three times a day."
Arezoo chuckled. "I'm not moving across town. I will see you every day at the store, and knowing Maman, she will insist on Ruvon and me coming to dinner every evening."
Laleh scrambled off the bed and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. "I'm taking a picture."
"No."
"Yes. You look incredible, and the process of your transformation needs to be documented." Laleh positioned herself at the foot of the bed, angling the phone. "Turn a little. No, the other way. Chin up. Not that much. There."
The phone's shutter sound clicked, and Laleh examined the result with a critical squint before turning the screen toward Arezoo.
The woman in the photo looked like someone Arezoo might admire from a distance and assume she had nothing in common with. Laleh had caught the tiered tulle mid-movement, and Arezoo's expression was a combination of surprise and uncertainty, partly due to the lingering blush but mostly the look in her eyes.
"Forward it to me," she said. "I'll send it to Drova."
Laleh pulled the phone back. "Wait until she sees you tomorrow at the party and her jaw drops to the floor."
The idea had merit. Seeing Drova's surprise would be more entertaining in person, especially because Kra-ell's facial expressions were so different from human or immortal ones. Arezoo could envision the widening of Drova's already enormous eyes and a compression of her lips that made her look severe or even dangerous to anyone who didn't know her as well as Arezoo did.
On the other hand, Drova would be furious if she found out that Arezoo had gotten a spectacular dress worthy of a princess and had not sent her a photo.
"She'll kill me if I don't send it," Arezoo said. "Forward it to me."
Laleh shrugged and tapped her screen. Arezoo's phone buzzed on the dresser, and she picked it up, opened the photo, and forwarded it to Drova with a message that explained the dress was for tomorrow's party.
The phone rang.
