everyone else as he uttered the words, but he did not retract them. "Please."
This time it was Cassidy who offered his hand to Lucian. "Congratulations." He
rocked back on his heels for a moment as a wistful smile played at the corners of his
mouth. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." He nodded once more and then he was gone,
the heels of his boots striking the hardwood floor in the hallway. A door opened and
closed in the distance, and they collectively let out a sigh of relief.
"Wedding?" Delight scooted closer to her brother as she caught the thread of hurt
underlying his question. She should have told him first but there had been no time.
"Lucian saved my life. But beyond that, I love him." She felt the tears welling in her
eyes but blinked them back. "What he did changed me." Pausing, she searched for the
right words. "We're linked somehow and it feels right. I know I'm different now, but
I'm still your sister." She hadn't realized she'd been feeling vulnerable until that
moment. There was no way to know how Chase would handle the fact that his sister
was now a bloodsucking vampire.
"I love you, you know." Chase banished all her fears with those few simple words.
"You're my sister and I only want what's best for you." Reaching out, he drew her into
his arms and hugged her tight. He laughed and then groaned as he grabbed his ribs.
"Damn, that hurts."
Delight immediately began to fuss over him. "You should still be in bed," she
scolded.
Grabbing her hand, he held it tight. "It'll be hard to grow old and die and leave you
behind some day."
A single tear slid down her face and she dashed it angrily away. "That won't
happen for many years yet. We'll deal with it."
Chase let it drop for now. There was a wisdom and acceptance about him that
belied his years. Somehow Delight knew that the changes would be harder on her than
on him. Her younger brother had already accepted what she hadn't even begun to think
about.
Knowing it was cowardly, she changed the subject anyway. "Where's Miss
Nadine?"
"Stefan took her home. She knows that you were hurt, but not what really
happened. It's probably better that way."
Delight's heart hurt. This was another big change in her life. She'd already quit her
bartending job at Etienne's, unable to return to work there after the murder. But now, it
would no longer be possible for her to live and work at The Grande. Lucian had sensed
her turmoil and came to sit on the sofa beside her. Scooping her into his lap, he pulled
her close to his heart.
"I have already found someone who can take your place at Miss Nadine's. A young
college student who needs the room and board and small salary while she works her
way towards her degree." The fact that Lucian had already thought of this problem and
had moved to fix it didn't surprise her.
Delight twisted her hands in her lap. She wanted what was best for Miss Nadine,
but change was hard. This was the only life she'd known for years. It was her stability.
"I guess that's for the best."
Tipping her chin up, he kissed her softly, not caring that they had an audience.
"Just because you do not live there, does not mean that you are no longer part of her
life."
"I know you're right." She squared her shoulders and sat up straight. "I'm just
feeling sorry for myself."
"I offered to give her enough money to retire, but she turned me down." Lucian
gave a sharp bark of laughter. "She has as much use for my money as you do."
"Well, I should be going." Chase pulled himself off the sofa. Leaning over, he
kissed her cheek.
"Where are you going?" She grabbed his hand to keep him from leaving.
"Home. You've got a lot of plans to make." He tugged on his hand, but Delight
wouldn't let go.
Lucian frowned at both of them. "I thought you understood that this is your home
now, Chase."
"I think you two need your space, and to tell you the truth, so do I." As hard as she
you'll be newlyweds and you'll need to be alone. I understand that."
She couldn't bear to think of losing Chase and Miss Nadine at the same time. It was
too much.
"I think we can reach a compromise of sorts." Lucian glanced at Stefan, and he
nodded quickly. "We have an old carriage house in the back garden. It has a loft
apartment upstairs and a large enough space for your own art studio down below. It is
yours for as long as you want it."
"I'll pay rent." Chase's male pride quickly asserted itself and Delight felt like
smacking him even as she was proud of him at the same time.
"That would be fine, but I would prefer services. A trade, if you will." Lucian had
piqued not only Chase's curiosity, but hers as well.
"What do you mean?"
Lucian swept his arm around the room. "We three are vampires, unable to function
in the daylight. There is much you could do to help your sister adjust and to assure her
safety."
It was absolutely the right thing to say. Delight could see the wheels in her brother's
head spinning around, considering Lucian's words from every angle. It surprised her
when he turned to Stefan. "That okay with you?"
Stefan nodded once. It was enough for Chase. "I'll go and pack our things and get
them moved tomorrow."
Lucian reached into his shirt pocket and drew out a platinum credit card. Chase
scowled at it, but Lucian ignored him. "It's not for you. It is for household expenses that
you incur on my behalf and that includes moving Delight's belongings to her new
home. It is nothing to throw your few boxes and bags in with hers."
She could tell that Chase thought about debating that fact, but reluctantly agreed.
Accepting the card, he slipped it into his back pocket. "I'll take care of it."
She hated to see him leave, even if it was for only a few hours. After all he'd been
through, she wanted to keep him close to her. But she held her tongue as he took his
leave of them.
"May I offer my congratulations as well." Stefan bowed briefly to her. "Welcome to
the family, Delight. You will meet Cristofor and Johanna tomorrow night. I took the
liberty of calling them earlier this evening." Lucian swore under his breath, but Stefan
heard it and smiled. "Our older brother was not pleased that he had not been kept
informed about things, but I believe that Johanna has him well in hand."
"Now I must leave you." Before Delight could respond, Stefan slipped through a
door to the left of the fireplace, a wrath swallowed up by the dark of the night.
"It is hard for him." Lucian nibbled her neck, distracting her.
"What's hard?" She leaned back into his caress, sighing as his hands slipped up her
torso to cup her breasts. Her insides turned soft and she could feel the familiar gush of
cream between her thighs. There was no mistaking the fact that she wanted him. Again.
Reaching down, she cupped his growing erection that strained at the front of his pants.
"Besides that."
"He is alone now that Cristofor and I have found our true loves." Slipping one hand
behind her back and the other under her legs,
he stood with her cradled in his arms.
"And the weight of it lays heavy on him. I worry for him."
"You don't think he'd do anything drastic, do you?" She could sense Lucian's deep
fear for his brother. The fact that he was worried scared her. She sensed that she really
couldn't understand the depth of Stefan's loneliness, but she knew it was profound.
"No. Not yet at any rate." He carried her easily through the house and up the stairs.
"I will confer with Cristofor when he comes. I will not lose him as we have lost others
before."
Delight wanted to ask him more, but he kissed her then. His firm lips devoured
hers as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth, claiming it as his own. Frantically, she
tugged on his hair, pulling him closer to her. He needed this right now and so did she.
Eagerly, she gave herself up to the fires of desire that smoldered within her, only
waiting for his touch to ignite them.
Chapter Twenty
It was better than she'd ever dreamed it would be. Delight stood within the
protective circle of her new husband's arms and surveyed the small group of friends
and family that had gathered for their wedding. The ceremony had been performed by
a member of the clergy, surprising Delight.
Lucian had taken a wicked delight at teasing her about it after the ceremony was
over. "Did you expect both of us to burst into flames in the presence of a holy man?"
He'd whispered the words in her ear just before kissing her in front of all their
witnesses.
She still had a lot to learn, but was discovering more every day thanks to her new
sister-in-law. Delight found she'd liked the other woman on sight. With her short, dark
brown hair, golden-brown eyes, and a smattering of freckles that she tried to cover with
makeup, Johanna was open and friendly with a wonderful sense of humor. Johanna
was every bit as practical and grounded as she was, and every bit as normal. Having
been human herself until a few months ago, she had helped ease some of Delight's
fears.
Children had been a big question on her mind, but she hadn't been able to bring
herself to ask Lucian about it. Somehow it was much easier to talk to another woman
about these things. She'd had never had another woman friend her age and found that
she was enjoying the friendship and camaraderie. It was good to have an ally when it
came to dealing with three overbearing, overprotective men. The two of them had
bonded instantly, much to the unease of the brothers.
According to Johanna, it was rare for a Dalakis bride to get pregnant, and the
children were always male. Always. They aged naturally until they reached their full
maturity and then stopped, their bodies muscular and honed to its peak of perfection.
Lucian's mother had been rare in that she'd given birth to three healthy sons all
within a one-hundred-year span. Most had only one or two children spread over a span
of several hundred years. Johanna suspected it was nature's way of controlling the
population given the fact that vampires were basically immortal.
But there had been tragedies. The brothers' parents had died during the
seventeenth century when their mother had been caught away from home after sunrise.
She'd spent the night nursing a sick child in the nearby town and had taken shelter in
the family's root cellar. The members of the child's family had been frightened by her
deathlike appearance when they'd discovered her body and had fled to the village
priest for help. The priest had declared her a vampire and cut off her head. The moment
she died, their father had died as well.
When the brothers awoke that evening, they found their father's lifeless form. Their
grief and rage had known no boundaries as they'd scoured the countryside in search of
their mother's remains. When they'd discovered what had been done, they'd taken their
bloody revenge on the priest and then withdrawn to the castle, shutting out the world
around them. The town, which had depended on the Dalakis fortune for survival, had
suffered and many moved away, fearing that the land was now cursed. It was
something that none of them ever talked about. Johanna had garnered the details from
an old journal she'd found in the castle's library.
It was strange to think that Lucian had grown up in a real fifteenth-century castle
and that his brother still resided there. "What are you thinking?" Lucian wrapped his
arms around her as he nibbled on her neck.
Delight leaned back into his loving embrace and gave a contented sighed. "Can't
you tell?"
"I'm trying to respect your privacy by not peeking." Tipping her head back, he
kissed her softly. A shiver ran down her spine as her nipples puckered against the
bodice of her dress. It was always that way. Whenever he touched her, she was
instantly aroused.
"I was just thinking how much I like Johanna and Cris." Snuggling her behind
against him, she could feel Lucian's growing arousal.
"Liar," he whispered. "You like Johanna, but Cris intimidates you."
"He's just got that lord-of-the-manor air about him. I feel like I should curtsy or
something every time he enters the room." Her panties were getting damper by the
minute as Lucian spread his hands across her stomach and pulled her tighter against
the bulge in his pants.
His entire body shook with laughter. "He'd love that."
"Don't you dare tell him," she admonished. That certainly wouldn't make a good
impression on his family and she did want them to like her.
At first she was worried about Cris reading her thoughts. It was one thing for
Lucian to be able to read her thoughts, but quite another for his brother to do it. But,
Lucian had assured her that they respected one another's privacy and would only
trespass in a dire emergency. She and Lucian slipped in and out of each other's
thoughts so easily now that it was beginning to feel normal to her.
In spite of her doubts, both families seemed to be getting along well, considering
one was filled with vampires and the other was all human. Cristofor had taken an
immediate liking to Chase and the two of them talked art for hours on end. All three
Dalakis men, who could be extremely charming when they put their minds to it, had
charmed Miss Nadine.
Looking around the drawing room of The Grande, Delight felt a glow of happiness
emanate from deep inside her. Classical music played softly in the background and
candles burned on the tables and mantel. A small table with refreshments had been set
up in the corner and vases of fresh flowers filled the room with their heady scent.
The only outsider, except for the minister who had left immediately after the
ceremony, was Sam Cassidy. Delight had been surprised when Lucian asked him to the
wedding, but she was pleased that he'd come. He was such a large part of what had
happened, it wouldn't have felt right for him not to be there. It seemed that the
detective had been adopted into the family whether he liked it or not.
"A toast." Cristofor's strong voice filled the room, drawing every eye his way. "To
my brother and his beautiful wife, Delight. It is indeed a delight to welcome you to the
family." Cristofor paused until the laughter died away. "I also want to welcome Mi
ss
Nadine, Chase and Cassidy to the family."
Cassidy looked startled and opened his mouth to object. But one look at Cristofor's
face and he subsided. The older brother's word was law and whether he liked it or not,
he was now considered part of their family. Cassidy gazed around the room and when
he caught Delight's attention, he gave her a quick wink, raised his wineglass, and
saluted her. "To Delight and Lucian."
Delight sipped on her red wine, noting her husband's possessive hold got tighter
when Cassidy laid down his glass and approached them. "Thank you for coming."
Holding out her hand, she waited for him to take it.
His grip was firm and sure as he bent down and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.
Lucian emitted a low growl from behind her, but the detective wasn't disturbed at all. If
anything, the devil looked as if he were enjoying himself. "You're a lucky man, Dalakis.
Protect her well." Stepping back from her, he thrust his hand towards Lucian.
"What we have, we hold." Still keeping one arm wrapped tight around her, Lucian
offered his other hand to Cassidy. "That is our way."
"Just let me know if you ever need any help." Releasing Lucian's hand, he stepped
back and gave her a nod. "I've got to get going. Be happy." Turning on his booted heel,
he turned and strode from the room.
Delight watched him leave as Miss Nadine strolled up to her. "You look so
beautiful and happy, child."
"I am." The simple three-quarter length dress with its off-white color and simple
cut fit her to perfection. The bodice was fitted and beaded, making it fancy enough for a
wedding dress without being too fancy. It had frustrated Lucian no end when she'd
chosen an off-the-rack dress at a small local boutique, paying for it with her own
money. He had wanted to buy her a designer dress, but had finally given in when he'd
realized that this was the dress she'd truly wanted.
Leaning over, she kissed the older woman's cheek. "Thank you for letting us have
the wedding here."
"As if I'd let you have it somewhere else," she scolded. Turning her shrewd eyes on
Lucian, she pinned him with a glare. "You take care of my girl."
"You have my word." Lucian took no offense at her admonishment. Delight knew
that he thought the world of Miss Nadine and treated her with a courtly manner at all