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Susie and Cagin followed us outside.
“Well,” Cagin said with a wicked grin, “that was worth the price of admission. Now what do we do?”
Rafe looked at me and smiled. “Now,” he said, “I'm taking my bride home. How about you?”
Cagin looked at Susie. “What do you say, beautiful? Do you wanna get married?”
Susie smiled at him. “I think I'd like that.”
“Thanks for your help,” Rafe said, glancing at Susie and Cagin. “And keep in touch.”
“Will do,” Cagin replied.
Susie and I hugged, then Cagin took her arm and they disappeared into the darkness.
Rafe lifted me into his arms. “Told you they'd wind up together,” he said, and the next thing I knew, we were at Rafe's house, in Rafe's bed.
It was where I wanted to be, where I wanted to spend the rest of my life.
“No regrets?” he asked. “You're sure this time?”
“I'm sure. I just wish…”
“What do you wish, love?”
“That we could get married, really married.”
“Means that much to you, does it?”
“I know it's silly. It's just a piece of paper, but…”
He put his fingers to my lips. “If it's that important to you, then we'll do it.”
“How? It's against the law. No minister is going to marry us.”
Rafe grinned at me. “Hey, you're forgetting who you're talking to.”
I batted my eyelashes at him. “Don't tell me. You're going to arrange a little Vampire hocus pocus.”
“Something like that,” he said. “But first…” He drew me into his arms and kissed me and, as always when Rafe touched me, I forgot everything else. The past few days, Edna and Pearl, my close call with death, none of it mattered now. Rafe's kisses were like liquid fire, heating my blood, melting my bones, leaving me breathless with wanting, trembling with desire.
Our clothing disappeared as if by magic, and then we were lying side by side in a delicious tangle of arms and legs and deep, wet kisses. When he rose over me, I was more than ready. I felt the welcome prick of his fangs at my throat as his body melded with mine, and then there was only pleasure, endless sensual pleasure, and Rafe's voice whispering that he loved me.
I was getting married. I didn't know where, I didn't know who would perform the ceremony. Rafe said I shouldn't worry about anything but buying a wedding gown, and I took him at his word. I chose a floor-length dress with a square neck and long, tapered sleeves. My veil was also floor-length, as delicate and beautiful as butterfly wings.
Susie and Cagin had agreed to act as best man and maid of honor.
It was near midnight when Rafe and I arrived at the place where we would exchange our vows. I was surprised when he pulled up in front of a church. It was a lovely old place, surrounded by tall trees, shrubs, and flowering plants. The fragrant scent of evergreens and flowers filled the air.
A priest was waiting for us inside the doors. He was of medium height with warm hazel eyes. His hair was black and wavy, laced with silver at his temples. And he was a Vampire. A very old Vampire. Power radiated off him like heat from a fire.
Rafe introduced him as Father Giovani Lanzoni.
“This is indeed a happy occasion for me,” the priest said with a smile. “Many years ago, I officiated at the marriage of Rafe's grandparents and, more recently, at the marriage of his mother and father. And now this.” He beamed at us. “Truly, a happy day.”
I smiled back at him, momentarily saddened to think that I would never have children, never see them marry or have children of their own. Just then, Rafe squeezed my hand, and I wondered if the same thoughts were running through his mind.
A few minutes later, Father Lanzoni directed me to a room where I could change into my wedding gown.
I grew increasingly nervous as the minutes passed. I wished my parents could be there, but it just seemed easier this way. Getting married at night, while uncommon, wasn't all that unusual. However, if my parents had been invited, they would have expected a reception with food and drink. And then there was my father, who photographed every occasion, large or small. Trying to explain why the groom and my maid of honor didn't eat or drink and why they didn't show up in the wedding photos was just more than I could handle.
My heart skipped a beat when I heard a knock at the door.
“Are you ready?” Susie called.
“Yes, come in.”
“Oh,” she murmured, “you look beautiful!”
“Thank you. So do you.” She wore a long green dress that flattered every curve, and a pair of white gloves. I stared at the mirror as Susie came to stand beside me. I was there, as plain as day. There was no image of Susie. “Does it bother you?” I asked. “Having no reflection?”
“It was kind of freaky at first,” she said with a shrug. “It made me feel like I didn't really exist, but I'm getting used to it, like everything else. Come on, your bridegroom is waiting.”
I picked up the bouquet Rafe had given me, a single red rose surrounded by a froth of white roses and baby's breath, and followed Susie out of the room.
The chapel was filled with old-world charm. The altar and the pews were carved from oak. Shafts of silver moonlight shone through the stained glass window above the altar. The carpet was a deep blue. A sad-faced Madonna stood in one corner, her arm outstretched.
Rafe was waiting for me at the altar. He had always been the most handsome of men, but now, clad in a black tux that complemented his dark good looks and emphasized his broad shoulders, he was devastating. My insides melted like hot wax when he smiled at me. Cagin stood beside him.
It wasn't until I was following Susie down the aisle that I realized there were other people in the chapel. Rafe's grandparents sat together, holding hands. Brenna wore a long-sleeved white blouse and a bright yellow skirt. Her only jewelry was the amber and jet necklace at her throat. Roshan wore a black suit that made him look dark and a trifle mysterious.
I didn't recognize the other three people in the room, although I knew the man had to be Rafe's father, Vince. There was no mistaking the resemblance between them. They both had the same thick black hair, the same straight brows, fine straight nose, and full, sensuous lips. The only apparent difference was the color of their eyes—Rafe's were black while his father's were dark brown. I assumed one of the women was his mother, Cara, but which one? The lovely blonde with the beautiful blue eyes and flawless skin who sat at his right, or the stunningly gorgeous creature on his left? I couldn't help staring at her. Her skin was like smooth porcelain, her hair was thick and black and fell over her shoulders in rippling waves. She wore an elegant emerald green dress that exactly matched the color of her extraordinary eyes. Her only adornment was a heart-shaped ruby pendant. She, too, was a Vampire.
