Of course, he’d have rather done it with his mouth, drawing off the bit of lace, but her fitted dress didn’t allow him that pleasure. Blaéz eased her garter down, caressing her stocking-clad skin with his fingertips, longing for the moment when he didn’t have people around, or clothes as a barrier between them.
You think anyone will mind if I steal you off now?he telepathed her as he lifted her foot and slid the garter off.
The girls. They’ll definitely be upset if you don’t complete the ritual and throw the garter.He heard the smile in her voice.Besides, I have to say goodbye to my family.
Pity.His lips twitched. Rising to his feet with the wispy bit of lace, he whirled the thing on his finger like a cowboy with a lariat before letting it fly across to the warriors who parked near the bar. The garter landed in Týr’s glass of Red Bull.
And he hadn’t even been aiming for him.
“Great! Thanks, Celt.” Cautiously, Týr lifted the drenched lace out with two fingers, eyeing it suspiciously as if it might go off any second and eviscerate him.
Blaéz smirked. Obviously, he had no clue what it meant. But it was time to stop goading the warrior. Destiny may have shown a path, but if it weren’t taken, then nothing would come to pass.
He put his hands on Darci’s waist and lowered his mouth to her ear. “Say your goodbyes,a leannan.”
A smile still on her lips, she glanced at him, and her eyes darkened with the same desire that garroted him. “Okay.”
As she made her way to her family and friends, he turned to the warriors. “I’ll see you in two weeks. You need me…yeah, don’t call.”
Snorts and laughter followed Blaéz as he made his way to the French doors. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm his tense body as he waited.
Soft, quick, but familiar footsteps reached his ears. Darci hurried to him, the trailing hemline clutched in her hand. With a nod at his Guardian brothers, he opened the door and ushered her outside, stopping just past the protection shields Michael had erected for the night—a blast of frigid air enveloped them.
“Christ on a crutch!” Darci gasped, her teeth clattering. “It’s f-freezing!”
Damn. Blaéz hastily shrugged off his tux jacket and draped it over her shoulders. He hadn’t factored in that her dress wouldn’t be much of a buffer against the cold. “We’ll be out of here in a moment.”
She nodded, grasping the edges of his coat closed. A hiss resonated. Blaéz stilled. His heightened senses instantly scanning for the odd noise. He looked up into the blackened skies.What the—?
Amidst the soft, drifting snowflakes, thousands of velvety-red calyxes sailed down toward them.
“What is that?” Darci asked seconds later, her brow creasing. Her attention fixed on the anomaly. Then she moved forward and grabbed one from midair. “They’re petals—Blaéz, look.” She held it out to him, her eyes still glued to the scarlet shower.
The sweet fragrance of roses mixed with the cold bite of ice drifted to them. Then the fallen petals squiggled on the snowy ground. Words formed.
Congratulations. May you both always have a happy union.
I’m so glad we’re friends again.
“Nora…” she whispered.
“I guess I have to thank her for all she’s done,” Blaéz said quietly. “Come to think of it, she did keep Maloch from finding you.” He drew her close, and she leaned against him. At her warm back pressed against his front, his cock stirred. He inhaled sharply.
Darci remained quiet for a moment, then sighed. “Yes, she did. Though I didn’t appreciate it at the time. Is this why you brought me outside? For her gift?”
“No. I didn’t know she’d do this.” Blaéz glanced around the snow-covered grounds. His body strung too taut with need. The petal-message in front of them swirled and disappeared. “We’re leaving for our honeymoon.”
She spun to him on her impossibly high heels, and he grabbed her before she misbalanced. “Honeymoon?”
“Yes. Close your eyes,a leannan.”
After an inquisitive search of his face—that made him want to smile—as if she could find out where he planned to take her displayed there, she did as he requested. With his mind, he gathered the shifting mystical energies of the realm around him and opened a portal, swept Darci into his arms and stepped through the gateway onto the freezing stoop of another building.
* * *
Usually, Darci would have tried to listen for sounds to figure out where she was, but right now? All she could think of was getting her man naked.
A soft swish sounded, and a waft of icy air drifted over her, pulling her mind back and easing the edge off her desire. She shivered and burrowed deeper into his arms. “Are we there yet?”
