“No, I don’t think so.” She stood up from where she’d been poised to spring on the loveseat. “I’m going to take a look at the bedroom, and if it’s as nice as I expect it to be, I’ll go downstairs and register the room for Antonio and Marie’s wedding night.” She smoothed her skirt down and turned on her heel.
The bedroom was beautiful, a romantic haven done all in white, with what seemed to be a hundred white candles flickering against the darkness flowing through the massive window. The scent of roses filled the air, overpowering her senses for a moment and making her forget her resolve to get out of there and away from Renaldi’s confusing signals as quickly as possible.
He was behind her in an instant. “Is this to your liking?” He stepped around her, moving with the kind of speed only vampires could use, to the side of the bed.
He ran one hand along the white satin coverlet, making her mind wander into places where it had no business going.
She managed to find her voice. “I think the lucky couple will be very pleased with it.”
“What about you?” He took several slow steps toward her. “Are you pleased with it?”
Her heart jumped into her throat. She was either going to call his bluff or go crazy wondering for the rest of her life. “What kind of game are you playing with me, Renaldi?”
His eyes widened. “Game?”
She huffed out a breath, feeling blood rush to her face. “You know, all the flirting… the not so subtle innuendoes… what gives?”
“I find you incredibly beautiful.” He held his hands out in a gesture of defenselessness. “Is it so wrong to want to know if I have a chance with you? I realize you have a boyfriend…”
“What on earth gave you that idea?” She shook her head. “I broke up with my last boyfriend over a year ago.”
“But you said…” He paused, confusion knitting his brows. “You were trying to ‘let me down easy,’ as you modern people say. You were stammering something about I have, I have…“
“Yeah, what I have is a boatload of body issues.” She sat down on the edge of the round bed with a thud. “Not a boyfriend.”
He sat down a cautious distance from her. “But surely, you must have many offers from men who find you as fascinating as I do.” His voice was gentle, and it twisted the knife in her heart just a little more.
She made a bitter sound. “Are you sure you don’t have some kind of bet going with the other guys in the wedding party about who can get me into bed first?”
Silence stretched between them for a long moment. “I would never dishonor you in such a way, Jade.”
She fell back flat onto the bed. “I’m not the kind of girl that usually attracts guys like you.”
He leaned down onto the bed beside her, propping himself up on one elbow and looking heartbreakingly gorgeous in the candlelight. “I find that hard to believe.”
She laughed without mirth. “Oh, you can believe it. The only guy with your looks who ever asked me out took me to a dogfight.” She glanced at him, then turned away, blinking back unwanted tears. “You know, one of those parties where the guy who brings the most unattractive woman wins the pot of cash.”
He brushed away the tear rolling down her cheek. “And you would let one ignorant fool ruin your confidence for the rest of your life.”
She shrugged. “It was my senior year in high school. I was awkward and didn’t know how to dress or to work with my body type back then.” She let out a shaky sigh. “I’m not that person anymore, and I don’t hate my body or the way I look now. But the memory has sort of tainted my experiences with men ever since.” She gave him a teary-eyed glance. “I guess you could say I have trust issues where your gender is concerned.”
“Well, I don’t hate your body.” His mouth turned up at the corners. “It fills me with a hunger like none I’ve ever known.” He edged closer to her. “You must give other men a chance, and forget this boy who was too foolish to see how magnificent you truly are.”
“Is this your way of telling me that all this…” she made a sweeping gesture, indicating the candles and flowers that filled the bedroom, “…is sincere, and not some kind of elaborate pre-wedding prank at my expense?”
“It is my way of telling you that I have not been able to get you out of my mind for a single instant since the moment I first laid eyes on you.” He positioned himself over her, locking gazes with her and rendering her speechless. “It is my way of telling you that I want you so much that I think I’ll go mad if I can’t have you.”
“It was you who sent me the message on the wind, wasn’t it?” Her voice sounded thick, husky with desire. She feared waking to find out that this was only a dream. She’d longed for someone to want her in the way Renaldi professed to want her, and never believed it could actually happen.
If anything came along to snatch this happiness from her, she’d remember this moment when she was drunk on his words, intoxicated by the promise of his eyes, for the rest of her life.
She could live on that single golden moment forever, if she had to. But right then, she’d sell her soul to have him for just one night.
“The wind is my element to control.” His lips hovered dangerously close over hers. “I wanted it to caress you for me… for it to touch you until I could feel you with my own hands.” He balanced himself on one strong forearm and brushed her hair back from her face with the other hand. “To wrap you in its embrace until I could feel your softness beneath me.” He lowered himself until the hard planes of his chest grazed her breasts. Her nipples hardened at the feel of his body, and she let out a tiny whimper of pleasure.
His hand slid up her thigh, beneath her skirt, to the place where her stockings ended. When his fingers trailed over the exposed skin, she felt blood rushing between her legs, making her wet and ready for whatever came next.
“Jade,” he whispered, unfastening her top button by button, “let me show you just what your body does to me.” He lowered himself, nestling between her legs.
He was harder than granite.
She inhaled sharply, her chest suddenly so tight with need that even breathing took an effort. “I want you,” she gasped, threading her fingers through his hair, “so much. I’ve wanted you since the moment I met you.” She almost sobbed with happiness.
“And I’ve wanted you, more than words can convey.” He spread her top open, kissing the mounds of her breasts above the satin border of her bra. “To touch these breasts…” He eased the cup of one bra down, flicking his tongue over one taut nipple. “…to taste them, is the fulfillment of my wildest fantasies.” He grazed her nipple with his fangs, eliciting a hiss from her. She cradled his head to her breast, hoping he never stopped, hoping it could last forever.
“You, Jade…” He lifted his head, placing it between her breasts to look into her eyes. “You are my thunderbolt.”
Thunderbolt? She would have to remember to ask what it meant later, when her body didn’t demand to feel his naked skin against it.
“Does Antonio know you’ve seduced his wedding planner?” A throaty female voice rang out from the foot of the bed. “Or did he give her to you as a special gift for the best man?”
Jade’s eyes flew open, seeking the source of the voice. But nothing could’ve prepared her for the apparition at the foot of the bed.
Chapter 6
“Really, Renaldi, you didn’t have to arrange a snack for us… plump, juicy, little morsel though she is.”
Three female vampires stood motionless, their eyes fixed on Jade and Renaldi. Jade scrambled up, turning her back to the unannounced trio and rearranging her clothing as quickly as possible.
She’d just acquired a new “most embarrassing moment” story.
“Is this what you call looking for a bride among the Court?” The vampire in the middle gestured toward Jade, a look of slight disgust on her face.
“Hey, if I lived on a liquid diet, I’d be skinny, too.” Jade shoved her feet back into the pumps that had fallen off h
er feet near the dust ruffle.
The vampires were skinny. The one in the middle, obviously the spokesperson for the group, had straight black hair down to her knees, and was dressed in a royal blue robe made out of rich brocade which Jade knew instantly to be antique. Her eyes, a shade of midnight blue not often seen outside of a display case for colored contacts, regarded Jade with withering scorn.
“How did you find me here, Melaina?” Renaldi managed to look carefree—not easy, with an erection straining his zipper to the bursting point, Jade observed with a giggle.
“Are you amused, human?” the dark-haired one, apparently named Melaina, snapped at Jade before turning back to Renaldi. “I tracked you here. You know I can teleport anywhere. Besides, your energy signature is rather hard to miss, as you know.”
He nodded. “To what do I owe this interruption?”
Melaina shrugged. “I brought Veronica and Malice to make your acquaintance.”
What perfect names for the Doublemint Twins standing just behind Melaina, Jade thought. Veronica was an icy blonde, with hair as fine as swans’ down pulled up into a knot in back. Malice had the same nearly white hair, but hers was thicker, twisted into a coronet of innumerable braids around her head. They both had eyes the cool shade of gray usually reserved for winter storm clouds, and were so thin and wispy that only the vampiric power they radiated kept them from appearing frail.
“I don’t recall extending an invitation.” Renaldi glanced from one of the pale blondes to the other.
“I don’t recall needing one,” Melaina retorted.
Jade smoothed her stockings and stood up straight. “As much as I’d love to stand here and listen to you two bicker until the end of time, I’m mortal, and unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of eternal life to waste.” She glanced down at Renaldi. “It’s nearly dawn. I’d like for you to call me and explain this…” She gestured toward the three musketeers stationed a few feet away, “…when you rise this evening.”
He stopped her with a hand on her wrist. “Don’t go.” He dropped his voice to a whisper, even though Jade had no doubt that the other vampires could hear every word he said. “We’re not finished here.”
She raised an eyebrow at him, letting skepticism fill her face. “You sure about that?”
He let heat radiate from him to her like a gust of warm wind. “I’m sure.” Using the hand he had still wrapped around her wrist, he lowered her to sit beside him on the edge of the bed, and tucked her hand inside his reassuringly.
“Melaina, please get on with it.” Renaldi let out a yawn. “As Jade pointed out, it’s not long until dawn, and I don’t have a moment to waste.”
Melaina sneered. “You consider an audience with your empress a waste of time?”
Empress? She’d managed to run afoul of the vampire empress? The hits just kept on coming.
“Certainly not, your grace.” Renaldi managed the perfect combination of politeness and boredom. “Pray, continue.”
“As I explained during our conversation earlier, you have only until the next full moon to wed and bind yourself to a member of the Court.” She moved back to take the two other vamps by the hand, showing them off with the pride of a merchant hawking her finest wares. “These two beauties are ripe for the picking.”
Jade digested the meaning of this bit of news in silence before turning to Renaldi. “You’ve been ordered to marry another vampire?”
He didn’t answer.
“What the hell were you doing with me, then?” She felt a familiar mix of resentment and pain rising to the surface where desire and joy had been a few short moments before. “Did you know about this before you… before we…”
“I will explain in a minute.” His eyes had a look of naked anguish in them. “Please, give me time to make you understand.”
“I believe I can make you understand.” Melaina looked down at Jade. “You were a final human diversion for him. A last supper, if you will.”
Melaina’s words slammed into Jade like a punch to the stomach. She stood abruptly, anger and shame flooding her like a poison. “She’s the one who called you on your cell phone, isn’t she?” When he didn’t deny it, she went on. “When were you planning on telling me this, Renaldi? After we’d slept together? Or were you going to sneak in a little blood drinking, too?”
“It’s complicated. Let’s go to the lobby, where we can have some privacy.” He rose to his feet and before her eyes could register his movements, he was standing in front of her. “Please, let yourself trust me.” He shot a glance at Melaina. “I’ll deal with you later.”
“You’ll deal with me now.” She moved in front of the door, blocking any of them from leaving.
But Jade wasn’t finished yet. Not by a long shot. She faced Renaldi, giving him stare for stare. “You want me to trust you, after this?” She shook her head. “I thought you were different.” She grabbed her purse from the dressing table where she’d left it earlier. “You may be a vampire, but underneath that, you’re just another man.” Disgust clung to her last word like ice to an igloo.
She whirled around to face Melaina. “Bitch, either move out of my way, or I swear to God, I’ll break a leg off that wooden bedside table and stake your ass like Nosferatu at a church social.”
“By all means.” Melaina swept gracefully aside, suddenly the very picture of graciousness. “The followers of St. Germain do not force themselves upon humans.” She gestured to the door like Vanna White turning a letter. “Please, take your leave of us whenever you are ready.”
Jade threw the door open. “Oh, and Renaldi? Forget what I said about calling me when you rise.” She let her gaze flick from Melaina to the undead duo. “No explanation is necessary.” She gave him one last look, forcing herself to ignore the way her heart contracted. “From now on, all the wedding plans will go through Avery.” Her voice held an unwelcome quaver. She had to get out of there before the strengthening rush of anger deserted her, leaving only tears in its wake. “You can stay dead, as far as I’m concerned.”
She slammed the door, leaving Renaldi D’Aria behind her.
Did it matter that a piece of her heart stayed behind, too? As the elevator doors slid shut and the tears began to stream down her face, Jade had the horrible feeling that it did matter.
Maybe more than she’d imagined possible.
Chapter 7
Somehow, Jade managed to get through the hours until dawn. She went home to her beautifully decorated apartment. Had it ever seemed so empty before?
Even Tuesday seemed to sense something was wrong, hiding under Jade’s bed until she threw up a hairball.
Jade sat on her window seat and watched the sun rise in an artist’s palette of pink and gold. Somewhere out there, Renaldi had escaped into the sleep of the dead, while she, the living, had to somehow go on, even with her heart shattered like a china cup smashed against a wall.
“I have no one to blame but myself, Tuesday,” she said when her pet finally emerged from beneath the bed. Tuesday answered with an affirming meow and jumped up to join her on the window seat. “I let myself believe in things again.” She stroked the cat’s calico fur. “Things like love and passion… things that were meant for the size two girls of the world.” She gazed outside at the sun taking its place in a rapidly brightening sky. “I’ll be okay, won’t I?” She looked down into Tuesday’s questioning yellow eyes. “We’ll get through this together.” She sighed. “Don’t we always?”
When would she learn to stop hoping? She’d spent years trying to snuff out the hope that love would find her, but it was a candle that couldn’t be dimmed, no matter how much she tried to douse its flame.
Why couldn’t her heart accept that she would always be the wedding planner, and never the bride?
And why had a few minutes in Renaldi’s arms made her feel as if she’d finally found her own slice of heaven on earth?
She’d had a taste of happiness that the angels themselves would envy. Somehow, she had to go on
with her life as if it hadn’t happened, as if it hadn’t split her world in two. But how?
———
“For you.” Avery slapped a stack of pink slips onto the desk blotter in front of her.
Jade shot him a glance. “Do they have anything to do with the wedding?”
Avery’s mouth stretched into a tight line. “Nope.”
“Then I don’t need to see them.” She grabbed up the messages and dumped them into the wastebasket at her feet.
“How long is this going to go on?” Avery folded his arms over his chest.
“Until Renaldi gets it through his undead head that we’re over.” Her mouth turned down. “We never actually started.”
“He doesn’t seem to share your point of view.” Avery perched on the edge of her desk. “He’s been calling every night for a week now.”
“He can call until hell freezes over and Satan sells snow cones.” Jade flipped through her appointment book at a razor sharp pace. “I have no desire to see him.”
“Sure you don’t.” Avery gave her a knowing look. “How many boxes of chocolates have you eaten this week?”
Her gaze shot up to his face. “What do you know about it?”
He shrugged. “Even your special PMS reserve is empty.” She gave him a look of surprise, to which he answered, “I checked the bottom drawer of your filing cabinet.”
“How could you?” She pushed her chair back. “You know that’s my private drawer!”
“I needed a way to assess the damage.” He jumped down to his feet. “If this is going to go on for a while, please let me know, because I’m totally going to buy stock in Godiva.”
“Save your money and invest it somewhere else.” She stood up. “I’m over it. I’m over Renaldi. I’m over the whole damn mess.”
“Glad to hear it.” Avery headed toward the door. “You have a fitting with the wedding party tonight at Undead Threads. Nine o’clock sharp.” He looked at her over his shoulder. “Be there or be square.”
I Was A Vampire Wedding Planner Page 3