Chapter 14 #2
“That’s what I’m trying to say.” Logan shoved a hand through his fine blond hair, which looked fashionably shaggy without his signature ponytail. “You’re already bloodbound, eternally bonded, et cetera. This is just the legal step designed by humans.”
“Right,” Ryker said, “but every step is sacred, Logan. To me and Leslie, anyway. And after this step, we get to celebrate with y’all.” He continued bouncing on his heels, his blue eyes shining and throwing silver sparks.
“I knew you wouldn’t be nervous,” Mackey said, “but I didn’t anticipate the sheer level of…” He shrugged.
“Of Ryker?” Jake said.
“He took all his task-focused energy, his competitive energy, his cheerleading energy, and he turned it into wedding energy.”
“Shut up,” Ryker said. Then he did a backflip, and everybody laughed.
Tai watched Ryker’s friends mess with him, listened to their camaraderie from the outside.
He tried to figure out how it felt—not envy, not insecurity.
Something else. Acceptance, maybe. Mackey and Logan still spoke to him only when they had to.
It stung, but he understood it. Even if Claire told them she and Tai had called a truce, they had the right to approach him with caution until he proved himself.
Besides, it was good that Claire had friends in her life who believed her when she told them a man couldn’t be trusted. He almost wished he could say thanks to Mackey and Logan for having her back.
Soon it was time for the wedding party to form their line just inside the doors that opened on the garden behind the hall.
Dressed in all black, the photographer hovered with skillful unobtrusiveness.
Ryker shook each groomsman’s hand with a vigor that matched his face-stretching grin.
When he got to Tai, Ryker held out his hand just as the bridesmaids came into hearing and scent range from the direction of the bridal suite.
They whispered, though all the vampires present couldn’t miss their approach.
Not far behind them came soft steps and the swishing train of a gown.
Ryker grabbed Tai’s shoulders and shook them. “It’s really here, really now,” he said. “She’s going to be my wife. I get to be her husband.”
“I’m saving my congratulations until after the ceremony,” Tai said, but he couldn’t keep from smiling while his friend brimmed over like a joyful fountain.
“I love you, man,” Ryker said.
Yep, out of his mind with joy. Tai clapped him on the back. “Love you too, man. Now go on. Leslie can’t walk down the aisle to you until you’re at the front of the aisle.”
Ryker exited so fast, the door barely had time to open for him.
“Is the groom out of sight yet?” said Nova from around the corner.
“He is,” Tai said.
The women emerged, looking fantastic. The bridesmaid dresses were mint-green and matched the dress shirt under each groomsman’s black suit jacket.
Their makeup was somehow both natural and glamorous in ways Tai couldn’t begin to analyze.
Leslie trailed them, her hand on her dad’s arm. Her father looked only slightly weepy.
And Leslie looked truly great. Her dress was a form-fitting celebration of lace, the train a modest few inches. She wore pearls and even more lace over her silver-dyed hair, which was twisted and curled into what Tai was pretty sure counted as an up-do.
Mackey gave a slow clap.
“Leslie,” Logan said, “you’ve got me worried. Ryker is going to start turning cartwheels when he sees you.”
“That’s what I said.” Nova threw up her hands with a grin to match her brother’s.
“Stunning,” Tai said. “All of you.”
His words seemed to give his brain permission to focus not on the bride, but on the bridesmaid who stood just to her left, quiet so far but filling the room with her essence anyway—at least to him.
Claire wore the knee-length, off-one-shoulder dress the same way she wore everything: as if the designer had thought of her specifically, or an artist had drawn her from imagination wearing exactly this to represent who she was.
The bright, cool green somehow made her eyes more purple than blue.
She must like this color. Her hair wasn’t long enough for an up-do, but it was curled away from her face, held by an elegant pearl clasp at the back.
She met his eyes, and his lips tingled with the memory of hers, challenging him, meeting him, taking him further. His scalp prickled with the memory of her fingers pushing hard through his hair.
Texting for hours was one thing. Seeing her again, the first time since that night…entirely something else.
But the wedding was minutes away. No time to test his memories against another kiss.
Later. Definitely later.
Claire nodded, and her glossed lips turned up in a smirk that made his blood dance.
From behind her, Philippa glanced from Claire to Tai, back to Claire, and then again to Tai. Her eyes grew wide, and her mouth formed a silent O.
Oops. No more lustful thoughts around the empath.
In order to avoid ranking her friends, Leslie had alphabetized the bridesmaids and groomsmen.
They had an equal number of men and women, so they kept to that tradition as they lined up: Philippa and Mackey, Nova and Logan, Claire and Jake.
The twins had promised no antics on their way down the aisle.
A quiet music track began to play from outside, mostly strings with a Celtic folk lilt. Down at his side, the fingers of Tai’s left hand automatically formed chords as if he held his violin.
One by one, the couples exited. In lower heels than her usual preference, Claire looked almost short beside Hannah’s six-foot-two husband.
Tai turned to Hannah and offered his arm. “Ready?”
“So ready. So happy for them. They’re going to be so, so happy.”
They would be, Tai had no doubt. Ryker hadn’t said anything after he and Leslie had shared the covenant bite, but four months after they began dating, Tai had noticed a silver mark at the place Ryker’s neck met his left shoulder, a cast of teeth as unique as dental records.
He and Leslie would remain together for the rest of their lifespans, and one day not long after they reached their millennium, their hearts would stop beating together too.
Standing under the wooden arch adorned with greenery and pink flowers, Ryker watched Tai and Hannah approach with only the smallest of smiles, nothing like his mugging grin from a few minutes ago.
His eyes conveyed everything, no grin needed.
They glittered silver and blue, his full nature unmuted.
Almost everyone present was a vampire, but still, he ought to restrain himself for Jake and Hannah’s sake.
Not that Tai had room to lecture anyone on self-restraint.
Escorting Hannah down the aisle was one of the most uncomfortable tasks he’d had to tackle in a while. Her arm was soft, a constant reminder of human fragility. Her skin was unpleasantly warm.
And he could smell her blood.
In physical contact with a human, no vampire could avoid the scent. He wasn’t thirsty. He was no danger to her. But the scent of her this close was like a thousand needles—in his brain, all over his skin. Once they parted ways at the front, he had to stand mere feet from her and Jake.
He wouldn’t breathe until the ceremony ended.
Hannah ducked her head as she and Tai neared the bower. She missed a single step, nearly walking on Tai’s shoe, and he stiffened his arm to steady her.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I’m fine now.”
She and Tai parted to take their places on either side of the bride and groom.
Tai gave Ryker a long, pointed look, and Ryker gave a quick nod in return.
The riot of sparks in his eyes dimmed a little.
Tai nodded affirmation. They’d have a heck of an awkward wedding if the human bridesmaid fainted from eye contact with the groom.
The music grew quiet. The doors of the hall opened again, and the little company of guests stood. A new song began, an instrumental cover of “Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones, soft and jazzy, exactly the kind of song Leslie would choose.
Leslie and her dad stepped out. He was all smiles now.
“Oh,” Ryker blurted quietly.
Leslie hadn’t forgotten to mute her gaze, but her eyes still held a sheen like opal. They fixed on Ryker and only Ryker as she came to stand under the bower.
It must be true, what relics said about bloodbound eternals.
They really did sense and share each other’s moods.
Tai didn’t have to be an empath to see it as the officiant invited Ryker and Leslie to join hands.
The couple were sharing happiness back and forth, two source streams that joined and became a rushing river.
It was something Tai could never have.
But today was about Ryker and Leslie. After their vows, they took turns pouring colored sand into a glass bottle—blue for him, purple for her.
When the officiant said “You may kiss each other,” their kiss was soft and sweet.
“It’s my honor to introduce to all of you, for the very first time, Ryker and Leslie Maddox!”
The group cheered, and Ryker and Leslie dashed down the aisle, back into the hall.
The rest of the wedding party exited at a more ceremonial pace. Then came pictures in the garden, which resulted in a few candid shots of laughter when Logan encouraged them to try a “jump shot.” The vampires leaped six feet into the air, Hannah shrieked, and the photographer captured it all.
“This is the best day ever,” Leslie said when everyone including Hannah finally stopped laughing.
Leslie had once told Tai he meant the world to Ryker. “It’s mutual,” he’d said. Today, celebrating Ryker’s happiness, Tai had rarely felt so happy. They’d barely begun their lifespans, but so far, Tai would number this day among his favorites too.