This was all just so surreal.
I had accepted his offer and after our shower, I slipped into an oversized Banana Slugs sweatshirt and a pair of pajama pants that were much too long, but they were his, so I practically pranced around as if I was still wearing my evening gown.
I called Felix and filled her in on my night to a fit of giggles and squeals of delight from both of us and she promised to call Lance and give him all the dirty details, which I was fairly sure was going to be embellished immensely, and in the most dirty and graphic way…but I couldn’t have cared less.
I was floating on air.
I sat out on the deck for a while, watching as the waves crashed to shore, but the darker it got the more the wind picked up and I made my way inside.
Thomas had returned and dropped off my clothes and a bag of groceries and I was stunned by how thoughtful Jack was.
I was in the kitchen making myself a pot of coffee when I felt a quick gust of air and figured I had forgotten to close one of the French doors. I turned to head that way, but was stopped dead in my tracks by the man standing smugly in the doorway.
Zandor.
I felt my blood turn to ice as I watched in disgust as his gaze scanned me from head to toe and he licked his lips.
I could see just a hint of…fangs as his eyes glittered dangerously.
Oh, shit !
“What in the hell are you doing here?” I choked out, knowing in my gut that it was a pretty damned stupid question. The look on his face said it all.
He was here for a midnight snack. And it seemed I was the only thing on the menu.
“Jack,” I called out, hoping he would fall for my bluff and just leave. Instead, he just took a step closer to where I stood bracing myself against the sink and smiled that smug little smile of his that made my skin crawl.
“Tsk, tsk,” he tittered softly. “I must say…wonderful effort, my dear, but I know Jack isn’t here. I do my research.”
“You mean you do your stalking !” I bit back angrily.
He chuckled. “Call it what you will, but I find myself quite intrigued by you.” He tilted his head curiously and studied me a moment. “You don’t seem surprised by my…appearance ,” he mused softly, and I knew he was referring to the appearance of his fangs and silvery eyes. “I take it that Jack told you what we are.”
He brushed an invisible piece of lint from his shirt and took another step towards me.
The counter pressed painfully into my backside, reminding me that I had nowhere to run.
Well, I thought with a small stiffening of my spine, what was the old saying?
Flight or fight ?
I decided that I was damn well going to fight.
“What is it with you?” I snarled viciously. “Do you feel that inadequate around Jack that you need to worm your way into his home and accost the person he’s dating? Is that what you lesser vampires do or something?”
I’d had really done it and angered the beast.
Oops.
His lips pulled back from his teeth in a snarl and his eyes glowed like liquid silver.
Faster than I could comprehend, his body slammed into mine and he pulled me against him, turning me so that my back was against his chest and his hand was at my throat.
I could feel his hot, fetid, breath against the pulse in my neck and I closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer that he would kill me quickly.
“You’ve made a grievous error with your insolence,” he hissed.
“And you’ve signed your death sentence, Zandor. Let. Her. Go. Now.”
The sound of Jack’s voice drifted from behind us and washed over me like a comforting embrace even as the bastard’s icy fingers tightened around my neck, effectively cutting off the air from my lungs in one fail swoop.
Jack was here.
I felt the hot sting of tears hit the backs of my eyes as I struggled to take a much-needed breath and the room began to tilt and wobble around me.
Zandor spun around at a dizzying speed, taking me with him as if I were no more than that inconsequential piece of lint stuck to his shirt.
I had one precious second when I met Jack’s eyes and he returned my gaze.
Strong and steady he stared back at me…and I thought everything was going to be okay.
That one heart-wrenching moment was not nearly long enough.
I heard a pop, then a crack coming from somewhere inside of my body a millisecond before everything went blissfully dark.
My entire bod y was on fire .
I could actually feel my blood boiling as it coursed through my veins, almost as if it were acid and I wanted to scream out in agony, but I couldn’t seem to find my voice.
It was locked up tight somewhere in the hell I was in.
It was as if I was trapped in a world of complete blackness and there was no escaping it. I wanted to claw at my skin, but was unable to move.
From somewhere in the distance I thought I could hear a sound.
A voice.
Jack.
“Baby, come back to me…”
Oh, Jumping Jesus, but I loved the sound of that man’s voice!
I wanted to do what he was asking of me. I really did. I wanted that more than I had ever wanted anything before, I just didn’t know how to get to him.
I tried to ignore the pain wracking my body and concentrated on the incredible man begging me to open my eyes.
I could do that!
I gathered up every ounce of strength I could and forced my eyes to open, but the blare of the lights around me caused me to snap them shut instantly.
It was as if I had looked directly into the sun!
I heard Jack cuss before I felt his weight move away from me. There were a few soft clicks and he was back beside me, taking my hand in his.
I could feel him trembling.
“Try again, Sweetheart,” he urged, and I did.
My eyes opened and focused on his incredible face, marred with worry as he gazed down at me.
No one had ever looked so amazing before.
The sight of him made my entire body quiver and it was like a soothing balm.
“Hi.” I croaked.
“Hi, yourself,” he responded softly, the worry leaving his eyes the tiniest bit; there was still something in them that looked almost cornered , and I wondered how bad off I actually was.
I moved to sit up and Jack quickly wrapped his arm around my shoulders and helped me. I looked down at my body and everything seemed okay. I wasn’t sore, really, and I didn’t seem to be bruised. Which with my pasty skin was a miracle with the way that jackass had man-handled me.
All in all, I was beginning to feel amazing.
All except for the fact that my throat felt as if I had gargled with broken glass. But the burning pain that had been consuming me only moments before was gone.
I looked at Jack, a million questions flying around in my head.
“What happened? Where is…” Was all I managed to husk out.
Jack pulled me into his embrace and hugged me to him to him tightly.
“Jack?” I pushed out, loving the feeling of his face buried in my hair, but I wasn’t going to let myself get distracted.
“How are you ever going to forgive me?” I heard him whisper at the exact moment I realized that the room was completely dark…but I could see everything around me perfectly.
As if it were the middle of the day!
Ah, shit.
I was running my tongue over my teeth and I realized with a start exactly what I was doing.
I was looking for…fangs.
“Jack…” I repeated and felt him shudder.
“I had no choice,” he finally said, his voice filled with so much pain. “Zandor broke your neck. He crushed your windpipe…” He stopped, and I felt him shudder.
I took a deep breath, then wondered if I even needed to breathe anymore and leaned back to look into his eyes.
Eyes that were filled with so much guilt and
remorse.
I tried to smile. “So, I’m a…vampire?” I asked, although, who was I kidding? I knew the answer.
He nodded miserably, and I could feel the pain radiating from his pores.
“One question,” I said after a few moments of silence, and he caught my eyes. “Are cupcakes out now?”
A sound erupted from him that was a cross between relief and laughter and he hugged me to him once again.
“Lacy, I love you,” he confessed, and my heart expanded to the point of exploding!
“I love you too,” I responded without having to even think about it. “But…you are going to get so sick of me. Eternity is a very long time.”
“It is,” he chuckled, “but I have the distinct feeling even that won’t be enough time to spend with you.”
My very being sang at his words and I have him a grin. “You are about to get so lucky,” I quipped, only a moment before his lips covered mine.
Epilogue
I turned over and watched with a smile as Jack’s naked form crossed the room and headed towards the bathroom.
It was our last day in the states. We had spent the first few months of my vampirism holed up at his house as he taught me the ins and outs of officially being the undead . And I have to say…it wasn’t half bad.
I kept my interactions with my friends to a minimum with the excuse of being completely and utterly in love, which I was, and thankfully they understood.
Me telling them that I was moving with Jack out of the country did not go over so well. They were happy that I was happy, but sad that I would be leaving.
But…I couldn’t very well stay around and not age.
Jack had explained that was how we vampires did things. We just up and disappeared from the public eye after a while. He had the excuse of wanting to retire from acting to spend time with his girlfriend.
Me? It really didn’t matter much to anyone. Hal had made the obligatory I hate to lose you comments when I told him I was quitting, and my mother was just thrilled that I had even found someone who wanted to whisk me away to a love nest somewhere.
Not to mention an uber hot movie star! Mama sure did love her appearances.
I think, on some obscure level, she thought that I had just finally snapped from my utter loneliness and made the whole thing up…that is if the news hadn’t been splattered all over the news.
Luckily in Hollywood, there was always another up and comer to fawn over, so the news died down fairly quickly.
I turned back over and snuggled under the covers as the sound of the shower turning on filled the room and I sighed in contentment.
Jack was meeting with some people to finalize our move and take care of the sale of his house.
I was going to miss Felix and Lance, but also knew they would be fine.
Lance was in lust with a new man and Felix and her guy were only a step away from the whole engagement route – so life was good for them.
Almost as good as my un-life!
I seemed to have fallen into the whole bloodsucker thing easily. Or at least that was what Jack was telling me and the fact that I didn’t need to chomp down on anybody made my transition so much easier.
I heard Jack come out of the bathroom and walk over to the bed. I kind of enjoyed my super hearing and speed. He set something down on the bedside table and leaned over and moved the comforter, placing a gentle kiss on my shoulder.
“I’ve got something for you,” he murmured.
I flipped back over and gave him a devilish grin. “Is it what you gave me last night and this morning?” I asked lecherously, and he laughed.
“Not quite. Here.”
He grabbed a cupcake from the table and handed it to me as my mouth dropped open.
There, nestled on top of the frosting, was the most magnificent diamond ring I had ever seen twinkling back at me.
I looked up at Jack in shock and tried to get my wits about me.
“Awe man! You ruined the cupcake,” I breathed with a snarky little snort only a moment before I felt tears stinging my eyes.
Oh my God! He wanted to marry me!
“Cute,” he said, pulling the ring from the frosting and setting the cupcake back on the table. He licked the frosting from the platinum and took my hand. “Lacy Anne Cooper. Will you do me the extreme honor of becoming my wife?”
I restrained myself long enough that I actually let him finish asking me before throwing myself into his arms and blubbering like an idiot.
“Yes!” I cried.
He leaned back and kissed me before slipping the ring on my finger.
“You have just made me the happiest man on earth. I love you, Sweetheart.”
“I love you, Jack.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him for all I was worth.
He had come into my life and blew it all to hell in the most amazing way, and I knew I would spend eternity absolutely, completely, and stupidly in love.
He groaned miserably as he broke our kiss and sighed. “I hate to do this, but I really have to get dressed and get to that meeting, but I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can, and we’ll celebrate then.”
I lifted my brow and eyed the cupcake sitting on the nightstand. “Red velvet?” I asked.
“Now, would it be anything else?” he laughed.
The Shadow and the Sugar Bean
Marj W. Ivancic
Chapter One
The limousine pulle d up to the curb in front of The Adriatic. While the engine idled, Sokach closed his eyes, focusing his senses on the world beyond the blacked-out windows. His magic reached out, its tentacles sliding over the people milling about the store fronts and trekking along the sidewalk. It wove its threads through the parked and moving cars, wafting over everyone, even the dogs on leashes at their owner’s side, tasting for threats, for anything out of the ordinary.
These were dangerous times. One didn’t just hop out of the safety of a warded car without care. Not when someone was making a play against his queen. So far, there hadn’t been any direct attacks, but who knew when that would change, and they’d find themselves in the middle of an all-out war.
Certain that only mortals surrounded them, Sokach pulled his power back and opened his eyes. Across from him in the limo, Morana waited, one arm resting on crossed legs, the other on the door latch. “All good?”
He nodded.
Exiting the vehicle first, Sokach stood to the side as Morana unfurled her tall frame from the car. She swept past him, drawing looks of awe as she sliced through the crowd like the cold blade that she was – the Goddess of the Underworld, the Mistress of Winter. The White Death.
He followed her into the restaurant, then upstairs, saying to Tonći as they passed him, “Let Velimir know the Queen has arrived.”
In her office, Morana sat down behind the large mahogany desk, smoothing her waist-length gilt hair.
Sokach took roost in his usual place to her right, two paces behind – a position of protection and intimidation. He folded his hands before him and settled in to wait for his half-brother.
Silence gave way to the impatient tattoo of fingers drumming wood.
A breeze floated in through the bank of open windows at Sokach’s back, carrying in the scents of the city – exhaust fumes, garbage, the stench of too many humans living in too small a space.
A quick knock, and the door opened to admit Velimir. He strode forward, the plush oriental carpet dulling the thud-scrape-thud cadence of his limp.
Sokach returned the nod his younger brother tossed his way.
“Well?” Morana asked when Velimir stood before her, her voice tight.
With a finger, Velimir pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. “Dragić. Again.”
“Damn it!” Morana slammed a fist on to the desk, rattling the crystal vase of roses on it. “How many souls did he get this time?”
“Three.”
With a snarl, she shot up from the chair, planted her hands on the
desktop. “Three more and we’re no closer to finding him. He’s still nothing more than a rumor.”
From his vantage point, Sokach could see that her claws were out. Their sharp points raked the wood of the desk, marring the smooth surface.
“He targets different points in the delivery chain across all the organizations,” Velimir explained. “Never the same place twice, making it impossible to predict where he’ll strike next. He’s like a wraith; his magic is powerful.”
“Of course he’s powerful! He’s feeding off my souls. MY souls!” Morana thumped her chest with a fist. “You’re my right hand, why can’t you figure this out? Are you beginning to lose your touch? Or have you finally met your match?”
Velimir’s chin lifted and his nostrils flared. “I’ve overseen every interrogation. No one is talking, either because they know nothing, or they fear Dragić more than you—”
Morana hissed, and the temperature in the room plummeted with her displeasure. The water in the vase turned to ice and frost crystals climbed the rose stems and petals. Fog formed on the windows where cold air met warm glass. “They fear him more than me?”
Velimir said nothing.
Dragić posed the greatest threat to Morana’s empire since the Judean.
What had started out of little consequence – a soul here, another there, disappearing from Morana’s offering coffers – soon graduated from petty theft to a blatant challenge to her rule. Not only did the numbers of stolen souls shoot up, but Dragić had recently begun picking off daemon guardians and stealing their powers as well.
Who or what was he?
Where did he come from?
Where was he now?
What was his plan?
No one could answer any of those questions.
But Dragić needed to be dealt with. Soon. Continued failure was not an option.
With a frustrated shake of her head, Morana returned to her seat, sinking back into the leather. An orb of artic-blue fire appeared in her right hand. “Call a meeting of the Heads,” she said, rolling the sparking ball around in her palm. “It’s time they answer for their people.”
The sound of a rumbling muffler caught Sokach’s attention.
A junkyard escapee of a delivery truck rumbled down the main street below. Painted a ridiculous shade of blue that reminded him of women’s eyeshadow in the 70’s, the gaudy contraption was impossible to look away from. Like a child at a parade, he turned, following its progress.
Sinfully Delicious: Six Scintillating Stories of Sweets, Treats, and Happily Ever Afters Page 21
