Blood Debt

by Heather MacKinnon

  Ignoring his hands, I let my mind wander to the night ahead. I had been nervous about being Nicholas’ date and what my presence might mean for him. Although I didn’t know much about his job, it was clear he played an important role in Parliament. In this dress though, I would look like his equal.

  As I daydreamed about waltzing in Nicholas’ arms, thoughts of my maker crept in. Nicholas promised he wouldn’t be at this ball, but I was still worried. Even with a room full of guards, I was scared to expose myself this way. It felt like chancing fate, but I trusted Nicholas to not risk my safety.

  I would have thought that being a nearly indestructible vampire would have been protection enough, but that clearly wasn't the case. My maker was angry, and it was very obviously aimed toward me. The mystery of his anger still nagged at me. If either of us should have been angry at the other, it should have been me. He’d attacked and changed me against my will before leaving me to fend for myself.

  His motives were another mystery I’d yet to unravel. What had he been doing in Nicholas’ apartment? Was he looking for me? Or something else? The only two rooms he’d shown his presence in were the bedroom and the office. Had he gone there with a specific goal in mind? And why did he take my foster paperwork? What was his end goal?

  My mind was still spinning as Nathan took a curling iron to my hair. I was grateful for his vampiric speed because I was tired of sitting still and being left alone with my thoughts.

  Annabelle approached me with a pair of strappy silver heels and a silver clutch embellished with dozens of crystals. I gave her a slight nod, and she smiled before prancing back to her station. Shortly after, Nathan informed me he was done, but I wasn’t allowed to see myself until I had the dress on.

  I followed Annabelle into the bedroom and she helped me dress in the fine fabric. The dress’ halter top fit and accentuated my chest perfectly, while the waist was just the right size for me. The hem was a little long, even with the heels, but Annabelle assured me she’d be able to make the adjustments before I had to leave for the ball. What I hadn’t expected was for my entire back to be exposed from the halter around my neck to right above my bottom. I hoped it would look classy and not trashy on me.

  I turned to the door when Annabelle stopped me with a hand on my arm. “I almost forgot!” she exclaimed. “Sit tight and I’ll be right back.”

  The fairy-like vampire dashed through the door and was back within seconds. She quickly fastened chandelier earrings onto my ears and stood back to take a look at me. With her chin clasped between her fingers, her eyes roamed over me from head to toe. When her eyes made it back to my face, she sighed.

  “You’re perfect,” she said with a shrug.

  I chuckled nervously. I’d never been described as perfect in my life. She opened the bedroom door and gestured for me to step out into the living room. When both men’s eyes found me, they wore matching expressions of wonder.

  “Adrienne, girl, you look amazing,” Brian said as he took my hands and spun me around once.

  Nathan took my hands next, the smile on his face contagious. “Mr. Talbot isn’t going to know what to do with himself.” His eyes narrowed, lips pursing to the side. “What’s he like, anyway?”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Annabelle and Brian’s heads whip in our direction, but they remained silent.

  “Nicholas?”

  Nathan shrugged. “Yeah, he’s a bit of a mystery.”

  I frowned. “Really?”

  All three of them just nodded.

  It was my turn shrug. “I don’t know. He’s…” I struggled to come up with a strong enough word to describe Nicholas. Finally, I settled on, “Amazing.”

  Nathan’s eyes softened. “So, you’re not intimidated by him?”

  My frown deepened. “Intimidated? No. Never.”

  Nathan and Brian exchanged wary glances before looking back at me. “He’s got a bit of a reputation,” Annabelle explained from behind them.

  “Oh?” I felt like I should know this already but, how would I? The only vampire I’d ever really talked to was Nicholas. Surely, he wouldn’t tell me something like this.

  Nathan shrugged, his eyes studying me carefully. “Yeah, tonight was the first time I’ve ever actually heard him talk.”

  “Or smile,” Brian added.

  My lips twitched. “He talks to me all the time. And he usually smiles a lot too.”

  Brian’s face stretched into a wide grin. “Yeah, we can see that.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Annabelle stepped in, her eyes darting between us. “He just means we’ve never seen Mr. Talbot like this before. It’s clear you’re good for him.”

  My face heated and I chuckled softly not knowing what to say to that. Was I good for him? What did that even mean? I shook my head and cleared my throat, not having the time to process all this at the moment. “Can I see myself now?”

  Annabelle took one arm while Nathan took the other, and Brian held his hand over my eyes as they led me to the mirror near the entrance of the suite. They positioned me, Nathan fiddled with a lock of my hair one last time before Brian finally lifted his hand off my face.

  My jaw dropped as I took in the barely recognizable woman in the mirror. My hair fell past my shoulders in soft, luxurious waves, and was pinned up gently behind one ear. The makeup was subtle on my face with a perfectly smoky eye that enhanced their light brown color. The red dress accentuated my curves up top before flowing seamlessly to the floor where an inch or two rested on the ground.

  While I stared at my reflection, Annabelle came to kneel at my feet with a pincushion in her hand and a needle held between her lips. “Don’t move,” she muttered. She pinned up the excess material almost faster than my eyes could follow. She then twisted the needle in and out of the bottom of the dress until it was the exact right length. When she was finished, she rose to her feet and dusted off her hands. “There,” she said proudly. “Now you’re perfect.”

  I turned to thank her when a knock sounded at the door. My eyes grew wide and my gut clenched tightly before I heard the familiar timbre of Nicholas’ voice.

  “Can I come in yet?” he asked through the door.

  I looked at the three vampires who had been like fairy godmothers to me. They all nodded in unison.

  I took a deep breath and called, “Come in.”

  Chapter 18

  Nicholas stepped through the door and froze. His gaze followed the length of my body before settling on my face. I gulped, the heat in his eyes making my blood race through my veins. The rest of the room disappeared, and it was only Nicholas and me, communicating without speaking a word.

  When I finally pulled my gaze away from his, I got a good look at what he was wearing. His broad chest was encased in a perfectly fitted, ink black tuxedo jacket. My eyes trailed along the trim lines down his chest to muscular legs covered in the fine black material ending with polished black shoes. The diamond cufflinks at his wrists glimmered in the soft light of the hotel room as he expertly adjusted his tie.

  “Nicholas–”

  “Adrienne–”

  We both spoke at the same time. Our grins matched the way our words had. He reached out to grasp my hands in his warm, calloused grip and pulled me closer. I looked up into his handsome face and shivered as he found the skin where the dress didn’t cover.

  “Adrienne,” he warned, his voice gruff.

  I stepped away from him and placed my hands on my hips. “This was the dress you picked out,” I reminded him.

  “Yes, because I knew how stunning you’d look. I hadn’t taken into consideration all the other men that would see you in it and I’d like to change my pick now. I’m sure we have a potato sack lying around here somewhere…” He trailed off as he jokingly scanned the interior of the hotel room.

  I slapped his arm and rolled my eyes. Men. I turned to walk away, but Nicholas grabbed my elbow and spun me to face him again.

  “Truly,” he began, his voice soft a
nd deep, “You look devastatingly beautiful.”

  My heart leapt to my throat where it insisted on pounding an erratic tattoo. Clearing my throat, I managed to answer him. “Thank you. You look very dashing yourself,” I added with a wave of my hand, encompassing his sharp suit.

  He picked up my hand and brought it to his mouth before placing a gentle kiss on my knuckles. “Thank you, Ms. Wilkinson. We strive to please,” he said with a cheeky grin.

  Someone cleared their throat behind us, and I spun around to three pairs of wide eyes. I had honestly forgotten they were even there.

  With heated cheeks, I held my hands out to them. “Thank you all for tonight. Everything is absolutely perfect,” I gushed.

  Nathan stepped up first, gently repositioning a loosely curled lock of my hair and placing a chaste kiss on my cheek. “You’re more than welcome, sweetheart.”

  Brian was next, and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, careful to not ruffle my hair or smear my makeup. “You were already so beautiful, you made our job easy,” he said.

  When he released me, Annabelle stepped up and took both of my hands in her small grip. “I’m so glad you like the dress, you look amazing.”

  I stepped away from Annabelle and into Nicholas’ embrace. “Can you all see yourselves out?” Nicholas asked them.

  The three vampires nodded, and he swept me out of our hotel room. We hustled down the long hallway and into the lobby that was deserted save for Ken at the front desk.

  Outside, the black suburban was at the curb with Alexander once again behind the wheel. Nicholas held the door open for me and I climbed into the large vehicle, thankful for the dress’ length. With my door closed, Nicholas hurried around the other side and hopped in before Alexander drove off.

  “Hi, Alexander,” I said. “It’s nice to see you again,” I said in an attempt to make my way over to his good inside.

  He grunted, his dark gaze darting to mine in the rearview mirror. His brows unfurrowed for the briefest moment before he nodded and turned back toward the road.

  It was practically a warm welcome.

  I smiled with pride and looked over at Nicholas. His smoldering gaze had my smile slowly slipping off my face. He wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me closer. As his fingers traced soft circles on the bare skin of my back, I fought off shivers of pleasure.

  “I’m not sure we’ll be able to stay long at the ball,” Nicholas whispered in my ear, sending little hairs fluttering and tickling my skin.

  I turned to him, our faces only inches apart. “Oh? How come?”

  Somehow, his brownish-green gaze burned hotter, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. “I don’t want to share you for long,” he growled.

  There was no fighting off the shiver his words caused to ripple up my spine.

  The vehicle slowed, and I silently thanked Alexander for his speedy driving. I didn’t think I’d be able to spend much more time in the backseat with him without combusting. Nicholas quickly exited and made his way around the car to open my door. He offered me a hand as I slid off the leather seat and onto the city sidewalk.

  I looked up and was surprised to find we were at Parliament headquarters. I supposed this was the most ideal place for a big vampire shindig. They already had all the secrecy and security in place.

  We stepped through the door and nodded to the doorman, who buzzed us in without a word. Walking through the doorway, I halted my steps as soon as I got a look at the lobby.

  The room was dim and lit by hundreds of little twinkling lights that were placed so high up they looked like stars in the night sky. The marble gleamed in the soft light between hundreds of vampires, about half of them dressed in all black tuxedos, the other half in every color of the rainbow. My eyes followed the elegantly dressed guests as they twirled and swayed, seeming to float above the ground.

  Lining the dance floor were round tables, covered in lace tablecloths with giant blooming centerpieces of extravagant flowers and crystals. The soft light from dozens of candles reflected off the glass, leaving the tables in a soft glow. I took in the luxurious splendor of the room, wishing I could capture its beauty.

  After allowing me those few moments to gawk, Nicholas finally tugged on my elbow and led me toward a table. Upon further inspection, I noticed there were no place settings save for crystal goblets rimmed in delicate gold and soft-looking napkins folded in intricate designs. I looked at Nicholas curiously.

  “They’ll be serving blood soon,” he informed me. “That’s why I didn’t take you hunting tonight.”

  With all the excitement of getting ready for the ball, I’d completely forgotten I hadn’t hunted yet. I quickly checked my need for blood and found it manageable. Thankfully, Nicholas had me on a strict feeding schedule that left no room for error. If I never got too hungry, I’d never accidentally do something I’d regret.

  A man in a sharp gray suit appeared by our side with a flourish. “Good evening, sir and madam,” he said with a slightly nasally British accent. “We are serving types B and O this evening. Which would you prefer?”

  I looked to Nicholas questioningly. How the hell was I supposed to know which type I’d prefer? It wasn’t like I asked the humans what their blood type was before I bit them. I’d never tasted much of a difference from one human to another, anyway.

  Nicholas spoke up. “We’ll take two O negatives, please.”

  The man gave a deep bow before retreating as quickly as he’d appeared.

  “O negative?” I asked him once we were alone again.

  “It’s the rarest blood type and some say the most decadent.”

  “And what do you say?”

  He grinned. “I prefer type AB myself, but I like O too.”

  It was so weird talking about blood types like we’d talk about wines in a restaurant. Although I’d adapted to this lifestyle over the past week, there was still so much I didn’t know and so much I’d yet to experience. It would take me a lifetime to learn everything. With a wry chuckle, I realized I’d have more than one lifetime to get it all right.

  It was still strange though. It felt like I was at a new job, meeting my co-workers, learning what my responsibilities were, figuring out all the lingo. I knew that one day I’d look back at these early days and laugh at how ignorant and naive I was, but that seemed pretty far off from where I sat.

  The waiter returned with a round tray in hand that held two goblets full of rich red liquid. He swiped our empty glasses from in front of us and gently placed the full ones down. When he was done, he bowed deeply again and retreated.

  I looked at Nicholas for any social cue I was missing. Were we supposed to dig right in? Did I take small sips or big gulps? Should I stick my pinky out as I held it?

  I turned to study my glass when I heard a chuckle and whipped back around to Nicholas. He was laughing at me.

  “You look like you’re concentrating really hard on that glass of blood.”

  I hissed at him, “I don’t want to make a fool out of myself. Give me some direction here.”

  He chuckled again but the fire in my eyes must have cowed him because he pressed his lips into a thin line in an attempt to control his humor.

  “I’ve only ever drank from the source,” I reminded him. “Am I supposed to sip? Or chug? What if I spill it? What–”

  He raised a hand to cut off my rambling. “Why don’t you start with small sips to see how you do?” I almost didn’t catch the twitching at the corner of his lip, indicating he was still holding back a laugh.

  Damn him.

  I arched a brow to let him know he wasn’t fooling me before I turned to my glass of blood. This was weird. We were all expected to sit around like civilized vampires sipping on O neg? It felt more normal to slink around in the darkness and back alleyways to get my meal. The normalcy was throwing me off.

  I picked up my glass and brought it to my nose, taking a small sniff of the liquid. It smelled so good my mouth started to water. Bringing the glass to my
lips, I tilted it at the slightest angle until the thick blood just touched my lips. I sucked down a small sip and closed my eyes as the delicious flavor coated my tongue and whet my appetite for more.

  I brought the glass to my lips once more and opened my mouth a little wider. The blood rolled along the crystal glass and passed my lips, bringing with it an exquisite flavor that burst on my tongue. I couldn’t help the moan that reverberated deep in my throat. Tipping the glass up, I drained the rest in a couple of swallows. I licked my lips and used the napkin at my place setting to dab at the corners of my mouth. I hadn’t spilled a drop.

  With a smug smile, I turned to Nicholas to find him completely riveted, his full glass of blood still suspended in the air next to his mouth. His gaze smoldered, and that familiar fire once again ignited inside me.

  “That was one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen,” he croaked. I watched him shake his head abruptly before tilting his own glass back and draining it.

  He plunked the glass down onto the table and rose from his seat. With his hand outstretched he asked, “Dance with me?”

  I placed my hand in his as I rose from my seat. His eyes still burned, but there was something else lurking in there. Some other emotion I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

  He led me out to the dance floor and used his grip on my hand to twirl me around once before pulling me into his arms. A breathless giggle escaped me as his other arm slid around my waist and pulled me closer. We were lined up perfectly, chest to chest, thigh to thigh, without an inch of space between us.

  I looked up into his eyes as we stood there. “I don’t know how to dance like this,” I confessed.

  With a grin, he told me, “Relax and let me lead you.”

  Those words struck a chord and seemed to spill over into our lives outside of this dance. I’d let him lead me this far, and he hadn’t steered me wrong yet. This man had been by my side without fail through everything since almost the moment I’d woken up changed. He’d proved time and again that I could count on him and that he wasn’t going anywhere.