A muffled grunt sounded against my skin. “Helps that they’re dead soon after touching you, Kitten. I’m old enough to have learned patience, but no, it’s not easy. Let’s not bother about that now though. You have a question to answer, remember?”
Bones picked me up and carried me to the chair without breaking contact with his lips. He spread my legs, making me tremble, and then nuzzled my leather panties before hooking his fangs into them and dragging them down. His incisors neatly split the fabric while his tongue snaked inside the rents. Multitasking at its finest.
I moaned and gripped his shoulders. God, I loved what his mouth could do to me and told him so in a voice made rasping with desire. He laughed into my flesh, licking and probing with knowing, wet strokes that felt even sharper by the chafing of the prong. By the time my orgasm hit, I was sweating and arching against him, digging my nails into the pale arms locked around my waist to hold me closer. The scream that tore from my throat at the rush of ecstasy would prove whether or not the new insulation Don had installed held. If it didn’t, they could probably hear me all the way back in my uncle’s office.
“You’re so beautiful,” Bones whispered, sliding up to cradle me. I kissed him greedily, not caring that his fangs nicked my lips before I drew his tongue into my mouth to suck on it. Metal clanged together as his chain-link pants fell to the floor before the hard length of his body pressed on top of mine.
My nails scratched down his back while I wrapped my legs around his hips. “Now. Now. I want you so much.”
Another chuckle, but throatier. “Ah, pet, I love how anxious you get. Yes, now, and I have one more surprise for you…”
A hard thrust bent my spine, eliciting a strangled cry while I arched back so strongly that I almost fell off the chair. Bones gathered me into his arms before lowering me to the floor, grasping my hips as he plunged deeply into me once again.
“You didn’t,” I managed, shuddering at the feel of added friction to the hardness sliding in and out of me.
His lips curled slyly. “There were two more silver rings. Call me a method actor. Hate to waste a good prop.”
“That is… going to hurt… like hell… taking them out,” I said around the raggedness of my breathing. I squeezed my legs tighter around him, reveling in the feel of him moving inside me with increasing fervor. That ring seemed to add a sharper edge to the pleasure, making my nerve endings clench and contract in growing sensual demand. I played with the silver rings in his nipples, gently tugging and twisting them while I kissed him as if I were trying to drown.
“Faster. Harder. More.” In any order.
Bones complied, thrusting with an intensity that had me shouting in delirious bliss before begging him to stop. Or not to stop. I couldn’t keep it straight. Either way, he had his own agenda. When we struck our bargain with Don, Bones had agreed to follow my orders at work, lecherously asserting he’d rather have control in the bedroom. I hadn’t objected, which turned out to be the smartest decision I’d ever made. He dominated me in bed or out, as in this case, we were on the floor, and I loved every moment of it. When it came to anything sexual, Bones was truly a master.
Chapter Twenty-One
White Wedding
Author’s note: I can’t count how many times readers have asked me if Cat and Bones would ever have a “real” wedding. In the published books, they only had the vampire binding ceremony because their plans for a traditional wedding were ruined by events in At Grave’s End, but in the original version, they did have their white wedding. It ended up being cut because of—you guessed it—pacing concerns, and also because my editor felt that it signified a happy-ever-after even though the series was far from done. I’d intended to put this in a later book, but I could never find a place where it would fit. Eventually I decided not to put it in the final books because it seemed to trivialize their prior blood-binding ceremony. Bones always considered that as the only wedding that mattered. It took Cat a little longer to feel the same way, but she did. In the scene where Don dies in This Side of the Grave, she thinks about how that strange, very unconventional blood-binding ritual was so much more important than any fancy dress or extravagant party, but both did happen in these deleted scenes, and I’m glad to finally share them you.
The end of this section also contains a never-before-published sex scene where I broke a worldbuilding rule, so if it reads like what Bones and Cat do isn’t possible according to previously known vampire abilities, you’re right. That’s why I’ve never tried to duplicate this scene in any other books. And for those of you who might be thinking “another sex scene?” this shows that I probably ended up deleting more of those than I published. When I write, I let the characters lead and then edit out later what I think is too gratuitous.
“How in the hell did you breathe in these things when you were human? My ribs are broken in ten places!”
Annette ruthlessly tightened the corset strings. “Back in the day, these things were much more constrictive. Be grateful.”
“I think you’re enjoying this a bit too much, to tell the truth.” I grunted. “A little looser, please. I do want to be alive through the ceremony, even if pulses are the minority here.”
They were, no mistake about that. When we had discussed the wedding, Bones said he wanted a small, intimate gathering. You’d think after years of dealing with vampires, I would know better. “Small and intimate” to him meant well over two hundred people. After two centuries, he’d built up a much larger network of friends than I had in my twenty-five years. Thank God he hadn’t wanted a large wedding; it would have swelled to over a thousand.
It was Christmas Day, my wedding day. I hadn’t seen Bones since yesterday morning. I’d even refused to speak to him today, finding myself unexpectedly superstitious. Maybe Denise had rubbed off on me.
Denise grinned at me as she held my dress up for me to step into. My mother hadn’t been much help. She was in the corner of the room, crying. Even the Valium I’d snuck into her tea hadn’t calmed her, but at least it kept her cursing at a minimum.
“There,” Annette said with one last tug.
At last she was satisfied, which meant I was in pain. Silly me thought to pay homage to my groom’s eighteenth-century days and had a corset made to go under my dress. Barring a few modern additions, it looked like the real deal. Just cut a little sexier and with convenient snap buttons at the crotch. I even had on silk stockings.
I gingerly put one foot and then the other in the dress, praying I didn’t fall and rip the whole damned thing. My mother would have cried tears of joy. One ruined wedding, just what the doctor ordered. Denise had just started to zip me up when the parlor door opened without a knock.
Spade came inside right as Denise finished with my zipper. At least now my chest was covered instead of my breasts bulging over the top of the low-cut corset.
“Crispin sent me,” Spade said. His lips twitched. “He wasn’t this nervous when he was killed, and I should know because I was there.”
That made me pause adjusting the cleavage on my gown. “Is he having second thoughts?” I asked stiffly.
My mother perked right up.
Spade chuckled. “No, he’s fretting over you. Said something about you always making a dash for the exit right before the finish line or some such. I’m to check on you to make sure you have no intentions of backing out. Any signs of indecision, and I’ve been given strict instructions to throw you over my shoulder and carry you to him. Or hold you down and yell for him to come. Well? Are you quite determined in your course of action?”
Even though we were on opposite sides of the church and there was a multitude of noisy guests, I knew that Bones was tuned in to my answer. I raised my voice to be more helpful. “You tell my vampire husband he’s about to become my human one.” My mom went from hopeful back to depressed in a flash. “And you can give him this.”
I handed Spade a piece of parchment with something hard inside. He took it and kissed my hand.
“I’ll do that. Annette, Denise.” He nodded at each of them and left. Now it was my turn to strain my ears as the two women helped me with the finishing touches to my dress.
“Crispin,” Spade said, his words carrying back to me. “Poor girl can’t be talked out of marrying you. Heaven knows I tried. This is for you, in case you didn’t eavesdrop.”
“She’s eavesdropping as well, aren’t you, Kitten?” His voice seemed like it touched me, even with the distance, but I didn’t answer. After all, we weren’t supposed to be talking. “Ah, aren’t these lovely? Frightfully expensive; you must have cried when you purchased them.”
His teasing made me laugh, giving away the fact that I’d been eavesdropping. He knew how penny-pinching I normally was. Still, the antique platinum-and-diamond cufflinks were beautiful. My bank account had taken a hit it hadn’t previously seen before, yet I could hardly buy Bones a gift using his money.
“I heard you, luv, naughty little snoop. Now, what did you write here?”
The last letter I’d written him had been good-bye when I ran off with Don, but this one was markedly different. I love you, and nothing will keep me from walking down that aisle and proving it. See you there.
“You will,” he answered me. “Soon.”
Denise finally finished with my dress, then backed up to get a look at me and smiled. “You look amazing. Let’s do this.”
Annette judged my appearance as well, but with more objectivity. She looked very elegant in a charcoal dress with matching bolero jacket. “You’re perfectly smashing,” she finally settled on saying. A spark of something else lit in her eyes, but it vanished in an instant. “And you’re the luckiest girl I’ve ever met.”
Right now, about to marry the man I loved, I did feel lucky. Very lucky.
“Wait, I forgot to get you something blue!” Denise said with a gasp. “I’m a terrible maid of honor. Quick, help me find something!”
She began to rummage through the parlor with the desperation of the condemned. Annette helped, muttering an oath about useless human customs.
“Here.”
The word didn’t come from either of them. I stared in shock at my mother as she shoved herself off her chair and came to me, holding out a ring. It was a small sapphire-and-gold one I’d bought her for her birthday years ago. A lump made its way with lightning speed to my throat as I accepted it.
“Thank you,” I said huskily.
She wiped her cheek with a dash of her hand. “I expect it back, hence the term ‘borrowed.’ And one last time, I will beg you not to do this, Catherine.”
There went the tender mother-daughter moment. Oh well. At least I’d had a split second of bonding. Progress, not perfection, and all that.
“Don’t worry, Mom. He won’t hurt me.”
“Doubtful.” She turned away and went back to her chair.
Annette rolled her eyes heavenward. Denise fluffed my dress one last time.
“Are you ready? Or are you going to make your mother’s universe and let her drive the getaway car?” Denise gave me a gleeful smirk.
I smiled back and mentally thanked God for the night a vampire tried to make her a snack as I walked nearby. Without her, I would have been heavily dependent on Prozac the past several years.
“I’m ready.”
Annette made a noise that might have been a sigh. “Come on, Justina, we have to take our seats now. Bother it, woman, I wasn’t going to touch you. You don’t have to shrink back from me every time, do you?”
My mother strode past her without a word, only allowing herself the pleasure of a filthy look as she headed for the sanctuary. At least that’s where I thought she was going. She could have been trotting straight to the parking lot.
“You should have just let Crispin bite her into better disposition,” Annette said, clearly aggravated. “Would have done her a world of good.”
“Thanks for the suggestion, but we’ll keep my mother’s senses the way they are. Even if it makes me crazy.”
Annette paused in the hallway. A small, self-deprecating laugh came out of her. “Well, Cat. You’ve certainly shown good form today. I would have rubbed Crispin’s rejection of you in your face until you cried, but you’ve been quite gracious. Now, do hurry up. Don’t keep the man we love waiting.”
Denise watched her go and then tilted her head. “She’s hell on heels, Cat, and a bitch besides, but sometimes I like her.”
“I know.” A reluctant trace of admiration colored my words. “Sometimes I do too.”
“Cat.” Don approached us, wearing a black tuxedo.
It was the first I’d ever seen him so dressed up. His gray gaze took in my strapless lace dress that fishtailed into a minor train behind me. The long skirt wasn’t made of a single piece of fabric, but several different swaths that swayed as I walked. Only the multitude of layers provided modesty, because there was no lining underneath. The veil was a thin billow of gauze attached to my hair with a comb, trailing cathedral style down to the floor. My neck and arms were bare. Only a pair of gothic platinum-and-white-diamond earrings adorned me.
“You’re stunning,” he said.
I smiled at the compliment and accepted the arm he held out to me.
Denise gave my shoulders a parting squeeze and offered one last piece of advice. “Don’t trip!”
“I’ll do my best. At least I expect him at the altar this time.”
Don didn’t get the joke since he hadn’t been at Denise’s wedding. “What?”
“Nothing.” I tightened my grip on his arm. “Thank you for doing this.”
The lines in his face creased as he smiled. “Thank you for asking. Shall we go?”
I straightened my shoulders. “Yes.”
***
The sun had just set and there was snow on the ground, making it a white Christmas after all. The church was small in size but big in privacy, so we’d erected a tent complete with portable hardwood flooring for the reception. The caterers specialized in preparing traditional and, um, exotic foods. God help my mother if she got the wrong plate, because nothing short of suicide would relieve her revulsion.
Instead of a normal wedding singer with a piano or even a small band, Bones had hired a full orchestra. Most of them were shivering outside, waiting for heaters to warm their separate tented area, but a pianist and a violinist were in the church. Small and intimate wedding, my ass.
Orchids, lilies, gardenias, hyacinths, tulips, amaryllis, poinsettias and other flowers I couldn’t name covered the interior of the church. A rain forest would be less fragrant. The flowers had been dusted with a sparkling powder that reflected in the candlelight, and there were candles everywhere, replacing all but the most essential artificial light. Don and I came into view of the guests and the groom with our next steps as we entered the sanctuary.
Even the steady pressure of Don’s arm on mine faded into insignificance next to the smile that lit Bones’s face. True to his word, he wore white too. His suit was a combination of twenty-first century and eighteenth, with lace spilling out of his collar and cuffs. A silver-braided waistcoat added antique style to the more modern pants the jacket draped around. He looked dazzling. I had to resist the urge to pinch myself, because this man couldn’t be mine.
Don formally relinquished my hand and Bones took it.
“I have never seen anything more exquisite in all my life,” he whispered before kissing me until I was breathless.
“You’re not supposed to kiss me now,” I managed when finally he let me up for air.
“I don’t care,” he answered with such feeling that laughter rippled through the spectators. “Sod the proper order of events.”
Spade’s lips twitched as he leaned forward. “Crispin, all of us came to see a wedding. Perhaps you can abstain from the consummation until later?”
That definitely brought more amusement from the guests. His side, anyway. Few of my guests were that cheerful.
“Later. Right you are, Charles.??
?
Bones pressed my hand to his lips before turning to the minister. I had only met him once before when we filled out the necessary paperwork. He was on loan from his home parish in Wisconsin.
“Welcome, family,” the minister began, eschewing the usual “Dearly Beloved.” “Tonight you bear witness to the reaffirmation of one marriage and the beginning of another. While the dissolution of their vampire union is impossible, custom demands that I ask the following: If anyone here can show just cause as to why these two should not be joined together in human matrimony, speak now. Else forevermore hold your peace.”
My mother shot out of her chair like a rocket on full launch. I had just begun to mutter something completely inappropriate for church when Bones flicked his hand and Rodney appeared behind her. The ghoul clapped his hand over my mom’s mouth before she could voice her lengthy, strenuous objections.
“Thanks ever so, mate,” Bones said, saluting him. “Some people seem to need assistance holding their peace. Oh, I wouldn’t bite him, Justina, he’s a ghoul. Might make him want to return the favor. He’ll let go if you sit quietly. Otherwise, you’ll get a mouth full of flesh-eater palm for the rest of the ceremony.”
Who knew if she recognized Rodney from seven years ago? After all, she wasn’t exactly facing him at the moment.
I glared at her in silent warning. Whether it was that or the unappetizing taste of Rodney’s hand, she nodded and Rodney released her. A loud sniff was the only noise she made when she sat back down.
Bones turned back to the minister. “It appears our objector has changed their opinion.”
By the gleam in the man’s eyes and his sudden need to cough in a manner sounding suspiciously like chuckles, I guessed they knew each other fairly well.
“Um, so it would appear. Let us resume.”
The rest of the words were somewhat standard, but they skipped by my attention. I was mesmerized by the lights glowing off Bones’s hair, his sculpted features, and those deep brown eyes staring into mine. My vision dropped to his lips when he sounded out a two-worded reply to the minister’s question.