by R. E. Butler
“I really just want to go back to the chamber,” he said, chuckling. “I missed you and you look spectacular. I don’t want anyone else to see you looking so ravishing.”
She grinned. “I missed you too, but I need to get out and get some fresh air.”
She liked being irresistible. She certainly thought he was.
They walked to a side door that led to the alley between the club and the restaurant. Mishka had built Bistro Rouge for Harmony after they were attacked on the way home from a date. He wanted to have a place owned by the coven that was safe for vampires and their mates. Unfortunately, it had been bombed a few months ago by the church, and Cella had nearly lost Cyrus because of it. Avery really wished the church would just give up on their quest to drive the vampires from Cleveland. Now that she was one, and her life was tied to Traz’s, she didn’t want anyone to harm either of them.
Waiting by the door stood Temple and Ven.
Traz looked down at her as Temple pushed open the security door. Temple scouted outside for a moment, and then said, “All clear.”
Mishka had a rule that no vampire went anywhere alone. Even couples were to have an escort, whether they were leaving town or just walking across the street, like she and Traz were doing.
Traz led her into the alley and she paused, looking toward the street. Security lights illuminated it, and she could see small red lights indicating cameras. Inhaling, she sorted through the scents, something she was getting used to doing, and smelled a lot of vampires, and under that the stony smell of the concrete, the distant stench of a dumpster, and fuel from the vehicles that passed by on the street.
“You look so cute when you do that,” Traz murmured.
“I feel like I probably look like my childhood dog, Molly. She always tilted her head when she was smelling the air.”
He chuckled and lifted her hand to his lips. “Ready to see how the coven chefs turn SyBl into more than just a drink?”
“I am.”
Temple and Ven walked them to the front of the restaurant. Ven stayed outside the door to stand guard, and Temple walked with them inside. A human woman met them at the door and took them to a table set with red roses and flickering candles. Traz pulled out her chair, and Avery sat, noticing that Temple moved to the wall, his gaze watching the restaurant.
The woman handed them menus, which listed food dishes on one side and SyBl dishes on the other. When they were alone, Avery said, “I feel like a celebrity.”
Traz smiled. “Because of the guards?”
She nodded, peeking at him over the menu with a smile. She turned her attention to the menu. “I didn’t know there were so many things you could do with liquid.”
“Before the restaurant, no one did anything with SyBl besides heating or chilling it. What looks good?”
“You.”
He chuckled low in his throat.
A waiter wearing a dress shirt and tie, with a long, white apron appeared. Traz ordered a medley platter with several different preparations of SyBl for them both. When they were alone again, Traz held her hand across the table.
“It’s weird to have your memories,” she said.
“It is, but helpful too. It means we know each other better than couples who’ve been together for years.”
She inhaled and looked around the restaurant. “Your memories help me feel more in control.”
“You get the benefit of my experience without the time involved. It’s not quite the same as living through it yourself, but it’s close.”
“Brone, Vex, and Rage don’t trust me yet.”
“They will. If the situations were reversed, I wouldn’t let anyone near you who I wasn’t one hundred percent positive was safe for you to be around. Being immortal means you’re harder to kill than a human, but not entirely indestructible. Not to mention that beloveds’ lives are tied together.”
She gave his fingers a squeeze. “I definitely want you to be safe so we can live together for eternity.”
“Me too.”
The waiter appeared with a platter with several dishes of SyBl—in chewy strips like fruit leather, frozen like gelato, and heated in a bowl like soup with freeze-dried chunks that looked like croutons. They talked about the future while they shared the dishes, discussing the days they wanted to work, and what it would be like to be really separated from each other after being attached at the hip for a full week. While she was glad to be finally free of the chamber, she wasn’t looking forward to not seeing him all the time.
“Are you excited to start the new job?” he asked, letting her have the last bite of frozen SyBl.
She let the synthetic blood melt on her tongue, then she put down the spoon and said, “Yeah, it’ll be nice to be in an actual office. Cella seems thrilled about me helping out.”
He signaled to the waiter, who cleared the dishes and wished them a pleasant evening.
“We don’t have to pay the check?” she asked as Traz pushed back in his chair and rose to his feet.
“The family doesn’t,” he said. He offered her his hand and she stood.
“Nice perk.”
He grinned. Temple and Ven escorted them to an SUV idling on the curb. Traz got the door for her and she climbed into the second row, scooting to the center of the plush seat. Traz joined her.
“You know where we’re going, right?” Traz asked Temple as he put the SUV into gear.
“Yes. We’re about thirty minutes away.”
“Where are we going?” Avery asked.
“You’ll see,” Traz said. “It’s a surprise.”
She hummed and looked out the window, watching the scenery slip by.
“Until I got the job at the club, I never really came downtown,” she said.
“Why not?” Traz asked.
She looked at him. “My parents were homebodies. Their idea of a night out was running to the local diner for the Friday dinner special. Vacations were always someplace historical because my dad was crazy about history.” She smiled, thinking of the time they’d spent a week in Colonial Williamsburg. “They never wanted to come downtown, and I just never did.”
“Were you scared?”
“Not scared exactly, but nervous. I was worried about getting lost. Or parking in the wrong place.”
“What made you want to apply to work in the club?”
“I got laid off from a restaurant because it was their slow time. I went to an agency because I never went to college and it's tough to find a job when you don’t have a degree to back you up. When I was interviewed about where I’d like to work, they asked how I felt about vampires, and I said I didn’t mind as long as I had control over whether someone put their fangs in me.”
He nodded. “We use an agency for food too.”
“The pay was fantastic. I was sure I wouldn’t get the job, but Cella offered it to me on the spot.”
“She was so happy to have someone working there.”
“Did the person before me who quit because of the bombing inside the club get hurt?”
“No, she was just scared. We lost the food manager too. She said it was too dangerous to work for vampires.”
“I think it would be more dangerous to be around the church.”
“Indeed.”
“We’re here,” Ven said.
Avery looked out the window and saw a plain concrete building. “What is this place?”
“This is the surprise,” Traz said. He opened the door and offered her his hand.
Chapter Fourteen
Traz helped Avery from the SUV. Temple walked ahead of them and rang the bell at the door.
“Close your eyes for a second,” Traz said.
“Really?” she asked, arching a brow.
“It’ll be worth it, I promise.”
She grinned and closed her eyes. “You’re always worth it.”
He kissed her, thinking he was the damned luckiest male on the planet to have such a gorgeous, sweet beloved. The door unlocked and Temple loo
ked at Traz, who nodded.
Temple opened the door for them, and Traz led Avery into the building.
“We’ll be out here patrolling,” Temple said softly.
“Thanks.”
“You’ll do the same for me when I find my beloved.”
“In a heartbeat.”
Temple closed the door and Traz looked around the room and smiled at the man in the three-piece suit who was standing a few feet away.
“Ready sweetheart?” Traz asked.
“I can open my eyes now?”
“Yes.”
If Traz’s heart was beating, he thought it would probably be about to beat out of his chest. He wasn’t nervous, but he was excited.
And maybe a little nervous.
She opened her eyes and blinked rapidly in the bright lights. Then she looked at Traz with her brows raised high.
He turned her to face him and went to one knee, taking her left hand in his. “Avery, you’re my beloved. That means you and I are tied together for eternity, our lives intertwined in the most incredible way. But I want you and I to belong to each other in every way, and that means I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, of course!” Her eyes got bright with emotion. He rose to his feet and kissed her as the people in the room clapped.
“Now you get to pick your ring,” Traz said.
She looked at him in surprise. Traz nodded at the male closest to them. He made a motion with his hand and the six human males and females in the room pulled black covers off glass cases, revealing row after row of rings, from demure to extravagant.
Avery’s mouth fell open. “Holy cow!”
Traz chuckled and turned to face the human male. “Avery, this is Delmar, the owner of the establishment. He’s been the coven jeweler for decades.”
Avery smiled at him. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Usually, we bring the store to the club,” Delmar said, his gray eyes twinkling. “But when Traz asked to bring you here as a surprise, I was so pleased to be of service. Anything you want is yours. Do you have a style in mind?”
“I think I’d like to walk around a little, I’m not sure,” Avery said.
“Take your time,” Delmar swept his hand to the side and Traz and Avery walked to the first case. From their shared memories, Traz knew that Avery had often dreamed of what her wedding would be like, chatting with her friends at sleepovers as a teenager, planning and hoping. She’d always envisioned something that resembled a fairy tale, with a Prince Charming waiting at the altar for her.
The woman behind the first case removed the black velvet trays of rings and set them on the glass. Avery leaned over and looked at them, chewing on her bottom lip.
She looked at Traz and he smiled. “How about we look at each case and then you can circle back to what catches your eye?” he offered.
“Oh, okay, that sounds good. It’s overwhelming.”
He’d never seen so many diamonds and gemstones in his life, and that included when he’d gone to Mishka’s storage facility with Bellamin and his beloved Kelly to help sort through satchels of priceless treasures she’d taken from a secret cave in another realm.
They moved from case to case, Avery humming a tune as she peered at the jewelry. When Traz had asked Mishka about the coven’s jeweler, he’d suggested bringing the male to him so Traz could pick a ring for his beloved, but Traz had thought Avery would appreciate being able to pick her own. She would have it forever, so he wanted her to love it.
As they rounded the last case, Avery greeted the male behind the counter. She made the softest gasp. Traz almost didn’t hear it. He leaned over next to her, seeing the ring her gaze had landed on.
It was a stunning ring. She looked at Traz, her eyes bright with happiness.
“I think my beloved would like to see this one,” Traz said, pointing to a heart-shaped diamond ringed with small pink diamonds. The platinum band had diamonds down both sides as well, creating a glittering masterpiece.
The male took the ring from the case and rubbed it with a polishing cloth a few times, then handed it to Traz.
“This is the one, yes?” Traz asked, taking Avery’s trembling left hand.
“How could you tell?”
He pushed the ring onto her finger. “Because I was watching you. And I love you. I think a heart-shaped stone is perfect.”
“I always wanted one,” she said as she looked down at her finger. “It’s beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you,” Traz promised.
She fanned herself with her free hand. “This is all too much.”
“It’s not remotely too much, sweetheart. You’re worth more than all the diamonds in this room combined, and far, far more precious to me.” He looked at the stunning ring on her finger, and then into her lovely blue eyes.
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. “I love you. Thank you.”
“I love you too,” he said.
The humans in the store clapped for them, and Delmar met them at the counter, telling Avery the details of her ring, from the three-carat center stone to where they found pink diamonds. While Traz signed for the ring on a tablet, Delmar cleaned the ring once more, gave it back to Traz to put on Avery’s finger, and then handed him a small bag with the ring’s box and paperwork.
“Did you see anything else you liked?” Traz asked.
“Just you,” Avery said.
Traz smiled so broadly that his cheeks hurt. “You’ve made me the happiest male on the planet.”
“Just wait,” she said with a wink, “the night’s still young.”
* * *
As the sun set on Monday night, Traz rolled to his back and brought his gorgeous beloved with him. She sprawled on top of him, brushing her hair from her face with a gusty groan. After they’d come home Saturday night from the jewelry store, they hadn’t left the chamber, making love over and over to celebrate their engagement.
He’d been unable to keep his hands to himself two hours earlier once he’d woken for the night and used his fingers and tongue to awaken her. He could feel through their connection as beloveds that she was as ravenous for him as he was for her. He felt needy with the desire to be with her, consumed with seeing how many times he could make her come, how often he could make her gasp and moan and writhe under his attentions.
He couldn’t get enough of her.
Good thing they had all eternity to enjoy each other.
“I just want to go on record that you can wake me up that way anytime,” she said.
He chuckled and stroked her back, lifting his head to kiss her. “It’s my new favorite way to wake you up.”
“You’re the sexiest alarm clock on the planet.”
They lay in silence for a little while, and he enjoyed that time the most—when they were coming down together from great heights of pleasure, boneless, sated, and even more in love than before.
“I don’t want to go to work,” she said.
“Neither do I, but we both have things we must attend to. Even if I’m crazy pissed that I have to leave your side.”
“The funny thing is that I kind of hated being trapped in the chamber last week, and I couldn’t wait to be free. But now that I can leave whenever I want, I don’t want to. I just want to stay here with you, all snuggled up.”
“As do I.”
Although it was the last thing either of them wanted to do, they got up, showered, and dressed for the night. Traz finished dressing in black slacks and a black dress shirt, then opened the armoire in the closet where he kept his weapons and looked over the contents.
Avery joined him, wearing a black, knee-length dress with a ring of embroidered red roses around the scalloped hem. “You look lovely,” he said, kissing her cheek.
“Thanks,” she said. “You look pretty edible yourself.”
“Just for you.” He fixed a gun holster on his belt and attached his favorite knife in a sheath on the other side. Avery clucked worriedly, and he put
his arm around her and drew her close. “We don’t anticipate any problems, love, but it’s smart to be prepared.”
“Better to have it and not need it, I guess,” she said. “It just worries me to see you strapping everything on.”
“Then don’t watch when we’re upstairs and I’m putting on a bulletproof vest.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I thought you were just going to the SyBl factory to see the new trucks?”
“The church infiltrated the factory a while back and disabled the diesel vehicles we had, which is why we upgraded to the electric ones. The factory vetted its workers more carefully, and the ones who did the tampering are gone. Still, better safe than sorry.”
“Cella said she thought the church was ramping up for something.”
“They always seem to look for ways to get to us. I’d be surprised if they messed with the vehicles again, because they generally don’t do the same thing twice, but you never know. Jason’s unstable, and his followers tend to be just like him.” He frowned realizing he’d just insulted her sister.
She seemed to know what he was thinking. “You’re not wrong. Daria had no real reason to dislike vampires, but once she hooked up with the church her whole attitude changed. It’s weird to think she hates me now. That she would rather I died than be a vampire.” She shrugged, but there was pain in her eyes.
Traz bent and kissed her. “I wish I could help you heal that relationship, but she’d hate me just as much—if not more—because I’m the one who saved you.”
“Maybe she’ll eventually come around and won’t hate me anymore.”
Traz hummed, not voicing his opinion. He’d learned over the years that people who hated indiscriminately only got worse—not better—as time went on. Daria hated vampires, and now that Avery was one, she hated her too. It was sad, but nothing that he or Avery could do would change Daria’s mind.
“Are you ready, love?” he asked instead of continuing on the sad tone of their conversation.
Avery brightened. “Yes! Even if I have to be away from you, at least I’ll be busy and not just hanging out in the chamber all night.”