by V. A. Dold
She bent to kiss his forehead. The instant her lips touched his flesh, he stirred.
He caught her hand and pulled her onto the bed. “Willa? Are you okay? What happened? Did Ivan get away? How did I get here? The last thing I remember is a net falling on me.”
“Here’s the short version. Ivan stabbed my leg. It hurt like a mother but healed almost immediately. Other than that, I wasn’t really hurt. Ivan dropped a silver net on you and then stabbed you a bunch of times which really pissed me off. But I think it pissed off Queen Lilli even more. That little faerie is badass.”
His brows popped. “Lillie was there?”
“Yeah, she came out of nowhere and froze everyone but me and then bitch slapped Ivan. She had a few words to say to him about cheating and then disappeared the net. This next part is hard to say. I hope you won’t hate me, but I’ll understand if you do.”
Etienne smoothed her hair back. “Baby, I could never hate you.”
She hesitated, chewing her lip. “Ouch! Crap that hurt.” She swept her tongue across the puncture, Etie focused intently on the motion. Before he could kiss her and scramble her brain she blurted, “I killed Ivan for what he did to you and your family.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“Hell, I’m not. Damn woman, you are the badass. You could give Lilli a run for her money.”
Willa snorted. “I doubt that. She’s scary powerful.”
“That she is. So how did I get here, and what time is it?”
“Seth was called in to heal you. A couple of times actually. Darius carried you out of the warehouse to an SUV and then lugged you up here. He and Xander helped me bathe you so you wouldn’t wake up covered in dried blood.”
Etienne nodded as she spoke. “I’m so sorry you had to be the one to kill my bastard of a brother. Lord knows he needed killing, but it should have been me.”
Willa cupped his face, shaking her head. “He cheated. He rigged that net so that when you were under it, he could drop it on you and incapacitate you. In hindsight, I realized that Ivan directed the entire fight to draw you into position under the net. If you stepped back or forward away from the drop zone, he left himself open just enough to draw you back where he wanted you. He knew he couldn’t beat you by fair means. He needed to incapacitate you.
“After you were down, he stabbed you over and over until you were so bloody I couldn’t tell where the wounds were. He did so much internal damage, it took a lot out of Seth to heal you.”
Etienne gave her a little smile and kissed her nose. “Thank you for saving me.”
“We saved each other.”
“So, what time is it?”
“It’s more like what day. You were out for twenty-four hours.”
“Damn.” Etienne sat up, pulling her along so she was on his lap. “I should go downstairs and meet with the men.”
“Nonsense. They were all there and know exactly what went down. Take a shower. I’ll let them know you’re awake and will be down in a while.”
“A shower sounds wonderful. Food, too. Will you ask Baptiste to make something for me?”
Willa kissed him long and deep. Then she slipped off his lap before he could topple her back to the bed and have his wicked way with her. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Hold on. I have something I want to give you. Would you sit on the bed for a minute? Please?”
Chapter Sixteen
Etienne stood for the first time in twenty-four hours, swayed a little, then steadied himself. He crossed the room to his bureau and pulled the top drawer open. He palmed something before she could see it and came back to stand before her.
“I know this is the least romantic way to do this. I promised you romance and all the trimmings, but after almost losing you, I can’t wait another minute.” He got down on one knee before her, popped the lid of a priceless, seventeenth-century carved wooden box, and held it out to her.
Willa gasped. A smaller, daintier, very feminine version of Etienne’s daylight ring lay nestled in the box.
“Willamina Josephina Donnella Witt, will you make me the happiest man on the planet? Be my partner in this crazy vampire existence? Be my queen? Will you marry me?”
Happy tears ran down her face as she nodded like a loon.
He pulled the temporary daylight ring off her finger and slipped his mother’s ring in place. Then he kissed the ring, her knuckles and finally her lips. “I love you, Willa.”
“I love you, too.”
Etienne swooped her up and swung her in a circle. “I want to get married immediately. Like tomorrow, the next day at the very most.”
“Whoa. Slow down there, vampman. I can’t get a dress and organize a wedding in two days.”
“Sure you can. As my queen, you will wear the queen’s wedding gown. I have that in a box somewhere at the back of my closet. And we have Angelika. That woman can plan a party at the drop of a hat.”
She looked at him skeptically. “I don’t know about that. I’ll tell you what. I’ll talk to Angel. If she says she can pull it off, I’ll agree to your insanity. But I’ll need someone to walk me down the aisle. I’m going to lie my ass off and tell my family that we eloped. I can’t invite them to the wedding. There’s no way I’m telling them about vampires, and if they come to the wedding, someone is bound to flash fangs. No way. I’m not going there.”
Willa got to her feet and started pacing. “Pictures. We will need to go to Vegas and take fake wedding photos to sell the whole elopement thing.”
“That’s easy enough. I have a compound in Las Vegas. We can visit our people there and introduce you. One of the guys in the compound is a professional photographer. He can stage the photos for us.”
“Excellent. Professional photos will really sell it to my mother. That woman has a nose like a hound dog and can smell a lie from a mile away.”
“I suggest we take it a step further. I’ll buy you any designer wedding gown you want. We can host a second reception in Las Vegas for the vampires there and take photos cutting the cake and dancing.”
“That’s brilliant. Okay, but that still doesn’t solve the problem of who is going to give me away.”
“Darius would be honored to escort you.”
She cocked her head and considered that for a moment. “Maybe. What about Richie? He could give me away.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Our wedding is more than a usual affair. I’m the king, and you will be my queen. This is a significant event in the vampire world. Our ceremony will be vampires, immediate family, and our witches only.”
Willa scowled. “I don’t like excluding my friends, but I get it. Okay. Darius, it is. But don’t you dare tell him he was my second choice.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He kissed her again until they were breathless before releasing her. He wrinkled his nose and scrunched up his face. “I smell hideous. I’ll be down shortly. I need to wash off this stink.”
Willa laughed at the funny face he was making. “I’ll be in the library with the boys. Take your time.”
Willa stared at her engagement, slash daylight ring, slash queen’s ring. Every time she turned her hand this way or that the sunstone blazed like there was a living flame inside. The halo of diamonds around the sunstone flashed a rainbow of colors. And the rubies. God, she loved rubies.
She was still admiring the ring when she walked into the library.
Eleven warriors came to their feet the instant she came through the door. This was the first time she had left Etie’s suite since they brought him home. From the tight expressions on their faces, they were all anxious for an update.
A second later, Baptiste skidded into the room.
Before she could open her mouth to speak, Angel squealed and ran at her from across the room. “Holy crap! Is that the queen’s ring?”
Willa glanced up laughing. “Yes. Etienne just asked me to marry him. I said yes, of course. I’m not stupid.”
Angel
grabbed her hand to admire the ring. “Of course, you’re not.”
“Speaking of engagements. This is going to be the shortest in history. I need your help. Etie wants to get married in two days. Can you help me make that happen?”
Angel waved a hand. “Pff. Easy peasy. I thought you were going to give me a real challenge.”
“Great. Let’s talk in a minute.” Willa turned to address the men who were not so patiently waiting. “Etie is perfectly fine. He woke up a little while ago and proceeded to start pushing me around. Why else would I be getting married in two days? The man is a menace.”
Chuckles rumbled around the small crowd.
“He’s in the shower and will be down shortly to speak to all of you. Baptiste, could you fix him something to eat?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Baptiste said with a bow.
“Darius, would you honor me by escorting me down the aisle at the wedding?”
Darius placed his hand over his heart. “You could offer me no greater honor. I look forward to it.”
“Excellent. There’s going to be a ton of things to do if we’re going to pull off this wedding and I’ll need all of you to pitch in. Angelika is in charge and will dole out assignments. Are you all on board?”
“Absolutely,” shouted Xander.
“Whatever you need,” offered Nick.
All eleven heads nodded in agreement.
“Okay. Angel, let’s grab a coffee and come up with a plan.”
Willa smiled as she left the library in search of coffee with Angel when she heard Trey say, “That’s one incredible lady. Etienne is one lucky son of a gun. I’ll be happy if my muierimei is even half as amazing.”
There was a low rumble of agreement amongst the men.
“Our engagement made the society section in the paper,” Etienne announced as they had breakfast together before going their separate ways to dress for the wedding.
Willa paused in the act of pouring creamer into her coffee. “What? How did they find out? You only asked me two days ago.”
He shrugged innocently, his shoulders rising and falling behind the paper he was reading. “Angelika put out a press release.”
Willa frowned at him. “I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal. People get married every day.”
“Yes, but we’re not just people. I’m one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in New Orleans. That makes us news. You might want to stay indoors for a few weeks. There will be reporters skulking about trying to get a picture of the woman who managed to get me to commit.” He hid behind his paper as he said the last part.
“I’m going to kill Angel,” Willa grumbled.
An hour later, Willa turned off the shower in Etienne’s suite at the bayou estate. The wedding was being held there because it offered more room and a yard to host the overflow of guests.
She reached for a towel and promptly knocked her engagement ring, which she had carefully placed on the vanity, into the toilet. “Damn it, I took that off to avoid calcium build up on the stone, and what do I do? I toss it in the shitter.”
Scrunching up her face, she snatched the ring out of the toilet bowl as fast as she could. She rolled her eyes, and mumbled, “as if that would make a difference. Toilet water is toilet water.”
She rinsed it in the sink and promptly took a spare toothbrush and soap to the family heirloom. This was a secret she would take to the grave. No way was she telling Etie she dropped his mother’s ring in the toilet.
She had just wrapped a towel around her head when someone knocked.
“Willa, let us in,” Karen called from the hallway.
Willa drew on her robe and unlocked the door.
“The cavalry has arrived,” Angel announced as she helped Karen carry in a huge box with a makeup case teetering dangerously on top.
Stacy, Tara, Janet, and Jacqueline filed in behind them.
“Prepare to be primped and polished to within an inch of your life,” Carolyn said as she opened the makeup case.
“She should try the dress on first so we can decide how to make her up and do her hair,” Stacy suggested.
Angel pulled the cover off the dress box and pulled out the most magnificent gown Willa had ever seen. “Good point. I should have thought of that.”
The sky-blue color of the plunging neckline and sash complimented the rich, deep gold of the rest of the gown perfectly. The design was much like a modern-day, full-length sheath dress with sleeves only way better.
“That’s… stunning,” Willa said in surprise and moved in for a closer look.
“It glistens,” Tara said, as she stepped closer as well.
Angel carefully smoothed the skirt out. “That’s because it’s made with gold threads woven into the silk fabric.”
Willa gasped and picked up one of the sleeves. “You’re right. I can see the threads. This isn’t what I imagined when Etie told me I was wearing his mother’s gown.”
Angel snorted. “What do you expect a queen to get married in? A dress off the rack at Macy’s? I don’t think so.”
“I guess not,” Janet said in awe as she lightly touched the fabric.
“There’s a veil, too. But that comes later during the ceremony,” Angel said as she gathered the dress to slide it over Willa’s head. “You’re going to have to lose the robe and towel.”
“Oh, hold on. I have the bra and panties in my purse.” Janet pulled out a tiny shopping bag from Victoria’s Secret and proudly presented it to Willa. “These should cover something new.”
“The dress seems to cover everything else. It’s old, borrowed, and has blue on it,” Tara added.
Willa shimmied into the panties and strapless bra, then held up her arms for Angel to slip the dress over her head. The gown was whisper-light and felt like a dream. The fit was perfect, which was welcome but unexpected.
The neckline was a combination of a boat style and V-neck. The look was incredibly flattering and feminine.
“Hold on, I have the jewelry, too.” Angel pulled a long, thin hand-carved wooden case from the bottom of the box.
Gasps erupted when she opened it. An intricate diamond necklace and clip-on chandelier earrings lay on a bed of blue velvet.
“Good grief. The main pendant has to be ten carats,” Karen exclaimed.
“And the entire chain is covered in diamonds, too,” Jacqueline pointed out.
Janet picked up one of the earrings. “These are incredible.”
“Etienne’s mother wore nothing but the very best. His father made sure she had everything her heart desired.” Angel held up the necklace. “Put them on so we can figure out your hair and makeup.”
Willa hesitated for a moment, then turned so Angel could do the honors.
When the earrings and necklace were in place, she turned to look at herself in the full-length mirror. “Holy cow. Is that me?”
Angel grinned at Willa’s reflection in the mirror. “It sure is. You’re gorgeous. Etienne is going to faint when he sees you.”
“I think you should take the dress off until your hair and makeup are done. We don’t want to accidentally stain the fabric,” Tara suggested.
Angel helped Willa out of the dress while the other ladies got busy discussing makeup.
Carolyn pulled out a blow dryer, curling iron, and hairpins. “With that dress and jewelry, her hair should be in an updo. What do you all think?”
They all agreed, and Carolyn got to work.
Twenty minutes later, Carolyn slipped one last hairpin into Willa’s chignon and pronounced her perfection.
Tara and Stacy went to work on Willa’s makeup. Ten minutes later, she looked like a movie star ready for the red carpet.
“Wow, you guys. I look—”
“Beautiful,” Jacqueline stated.
Angel helped her put on the dress again. It was more of a challenge the second time with her hair and makeup done, but they managed.
“Now that’s a queen,” Angel pronounced.
A
quiet knock sounded on the bedroom door and all the women turned. “Is the bride ready?” Darius asked from behind the closed door.
“She sure is. Are the men in place?” Angel called back as she went to let him in.
“Yes. And Etienne is driving me insane. Can we get this show on the road?” Darius caught sight of Willa and stopped dead in his tracks. “Holy Moses! You’re breathtaking.”
Willa smiled, her cheeks warming at his compliment. “Thank you.”
Carolyn chuckled and took Darius’s face in her hands. “Baby, it’s time to go.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He offered Willa the crook of his arm. “Shall we?”
The women hustled to the reserved section at the front of the ballroom. Darius and Willa followed them more slowly to allow them time to take their seats.
The instant they entered the grand ballroom, everyone stood and turned. There was a collective inhale as the guests took her in for the first time.
The ballroom was festooned with flowers, greenery, and fairy lights. Willa felt like she was walking into a secret garden.
Forty vampires, twenty to a side, lined the aisle. Some she knew and some she didn’t. All were dressed in matching old world Romanian formal wear with a jeweled sword and an ornate scabbard at their hip.
As she reached the head of the aisle every one of those forty pulled out their sword and raised it high to create an archway for her to walk through. She didn’t feel an ounce of nervousness. The love of her life was waiting for her with a smile so bright, it rivaled the sun.
Etie was resplendent in his father’s wedding attire. With white slacks, a hand-stitched ornately decorated tunic, an equally lavish sash hugging his waist, and the king’s cloak around his shoulders he was stunning. A long, golden sword hung at his side. The hilt encrusted with precious gems that glistened when he moved. His hair was down and flowing around his shoulders, just the way she liked it. And there was a golden crown set with shimmering sunstones encircling his head.
