Megan nodded, but before she could think of anything to say, Rupert was out the door, leaving her alone with Rhys. Suddenly nervous, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Why had she worn this come-and-get-me dress? Tight and black, it outlined her every curve.
“You look lovely,” Rhys said quietly.
“Thank you.” She cleared her throat. “I’m…I…” She looked up at him. He had always known what she was thinking, why wasn’t he reading her mind now?
“The meeting is over,” he said formally. “Thank you for coming.”
She stared at him, mute. If she didn’t say something, do something, she had the feeling she might never see him again.
She cleared her throat. Squared her shoulders. And blurted, “You promised to marry me not long ago, Mr. Costain. Do you intend to renege on that promise?”
“Megan…”
“I love you.” She spoke quickly, before her courage could desert her. “And I know you love me.”
He regarded her silently, one brow raised, for several moments.
Megan resisted the urge to wring her hands as she waited for him to say something, anything, to break the tension between them.
And then the corner of his mouth twitched. “Reading my mind, are you, Miss DeLacey?”
“I believe turnabout is fair play, Mr. Costain.”
“Indeed? What am I thinking now?”
“Nothing I would dare repeat,” she replied with mock horror.
Laughing, he pulled her body against his and kissed her, long and hard. “If you think that’s bad, just wait until I get you home.”
Home, she thought, as he swept her into his embrace and kissed her again. Home wasn’t a house with a roof and four walls; it was here and now, in the arms of the man she loved.
Epilogue
Megan glanced over her shoulder. “How do I look?”
Evelyn DeLacey blinked back a tear as her daughter pirouetted in front of her. “Beautiful,” she murmured. “Like a fairy-tale princess.” The dress looked as if it had been made for her, simple yet elegant with its fitted sleeves and square neckline edged with delicate lace. “How do you feel?”
“Wonderful!” Megan exclaimed, and then, seeing the tears in her mother’s eyes, she whispered, “Mom, please don’t cry. I’m happy, truly I am.”
Evelyn forced a smile as she blinked back her tears. Her daughter, her only child, was a vampire, and in a few minutes, she would be married to a vampire. But, vampire or not, Megan was here, as loving and happy as always, and for that Evelyn would be forever indebted to her future son-in-law. And even though it certainly wasn’t the kind of life she would have wished for Megan, Evelyn couldn’t deny the proof of her own eyes. Megan had never looked happier. And Rhys adored her, anyone could see that.
There was a knock on the door, and then George peeked inside. “Everybody ready?”
“Yes, dear,” Evelyn said. She hugged Megan, then left the room to take a seat in the living room with the others.
“So,” George said, his voice gruff with emotion, “this is it, the big day.”
Megan nodded, suddenly too choked up to speak as she recalled a night a year or so ago when she and Shirl had talked about weddings and promised to stand up for each other when the time came.
George cleared his throat. “You look beautiful, princess.”
“Thank you, Daddy, so do you.” Standing on tiptoe, Megan kissed her father’s cheek. “I love you.”
George blinked back a tear as he placed her hand on his arm. “Okay, sweet pea, here we go. I hope that man of yours knows how lucky he is.”
Megan’s heart fluttered with excitement as they walked down the short hallway that led into her parents’ living room. They had decided on a small wedding, just the immediate family and a few close friends. She winked at Daisy and Erik, who were sitting beside Alex and Paula, nodded at Mr. and Mrs. Parker, smiled at Drexel, who made a sad face in return. And then she saw Rhys. Clad in a black tux from Shore’s, he stood next to the minister in front of the flagstone fireplace.
As she moved toward him, Megan overheard several of her friends remarking on what a hunk Rhys was, whispering how lucky she was to have him. She couldn’t have agreed more.
He smiled at her then, a slow, sexy smile that released a million happy butterflies in her stomach. Her heart swelled with love, and she knew, deep inside, that choosing to stay with Rhys had been the right decision.
When the minister asked if she would have Rhys Costain as her husband for the rest of her life, Megan smiled inwardly, thinking that the minister had no idea just how long that might be.
Moments later, her husband swept her into his arms and claimed her lips with his in a long, slow kiss that turned her legs to jelly and set her blood on fire, and she knew without a doubt that no matter what the future held, she would face it unafraid as long as Rhys stood beside her.
Smiling, she looked up into his eyes. “And just like in the fairy tales,” she murmured, “they lived happily ever after.”
If you liked this Amanda Ashley book,
check out some of her other titles currently
available from Zebra…
NIGHT’S TOUCH
One Kiss Can Seal Your Fate…
Cara DeLongpre wandered into the mysterious Nocturne club looking for a fleeting diversion from her sheltered life. Instead she found a dark, seductive stranger whose touch entices her beyond the safety she’s always known and into a heady carnal bliss…
A year ago, Vincent Cordova believed that vampires existed only in bad movies and bogeyman stories. That was before a chance encounter left him with unimaginable powers, a hellish thirst, and an aching loneliness he’s sure will never end…until the night he meets Cara DeLongpre. Cara’s beauty and bewitching innocence call to his mind, his heart…his blood. For Vincent senses the Dark Gift shared by Cara’s parents, and the lurking threat from an ancient and powerful foe. And he knows that the only thing more dangerous than the enemy waiting to seek its vengeance is the secret carried by those Cara trusts the most…
NIGHT’S KISS
He Has Found His Soul’s Desire…
The Dark Gift has brought Roshan DeLongpre a lifetime of bitter loneliness—until, by chance, he comes across a picture of Brenna Flanagan. There is something hauntingly familiar about her, something that compels him to travel into the past, save the beautiful witch from the stake, and bring her safely to his own time. Now, in the modern world, Brenna’s seductive innocence and sense of wonder are utterly bewitching the once-weary vampire, blinding him to a growing danger. For there is one whose dark magick is strong…one who knows who they both are and won’t stop till their powers are his…and they are nothing more than shadows through time…
NIGHT’S MASTER
Passion Has a Darker Side…
Kathy McKenna was sure that the little Midwestern town of Oak Hollow would be isolated enough for safety, but the moment the black-clad stranger walked into her bookstore, she knew she was wrong. Raphael Cordova exudes smoldering power, and his sensual touch draws Kathy into a world of limitless pleasure and unimaginable dangers.
Oak Hollow was supposed to be neutral territory for supernatural beings. Instead it has become home to an evil force determined to destroy them—and kill any mortal who gets in the way. As leader of the North American vampires, Raphael has always put duty first, but then, no woman ever enthralled him the way Kathy does. And as the enemy’s terrifying plan is revealed, Raphael’s desire could be a fatal distraction for all his kind, and for the woman he has sworn to love forever…
NIGHT’S PLEASURE
Desire Casts a Dark Spell…
Savanah Gentry’s life was so much simpler when she was a reporter for the local newspaper. That was before her father’s sudden death drew her into a mysterious new world she was just beginning to understand. A vampire hunter by birth, Savanah has been entrusted with a legacy that puts everyone she cares for in danger—including the seductive, sensual va
mpire who unleashes her most primal desires…
Rane Cordova has always been alone, half-hating himself for his dark gift even as he relishes its extraordinary power. But one look at Savanah fills him with the need to take everything she has to give and carry her to heights of unimagined ecstasy. And though he never intended their relationship to go this far, now Savanah is in more danger than she knows—and facing a relentless enemy determined to eliminate Rane and all his kind…
IMMORTAL SINS
Desire Is the Darkest Magic of All…
Three centuries ago, vampire Jason Rourke succumbed to temptation with a wizard’s lovely daughter—and that brief taste of pleasure earned him a powerful curse. Trapped within a painting, unable to quench the hellish thirst that torments him, Jason has given up hope of escape until Karinna Adams purchases the painting and unwittingly frees him.
At first, Jason plans only to enlist Kari’s help in navigating this strange new world so he can find and punish the wizard who entrapped him. But Kari’s enticing sensuality and innocence incite a growing need in Jason to touch and taste her, to possess her utterly. For the gulf between them—and the danger that awaits—is nothing compared to a potent, primal hunger that will last for all eternity…
EVERLASTING KISS
Desire Never Dies…
Daisy O’Donnell doesn’t get the attraction some women feel for vampires. She likes her men with a heartbeat. And she’s just met one who’s full of life: Erik Delacourt, the unreasonably sexy man she keeps meeting at a popular L.A. nightclub called the Crypt. She barely knows him, but there’s no resisting the connection she feels…
There’s one important detail Erik hasn’t gotten around to telling her yet. He’s a powerful vampire out to hunt the Blood Thief who is draining young vampires all over the city—and who has just raised the stakes by destroying one of Erik’s friends. To Erik, Daisy is a bright spot of innocence in a world of darkness and menace. He’ll do anything—even lie to her—to keep her safe and pure.
If only he knew that Daisy has something of her own to hide…
And here’s a sneak peek
at the latest from Amanda,
coming in September 2011!
When Skylynn O’Brien McNamara came home to bury her grandfather and settle his estate, she was surprised to see that the house across the street was still vacant. The big, old, three-story house, surrounded by a high wrought-iron fence, sat on a half-acre lot. A covered porch spanned the front of the house. The place put her in mind of a giant among midgets, surrounded as it was by newer, smaller, more modern homes. Granda had once told her that Kaiden Thorne’s grandfather had refused to sell the place to real estate developers, and so they had built around him.
Kaiden Thorne had moved away shortly before Skylynn left for college. She thought it odd that he hadn’t sold the house when he moved. As far as she knew, the house had been vacant ever since.
He had been a strange one, Mr. Thorne. For years, he had collected his mail and his newspaper after dark and always mowed his front yard after the sun went down. He had gone to the high school football games, but only the ones held at night.
Sky had been five or six the first time she had seen Kaiden Thorne. She remembered it as if it had happened yesterday. She had been sitting on the front porch that summer evening, playing with her favorite Barbie dolls, when a moving van pulled into the driveway of the house across the street. Curious, she had watched two men in gray overalls jump out of the cab and begin unloading the truck. There hadn’t been much in the way of furniture, just a black leather sofa and a matching chair, a couple of glass-topped end tables, a dresser and chest of drawers, and a big-screen TV. The last thing the movers had unloaded had been a large oblong box.
Skylynn had frowned when she saw it. What on earth was in there? Her interest in the new neighbor soon waned when she realized there would be no playmates her age moving into the house, only a tall man with thick black hair. At five, she had thought of Kaiden Thorne as an old man. Looking back, she realized he had probably been in his late twenties or early thirties.
Her second distinct memory of Kaiden Thorne occurred on Halloween, Sky’s favorite holiday, except for Christmas, of course. Back then, everyone in the neighborhood decorated their houses, each family trying to outdo the other, but none of them could hold a candle to Mr. Thorne. His yard looked like something out of a Hammer horror movie. There had been a coffin that looked as if it was a hundred years old, a skeleton that looked so real, it had given Sky the creeps. Ancient torture devices had lined his driveway. A scary-looking clock that would have looked at home in a Vincent Price movie chimed the hours as assorted ghouls and monsters popped up out of old pirate chests and from behind weathered headstones.
Sky had been seven when her brother, Sam, took her trick-or-treating at the Thorne house. Sam had been ten at the time, and even though her brother could be a major pain, she had idolized him. He had told her, straight-faced, that Mr. Thorne was a vampire, but Skylynn hadn’t believed him because Granda had told her there were no such things as vampires, witches, ghosts, ghouls, or skeletons that walked and talked. But when Mr. Thorne opened the door, Sky had taken one look at his blood-red eyes, his gleaming fangs and long black cape, and screamed bloody murder. Her brother had teased her for months about the way she had turned tail and run back home just as fast as her legs would carry her. She’d had nightmares for weeks afterward, even though her grandfather had persuaded Mr. Thorne to come over and explain that he had been wearing an elaborate costume.
As time passed, Granda and Mr. Thorne spent more and more time together. They made an odd couple—her short, gray-haired grandfather and the tall, dark-haired Mr. Thorne. As far as Sky could tell, they’d had nothing in common. Granda was a retired doctor who dabbled in chemistry and alchemy in his lab down in the basement. He had often kidded her that he was looking for the secret of eternal life. As for Mr. Thorne, she didn’t know what he did for a living. For all she knew, he, too, had been retired. The two men had spent many a night locked up in Granda’s lab.
More than once, she had snuck down to the basement. With her ear pressed to the door, she had caught snatches of conversation, but Granda’s talk of plasma and platelets and transfusions meant nothing to her.
Occasionally, a strange man came to visit Granda. Sky never saw his face, never heard his name, but there was something about him that, even back then, had made her skin crawl.
The summer Sky turned twelve, she started spying on Mr. Thorne. She wasn’t sure why. Curiosity? Boredom? Who could say? She bought a notebook and made copious notes about his habits, the cars he drove, the clothes he wore. He rarely had visitors, but when he did, she wrote down the color and make of the car and the license number and descriptions of the people who came and went so infrequently. Sam thought he was a drug dealer or a hit man.
Sky had always had a flare for art and she drew numerous pictures and portraits of the elusive Mr. Thorne. A faint white scar bisected his right cheek. He had another scar on his back near his left shoulder blade. She had seen it one night during a scavenger hunt. The last item on her list had been to find an old newspaper and she had gone knocking on Mr. Thorne’s door in hopes that he could help. He had answered the door wearing a pair of swim trunks and nothing else. He had invited her to step inside while he went to fetch the paper, and she had glimpsed the scar when he turned away. As she grew older, she began to wonder how he had gotten those scars.
By the time she was thirteen, she had a full-blown crush on the mysterious Mr. Thorne. And then, when she was fifteen or sixteen, an odd thing happened. For no apparent reason, he stopped staying inside during the day.
She would never forget the Friday afternoon she had come home from school and seen him outside, mowing his lawn. Wearing only a pair of cut-off blue jeans and sunglasses, he looked sexier than any man his age had a right to.
But that had been eight years ago, and she was no longer the wide-eyed innocent child she had once
been.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2010 by Amanda Ashley
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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ISBN: 978-1-4201-1990-9
Everlasting Desire Page 31