Silent Bite-A Scanguards Wedding (1001 Dark Nights) by Tina Folsom Read Free Book Online Page B

her mother were coming back. Panicked, he looked around the kitchen, wondering what to do.
    “Why don’t you bring all the dresses upstairs into my room, Wei Ling? I’ll make some tea,” Ursula’s mother said from the hallway, her voice coming closer as she walked in the direction of the kitchen.
    “Okay, Mom.” He heard Ursula’s reply, accompanied by footsteps on the stairs.
    The kitchen door opened before Oliver could make a decision as to what to do with Yao Bang and how to explain his unconsciousness.
    “Oh my god! Yao Bang!” Hui Lian said, running to where he lay on the floor. She stroked her hand over his head. Then her eyes shot to Oliver.
    An inadequate excuse already sat on his lips, but he didn’t get to utter it.
    “We can’t tell Ursula about this. Promise me.” Her eyes pleaded with Oliver.
    Surprised, Oliver pulled back. What did she know? Did she have an inkling that he was an immortal creature and knew what he’d done to her husband? But how?
    “He has these fainting spells. The doctors think it’s maybe anemia. But we didn’t have time for more tests before the trip. Oh God, I hoped this wouldn’t happen.”
    “Maya is on her way,” Wesley interrupted.
    “Maya?” Hui Lian asked, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion.
    Oliver put a reassuring hand on her forearm. “She’s a doctor. She’ll check him out. He’ll be fine.” Relief washed through Oliver. Wiping Yao Bang’s memory hadn’t done this to him. He’d looked pale the moment he’d stepped into the kitchen. He’d probably been about to faint even if he hadn’t seen Oliver’s fangs. Still, Oliver felt responsible for what had happened.
    “But we can’t have Ursula see the doctor arrive. She’ll be worried. She doesn’t need this in the week she’s getting married,” her mother claimed.
    “I’ll distract her and keep her upstairs until Maya is gone again.”
    Hui Lian gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you so much. You’re a good man.”
    For a moment their eyes locked, and for the first time, Oliver felt affection for Ursula’s mother. She wanted only the best for her daughter and didn’t want to destroy Ursula’s happiness even if that meant keeping things from her. That’s what they had in common. They would both keep secrets from Ursula if that meant she would be happy.
     

7
    Ursula dropped the shopping bags on the floor of Oliver’s room where her parents were staying and plopped onto the bed, kicking her shoes off in the process. All she wanted was to curl up into a ball and hide. She was exhausted and her nerves were strung so tightly, they would at this point snap at the slightest confrontation with anybody. Spending time shopping with her mother had been pure torture.
    She stared up at the ceiling, sighing heavily, when the door opened. Immediately, she sat up. A smile formed on her lips when she set eyes on her visitor: Oliver.
    “Hey, baby!” he greeted her and pulled her into his arms as he sat down on the bed.
    Before she could even utter his name, his lips slid over hers and kissed her hungrily. While he’d always been a passionate kisser, Ursula felt that this kiss was more intense, more urgent than normal.
    Oliver released her after several heart-pounding seconds.
    “Looks like you missed me,” she murmured against his lips. “Maybe we should be apart more often.”
    He growled low and deep. “Don’t tease me. You know how I get when you play with me.”
    Ursula couldn’t help but chuckle. She loved it when Oliver went all primal and possessive, when she should despise exactly that character trait in any man. Having been imprisoned for three years by crazy vampires should have scarred her forever so that she never wanted another man to act all possessive about her. But somehow when Oliver did it, it felt right. She wanted to be his. Forever.
    Ursula ran her fingers along his neck and saw him visibly swallow when she brushed the artery that throbbed under his skin. “I wish