Dark Rapture

by Hauf, Michele

  “What?”

  His trademark charm was revealed with a sweet smile. A strand of dark hair, released from its silk gathering, crested across his cheek. The candlelight threw glints of gold into his black eyes. It was the first time Scarlet had seen more than darkness in them.

  “You.” He took her hand. “Come along, I know this maze well, I’ve played in here every day since I was a child.”

  He pulled her along behind him and plunged deeper into the maze. Clustered with pink rose vines, the walls rose six feet into the air, making it impossible for the average person to see over the top. Everything was saturated with a heavenly scent. And around each corner sat another thick white candle atop a plaster lion’s head.

  And then Scarlet felt the warmth of Sebastian’s hand leave hers.

  Turning frantically, she looked for him. In front of her narrowed a long tunnel of darkness and silence, She couldn’t see the next turn or hear the rustling of Sebastian’s footsteps over the plush grass carpet. An eerie feeling crept up her neck, reminding her of the night he’d taken her to the mausoleum.

  “Sebastian?”

  Nervously, she played with the lace that hung from her sleeve. Now even the roses seemed to taunt her with their razor-sharp thorns piercing the cool night air. She turned and walked cautiously back toward the glow from the last candle that they had passed.

  “Sebastian, this isn’t funny. Where are you?”

  The cacophony of the party was muffled at best, but Scarlet sensed that she faced in the direction of the mansion. Standing on tiptoes, she could see the upper level, its Corinthian columns supporting a flat roof. But how to get back was another problem. Sebastian had taken so many turns she wasn’t sure which way was which.

  “Sebastian?”

  Her whisper was drowned out by a rush of cool air, and at the same time a hot spike of heat skittered up her back. Scarlet screamed and jumped to the side as the shadows moved and she felt pressure on her waist. She turned to find Sebastian grinning wickedly at her, the candlelight flickering in his eyes as he observed her innocent fright with a prankish smile.

  “Oh, you scared me!” She smoothed her skirts in an attempt to hide just how afraid she had been, and pointed a finger at him. “You enjoy scaring people, you know that?”

  “Oh really? And how is it you are such an expert on me?”

  His question reminded her how careful she had to be. “I just meant that—oh, I don’t know what I mean.” She shivered and turned her back. “It’s getting cold.”

  Sebastian threaded his arms around her waist. His nose tickled her neck, sending delicious tingles down her back and over her chest. “Are you scared ma cherie?"

  She turned around in his arms. “I’m not afraid as long as I’m with you.”

  There was a sweet innocence in his eyes and she instantly regretted the hateful words she’d so foolishly let loose on him in the future—calling him selfish, and a monster. What had she been thinking? He hadn’t been selfish, just lonely. And as for a monster, well, she was as much a monster now as he was. And she didn’t feel so monstrous.

  The unspoken longing in his eyes intensified as each flicker of the candle revealed yet another dash of warm gold in them. Scarlet wanted to kiss him as passionately as he'd kissed her so many times in the future.

  “What is it?” he asked with a quizzical tilt of his head.

  She had no idea what he would think of her, for it was certainly not accepted practice in this day and age for a woman to make the first move, but she didn’t care. “Just this.”

  Tilting her chin up, Scarlet christened his lips with a kiss. She continued until his hands reached to hold her face away from his, his eyes darting back and forth searching hers.

  “I’m sorry,” she said and bit the corner of her lip. She’d expected him to reciprocate as he’d done in the future. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “You are an interesting woman, Elisabeth. Tell me, where, besides heaven, did you come from?”

  If you only knew. The twentieth century. Wouldn’t that throw him for a loop?

  “I’m from, uhh . . .” Where was it Nettie had thought I came from? Oh yes. “Normandy. My family sent me here for the summer. I was supposed to meet my uncle here tonight and stay with him, but I’ve been unable to locate him.”

  An idea struck her at that instant. If only she could make it work.

  “You’re all alone here?”

  “Yes.” This was her chance. Tilting her head in the candlelight and pouting her lips, Scarlet played the demure child in need of help. “I’m afraid I’ve no place to go tonight.”

  “Well, we can’t have that. You can stay with me and my family. We have plenty of room. Until you can locate your uncle, I’m sure my mother would be glad to have you.”

  Well now, things were definitely looking up. Now she could be around to be sure that no vampires slipped out from the shadows to attack him.

  “I’d love to stay. But are you sure it won’t be any trouble?”

  “I’m sure. We’ve many guest rooms. I’ll see to it that Annalise gives you the royal treatment. And tomorrow I can introduce you to my mother. She’s already retired for the evening.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be delighted to meet her.”

  “You are the loveliest woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet,” he said. “Quite uncommon, and marvelously captivating.”

  Scarlet sighed. “Kiss me again, Sebastian.”

  Slowly, he bent his head to hers. The seconds passed in excruciating slowness, and after what seemed to her to be long hours of suffering under his seductive gaze, she received his mouth in a tremor of passion. His lips seared hers, and Scarlet’s body went limp as Sebastian took control of her desires.

  He pulled her closer until the thick material of her skirts stopped her from pressing herself against his body. Only after long minutes did he stop kissing her and pull her chin up to look deeply into her eyes. Scarlet shivered as his hands slid up her bodice and slipped over the top of her exposed cleavage. His thumb stroked the smooth mounds that rose and fell quickly with his every touch. She inhaled, praying the moment never to end. She could barely breathe, let alone think. Everything was perfect.

  “You are an angel from heaven, Elisabeth. My angel.”

  My dark angel. Flashes of the night she had spent with Sebastian in Vince’s room passed through her mind. Though his gaze was innocent enough now, she couldn’t help but remember him lurking over her with bloody fangs extended. And then . . .

  Something was wrong. The familiar pain gnawed at her insides. Of course, she hadn’t felt the blood hunger since she’d been sent back to the past. It had to come sooner or later. But why now?

  Scarlet closed her eyes and let a part of her mind concentrate on the hunger, while the rest of her pulled him closer and kissed him. Her arms twined around his neck. She had time. She hoped. Because right now letting him go was the farthest thing from her mind.

  She could feel the pounding of his desire against her chest although it was also obvious that their hearts did not beat as one. But she was sure of it now. Perhaps she’d known all along, but only now could she admit it to herself.

  She did love Sebastian.

  Her body ached to have him take her and make love to her as he’d done before. “Oh, Sebastian,” she whispered pulling away the ribbon that bound his hair.

  But the hunger was becoming stronger and she felt her body jerk and stiffen as a reminder that she had better heed its call.

  “What’s wrong, cherie?" he whispered.

  “I have to go.” She pressed her hands against his chest, holding him a few inches away. “The ladies I came with, they’ll wonder what became of me.”

  He nodded, assuring her that he understood. “Of course, you must tell them your plans to stay here until you can find your uncle. Tell them not to worry, they may speak with my father if there is a problem.”

  “Yes, I will. I’m sure there won’t be a problem about m
y staying. But you’ve got to lead me out of here, I have no idea where we are.”

  Reluctantly, she followed her dark prince as they strolled through the maze. Most of the intricate labyrinth was now sheltered in darkness because many of the candles had long burned out, and he hugged her close as he marched toward the opening, knowing every turn to take. When they emerged, she left him and hurried through the thinning crowd.

  “Meet me in the ballroom!” she heard him call to her as she wove around the various ponds.

  Yes, my love, nothing can keep me from your side now that I know I do love you.

  Making haste through the ballroom, Scarlet soon stood out under the great entryway that she’d climbed hours earlier with Nettie and Orlena. Standing at the top of the grand marble steps, she breathed a sigh of relief and steadied herself against a stone pillar, glad to have gotten away without Sebastian noticing her condition. She hated leaving him with Christelle most likely in search of him, but she would take care of matters and then find him as quickly as possible.

  The front yard was speckled with a dozen carriages still awaiting the party guests, but the coachmen had taken shelter inside them, or were snoozing atop the driver's seat.

  Scarlet clutched her stomach, rubbing her jaw to soothe the pulsing sensations that stirred in the roots of her teeth. She needed to feed. Quickly, she descended the steps and searched the darkened night for a straggler from the party. She walked past a few carriages and entered the shadows of the surrounding oak glade. Yards away, she could see an old man perched on the steps of a gilded carriage, singing drunkenly to his stein of brew.

  Scarlet looked down at the white dress that ballooned about her feet. Any chances of sneaking up on him were surely hampered by her clothes. She stood out like a ghost in a graveyard. And she had to be careful. Bloodstains would certainly cause shocked faces and questions.

  Carefully, she stepped toward the old man. He was so drunk he didn’t notice her until she stood before him. Before he could speak, she descended upon him. Within minutes, her task was done and the old man rested quietly upon the ground a silly smile etched on his face, and his stein still in hand dripping booze.

  Stepping back to the sheltering darkness of an oak tree, and with a quick look around, Scarlet assured she hadn’t been seen. She shook the dirt from the dress hem, satisfied that she hadn’t spilled a drop of blood. With a quick pat over her hair to tuck in a few stray strands, she skipped back up to the steps and headed down the parquet hallway to find Sebastian.

  As he'd promised, Sebastian waited for her at the edge of the ballroom.

  ***

  “Hmm. He looks as though he’s found a potential wife,” whispered an elegant woman whose white wig was stuffed to overflowing with tiny pink bows.

  “Yes, he certainly has spent a lot of time with that one this evening. And she’s still here.” The woman's friend leaned in as the two observed Sebastian and Scarlet holding hands across the room.

  “She’s lovely, but I’ve never seen her before.”

  “They’ve been coming from all over for him. Such a handsome catch,” the other one chuckled, rolling her eyes toward the arched ceiling as if she too wished to be young and single again.

  The first lady lowered her voice. “Handsome yes, but he’s not heir to the family fortune, you know.”

  “So the rumors are true. I’ve heard them, too.”

  “I’m close to his mother.” The old woman peeked over the top of her purple ostrich-feather fan to make sure that the woman she spoke of was nowhere near. “She was quite saddened by the whole situation. But it’s her own fault.”

  The second lady sighed and fanned her face with her gloves. “Poor child.”

  “Most everyone knows.”

  “Doesn’t seem to matter to all the young ladies, though.”

  “Would it matter to you?”

  They both looked at Sebastian, a raven-haired rogue with sparkling eyes and charm to match. He whispered in Scarlet's ear, while she giggled.

  “Not at all,” the other replied.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Scarlet tossed back and forth under the heavy linens on the thick feather bed. The thin gauze nightgown she had been provided by the maid wrapped around her legs. The night was long with dreams of home and those she had left behind.

  She and Gary shrank back, both of them, from the shadow that loomed over their heads. Sebastian towered over their shaking bodies in the dim, gray night air. The fog rolled in and around them, kissing their cheeks with its mist. Sebastian spread his arms wide, holding his black cape so it blew out like bat wings behind him. His icepick fangs descended a grotesque inch below his lower lip, cutting long red gashes through his.

  Scarlet scrambled closer to Gary, clinging to safety, feeling her fingernails plunge into his flesh. But she couldn’t stop; the vampire was on them.

  Sebastian lowered his head and was inches away from her throat when Gary cried out, a ghastly animal scream. Sebastian jerked his head back, laughing wickedly, his teeth flashing in the full moonlight.

  Scarlet put her hands out before her. Her nails were soaked red with blood and it ran down her knuckles, spidering across her wrists. Where it had come from?

  She felt Gary’s arms slip away and Sebastian leaned over her again, pulling his mouth into a sinister grin that distorted his features until he resembled a skeleton with sunken eye sockets and gleaming red teeth. She stared at him, still holding her bloody hands in the air. Triumphantly the vampire pointed toward the ground and she turned. Gary lay across her lap, his eyes fixed on her in a death stare. She had ripped his neck to shreds. The blood poured from his veins and onto her lap, soaking through her white nightgown.

  She screamed but her voice was drowned out by Sebastian’s maniacal laughter. She screamed again while trying to push Gary from her lap. But his body moved clumsily and in his last breath, he convulsed rigidly and his hand slipped around her waist.

  Scarlet bolted upright, reaching for her throat. The scream was trapped. She scanned the room. She was alone. Sebastian wasn’t anywhere near. Gary wasn’t either.

  She pulled back the thin blankets. Her nightgown was clean and white. She exhaled and sat back against the carved wooden headboard, her heart pounding and her body shaking. It had been a dream. But it had been all too real.

  A firm knock rapped on her door.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s Sebastian. Are you well?”

  “Yes, I’m fine, come in.”

  She pulled the sheets up around her chest as he entered. He wasn’t dressed in cape and tails, but in an elegant mauve frock coat edged in cream lace. She let the horrid dream slip from her mind. His hair was smoothed back and tied behind his head in a silk bow to match the color of his coat, and the same colored ribbons adorned his buckled shoes.

  “I knocked a few times, did you not hear me?”

  She clutched the opening of her nightgown to her throat and swallowed. How long had he been standing out there? “No, I’m sorry, I just woke up.”

  He walked over to the bed and sat down, leaning across the huge mattress to take her hand in his. “I am the one who is sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you, but I’m eager to introduce you to my mother. Annalise looked in earlier but didn’t want to wake you after I had asked that she let you rest. It’s nearly eleven though, will you be rising soon?”

  “Eleven? I have been sleeping longer lately. Sort of becoming a night person,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll just need time to get dressed and then I’d love to meet your mother. But what about the rest of your family?”

  “My father and Jacques, my oldest brother, are out on business today, delivering a stallion. A good friend of mine helped in procuring the final sale of a nasty old beast that my father has been trying to be rid of for months now. Perhaps some other day you’ll meet them.” He seemed to dismiss them quickly with a wave of his hand. “But we may come across Gregoire, he is the middle of us three boys. Though he’s alwa
ys off with his head in the clouds lately.”

  He stood. “I’ve brought some coffee and fresh pastries for you.” He disappeared behind the door and reappeared with a tray of food.

  “Oh Sebastian, you shouldn’t have, but I’m glad you did.”

  “I had the cook save something for you since I wasn’t sure how long you would sleep.” He set the tray on the bed and she pulled the nightgown to her knees and shuffled over to sit by him. A long-stemmed white rose lay across the silver tray and she picked it up. It smelled familiar. Of course! The scent was identical to the perfume she wore so often in the future.

  Sebastian clasped his hand around hers and pulled the rose to his nose. “I love white roses. So pure and confident. You remind me of this rose, Elisabeth.”

  “I do?”

  “Yes. Strong and beautiful.”

  She traced the white petals and ran the tip of her nail down the stem. “But what about the thorns?”

  “The thorns?” He leaned across the quilt and tipped her chin up to look into her eyes, tracing her cheek with his thumb while slowly running his tongue between his lips as if desiring to kiss her. “They are that touch of wickedness that I can see in your eyes. And your boldness. You took me by surprise last night when you kissed me. I love your thorns, Elisabeth. Most women are so bland and conventional. The rules of society have made them all the same. But you have a spark. I wish all women would let their thorns show. It would make life more interesting.”

  Scarlet ran her finger lightly over the thorn on the stem. Yes, she thought, but how graphically this pointed thorn represented what she had become. The nightmare flashed through her mind: Gary’s bleeding throat and Sebastian’s maniacal laughter. She shook her head, closing her eyes to banish it.

  Sebastian was here now and he was not a vampire. Perhaps he’d never become one. These next few days would be the test. She had to ensure that he didn’t fall prey to Christelle Meulan.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked placing the tray of food on the bedside table.