Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3) (51 page)

Soon Ari was lying on the bottom of the lake, while Ragon floated above her, digging his hands into the thick mud that formed the base of the lake for leverage. All around them the settled contents of the lake stirred, as bits of branches and small rocks were dislodged, floating in all directions. Through the murky water, Ari found Ragon’s lips and kissed him, just as he reached down and gripped her thighs. Slowly his hand traced towards her sweet spot and Ari felt herself lose control, biting down on Ragon’s lip so that she tasted blood.

As she sucked on his lip, something incredible happened. Though his blood had been diluted from the water, it was as if it had given her a window into his mind. She could feel his desires coursing through her, similar to how she had felt when she’d commanded the fishermen, and suddenly she understood exactly what Thomas had meant when he had spoken of how vampires become bonded.

She could feel every inch of Ragon’s longing, his terrible need to keep her safe and the uncontrollable passion that burned inside him. When Ari’s eyes widened, she looked at Ragon, realising that he too was looking at her in awe, as if he were experiencing the exact same thing; they were bonded. The miraculous connection that sometimes happened between two vampires had just, in that exact moment, united them.   

Suddenly Ragon reached for her and she felt him push inside her, his hands grabbing her hips and back. As they floated through the water, Ragon’s thrust became faster and faster, his need heightening, and Ari delighted in the feeling. She wasn’t sure how long they had remained under the water. Just when she thought she couldn’t handle the pleasure any more, she felt Ragon spasm inside her. At the same time her own pleasure peaked, and Ari experienced her first orgasm as a vampire.

Every sense was on fire; no longer was she acutely tuned to the surrounding world, but it was as if everything around her had gone blank and been overridden. She saw Ragon and only Ragon. Arching her back, Ari dug her fingernails into the muddy surrounds, as wave after wave of pleasure sent her body into ripples of delight. They were bound together forever now, in mind, body and soul.

“That was… amazing,” she said, when she surfaced from the black lake a few moments later.

Ragon paddled closer to her, kissing her on the cheek as he said, “I’ve never felt that before. I mean, I’ve heard Sandra and Thomas talk about being able to sense each other, but I didn’t realise that vampires could get inside each other’s minds like that.”

“I know. I could feel what you were thinking, what you needed.”

“We’re bonded,” he replied.     

For most of the night the pair remained under the stairs, swimming naked in the dark lake. Once Ari had been startled by sounds, though it turned out to be the local wildlife, enjoying the watering hole.  

“You’re a little too good at this,” Ragon said, when finally the pair had left the lake and crept back into their room in the pub.

Instead of taking the stairs, Ari had jumped expertly up on the window ledge of their room, lifting the dusty window open as she made her way inside.  

“Don’t be jealous,” she said, batting her eyelashes furiously at him before jumping on him and showering him with kisses. “I have had a lot of practice getting in and out of windows… you could say that I am an expert.”

Ragon smiled at her knowingly, reaching up to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ears as he said, “I am just amazed; you are a magnificent woman.”

“You mean vampire?”

“Well, are you ready?” he asked, looking at her hopefully.

“For what?”

“Our wedding,” Ragon said excitedly. “I think you’ve had enough hunting. You’re a natural.”

Chapter 28- Mr and Mrs Young

The moment the pair neared the Young estate, Ari watched with delight as once again the coven, Lea, Riley, Jamie and Chris, greeted them. She searched Clyde’s and Riley’s hands, until she realised with a pang of guilt that Rya was not there.

“Rya is with Bramond,” Riley explained, the moment the pair had reached the entrance. “I think that he has taken quite a shining to her.”

Ari smiled back, knowing that Riley was trying to spare her feelings and hoping that one day soon, she would again be trusted to be in Rya’s company.

“Oh Ariana, you look beautiful,” said Sandra, her deep southern accent now even more comforting than it had been when Ari was human. Sandra raced to her side and quickly hugged her, whispering, “Everything is arranged for your wedding tomorrow.”

Ari beamed at Sandra, holding tightly onto her hand for support as she approached Chris. When she was in front of him, she frowned, her eyes darting up to his neck, where two pin prick scars glistened.

“No ouching, bitey, bleedy,” said Chris, swiping his hand out like a cat and hissing.

Though Ari laughed, she held her breath as Chris hugged her.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Hurt me?” said Chris, his face struck in shock, “you think you hurt me? Please, that was just a scratch. Look, my wraith powers have almost healed me fully!”

“Besides, I think you running in the sun to kill yourself, more than makes up for it,” said Lea, now turning to Ari and hugging her warmly.

Ragon growled and said, “A little dramatic in my opinion.”

That night Ari did not sleep alone. Though there were no more enemies that wanted her dead, Ragon had insisted that he would not leave her side… every again.

The morning of her weeding, Ari woke with butterflies in her stomach. She had never been more nervous and excited all at once. For a moment she remained in her bed, the large white quilt pulled up high to her chin as she smiled ruefully at the ceiling. Image after image of Ragon wearing a suit flashed in her mind like a dream. Surreptitiously she pinched herself, afraid that everything that had happened to her since she had met him might have been a dream. Though she felt where her fingers grasped at her skin, she did not feel the familiar pain that should have followed; another perk of being a vampire.

As she pulled her hand away, her eyes fell on the diamond engagement ring that Ragon had given her. It really was beautiful. Her immortal eyes were capable of appreciating the sharp lines of the crystal, in a way her human eyes never could. It was as if every facet of the stone was alive, each telling the story of their journey from carbon. Ari allowed these pleasant thoughts to capture her until the familiar thirst swept over her and she found herself breathing deeply, trying to offset the desire for blood, just as Ragon had taught her.

“Wakeup sleeping beauty,” someone outside her room said, and then the door swung open.  

Sandra and Riley appeared before her, their smiling faces rushing to her bed as they jumped atop it.

“Ouch,” said Ragon, glaring up at the two girls, while they hurriedly rushed him from the room. “Alright, alright, I’m going. I’ll see you soon my love,” he added, when Sandra had swung the door shut in his face.

“Where’s Rya?” Ari asked, looking at Riley’s empty arms.

“Clyde has her. He is picking out an outfit for her to wear today. Apparently it is going to be a surprise. He has strict instructions… no pink. I think if I never saw pink again I could die a happy woman.”

Ari nodded, trying to hide her disappointment, though this thought was lost to her as Sandra grasped onto her hand, dragging her out of the bed and robing her in a long silk gown.

“Time to become beautified,” Riley said, smiling.

Ari allowed the pair to direct her to the large bathroom that adjoined her room. Inside she found that the girls had already set it up to resemble a day spa. The huge bath tub which sat in the corner of the room next to the large French windows, was full of white soapy bubbles, sprinkled with deep red rose petals. Breathing in deeply, Ari smelt the unmistakable aroma of night jasmine, but there was something else that caught her attention, and her eyes widened hungrily when they fell on a tall glass, whose bright red contents called to her. Blurring to it almost too quickly, Ari reached for the cup and drank hungrily. When she had drained the contents, she smiled guiltily up at Riley, who was looking at her with a grimace.

“Sorry,” said Ari, wiping her upper lip and licking her finger. “I haven’t quite mastered drinking with style yet.”

“Oh, it’s ok sugar,” said Sandra, reaching over and dipping her finger into the steamy water in the bath tub. “We were all like that in the beginning. Hell, Clyde still is.”

It was funny how immortality had taken most of Ari’s modesty away. She moved over to the bath, threw her robe into the air and jumped into the hot water, without so much as blushing, not that she was capable of that anymore. It felt strange being incapable of warmth and being fully emerged in hot water. As Ari settled herself against the edge of the marble bath, she watched in admiration as the steam curled off her cold body, licking her skin and then fading away.

For the rest of the morning the girls pampered Ari. Immortality made getting ready for her wedding relatively easy. Though Ari barely wore makeup as a general rule, being a vampire made this even less necessary. Even her eyes seemed to have changed. Not only was one permanently green now and the other blue, but they had become deeper somehow. Only the flush in her cheeks was lacking, but Ari didn’t mind. She liked this little reminder that she was now a member of the coven. Riley and Sandra managed to convince her to let them put a few layers of mascara on, and matched her lipstick and blush with a deep red that was the same colour as the roses in her bouquet.

“Are you ready to see?” Sandra asked, swinging the enormous doors to the closet open and retrieving a giant plastic wrapped gown.

“Oh, I can see it now, can I?” asked Ari, looking at the black plastic protector, which hid her wedding dress from sight.

“Of course! I keep one little detail from you and you act as if you have no idea about any part of your wedding,” Sandra said, laughing.

The moment that Sandra pulled the zipper down of the clothes protector, Ari’s mouth fell open.

“I had it flown in from Australia,” said Sandra, pulling the white fabric out and showing it to Ari.

“It’s absolutely, glorious,” Ari said, immediately blurring over to her wedding dress and running her fingers along the satin trail.

Her immortal eyes focused on the small black label at the back of the dress and instantly she knew that she had seen it before.

“
Begitta
,” Ari whispered, her mind recalling the powder blue dress she had borrowed from Larissa, what felt like a life time ago. “But, wasn’t that the dress I borrowed from Larissa?”

“I remembered how much you liked it,” Sandra said, “so I organised to have the designer make your wedding gown especially for you.”

“Jesus,” Ari said, her hands running down the white bodice, until her fingers met delicate white tufts of fabric, which spilled down the front of the dress, coming to rest at the back and forming part of the train. “You didn’t chain her to the sewing machine did you? How did she manage to make this and get it shipped over here so quickly?”

“Oh she’s a vampire. Did you seriously think that a mortal could create something so divine?” Sandra asked, laughing lightly to herself, as she held the dress open for Ari to step into.  

In one smooth motion, Sandra did the zip of the dress up, while Riley held her hands over Ari’s eyes before directing her in front of the giant mirror at the side of the bed. The second that Riley pulled her hands away, Ari looked at her reflection and smiled. Since becoming a vampire, she couldn’t deny the way she now seemed to radiate in comparison to her previous mortal appearance. Everything was a little bit brighter.

The crisp white of the sheer fabric hinted of her shapely legs, while the bodice fitted her snugly, accentuating her collar bones and thin arms. The back was low cut, reaching just below her hip, and trailing behind her was a thick cascade of fabric, making her train at least a meter long. Now as she looked at the dress that she would wear while she walked down the aisle on her journey to become Mrs Young, Ari couldn’t help but admire herself. Never before had she felt so beautiful.

“You look amazing,” Riley said, moving over to Ari and pulling her so that she now sat at her dressing table, while both girls began to arrange her hair into elegant curls.

After that Sandra and Riley had changed into floor length gowns, Sandra wearing lavender and Riley peach. It was amazing how quickly Riley had shed her baby belly; the tight fitting gown hugged her waist and showed off her shapely figure, so that it was almost impossible to tell that she’d had a baby not long ago. Soon a small knock on the door drew all girl’s attention to it.  

“Come in,” Riley said, unfurling the last curl so that it framed Ari’s face.

In the frame of the door was Jamie. He wore a black suit with tails and a black satin bow tie.

“Are you ready?” he asked, cocking his elbow out for Ari. “The music is about to begin. You two had better get down stairs,” he added, nodding at Sandra and Riley.

Ari stood slowly and moved over to her brother, placing her hand so that it rested on his. Both Riley and Sandra danced passed her, gripping her hand to squeeze it excitedly before racing down the stairs and waiting for the ceremony to begin.

“You look lovely sis,” said Jamie, directing Ari to the top of the stairs, where hundreds of bouquets of deep red roses lined the grand mahogany staircase.

“You don’t scrub up too badly either,” said Ari, reaching forwards to straighten his bowtie.

Moving over to the staircase, Ari gripped the banister, a familiar rush of butterflies sending her stomach into a cascade of excitement. The cherry colour of the wood stood out majestically against the crisp white rose petals which had been scattered down the stairs.

“You know,” said Jamie, reaching for the little locket on her charm bracelet and opening it, “mum and dad would be so proud of you. I can just imagine what they would be like, if they were here now. Mum would still be fussing over your hair and dad, well, he would probably tell you to hold onto him as tightly as you needed, just to make sure you don’t fall. You know, when I was dying, I heard you wish for me. Now, if I had my wish, I would wish that our parents could have been here today for you. I wish that dad could be the one to give you away.”

“Jamie, I never imagined I would get to have you in my life. It means more to me than I can ever say, having you here with me. I never knew our parents, but I’m sure that they would have wanted this, you being the one to walk me down the aisle. And it isn’t just me they would be proud of. Despite all the darkness you grew up with, you still found your way home to me.”

“I guess we both made the right choice,” he said.   

Then music began and Ari felt Jamie’s cold hand squeeze hers and she whispered, “This is it.”

As Jamie directed her forwards, Ari felt herself slip into the future. She knew instantly that it was her union with her brother that fuelled her power, and for the first time since discovering that she was a Grandor Descendant, Ari felt control over her magic. Her eyes were open as she descended the stairs slowly, moving in tune to the weeding march, though still she was able to see her vision of the future, almost as if it danced in the background, allowing her a glimpse of the prophecy, yet stealing nothing from the present moment. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, all of the faces of the people she loved most in the world radiated as she walked across the grand foyer. Each face she saw was smiling and sent shivers of joy down her arms, settling in her heart, just as visions of their future flashed to her.