Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
Ursula dropped the shopping bags on the floor of Oliver’s room where her parents were staying and plopped onto the bed, kicking her shoes off in the process. All she wanted was to curl up into a ball and hide. She was exhausted and her nerves were strung so tightly, they would at this point snap at the slightest confrontation with anybody. Spending time shopping with her mother had been pure torture.
She stared up at the ceiling, sighing heavily, when the door opened. Immediately, she sat up. A smile formed on her lips when she set eyes on her visitor: Oliver.
“Hey, baby!” he greeted her and pulled her into his arms as he sat down on the bed.
Before she could even utter his name, his lips slid over hers and kissed her hungrily. While he’d always been a passionate kisser, Ursula felt that this kiss was more intense, more urgent than normal.
Oliver released her after several heart-pounding seconds.
“Looks like you missed me,” she murmured against his lips. “Maybe we should be apart more often.”
He growled low and deep. “Don’t tease me. You know how I get when you play with me.”
Ursula couldn’t help but chuckle. She loved it when Oliver went all primal and possessive, when she should despise exactly that character trait in any man. Having been imprisoned for three years by crazy vampires should have scarred her forever so that she never wanted another man to act all possessive about her. But somehow when Oliver did it, it felt right. She wanted to be his. Forever.
Ursula ran her fingers along his neck and saw him visibly swallow when she brushed the artery that throbbed under his skin. “I wish we could start our new life together without all this fuss.”
Oliver pulled back a few inches, looking at her quizzically. “What fuss?”
She made an all encompassing motion with her arm. “This. The wedding, the bridesmaids, the shopping, the flowers, everything.”
“What? But we’re doing this for you. I couldn’t care less about a big wedding. Hell, if I had a say, I’d drag you to a secluded place with a big bed and blood-bond with you right now.”
“I never wanted a big wedding either. But look at it now.” She pointed to the window, indicating the large tent that was being built out there. “I’m not sure I’m prepared for all this.”
“Then why are we doing it?” Oliver pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, and she leaned into his palm, loving the way his touch comforted her.
“My parents. They want this. They think that if the wedding is perfect, the marriage will be perfect too.” Particularly her mother believed that. Her father could have maybe been talked into something smaller and simpler, but even he had no chance once her mother had made up her mind.
“Our marriage will be perfect. I promise you that.”
Ursula sighed. “But this wedding will be a disaster.” She pointed to the shopping bags. “Do you know how many stores my mother dragged me to so we could find matching bridesmaid’s dresses for the extra bridesmaids?”
“Extra bridesmaids? Are four not enough?”
“Four is a bad number in Chinese. It means death. So when Mom found out, she almost had a stroke! She insists that we have eight bridesmaids because eight is a lucky number.”
Oliver shook his head. “She can’t possibly believe that!”
Ursula rolled her eyes. “You don’t know my mother! She’s superstitious, controlling, a perfectionist and she drives me?—”
“Don’t, Ursula,” he said softly, placing a finger on her lips. “Your mother only wants your best. She wants you to be happy and would do anything for you.”
Ursula felt her eyebrows snap together. “How would you know that? You barely know her.”
He smiled. “I just have a feeling. Trust me. She’s doing this for you. Don’t spoil it. I know you’re stressed.”
“Stressed is an understatement. I still have to get all the bridesmaids together for a fitting, and since half of them are vampires, we can’t do it during the day. I’m running out of excuses why it will have to be at night. And then there’s the cake, and Mom wants me to make wedding favors, and we still need to shop for some special table decorations. And then there are the flowers?—”
“Stop, baby. I’ll take care of some of those things for you.”
“You would? Really?”
He pulled her against his chest. “Of course I will. It’s my wedding too. How about I’ll take care of the flowers and the cake? You won’t have to worry about that at all.”
Ursula threw her arms around his neck. “You’re the best!”
Oliver grinned unashamedly and winked at her. “I’m the best at a lot of things. Do you want me to remind you?”
She gasped, pulled out of his arms, and shot a panicked look toward the door. “We can’t! If my mother walks in here and sees us, she’s going to give me a lecture on premarital sex, and I’m really not in the mood for that.”
Oliver chuckled. “Your mother is busy in the kitchen. She won’t disturb us for a while.”
“You don’t know her. Besides, it doesn’t take forever to make tea. She’ll be up here any moment.” Ursula hopped off the bed and walked to the window. Below it, the tent was being built even though so far, it looked more like a scaffold used to paint a house rather than a tent. Several men still worked and floodlights had been installed to help them see in the dark. “When will the tent be up?”
She heard Oliver rise and walk to her. Then he pressed his body against her back und put his arm around her waist. “Maybe another day or two.”
“Oliver?”
“Yes?”
“Do you sometimes think back to when we met?”
“All the time.”
She turned her head halfway to look at him. “I’m glad it was you whose arms I collapsed in. You saved me.”
Oliver smiled and shook his head. “No, you saved me . I was on a downward spiral. If I hadn’t met you that night, I would have slid deeper, until one day I would have fallen prey to bloodlust. I was lucky to have found you.”
She lifted herself on her tiptoes and turned in his arms. “I hope we’ll always be as happy as now.”
“We’ll be even happier once we’re blood-bonded. Then I’ll be able to protect you better.”
His words surprised her. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll be able to sense when you’re in danger because of the bond. And we’ll be able to communicate telepathically.”
She knew all about that aspect of the blood-bond. But some of his words made her ask, “Why would I be in danger?”
He shrugged. “Just saying. If anything ever happens, I’ll know.”
Ursula slapped his shoulder. “Don’t spook me! Nothing will happen. I’m safe here.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Yes, you’re safe with me.”