“Yes. And this place is perfect.” I tore my gaze from a slide show of weddings with glowing brides and happy grooms taking vows beneath a canopy of stars. Grabbing Jerry’s hands I looked into his eyes and showed him my thoughts. I wanted this, wanted him. And I didn’t doubt it was time to make this happen.
“I’ll call them and confirm.” Richard had his arm around Flo. “As best man it’s the least I can do. Look at them, Florence. They’re actually acting like a happy couple.”
“Yes. I am thrilled.” Flo touched a cocktail napkin to her eyes. “I’m going to throw you a shower that will drown you in presents, mia amica. What kind you want? Lingerie? Or more practical things? I lived with you, remember? Your towels? Rags, I say.”
“We’re running out of time, you know. But that’s a sweet thought.” I let go of Jerry’s hand. Richard had stepped away from the table and was on the phone. I was surprised the venue was open this late but I guess if they were hosting a wedding tonight, they would be.
“I’ll manage. Make a guest list and leave the rest to me.” Flo typed something on the computer, and I had to admit I was surprised she even used one. “I’m going on-line now. You must register everywhere. Have you done it?”
“Uh, no.” I glanced around to make sure no mortals could hear us. “I mean what does a vampire need? Dishes? Certainly not pots and pans. It seems silly--”
“Silencio! Nothing about marrying your soulmate is silly. Am I right, Jeremiah?” She gave Jerry a look that dared him to disagree.
“No, of course not. This is going to be the most important night of my life.” He kissed my lips.
“Jerry!” I had to admit I’d been hanging back, letting him see to details I should have been more involved with. “It’s important to me too. Thank you. I’m sure it will be perfect.” I touched his cheek, savoring the texture of his evening beard.
“It will be if I have anything to do with it.” Jerry’s smile worried me. I knew that look. He was up to something. “I have another surprise for you, Gloriana. Look.” Jerry got to his feet. “Here he comes now.”
When I saw who was sauntering up the stairs, I poked Jerry in the arm. “You didn’t!”
“Oh, yes, I did. Meet your wedding singer.” Jerry rubbed his bicep though I knew he considered my feeble hit a love tap. “Ow. I think you bruised me.”
“Good.” I met the man at the top of the stairs. “Ray! Why...?”
Israel Caine, nickname Ray, pulled me into a hug that turned Jerry’s grin into a frown. “Why am I here? How could I miss your wedding? I have to be there in case you come to your senses and decide to bolt. I’ll help you get away. We can shift to Tahiti and lie naked on a beach together.” Ray ignored my efforts to put some space between us. “When your fiancé asked me to sing..?” Ray finally let me go with a pat on the butt. “Hey, nothing I like better than singing to you, babe.”
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” Jerry jerked me to his side.
“Oh, no. I love it. It will make the night just perfect.” I sent my man a mental message to let me go. Jerry put out his hands, giving me some space. “You started this and you should have remembered that Israel Caine doesn’t do anything without attitude.”
“You so get me, sweet thing.” Ray grinned and pulled out a chair. His “don’t give a shit” attitude this time didn’t fool me one bit. He was a little steamed, but he wasn’t about to let Jerry see it.
“You don’t have to do this, Ray. I know you’re a busy man.” I knew he wasn’t nursing a broken heart and neither was I. We were friends and had settled that a while back.
“Never too busy for you, Glory girl. If you are determined to marry this throwback to the dark ages, then I’ll sing whenever and whatever you want.” He winked at me, letting me know he was enjoying pulling Jerry’s chain.
“Good to know.” I moved over to stand behind Jerry when he sat down again, my hands firmly on his shoulders. I could feel the tension in them. He was right to be jealous of Ray. What on earth had possessed him to drag the singer into this?
“I say we make it a duet.” Ray sat down and motioned to a waitress. She knew what he liked. Every waitress at N-V was half in love with him and had been since he’d performed there the first time. He and Rafe weren’t best buds, but since Ray had made Austin one of his homes, he liked to try out new songs at this club that catered to vampires. Rafe wasn’t about to turn down good business, and a famous rock star brought in the bucks.
I was Ray’s mentor. It had taken him a long time to come to terms with the vampire life since he’d been turned against his will. Now he was mentoring his own fledgling vampire. Payback was a bitch as they say.
“A duet? Maybe. Is Sienna still in town? A duet with her would be better. As the bride I’ll be pretty busy.” I settled into my chair again since Jerry had calmly picked up his drink and hadn’t made a move for one of his knives. Sienna Star was the new vampire Ray was now responsible for. I’d turned her, but Ray had accidentally drained her. That had left him stuck with her as far as I was concerned. I hated making new vampires and Sienna hadn’t exactly embraced her new role, not without causing problems.
“Yes, she’s here. And giving me fits. She’d still like nothing better than to out all vampires. If the label hadn’t threatened to pull her next album, I’m afraid she’d already have had a press conference about it.” Ray leaned back in his chair. “You’re right. I should bring her to the wedding. Work up a duet with her.”
He smiled as the waitress set his glass in front of him. No alcohol for him, he was a recovering alcoholic. At least I hoped he was still on the wagon. I casually picked up his glass and sniffed.
“Hey, you don’t have to do that. I’m still clean. Sienna’s giving me enough shit that I need a clear head.”
I relaxed and handed him back the drink, synthetic blood and the highest quality. “Sorry. You know I worry about you.”
“Can we get on with our plans?” Jerry practically growled. “Gloriana certainly doesn’t need to sing at her own wedding. Caine, you and Sienna Star doing a duet. Perfect. Right, darling?” He slung his arm around me in a death grip.
“Yes. I’ll have enough to worry about that night. I have to look as good as possible and then there are those out-of-town guests to entertain.” I grimaced. “Flo, what are you doing?”
“Registering you. Give me a color for the bathrooms. And bedroom linens. This is such fun.” Her eyes were shining. “Ricardo, I think I divorce you and we do it again. Marry. I didn’t register last time. I want to do this.”
“No, darling. You’re stuck with me.” Richard was grinning as he put away his phone. “We have New Year’s Day at eleven pm. Now you can order invitations. I’ll email you the details, Gloriana.”
“Stick with neutrals, Flo. Sheets too. No satin.” I glanced at Ray, some memories surfacing. “Too slippery.”
“Neutrals are boring. Ricardo, you love my pink sheets, don’t you?” Flo teased her husband as she filled in a bridal registration for me. I just sat back and listened. Ray was goading Jerry, suggesting songs that he knew my Scot would hate sung at his wedding. One was “Glory Girl”, a song Ray had written just for me. If Ray even hinted that he and I had been together once… I’d never told Jerry about that. My nerves suddenly got the best of me.
“Stop it! I don’t even know the difference between a fingertip towel and a hand towel. And who cares whether it’s ecru or beige? You’re right, Flo, they’re both boring but I can’t make a decision right now. Ray, sing something romantic. You should know what I like. And quit trying to make Jerry pull out one of his knives.” I jumped up. “Come on, Flo. Ladies room. Now.” Marriage. I’d run from it for four hundred years. Why? I don’t know. Fear of monogamy forever? I wasn’t a slut but the idea suddenly sounded overwhelming. The four of them stared at me when I grabbed Flo’s arm.
“But I’m only halfway done, amica.”
“Looks like a case of nerves to me. Second thoughts, Glory?” Ray c
huckled. Oh, hell, he’d put this on Jerry and there’d be a fight. I didn’t care. I needed to talk to Flo.
“Flo has lipstick on her teeth. And we need to talk about colors before she commits on this registry. It’s an important decision. Right, Flo?”
She didn’t hear me. She was scrubbing her front teeth with her index finger.
“How long? Oh, I hate to see anyone with lipstick on a tooth. It is so ugly.” Flo kept muttering as she let me drag her with me.
At the bottom of the stairs, I finally let go. “Not the ladies room. Rafe’s office. I can see he’s at the bar with Lacy. Come on.” Flo just followed me through the crowd on the dance floor to where I knew Rafe kept a soundproof office. I could feel her studying me. The lipstick story had obviously not held up when she’d seen her finger come away clean.
“Is not nerves, is it, Glory?” she said as soon as I closed us both inside. “You love Jeremiah. I know you are ready to marry him.”
“Yes, I am. But I want you there, by my side.” I grabbed her shoulders and shoved her into a chair. I was telling the truth. I was actually ready for monogamy. But this Flo thing? I couldn’t just sit around drinking and picking out linens when I had a life and death issue unresolved.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Flo dragged my hand off of her. “You almost ripped my dress.”
“Sorry.” I paced the floor in front of her. Straight talk. That was the only way to deal with this. “Did someone contact you about your necklace? The one that belonged to Marie Antoinette?”
“What? How do you know..?” She looked up from examining her sleeve. Okay so I’d gotten a little rough. But I hadn’t ripped anything. “Did that Cisneros say something?” She jumped up, bumping into me because I was standing too close. “He’s a hit man. Have they put out a contract on me? Madre de Dios!” She crossed herself and began speaking rapid Italian.
“Slow down. Speak English. Obviously you know what I’m talking about.” I sank into one of the two leather chairs across from Rafe’s messy desk.
“Of course I do. These people. They call me. Don’t ask how they get my number. It is unlisted.” She threw up her hands, muttering more Italian. “Non é importante. Anyway, they call me. Start making demands. Like I have to give up my beautiful necklace that Ricardo paid good money for.” She sank into the chair next to me. “I tell you. Why should I listen to them?”
“Because now they want to kill you, Flo.” I grabbed her hand. “Miguel is trying to go straight. Give up the killing game. But they didn’t know that. Apparently they just knew he was the go-to guy in this area of the country and he has a,” I swallowed, sick at the thought of what this meant, “good reputation for getting the job done. Anyway, they contacted him when you wouldn’t play ball. They put out the contract. As a favor to me, he said he’d look into it.”
“You mean he took their money.” Flo gripped my hand until I had to pry away her fingers. She was hurting me. Couldn’t blame her.
“He’s trying to help me save your life, buddy. Listen to me. The first thing we have to do is return that damned necklace.”
“No.” Her mouth was set in a firm line. “They have no claim. I knew Marie. She got the necklace as a gift from an admirer. The Maurys must have sold it to him. Now they want it back? Too bad for them.”
“No, Flo. Too bad for you. I’d say the admirer must have stolen it. The man who sold it to you wasn’t supposed to let it go. He’s been, uh, punished.”
“Saul? What have they done to him? I have been buying jewels from him for years.” For the first time Flo actually looked upset. “He is a kind man. I forced him to sell to me. Once I saw the piece… Well, I remembered it. Had to have it. Marie and I were friends. Yes, she was silly, but had a kind heart. What they did to her… It has haunted me.” She looked around and grabbed a paper towel from a stack next to the door to dab at her eyes. “So long ago. You’d think I’d get used to losing my mortal friends.”
“Focus, Flo. I don’t like losing friends either. But be sensible. Give the necklace back. It’s only a thing. It certainly doesn’t bring your friend back. And it might not satisfy these people either since you’ve really pissed them off.”
Flo tossed down the wadded up towel. “Well, they’ve pissed me off too.” She took a steadying breath, her eyes blazing as she jumped to her feet. “Are they vampire? I’d like to see them come after me themselves. Hiding behind hit men. Pah! We will see how brave they are. I call Saul. See if he is okay. I take revenge if he is not.”
“Are you going to tell Richard about this?” I knew I would if she didn’t. Surely he’d talk some sense into her.
Flo narrowed her gaze on me. “Why do you ask? The necklace is mine. You make a big deal about independence. Am I right? Should I run to Ricardo with my little problem?”
“It’s not a little problem. And Richard could help us solve it. Get real, Flo. We have to appease these ruthless people. What’s all this talk about revenge? For a pawn shop owner in Paris? You have to save your own butt first, girlfriend. Don’t you get that?”
“Us? It is not us in trouble, Glory. It is me. Stay out of it. I will take care of the matter.” She stomped to the door and kicked it. The fact that she was probably damaging her high-heeled boots was evidence that she was truly upset. “I appreciate the warning. I do. But I am not returning the necklace. Tell your friend Miguel, the hitman, to deliver that message to those people. And, if you are truly my friend, you will not breathe a word of this to Ricardo. Are we agreed?”
“I can’t--” The look in her eyes stopped me cold. My happy Italian had a dark side and I didn’t want to mess with her.
“As for that pawn shop owner. I know him a long time, tu mi capisci? He has earned my trust and my loyalty. If you were in trouble, I do the same. Help you or get revenge if I am too late.” Flo suddenly reached out and pulled me to her chest. “You came to me. I love you for it. Now stay away. Let me handle it. I will not die. No worry,” She pulled back, pasted on a fake smile and took a shuddery breath.
“I can’t just turn that worry off, Flo. This is a big deal.” I blinked back tears I couldn’t allow myself to shed.
“I know. I will figure it out. Now you must show that you are still a good actress. We cannot let the men know we have a problem.” She muttered something in Italian, pulled a lipstick out her purse and expertly drew it across her lips. “There. Now we must go back.” She jerked open the door. “Come, smile. You are a good friend but you cannot tell me what to do.”
I shook my head then staggered back to the chair. I wasn’t ready to follow her yet, a smile was beyond me. There had to be another way to deal with this. I just wished I knew what it was. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Yes, I did have his number. And what did that say about me? A hit man on speed dial. Shit.
Chapter Four
“What’s going on with you and Florence?” Jerry and I were lying in his big king-sized bed. He’d made love to me until I was boneless. Now I needed to get dressed and go to the shop. We were living at his house until the apartment was ready. I had two things on my list tonight that I had to accomplish--order wedding invitations and pick out a costume for the Winter Solstice Ball. For some reason both those decisions overwhelmed me, so I’d stalled getting out of bed and enjoyed some alone time with Jerry instead.
“I don’t know what you mean.” I decided I’d better get in the shower. I couldn’t discuss Flo’s situation with Jerry. He’d tell Richard and then the rift between Flo and me would be even wider.
“Come on, you two were together every night planning for the wedding until we met the other night at N-V. Then you dragged her downstairs and she hasn’t called or come around since.” Jerry rolled over and watched me gather up the clothes he’d dropped on the way to bed and start hanging them up.
“We had a little disagreement. She’s bossy. You saw her registering me, us, like she was the bride.” I couldn’t look at Jerry while I made up this excuse. “It’s my wedding. Right? She was
trying to take over. I finally told her to back off. Give me some space.” I stepped into the walk-in closet so he couldn’t see that I was near tears. I hated lying to him but the truth wasn’t an option. I threw his shirt into a hamper and found a hanger for his jeans. My clothes took up a small section of the huge walk-in. It was a symbol of how our lives were so unequal. Jerry had so much and I’d bring so little to our marriage. The tears that were so near the surface lately threatened to fall. Pity party. I was so ready to toot the horn and toss the confetti.
“I thought you two were having fun together.” Jerry stood right behind me, his hands sliding around my waist. “You sure you’re not just nervous about the wedding? Is it bothering you that my folks are coming?”
“Of course it is.” I whirled around and buried my face in his warm strong chest. God, but I loved the smell and feel of him. His strength. Just having him hold me made everything feel more…manageable. “Your mother hates me. She’s going to try to ruin this wedding if she can.”
“Gloriana, settle down.” Jerry smoothed my back, his touch calming me as it always did. “Mum will not do a damned thing to ruin our night. I’ll see to it. I’ve talked to her and let her know how important this is to me. She will put on a happy smile and be gracious or, by God, I’ll never speak to her again.” He lifted my chin so I could see his eyes and read his mind. “Do you believe me?”
“Yes.” I kissed him then, deeply, tasting him and savoring the delicious connection we had. “Thank you, Jer. I know how much family means to you.”
“You are my family, Gloriana. Now and forevermore. You can take that as my vow. Whether it is in front of a preacher and our friends or not.” He was deadly serious and I loved him more than I ever had.
“Jerry.” I pulled him down to the floor, desperate to have him again. Would I ever tire of the feel of his hard body against mine? I couldn’t imagine it.
He touched me in all the places he knew drove me wild. I kissed a path down his strong chest to the burgeoning proof that he wanted me as much as I did him. I pushed him back and took him into my mouth, drawing him deep inside as I squeezed his sacs and breathed in his essence. He was mine, eager to prove that he would have no other. It gave me a power that made me stroke him faster, with a rougher touch. Then I bit deep into the vein at his upper thigh. His blood was warm, salty and like heaven to me. His shout of pleasure made my own satisfaction double, triple, until I quivered with it. I needed… more. So I turned until he could use his clever mouth on me. Oh, God, but he knew me. He held me in place, his tongue just where he could bring me to crest after crest.
Real Vampires Take a Bite Out of Christmas Page 4
