Don't Blackmail the Vampire (16 page)

Guarantees or no, he was driving to her apartment less than ten minutes after he’d let her sister out the door.

Nervousness built during the drive. For decades, he’d wandered free of any obligation, of any care, except for that of his family. And they mostly took care of themselves. Tying himself down purposefully wasn’t something he’d foreseen in his immediate future. Sure, he’d felt stirrings, especially after Noah found Alice, but he’d never thought he’d find someone he fit with so perfectly, so soon. He’d never imagined himself at ease with another vampire, let alone a human woman. But now that he’d found her, he couldn’t let her go so easily.

It wasn’t just the lust she stirred in him, or his fascination when he realized that she couldn’t be influenced by his powers. Their personalities meshed, and even more, he saw in her the kind of person he wanted to spend his life with. A passionate woman who was courageous enough to fight for what she thought was right—especially if it was for someone else. Someone she loved.

He found himself at her doorstep almost too quickly.

The knock echoed in the hallway, and he counted off the seconds. Fifteen, and he knocked again. This time, she opened the door immediately, as if she’d been watching him through the peephole, hoping he’d give up and go away.

Maybe she had been.

“Charles, what—”

“We need to talk.”

She frowned. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Please.” He wasn’t going to push her, no matter how much he wanted to. He’d pushed too hard the last time, and it had only made her run that much faster when she’d gotten her feet back under her. Besides, she had to want him, care about him, as much as he did her. Settling for anything less wasn’t something he could do.

She hesitated, then took a deep breath and stepped back, gesturing for him to enter.

The sight of her dining table hit him in the chest, the memory of their time together on a much smaller table in the hotel room so fresh in his mind that it might have just happened yesterday.

He rocked back on his heels. “It took us a few days to track
her
down.”

Curiosity was plain on her face. Her eyes met his, and she glanced down.

“Of course, we weren’t able to catch her. She’s smart. But Alice has the right man on the job now.” He was baiting her on purpose, and from the glare she shot him, it was apparent that she knew that. But he was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to resist asking anyway.

She lasted less than ten seconds. “Okay, who? I need details.”

He didn’t laugh, but he gave her a winner’s grin. “Last year, Alice’s brother was left at the altar. You heard about it through the grapevine, I’m sure.”

“I don’t know the details, but there was a kerfuffle.”

“Abandoned at the altar? Of course there was a kerfuffle,” he teased. “Anyway, turns out his fiancée, Olivia, was a vampire. Not sure on all the details myself, except that apparently her vampirism had something to do with the whole thing. The leaving him at the altar thing, I mean, not the wedding itself.”

“Would be an awfully big coincidence if it hadn’t.”

He snorted. “Alice happening to meet more than one vampire—at least, ones who didn’t know each other like Noah and me—is rare. Getting so close to two is very rare. I wasn’t even informed about this little detail until I got back from Colorado. Anyway, apparently this ex-fiancée is the one who has been trying to warn Alice away from Noah.”

“A vampire warning someone away from another vampire? That doesn’t make sense.”

If only she knew. “Maybe. Maybe not.” He shrugged. “She’s a very new vampire. Maybe she just hasn’t figured out that we can be safe. It’s…harder to remain in control when you’re new.”

Sympathy warred with the hard expression she was trying to maintain. She sighed, and a sad frown touched her face. Sympathy won.

He spoke again before she could put her emotional guard back up. “Anyway, once we realized that they were warnings and not threats, Alice wrestled the list from Noah he’d put together that put them all in one place. Some pattern in the speech and the circumstances made her realize who it might be. The last warning pulled it all together for her.”

“Literally wrestled?”

He grinned, remembering the anger on Alice’s face when she discovered the details of what Noah had been keeping from her. “Let’s just say it’ll be decades before I let him forget it. And longer still before Alice forgives him for trying to protect her ‘weak psyche’ from seeing them all at once. Her words, of course.”

She almost laughed, but cut the sound off in the middle. “So what? You guys sent some vamp cop or vampire bounty hunter after the poor girl?”

“The poor vampire,” he corrected. “And, no, it’s much worse.”

“Worse? God, the poor thing was trying to help Alice.”

Charles touched the side of his nose. “Alice sent her brother.”

“Oh. I guess that could be…awkward. Left at the altar by this woman, then finding out she scared the heck out of your sister? That isn’t going to be a fun confrontation.”

“Nope. Speaking of not-so-fun confrontations, and I know I’m risking a cliché here when I say this…let’s talk about us.”

“I thought we had this settled.”

“Nothing is settled, Rachel.” He turned to face her and then cupped her cheek gently. “I’m not giving up on you.”

A ragged breath escaped her, and it was all he could do to not leave right then and there, if only so she wouldn’t cry. Her crossed arms shook slightly, but she didn’t look away.

“Charles, I—”

“One of us has to be the first take a leap here. I’m willing to do that. And I’m also willing to wait until you’re ready to jump, too.”

She stepped back, out of his reach. He didn’t follow.

“This can only end with both of us getting hurt.” She glanced down.

“If I’m not mistaken, sweetheart, we’re both already hurting.” He touched his chest, where it felt like everything had contorted to smother him from the inside out. “I can barely breathe around it.”

Her gaze locked on his, and her eyes were bright with unshed tears. Tears he knew she would never shed, not if she had any say in the matter. “I care about you, Charles. You know that. But trusting you, trusting anyone…” She shook her head.

“It just so happens I’m trying my damnedest to be a trustworthy person. I can’t say that I’ll be perfect, only that I’ll do my best. Besides, I’m not asking you to trust me with everything. I’m asking you to date me.”

“Close enough. You’ll ask me someday, even if it’s not today.”

“Now you’re just being difficult.” It took everything inside of him to keep his voice light and playful, when his heart was so heavy. “I promise to do my best not to ask. I’ll wait for you to offer.”

“And if I never offer?”

“Then I guess we’ll both go back to hurting. But at least we’ll have some fun in the meantime.” He wasn’t foolish enough to think that it wouldn’t hurt even worse if they took their shot and it didn’t work. But he still wanted to take the chance. She was worth it.

Her expression turned contemplative. “Just a date, huh?”

“Or two. I’m sure you’ll be tired of me by date number three.”

“If not, you’ll definitely be sick of me by number four.” Her expression twisted, and she choked on a sob. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Likewise.” Closing the distance between them, he had to force himself to move slowly. He pulled her into his embrace, keeping his arms light in case she wanted to get away.

Instead, her arms came around his middle, and she buried her face in his chest and took a deep breath. Then she pulled back just enough to look up at him.

“Okay,” she said.

One simple word, but it rushed through his body like the best kind of blood high. Hope was a dangerous, exhilarating thing. But he was willing to risk everything for a taste of it.

“Are you scared?” he murmured, mouth only a hairbreadth away from hers.

A small laugh escaped her. “Not as scared as I should be.”

Epilogue

Rachel wasn’t tired of him by date three. Or by date five. Not even by date eleven. Four an
d a half months, and she wasn’t tired of him at all. And he hadn’t shown any indication that he was tired of her, either. Even with her occasional battles with herself and her instinct to run.

Weirdly, she hadn’t tried to run in weeks.

The sun setting over the ocean bathed the two vampires tossing a Frisbee for the small, happy dog in an orange glow. The smell of the ocean was light on the breeze. A perfect day to visit the beach, if a little later in the day than she used to prefer.

“Do you guys always come here while the sun is setting?” she asked Alice.

The other woman grinned and adjusted her bathing suit. “The best time is when there’s a full moon out. That way no sun exposure, but you can see well enough to get around.” Her gaze shifted to Noah and Charles, who now ran with the Frisbee themselves, dog nipping at their heels. “Of course, they don’t have to worry about it as much as we do.”

“Are you excited about that?” she blurted out, the words coming before she could edit them better. She liked Alice, but they’d hadn’t spent a lot of time together yet. Charles had mostly kept her to himself, and she’d blissfully accepted that arrangement for the most part. Lately, Kristen had started joining them for dinners when it wasn’t one of their specially reserved sister nights Charles wasn’t invited to, or one of the romantic nights Charles kept her to himself. Luckily, as a trio they got along well, and the rift between her and her sister had started to heal.

“About, ah…getting super-improved night vision?” Her teeth flashed with her widening smile. “Yes. Pretty nervous though, too.”

“I’ll bet.”

The Frisbee flew between their beach chairs and the dog followed half a second later, full of cheerful barks and energy. Rachel laughed, and Alice called a chiding, “Molly!” Noah ran past them after the dog, and Alice gave Rachel an apologetic grin, then rose from her chair and jogged after the dog and Noah.

Charles slowed to a trot and halted by her chair to lean down and give her a kiss, then he squatted down on his heels and took her hand in his.

“Having fun?” he asked, voice set low. Not that Alice and Noah—or their new dog—seemed to be paying them any mind as they played together a ways down the beach.

“I love you,” she blurted, afraid that if she didn’t get out the words she’d been aching to say for weeks, she’d never find the guts.

Trust, he’d told her, had to be built. And steadily, they’d been building it together.

His smile widened. “I know.” Then he kissed her, soft and slow. She suddenly wished they were home, alone. Or, heck, even out on the beach alone. They had a chair. And towels. They could make do and take care sand didn’t get in awkward places. Probably.

He pulled back from the kiss and gave her a little growl, his fangs flashing. “I can practically hear your evil thoughts,” he said. “And they’re about to make me do something very inappropriate, my brother and his girlfr—fiancée be damned.”

“Trying to convince me you possess the power of telepathy now, vampire?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

He leaned in for another quick kiss, then stood and helped her to her feet. “I just know you. Come on, let’s go get our feet wet.”

She squeezed his hand. Together, they walked to the water.

Acknowledgments

First of all, I have to thank my readers. The enthusiasm you felt for Don’t Bite the Bridesmaid was overwhelming, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you all.

A huge thank you to my editing team at Entangled: Robin Haseltine and Candace Havens. Your belief in me and my stories never fails to astound me. And when it comes to editing, you make me look good.

A huge thank-you to Regan Summers and Kerry Vail for reading way too many versions of the beginning of this book, and helping me to find the right story. I could not do this without you two.

And a huge thank-you to the publicity and marketing folks at Entangled Publishing. In particular, Katie Clapsadl, whose enthusiasm for my books makes promoting them so much more fun.

I want to give a huge thanks to my husband for putting up with my insane hours (and crazy writer brain) while I was writing this. A special thank-you to my mother for never faltering in her faith. My family for their unlimited optimism. And my agent, Jill Marsal, for her guidance and belief in me.

About the Author

CPA-turned-romance-author Tiffany Allee used to battle spreadsheets in Corporate America, and now concentrates on her characters’ battles to find love. Raised in small-town Colorado, Tiffany currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona, by way of Chicago and Denver. She is happily married to a secret romantic who tolerates her crazy mutterings.

She writes about ass-kicking heroines and the strong heroes who love them. Her work includes the suspense-driven
From the Files of the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency
series, which revolves around a group of paranormal cops solving crimes and finding love, and
Don’t Bite the Bridesmaid
, a lighthearted paranormal romance (Entangled Publishing).

Visit Tiffany at her website,
http://tiffanyallee.com/
; connect with her on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/authortiffanyallee
; or follow her on Twitter: @TiffanyAllee.

Want to stay informed about Tiffany’s new releases? Sign up for her newsletter:
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