Fateful 2-Fractured (27 page)

“You shouldn’t be talking to me,” he
muttered from behind two feet of fashion.

“I don’t think anyone is watching…” One
glance in Richard’s direction and she knew that wasn’t true.

“You can’t know that. I don’t think they’ll
ever stop pursuing you, even if they think you’re one of us.” His
tone had turned dangerous, and she wondered if he took his job just
a little too seriously.

Attempting to soften the sharp edges of his
attitude, she said, “Thanks for what you’re doing. We both
appreciate your service.”

“Yes, we do,” Nadia agreed as she draped
three tops and a pair of jeans onto the many layers of
material.

She and Nadia added four more items to the
others, and then began weaving their way to the dressing rooms at
the back of the shop. Dorin followed silently. Danielle winked as
she lifted half the pile and reached for the handle of the dressing
stall.

His lips twitched and she wondered if he’d
almost smiled, almost.

Nadia was close on her heels after she
snagged the remainder of the clothes and took the stall next to
hers. They sifted through the mess, passing things back and forth
underneath the wall divider between them, and then began trying
things on.

When they emerged with their purchases,
after about forty-five minutes of stripping and redressing, Dorin
addressed her again. “Why do you purchase clothing that you won’t
be able to wear when you’re swollen with that child?”

Danielle halted in her steps and he
nearly ran her over. She tipped her chin up to look into his
unreadable gaze and realized that her nose only reached to his
chest. The man was massive, and she was relieved that he was on the
good side. However, she wondered if he even knew how rude that
comment was, and didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry about
it. It was true, she was going to get fat, but she liked clothes,
and they were on sale, and she wouldn’t always be
swollen
, as he so gently put it. And
it was comforting to shop when, deep down, she was troubled by all
of the little things that go along with pregnancy. Gaining weight.
Doctor’s visits.

“Look, Danielle, let’s go try on some
shoes,” Nadia interrupted, and Danielle was deeply grateful for it.
Without answering Dorin’s question, she followed Nadia to the
store.

The men, of course, tailed along behind and
she could hear their continuing conversation. “Did I say something
wrong?” Dorin asked Merrick.

Merrick chuckled, a low rumbling sound. “Oh,
nay, of course not.”

“You only just said the worst thing you
could have possibly said to her, that’s all,” Cedric said, shaking
his head.

“Should I apologize?”

Danielle twisted to face him, clutching a
pair of shoes in her hands. Did he really mean to say he was
sorry?

He looked down at her. “Miss Darcey ... er
... Mrs. Deveroux, pardon my thoughtless exchange.”

His expression still held nothing
recognizable as any sort of remorse, but she accepted anyway. “It’s
all right.”

The men remained quiet during the rest of
their shopping, but graciously carried their bags for them when
they got to be too much.

They returned home after going out to
dinner, and stuffed the booty into their bedrooms before Danielle
met with Nadia in the kitchen for a treat before bed.

“I want ice cream. What about you,
Danielle?”

“That works for me. What flavor do you want?
Ethan’s got this freezer loaded,” Danielle said, tugging the
freezer door open.

“Let me see.” Nadia peeped over her shoulder
to look inside. She gasped and pointed. “What’s Death by Chocolate?
Is that good? It sounds sinfully divine.”

Danielle snickered, and pulled the carton
out. “I think you’ve made a good choice for yourself, here.” She
handed over the ice cream, then selected her own. “I think I want
vanilla with bananas and nuts and hot fudge topping.”

Nadia already had a mouthful of Death by
Chocolate when she said, “That sounds good too.”

Smiling, Danielle got out her fruit and
toppings and began making her banana split. However, Nadia squeaked
when Danielle pulled out a knife to slice the banana. “Oh, no, not
you too. I’m not going to hurt myself.”

Nadia’s eyes widened and Danielle wondered
what her deal was until she heard that all too familiar male voice
behind her. “Darling, I thought I said you weren’t to use anything
sharp”

She turned, wide-eyed to face her husband.
“Bananas are easier to cut than apples.”

“I don’t mind cooking for you. You know
that. All you need to do is ask.”

“But you’re not always around to ask.”

Silently he took the blade from her hand and
quickly prepared it for her. He even put two of those maraschino
cherries on top.

“Wow, Ethan, would you make one of those for
me too?” Nadia asked when she saw the fancy-looking treat he’d made
for Danielle.

“Of course.” He quickly prepared another
banana split and set the bowl down in front of Nadia, who dug in
happily.

After watching them spoon this cold treat
into their mouths with a blatant, envious expression, he said,
“It’s time for me to go hunting. After the other men return, Max
and I plan on going.” He really didn’t look happy about the
prospect of hunting.

* * * * *

When he and Max returned, Danielle and Nadia
were watching a movie while munching on popcorn. Ethan strode to
the sofa with his eyes on that item that had been one of his
favorite foods. It seemed he couldn’t help himself when he shoved
one hand into the bowl and removed a handful of popped corn. He
sniffed at it then stuffed it into his mouth, and cursed as he
chewed. “That’s just wrong!” He then plopped into the chair next to
the sofa dusting his hands of salt and butter.

Danielle laughed because he looked like he
needed to go brush his teeth to remove that disgusted and puckered
twist of his lips. She sprang from her seat and jumped into her
husband’s lap for a kiss, hoping to cheer him.

“Danielle!” He stood and dumped her off his
thighs. “Don’t! You can’t forget I’m cursed!”

His blue eyes swirled with anger, and the
magic of them stole her knees right out of their sockets. She
managed to hold onto consciousness as she dropped to the rug, then
drew her knees to her chest and covered her face which was quickly
streaked with mortified tears.

They’d all witnessed that: Nadia, Max and
several other men.

Humiliating.

So this is what it’s like to be married to a
vampire. The Ethan she fell in love with was there most of the
time, but this dark, cursed side of him could strike at any moment
after sunset. Had she really foolishly thought she’d married Mr.
Darcy? Perhaps Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were more accurate
descriptions. She remembered how he’d kept his distance from her
physically even at the ball, even when he’d visited her bedroom,
even when he’d rescued her from Lucas. And now she remembered how
he was never in the best mood after having killed for his dinner.
And here she’d just thrown herself into his arms. Danielle knew his
anger was her fault, and she couldn’t stop the sobs that began to
rack her.

“I’m sorry.” She heard him mumble as strong
arms lifted her from the floor.

But it wasn’t Ethan holding her. “Let’s get
you to bed, all right?” It was Max. And that hurt too. Why wasn’t
it Ethan? Yes, she had acted too abruptly, but hadn’t he been able
to tolerate her presence when he’d tested his magic on her and she
pretty much threw herself at him? Or was this somehow
different?

She couldn’t respond as Max carried her to
her bedroom and set her gently on the bed. She listened as his
footsteps receded from the room. Danielle wanted to be alone. After
shoving the moisture from her cheeks, she rushed to the door,
slammed it, and locked it.

Seconds later, however, she heard a knock at
it, followed by Ethan’s calm voice. “Danielle, can we talk?”

“Go away,” she muttered, knowing he could
hear her anyway.

He jiggled the locked knob. “Honey, I’m
really sorry I snapped like that. Please let me in.”

She replied with silence.

Ethan responded by breaking the lock and
entering.

Danielle scrambled under the covers to hide
her returning tears. She could feel the bed tip as he settled onto
it next to her and placed a gentle hand on her hip. “Would you like
to see the vehicles we bought?” he asked, an obvious tactic for
distraction.

Again, she answered with nothing.

His hand began to work out the tension in
her back and neck through the blankets.

“Come-on, I got something in red. You need
to see it.”

“You know where the guest bedroom is.”

Ethan tugged the sheets from her, pulled her
to her back, and forced her to look at him, though he kept his eyes
closed, not even narrowed as he’d done in the past. A line had
formed between his golden brows. “Danielle, I’m truly sorry. It’s
just that your lovely scent is more intense now that you’re
pregnant, and the knowledge that I’m a cursed man never releases my
conscience. What if I hurt you? What if I jeopardized this precious
new life?” He took a breath. “Even so, I overreacted, and I deeply
regret that. I can fight it like I did in Lucas’ dungeon, but it
will always be a challenge because it’s an evil spell that holds me
captive at night. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“Will you ever be able to return to
mortality?” She wanted that part of their relationship back so
badly. The way he snuggled with her and kept her warm all night
long. The way he woke her with hugs and kisses. The way he hummed
when he enjoyed food.

There was a heavy pause, where the only
sound was their breathing, and then he said, “As soon as things are
safe, I’ll go back to that. I swear it.”

“Can you stay with me tonight?”

Ethan placed one kiss on her cheek and
looked down at her through a lash-filtered gaze, and instead of
answering her question he suggested, “Let’s go see our new
transportation.” His hand slid around hers and he helped her from
the bed.

She was towed gently from their room, down
the hall and then he turned toward the garage, silently bypassing
the others. All the while she wondered how far in the future it
would be before she got her mortal Ethan back. He’d been right on
their wedding day when he’d said she wouldn’t like being married to
a vampire. She’d always sort of liked his possessive side, but
right now she wasn’t so sure. Before this they’d been enjoying
wedded bliss. Then he’d been turned and it wasn’t until he’d joined
her in Colorado that she’d been able to spend this much time with
him ... as a cursed man. Of course they’d dated like this, but now
they were in the same home and that was becoming a problem.

Ethan flipped the switch and flooded the
garage with light.

Her mouth slackened and hung open as he led
her further into the room and stopped next to a red monster of a….
“What is that? It looks like something from the military.”

“Well, these things are only made for the US
armed forces now.”

“Do missiles come out of the top of it?” she
scoffed.

His deep laughter echoed from the cement and
metal. “This is a custom H1 Humvee. I suppose we could soup it up
that way, and maybe we should with how many vamps you have gunning
for you. And maybe we should deck it out in camo, although I’m
quite fond of the red. Anyway, as of now, it’s just an awesome
thing to cart you and your detail around in. Would you like to test
drive it?”

“This is what you expect me to drive? I’d
need two parking spaces for that! What’s wrong with my Mini?”

She watched the overprotective worry return
as the muscles in his jaw flexed. It was obvious that he pretty
much had to force himself to calm down before he spoke. “This is
safer. And if they give chase, we could escape through just about
any route.”

“The Mini has a really high safety
rate—”

“It doesn’t have 4-wheel drive.”

“It’s—” Another ripple of muscle in his
cheek made it clear he couldn’t be budged in the matter. So she
dropped it. “You said ‘vehicles’ earlier, what else did you
buy?”

His entire expression sparked with
excitement as he pulled her around the Hummer and revealed the
fancy blue car hidden behind its massive frame. Ethan rushed to the
passenger side door and swung it open for her. Danielle settled
into the seat, and was surrounded by the smell of new leather.
Ethan moved hastily around, and then dropped into the driver side
seat.

He ran his hands over the control panel like
a boy in love, then slid the key into the ignition and turned it. A
low rumble and the car came to life. He pressed a button and opened
the garage door to let the exhaust out. “Don’t you love it? I’ve
secretly wanted one of these for a while now.”

Danielle twisted to look into the back seat,
but there was no such thing. “How do we go anywhere in this with a
baby? There’s no room for a baby, Ethan.”

His shoulders lifted with a shrug. “We’ll
take the Hummer then.”

“What is this?”

He smiled. “A Phantom Coupé.”

“Who makes it?”

She got the impression he wanted to
say
You’re such a girl for not knowing
that
, but responded patiently with,
“Rolls.”

“As in Rolls-Royce?”

“Of course.”

“I take it you were feeling frugal?” she
mentioned sarcastically.

He laughed, a fun, boisterous sound.

“Can I drive it?”

And he choked on that laughter.

She knew that meant no. “Why not?” she asked
feeling her bottom lip jut out.

“It’s simply not safe enough. You couldn’t
escape in this.”

“I’ll bet it goes plenty fast for that.”