Free Bleeding Heart by Alannah Carbonneau Page A

head over heels in love with a dark, hauntingly beautiful man.
    Calix pulled back then on a strangled growl and I moaned, “Please.” Pressing myself into him, I begged. “I need this now, Calix. Give me this - this illusion that I’m really yours and that this is beautiful and right.”
    His arms tightened around me at my words and he spoke against my throat. “This is real love.” He vowed. “And. You. Are. Mine.”
    I nodded, and he caught my mouth once again with his.
    “Yes,” My word was a plea, a vow, and an acceptance of all that he was and all that we were. And I knew, that no matter what this future held for me, Calix and I were in some twisted way fated for this life, this path, and this moment. I knew, because in all that this moment was, it was beautiful and right. In all its darkness, it was light.

Chapter 7
    After our kiss, Calix poured me a cup of coffee from the carafe before asking me if I’d prefer pancakes or blueberries for breakfast. Although I was feeling much better about the day ahead, I wasn’t entirely rid of the wedding jitters fluttering through my belly. I was in no part wanting to fill my fluttery belly with something so heavy as pancakes.
    Knowing Calix would force something down my throat, I bypassed the argument and ate a bowl of blueberries and milk sweetened with a small spoon of brown sugar.
    Finishing my breakfast, I settled back into the chair with my cup of coffee between my hands when I noticed Calix watching me intensely. Smiling, I cocked my head. “What?”
    The muscle in his cheek twitched the way it sometimes did and I wondered what, if anything, was bothering him. “Did you mean it?”
    “Mean what?” I asked.
    “When you said you’d marry me today, either way. Were you being honest?”
    I nodded, whispering, “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    He just had to ask a question I didn’t have an answer for. “I don’t know.”
    “Try to explain.”
    Looking down into my coffee, I sighed. “Despite everything you’ve done to me and taken from me, you’ve also given more to me than you’re aware.” I looked up to find his face was pale and his lips were parted. I shrugged. “I find comfort in you, Calix. I - I don’t know what else to say.”
    For a long moment, he was silent. And then he spoke. “Would you like to see your wedding dress?”
    My heart hitched. “I would.”
    Calix stood and my heart raced in anticipation. His hand closed around mine, tugging me through the bedroom and into the closet. On the back wall of the massive closet, there was a white dress hanging. It was stunning and so not something I ever would have thought to even try on. The dress was a classic kind of chic with long sleeves of elegant sheer lace and a bodice of matching lace over soft solid white chiffon. The breast was a modest sweetheart cut and the lace of the bodice ended in angled dagger-like edges into the flowing chiffon of the skirt. It was stunning.
    Forgetting to breathe, I asked without breath. “Did you choose this?”
    “I did.” Calix confirmed. “Do you like it?”
    “Yes.” But I didn’t release his hand or move closer to the dress. “It’s beautiful.”
    “The back is my favorite.”
    My eyes swung to his. “Why?”
    Calix chuckled as he released my hand to move toward the dress, flipping it against the wall.
    My breath caught.
    The back of the dress - well, there was no back. The same lace as the sleeves ran along the side of the dress, dipping low before connecting in the place where the base of the small of my back would rest. It would completely leave my back exposed.
    I loved the dress, but had I chosen for myself, I would have chosen a dress that was slightly more conservative. I had a sneaking suspicion Calix knew this.
    Calix spoke into the silence. “I want to be able to touch your skin all day and all night long, love.” He glanced back at the dress. “This way I can.”
    “Oh,” I replied in a small voice.
    Calix frowned. “You don’t like