The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride

by Kristen Painter

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  But she was already asleep.

  “I don’t feel any different.” Delaney stuck her arm into the sun streaming through the library window. Hugh was up on the rolling ladder, looking for a book on one of the top shelves. She’d followed him in, hoping to hang out with him. He’d been avoiding her since she’d woken up.

  He glanced down at her and smiled, thin-lipped. “I told you one bite won’t do anything to you. Tomorrow you’ll feel different.”

  “Tomorrow I’ll technically be a rook, right?”

  “Right.” He went back to skimming the shelf.

  She leaned against the window. “You should climb ladders more often.”

  “Why is that?” he asked distractedly.

  “Because your butt looks amazing from this angle.”

  His hand stopped mid-reach, and he twisted to look at her. His eyes gleamed with vampire light. “Are you trying to spend the rest of the day in bed?”

  A tingle of pleasure shot through her, taking her breath away for a moment. She bit her lip. If she did die on the third night, at least she’d go happy. “Maybe.”

  He stared at her for a moment. Then jumped off the ladder, landing as lightly as Captain would have. Actually, Captain wished he could land that lightly. Hugh strode toward her, stopping just at the edge of the sunbeam she’d been playing with. “If I take you to bed now, you won’t leave it again until tomorrow.”

  His voice held a dangerous growl that raised goose bumps on her skin. “Is that so?”

  “Yes. I’m not trying to scare you or seduce you, just telling you the truth. When a vampire drinks from a mortal he loves, it…does something to him. Something he can’t ignore.”

  “That’s why you didn’t want to drink from me in the lab. So what does it do?”

  He sighed. “It turns the vampire wild with blood lust and physical desire. There wouldn’t be enough of you to satisfy me. I would exhaust you and still not be sated. Or drain you dry.” He turned away from her. “I’m fighting it right now.”

  “And that’s why you’ve been avoiding me today.”

  He nodded. “I’d rather be with you every waking moment, but my control won’t fully return until you’ve completed the change.”

  Hugh had already left her worn out after last night, and she thought she’d done the same for him. Hearing this, she tried to imagine what it would be like to feel as though she couldn’t get enough of him. A shiver ran through her, as pleasurable as it was frightening.

  He stepped away from her. “You’re going to need your strength for the next two nights. I don’t want to do anything that might lessen our odds of success. I’m going to my brother’s for the rest of the day. It’s for the best.”

  “How can you? It’s daylight, and you have no amulet.”

  His face fell. “I’d forgotten that.” He smiled a little sadly. “That’s going to take some getting used to. To the lab then. And I’m locking the door.”

  “Don’t leave. I’ll behave. I swear.” The last thing she wanted was to be away from him. Or to be the reason he left.

  He laughed, the sound making her feel better. “My darling. If you wore a burlap sack, it wouldn’t diminish my attraction to you. This burden is mine to bear.”

  Could he make her fall in love with him any harder? “Will I be too close if I’m in the kitchen? I was thinking I’d have Stanhill take me to the store to get ingredients for royal icing and sugar cookies.” She had her antique star cookie cutters. They’d be perfect. “I want to make some for the woman who’s helping us with the magic.”

  “No, that would be fine.”

  “I’ll probably take Captain out to the garden for a while too.”

  Hugh nodded. “Enjoy the sun while you can?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Good plan. I’ll see you this evening then.” With a nod, he left.

  She almost stopped him to ask for a kiss, then thought better of it. She didn’t want him to have to say no.

  Stanhill was an eager companion, gladly taking her to the store and even keeping her company in the kitchen while she worked. She wondered if he was hanging close to act as a buffer in case Hugh changed his mind about staying away. Or maybe Stanhill knew she needed the company to keep her mind off the two nights that lay ahead.

  “It’ll be all right, miss.”

  “What’s that?” She pulled herself out of her thoughts.

  Stanhill was icing the last of the stars, outlining them in royal icing like she’d showed him. “You hadn’t said anything in a little bit. I thought maybe you were thinking about…what could happen.”

  “I was. A little.” She shrugged and smiled, then shook it off and went to inspect his work. “Not bad for your first time. Nice straight lines, good evenness.” She patted his shoulder. “I might have to hire you. I’m going to have a shop of my own someday, you know.”

  “Like the shop Didi promised you?”

  She nodded. “That never would have worked out anyway.”

  “Why’s that?”

  She made a face. “Um, because she would have used that shop as leverage to bend me to her whims. Can you imagine? No, thank you.”

  He laughed. “You’re a smart cookie. No pun intended.”

  She grinned. “Does Hugh like tiramisu?”

  “He does.” Stanhill waggled his brows. “I don’t hate it either.”

  “Good. I’ll make that tomorrow.” Her tiramisu took time, and she’d have another day to spend away from Hugh tomorrow, so why not? She’d rather spend the day with Hugh, but since that wasn’t an option, tiramisu it was. “We’ll take another run to the store after I get up, then. Okay?”

  He nodded. “Excellent plan.” An enormous smile came over his face. “You’ll be a rook tomorrow, just like me.”

  “That’s right.” And only one more night away from the rest of her life.

  Or the end of it.

  The day seemed like it would never end, made worse by the fact that Hugh could hear Delaney and Stanhill one floor above him, laughing and having fun. He shouldn’t miss her like this when they were in the same house together, but that was part of the turning.

  He’d felt like this with Juliette too.

  Correction, he’d felt some of this with Juliette. The longing for Delaney was almost crippling. He’d spent the entire day in his lab and accomplished nothing. Well, he’d reread every book that dealt with turning a mortal into a vampire and found nothing new. After that, he’d broken a test tube, ruining his most current working formula and then left another beaker on the flame too long, turning a new batch of formula to syrup.

  He would be useless until this was over.

  Fortunately, he could feel the sun set. That was something the amulet had suppressed—that inherent sense of the sun’s rise and fall. It had still been there, but muted as if turned to the lowest setting.

  Now it was like a switch had been flipped off. The subtle itch that rode his skin while the sun was up disappeared, replaced by the calm of evening. After Delaney fell sleep this evening, he would go out. Visit Sebastian and see how the plans he’d set into motion were coming.

  Anything to put some room between him and his bride-to-be.

  He cleaned up the mess he’d made and went upstairs.

  Stanhill stood at the sink washing cookie sheets, and Delaney was by the table, folding a thick piece of waxed white cardboard into the shape of a box. Wire racks held dozens of iced and sugared stars, and the kitchen smelled of vanilla.

  “How was your day?”

  She looked up and smiled, and his entire being relaxed. “Hi there. It was great. Stanhill and I made sugar cookies. I’m boxing them up now so you can take them to the lady who’s helping us. How was your day?”

  Horrible. Lonely. “Fine.”

  “Good. Did you get a lot done?”

  Not a thing. “Enough.”

  “That’s good. Let me just box these up, and
we can…do what we’re going to do.” With a wink, she went back to her work. She taped the sides of the box, then started carefully arranging the cookies into it, putting a sheet of wax paper between each layer.

  “Stanhill, I need you here tonight.” He didn’t want Delaney alone in the house, not when she’d be incapacitated by the second bite.

  The rook looked at him and nodded. “I’ll be here.”

  “Thank you.” He returned his attention to Delaney. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and prepare her the way he had last night, but that would take him down a very dangerous path. “I’ll be upstairs when you’re ready.”

  An uncertain look crossed her face, but she just nodded and said, “Okay.”

  Leaving her behind in the kitchen was like trying to break free of the earth’s gravitational pull. As soon as he was in his room, he paced, going from the fireplace to the dressing room door and back again.

  After what seemed like years, he sensed her presence outside his door, a sure sign that their bond had already begun to form. She knocked a second later.

  “Come in.”

  She entered, tentative but smiling. “I’m guessing you’re acting a little weird because of what you said earlier about not wanting to wear me out? I’m basically taking this as a big compliment.”

  He laughed. “That’s a good attitude. Yes, believe me, I am struggling. I want nothing more than to be with you.” He sighed. “I got nothing done today. Unless you consider ruining everything I touched an accomplishment.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  He waved it off. “It will pass soon enough, but right now, being around you without being able to touch you is torture. Stanhill will be here tonight so that you won’t be alone while you’re sleeping. I’m going to my brother’s after we’re done. And I won’t be back until after the sun sets tomorrow.”

  He studied her face for signs of disappointment, finding them immediately in the downturn of her mouth and the sadness in her eyes. “Please don’t be sad. It’s for the best.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  “You’ll sleep even longer after this next bite, and you’ll have Stanhill with you all day, and then, before you know it…” He forced himself to smile. “We’ll have the rest of eternity to be together.”

  Her smile looked just as contrived as his felt. “I can’t wait. Literally. Let’s do this.”

  He held out his hand to her. “Lingering over you as I would like cannot be part of the process tonight. This will be fast and less pleasant than last night, for both our sakes.”

  “That’s okay.” She took his hand, the warmth of her seeping into him like a drug.

  The touch of her caused a shudder of pleasure to ripple through him. Somehow, he managed to lead her to the bed and let her go. “You should undress and get under the covers. I won’t be able to help you with that tonight.”

  “Okay.” She stripped down to her bra and knickers, then crawled under the covers.

  Her pulse had kicked up, giving him pause. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

  “I want to.” She smiled at him again, and this time, it reached her eyes. “I’m ready.”

  He nodded and bent his head to her throat. He inhaled her perfume and teetered on the verge of giving in to a very different set of desires. With a final burst of control, he bared his fangs and bit her as gently as he could manage.

  She gasped, her cry this time containing only pain. She grabbed his arm and squeezed but made no effort to pull away.

  He drank quickly, releasing her just as fast. The ache in his soul for more was instantaneous. He ignored it to bite through his own flesh. He fed her a few drops of his blood as he’d done the night before, this time with as little contact as possible.

  A minute passed. Her pulse slowed and she succumbed to sleep.

  He headed for the door, stopping when he reached it to take a long look at her. So peaceful. So beautiful.

  She would never be human again. If he didn’t bite her again tomorrow night, she could still be his companion. Still live at his side, as a rook, for centuries to come.

  All he would have to do is stay away on the third night. He snorted softly. If only it were that easy. He knew her well enough to know she’d never forgive him for that. If she didn’t just hunt him down. Instead, he would return to her and bite her again, completing the turning.

  And taking the greatest risk he’d ever taken. The thought unsettled him. Made him wish he could know the future.

  “Sleep well, my darling.”

  One of them should.

  Delaney woke with a start. Bolt upright. Wide awake.

  That never happened.

  She blinked twice to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. The world around her was…not the same one she’d last seen. Colors were brilliant. The air seemed crystalline. Like her vision had suddenly become some new version of high-definition. “Stanhill!”

  Her voice echoed in her ears, and she cringed at how loud she sounded.

  “Downstairs, miss. Be right up.”

  She looked around. He sounded close enough to be in the room with her. She pulled on Hugh’s robe to cover the bra and panties she’d fallen asleep in, went to the door and peeked out.

  Stanhill was coming down the hall.

  “Were you downstairs when you answered me?”

  He nodded.

  “Holy fudgeballs, this is weird. Good weird. But weird.” The wood grain on the door was so sharp she could count every line.

  He grinned. “Good afternoon, rook.”

  “Afternoon? What time is it?”

  “After four. Sun’ll be down in a few hours.”

  “What? I didn’t want to sleep that long. I wanted to make tiramisu.”

  “It’s the change. Takes it out of you. The third night, you shouldn’t sleep nearly as long. You’re halfway there now.”

  “Everything is so bright and colorful, and sounds are crystal clear. I could have sworn you were right next to me when you answered me.” She wrapped her arms around her torso. And went very still when she felt what was beneath her arms.

  She glanced down at her body. “Are you kidding me?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I feel skinny. Skinny-ish.” She yanked the robe open for a better look. “Oh, that is not the waistline I went to bed with.”

  Stanhill made a grunting sound. When she looked at him, he was staring at the ceiling. She pulled her robe shut while he spoke. “It’s the change, miss. Impacts the metabolism as well. It sharpens everything. Of course, tomorrow will be even greater.”

  “I need a mirror.” She ran back into the room, stopped and ran back out, amazed at how fast she could move. “Also, I’m starving. Like I want to eat everything. What have we got?”

  “In anticipation, I picked up a few steaks this morning, plus I’ve got some jacket potatoes in the oven—”

  “Do we have sour cream and butter? And bacon bits? Oh! Cheese. I need cheese.”

  He nodded. “All of that. Also, made some stuffed mushrooms and chilled some steamed jumbo shrimp. Will that do?”

  “For round one, yes.” She ran to the bathroom mirror. And stared. “Wow.”

  The body she now inhabited didn’t look like it had any issues with those last fifteen pounds. She was still curvy, but things had tightened up a bit. There was even a little visible muscle tone, which was amazing.

  Her hair, which had always been on the wavy edge of frizzy, fell in soft, luscious waves. The color seemed more dark honey than boring brown.

  She leaned in. The standard green of her eyes had taken on a sparkling clearness she’d never seen before.

  Even her skin, which had always been decent, seemed to radiate with health. She looked at Stanhill, who stood by the bedroom door. “This is flat-out amazing. I mean, I always thought I was cute before, but now I’m actually pretty.”

  “You’re beautiful, miss. You always have been. The change magnifies what was already the
re.”

  She smiled, feeling a little heat in her face at his compliments. “Thanks, Stanhill.”

  He pointed downstairs. “I’ll go fix you that steak while you get dressed.”

  “I’ll be down as soon as I can.”

  He turned to go and then stopped. “I took the liberty of feeding Captain this morning as well. I hope that was all right.”

  “Thank you. That was nice of—what did you feed him?”

  Stanhill suddenly seemed very interested in the cuff of his shirt. “Nothing much. There was a little crabmeat left over from the mushrooms, so…”

  “You keep that up, and he’s not going to eat his kibble.” She shook her head as Stanhill left. No wonder Captain hadn’t been asleep on the bed next to her when she’d woken up. He was probably passed out in some hideaway, sleeping off the catch of the day.

  She cranked on the shower. Hugh would be back from his brother’s soon. Which meant the last step in her transformation was only a matter of hours away. Anticipation tripped along her skin, the kind of feeling she used to get right before a big test in school.

  Except this time, the consequences of failing were fatal.

  She jumped into the shower. “That isn’t going to happen.”

  Hugh had it all worked out. The extra magic would protect her. She’d be fine. Dwelling on it wasn’t going to do her any good anyway, and knowing Hugh, he’d be worried enough for the both of them.

  Determined to put on a happy, confident face, she showered and got dressed, then went downstairs to see what Stanhill had fixed for her.

  The meal he’d laid out was enough to feed two, but she ate it all and still felt like she had room in her stomach.

  She pressed a hand to her belly as he took her plate. His brows lifted. “Everything all right?”

  “I can’t believe I ate all that.”

  “Your body needs the energy. And like I said, your metabolism burns at a much higher rate now. It will be almost impossible to gain weight as a rook or vampire.”

  She shook her head. “Kind of a dream come true for someone who likes sweets as much as I do. Speaking of, where’s that chocolate cake I made?”