Chapter 45
45
“ W e should wait until after Mona and Max’s wedding to say anything,” I blurt a moment after agreeing to marry Blair. “If you’re serious.”
“I’m serious,” Blair says, voice thick with emotion.
A grin spreads across my face as I take in how intently she’s watching me. Blair is always reading me. Always looking for signs that I’m happy and comfortable, whether we’re in or out of the bedroom. “Really?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
Since the night Blair apologized, she’s proven again and again that she’s in this for the long haul. Her asking me to marry her was a given—I just didn’t expect it so soon.
“Yes,” she replies softly, taking my hand in hers. She frowns down at it. “Please pretend that I didn’t already ask when I do this right in a few months. I refuse to have our engagement story be you sassing me into proposing. I don’t even have a ring for you right now.”
I laugh at the dismayed look on her face. “Such a romantic. Alright, babe. It never happened,” I say, winking at her.
Blair squeezes my hand in thanks, a small smile forming on her lips. “What never happened?”
That makes me laugh harder and tug her into my arms. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” I murmur.
She holds me tight, like never wants to let me go. “Same.”
Two years later
I laugh as Blair attempts to haul me into her arms, and fails with a dramatic grunt of exertion. She may have more strength as a vampire than someone as petite as her normally would, but that doesn’t negate our size difference.
“I appreciate the attempt, but there’s no need to throw your back out trying to carry me over the threshold,” I say, tugging the fluffy tulle of my wedding dress back into place.
“It’s good luck, though,” Blair protests. She’s been surprisingly adamant about adhering to a lot of conventional wedding traditions, and it took me a while to realize it was because she thought I wanted those things. All because one night when we were planning, I mentioned offhand that Zack didn’t want to do any of the normal wedding stuff. So I’ve been humoring her need to make things perfect the second time around for me, even though I don’t care at all.
“Here, let me try bending down and…” Blair moves to try to grab me again.
I swat her hands away. “Come here,” I say, tugging her against me. “You know I don’t give a shit about this, right? I just want to go inside, take off this dress, and get fucked by my wife.” I grab her ass for emphasis.
“I can do it. Let me try again,” Blair says, stubbornly ignoring my come on.
“That’s it,” I mutter, using my grip on her to hoist her up onto my shoulder unceremoniously and carry her inside the house. All my strength training for muscle stability to help my neck has really paid off.
“Grace!” she squeals, delighting me with how shocked she sounds.
I set her back down on her feet and kiss her cheek. “There. Happy now?”
Blair attempts to glare at me, but she can’t keep from cracking a smile. “Yeah. So fucking happy.” Her eyes rake down my body purposefully, then land back on my face, heat simmering in her gaze. “I’ll be even happier when I have my wife naked and begging for me.”
By all accounts, I should be exhausted after the wedding ceremony and small reception we had afterwards, but I’m practically buzzing with need for Blair. You’d think after years together, that desire would’ve dimmed, but it’s only grown richer and more nuanced.
“That can be arranged,” I murmur. “I’ll need your help to get out of this thing, though.” I gesture to my gown, which took both Mona and Samantha working together to lace up properly. “Preferably intact and without blood stains,” I add, seeing the hungry, impatient gleam in Blair’s eyes.
“Hmm.” She assesses me, licking her lips. “But what if I want to ruin my pretty bride? Make a mess of what’s mine.”
“Fuck, Blair,” I gasp, as she steps behind me and wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me flush with her body and scraping her fangs against my shoulder.
“Would you deny me that, pet?” she rasps, her hand skimming up my bodice to knead my breast.
We both know she’s not going to destroy my wedding dress after it took me months to find, but the game still thrills me. I sink into my role easily after lots of practice submitting to Blair. Molten pleasure pools in my core as my body relaxes against her. “No, Mistress. I’m yours to do with as you please.”
“That’s right. You are.” Blair steps back and I almost stagger at the loss of her support. “Come. I have a present for you.”
I follow as Blair leads me down to our bedroom, pulse quickening as I wonder what kind of present she means. She’s already given me everything I could ever want.
I try not to squirm with impatience as she slowly unlaces my bodice, taking more care than is necessary, brushing against the slivers of my bare skin as they’re revealed in a maddening tease. When I’m finally able to step out of the gown, she takes her time hanging it up for me, then returns from the closet with a small rectangular box.
She sets the box on the bed, and I stare at it, wondering what’s inside. A new vibrator? A special flogger?
“Kneel,” Blair commands, coming to stand in front of me.
I obey, falling to my knees on the cushioned rug at the foot of the bed put here for this exact purpose. I keep my head bowed, waiting for her next order .
There’s a rustle of fabric, most likely Blair taking off her wedding suit, but I resist the urge to look up. Time ticks by far too slowly and I clasp my hands together behind my back to keep from fidgeting.
“Such a good girl,” Blair purrs, petting my hair. I lean into her touch, eyes closing in bliss at her praise.
“Thank you, Mistress,” I whisper.
“Look up at me,” Blair says, putting a fingertip under my chin.
My breath catches at the sight of her form as she looms over me, wearing only a black strap-on harness. She’s been into trying out all kinds of unusual dildos on me lately, the most recent one with a knot at the base that took ages for her to stretch me enough to fit it inside my pussy.
I shiver at the memory. Maybe that’s the present—a new addition to our collection.
She reaches over and grabs the box from the bed, and lifts off the lid. Inside, there’s a pale pink strip of leather. My brow furrows in confusion, but when she removes it from the box, I realize what it is.
“I want you to wear my collar, Grace,” Blair says, holding it out for me to inspect.
I take it in my hands, feeling breathless as I run my fingers over the buttery leather, finding on closer inspection that there are tiny roses embossed into it. “It’s beautiful,” I murmur reverently. “Will you put it on me?” I ask, holding it back out to her.
Blair gives me a wicked grin. “If I do, it means you’re mine just as permanently as the ring on your finger.”
“Yes.” The thought makes excitement sizzle across my skin. “I’m yours. Forever.”
Her smile flickers. “Before I put it on, I wanted to ask you something else.” Her tone conveys that this is Blair asking me as herself, not as my domme.
“What’s that? Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I just…” She swallows heavily. “You told me to ask you in a few years if you’d…” Blair looks at the floor, uncharacteristically avoidant of my gaze.
“If I’d what?” I ask, reaching out to touch her leg.
“If you want me to turn you.” She meets my eyes again, her expression grave. “I’ll do it. If you want me to, I will. I figured with all the talk of forever, it could be the perfect time.”
“No.”
I don’t need time to consider. She’s not the only one who’s been contemplating our vows and wondering what it means for the future. I’d be lying if the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but I’m not ready. I’m happy how we are. Besides, we’ve been discussing what we want our lives to look like in the future, and there are some things we couldn’t do if I became a vampire. Things I’m growing more certain every day that I want with her.
“I won’t ask you to do something I know you’re diametrically opposed to on our wedding night, Blair,” I continue. “Even if I wanted you to make me a vampire. Which I don’t.”
“You don’t?” she asks, a tinge of sadness mixed in with the relief in her tone.
“No. That might change, but right now, no. I’m so happy the way things are and I don’t want to risk compromising that.”
“It wouldn’t. I promise I wouldn’t hold it against you,” Blair protests.
I shake my head. “I’m good. Your blood helps keep me from being in too much pain, and Max said that there are lots of records of regular doses of vampire blood extending human life spans. ”
“Okay,” Blair says with a heavy exhale. “But you’ll tell me if you change your mind?”
“I will. How about this? Ask me again in five years. Or no, in a decade. Who knows how I’ll feel when I’m over forty?” I say with a laugh.
“Deal.”
“Now, are you going to put that collar on me or what?” I ask, batting my eyelashes at her to try to pull her away from her worries.
“Not if you sass me like that,” Blair says sternly.
“Sorry.” I bite my tongue so I don’t smile. “Please, Mistress?”
Blair shakes her head at me, unfooled by my false repentance, a springy coil of her hair that took her almost a year to learn how to grow out falling out of her updo. I smile up at her, stunned momentarily by how fucking beautiful my wife is. When she gives me an amused look, I break from my reverie and hold my hair up out of the way for her as she places the soft leather around my throat, the small o ring dangling in the center feeling heavy as I swallow. She checks to make sure it’s not too tight, then closes the clasp.
A weighted sense of rightness and calm rushes over me.
Blair steps back to take in the effect. “Gorgeous,” she murmurs. “Take off your underwear and get on the bed.”
I quickly obey, standing and moving to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Lie back and spread your legs. Show me how wet you are for me, wife.”
Fuck, I love her calling me that. It feels somehow reverent and filthy at the same time coming from her lips.
“I’m so wet,” I murmur, lying down and spreading my legs shamelessly for her to see.
“Mmm, good girl.” Blair moves to the nightstand and pulls out a dark gray drawstring bag that holds my favorite dildo, the one with the vibrating nubs at the base that can make us both come while she’s using it on me. She situates it in the harness, then spreads lube along the length. “Does your needy pussy want me to fill it up?”
“Yes, Mistress,” I whimper.
“Show me. Fuck yourself with your fingers,” she commands, moving between my legs.
A spike of arousal hits me at the order. I bring two fingers to my entrance and sink them inside, knowing better than to touch my clit even though I desperately want to. If I don’t follow her instructions to the letter, she might decide to not let me come at all.
Blair’s eyes focus between my legs hungrily as I thrust my fingers inside my pussy, moaning with the need for more.
When my fingers make obscene slick noises and I’m soaking the bed with my arousal, Blair grabs my wrist and pulls my hand away from my pussy, pining it above my head as she uses her other hand to position the dildo at my entrance.
I gasp as she eases it inside me, thrusting shallowly to open me up for the considerable girth, before switching on the vibrations and sinking in to the hilt.
“You’re taking it so well. Such a good girl. Tell me who this pussy belongs to,” Blair rasps.
“You,” I moan. “It belongs to you.”
She works the dildo inside me with practiced precision, knowing exactly how to angle it to make me see stars.
When I’m writhing beneath her as she pins me down and fucks me, Blair lets out a dark chuckle. “Do you want to come, wife?”
“Please, yes, god, please,” I gasp, praying she’ll be merciful and give me what I need.
“You sound so pretty when you beg me,” she purrs, her fangs gleaming in the low light. She’s as desperate as I am right now, which makes my need burn even brighter. “Do it again.”
“Please. Please make me come.”
Blair groans and brings the hand pinned above my head up to her lips. She teases me for a moment, then sinks her fangs in at the same time she thrusts inside me, and I shatter.
Pulses of pleasure suffuse my body as I come with each drag of blood she takes from me. Blair’s movements falter as she comes with a deep moan, and when she releases my wrist, I loop my arm around her neck to tug her down into a kiss.
We melt together in a familiar dance of blood and ecstasy, each bite sending us both over the edge once more until we’re too exhausted to continue.
Blair removes my collar, checking the skin for any chafing or marks, then guides me into the shower, where the fatigue of everything we’ve done today finally hits us. When we get back in bed, I tuck my body around hers, holding her tight to my chest as I let out a contented sigh.
“Thank you,” Blair whispers, right as I’m about to drift off.
“For what?” I murmur, confused.
She rolls over to face me. “After I was turned, I thought that the best I could ask for was to survive and not get screwed over again. And I thought I was content with that. But you…fuck, Grace, you didn’t let me hide any more. You shined your light into the darkest recesses of my heart and showed me how miserable I was. I’ll never be able to express how grateful I am for you. How much I love you.”
I squeeze her tighter, tears welling in my eyes at her confession. “You’re everything to me, Blair. I never thought I could have love like this. Someone who is my friend and my partner, who respects me and makes me feel so cherished and desired.”
“Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” she says, turning over to look at me, eyes glinting in the darkness.
“Psh, say that to me again when I’m hormonal and pissy next time I get my period.” I nudge her playfully even as my chest fills with warmth.
Blair smirks. “I like when you have your period.”
“Of course you do, bloodsucker.”
“I don’t see you complaining about me going down on you multiple times a day for a week,” Blair teases back. “You get extra horny and want more orgasms, and I get a special treat. It’s a win-win.”
I laugh and roll my eyes. “Truly a match made in heaven.”
“I like to think so,” she says with surprising sincerity.
My brow scrunches. “I thought you didn’t believe in God.”
“I didn’t. I still don’t, at least not in the way I tried to as a kid. But it’s hard not to believe that there’s some kind of higher power or force when faced with a miracle like you.”
“I’m not a miracle. You’re the one with healing blood! I’m just…me,” I say, dazed by how much I love this woman and how she loves me in return.
Blair kisses me tenderly, her adoration clear in the way she holds me close. She pulls back and holds my gaze with a breathtaking smile. “Yes, you are, Grace. You brought me back to life.”