by Minda Webber
"In a pig's eye!" she muttered.
"What's that?" her uncle asked, leaning as close as he could with the offensive veil. "You aren't regretting your decision to marry Ian, are you? Even though he is not in a scientific profession, I find myself rather liking him."
In fact, Victor had been estatic over Clair wedding Ian. So much so that he had gotten drunk and fallen into one of the graves he was robbing. Luckily, Frederick had come along and rescued him.
"No. No doubts whatsoever," Clair said.
Her uncle Victor smiled and patted her hand on his arm. "Stiff upper back, my dear. Let's give them the old Frankenstein show."
Clair smiled bravely, even though her knees were shaking, and she began her triumphant walk down the aisle. Soon the festive mood caught her spirit and she forgot about her hideous veil, reveling in her good fortune.
On this day of all days, Clair felt only love for Ian, her family, and her friends. It was a very special day, one she would remember when she grew old and gray. Yes, this was a very special day. Like the day she had discovered sodium sulfate could make exploding gas. Her uncle had shown her, and he had been so proud when she repeated the experiment all by herself, even though she blew up his favorite beaker.
Glancing to her side, she took in her uncle's proud visage. He had always encouraged her to fly to the stars, in spite of the fact that she was only a female. And when she had fallen, both he and Clair's aunts had been there to pick her back up.
As she made her way down the long carpeted aisle strewn with flowers, Clair passed Lady Delia and Delia's mother. The pair wore matching scowls. Clair grinned.
This reminded her of the time Delia fell into the mud at a picnic after Clair showed around her collection of spiders.
She passed Frederick, who had tears running down his cheeks like after the great electrical storm of 1819, when he had first drawn breath at the grand old age of thirty, twenty-one, thirty-five, etcetera.
Clair passed Lady Mary and Ozzie, both crying quietly, which reminded her of all the times her aunt had been present to dry her tears. It reminded her of all the times her aunt had encouraged her explorations and her curiosity, enriching her life with soft laughter and love.
Next Clair walked past Great-aunt Abby, who majestically held up her quizzing glass, nodding. The gesture took Clair back to the time her great-aunt knighted her, when she'd been Henry II. At least today, her aunt was impersonating an appropriate queen. For when she said, "Let them eat cake," they could.
Finally, Clair's attention was drawn to Ian, and her heart melted. He was so handsome, standing tall and kingly at the front of the church. She knew with an instinct as old as time that he and she had found a grand love that would transcend borders and lift winged souls to flight.
She paused longer to study him. He looked magnificent in his dark gray velvet jacket, and his long black hair was tied back in a queue. He wore a green vest underneath his coat, and it matched the color of his eyes. Those eyes were filled with unconditional love for his bride, even in her hideous veil.
Victor placed Clair's hand in Ian's when they arrived at the end of the aisle; then he stepped away as Ian lifted the veil from her face and flipped it back. "Now I can see you," Ian said softly. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever beheld in my life." His tone complemented his serious expression, for his eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"Thank you." She grinned, joyful tears of her own spilling down her cheeks. "For the compliment, but more for getting that beastly veil out of my face."
Ian chortled.
"Who gives this woman?" the bishop asked, frowning at the levity of the wedding service.
"I do," Victor answered after a slight pause, sounding a bit choked up.
"Do you, Harold Ian Huntsley, take Clair Elizabeth Frankenstein to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the bishop asked.
Giggling, Clair nudged Ian. "Harold?"
"Hush, Clair. Now is not the time." Ian felt a blush travel up his face. He truly despised his first name. It had been a curse throughout his life.
"Harold." Clair giggled again. She couldn't imagine such a whimsical name for such a formidable man. But all that mattered was that they were to be wed.
Despite Clair's giggles and the oddity of the bride's side of the family, the wedding turned out to be the usual, traditional, emotional affair. Afterward in the receiving line, Ian stood with his arm wrapped around his bride's waist. He proudly introduced her for the first time as his wife to his family and friends. His life was now complete in a way that he had never known. He felt a sense of complete well-being. Clair was his. He had found his one true mate.
"Take care of her, young man. She has been a daughter to me," Victor warned kindly. "My Clair is special."
Ian nodded. "Yes, they broke the mold when they made her."
"No. That was Frederick, not Clair," Victor replied. He looked mildly confused as he moved aside to let other well-wishers congratulate the bride and groom.
Ian shook his head. He would have to get used to this. But as Clair smiled up at him, her eyes shining with pure joy, he decided she was well worth putting up with living around a nest of odd ducks and a few quacks. He'd mostly only see them at family gatherings, anyway. "I love you, Clair Huntsley," he said.
Clair grinned mischievously. "I love you too, Harold."
Hmm. Perhaps he would have to rethink the matter. Playfully, he swatted his wife on her nicely rounded behind. Harold? Just wait until he got her alone tonight.
Haunted Honeymoon
Clair came out of the water closet and glanced toward the balcony, where Ian stood in all his naked splendor. He was watching the last rays of the golden sunset give up the ghost and blend into shades of purplish gray, soon to be black. He wore a smug, satisfied leer on his handsome face.
"Thank you, God," she whispered. Thank you for listening to children's prayers, for creating the human heart and spirit which can survive against all odds. Which can love in spite of fear. Which can, despite loneliness and by your great grace, find love. And thank you most of all, God, for creating two people so right for each other and bringing us together.
Staring at her handsome husband, Clair was awed that he'd been able to create such a perfect person. "God," she said, "you've still got Uncle Victor beat in my book."
She walked past the lovely old four-poster bed and mussed linen sheets where she and Ian had made love earlier. Their joining had held a raw, primitive passion, each of them claiming the other in the ancient rites of love and lust, and Clair blushed at the memory. Reaching Ian, she tenderly wrapped her arms around his hard, muscular back, heated in spite of his nudity. He reached behind himself and pulled her into his arms, his chin coming to rest on the top of her head.
Clair sniffled, holding back her tears. In Ian's arms, she had found completion. It was a place so miraculous she would never leave it willingly. She hugged him more tightly, glancing out at the darkening sky.
"It will be a full moon tonight," she said and shivered.
Ian tucked his wife closer, his legs pressed to the outsides of hers. He leaned his head back and breathed deeply. He smelled sex, orange blossoms, and the scent of the coming evening. "I love the way the night smells and sounds," he said.
Clair tilted her head, leaning back to look at him.
He went on, "The night has its own music, the stars their own melody. The moon has a song which sings to me."
"So there is a poet buried inside you," she teased. "I thought that was only Asher."
"Hmph. Asher and his 'She walks in beauty,'" Ian sneered good-naturedly. "Poppycock."
"Poppycock? So, I'm not a beauty who walks in the night?" She loved teasing Ian.
He gently lifted her chin, pretending to study it with haughty thoroughness. "Some men might find you lovely. I find your jaw a bit too stubborn." That was for calling him Harold, he thought.
"Some men might find your gray eyes mesmerizing. I find them full of obstinate challenge." That was
for bringing up the top-lofty Asher on their honeymoon. He didn't want to be haunted by a vampire's ghost.
"Some men might find your graceful manners most pleasing. I find them sadly lacking in decorum—a trifle hoydenish." That was for giggling in church at his first name.
"Some men might find you a handful." He grinned wolfishly, a predatory gleam to his eye as he cupped both breasts tenderly. "I find you… a handful."
So saying, he scooped her up and carried her inside, depositing her upon the rumpled sheets. He came down atop her, his nostrils flaring. "All in all, Clair Frankenstein Huntsley, I find you to be quite remarkable."
Lovingly, Clair gazed upon her husband's face. "And I find you to be more interesting than any supernatural species I have ever investigated. In point of fact, you are supernaturally magnificent all by yourself."
Ian grinned deviously and stripped off her robe. Clair was soon to be greatly surprised, he knew. He licked and nipped every inch of her flesh.
Squirming, Clair felt as if her skin were on fire. That area between her thighs began to tingle as Ian licked his way up her body. She looked down at his dark head buried between her legs and gasped. What was this? Did men and women really do this on their wedding nights? As Ian glanced up at her, a wicked grin on his face, Clair's thoughts all came tumbling out. "My, what big teeth you have."
The look he gave her would have melted a glacier.
"The better to eat you with, my dear." And he proceeded to do just that, nuzzling the honey-gold curls between her thighs. He sucked and bit, gently bringing on a climax that had Clair touching the stars. She screamed in delight.
Ian's grin was one of pure male arrogance in knowing that his mate was well satisfied, and soon he would be too. His erection was so stiff and heavy that he was afraid he would burst before he could savor her lush, tight warmth. Seconds later he was buried in her hot, pulsating heat.
Hungrily he attacked her mouth, feeding on its sweetness as he thrust into her with a savage rhythm. With indomitable spirit, Clair met him thrust for thrust, her body bucking wildly as he sucked on her generous white breasts. Again she screamed.
He was killing her with a pleasure so pure, Clair thought it must be tied to infinity and the creation of the cosmos. "I love you, I love you," she chanted over and over.
Ian could feel Clair's tremors beginning, and knowing she was about to climax he reared back and plunged deep one last time. She screamed again. He shouted, her loving words as well as her fulfillment bringing on his own. He found release in a hot burst, his seed flooding her warm dark depths.
Moments later he was supporting his weight on his elbows as he bowed his head to hers, his thick hair damp with sweat. "I love you, wife." He would never get tired of saying those words. He would never get tired of seeing her all pink and flushed with his lovemaking, her eyes glazed over with spent passion.
Rolling over, he pulled Clair to him, her tawny hair cascading over his chest. He kissed the top of her head. "I have two wedding gifts for you that you haven't yet received."
Clair's sleepy eyes lit up. "I love surprises," she said.
He grinned. "I know. You'll get one now and one later on tonight."
She sighed. "You know I want them both now. I'd argue about it, but I'm just too tired. So… how about that second surprise?" she coaxed seductively, running her fingers through the curly hair of his chest. Oh, how she loved the feel of her husband. Oh, how she loved this man. He was her miracle.
"Later," he promised. He hugged her tightly, savoring the feel of her naked body so close to him. "I know that bloody vampire Asher is always spouting poetry, so I decided on something special. On expressing myself in words the way you like but I haven't been able to do."
Clair propped herself on his chest, her eyes wide with surprise. "This is a gift indeed. I know poetry is not your forte."
"Hush, Clair, and let me get this said before I lose my blasted nerve." He pushed her head back onto his chest and began the poem, which eloquently told the feelings of his soul:
"How many have loved your moment of glad grace, and loved your beauty with love false and true. But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you and loved the sorrows of your changing face."
Clair's tears wet his chest, and Ian thought it a fitting end for that man who had once kept his heart encased in iron. "I will always love you, Harold Ian Huntsley," she said.
Then she was asleep, before he could scold her about using his first name. She looked so adorable in slumber, and he couldn't really blame her—after all, this was the third time they had made love in less than two hours. He always had such tremendous energy on nights of the full moon.
As Ian watched his wife sleeping in his bed, in his home in Wales, he felt his cup run over with love. Clair was his mate. She was in his territory. The two things gave him such a primitive sense of possession he wanted to howl with joy.
Tenderly, he lifted one of her long burnished golden curls that came nearly to her waist, and he inhaled the wintry scent of Clair. She was so beautiful, inside and out. She had awakened a hunger in him that only her companionship could sate.
In sleep, her remarkable curiosity and indomitable determination didn't show. Still, her smile held a hint of the minx. Yes, Ian knew, Clair Frankenstein Huntsley would always lead him a merry, merry chase.
Restless, he rose and prowled the room, then gave up and stepped out onto the balcony. He was so happy, he ached. Clair had broken the tower walls of his heart with her wit, compassion, energy, and humor. He loved her so much, and he wanted to make her happy. He knew she was forlorn about giving up her supernatural studies, but he had a big surprise for her. Though she wouldn't be able to publish these findings, she would be able to study deeply in private. And the deeper the investigation, the better. She wouldn't even have to leave home for her research. She could eye him here all she wanted.
Oh yes, he could hardly wait to see the look on Clair's face when she discovered his second surprise. He realized that she would be mad at first for his sin of omission. But he also knew her scientific curiosity would get the better of her bad temper—if she didn't kill him first.
He looked up into the night sky. The full moon had risen. Ian's body thrummed with energy and white-hot heat—the call of the wild. Ian laughed, the sound husky and deep as fur rippled out along his skin.
The transformation began. He threw back his head and howled.
Jerked awake from her sated slumber in the bedroom, Clair could swear that she'd just heard a wolf howl. On her wedding night, no less. Another spine-tingling howl convinced her that she wasn't having a delightful nightmare of werewolves and vampires. There was a wolf howling and, from the sounds, it was at the foot of her bed.
Peeking from under the covers, Clair gasped. Out on the balcony, her husband of less than a full day was transforming into a wolf before her very eyes. He was down on all fours, with fur covering every part of his body, with the exception of one part, which grew even longer and more rigid—if that was possible. Now that she'd expected on her wedding night. But not with all the fur.
Her eyes round, her fists clenched, Clair gasped, "I'm married to the Werewolf of London and he never told me!"
She turned to deal with him.
The Trouble with Hairy
Clair would never forget last night as long as she lived. The trouble with Harold Ian Huntsley was that he was a werewolf as well as her husband of one night. He was her lying, big-fanged, hairy husband. Call her an odd duck, but the werewolf part hardly threw Clair for a loop; it was the lying part she couldn't tolerate. Her husband had said he had a big surprise for her on her wedding night. He wasn't kidding. From mortal to wolf in less than five minutes. It would have been awe-inspiring if she hadn't been so mad about being deceived.
Clair had, of course, tried to talk to Ian about her anger. But how could you have an intelligent conversation when the person you're arguing with was howling at the moon? So Clair made the grown-up decision, packed her bags
, and left her bridegroom of less than two days to go home to her family.
Now that Clair was almost home, she faced several dilemmas. How could she break the news to her family? Should she break the news to them? How could she tell them that the perfect nobleman she had just married was furry and fanged once a month. She, the brilliant and eccentric scientist who was never going to get married, had fallen in love hard, fast, and forever with a four-footed liar.
Remembering how thrilled her family had been at the ceremony, Clair dreaded telling them the bad news. She hadn't married beneath her; she had married into a whole new species!
"I've left my husband on our wedding night because, you see, the trouble with Harry Ian is that he's hairy Ian," Clair mumbled to herself, testing it out. "Well, you didn't actually see, but I did." Shaking her head intently, she decided that wouldn't work. Uncle Victor would just want to watch the transformation and take notes. She would get no sympathy from him.
"Ian is the Wolfman of London," Clair tried. No, Frederick would just pat him on the back and welcome another monster into the family, she surmised. Desperate, she glanced outside the carriage window. They were pulling up to the Frankenstein family townhouse.
Irritated, she pulled on the red cloak her devious husband had given her for a wedding gift. He had kissed her soundly, then begun calling her his Little Red Riding Hood. A red cloak! How appropriate, since he was the big, bad, lying wolf.
To think, he had kept his werewolfism a secret when she was in the midst of the biggest supernatural investigation of her career. It was unforgivable. She would never see him again. Well, it was mostly unforgivable. Damn his big furry head!
Knocking on the front door to the townhouse, Clair stamped her foot. Ian was going to pay for his deceit. She just hadn't figured out how. But being the Frankenstein she was, she would figure a way. The Frankenstein family butler interrupted her thoughts of revenge.
"Why, Miss Clair, what are you doing here?" Brooks asked curiously. "What have you gotten yourself into now?"
