Stanley: Dalton’s Kiss Book 2 (Dalton's Kiss)

by Kathi S. Barton

  “What kind of projects are you thinking about? I’m betting very few of them will have a skill that will get them a good job.” Lizzy said she knew that Jefferson Aims had been a roofer, and his brother had been a house painter. “You want to start a construction type of job for them to work? I like that idea, but how many people around here are going to be thrilled about having an ex-con in their homes?”

  “I think we could start them off with the empty buildings we’re going to be using for the larger pantry area. As well as the deconstruction of the two buildings that have been marked for tearing down.” They were both nodding like they were thinking it might work when she continued. “We’ll have others around the town come in too and show them a job skill. Not something that would be too complicated at first, but something like hanging wallpaper. Laying bricks for a patio. Things that would keep them busy, but not be like a menial job that would bore them too quickly. Also, I’m thinking if we can work this out, we’ll have more people want to use them in their homes when they realize how much they can do.”

  “You’ve put a lot of thought into this. I’m liking it so far.” Lizzy smiled at Gwyneth. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to endorse it. I need more details for that to happen. I no more want anyone else hurt than I do you. But I want to be sure that when putting these men into a situation where there will be items lying about to fence, they won’t be tempted.”

  “I understand.” As she handed them both a copy of what sort of skills she thought could be taught, she also mentioned that Bret couldn’t read. “That would be something that can be taught to him. It must be really frustrating for him to not be able to read a want ad. Not to mention being able to fill out an employment application.”

  They talked for three hours. Not just on her project, which she was going to get help with, but also two that Kelly had going. The food pantry wasn’t resolved yet, but she knew they’d be getting back to it before they left. One thing she was learning from these women was that they didn’t like to leave things open. Neither did she.

  “I’ve got an idea about the food pantry. It won’t work for perishables at first, things that need to be cold, but what if we turned a bus, like a school bus, into a traveling grocery store? It would have in it the basic needs, as well as a few extras.” Gwyneth asked how that would work. “You mean, how would we take it? I don’t know that yet, but I can see ripping out all the seats in one and putting in shelves. I don’t even think that would be too difficult to have done. Your two guys could more than likely figure that out. But we’d fill it up and take it to the houses that have requested help. Even if there are special needs, such as baby food or diapers, we could have those packed away as well.”

  “I love that. Not only would they be able to get just what they can use, but they’d be able to get enough for their families. That’s perfect, Kelly.” As they continued on that project, they realized they’d need two buses—one for people to get into town for doctors’ appointments and to go to the pharmacy. “If we could arrange for them to have their appointments lined up on the same day, it wouldn’t have to be run daily. We could use it on other days for things like you were saying, kids and infant needs.”

  By the time they were ready to leave the restaurant, they were ready to start several things. She had an appointment to speak to the judge in the morning, and she hoped he’d see that what she was proposing was something that was going to help not just these two men, but a lot of families in the area.

  Remy was waiting for her when she pulled into their driveway. She excitedly told him about everything they’d figured out, and he was just as excited as she was for it. He told her that he even knew how to drive a bus. He didn’t think it would cost all that much, as she’d thought, to renovate one in the way they needed.

  “You’re a brilliant woman. I need to tell you that more often.” He pulled her onto his lap and held her. “While I have you here, there are a couple of things I forgot to tell you about myself. First of all, I’m a lord. That would make you a lady. Also, I have a castle.”

  “What?” Remy smiled at her and repeated what he’d said about them being a lord and lady. “You know that’s not what I mean. What do you mean, you have a castle? A real honest to goodness castle?”

  “Yes.” He frowned at her jokingly. “Is there any other kind of castle? I mean, do you know of a— Ouch, that hurt!”

  “I’m going to pinch you harder next time if you don’t stop teasing me. Where is this said castle?” He told her it was in the south of France. “Is it something that can be lived in? I mean, is it in good enough shape that we could go there and spend some leisure time? It’s not a crumbling mess of a castle, is it?”

  Laughing, he told her it was in great shape the last time he saw it, which was only a couple of years ago. He explained to her it was furnished too, but he didn’t know the condition of the furniture.

  “What made you remember it?” He said he’d been going over his books. “Do you own a lot of places? I mean, I do own a few, more now, thanks to Richardson, but do you have a lot?”

  “No more than I told you about already.” She kissed him and leaned back on his chest. “How would you like to go there and be a lady of the castle?”

  “That would be great, but I’d really like to be able to get things settled around here first.” She told him all the things she had to get going on. “If you help me, I’ll get done twice as fast.”

  “No, you won’t. You’ll just have more time to think of something else that needs to be done. I’m willing to help you with anything you have going on. You know that.” He was right, and she loved him for it. “I’m going to arrange for us to be there in the new year. That way, it will be a good visit where we can have a fire in the huge fireplace and have a long rest.”

  “All right. In the new year, then.” She turned and looked at him. “What about the holidays? Do you guys do anything together to celebrate?”

  “Nothing I can think of. I’m sure that when we were younger, we did have something with Christmas, but not Thanksgiving. I don’t know why, but we just never celebrated that particular day.” Lizzy asked him if he’d mind if they invited some of the townspeople to their home for food. “No. That sounds wonderful. Is that what you did before you were changed?”

  “I did, yes. When I was in the orphanage, all of us would be invited to homes to be able to celebrate with a family. It didn’t work out as well as any of us thought it would. I’m not being ungrateful, but the children, if there were any, hated us being there. The adults would sometimes use us as servants for a party they were holding, pointing out how they had brought the homeless to their house for the day. It was something I avoided until I left there.” He told her he was sorry. “Me too. But when I have people over, there is an open buffet, so no one is having to serve anyone. The food is made by my staff, and they enjoy it as well with their families.”

  “Great. I like that idea.” He kissed her again before setting her aside and getting up. “Now I’d like nothing more than to take you to our bedroom and make you scream a few hundred times. You all right with that?”

  “I’ll race you.”

  She was nearly up the stairs when he grabbed her from behind. When he flipped her over his shoulder, she was laughing too hard to breathe. As soon as Remy tossed her on the bed, she reached for him. There was never a person she loved more than she did Remy.

  Chapter 7

  Remy could spend hours touching Lizzy and still find new places on her that he’d missed. Her skin was silky smooth, and there was not a flaw anywhere on her. Even the mark at her throat that deemed her claimed was beautiful. When she laid out for him, naked as she was now, all he could think about was that she was his forever.

  “You have the most wonderful hands, Remy. They’re not soft and smooth, but rough and strong. When you massage my muscles, it feels like heaven.” He moved his hands up her leg to her as
s. “Yes, that’s wonderful.”

  Kissing the firm muscle, he massaged her. Moans coming from her made his cock hard, but he wasn’t in a hurry like he usually was. There were times he’d be so ready there wasn’t much time for foreplay. Not that she ever complained, but he wanted this to be all about her.

  Remy worked each muscle before he moved on to the next one. When she seemed as relaxed as he could make her, that was when he’d move on to the next set. She was like putty in his hands by the time he made his way to her feet, a place he knew she liked him to massage.

  “I’m not sure why you wear heels, love. They make your legs look sexy as hell, but they’re not wonderful on your feet. You’re abusing them.” If she said anything, he didn’t understand it. Instead of asking her again, he kissed her calf and played with her toes. “When you’re big with our child, I’m going to pamper your feet and then paint your toenails for you. That would be so sexy to me.”

  “I want to have your child, Remy. I think us having a baby would be perfect.” Rolling her to her back, he kissed his way up her leg to her knee. “I’m going to be limp as an overcooked noodle if you keep this up.”

  He didn’t stop, but made his way up her thigh to her belly and licked her navel. She tasted ripe to him, like a peach that was ready to fall from the tree. Remy didn’t stop with just her belly but moved up her body to her breasts.

  The peaks of her nipples were his favorite part, the way they stood stiff for him to suckle. He loved to lick them then blow his breath over her. Suckling one of them into his mouth, he slid his hands down her belly to her pussy and slid inside of her.

  Her quick climax brought a smile to his face. Lizzy was so responsive that he loved it when she seemed to be caught off guard when he made her release. Her cries fueled him in some way that made him want more. When he kissed his way down to her pussy, she stiffened in anticipation of him tasting her.

  She was soaking wet for him. Her pussy gave off a scent that would drive him over the edge of reason. Drinking from her, licking her, Remy thought that he could easily live off her nectar for the rest of his life if he had to. Lizzy was everything and more that he’d ever wanted in a mate.

  Every time she came, he would lap her up. Each time he touched her, sliding his fingers deep into her, she’d beg him to stop. He knew she didn’t want him to stop but really wanted more. Remy gave her all he could before he was ready to have his own fulfillment.

  “Please, take me.” He assured her that he was. “I need you. I want everything you have. Please, Remy. Take me.”

  Filling her was easy as she was so wet and ready for him. Even as he moved in and out of her, slow at first, then quicker, Lizzy held onto to him as he took her. Her eyes, dark with passion, seemed to look into his soul as she moved with him.

  Moving his hand to beneath her ass, he pulled her closer. Her legs wrapped tightly around his hips until she was taking him as deeply as he could go. When she bent up, nearly double, she dug her nails deep into his flesh until he felt the trickle of blood slide down his back. Remy offered her his throat.

  The bite was what brought him over. Remy joined her in a release that had them both crying out, their bodies so tight together it was difficult to see where he ended, and she began. As she came a second time, he licked her throat. As he did the same to her, biting her deeply, Lizzy came screaming out his name as he came twice more before falling atop her.

  He rolled to his back, pulling her with him. As she laid over him, he knew she was awake because she ran her fingers up and down his chest. Remy pulled her up to him so he could seal her wounds as she did the same for him. Neither of them seemed to be in any kind of hurry to either get up or move onto the bed deeper to rest.

  “I’ve been thinking of you all day.” He kissed the top of her head as she continued. “This morning, when I got up, I thought of you out somewhere working, and it thrilled me to no end that you trusted me enough to be there when you needed me.”

  “I love you. And needing you around is something I never thought I’d have. You’re perfect.” She looked up at him. “You’re also the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”

  “Are you buttering me up for something?” He laughed when she did. “I went to the bank today. The bank manager was so grateful to us for helping out with the failed robbery that he was nearly falling all over himself, trying to be helpful. The box we were to open the day of the robbery attempt had another key in it.” She rolled to her back, and he leaned up on his side to look at her. “Before I was able to get to the stuff we were supposed to be getting, I had to open five boxes before I got to the one that had gems in it. A great deal of them. Not only that but jewelry as well.”

  “Did you leave it there?” She got up and pulled a large case out from under the bed. Opening it, Remy could only stare at the contents. “This was in one safety deposit box?”

  “No. It was in four. I stopped after the case was full. I don’t know how many more there are. Each one I opened had some gems in it, as well as a key with a number on it. I was actually terrified to go on looking.” Remy pulled out what looked to him like a necklace of rubies. They were dark with age and strung together with a gold chain. “There is one like that in emeralds as well. I don’t know what to do with all this. I mean, I have a feeling some of it might belong to some great family estate.”

  “I don’t want to tell you it doesn’t, but I don’t remember anyone ever claiming to have had a necklace like this taken from them.” He pulled out another piece of jewelry. “This is beautiful. I think it would look amazing around your neck with nothing else on you.”

  Lizzy rolling her eyes at him made him laugh. But when she reached into the bag and pulled out a ring, he couldn’t believe it had been just sitting in a safety deposit box for all this time without anyone claiming it.

  “Do you think we should get some of this appraised?” He said he didn’t know. “Yeah, me either. I mean, as soon as we put it out there that we have some of this stuff, people are going to come out of the woodwork claiming it was stolen from them. What are you thinking about?”

  “Nothing. I mean, other than the beauty of all these items, there isn’t another thought in my head.” He looked at her and smiled. “I know of a vampire that might be able to help us out with this. He’s one of the friends coming here to visit for a while. I’ll contact him if I can. He’ll be able to tell us if this is stolen or not. And if it belongs to some estate that is still looking for it. His name is Clyde. Bancroft might know how to reach him better than I will. What will you do if it turns out that some of this belongs to someone else?”

  “Turn it over to them.” He nodded and said that was what he’d do too. “There is something else I found in the box that you should know about. It’s a couple of knives. I didn’t bring them out for fear of being caught with them. They’re beautiful, bejeweled and sharp. I can see some medieval queen having them at her waist as a decoration, as well as something she’d know how to use. I haven’t any idea why that thought popped into my head when I saw them, but it was all I could think about.”

  “Then it more than likely is just where they came from. I don’t know that Richardson was old enough to have been around during those times, but we were. Bancroft and I fought beside a lot of kings and queens. I’m not saying it was fun, but it certainly wasn’t boring.” He thought about his armor. “You know, I have a few pieces of history I’d like to bring here. They’re in the castle, but they’d be perfect for a conversation piece for this house.”

  “I’d love that.” He nodded and laid back on the headboard. “Well, what should I do with this? I don’t feel good about leaving it here in the house, but I don’t want it in the bank either. The other day proved they’re not as safe as I would hope they’d be.”

  “I agree. But we could have a safe put in here. In fact, it might not be such a bad idea anyway. With us both being vampires, it will be good
to have a place to store things we’d like to keep from prying eyes.” Lizzy told him she had a gun safe in the basement. “That’s good. But I’m thinking bigger. Like a place where we can store a great many things we’ll collect from now on.”

  Remy put all the things they’d removed from the case back into it. He thought having it under the bed was probably a good idea. Who would think that a fortune of gems and jewelry would be just lying around like that? He took out the ring he’d fallen in love with and put it in his pocket.

  In the morning, they were going to be married. After that, they were going to start on the buses. He didn’t know how many they were going to need; the number grew by the hour. But he’d do whatever was needed just to make Lizzy happy. She’d told him earlier that the bus garage was donating a bus to them.

  “We have to buy a brand new bus for them to replace it, which I think is stupid being that we could use a new one too. But the band hasn’t a bus to carry their equipment back and forth to games. They’re renting one of those big trucks to do it now, and it’s eating into their profits.” He said he had seats at the games, but he’d never gone to any. “I love football. We’ll go the next time they’re home. I know Gwyneth has donated a truckload of drinks for them to sell at the games. She’s a softy for kids, I think.”

  “She is. When we were young vampires, she’d take the six of us out see a play. It wasn’t anything like it is now, but we all enjoyed it. She and her husband were always helping out around town. And she sort of took the six of us under her wing when we needed someone to talk to.” Lizzy said she could see her doing that. “I don’t think there was a time when she wasn’t there for any of us. After her husband died, she started traveling a great deal. Sometimes she’d take some of us with her, other times she’d take just one or two of us. It was always an adventure with her.”

  “I love her too. Kelly is such a nice person, but she can be really firm when she needs to be.” Lizzy told him about the lunch they’d had recently. “She was so nice to the staff there. I think she tipped them all before we left. That’s the kind of person I’d like to be someday. I’m too mean for it, however.”