Dead If I Do (27 page)

“And if not?” Mátyás wanted to know.

“Then she needs more sleep,” Sebastian said. “The body has a way of regulating these things, even undead ones.”

I’d finally struggled into all of my various mittens and hats and such, and we took her out to the barn. We made a comfy nest for her. Mátyás even provided a candle and one of Sebastian’s older books, a Bible written in German, and left them by her side. Watching Sebastian tuck the blankets around her shoulders gave me a pang of jealousy, but I reminded myself that he ’d willfully broken his blood ties to her.

“Come on,” he said to me as he stood up and squared his shoulders. “Let’s go to bed.”

While Sebastian fussed in the bathroom, I quickly
slipped into my sexiest nightie. It was a low-cut, black silk chemise with spaghetti straps and a bit of lace around the bottom. I didn’t bother with the matching panties. Then I arranged myself in what I hoped was an alluring, come-hither pose and waited for him to come in.

As I lay there listening to the sound of the faucet running in the other room, I knew I was being a little petty about wanting to have sex with Sebastian right now. Thing was, Teréza had been sleeping in our bed. I needed to claim it as mine again. The expression on Sebastian’s face was priceless. At first, he didn’t seem to notice me. He just tossed his jeans into the laundry hamper. Then, turning, he caught sight of me. He did a classic double take.

I couldn’t help but smile when his jaw dropped in surprise, and his eyebrows rose in appreciation. I love being able to do that to him.

“I feel a little underdressed,” he said, giving a tip of his head in the direction of his usual cotton pajama pants. He ’d chosen a pair I’d bought for him. One of the novelty shops on State Street had them on clearance: dancing elves dotted the fabric.

“Actually, darling,” I purred. “You’re way
over
dressed for the occasion.”

Sebastian gave me a long, slow smile. “Am I? Well, let’s see what I can do about that.”

He surprised me by walking over to the dresser to where the MP3 player perched. The sound of Duke Ellington ’s trumpet flicked on. To my curious look he said, “Mood music, plus this way Mátyás can’t complain about the noise.”

“How considerate,” I said.

“Hmmm,” he agreed, but instead of coming to bed like I expected, Sebastian swayed his hips slightly to the music and toyed with the drawstring of his pants. “Do you want to take these off me, or shall I?”

Both options excited me, but I felt devilish lying on the soft cushions like a princess. “I’d like to see you do it,” I said wickedly.

“As you command,” he said, trying to look demure, but I could see the flash of fire in his eyes. He certainly had the moves. Turning around so that his back faced me, he slowly and provocatively slid the waistband down an inch. Then he quickly pulled it back up. He glanced over his shoulder as if to say, “Did you like my tease?”

“You’re a very bad boy,” I said, trying to sound severe. “Didn’t I tell you to take those off?”

He let out a laugh. “Oh, that’s how it is, eh?”

“Aren’t you going to promise to obey me in a couple of days?” I said, teasing. In a heartbeat, I found myself pressed onto the bed. His hands gripped my wrists and pulled them over my head. “It’s usually the woman who agrees to obey,” he murmured in my ear.

My back arched instinctively. Where our bodies met, I could tell he’d removed his pants after all. “Yet you did exactly what I asked.”

“And now you’ll do as I say.”

My breath caught on his shoulder as he thrust his hips against mine as if to show how he intended to press the issue. I dutifully spread my legs for him.

“Ah, I hadn’t said to do that.” He smiled devilishly. “But I like that you anticipated my needs.”

Oh, it wasn’t just
his
need I was anticipating. My core ached for his touch. No doubt seeing the readiness in my eyes, he pulled himself back a little. Removing one hand, he stroked and teased my instantly hardened nipples. I squirmed desperately under him, and I felt myself getting wetter and wetter as he continued his agonizingly slow exploration of my body. When his hand slid between my legs, I gasped. With deliberate and slow gentleness, Sebastian’s fingertip stroked me until I started panting with the sweet torture of it all.

“Please.” I moaned.

“Please, what?”

“Please make love to me.”

“Your wish is my command,” he said, letting my wrists go at last. We sprang together like hungry beasts. I wrapped my legs around him, and he plunged deep inside me. I came the first time in a hot rush; then, as he reached climax, we came again together.

I was a little wobbly legged the next morning, but if
Mátyás noticed, he kept his own counsel. I poured myself a bowl of flax flakes and filled Barney ’s with kibbles. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I decided to call everyone about the rehearsal as soon as the hour was decent. Mátyás eyed me blearily over his “I heart herbs” coffee mug, but neither of us said anything. The kitchen filled with the sounds of my noisy mastication.

“Papa is still out?”

I nodded. He was upstairs doing that lying-as-he-fell-in-battle thing. “Your mom still in the root cellar?”

“As far as I know,” he said, taking a slow sip of coffee.

Barney lightly sank her claws into the leg of my jeans, begging for my leftover milk. I set the bowl on the floor. She happily lapped it up.

Mátyás watched the whole thing with barely contained disgust.

I smiled. It was nice to be back to normal.

Pouring nearly half the pot of coffee into a thermos, I grabbed the keys to Sebastian’s junker car from the hook by the back door. Once Barney sat back licking her whiskers, I placed the bowl in the sink.

“Have a nice day.” Mátyás sneered, as I bundled up and headed out the door.

“You too,” I replied cheerfully, humming “Winter Wonderland” under my breath just to irritate him. Sebastian borrowed a beater from Jensen’s, the car shop he sometimes worked at, for times when the snow got deep. At those times, the fancy car stayed in the driveway under a tarp. Sometimes he moved it into the barn, but with all the excitement with Teréza, he hadn’t found the time. In deference to me, this year Sebastian’s loaner was a Ford—an automatic, which I could drive.

No one had bothered to unearth the Ford since the blizzard. My father had nicely shoveled the driveway, but the car remained covered in about twenty inches of snow. It took me almost a half hour to brush the snow off and scrape away the ice that had formed on the windows underneath. I worked up a sweat under all my layers of clothes. Finally, I was in the car and on the road headed to work.

Once there, I wasn’t sure I should have bothered. The
place was dead. Hardly anyone came in, just a slow trickle of customers. Yule/Winter Solstice was usually a busy time; pagans liked to give each other gifts just like everyone else. Maybe people were still digging out from the big storm, or perhaps the cold, gray overcast sky made saner people roll over in bed and pull the covers over their heads. Even William came in late, looking sleepy.

I took the opportunity to catch up on all the things I ’d gotten behind on. I placed orders for candles and incense, finished sending out Yuletide greeting cards to all our Wiccan-friendly business contacts, and paid bills. While I felt so efficient, I called everyone involved in the wedding rehearsal to let them know that it had accidentally gotten scheduled for tonight. Most people promised to be there. That finished, I tidied the office. I swept floors, dusted shelves, and even cleaned out the public restroom. William mostly sat at the register reading. He helped me rearrange the children’s area—something I’d been meaning to do for months—and I caught him up on all the various disasters in my life. I even told him about how my high school friend Jane had called to say she probably couldn’t make it.

“I’ll be your extra bridesmaid,” he said. “I’ve even got a skirt! Well, it’s a kilt, but I look awfully fine in it.”

“I’ll bet you do.” I laughed.

“But you could wear a tux. Anyway, I thought you were going to be one of Sebastian ’s groomsmen.”

He shrugged. “I’d rather be your bridesmaid.”

“Sebastian needs you on his side. He doesn’t have a lot of friends around here,” I said.

“Are you kidding me? He’s got his accountant, the dude from Jensen’s, and some mountaineering friend of his flying in from Alaska or Australia or somewhere. He doesn’t need me, and I’m one of your best friends.” William paused for a moment, uncertain. “Aren’t I?”

“Of course you are!”

So it was settled.

I passed the rest of the day organizing, filing, and the like. After we counted up the till and got the nightly deposit ready, I told William I’d see him at the church tonight.

The Unitarian church was an A-frame building in the
middle of a densely wooded lot. A vaulted ceiling showed quarter-sawn oak beams, and the wall behind the altar was made entirely of plain glass. Polished hardwood floors and a spectacular view of snow-covered evergreens gave the place a sense of awe without being ostentatious. My mother, however, saw only folding chairs in lieu of pews and unadorned walls, and said, “Is this the best you could find?”

“Well, the Unitarian church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was booked.”

“What the heck is Unitarian Universalism, anyway?” asked my dad. “It sounds like a cult.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re thinking of the Unification Church, with Reverend Moon? These are the Unies, not the Moonies,” I said.

“I think it’s beautiful,” William said, browsing through a pamphlet called
What Is UU?

Sebastian came in with the minister. She was an athletic, trim woman in her fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and deep laugh lines around her mouth and eyes. She shook everyone’s hand with a firm, steely grip. “While we wait for everyone to arrive, why don’t we go over the events of the wedding?” she suggested.

As we sat on the folding chairs and reviewed the program and the places we ’d stand and the words we’d say, I started to realize I was really going to get married. I reached over and took Sebastian ’s hand to steady myself. He gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Izzy and Marlena arrived together, and soon after followed Hal from Jensen ’s and Sebastian’s other groomsmen. I knew Walter, his accountant, because I once accidentally mistook him for one of Sebastian’s ghouls, but I’d never met Smitty, though his photograph was in our living room. “You’re a lot older than I expected,” I told him, upon seeing his completely gray hair and weather-beaten, tan face.

“Not everyone ages as well as old Sebastian here,” Smitty reminded me.

“Where’s Mátyás?” Sebastian asked. “He’s supposed to be my best man.”

“Don’t get your knickers in a knot; I’m here,” Mátyás said, coming up beside him. “I was just checking to make sure Mom was, uh, well-fed and taken care of.”

“Oh, is there a mother of the groom too?” the minister asked. “She’s more than welcome. We have special transport if she’s infirm.”

“Actually Teréza is Mátyás’s mother and Sebastian’s . . . uh, ex,” I explained.

“Oh!” The minister looked from Mátyás to Sebastian and then back again. “I assumed you were brothers.”

“I thought so too,” my mother said conspiratorially.

“He’s older than he looks,” Smitty said. “We used to go mountain climbing in the seventies.”

“We should probably get started,” I said, trying to derail the whole discussion of the age of my vampire lover. When everyone was arranged, we noticed the imbalance. Sebastian had more friends than I did. Walter, Smitty, William, and Mátyás made four, while I had only Izzy and Marlena, thanks to Jane’s cancellation. William said, “It’s fate. I’m meant to be a bridesmaid.”

“But, but, but,” my mother sputtered, “Who will you walk down the aisle with?”

“Oh, that would be me,” Walter volunteered in a grizzled Brooklyn accent. Walter was quite fabulously gay. He was a short, bespectacled man in his late forties with wiry hair going gray and frizzy at the edges. His partner Larry rolled his eyes from his seat in the front row.

Before my mother could open her mouth and say something unintentionally homophobic, I said, “Great, it’s settled then. Let’s give this a try, shall we?”

My dad and I were instructed to go downstairs. The dressing rooms were in the basement, as well as the office and child care room. It was determined that I’d make a more dramatic entrance coming up the staircase, plus that way no one would see me before the service started. My dad and I huddled in a room off the bottom of the stairs and waited for our cue. Unexpectedly, Dad took my hands in his. “Are you going to be ready for this?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said. “When they start ‘Here Comes the Bride,’ we’ll just—”

“No, hon, I mean this,” he said, putting two fingers around where my engagement ring encircled my right ring finger.

“Oh, Daddy,” I said, getting a little choked up at the thought of really walking down the aisle with Sebastian. “I don’t know. I mean, I love him, but you can’t really know how it’s all going to go until you live it, right?”

“You’ve thought everything through?”

“We’ve been through a surprising amount of stuff, Sebastian and me,” I said. “You wouldn’t believe half of it, but I think it’s made us stronger as a couple. I think—”

There was a loud explosion upstairs that definitely wasn’t part of the script.
Tenth Aspect: Semi-Square