His Dark Embrace

“Now, why didn’t I think of that?” he mused.

Before she had time to answer, he swept her into his arms. The next thing she knew, she was in his house, in his bed.

“Maybe we should just go to Vegas and be married,” Skylynn suggested as she snuggled into Kaiden’s arms. As much as she loved making love to him, she knew it wasn’t right. From the time she had been old enough to understand, her grandfather had drummed it into her head that intimacy outside of marriage was wrong. She had agreed with him, had been a virgin when she married Nick. But all of her grandfather’s good advice had gone right out the window where Kaiden was concerned.

“Whatever makes you happy, Sky Blue.”

She snuggled against him. “You make me happy.”

His smile warmed her down to her toes.

“If we go to Vegas, I’m sure Tara will understand,” Skylynn said, thinking out loud.

“Why the sudden rush?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

A faint blush rose in her cheeks. “You’ll laugh.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Well, I sort of promised Granda that I wouldn’t ... well, you know, unless I was married. And I was good about keeping that promise, until you came along.” She looked up at him, her eyes narrowing. “Did you use your vampire mojo to get me into bed?”

“No,” he said, laughing. “But you can bet everything you own that I thought about it more than once.”

Chapter 33

Skylynn drove to the bridal shop over in Grover first thing in the morning. She tried on every dress they had in her size, wondering how she would ever make up her mind. They were all gorgeous, and they all made her feel beautiful. Long or short or in-between, the gowns came in a variety of fabrics and rainbow colors. There were dresses in every price range and for every taste. Want to look like Cinderella? They had a gown for that. Want to look like a sexy siren? They had a gown for that, too. Or maybe you wanted to look like a hip rock star? No problem. They had an outfit for that, too, complete with thigh-high boots and a temporary tattoo.

In the end, she chose an off-white floor-length dress with long, fitted sleeves, a square neck, a beaded bodice, and a short, flouncy train. She also bought a matching shoulder-length veil, and a pair of satin heels. Considering that she was out of work, buying an expensive wedding dress for a second wedding was probably an extravagance she couldn’t afford, but this time around, she was going to have the best of everything, she thought with a smile. The best husband and the best dress.

Next on her list was new underwear—a lacy white bra and matching bikini panties, a new nightgown that was little more than a whisper of black silk, along with a matching peignoir and slippers.

It was late afternoon when she got home.

Sam was waiting for her in the living room. “Where’d you run off to so early this morning?” he asked.

“Shopping, of course.”

“Good. We’re out of peanut butter and jelly.”

“Not that kind of shopping, you idiot. I bought a wedding dress. Wait until you see it! We’ve decided to go to Vegas to be married. You need to rent a tux.”

“A tux? For Vegas?”

She glanced pointedly at his jeans, which had the requisite torn knees, and the faded green T-shirt he’d dug out of his closet. “It won’t kill you to dress up for one night.”

“It might.”

“Listen, I skipped breakfast and lunch and I’m starving,” Sky said. “What do you say we grab a bite to eat and then see about renting you a tux?”

When he didn’t answer right away, she thought he was going to refuse but, in the end, he shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered, “Sure, if that’s what you want.”

“Great. Let me go hang up my dress and put all this stuff away and then we’ll go.”

“All right,” he said with a sigh of resignation, “but I want to go to the movies when we’re done.”

“Great movie, wasn’t it?” Sky asked as she unlocked the front door. “You can’t go wrong with Johnny Depp.”

Sam grimaced. “You’re just saying that because you think he’s hot.”

“Well, he is,” she said with a grin. “I’m gonna run upstairs and take a quick shower.”

“I guess that guy’s coming over later.” Sam peeled off his jacket and tossed it over the back of the sofa.

“Better get used to ‘that guy,’ brother dear,” Sky called over her shoulder as she headed for the stairs. “I won’t be long.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sam watched her run up the stairs. If a guy had to have a sister, he could do a lot worse than Skylynn. She was a good cook, easy to get along with, and she made him feel at home even though he didn’t remember anything about the place.

He wandered around the living room, perusing the books and the knickknacks on the shelves, pausing to study the framed photographs on the mantel. He picked up a family photo sitting on a side table. He didn’t recognize the man or the woman, but he assumed they were his parents. The man, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, was tall, with dark hair and light eyes. The woman, dressed in white shorts and a polka-dot halter top, had curly brown hair and a wide smile. The little girl with auburn pigtails and missing two front teeth was obviously his sister. The boy wearing the superhero T-shirt could only be him.

“Spiderman,” Sam muttered as he set the photo back on the table. “No way.”

He was halfway to the kitchen, intent on getting a Coke, when the doorbell rang. Thinking it was probably Thorne, Sam hollered, “It’s open. Come on in,” and headed for the refrigerator.

Girard Desmarais knew a rush of excitement when he heard the invitation. He had been inside the house before, of course, but he hadn’t been a vampire at the time. Glancing to his left, he released his hypnotic hold on the mortal he had brought with him and sent him on his way. He had intended to use the young man to gain entrance to the house, but that was no longer necessary.

Murmuring, “All too easy,” Girard opened the front door and stepped across the threshold.

Skylynn’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the doorbell. At last, Kaiden was here! She took the world’s quickest shower, wondering if Kaiden would have come up and washed her back if they had been alone in the house. She grinned as she stepped out of the shower. Once they were married, she wouldn’t have to worry about what Sam or anyone else might think.