Still lost in what felt like a fantasy dream world, she danced with Dad, but kept her eyes on her new husband, hoping he was okay. He seemed all right, if she was correctly interpreting the grin on his face as he piled his plate with a little of everything he’d chosen to be served at the reception. It seemed Ethan was a comfort eater….
After her father and then her brother had finished guiding her through two songs, she made her way back to Ethan, and then had to smile because he was emitting his usual happy hum while he ate.
“How are you? Are you doing all right?” she asked, sitting down next to him at the table he was seated at.
“I’m brilliant. Elated. Why do you ask?”
“I thought my brother’s comment upset you.”
Ethan’s eyes shifted to the guards standing within a few feet of them, pretending to not be guards. “It didn’t.” He paused, considering his fork as if the flatware was suddenly highly fascinating, then said, “Oh, very well, it did trouble me … a bit. However, it is what it is. We can’t change it, and I don’t want to. I like what we have here, Danielle. I’d make the same choice if I had to do it over. If I hadn’t, I would have—”
Ended my life. “I remember.”
“It’s better this way. I’m sticking by my decision.” He bit into an hors d’oeuvre, putting a momentary end to the conversation.
“How’s the food?” she asked, deciding to change the subject all together.
“Excellent,” he answered while loading a mouthful of his chocolate wedding cake onto his fork. “And that’s another reason why I wouldn’t change things.” He slid the cake into his mouth and moaned with pleasure.
The sudden movement of many shadows moving quickly through the woods drew her attention and then her eyes widened. Her hand landed on Ethan’s. He followed her riveted gaze and she felt him tense as well. “What’s happening?”
The guards nearest to them moved together to block their view, or hide them. She didn’t know which it was, or perhaps it was both. She watched as the tallest man lifted his hand to his ear while he listened, then nodded. He looked at them and said softly, “Don’t worry, they’ve handled it.”
“Handled what?” Danielle asked.
After a sharp shake of his head, Danielle realized the guard wouldn’t tell them any more than that. Panic rolled through her veins, chilling her. All of her friends and family were here. How could they protect them all? “Was this a mistake?”
Ethan didn’t look completely convinced as he offered words of comfort. “It should be fine. I made sure that all of your friends and family were in a hotel owned by one of Beon’s closest friends. And the security there is tight. Plus some of them go home tonight, while the rest leave tomorrow morning.”
Attempting to distract her, she suspected, Ethan added, “Dance with me.” Actually it was more like a command. He stood and tugged her to her feet as well, then enveloped her in his arms and nudged her toward the dance floor again.
“But—”
“Shhh…” he muttered, tightening his hold and lifting her feet from the ground. “Even if immortals try to harm us or your family, other immortals are protecting all of us just as fiercely. Please, darling, this is our day; I want you to enjoy it. In fact, I insist that you enjoy it.”
Submitting to his request, Danielle dropped her head onto Ethan’s shoulder as he lowered her feet and spun her onto the dance floor.
They swayed to the music and then visited with their guests until the clouds became pink and gilded with the glow of sunset.
And with so many vampires present, it was time for the party to end. Ethan promptly said his goodbyes, swept Danielle into his arms, and made for the front door of their new home.
“Ethan, I was mid-sentence into a conversation with my aunt.”
“I’m sure she understands…” he said, a little too seductively
Danielle’s cheeks grew hot at that.
“Are we starting the honeymoon now?” she asked as he glided over the threshold, and kicked the door shut.
While he then bounded up the stairs to their master suite, she watched over his shoulder as a large vampire set the security system to arm after he then turned the lock and left.
“Did you plan on waiting, Danielle? Because I honestly think I’ve waited long enough.”
“But, everyone is still here.”
“They’ll be gone soon enough. You know my ‘relatives’ need to leave now, though I’m certain many will remain within the forest. Just in case.”
“Are we safe?” She kind of didn’t feel safe.
“With a security system on the house, and numerous knights and Highlanders surrounding us, I think we’re quite safe.”
Oh, she mused, that big one must have been one of the Scots.
As he ascended the last few steps, Ethan’s eyes smoldered like the glowing remains of a blue fire, and she couldn’t find breath to say another word as he silently set her down in their bedroom. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, he led her, while he walked backward to the vanity. He moved behind her and turned her so she was facing the mirror. Then, almost reverently, he began removing her tiara, and veil, and then the scores of hairpins holding her style in place. Which took a while…. “My word, they put a lot of pins in your hair,” he complained as he slid another one free and dropped it into the growing pile on her vanity.
As he worked, and her hair dropped curl by curl around her shoulders, she observed herself with him in the mirror hung above her vanity. She liked what she saw there: the joy on his face, the peace on her own. It was right. It looked as right as it felt.
When he finally finished, she turned to him, shoved his jacket off his shoulders, and began working his tie loose. “Just wait till you start undoing the buttons on this dress,” she teased, knowing there were many little pearl buttons running the length of her bodice. It had taken a long time getting into it, so she wondered how long it was going to take him to get her out of it.
Ethan grinned like a fallen angel. “I’m not easily intimidated by sixteen tiny buttons.” However, when he began the task, his golden brows drew together and he cursed Jean Claude.
With his eyes fixed over her shoulder into the glass, he fought with the fastenings of her gown as she released the buttons on his shirt and then pushed the fabric over his thick shoulders, then biceps, then over his roped forearms and finally off his hands when he paused in his task. Danielle remembered seeing his naked chest the night of the ball, but to actually be able to touch the contours of his sculpted torso was pure heaven, and even better than she’d imagined.
“You’re beautiful, Danielle.”
“I was thinking the same thing about you,” she murmured in reply as her fingers traveled the ridges of his form.
Catching her chin with one finger, Ethan whispered, “I’ve fantasized about seeing you like this for far too long.” Ethan purred the words as her clothing slid down the length of her body and pooled at her feet. The remainder of his attire joined hers on the floor. And when the last scrap of lace she’d been wearing landed on the pile, Ethan smiled and trailed a finger along her necklace, but left it on.
Danielle swallowed, trying not to show how bashful she was feeling at the moment. She certainly didn’t have the guts to turn around again and see them naked together. So she ignored the fact that there was a mirror behind her, however, Ethan didn’t. She blushed profusely when she notice his gaze glide hungrily past her shoulder.
“You have?” she asked, nearly breathless.
“Haven’t you?” he asked, meeting her gaze again. His hand slid across the exposed flesh that he’d just spied in the mirror, and then he began to pepper her face and neck with soft kisses.
“Well, yes,” she confessed with a shaky voice as his palms moved along her arms. “Many times.”
“Let’s make this dream a reality, my darling wife. Let’s make a memory to add to our forgotten past.”
Her stomach twisted deliciously when he called her his w
ife again, and she fixed her gaze on his. That Ethan she knew before this life was there, as always.... But he didn’t let her reply because he then attacked her mouth with a blazing kiss that was all tongue and moving lips. As his mouth moved over hers, his hands landed on her hips as he lifted her from the pile of fabric of her dress, and then began backing her toward the bed.
As her head swam with the passion of it, she remembered her relatives and worried that they were still within hearing range. Isolation wasn’t something they’d been allowed for so long, she was almost afraid to relax. “Are you sure we’re alone?” she managed to sneak in when they paused to take a breath.
“I’m certain many of the guards are still here, but they will give us privacy, and Beon told me that he planned to send the family back to their hotel.” He reached down to tug the sheets aside, and then lowered her onto the bed, following to cover her with his warmth.
Ethan pushed up onto his elbows so she could breathe and then proceeded to kiss her, touch her, and love her as she’d wanted him to for many long months.
She returned his heated ministrations with matching ardor as she clung to him, and got to know him in a way that she never had before. He took his time about it, ever the patient man. And it was hard to see how he could be so patient in this, when her heart was racing, and her head was nearly spinning. Danielle became much more than smitten with Ethan. She was lost in him.
With careful hands he caressed and with velvet lips he kissed her to the point he’d stoked her passion so fiercely she didn’t comprehend the purpose behind it until much later. Until after…. Only then did she understand that he’d conjured up so much need and want within her that any fear of discomfort was forgotten. And she realized that if they hadn’t waited she couldn’t have had the regency-romance-type of lovemaking she’d always wanted. It might not have been as magical and as soul-touching either.
She also grew to understand that, for him, this had never been simply about consummation, but showing her how much he truly cherished her. He’d loved her with more than his body, more than his heart, more than even his soul. With every well placed stroke of his fingers and every gentle brush of his mouth over her flesh he’d proven it. He’d managed to caress undeniable proof of his love and devotion into her heart.
Ethan Deveroux fulfilled her secret fantasies in ways she’d never imagined possible and deep gratitude swept over her soul. To say she was overwhelmed was an understatement. The tenderness of it, the deep, unquenchable emotion of it seized around her heart and wrenched tears from her eyes.
Why am I crying now? Danielle asked herself as she lay curled in the cradle of Ethan’s arms with her head resting on his chest, her fingers still tracing the ridges of his muscles. She watched them react to her touch, listened as his breathing returned to a normal ebb and flow, as his racing heart settled, and then answered her own question…. Because it was so beautiful, and he was so gentle, and thoughtful, and loving. She took a breath, noting how it trembled.
He tugged her up higher on his chest, gently cradled her jaw, and aligned his gaze with hers. Her necklace draped down from her neck to his chest. Danielle knew he was trying to read her and probably wondered where the tears were coming from. Visibly he tracked a droplet as is tumbled over the edge of her cheek before catching it with his thumb. “How do you feel?” he asked, with a flicker of worry in his eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“Just fine?” Ethan blinked like maybe he was slightly offended.
Understanding that might have been due to some male pride, she said, “I mean I’m perfect. Thanks for...”
An eyebrow arched. “For?” he prompted.
“Um, that thing you did—those things you did.”
A slow proud grin stretched his lips as he tangled his fingers into her hair, and took her captive with another scorching kiss. When he released her, they snuggled for a long while and then Ethan spoke again, “We need to get ready to leave now. Our guards should be ready to escort us to our honeymoon suite.”
“Where are we going?”
“Back to Paris.”
“I liked Paris.”
“I knew you would.”
* * * * *
In Paris they stayed at the Le Meurice Hotel again. But this time was immensely different from her bridal shower and bachelorette party. Ethan led the way into their suite pulling their luggage behind him. “Wow, this is nice,” she said, wondering how much it cost.
Danielle left her carry-on next to her suitcase and explored the rest of it. It was three rooms divided by ornate archways and beams that had been draped with rich, pastel fabrics. Each room was lit with a crystal chandelier in the center. The first had a sofa, a table, a desk and a large entertainment center. Her fingers explored the textured white fabric of the comforter on the bed as she made her way to the elegant bathroom at the end of it all. And the smell of fresh flowers surrounded her as Ethan came up behind her. Turning she saw he held a vase filled with roses and peonies. “For you,” he said.
Smiling, she took them, but before she could thank him, he pressed a candy against her lips from the box of chocolates he held in his other hand. She caught the morsel between her teeth and chewed. A mixture of rich chocolate and creamy caramel melted against her tongue. Of course he’d know what she liked best. “Thank you,” she said, moving to set the flowers on the table in front of the sofa.
He gathered two more candies, dropped the box next to the flowers and curled one arm around her waist. “Shall we explore the city?”
“Yes,” she said, eating the next chocolate he offered and went with him, secretly wondering if they shouldn’t just stay ... where guards couldn’t follow them.
Ethan showed her how romantic that city can be, the side of Paris that she hadn’t seen with the ladies, and she was glad he’d dragged her out. She’d heard about the reputation the French city held, and after spending two weeks with her new husband there, she would have to agree. Even while being followed constantly by a troop of men.
“Can we go dancing? Please?” Danielle asked after a day of shopping at a Paris flea market.
He eyed the guard standing closest, tugged her to the left to make sure they remained out of hearing range, which was easy to do because the sun hadn’t set yet, and whispered, “If we ask, I’m certain they’ll halt us.”
“But it’s our honeymoon…”
“Exactly. It’s easier to gain forgiveness than it is permission.”
“Are you suggesting we sneak away?”
“No. I’m saying we just go, let them follow, and if they stop us, well, then they stop us.”
They stuffed their purchases into the trunk of their rental car and then acted like they were just going on a walk of the city just before the sunset. Danielle’s fingers tightened around Ethan’s as she hoped they’d get away with this before the sun finally sank below the horizon and the guards forced them to return to the hotel. When they got to the club and dashed inside, the guards didn’t have time to stop them and because of that it seemed like they decided to allow it for now.
With modern music pounding, and colored lights sweeping, Ethan drew her into his hold with a hand settling at her waist. He grinned mischievously, using his body to sweep her into a waltz.
Danielle pinched her brows together. A waltz? Then as she listened to the melody, she realized that it was, indeed, a waltz, and laughed. “Aren’t we supposed to be undulating like everyone else in this club?” She passed her eyes around the dance floor, watching as other couples twisted suggestively at each other, and remembered how he’d danced that first time, way back when, at The Ministry of Sound. “I know you can do it.”
Ethan tugged her closer and buried his face into her neck, brushed his mouth up to her ear, and then he whispered, “Does this help?”
It helped to raise goose bumps on her flesh. “I liked watching you dance. Come on, let me see that again.”
His smile heated as he released her, and did just that.
Her gaze shifted from the piercing quality of his blue eyes, from the handsome line of his straight nose, from the poetic twist of his full lips, until it settled onto his solid shoulders, which shifted under his tight t-shirt as he moved. When they’d first danced, he’d been wearing a sweater which hid what he displayed tonight. Muscles rippled and bunched, then relaxed under the thin cotton. The overall effect was more alluring than even his provocative moves.
Continuing through several more songs, she realized she didn’t want the evening to ever end. Then she felt someone curve strong fingers around her upper arm, and tug her away from Ethan.
“Hey!” But it wasn’t one of the guards who’d interrupted them; it was most definitely—two vampires, two strangers.
“Miss Darcey, might we trouble you with a curing bite?”
“Mrs. Deveroux,” Ethan corrected fiercely, “will not be biting you.” Ethan wrenched a business card from his wallet and shoved it toward the man who held her arm in his hand. “Sir, you may call Beon, and he will arrange something for you.”
Ethan’s elegant, though dangerous, reply was not accepted well. One of them launched toward Ethan, while the other jerked her arm, and she winced. It felt like he might actually rip it from the socket. But it only took a second or two for their protectors to respond. She and Ethan were bodily removed from the club by their guards—ruffled, and disappointed, but unharmed. This incident forced the security detail to move in closer, and again, their freedoms were restricted.
Danielle tried to ignore the guards as she and Ethan dined in a French restaurant called L’Amroisie, though it was getting difficult to do that, especially because they didn’t hide what they were doing. She’d noted the looks she and Ethan got, and knew the other patrons were probably wondering who they were, and why they needed a pack of hulking men hovering over them. The maitre d’ was appalled at first, and had to be paid off to even permit it.
She’d allowed Ethan to order, since the menu was in French. But, as usual, wasn’t disappointed with what he’d selected for her. She’d luxuriated in a nine course, culinary adventure of many things she didn’t know how to pronounce. She recognized the salmon, and the lobster, and the artichokes, but had never eaten, or even seen, something Ethan called, truffles. Which he explained was an expensive type of mushroom.
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