Undead and Uneasy (21 page)

what you did with it. Also, we're going to Tiffany's to pick out a new one, right?" "If you

wish."

"You look like hell."

"I was . . . terrified for you. I was certain she would kill you. And I was useless. Worse

than useless. I could hear what was happening but could not help. I—"

"Come here," I said. "Have I mentioned I missed you like crazy?"

"Not that I recall."

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"Well, I have. Missed you like crazy, I mean." I was tugging at his shirt, and buttons were

flying all over the place. "Place just isn't the same without you. And hey! Next time the

Big Bad lures you out of the house, maybe you could leave a note?"

"Or even text message you," he agreed solemnly I was frantic to get his clothes off, frantic to touch him, feel him, taste him. I heard cloth tear as I got his shirt off, broke his belt

buckle, tore at his pants.

I gripped his hips with my knees and knelt down to have a bite or two. Or three. Oh boy,

oh boy, oh boy!

"Oh boy," he groaned.

It was so fucking fine to have him in my house, my bed. It was everything I'd missed and

then some. It was a dream come true.

(For me as well, my own.)

And oh, it was so good to feel him against me, his hands on me. I pulled at him until we

were both sitting up, me still on top, and we kissed hungrily, as if we couldn't get enough

air. Or enough of each other. He pushed and I went over . . .

. . . and then I pushed, and I was back on top again.

Mine,I thought.

Yours , he agreed.

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
) I straddled him to get closer, to take him inside of me, and rode him with great delight,

staring at the ceiling while his fingers dug into my hip bones. He nipped at my fingers, and

I swooped down to kiss him again.

Oh, Sinclair.

Elizabeth . My own, my queen, my dread queen. Wait a minute. Are we—?

I beg you. Do not destroy the moment with a rude gesture or thought. But we're— Yes.

You can— Yes.

I love you.

Yes. Oh, yes. Right. . . . . . there.

“Here comes the bride," I hummed, slipping into my shoes. "All dressed in white. (And

red.) Here comes the bride, back from the dead. (Again.)"

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"That song blows." Jessica leaned over my shoulder to freshen her lipstick with my mirror.

"And don't get me started on your singing voice."

"Cured your cancer and all I get is grief."

"Hey, I didn't make you cure me. By the way, is it just me or is everyone still freaked out

about what you did the other night?"

"Yeah, well. I'm not exactly sure what it is I did."

"Neither are Sinclair or Tina. That's why it's driving them nuts."

"Not to mention Michael and the others," Antonia piped up, coming into the dressing

room without knocking, as was her habit. "They're gonna walk soft around you for a

while. Heh. Oh, and bimbo? Next time you've got two dead guys in coffins and me in a

cage, lively and ready to kick ass, let me out first! I could have helped you with that rotten

monkey Marjorie."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Least now I know what the fuss is all about," she muttered, waving away Jessica's offer

of a mascara wand. "Running around as a wolf isfun ." She fussed with her lapels and

managed only to hopelessly rumple her ruby jacket. "But you know? I haven't had a vision

since the one indicating Sinclair shouldn't go to Marjorie's alone. I wonder if I can still see

the future."

"Well," I said, feeling uncomfortable, "if you can't, and you miss it, I'm sorry. I didn't—"

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"Can it, Betsy. I'm not bitching. Just wondering." "Will you hold still?" Jessica demanded.

Her suit, a twin to Antonia's, was sapphire blue. "You're all rumpled."

"And you're all annoying, but I'm putting up with that shit, aren't I? I'm here in the middle

of monkey rituals, aren't I?"

"Shut up," I said warmly.

Tina rapped on the door, then poked her head inside. "It's almost time, Majesty. My!

You're breathtaking."

"It's true," I said modestly. Tina was in the same Vera Wang suit as Jessica and Antonia,

except hers was buttercup yellow. With Tina's teeny frame and big dark eyes, and

cascades of blond hair, it worked.

Everything worked. It was my day, and everything worked.

I sighed happily and applied more blush. "Hey, did Sinclair talk to you about the new job?"

"What new job?" Jessica asked.

"We need a new librarian," I told my reflection, and grinned. "The last one came down

with a slight case of death."

"I have many responsibilities here in the mansion," Tina said. "I will have to consider this

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
) very carefully."

"Crissake, when don't you consider everything very carefully?" Antonia yawned and—I

wasn't sure how she did this without moving—rumpled her suit jacket again.

"But the chance to get my hands on all those tomes . . ." Tina was practically drooling.

"The opportunity for pure research alone makes it a tempting prize."

"Yeah, yeah. Tempting. Betsy, lighten up with the Peach Parfait or you'll be all slutted

out."

"Here, let me." Jessica snatched the blusher from my hands and grabbed a tissue with the

other hand. She rubbed my cheeks, and for an awful moment I thought she was going to

spit on the Kleenex.

"Hmm," Tina said. That was all, just, "Hmm."

"How can you screw up blush?" Jessica was bitching. "You make it look like you're

blushing. Then you stop.

"Hmm."

"Will all of you bitches just leave me alone?" I cried.

"The warning cry of the Raptor Bridal Bird," Antonia snickered.

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"Look how snotty you got since you found out you are able to turn into a wolf."

"And when your boyfriend remembered how to read. Oh, and that he has a master's in

math."

"That's it!" Tina cried, startling all of us into shutting up. "You never feed, Majesty, compared to us you never feed. So you're always hungry. Always. You think that's how

it's supposed to be. For you, hunger is as much a state of the mind as it is of the body. So

when Marjorie was killing you, your instinct wasn't to reach with your teeth. It was to

reach with your mind! "

She was on her feet, screeching that last.

Antonia stared. I stared. Jessica corrected my blush.

"Um. Excuse me," she muttered, smoothing her skirt.

My mom poked her head in the room. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Antonia replied.

"I think she was talking to me," I said.

"Oh, yeah, like it's all about you."

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"Today it is. Let's do it!"

“You may kiss the bride," Judge Summit informed us, and Sinclair was too glad to

comply. He'd done a remarkable job of concealing his boredom during the brief ceremony,

though his dark eyes had gleamed at the sight of me in my gown.

The guests (all the usual suspects, plus the Wyndhams) clapped politely and, as we went

back down the aisle, tossed little paper hearts instead of rice.

"They're throwing paper hearts? At vampires?" Sinclair bitched.

"Oh, hush up and try to enjoy the moment."

“But why didn't you tell me you thought there'd be a problem with Sinclair going to see

Marjorie?" I asked while the others devoured the chocolate cake (with raspberry filling!)

and I tried not to drool. Too bad solid food made me barf.

"She dealt with the problem directly," Michael explained. "She teamed up with the alpha male and tried to support him. Going to you would have been . . ."

"Useless?" I offered.

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"Unnecessary," Antonia corrected me, but her cheeks were red. She had underestimated

how much I could help, and who could blame her? I wouldn't have thought I could do

much, either.

At least not until today.

"Culture clash," Derik said cheerfully, wolfing down his second slice of cake. "Antonia has spent too much time with you vampires. A true werewolf would have sought to put

together the largest pack possible."

"Yeah, well, a true werewolf can kiss my ass," Antonia offered.

"You are a true werewolf," Michael pointed out. "You always have been."

"Come on, pack leader. Don't deny there'll be some at home who will finally decide I'm

actually worthy of the secret handshake."

Michael said nothing, but Derik broke the tension by showering Antonia in cake crumbs.

"Anyway," Tina put in, batting a few wayward crumbs out of her hair, "everything worked out fine that day, thanks to Her Majesty. Now people will know better than to ask you,

Eric, when they need help." She delivered this last line with a nasty, but still friendly,

smile.

"I will pretend my feelings aren't lacerated," Sinclair said dryly. His hand was resting on

my shoulder. In fact, since I'd rescued him, he was always touching me somewhere or

other. Not that I minded in the slightest. I was also loving the fact that we were spending

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
) most of our evenings trying to hurt each other during lovemaking.

I glanced down at my new rings. Traditional wedding band and engagement ring. Platinum

bands (Sinclair had the twin), one carat diamond setting. Not used. Not cursed.

And Sinclair had taken the news that he was Babyjon's new daddy with remarkable calm. I

suspected he still felt tremendous guilt over giving me the cursed ring in the first place. So

it was only fair that he would help me raise this kid for the next seventeen or eighteen

years.

"So where are you guys off to?" Laura asked. We'd made up just before the wedding, and

she had apologized. I'd told her that dear old Mom had dropped by from Hell, and she'd

been horrified. She'd suited up in her Vera Wang (emerald green, the color of her eyes

when she was eeeeevil). We were fine again. For now.

"New York City," Sinclair replied. The one aspect of the wedding he'd actually taken an

interest in was planning the honeymoon. "And I thank you for taking the baby while we're

gone."

"Oh, it's my pleasure," Laura gushed.

"We're leaving him behind?" I cried. "But he'll miss us! Me."

"Sorry, my wife. On that I draw the line. Babies and honeymoons do not mix."

"Fascist," I muttered, but I didn't put any real heat into it. In three days I'd gone from

lonely and frightened to surrounded by friends, family, and new allies. And Jessica was all

better! "You wait until later."

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"I dream of later," he murmured back.

I laughed and squeezed his hand. Poor guy, he was holding up pretty well under all the

nuttiness. Werewolves, a queen with mondo weird new powers, his privacy shattered by

hordes, all who wanted to talk to me. Don't even get me started on Babyjon. So I knew he

was looking forward to ditching the group as much as I was, but he didn't know what I'd

gotten him for a wedding gift.

Spray-on gourmet flavors. I had bought him Turkey, Gravy, Raspberry, Hash Browns, and

Baked Alaska.

I could hardly wait to squirt them all over him. And I'd never been to the Big Apple. I

planned to take a great big bite.

"—my own."

"What?"

"I said, come along for a moment, my own. I have something to show you . . . upstairs."

I glanced at our guests. They had broken off into small groups and were chatting about

this and that.

"Race you," I whispered, and chased him all the way to our bedroom.

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)