"I'm ready," he assured her. He'd been ready for months, but even though they'd come close a few times, he'd denied himself the pleasure of taking her for himself, wanting to do things right and wait for the proper moment. This was that moment - they both knew it - and the knowledge of it stirred excitement, desire, and just a little fear inside him. Both of them in agreement, there was no more need for words. He cupped her face in his hands and leaned in to kiss her, touching his lips to hers, gently as first but with slowly deepening feeling and desire.

Her giggles faded as he kissed her, the gentle tremble of her frame against his echoing that excitement, that desire, that barest hint of fear. Her arms tightened about him, the tender heat they had been dancing with for so long flaring into a flame as she whispered his name against his lips, soft and longing, uncaring what anyone expected or wanted but him. They had been patient, loving each other for long enough to know that this was the natural way of things for them. Now was the time, as man and wife, to cement their love for one another in the only way they had not yet shared it.

He had been with other girls before, but never like this. He had never been in love before, and he had never felt this kind of desire, like a flame burning inside him that only she could quench. He broke her kisses to draw her slowly and gently toward the bed, where a lamp burned dimly to offer warm light. He had already shed jacket and shoes, but was unsure just where to begin.

Though she felt just a little out of her depth, floundering in her love and desire for the man who was now her husband, Dru was a brave little soul at heart. Despite that uncertainty, that faint touch of fear, she moved without hesitation, following him to the bed as her fingers crept up to undo the black tie at his throat. Such a small thing, and yet it spoke volumes of the trust she had in him. Just a few months before, she had not even been able to look him in the eye without blushing, and now she approached the most intimate of acts without a moment of hesitation.

Part of the problem was deciding what to do first. Should he try and get her out of that dress or should he ply her with kisses, stoking the heat of that internal fire that burned inside them both' Perhaps he shouldn't think about it so much, but let his instincts decide for him. In the end, he decided to kiss her, while she undid his tie, slowly and carefully revealing the secrets that had been hidden behind the cover of clothing for far too long.

She sighed softly as he kissed her once more, deeply content, eager for what they were promising each other without words. Her fingers were deft in undoing the many buttons of his shirt as she answered his kiss in kind, tender and longing, unafraid to offer him a taste of her desire for him in a soft moan that filled his mouth.

And while part of the problem was deciding what to do, part of the fun was discovering and rediscovering what had and had not been revealed to each of them in the past. There was a certain comfort to be found in the familiar, but an undeniable excitement in that which was unfamiliar territory. While Dru busied herself working the shirt off him, Josh reached around behind her to work the row of buttons loose at her back, one by one, while his lips continued to ply her with soft, eager kisses.

She smiled against his lips as he offered her those kisses, only a little shy of his discovery - soon to be made - that she had abided by tradition even with this dress. There was nothing but the gown he was so diligently unbuttoning between his hands and her skin. By contrast, he seemed to have been bound as tightly as the ancient prisons, layer upon layer of formalwear to be peeled away from him with sweet delight. Yet she paused as she drew his shirt from his pants, twisting in his arms to capture first one wrist, and then the other, removing the delicate cufflinks from his sleeves as she tipped her head back to meet his gaze once again. "We mustn't lose these," she murmured to him, holding them in her palm.

Come morning, he might be happy she had taken more care for the cufflinks than had he, but at the moment, he couldn't have cared less. He drew a deep breath as she broke away from his kisses, if only for a moment, to steady the hammering of his heart. "We won't," he promised, pausing only a moment before surging forward to kiss her again with renewed passion and vigor, deepening the kiss, heat building between them, unable to hide the desire that building inside him.

The tender sound that caught in her throat was almost girlish, but for the husky sigh that followed it as she rose to his passion with her own. The cufflinks fell, forgotten already, onto the bedside cabinet with a quiet clatter that was lost as she eased her hands beneath his shirt, stripping that first layer from him with an eagerness no amount of acting could ever have hidden.

He practically quivered at her touch, her hands cool against the feverish warmth of his skin as she stripped the shirt from his back. He had somehow managed to get all her buttons undone, but the dress was still in place, waiting for him to peel that one and only layer away to reveal the prize that lay beneath. Still standing, he pulled her hands away from him just long enough to ease the fabric away from her, his hands sliding smoothly against her bare shoulders, eyes in rapt attention of what lay beneath.

It was such an old tradition that many brides did not follow it any longer, reaching back into the very beginnings of their country, and the fertility rites that proliferated before the Church had arisen. Yet, for some reason she couldn't quite fathom, Dru had wanted to honor that old tradition, her skin flushing dusky rose beneath his hands as he eased that single layer from her body, naked but for the diamonds that glittered at her ears, wrist, and hand.

He wasn't quite expecting that to be the only layer of fabric hiding her from him, and the unexpectedness of it both shocked and surprised him, pleasantly so, his body reacting with a growing heat that started in his middle and spread outward. "Dru," he whispered as he peeled the dress from her, allowing him to appreciate the vision of loveliness that was his wife in all her naked glory. "You're so beautiful," he whispered further, his heart beating so hard in his chest, he thought she must hear it.

She was trembling to be so exposed to him, though they had seen and touched one another before. It was different this time, knowing that there was no impediment to finishing what they began together tonight. "I love you, Josh," she heard herself say, needing to say it, to tell him once again just how deeply ensconced he was in her heart. Her fingers twitched, daring to reach out and touch his chest, unwilling to linger too long beneath his gaze in case she lost her nerve entirely. "Please," she whispered lovingly. "I need you."

Josh arched a brow at her, wondering what she could possibly ask him that might put pressure on him. Did he not perform to her expectations" For just a moment, his heart skipped a beat and he wondered if he'd disappointed her in some way. He turned his head to face her, a puzzled and almost worried expression on his face. "What is it' Did I do something wrong?"

"No, nothing like that," she hurried to reassure him, her fingers tracing against his cheek as she kissed him, smiling the soft smile he had watched blossom and grow in confidence over the months since they had met. "It is just ....there are expectations of us now, and ....I would like your opinion. Should I stop using the birth control, or should I continue" A part of me feels too young to have children yet, but I feel the duty on me keenly. What should I do?"

"Oh," he murmured, a little surprised and even relieved at the question, though it was an important one, one that could affect the rest of their lives. "I understand the pressure to produce an heir, but we're young, Dru. We have plenty of time, and there's no reason to believe we'll have any trouble having children. I think we should wait until you're sure you're ready. Whether that's a few months from now or a few years from now."

She smiled faintly, tweaking the pad of her thumb against his nose. "They will be your children, too," she pointed out. "It isn't just a decision for me to make, it's our decision. I just wanted to know what you think. I know I'm not ready yet."

"I'm a few years older than you, but I don't think my age matters. We only just got married, Dru. I think we should enjoy that for a little while before we have children. We shouldn't let anyone else decide this for us, no matter how badly we need an heir."

"That's the point," she said quietly. "I don't want to have children because we have to, because they're needed. I want to have children because we want them, because we want our family to grow a little. It doesn't seem right to have a child purely because it is expected and it's necessary."

"But you do want children someday," he said, though it was more a question than a statement. He was under the impression that she did, but they were both young, not even finished with school yet. No one had argued they were old enough to be married, but having children was another story. "I want to be a father someday, but it doesn't have to be now. We'll know when we're ready. They'll just have to be patient."

Dru seemed to relax against him, relieved that he agreed with her on this particular matter. "I do want children someday," she admitted softly. "But not now. I have a lot of growing up to do still. Even if I am an old married woman now."

"Old and married by a few hours," he remarked with a chuckle. He rolled onto his side to face her, tracing one finger against the curve of one breast. "What do you say we talk about other things and worry about children later?"

She laughed, brushing her hair back out of her face, even as she felt a familiar tremble shudder through her in answer to his touch. "Are you sure all you want to do is talk, husband?" she asked him playfully, fearless in her desire now that last barrier had been crossed.

"I might want to do something other than talk, if you are willing, wife," he replied with a smile, unable to miss the shudder that went through her at his touch. He felt his body rising to the occasion again and wondered how long it would be before one or the other of them collapsed from exhaustion.

She giggled, drawing her own fingers tenderly over his side as she leaned in close to tease her lips against his. Breakfast was certainly going to be a sleepy affair in the morning, if either of them managed to get to it at all.

He closed his mouth over hers as he closed his fingers over her breast, rolling closer to insinuate a leg between hers. It would more than likely be like this all night, a few brief snatches of sleep between the lovemaking, learning each other better with each tender kiss and caress.

It seemed there would be little sleep for anyone in Itana tonight for, as the new royal couple succumbed to one another all over again, outside the palace the celebrations went on. It had been centuries since Tirisano had celebrated such a welcome match within its royal house, and the people were determined to keep watch with their fairytale until the dawn, as delighted as the lovers themselves to see love blossoming right under Parliament's nose. It was a day that would be remembered fondly for generations to come, honored and celebrated from highest to lowest, and filled with hope for the future.

((And there you have it - one royal wedding, done and dusted! Huge, HUGE thanks to my writing partner for seriously indulging me with it!))