One Foot in the Grave

I slept with one of my knives under my bed, telling myself I wasn’t being paranoid. I was just being cautious.

Yeah, right. I didn’t believe it, either.

TEN

DENISE, IT’S ALMOST TIME.”

We were sequestered in our own private room of the country club to avoid running into the groom. The ceremony and reception would be held on site. Denise beamed at me as I adjusted her veil.

“I don’t know what you said to my parents. You must have drugged them, but I don’t care!”

In all innocence I hugged her. No need to tell her I had drugged them, with the essence of vampire hallucinogenic in their iced tea, then practiced mind control with my eyes. It had worked, to my astonishment. While they still were dismayed over the religious differences, they were here.

Felicity sauntered into the room. I didn’t like her, but she was Denise’s cousin and one of the bridesmaids, so pleasantness was required. While I’d been helping Denise get ready, she’d been scouting out the guests for any single males. The woman was perpetually in heat.

“That last groomsman finally showed up,” she remarked.

I sighed in relief. Now we wouldn’t have to delay the wedding.

“He’s yummy,” she continued. She thought anyone able-bodied with a dick was yummy, but I kept that to myself. “I only saw him from behind for a second, but what an ass.”

“Um, Felicity, could you get the flowers?” I suggested, rolling my eyes at Denise.

Denise grinned. “Good news, Felicity. He’s the one you’re paired with tonight. I’ve never met him, but Randy said he’s single.”

Denise had segregated the bridal party to a long rectangular table with every seat boy-girl-boy-girl. I thought it was a bit odd to have the bridal party segregated like that, but this was her show, not mine.

“Yummy,” Felicity purred again.

I pitied the man. She’d probably feel him up under the table before the toasts even began.

Randy’s brother Philip poked his head in. “Are you ready, Denise?”

She turned to me with barely contained excitement.

“Let’s go get me married!”

I smiled at Philip. “We’ll meet you in front.”

Denise eschewed the traditional wedding march for a lovely instrumental ballad. Instead of the ushers escorting each bridesmaid down the aisle, Randy and the groomsmen were waiting in front. The bridesmaids would walk down one at a time in pecking order. As the maid of honor, I was last before Denise. I fluffed the train of her dress one final time before taking my place in the entranceway.

As I stepped into the room where the forty-five family and friends were gathered, I felt a wave of pure inhuman power. Motherfucker, one of the guests was a vampire. They’d better be planning on only eating cake, or I would have to get real frisky with the silverware. That would be a neat trick, slaughtering a guest at the reception without anyone noticing. My eyes swept the crowd from right to left, seeking out the source.

My mother sat next to Noah, whom Denise had invited before I could tell her that I was trying to break things off between us. Noah smiled at me as I walked down the narrow aisle. I smiled back and took inventory in a military manner. Bride’s side of the room, clear. Groom’s side of the room, clear. For some reason, it didn’t occur to me to look at the front where the wedding party stood. Even when I did, it took a second for recognition to register in my suddenly paralyzed mind.

His hair was different. Honey-brown instead of the platinum blond from my memory. It was also longer than before, curling over his ears instead of hugging his head like a sleek helmet. Pale skin glittered against the ebony fabric of his tuxedo, such a creamy breathtaking contrast. Eyes so deep brown they were nearly black bored into mine with none of the shock I felt.

Objects in motion stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. I proved Newton’s Law of Inertia, because even though my breath caught and my heart skipped a beat, I somehow managed to keep walking down the aisle.

Bones’s gaze devoured mine. Inside me a completely unfamiliar sensation exploded, taking my lagging mind a second to diagnose it. Joy. Pure, unadulterated joy flooded me. I was actually about to spring forward and hurtle myself in his arms, when I stopped myself.

What was Bones doing here? And why didn’t he look surprised to see me?

That froze me from any craziness, like flinging myself at him as I’d been tempted to do. If Bones wasn’t surprised to see me, then he knew I’d be here. But how did he know that? And the most important questions-How did he find me? What did he want?

Now wasn’t the time to find out. This was Denise’s wedding. I wouldn’t ruin it by causing a scene. Thank God and all his saints, I thought, that my mother isn’t looking closely at the groomsmen. She’d have no hesitation about ruining Denise’s day in a spectacular way. Whatever Bones had in mind, I’d deal with him after the wedding.

Or I’d pass out. Whichever came first.

Without further drama, I took my place by Felicity. She leaned over and hissed in my ear as Denise began her walk down the aisle.

“Don’t even think about the hottie; I call dibs.”

“Shut up,” I replied, too low for the guests to overhear. My palms were sweating and my knees felt like jelly. How was I ever going to make it through this wedding? Bones’s nearness was unbelievable. For four and a half years I had dreamed about him, and now I could reach out and touch him. It didn’t even seem real.

Randy took Denise from her father’s arm, and they held hands. The appointed justice began the modified version of the wedding vows sans religious references. Bones turned and faced the man when the rest of the groomsmen did.

The ceremony was a blur. I had to be nudged by Felicity to accept Denise’s bouquet when it was time for the ring exchange. When the justice finally pronounced them man and wife, I was relieved. How terrible of me. This was my best friend’s wedding, and all I wanted was for it to be over so I could have a moment to pull myself together.

Denise and Randy ascended back up the aisle, and I nearly ran when it was my turn to follow them. Philip tried to restrain me to a sedate walk, but I yanked on his arm to speed him up.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” I lied in desperation. What I had to do was take a moment alone to recover my blasted equilibrium. “Tell Noah not to wait for me; I’ll go straight to do the pictures afterward.”

As soon as we left the sanctuary, I bolted for the ladies’ room, my flower bouquet forgotten on the ground where I’d dropped it.

The bathroom was on the other side of the club. Once inside, I sank to the floor by the sink. Oh God, oh God, seeing him made every emotion I’d tried to forget come roaring back with pitiless intensity. I had to get control of myself. Fast. My head fell onto my bent knees.

“Hallo, Kitten.”

I was so preoccupied with my breakdown that I didn’t hear Bones come in. His voice was as smooth as I’d remembered, that English accent just as enticing. I snapped my head up, and in the midst of my carefully constructed life crashing around me, found the most absurd thing to worry about.

“God, Bones, this is the ladies’ room! What if someone sees?”

He laughed, a low, seductive ripple of the air. Noah had kissed me with less effect.

“Still a prude? Don’t fret-I locked the door behind me.”

If that was supposed to ease my tension, it had the opposite result. I sprang to my feet, but there was nowhere to run. He blocked the only exit.