The Vampire's Mail Order Bride

“No strings attached. I can do that. Except…” He squinted. “Didn’t you come here trying to find a husband?”

She couldn’t very well say no to that. Instead, she shrugged. “Sure, but I’m also not going to freak out if that doesn’t happen. You might not even be my type.” He was so her type. She just hadn’t known it until now. She drank the last of her chocolate. Darn, that had gone way too fast.

“And if you fall in love with me? What then?”

“Conceited much?” She laughed. “I could ask you the same question.” She gave him her sexiest look.

He laughed. Ouch. Not the response she’d been going for. Then he pointed to the corner of his mouth. “You have a little chocolate right here.”

Oh. She licked at it. “Gone?”

His gaze seemed to be stuck to the spot her tongue had just been. He closed his mouth and swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “We should go.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

He stood and looked toward the street. “Nothing.”

Delaney got to her feet and followed him out. Clearly, she wasn’t the only one bad at lying.

Annabelle was saying all the right things. Whether or not that was on purpose, Hugh couldn’t find it in him to care. Maybe she was a witch. Maybe she’d put some kind of spell on him. When her tongue had darted out to lick away the smudge of chocolate, he’d had the most overwhelming desire to kiss her.

Worse than that, his stomach had done something…odd. Something that felt very much like chemistry.

The minute he stepped outside the Hallowed Bean, he took a deep breath.

“I don’t believe you.” She was too close. He could still smell her perfume and the chocolate she’d been drinking.

“What are you talking about?” He couldn’t think with her this close. Well, he could, but those thoughts were only going to get him into more trouble.

“You said nothing was wrong. If that’s true, why did you get up and leave like that?”

Did she know how gorgeously pink her lips were? How the sight of her tongue had sent a shiver down his spine? “I needed”—you—“air.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you claustrophobic or something? Is that why you don’t want to go to the parade? Look, it’s not a big deal. I can—”

He threaded his hands into her chestnut waves and kissed her. She gasped into his mouth, opening her lips so that his tongue could dart across hers. She tasted like she smelled, sweet and chocolaty. He was doomed.

That didn’t stop him from kissing her some more.

He drove his hands deeper into the silk of her hair, holding her close, savoring her warmth. His body responded the way it normally did when he kissed a beautiful, available woman, except there was more to it than the usual reaction. Something stirred within him, something deeper than just the tightening of his body and the burn of desire.

He broke the kiss and stared at her. “Witch,” he whispered.

Her breath was coming in deep gulps, the rise and fall of her chest distracting him. She blew out a small breath. “What was that?”

“I had to see…” He shook his head. There were no clear thoughts in it. Just feelings and emotions stripped down to the raw essence of what they were. Need. Want. Desire.

“You had to see what?”

He couldn’t explain what he’d done. What was going on in his head. Not now. Not after that. “We should go.” He turned.

And almost ran into Piper.

She glowered at him and Annabelle. “Hello, Hugh.” Her brows shot up as she gave Annabelle the once over. “New girlfriend already? Guess that shouldn’t surprise me.”

“Hello, Piper.”

Annabelle inhaled, a small sound, but one that cut through him.

Piper crossed her arms. “Aren’t you going to introduce me? Or would you rather pretend I don’t exist?”

With a sigh, Hugh put his hand on the small of Annabelle’s back. Next to Annabelle’s lush curves, Piper’s thinness made her seem brittle. “Annabelle Givens, this is Piper Hodge. My ex-girlfriend.”

“Hello, Annabelle Givens.” Piper smirked. It was an ugly look. “There are a lot of us ex-girlfriends in town. Trust me.”

He’d had enough. And part of him actually cared what sort of impression Annabelle might be forming. “If you’ll excuse us, we’re on our way home.”

“Home?” Piper practically screeched the word, which had definitely been a poor choice. With a righteous glare, she leaned toward Annabelle. “I didn’t let him take me home until the fourth date.”

Annabelle didn’t budge. “You have no idea how many dates we’ve been on.”

Piper wasn’t so easily put off. “You know, he’s a serial dater. A real piece of work. Not like his brother, mind you. At least with Julian, you know what you’re getting. A fun night, nothing more. But this one leads you on.”

She was really working up steam now. “Makes you think things are going somewhere, then buh-bye. All done. It’s not me, it’s you.”

Annabelle tapped a finger on her lip. “I think you mean it’s not you, it’s me.”

Piper scowled. “That’s what I said.”

Annabelle cocked her brows and looked down her nose at Piper. “No. You didn’t.”

Hugh stepped between Annabelle and Piper and got a big whiff of chardonnay. “You’re making a scene.”