The Vampire's Mail Order Bride

Merrow took a thoughtful breath. “Doubtful they’d try something in a crowd, but keep her close.” He drained his cup and stood. “Thanks for the coffee. I’ll let you know if I find anything else out.”

Hugh got to his feet. “Maybe it’s nothing, but Piper knows Delaney’s full name and that she came here to hide out. Julian said last night that Piper made it clear to him that she’s ‘out for Delaney,’ for what that’s worth.”

Merrow rubbed a hand slowly over his mouth. “I hate to stir that pot if I don’t have to.”

Hugh nodded. No one liked to cross the Hodges. They loved to get their revenge in print. “I’ll talk to Julian. See if I can get something concrete.”

“Or…” Merrow’s brows lifted. “You might want to talk to Piper yourself. She may tell you more than she told your brother. And at least it wouldn’t be secondhand.”

“You know what you’re asking me?”

Merrow nodded and headed for the door. “I’ll let myself out. Call me after you’ve seen her.”

Hugh groaned as the door shut. He looked at Stanhill. “Piper.”

Stanhill put Merrow’s cup in the sink. “It’s for Delaney.”

Hugh grabbed his coat. “That’s the only reason I’d do this. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

The only male in Delaney’s bed when she woke up was Captain. He stared at her from the other pillow, judging her in the silent way of cats. She propped herself on her elbows and wrinkled her nose at him. “Be quiet. I’m a grown woman. I can sleep with whoever I like. And I like Hugh.”

In fact, she liked him a lot.

Captain licked his chops and burped a sulfurous, fishy cloud at her.

“Ew. What have you been eating?”

He put his head down and closed his eyes.

“Fine, go to sleep. Your stinky cat breath isn’t enough to ruin my mood.” Not when she and Hugh had reached a mutual agreement about giving a relationship an honest try.

She kissed him on the head then lay back down and grinned as a sense of nutty wonderment filled her. She was in a relationship with a vampire. She put her hand to her throat, but the dragonfly was gone.

Bolting upright, she started patting the sheets. Crap. If she’d lost that…then she saw it on the nightstand. A simple ivory note card was propped next to it.

She snatched it up and read.

Had an errand. See you soon. Miss you already.

-H

She read it again, still smiling. “Miss you too,” she whispered to the note. She looked over her shoulder at Captain. “Your mother is gone, you know that? Gone hard.”

With a laugh, she hopped out of bed and climbed into a long, hot shower that felt almost as good as last night. Hugh had been nothing short of amazing. Sweet, tender and utterly devoted while somehow dominant and demanding at the same time. He’d left her exhausted in the most pleasurable way possible.

She rinsed the shampoo from her hair. No wonder Piper hadn’t wanted to let him go.

A few more minutes of luxuriating under the hot spray and she got out, wrapped herself and her hair in towels, then tried to figure out what to wear. Her clothing options were getting more limited by the day. She ended up pulling on jeans and a T-shirt.

If she was going to stay here, which she was, at least for a few more weeks, she needed more things to wear. She hadn’t spent a dime since she’d gotten here so she could spare a little bit. Maybe she’d drive into town and check out the boutiques she’d seen.

She grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. She poked her head into the kitchen. “Stanhill?”

No sign of him. Maybe he’d gone with Hugh. She checked a few other rooms, but couldn’t find him. She went back to the kitchen and left him a note, promising to be back in an hour or two.

The drive into town wasn’t bad, but parking took her longer than expected. Finally, she snagged a spot and hit the sidewalk. The streets were busy, probably because of the parade tomorrow. Signs were posted showing the parade route. That would be fun.

She walked past the park. The gargoyle at the fountain was telling jokes to the kids gathered around. She stopped for a moment as the realization struck her that the gargoyle was pretty real and not animatronic, like she’d first thought.

On the other side of the park was one of the little clothing stores she’d seen. She stopped in and poked around, but the styles and prices were a little too upscale. “Is there a secondhand store in town?” she asked the clerk.

The woman nodded. “A block down and turn right. It’s across from the Tombstone.”

“The Tombstone?”

“The newspaper building.”

“Oh, right. Thanks.” The newspaper Piper’s family owned. Delaney followed the woman’s directions and found the shop easily, but did her best to ignore the building on the other side of the street. A chance meeting with Piper was not on her agenda.

The store’s selection was great, and she had an armful of selections after only a few minutes. Jeans, a few tops and a new sundress, plus a vintage candy mold she didn’t need but couldn’t resist. She paid and, bag in hand, left the little shop behind.

She stopped outside the door and stared.

Hugh was leaving the Tombstone building. What errand had he been doing, exactly? She could just make out the image of the woman watching him from inside the lobby. Tall, blonde and unmistakably Piper.

Betrayal gut-punched her. This was shades of Russell all over again. And after what had happened last night…she shook her head. She was jumping to conclusions.