VA 2 - Blood Jewel (15 page)

“That is weird. Especially when
you combine it with that lunar eclipse comment,” Chansey
agreed.

It was puzzling why Anna would say
something about such an important event in the world of vampires.
“I thought Anna might be on to us when she mentioned the lunar
eclipse, but I changed my mind when she started talking about
babies. If she knew anything about us then she wouldn’t have
brought that up because she would have known it wasn’t a
possibility. I think the eclipse comment was a coincidence. Even
humans think strange things happen when there is an
eclipse.”

“Did you know there was an eclipse
tonight?” she asked.

I hadn’t observed or kept up with
eclipses since the day I escaped Marsala. “No, I quit keeping up
with them a long time ago.”

“Is it a coincidence that we got
married on the night of a lunar eclipse without realizing
it?”

“Coincidence or not, I want no
part of it or its supernatural event. Tonight is about you and me
and nothing else. The best thing to do is stay inside and pretend
we don’t know a thing about it.”

She reached over and placed her
hand on my leg. “I can’t wait to get to wherever you’re taking me.
I wish we were there right now.”

I put my hand on top of hers. “I
knew it was going to be late when we left from the wedding, so I
booked something close for tonight and we’re catching a flight in
the morning to somewhere you are going to love.”

Chansey squeezed my fingers and
said, “No, you chose to book a place we could get to fast because
you knew you wouldn’t want to wait any longer either.”

“Maybe,” I laughed.

“Maybe?” Chansey asked in an
unconvinced tone. “I don’t think so, Baby. Definitely is more like
it. How much longer until we get to where we’re
staying?”

“About 45 minutes, I
guess.”

“Wow. You couldn’t even wait a
whole hour.” she laughed.

“I’m not really sure I can wait
another minute if we keep talking about it, so I’m changing the
subject until we get there.”

12
Wedding Night

I turned into the driveway of the
Bed and Breakfast and parked the rental car under the awning. I
waited for some show of excitement from Chansey, but she was silent
and it sent up a red flag for me. “This is it. What do you
think?”

Chansey looked at the house and
then back at me and softly said, “It’s a beautiful
house.”

She looked disappointed, which
disappointed me, and I didn’t understand why. “What’s wrong,
Love?”

“Nothing is wrong,” she lied and
we both knew it.

I reached for her face and stroked
my thumb down her cheek. “There is something wrong. You were so
happy until we got here.”

She dropped her eyes to her clasped
hands and watched her fingers as they played games in her lap.
“It’s beautiful, but it’s a Bed and Breakfast. We won’t have much
privacy with the owners and other guests so close.”

I laughed and said, “Chansey, I
rented the entire house for the night. There won’t be anyone else
here. We have the whole place to ourselves.” I dangled the keys in
front of her and said, “I came over earlier this week and made the
arrangements with the owners. We won’t see them at all while we’re
here.”

She lifted her hands from her lap
and covered her eyes. “I should have known. I’m sorry I doubted
your judgement,” Chansey apologized.

I pulled her hands away from her
face and leaned over to put my forehead against hers. “No, don’t be
sorry for wanting our wedding night to be perfect.”

She reached up and touched my lips
with her fingertips while she stared at my mouth. “I want to go in.
Now.”

That was more like it. “Yes, Mrs.
Brennan, anything you say.”

I carried our luggage and set it
down on the porch as I unlocked the door and swung it wide. “It’s
not our house, but it will have to do,” I said as I lifted Chansey
and carried her through the door over the threshold.

She laughed as she shook her head.
“You and your traditions.”

I put her on her feet and said,
“You know you would have been disappointed if I hadn’t done
it.”

She looked around the foyer, taking
in all of its beauty as she said, “No, I think it would have been
you that was disappointed, old man.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I replied as I went
back to the porch to get our luggage. I returned carrying all of
our bags at once and nodded toward the hall. “Our bedroom is the
last door on the left down that hall.

When we entered the bedroom, an
ornate, hand-carved mahogany canopy bed faced us on the far wall.
It was covered with plush ivory linens and at least a dozen
pillows. The overhead canopy was covered in matching fabric and
long privacy curtains hung to the floor on each side.

I put her bags in the bathroom
before placing mine next to dresser and I walked over to her. I
watched her eyes take it all in and she smiled as she said, “It’s
absolutely beautiful, Curry.”

I placed my hands on her face and
stroked her soft, rosy cheeks. “No, you’re the only absolute beauty
in this room.”

She went up on her tiptoes to seek
my mouth and I had never tasted a sweeter kiss from her. Her hands
begin to explore my chest over my shirt and when they found my
shoulders, she pushed my linen jacket away. I let it to fall to the
floor behind me and she reached for my shirt to tug it loose from
my pants so she could run her palms under my shirt across the skin
of my chest.

I was immediately enveloped by her
Agápe scent. As always, it pushed me to the limits of my self
control and I battled to pace myself because this time was
different. I didn’t have to tell her ‘no.’

She slowly pulled away and looked
up at me through her thick, dark lashes. She smiled as she lightly
nibbled on her bottom lip, a sure sign she wanted to say something.
By the dim lighting of the bedroom lamp, I watched crimson flood
her cheeks and I whispered, “What is it?”

She inhaled deeply and exhaled it
slowly as she softly said, “I have something special for you, but I
need a minute in the bathroom.”

I couldn’t say a word, so I just
nodded my head.

She turned around and reached into
her long hair, lifting it away from her neck. “Unzip
me?”

I reached for the zipper and gently
placed kisses on the back of her neck as I slowly unzipped her
dress. I spread the back of her dress and stroked one finger from
her nape to the curve of her lower back. I immediately felt her
reaction to my touch when goose bumps lifted on her flesh and my
lips couldn’t resist following the trail my finger had
made.

I didn’t want her away from me for
long, so I decided to give her some incentive to come back quickly
before I left her go. I began by kissing her neck and I teased her
with my tongue as my lips moved lower down her back. I dropped to
my knees and grasped her hips as I slowly kissed my way down her
spine. The lower I went, the deeper she arched her back and she
shivered again as I spread kisses across her waist. When I heard
her heavy breath, I decided she was successfully convinced to hurry
and I gave one of her hips a gentle pat as my mouth stopped just
shy of her panties. “Don’t take long.”

I heard her barely squeak out,
“Okay,” as I got up from my knees and then I proudly watched her
weak knees carry her toward the bathroom. When she turned in the
doorway, she was holding the front of her dress in place with one
hand and she reached for the door with the other. “I won’t be
long.”

“Oh, I know,” I boasted before she
smiled and I watched her disappear behind the closing
door.

I stood with my hands on my hips
trying to decide if I should be undressed when she came out, but
decided it would be so much more fun to do that
together.

I looked around at the candles in
the room and went to open the nightstand drawer. I found the box of
matches Mrs. Butler had left for me with an unexpected bowl of red
rose petals and note that read, “Your wife will love
these.”

I tossed the petals across the bed
and left a trail from the bathroom before I struck a match and lit
the five candles around the bedroom. I was lighting the last candle
when I heard the bathroom doorknob turn and I blew out the flaming
match in my hand.

Chansey opened the door and
gracefully stepped into the glow from the surrounding candles. She
was wearing a ruffled, sheer, ivory chemise held together by a
simple satin ribbon tie below her breasts, making her look both
innocent and damn sexy at the same time.

A feather could have knocked me
over. I had imagined this moment a million times, but none of my
fantasies had prepared me for what I saw or how it would make me
feel to see Chansey walking toward me wrapped like a priceless gift
only I could open.

She stopped in front of me and I
watched the candlelight dance on her as she slowly spun in a circle
to give me the complete view. Giving in to my desire to touch her,
I reached for her face with both of my hands and said, “Beautiful
doesn’t begin to describe the way you look.”

I leaned down to kiss her and she
arched into me, making me want to feel her against my bare skin. As
if she heard my mental request, I felt her reach for the top button
of my shirt.

I watched her until she finished
with the last button and then she pushed my shirt away as I pulled
my hands free from the sleeves. As I tossed the shirt aside, she
reached for the button on my trousers and I felt her unfasten it
before sliding my zipper down. She pushed my trousers down my hips
and I stepped out of them when they puddled at my feet.

She reached for my shoulders and I
lifted her so she could wrap her legs around my waist. I had her
back against the wall in an instant and she moaned as I kissed her
neck and her chest. I heard her heavy panting as I moved closer to
her breasts and she clung to me, digging her fingers into my
back.

When I backed away from the wall, I
carried her to the bed and she pulled me on top of her as we gently
fell among the rose petals. I kissed her mouth and then went lower
on her neck until I reached her breasts. I felt her hand reaching
for the simple bow holding her chemise together and I lifted my
chest out of her way. She slowly pulled the satin ribbon and I
watched as her chemise fell apart to reveal her breasts.

I worshipped her body with my hands
and mouth until she trembled beneath me and I heard her plea,
“Curry, I can’t wait any longer,” as she hooked her thumbs in my
boxers and pushed them away.

I reached for her panties and felt
ties on each hip like her chemise, so I took a chance and pulled
the satin ribbons to see what would happen. Her panties fell away
just as her chemise had and I couldn’t stop myself from telling
her, “Damn, that was so hot.”

She reached for my neck, pulled me
hard against her and stared into my eyes as she bent her knees up
and out until they were resting on each of my hips. She wiggled
around until she felt me press against her and I heard her heart
fluttering a million beats a minute as she lay beneath me
waiting.

I stroked her hair away from her
face. “I love you, Chansey Brennan.”

She smiled up at me. “I love you,
Curry Brennan.”

She squeezed me tightly and gasped
against my ear when I slowly entered her, so I stopped because I
was afraid I had hurt her. She relaxed her hold on me and I began
to back away, but she pulled me tight against her and wrapped her
legs around my waist. “Don’t stop,” she whispered breathlessly as
she brought me closer using her legs.

“I don’t want to hurt
you.”

“You’re not hurting me. I
promise,” she said as she arched against me and squeezed her legs
to pull me closer. I gradually gave in because I was incapable of
refusing her or myself of what we both wanted.

As I made love to my wife, my mouth
trailed over her neck and felt the fast pulsation of her artery
against my lips. Without any warning, I suddenly felt the urge I
shouldn’t. I squeezed my eyes tightly and shook my head as I tried
to resist what was happening, but there was no denial; I wanted to
drink her blood.

Sebastian said that I would never
want to bite Chansey, yet I felt myself losing control. I had to
put some distance between her throat and my teeth, so I pulled
away, but she hooked her hands behind my neck and pulled me back
down as she arched her back deeper and locked her ankles around me.
“I feel like I can’t get you close enough.”

I was about to make another attempt
of pulling away when Chansey’s Agápe scent enveloped me and
multiplied my already existing desire for her, making it near
impossible for me to stop what we had started.

“Chansey,” I said into the skin
against her neck as I felt my incisors lengthening.

She dug her fingers into my back
like she holding on for dear life. “I love you so much,
Curry.”

I licked my lips and said, “I love
you, Chansey, but I have to stop.”

She grasped me hard, almost
painfully, and her strength was incredible and I realized she was
overpowering me. “No, I need you closer.”