by R. E. Butler
“You look amazing, Delaney,” he said, offering her the flowers.
She took them with a surprised gasp. “I love wildflowers, thank you! Come on in, let me put these in water.”
He walked into the house and shut the door, then followed her into the kitchen. She found a vase in a low cabinet, and he one hundred percent didn’t ogle her cute butt when she was bent over.
Not a bit.
She filled the vase with water and set the flowers in them, fluffing them a bit before setting them on the small table. She looked at him for a moment and then said, “I’m ready to go, I just need to grab Mimo.”
“Your turtle?”
She hummed and nodded. They walked into the family room, and she picked up a small, clear plastic box with a green lid. Inside was gravel and sand, a plastic pond filled with water and a small plastic palm tree. The turtle was under the palm tree, and Brody was fairly sure he was giving him the stink eye.
“Be nice, Mimo,” she whispered.
“He doesn’t like me, I take it?”
“He doesn’t know you. Ready?”
“Of course.” He grabbed the door for her and shut it behind them, then hurried ahead to grab the door for her. He held the box while she climbed in, then handed it to her. Once he was behind the wheel, he said, “I hope you don’t mind, but we’re not going to a restaurant for dinner.”
“Oh? Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. I wanted to try something different.”
“Sounds fun.”
“Good. I wasn’t sure if you were the sort of person who liked surprises.”
“Depends on the surprise, I guess.”
He headed toward their destination, holding tightly to the steering wheel so he didn’t do anything too forward like put his arm around her or grab her hand. Now that they were enclosed in a tight space, he could drink in the sweet scent of her far more easily—and it was driving him wild.
To direct his thoughts somewhere else, he said, “You have to take Mimo with you everywhere?”
“Yep. He goes wherever I do. I could leave him in the car if we were going into a restaurant, but I couldn’t leave him home. The distance between us can’t be too much.”
“I imagine it’s easier with something small like a turtle than a dog or cat.”
She nodded. “Kinsley and Hadlee both have cat familiars. Fortunately in Sable Cove they can take them into any of the stores or the diner without a problem, but it can be an issue in other towns. I’m lucky because Mimo’s pretty tiny. When I was a teenager, I used to carry him in a mesh fanny pack and he’d stick his head out and make grumbling noises when he didn’t like someone. My mom’s familiar was an owl, and he used to perch on her shoulder.”
“Do you still have her familiar or did it leave when she passed away?”
“Galahad is at the rescue. I like having him around, but he might eventually find another master.”
“I have to confess to not knowing a lot about witches,” he said. “My former coven zealously protected the borders from anyone or anything but vampires.”
“They didn’t allow matings with other types of supernatural creatures or humans?”
“Not even a little bit. Matings were almost always arranged by the coven masters and were most often for political or territorial gain. A love match, like a true mating, wasn’t encouraged.”
She hummed, her tone sounding sad. “I didn’t know. Is that why you left?”
His heart panged as the conversation took a turn he didn’t want it to. But he didn’t believe in lying, and he wasn’t about to start now. While it was tempting to throw the conversation another direction or flat out refuse to answer, he couldn’t start out their relationship—however new it was—on a sour note.
“My grandparents are the coven masters. About a year ago, I was arranged to be mated to a female from another coven—the daughter of the master. We’d met only once before our mating day. She was pretty typical of vampire females from powerful families—beautiful but cold. I’d hoped to feel some kind of connection to her, but I felt nothing at all except maybe a little pity for myself that I was going to be tied to someone who didn’t even smile when we met.”
He bit out a sigh of frustration. He so fucking hated that time in his life.
“Hey,” Delaney whispered, massaging the back of his neck. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. You’re allowed to have a past, and I don’t have to know everything.”
He shook his head. “No, you do. It’s just my past is part of why I kept my distance these past six months.”
“I don’t understand.”
He pulled into a parking lot and turned off the headlights but kept the engine running so the air conditioning would keep them cool. He unbuckled his seatbelt and heard hers click open, and then he faced her. “My mom died almost two years ago during a territorial skirmish. She wasn’t a warrior and shouldn’t have been harmed, but it turned out that she’d been out gathering fruit from the orchard when the warriors attacked and she was cut down. Our coven destroyed the other, and her body was found among the trees. My father never was kind to me, but after she died, he grew angrier and meaner. I wasn’t living at home at the time anyway, but he went out of his way to try to hurt me in any way he could. And he took to the bottle. A vampire has to drink a ton of hard liquor to become drunk, so when I tell you he was drunk, I mean he did nothing but drink all day and night.”
“I’m sorry you lost your mother,” she said. She took his hand, and he gave it a squeeze, feeling comforted by her touch.
Blowing out a breath, he said, “I was ready for the mating ceremony. I was waiting with my grandparents who were performing the rites, when the female and her family came forward. Her father said that he wouldn’t allow the mating to go through when my grandparents had lied about my lineage. I had no clue what they were talking about, but it turned out that my father had been quite drunk that day and had told a secret that even I didn’t know. That while my mother had been betrothed to him, she’d been secretly in love with a male from another coven. Her parents—the coven masters—had no idea she was sneaking off to be with this other male until she became pregnant. They were so furious that they ordered the other coven to kill the male for usurping the mate of another vampire, and then they paid off the male I knew as my father to mate her and raise me as his own.”
Delaney’s eyes were wide. “Your grandparents ordered your biological father to be killed? Did they just not like him or something? I don’t understand how they could take a life like that.”
“My mother’s pregnancy threw a wrench into their plans. The mating they’d arranged had been to strengthen their army. They wanted to promote my stepfather, but they couldn’t because he wasn’t mated. One of the coven laws is that only mated males can lead the army, and they wanted him. My mother was just a means to an end, I guess. At least they let her keep me. They could’ve ordered her to terminate the pregnancy.”
He rubbed the space between his eyes and sighed at the ache in his heart. How shocked he’d been to hear that the male he called father wasn’t actually his father. He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but then he’d looked at his father sitting nearby for the ceremony and seen the truth in his eyes.
“My grandparents were furious and said that not going through with the mating was tantamount to declaring war. I was willing to go through with the mating, but the female said I was a mutt of unknown lineage and not worthy of her in any way. Her father said they’d go to war if our coven continued to pursue it, but my grandmother wanted the mating and alliance so badly that she offered my cousin in my place.”
“That’s awful. So you left because you were angry with how they treated you? That’s totally understandable.”
“I didn’t leave, Delaney. I was exiled. The female said she wouldn’t be in a coven with someone like me, who was so far beneath her station but held rank based on my grandparents being the masters. There was a meeting between the
covens, and it was decided that I’d be exiled to save the coven. My grandparents told me that they were sorry it had come to this, but without my mother, they felt no family tie to me at all. They sent me out of the coven an hour before dawn with the clothes on my back. I was told if I ever stepped foot in the territory again, I’d be killed on sight.” The bit of good news in the end had come when Brody saw his stepfather exiled as well. At least he wasn’t the only one getting the shaft. The male had told Brody to go to hell and run off in the opposite direction, which was just fine with him. He hadn’t wanted to stick around a male who’d kept a secret from Brody his whole life and then drunkenly destroyed everything.
“I can’t believe your grandparents would treat you that way, it’s so awful. Family is everything. I have no one left anymore, and I’d give anything to have another day with my mom. Your grandparents are assholes.” She grimaced and then said, “Sorry. I don’t usually curse.”
He chuckled, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders. She hadn’t tried to leave when she found out he was exiled.
“You don’t know who your biological father is?”
“No, but it wouldn’t matter if I did know, because he’s dead and his family killed him, so they wouldn’t want to get to know me anyway.” He shook his head. “I was devastated by the exile. It took me six months to figure out what I wanted to do with myself, and mostly I was just trying to survive. My grandparents’ coven was not generally friendly to other covens, and if I’d been discovered by another master, they might have tried to use me for leverage. Not that it would’ve worked; they washed their hands of me and declared I wasn’t part of their family any longer.”
“I’m so sorry you were hurt by your family like that. But I’m glad you came here.”
“I felt drawn to Sable Cove. I think you know why.”
“Because of the stellar beach?” she asked with a smile.
“Among other things.”
“Did you stay away from me all this time because you were exiled? Did you think I wouldn’t want to be with you because of it?”
He hated how his stomach dropped at her words. “Yeah. Vampires care about that kind of thing. A female vampire would run fast and far from me if she were to find out.”
“Do you really think I’m the kind of person who would do that?” she asked.
“No, but there was a part of me that couldn’t shake the worry, you know? I wanted to talk to you, ask you out a hundred times, but I couldn’t get past the fear that you’d reject me. I mean, you’re mine, Delaney. My mate. I know it to be true in the very depths of my heart. If you said no, I don’t know what would happen to me, honestly.”
“That’s pretty heavy,” she said. She leaned her head on her seat and stared at him. “I understand your feelings, and I wish I’d known you actually did like me, because I would’ve tried to bridge the gap between us. It doesn’t matter to me that your family rejected you. It just makes them assholes and you a victim of ancient vampire law bullshit. The only thing that matters to me is that you’re a good person, and I know you are.”
He dropped his head back with a groan. “I have a ton of regrets since I came to Sable Cove, and chief among them are not seeking you out immediately.”
She touched his face, and he opened his eyes to look at her. “Let’s let the past go. You and I both had missteps since you moved to town, but we’re together now.”
“Are we?” he asked.
She smiled sweetly. “Well, let’s see how this date goes and then—assuming it goes spectacularly—you can ask me to be your mate and not just assume that I’m going along with things. I’d like to be asked for real, like humans do when they get engaged.”
His heart filled. “You got it. Ready for our date?”
“Of course.”
He got out of the SUV and inhaled the night air. Tonight was the most important night of his life.
Chapter Six
Brody surprised Delaney with a moonlit picnic on the beach. He’d brought along everything they needed, from a padded beach mat to a picnic basket filled with delicious food from the diner. As they ate fried chicken and potato salad and watched the waves lap on the shore, they talked about their lives and their pasts. She didn’t have such a torrid past as he did—hell she hadn’t even had her first date until her senior year of high school. But he had a past filled with pain and betrayal of the highest order, and it was no surprise that he’d been worried about her reaction. If she’d been ditched by her family and left to die, she wouldn’t want to go broadcasting that around to everyone.
He’d planned a perfect evening for them. The beach was empty, the sky was filled with stars, and the night was warm but not stiflingly hot. When they’d finished eating, they went for a walk on the beach, leaving their shoes behind and dipping their toes into the cool surf. She stopped before they reached the blanket and looked up at him. He was so sexy. She’d never been around a guy like him, and she was honored to be his mate.
Not that he’d asked her officially yet, but she felt the connection to him all the same.
“What happens now?” she asked.
He rested his hands on her waist and said, “Well, part of me wants to toss you over my shoulder and run to my home, keep you in bed for a few weeks.”
She choked on her surprise, and then laughed. “Just a few weeks?”
“To start.”
He leaned in and kissed her, sliding his arm around her waist and drawing her against the hard planes of his body. His tongue swiped against her lips, and she parted them, moaning at the first sweet taste of him. Their tongues danced and slid together as the world dropped away and it was just the two of them. She played her fingers through his short, soft hair and let herself go into the kiss.
The best kiss ever.
Her magic flared suddenly, and Mimo let out a little squawk from where he’d been exploring on the beach while they walked. Brody jerked from the kiss with a growl, spinning to face whoever was coming for them.
It was Cassian, the lighthouse keeper.
“Don’t flash fangs at me, Chief,” he said. “I was just going for a swim.”
“You made my magic flare,” she said. “That’s weird.”
“Mermen are their own kind of magic,” he said, shrugging. “Your magic probably sensed someone approaching who wasn’t like you and wanted to protect you.”
Brody straightened from his defensive posture and put his arm around Delaney. “How’s your night going?”
“Good. Perfect for swimming. I’ll see you two later.”
He waded into the surf and in moments was gone with a flick of his tail.
“I’ve never actually seen him swim,” she said, staring at the water. “He’s really reclusive. And grumpy.”
“I think it comes with the job, although it’s my understanding he was grumpy before he got here.”
She chuckled.
“I hate to cut the night short, but it’s after midnight and you have to go to work tomorrow,” he said.
“It’s strange being on different time schedules.”
He looked down at her intently and then said, “We can talk about that kind of thing later. What matters is that we’re together. And I know I haven’t asked you properly to be my mate, but I will, and it’ll be a great proposal. Very spectacular and romantic.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“In the meantime, let’s pack up and get you home.”
She invited him inside once they were at her house, but he declined. She was disappointed, but he gave her a quick kiss and said, “Don’t think I don’t want to spend time with you, because there’s nothing I want more. But if we go inside, I’m going to want to do more than kiss you. And while that would be fantastic, I can’t do that without us being mates, and we’re not. Yet. I’m not in this for a quick tumble, sweetheart, I want you forever.”
“I want that, too.”
He kissed her again, leaving her senses devastated and her heart pounding. He promis
ed to let her know when he got home, and then he was gone and she missed him terribly.
It was amazing how much her life had changed in twenty-four hours.
* * *
Delaney yawned and unlocked the rescue door. Her coffee sloshed in her travel mug as she pushed the door open with her hip and stifled a second, jaw-cracking yawn. “Morning babies,” she said to the familiars.
She set her coffee and bag down on the desk and rolled her neck. She’d only gotten about four hours of sleep. Even though she’d gone right to bed after getting home from her date, she hadn’t been able to turn off her brain which was spinning with excitement. Finally, she had an answer to the strange longing she’d had toward Brody—he was her mate! She’d been fantasizing about what his proposal would be like. She had no idea what vampire mating rituals were like, although she’d heard rumors they involved biting and sex. She wouldn’t mind taking a bite out of him, since he was so deliciously sexy.
Turning her attention to the animals, she cleaned their cages and fed them. She’d just sent Gally out to hunt when Hadlee and Kinsley walked in.
“You look like the cat who ate the canary,” Hadlee said.
“Looks like someone had a very good first date,” Kinsley teased.
“It was wonderful.”
“Tell us everything,” Hadlee said.
She told them about the date and Brody’s insistence on them being mated before they did anything more than kiss.
“Wow,” Hadlee said, sitting back in the desk chair. “He’s pretty chivalrous. That’s cool.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Kinsley said. “When are you seeing him again?”
“He’s working tonight, but he said he’d stop by on his break so we could talk. We’re planning to go out Sunday night again.”