Bite Me (19 page)

“Ah, no’ now, dearest. I have dinner to cook. Dessert will have to wait,” he said, smiling wickedly before he sauntered back to the stove to finish the stir-fry in the wok.

Motherfucker. Now the man had my number, and somehow I knew I was screwed, literally and figuratively. I wondered what it said about me that his arrogance made me wet.

At five o’clock the next evening I was a complete and utter mess. Conner definitely had understated the importance of the Claiming ceremony. Caterers had arrived at noon to start prepping for dinner to be served at seven-thirty. I knew we would be having a reception with food after the ceremony, but I didn’t realize there were almost seventy-five people coming. Well, seventy-five vampires and assorted supernatural beings. The other species being werewolves, fairies, and even fucking witches and wizards. It was too much for me to process, so I resolutely shoved the knowledge to the back of my mind and focused on what I needed to do to prepare.

My dress arrived earlier in the day, but I was surprised at five p.m. when two women showed up on the doorstep claiming to be my hairstylist and make-up artist.

I looked over the two women, both dressed in sleek black pants, white shirts, and scary pointy-toed black boots. “Hang on just a sec,” I said before I shut the door in their faces. I stomped down the hall toward the study, where I knew Conner was handling some business and last minute details. “Conner, dammit, why the hell do I have a hairstylist and fucking make-up artist here to ‘do me up’?” I shouted.

One of the men who was helping with the set up in Conner’s ballroom, yes the man had a ballroom, was walking by me with a stack of tablecloths in his hands. He snorted with laughter. I glared at him and he straightened his face, but his eyes were still twinkling with suppressed humor.

I stuck my head in the study door. Conner was standing by his desk, speaking with the party planner. How he’d managed to hire her with only a week to plan the party, I don’t know, but he’d done it. Both of them turned their heads to look at me.

“Why exactly are there two women here to fix my hair and my face?” I asked belligerently.

The party planner’s face tightened. For some reason I rubbed her the wrong way. The feeling was mutual. I was pretty sure that she thought I wasn’t classy enough for a man like Conner. I didn’t really give a shit though. From the way Conner spoke to her, I guessed that they had known each other for a while.

“Where are they?” she asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Waiting at the front door,” I replied. I was under express orders from Conner not to allow people into the house without his permission. Since I knew it was for my own safety I hadn’t argued.

“For crying out loud,” she muttered as she rushed by me, likely to let them in and stroke their delicate egos.

“I do not like that woman,” I said, glaring at Conner. “Tell me again why she’s planning this shindig.”

He smiled at me slightly. “I’ve known Erica for years. She does a fantastic job, and she happened to be available at the last minute.”

“More like she made sure she became available when you called,” I mumbled.

“I heard that,” Conner said.

“I meant you to.” I leaned against the doorjamb and crossed my arms over my chest. “She doesn’t like me.”

He came over to me. “No, she doesn’t.”

“Way to soothe my ego, fang boy,” I retorted.

Running a finger down my cheek, Conner leaned in and kissed me. “Does it help your vanity to know she’s so jealous of you she can’t see straight?”

I perked up. “Actually, yes it does.”

Conner chuckled. “You are such a complex creature.”

He kissed me again and his tongue slid against mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and managed to plaster most of my body against his. When he nipped my bottom lip, I moaned. I grasped his hair, yanking it firmly. He growled low in his throat. As Conner’s hands moved down my back to cup my ass, my own hands mirrored his movements. He had the most deliciously firm backside. I would never admit it to anyone but my girlfriends, but I really wanted to take a bite out of it.

I vaguely heard someone clearing their throat behind us, but I ignored it. I was making out with the hottest vampire on the planet. Whoever it was could suck an egg.

“Ahem.” The cough was a lot less subtle.

Reluctantly Conner pulled away from me and looked over my shoulder. “Yes, Erica.”

“The stylists are waiting for Ms. Perry.” Her voice was stiff, and I knew if I looked at her that her face would be pinched and judgey.

When I looked up at Conner I realized that he had kissed me so passionately in order to make it clear to Erica that he was off-limits. If I hadn’t already been in love with him, I would have fallen in that moment. Even though I had joked about her, I couldn’t help but wonder if she and Conner had once had a more intimate relationship. She was chic and well-put together, exactly the kind of woman I would have expected him to prefer. She expected that as well. The fact that Conner was willing to make it clear to her that he desired me made me very happy.

I stepped back. “Coming.” I smiled at Conner and knew he picked up on my emotions. Even if he couldn’t feel what I was feeling, he would have known that I loved him just from the expression on my face. I watched in awe as his eyes warmed, and I saw his love for me shining there.

Just like that, all the stress I felt that afternoon left me. I knew without a doubt that I was doing the right thing. I loved Conner and he loved me. Making this commitment to him wasn’t a mistake. I turned and saw all three women standing in the middle of the hallway. Erica’s face was angry and disgusted. The other two women looked at Conner with longing and a little lust.

“Alright, ladies. Let’s see if you can make me beautiful.”

At seven o’clock on the dot, the two stylists were done with me. They hadn’t allowed me to look in the mirror the entire time they were working. I was dying to know how it looked. Even after they finished with my hair and make-up, Anna and Gina insisted on helping me into my dress before they would let me look at the finished product. Something about getting the full impact.

They even helped me put on my shoes. I was about to turn to look in the mirror when Anna stopped me.

“Whoa there, girl. We can’t have VPL’s. Panties off now!”

Shit, I had forgotten. I bent over and tried to pull my panties off without flashing both of them. I semi-succeeded. Finally, I managed to pull them off over my shoes. Feeling stupid I balled them up and tossed them on top of my other clothes.

“Can I please look in a mirror now?” I asked impatiently.

Gina smirked. “Go ahead.”

I turned to face the huge mirror leaning against the far wall, and my mind went blank. The woman staring back at me looked like a stranger. My mouth fell open. I looked amazing. My reddish blonde hair gleamed and fell in smooth waves over my back and shoulders. The deep crimson of the dress made my skin glow. They had painted my mouth the same color as the dress. My eyes were dusted with a light gold shadow and lined in black liquid liner. I looked like I had stepped right off a film from the 1930’s or 40’s.

“Holy shitballs,” I muttered. “I didn’t know I could look like this.”

Both girls burst into laughter and high-fived each other. Gina was still grinning when she said, “You have a great foundation to work with. It didn’t take much.”

I kind of disagreed with her. My getting ready routine was all of a half hour. They had been curling, powdering, and painting me for two hours. I didn’t say that out loud.

“Thanks, Gina.” I turned to look at Anna. “Thank you.”

Anna smiled at me too. “Our pleasure, Donna. I hope you have a great night with that incredible man.”

I didn’t get a chance to reply because there was a sharp knock on the door. Without waiting for an invitation, Conner opened the door and stopped short. My heart quit beating for a few seconds. The man was wearing a kilt and white shirt with a plaid affixed over his shoulder. He wasn’t in full formal dress, but the man still looked incredible. I was immediately horny as hell. Seeing him dressed like that was more of a turn on than his accent. Apparently he felt the same.

“My God,” he said as he looked at me incredulously. “I knew you were lovely, but tonight you are the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever seen.”

I heard Anna whisper to Gina, “Holy cow, his accent is sexy.”

Since I agreed with her, I didn’t bother to throw a dirty look over my shoulder. I smiled at Conner. “Thank you. You look very handsome.” And I was so going to enjoy removing those clothes later.

He came farther into the room. “Ladies,” he said, nodding to Anna and Gina. “Could we have a moment?”

They immediately cleared out. I noticed for the first time that he was holding two black jewelry boxes in his hands.

As he approached, Conner smirked. “I take it you like the kilt.”

Shit, I guess he hadn’t been distracted enough by my dress. He knew I really,
really
liked his attire. He had seen all the historical romance novels on my bookshelves with shirtless men in kilts on the covers. I’m sure that was a big clue that I was a sucker for Highlanders.

“Yes, I do like the kilt. I’ll show you how much later.”

His feet paused for a moment before he resumed his approach. “I like the sound of that.”

I just hoped he didn’t mind if I ruined what had to be a very expensive shirt.

“I have a gift for you,” Conner said. “It’s tradition on the night of the Claiming for vampires to give a gift to their intended.” He flipped open the lid on what appeared to be a bracelet box. “I thought these would suit you.”

My mouth dropped open. Inside the box was a diamond bracelet. Three rows of diamonds stacked on top of one another and they were all brilliant. They were also set in what I was pretty sure was platinum. It had to be worth more than a modest-sized home. My jaw worked, but no words came out as he clasped the piece of jewelry around my left wrist.

Before I could regain my composure, he opened the other box and revealed a pair of diamond chandelier earrings, also set in platinum. They were gorgeous.

“I think it’s best if you put these in yourself,” he said, taking the earrings out of the box and placing them in my hand.

I just stared at them for a moment. The man had just put at least a hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry on me, and he was acting like it was no big deal. It was then that I realized I had underestimated what my loaded boyfriend was really worth. Wordlessly I slipped the posts for the earrings in my ears. Thank God they had screw-on backs, which attested to their value.

After I finished I looked back up at Conner. “I know that telling you this is too much will be useless, so I guess I can only say thank you.” I rose up on my tiptoes. Even in my skyscraper heels he was several inches taller than me. I kissed him. “Thank you for the beautiful gifts.”

He looked relieved which made me feel horrible for being so bitchy about his desire to buy things for me. I decided that I would be better about it in the future. For some odd reason, he seemed to enjoy giving me stuff, the more expensive the better. I resigned myself to a closet full of clothes and jewelry with price tags that would make me flinch.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

I nodded.

He held out an arm. “Then let’s go. Our guests are waiting.”

Conner escorted me out of the bedroom and down the hallway to the staircase. We descended the stairs. I could hear the hum of voices coming from the ballroom and soft string music. My nerves started jangling, and it wasn’t butterflies I felt in my stomach. It was giant bats. I wouldn’t know any of these people, and I was about to commit myself to Conner in front of them.

Conner pulled me to a stop and waited until I looked up at him.

“Please don’t be nervous. With the exception of Vanessa and her bodyguards, these people are well-known to me, and most are those I consider friends or even family.”

His words did little to calm me, but I knew I had to get a grip. Vanessa Santino was here, and I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me squirm. I had thrown a fit when Conner told me he had invited her, but I knew he had to. She was on the council, and it was expected that she be invited. When I had continued to resist, Conner reminded me about the value older vampires placed on good manners. To invite everyone on the council but her would have been the height of rudeness and probably would have ruined his chances at the open council position.