The Vampire's Mail Order Bride

“Hugh,” she muttered, her eyes fluttering closed.

“Yes?” The wound on his wrist was halfway closed. He tucked her into the bed covers.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

But she was already asleep.

“I don’t feel any different.” Delaney stuck her arm into the sun streaming through the library window. Hugh was up on the rolling ladder, looking for a book on one of the top shelves. She’d followed him in, hoping to hang out with him. He’d been avoiding her since she’d woken up.

He glanced down at her and smiled, thin-lipped. “I told you one bite won’t do anything to you. Tomorrow you’ll feel different.”

“Tomorrow I’ll technically be a rook, right?”

“Right.” He went back to skimming the shelf.

She leaned against the window. “You should climb ladders more often.”

“Why is that?” he asked distractedly.

“Because your butt looks amazing from this angle.”

His hand stopped mid-reach, and he twisted to look at her. His eyes gleamed with vampire light. “Are you trying to spend the rest of the day in bed?”

A tingle of pleasure shot through her, taking her breath away for a moment. She bit her lip. If she did die on the third night, at least she’d go happy. “Maybe.”

He stared at her for a moment. Then jumped off the ladder, landing as lightly as Captain would have. Actually, Captain wished he could land that lightly. Hugh strode toward her, stopping just at the edge of the sunbeam she’d been playing with. “If I take you to bed now, you won’t leave it again until tomorrow.”

His voice held a dangerous growl that raised goose bumps on her skin. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I’m not trying to scare you or seduce you, just telling you the truth. When a vampire drinks from a mortal he loves, it…does something to him. Something he can’t ignore.”

“That’s why you didn’t want to drink from me in the lab. So what does it do?”

He sighed. “It turns the vampire wild with blood lust and physical desire. There wouldn’t be enough of you to satisfy me. I would exhaust you and still not be sated. Or drain you dry.” He turned away from her. “I’m fighting it right now.”

“And that’s why you’ve been avoiding me today.”

He nodded. “I’d rather be with you every waking moment, but my control won’t fully return until you’ve completed the change.”

Hugh had already left her worn out after last night, and she thought she’d done the same for him. Hearing this, she tried to imagine what it would be like to feel as though she couldn’t get enough of him. A shiver ran through her, as pleasurable as it was frightening.

He stepped away from her. “You’re going to need your strength for the next two nights. I don’t want to do anything that might lessen our odds of success. I’m going to my brother’s for the rest of the day. It’s for the best.”

“How can you? It’s daylight, and you have no amulet.”

His face fell. “I’d forgotten that.” He smiled a little sadly. “That’s going to take some getting used to. To the lab then. And I’m locking the door.”

“Don’t leave. I’ll behave. I swear.” The last thing she wanted was to be away from him. Or to be the reason he left.

He laughed, the sound making her feel better. “My darling. If you wore a burlap sack, it wouldn’t diminish my attraction to you. This burden is mine to bear.”

Could he make her fall in love with him any harder? “Will I be too close if I’m in the kitchen? I was thinking I’d have Stanhill take me to the store to get ingredients for royal icing and sugar cookies.” She had her antique star cookie cutters. They’d be perfect. “I want to make some for the woman who’s helping us with the magic.”

“No, that would be fine.”

“I’ll probably take Captain out to the garden for a while too.”

Hugh nodded. “Enjoy the sun while you can?”

“Exactly.”

“Good plan. I’ll see you this evening then.” With a nod, he left.

She almost stopped him to ask for a kiss, then thought better of it. She didn’t want him to have to say no.

Stanhill was an eager companion, gladly taking her to the store and even keeping her company in the kitchen while she worked. She wondered if he was hanging close to act as a buffer in case Hugh changed his mind about staying away. Or maybe Stanhill knew she needed the company to keep her mind off the two nights that lay ahead.

“It’ll be all right, miss.”

“What’s that?” She pulled herself out of her thoughts.

Stanhill was icing the last of the stars, outlining them in royal icing like she’d showed him. “You hadn’t said anything in a little bit. I thought maybe you were thinking about…what could happen.”

“I was. A little.” She shrugged and smiled, then shook it off and went to inspect his work. “Not bad for your first time. Nice straight lines, good evenness.” She patted his shoulder. “I might have to hire you. I’m going to have a shop of my own someday, you know.”

“Like the shop Didi promised you?”

She nodded. “That never would have worked out anyway.”

“Why’s that?”

She made a face. “Um, because she would have used that shop as leverage to bend me to her whims. Can you imagine? No, thank you.”