Alpha Vampire Romance: Vampire’s Mate (Paranormal Shapeshifter Alpha Demon Vampire Romance) (Coming of Age Werewolf BBW Shifter Women’s Fiction Short Stories)

by Rebecca Abbott

  They walked out the door arm in arm into the light, persistent drizzle. They laughed as the droplets clung to their hair and rolled down their intertwined arms. She loved how he looked in the rain, and how it reflected the evening sunlight.

  It made his sharply chiseled brow and jawline more prominent. And the way it dripped from his button nose past those full lips made her giddy. His long, dark eyelashes glittered when he blinked the rain away, and she was momentarily lost in the depths of his caramel colored eyes.

  Returning to herself, Gina pulled an umbrella out of her purse and Rafe held it over them as they walked down the street.

  Georgio’s was on the opposite side of the town square from the library. There weren’t many restaurants in the small farming town, but Georgio’s was the best. It was what some people referred to as the ‘fancy’ restaurant since it had centerpieces on all the tables and didn’t have a jukebox.

  When they entered they were greeted by the hostess, a blushing high school girl who clearly watched too many makeup tutorials on YouTube. She took them to a table for two on the far side of the restaurant where not too many others had been seated yet.

  As they glanced over the familiar menus Rafe asked Gina about her day and she about his. Naturally, their conversation turned to their house. At the beginning of the year, Rafe had bought a house and asked Gina to move in with him. After the server had taken their orders, they began to discuss details of the kitchen they were currently remodeling while they enjoyed a bottle of wine. The food was as excellent as always when it arrived and their idle conversation continued through the meal.

  Afterwards, they ordered cherry cheesecake for dessert and Rafe pulled out his phone. “I wanted to know-”

  The device slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. Gina smiled and leaned forward, but Rafe was already out of his chair to retrieve it.

  As he knelt down to pick up the phone, he pulled out a small box from his pocket. He looked up at Gina.

  “I wanted to know,” he opened the box, “if you’ll marry me.”

  Gina was speechless and her mouth hung open. She stared at the ring inside of the box. It was had alternating sapphires and diamonds in a white gold setting and a marquise cut center stone. Still unable to speak, she nodded as he reached for her hands and slipped the ring on her finger.

  Distantly, she could hear the soft “awww” and clapping from everyone else in the restaurant. She could feel the tears running down her face as the little metal band slipped around her finger and the diamond caught the candlelight.

  Rafe stood and pulled Gina to her feet as well. His soft hands brushed away the tears from her cheeks before gently taking hold of her and kissing her. The small crowd cheered for them.

  The server brought them their dessert in a to-go box and Rafe handed her a stack of bills. Then he scooped Gina up in his arms provoking another round of cheers from the patrons and staff of Georgio’s. Gina laughed and kissed him as they made their exit out into the evening rain.

  *****

  Butterflies welled up inside of Gina as she stood and accepted all the compliments of her bridesmaids and the other women who had helped them all get dressed. She felt like a precarious stilt walker in her heels, but she was steadily balanced, even as the women all took turns coming up and hugging her.

  All of the girls departed to take their place for the wedding. Gina waited anxiously at the doorway of the dressing room. She could see down the short hallway to foyer of the back door where the bridesmaids and groomsmen waited for their cue. From the other end of the hallway, the smell of the food being prepared for the reception wafted towards Gina and the butterflies in her stomach settled slightly at the familiarity of food.

  Outside on the patio figures were moving to take their seats. It wasn’t a huge wedding, but there were still roughly 300 guests who had sent in their RSVP and they knew for certain that there would be people showing up who hadn’t. Gina was glad they had gone with an outdoor wedding rather than the church. The town’s church was nice, but a bit on the dark and gloomy side.

  It was too kind of the pack leader to offer his estate for the wedding and reception. The grandeur of the plantation-style house lent a sort of elegance to the wedding that the charming old church never would have been capable of. Additionally, with the reception being held here as well, they only had to decorate one location.

  The weather had turned out perfect and even from here she was in love with the colors of the bridesmaids’ dresses against the bright reds and oranges of the leaves outside. Taking a deep breath, she heard the chiming of the town clock tower in the distance as 5 o’clock struck. Next, the music started and the wedding party began to make their way out the door.

  Gina turned to her mother, who was smiling brightly as she tried to hold back the tears. She handed Gina her bouquet of teal roses and white lilies.

  “Your father would be so proud.”

  Suddenly, at the mention of her father, Gina felt tears of her own threaten. Words failed her and so she smiled and hugged her mother. After all these years she still wore the same perfume, and Gina briefly remembered her childhood. She remembered all the times that she and her cousins would have pretend weddings as little kids, and then planning dream weddings with her friends when she was a teenager. Of course back then she dreamed of marrying Brad Pitt.

  “Come now,” her mother said as she regained her composure, “we need to get out there.”

  Gina laughed nervously as she held her mother’s arm. The last of the bridesmaids had just walked out of the door. As they reached the end of the hallway, the music shifted to announce the bride. Taking a deep breath, Gina stepped outside.

  The back porch was lined with Ionic columns and between the two center columns a white archway had been set up with teal and white tulle, and flowers. Her heels were solid against the hard wood as she walked. The sound seemed to echo when she stopped at the top of the porch stairs.

  She could feel the eyes of everyone upon her, but her attention could only focus on the end of the stone path where Rafe stood waiting for her in front of the manmade pond. Swallowing hard, Gina gathered up the front of her skirt as she had practiced with Leila and descended the steps.

  With every step, Gina could feel the emotion building up in her throat. She wanted to cry but held back the flood only for the sake of her makeup. Instead, she smiled brightly as she stared into Rafe’s eyes.

  Rafe stared back into her eyes. His smile was calming as she walked down the stone path. Gina blocked everyone else out of her mind and focused solely on his smile and how it lit up his golden caramel colored eyes.

  As she neared the end of the aisle she saw something creep into Rafe’s eyes. His smile began to drop and Gina heard a voice behind her.

  “How can you possibly think this is a good idea?” A voice behind her called out. She recognized that voice as Blake, a young cousin and member of the werewolf pack who didn’t approve of Rafe’s decision to marry her. It was an opinion she had voiced on many occasions.

  Gina was stopped in her tracks as a foot stepped down on the train of her dress. Suddenly everything was overwhelming. She could feel all the eyes on her as some of the guests let out gasps. There was no stopping her momentum as she pitched forward.

  “How dare you!” she heard her mother exclaim.

  “Blake! What are you doing?” Another voice from the crowd yelled out.

  Gina saw herself about to crash into the stone when a pair of strong arms caught her. She looked up and saw that Rafe saved her. She was too stunned to react as Rafe straightened her and held her close.

  Gina winced as she saw Blake in a tight black dress and a scowl on her face. Beneath her heel was the torn hem of Gina’s dress. She had a finger pointed accusingly towards her.

  “You don’t deserve to be with him! There’s no place for you at his side,” she cried out as the ushers tried to escort her off the premises.

  As they took hold of her she lashed out at the
m. Her hands began to transform into claws as she struck out at the two men and she tore their jackets.

  “Get out her out of here,” Rafe said, his voice an unsettling growl that almost sounded calm in his anger.

  Blake shrieked as she was pulled away from the crowd. Her echoing threats filled the air as she was taken around the side of the house away from the ceremony. Everything fell into silence as her yelling ended.

  Gina returned to herself and realized that the entirety of the wedding party had stepped up to surround her protectively. Leila’s hand was gripping her forearm tightly.

  After a moment, it was Leila who broke the silence. “Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get this show on the road.”

  This seemed to jolt everyone out of their shock of the scene that had unfolded before them. Guests returned to their seats and Rafe escorted her the rest of the way down the aisle.

  Gina looked up at him in awe at his composure. Rafe looked back at her and his eyes melted back into liquid caramel and a small smirk crawled across his lips.

  Leaning towards her he whispered, “By the way, you look amazing.”

  *****

  The rest of the wedding ceremony went smoothly, although that could have partially been attributed to people’s remaining surprise from earlier. Either way, when Rafe and Gina were pronounced man and wife, everyone stood and cheered.

  When she kissed her new husband, Gina quite forgot about the threats that Blake had made earlier. The violent young wolf was far from her mind when Rafe took her face in his hands and kissed her with the same passion he’d had since their very first date. Her head was swimming as the chorus of whooping cheers, whistles, and applause assaulted her ears.

  Their lips still attached, he picked up Gina and spun her around. She giggled and clung to him as her veil slipped off and clattered to the ground along with her shoes. Rafe kissed her again as he carried her back up the stone pathway to the porch as they were showered with rice by the guests. After climbing the steps, he set Gina down on her bare feet and she was glad to have her sense of balance back as she felt the smooth polished wood beneath her.

  Rafe held up his arms to gather everyone’s attention before announcing, “Dinner is ready, if everyone could make their way to the banquet room and take their seats while I find my wife a new pair of shoes…”

  The crowd tittered with laughter as Rafe picked Gina up again and carried her inside. They heard the rumblings and rustlings of the crowd preparing to come in from outside as he took her upstairs to where his own dressing room had been. Gina kissed his neck as he brought her into the large bedroom and threw her down on the bed, the both of them giggling like drunken teenagers.

  Rafe climbed on top of Gina and she pulled him close as their lips met. They kissed for a long minute before breaking away for air.

  “Well, my wife,” Rafe said and the words sent an electrifying spark of glee through Gina, “we have a few minutes while we wait for everyone to get settled downstairs.”

  Gina giggled while his hand pulled and searched for the hem of her dress. “I don’t want to have to put this dress on twice.”

  Rafe found the bottom of the skirt and lifted it up above her knees. “Well then, maybe I’ll just have to eat my dessert first.”

  “Well I can’t have you spoiling your appetite,” she laughed and then sighed as his fingers found their way under the skirts and up her legs.

  “No?” He laughed playfully. He pulled her skirt up to reveal the white lace panties she had bought for the occasion. Pulling at the edges of the lace he commented, “Looks like you wrapped my present up for me.”

  “Yup,” she said teasingly, “and you have to wait to open it until after you’ve had your supper and opened up the rest of your presents.”

  “Oh, yes, ma’am.” He pressed his nose to the lace and inhaled, “but you’re making it so hard for me to be a good boy.”

  Gina vibrated with her excitement. As much as she wanted to forget about the reception and skip straight to the honeymoon, there were roughly three hundred people waiting downstairs for them to come and begin the dinner. Besides that, the dress was complicated enough to get on once. She didn’t want to have to try to do it again with only Rafe to help her.

  She had no doubt in his ability to get it off, but on…that was a whole different story. Sitting up, Gina met Rafe’s lips for a kiss as three of his fingers found their way around the edges of her panties and inside of her.

  “Can’t I have a little appetizer?”

  Gina moaned softly. “Behave yourself.”

  Chuckling, Rafe removed his fingers and licked them one by one, starting with his ring finger, while letting out a small moan of his own. “Mmmm…you taste so good.”

  Gina reached out and grabbed his hand before he could lick the last finger and stuck it in her own mouth, tasting the sweetness of herself on his skin. Rafe’s eyes lit up with a new excitement as he raised his eyebrows.

  “You sure you don’t want to just sneak out the back and start the honeymoon now?”

  Laughing, Gina kissed him deeply before responding. “No, I’m not going to let Leila have all of that wedding cake to herself.”

  “Good point,” he laughed as he stood and pulled his new wife to her feet. “We need to find you some shoes then don’t we.”

  Just then, they heard the clattering of heels ascending the stairs and a moment later Leila appeared with Gina’s flats as if she had been summoned by her brother’s words.

  As she entered the doorway she let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Good, you’re both still dressed. Everyone is ready for you to come and start dinner.”

  *****

  The reception was dull in comparison to the wedding. There were no outbursts besides a few crying children as the evening wore on and they became tired. After dinner Gina and Rafe had their obligatory cutting of the cake followed by their first dance.

  As they spun around the room to Open Arms by Journey, Gina rested her head on his shoulder. Rafe kissed her cheek and whispered how happy he was to have her there in his arms.

  Gina smiled and looked up into his face. He looked absolutely boyish with a grin spread across his lips and a slight twinkling in his eye.

  “I love you,” he said as they spun around the room, pretending no one else existed.

  “I love you, too.”

  They kissed and the room swirled around them. Gina’s dress softly swished across the floor along to the rhythm of the song. She was glad they had taken those dance classes weeks ago and she didn’t have to fret about stepping on his toes, or him stepping on hers.

  In her peripheral vision, she could see other couples joining them out on the dance floor. Soon enough, there were swirling colors moving in time all around them and Gina felt like they were finally beyond being the center of attention for a moment.

  However as soon as the song ended, glasses were being tapped and the chanting of “kiss, kiss” started up. Gina laughed as Rafe pretended he didn’t understand the request. He motioned to himself and Gina in mock incredulity as the chanting intensified.

  Finally someone shouted, “Oh just kiss her already!”

  Rafe obliged and without warning, he dipped Gina down. Her new husband kissing her deeply silenced her shocked squeal of surprise, while the crowded hall erupted into cheers around them.

  Afterwards, it was time for Gina to toss the bouquet. Her bridesmaids along with all of the other single girls and women all crowded in the middle of the dance floor as they vied for a spot up front to catch the symbolic bunch of flowers.

  Gina stood at the far end of the hall and turned her back to the clamoring group of women. She waited a moment while someone started up a drumroll. All of the onlookers joined in, beating on tables or their laps. The noise increased until it suddenly all fell silent and Gina threw her arms back with all her might and sent the bouquet flying through the air.

  For a split second there was only silence before the fl
owers reached the girls and all hell broke loose as they squealed and grappled with each other to retrieve the flowers. Gina turned around to watch the chaos that ensued. It was highly entertaining.

  The height of the excitement was when a younger cousin of her’s, who was about 10 years old walked out of the bathroom to see the madness that was going on. She nonchalantly approached the horde of struggling women and swiped the bouquet neatly up off of the floor.

  The entire hall erupted into hysterical laughter as the little girl walked off before any of the other girls in the tussle even noticed what happened. Gina was doubled over in a fit of giggles.

  Then they brought out a chair for the next tradition that was to take place. Gina blushed because she had completely forgotten about this part. The groomsmen walked her over to the chair, which sat in the middle of the hall for all to watch.

  Gina sat down, partially nervous, but mostly embarrassed. All around her the crowd tittered and let out a low “ooh” as they got ready for the next part of the night’s entertainment.

  Rafe made a show of encouraging the crowd as he walked up to where his new wife sat in the chair. He got down on his knee and raised his hands in the air to quiet the crowd.

  Trying to restrain her laughter, Gina sat as still as she could while Rafe fingered the hem of her dress. The groomsmen began to chant and soon the crowd joined in.

  Rafe teased them by slipping his hands up under her dress. Gina was giddy as his hands lightly grasped her ankles and slowly pushed up to her knees. His touch was so soft and she blushed deeper as she felt herself getting excited and the crowd’s chanting increased.

  Flashing his devilish smile, Rafe ducked his head underneath her skirts. Gina took a quick breath as the room erupted into whoops and hollers and she felt Rafe’s hot breath between her knees. Her face was crimson with embarrassment as she felt his breath tickle her panties. She felt the gentle warmth of his tongue press against the fabric and she wanted to let out the most indignant noise, but managed to keep her mouth shut.