Enraptured (40 page)

He wrapped her in a plush towel before
leading her over to the bed. Pulling back the covers for her, he
waited until she climbed in before joining her. He slid his arms
around her and pressed her back against his chest. “I love you,”
she whispered.

“More than anything,” he told her and kissed
her temple. “Fair warning, I plan to marry you.”

Despite her exhaustion, a bubble of
excitement grew within her. “I’d like nothing more.”

“Good, because I know just the place.”

She laughed when the mental image in his
mind drifted into hers.

***

Paige found she much preferred this part of
Vegas, it was quieter on the outskirts of the main strip and a lot
easier for her to focus. There were still casinos and people here,
but the noise and crowd wasn’t anywhere near as overwhelming. They
weren’t here for the casinos or the people right now though.

The men had all fed before leaving the condo
on a few women Ronan had called to come over. Paige didn’t like the
idea of Ian feeding from a woman; it made that little green eyed
monster come back to life, but at least these women had been
willing, well paid, and well taken care of to keep their
secret.

She could also tell Ian took no pleasure,
other than the quenching of his thirst, on feeding from them. His
mind stayed with hers the entire time, reassuring her with love and
with his wish that it was her instead. By the time he’d returned to
her, she’d been exceptionally hungry and eager to do more than feed
from him. She’d known hunger and desire as a human, as a vampire
that hunger amplified ten-fold, but she was getting better at
controlling it. The desire was due entirely to Ian; she doubted
she’d ever get it under control, and she didn’t want to.

Well sated now, she looked curiously around
the small chapel on the outskirts of town. Ian took hold of her
hand and squeezed it. The music drifting through the speakers made
her bounce on her toes. She swayed to the beat of the melody as
they waited for the chapel to be prepared for them.

“Are you sure the rest of your family won’t
mind missing the ceremony?” she inquired.

“They’ll understand,” he assured her. “Plus
there’s so many of them they’ll probably be glad to miss one or two
weddings.”

“I’d agree with that,” David said from where
he was flipping through a brochure about ceremony packages. “Jack
will be thrilled.”

“Of course he will,” Ethan snorted.

“Jack’s a bit of a grump sometimes,” Ian
told her with a smile. “I’d consider him the Moe of The
Stooges.”

David lowered the brochure to stare
disapprovingly at Ian over the top of it. “You’d consider Jack the
leader?”

“Of course not, but he is the grumpiest of
you all,” Ian replied with a grin. “And so was Moe.”

“We’re not the dwarfs,” David retorted.

“You’d all be Dopey if you were.” Ian swung
his arm around Paige’s shoulders as David glowered at him. “I do
prefer The Stooges to the Dwarfs. It suits the four of you better.”
He turned toward her. “There’s four of them but we call them The
Stooges because…”

“Of Shemp,” she told him with a smile.

Ian poked the tip of her nose. “I knew there
was a reason I was marrying you.”

“You know, I’ve done many things in my life,
but this…” Ronan’s voice trailed off as he gazed around at all of
the Elvis memorabilia lining the walls. “This is definitely a
first.” She hadn’t expected the eldest vampire to join them here,
but he looked mildly amused by it all as he continued to walk
around with a smirk on his face and his hands clasped behind his
back.

“And a last?” Aiden inquired.

“Most likely, but I’ve learned to never say
never.”

The doors to the chapel opened, Emma handed
her a bouquet of red roses and fluffed at her hair. The only one
smiling more than her was Emma, as she practically danced around
the simple yellow sundress Paige had purchased before coming here.
Ian reluctantly released her as a woman in her sixties shooed him
away. The woman ushered him down the aisle toward the front of the
church. Aiden, Ethan and David joined him at the front of the small
chapel.

Looking inside, Paige saw two double rows of
ten pews inside the pretty white room. Stained glass windows were
set high in the walls. Dancing specks of red, yellow, orange, and
blue from the windows drifted over the red carpet from the lights
outside. The pews were all white with red banners draped across
their backs and sides. Before her a white carpet stretched to the
small white and red pulpit in the center of the chapel.

Brian and Ronan settled into the pews at the
front. Brian leaned back in his seat casually and stretched his
legs before him. Ronan sat straight, his eyes traveled over
everything within the building. A small giggle escaped Emma when
the preacher, dressed in a shiny white, bejeweled tracksuit
approached the small pulpit from behind a red curtain. His black
hair had been combed into a pompadour that would have made Elvis
himself proud. The enthusiastic shake of his hips he did, before he
reached the pulpit caused Paige to laugh too.

“Ready?” Emma inquired in between her
giggles.

“More than ready,” she replied.

Emma sobered up; she clasped her bouquet of
daises before her as she stepped away and began to walk down the
aisle. Paige didn’t know what she’d been expecting to play when she
stepped through the doors, but the wedding march drifting through
the speakers certainly hadn’t been it. Her gaze ran admiringly over
Ian standing beside the pulpit as she walked. His blond hair
glimmered in the light, the sports jacket he’d bought fit his broad
shoulders perfectly. Her heart swelled with love; she’d never seen
him look so handsome before. A radiant smile lit his face when he
extended his hand to her.

Paige took hold of his hand and stepped up
to the front of the aisle to join him. The sides of her chocolate
hair had been half pulled away from her face in two braids that
wrapped around to the back. The rest of her hair tumbled in curls
around her shoulders, highlighting her creamy complexion and
turquoise eyes. He never would have pictured himself getting
married at a chapel in Vegas, but looking at her, he knew he would
have gotten married anywhere in order to see the smile on her
face.

He recited the words the Elvis impersonator
told him to and slipped a white gold ring onto her finger. Paige
recited the words next, as soon as she was done speaking, he
eagerly pulled his new bride into his arms and kissed her
forcefully. A joyous burst of laughter escaped her when he finally
set her back on her feet, and everyone else in the chapel began to
clap enthusiastically. He didn’t let her go as he led her back down
the aisle to the tune of
Fools Rush In
.

Paige couldn’t stop smiling as she walked
with Ian past the pews. She never could have guessed this is where
her life would have taken her. She would have screamed a big
no
and fought to the death, if someone had told her this was
where, and who, she would end up with four years ago. That this was
what she would end up
as
. It had been a long, difficult,
extraordinary journey, but she’d never been happier in her
life.

Three months later,

Paige stared down at the beautiful,
squirming, pink bundle in her arms. She couldn’t stop the goofy
grin on her face while she played with the tiny fingers. Violet
eyes stared up at her from under lowered lids. The tuft of black
hair on her head stood up in a faux hawk that refused to be
tamed.

“She’s beautiful, Issy,” Paige murmured as
the baby’s tiny fingers wrapped around her index finger.

Issy smiled up at her from where she sat on
the sofa. For someone who had just given birth last night, Isabelle
appeared well rested, but Paige supposed her vampire DNA had helped
her to heal and bounce back fairly quickly.

“She is,” Ian agreed. He slid his arms
around Paige’s shoulders and wrapped one of his hands around the
hand holding onto Paige’s finger. The small hand and part of the
baby’s arm disappeared within his grasp.

“Thank you,” Isabelle glowed with love and
vitality as she watched them.

“She takes after her mother.” Stefan settled
onto the sofa beside his wife; he pulled her into his arms and
kissed the top of her head.

“Yes, she does,” Isabelle replied with a
teasing grin.

“What did you name her?” Emma asked.

Isabelle and Stefan exchanged a look.
“Hope,” Issy replied. “Her name is Hope Serendipity Corelli.”

Sera’s eyes filled with tears; she bent to
press a kiss against Isabelle’s head. A stab of longing filled
Paige as she watched the love exchanged between mother and
daughter. She’d been welcomed here with open arms, but she still
missed her mom, especially now.

“Thank you,” Sera said and rose away from
her daughter.

“I love it,” Paige said and kissed Hope’s
tiny nose. Reluctantly, she handed the tiny bundle back to Issy
when she began to make unhappy whimpering sounds.

Beside her, Abby stared over Isabelle’s
shoulder to look down at the baby. Paige kept hold of Ian’s hand as
they sat and talked with the whole family for a few hours. It had
taken some time, and she did still get Vicky and Abby confused once
in a while, but she’d found her place here amongst the large,
extremely loving family.

For the first time since her mother had
died, she had a family, friends and siblings. All things she’d
never believed she’d find in her life, and she’d found them amongst
those she’d considered her mortal enemies at one point in her life.
Life certainly was tricky and capricious, she realized as Hope was
passed around the room again.

The sun had begun to set when she and Ian
finally rose to their feet. They said their goodbyes before leaving
Isabelle and Stefan’s house behind for their own. The tangy scent
of the ocean air filled her nostrils; the salt of it fell upon her
lips as they made their way toward the cliffs overlooking the
ocean. A hundred yards away, and to her left, sat the small
bungalow the two of them lived in.

The family had helped them to build it
shortly after moving here. They could have gone bigger, but they’d
both opted for the smaller, cozier home. There were only two
bedrooms, but it was perfect for them, and the nicest home she’d
had in years. She loved it, and if it became necessary, they could
always add onto it over the years. Beside the house, Ian had built
her a small art studio that overlooked the cliffs and ocean below.
She spent many hours there rediscovering her love of drawing and
painting.

Reaching the edge of the cliffs, she stopped
to stare down at the water crashing against the shore. The white
swells broke against the rocks, causing their spray to shoot high
into the air. Inhaling deeply, she savored the crisp aroma of the
sea before lifting her head to stare at the red and pinks streaks
stretching across the sky. Ian wrapped his arms around her waist
and pulled her against his chest. Bending over her, he rested his
chin on her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

“Should we have told them?” he whispered in
her ear.

She smiled as she wrapped her hands around
his arms and hugged them closer against her stomach. “Today is
Issy, Stefan, and Hope’s day. We’ll tell them next week.”

He pressed his hands against her as he
swayed with her to the flow of the waves washing in and out. Within
her, she felt something stir toward him, instinctively seeking out
the touch of its father.

“I can’t wait to meet him or her,” he
murmured. He felt the life surge toward his touch, growing stronger
every day. He hadn’t known he could love someone he’d never met
before, but he already loved the unborn child within her belly.

“Neither can I.” Peace and love stole
through her as she stared across the ocean and savored the strength
and love of the man holding her, her husband, her mate.

Ian kept his hands pressed against Paige’s
still flat belly. Soon it would be swelling with the life of his
child. Never had he thought he could find such blessings, but he’d
never been happier in his life, and he couldn’t wait to experience
the many joys an eternity with her would bring him.

THE END

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