Page 97 of Midnight Enchantment

“I wish you could stay the night with me.” Trailing her fingertips over his chest, she murmured, “I wish we could make love.”

“No more than I do,” he said, his voice rough with desire. “But I am afraid your father would destroy me while I rested if I made you mine before the wedding.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Quill sat on the edge of the bed, watching Callie brush her hair. “Are we really going to let our only daughter marry this Transylvanian vampire?”

“I don’t see any way to stop it,” Callie replied calmly. “Do you?”

“A stake in his heart would quickly solve the problem.”

“Quill! What a thing to say!” she exclaimed. But one look at his face and she knew that he meant every word.

“What kind of life can she have with him? He’ll never be accepted by our people. She’ll never have children or any kind of normal life. Gradually, she’ll adjust her hours to his and the daylight will be lost to her. In time … ”

Moving toward the bed, Callie placed her hand over his mouth. “Hush. You don’t want Lily to hear you, do you? Or worse, Raedan.”

Quill muttered an oath. Slipping his arm around her waist, he fell back on the bed, drawing her down on top of him, all thought of Lily and Raedan momentarily forgotten as Callie magicked their clothes away and turned out the lights.

“I’m happy for her,” Ava said as she snuggled against Mason. “Raedan seems different now that the demon is gone. He’s no longer at war with himself, no longer constantly on edge. And he loves her. A blind man could see that.”

“He’s not like the vampires in her family,” Mason remarked. “He doesn’t eat. He can’t give her a child. He’s rarely awake during the day. Transylvanian vampires are nothing like the ones she’s used to. Save for their need for blood, Hungarian vampires are more like mortals.”

“She’ll adjust,” Ava said confidently.

“And what if he turns her?” Mason asked quietly. “What then?”

Ava stared at him. It was, after all, a very real possibility, whether he did it on purpose or by accident. Stars above, she hated to think what Quill would do if Raedan turned Lily.

Dominic paced the floor of the hotel. How could Maddy sit there and calmly pack their suitcases when his little sister was about to marry the enemy? Dammit, it wasn’t right. He didn’t know a blessed thing about the man Liliana intended to marry, nor could he believe their father hadn’t put a stop to it.

“Dom, calm down. I’m sure Lily knows what she’s doing.”

“No way! She’s never even dated anybody else and now she’s getting married. To a Transylvanian vampire!”

“Ava says they’re in love.”

Dominic snorted. “I’m surehe’sin love, all right. With her blood. Nothing like having a ready-made snack for a wife.”

Maddy looked at him, her brow furrowed, her arms folded tightly over her chest. “Is that all I am to you, Dominic Falconer? Just a ready-made snack?”

“What? No! Of course not.”

“If the vampire’s as despicable as you seem to think, Ava would have turned him into a toad by now. Or Quill would have lopped off his head.”

Dominic glared at her.

Maddy grinned inwardly. There was no talking to him when he was in a mood like this. But she knew how to get his mind off Lily and Raedan.

Closing the suitcase, she changed into her sexiest black lace nightgown and turned off the lights. She summoned a candle and lit it with a word. Soon, the seductive scent of musk filled the air. Hips swaying, she brushed by Dominic and climbed into bed.

A moment later, he slid under the covers, all thoughts of his sister forgotten as he gathered the love of his life into his arms.

Chapter Forty

Lily stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had never looked so good. There was a glow in her eyes that had never been there before. Was it the dress that made her feel so beautiful, or Raedan’s love? She twirled slowly in front of the floor-length mirror. The dress was white, studded with brilliants across the bodice. The neckline was round, the sleeves long and ended in points at her wrists. The skirt swirled around her ankles as she turned. She felt like a story-book princess about to marry the handsome prince.

“Here, Lily, let’s try this one,” Callie said, veil in hand.

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