Rebellious Desires

Chapter Eight

She gazed in disbelief at the reflection in front of her, she could not believe how beautiful she looked. Her hair was piled high up on her head in a messy chignon. A beautiful tiara made from real diamonds, a gift from Liz, sat proudly on her head.

A pair of diamond drop earrings that she had inherited from her mother adorned her ears while the matching necklace sat elegantly around her slender neck. Her shoulders and arms were bare as her wedding gown was a daring cut. The silky white material rested on her upper torso like a glove, it was enhanced by a range of pearls and silver rhinestones which lined the bodice of the gown.

The lower section of the dress flared out from her waist and was sparsely decorated by small silver rhinestones. The seamstress had outdone herself on the dress. It was magnificent and she felt magnificent. Nothing was going to spoil her mood, not even her arrogant groom.

She had decided that she would ignore him completely after the wedding, it was the only way to save herself from further embarrassment.

"Oh Bessy, I look beautiful, thank you," she hugged her long time friend close to her.

"You always look beautiful Ari," she smiled "Now its time to go downstairs. I know you did not want this but I believe that everything will work out for you Ari,"

"I do not think so Bess, Ryan is adamant about making this marriage a nightmare but I will not allow him to make me miserable,"

A soft knock on the door ended their conversation.

"Arianna, it is time," Liz said excitedly as she walked into the room.

"Oh Arianna, you look exquisite, my son must come to his senses and realise how wonderful you are. I realise that this is hard for you especially with Ryan's attitude but I will always be here for you." Arianna smiled at her mother in law but deep down she knew that she and Ryan will never be happy.

She took a deep breath as she stood at the bottom of the stairs. Andrew stood beside her waiting to walk her down the aisle. She had not exchanged a single word with him and could barely wait until he was gone. He held her elbow as he led her to the doorway which led to the back lawn.

She was nervous and wanted the whole ordeal to be over. She took a deep breath as she took the first step towards her future husband. She almost stumbled when she finally saw him. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo. He was smiling at her and her heart skipped a beat. It was at that moment she realised that she was falling for Ryan.

********

Ryan was growing impatient as he waited for Arianna to make an appearance, he just wanted to get this done so he could get back to London. He went over what she said to him by the lake over and over and realised that she was right. He was the one who kept kissing her. It was like he lost all his self control around her. He need to stay away from her for both their sakes. They would consummate the marriage tonight, hopefully she would get pregnant so they could live their separate lives.

He heard the gasps of his guests and looked up to see the most exquisite sight. Arianna looked absolutely beautiful. He could not restrain the smile that slipped across his face.

Their eyes met and he feel a jolt of desire in the pit of his stomach. Suddenly he couldn't wait for the day to end so he could take his wife to his bed.

All through the ceremony Arianna kept her eyes lowered, she refused to look at him but he could hardly blame her.

When the time came for them to kiss, he could see how resentful Arianna was but he wanted to taste her so badly. He pulled her close and leaned down to capture her lips. She tasted like strawberries, he did not want to let her go, he deepened the kiss as he felt her relax in his arms. He forgot about the time, their guests, it was just them. She moaned as his tongue explored her mouth shamelessly.

It was the pastor clearing his throat that brought him back to reality. She released her slowly not wanting to let her go. There was definitely something between them, something sexual and the sooner he beds her, the sooner he would get over these feelings, that was the only solution he could think of.

********

She was still shaken from the kiss and it did not help with him glued to her side. Her body felt foreign, there were so many feelings coursing through her body and she did not know what to do or think.

She had met so many people and had stopped trying to remember the names after meeting the first ten.

"Are you ok?" Tingles ran through her body at the feel of Ryan's breath on her neck. She nodded quickly and stepped away from him. He was about to say something when Phillippe approached them.

"Congratulations Ryan, I must say your bride is extremely beautiful." Ryan's good mood seemed to vanish in an instant.

"Thank you," he responded rather tightly. It became quite obvious that Ryan did not like Phillippe and Arianna wondered why that was.

"Would you mind if I have one dance with your bride?" Phillippe asked slyly a very large smirk on his face.

"Yes I do mind Phillippe, it is our wedding day, I am the only person that she will dance with today." It was Ryan's time to smirk as Phillippe looked thoroughly embarrassed.

Ryan as if following his word, led her to the dance floor. He pulled her extremely close and planted a trail of kisses along her neck line, she had to hold on to him firmly to keep from falling flat on her face.

"What are you doing Ryan? We have guests!" She whispered fiercely

"We are married do you really care what they think?"

"Yes I do, we are newly weds, there is still some level of propriety which we need to follow!"

"Oh to hell with propriety!" He responded "I want you so bad,"

She stiffened in his arms as reality of what he really wanted from her became obvious.

"Well you have a long wait for that," she responded coldly.

"What do you mean my sweet?"

"I mean exactly what I just told you. I do not know you as how I should and I refuse to lose my virtue to a stranger,"

"What?" He asked in a confused tone

"You will have to court me, you had a week to do so before today and you did not see the need to spend time with me so you will do so now, that is if you want an heir."

"Arianna do not think for a second that I will allow you to toy with me, we are going to make love tonight whether you want to or not."

She was about to respond when Claudia came to accompany her upstairs to prepare for her husband. She was actually relieved that she had escaped that argument but she had only postponed the inevitable.

"Are you nervous?" Claudia asked as they mounted the steps.

"No I'm not,"

"Really? I was a nervous wreck by the time Damian got to our bedroom on our wedding night,"

"Well I do not plan on consummating this marriage tonight, I do not know your brother well enough and I refuse to be used," she stated adamantly

"Are you crazy Arianna, you have to, it is your duty to please your husband whether it is an arranged marriage or not."

"Well that is one duty that I will not be performing until your brother courts me properly," Claudia could tell that it was useless to argue with Arianna but she would do anything to see her brother's reaction when he finds out what his wife has in store for him