A giant case of nostalgia nearly overtook her when she considered everything the storm had destroyed that would never be replaced. Even though she had been gone from New Orleans for quite some time, deep down she still considered it her real home.
The memories of so many institutions and practices that might never be part of the cultural scene again made everything that still remained even more precious and memorable to her. Just as tonight would be memorable since it would be her first and quite possibly her last Halloween at Mike’s.
Well, there was one exception to the memorable rule, she admitted, glancing down at the Little Red Riding Hood costume Mike had selected for her to wear. He’d sworn it was the only costume he was certain would fit her. Her only consolation was that since she was still on an abbreviated work schedule, she wouldn’t have to wear the damn thing for too long. As to the shortened schedule, she was still rankled by that. She felt perfectly fine and resented more and more Julian’s and Mike’s patronization.
Finished with the last of the bottles Mike had brought to her a few minutes earlier, she glanced across the room. The bar was due to open in less than thirty minutes, and while she had been dusting bottles, Julian and Mike had been setting out the table decorations—hollowed-out pumpkins with battery powered candles in their centers.
She pushed back her chair and headed to where the two men, obviously finished with their work, were deep in conversation. At the risk of seeming impolite she broke into their conversation.
“May I have a few words with you in private?” she asked Julian.
If her intrusion was a surprise, he covered it well with an apology to Mike before he followed her to the small private area that led to the back of the building.
Grabbing Julian’s arm, she pulled him aside and, without preamble, demanded, “I need to know if you care for me at all. I’m not talking love here, and I know there are many things you probably can’t do like an ordinary man would, such as marry or . . . or have children, but—”
As the reality of her words struck terror in her heart, Simone fell silent. She had acted purely on instinct, with no thought at all as to what she would say to Julian when she had his ear. And now that she was in front of him she realized it wasn’t the words she had spoken that terrified her, but the depth of the emotion that had inspired them.
She had already admitted to herself that Julian had won over her heart and that in some way she would always belong to him. But this new realization was much more than that. She gripped Julian’s arm for support as the truth staggered her.
She, Simone LeClerc, an ordinary flesh and blood woman, was so deeply, crazily, heart-stoppingly in love with the vampire, Julian Whitcombe, that she would gladly enter his world if he asked her to.
She gasped. Enter his world? The world of a vampire? Was she truly ready for that?
Chapter Nineteen
JULIAN WAS CAUGHT completely off guard by Simone’s outburst. Distancing himself from her these past couple of days was supposed to make her want him more than she already did. It wasn’t supposed to make her think he was callous. That he cared nothing at all for her.
“Well, I can see how speechless you are,” Simone said, releasing her hold on him and taking a step back.
Even in the dim light he could see the stricken look on her face. Instinct took over and he reached for her and drew her against his body. But having her body touching his after his days of abstinence was like throwing a match into an open can of gasoline. His body burst into invisible flames.
Before he knew what was happening, he had her back pinned to the wall and his mouth covering hers. The rush of energy throughout his body was as strong as if he’d just swallowed a Double-B in one gulp.
Everything inside him was primed to fill The Need that clawed mercilessly at his will. He was being tempted beyond his supernatural control to slam inside her with nothing but the wall separating them from Mike and the first of the party guests already arriving.
“I care,” he assured her, crushing her mouth with his when her hand closed around him, sending him to the edge where he teetered, ready to fall, until she broke away.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Simone said breathlessly, her body trembling beneath his hands.
Every fiber of his being wanted to give in and go with her, strip her naked and lose himself inside her. But, no. He could not. It was still hours until midnight, until he would be free to test the depths of her feelings for him. Unknown to Simone, his future, the future of his brothers, the fate of an entire city was in her hands.
“It’s party time,” he told her softly, with just enough humor to make her smile while keeping her ego intact. “We’re needed in the bar.”
She slumped against him. “You must think I’m terribly wanton, but I swear I’ve never been this . . . aggressive before.”
He believed her, and he was bewilderingly relieved to hear her admit it. He’d become very possessive, as well as protective, of Simone LeClerc this past week. “Let’s cut out about eleven-thirty and go upstairs,” he said, running his hands up the sides of her body, stopping at the soft underside of her breasts and caressing them with his thumbs. Simone’s body reacted with a series of shudders against his hands.
“Can we do that? Won’t it be too much for Mike to handle the bar alone?”
From the breathless anticipation in her voice he knew he could extract anything he wanted from her. “For days I’ve been planning for us to be together tonight. I’ve already arranged for extra help in the bar to take our places.”
She gave him a coy smile. “Then I take it I’m not going to hear any more excuses about how I’m still in a weakened state.” Her smile widened into a grin, and he had to clench his jaws together to keep from ravishing her mouth.
He slid his hands down to her buttocks and cupped them, grinding his rock-hard erection against her pelvis. “Does this feel as if I’m looking for an excuse?”
She purred her satisfaction at the base of his throat, fueling his desire and reminding him again how certain he was of her commitment to him.
IT SEEMED TO Simone that every adult in New Orleans with a dollar to spend and a flood-salvaged costume had heard about the party at Mike’s. Within a half-hour after the doors opened there wasn’t an empty table or vacant stool in the place.
Mike had even put her to work earlier than the eight o’clock start time on her shortened work schedule. An obvious admission of his and Julian’s miscalculation of how many customers they’d expected to attend the party.
An hour after opening, when she’d already served dozens of drinks—and was bemoaning the fact that she and Julian would never be able to cut out early—he whisked her off to the private spot on the other side of the dividing wall. He had a strained look on his face.
“Are you feeling okay? And don’t lie to me,” he said before she had time to answer him.
“I have no reason to lie,” Simone said sharply. “I’m feeling fine. In fact, I’m feeling better than fine now that I’m not being treated like an invalid.”
“Remember,” Julian reminded her, ignoring her blunt reply, “eleven-thirty is quitting time regardless of how busy we are.”
“But Mike might—”
“No argument. Eleven-thirty. Meet me here.” He scooped her against him and feverishly kissed her until she was gasping for air and her knees were wobbly. Then, grabbing her hand, he led her back to the crowded room, whispering before they parted, “Eleven-thirty.”
By ten o’clock, although she would have bitten off her tongue rather than admit it, Simone was exhausted. And her pretty Little Red Riding Hood costume sported several stains where drinks had spilled after she’d been jostled countless times in the crowded room.
She was filling a second order for three margaritas when the phone in the pocket of her Red Riding Hood apron vibrated ag
ainst her thigh. She immediately panicked. Only a few people would be calling her at this time of night—her stepfather, Angela, or . . . or . . . Dottie.
With a quick glance over her shoulder to be certain Julian wasn’t watching her, Simone fled to the area of their earlier rendezvous. Her hand was shaking so badly when she pulled the phone from her pocket that she almost dropped it. Fumbling in the semidarkness she flipped the phone open and Dottie’s number appeared on the LCD screen. Her heart slammed against her chest and an involuntary cry escaped her lips. She barely had enough presence of mind, or enough breath, to say hello.
The voice on the other end of the line was all but drowned out by the weak connection and the steady hum of partying customers on the other side of the wall, but there was no doubt it was her missing stepsister’s voice. Dottie was alive!
“Come for me,” Dottie begged, her faint voice sounding as if it were miles away. “Come for me,” Dottie repeated. “Please.”
Simone’s heart thumped hard and began to beat furiously against her chest. “Where . . . where are you?” she managed to get out between quivering lips.
“Outside, come outside.” Dottie’s voice had grown so faint Simone had difficulty hearing her.
“Outside? Where outside?” Her heart began racing even faster in anticipation of seeing Dottie again. “Where . . . ?” she started, but the phone went dead.
Simone looked around the corner of the wall. Julian was busy behind the bar. She didn’t know where Mike was, but she couldn’t let that keep her from doing what had to be done. She could only hope that wherever Mike was, he wouldn’t see her leave the building.
Without consciously moving, she made her way through the packed room and found herself at the door, only vaguely aware that someone was uncomfortably close to her as she slipped outside.
Before the heavy door closed behind her completely, she was thrust toward a figure waiting in the shadows. Then she found herself cloaked within the dark swirl of a cape.
She had the sensation of flying through the air, and while she was still trying to make sense of what was happening, her captor stopped short on the roof of a building in a darkened part of the city.
A few seconds after they landed, the cape whipped open and Simone caught a glimpse of the pale, red-eyed creature in whose power she was held. Bloodless lips bared ugly, pointed teeth and he snarled, “The master, Zurik, awaits.”
Obviously, Zurik, Julian’s enemy, was behind this. He must have had Dottie in his possession all this time. But how had he known that she and Dottie were related when he’d kidnapped her? Or that there would be a connection to Julian to tie them all together?
Suddenly, everything became crystal clear—the voice that had spoken to her while she was ill had given her a choice. She could have chosen the release from pain for the peace of death, or she could return to Julian. The reason she was in Julian’s life had not unfolded yet, the voice had told her. If that were true, then the morning she had mysteriously found herself in front of Mike’s with the promise of a job staring her in the face had been preordained. Her introduction to the supernatural world, of which she had quickly become a part through her relationship with Julian, had begun long before that morning.
She had entered a plane of existence open to a select few. And she suddenly knew that tonight she would find out why she had been initiated into that world. For now though, her main concern was seeing Dottie and making sure she was safe.
She tried to ask where Dottie was, but before she could get past the painful lump in her throat, she was swooped up and carried away again. When they landed, she was inside a foul-smelling area lit only by a candle at the opposite end of a dark, freezing void.
“You can leave now, Schram.” The sinister voice traveled across the room from somewhere near the flickering light. With a strength she didn’t know she possessed, Simone broke loose from her captor. Ignoring the terror that had her blood pounding in her ears, she started toward the light.
A sudden shock to her body brought a pain so intense she couldn’t scream. Then blackness closed in on her and she slumped to the floor.
IT TOOK A FEW seconds for Simone to remember where she was when she opened her eyes. The candle still flickered across the room, its flame like a wicked tongue, taunting her in the dark room that was as cold as any tomb she might have imagined.
She started to push herself up from the floor with the flat of her hands when a flash of lightning struck her in the shoulder, sending her crumpling back to her knees.
Another jolt of electricity hit her and yanked her upright to her feet. “Just a little magic to show you who’s boss.” Simone recognized the sinister voice as the same one she’d heard before she lost consciousness.
Terrified, she worked the tight muscles of her throat until they loosened enough for her to speak. “Where’s . . . where’s . . . Dottie?” Another shock, this time to her temples, silenced her, and she gasped as she fought to get back her breath.
“Need a little assurance, do you?” The voice sounded as if it were inside her head although Simone knew the evil vampire wasn’t near her.
“Well, how about this?” Instantly, at the back of the room, Dottie’s face shone luminously white, as if every ounce of blood had been drained from her and had been replaced by some weird neon light.
“Dottie,” Simone cried out, wrapping her arms around her waist. “What have you done to her? Dottie,” she called again. “Can you hear me? Talk to me, Dottie.”
“Enough. You’ve seen her. Now, if you want to see her again, you will do what I tell you to do.”
She was jolted to her knees again. “Here.” Something slid across the floor. There was just enough light for her to see it was a telephone.
“Pick it up.”
She didn’t want to follow this evil creature’s orders, but she was too afraid not to do as he asked. She had Dottie to consider. With a trembling hand, she reached for the phone. But before she touched it, it flew back toward the other side of the room.
“Just in case you decide not to obey me, I wanted you to know the depth of my power.” The words ended on a vile laugh. The phone flew across the room again and landed once more in front of her.
“Either you get your lover here, or your stepsister dies.”
Her lover? Julian? How did he know about Julian? But of course, he knew about Julian. He was one of those from the other world. He knew everything about her.
She must have hesitated too long because a jolt of electricity raced up her hand to her shoulder. “Pick it up. I’ve already done the work for you. Just press the call button and tell the great Julian Whitcombe to fly over and join our party.”
IN THE AREA where he and Simone had exchanged heated kisses, Julian’s fist slammed through the wall, missing a stud by less than an inch.
Michael’s hand clamped hard on Julian’s shoulder. “Knock the anger down. You know what it does to your adrenaline.”
“Fuck the adrenaline. I can’t allow this to happen, especially not at this late hour. I’ve waited too long for Simone.”
“She can’t have been gone long. If you calm yourself and think, you may get a clue. I have a couple of the guys outside trying to pick up her scent.”
Julian struck the wall several more times with his bruised fist. “How did I let this happen? What would make her leave despite my warnings? She couldn’t have gone willingly. She was as eager as I for our encounter tonight.” He took a quick breath and speared Michael with a look of desperation. “Get my dagger. Zurik is involved in this, I’m certain of it.”
As Michael rushed to Julian’s chamber, one of the extra bar staff thrust a portable phone at Julian. The young man’s already pale complexion was blanched. “It’s Simone.”
Julian snatched the phone from the man’s hand, his anger at Simone topped only by his fear
for her. “Where are you, Simone? Why the hell did you leave here?”
He strained to hear a response over the growing noise from the bar and the fading reception of the cell, but none came.
A second later, the line went dead.
Chapter Twenty
SIMONE CUT THE connection to Julian and dropped the cell phone to the floor.
She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t lure Julian here and make him a target. Besides, she’d likely be dead before he got here and so would Dottie. Her only recourse was to find a way to stall Zurik in the hope that Julian would use his psychic powers to find her on his own. If he could arrive unexpectedly, he’d have the upper hand with a surprise attack.
But what exactly could she do in the meantime? She was not only frightened, but physically exhausted, not nearly as strong as she’d tried to convince Julian just that morning. And those electrical shocks Zurik was fond of sending her way were quickly zapping the rest of her energy.
There was only one thing she could think of to do. She could use her courtroom interrogation skills on Zurik to keep him off balance while she waited for Julian. It was a slim chance, but it was all she had. And the longer she stalled, the more time Julian would have to find them.
Zurik, however, was determined to quickly bring her back to the danger she faced. “In case you’re under the impression that the amulet around your neck will protect you forever, let me assure you it won’t. Soon my power will override it.”
Simone’s hand flew to the base of her throat. She had grown so accustomed to the necklace she hadn’t given it another thought. But now that it was brought to her attention, she realized that under any other circumstance the shocks her body had endured would probably have killed her. Julian’s gift had saved her life. So far.
The Vampire Julian Page 17