Authors: Calista Fox
Tears sprang to her eyes, as if she knew
precisely why he’d made that decision. “Well, who’s going to question that?
After all… You are the king.”
He resisted the urge to snicker at her jibe
when it came to those four words he’d adamantly reminded her of in the past.
“And you’ll be my wife?” he asked.
She nodded and smiled again as a few drops
slid down her cheeks. “Forever and ever.”
He slipped the ring on her finger.
Chapter Seventeen
“This is damask,” Sheena announced as she
whipped out a large swatch of white, patterned material from her oversized bag
and slapped it on the desk in front of Jade at the library. More samples
followed in lightning-quick speed. “Jacquard. Lace, obviously. Silk, organza,
sheer, satin and, of course, taffeta.”
Lisette eyed the squares and said to Jade,
“Taffeta was big in the ’80s. Many a bridesmaid cringed over cotton-candy pink
dresses with puffy sleeves that required their own ZIP codes and bows that made
their asses look twice as big.”
Jade’s brow lifted. “What’s cotton candy?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Sheena said between clenched
teeth. “Taffeta’s out.” She flung the swatch over her shoulder.
To Lisette, Jade said, “Easy there. She’s from
the ’80s.”
With exasperation in her tone, Sheena said,
“Ladies, focus. We have less than a month to plan a wedding and create the
dress of the century.”
Jade sighed. “I don’t want the dress of the
century.” How many times had she explained this to the vampire? “All I want is
one that fits properly, doesn’t have puffy sleeves that require their own ZIP
code or make my ass look twice as big…and, most importantly, doesn’t take away
from the Star of Nadia.”
She wore the necklace only on special
occasions at the castle and sometimes at the cottage. But she certainly
intended to wear it at her wedding. The pendant was a statement piece and Jade
didn’t need an over-the-top dress to go with it or to detract from its
shimmering brilliance.
“Think simple, Sheena. I know that’s difficult
for you.”
Lord knew the vampire was already deep in
disapproval. Jade had mentioned a white gown from the onset. But Sheena
abhorred such a boring selection. If it were really up to her, she’d have Jade
walking down the aisle in a flashy red evening gown. They’d finally agreed on
classic white though. It was Jade’s wedding, after all.
“Fine.” Sheena eyed the samples she’d laid out
and said, “Damask and jacquard have more of an antiquated feel…from the king’s
time.” She never called him Darien in front of anyone other than Jade.
“Hey now,” Jade quipped. “You’re calling my
fiancé antiquated.”
“Jade,” Lisette chimed in with the girl talk.
“He is two hundred and thirty-five years old and doesn’t believe in
electricity.”
Not exactly facts she could deny. Yet she
grimaced anyway. “Have you both forgotten that I’m the bride? Be nice to me and
don’t give my groom grief.”
Lisette said, “I will concede that, for his
age, he’s ridiculously handsome.”
“‘Ridiculously’?” Jade mused. “I like that.
And indeed, he is.”
“Please.” Sheena rolled her eyes. “You’re
talking about my boss.”
Jade eyed her speculatively and then said,
“You know, maybe you’d be less uptight about my wedding if you had one of your
own to plan.”
Sheena’s green eyes narrowed on her. “And who
do you propose I marry?”
“Are you kidding?” Jade scoffed. “There’s an
entire castle full of vampires—the majority of which are extremely
good-looking. And all of them drool a little when you walk by.” To Lisette, she
said, “I’ve seen it.”
Appearing offended, Sheena said, “Vampires
don’t drool.”
“Perhaps you’re not paying close enough
attention.” Jade winked at her friend.
Ignoring the comment, Sheena continued to
bustle about, waving fabric squares in Jade’s face. “Lace and satin can be too
predictable when it comes to the simple dress patterns you have in mind.
Organza tends to be stiff and not quite malleable enough. Sheer has
possibilities, but you don’t want layers blowing in the breeze, since you
insist on having your wedding outdoors. That leaves us with silk.”
All kidding aside, Jade glared at her friend
for putting her through wedding-planning hell. “Why didn’t you just say upfront
that’s what you want my dress to be made of?”
“Because it should be your decision.”
“But is it really?”
Sheena beamed. “No, not really.” She packed
everything as quickly as she’d flung them forth. “Now, the king insisted I not
try to sway you into having the ceremony in the castle’s courtyard and the
reception inside.”
“Absolutely not,” Jade was quick to say,
putting her foot down. “I want the entire village present and none of them
would be comfortable at the castle, not even in the gardens. Plus… It’s too
formal a setting and not at all my style.”
“You will be living there part-time,” Lisette
reminded her.
“I know. But Darien understands I’m much
happier at the cottage and in the village.”
Fear was no longer a factor. She’d been to the
castle plenty of times since the engagement was officially announced, along
with her immortal state. Since she’d earned the respect of Sheena, Morgan, Rafe
and Landford, her credibility had increased.
Over the past two months, she’d gotten to know
others at the castle and she was developing a good rapport with the demons,
including the vampires in residence who, like Sheena, found some sort of
personal satisfaction in proving they didn’t want to drink human blood. But the
opulence of the castle was still overwhelming to her.
“Besides,” Jade continued, “the king has
already chosen a spot for the wedding and reception, but he hasn’t told me
where yet. He wants me to be surprised.”
“I have to admit,” Sheena said, “it’s nice to
see this romantic side of him. He’s been a bit of an ogre for nearly nine
years, pining for you.”
“That does have a surreal quality to it,” Jade
said. “I’m really still in shock over everything that’s happened these past
several months.”
“Well, you’d better get used to it,” the
vampire said. “Because this
is
all happening. No backing out now.”
She scoffed. “As if I would.” Jade had no
doubt her smile turned dreamy as she added, “I am very much in love.”
“And I’m happy for you.” Sheena gave her a
quick hug. “Gotta run now.”
Lisette patted Jade on the shoulder, still not
fully amenable to her marrying the Demon King but doing her best to support her
friend.
“I’ve got to go as well,” Jade said. “Night
patrol. I’ll walk out with you.”
They left Lisette at the library and traveled
to the northern border together before going their separate ways. Jade made her
rounds twice and returned to the castle before sunrise, passing Rafe and
Landford in the forest at the base of the ridge. They informally, though
respectfully, saluted her, and she found the gesture charming.
She moved quickly through the study and into
the bedroom, stripping her clothes off along the way. Sheena had vacated the
suites on the other side of the study and Jade used them now for her sitting
and dressing rooms.
The vampire had moved into a different wing,
out of earshot, Jade hoped. She liked that no one other than the guards at the
entrance to their wing were allowed in the area, with the exception of Jocelyn
and those instances when Darien’s assistant or general had business to address.
She slipped between the sheets and snuggled
close to him from behind as he lay on his side. Her lips trailed over his warm
skin and he stirred. She pressed her bare breasts to his back and dropped
kisses along his broad shoulder as she inhaled his earthy scent. She was
instantly aroused.
“Your skin’s cold,” he said in a sexy, sleepy
tone.
“It rained in the middle of the night. I had
Sheena’s cape with me, although the ends of my hair are damp.” She lightly
nipped his neck as her breasts rubbed against the sinewy muscles of his back.
“See? A hair dryer would come in handy at this moment.”
He grunted. He reached a powerful arm behind
him and wrapped it around her waist. Dragging her forward, he pulled her over
his hunky side. She twisted so she ended up on her back, her legs draped across
his hip. She was tangled in the sheets but didn’t care as he embraced her tightly
and kissed her deeply.
When he pulled away, she was breathless.
He asked, “You want electricity?”
Jade glanced around the room, finding the low
fire and the few candles he’d left burning for her a seductive enhancement to
the large suite. Her gaze returned to him and she said, “I guess not.” She
considered what improvements might come with the advancement, however, and
added, “Maybe someday though.”
He kissed her again, and electricity created
by sexual chemistry was the only thing on her mind. One of his hands shifted
from her waist and eased over the sheet that held her captive as it twined
around her body. He palmed her breast through the thick material and squeezed
it gently. She moaned and he responded, his kiss turning hot and possessive.
Jade wove her fingers through his dark hair
and reveled in how luxurious it felt against her skin. When his mouth left
hers, it trailed over her jaw and down her throat. Her nipples puckered as they
brushed against the sensuous sheets, and her pussy ached for him. But a
lascivious thought tickled the back of her brain and she gave him a push so he
rolled onto his back. She had to work her way out of her position and the
entangled linen, and then she reached for her robe at the foot of the bed.
Darien groaned. “Bad timing this morning?” He
obviously thought she meant to derail their interlude by dressing. “We were at
the cottage for five days straight recently. I thought you were back to the
good beads.”
They’d made a change to their scheduled
bed-hopping in order to accommodate her period, since she didn’t want to
torture the vampires in the castle. While she and Darien mostly stuck to the
Standard Method of planning, sometimes he’d get carried away and didn’t give a
damn whether she was ovulating or not. He’d withdraw from her before he came,
but that didn’t offer any guarantees. And lately, he’d been hinting at starting
a family.
But birth control was not on her mind at the
moment. “We’re in a happy place with the beads,” she told him. “I’m just in the
mood for something different.” Not that he didn’t change up the lovemaking on a
regular basis. Every time with Darien was more exciting than the last, which
led to her feeling adventurous.
She yanked the long, satin sash from her robe
and turned back to him, no doubt a sparkle in her eyes. “It’s my turn to tie
you
up.”
He smirked. “Kings don’t succumb to bondage
and dominant females.”
Crawling toward him, she said, “They do when
their soon-to-be-queen wants them to.”
He grabbed her by the biceps and pulled her
down on top of him. “You make me so damn hard,” he all but growled between
clenched teeth.
She grinned. “Then we’re off to a very good
start this morning.”
Her lips grazed his and then she wiggled out
of his clutches. She brought his wrists together and secured them with one end
of the sash, and tied the other to the headboard, as he’d done to her the first
time they’d made love.
Shoving the sheets away from his mammoth body,
she admired every inch of him.
She licked her lips. “You are a masterpiece.”
Leaning over him, she left feathery kisses on
his chest and then flicked her tongue over a pebbled nipple. His huge biceps
flexed and he let out a low groan.
“You really think this flimsy tie is going to
restrain me?” he asked.
“No,” she said as her lips skimmed over his
smooth flesh. “The fact I want to enjoy your body and drive you wild will keep
you from ripping that tie in two.”
“This is what I get for wanting to give you
your heart’s desire.”
She ran her hand over his erection, while once
again whisking her tongue over his nipple. “Are you complaining, my Lord?”
He snorted. “Don’t get sassy. I’ll eventually
be free of this dainty piece of cloth and then guess what?”
Her hand eased over his cock to cup his balls.
“Why don’t you stop thinking about what you’re going to do when you’re free of
the tie and concentrate on what I’m doing to you now?”
“But there are so many things
I
want to
do to
you
.”
She shifted on the bed and moved between his
parted legs. “And you have an entire eternity in which to do them.”
Dragging her tongue from his base to his tip,
she elicited a shudder from him.
He said, “You don’t even have to do anything
and I want you.”
Her mouth closed over his head and she sucked
him hard. He grunted.
“Okay,” he conceded. “You make your point
exceptionally well.”
She took him deep into her mouth and his hips
jerked. Her head bobbed up and down and her fingers rolled his balls and tugged
lightly.
“Damn it, Jade.” His body tensed, as though he
fought a wave of sensation that just might take him over the edge.
She sucked harder. He moved in time with her
and she could sense when he reached the point where he could hold on no longer.
He called out her name as he came, his body trembling.
As his orgasm ebbed, she released him but
didn’t untie him.
Her lips slid over his skin, across his
corrugated abs. Then she kissed her way down to his legs, alternately licking
and nipping at an inner thigh.
His voice was gruff as he said, “Remove the
sash now or I’ll tear it.”
She lifted her head. “No, you won’t.”
Continuing her path downward, she crooked his
knee and kissed the underside of it, then teased the sensitive area with her
fingertips. He responded to the light touch with a low groan.
Shifting on the bed, she straddled his waist
and pressed her naked flesh against his.
He said, “Now you really need to let me use my
hands.”
“Not yet.”
She planted her forearms on either side of his
biceps. Her body stretched over his, her breasts nestling below the ledge of
his pectoral muscles. She kissed his neck as her hips rocked slowly. Her pussy
lips, already dewy with arousal, slid easily over the warm skin on his belly.