Becky’s eyes widened.
“It’s fine. I wouldn’t be here if there was any real threat. It’s just a precaution.”
“You were saying how attracted to you Zane is.”
“Right, I don’t know if he loves me though. Brant is the more difficult one, but I know that it is because he does love me and doesn’t want to share me.” She sighed. “It’s so complicated.”
“It’s more than just an attraction for Zane. He took the time to call and to organize for me to be here. It was an extremely thoughtful thing to do. If it was just about the sex then he would’ve bought you lingerie or edible undies or something.” They both laughed.
Insecurity, her old friend reared its ugly head. “The problem is that he didn’t choose me at the ceremony, Becks. I was never his first choice. It was convenient to call Mate’s Lore. It’s the only reason anything ever happened between us.”
Becky’s brow furrowed. “Mate’s Lore?”
“Yeah, the whole give me an opportunity to choose between the two kings thing after his true chosen died.”
Her friend nodded. “Oh yeah, that. I wouldn’t worry too much, he cares. I could hear it when he called, and Brant loves you. Those little looks he gives you are something between wanting to eat you alive and wanting to hug you to death.”
“Don’t joke, he could do both literally.” They both laughed again.
Brant opened the door once more. “Come on, Cenwein, we need to hit the road.”
“On our way.” She made to stand as the door closed.
“What does Cenwein mean?” Becky asked while pushing her chair back.
“Delicate, beautiful flower. Oh and rare.” She smiled broadly.
“Like fuck. You’re tall for a woman and—”
“You’re supposed to be my friend bitch…a little reminder of how big those guys are. I am small to them.”
“If you say so.” Becky grinned.
“I’ll have you know that hips, ass and breasts are considered major assets in the vampire society.”
“You’re kidding me.”
Tanya nodded. “Curvy women like you and I are considered seriously beautiful.”
Becky’s face scrunched up in a scowl. “Great! They’re also off limits.”
“Yeah. Please behave when you come out on Friday.”
Becky sighed like she was conceding to the most difficult thing in the world. “Fine.” She smiled. “Hang in there kiddo. Your boys care. Just be patient, don’t try and force the situation.”
This time when Brant opened the door, Tanya walked towards him. “At least I’ll see you soon,” Tanya said over her shoulder.
“I can’t wait.” Becky gushed as they walked out onto the sidewalk. “Congrats on the pregnancy.”
York stumbled, his head whipped in her direction.
“Thank you,” Brant mumbled.
They had planned on not saying anything yet. It normally took a week or two for a woman’s scent to change. That would be a more natural way of going about it rather than making a big announcement so early on.
“You’re with child?” York’s eyes were wide and gleaming with excitement. Tanya nodded. The big, burly guard was at her side in a flash, he lifted her off her feet in a bear hug that had her gasping for air.
“York!” Brant barked. The large vamp released her immediately. “Don’t do that again,” Brant added.
York grinned. “Such good news. I apologize.”
Brant smiled. “We are excited.”
“Congratulations, my lord, my lady.” Griffin said inclining his head to each of them in turn.
“Let’s go,” Brant growled. Although he sounded angry, the corners of his lips were pulled into a semi smile and his eyes twinkled.
They said their goodbyes. It was reassuring to know that she would see Becky again soon.
Chapter 4
Between spending time with Brant and Zane, both in bed and out, and planning the ceremony, Friday arrived before she knew it.
By now, both covens knew she was pregnant. The vampires treated her like she was made of pure gold. They smiled, bowed, gushed. It irritated her how everyone felt it was appropriate to sniff her though. It seemed that even though she was definitely pregnant, it was only deemed official once a person’s scent changed.
“Oooh ,you’re a hot one.” A familiar voice sounded outside her bedroom door. Tanya smiled to herself, so much for Becky behaving.
There was a knock.
“Come on in,” she said while walking towards the door. It swung open. Hand on the knob, Becky was eyeballing Ross something fierce. The vampire looked like he appreciated the attention, even taking a step towards her.
“Don’t even think about it,” said an unknown vampire male who stood to the right of the door.
“Someone needs to start a petition against these outdated rules.” Ross’ eyes tracked the length of Becky’s body. “I swear I’d be very careful.”
“Not too careful I hope.” Becky winked suggestively.
Her friend wore a dress just shy of the knee, but the neckline plunged to the point of indecency. Tanya had to suppress a smile. “Get in here.” She grabbed Becky by the hand and pulled her into her room, closing the door behind her.
Becky giggled. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m not used to so much attention by such seriously hot men. I even have my own guards. Brant was worried it seems.”
“Vampires, Becks, they aren’t normal men and Brant was right to give you guards.”
“I’m not scared of a few vampires.” Her friend cocked her head.
“Rules are rules and they must’ve been made for a reason.”
“And, normally I would try and break them but this is your special day so I promise to behave. Please promise to try and see what you can do for future reference though.”
Tanya laughed. “Sure thing and as to you behaving, I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Pinkie swear. From now on I’ll be extra good.” Becky threw her arms around Tanya and hugged her tight. “I’m so happy I’m here. I have to see your dress! Where is it?” She did a three sixty around the room.
“I’m waiting for it to be brought up. It’s customary for the groom to choose the gown. I’m not sure how my men went about that. There haven’t been any major fights that I know of, so maybe they agreed on something for once.”
“The man gets to choose…?” Becky made a sound of disgust. “That’s just plain wrong.”
There was another knock at the door and Charlotte entered a second later. Her eyes were wide and she looked a little pale. “We have an issue.”
“This is my best friend Becky.”
“Hi there.” Charlotte briefly turned her stormy blue eyes on Becky. “Normally I love meeting new people. Especially humans – not that I’ve had many opportunities - but we are in the middle of a major crisis.”
“What’s the problem?” Nervousness caused her stomach to clench and her heart to race. She tried to maintain her composure though.
Charlotte put a large plastic suit bag on the bed. She unzipped it and pulled out a stunning red dress. It had a corset top and ran in an A-line style cut to the floor. The corset was a silk fabric with tiny diamonds sewn into the bodice.
Both she and Becks gasped in unison. “It’s amazing,” Becks said on a sigh.
“I have to say, Brant has amazing taste.” Charlotte hung the dress on the door and went back to the bag where she pulled out a second garment. A black gown. It had a tight fitting spaghetti strap top with twisted chiffon across the breasts. The lower half was more gown like with more chiffon layers. If it weren’t for being pitch black, it would’ve reminded her of a modern fairy-tale wedding dress.
Tanya could feel her mouth hanging open. “Wow.”
“They’re both amazing,” Becky gushed.
“This one is from Zane. What are we going to do?” Charlotte paced. She looked panicked.
Tanya refused to give in to the emotion, it wouldn
’t help her anyway. The ceremony was in less than two hours. Either way she was damned. She looked from one dress to the other. Both were beautiful in very different ways.
“I’m screwed.” She slumped onto the bed. “I’ve always wanted a fairy-tale wedding dress but I love the little diamonds on Brant’s gown, and I think the red would look really good on me.” In this instance, she wished really badly that Stephany could be here. Tanya missed her calm presence.
Brant had received a phone call from Stephany yesterday saying that she was fine and on her way home. She’d promised to try and make it for the ceremony, but doubted she’d be back in time. Brant had visibly relaxed after the call. Her vampire friend really was on her way home, but chances were good that she wouldn’t be here in time. Giving the dresses another once over, she sighed, maybe she could choose something else.
The tall vampire kept pacing, muttering to herself like a crazy person.
“Charlotte,” Becky called.
When Charlotte didn’t respond, Becky snapped her fingers in the other female’s direction. “Vampire lady.”
This time Charlotte did react by throwing up her hands. “This is a disaster.”
“Snap out of it. Stand still for a second so that we can think.” Becky threw the vampire a disgusted look which seemed to work since Charlotte stopped pacing.
Silence filled the space, seconds became minutes.
Tanya was at a complete loss. The only thing that seemed to make any sort of sense was to ditch both gowns and wear something neutral. The problem was, she’d run the risk of pissing them both off. Which quite frankly they deserved since they clearly hadn’t discussed this with one another or even worse, this was some sort of pissing contest. She’d bet the latter. Also, she kind of loved both gowns and didn’t know which to choose.
“I’ve got it. Oh my God, I’m a freaking genius.” Becky bounced up and down. “Right, let’s see if I get this straight – you always wanted the Cinderella poofy gown right?” She positively glowed, barely waiting for Tanya’s nod. “Okie dokie and you love the diamonds”— she motioned in the direction of Brant’s red number—“by the way, that cut would put your breasts somewhere under your chin…with the right bra that is.” She pulled a strapless Wonderbra from her purse and threw it in her direction. The garment landed at her feet.
“I hope you have a seamstress hidden somewhere in this castle, because…” She ran to Charlotte taking the black gown from her hands, next she folded the top half down and placed the skirt against the red bodice part of the dress hanging on the door. The result was amazing. “You can wear both gowns. Brant’s corset on Zane’s poofy skirt.”
Tanya found herself laughing to the point of wanting to cry. It was perfect. It looked great, and it would hopefully keep both her guys happy.
Hands on her hips, Charlotte shook her head slowly. “There isn’t anyone I know of that can sew the dress in time. We would need someone with a real talent to pull something like that off so quickly.” The vamp glanced at the watch on her wrist. “The ceremony starts in less than two hours, which means we have less than that to sort the gowns.”
Tanya sank back down onto the bed. They had the perfect solution, but no one to execute it. “Don’t you vampires sew?”
Charlotte pulled a face. “Not so much. You humans?” She raised her brows.
“We don’t, no,” Becky answered. “At least we”—she gestured between herself and Tanya—“don’t. Now stop being a bitch and think of something damn it.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened at Becky’s comment and she had just opened her mouth to argue when Tanya’s cell phone rang. For a second she was tempted to ignore it. The number was from somewhere in the castle. Since it might be important, she decided to answer. “Yeah?”
“Hi, Tanya,” Esral’s soft voice came through the earpiece.
“Hi there.”
“So sorry to bother you, but I’m not sure what is normally worn for such an occasion. Charlotte brought me some dresses and things, but maybe it would be best if I wore one of my robes instead.” The poor thing sounded so unsure.
“Listen, bring the clothes and come to my room. We’ll help you. Maybe you can help me with my own dress problems.”
“Don’t you have anything to wear?” Shock was etched in every word.
“I have two dresses which need to be joined together, but I don’t have anyone who can sew well enough to pull it off before the wedding.”
There was a long pause. “I am an excellent seamstress. Graduated top in my class.”
“You lie!”
“I would never lie about something as important as this. Elves take sewing very seriously. All females, regardless of class, are expected to be adept with the needle and thread.”
Tanya had to laugh. “I don’t mean it literally. Get your ass over here. Bring the dresses.”
“What is this ass you keep referring to?”
“You…” she was about to say crack me up, but had to stop herself because it would just confuse things even further. “Nothing, just get here.” She pushed the red disconnect button. “Esral can sew.”
“I forgot about Esral. Oh goody, problem solved.” Charlotte clapped her hands. “How long are you staying human?” the vamp’s gaze turned on Becky.
“My name is Becky and unfortunately Brant doesn’t trust me with your men, so I have to go as soon as the ceremony is over.” Becky went into full pout mode.
“More like the other way around I would think.” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed. “You are tiny. Even smaller than Tanya.”
Becky turned her head towards Tanya, her eyes were wide in a mixture of shock and excitement. “I’ve never been called tiny before.”
“All humans are so small and weak. You are also lucky that you make such good breeders. It is a pity that our species don’t mix well, or our fertility problems would be solved.”
Becky’s mouth gaped open. “Breeders…did I just hear you right?”
“Yup,” Charlotte beamed. “You have nice wide hips, come on heat often and let’s not forget your excellent sized mammary glands.” She clasped her own much smaller breasts. “And to think I thought I had big ones.”
“Well you do…for a vampire that is,” Tanya said. “And to set the record straight, not all humans are good breeders…not all humans have the attributes you described.”
“Most then.”
Tanya took in Charlotte’s lean form. She wore one of those sheaths that the vampire females seemed to love. Her breasts were high, like two ripe peaches. Small, but very much there. Her waist was incredibly narrow with hips to match. A modelling agency’s dream candidate. Very different from most humans. It was weird how much the human body was revered by vampires and the opposite was true of humans themselves. It really was a shame that the two were not permitted to mix. “Yeah, Charlotte. Most humans fit the profile you described in varying degrees.”
There was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it.” Becks had already skipped her way there, pulling the door open. “You must be Esral. Come on in. Oh my Lordie, what a handsome specimen you brought with you.” Becky moved to let Esral in. Instead of closing the door though, she leaned against the jam. “Sheesh, you have amazing eyes. What is your name?”
“Xavier. From your scent I can tell that you are human and therefore it would be against the rules for us to rut.”
“More the pity. I might just be in love.” She sighed dramatically.
Tanya noticed how Esral’s face had turned red, and her eyes threw daggers at Becky’s back. She got the feeling that if the princess’ arms weren’t loaded with clothing, she might just fly at Becky with fists and nails.
“Come back inside. You promised to behave.”
Becky took a tentative step back. “Start that petition cutie pie.” Her friend looked in Ross’ direction.
The male chuckled. “I will human. I most definitely will.”
Becky closed the door and leaned back against it.
“I really might be in love. Xavier,” she said his name on a sigh.
“You can’t have him.” Esral put her hands on her hips.
“Why the heck not?”
Tanya decided to intervene. “Two reasons. One, it’s illegal Becks and two, he and Esral are to be mated or there will be another war with the elves. Please don’t ask me to explain because there isn’t any time right now. Esral, do you have a sewing kit or do we need to try and find the necessary items?”
The little elf smiled, then she inclined her head briefly in what looked to Tanya like a thank you. “No self-respecting elf female would leave the house without the basics.” She put the garments she was carrying down on the bed. After digging in her sack for a few seconds, she pulled out a little leather pouch.
Becky gasped. “You’re an elf?” she shrieked. “Oh my god, you have pointy ears. You are an elf. Hi, I’m Becky. Sorry about your man, I didn’t realize that he was taken.”
After hesitating for a brief second, Esral licked her lips and stepped forward. “No harm done, he isn’t really my man. The elven kind don’t venture into human territory so it is only natural that you would find my appearance strange.”
“Don’t get me wrong sweetie, you’re seriously hot, at least you might be under that silky sack thing you’re wearing.”
“My robe?” Esral’s brow furrowed. “Don’t you like it? It’s my finest garment.”
“It’s beautiful,” Tanya interjected. “I’ll tell you what, you get started on my wedding dress while we sort through your clothes. Between my wardrobe and what you’ve brought, I’m sure we’ll come up with something a little more…fitting for the occasion…not that you don’t look stunning.”
Tanya directed the elf to the gowns and explained what she wanted. Tanya planned on making Esral look ravishing for the ceremony. Both Griffin and Xavier wouldn’t know what hit them when they caught an eyeful of the princess. Hopefully Xavier would get a wakeup call. If not then Griffin would ask her out for sure, which would no doubt spark Xavier’s jealousy.
The princess picked up the red gown and smiled. “Easy as a knife through a banana.” She took a moment to dig around in her sewing kit and then got to work.
#5 Chosen by the Vampire Kings: BBW Romance (Part 5: Red Lust) Page 5
