“Don’t look so frightened. It’s something good. Or at least I hope you think it’s good.”
He turned to the nightstand, opened the drawer, and reached inside. When his hand emerged, he was holding a small black velvet box.
Was this a dream? She gasped.
“Wait,” he cautioned, chuckling. “You’ve gotta let me get to it first.” He opened the box, revealing a solitaire with a beautiful round stone in its middle. “I called every jeweler in California to find a diamond the color of your eyes. I finally found one, but not even this blue diamond is as brilliant as your cornflower-blue eyes when you look at me. I want you to always look at me like that.”
She shifted her gaze away from the ring and met his eyes. “Blake, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes to becoming my wife.”
“Yes,” she choked out, while tears streamed down her cheeks.
Blake removed the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger, tossing the box aside. Then he pulled her to him and captured her lips for a tender, but altogether too brief, kiss. Resting his forehead against hers, he said, “I’m not done yet. There’s another question I need to ask you.”
Her mind immediately went back to her conversation with Delilah and Nina. She knew what was on Blake’s mind.
“The answer to that question is yes.”
He moved his head back, looking at her. “How could you know what I wanted to ask you?”
She smiled, and ran her fingers through his hair. “Every time you sink your fangs into me, I sense it. Besides, your friends told me enough to know what a vampire who asks a woman to marry him, truly craves.”
“And that doesn’t frighten you?”
“I love your bite.”
“But the bond is more than just a bite. You’ll drink my blood, too. And then there’s the telepathic bond.”
“Telepathic bond?” Neither Delilah nor Nina had mentioned anything about that.
“Yes, a way for the bonded couple to communicate without speaking.”
She smiled. “Doesn’t every couple in love communicate without speaking?”
He chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure some of them do. But this is different. It’s like hearing the other person’s thoughts. You wouldn’t be able to hide much from me at all. Nor I from you. We wouldn’t have any secrets from each other.”
Lilo leaned into him. “I’d like that.”
“A bond is forever. Only death will sever it.”
She kissed a path along his jaw to his ear, then down his neck. “Forever sounds good.”
“I wouldn’t be able to tolerate bottled blood any longer. You’d have to let me feed from you every day.”
She moved to the other side of his neck, planting kisses along his pulsing vein. “Only if you make love to me every day.”
A moan rolled over his lips. “I have no problem with that. But we should make sure you get on the pill for a while.”
She lifted her head and looked at him. “Why?”
“I won’t be sterile anymore once you complete your first menstrual cycle after the bonding. And as much as I’d like to feel your belly grow with my child, I want you to myself for a while first.”
His words made her heart expand even more. “You’ll make a wonderful father.”
He laughed, and she suddenly found herself on her back with Blake hovering over her. “I’ll make an even better husband and lover. How about I start right now?”
“I’m up for that.” She reached down between his legs. “And apparently so are you.”
He tugged at her nightgown, shoving it higher. “Now: I can either rip this flimsy thing to shreds and buy you a new one, or you could lift your arms and take it off. What’s it gonna be, baby?”
She shivered at the thought of his first suggestion and met his eyes, her lips parting.
~
Blake shuddered when he looked into Lilo’s face, realizing what she’d chosen. Heat spread in his body and shot into his fully erect cock.
“You’re one naughty girl, but who am I to deny you anything?” He willed the fingers of his right hand to turn into claws. “So you want it wild?”
Her chest heaved, and her hard nipples pressed against the thin fabric. She licked her lips, making him moan in response.
“I want you, the man and the vampire,” she said, arching toward him.
In response, he sliced through her nightgown, cutting it off her body, while letting the back of his claws slide against her smooth skin. When she shivered, satisfaction filled him. Lilo would make the perfect mate.
“I love you, Lilo,” he murmured against her lips, and drove his cock into her welcoming *, before he took her lips and kissed her.