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Her mouth curved, revealing a sexy hint of fang. “Why don’t you show me how a vampire primus makes love to his vampire mate?”
So I did.
33
TWILIGHT
We celebrated our mating in mid-October on the first night after the new moon. A paper-thin crescent, the symbol of hope and new beginnings, rose above Castle Leclerc’s dark towers as I exited the courtyard along with my attendant, Princess Renata.
I’d chosen to wear a red silk slip dress and black spike-heeled ankle boots, a ruby-and-diamond tiara on my head. Renata—I was still getting used to calling her that instead of Ridley—wore the same dress in black, her short platinum hair a shiny cap around her elfin face. Her ankle boots had a short heel, though; I knew better than to ask Renata to wear four-inch heels like mine.
“Hang on.” Renata stopped me and finger-combed my hair back from my face, arranging it around my shoulders. “You clean up well.”
We exchanged a grin. “So do you.”
My best friend seemed easier in her skin these days. Happy. She hadn’t even objected to the girly dress I’d put her in.
“Zaq’s good for you,” I added. “And not because you’re wearing a silk dress either.”
“Yeah.” A corner of Renata’s mouth tugged up in a smug, very satisfied smile. “He is.”
“I’m so happy for you,” I said and gave her a one-armed hug, careful not to harm the bouquet of jasmine and white roses I was carrying.
“Me, too—for you, I mean. Brien would do anything for you.”
“As he should,” I said, because if I didn’t make a joke, I was going to tear up and ruin my makeup.
We both chuckled, then I expelled a breath and stepped back. “Okay.” I gripped my bouquet in front of my waist. “Let’s do this.”
Renata nodded and led the way to a path of crushed oyster shells with her long, graceful stride.
Demon materialized out of the darkness and fell in beside me. “Good of you to show up,” I murmured, and she responded with anof-course-I’m-heremeow.
As we crested the cliff, I paused to drink in the moonlight sparkling on the ocean. My nerves settled, and I was filled with happiness. I’d come to love this wild, beautiful island almost as much as I loved the man, and now I’d have both.
Our walk along the high, narrow cliff was punctuated by vampires and dhampirs on either side of the oyster-shell path, their faces shimmering in the shadows. They waited until we passed, then joined the procession.
We came around a bend. The cliff widened into a flat, grassy area and there was Brien, waiting for me under a glittering canopy of fairy lights.
My slow-beating heart bumped into my throat. To my vampire senses, he was as radiant as the stars in a sharkskin suit, snowy white shirt and skinny red tie. Cain and Talon stood with him, GQ gorgeous in black suits and red ties, their handsome faces solemn.
My halmoni stood a little apart from the three men, her wiry body elegant in a chic pink pantsuit. Her gaze raked over me, then her chin dipped in approval.
I handed Renata my bouquet, and she took her place next to her.
My grandmother had been in the castle when I’d emerged from those first few days of insane vampire cravings. In that short time, she and Kerry had already come to an understanding and were running the household as a team. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised—and I was thrilled to find out that for now, at least, she was staying on Lilith Island. She’d taken over Avril’s second-floor suite, in fact.
When Brien had brought her to me in the secret garden, she’d placed her hands on her slim hips and shaken her graying head. “A vampire? Have you lost your mind, Nikki?”
The old me would’ve been defensive, would’ve fallen all over myself apologizing for letting the family down. But I reminded myself that my life was my own. That I wasn’t my mom or my grandmother, and this was what I’d chosen.
“I love him, Halmoni. He’s my mate. I know this is a shock—”and that was probably an understatement—“but I hope you can be happy for me.”
She pursed her lips. The silence stretched. Then she sighed. “At least he’s rich.”
“He’s standing right behind you,” I said.
“I know.” She raised her voice slightly. “And he’d better treat you like a princess, or I’ll put a stake in his heart myself.”
