Then came the words I never thought to hear—man and wife—followed by a soul-searing kiss I would never forget.
This time, the cheers were deafening.
Chapter 29
I found out who ninety-five percent of the guests were while accepting their congratulations. First-generation members of Vlad’s line, meaning vampires he’d changed over himself. Apparently, his lineage was so extensive that even his huge house couldn’t hold all the vampires his people had changed over, too. From their assortment of accents, Vlad’s undead offspring hailed from all over the world. They must have dropped everything to rush here tonight.
Then again, they might have been afraid not to. I couldn’t see Vlad taking I was chillaxin’ as an acceptable reason to miss his wedding.
The vast number of guests meant I spent the first three hours getting my gloved hand kissed and hearing names I’d never remember. The next hour consisted of sampling bites from a feast so massive the nearby town could eat leftovers for days. Then came an avalanche of toasts, until I had to fake drinking or risk getting hammered at my own wedding.
Gretchen had no such concerns. She’d passed the giggly stage and moved onto is-the-room-spinning-or-is-it-me? phase. My father stayed close, glaring at any undead male who looked twice at her. He hadn’t offered a toast, but he was still here.
The gigantic clock struck two a.m. when Vlad rose and held out his hand. I took it, surprised at the cheers that followed. Was that the signal for We’re outta here? I hoped so. My energy was starting to wane and I didn’t want to spend the last of it here, stunningly lavish though the reception might be.
Vlad laughed low. “Believe me, you won’t.”
Then he swept me into his arms to the accompaniment of more cheers and quite a few knowing chuckles. I didn’t even have a chance to say good night before we were out of the ballroom and up the stairs. Then the hallway was a blur that culminated in a door closing decisively behind us.
I wasn’t the one who carried someone over a hundred yards in less than five seconds, yet my heart started to pound anyway. In a reversal of his prior speed, Vlad let my body slide down his, inch by tantalizing inch, as he set me on my feet. All the while he stared at me with an intensity that made words seem insultingly trivial by comparison.
I forgot the thousands of people with supernatural hearing one floor below us. Didn’t care that somewhere, a female vampire and other would-be killers were finding out I was alive and that I’d married Vlad. Under the weight of his stare, all of that fell away until there was nothing except the two of us.
Vlad unhooked the gold chain that held his regal scarlet cloak together. It dropped to the floor with a muted thud. I pulled out the clip my veil was attached to and unwound my hair from its bun. The frothy lace fell to my feet at the same pace that my hair spilled over my shoulders.
His hands twined in that dark mass before sliding down to the hidden clasps at my back. I drew in a breath as lace and chiffon were replaced with the searing touch of his fingers. Then I tried to undo his jacket, but my gloves were too cumbersome. I took them off, yet before I could catch the ring that came off with them, Vlad did. Green rolled over his eyes as he slid it onto my bare finger.
Then his hand swept down his chest, the fastenings popping open as if by magic. I only had a second to see the shirt underneath before it, too, was gone and he was naked from the waist up. I drank in the sight of his muscled chest with its dusting of dark hair and numerous scars. Vlad looked like what he was—a warrior who’d hacked his way through battles that would’ve killed lesser men. Unclothed, his seething masculinity and inherent dangerousness weren’t diminished. Instead, they increased, and I’d have it no other way. A groan escaped me as I reached out and touched his hard, heated flesh.
He slid my dress off my shoulders and each sleeve down my arms, leaving me in a bustier, panties, and silk stockings. I wasn’t even naked, yet as his gaze moved over me, I felt more exposed than I ever had before. Vlad seemed to stare past my skin into places of my soul that I’d never shared with anyone, and in the space of those moments, he claimed them as his.
I gazed at him with equal possessiveness. Whatever he’d done, whoever he’d been before and whoever he would be in the future, he was mine. If he still had shields over parts of his heart, I’d tear them down or blast them open. You can have all of me, I silently told him, but I’m taking all of you in return.
His smile was sensual and challenging, a dare for me to keep that promise. Then he pulled me into his arms, his bare skin sending shock waves of heat into my flesh. He lifted me, kicking away the fallen dress as his mouth closed over mine.
He tasted like champagne and the blood he drew when he scored his tongue with a fang. Pain flared as he scored my tongue next, though his blood healed it almost instantly. That coppery flavor increased, yet when I pulled back in instinctive aversion, his grip tightened.
“I thought ‘all of me’ included sharing each other’s blood.”
Testing my vow already. I expected no less, but if he thought I’d wave the white flag, he was wrong.
“Don’t hold anything back.”
I felt him smile against my lips. “I don’t intend to.”
Then he picked me up, taking us not to the bed, but the fireplace. He set me onto the thick fur rug in front of it, his eyes never leaving mine as he took off my shoes and stockings.
I reached for his pants, but he caught my hands, holding them over my head as he unhooked my bustier. My breathing quickened when it fell away, leaving me in nothing but my panties. The hunger in his gaze made my nipples harden, and when he dropped it lower, I could almost feel my blood rushing to follow. Desire plumped all the parts I wanted him to touch while my loins seemed to throb with a pulse of their own. It had been so long since I felt him inside me. I didn’t want to wait another second.
I tried to pull him onto me, but his grip on my wrists tightened. “Not yet.”
I disagreed, and he might have my hands restrained, but my legs weren’t. I hooked one around his hip and rubbed our lower bodies together, a gasp escaping me at the feel of his thick, hard flesh. His low laugh was both erotic and threatening.
“You’ll enjoy regretting that.”
His mouth lowered then, his hot, wet tongue making my nipples tingle with its rapid flicks. He released my wrists to stroke my back before drawing my panties slowly down my legs. Every time I reached for his pants, though, he blocked me with a low chuckle. Once my panties were off, he pressed me back, his body covering mine. I had a few moments to revel in his weight, the feel of his muscles, and sensual way his chest hair teased my nipples before his mouth sealed over my breast. He sucked until tingles turned into throbs, and when I felt his fangs lengthen, I arched in silent invitation.
Pleasure followed the momentary sting in less time than it took me to moan. Then warmth spread, the effect from the tiny drops of venom in his fangs. He sucked harder before flipping me over and pulling me on top of him, switching to my other breast.
He drew on it strongly, making me clutch him with growing urgency. I let my legs slide down until I straddled him, and when that jutting hardness in his pants grazed my clitoris, sparks shot from my hand at the deluge of sensations.
He bit down the same instant, flooding my breast with warmth and making my nipple erotically burn. My head fell back while an animalistic sound came from my throat. Vlad grasped my hips, molding me closer. Then he arched forward, increasing the friction while his fangs penetrated more deeply.
The double assault of pleasure was too much. I cried out as thousands of nerve endings clenched at once. That cry turned into a moan as ecstasy washed over me, turning need into sweet release. My pulse, once thundering, seemed to slow while languorousness stole into my limbs, making them feel heavier.
Vlad’s mouth left my breast after a final lick. It slid in a searing trail across my shoulder and up my neck before he kissed me, pressing me back against the silky fur. This time, I barely noticed
the coppery flavor to his mouth. I was too focused on the way his tongue stroked mine, the feel of his hard chest against my overly sensitive nipples, and the desire that flared anew when he took off his pants.
I opened my legs, moaning as he grasped my thigh and pulled it against his hip. A delicious expectation caused my inner muscles to clench, making me even wetter. When he reached down and his fingers invaded my depths, I gripped him and arched with more demand than invitation.
His chuckle ended in another fiery kiss. Those fingers went deeper, intensifying the ache that had me moving against his hand. My breath came in muffled gasps as he continued to kiss me with increasing fierceness, ravening my mouth with his lips and tongue. Then his hand stopped its sensual torment and slid beneath my hips, lifting me.
I was more than ready, but he was big and it had been a while. Inner walls stretched as he moved deeper, and when his full length pushed inside me, I let out something like a sob.
His hand left my hip to tangle in my hair, thumb caressing my jaw. His kiss changed, too, matching his slowness as he began to withdraw. My body hadn’t fully adjusted yet, but I wrapped my legs around him and sent him a single, fervent command.
Don’t stop and don’t hold back.
The sound he made. Harsher than a moan, more primal than a growl. Then he thrust forward while his fangs buried into my throat.
Both sites flared with quicksilver pain and then overwhelming, molten pleasure. I didn’t have a chance to cry out before another thrust/bite, sending more shattering sensations through me. My nails raked down his back as the electricity I couldn’t control surged into him. It only made him grip me tighter as he continued to move with those rapturously rough strokes. By the time I realized he’d stopped biting me, I didn’t care. He could’ve kept drinking me until there was nothing left. As long as it felt like this, I’d welcome it.
My senses sharpened as pleasure built toward a crescendo. Vlad’s smoke-and-spice scent had never been more intoxicating. His body was scorching, muscled thighs harder than stone against mine, and his mouth ravished everything it touched. I felt lost in him, and when those incredible spasms shook me from the inside out, the strangest sort of vulnerability filled me. He’d wanted all of me and that’s what I’d given him. Did it mean I had nothing left?
“No,” he muttered, voice thick with passion. “You have me, and I love you.”
Then he kissed me, moving faster, and reality blurred once more. By the time his climax surged powerfully through him, I couldn’t remember what I’d been concerned about. Losing myself was gaining him, and vice versa. That was well worth any cost.
Chapter 30
Yesterday, I woke up in the infirmary still nursing a broken heart. Today, I woke up in Vlad’s bed as Mrs. Dracula. What a difference a day made.
“If you introduce yourself to anyone as Mrs. Dracula, I’ll bite you in a manner you won’t enjoy.”
I smiled without opening my eyes. Some things didn’t change, like Vlad being grumpy when he first woke up.
“I’m quaking with fear.”
“As you should be, and I’ve been up, my lovely bride.”
Now I did open my eyes. Vlad was dressed, to my disappointment, sitting in a chair with an iPad on his lap. He rose and came toward me, expression so serious that I tensed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just reading some e-mails,” he said while his fingers flashed across the tiny keyboard. Then he held it up to me.
Someone in this house has betrayed me.
I sucked in a breath. An ironic smile twisted his mouth as he typed something else and held it up again.
Aside from Maximus, that is.
I left that alone. How do you know? I thought.
More rapid typing. I became suspicious when my staff tracked Maximus’s cell phone to that hotel, yet Hannibal beat me there. You said Hannibal knew details about your powers that were privy only to members of this household. As final proof, an e-mail Mencheres just sent confirmed that more incriminating information leaked that could only come from someone here.
I hadn’t forgotten Hannibal’s too-accurate knowledge, but getting kidnapped, dying, being comatose, and marrying Vlad, all in less than a week, had pushed it from the forefront for me.
Not for Vlad, obviously. Do you know who it is?
An eye roll preceded his next sentence. Wouldn’t I be torturing that person now if I did?
True, and while details of my abilities could have accidentally reached the wrong ears, telling Hannibal’s boss where me and Maximus were was no innocent slip of the tongue.
Then the significance of Vlad’s typed messages hit me. You think whoever did this is on this floor.
Vampires had great hearing, but Vlad’s bedroom was better insulated than most. Plus, his house was always full of people, which meant lots of background noise. Unless he thought the betrayer was very close, Vlad wouldn’t type instead of speak.
And only his most trusted staff had rooms on this floor.
I winced. I’m sorry.
Don’t pity me, he typed with lightning swiftness. Pity the man who will die a terrible death once I discover who he is.
I probably would pity that person then, but right now, we needed to find him. I held up my right hand with grim purpose.
I’ll help you weed him out.
Vlad stared at me, his cold expression changing to an inscrutable one. When I saw his typed response, I read it three times, yet still couldn’t believe what it said.
As long as you remain human, you won’t.
I descended the narrow steps to the dungeon, guards I’d had to trick before now bowing to me as I passed. Marty walked in front of me, two curved silver scimitars attached to his belt. The knives reached his knees, making him look almost comical, but I knew how fast Marty was. Vlad knew it, too. That’s why Marty was my bodyguard now.
I hadn’t wanted Vlad to accompany me for more reasons than the fight we’d just had. I’d known our marriage would be tumultuous, but I hadn’t anticipated the sparring to start less than twenty-four hours after we said I do.
What’s that you were saying about the difference a day made? my cursed inner voice mocked.
I ignored it and kept walking, nodding at the guard who let us through the entrance. Once inside, torches provided enough light that I could see where I was going. The manacle-laden stone monolith was now empty, as were the poles in front of it. Whatever that meant, I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to ask.
“This way,” Marty said, taking the passage to the right.
I hadn’t ventured to this part of the dungeon before, and when I saw the next chamber, I never wanted to come back. Torchlight revealed machines both ancient and high-tech, complete with grisly accessories that defied even my abilities-driven imagination as to their use. It made the part of the dungeon with the impalement poles look as benign as a waiting room.
“Freaky, isn’t it?” Marty grunted. “When you’re a prisoner, the first thing they do is give you the grand tour. Then you’re manacled to that stone wall to think about what you saw. Next is the pole, where round one of questioning begins. If you don’t answer to their satisfaction, you come here for more incentive.”
I looked around with a shiver. Why would any of Vlad’s people betray him, knowing they’d end up in this little slice of hell if they got caught?
Then again, I was here to see someone who’d done just that.
Marty led me past the chilling machinery room to another tight passageway. This one didn’t open to a large antechamber. Instead, a string of cells were hewn into the rock. Most were only as tall as Marty, leaving those unlucky enough to be in one unable to stand. This part of the dungeon was colder, too. My turquoise skirt hung to my ankles and I had on a long-sleeved top, but I should’ve grabbed a coat, too.
As I passed the smaller cells, nothing stirred in them. They, like the rest of the dungeon so far, seemed empty.
I had to ask. “Do you know where the prisoners ar
e?”
Marty opened his mouth, but another voice beat him to it.
“Vlad had them all executed in honor of his wedding.”
Maximus’s tone was harder than the stone walls surrounding us. I swallowed and then followed it to the end of the walkway, where the last few cells were regular-sized, at least.
“How magnanimous.”
I wasn’t being sarcastic. I’d prefer death to experiencing everything this dungeon had to offer, and if someone wronged Vlad enough to end up here, death was the only way out.
Well, almost the only way.
Maximus came into view as I got closer. At some point since I’d last seen him, he’d been given new clothes, but his hair was still reddish from all the dried blood in it. He leaned against his bars, his gray gaze lit up with green. Then he looked at the ring on my gloved finger and his mouth curled downward.
“I’d say congratulations, but we both know I’d be lying.”
I rested my hands against the bars. “Considering where you are, I don’t blame you.”
“That’s not why.”
Quick as a striking snake, he had my hands in his. Then his fingers tightened, preventing me from pulling away.
“After your breakup, I thought Vlad was still fixated on you because you ended things. Then he brought Mencheres to the boat even though seeking another Master’s assistance in rescuing his people makes him appear weak. That’s when I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That he loved you,” Maximus said in the same tone most people used to deliver terrible news.
My mouth quirked. “Yeah, he told me. Even if he hadn’t, proposing would’ve been a big clue.”
Maximus made a harsh sound, releasing my hands to turn in a short circle. “You’re romanticizing it, but you’re trapped now. He didn’t allow his first wife to leave him. Why do you think she jumped off that roof?”