Kindling Flames: Stolen Fire (The Ancient Fire Series Book 4) Read online

“I’ve asked so much of you these last few weeks.”

  “It’s just a little paperwork.” Vicky smiled.

  “No.” Darien kissed her on the top of the head. “It’s so much more than that.” He held her against him for a moment longer before going on. “Marry me.”

  Vicky pushed back so she could look up at his odd request. “I already said I would.” Affection filled her face.

  Darien shook his head slightly. “No, I mean now.”

  Vicky was slightly surprised by the sudden request. “Like, ‘now’ as in now?”

  Darien nodded his head.

  Vicky pushed back a little more. “My mom would kill me if we ran off and got married without her. Oh, and Vanessa would be furious; she’s already put so much effort into planning my wedding.”

  Darien cocked an eyebrow at her. “Since when has Vanessa been planning our wedding?”

  “Since college.”

  Darien raised both eyebrows in surprise.

  Vicky let out a deep breath. “It’s a long story.” Vanessa had started planning Vicky and Tim’s wedding before things went south for them. She had kept all the ideas, knowing her friend would find a better man later.

  Darien shook his head, amused. “Well, since your friend has put in so much work already, do you think she would want to make the rest of the arrangements?”

  Vicky stared at his suggestion, openmouthed. Vanessa would be beside herself with joy over this offer.

  “Of course, there would have to be some adjustments to her plans.” Darien looked back at his friend leaning against the wall, watching them. “How would you like to be my best man, Elliot?”

  Elliot tilted his head to his friend, accepting the position. “I would be honored.”

  Vicky blinked at them, stunned. “Will that be okay?”

  “Why not?” Darien responded. “I would say he knows me better than anyone else.”

  “No, no.” Vicky chuckled at the misunderstanding. “I mean, letting Vanessa plan our wedding. She has some very grand ideas.”

  Darien tipped his head back and laughed. He drew in a deep breath before going on. “Of course. I think my pocketbook can handle her.”

  Vicky gave him a doubtful look that drew another laugh from him.

  “And I think Elliot can rein her in where she needs it.” He looked over to his smirking friend. “So, are you up to the challenge?”

  Elliot pushed away from the wall, laughing. “It will be an intriguing challenge.” Walking over, he placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Let me be the first to congratulate you. So, when is the wedding going to be?”

  Vicky turned questioning eyes up to Darien.

  “As soon as possible,” Darien added.

  “Well, with Thanksgiving just passed and Christmas coming up, it would probably be best if we waited until after the first of the year,” Vicky pointed out.

  “January is going to be busy at work. With the start of the new year, there is always a lot of paperwork.” Darien pondered the timing. “If we plan for the end of January, we could take time off in February for our honeymoon.”

  “That would also allow for time to make all the arrangements,” Vicky agreed.

  “Perfect.” Darien pulled her in for another embrace as Elliot stepped back. “Then you had better go see if Vanessa can do it.”

  “Oh my!” Vicky exclaimed as she stepped out of Darien’s arms. She turned surprised eyes up at him. “With everything that’s happened, I forgot to tell the girls about our engagement. They are going to be so furious with me!”

  Darien laughed as Vicky went to call her friends.

  “You really do have a special one, there.” Elliot patted his friend on the arm. “Do you think you can handle getting married?”

  Darien took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. “I think so.” He looked down at the computer and the neat stack of folders waiting for his attention. “It will definitely be more fun than some of my other long-term partners.” This drew another laugh from Elliot as Darien settled to the floor to pick up where Vicky had left off.

  “So what is this all about?” Vanessa asked.

  Vicky just smiled and wiggled excitedly in her seat. She shook her head at her best friend. “We have to wait for Maggie and Beth to get here.” Looking around the dance floor of Alchemy, she searched for her missing friends. “I want you all here for this.” Turning back to her best friend, she studied her for a moment. Vanessa had managed to pull her long, red hair up into a messy bun that gave the beautiful woman an elegant edge. It matched the tight, black dress she had somehow squeezed her ample chest into.

  “Come on, Vicks.” Vanessa prodded her friend. “I couldn’t believe you would call us out here on a Tuesday night. This had got to be big. What is it?”

  Vicky just grinned into her drink and shook her head.

  Vanessa studied her friend. “Oh my God, you’re not pregnant, are you?”

  “No!” Vicky gasped at the idea. “Why would I invite you out to a club if I were pregnant?”

  Vanessa giggled at the shocked look on Vicky’s face. “He asked you, didn’t he?” The grin on her face widened.

  Vicky couldn’t contain the blush that rose in her cheeks.

  “Oh, girl, you had better show me the ring.”

  Vicky giggled to herself and held out her hand so Vanessa could see the emerald and diamond band wrapped around her finger.

  Vanessa marveled at the ring for a moment before letting Vicky’s hand go. “Details, girl!” she demanded.

  “What details?” Beth’s voice cut through the pulsating music as she and Maggie came up to the table.

  “Lover boy proposed,” Vanessa informed the rest of Vicky’s friends.

  “Really!” Maggie squealed in excitement.

  Vicky smiled and nodded as the short brunette dropped to give her a hug.

  “That’s magnificent!” Maggie said. When she turned Vicky loose, Beth gave Vicky a hug to rival the first excited girl’s.

  “Let’s see it,” Beth demanded as she forced Vicky to slide over in the booth. Maggie joined Vanessa on the other bench.

  Vicky held her hand out for her friends to inspect the ring.

  “It’s not a diamond,” Maggie protested.

  “It’s got some diamonds in it,” Vicky defended as she looked over her engagement band. A large emerald held the crowning spot as a row of smaller emeralds marched down the sides of the band. Two lines of diamonds bracketed the colored stones, making the ring sparkle in the twinkling lights of the club. “It’s platinum,” she explained. This brought an appreciative noise from the girls.

  “It’s beautiful.” Vanessa grinned. “But, what’s this?” She touched the green line set into Vicky’s skin.

  Vicky pulled her hand back and rubbed the line, embarrassed.

  Beth pulled Vicky’s hand up so she could look at the band stretching across her hand and around her wrist. “Did you get a tattoo?” she asked as she inspected the mark.

  Vicky pulled her hand back from her friend and hid it under the table. “It’s not what you think.” Her mind worked furiously to come up with an explanation for the strange mark. How was she supposed to tell her friends that the fay had set the hand-fasting ribbon into her and Darien’s skin? She had expected the line to fade, but it was still as bright as the ribbon Dakine had used on Halloween. Vicky looked at the questioning faces around her and knew she would have to give them something. “A couple of Darien’s associates didn’t like the fact that we were living together unmarried,” she said shyly. “They insisted that we get engaged. This,” Vicky held her hand up so they could see the green band, “was part of that. It’s temporary,” she assured her friends, hoping it was true. Pity shone in her friends’ eyes.

  “He asked you to marry him to save face?” Maggie said, sounding disgusted.

  “No, no!” Vicky shook her head for emphasis. “It’s not like that. The handfasting was to make his friends happy. This was to make us happy.”
The soft look in Vicky’s eyes as she caressed the ring was enough to settle her friends’ ruffled feathers.

  “So, have you talked about a date?” Beth asked.

  Vicky nodded her head. “The end of January.”

  “That’s fast,” Maggie said, shocked.

  “Darien wanted to elope, but my mother would kill me if we did that,” Vicky informed her friends.

  “Wow!” Vanessa exclaimed as she picked up her drink to take a sip. “So, do you have any ideas on what you want?”

  Vicky nodded again. “We were actually hoping that you’d be willing to help plan the wedding.” The look on Vanessa’s face was priceless as Beth and Maggie squealed in delight.

  “I would be honored.” Vanessa’s voice was breathy with shock and joy.

  “We can go over the details later.” Vicky took her best friend’s hand and squeezed it. “Right now, let’s go dance to celebrate.” The girls agreed and slipped out of the booth, heading towards the dance floor. Vicky paused for a moment to make sure her bag was tucked securely into the booth before following her friends.

  A strange feeling tingled up Vicky’s spine, and she stopped to look around. A man stood at the far end of the bar, watching her intently. She studied him for a moment. His lean frame wasn’t very tall, quite average by most people’s standards. His chocolate brown hair stood up in loose spikes, overshadowing an almost hawk-like face. He was fairly handsome in a nondescript sort of way, but it was the look in his eyes that gave Vicky chills.

  “Come on,” Vanessa called to her stalled friend.

  Vicky glanced at Vanessa, and then back to the bar, but the man was gone. She blinked in confusion before turning her attention to her beckoning friends. Shaking the shiver from her spine, she slipped onto the dance floor. Since Darien had taken her in, there had been a lot of people watching her. This was probably nothing to worry about.

  Vicky’s worries were brushed away when she stepped onto the dance floor and found herself in the arms of a familiar man. She had only been properly introduced to him a few days ago, but she had seen him several times in the club. Looking around, she couldn’t find his identical copy. “Where’s your brother?”

  The twin chuckled at her and spun her around so she could see his duplicate. “He’s found something interesting.”

  Vicky laughed as her eyes located the matching man dancing with Vanessa. “So which one are you?” She knew he was either Jakob or Josh, but the trouble came in trying to tell which was which.

  A sweet smile slipped across the vampire’s face. “That’s Jakob.” He nodded towards his brother. “I’m Josh.”

  Smiling, Vicky caught the hint of untruth and called him on the lie. “Somehow, I can tell when you’re lying to me, Jakob.”

  Jakob chuckled lightly. “I can see our master has marked you well, My Lady.”

  “How can you tell?” Vicky asked, surprised.

  Jakob laid his fingers gently on her chest. “I can feel him in you.”

  A soft ripple of powers caressed the inside of her skin. It felt like cool silk. Vicky could feel the question from Darien as the echo of Jakob’s power rippled across their connection. Smiling, she sent reassuring thoughts across their invisible link. She could feel Darien relax back to whatever he had been doing.

  Surprised at how strong the link was, Jakob withdrew his power. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to disturb our master.” He bowed his head to her slightly as they danced. “I did not realize your link was so strong.”

  She brushed the error away. “It’s all right.” Something odd hit her as she processed his words. “I thought Darien had marked you, too.”

  “Yes.” Jakob nodded. “We are all bound to Master Darien, but my bond is much thinner than yours. It’s just enough to ensure our safety.”

  Vicky could hear a hint of envy in his voice.

  Jakob let out a sad sigh. “Lillian had us bound so tightly to her. It’s odd to not have her presence in my mind.”

  Vicky looked away from the hurt she could feel in him. “I’m sorry.” There was really nothing she could say to make it better. “Darien really is a good man.”

  Jakob grinned weakly. “I know. Lillian didn’t give him any choice. It’s just taking time to get used to the changes.”

  Vicky looked up at her dance partner. “And are you getting used to it?” She was truly worried about the people Darien had taken in.

  Jakob smiled at her. “It was strange for a while,” he admitted. “Master Darien’s connection fluctuated at first, and we were worried that he didn’t have enough strength to support us all. There were stories about how powerful Darien was, but those first weeks made us all question them. Then he marked you.” Jakob’s eyes warmed as he spoke. “Somehow, that stabilized our connections. It no longer took any effort to keep the link with our master.”

  “And is he as powerful as the stories say?” Vicky asked curiously. She had felt Darien’s power, but she had nothing with which to compare it.

  “That and so much more,” Jakob said softly. “Lillian’s power was a solid weight, almost tangible when you reached for it, but Darien’s is something else completely. It’s light and airy, and when you reach for it, it’s a pulsating radiance that threatens to engulf you.” Jakob had closed his eyes and stilled as he spoke about the power supporting him.

  Vicky paused in her dancing in response to the vampire in front of her.

  Jakob’s eyes popped back open, and he grinned apologetically. “Sorry.” He took Vicky’s hand and spun her around to get her moving again. Rolling her in his arms so her back was against his chest, he slipped back into the beat of the music. “Thank you, My Lady. My brother and I are at your service if you should ever need anything.” Vicky’s eyes widened as she looked over to the twin she could see. The nod of Josh’s head and the look in his eyes echoed the sentiments of his brother.

  “Thank you,” Vicky answered as soon as she got over the surprise. “And let your brother know I appreciate it.”

  Jakob laughed behind her. “He already knows.” There was a note of mischief in the vampire’s voice. “My brother and I are connected.”

  Vicky considered this for a moment. “So, he knows everything you do?”

  “And I know everything he does,” Jakob confirmed. “In fact, your friend there has invited us both over for the evening.”

  Vicky bit her lower lip, trying to keep the surprise from slipping out as a giggle. She turned in her partner’s arms to face him again. “Don’t let me stop you.” She worked to keep her embarrassment from showing.

  Jakob raised his hand to Vicky’s cheek and caressed it gently. “It’s almost a shame our master protects you the way he does,” he said softly. “I’m sure you would be magnificent.” He ran his finger over her lower lip in a very suggestive way.

  Vicky’s eyes widened in surprise as the blush she’d been fighting bloomed in her cheeks.

  Jakob’s eyes darted to something over Vicky’s shoulder, and he released her. He bowed himself away from her and went to join his brother.

  Turning around, Vicky found Elliot standing behind her, watching the younger vampire fall into step with Vanessa. “Elliot!” Vicky’s voice squeaked a little and she cleared her throat, trying to recover. “What are you doing here?”

  Elliot shifted her to a new position on the dance floor, and they fell into step with the rhythm of the music. “Darien called and asked if I could check on you,” he explained. “He felt the wash of power from our friend there and was worried.”

  “He was… um…” Vicky didn’t know how to explain it.

  “Checking you out,” Elliot finished for her. “You and Darien are still an enigma. I’m sure there will be many boundaries pushed before things fully settle down.” He looked up to the twins wrapped around Vicky’s best friend. “Those two are natural-born troublemakers. Keep an eye out for them and their shenanigans.”

  Vicky nodded her head and filed this information away for later thought. She was defi
nitely going to have to have a long talk with Darien. There was too much she still didn’t know about dealing with vampires. For the moment, she relaxed, knowing Elliot would see her through the rest of the night.

  Vicky paused as the door from the foyer swung shut. She shook her head at the sight that was becoming more common. The first rays of the morning sun were slipping through the windows of the breakfast nook to dance on the white marble of the shotgun kitchen. Darien sat at the iron scrollwork table, picking over Vicky’s breakfast.

  “Maybe Odette should start making you a plate, too,” Vicky teased as she went over to see how much of her food was still there. He had eaten her toast and most of the eggs.

  Darien gave her a guilty grin as he vacated the chair so she could sit down. “It just looked so good this morning.”

  Vicky took her seat and looked at her breakfast. There was still plenty left. Darien’s fay housekeeper and cook had been slowly increasing the amount of food she prepared in the morning. Apparently, she has taken into account Zak’s begging and Darien’s increased appetite for solid food. “At least I know I won’t get fat with you two around,” Vicky teased, and she pulled out Zak’s sausage and bacon to drop to the little horror wiggling on the floor by her feet.

  Darien snickered at her as he pulled down the blue tumbler for his normal breakfast of blood from the crisper drawer.

  Vicky glanced back at him moving through the kitchen. “Isn’t it odd that you’re craving solid food?”

  Darien paused in his task to think about it. “Maybe a little,” he admitted, “but it could be the new menagerie. They draw more energy than I’m used to.”

  Vicky gave him a dubious look. “But shouldn’t you be craving more blood? I didn’t think you got energy from food.”

  Darien shrugged at this thought and changed the subject. “Did Vanessa agree to plan our wedding?”

  Vicky gave him a pointed look but switched to the new topic. “She was thrilled.” She turned her attention to her breakfast as she spoke. “Vanessa will be over after work today to get started on the plans. I talked with Elliot last night, and he’ll be stopping by as well. I want to get those two working together as soon as possible.” Vicky shook her head softly. She had told Darien all of this last night when she had gotten home from the club. He was becoming even more of a scatterbrain as things piled up in his life. A strange thought popped into her head as she watched Darien finish his blood and rinse the cup out. “Do you think it’ll be all right for Elliot to work with Vanessa?”