Broken Heart 06 Come Hell or High Water (29 page)

For a long moment, we did nothing else but hold each other. Connor tightened his grip and the world went black and off center.

We arrived in the bathroom. As Connor turned on the shower and made sure it was the right temperature, I said, "We could've walked in here."

"What fun is that?" he asked. He put me under the warm spray and then joined me.

I was happy. I could imagine creating a life with Connor. With Danny. And, yes, Jackson. He would always be part of our lives, too. We'd be safe, and mostly content. I wasn't a complete optimist. There would be arguments and tribulations and hurt feelings. But more important, there would be love, always love.

All we really had was now.

I was determined to make the most of it, so I kissed Connor until the water started to steam.

He reciprocated.

Let me tell you, that boy is hell with a bar of soap.

I knocked on Jackson's apartment door. It was a little past nine. Connor waited in the parking lot below. I had to do this alone, at least for now.

Jackson opened the door, his eyes red rimmed and his features gaunt. He dropped the beer bottle that was in his hand.

"
Phoebe?
"

"Hi," I said. "I need to talk to you."

And I closed the door behind me.

When I woke up, I realized two things:

1. The sexy male presence pressed against me was naked.

2. Today we were getting married.

"Connor," I whispered.

"Danny's fine," he murmured as he moved my hair to kiss my neck. "He's with Jackson, remember? They're moving into the same neighborhood as Jessica and those sexy Wiccans."

"Sexy Wiccans?"

"I mean those poor, butt-ugly witches."

I laughed. "They've been a nice addition to the town. Their herbal shampoo is da bomb."

"I dinnae know if I can wait for our vows...." He trailed off because his mouth got busy with my ear, then my throat.

It figured my almost husband knew I'd ask after Danny and had answered the question before I could phrase it. All three of us were paranoid about his safety, but had agreed we couldn't live in fear.

Even now, Dr. Michaels and Brady were consulting with all the paranormals to search for ways to make the Invisi-shield more invulnerable. There was talk about creating sensors for the ground.

If Queen Patsy had her way, a gnat wouldn't be able to squeeze by the perimeter without setting off an alarm.

Then there was, of course, renewed talk about finding Amahte and Shamhat. Larsa was the leader of that cause, and I wouldn't have been surprised if some kind of paranormal search party were launched soon.

Connor lifted up and cupped my face. "You'll make a lovely bride."

"You'll make a handsome groom."

He kissed me, and my undead heart skipped a ghostly beat.

"You know," I said, walking my fingers up his impressive chest, "who's to say we can't have our ceremony now?"

He grinned. "I cannae believe you'd suggest such a thing, lass." His hand dipped underneath and palmed my buttock. "I'm an honorable man."

"I know." I tugged on his shoulders. "I'll totally take the hit for this, I promise. Besides, we can have two ceremonies if we want."

"You've talked me into it." He rolled on top of me. His muscled form warmed mine instantly. I explored the hard contours of his back, right down to his awesome butt.

I writhed under his touch. His fingers slid between my thighs, one finger stroking my clit and stoking the flames. Pleasure spiked. I moaned and rubbed my slick flesh against his palm.

He trailed soft, slow kisses down the curve of my stomach. I quaked under his tender assault.

He parted my trembling thighs, knelt between my legs, and placed his mouth over my swollen clit. He tugged the sensitized nub between his lips and suckled.

I moaned, my restless hands plundering his hair.

He slid his hands underneath me and pulled me close. He stroked me with his tongue, torturing me with tiny, brief suckles. I moved against his mouth, taking pleasure in every movement.

"This is sinful," I said.

"I'm a demon. 'Tis my nature to sin."

He nipped and the sharpness rocketed, a blend of pleasure-pain that made me gasp. Now, that was a feat, since as I've pointed out, I can't use my lungs.

Connor continued to torment me until I was at the edge of bliss. I grabbed at his shoulders, digging my nails into his flesh.

He growled. That sound vibrated through me, rumbling my core. Now it was time to do the traditional vampire marital rites. I was excited to share these with Connor, to truly become his in body, mind, and soul.

"The claiming," I managed. "First the claiming."

Connor knelt on the bed and helped me to sit up. I put my hand on the back of his neck. "I claim you, Connor Ballard." I frowned.

Heat flared, and my symbol - the heart - imprinted on his skin.

"The word-giving?" he whispered. His eyes were bright. He swept a thumb over my cheek.

"I love you," I said simply. "I want to be with you forever. You are my family."

"And you are mine." He kissed me. "I love you."

"Okay," I said. I flopped to the bed and spread my arms. "Take me."

Connor chuckled as he covered me; then he surprised me. He lifted me and entered me with one swift stroke. He kissed me, his tongue mimicking the movements of his cock.

He was relentless.

I couldn't hold on.

I flew over the edge, and as I soared, Connor shattered with me.

I rode another wave with him, into the bright bliss that was ours.

* * * *

The ceremony presided over by Queen Patricia was held in the backyard of her massive home. The garden was lush with multicolored flowers and big, leafy trees. At least a hundred or so chairs were set up, and every one was filled. The demon hunters chose to stand like sentinels behind the back row.

With the stars out and the moon shining bright, I married my demon.

It was short and sweet. We'd asked for an abbreviated version, and mimicked our earlier commitment (save the mating ritual, of course).

We wanted to include Danny in our commitment to each other, so he stood close and we held our son in our joint embrace.

After the vows were over, everyone cheered. Jackson picked up Danny, gave me a kiss, and shook Connor 's hand. All in all, he'd handled the transition from Tulsa to Broken Heart rather well. Now that I was training with Connor and Larsa, we needed every demon ass-kicker we could get; it only made sense for Jackson to live in town. We would share custody of Danny, and he would watch over him when I had to go deal with demon and/or talisman business. The schoolteacher girlfriend was already history, and Jackson seemed to like living in town, though it had certainly changed since our childhood days.

It meant letting go of managing the cafe, but Astria and Jennifer were doing trial runs as waitresses, and seemed to really like it. Astria's body-guards, not so much. Still, Ren seemed to like to cook, and Anise was a hell of a manager. They made a weird team, and an even weirder family, but at least Astria was safe. It seemed that getting Turned had stripped her of her prophetic abilities. I considered that a good thing. Jennifer was living with us, though she was hanging out with Astria for the next couple of days. Connor promised to build a new addition to the house; and he also said he'd redo the kitchen, complete with dishwasher.

Gabriel had been shocked to learn that he had a brother and a sister - there was a lot going on there that no one had revealed to the rest of us. Like why Ren and Anise hadn't tracked him down before now, and what they wanted, and why they'd been protecting a Vedere prophet.

Broken Heart still had its secrets.

I guess we all did.

Damian avoided Anise, who was probably the only female who could kick his ass, and whenever she was mentioned, he would mutter something about insufferable women, and go elsewhere.

My thoughts were interrupted when Connor kissed me until my legs went watery, and I forgot about everything else except him naked in a big, fluffy bed. We hadn't even moved from the altar yet.

"Excuse me," said a soft female voice.

I pulled away from Connor. Before us stood a woman I knew was a donor.

"Leslee, right?"

She looked relieved. "Yes."

Next to her was a vampire who looked vaguely familiar. I'd probably seen him around town or at the cafe. We'd had a lot of influx of parakind hoping to settle down here.

"This is Avery," she said. "He moved here about a month ago. Um, we understand you can break bindings."

"And goofer you, as soon as I figure out the ingredients for the dust."

She blinked at me.

Then I realized what she'd said. "Oh. You're bound?"

"Things got out of hand," said Avery. He looked uncomfortable. "We... you know."

"He's a nice guy," said Leslee quickly. "But I don't want to be a vampire. This is just my summer job."

"Say no more."

I put my hands on each of their shoulders and invoked the magic of the talisman. Heat flowed between us and then I heard the familiar
snick
.