“You want to look your best for Derek, don’t you? Every new bride needs a trousseau heavily stocked with sexy nightgowns and pretty underwear.”
“I appreciate it, really I do, but”—Sheree gestured at the wealth of clothes scattered in the dressing room—“this is too much. And everything is so expensive.”
“Child, I can afford it,” Mara replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Consider it my wedding gift. And speaking of weddings, I’m going to need a new dress. After all, I’m the groom’s mother.”
Sheree watched in awe as Mara dismissed the salesclerk with a wave of her hand. She looked at several dozen gowns, rejecting all of them until she found one in emerald green.
She disappeared into a nearby dressing room. Moments later, she stepped out, announcing, “This is the one.”
Sheree nodded in agreement. The dress fit Mara as if it had been made for her. The green silk was the exact color of her incredible eyes, and the narrow slit up the side was provocative without being too revealing.
“Now,” Mara said, “all we need is to find a dress for you.”
“Not today,” Sheree said. “I’m exhausted.”
Laden with packages, they left the mall a short time later.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Sheree said as they climbed into a waiting taxi.
“No thanks are necessary, daughter. Just keep making my son happy.”
“I promise I’ll do my best.”
Derek was reading the newspaper when Sheree and Mara returned. If he was surprised to see his mother, it didn’t show, but then, Sheree thought, he had probably sensed that Mara had been there sometime during the day as soon as he woke up.
Laying the paper aside, he raised an inquiring brow when Sheree dumped a pile of bags and boxes on the floor. “Been shopping?” he asked dryly.
“I told your mother we were thinking of having another ceremony, for our families, and . . .”
Rising, he drew Sheree into his arms. “You don’t have to say anything else.”
“She bought me a trousseau, as well. Just wait until you see all my pretty new nightgowns and sexy undies,” Sheree said, waggling her eyebrows. “She took me out to lunch, too. And to the grocery store,” she added as the taxi driver carried several plastic bags into the living room.
“This way,” Mara said, gesturing for the driver to follow her into the kitchen.
“Good evening, wife,” Derek murmured, kissing Sheree’s cheek.
She winked at him, wishing they were alone.
“Soon,” he promised.
Mara paid the driver and sent him on his way. “Well, I guess I’ll be going,” she said. “I’m sure you two would like to be alone.”
“How very perceptive of you,” Derek drawled.
“I shall expect to see the two of you in a few days.”
Derek nodded curtly. “We’ll be there.”
Mara kissed her son’s cheek and gave Sheree a hug. “I ordered you a stove and a refrigerator too. They should be here tomorrow afternoon.”
“Thanks, Ma.”
“You know I hate it when you call me that,” she said, but there was no anger in her voice. “Logan sends his love. Call us if you need us.”
A wave of her hand, and she was gone in a shower of sparkling green motes.
“So, how was your day, really?” Derek asked.
“Wonderful. Your mother’s really fun to be with. And a lot happier about our marriage than my mother.”
“Trouble at home?” Sitting on the sofa, he settled her on his lap.
“She’s upset that we eloped while my father is in the hospital, and that I didn’t marry the man she picked for me, and . . . Oh, I don’t want to talk about her right now.”
“We can go back to Philly so you can visit your father if you want.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?”
“Of course not. We’ll go tomorrow night. I’d take you tonight, but it might be hard to explain how we got from here to there so fast, unless you want to tell your mother you married a vampire.”
“That’s a secret I think we’d better keep,” Sheree said, kissing him on the cheek. “Thank you for being so understanding.”
“Now that we’ve got that settled, maybe you can model some of that new underwear for me.”
“Maybe,” Sheree said, batting her eyelashes at him. “And maybe you’ll model what I bought for you!”
Sheree’s father was happy to see her. He welcomed Derek to the family, though he expressed his regret at missing the wedding.
“We’re going to have another ceremony,” Sheree said, squeezing his shoulder. “I’ll expect you to be there to walk me down the aisle.”
Brian glanced at his wife. “We wouldn’t miss it, would we, Meredith?”
“Of course not,” her mother replied coolly.
“Dad, when are you going home?” Sheree asked.
“I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t be too long now,” he replied, beaming. “As soon as the Doc springs me, I’ll get my tux pressed and I’ll be ready to give the bride away.”
Sheree and Derek stayed until visiting hours were over, then walked her mother to her car.
Their good nights were strained at best.
“She’ll get over it,” Derek remarked, watching Mrs. Westerbrooke drive away.
“You don’t know her like I do,” Sheree said ruefully. “Come on, let’s go home.”
“Okay by me,” Derek said with a wicked grin. “I can’t wait to see more of that new underwear.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
The next few days and nights passed without incident. The stove and refrigerator Mara had ordered arrived on schedule. Mara came by to take Sheree shopping again, this time for dishes, silverware, pots and pans, and a toaster. She refused to let Sheree pay for anything, insisting it was a wedding gift.
With Derek’s okay, Sheree spent one morning rearranging the furniture in the living room, only to put it all back again the following morning.
Every afternoon, Mara took Sheree to the hospital to see her father so Sheree could spend her nights with Derek. Of course, Sheree had introduced Mara as Derek’s sister, since her parents would never believe Mara was his mother, and, at this point, telling them the truth was not an option. Sheree doubted it ever would be.
She had floundered for an answer when her mother had asked how Derek’s sister happened to be in Philadelphia, but Mara had stepped in, saying she had been on her way to Boston on vacation when Derek told her he and Sheree were in Philadelphia.
“I couldn’t miss a chance to see my brother and his new wife,” she had lied smoothly. “After all, I can go to Boston anytime.”
Meredith remained cool toward her daughter, often leaving the room while Sheree visited with her father.
Sheree was hurt at first, but the hurt soon turned to resentment. It was her life; she had a right to marry whomever she wished, and if her mother didn’t like it . . . well, that was just too bad.
Sheree didn’t mind spending her days with Mara, or even spending time alone, because she knew Derek would be there when night fell. He offered to take her anywhere she wanted to go, but she was content to stay home, as long as he was with her.
They watched TV or played cards or just spent time talking, getting to know each other better. Even though she sometimes felt as if she had known him all her life, she still had a lot to learn. He made love to her every night, sometimes on the floor in front of the hearth, sometimes in bed, once outside on the terrace under the stars.
But time and place didn’t matter as long as she was in his arms, as she was now. Though she tried not to think about it, the full moon was only a few nights away. What if that was all the time they had left? she thought miserably. What if Pearl’s untried serum didn’t work? What if, instead of curing him, it . . .
She banished the thought from her mind. It would work. It had to work.
When his arms tightened around her, she knew he’d been read
ing her thoughts.
“I have to try it,” he said quietly. “I can’t go on like this.”
Night after night, he had listened while she made plans for their upcoming wedding, all the while wondering if it would ever take place.
He hadn’t told her how difficult it had been, the last few nights, to be near her, or how hard it had been not to kill his prey when he hunted, or how he’d been eating raw meat on the sly for the last four nights. His craving for the stuff grew stronger with every passing day.
Knowing how she’d worry, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to tell Sheree, but his mother knew. There was no way to hide it from her. Or from Logan.
“Are you all right?” Sheree asked.
“Sure. Why?”
“You seem so far away.”
“Sorry.” Forcing himself to relax, he nibbled her earlobe, ran his tongue along the side of her neck. “A taste?”
She tilted her head to the side. “You don’t have to ask, you know.”
He closed his eyes, inhaling the sweet scent of her skin, listening to the excited thrumming of her heart as she anticipated his bite. As always, it amazed him that she was so willing to give him what he needed.
She shivered with anticipation, sighed with pleasure as he drank from her.
It was both heaven and hell, he thought, an addiction for which there was no cure, a hunger like no other.
He sealed the tiny wounds, then kissed his way along the curve of her neck to her cheeks, her lips.
Murmuring his name, she wrapped her arms around him, willing to give him anything he desired. And he desired everything she had—heart and soul, mind and body. There was nothing gentle in his kisses this night. His rough caresses should have frightened her, perhaps, but she reveled in them, and in the certain knowledge that he would never hurt her.
He aroused her again and again, taking her to the point of fulfillment, then backing off, until she writhed wildly beneath him, sobbing for him to take her.
His release came hard upon the heels of her own. It left her feeling totally spent. And totally, forever, his.
After making certain Sheree was sound asleep, Derek dressed and left the room. A thought took him to the house in the Hollywood Hills, where his mother and Logan waited for him, along with Pearl and Edna.
He felt like an animal in an exhibit, the way they all stared at him, as if waiting for him to explode. And that was exactly how he felt, as if he might blow up at any minute and destroy everything and everyone in his path.
“How are you feeling?” Pearl asked.
“Like shit.”
“Well, I guess that’s to be expected.” The elderly vampire’s nose wrinkled. “You’ve been eating meat.”
“It’s either that or people,” he growled.
“You mustn’t eat any more,” Pearl said. “It only feeds the werewolf and makes it stronger.”
Derek dragged his hand across his jaw. “Now you tell me.”
“I think she’s right,” Logan said. “I can smell the werewolf in you. I couldn’t last time.”
It wasn’t surprising, Derek thought. He could feel the beast prowling inside him, eager to be released. It was stronger than before.
Hungrier than before.
“We were discussing how best to handle this before you arrived,” Mara said. “We all think it would be wise to go back to Romania and inject you there, inside the dungeon, since we have no idea what your reaction will be.”
He nodded, hands tightly clenched at his sides. “What are the odds of my surviving?”
“I’d say very good,” Pearl answered. “You’re young and strong, with the best blood of our kind running through your veins. I’d say the worst that can happen is that you turn into a werewolf and remain that way. And once you learn to control the werewolf, as you’ve learned to control being a vampire”—she shrugged—“your problems should be over.”
“Except for the people I kill along the way.”
“Yes,” Pearl said dryly. “There is that.”
“The full moon is on the twenty-fifth,” Mara said. “When does the serum need to be administered?”
“With the modifications we’ve made, I’m thinking it should be taken the night before,” Pearl said. “Edna, what do you think?”
“Sounds right to me.”
Mara glanced out the window. There were still a few hours until sunrise. “If we leave here by five, we can be there by three P.M. Romanian time.” She looked at Edna and Pearl. “You can stay in the servants’ quarters in the castle. There are no lights down there, so you should be able to rest comfortably until nightfall.”
“What about Sheree?” Derek asked, his voice thick.
“She must go with us, of course.”
Derek shook his head. “No!”
“She’s all that saved you from killing the last time,” Mara reminded him.
“It’s too dangerous. No one should go with me except Pearl.”
“What?” The old vampire’s voice was little more than a squeak.
“Pearl, the serum, and a gun loaded with silver,” Derek said. “Let’s end this one way or another.”
“Pearl is not going alone,” Edna said, moving to stand beside her friend.
“And I’m certainly not staying here!” Mara exclaimed.
Logan put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “And your mother isn’t going without me.”
Mara smiled at her husband and then at her son. “We’re all for one,” she said in a voice that brooked no argument.
“And one for all,” Logan added.
“You’re all crazy as hell,” Derek muttered. But he was damn glad to have his own musketeers at his side.
“You don’t have to go with us,” Derek said. “I can take you home to Philadelphia. You’ll be safer there.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me, Derek Blackwood?” Sheree asked, jabbing her finger against his chest. “Because if you are, you can just forget it. I’m your wife now, and my place is with you, wherever that might be.”
Touched beyond words, he pressed his forehead to hers, closed his eyes, and breathed in her scent. His life might be a mess, but right now he wouldn’t trade the woman in his arms for anything in the world.
“It’ll be all right,” Sheree murmured. “I know it will.”
Lifting his head, he gazed deeply into her eyes. “I love you,” he said fervently. “No matter what happens in the next couple of days, remember that.”
She nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.
Thirty minutes later, Derek transported the two of them, along with their luggage, to the castle in Transylvania.
Mara was waiting for them in the main room. “Logan is upstairs,” she said. “Edna and Pearl are resting.”
Derek nodded.
“I’ll keep Sheree company while you rest.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Sheree said. “I want to stay with Derek.”
“Of course you want to spend as much time together as you can. I’ll see you later, then.”
“Thanks, Ma.”
To his surprise, she gave him a fierce hug before vanishing from their sight.
Upstairs in their room, Derek undressed, then sat on the bed. “You don’t have to stay here while I rest.”
“I know, but I want to.” Standing in front of him, she pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it aside. After stepping out of her sandals and jeans, she pushed him down on the mattress. “I just thought you’d like some company until you fall asleep.”
“Is that what you thought?”
“Was I wrong?”
His gaze moved over her hot pink bra and panties. “What do you think?”
Straddling his hips, she leaned forward and licked his chest. “I think you want me.”
“I think you’re right.” Wrapping his arms around her, Derek rolled over, pinning her beneath him, his weight pressing her into the mattress.
She’s prey, the werewolf said.
Take her. It will make us stronger.
Lowering his head, Derek sniffed Sheree’s neck, then licked his lips. Young, tender flesh. Warm blood.
“Derek? Derek! You’re scaring me.”
Hands clenched, he rolled to his feet. “Get out of here.”
She didn’t argue. And she didn’t run. Grabbing her clothes, she backed slowly out of the room and closed the door. Dressing quickly, she went downstairs, where she collapsed on the sofa and let the tears flow. Face buried in her hands, she prayed that the untried serum would work and that this whole nightmare would soon be nothing but a bad memory.
“Sheree, child, what’s wrong?”
She looked up at the sound of Mara’s voice. “Everything.”
“He sent you away.”
“It’s not just that. It’s . . . it’s not knowing what’s going to happen. What if he stays a werewolf? Will he still be the same Derek he is now? Will he still love me? Will I still love him?” She dashed the tears from her eyes. “What if the serum doesn’t work? What if it . . . ?” She couldn’t say the words.
Compassion and tenderness didn’t come naturally to Mara. She had lived too long, seen too much, killed too many. You couldn’t live as long as she had lived and remain sane if you let the feelings of others affect you. She had learned to be strong, to put her needs above those of others. It was the only way to survive.
But she couldn’t ignore the pain in Sheree’s eyes, or the hurt in her voice. Sitting beside the girl, Mara slipped one arm around her shoulders. “Whatever happens, we are all in this hell together.”
Sheree glanced at her surroundings—the high ceilings, the leaded windows, the antique tapestries. “Sometimes it all seems like a dream, especially in this place. I never believed in magic, but I always believed in vampires. At least I thought I did, until I actually met one and he was nothing like I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“I’m not sure. I know now that I was horribly naïve. I thought I could find one and that would be the end of it. But Derek . . . there was something between us from the moment we met. He’s so strong. So powerful. And yet he’s vulnerable.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “I need him in ways I don’t understand. And he needs me.”
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