The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride

by Kristen Painter

  Delaney enjoyed Hugh’s stunned, open-mouthed response to her suggestion. She sipped her wine and took it all in, amazed that she could get that kind of response out of a centuries-old vampire.

  Huh. Her boyfriend was a vampire.

  He finally cleared his throat and found his voice. “What kind of benefits are you talking about?”

  “Yeah, what kind of benefits?” Julian plopped down on the sofa next to them. He waved at one of the servers. “Hey, gorgeous, can you bring us another glass? Thanks.”

  With a grin, he put his feet up on the table and sat back. He gave Hugh a very pointed look. “Look at you, out at Insomnia of all places. And with a date.”

  Hugh’s expression went stony. “I thought you preferred the human clubs, Julian.”

  Julian shrugged. “Even I need a break once in a while. Besides, I like to dip my toe into both sides of the river, if you know what I mean. Human, supernatural, I like ’em all.”

  Hugh grimaced. “If only it was just your toe you were dipping.”

  Delaney rolled her lips in to keep from laughing.

  The server brought another glass and poured wine for Julian. He lifted the glass to them. “Here’s to the happy couple then.”

  “We were just going home, actually,” Hugh said.

  Julian ignored the hint. “Before you do, I thought you should know I ran into Piper.”

  Hugh snorted. “There’s a lot of that going around.”

  “She told me everything.” Julian flicked his gaze toward Delaney before continuing. He gestured to her with his glass. “She’s got it out for you.”

  Delaney waved her hand. “Tell me something I don’t know about Psycho Barbie.”

  “It’s handled,” Hugh said.

  Julian nodded. “And very well if the two of you are still a thing. I guess it also explains why you’re here.”

  “What do you mean?” Delaney asked.

  “I mean you two must have had a real heart to heart and dished all your secrets. My brother doesn’t share his true nature with the women he dates.” Julian fluttered his lashes. “The fact that he did that with you can only mean it’s love.”

  “Julian—”

  “It’s too late to protest, brother dear.” He tipped his head at Delaney. “You can’t pretend otherwise when you’ve got this one wearing your dead wife’s jewelry, now can you?”

  Delaney’s hand flew to the dragonfly. A chill ran through her, more because Hugh had lied to her—his mother’s, indeed—than because of who it actually belonged to. Although that was a little creepy too. “This was your wife’s?”

  Hugh nodded. “Yes. I—”

  “So much for honesty.” If the piece weren’t so valuable, she would have ripped it off and thrown it at him.

  “I was going to tell you when we got home. There’s more to the story, it’s just not a conversation I want to have here.”

  Julian held his hands up. “Sorry about that. I figured if she knew you were a vampire, you’d told her all about Juliette too.”

  Delaney stared at Julian. “Why? What else is there to tell?”

  “Say a word, Julian, and I will tear your throat out,” Hugh snarled.

  Julian refilled his glass then stood. He lifted the glass toward Delaney. “I’ll just leave you to it then.” And walked off.

  Hugh was seething. Her anger over news of the dragonfly’s true owner paled in comparison to whatever was going on with him. He hadn’t been this enraged even when she’d confessed she wasn’t who he thought she was. She wanted to touch him, to reassure him that whatever it was, it couldn’t be that bad, but contact seemed like the last thing he’d welcome.

  “Let’s go home,” she said quietly.

  He continued staring after his brother, the muscles in his jaw tensing.

  She took a breath. And put her hand on his leg. “Hugh.”

  Finally, he turned to her, and the luminescent anger in his eyes faded. He blinked once.

  “Whatever it is,” she assured him, “it’s okay. Let’s go home and talk about it.”

  Still no response.

  “Or not.” She pulled her hand back.

  He grasped her wrist. His gaze dropped to the dragonfly around her neck, and pain took the place of anger in his eyes. “I killed her. I’m the reason she’s dead.”

  She blinked. “You killed your wife.”

  He nodded.

  A thousand scenarios played out in her head, all of them starring Hugh as the out-of-control vampire and his late wife as the victim. She shivered. She couldn’t really buy Hugh as a brutal killer, but she’d only known him a few days. Maybe he was a vampire Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. “You need to explain exactly what you mean by that.”

  Because staying here in Nocturne Falls no longer sounded like the best possible option. Even compared to Rastinelli and his gun.

  He let her hand go and dropped his head into his hands. “I tried to save her from the plague.”

  “You mean by turning her into a vampire?”

  He nodded. “I tried. She…didn’t make it. The turning killed her.”

  More scenarios, this time Hugh clamping down on an unknown woman’s neck and draining her until she died. Another tremor ran through Delaney.

  Hugh turned his head to see her. “You’re afraid of me now.”

  “No, I—”

  “It’s not a question. I can hear your heart pounding. The increase in your breathing.” He moved away from her a few inches. “I would never hurt you, Delaney. Never.”

  Her heart broke a little for him. She went after him, sliding toward him on the sofa to close the gap he’d created. “I know.”

  And the truth was, she believed that. “How did the turning kill her? Did you…drink too much from her?”

  His brow furrowed. “You think I…no, that’s not how it works. She just didn’t survive the process.”

  She blew out the breath she’d been holding. “Then you didn’t really kill her.”

  He stared at her. “If it wasn’t for my insistence, she never would have attempted the turning. I’m the reason and the cause of why she died.”

  “Hugh.” She shook her head and put her hand on his shoulder. “The plague took your parents. What makes you think it wouldn’t have taken her too?”

  He shifted his gaze to the floor. “She could have survived it.”

  She took her hand off his shoulder. “And maybe she wouldn’t have. It’s been nearly four hundred years. You can’t let this guilt color the rest of your life.”

  That brought his gaze back to her. “That’s easy to say, but what if I kill another woman? I cannot live with that.” His mouth set in a hard line. “I will not.”

  Delaney wanted to tell him everything would be all right, but platitudes weren’t going to cut it. “I can understand why you’d be hesitant to plan a future with another woman, but if it’s her decision to go through the process and she understands the risks, then what’s wrong with that?”

  No answer.

  “It’s too late, you know.”

  He looked at her. “For what?”

  She took a breath, hoping her confession might bring him around. “For me to stop what I’m feeling for you.”

  A muscle in his cheek twitched. He stood. “We need to go home.”

  And just like that, the conversation was over.

  Hugh had done more than enough talking for one night. Delaney made a little small talk in the car on the way home and tried to engage him, but when he didn’t answer, she went silent. He wanted to think and she understood that he needed some time to deal with her confession and his memories and get his head straight.

  Before they arrived home, she’d fallen asleep, reminding him that she was still very much human. He parked in the garage, then carefully opened her door, lifted her into his arms and carried her into the house.

  She turned into him, snuggling her face against his shoulder. He fought not to kiss her, not to bury his nose in the bend of her neck and inh
ale her fragrance, not to indulge any of the urges that he no longer felt he had the right to. He’d shut her off after she’d declared she had feelings for him.

  There would be repercussions for that. She might leave after all. And he would have to let her go because responding in kind, even if it was the truth, would only end up hurting her more. He couldn’t offer her a future. Not the kind of future it seemed that she wanted. One that might lead to her willingly undergoing the process of becoming his vampire bride.

  He carried her into her bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. Her cat was nowhere to be found, but she’d left her door open. No doubt Captain was exploring the house.

  Hugh tugged her boots off, trying not to wake her. He thought he’d managed it until, as he stood at her bedside, studying the woman he was undeniably falling for, she murmured his name.

  “Hugh.”

  “Shh. It’s very late. Go back to sleep.” He sat on the edge of the mattress and brushed her hair off her face. He hadn’t turned the lights on, but he didn’t need them to see how beautiful she was.

  “Are you mad at me?” Her voice was a sleepy whisper.

  “Mad? No. Not at all.”

  “You weren’t talking to me.”

  “I didn’t know what to say.” Or how to say it, or how to explain what a mess his head was.

  “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No.” Emotion clogged his throat. Damn it.

  Her hand found his. She slipped her fingers through his and held on. “Then what are we going to do?”

  “About?”

  “Me. Falling in love with you.”

  He sat very still, unable to think or move or process. “Delaney, you can’t—”

  “Too late. I am.” She released his hand and rolled to her side. “Don’t worry,” she whispered, the tiniest sob clinging to her voice. “I’ll get over you. Eventually.”

  Anger at his own inability to respond finally took hold of him. He had to say something. “Delaney…” Sweet, beautiful Delaney.

  She rolled back over, squinting at him.

  He knew she couldn’t see him in the dark the way he could see her. “I cannot ask any woman to risk her life for me. You must understand that.”

  “You’re not asking me. If we get to that point, I will either make that decision or I won’t. But it will be my decision. Why can’t you understand that?”

  “Because…” He swallowed. “Because I am a fool.”

  She smiled and even in the dark room it felt like he’d been granted a moment in the sun. “Good thing I have a soft spot for foolish men.”

  He bent his head to her stomach, the earthy scent of her leather top mingling with her sweet fragrance. Losing the presence of her light and joy in his house was an unhappy thought. “Don’t leave me.”

  Her fingers threaded through his hair. “I can only stay if you promise not to shut me out anymore. I know I’m only human but—”

  “No.” He lifted his head and turned his face to kiss the inside of her wrist. “Don’t say you’re only human. There’s nothing wrong with that. With who you are. Nothing at all. I won’t shut you out again. Will you stay?”

  She nodded. Then smiled. “Can you see me? That I nodded?”

  “Yes.” He slid his hands to her rib cage, his emotions raw and lying on the surface of his soul. “You scare me, Delaney.”

  “I scare you?”

  He tugged her closer. “The way you make me feel.”

  She put her hands on his shoulders, her voice still breathy but very awake. “Which is?”

  “Vulnerable.” He kissed the soft curves of her body that spilled over the edge of her leather top and was rewarded with a small purr of pleasure. “Predatory.” She was warm and delicious. His mouth found the hollow of her throat. Her fingers dug into him. “Protective.”

  She arched beneath him, sighing.

  Each kiss brought him nearer to her mouth, but he teased her, refusing to come closer than the line of her jaw or the corner of her lips. It was the kind of torturous pleasure he’d never indulged in with any other woman beside Juliette, preferring to keep those relationships as emotionally unattached as possible.

  She growled softly when his lips brushed the soft spot behind her ear, then pulled away suddenly. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this with a man who isn’t willing to fully commit to the possibility of love. It’s the surest way I know to get my heart broken. And you said you’d never hurt me.”

  He looked her squarely in the eyes. She was wily, this one, to use his own words against him, but she was right. “Delaney, I want no one but you. And if that means someday we have to face the very difficult decision about what a future together means then…I’m willing to take that chance. Even though you know where I stand.”

  “And you know where I stand.”

  “I do.”

  She hesitated. “So, basically, we’ve got a big fight coming up.”

  He laughed softly. “Yes, I suppose we do.”

  She pushed his jacket off his shoulders. “Then I guess we’d better enjoy the honeymoon phase as much as we can.”

  Delaney was still asleep when Hugh planted a kiss on her temple and crawled out of her bed. He let her sleep, especially since she hadn’t gotten much of a chance to do that last night. With a grin he couldn’t shake, he showered and dressed and went downstairs for coffee.

  Captain and Stanhill were already in the kitchen. Captain was eating scrambled eggs and smoked salmon off one of the good china saucers while Stanhill read his paper.

  Stanhill flipped his paper down and stared at him. “You had sex.”

  “Don’t be vulgar.” Hugh poured a cup of coffee. “We’re two consenting adults.”

  “I was just stating a fact based on your appearance. Can’t say I’ve ever seen you glow before. But then I suppose Corette has the same effect on me.”

  That took the smile off Hugh’s face. “I don’t need to hear about your exploits with your witch paramour and I’m not glowing. I’m happy.” Which wasn’t a word he’d used honestly in a long time.

  “Whatever you say. I’m surprised Delaney was so willing.”

  Hugh glared at his rook. “Are you implying I forced her?”

  “Not at all, just that she seemed like the type to want some sort of commitment first, and we all know that’s not your style.”

  Hugh sat at the table. “Maybe I’ve changed.”

  Stanhill barked out a laugh. “I doubt that.” He calmed. “Are you saying you’re committing to her? That marriage is on the table?” He sat up a little. “That you would turn her?”

  Hugh bought some time by drinking his coffee. “We’ve agreed to have that discussion when the time comes.”

  “Well, you have made progress.”

  Hugh watched Captain. The cat was not a delicate eater. “Speaking of progress, when did the cat start eating off the Wedgwood?”

  Stanhill flipped his paper back up. “You’d better not break her heart.”

  Hugh sighed and drank his coffee. He would never intentionally hurt Delaney, but he still couldn’t see agreeing to turn her into a vampire. If it came to that.

  Three rapid knocks sounded on the front door.

  Stanhill put the paper down. “I’ll get it.”

  He returned a moment later with Sheriff Merrow in tow. “Coffee, Sheriff?”

  “Sure.” He took a seat at the table across from Hugh. “Did some digging on Delaney’s boss.”

  Hugh nodded. “And?”

  “He’s bad news. Racketeering, tax evasion, money laundering…and at least two suspected murders for hire, but they haven’t been able to nail him on anything. He’s like John Gotti, a real Teflon Don.”

  Hugh’s gut clenched at the thought of a villain like that after Delaney. “Damn. She could very well be in danger then.”

  Stanhill put a cup of coffee in front of the sheriff. Concern bent Stanhill’s brows, but he said nothing.

  Merrow nodded. “If this guy finds o
ut where she is, yes.” Merrow shook his head. “I don’t want to cause panic, but Bridget had a couple of out-of-towners at the bar last night and—”

  “You told Bridget?” Merrow’s sister, Bridget, ran Howlers, a very popular local dive bar. The name was rather tongue in cheek seeing as how she, like both her brothers, was a werewolf, but the place was a Nocturne Falls landmark.

  “I wanted her to be on the lookout since she gets a lot of traffic.” He drank his coffee. “Like I was saying, she had a couple of fellows in last night from New York. They paid cash, so she didn’t even get names.”

  Hugh frowned. “I’d imagine New Yorkers aren’t that uncommon.” He also didn’t want to cause Delaney any unnecessary stress.

  “No, but these guys were asking if there were a lot of other New Yorkers in town. Where they hung out. Where was the best place to catch a Yankees game on TV.”

  Warning bells went off in Hugh’s head. “You think they were looking for Delaney?”

  Merrow shrugged. “Don’t know, but it’s worth keeping an eye on them. I’ve asked Bridget to look through her security cams and see if she can find clear pictures of them. Just in case. Either way, thought you should be aware of this possible situation.”

  The thought of Delaney in trouble made him want to chew nails. “I can protect her.”

  “I don’t doubt that,” Merrow said. “I also don’t really want to do the paperwork on a double homicide.”

  “I promised her we’d go to the Panic Parade.”

  Merrow took a thoughtful breath. “Doubtful they’d try something in a crowd, but keep her close.” He drained his cup and stood. “Thanks for the coffee. I’ll let you know if I find anything else out.”

  Hugh got to his feet. “Maybe it’s nothing, but Piper knows Delaney’s full name and that she came here to hide out. Julian said last night that Piper made it clear to him that she’s ‘out for Delaney,’ for what that’s worth.”

  Merrow rubbed a hand slowly over his mouth. “I hate to stir that pot if I don’t have to.”

  Hugh nodded. No one liked to cross the Hodges. They loved to get their revenge in print. “I’ll talk to Julian. See if I can get something concrete.”