Bit the Jackpot (30 page)

Cara frowned at her kneeds. "Why did you put my hair up like this?"

"Donatelli." He fingered the strands, undoing all the twists.

After a second, she gave a small laugh. "Donatelli didn't do my hair. He's evil, not a hairdresser. It was Kelsey who did my hair. She was just playing around with it."

"Oh." Somehow that made him feel better. Though Kelsey shouldn't quit her day job. Cara's hair had looked rather ridiculous. "Cara… I'm sorry about Donatelli. It's my fault. If Ethan and I hadn't run off and gotten drunk because I was mad at you, none of this would have happened. Cara, babe, I'm so damn sorry he hurt you." He didn't know how to make that right.

She looked over her shoulder, up at him for the first time. "It's okay. And I don't want to put blame on anyone—we're both responsible^ for everything that has happened between us. We're
not
responsible for Donatelli or Ringo's actions.

Her fingers reached out, laced through his. "You told me that you don't know how to take care of anyone, don't know how to nurture because you haven't had a lot of relationships, but Seamus, I disagree. The way you care for others, assume responsibility you don't have to, that's one of your best qualities. You're a good guy, and you take good care of me."

He hadn't realized how much he needed to hear that. "But I wasn't there…"

She put her fingers to his lips, shushing him, and he felt pain, down inside him, swelling and burning. He couldn't live without Cara, without her love.

"That's okay. I can take care of myself. I don't care about what happened in there you know. Donatelli meant to humiliate me, and he did, but I'd do it all over again to save Alexis and Kelsey."

"You're an amazing woman." He couldn't prevent himself from kissing the top of her head.

"I think my mom was an amazing woman." She glanced over at her grandmother. "She was a blackjack dealer, did I ever tell you that? And I don't think I ever gave her enough credit for her loyalty. My dad ran off, but my mom kept things going. She took care of me and my grandmother, who is really my great-grandmother, and totally unrelated to my mother. I don't think I've ever appreciated how amazing that was for her to do that."

Seamus looked at her great-grandmother, who appeared to be sleeping. "I think together they did a damn fine job raising you."

"You're a wonderful man, did you know that?" she asked, tears suddenly in her eyes.

"I resigned," he told her, because she needed to know. It hurt to say the words out loud, but it was important to him that he do the right thing.

"I'm sorry," she said, voice anguished, hand squeezing his. "That must have been hard for you."

"It was. But I've done two hundred years of public vampire service. Maybe I need a break, some time to focus on my personal life."

Her expression was unreadable. "Yeah? What will you do with all your free time if you're not Ethan's campaign manager?"

"Well, I was thinking of doing some political consulting and analyzing. Or taking Ethan up on his offer, and running the day-to-day operations of the Ava to give him time to focus exclusively on the presidency now that Donatelli has resigned and Ethan's a shoo-in for reelection."

"Sounds good."

"What about you?" He had no idea what she was thinking.

"I'm going to finish veterinarian school and see if I can work in an all-night emergency animal hospital. I'm going to give my two weeks' notice at the club and live off my gambling win."

That didn't tell him what he wanted to know. Did she want to be with him or not?

Then Seamus realized he couldn't wait for her to tell him what she wanted. He had to be man enough to lay it all out there, take the risk, let her know she was important enough to him to risk humiliation, rejection.

Seamus brushed her hair off her face and looked down at her, ready. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

"Seamus…" Her eyes dropped down to her knees. Even with the dim light, he could clearly see her long, delicate hands clasping her jeans tightly, desperately.

"I love you, Cara."

"I love you, too," she said to her knees.

He didn't think her knee caps were going to answer, so he was going to just keep going.

"Never in my very long life have I felt this way about another person. Being a vampire can be lonely, and I've shunned personal relationships. But there is nothing I want more than to spend eternity with you." Seamus bent down in a crouch, got in front of Cara, lifted her chin up so she would look at him, stared into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh!" She started crying, hiding her face back in her jeans. "I didn't know you were going to say that."

Okay. Seamus felt his stomach flip over, his heart stop. What the hell kind of a response was that?

"Well, I did. And I was kind of hoping for an answer." Sometime in this century would be nice. He turned to her grandmother, who was watching them carefully. "What do you think? Is she going to put me out of my misery and say yes or should I just go home and drown myself in ale?"

Cara's grandmother said something, lifting her hand up off the bed. She repeated it, frowning, waving her fingers back and forth.

"I don't think she approves," Seamus said, feeling a little crushed. He hoped she wouldn't fling a water glass at him, further lumping him into a category with Marcus.

"No ring," she said clearly in English.

Seamus blinked. Cara gave a watery laugh.

"Damn, she's right. I should have bought a ring. First time I ever propose to a woman, and I screw it up." He sat back, let-tingdefeat overtake him for a second. Then he thought better of it. "But we can pick out a ring together and go get married tonight."

"Tonight?" She looked at him in shock.

"Yes, tonight. Why should we wait?" Okay, so she hadn't even said yes yet, but he was tired of analyzing everything to death. Tired of worrying and waiting and wanting to be perfectly discreet and politically correct at all times. Seamus wanted to grab what he wanted and shout to the world. Within reason, of course.

"I love you. You love me. Marry me and fill my life with hot pink." He leaned forward and kissed her.

She dropped her feet to the floor and threw her arms around him. "Yes, you crazy vampire. I will marry you. Tonight."

Seamus let out a shout. "Yes!" He turned to her grandmother. "She said yes."

Cara's grandmother smiled.

Cara laughed and stood up. "We have to get out of here. I hear people coming down the hall."

Seamus heard it, too. "Did you hear that yelling? What was that? " someone was saying in the hallway.

He clasped her grandmother's hand and thanked her. Cara gave her a long, loving hug. Then even as the door was opening, Seamus was lifting Cara up and jumping out the window. They landed in a tumble on the gravel walk, just missing a cactus by an inch.

"Impressive move," Cara said, lying on his chest, hair falling forward.

"Thanks, I'm full of them."

"Let's go get married and then you can show me them one at a time."

"You have the best ideas." Seamus wrapped his arms around her and shot up into the night, his exhilaration sending them fifty feet straight up before he evened out.

He was in love and he didn't care who knew it.

"I can't believe he's doing this," Ethan said for the fourth time as they stood in a wedding chapel at two in the morning. "This is the tackiest wedding I've ever been to. I can't believe this cost seven hundred dollars."

Alexis elbowed Ethan in the chest. "Okay. I heard you, you don't appreciate their choice. Now be quiet before
he
hears you. I think it's awesome that Seamus is marrying Cara. She's good for him, loosens him up."

"There is loose, then there is insane." Ethan shook his head. "They got engaged an hour ago. And this theme they've picked out is ridiculous."

Alexis fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Since when do you have such a stick up your ass? I think it's romantic that they didn't want to wait to get married. And okay, so choosing the vampire wedding package was a little odd, but I think it's meant to be symbolic. Like Cara has brought out Seamus's sense of humor or something."

Ethan made a snorting sound. "It's ridiculous. And I'm not wearing this cape." He shook the black velvet cape he was holding for emphasis.

"You're his best man." Alexis decided it was time to get tough. "Look, Seamus didn't like it when you married me. He thought I was all wrong for you. But he kept his mouth shut and supported you. You owe him the same respect. Put the freaking cape on and wipe the disgust off your face."

Ethan looked down at her, a sly smile turning up the corner of his mouth. "Damn, do you know how hot you are when you're bossy?"

"Put on the cape!"

"Yes, ma'am."

Cara walked up the short wedding aisle on the arm of her bodyguard Daniel, wearing a black velvet clinging dress with a red satin bodice underlay. She had a hood up covering her head, black fingernails, and blood red lipstick on. Fog swirled around her feet as she walked through the chapel, done up Goth style and resembling a cemetery.

Kelsey and Alexis had preceded her up the aisle in short black cocktail dresses. Seamus and Ethan, wearing black velvet capes were waiting next to the mock vampire priestess. It was crazy, wild, silly, over the top, and she was ludicrously happy.

She giggled when Seamus shot his eyebrows up and down and flashed her his fangs. Daniei deposited her in front of the priestess and Cara pulled her hood down.

Seamus took her hand, squeezed it hard, turned to the woman, and said, "I do."

"I haven't said anything yet."

"Doesn't matter. I do."

Apparently Seamus had caught the spontaneity bug. Cara squeezed him back and added, "I do, too."

"Alright then. I pronounce you husband and wife. You may bite the bride."

Seamus looked down at her, a very wicked gleam in his blue eyes.

"Seamus, don't even think about it," she said, trying to sound firm, but ending in a laugh.

He held his hand up to the priestess and her head lolled back as she fell under a glamour. "Any other mortals in the room?" he asked casually, glancing around.

"No," Ethan said. "Just her and the six of us."

"Good."

Cara wasn't sure what Seamus was planning to do, but his eyes were dark, dark blue. Like denim. And his grip on her was firm, solid. She closed her own eyes right before his lips made contact with hers.

He was so delicious, so firm, so good with that tongue. And when his teeth broke through her flesh, bursting blood from her bottom lip into both of their mouths, she swallowed a gasp. The pleasure exploded in her, around her, and she bit him back, blending their blood, their thoughts, their love, their everything, from two to one.

I love you
, he said into her mind, before he broke away, licking his lips.

Cara panted hard, weak in the knees. "I love you, too."

"Congratulations," Ethan said with a grin. "Now get a room before you shock me."

"Brilliant idea," Seamus said, with a very hot look that told Cara she was about to learn firsthand about vampire endurance.

"Wow. If looks could tear off clothes," Alexis said. "I think Ethan's right. You two need to get out of here and go somewhere private."

"That was a beautiful wedding," Kelsey said, blowing her nose into a tissue and swiping at her eyes.

"Yes, it was." Cara wrapped her arms around Seamus. "Now let's start our honeymoon."

"You don't have to ask me twice, gorgeous." He looked over at their friends. "Now who wants to pet-sit for us?"