“Take off your shoes,” I whisper to him and he makes a face but listens. He grabs my right hand, leaving my left free to show off my ring to my friends. After a few minutes of gushing, we move into the kitchen. There’s an empty bottle of wine on the counter, along with three glasses.
“You guys totally ditched me tonight, didn’t you?” I tease.
Kristy nods. “Oh, we so did. We were this close—” She holds up her fingers, just an inch apart—“to casting a circle to keep you away too. But then you had to go and get engaged.”
I laugh. “Ouch, Kristy.”
“Really,” she says and opens her fridge, taking out another bottle of wine. “We assumed you two would be busy.”
“We were, and I plan to be again,” Lucas says without missing a beat. “I’m eager to get you home, Callie.” He rests one hand on my hip, sending a pulse of desire through me. I’m eager to get home too.
“You’re still feeling fine?” Nicole asks. I take the bottle of wine from Kristy and hold my hand over it, telekinetically removing the cork. Already tipsy from the margarita I sucked down, I pass on the wine for now. “Kristy filled us in on everything that happened. That’s um, why we’re here, actually.”
“Oh, right.” I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. “Physically, I feel fine. I’m not poisoned by a demon virus anymore.”
“And you’re okay with the other stuff you found out?” Nicole asks softly.
“Yeah. I mean, I guess. It’s a lot to take in.” I tense slightly and hope Lucas doesn’t bring up Julian and his cryptic warning.
One night.
I just want one fucking night where we can think about nothing other than each other.
“Though now that I know the truth it raises a million more questions. But that missing part of me feels different now. Filled in more.”
Nicole smiles. “Good.” She refills her wine glass. “So, when can we throw you a bachelorette party?”
“Probably sooner than you’d think.” I look up at Lucas, smiling. “We were just talking about getting married either right before or right after Samhain.”
“Ohhh!” Nicole claps her hands together with excitement. “Fall weddings are so pretty! You’re having the ceremony in Michigan, I’m guessing, right?”
“Probably. We’ll at least have to go file the paperwork there and do a courthouse wedding to be legally married if we don’t have the ceremony in Michigan at least.”
Naomi stands a few feet back, smiling because she’s happy for me, but I know she’s questioning everything I should be right now: how the hell am I going to have any sort of wedding when my groom will be ordered to death by magic once the engagement is found out?
“Have you told anyone else?” Kristy asks, bending down to pick up her white rabbit.
“No. I’ll call my sister in the morning, but I probably won’t say anything to Tabatha or Evander just yet.” I let out a sigh and Kristy—God bless her—can sense my disappointment.
“Let’s talk your dress: white or black?”
I look down at my black dress I’m wearing and act like I’m thinking. Nine times out of ten I’m wearing solid black. The outlier is usually due to my slacking off doing laundry too.
“I actually have always wanted to go with white.”
“We’re going to have to go to Chicago soon so you can try things on.”
“Of course!”
Kristy takes another look at my ring and then hugs me. “I’m so happy for you guys.” She turns her gaze up to Lucas. “Callie has been my best friend since we were kids. She means the world to me and I never thought I’d approve of anyone she dates, but I approve of you.”
“Thank you,” Lucas says sincerely, though I know Lucas enough by now to know others’ opinions of him don’t mean shit. He does what he wants regardless and isn’t a slave to anyone’s opinions. I feel like I’m almost there, and the feeling is so fucking freeing. “I love Callie, more than I’ve loved anyone. More than I knew I could love anyone.”
“You’re going to make me throw up.” Naomi rolls her eyes but is smiling the whole time.
I laugh and hold my hand up, watching the diamonds sparkle under the kitchen lights. “We’re going to head home and do some extra celebrating of our own.” I wiggle my eyebrows. “Are you guys staying the night?”
“You gotta help me finish this bottle of wine,” Kristy says, motioning to the mostly full bottle on the counter.
“You should cast an extra protective circle around the house,” I say, hoping to casually slip that into the conversation and not have to bring up that we caught an angel who told us a demon escaped from Hell.
Escaped…or was set free.
I’m not sure which is worse.
“I already have circles cast. Why would I cast something extra?” Kristy replies, not missing anything.
“It’s better to be prepared than…than…pre-scared?” I shake my head at myself. “I was trying to think of a witty rhyme.”
Kristy laughs. “Okay. I’ll burn some sage after you leave. It’ll clear out any negative ill intentions.”
“Good. And let’s plan dinner at my house Sunday night?”
Kristy nods and looks at the twins.
“That should work,” Nicole says. “We have brunch with Gran but that’s done by two.”
“Perfect. I’ll make Chinese food. See you guys at seven-ish then.”
Hand in hand, Lucas and I walk back to my Jeep. Binx shadows ahead and jumps in through the open sunroof.
“Are you planning on telling your friends about the new information you learned tonight on Sunday?” Lucas opens the Jeep door for me.
“Yeah. Let them enjoy a few days of peace before I freak them out.”
“Do you think you’ll have a few days of peace?” He zooms around and gets in the driver’s side.
“I hope. That’s usually how these things seem to go. We fight demons, have a few days in between then fight demons again. And demons come in and out of Hell all the time. There’s no guarantee this demon is here for me.”
Lucas just nods, not wanting to disagree with me though we both know the odds are not in my favor on this. I twist in my seat, reaching over and resting my left hand on Lucas’s thigh.
“Doesn’t my hand look good?” I ask, wiggling my fingers so the light from the streetlamps overhead sparks off the diamond.
“It’ll look better with your fingers wrapped around my cock.” He brings his hand down, covering mine, and inches my fingers in. Warmth quickly rushes through me, and I’m tempted to tell Lucas to step on it and get us home now. By the way he rolls through a stop sign, I’m thinking he’s eager too.
“You know,” I start, cupping my fingers around his balls. I can feel his cock start to harden through his jeans. “It’s not too late to save myself for marriage.”
Lucas gives me a sideways glance. “You couldn’t resist me.” He says it with complete seriousness. It’s true too, and he knows it. Having sex with Lucas is transcendent.
“And like you could resist me,” I scoff, giving his balls a gentle squeeze. “My body…my blood…I’m liking the idea of saving it all until I’m your wife.”
Lucas widens his legs. “If you’re going to wait until marriage, I’m marrying you tonight.”
I laugh. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.” I pop the button on Lucas’s pants and slowly pull down the zipper.
“Should I pull over?”
“We’ll be home soon enough. In the meantime…” I slip my fingers inside of his pants, which is actually harder to do that I expected since he’s sitting down. “I guess I shouldn’t distract the driver, right?”
“I’m a vampire,” he starts. “I have quick reaction time. So by all means, proceed with the road-head.”
I laugh again, heart swelling in my chest. Lucas is everything I could ever ask for. Physical attractiveness aside, we just get each other and
are able to talk so openly. I was always a believer in love but had my doubts I’d ever find it for myself.
And I’ll be the first to admit I had high expectations. But Lucas…he blew them all away ten times over. I still don’t understand how anyone could say us being together is wrong.
I unbuckle my seatbelt as soon as we’re in the driveway. Gravel crunches under the large wheels as Lucas speeds toward the house. The second the Jeep is parked and the engine shut off, he zooms around to my side and opens the door.
I bite my lip and sweep my eyes over him. Over my fiancé. Lucas dives forward and scoops me up. He pulls me out of the Jeep and closes the door behind me. My legs fasten around his waist and he pins me between his muscular body and the Jeep.
Binx shadows out, going around the house to the back porch to join Freya and Pandora as they keep watch.
“Should you,” Lucas starts and then puts his lips to mine. Heat floods me, going right between my legs. If Lucas reached down and touched me, he’d find me wet for him already. “Put an extra—” He moves his mouth to my neck, and his fangs slide down, grazing my flesh. He kisses me, sucking on my skin, fully aware that sensation drives me crazy. Paired with the anticipation of not knowing when he’s going to bite me, it winds me up like mad. “Warding on your house too?”
“I think we’re good,” I pant, bending my elbow up so I can rake my fingers through Lucas’s hair. “I upped the warding not long ago, remember?”
“I do. I want you to be safe, Callie. And I don’t want you to worry about anything when I’m fucking you.”
“I can hardly even think about anything when you’re fucking me.” I tighten my legs around him, pressing my core against his erection. Fuck, I want that big cock inside of me. “Other than how good everything feels.”
With that, Lucas dives back on me, kissing and sucking my neck before putting his lips back to mine.