Another Day (The Firsts Book 12)

by C. L. Quinn

  The old Xavier would have swept her into his arms and fucked her until she knew that she couldn’t be without him.

  This Xavier, the one that Margot knew, walked away as requested, and headed for the airport.

  ONE MONTH LATER

  “I just saw daffodils!” Freddie announced, too sing-songy for first thing in the morning.

  “Spring is around the corner. Thankfully, I can finally come to work without being wrapped up like a freaking mummy.” Margot sighed. The Polar Bear coat had been donated to a local charity. Neither she, nor Jonathan on the few occasions he might see her, wanted to be reminded of the relationship that ended abruptly. He was still bitter about it, as evidenced by the lack of cases that had been assigned to her for the past four weeks.

  “I’m looking forward to it. My first good vacation in eight years.”

  “You need it, Freddie. You’ve kept up with me, supported me, and been through a lot with me for the past several months.”

  “Yes, well, I think you’re worth it. Still don’t know what happened to you and Johnny Law, but in the end, I think it’s the better choice. You needed fire, and he was more likely to put it out.”

  “Still, it was the best relationship I’ve ever had.”

  “It might have been the best, but it wasn’t the best for you.”

  And there he was again, Xavier’s face, at just that innocent comment.

  Margot had been trying to come to terms with what he’d told her, with his ability to make someone do whatever he wanted. With the reality that vampires existed, and that to be with Xavier, she’d have to become one.

  And then there was Xavier himself. God, he was perfect! How could such an incredible man want someone so utterly ordinary like her?

  The first two weeks after he’d left, she’d tried desperately to just go on with her days, to let her mind get past the entire idea that there were people on this earth who were not entirely human.

  The past two weeks all she’d thought about was him. As soon as she rose in the morning, the last thing before she fell asleep at night, she closed her eyes and saw him, heard his voice, felt his touch. In the middle of her work day when she should be occupied only by the work, he was there. Out to dinner with clients, she’d look up to find the waiter, and remember the time he’d taken her to the roof, bent her over, and filled her up.

  It was that memory, more than anything, which drove her back to the Smoke District that night after work.

  “Lucky,” Margot said.

  “Hey, Lady Justice, how ya doing?”

  “Good. Could I get a white wine?”

  “I can scare up a bottle. Have you ever heard from that old boss of yours?”

  “No. Strangely, he left behind all of his money, he didn’t withdraw a penny. Which means he must have already had stuff stashed. We’ll get him though. Say, Lucky, are you missing Scottie?”

  Lucky looked up. “Who?”

  Her eyes searching Lucky’s, Margot knew that he had been compelled to forget. He had no idea who Xavier was.

  She’d just hoped to talk with someone else who knew him. That wasn’t going to happen.

  Margot drained the glass and stood. “Thanks, Lucky. Have a really nice life.”

  Her head down to look for her keys, she bumped into someone. “Sorry,” she barked out, curt and brief.”

  “Such an insincere sentiment from such a loquacious lady. Care to try that once more? You can bump me again, too, for authenticity.”

  Her head rose. “Rodney. Hi.” He was just as handsome as she remembered him, the raw sensuality just as electric. “Um, yeah, I do apologize for invading your space.”

  “Better. How is my favorite litigator?”

  “Troubled. Decisions to make, big life changes, but I’m afraid to commit.”

  “Come with me and I will open your eyes and make you see the wonder of the world. You will find no fear with me, lovely lady.”

  Rodney wrapped a strong tattooed hand around Margot’s and led her from the noisy bar. On the street, he continued a slow walk toward his building. He did not let her hand go.

  “Fear is a consort of evil, you know that? It binds you, breaks you, owns you. You must not let it command your soul. What decisions weigh so heavy on you this night?”

  “I don’t know whether to follow my heart and change everything I’ve ever known in my life. No, challenge everything I’ve ever known. Or continue on the path I know and have worked so hard for since I was eighteen.”

  “The Rodman knows of this perplexity you face.”

  Margot smiled, and curled her fingers tighter around his warm hand. For a reason she couldn’t fathom, it felt good and safe. “You have no idea.”

  “I may be a dilettante in matters of romantic nature, but let me try this course. You are in love with a vampire and you don’t know how to let yourself believe and absorb the tear in your universe.”

  Nothing would have shocked her more. Margot stopped and pulled him to stop with her. “What? Wait, you know about vampires?”

  “This man was loved by a vampire, raised to believe in the unrevealed. Nothing surprises me. Yes, I know about vampires. And you do too.”

  “So they’re real? They do exist?”

  Using their clasped hands, Rodney pulled Margot against his chest. He ran a finger along her collarbone, then under her hair to massage the skin on the side of her neck. “You know they do, you’ve been bitten. He needs you, and you need him.”

  “I miss him every minute.”

  “You don’t need to. Fly the friendly skies, Margot Napier, and go home to him.”

  His hands had buried deep under her hair, massaging her scalp. What a unique personality was this man who lived on the fringe of society and just beyond the view of the law. He knew about vampires!

  “Rodney, everything about you is a puzzle. You shock and surprise me at the same time. I feel like I’d like to get inside that head of yours to see how you work.”

  “That is a climb into an infinity of insanity, little lawyer, and would decussate your world and that of mine so that there would be no return. I say again, in as plain a language as possible...”

  Rodney held Margot’s face in both hands once more, his eyes mesmerizing. “Go to him.”

  That moment, for a reason she would never know, Margot closed her eyes and saw Xavier smiling to her. The fear of the unknown was gone. He was her future, she knew that, and all the uncertainly fell away. Whether it was Rodney who weaved his own brand of magic, or a moment of clarity finally reaching her mind and heart, she knew now where she belonged.

  Lifting up on tiptoes, Margot hugged Rodney. “I will. Thank you for talking me off the ledge. I was frozen there with no way in or out. Do you know that you have the same erotic scent that the vampires do?”

  “It’s the Rodman. Everything about me is erotic. Sad that it’s too late for you and me. We would have been epic.”

  “Maybe. But I have a vampire waiting for me. Take care of yourself, Rodney. You’re a good man, don’t let this life define you.”

  “The Rodman is solid. Someday, though, you may see me again.”

  “I’d like that.”

  Margot walked away, sliding her keys out. As she reached her car, she looked back at Rodney’s silhouette, a tall muscular shape against the backdrop of lights. What a diamond in the rough.

  “Everyone has a story,” she said, as she slid into her seat. He was right about everything. She couldn’t be afraid of the unknown. Not when she had someone like Xavier waiting for her.

  ONE WEEK LATER AT XAVIER’S HOME

  “Sir, do you want anything to take to your chambers?”

  “Aye, please. Ya know those tiny cupcakes ya made for second meal last night? Do ya have any more?”

  Smiling, the pretty assistant chef, only three weeks new, and who had a big crush on Xavier, nodded vigorously. “Of course I do. I’ll prepare a platter.”

  “Thank ya, darlin.’”

  He was incr
edibly tired tonight. His patrols in Paris had found a hive of young vampires that had set up near the Eiffel Tower who were preying on tourists. They’d gone in and raided the group, separated everyone, and sent them to different cities in Europe. They could cause trouble for the vampire community, so it was Xavier’s job to make sure that didn’t happen in Paris.

  Returning with a generous amount of miniature cupcakes, the young chef shyly handed them over to the giant vampire. She’d been raised by her parents to be his blood-bond someday, but she was young and impressionable, and unfamiliar with men like Xavier. Her assignment to the kitchen was the safest place for her. The last thing Xavier needed was another smitten human girl.

  “I appreciate it. I’m goin’ up now.”

  In moments, Xavier was beside his bed, the cupcakes on a nightstand. He sighed as he stared at the tray. There had been far too much sugar and not enough sex in his life for the past six weeks. Afraid he would go stir crazy, he slid out of his clothes and reached for a cake.

  This was Xavier’s house? Holy hell! He had said that it was nothing like his little apartment, but this was a castle inside a fortress.

  Turning to pay the cabdriver, Margot thanked him with her limited French, “Merci,” and walked up to the door. She’d packed very little, aware that this could go badly. After taking a month to decide how she felt, she might be right back on a return flight to New York City within the hour.

  After pressing a buzzer, a full sixty seconds later, an attractive young man answered the door.

  “Oui, madame?”

  “Hi, my name is Margot, and I’m here on an invitation from Xavier.”

  “Madame, the master sleeps in the day and does not take guests while he is resting.”

  “He will want to see me. Please, let him know. I’m coming off a transatlantic flight.”

  “Wait in here.”

  He led her to a little alcove with several benches, but after he disappeared, she stood and paced, peeking out at the incredible architecture. Xavier lived like a king. Hell, for all she knew, he was king. Wouldn’t be hard when you can force people to do what you want them to do.

  The man didn’t come back right away, and, curious, Margot wandered out of the cubby as she looked around. Coming around a corner, a sharply dressed woman stopped and stared at her.

  “May I help you?” the woman asked, her words thickly accented.

  “Yes, I’m here for Xavier.”

  The woman’s eyes moved from the top of Margot’s messy bun to the high-heeled boots. She sniffed.

  “He will like you. You are his type. Come with me. You are very late, he will be resting soon.” A moment later, she glanced back at Margot again. “We knew there would be a new playmate soon, he seems to have tired of the old ones.”

  Margot tried to respond, but not only did she have no idea what the woman meant, she spent her time trying to keep up with her brisk gait. They went up a wide set of stairs to the second story, down a wide long hallway, and stopped in front of big double doors.

  “These are his rooms,” the woman announced.

  Pressing a buzzer, she responded to a loud hail to come in. Opening the door, the woman called out.

  “Sir, the girl you asked for has arrived.”

  Confused, Margot waited as the woman opened the door wider. “You may go in.”

  Pulling herself to her full height and taking a deep breath, Margot went into the darkened room.

  It was cavernous. This was his bedroom? It was bigger than her entire apartment. Her eyes adjusted to the low light as she scanned the large space. A massive bed occupied the center of the room, a big figure on the edge.

  “Madame Renault, who do ya mean?” Xavier asked and turned to face Margot.

  He was naked, sitting there, a small cupcake in his hand, suspended halfway between a tray and his mouth.

  Placing the cake back on the tray, he slid off the bed.

  “Margot?” he whispered, disbelieving.

  “So, you meet all your guests naked?”

  Xavier was in front of her, and swooped her into his arms before she saw him move. His lips were on hers, his warm hands curled around her, and Margot knew, with no doubt at all, that she was exactly where Rodney had told her to go. She was home.

  In a split-second, Margot was on the bed, her boots already off, the huge naked man kneeling beside her, his cock erect. But it was the luminous smile on his face that took her heart.

  “Ye came,” he said.

  “I did. Do you still have room in your home for me?”

  “Forever and a day. Ye have me heart and me home forever lass. I was startin’ to think ya might have chosen not to come.”

  “No. I tried to just live normally until I realized I couldn’t and I had to make a decision. You get that, though, don’t you? You can’t have lived for all those centuries and not understand that vampires, your people, are beyond anything we humans can imagine. At first. Now, I’ve accepted your world, and Xavier, I have always accepted you.”

  “Ye’re right that it isn’t easy. That’s why I was concerned that ye might not come to me. Ah, lass, I’m glad ya did.”

  “The second I came into this room and you held me, any doubt I might have had faded. I love you, vampire, human, whatever you are, it doesn’t matter. I love you, Xavier.”

  “The man who cooked for Lucky is still here, but I want ya to meet me, all of me.”

  Margot looked around the bed she lay in that had to be the size of three king-sized beds. She crawled away from him and began to slowly remove her clothes.

  “Then let’s get started.”

  An hour later, Xavier set another tray right on top of the bed. “Ye’ll love the food here.”

  Leaning over, he nibbled on Margot’s thigh, his tongue traveling up and up, until it ended between her legs again, tickling her.

  She squealed, an icing-filled cookie already in her hand.

  “I’m sorry, I thought we were dinin’,” Xavier explained as he took another long lick before he lifted up to lean against his hand. “No cookie tastes better.”

  “Ummm, this one does. I’m going to get so fat.”

  “Ya never will. I’ll let ya know about that later. For now, may I?”

  He’d scooted up to lick her neck.

  “Um, you want to drink my blood, right?”

  “I’ve done it before and ye’ve loved it.”

  “I can’t believe I really don’t remember that.”

  “It was in the height of passion, love.”

  “This time, I’m going to pay attention. Will it hurt?”

  “Nay. Lie back and I’ll show ya.”

  Nervous, but trusting, Margot lowered herself until she landed on one of Xavier’s overstuffed pillows.

  He moved against her, every graze, every touch, inflaming her skin, and when he bit and began to draw, she didn’t pay attention. The white-hot heat seared her skin and brought intense tugging between her legs again.

  “It’s very sexual,” he’d told her.

  As he drew in her sweet blood, Xavier moved over her body and mounted her. Minutes later, he moved up and down, the sensual sucking combined with that, and she began to quiver. Again.

  Oh, God, was she coming already?

  Yes, a blood draw with him inside of her was an express lane to orgasm.

  “Wow,” she commented quietly when they were finished and he lay beside her.

  “Wow is right. It’s just the beginnin’, lass.”

  “Then you’d better make me vampire soon.”

  Xavier lifted up and tickled her around each nipple, his eye brows raised.

  “That’s the idea.”

  The End

  Xavier has found his mate. We move forward now toward the Grand Destiny of the first blood children.

  But first...is there time to just live in the moment? Is there time for innocence and a chance to play? Oh, yes, there is.

  Join Book 13 for the Days of Innocence, as we flash forward 2
1 years. They’re young, beautiful, and powerful, with an entire world to discover and a destiny to protect it all coming some day in the future.

  Before they become warriors for the living planet, the new generations of first blood children have some living to do.

  Meet us again for Days of Innocence. Keep updated at C.L.Quinn Writer on Facebook.

  Charlie Quinn

  The lullaby excerpt on page 250 is Lullaby in Blue from the film Bundle of Joy.