22

"I'm very close to saying yes, but what does that mean?" Yuliya could feel her breath catch as she truly wonder what would happen. "I feel like once the sun comes up you're going to have a lot of regrets for the things that you say in the heat of the moment."

"The moment? No, I would take you to the town hall and find a judge. It's beautiful to see couples getting married at the courthouse. But if you're really worried, we can just drive to vegas and do a drive through wedding. It's a minimalist paradise. It doesn't bother me if it's enough for you."

Before she could be swayed by such a temptation, Yuliya quickly shook her head, "How could I do such a thing? I'm in an evening gown now that's got cleavage. None of my friends know and I'm sure they'll have a lot of grief about not being invited. Don't weddings have a nice dinner and an elaborate cake? You haven't given me a single flower in courtship so far."

"You got a very extravagant wedding as you became a princess."

"What has that got to do with my wants? I'm just repeating all the things that I can think of in a wedding I should have liked to have. I didn't choose anything as I was an outsider so it was all to my mother-in-law's tastes. She had the expensive taste. I would have been happy in a county fair type of setting with little fanfare. Every girl does have a dream wedding. These are things you should keep in mind when you repeat these gestures with your next victim who will probably be a lot more willing."

Kai leaned closed to her and pat her hand softly. "We're alone here. Why don't we spend more time alone in the future then? Why not just give in to me?"

"But what about consequences? What do you know about me? Before I was picked up off the ground, where I was sitting was not a clear surface. What if I truly dirty you with what I come from?"

"I can clean it all off easily and I don't mind dirt." The wandering fingers on the back of her hand started to move in soothing circles and then abruptly stopped as he spoke again. "Before you were a princess, you worked as a receptionist in a nightclub. Your mother was a meth addict who occasionally prostituted herself and worked as an exotic dancer. Your father was one of her clients and for a time you lived well. She went to a rehabilitation facility and you went to a rather prestigious catholic high school. Unfortunately, your mother couldn't stay off the drugs and your father found a new mistress. You found out about it when he stopped paying tuition and the only place that would hire you was the strip club your mother made her name at while you finished high school and attended a nice state college locally."