Snow White and the Vampire (The Cursed Princes)
Page 24
“This dress is nice and light,” she chirped happily. “You made a good suggestion.”
Dimitri drew his knees up and rested his elbows on them. He looked back at Stelian Hall, its turrets reaching the cloudless night sky with stoic patience.
“This place puts my apartment in Bucharest to shame.” Dimitri laughed. “Are you glad I bought it?”
Alba smiled. “Yes. It holds good memories of my father as much as it holds bad ones of Ileana, but I’m not afraid to make a fresh start.”
Dimitri reached over and stroked her cheek. Bending forward, he pressed his lips to hers, and Alba felt a familiar rush of delight pulse through her. She never grew tired of Dimitri’s kisses—or of their ardent lovemaking. Seemingly, the world had stopped since they came to Stelian Hall. And she was happier than she’d ever been.
He coaxed her to lie down and rolled halfway on top of her. Their legs tangled while she ran a hand through his black hair. It glimmered in the moonlight as it always did, and his handsome face beamed with its usual elegance. All that was familiar about Dimitri made Alba grateful that she would never see him age. Being a vampire was a strange lifestyle, yet Alba had adjusted to it quickly. Her only regret was that she and Dimitri could never be legally wed. It was a complaint she’d been forced to throw to the wayside, as there was no changing their circumstances.
She moaned with pleasure as he flicked his tongue forward. She received it readily and closed her eyes as a warm breeze fluttered over them.
He pulled away to look into her eyes. “You make me so happy.”
She sighed and stroked the curve of his lean chin. “I hope we never have to leave here.”
“I feel the same way.” He pushed a curl from her forehead. “There is nothing for us anywhere else.”
“I do miss Mrs. T. and the girls,” she countered with a quirk of her lips. “I got a letter from them today.”
He smiled. “What did it say?”
“Mrs. T. wrote that the girls are dancing in La Traviata this season. Ellen has been given a solo piece.”
“That’s wonderful!” Dimitri shifted onto his back. Alba laid her head on his chest while he took her hand in his. “Did Mrs. T. mention Teddy—or Jochen?”
Alba nodded. “Since Teddy was released from Newgate, he has returned to the courtroom with full dignity. Mrs. T. writes that it was difficult for him to live down the fact that he visited a prostitute or two in the East End, but his disposition helped him through the scandal.”
“How does Mrs. T. know all this about Teddy?” Dimitri marveled.
“He’s remained close to the Tuttlebaum girls. In fact, he escorted Edwina to dinner.”
“They’re both romantics at heart,” Dimitri said, plucking a poppy from the ground and twirling it by its stem.
“Yes. They would make a lovely pair.”
“And Jochen. What did Mrs. T. say about him?”
“When he was released from police custody and found himself without a job, Mrs. T. offered to secure a post for him at the local café. She knows everyone there.”
“Did Jochen take her up on the offer?”
Alba shook her head. “She wrote that Jochen came into some money. How do you think that happened?”
Dimitri cleared his throat. “Instead of giving the bracelet of Amenhotep back to the British Museum as I should have, I gave it to Jochen. Then I wrote Mrs. T. asking her to give him Tousret’s amulet from your jewelry box. Upon my request, Jochen sold them to a private collector.”
“And I presume that upon your further instruction, Jochen gave Mrs. T. and the girls a portion of the impressive sale.” She smiled.
“You presume correctly,” Dimitri said dreamily.
As the moon hung low overhead, Alba snuggled in closer. She let out another contented sigh. Dimitri sat up suddenly.
“It’s time,” he said.
Alba arched an eyebrow in confusion. “Time for what?”
“Do you know what today is?”
“It’s June twentieth.”
“Yes, but do you know the significance of this day?”
She was speechless.
“We met twelve years ago on June twentieth.”
Alba was touched that he remembered such a detail. Her lips quivered with emotion and she smiled.
Dimitri opened his hand. There lay the dried white poppy he had delivered to her in London.
“How did you get this?” she gasped.
“I asked Edith to send it to me.”
He pulled her to her feet, as excited as a schoolboy. “I want to make this day our anniversary of sorts. Stay here.” He moved to the hollowed log and stuffed his hand inside it. “I put something in here twelve years ago. Let’s hope it’s still there.”
He removed a tiny package wrapped in burlap, and when he opened it, he revealed a ring carved out of alderwood, slightly larger than hers. “I made one for myself that summer,” he said sheepishly.
“Dimitri—” Her voice caught.
“You will be the most beautiful bride there ever was. Now, hold your flower in front of you.”
She laughed gaily and did as he asked. He fastened her white shawl over her head like a veil as tears of happiness streamed down her cheeks.
Dimitri turned to face her and held out the ring he’d hidden in the log. “Before we exchange vows, I want you to read the inscription I carved.”
Pressing her lips together, she held the rustic ring up in the moonlight. It read: Pentru totdeauna i întotdeauna. Forever and Always.
“How perfect,” she murmured. After they took turns exchanging vows, she slipped the ring on his finger and he drew her into a heart-pounding kiss.
“Have you finally learned to like surprises, Alba?”
“Yes.” She choked the words out against his soft mouth. Damn you, Dimitri.
Eighty miles away, high up Transylvania’s winding mountain roads, sat a centuries-old castle steeped in shadow. Its owner—a reclusive collector of art and antiquities—studied the amulet of Tousret and the bracelet of Amenhotep, for which he’d just paid a fortune. He had done so in hopes that the jeweled pieces would finally lead him to his soul mate.
Innocent and extremely beautiful, the woman this mysterious collector was about to seduce had no idea that her dark Prince Charming was coming for her. Nor did she know that he was an extremely powerful lord of black magic . . .
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by the Brothers Grimm is the first fairy tale my mother ever read to me. Dazzled by the idea that true love’s first kiss could bring someone back to life, I became an instant fan. (I was Snow White for Halloween that year. I even had Snow White bedsheets!)
As I grew and my writer’s imagination came into play, I began to mull over the classic fairy tale in a different way. What if Snow White had been shrewd enough to outsmart her cruel stepmother without the help of the huntsman? And what if her prince had been more of a central character . . . a dashing and elegant hero fierce enough to stop the black-hearted Queen in her tracks?
I’m excited that these possibilities played out in Snow White and the Vampire. I admit that I took some fictional liberties with English Law in this novel (the first woman to defend a murder suspect in England actually did so in 1929), but it was great fun stocking the story full of what-ifs—especially my favorite one: What if Snow White could only be awakened by true love’s first “bite”?
If you liked Snow White and the Vampire, I hope you’ll look for Sleeping Beauty and the Demon, the next Cursed Princes romance, in August 2014.
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credit: Moto Photo
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Although Marina Myles lives under the sunny skies of Arizona, she would reside in a historic manor house in foggy England if she had her way. Her love of books began as soon as she read her first fairy tale and eventually led to a degree in English literature. Now, with her loyal Maltese close by, she relishes the hours she gets to escape into worl
ds filled with fiery—but not easily attained—love affairs. She’s busy being a wife, a mother, and a member of Romance Writers of America, but she is never too busy to hear from her amazing readers. Visit her at www.marinamyles.com.
eKENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2013 by Marina Myles
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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eISBN-13: 978-1-60183-100-2
eISBN-10: 1-60183-100-5
First Electronic Edition: December 2013
ISBN: 978-1-6018-3100-2