It was awful. Well, not entirely, Lucern admitted to himself. The wedding ceremony itself was beautiful. And much to his surprise, his stubborn, pesky editor got all teary-eyed as Etienne and Rachel exchanged their vows. She explained herself when he handed her the handkerchief he'd placed in his breast pocket with such care by saying, "They seem so happy. They're obviously deeply in love."

Lucern merely grunted and hoped the ceremony wouldn't be as long as Lissianna's had been last year. He only had the one hanky.

Fortunately, Rachel's minister wasn't as long-winded as the Hewitt family's minister had been. Still, Lucern practically ran Kate out of the church the moment it was done. Or tried to. Their escape was stalled by the bottleneck that formed at the exit as each and every single guest paused to wish Etienne and Rachel well. The couple had exited the church first, as per the custom, and were now standing atop the church steps, speaking to everyone as they left.

Of course, Kate would insist on congratulating them and wishing them well, too, which Lucern thought was ridiculous. She didn't even know them! But the woman ignored his attempts to urge her down the stairs, and stopped to wish the couple happiness.

Rachel and Etienne weren't surprised Kate was at the wedding, of course. The family grapevine was as healthy as ever. And much to Lucern's irritation, Rachel was one of those social people who liked everyone and liked to talk. Etienne was hampered with the same affliction, so they couldn't just say thank-you and let Kate go. No. They had to actually speak to Kate and ask if she was having a good time in Toronto.

Lucern felt himself tensing as he waited for her answer. He was vaguely surprised when she laughed and said, "Oh, yes."

Etienne seemed equally surprised. He asked, "You mean, my brother is actually entertaining you?" As if Lucern were some sort of heathen, incapable of being a good host.

"Yes." Kate nodded cheerfully. "He and your mother, too. Marguerite took me shopping and to the spa today. And last night, Lucern and I played Blood Lust Two until all hours of the morning."

"Oh!" Rachel exclaimed. "Isn't that a wonderful game? Etienne is so talented. Although I thought he'd drive me crazy with it when he was designing the end sequence. It gave him trouble."

"Etienne?" Kate glanced from Rachel to Etienne uncertainly.

"Yes. It's his game," Rachel explained. Then she glanced at her brother-in-law with surprise. "Didn't you tell her it was Etienne's game?"

"Yes, I'm sure I mentioned"

"No, you didn't!" Kate exclaimed with a light slap at his arm. "Oh, my God! Why didn't you tell me?"

Lucern scowled. His editor didn't notice; she'd already turned back to his brother.

"I can't believe it! I love Blood Lust, both One and Two. They are amazing!"

She rambled on, gushing over Etienne in a way Lucern found annoying, then suddenly stopped with a small gasp, before saying, "Oh! I just realized, the primary characters in Luc's last book were named Rachel and Etienne. And Etienne was a game creator, too. Oh, wow." She gave a laugh and grinned at Rachel. "The next thing you'll tell me is that you're a coroner like the woman in the book."

Lucern, Etienne and Rachel all exchanged glances and shifted uncomfortably.

Kate's eyes widened at their silence. "You aren't, are you?"

"I like to base stories as much in reality as I can," Lucern said to break the silence.

"But you write vampire books." Kate sounded bewildered.

"Well, within reason," he amended, then took her arm firmly. "Come. We're holding up the line."

Lucern hurried Kate to his car, saw her inside, got in himself and immediately turned the radio on. He cranked the volume up high to prevent conversation and drove to the reception hall where the wedding dinner was to be held. In his rush to get there, where he hoped Kate would be distracted and forget the odd coincidence of the characters in his books matching his real-life family, Lucern somewhat exceeded the speed limit. As a result, they were one of the first to arrive.

Much to his relief, Kate didn't mention the matter again. She and Lucern were seated at a table, and his mother and his sister Lissianna with her husband Greg soon joined them. Bastien was seated at the head table with the rest of the wedding party, so it was just the five of them at the six-person table closest to the long head table.

Lucern spent the first several minutes simply fingering the glass of wine that was promptly set before him, his gaze darting nervously to Kate as she talked with Marguerite and Lissianna. The three women were making him terribly nervous. They had their heads together, and there seemed to be an awful lot of giggling and laughing mixed in with their quiet talking. He was dying to know what they were saying, but couldn't have heard had he tried, with all the talk and disruption as people arrived and greeted one another.

"Lissianna!"

Lucern stiffened at his editor's exclamation; then Kate turned on him. "Your sister's name is Lissianna! That's the name of the female vampire in your second book."

"Er yes." He shot a glance at his mother and sister. Were they deliberately trying to complicate his life?

"Etienne and Rachel in the last book, Lissianna and Greg in the second. And Marguerite!" She turned on Lucern's mother. "Your husband was named Claude, wasn't he?"

"It's pronounced with an 'o' sound dear, like load, not 'ah' like clod," Marguerite corrected gently. Then she nodded. "But, yes, my husband and my children's father was Claude."

"Oh." Kate was silent for a moment, but was obviously thinking, looking for other similarities. "And your family name is Argeneau, too. No, wait," she corrected herself. "In the novels it's Argentus, from the Latin 'argent' for silver, because the patriarch had silvery blue eyes. Like you!" She turned suddenly to peer into Lucern's eyes.

"Yes." Lucern shifted, feeling terribly uncomfortable, unsure how to explain. In the end, he didn't need to.

"I think it's terribly sweet of you to name your characters after your family like that," Kate said.

Lucern gaped at her in surprise. Sweet? He wasn't sweet. What the

"It's obvious you care for them a great deal."

"Er" Lucern was feeling oddly trapped when a tap on his shoulder drew his head around. He found himself staring at Bastien and Etienne. Relief at the distraction made him smile hugely, which surprised them.

"We need a hand from both of you." Bastien's look encompassed both Lucern and Greg.

"Oh. Oh, of course." Luc turned to Kate as Greg got to his feet. "They need us. We have to go," he explained.

Kate nodded solemnly. "It's a guy thing, huh?"

"Er yes." Luc stood, tossed a warning glare at his mother and sister, lest they say something else to put weird ideas in Kate's head, then followed his brothers away from the table.

The foursome crossed the reception hall, left through a door half-hidden behind a decorated beam, walked up a long, narrow hall, then exited through another door that led into the parking lot behind the building. Bastien walked along the row of parked vehicles to his van. Lucern didn't know what was going on until his brother opened the back doors and dragged a medi-vac cooler closer.

"I don't know about you guys, but with everything that had to be done, I didn't get to feed before the wedding today. I thought I might not be the only one with that problem, so I packed a picnic for us." Bastien popped the cooler open.

Lucern grinned at the sight of the blood bags packed in ice. Good old Bastien. He was always prepared. He would have been a Boy Scout as a child had they had them in those days.

"Oh, thank God!" Etienne took the first bag Bastien held out. "I was so busy rushing around, I didn't get a chance to feed. Neither did Rachel, I'm sure."

"I brought enough for everyone," Bastien assured him. He handed bags to both Lucern and Greg. "I'll bring the ladies out after we go back. I just didn't think it would be good if we all left en masse. The Argeneau side would understand, but the Garretts would be confused."

"Too true, my friend," Greg said with a shake of his head. "I'm still not used to all this." He gestured to the bag in his hand, then lifted it and stabbed his elongating teeth into it.

Lucern smiled as he followed suit. For someone who claimed the opposite, his brother-in-law did a fair imitation of someone who was comfortable with his new situation. Mind you, that might be different if the therapist had to bite people to feed, as in the old days.

The four men all fell silent as they emptied their first bags of blood. Bastien then pulled plastic cups out of the van and split two more bags between those four cups, and the men stood talking as they drank. It wasn't long before the conversation came around to Lucern's unwanted guest. Etienne was the one to bring it up, commenting that she seemed quite nice.

Lucern snorted. "Don't let her fool you. That woman is as stubborn as a mule. She's like one of those damn ticks, burrowing under your skin and staying there. She's burrowed her way into my home and just won't leave!"

The others all laughed. Greg suggested, "Why don't you just do some of that mind-control stuff Lissianna's trying to teach mejust get into her head and plant the suggestion that she leave?"

"Luc can't get into her head," Etienne announced with a grin.

"You've tried?" Greg asked Lucern with surprise.

"Of course I did. The very first night." Luc scowled and shook his head. "But she seems resistant to suggestion. I can't even read her thoughts. The woman's mind is like a steel trap." He sighed. "It's damned frustrating."

"Yep. And don't tell Mother," Etienne reminded him.

"Why not?" Greg asked.

Bastien explained. "Mother says couples shouldn't be able to read each other's thoughts, so when you come across someone strong-minded enough to block you outwhich she says is rareyou should pay attention, they would make a good mate."

Etienne nodded. "So if she catches wind of this"

"She'll be determined to put us together," Lucern finished for him. He immediately felt confused. The last thing he needed was his mother playing matchmaker and forcing him and his stubborn editor together. On the other hand, Kate was a hell of a game player. And she was attractive, and somehow she became less annoying the longer he knew her. He was even getting used to having her in his home. If he were going to be forced into marriage

"So I wouldn't mention it to her if I were you," Bastien said.

"I'd have to agree with Bastien and Etienne on this," Gregory decided, looking at Lucern. "As much as I like your mother, she can be a tad persistent once she gets an idea into her head. If you don't want her interfering and trying to push you and Kate together, I wouldn't mention that you can't read Kate's mind."

"Too late."

All four men jumped guiltily at that sweetly sung comment. Whirling, they found themselves confronted by Marguerite. Lucern groaned at the predatory look on her face. She'd obviously heard everything. And judging by her expression, she was already plotting.

At least that was what he thought, so he was surprised when she took the bag of blood Bastien offered and turned to smile at her oldest son. "Luc, darling. If you want to get rid of the girl so badly, why not just agree to do one of the publicity things she's on about? The moment you agree, she'll leave."

" 'Cause I don't want to," he answered, almost wincing as he heard how childish he sounded.

"And I don't want to listen to you whine, but sometimes we have to do things we don't like in life." Her words made everyone fall silent; then Marguerite stabbed her teeth into her bag of blood and drained it. When she'd finished, she turned to Lucern and added, "Kate doesn't want to be here bothering you any more than you want her here. However, her job depends on being able to convince you to do one of those publicity events. She likes her new position. She wants to keep it. She won't leave until you agree to at least one."

Spotting his horrified reaction, Marguerite patted her son's cheek affectionately. "I suggest you tell her you'll do R.T. From what she told me at the spa today, it's probably the best option for both of you."

"What's R.T.?" Lucern asked suspiciously.

"Romantic Times magazine," his mother explained. "Just tell her you'll do it." Then Marguerite Argeneau turned and walked away, heading back along the row of cars.

"Hmm. I wonder how she found out Kate's job depends on convincing you to do one of those publicity events," Bastien murmured as they watched their mother walk away.

Greg shrugged. "She's very good at getting people to tell her things they never mean to say. She would have made a good therapist."

Lucern was silent, and they all handed their empty glasses back to Bastien. He didn't know how his mother had found out what she had, but he didn't doubt for a minute that it was true. Which made him about as miserable as he could be, for now he knew for certain that he would never be free of the woman. She was desperate, and desperate people were both as persistent as hell and unpredictable.

"Here you all are!"

The four men whirled away from the van again, this time to find Kate C. Leever facing them. There was a mischievous grin on her face as she took in their guilty expressions and the way they were all trying to hide something behind them.

"Rachel was looking for you. I said I thought I saw you come out here and said I'd check for her," she explained, still eyeing them with amusement. "She tried to stop me and said she'd go, but it's her weddingI couldn't let her leave her guests to go chasing after you four reprobates."

Lucern exchanged a glance with the others. They all knew darned well that Rachel had probably hoped to slip outside for a quick nip as their mother had just done. Kate, in her kindness, had made that impossible.

"Why did you call us reprobates?" Gregory asked.

Kate gave an airy wave and laughed. "Because of what you're doing out here."

The four men exchanged glances and shifted into a tighter group, making sure that the open back of the van and the cooler of blood were hidden; then Lucern echoed, "What we're doing?"

"Oh, like it isn't obvious," she snorted. "Sneaking out here, crowding around the van." She shook her head and gave them a condescending look. "I may have been raised in Nebraska, but I've lived in New York long enough to be savvy about you artist types."

Now the looks the men exchanged were bewildered. Artist types? Lucern was a writer, Etienne a program developer, Bastien a businessman and Greg was a therapist. Artist types? And what did she think artist types did anyway? The only way to find out was to ask. Lucern did. "What is it exactly that you think we are doing out here?"

She gave a resigned sigh. "You're smoking pot-joints." She said it as one word.

The men all gaped at her; then Etienne released a disbelieving laugh. "What?"

Kate tsked with exasperation. "Pot. Marijuana. You guys snuck out here for a debbie."

"Er I believe it's called a doobie," Greg interjected.

"Whatever. That's what you were doing, right?"

"Er" Lucern began. Then he, Bastien, Etienne and Greg shared a grin.

"Yes. You caught us. We were smoking a debbie," Etienne agreed.

"Doobie," Greg corrected.

"Yes." Bastien nodded. "We'd offer you some, but we er"

"Smoked it all up," Etienne finished.

The two men sounded disgustingly apologetic to Lucern's mind. Good Lord.

"Oh, that's okay. I don't smoke anything." She smiled crookedly, then added, "Besides, dinner is about to be served. I think that's why Rachel was looking for you."

"Well then, we should go in." Stepping forward, Lucern took Kate's arm firmly and turned her toward the building. They'd barely taken two steps when he heard the van doors closing and the other men fell into step behind them. Smoking debbies. Good Lord.

Lucern was distracted through dinner, merely picking at the food. It was apparently very good, if Kate's comments were to be believed, but he didn't really have an appetite. He found his mind stuck on his mother's claim that Kate's job depended on her convincing him to cooperate. Lucern didn't know why, but that was really bothering him. A lot.

" dance, Luc."

Lucern glanced around in confusion. He'd only caught the end of his mother's words, he'd been so deep in thought. He peered at her in question. "What?"

"I said, you should take Kate out on the floor and dance. To support Etienne and Rachel. Someone has to start everyone else dancing."

He glanced toward the dance floor, surprised to see that the bride and groom were dancing. The meal was over, and the first dance had begun. He, as the head of his side of the family, would be expected to join next. By all rights, he should be taking his mother, the matriarch, up there to encourage others to dance, but one look at Marguerite told him that she had started her matchmaking in earnest. She would not be dancing with him.

Sighing, he pushed his seat back and held out a hand to Kate. His editor looked terribly uncertain as she placed her fingers in his and rosea fact that annoyed him no end, for reasons he couldn't possibly fathom and had no intention of examining too deeply. Telling himself it was just a duty dance, and that his mother couldn't force him to dance with Kate again, Lucern led her onto the dance floor and took her into his arms.

It was a mistake. Kate C. Leever fit in his arms as if she'd been made for him. Her head came up just short of Lucern's chin, her hand was small and soft in his, and the scent of her perfume wafted tantalizing and vaguely exciting to his nose. Without even realizing it, he found himself urging her closer so that his body could meld with hers, his legs and chest brushing her with every step.

Lucern was used to hunger; he experienced it every morning upon awakening. While he slept, his body processed the blood he drank, repairing whatever damage the day had wrought and leaving him dehydrated and in serious need of more. Some days that hunger was worse than others. Some days it was mild enough that he could be distracted by other things as he had been this morning. Still, Lucern knew hunger. He understood thirst. He lived daily with a bone-deep yearning that could become so strong his body would cramp with it. And yet this

He lowered his head, breathing in the scent of Kate's shampoo mingled with the spice and sweetness of her perfume. She smelled vaguely of vanilla, like a rich and luscious dessert or a bowl of ice cream, and he had the sudden mad urge to lick the nape of her neck and

Lucern straightened abruptly as he caught hold of his thoughts. Lick her nape? More like bite it. Good Lord, he needed more blood. He'd been rather slack on the consumption end lately. What with Kate's presence and such, he hadn't been sticking to his usual four pints a day. He'd been running on mostly twowhich explained his odd hunger now. He was confusing hunger for Kate's blood with hunger for her.

Relieved beyond measure, he smiled widely down at her when she murmured his name. She seemed slightly surprised at his smile, then asked uncertainly, "Is something wrong? You've stopped dancing."

Lucern peered around, surprised to realize that in his revelation he had stopped moving. He now merely stood in the middle of the dance floor holding her close. Very close. Her breasts, squashed against his chest, were being forced upward out of her gown. And they were very nice breasts. Round and a pale pink flesh tone that spoke of healthy blood. Lucern would have liked to lick his way over those orbs and

"I have to talk to Bastien," he gasped. "Now."

Releasing her from his tight hold, he started to walk to where Bastien was dancing, then suddenly realized what he was doing. Whirling back to the bewildered Kate, who stood like an abandoned baby in the center of the dance floor, he took her arm and led her back to their table. He then walked around the dance floor, relieved that the music ended just as he reached his brother's side.

"Bastien, after you've seen your dance partner back to the table, I need to talk to you outside. At the van," he said meaningfully.

"Sure," his younger brother said. "Be with you in a moment."

Lucern nodded, and Bastien walked Rachel's sister, who was the maid of honor, back to the head table.

"Did I hear you say you were going out to the van?"

Lucern turned to find Lissianna behind him. She and Gregory had joined the dance floor just after Lucern and Kate. The couple had been standing nearby, waiting for the next song to start. He wasn't surprised she'd heard what he said.

He nodded in answer to her question, and felt it necessary to explain: "I haven't been feeding enough since Kate arrived."

Lissianna nodded in understanding. "Rachel and I will join the two of you. She was saying earlier that, what with preparing for the wedding and everything, she"

"Fine, fine," Lucern interrupted. He didn't need the explanation. He was happy to have the women join them. "Go get her, then. Bastien will Oh. He's brought her with him."

Bastien was leading their new sister-in-law across the floor.

"I'll keep an eye on Kate, so she doesn't come out and try to catch you with the debbies in hand," Greg said lightly as Bastien and the bride arrived. He moved off to invite the editor to dance.

"Good, good." Lucern didn't even smile. He just nodded his thanks and ushered the other three out of the reception hall.

Kate relaxed in Greg's arms the moment they started to move, something she hadn't been able to do in Lucern's embrace. She had seen the writer slip outside with his sister, Rachel and Bastien, and suspected they were out there smoking again. In her considered opinion, the man could use it. It would help him relax, surely. The man had been tense throughout the meal, and Well, she supposed he had just seemed distracted through the mealnot that she'd let it bother her. She'd been busy talking to his mother and sister and listening to the amusing tales they told her about Lucern's youth.

If the mother and sister were to be believed, Lucern was really a very sensitive man with a crusty, grumpy shell. Having read his novels, Kate thought that was quite possible. There was a certain longing in the way he portrayed the couples in his book, a hunger that went beyond the bloodlust of vampires or even beyond sexual desire. His characters were lonely at heart, yearning for a soul mate to share their long lives. Kate wondered now if it wasn't a reflection of his feelings, if he didn't yearn for love.

Greg gave her a little twirl, and she smiled at him. Lissianna's husband was a much more relaxed dancer than Lucern. Luc had been almost vibrating with tension as he and she had moved across the dance floor, and it had transferred to Kate, filling her with a low-grade tension that was rather distressing. Despite that tension, however, she'd found herself melting into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder and slipping her fingers closer to the nape of his neck to brush the hair there. She'd been relieved if a little stunned when he'd stopped dancing and walked away.

Well, all right, she'd been more stunned than relieved. She had stood there, gaping after him, unable to believe that he was reverting to his trademark rudeness right there in the middle of the dance floor for all to see. If he hadn't suddenly turned back and seen her to their table, she might have chased him down and given him a swift kick to the behind. Yes, it was definitely a good thing he was outside smoking. Surely it would relax him.

"I think you should just agree to do something for her," Bastien suggested. Of course, as ever, Kate had been the topic of conversation since they'd reached the van. And much to Lucern's irritation, everyone seemed to have advice.

"Why don't you tell her you'll do one of those interviews? Like that R.T. thing Mom suggested," Bastien continued. "Or tell her you'll do one of the publicity events, but only one and not the book-signing tour. Let her choose which is most likely to save her job. That way, she'll be happy and leave."

"Let her choose?" Lucern was horrified at the idea of giving her so much sway. "But what if she chooses one of the television interviews?"

Lissianna clucked impatiently. "It wouldn't kill you to spend half an hour in front of a camera, Luc."

"But"

"Look at it this way," his sister added. "Half an hour in front of a camera during an interview, or Kate Leever camping out on your porch."

Bastien laughed. "If you even manage to get her out the front door."

Lucern glared at him, but his brother merely shrugged. "You've apparently gone soft on us, Luc," he continued. "A hundred years ago you wouldn't have had any trouble tossing her out on her heart-shaped little behind."

"You've been looking at her behind?" Lucern asked in outrage.

"Sure, why not? She's single. I'm single." He shrugged. "Is there a problem?"

Lucern scowled. There shouldn't be a problem, and he knew it. But for some reason, he didn't like Bastien checking out Kate at all.

"Poor Luc," Lissianna said. He peered at her in question, so she patted his arm as if he needed soothing. "Six hundred years old, and you just don't know how to deal with the feelings Kate raises in you. Surely with age some wisdom should come."

"It seems men remain emotionally dense no matter how long they live," Rachel commented dryly.

Lucern remained silent, his thoughts in an uproar. Lissianna was implying he was unaware he was falling for the girl. He wasn't. He was aware of it. But he didn't have to like itor give in to it, either. As to the hunger he felt around her, Lucern admitted now it wasn't bloodlust he'd felt on the dance floor, but sexual lust. He wanted Kate C. Leever, editor. And that was a complication he could do without. If her mind wasn't closed to him, he might have been willing to indulge himself and enjoy her body as he wanted to. He certainly hadn't lived as a monk for six hundred years. But her mind was closed, making such an action dangerous.

Shaking his head, he left the others by the van and headed back into the reception hall. As far as he was concerned, he was just suffering a crusha natural affection caused by being forced into close proximity with someone else. He'd get over it just as soon as Kate C. Leever was gone. He just had to get her gone.

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