God! She missed him like crazy. Why had she teased him about abstaining? Every time with Blaéz was a new sensual experience she never wanted to miss. At the hard ridge of his sex pressing against her core, she bit back a whimper. Obviously, she was an idiot. Even though she’d unintentionally started this, she refused to back down. Before she lost her mind and the bet, she broke their kiss. “No.”
His chest heaving, he stared at her, his eyes a burning blue. “You do know I’m going to make you pay for this—for tormenting me?”
Laughter fell out of her. “Probably. But think how much more exciting it will be on our wedding night? Something to look forward to.”
“Indeed.” He dumped her ass on the couch and rose, adjusting his erection in his jeans, the look in his eyes firmly blaming her for his discomfort. Oh, she agreed wholeheartedly. Since this wasn’t really his fault, she could do something for him.
Sitting up, she reached for the stud on his jeans. “Let me take care of that for you.”
“No—” He grasped her hands and shook his head. “If you insist on waiting, I can, too. I’ve lived millennia without sex. A week and a half won’t hurt—except for my balls, because every time I see you, I want to be inside you.”
Her throat dried up, and her knees turned to Jell-O. Suddenly the days stretched like years. It was going to be total hell.
“Right, then.” Blaéz glanced away, surveying the mess she’d made while packing up her living room, appearing calm, cool, and collected once more.
How the heck could he turn himself off like that?
“Leave the rest for after the wedding.” He gestured to the open-plan kitchen and the upstairs area she hadn’t touched. “After we come back.”
“From where?” Her gaze veered sharply to his. “Where are we going?”
“Figure of speech, because I plan to keep you in bed the entire time and make up for this no-sex tradition…” He paused, glancing at the door. “The females are here. I’ll see you later. I need a godsdamn fight.”
At his gloomy expression, she didn’t say anything, knowing he used training as an outlet. A moment of pity for his sparring partner took hold. Once, not so long ago, Blaéz fought daily, violently, which left him bruised, bleeding, and with broken bones just so he could feel. Even though it was all in the past now, it still made her stomach hurt at how much he’d gone through when he’d lacked his soul.
He opened the front door just as Echo’s dark blue Merc SUV came to a purring halt in front of the brownstone.
Blaéz didn’t kiss her like he usually would, and knowing how thinly leashed his control was, she let him be. Still, she wouldn’t be denied some contact. She pressed her lips to his chin.
A tic worked his jaw, but he merely said, “Don’t tire yourself with the packing. Hedori will be here to take you to the flower place when you’re done. I’ll meet you there.”
“All right. Oh, don’t forget your tuxedo fitting this morning.”
He gave her a dark look before loping down the few stairs to the pavement.
It wasn’t that Blaéz disliked shopping, it was being amidst people he didn’t like. He usually bought all his clothes online or sent Hedori out for what he needed. This time, however, Darci refused to let him buy virtually. She wanted him involved in the whole wedding excitement.
“Hi, Blaéz,” Echo greeted him. Shae’s much softer, “Hello,” followed.
He nodded at them and headed for the Veyron parked farther down the street.
Echo ran up the stairs, the winter sun gleaming off her short, choppily cut, inky hair. The emo style suited her attractive, honey-toned features and highlighted her unusual eyes. Shae followed, a wide smile on her lovely, alabaster-pale face. She’d pulled her long, wavy, coppery-red hair into a high ponytail. Both the girls had dressed for hard labor in old jeans and t-shirts.
It was hard to believe that she was the only human here.
As a descendant of the Watchers, Echo had inherited their leader, Zarias’s, unbelievable power of healing the mystical rifts that protected the realm from supernatural evil.
And Shae? The tall, slender woman appeared fragile but she could kick ass like any Guardian with her talent to teleport and drain an immortal of their powers, weakening them. And heck, she possessed wings, something she’d inherited from her late father who’d been a deadly throne. Yep, a total badass.
But Darci didn’t envy them their abilities. She was happy with her library and loving Blaéz.
“Wow,” Echo whispered, stopping at her side and brushing away the over-long bangs from her bi-colored amber and gray eyes. “Blaéz sure seems in a dark mood?”
“It’s my fault…” Heat flooded Darci’s face. “Things are a little…er, tense right now between us because of a stupid bet.”
“Bet?” Shae frowned.
She nodded, watching Blaéz’s car disappear round the corner. “A few days ago, I read an article about traditions in a bridal magazines—about abstinence until the wedding day—and because Blaéz wants everything done traditionally, I teased him about it, and he took it as a done deal. I never really thought he’d go for it. And somehow it ended up being a bet.”
“You do know he’s not one to accept defeat, right?” Echo said. “From what I’ve seen and heard, every game of foosball or pool played, he’s never lost…wait, he did. Once. When he first met you, and Týr won his Harley back.”
“I know,” she moaned, pulling her gaze away from the empty street. “Me and my big mouth. What do I do?”
“I’m no good at stuff like this,” Shae said wryly. “I couldn’t even get Dagan to kiss me until we had a fight.”
Darci’s eyes widened. “Really?” she and Echo asked in unison.
A faint blush tinting her face, Shae nodded.
“What hap—ugh, ignore me.” Darci shook her head, exasperated at herself. Shae had only recently met them and here she was interrogating the girl. “Kira must be rubbing off on me.” She laughed and led them into the brownstone and shut the door.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Echo said, a mischievous glint appearing in her mismatched eyes. “Seduce him. I did with Aethan when he thought I couldn’t handle his type of lovemaking soon after I came out of my coma.”
Darci eyed her skeptically. “It worked?”
“Well...” Echo’s brow wrinkled. “I don’t think it would have had we been home. He’s just too controlled. But we had our first date night a couple of months ago…” She sighed, her cheeks flushing as if remembering what had occurred. “Oh, yeah, it worked. Just make it seem like it was his idea—I mean you still want to win this bet, right?”
Darci contemplated Echo’s words. Yes, it would be wonderful to win and get her man, too. She slowly nodded, hope stirring.
Shae picked up a fallen book, her gray-gold eyes bright with excitement. “I still can’t believe you two are getting married.”
“Me either. At one time, I thought I would never meet anyone I could love, then Blaéz arrived one midnight at my door…” She sighed, a little smile tugging her mouth.
He’d rescued her nephew and brought him to her, and she’d been so wary of him. When he’d trapped her against her door and trailed his nose down her neck, it had annoyed the hell out of her but had her holding her breath in anticipation, too, if she were honest. Heck, he’d been tempting in a dark and deadly sort of way.
She had no idea then exactly what he would come to mean to her.
“Okay, then. Where do we start?” Echo surveyed the mess in the living room.
“We should probably clear the living room out first—” Darci broke off at the knock on her front door. “Excuse me for a sec.” She spun back to answer.
But at the sight of the woman on her porch, her heart jolted, pain bleeding through her like a broken dam.
Nora, the friend she’d once loved and trusted, who’d played a big part in her almost losing Blaéz, stood there. If she hadn’t been frozen by shock, she would have slammed the door shut. �
�I have nothing to say to you.”
“Darci, please…” Nora lifted a hand toward her. “Let me explain—”
“Explain what? You not only deceived me, you used me and nearly got the man I love killed! I’ll never forgive you for that.”
“I protected you,” Nora said fiercely, a crimson glow appearing in her brown irises, revealing exactly what she was. “I know my methods were unorthodox, but it was the only way I could keep you safe from Maloch.”
Darci cut Nora a rigid glare. She didn’t care she’d unknowingly befriended a demoness. She’d treasured their friendship, only to be hurt and betrayed.
Echo and Shae appeared, flanking her.
“Darci?” At Shae’s quiet tone, she knew what she was asking. Should she get rid of Nora?
A fight would ensue, and Shae could temporarily drain Nora of her powers. It would be fitting considering the raw betrayal Darci had suffered at Nora’s hands, but she shook her head. “It’s okay, I have this.”
After a second, both women retreated, and Darci remained in the doorway, refusing to invite Nora inside. She wouldn’t be able to enter anyway with the new protection wards Hedori had put in place. Keeping her expression even, Darci slid her shaky hands into her jeans’ pockets and waited.
Nora sighed, her features appearing heavy with regret. “I don’t blame you for hating me. Revenge drove me. I loved my baby brother. He was so young, and Maloch had him killed. I couldn’t live with that. He…” She rubbed her fingers over her fatigued features, her brown eyes bleak with pain. “I had to destroy him. He was a sadistic son of a bitch who thrived on torture and pain any way he could get it.”
Blaéz had told Darci about his imprisonment and what the bastard Maloch had done to him. Deep down, she realized there was probably much, much more he hadn’t revealed. A part of her understood why Nora did what she had. Darci wanted to tell her it was okay. But she’d destroyed their friendship and put not only her but also Blaéz in danger.
“Darci, look, I know what I did was wrong, but I couldn’t take the chance of telling you anything. If Maloch found you, he’d have known that I cared about you and would have hurt you just because he could.”
Hell, she’d been there. Maloch had hurt her because he’d wanted Blaéz as his lover, and was prepared to kill Darci to get him.
She exhaled roughly. “I can’t…I just can’t. I’m sorry. Too much has happened, and it’s all still too fresh.”
Nora lowered her gaze to her scuffed boots. She didn’t say anything for several seconds, before she looked up again. “I set up an antique shop in town. It’s called Bygones. I’ll be there. I thought it was a good way to sell off Maloch’s ill-gained goods. Therapeutic for me, really.” She glanced up the road then back down. “Just be careful, okay? You’re still my friend. And if you ever need me...”
Call her? She didn’t think so. Darci remained silent as Nora walked away, her heart hurting. It was better this way, a clean break. She’d considered Nora her dearest friend, and what she’d done had wounded Darci too deeply.
Later that afternoon, Darci wandered the aisles in Suddenly Flowers, the florist she’d chosen to do the arrangements for the wedding. The wonderful fragrance of the colorful blooms surrounded her, yet nothing could ease the ache inside her.
Was it wrong that she found it so hard to forgive Nora?
Sighing, she put those thoughts aside to deal with when it didn’t hurt so much and walked around the workroom where several arrangements had been prepared for delivery.
“Are you okay?” a low voice asked.
She glanced back at Hedori and forced a smile. “I’m okay. So, what do you think?” She nodded at the pink baby roses and creamy tulips bursting the glass walls of the short, square vase.
He studied the centerpieces, a hint of a smile softening his stern features, making him appear years younger. “I think it’s best you ask Blaéz that, m’lady—”
“Hedori, please.” She sighed, wishing he’d call her by her name. He did with the Guardians. Unless he wanted to rattle them, then he went with “sire.”
“My pardon, Darci—” He broke off as an older woman with curly, bobbed hair hurried over, pushing up the sleeves of her purple sweater.
“I’m so sorry for the delay,” Briony Langton breathed. “Things get a little hectic around this time.”
“I’ll wait outside,” Hedori said, leaving her with the owner, who cast him an appreciative look as he walked out. Nope, their butler wasn’t like those stodgy old English ones the movies depicted. He was probably centuries older than the Guardians, even though he appeared in his late thirties or early forties. He sported the same good looks, but in a more rugged sort of way with his lean, hard features and steel-gray hair. But he was just as deadly. She’d seen him train with Blaéz once.
“That is some man—oops! He’s not your fiancé, is he?” Briony’s dark, apologetic gaze darted back to her.
“No.” Darci smiled. She understood exactly what the woman reacted to—the truckload of magnetism the immortals seemed to possess in spades. “He’s a friend.”
“Thank goodness.” She waved at her face as if to cool herself. “I don’t know what came over me. So, what do you think?” she asked, her attention back on the flowers.
“It looks even better when you can actually see them,” she said, thankful that Briony could squeeze her in on such short notice. But then hers wasn’t a big affair. She twisted her engagement ring and glanced back at the white arum-lily arrangements. “I’d like to wait for my fiancé before I make a final decision. He should be here any minute.”
“Okay, just give me a shout when you’re ready, Ms. Callahan.” The woman hastened off to help another customer.
Ms. Callahan? Wait…would she still use her last name after she married Blaéz?
Did immortals even have last names?
Hmmm. Putting that aside to ask him later, she glanced at the time on the elegant, platinum wristwatch he’d given her just after she’d moved in with him.
He was late. Ugh, probably caught up in his training. The man had a thing for brutal fights. But right now, she couldn’t blame him, and she seriously contemplated Echo’s suggestion. Talk about self-control. Blaéz aced it.
Bypassing a couple, she wandered back to the entrance and stepped out into the bright, mid-morning winter sun. Even with the chill in the air, she enjoyed its faint warmth as she searched the busy street.
Hedori was nowhere in sight, but she knew he’d stay close. He took his job as bodyguard seriously, keeping her and the other women safe when they left the castle for anything.
With no idea if Blaéz was using the car or dematerializing here, and about to mind-link with him, her gaze settled on a tall guy in a baseball cap crossing the street a short distance down. He glanced back. For a brief second, it felt as if he was staring at her before he turned away and soon disappeared in the swarm of people on the sidewalk.
A shiver of unease prickled her skin and she rubbed her arms, so sure she’d seen him before. Darci hurried back into the flower shop, stopping near the towering sunflowers arranged on the shelf in the back of the store. It isolated her a little as she tried to get rid of the eerie sensation roiling through her.
Soft voices drifted through the profusion of flowers. She peered through the blooms but didn’t see anyone suspicious who might set off her inner alarm again. Frowning, she absently stroked the velvety-soft petal of a sunflower tucked in a bucketful of blooms, trying to figure out where she’d seen the man before.
Powerful arms slid around her waist and pulled her against a hard chest.
No—! Her heart nearly crashing through her ribcage, Darci spun around as the sexy scent of cool night air merged with a hint of leather surrounded her. “Darn it, Blaéz!” she grumbled, smacking his powerful forearm. “Why do you sneak up on me like that?”
Ugh, his arms were like steel bars. She flexed her fingers.
“I did call out, but you appeared engrossed in y
our flowers.” He took her sore hand and massaged her fingers. “What got you so spooked?”
Inhaling deeply, she shook her head. She was probably overreacting, there’d been so many other people there, and she could do without the added stress. She smiled. “It’s nothing. Your fitting’s all done? The tux is to your liking?”
He grunted.
She sighed. “I know you dislike shopping, but—”
“I don’t hate shopping.”
“Really?” She arched a brow. “Blaéz, you intimidate everyone with that cold stare.”
“I don’t have to like the people I deal with.”
“O-kay.” She laced her fingers with his. “Let’s do this. Oh, don’t forget we’re having dinner with my family in two days.”
“Should be fun.”
At his doomed tone, she laughed and squeezed his hand. “Declan was only looking out for me, that’s why he was so hard on you. So…” She waved at the flowers in the shop. “What do you like?”
“You. Preferably naked. Right now. But, since that’s off the table...” He cupped her face and kissed her…slowly.
“Blaéz—” she gasped and broke free, grabbing his wrists. “There are people—”
“Very well.” He tugged her along to the back door of the florist shop and into the greenhouse. Seconds later, he had her up against the wooden wall separating a section of lush foliage and potted conifers from prying eyes. His mouth came down on hers in a passionate kiss, his tongue licking and stroking hers, his hands sliding down her spine and lowering to her backside.
“God, Blaéz—” She pulled back and panted, “There could be cameras—we’ll get caught.”
“So?”
Darn, she should know never to say that. “So you’re yielding? We’re not going to wait until the wedding night?”
His eyes narrowed. Nope, he didn’t care for the word or the weakness it depicted.
She laughed. “Come on, let’s go look at the flowers. At the rate we’re going, we’ll never get anything done. Besides, someone gave me three weeks. One and half of which has disappeared to only God knows where…” she broke off, eyeing him suspiciously at his suddenly smooth expression. “What?”
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