As Darby took the tiny leather antique box from his hands in astonishment, he spun her completely around landing her in a chair near the window and he was now in front of her between her legs on his knees. She slowly opened the tiny box revealing a beautiful diamond ring, simple and perfect. "It was the ring my father gave my mother when he asked her to marry him. Dominic held on to it, for Blake and I, until I asked him for it this morning after talking to Blake. I was hoping that you would do me the honor of being my wife, Darby O'Rielly. My love for you is such that I can't believe I ever thought I had been in love before. There is absolutely no comparison to anything, I've ever felt before. I just know that my love for you is perfect and timeless and I can't imagine my life with anyone else, but you forever."
He took the ring from the box and held it in one hand and held Darby's other hand in hopes of slipping the ring on her left ring finger. "So what do you say? Will you be my most cherished love, to share all our days and nights together for the rest of our lives, as husband and wife?"
Darby's eyes were so full with tears that she could barely focus on Devon's angelic face smiling and waiting for her answer.
"Yes, Devon. Yes, yes, a million times yes." She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly all the while kissing his neck and repeating, "Yes".
"Well then, let’s make it official," he said as he pulled away from her briefly and slipped the ring on her finger.
She stared at it for a moment then looked up into Devon's smiling face. "It's absolutely perfect, Devon." This time he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. She melted in his embrace. When he pulled away to breathe, she whispered in his ear, "Can I make one plea though?"
"Oh, boy. I already have a ‘Honey Do’ list?" he laughed.
She laughed too, but her face was serious. "I'd like you to promise me something."
"What's that, Sweetness?" Devon said as he caressed her face.
"That you won't ever pull away from me again. I know it will be hard for you, I've learned from experience that it is what you do when you don't like a situation, but if we are going to be partners in life, you need to promise me you’ll fight your instinct and find your solace in talking to me instead. You need to share with me your concerns, so that we can work through them together. You don't need to protect me. Marriage is hard enough, so we need to depend on each other for support."
"You're right. I'm sure I will mess up occasionally, but I do promise you, I will try. I don't want to make that mistake again, ever."
"Thank you, Sweetheart. I'm here to help you, more now than ever. I want to be your partner in every sense of the word. It hurts me when you pull away, and it’s painful when I can't help you when I see you are hurting, so you are not saving me any anguish by not confiding in me. You see?"
"I do."
"Then get used to saying those words, because I don't want any fumbling for them when you say your vows!" Darby smiled.
"Not a problem. Not a problem at all."
They kissed eagerly and there was no holding back. As their breathing became more intense he whisked her up into his strong able arms and gallantly carried her to the bedroom upstairs. He stood her in front of him by the side of the bed and she ripped at his shirttails so that she could caress his skin beneath. She wasn’t sure how she did it but her hands seemed to have a mind of their own as all the buttons of his shirt magically unbuttoned and she pulled it back off his shoulders.
Her face was warm on his chest as she kissed every inch of him. He nestled his face in her hair below her ear, tasting her salty skin from their walk in the sea air. His huge hands that had rested on the small of her back were now under her sweater and touching her skin, slowly making their way up her spine. With one fell swoop he had brought the sweater up and over her head and discarded it to the floor. He pulled back for a minute to take in her beauty. Beautiful blue eyes, full of desire, gazed upon him with a sultry smile to match. Her long silky blonde hair swept over her shoulders and down her back. She had a slim, hourglass figure and perfect porcelain skin that glowed with a rosy tinge. Her cheeks were flushed when she said to him, "I love you, Devon."
He smiled that smile that seemed to light the room and he responded as he pulled her to him again, "I love YOU, Darby."
His hair had been pulled back loosely, as he often wore it, and she pulled it from its band, letting it fall naturally. She had both her hands in it raking it back through her fingers and feeling its softness as it passed through each finger. His hair was such a beautiful multitude of colors. Though it was a hundred facets of brown, there were also hints of golden blonde and amber. His beautiful brown eyes smoldered with strength and love. He was svelte, with a strong upper body. Masculine broad shoulders graced him, along with a well-defined six-pack abdomen. He was a gorgeous specimen of a man. But what she loved about him was not his outer appearance but his inner being. He was the sweetest, most noble man she had ever met. Who would have thought this honorable being was vampire, born of vampire parents?
So much had happened in what was now almost a year since she had met Devon. Now she was to be his wife. She loved him so much, but to tell him she loved him just didn't seem to express all the emotion and love she felt. 'Love' seemed too small of a word for what she was feeling for him. Was there a better word? If there was, she didn't know it. The only way to express it was to show it.
She held him tightly around the neck as he planted tiny kisses up and down her neck and lips. She could tell by his breathing that his passion for her was growing. His hands were at her waist, and he pulled her hard to him. She responded by wrapping both of her legs around his waist as he supported her weight, and then she pulled him hard to her. Behind his lips, he moaned deeply, closing his eyes, and she continued to kiss his neck. She ran her tongue along the tip of his earlobe making him catch his breath. She unhooked her bra, let it fall to the floor, and then pulled him tightly to her, nibbling again at his earlobe. With skin on skin and legs and arms wrapped tightly together, she whispered in his ear, "Make love to me, Devon, now, make love to me." He didn't have to be asked twice, as he spun quickly around and laid her tenderly on the bed.
He was a tender and sensitive lover to her, as she was to him. No longer able to control their longing for each other, he entered her and they were one being for a few short minutes – perfectly made for one another to unharness each other’s desires. Their explosive climax was the epitome of perfection as they held on tight to one another as the waves of passion ebbed and flowed into an exhausted bliss.
Euphoric, exhausted, and utterly relaxed, arms and legs an entangled mess, they fell asleep full of love for one another.
Melanie thought back over the last couple of days as she sat on the bed going over her map. She had run her credit card in Charleston, South Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, and Scranton, Pennsylvania, but had slept in Raleigh, North Carolina, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. The night she spent in Montgomery, Alabama, though, she had the most intense dream about Josh. If she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that Josh had laid right next to her and whispered in her ear. If she hadn't known it was a dream she would have jumped right out of bed.
It had been a week that she had been gone and she ached every morning when she looked over to find no one on the other side of the bed. She had spent so little time with Josh but she felt sure she would never feel whole again without him near. How long would she be on the road before they came up with a plan? She wondered every night as she closed her eyes in some tiny little hotel, what is going on in the house in California? She wished desperately to be there.
She tried to tell herself what she was doing was the right thing to do to keep Josh safe, but she felt so terribly lonely and sad that she didn't think she could go on. If I could just talk to Josh, hear his voice, maybe I would feel better? She knew that if she called she would be blowing their cover, especially if Dimitri had the resources to tap the phone in California. No, there was no choice and
she would not be the one to endanger Josh or the others.
She thought of her dear friend Darby and how everyone around her had abandoned her. Melanie understood all too well how loneliness could rip a person apart. Loneliness changed a person and how they looked at life. Melanie knew that kind of loneliness. The kind when not even your family trusted you. She wished that Darby had thought to call her to help in her quest to find Devon. Darby had been a ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy world when Melanie was at her lowest, and she would have jumped at the chance to help her friend in need. But then again, if that had happened, Melanie would have never run into Josh, literally, that first night.
Maybe that is what I should do! she thought to herself. No...that would just put Darby in danger. I guess it's just me for a while. She sighed deeply as she put her collection of matches in a cigar box she had found a couple of nights before. She had supposed that some guest had left it in a drawer and housekeeping had missed it. It was as if it had been placed there for her to find and use, to house her collection.
Tomorrow she would run the credit card in Bangor, Maine and sleep in Manchester, New Hampshire. As she folded up the map and packed everything except her clothes for the next day, she thought how surprised Devon would be to see the odometer on his Mercedes. She thanked her lucky stars every night that she at least had a very comfortable, well-maintained car. She would have to pay Devon back one day for the kindness he didn't know he was bestowing on her.
Chapter 16
Dean and Blake were back in California in no time and had brought with them more information about the Order of the Black Orchids and Dimitri Strotsky, but nothing that was going to get him to stop chasing Melanie, wherever she was. Josh was starting to go stir crazy and Blake knew he was about to blow. It had been a week since Melanie had taken off and still they had no clue as to how to get Dimitri off their backs.
"She can't just keep driving around forever. Why don't we just give him the stone? I never wanted it. Most of the time I didn't know I had it," Josh said.
"We can't give him the stone or the Order will grow too powerful," Blake said.
"So what? I don't care if the Order is too powerful; I just want to get Lanie out of danger. Besides, the Protectors of All Life will get rid of them when someone bigger or badder wants the power, so let them kill themselves and let us be.”
"You really think that they will let both of you live knowing what you know about the Order and the stone?"
"I don't know. I just know that eventually Dimitri's going to catch up to Lanie and I have no abilities or plan to save her."
"I know you're frustrated, Josh. I would be too, but we have a lot more information on him now and we will come up with something that we can use against him."
"When?
“I don't know."
"That's not good enough. We're just sitting here while she is in all the danger. For all we know, he could have her now!"
"If he had her, he'd know you and the stone weren't with her and the first place he'd look would be here," Blake said.
"Great, so not only is Lanie in trouble, we'll all be in danger, any minute."
"What I'm trying to say, Josh, is that we'll be the first to know if he catches up with Lanie."
"This is insane! I have to get out of here!" Josh got up, jacket in hand, and headed for the door. Blake had him in an instant, pinned to the wall. Surprising to Blake was the effort it took to pin him. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought Josh to be as strong as a starved vampire. He shrugged off the thought for the moment.
"I know you are going nuts. Frankly, if it were me, I would have lost it a lot sooner than you have. I feel for you, man. I wish I could do something right this instant and make everything great again, but I can't. If you leave now, you put Melanie, yourself, and all of us in danger. If Dimitri has the house being watched and you go sauntering out, it's all over."
"Get off me, Blake," Josh said in a low, angry, defeated voice. Blake let go of Josh's arms and backed away from him.
"I'm sorry, Josh, but I couldn't just let you go out there."
With head lowered in shame or disgust, Blake wasn't sure which, Josh headed back to Darby's old bedroom and shut the door. Rowan and Dean came from opposite ends of the house to see what had happened. Blake slumped into the couch and sighed heavily.
"What's up?" Dean asked.
"The poor guy is losing it. I can't say I blame him. I probably would have lost it a lot sooner than he did if it had been you out there, Rowan."
"He's been through a lot. Did you really have to pin him like that?" Rowan asked.
"I don't know. I panicked. He said he was leaving. If Dimitri's having the place watched, he certainly can't be leaving like that."
"I know but one of the problems he has is that he is in a house full of supernatural beings with powers he doesn't fully understand and he feels he doesn't have anything to contribute. He's feeling useless."
"I know...I know...I blew it. I'll apologize when he has had time to cool down. Devon would have handled this so much better. He's so much better with people than I am. I've been feeling so crappy about giving up on Darby when my own brother had been held in chains for months. I really screwed up. How is Devon ever going to forgive me? If Darby hadn't found and fed him when she did, he'd be dead right now and I would have never known. I'd just be hanging in California minding my own business while on the other coast my brother laid on his deathbed because I gave up on him. How can I be any help to Melanie and Josh when I can’t even help my own brother?"
Rowan didn't say anything. She was wrestling with the same guilt. She tried to comfort him by putting her arm around him, but Blake was too angry with himself to accept such a gesture. He got up and started pacing the living room.
Dean finally spoke up. "I know you two are beating yourselves up with guilt, but it will work itself out. My guess is that the relationship you both had with them has changed forever." Rowan and Blake both looked at him with astonishment.
"I'm sorry, guys, it’s the truth,” Dean said. “But it's not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, come on. Did you seriously think that all four of you would live under the same roof forever? Come on! Things had to change eventually. Maybe this isn't the way you thought it would be, but I think in the big picture, this is all going to work out just fine. The kid does have a point. We need to do something. We can't just leave that poor girl out there driving around in Devon's car forever!"
"I know, but I don't know what to do!” Blake exclaimed. “This was more Devon's forte, Darby's too."
"Well, little brother, looks like you need to step up and grow some..." Dean started as Rowan gave him a look of disapproval that he had seen only from Darby in the past. "What I meant to say is Devon would want you to help this couple so try to think of what Devon would do in this situation and do it, fang-faced moron."
Blake shook his head in disbelief. "You didn't just call me 'a fang faced moron' did you, fuzz face?"
"Now I told you not to call me that, vamp boy."
The next thing Rowan knew, Dean had Blake in a headlock. She shook her head as she left the room and headed towards the kitchen to start dinner.
Melanie woke to a rather cloudy morning sky. It was apparent some kind of weather was forming and it didn't look like it was going to be pretty. Today she would be traveling up to Bangor Maine to run the credit card and then sleep in Manchester, New Hampshire. She stopped for lunch in Bangor and on the paper placemat she learned some interesting facts. Apparently, it is the most important Eastern lumber town in the US, there's a 31 foot Paul Bunyan on the way into town, and 60 million pounds of lobster come from Maine every year. She grabbed a matchbook and jotted down the info. She tried to do this every time she got a matchbook, because she knew she'd never remember all the cool things she had learned.
Like in Abilene, Texas where she slept the first night, she learned that it was considered the 'buckle of the bible belt' and that up until 1925 it was a
misdemeanor to flirt in a public place. In Las Cruces, New Mexico there was a giant Road Runner made of trash on I-10. In the open ranges of Arizona there are yield signs with bulls on them. Louisiana is the only state divided by parishes not counties. Montgomery Alabama was where the famous Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March ended and Viola Liuzzo was killed for giving a young man a ride home. Virginia Beach has the world's largest naval base and was one of the first colonies.
When she got to Manchester, she found a used bookstore and bought herself a little road travel book for more interesting facts on places she would be visiting during her journey. She looked at all of her matchbooks then thought of her father. He used to smoke a pipe and she always thought how amazing it was that he could light a match from a matchbook with one hand and with hardly any effort. Over the years she had tried his technique only to find that she could go through the whole book of matches without getting a single one to light and in the process mutilated the poor matches into unrecognizable objects. How did he do that? she thought.
That only brought on more sad thoughts of the accident that had set her on such a lonely path. She wondered if they had survived the accident what they would have thought of her abilities to see past events. Like her aunt, would her parents have made her wear gloves the rest of her life in an attempt to make things more normal? She liked to think her parents would have been understanding, but she could never know that for sure.
She cried for a moment as she thought about her parents and wished she could have said goodbye to them. She missed them so much. Now that she had met Josh, she missed him almost as much. She thought about how silly she was for thinking that there had been something between them; after all, they barely knew each other, but she couldn't help the way she felt either. She lay in bed for a long time that night, thinking of her parents and Josh. So often now she would dream of Josh, like he was in the room with her. She could smell the saltiness of his skin and feel the loose curls of his hair on her cheek. She could almost feel the strength of his arms around her, as she lay on her side in the queen-sized bed. It had to be a dream - there was no one there, but if she concentrated hard enough, she could swear she could hear the slow, shallow breathing of his sleep next to her right ear. It was comforting to her whether real or not. She knew she was getting too attached to Josh if she could imagine so much detail in her dreams, but feeling as lonely as she did on this trip, she didn't care. It helped her sleep to think somehow he was there.
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