Bite Me (20 page)

I had relented but only after I said, “If she kills me at this damn ceremony, I’m haunting you until you die, which will probably be eternity. You’ll never sleep or get laid again.”

Conner had laughed before he turned serious. “I will never let anything happen to you, Donna. You are more precious to me than anything else in this world.”

As he began to lead me down the hall to the ballroom, I turned that memory over and over in my mind and began to calm down. Even though I only knew three or four of the beings at this ceremony, I trusted Conner. He promised never to let anything happen to me, and I knew he meant it.

We paused just outside the doorway at Erica’s insistence. She signaled someone inside the ballroom, and the music stopped. Within a few moments the trio began to play again. This time it was a piece I recognized, but I couldn’t recall the name. Erica gestured for us to continue and Conner led me into the room. The front half of the ballroom was set up as though for a wedding ceremony. A raised dais was surrounded by a semi-circle of seats. The back half of the ballroom held round tables for the dinner that would be served after the ceremony.

Conner led me down the long white carpet set up in the center of the room. It led from the door of the ballroom, through the tables, all the way to the dais at the front of the room. Somehow I managed to walk without stumbling.

When we reached the small raised platform, Conner helped me climb the two steps. We had rehearsed this part of the ceremony last night, but I hadn’t counted on being quite so nervous. I took a deep breath and focused on Conner’s face and not the fact that there were seventy-five people staring at us like animals in the zoo.

He smiled at me and I knew he understood what was going on in my head. Though he couldn’t read my mind, Conner managed to have better insight into my personality than anyone before. He held my hands in his but looked up at our audience.

“I welcome you and express my gratitude for your witness of my Claim on this human.”

I didn’t necessarily like the wording but Conner had explained that a Claiming had tradition and formality to express the seriousness of the commitment we were making. I also didn’t agree, but I kept my mouth shut. Apparently Claiming ceremonies were centuries old, so I knew it would be stupid to argue with hundreds of years of tradition.

Conner looked back to me. “I claim you, Donna Perry, as mine. I share with you my wealth, my blood, and my immortality.”

He lifted a hand to his mouth and pierced his index finger with an extended fang. Then he offered his hand to me, palm up. I wanted to hesitate, but I knew I could not because the wound would close too quickly. Conner had explained that to me when we discussed this part of the ceremony last night.

I grasped his wrist and lifted his hand to my mouth. He slid his finger between my lips and I sucked. The taste of his blood was surprisingly sweet and held the slight tang of copper. It didn’t taste like human blood. I swept my tongue over the cut on the pad of his finger, and his eyes began to light up, the bright electric blue glow telling me how much he enjoyed my touch. I felt my body beginning to heat just before Conner gently pulled his finger from my mouth.

I sucked in a deep breath because now it was my turn. I knew without a doubt that this moment would change my life forever. Literally.

“I accept your Claim, Conner Savage. I am yours. I give you all that I have and all that I am.”

As a modern woman, I should have been completely offended by those words. They implied ownership. Still a small part of me reveled in them. I was giving him the most important gift I could: my body, heart, and soul. I probably would never say the words out loud, but he did own me. Not because he was more powerful, but because I gave him that ownership.

I lifted my hand, also palm up, to him. He grasped my wrist and pulled my index finger into his mouth. I pressed my fingertip against one of his fangs until I felt the sting of the tip piercing my skin. Then Conner sucked on my finger as I had his. When his tongue swirled over my fingertip, I felt my nipples tighten. I was grateful for the adhesive bra cups that Stephanie had found for me last night. The light padding in the cups hid my body’s reaction to the heat and suction of Conner’s mouth.

He released my finger and, just like that, the ceremony was complete. As soon as I lowered my hand the room erupted into applause and catcalls. I knew there were some werewolves there because there was also some howling. Though it wasn’t part of the ceremony, Conner grabbed me and kissed me thoroughly, which meant the catcalls continued.

Conner released me and helped me down from the dais. People rose from their chairs and came to offer their congratulations. Several people introduced themselves, but there were so many faces I knew I would forget half the names.

Suddenly, I was facing Asher and Finn, two faces I did know. I smiled at both of them, relieved to see someone I knew. Asher took my hand, kissing the knuckles, and then leaned forward to kiss my cheek.

“You look ravishing,” he said.

I blushed a little at the compliment and the admiring looks I was getting from both him and Finn.

Finn pulled me away from Asher and shocked the hell out of me by giving me a warm hug and a kiss on my cheek as well. “For once, my friend Asher does not exaggerate. It’s too bad Conner saw you first or I would have to steal you away.”

I had to laugh at his words. Conner’s arm came around me and pulled me into his side.

“Stop flirting with her, Finn. She’s mine now.” He said it with such warmth and affection I didn’t have the heart to throw an elbow in his ribs as I normally would have. Also, I didn’t want to undermine him in front of all these people. Somehow I had a feeling it would be very bad if they perceived he had a weak spot when it came to me.

“It’s too bad,” Finn said, a devilish gleam in his eyes. “I think she could have done better, say me.”

Conner laughed but didn’t reply.

“Oh, I don’t know, Finn. I don’t know if a woman could do better than a man like Conner.”

I stiffened when I heard the low, sultry voice right behind us. We all turned to look at Vanessa. She was dressed head to toe in black as though she were attending a funeral. I wanted to tell her to get over herself.

She came forward and placed a hand on Conner’s chest so she could lean in and kiss his cheek. In the process of giving him a congratulatory kiss, she managed to rub her breasts all over his chest. I managed to suppress the urge to punch her in the throat. The fucking bitch.

“Congratulations, Conner.” She never even bothered to glance at me. “I hope you’re happy with your choice in the future.”

That didn’t necessarily sound like a blessing to me, but I couldn’t criticize. I wouldn’t have many nice things to say to her either.

“Oh, I will be,” he assured her.

Her cryptic response was, “We’ll see.”

I really didn’t like that. It made the hairs on my arms stand up. Somehow she made those two words sound like a veiled threat. She spared me a glance that should have killed me on the spot before she turned and walked away.

I decided then and there to have a talk with Conner about her in the very near future. I had a bad feeling that Claiming or no, she had plans for me, and I wouldn’t like them. I lifted my eyes to Conner’s face and saw he was staring after her, eyes glowing and a muscle in his jaw ticking. Apparently he shared my feelings because he did not look happy.

After everyone congratulated us, we were all seated for the dinner service. Though I really didn’t care for Erica, I had to admire her taste. The tables were covered by white tablecloths, but the chargers beneath the place settings were almost the exact color of my dress. As were the flowers at the center of each table and the wineglasses. I could see why Conner insisted on a red or purple gown. The color scheme that Erica used mirrored that exactly.

As the meal was served by discreet wait staff, the string trio continued to play. The atmosphere was nice, with quiet conversation and soft laughter, but it was so tame. For our wedding, Conner was going to have to suck it up and have a dance floor and DJ. For something as big and important as my wedding, I wanted to fucking celebrate.

I noticed several young men and women moving amongst tables with red wrist and armbands. As I started watching them I realized that several of the vampires were discreetly feeding on blood rather than food. While it didn’t gross me out as I thought it would, it did make me a little uncomfortable. Then I remembered that Conner said a lot of older vampires didn’t eat food any longer. It would be rude for me to eat and expect them not to. Or at least that’s how I justified it to myself.

I also noticed some of the guests ate a great deal more than the rest. I assumed that they were the werewolves. Conner had explained to me that weres had a very fast metabolism and needed to eat a great deal of food to support their systems. I tried not to stare as one gorgeous woman with black hair signaled the wait staff for her third plate of food. I also tried not to be jealous because she was slim, toned, but curvy in all the right places.

My observations were interrupted when I felt Conner’s warm, callused hand sliding up my leg where the front of my dress had a modest slit. In just an instant my curiosity about the people around us disappeared under a tide of lust. Between his kilt and the sensuous way his mouth had suckled my finger, my libido had been simmering all evening. Now that his hand was moving up my thigh, slowly drawing closer and closer to the place where I wanted it most, my blood went from warm to boiling hot.

I looked over at him. “Can we get out of here without offending everyone?” I asked.

Obviously feeling playful, Conner dragged his fingertips back down my leg until they reached my knee. Then his hand journeyed higher again. I squeezed my thighs together and squirmed in my seat.

“Conner,” I warned.

He leaned over my chair and put his lips to my ear. “Yes.” Conner rose from his chair and grabbed my hand. We walked toward the door to the ballroom and I saw a lot of knowing smiles on faces as we passed. Fortunately I was so distracted by the fire in my blood that I didn’t care.

Tonight I planned to fulfill a longtime fantasy: ravishing my very own Highlander.

As soon as we were out of the ballroom, Conner swept me up in his arms. He carried me through the house and up to his bedroom faster than any human man could have. Within seconds we were inside the huge room, and the door closed behind us.

Conner set me on my feet and locked the door. His eyes were predatory as he looked at me but he was wrong if he thought he got to be in control tonight. I had plans, and they included driving him absolutely crazy with desire before the night was over.

He moved toward me, lifting a hand.

“Stop,” I commanded.

Though his eyebrows arched, he did as I asked.

“Don’t move.”

The predatory light in his gaze turned speculative as I moved toward him. I stalked around him, tracing a line from the top of his shoulder to his wrist with my fingertip. When I stood in front of him again, I unpinned his plaid. Folding it carefully, I walked across the room to place it on the dresser.

When I faced Conner again, he was still standing in the middle of the room, like a statue. I approached him again, aware of how the satin felt against my skin and the fact that I was naked beneath it. My skin broke out in a light sweat. I raised my hands and placed them on his chest. He felt hot beneath my palms. Slowly my fingers moved to the buttons on his shirt. I slipped two buttons loose before I paused.

Conner stared at me, his eyes burning like two blue flames. I grasped his shirt with both hands and yanked as hard as I could, never taking my eyes from his. Buttons flew across the room. I vaguely heard them bouncing off the floor. I spread the material to reveal his bare skin. As I watched, Conner’s fangs extended farther until they dented his bottom lip. His eyes never left mine as I leaned forward and placed my mouth on his skin.

I licked his nipple slowly with the flat of my tongue just before I sank my teeth into his pectoral. From our time together over the last few weeks I learned that giving and receiving bites was a form of foreplay for vampires. I sucked hard enough to leave a mark, leaving the edge of my teeth against his skin.

Every muscle in his body went rigid, but Conner remained still. Feeling powerful and incredibly turned on, I stepped back.

“Take off your shoes.”

Without a word he leaned forward and removed his boots. I knew they weren’t traditional in terms of Highland dress, but I thought boots and a kilt were fucking hot and seeing him dressed that way hadn’t changed my mind.

“Now your kilt,” I demanded.

A moment later his kilt hit the floor and Conner was standing before me naked and hard. Still he waited for my next instruction. Having this gorgeous man under my command was exhilarating, so I decided to carry this as far as I could.

“Get on the bed.”

He went to the bed and reclined slightly against the pillows piled at the headboard. He cocked one leg to the side and raised the other so that his forearm rested on his bent knee. To me he looked like a men’s underwear ad without the underwear. Once he settled, I took just a moment to admire him.