Immortal Rapture: Immortal Heart (15 page)

Izzy nodded and moved to stand in front of him. She studied his face for minute before cupping his cheeks. “I’m glad you’re back, and I’m glad you found what you needed to heal your heart.”

He smiled down at her. “Thanks to you.”

She shook her head. “I healed the physical, Uriah. Marie and that little guy right there healed your heart. Okay, I need to go get ready. There is makeup and hair products in that bag… she loves to play dress up.”

Uriah laughed. “I’ll let her know.”

“Good… as her big sister, I have to warn you that if you hurt her, I will hurt you.”

Uriah smiled. “I could never hurt her.”

Izzy nodded. “That’s because you love her… make sure she knows that… And I better get to plan the wedding.” She winked.

“Not until you plan yours.”

She sighed wistfully. “You think Bain will ever want to get married?”

Uriah arched a brow. “I think Bain already sees you as his wife.”

She smirked. “Well, I want the ring… on his finger more than mine.”

Uriah chuckled. “I’ll let him know.”

“Good, I’ll see you at dinner.”

****

The banter flowed and the food was exceptional as the group melded together. Marie found herself fascinated by the brothers as they explained their individual gifts. She also found her face hurting from smiling so much as they opened up, telling stories of their past. For all the uniqueness of this world and how special the group was, she honestly felt like she was sitting with her own family. Makiah stole the show a few times as he was passed around the table. Everyone got their chance to hold him and bond with the amazing little bundle that was rapidly capturing the hearts of everyone who laid eyes upon him.

Izzy held him as they began to disperse from the dining hall. “Let us watch him, so you can show Marie around.”

Bain smiled down at Izzy as she snuggled Makiah close to her chest.

Uriah looked to Marie. “You ready for a tour?”

Marie eyed Izzy. “Yeah, that sounds great. Besides, we might lose a hand trying to take him from her.”

Izzy grinned. “Come get him whenever you get back…
We can even keep him for the night if you’d like.”

Bain placed his hand on her lower back and began ushering her from the room. “I promise to make her give him back whenever you come for him.”

Izzy pouted as she looked up at Bain. He shook his head and kept pushing her forward.

“That man is going to have to give her a baby someday soon.”

Uriah smiled as they moved down the hall in the opposite direction. “He needs to give her a ring first.”

Marie arched her brow. “That’s a very old fashioned outlook on the subject.”

Uriah shook his head. “No, she just told me earlier that she wants to be married.”

Marie smiled. “Of course she does. She’s a wedding planner
, and she loves him… like soul deep. Every woman wants to marry the man she loves. It’s what most little girls dream of, the happily ever after with Prince Charming.”

Uriah chuckled. “Does Bain fit the description of Prince Charming?”

Marie considered the question for a very brief second before laughing as well. “Not by most women’s standards, but he is definitely Izzy’s Prince Charming.”

Uriah pushed open the doors to the hole. “This is our living slash
rec room.”

Marie studied the room, moving to the billiards table. She
slid her fingers over the cue ball and rolled it across the smooth red felt. “You any good?”

He dipped his chin. “I can hold my own. How about you?”

She winked at him. “I can hold my own as well. We’ll have to play a game one of these days.”

“Whenever you want
,” he agreed. She was playing coy, and it was wreaking havoc on his good intentions of showing her around the castle and the grounds.

“What’s out there?” she asked, gesturing to the French doors.

“The back courtyard, garden, and the pool.”

She smiled brightly. “How about a midnight dip?” she asked as she reached back to slide the zipper on her dress down.

Uriah groaned as he rushed at her. Clasping her hand, he stopped it in its downward draw of the small zipper on her beautiful dress. “You want to go skinny dipping?”

She tilted her head. “I can leave my bra and panties on if you’d prefer.”

Uriah flung the doors open, lifted her into his arms, and took flight.

She laughed and kissed his neck. “You could have just said no.”

He shook his head. “Oh, I much prefer the removal of all clothing, but I have a better place in mind for that.”

“Oh, do tell.”

“You’ll soon see.”

Uriah landed softly at the water’s edge, where he set Marie down and turned her face to the gently rippling water. She made a breathy noise as she leaned back against
his chest.

“It’s stunning.” The lake stretched out in front of them, surrounded by large boulders and a thick forest, all of which still had patches of snow. She turned to him. “We can’t go skinny dipping in it though.”

He smiled. “No, not in the lake.”

He laced their fingers and led her towards the trees.

“Uriah, I’m in heels. I can’t go hiking through the woods.”

He swept his arm under her knees and lifted her against his chest. She held on tight to his neck as he moved swiftly through the trees and eventually to a
rock-lined pool of steaming water. He gently set her down and smiled. “Is this more like it?”

She looked over to the pool of water. “Most definitely.”

She slipped out of her shoes and reached for his belt. “You’re getting in with me, right?”

He growled and smiled wide, his fangs fully visible to her for the first time. “You naked in a pool of hot water… yes, I am joining you.”

She studied him as she unclasped his belt and pulled his shirt from his waistband. “How did I miss the fangs before?”

“Because unlike
vampires, ours sit further back, and we learn at a young age to smile in a way that keeps them hidden.”

She reached up and pressed the pad of her finger to the sharp tip. It easily pierced the flesh with little pain. She pulled her finger back and studied the pooling drop of blood.

“You okay?” he asked, grasping her hand to inspect her finger.

She smiled and nodded. “I’m fine.”

Pulling her hand from his, she went to work on the buttons of his shirt. Her movements seemed trancelike, causing Uriah to grasp her hands. “Marie, look at me.”

She lifted her gaze, her tanzanite orbs locking with his metal irises. “What?”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded.

“You need to talk to me.”

“I don’t want to ruin this moment. It’s too beautiful out here.”

Uriah sighed, lifting her into his arms, and moved to sit at the edge of the hot spring. “The moment isn’t right if you have any reservations. Which you must if you’re worried about ruining the moment, so talk to me.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. It feels a little surreal and to be honest, for all the talk of me diving in
headfirst… I’ve never felt like this.”

Uriah tilted his head to get a better look at her beautiful face. In the
moonlight, he was reminded that she was still so very young, and he wondered if he’d been selfish with her. Ultimately, that was his flaw. He was selfish with the women he loved… yep loved. He loved Marie. She came out of nowhere, and he had swept her into this world without even considering what it meant for her.

“You don’t have to do this, Marie. This doesn’t have to be your life, but I won’t take you back until I know for sure that you are safe.”

Her head whipped towards him, her eyes wide. “No, don’t say that. Would you really give me up so easily?”

He groaned. “Easily? No,
love, it would be heartbreaking. I guess I just don’t know what you need or want.”

She smiled. “You, and that little boy my sister is fawning over as we speak.”

Uriah furrowed his brows. “Then why do you suddenly seem detached?”

She sighed. “I feel like I’m goin’ crazy. I keep waiting to wake up and find it was all a dream. I never get the perfect guy
, and this world is beyond imagination.” She reached up and traced his smooth jaw line. “I’m sorry.”

He cupped her face
, and kissed her forehead before leaning back to catch her gaze. “Don’t you dare apologize. There’s a lot to take in, but Marie, you’re not crazy. This world is real and confusing, and while I’m less than perfect, I do love you.”

A small quiet laugh escaped her lips as they tipped into a beautiful smile
. “You do?”

He nodded and smiled
back. “Very much, in fact.”

“I love you too,” she whispered before capturing his mouth in a deep kiss. Her hands found their way to his shirt
. With frenzied movements, she worked the buttons open as he drew her zipper down. She shivered as he pushed the thick straps of her dress off her shoulders. He made quick work of her bra clasp, and its straps soon followed. Marie slipped her arms free of the material and her fingers found home in his thick, dark hair, as his head dipped to her exposed skin.

Uriah kissed along her
collarbone and over the swell of her breast to her peaked nipple. His tongue laved at the hard bud as his mouth closed over her flesh, and he suckled softly. Her head fell back and her eyes closed. Keeping her cradled in his arms, Uriah stood and guided the dress free of her body. She shivered, and he lifted his head to catch her gaze.

“Don’t stop
,” she whimpered.

“You’re cold.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Of course it mattered
. Uriah kicked his shoes off and pushed his pants down, stepping free of them he moved to the pool of water and slowly immersed them. Marie let out a soft sigh.

“Better?” he asked.

“Perfect,” she said before shifting out of his arms. Her feet found purchase on the smooth floor of the pool and the deep water hit her just above her navel.

She reached for the waistband of his boxers. Hooking her fingers in the material, she pushed them down his thickly muscled thighs. Her delicate fingers grazed over his shaft
, and his head fell back as she gently rubbed her thumb over his tip. Uriah groaned, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pushed her against the smooth rock, pinning her between him and the hard back of the hot spring.

He kissed her deeply before pulling back and cupping her face. “You’re beautiful, and I want nothing more than to bury myself deep inside of you, but we have to be careful… Jelena never should have been able to carry my child
; the Fae don’t procreate easily. Makiah was born because of my mother’s bloodline.”

She tilted her head, still grasped in his warm hands, and smiled. “Are you telling me that we need condoms? And you don’t have any?”

He looked crestfallen. “Exactly.”

She leaned in and softly bit down on his earlobe before whispering. “It’s a good thing I have us covered.”

He groaned as her lips began a slow trail from his neck, over his smooth jaw, to capture his mouth in another passionate kiss. With only a breath between their lips, she spoke again, “I trust you, Uriah. If you tell me that the birth control is enough, then that’s all I need to hear.”

“It’s enough
,” he said as he ripped her panties free of her body, causing her to laugh. Grasping his shoulders, she lifted her legs to lock her ankles under his ass. She caught his gaze and held it as she lowered her body to his. She slid over his hard flesh to cradle him deep inside of her heated sheath.

She let out a breathy sigh as she stilled with him buried to the hilt inside of her. “Oh shit.”

“So damn perfect.” Uriah’s hands pushed her hair back to cup the sides of her face. He tilted her head to take her mouth in a bruising kiss, then trailed his lips over her jaw and down her neck. His hips began a slow, merciless rhythm that had her fingers digging into his shoulders briefly, before she slammed her palms to the rock surface at her back and pushed hard against it. Uriah lifted his head and smiled at her. His hands moved to cup her ass as he backed up and sat on a rock below the water’s surface.

Marie shifted to straddle him, her palms
falling flat on the chiseled muscles of his chest and her hips rocking hard against him. Uriah let out a purring growl. His hands searched and caressed every inch of skin before one hand fisted her hair to gently pull her head back and force her body to arch. His mouth descended on her exposed breast.

He suckled, his tongue caressing her soft skin.
Again, he could taste her magic as if it were bleeding through her pores. It was sweet like nectar, and Uriah swore he could get drunk off her. Her silky flesh, talented mouth, and the erotic little moans and whimpers she leant into the silent night around them had become as necessary as the air he was breathing. There was no way he could ever let her go. No way he would ever let anything bad touch her. She was going to be the death of him, and he would easily lay down his life for her.