Free The Vampire's Bride by Amarinda Jones Page A

months. Josephine wasn’t about to allow this vampire back into her life. He made it messy and complicated.
    I’m thirty-two years of age, damn it. I need normal and boring .
    “You’re getting married. Where else would I be?”

    8
    Amarinda Jones
    The smile he gave her made her tremble. Only Alaric had the power to make her shiver with a simple glance. Josephine ran her hands down the cool white satin of her wedding gown. “Why now?”
    “I can’t believe you’re marrying someone other than me.”
    For a moment Josephine was speechless. Was he really that dense? Had Alaric no concept of how badly he’d hurt her when he walked out of her life?
    “You never asked me to marry you.” Once, maybe she would have. Maybe. But not now. Too much time had passed. And I want more than a part-time lover with his own agenda .
    Alaric pushed off from the wall and moved towards her. “Did you want me to?”
    Yes…no…fuck, I don’t know . “If I have to make you propose, then it’s not the same thing. Besides, it’s not like there was any commitment between us.” Pinning Alaric down was like trying to pin jelly to a wall. And, it had nothing to do with the whole vampire thing. That was the least of Josephine’s concerns. Although he was a vampire and longevity was their forte, Alaric was not good at focusing on anything for any length of time. Except Maverick House, of course. He loved it more than her. That Gothic, aging pile of stone and mortar once more reminded Josephine of the fickleness of this man. Maverick House had always meant more to him than her.
    “We were damn good together.” Alaric reached out to touch her arm.
    The last thing Josephine wanted was to feel any part of him against her. No man’s touch could heat her up as Alaric’s. He was her downfall. “Marriage is more than sex.” She took another couple of steps back.
    “What’s sex like with Dimmy?”
    Josephine rolled her eyes at his words. “My fiancé’s name is Jimmy.”
    “And?”

    The Vampire’s Bride
    9
    “Everything doesn’t revolve around sex.” Jimmy was good and sweet, and more importantly, normal. His passions didn’t send him off on crusades for justice like those of Alaric.
    “He hasn’t fucked you?” Alaric arched his eyebrows in surprise.
    “What’s wrong with him?”
    “Nothing.” It was all her. Unlike being with Alaric, Josephine had felt no wild need to jump into bed with Jimmy, and he had told her he respected that. At first that had thrown her somewhat. Josephine loved sex. That Jimmy wasn’t as ardent was hard to get used to. However, she was sure once they were married that issue would resolve itself.
    Above all, she wanted to be loved exclusively for herself without competing factions getting in the way, and Jimmy loved her.
    “What’s wrong with you then, baby?” Once more Alaric advanced on her.
    Josephine then made her first mistake. She pushed him away. Her hands met his chest, and a rush of heat shot up her arms. Oh, bad move . Josephine tore her hands from his body. “Nothing is wrong with me, vampire.” She stepped back once more, the backs of her legs hitting the bed behind her. The bride’s room was supposed to be just that, a place for her to dress and ready herself without interruptions.
    Of course most brides didn’t have a vampire ex-lover who could appear out of thin air.
    “Why are you marrying him then? He could be pathetic in bed.”
    Alaric’s green eyes never left hers. “You know we were always fantastic together.”
    Oh, yes . Flashbacks of long, hot, steamy days and nights with Alaric on her and in her invaded her mind. The overwhelming impulse to close her eyes and relive that heat was hard to fight. But Josephine knew she had to. “I faked it with you.”
    This made Alaric laugh. “Liar.”
    He had the sexiest chuckle. It made her shiver. “You’ll never know.”

    10
    Amarinda Jones
    “Oh, I know.” Alaric reached out and took hold of her left hand.
    “So why