The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride (32 page)

He could
not
get enough of her. Already, the desire to have her again curled through him, bringing his body back to life with the pleasurable tightness of need.

“You’re not falling asleep, are you, my love?” He traced a finger from the hollow of her throat down between her breasts to the dip of her navel.

“No.” She laughed and swatted at his hand. “Stop that, you’re tickling me.”

“Really? Ticklish there? I’m making a mental note of that.”

She reached up to stroke his cheek. “Behave or no cake.”

He splayed his hand on her stomach. “I’ve earned that cake. Don’t think you’re taking it away from me now.”

Her thumb brushed the corner of his mouth. “Show me your fangs,” she whispered.

He obliged her, knowing his eyes reflected the glow of his kind as well.

“You’re too handsome to be real.” She smiled shyly, a curious thing given what they’d just done. Her voice was soft and dreamy. “I never knew I was the kind of girl who went in for the whole vampire thing until I had one of my very own.”

He turned his face into her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. “I hope you know I’m going to spoil you senseless. And I don’t want to hear a single complaint. Jewels, clothes, trips, whatever you want.”

“All I want is you. And maybe a new cat condo for Captain.”

“We’ll put one in every room.”

She stared at him then took a long breath. “I’m ready.”

He knew what she meant, had been waiting for her to say something, but he still didn’t feel prepared.

“Tell me what’s going to happen?” Her smile brightened. “I’m not scared, I just want to know. And we’ve never really had this talk.”

For good reason. He’d never thought things would actually get this far. But they had and there was no going back. “After I bite you—”

“It won’t hurt much, right? It’s okay if it does, I just want to know.”

“You’ll feel a pinch, maybe. Nothing more.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “Go on.”

“After that, I’ll bite my own wrist so that you can have a drop or two of my blood. That’s all that’s necessary. You’ll fall asleep pretty quickly after that. You’ll feel normal after the first bite. After the second, you’ll feel the changes. We’ll repeat the process three nights in a row, and after the third night, you’ll either be turned or…”

“I’ll be turned. There is no
or
.”

“Right. There is no or.” But if there was, it would be the end of both of them. “You can stop at any time before the third night.”

“I’m not going to change my mind.”

“My love for you won’t be any different if you do.”

“Good to know. And as tempted as I am to have cake, I have no desire to leave this bed.” She pulled her hair out of the way and tipped her chin up. “Go ahead. Do it.”

He bent his head to her collarbone and feathered kisses across the creamy expanse of her body, making his way leisurely up to her throat to nip softly at her earlobe.

A soft moan pearled on her lips.

He laced one arm behind her head, cradling her, while the other explored the tempting planes of her body.

She purred with pleasure, aching to whisper into his ear. “When I said do it, I meant bite me, not—”

“Shh. Just relax and enjoy.”

He could feel her smile against his skin.

“Yes, your lordship.”

He smirked at her impudence and scraped his fangs over her skin, causing her to suck in a breath. The warmth and scent of her drove him wild, urging him to take her roughly. To mark her as his. He restrained himself, unwilling to hurt her for his own pleasure.

He clung to the last thread of control and continued worshipping her until the rhythm of her breathing changed and she’d gone boneless with sensation in his arms.

Then, in an act that both excited him and scared him, he sank his fangs into her neck.

She cried out, a muted exclamation of pain and pleasure, her hands clutching at him as he drank from her.

The taste of her seared his soul, erasing all trepidation. But even in that moment, he understood the feeling of omnipotence was temporary. He was intoxicated by her. The feeling would pass and he would once again fear for her life.

But now? All he wanted to do was drink her in and claim her as his own. Her pulse throbbed in his veins. Their hearts beat in rhythm. They were, for a few unending seconds, one being.

He released her, closing the two small punctures he’d opened with the press of his tongue. Then he put his fangs to his own wrist and tore the skin, reckless with the abandon of the moment. As red beaded on his skin, he held his wrist to her lips.

“Drink,” he urged.

She did as he commanded, her hands coming up weakly to grip his wrist. As soon as she’d had a taste, he shook her hands off. “Now rest, my darling.”

“Hugh,” she muttered, her eyes fluttering closed.

“Yes?” The wound on his wrist was halfway closed. He tucked her into the bed covers.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

But she was already asleep.

“I don’t feel any different.” Delaney stuck her arm into the sun streaming through the library window. Hugh was up on the rolling ladder, looking for a book on one of the top shelves. She’d followed him in, hoping to hang out with him. He’d been avoiding her since she’d woken up.

He glanced down at her and smiled, thin-lipped. “I told you one bite won’t do anything to you. Tomorrow you’ll feel different.”

“Tomorrow I’ll technically be a rook, right?”

“Right.” He went back to skimming the shelf.

She leaned against the window. “You should climb ladders more often.”

“Why is that?” he asked distractedly.

“Because your butt looks amazing from this angle.”

His hand stopped mid-reach, and he twisted to look at her. His eyes gleamed with vampire light. “Are you trying to spend the rest of the day in bed?”

A tingle of pleasure shot through her, taking her breath away for a moment. She bit her lip. If she did die on the third night, at least she’d go happy. “Maybe.”

He stared at her for a moment. Then jumped off the ladder, landing as lightly as Captain would have. Actually, Captain wished he could land that lightly. Hugh strode toward her, stopping just at the edge of the sunbeam she’d been playing with. “If I take you to bed now, you won’t leave it again until tomorrow.”

His voice held a dangerous growl that raised goose bumps on her skin. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I’m not trying to scare you or seduce you, just telling you the truth. When a vampire drinks from a mortal he loves, it…does something to him. Something he can’t ignore.”

“That’s why you didn’t want to drink from me in the lab. So what does it do?”

He sighed. “It turns the vampire wild with blood lust and physical desire. There wouldn’t be enough of you to satisfy me. I would exhaust you and still not be sated. Or drain you dry.” He turned away from her. “I’m fighting it right now.”

“And that’s why you’ve been avoiding me today.”

He nodded. “I’d rather be with you every waking moment, but my control won’t fully return until you’ve completed the change.”

Hugh had already left her worn out after last night, and she thought she’d done the same for him. Hearing this, she tried to imagine what it would be like to feel as though she couldn’t get enough of him. A shiver ran through her, as pleasurable as it was frightening.

He stepped away from her. “You’re going to need your strength for the next two nights. I don’t want to do anything that might lessen our odds of success. I’m going to my brother’s for the rest of the day. It’s for the best.”

“How can you? It’s daylight, and you have no amulet.”

His face fell. “I’d forgotten that.” He smiled a little sadly. “That’s going to take some getting used to. To the lab then. And I’m locking the door.”

“Don’t leave. I’ll behave. I swear.” The last thing she wanted was to be away from him. Or to be the reason he left.

He laughed, the sound making her feel better. “My darling. If you wore a burlap sack, it wouldn’t diminish my attraction to you. This burden is mine to bear.”

Could he make her fall in love with him any harder? “Will I be too close if I’m in the kitchen? I was thinking I’d have Stanhill take me to the store to get ingredients for royal icing and sugar cookies.” She had her antique star cookie cutters. They’d be perfect. “I want to make some for the woman who’s helping us with the magic.”

“No, that would be fine.”

“I’ll probably take Captain out to the garden for a while too.”

Hugh nodded. “Enjoy the sun while you can?”

“Exactly.”

“Good plan. I’ll see you this evening then.” With a nod, he left.

She almost stopped him to ask for a kiss, then thought better of it. She didn’t want him to have to say no.

Stanhill was an eager companion, gladly taking her to the store and even keeping her company in the kitchen while she worked. She wondered if he was hanging close to act as a buffer in case Hugh changed his mind about staying away. Or maybe Stanhill knew she needed the company to keep her mind off the two nights that lay ahead.

“It’ll be all right, miss.”

“What’s that?” She pulled herself out of her thoughts.

Stanhill was icing the last of the stars, outlining them in royal icing like she’d showed him. “You hadn’t said anything in a little bit. I thought maybe you were thinking about…what could happen.”

“I was. A little.” She shrugged and smiled, then shook it off and went to inspect his work. “Not bad for your first time. Nice straight lines, good evenness.” She patted his shoulder. “I might have to hire you. I’m going to have a shop of my own someday, you know.”

“Like the shop Didi promised you?”

She nodded. “That never would have worked out anyway.”

“Why’s that?”

She made a face. “Um, because she would have used that shop as leverage to bend me to her whims. Can you imagine? No, thank you.”

He laughed. “You’re a smart cookie. No pun intended.”

She grinned. “Does Hugh like tiramisu?”

“He does.” Stanhill waggled his brows. “I don’t hate it either.”

“Good. I’ll make that tomorrow.” Her tiramisu took time, and she’d have another day to spend away from Hugh tomorrow, so why not? She’d rather spend the day with Hugh, but since that wasn’t an option, tiramisu it was. “We’ll take another run to the store after I get up, then. Okay?”

He nodded. “Excellent plan.” An enormous smile came over his face. “You’ll be a rook tomorrow, just like me.”

“That’s right.” And only one more night away from the rest of her life.

Or the end of it.

The day seemed like it would never end, made worse by the fact that Hugh could hear Delaney and Stanhill one floor above him, laughing and having fun. He shouldn’t miss her like this when they were in the same house together, but that was part of the turning.

He’d felt like this with Juliette too.

Correction, he’d felt
some
of this with Juliette. The longing for Delaney was almost crippling. He’d spent the entire day in his lab and accomplished nothing. Well, he’d reread every book that dealt with turning a mortal into a vampire and found nothing new. After that, he’d broken a test tube, ruining his most current working formula and then left another beaker on the flame too long, turning a new batch of formula to syrup.