Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (23 page)

The words
sounded surreal, almost as though marrying a man she never met
before was nothing more than a dream. Sarah wished she’d get up in
the morning and erase all memory of the nonsense with a steaming
cup of coffee.
Victor
looked into her eyes, and she held his gaze.
Bring home the Oscar,
Sarah, she told herself. She was enjoying her undercover work
much more than she should have been.
Hmm.
Getting that ring on my finger might be easier than I hoped.
She gulped and spat out the words. “I
will.”

The priest continued, “Do you take
Princess Gloria Jarod to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold
from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for
poorer, in sickness, and in health, till death do you part, if the
Holy Church doth ordain it? And thereto plight her thy
troth?”

Victor
smiled, flashing gorgeous white teeth.
“I
do.”

The priest turned and repeated the
vows to Sarah.

She’d never dreamt she’d be saying the
words to a stranger, but she said, “I do.” Her stomach twisted into
knots, and she took a deep breath. It had all seemed like
make-believe to that point, but now it was real. There she was, in
that ridiculously fancy wedding gown, facing a man in all his royal
finery, wearing a gold crown crusted with jewels.

The
priest said a blessing, then joined Sarah’s and Victor’s hands,
“The third finger on the left hand has a special vein called
vena amoris,
which means
‘the vein of love’. This vein runs from the ring finger directly to
the heart. The special ring that is placed upon this finger is the
symbol of the sun, earth, and universe, and it represents
perfection and peace. It has no beginning and no end, just like
time.” He turned to the king. “You may pledge your allegiance to
your love and undying devotion.”

Sarah smiled as Victor pulled a ring
from his pocket, cradling it on his palm. Her plan was coming
together perfectly and nothing made her happier.

“
The rubies represent love,
and the diamonds signify eternity,” said the priest, nodding to the
sparkling gems set in a gold band.

Sarah’s eyes widened. Not only was the
ring her ticket back home, but it was also drop-dead gorgeous, a
huge, hulking piece of bling. She couldn’t stop staring at it. With
its four-carat oval ruby silhouetted by shimmering diamonds, it
didn’t look like a traditional wedding ring.

She cleared her throat and raised her
gaze for a second. “It’s real?”

Victor shook his head, wide-eyed. “Of
course, my dear. I assure you it is genuine, for it has been in my
family for centuries. Why do you ask?”

“
Because…” She took a deep
breath to hide her emotions. “Well, I am a real princess, after
all, and I don’t do knock-offs.” Undying love or not, she made sure
to hold on tight to the ring. The least she’d get from that forced
marriage would be a small house with a nice view in a neighborhood
where she didn’t need to barricade her windows at night and sleep
with pepper spray under her pillow.

As her
new husband slid the ring on her finger, a jolt of electricity
raced up Sarah’s hand and spread throughout her body. She blinked,
and a flurry of spots flooded her vision. It was weird and quite
inexplicable. The sensation stopped just as quickly as it appeared,
and for a moment she stood there, flabbergasted.
Wait…did I just imagine that?
Granted, her nerves were on edge, what with almost being
blinded by the gemstones.
Or maybe I’m
just dehydrated.

The priest handed her a matching ring.
Looking closer, she noticed his ruby was square, making it look
more masculine.

“
Put the
ring on
Victor
’s
finger,” the priest whispered.

She’d never been through a wedding
ceremony before, and they hadn’t granted her the courtesy of a
rehearsal, so she had no way of knowing what to do. With trembling
hands, she slid the ring on his finger and gazed up at his beaming
face.

“
We’ve done it,” Victor
whispered.

Wait…that’s it? We’re…married?
The
cave of her mouth felt dry, almost painful, as she swallowed past
the lump in her throat.
Is he going to
kiss me?
She stared at his best feature,
those full, firm, luscious lips. She couldn’t come to terms with
what was going on in that head of hers. There she was, marrying a
powerful king who might keep her from ever going home, but all she
could do was stare at his mouth.

The priest broke through her thoughts.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. My King, you may kiss your
queen.”

“
You’re
mine now—forever.
Our bond is unbreakable,
the spark between us never to be quenched
.”
In slow motion, she saw his face
lower onto hers, their lips barely touching. His hand wandered to
the low of her back, drawing her closer, her chest pressing against
his as his lips came down harder but with nowhere near as much
force as she would’ve expected from such a man.

Sweet
and gentle? That’ll work. Don’t all fairytales end with the perfect
kiss?
A flame spread over her, spanning
from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.
He wasn’t kidding about that spark!
But she knew it was time to shut that down and go
to the reception.

Victor dismissed the priest, and Sarah
let out a breath of relief. The ring felt heavy on her finger,
reminding her that only the first step was done. The hard part was
yet to come. She needed to find Frank and get the heck out of
there. She smiled sweetly as she peered at her new husband. “Can we
eat cake and smash it in each other’s faces now? It’s my favorite
wedding tradition.”

His mouth hovered over her lips, his
hot breath giving her goose-bumps. Cake was definitely the last
thing on her new hubby’s mind. “I’m so blessed to have a bride as
beautiful as you.” Victor’s eyes bore down into hers. “I’ve been
burning to touch you, to hold you, to kiss you since the moment I
laid eyes upon you.” He slipped his hands behind the back of her
head, pulling her even closer. He kissed her again, more deeply
this time, pushing past her lips and plunging his tongue deep into
her mouth, demanding surrender. Sweet and gentle was out the
door.

Is he
trying to prove his dominance somehow? Prove he owns me? Maybe I
should smack him
, Sarah pondered, but she
couldn’t deny the unexpected invasion of passion that threatened to
consume her.
Letting out a soft moan, she
felt a burst of heat race through her body as she snuggled against
his hard muscles, shivering with pleasure. Wrapping her arms
fiercely around his neck, she swirled her tongue over his, hot and
fast. Somewhere inside her head, a voice yelled for her to come to
her senses.
Why am I not trying to fight
him off?
She knew she was nothing but a
pawn in his game of revenge to piss off Princess Gloria’s father,
yet she couldn’t seem to do anything about it.

He broke away as she gasped for a
breath of air. “Guards!” he shouted. “Leave us!”

Footsteps echoed across the room and a
door slammed.

Victor
ran his hands down her back while her fingers slid through his
thick, gorgeous hair, his crown landing next to him with a
thud
. Their tongues
tangled and danced furiously in perfect unison.
Nobody had kissed her like that before, and his lip-lock drove
all thoughts of Frank, the ring, and going home out of her
mind.
Frank
! The
name jolted her out of her passion, awareness banishing the fog
inside her head. She was lucky she still remembered her name. It
was time to go, but she couldn’t force herself to
stop.

Sarah
wasn’t expecting that kind of kiss at all: bold, hot, addictive,
and devouring. She certainly wasn’t supposed to be enjoying it. If
she kept that up, she’d be sleeping with the enemy right there on
the stone floor.
She broke
away, breathing hard, staring into his seductive
blue eyes as her heart pounded away. She wanted him in the worst
way, and she could easily imagine giving herself to him right then
and there. She’d only meant to give him a peck on the lips to seal
the deal, so she didn’t understand how that passion had blossomed
so quickly. Her escape plan was backfiring quickly. Her gaze
focused on his lips again, and she wondered what it would be like
to make wild, passionate love to someone so powerful and
dangerous.

Victor scooped her up and cradled her
in his arms as her wedding dress trailed to the ground. “Do you
want to lie with me here or go somewhere more fitting for a queen?”
His disheveled hair made him look even hotter.

She opened her mouth but no words came
out. Sure, he was the bad guy. He had kidnapped, imprisoned, and
threatened her, after all, but he was still hotter than a blazing
forest fire. She didn’t understand how a complete stranger could
give her the most passionate kiss of her life—a stranger who was
now her husband, no less.

“
Let’s stay here,” Victor
said. “No one will come in and disturb us.”

“
May I
ask for something to eat?”
And some
wine—lots of it—to calm my nerves. Hey, while you’re at it, why
don’t you have the royal bartender throw a few cosmos in the
mix?
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been
locked in a rat-infested dungeon all day.” It was the only thing
she could think of that might stall him and help her get back on
track. She had to get him to the reception, because Frank would be
waiting there with some kind of rescue plan in the works.
Although
,
she thought, letting her mind wander for a
moment,
how bad could it be to be married
to a drop-dead gorgeous king? Not bad at all, until he finds out
I’m nothing but a peasant trying to steal the royal wedding
ring.
Sarah couldn’t get caught up in the
royal fantasy. He was only using her to procreate, part of his
wicked plan to tarnish the bloodline of her so-called royal family.
His plan was screwed; her reality set back in.
Once he finds out the truth, he’ll have me killed. That’s
what all powerful tyrants do. I have to get out of
here…NOW!

“
You have my deepest
apologies about the dungeon.” Victor tightened his grip on her
body. “Let me make it up to you…all night long.”

“
But what I need now is
some food,” she said.

“
This is much
better.”

Sarah gasped as hot kisses inched down
her neck and toward her cleavage. Nothing had ever felt better than
that, but she had to focus and keep herself from getting distracted
if she ever planned on finding her sister and getting them all
safely home. She wriggled, trying to free herself of his vise-like
grip. “But I’m hungry.”

“
We can
have cartloads of food brought to my…to
our
bedchamber.” Victor slid down the
puffy sleeve of her dress, kissing her bare shoulder, sending
tingling heat throughout her body.

Enjoying his touch and kisses were a
complication she couldn’t afford. She could easily lose herself in
that medieval world, but it would be at a lofty price. It was not
worth losing everything, her entire life, as well as Frank’s and
Liz’s. “Don’t you want to celebrate with your people on this joyous
occasion? They might hold a grudge if you count them out. I’m
talking pitchforks and stormed castles.” She raised her brows in
the hope that he’d buy it.

He
groaned and let go of her. “You think of everything, my love. We’ll
make a quick show and then get you something to eat.” Pinching her
butt, he winked.
“You’ll need
y
our strength, for it shall be a very long
night, Queen Gloria Fesque.”

Smiling
sweetly, she nodded.
If
only…

Chapter 6

Sarah
stumbled but quickly regained her balance.
Stupid, big, fluffy wedding dress!
An
embarrassing trip down the stairs wasn’t the grand entrance she’d
hoped for. If anyone noticed, she decided she’d just laugh it off
as wedding-night jitters. She needed to pay attention, but focusing
on her footsteps seemed impossible when nothing but escape ran
through her mind.

“
Shall I assist you, Your
Majesty?” A soldier appeared at her side, his arm
proffered.

She
scowled at him, lest he disclose her
faux
pas
to everyone watching.
“I’m fine, thanks.”
Why’d hubby have to go and send a multitude of armed guards
as escorts to the after-party? Now I’ll just have to lose them once
I’m in the reception hall. Wait…hubby?
Sarah
still couldn’t get over the
fact that she was married to someone who wouldn’t look out of place
on the cover of a romance novel. She shook her head at her
temporary lapse in judgment.
But what a
kisser!