Darkest Desire of the Vampire: Wicked in Moonlight\Vampire Island (Harlequin Nocturne) (12 page)

“You got that right,” she agreed with a teasing purr. “I’m expecting you to be a handful
every
night in the sack, so the full-moon sex will just be a bonus.”

A shock of heat flared in his blue eyes, one of those deliciously husky laughs rumbling up from his chest as he said, “Bite or no bite, I’ll always be an animal with you, Lainey. You just...affect me.”

“And I’m glad as hell about that.” With a serious note creeping into her voice, she added, “So long as I’m the
only
woman who gets to see that side of you. We never really talked about—”

“We never talked about it,” he grated, cutting her off, “because I thought you understood. I don’t share. No other man
ever
gets his hand on you.”

Pressing her palms against his warm, solid chest, she said, “I don’t want any other man, Nick. But I feel the exact same way about you.”

“I sure as hell hope so because you’re the only woman I want.” His voice was getting rougher, and she could feel the pounding of his heart. “The only woman I’ll
ever
want or touch or kiss or make love to,” he told her, his big hands suddenly landing on her hips as he jerked her closer.

“No flirting either,” she warned him, so full of happiness she thought she might burst.

He got that haughty, insulted look that always made her smile. “Do I look like a bloody flirt, Lainey?”

“You flirt with me like crazy,” she pointed out.

Eyes smoldering, he gripped her ass and gave a sexy growl. “That’s because you’re
mine,
woman. I can do whatever the hell I want with you.”

“You got that right.” She cupped the side of his beautiful face in her hand, her smile falling as she asked, “But what are we going to do about the future? Isn’t there any way you can...keep me with you?”

“I love you, Lainey. That means I’m damn well going to marry you and keep you
with me
for the rest of our lives.”

Though she was beyond excited about that “marry you” part, she knew they needed to talk this out. “But my life isn’t like yours. I don’t want you to die because of me, Nick. I couldn’t stand that.”

“And I can’t stand the thought of hurting you,” he muttered, his voice so low it was almost soundless. “Please don’t ask me to do that, Lainey.”

She studied his raw expression and suddenly realized what he meant. “Nick, is there a way that you could...change me? So that I could be like you?”

His face was tight with tension. “I don’t want to talk about it now.”

Almost too afraid to hope, she said, “Whatever it is, I love you, Nick. That means I’m willing to do whatever it takes to share my life with you. The more time we have, the better.”

The look in his eyes was dark and wild and his breathing was getting jagged. “I love you, too,” he groaned. “So much it scares the hell out of me. So much that the thought of you giving up your world for mine makes me want to—”

“Shh...” she whispered, pressing her mouth against his for a soft, quick kiss, knowing that anything more was only going to end one way, and as much as she craved making love with him, there were still things that needed to be said. Because she wasn’t giving up on this. “It’s going to be okay, Nick. Just trust me.”

He drew back his head and parted his lips, and she knew he was going to argue. But then he got a funny look on his face, and said, “There’s someone coming up the stairs.”

Her eyes went wide with panic. “Oh, my God!” she gasped, pushing him away and clambering to her feet. “That’s my grandmother! She doesn’t believe in knocking and there’s no lock on that door. Get your clothes on! She’s about to bust right in here.”

His brows drew together with a comical scowl. “She just walks into your room without knocking?”

Rolling her eyes, Lainey said, “I love her to death, but the woman has no concept of personal space.”

It must have looked like some kind of screwball comedy as they both tried to get back in their clothes before the door was opened. When Nick caught his foot in the leg of his jeans and fell over, his sexy bod sprawled across the floor, Lainey collapsed against her dresser, laughing so hard she was crying. He’d only just managed to get back on his feet, yanking the jeans over his lean hips, when they ran out of time. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Lainey looked over and saw her grandmother’s weathered face poking into the room from around the edge of the door.

“There something you want to tell me, young lady?” Grandma Kate asked, her brown eyes bright with curiosity as she gazed at Nick, who had quickly moved to Lainey’s side.

Taking Nick’s hand, Lainey spoke in a breathless, excited rush. “Gram, this is Nick Santos and he’s.... Well, I love him! He’s the most incredible, wonderful man. And we’re, um...well, you see...”

Squeezing her hand, Nick got right to the point. “I’m going to marry your granddaughter, ma’am. As soon as possible.”

For a moment, there was nothing but a stunned, heavy silence. Then, with a knowing look at Nick...and a conspiratorial wink, her grandmother said, “I gotta say that I’m pretty excited about this wedding. It’ll be the first one I’ve ever been to that takes place at night!”

Lainey shot a stunned look at Nick, whose dark brows were raised with surprise, and then they both started to laugh.

She didn’t know how or why, but it was obvious that Grandma Kate had known about the existence of vampires all along.

Epilogue

Three months later...

T
he breeze that blew in off the Pacific this time of day was always his wife’s favorite. Lainey often would crawl out of bed at sunset and enjoy her first cup of coffee on the balcony that extended off the master suite, and as he climbed the stairs with her mug in hand, that’s exactly where Nick knew he would find her. She had only been a vampire for a few months now, and she still wasn’t strong enough to go out in the daytime. But he knew she didn’t mind.

As for Nick, he’d never dared to hope he could know happiness like this. Lainey had brought a light and warmth to his life that he’d never imagined could be his, and he was utterly devoted to her. His brothers teased him ruthlessly about being whipped, but he couldn’t have cared less. He knew that deep down the jackasses were just jealous that he’d found the perfect woman. When they finally found theirs, he’d be able to get his own back at them, and he was going to enjoy every ruthless moment of it. With his wife’s help, he had no doubt his retaliation would be satisfying and sweet.

For the first few weeks he and Lainey had been together there’d been countless arguments about their future. Still unwilling to put her through the excruciating process of becoming a vampire, he’d argued for her to remain human and for the two of them to grow old together. But in the end, it was his own greed that had been his downfall. Every time Lainey had talked about having an eternity to spend with him, his resistance had cracked a little more because he wanted as many forevers with her as he could get. The little imp had refused to marry him until he’d finally done what she called “accepting the inevitable,” and on a blustery autumn night, with his family gathered around for support, Nick had drained her of her life’s blood...and then filled her with his own.

They’d been married in a breathtaking ceremony at his parents’ vineyard in Spain two weeks later in front of their closest friends and family. And after a decadent honeymoon in Mauritius, where they made love on the beach every night beneath the ethereal glow of the moon, they’d moved into the new seaside, cliff-top home they’d found in Malibu. Still suspicious of how the werewolf pack had learned about his home in Moonlight Bay, Nick hadn’t been comfortable keeping Lainey in the house there. The estate had since been sold, the beach set up as a nature reserve in Ryan’s name, and their new home was listed in one of their new aliases, making it difficult to trace back to them.

Though Nick had gone into their marriage intending to quit his work as an Enforcer, it hadn’t worked out that way. Lainey had repeatedly argued that he couldn’t quit something that was so much a part of him just because of her...and then the headstrong woman had gone and employed his family’s help. Left with no other choice, Nick had grudgingly given in and resumed working with his brothers. And since Lainey had quit her job in San Diego, she’d decided to put her research skills to good use and help them with their investigations. Seb and Val now claimed that they didn’t know how they’d ever managed without her.

The only rough spot had been when the first full moon came. Overcome by lust and love, he knew he’d been too aggressive with her, not to mention insatiable, keeping her in bed except for those brief moments when she’d needed to eat or visit the bathroom. But she’d never complained, promising him that she’d loved every minute of it, and he felt thankful as hell that he had such an incredible woman.

The morning after the night Nick had finally tracked Lainey down in Alabama, she’d had a long talk with her grandmother and learned much about her family that she’d never known before. According to Kate, her son’s research into ancient texts had convinced him that there was a hidden world living among humanity in secret. A world that consisted of creatures and species most humans relegated to the realms of fiction and literature. It was a bittersweet moment for Lainey because she knew that Ryan might have been more careful if he’d known the true extent of the danger when he’d gone to investigate in Moonlight Bay. Her grandmother told her that her father had wanted to tell her and Ryan the truth someday, but then he’d passed away, and she just hadn’t had the heart to do it herself. She’d been worried about how they would react to the news and now blamed herself for not coming forward sooner, but Lainey had refused to let her feel guilty. As much as she grieved for her brother, the last thing she wanted was for Kate to spend the last years of her life burdened by grief.

They were expecting a visit from Kate closer to the holidays, but today it was his parents who were coming to visit. Though Nick had known they would be accepting of the woman he lost his heart to, he’d never realized how completely they would come to love her. But then this was Lainey he was talking about, so he should have.

With his wife’s coffee in hand, Nick had almost made it to the top of the long, winding staircase when he heard a knock at the front door. Turning to head back down, he called out over his shoulder to let her know his parents were there and made his way to the Spanish-tiled foyer. Setting her mug down on a table beside a vase filled with vibrant flowers, Nick pulled the heavy wooden door open just as Lainey came rushing down the stairs with an excited smile on her face. Her colorful, floral halter top and sexy low-rise jeans made him grin despite his concern that she wasn’t up for this visit. She hadn’t quite been herself the past week, tiring easily and losing her appetite.

Though he hadn’t said anything to her yet, Nick was worried that he’d been taking too much blood from her. But as his parents stepped inside, his mother took one look at Lainey as she reached the bottom of the stairs, her happy exclamation laying his concerns regarding feeding to rest...and giving him an entirely new mountain of worries to conquer.

“Oh, you precious, beautiful girl!” his mother said in a delighted rush, hurrying toward a startled-looking Lainey. “I knew it the moment I set eyes on you. You’re making me a grandmother!”

His gorgeous wife, in typical Lainey fashion, shot him a stunned, breathtaking look of joy—then immediately passed out. Nick caught her in his arms before she hit the floor, and with a low, excited rumble of laughter, he told his parents they would join them later, then carried her up to their bedroom. When her lashes fluttered open a minute later, Nick was cuddled next to her on their bed, his face close to hers, his heart so full he thought it might burst. Now that he knew, he didn’t know how he’d missed the obviousness of it, except that he’d never really been around many pregnant female vampires.

“Are you okay?” she whispered, locking her bright gaze with his. “I know you didn’t marry me expecting to start a family so soon.”

“I couldn’t be happier about the baby, Lainey. And just so you know, I married you because I love you. Because I’ve pledged my heart and body and soul to you. And because I need you by me every day, and every night, until I take my final breath.”

“I hope that day never comes because I want to be with you forever.”

“You really think there’s anything in this world, or beyond, that could keep me from you?”

With a smile, she said, “No.”

His voice got lower. “You know your man well, little vampire.”

“I love him even more.”

“Tell him again,” he murmured, lifting the hem of her top so that he could lean down and trail a line of tender kisses across her belly. “Because he never gets tired of hearing it.”

Running her fingers through his hair, she said, “I love you, Nick. Now. Tomorrow. Forever.”

Moving over her, he said, “I’ll hold you to that, Lainey. Because you’re
mine.
”

“I’ve never wanted to be anything else,” she whispered, and with the sweet, blistering touch of her mouth against his, he knew it was true.

* * * * *

VAMPIRE ISLAND

Lauren Hawkeye

Dear Reader,

The scenery surrounding a vampire tale is often like the creatures themselves—dark and full of shadows and mystery. When casting around for a premise for this story, I considered London, Paris, Ireland…where might an encounter with a vampire occur?

I decided that I wanted to do something a little bit different. Vampires are beautiful and deadly…. I thought that a tropical setting could be, too. Danger could lurk amongst the vices offered in paradise…and so the idea for
Vampire Island
was born.

I do hope you’ll enjoy your visit to the island. If you’d like to tell me about it, I love hearing from readers! Find me on the web at
www.laurenhawkeye.com
.

Happy reading,

Lauren

For Ann Leslie,
whose nurturing nature is much appreciated.