Bloodstone Heart (20 page)

It had been a magical day for Darby and Devon from the ferry ride from Bedford, discovering the cottage on Martha's Vineyard, to holding each other on the beach. Now cozy in the cottage, soft guitar music in the background, and a roaring fire, it was shaping up to be a pretty wonderful evening too. Devon stood up and held out his hand inviting her to dance with him. They danced in front of the fireplace and watched every bit of pink and purple color from the sunset turn to darkest blue.
 
Standing there swaying in his arms, warm and safe, she felt the sense, again, that she must be dreaming. He whispered in her ear, "I have a little something for you. Well I guess, maybe it's more of a question." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a little box, offering it to her.

As Darby took the tiny leather antique box from his hands in astonishment, he spun her completely around landing her in a chair near the window and he was now in front of her between her legs on his knees.
 
She slowly opened the tiny box revealing a beautiful diamond ring, simple and perfect. "It was the ring my father gave my mother when he asked her to marry him. Dominic held on to it, for Blake and I, until I asked him for it this morning after talking to Blake. I was hoping that you would do me the honor of being my wife, Darby O'Rielly.
 
My love for you is such that I can't believe I ever thought I had been in love before.
 
There is absolutely no comparison to anything, I've ever felt before.
 
I just know that my love for you is perfect and timeless and I can't imagine my life with anyone else, but you forever."
 

He took the ring from the box and held it in one hand and held Darby's other hand in hopes of slipping the ring on her left ring finger. "So what do you say? Will you be my most cherished love, to share all our days and nights together for the rest of our lives, as husband and wife?"

Darby's eyes were so full with tears that she could barely focus on Devon's angelic face smiling and waiting for her answer.
 

"Yes, Devon. Yes, yes, a million times yes." She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly all the while kissing his neck and repeating, "Yes".

"Well then, let’s make it official," he said as he pulled away from her briefly and slipped the ring on her finger.
 

She stared at it for a moment then looked up into Devon's smiling face. "It's absolutely perfect, Devon." This time he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. She melted in his embrace. When he pulled away to breathe, she whispered in his ear, "Can I make one plea though?"

"Oh, boy.
 
I already have a ‘Honey Do’ list?" he laughed.

She laughed too, but her face was serious. "I'd like you to promise me something."

"What's that, Sweetness?" Devon said as he caressed her face.

"That you won't ever pull away from me again.
 
I know it will be hard for you, I've learned from experience that it is what you do when you don't like a situation, but if we are going to be partners in life, you need to promise me you’ll fight your instinct and find your solace in talking to me instead. You need to share with me your concerns, so that we can work through them together. You don't need to protect me. Marriage is hard enough, so we need to depend on each other for support."

"You're right.
 
I'm sure I will mess up occasionally, but I do promise you, I will try. I don't want to make that mistake again, ever."

"Thank you, Sweetheart. I'm here to help you, more now than ever.
 
I want to be your partner in every sense of the word. It hurts me when you pull away, and it’s painful when I can't help you when I see you are hurting, so you are not saving me any anguish by not confiding in me. You see?"

"I do."
 

"Then get used to saying those words, because I don't want any fumbling for them when you say your vows!" Darby smiled.

"Not a problem. Not a problem at all."

They kissed eagerly and there was no holding back. As their breathing became more intense he whisked her up into his strong able arms and gallantly carried her to the bedroom upstairs.
 
He stood her in front of him by the side of the bed and she ripped at his shirttails so that she could caress his skin beneath. She wasn’t sure how she did it but her hands seemed to have a mind of their own as all the buttons of his shirt magically unbuttoned and she pulled it back off his shoulders.

Her face was warm on his chest as she kissed every inch of him. He nestled his face in her hair below her ear, tasting her salty skin from their walk in the sea air. His huge hands that had rested on the small of her back were now under her sweater and touching her skin, slowly making their way up her spine. With one fell swoop he had brought the sweater up and over her head and discarded it to the floor.
 
He pulled back for a minute to take in her beauty. Beautiful blue eyes, full of desire, gazed upon him with a sultry smile to match.
 
Her long silky blonde hair swept over her shoulders and down her back.
 
She had a slim, hourglass figure and perfect porcelain skin that glowed with a rosy tinge.
 
Her cheeks were flushed when she said to him, "I love you, Devon."

He smiled that smile that seemed to light the room and he responded as he pulled her to him again, "I love YOU, Darby."
 

His hair had been pulled back loosely, as he often wore it, and she pulled it from its band, letting it fall naturally.
 
She had both her hands in it raking it back through her fingers and feeling its softness as it passed through each finger. His hair was such a beautiful multitude of colors. Though it was a hundred facets of brown, there were also hints of golden blonde and amber.
 
His beautiful brown eyes smoldered with strength and love. He was svelte, with a strong upper body. Masculine broad shoulders graced him, along with a well-defined six-pack abdomen. He was a gorgeous specimen of a man. But what she loved about him was not his outer appearance but his inner being.
 
He was the sweetest, most noble man she had ever met. Who would have thought this honorable being was vampire, born of vampire parents?

So much had happened in what was now almost a year since she had met Devon.
 
Now she was to be his wife. She loved him so much, but to tell him she loved him just didn't seem to express all the emotion and love she felt.
 
'Love' seemed too small of a word for what she was feeling for him. Was there a better word?
 
If there was, she didn't know it. The only way to express it was to show it.

She held him tightly around the neck as he planted tiny kisses up and down her neck and lips. She could tell by his breathing that his passion for her was growing. His hands were at her waist, and he pulled her hard to him. She responded by wrapping both of her legs around his waist as he supported her weight, and then she pulled him hard to her. Behind his lips, he moaned deeply, closing his eyes, and she continued to kiss his neck. She ran her tongue along the tip of his earlobe making him catch his breath.
 
She unhooked her bra, let it fall to the floor, and then pulled him tightly to her, nibbling again at his earlobe. With skin on skin and legs and arms wrapped tightly together, she whispered in his ear, "Make love to me, Devon, now, make love to me." He didn't have to be asked twice, as he spun quickly around and laid her tenderly on the bed.
 

He was a tender and sensitive lover to her, as she was to him. No longer able to control their longing for each other, he entered her and they were one being for a few short minutes – perfectly made for one another to unharness each other’s desires. Their explosive climax was the epitome of perfection as they held on tight to one another as the waves of passion ebbed and flowed into an exhausted bliss.
 

Euphoric, exhausted, and utterly relaxed, arms and legs an entangled mess, they fell asleep full of love for one another.

Melanie thought back over the last couple of days as she sat on the bed going over her map.
 
She had run her credit card in Charleston, South Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, and Scranton, Pennsylvania, but had slept in Raleigh, North Carolina, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. The night she spent in Montgomery, Alabama, though, she had the most intense dream about Josh.
 
If she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that Josh had laid right next to her and whispered in her ear. If she hadn't known it was a dream she would have jumped right out of bed.

It had been a week that she had been gone and she ached every morning when she looked over to find no one on the other side of the bed.
 
She had spent so little time with Josh but she felt sure she would never feel whole again without him near.
 
How long would she be on the road before they came up with a plan?
 
She wondered every night as she closed her eyes in some tiny little hotel,
what is going on in the house in California?
 
She wished desperately to be there.

She tried to tell herself what she was doing was the right thing to do to keep Josh safe, but she felt so terribly lonely and sad that she didn't think she could go on.
 
If I could just talk to Josh, hear his voice, maybe I would feel better
? She knew that if she called she would be blowing their cover, especially if Dimitri had the resources to tap the phone in California. No, there was no choice and she would not be the one to endanger Josh or the others.

She thought of her dear friend Darby and how everyone around her had abandoned her. Melanie understood all too well how loneliness could rip a person apart.
 
Loneliness changed a person and how they looked at life.
 
Melanie knew that kind of loneliness. The kind when not even your family trusted you. She wished that Darby had thought to call her to help in her quest to find Devon.
 
Darby had been a ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy world when Melanie was at her lowest, and she would have jumped at the chance to help her friend in need.
 
But then again, if that had happened, Melanie would have never run into Josh, literally, that first night.
 

Maybe that is what I should do!
she thought to herself.
 
No...that would just put Darby in danger. I guess it's just me for a while.
 
She sighed deeply as she put her collection of matches in a cigar box she had found a couple of nights before.
 
She had supposed that some guest had left it in a drawer and housekeeping had missed it. It was as if it had been placed there for her to find and use, to house her collection.
 

Tomorrow she would run the credit card in Bangor, Maine and sleep in Manchester, New Hampshire.
 
As she folded up the map and packed everything except her clothes for the next day, she thought how surprised Devon would be to see the odometer on his Mercedes. She thanked her lucky stars every night that she at least had a very comfortable, well-maintained car.
 
She would have to pay Devon back one day for the kindness he didn't know he was bestowing on her.

Chapter 16

Dean and Blake were back in California in no time and had brought with them more information about the Order of the Black Orchids and Dimitri Strotsky, but nothing that was going to get him to stop chasing Melanie, wherever she was.
 
Josh was starting to go stir crazy and Blake knew he was about to blow. It had been a week since Melanie had taken off and still they had no clue as to how to get Dimitri off their backs.

"She can't just keep driving around forever. Why don't we just give him the stone?
 
I never wanted it. Most of the time I didn't know I had it," Josh said.