Kindling Flames—Gathering Tinder

by Julie Wetzel

  Darien picked up his bottle by the neck and took a sip of the ale. “I told you. I got several calls telling me you were here by yourself, so I came.”

  Vicky gawked at his words. “I’m not here by myself,” she informed him, “I’m here with Beth and Vanessa.”

  He looked back at the dance floor, where Vicky’s friends were hidden. “I see.” A smile cracked across his face as he took another sip of his beer.

  Vicky huffed at him and crossed her arms over her chest. “I usually have better luck than this.” Relaxing, she picked up her beer again and looked out at the sea of men who refused to dance with her.

  “I have to apologize to you for that one.” Darien looked a little guilty. “It’s not because you don’t look nice, I assure you. You look ravishing by the way.”

  She squirmed in her seat. “Thank you.” She took another sip of beer to cover her unease at having his eyes on her. Once the drink was clear of her mouth, Vicky voiced the thought that popped into her head. “If it’s not what I’m wearing, then why is everyone avoiding me?” She looked up at Darien. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing.” He chuckled. “I didn’t have to do anything.”

  Vicky cocked her head, pondering his words.

  He could see the confusion in her eyes, so he went on to explain. “Goth Night is when the vampires and their minions hit the clubs.”

  She whipped her head around to look at the throng of people gyrating on the floor.

  “Most of them are either vampires or have some connection to vampires.”

  Swallowing hard, Vicky raised her hand to her throat as she thought about his words. “Will my friends be okay?” she asked as concern filled her.

  “They’ll be fine,” Darien snickered. He had already spoken to the masters in the room to ensure that her friends were off the dinner menu for the evening.

  She sighed with relief. “But that still doesn’t answer why I couldn’t find someone to dance with.” She pouted in her beer.

  Darien chuckled again and took another sip. “They’re afraid of me,” he whispered. Vicky’s eyes widened a little at this.

  “I’m sure every one of them has heard about the incident this past weekend. That’s why none of them has approached you. They’re under the impression that you belong to me.”

  She gaped at him again. “But I don’t belong to you!” Vicky objected.

  “True.” Darien sipped his drink again as he explained. “You are your own person and do as you please, but I have offered you my protection. Twice. First, with the werewolves, and now, with the vampires. These people see life by a different set of rules. Since I have given you my protection, they view you as mine and off limits.”

  “Well, there goes my social life,” Vicky huffed and slouched back into her bench.

  Darien tilted his head to look at her thoughtfully as a smile slipped across his face. “Only if you plan on dating a vampire or werewolf.”

  Vicky picked at the label on her bottle as she thought about this. Sitting up, she took another drink of her beer and looked back out at the people populating the club. Now that she was looking at the crowd more closely, she could see eyes watching them. The owners of those eyes still danced and chatted with their partners, but their attention was focused on the master vampire drinking beer in the booth. Laughing out loud, Vicky dropped her head to the table to giggle herself silly.

  Shocked by this reaction, Darien sat up to make sure she was all right.

  She rolled her head over to look back out at the crowd once her mirth subsided. Sighing, she sat up to talk with Darien again. “I actually wanted to go out tonight to get my mind off everything,” Vicky admitted as she took another sip. “It was Beth’s idea that we come out for Goth Night. I never expected to run into a…” she waved, looking for a name for the large group of vampires.

  “It was originally called a murder, but you can call it a kiss,” Darien offered.

  Vicky gave him a confused look. “A murder?” she asked.

  “It comes from the name for a flock of crows,” he explained.

  “Oh.” Vicky filed this bit of trivia away and went back to what she was saying. “I never expected to run into a kiss of vampires.” She took another pull on her beer. “Is this going to happen every time I go out clubbing?”

  “No,” Darien replied. “It’s true that vampires and their crews run the clubs, looking for those willing to donate blood, but they usually don’t come out in the numbers here tonight. Goth Night at any club is seen as a chance for the different broods to get together and mingle.”

  Vicky nodded as he educated her.

  “Vampires are a common theme in gothic culture, so it’s not an unusual topic. That’s why we can sit here and chat about vampirism so openly.”

  “So, no Goth Night.” Vicky nodded, making a mental note.

  “Not unless you want me to come with you,” Darien added, toying with his beer bottle. “You may also want to avoid raves. Those tend to be the preferred hangout of the werewolves.”

  Vicky’s eyes widened and she drained the rest of the beer from her bottle.

  Darien took the empty bottle away from her and pushed his partial beer towards her. “I’m not going to finish it,” he explained as she looked at the offered drink.

  She shrugged and rolled the bottle between her hands. She was drunk enough that she wasn’t going to let some swapped germs bother her. “Thanks for coming out and explaining things.” Vicky swirled the beer around in the bottle before taking a sip. “I’m sorry if I pulled you away from anything important.”

  “Nothing that needed my attention.” Darien grinned. They sat in silence for a while as Vicky picked at the label on her bottle. Darien leaned back in his booth and sighed. “It’s still fairly early in the evening, and you came out to dance, so why don’t you go have a good time? I’m sure you’ll find someone to dance with, now.”

  She gawked at him again. “I can’t leave you sitting here by yourself,” Vicky gasped at the idea. “It would be rude.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Darien waved her concern away. “Besides, this isn’t my type of music.”

  Vicky sat staring at him for a moment, torn. She did want to get up and dance, but she didn’t want to leave him by himself.

  Darien moved his leg back so she could get out of the booth without falling over it. “Go. Have a good time.” His words were gentle, but the command in them left no room for argument.

  Taking one last pull from her drink, Vicky slipped from the table.

  Darien relaxed back into the booth and watched the hem of her dress swirl around her feet as she headed to the dance floor. She stopped at the edge of the wooden surface and looked back at him one more time.

  He shooed her on, and she stepped into the mass of people and disappeared into the writhing bodies. Darien could feel the asking eyes of the other vampires in the room. He nodded his approval before leaning his head back and losing himself to the thumping rhythm of the music. Watching through half-lidded eyes, Darien smiled. He could understand why Vicky would choose such a place to unwind. The heavy beat was almost primal, yet relaxing to the mind.

  ***

  As soon as Vicky stepped onto the dance floor, she was swept away by the movement of the crowd. Before Darien had shown up, the crowd parted when she came out to dance. Now it engulfed her. Vicky felt the soft touch of fingers shepherding her farther onto the dance floor. She never saw the hands or their owners in the mob around her, but they led her to the center of the floor. Closing her eyes, Vicky gave herself over to the music, and it didn’t take long to get properly lost in it. When she opened her eyes back up, she found herself in a group of six of the hottest guys on the floor.

  Vicky was bombarded by a barrage of dance partners, each one dancing with her for a few moments before handing her off to the next. After reaching fourteen, she stopped counting and just enjoyed the movement of the crowd. The faces that passed by, gave her some
thing to think about. Some of them had fangs, but Vicky wasn’t sure if they were real or costume. Surprisingly, they didn’t bother her in this setting as much as she thought they would.

  Thoughts of vampires and her feelings towards them bubbled around in her head as she was passed from person to person. The grasping hands of her next partner ripped Vicky from her thoughts. Instead of catching her waist as the others had, he grabbed her ass and ground her against him uncomfortably. Gasping at the coarse action, she moved to push away from him, but she was swept from his grasp before she could do anything.

  A rich tenor echoed from the chest Vicky found herself buried in. “You do not treat Master’s Lady that way.”

  Looking up into the face of the man who had saved her, the fangs were the first things she noticed, but they didn’t look out of place in the handsome face framed by long, blond hair.

  “Are you all right, my dear?”

  Nodding, Vicky stepped away from him, and swayed slightly as the alcohol caught up with her.

  “Easy there.” The blond man grabbed onto her shoulder to save her from falling over. “Maybe we should get you back to your master.” She “eeped” as he pulled her in against his side and turned towards the booth where Darien was sitting. The crowd parted before them as he walked her off the floor.

  “But he’s not my master,” Vicky protested weakly. She wanted them to know she was her own person.

  The man grinned. “That may be so, but it’s obvious you belong to him.” He patted her hip where his arm was wrapped around her. “Consider it a great honor… Master Darien hasn’t kept a companion in a very long time.”

  Vicky wanted to protest, but they had arrived back at the table where Darien was sitting.

  “Elliot!” Darien smiled up from where he lounged in the booth. “I didn’t know you were back in town.” He stood to shake the man’s hand.

  “Good evening, Master Darien. I only just arrived,” Elliot answered as he took ahold of the offered appendage. “I found something that belongs to you.” He released Vicky and spun her around to stand next to Darien. “She was being accosted on the dance floor.”

  Darien looked over the girl at his side and wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulders.

  “Don’t worry. She is well, and the problem has been dealt with.”

  He nodded his approval. “Thank you.”

  Elliot bowed at Darien’s words. “I think it would be wise to take her home,” he said, offering his advice. “It’s getting late, and she’s a little drunk.”

  Vicky huffed at him, but she couldn’t argue with his point. Now that she wasn’t lost to the music, she was feeling the alcohol. “Fine,” she agreed. “But I need to let my friends know that I’m leaving.”

  Stepping away from Darien’s side, she stumbled a little and was saved by two pairs of hands as the vampires employed their speed to catch her before she fell.

  “Thank you,” she muttered as her skin flushed.

  “Let us help you.” Elliot whirled around to take her arm. Darien took the other, and they walked Vicky out to the floor.

  She looked back over her shoulder at the booth. “My bag!” she protested.

  “I have it here.” Darien patted the bag on his hip.

  She let out a sigh of relief and allowed the two men to take her to find her friends. The crowd parted, and Vicky could see several people bow to them as they passed.

  It didn’t take long to find the first of Vicky’s friends hanging out with the steampunk group. Beth and her dance partner stilled as the two vampires escorted Vicky over.

  A man dressed in a velvet-trimmed, Edwardian morning jacket stepped out of the group to greet them. He bowed slightly to Darien. “Master Darien.”

  “Master Victor.” Darien returned the greeting.

  Vicky looked between the two master vampires before stepping away from her escorts to talk with her friend still held captive by her silent dance partner. “I’m heading home, Beth. I have to work in the morning,” she explained.

  Beth nodded to her but was looking over Vicky’s shoulder at the two handsome men who had brought her over. She stared at them with her mouth open.

  “Beth.” Vicky prompted.

  “Yes!” Beth snapped her mouth shut and turned her attention back to her friend. “Um… going home. Yes. Then we need to find Vanessa. She has the car.” Beth stumbled over her words as she tried to put her brain in gear.

  Vicky giggled. “You look a little preoccupied.” She smiled at the man still wrapped around her friend. “Why don’t you stay here, and I’ll go find Vanessa.” Beth just stared at her and her escorts as Vicky and the men turned to go find Vanessa.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Elliot winked at Beth before he turned away. “She’s in good hands.”

  Beth’s mouth worked in a way that would make a goldfish proud as she tried to come up with something to say. She had never seen Vicky pick up two hot guys in one night.

  They found Vanessa still pressed between the pirate twins. When Vicky approached, the men paused before moving to stand next to each other behind the woman Vicky was looking for.

  The twins bowed slightly to them. “My Lady,” they greeted her. “Master,” they greeted Darien.

  Vicky didn’t know why, but she dropped into a curtsy as Darien bowed to the pair.

  “Jakob. Josh.” Darien greeted them.

  Vanessa stared at who was behind Vicky. Wrapping an arm around Vicky’s, she pulled her friend away from the men following her. “Is that your boss?” Vanessa whispered to her best friend.

  Vicky nodded.

  “What’s he doing here?” she hissed as she looked back over her shoulder at the handsome men.

  “It’s a long story,” Vicky said with a sigh. “I’m heading home. It’s getting late, and I have to work in the morning.”

  “Do you need a ride?” Vanessa asked as she peeked back over her shoulder at Vicky’s boss.

  A smile turned up Darien’s lips as he heard the implied meaning behind her question.

  “I’m fine,” Vicky answered. She was sure that Darien intended on taking her home. “You stay and have fun.”

  Vanessa giggled. “Oh, I plan on it.”

  Vicky looked up at the two men waiting for Vanessa to finish with her friend. Since they had greeted Darien, they had to have something to do with the vampires. Concern colored Vicky’s thoughts for a moment, but she pushed it away. Darien had assured her that her friends were safe. “I’ll see you later.” Vicky hugged Vanessa and turned back to the two men waiting for her.

  “I’ll call you about this weekend!” Vanessa waved to her.

  Vicky raised a hand in response.

  The pirate boys were back on Vanessa before Vicky could get totally away. She shook her head at the giggles issuing from her friend. Only Vanessa could find a set of twins to entertain her for the night. Vicky pushed that thought away and let Elliot and Darien lead her off the floor and out the door.

  They stopped just outside the club, and Darien turned to the other man and nodded his thanks. “Are you staying in town?” he asked.

  “Yes, with some of Rachael’s fledglings,” Elliot informed him. “If you need anything, please call me, my liege.” He bowed deeply and swept his hand across his chest in a very old-fashioned manner.

  Darien nodded very slowly.

  Elliot stood up and turned his attention to Vicky. Taking her hand, he bowed over it. “It was a pleasure to meet you, My Lady.”

  She blushed as he placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

  “I look forward to our next meeting.”

  Unsure of the proper response, Vicky muttered another ‘thank you’ as Elliot released her and disappeared back into the club.

  Darien took her by the arm and led her through the parking lot to his little sports car. “What’s going on this weekend?” he asked as he slipped Vicky into the passenger seat of his Aston Martin. He handed her the messen
ger bag, and she laid it on her lap.

  “It’s girls’ night out with the old dorm crew,” Vicky explained as Darien settled himself into the driver’s seat.

  “Do you always come out to Alchemy?” He started the car and backed out of the parking space.

  Vicky shrugged and looked out the window. “Most of the time. We used to go across town to Red Jack’s, but some guy wouldn’t leave Maggie alone, so we found another club. I have to say, I like Alchemy better.”

  Darien smiled at this. He was good friends with the owners and had financed the club when it first opened. “How often do you go out with your friends?” he asked, maneuvering the car into traffic. When Vicky didn’t respond, he looked over to find that she had fallen asleep against the door again. Darien chuckled and turned back to the road in front of him. He was amazed at how comfortable she was in his company, even after she knew what he was.

  ***

  Darien parked his car in front of Vicky’s building and looked over at his sleeping assistant. The two red crystals on her collar teased him, sparkling just above her pulse point. He shook his head and pulled on her shoulder, so she wouldn’t fall out when he opened the passenger door. Vicky moaned lightly in her sleep but didn’t wake up.

  He got out and circled the car to open her door. Slipping the messenger bag from her lap, he fished in it to find her keys. House keys in hand, Darien slung the bag over his shoulder and bent to lift the sleeping girl from his car. With Vicky secure in his arms, he kicked the door shut before turning to take her inside. She snuggled into his chest and sighed contently in her sleep. Darien smiled softly at the woman and soon had her up the steps and into her apartment.

  Making his way into her bedroom, Darien held her tightly to him as he dropped her legs to the floor. With his free hand, he pulled the bedding back before lifting his drunken assistant into her bed. He took a moment to remove her shoes before making sure she was properly tucked in. Brushing her hair away from her face, he looked down at the black collar that had been teasing him.

  “This is very apropos for tonight’s venue,” Darien whispered as his fingers found the clasp at the back of her neck and pulled the velvet band off. “The next time you want to sport a vampire bite, all you need to do is ask.” He looked down at the two marks on her neck from where the chains attached to the back of the collar had pressed into her skin. Bending over, he placed a light kiss over the mark and drew in the soft scent of her skin. “You make this much too easy,” Darien whispered against her neck and stood back up.