Sweet Revenge (Dueling with the Devil) (27 page)

Bell ruined her special day. Angel deserved her ceremon
y,
and Jacque deserved to be happy. She wanted this for hi
m,
finally understanding what love can bring. Bell quickly plotted. She could fix this. All she needed was a little help.

Once the guys lef
t,
Bell cornered Isis and Marie
.“
I think we should throw Angel and Jacque a wedding before we leave tonight
.
”

“
There’s no time for a wedding toda
y
,
”
Isis countered.

“
Nothing big. Just a little ceremony with us.
I
f
y
o
u
l
a
d
i
e
s cover the decoration
s,
I’ll get Xavier to make sure the guys are ready. I can help Angel. Isi
s,
you’re a goddess. You should be able to proceed over the ceremony. It’ll be quick and simple
.
”

“
Why do you want to do this
?
”

“
I’ve messed up a lot of things. No matter how badly I behave
d,
Angel still helped me. We’ve had our problem
s,
but they’re in the past. I want to make it right. This was her day. I stole it. I don’t want us to go into this fight with Lucifer without them binding their love
.
”

A smile crept on Marie’s face
.“
You now understand what it is to love. It’s a powerful connection. Keep it with you
.
”

“
I’m not letting another good thing slip away from me. ’Til death do us part. Literall
y
,
”
Bell answered. All three women burst with laughter.

t t t

Bell knocked on Angel’s door.

Angel peeked out
.“
Hey. What’s up
?
”

“
Can I come in for a minute
?
”

“
Sure
.”
She opened the doo
r,
eyeing the dress bag hanging over Bell’s arm.

Bell laid the bag on the bed
.“
Pretty roo
m
,
”
she commente
d,
nervous to broach the subject. Maybe she should’ve left well enough alone
.“
Um…I know today was supposed to be your wedding day. And I kind of messed it up for you
.
”

“
Bel
l,
if it wasn’t yo
u,
it would’ve been something else. This is the life we live. Shit happens all the time
.
”

“
Yeah. But that doesn’t make it right. I now
realize
how much Jacque loves you. As much as I wanted him t
o,
he never looked at me like he does you. And he’s a good guy. He needs someone who can love him back. I can see you do
.
”

“
You
have someone who thinks you’re better than the Zulu parade at Mardi Gras. Xavier loves you
.
”

“
I care about hi
m,
too. I’m not sure what we have can be considered love yet
.
”

“
You’re wrong. You’ll see
.
”

“
I didn’t come up here to talk about me. Anyway…we’ve planned a little ceremony downstair
s,
so you and Jacque can get married. That’s if you want to. I know this isn’t the fancy shindig you planne
d,
but I wanted to make it up to you
.”
Bell unzipped the ba
g,
unveiling an antiqu
e,
white gown. The soft lace accents gave it a whimsical beauty.

Tears glistened in her light brown gaz
e,
as Angel touched the fabric of her dress. A smile crept across her fac
e,
and she threw her arms around Bell
.“
Oh my god! Thank you
!
”

“
Hey! Hey
!”
Bell pushed Angel away
.“
Let’s get you d
r
e
ss
e
d.
We don’t have long or Isis is going to shut us down. Everyone is downstairs waiting
.
”

She helped Angel into the dres
s,
fastening a million loops at the back. Once Bell finished pinning Angel’s mass of hair into an upd
o,
Angel disappeared
i
nto her closet. She emerged with a midnight blu
e,
structured mermaid dress.

“
Her
e,
your turn. I’m short a bridesmaid since Jazzy isn’t here
.
”

Bell fingered the silky fabric
.“
I know it’s hard not having your best friend her
e,
but I’m not sure if I should be the one standing in for you
.
”

“
We’ve been through a lot these last few days. I think it’s fitting to have you by my side. And beside
s,
we’re dating brothers
.
”

How did I get here?
A couple of months ag
o,
she hated this human. The woman whose short stint in Hell took away everything Bell held precious. Bell had realized Jacque’s value too late. Jealousy and rage caused her to take the contract to kill Angel and Jacque. Toda
y,
this woman offered her friendshi
p,
asking Bell to be her maid of honor. How quickly l
i
f
e
c
h
a
n
g
e
d
.

Angel pushed the dress against Bell’s ches
t,
interrupting her musings
.“
And who do you think is going to be Jacque’s best man
?
”

Jacque had so many friend
s,
but if Laurent was ther
e,
he would’ve been his best man
.“
Okay. If it gets you downstair
s,
I’ll put it on
.”
Bell took the dress and made a quick change.

Leviathan waited at the top of the stairs for them
.“
Ange
l,
would you do me the honor of walking you down the aisle
?”
Moisture welled in Angel’s ey
e,
as she took the demon’s arm.

Bell
strolled
down the stairs to take her place. The beauty of the room took her breath. Isis and Marie turned the small sitting room into a botanical garden. Jacque waited up front in a tailored black sui
t,
handsome as ever.

Xavier stood next to him. Light danced in his eyes when she met his gaze. His deep blue suit fit as if it was custom-made for him. She fought every urge in her to run to him and throw herself into his arms. Each step she took was an awakening. She realized one da
y,
she wanted to be walking down the aisle toward Xavier on
their
wedding day.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Like an ange
l,
Bell floated down the small pathway
toward
him. A shiver prickled up his spine as she stepped to the altar in front of Isis. The deep blue of her dress turned her eyes into sparkling jewels. Long blonde wave
s,
pinned away from her face with a diamond barrett
e,
flowed around her shoulders. Her alabaster skin glowed against the dark fabric of her gown.
She’s my female.

Xavier flashed her a smile as she moved into position on the opposite side of Isis. Pride filled him as the other males gazed at her. He straightened a little taller next to his brother. He diverted his attention away from Bell when Etienne began the wedding march on the piano.

Angel and his father strolle
d,
in time with the musi
c,
to cover the short distance from the entrance to the makeshift altar. The same pride Xavier exuded moments ago was evident on Jacque’s face as Angel neared. A few weeks ag
o,
Xavier couldn’t understand why Jacque risked his life for this female. How could anyone put someone else before themselves? Toda
y,
he had the answer.

Isis spoke of sacrific
e,
lov
e,
and partnership. All words once lost on Xavier. But things had changed.
He
had changed. He understood lov
e,
not only from his famil
y,
but also from a woman who could choose anyon
e,
yet she picked him. He had achieved all the things that were mere illusion
s,
only granted to those who came from better upbringings. It took his enemies to help enlighten him.

The ceremony ended with the setting sun. He congratulated his brother and swiftly kissed Angel on the cheek.
Maneuvering
through the small gatherin
g,
he reached Bell. Her smile melted his heart for a brief moment. He held her fac
e,
leaning his forehead against hers.

“
You’re beautifu
l
,
”
he murmure
d,
as he lightly traced her brow.

She held him close to he
r,
by the lapels of his suit
.“
You clean up wel
l,
too. I like this look on you
.
”

“
Maybe we’ll have a reason to get me back into
a
suit
.”

She tensed against him
.“
Remember your words
.
”

The possibility existed. Did he dare to dream? If they made it back
s
a
f
el
y
,
he would ask her. No. He wanted her answer toda
y,
in case he didn’t make it. At leas
t,
he could go in peace knowing she loved him. Or not care whether he died. Because without Bel
l,
he had no reason to stay in this world.

His palms moistened with sweat.

His tie suddenly constricted his airway.

He released his hold on Bell
.“
I’ll be right back
.
”

“
Where are you going
?
”

“
Just have to get somethin
g
,
”
he calle
d,
as he bolted out
of
t
h
e
r
o
o
m
.

t t t

Jacque caught Xavier coming down the stairs
.“
Hey. What’s going on? Bell thought something was wrong with you. Sent me to find you
.
”

“
I’m good. I might be losing my min
d,
but I’m okay
.
”

“
What the hell are you talking about
?
”

“
Tell me if I’m craz
y,
man
.
”

“
For what
?
”

“
I’m going to ask her to marry me
.
”

Confusion washed over Jacque’s face
.“
Who
?
”

“
Bell
.
”

“
Seriously
?
”

“
Am I crazy
?”
Xavier wiped his hands on his pant leg.

“
Shit yeah. But she is too. So it might work
.
”

“
This isn’t funn
y,
man. Tell me now if I’m making a mistake
.
”

“
Why do you want to marry her
?
”

Xavier took a deep breat
h,
debating whether to tell the truth or keep his man card
.“
You know. At first she made me crazy. I wanted to kill her. After I offed y’al
l,
I was going to enjoy unloading my clip
i
nto her. The
n,
something changed. She believed in me and needed me. She made me believe in myself. No one ever made me feel worthy of being loved. Bell is the world to me. I know this sounds like some girly bullshi
t,
but I can’t see myself without her
.
”

Jacque laughe
d,
slapping Xavier hard on the back
.“
Oh you got it bad. So
n,
that’s what you call love. Yea
h,
you better ask her before she runs off
.
”

“
What if she says no
?
”

“
Then you know you have to work harder to win her over. Angel wasn’t that easy to convince at first
.
”

“
For real
?
”

“
Ma
n,
females trip all the time. S
o,
go ask her
.”
Jacque started to leav
e,
and then turned back around
.“
Wait. Do you have a ring? This is Isabella LaCoste we’re talking about. You can’t go to her half-stepping
.
”

“
Not really
.”
Xavier looked down in defea
t,
fingering the plain silver band in his pocket
.“
It wasn’t like I planned this
.
”

“
Wait here
.”
Jacque darted into the other room. He spoke softly to his mother. He returned with Isis by his side.

Smiling kindly on Xavie
r,
she removed a larg
e,
canary diamond ring in an antique setting from her finger and held it out to him
.“
Leviathan gave this to me when we were courting. I’m sure he would want you to have it. Use this. If she doesn’t like i
t,
then you can get her something different later
.
”

“
Only if she says yes. But thank you. This means a lot to me
.”
Xavier picked up the precious jewel from her palm. His throat knotted at her kindness.

“
No
w,
go out there and get your woman
.”
She directed him toward the doorway.

He cautiously approached Bel
l,
as she chatted with Damon and Nat. He swallowed har
d,
but the knot didn’t budge. Everyone in the room quieted to a nerve racking silenc
e,
except for Bell and Na
t,
until they recognized something changed and
l
oo
k
e
d
up
f
r
o
m
t
h
e
i
r
c
o
n
v
e
r
s
a
t
i
o
n
.

Bell’s brow furrowed in suspicion
.“
What’s u
p,
babe
?
”

His words froze on his tongue.
Shit.
He took a deep breath and connected with her gaze
.“
I…I wanted to ask you somethin
g
,
”
Xavier stuttered. All eyes in the room were trained on them.

“
Okay. What is it
?”
Bell glanced around the roo
m,
releasing a
n
e
r
v
o
us
g
i
g
g
l
e
.

Another deep breath. He kneeled down on one knee. His legs trembled
.“
Bell. No. Isabella LaCoste. Over the past several week
s,
you’ve made me both the craziest and the happiest man in this dimension. In a short tim
e,
we’ve been through a lot. You’ve been the first person who believed in me and made me feel like a whole demon. I know it sounds insan
e,
but I can’t see my life
w
i
t
hout you
.”
He presented the ring Isis gifted hi
m,
holding it out like an offering to a goddess
.“
Will you grant me the honor of taking me as your mate
?
”

An eternity passed. A pin drop could’ve broken the deathly quiet in the room. Oh gods. She’s going to say no.

Behemoth shouted from the back corner
.“
Give the boy an answe
r,
baby girl. He looks like he’s going to pass out
.
”

Laughter cut the deafening silence.

Xavier summoned the courage to look up at her. Tears streamed down her face. Confuse
d,
he stood
.“
Baby. Don’t cry. We don’t have to get married. I’ll do whatever you want. It’s okay
.
”

Bell wiped her face with the back of her hand
.“
No. It’s not that. I didn’t think marriage was an option for me…until I met you. Yes. Yes. I’ll marry you
.
”

A cheer erupted from the crowd. And the knot finally disappeared from Xavier’s throat.