Forcing her face to relax into a smile Margo answered, “I’ve been very busy, Robert. Got a big edit to finish and the author is such a pain in my ass! Published one book before this one, to moderate success and now thinks she’s a writing diva!”
Robert muttered something, clearly not satisfied with her explanation. Mark appeared from the kitchen, his face bursting into a happy smile at the sight of his mistress. Turning toward him, Margo’s smile became genuine. She really did love Mark, in her own way. He was so simple and his devotion to her so unflagging.
As he knelt, she smoothed his hair and bent down to kiss his forehead. “Mark, cher. Are you our swan tonight?” Mark was dressed in a tight T-shirt that showed off his heavily muscled chest and arms. He was a good-looking man. Her newfound lust that had been awakened in the arms of Julian and Grace came to the fore, and she felt something like arousal for this younger, sexy man.
“Yes, mistress,” he sighed happily.
“That’s right,” Robert interjected. “We’re having a double bloodletting. Rhonda and Mark. And we’re having several new guests. People want to join this circle, you know, Margo. People who won’t take its membership for granted.”
She let it pass. She’d only come tonight out of guilt, and because Julian and Grace were off hunting and never permitted her to join them. This was their last night in New Orleans. Just the thought of not knowing when or if she would see them again made Margo almost physically ill. She had even briefly considered secretly following them, but believed Julian that his wrath would know no bounds if he found she had done so. “We will come for you, Margo, when the time is right,” he had promised, and she had no choice but to be content with that.
Their suite had felt empty on this last, sad night, and she had been lonely so here she was. Now, looking at her handsome “swan” Mark, she was glad she had come.
As the guests arrived, Margo assumed the role of beneficent mistress, warmly greeting the nervous newcomers and helping them settle in for the show. When she and Robert cut their respective submissives, she realized she was having fun. This wasn’t real, but the theatrics were entertaining, nonetheless.
Both Rhonda and Mark behaved beautifully, allowing themselves to be cut and suckled, to the awe of the onlookers and pretend vampires in the room. And afterwards, when Margo and Mark retired to one of the many bedrooms for a little sexual play, his gratitude had been abundantly clear. He had been delighted at the new turn their relationship had taken, asking no questions but gracefully accepting whatever she offered. She left him asleep, a smile on his innocent face.
“Where you going?” Robert asked, his voice loud against the silence. He was sitting in the large salon reading a book, a drink in his hand. Rhonda, presumably asleep in his bed, was nowhere to be seen. Margo had assumed everyone would have left or been asleep by now. She startled at the sound of Robert’s voice. Please, God, don’t let him have any lingering expectations from their one brief encounter, she prayed.
It was now well past midnight and Margo was reasonably sure that Julian and Grace would have returned from their final hunt. She wanted to see them off before they left. Not that she would tell Robert where she was going! She sensed he wasn’t to be trusted. He’d made his distaste for Julian clear many times since Julian had “stolen” Grace from the coven.
“Why, home, silly.” She kept her voice consciously light. “It’s almost daylight. Aren’t you exhausted?”
“I’m tired, yes. It was a good night. The fledglings were suitably impressed. Why don’t you stay? You and Mark obviously finally did ‘the dirty deed’. Seems like you’re willing to share it with just about anyone now, eh? Why not me? Why not me again, eh, Margo?”
She bit the retort that rose to her tongue and instead said, “Robert, cher. You’re so tired, and I think a little drunk. So I will forgive you, and assume that you don’t even realize how rude you’re being. Not to mention your lover is asleep at the moment in your bed! Let a lady go home when she’s ready, eh?”
Robert glanced toward his bedroom and reason seemed to prevail. He stood and walked with her to the front door. “Don’t be such a stranger, Margo. We miss you.”
“Yes, yes, I won’t,” she promised, not knowing if she’d have the heart to return here once her vampires had left her. Walking down the walk, she hurried toward her parked car. Sighing with relief that Robert hadn’t tried to “put the moves on her”, she sped away toward Julian’s hotel.
She didn’t notice Robert slipping into his car, silently following her into the heart of the city.
* * * * *
Julian, Grace and Margo exchanged kisses and promises, and some tears as they said goodbye. Dawn was sneaking over the windowsill, and a limousine was waiting below to take the two vampires out of Margo’s life.
When the three of them stepped out into the hotel lobby to check out, they saw, of all people, Robert Dalton. He jumped up, shouting, “I knew it! I fucking knew it! You! The mystery European who thinks he can just swoop into my town and take my women!”
He was holding a whiskey and soda, his third. By the time, he’d gotten his car parked, Margo had disappeared somewhere inside the hotel so Robert had determined to wait. She had to come out sometime. He somehow knew she wasn’t going home! She was going to fuck that bastard Gaston! First Mark, now this ass! When she could have had him! It was too much.
Now, obviously drunk, he was speaking too loudly for the near-empty lobby, waving his glass for emphasis. “Control yourself, sir,” Julian said, but Robert’s face was suddenly reddening, his eyes popping from their sockets with rage.
Robert lurched toward Grace, reaching out to touch her necklace, but she stepped back, gasping. “My amphora! My fucking amphora!” Whirling toward Margo, he yelled, “You bitch! You whore! You used me to get that so you could give it to these—to these,” he hesitated and then shouted, “vampires!” Grace clutched the little vial at her throat as people turned to look at what was becoming a scene.
Julian’s smooth low voice interrupted, “But aren’t you yourself a vampire, Mr. Dalton? Or so you told me when you had us to dinner. A sanguine vampire, I believe you said, sir.” Julian’s expression was entirely without guile.
“Fuck you. I think you’re way more into this stuff than is natural, you know what I’m saying?” Turning to Grace, perhaps an easier target, he spat, “I watched you, Grace, sucking on my swan like there was no tomorrow! You made her sick, did you know that! Weak, she was, for several days after. And you—” he flashed back toward Julian, “—the both of you, so pale with your weird sparkling eyes. Something isn’t right here. I suspected it before but I was too much the gentleman to probe! And now you’re stealing Margo! Kidnapping her, no doubt! I run this town! The Red Covenant is mine and it’s the most influential vampire club in the south! You’re messing on my turf, mister!”
Margo touched his arm but Robert pulled away. “Cher, Robert, hush now, you’re being ridiculous. You’ve had too much whiskey.”
Julian took the younger man’s arm. He was clearly drunk and very angry. Just on the edge of leaving this city, the last thing Julian wanted was a fight with a drunken human. “Let’s go back to the suite for a moment, shall we?” Taking Robert’s elbow firmly in his grip, he steered him toward the elevator bank.
Surprisingly, Robert went along rather docilely, though he weaved slightly. None of them spoke as the large, elegant elevator sped silently up to the penthouse suite. Even Robert, for all his professed wealth, seemed impressed with the grandeur of the place as they entered. Julian led him to a chair and they all took seats around him.
“Listen, Robert. You’re a discerning man. You’re observant and obviously intelligent. Our stay in your fair city has come to an end. I am returning to France with Grace. We’ll be out of your hair and off your ‘turf’ by the morning. I’m sorry if we’ve upset you. No one’s being kidnapped. Margo simply came to see us off, to wish us farewell.” Margo nodded, as Robert glanced at her. “Margo ga
ve this amphora to Grace as a gift because Grace admired it so.
“It was an amazing act of kindness and a show of your obvious love for Margo that you in turn gave her such a treasure. Your obvious respect and love for her are clear.” Julian paused a second as Margo’s mind suddenly opened to him and he read in it what she had done to procure this little item, and why. Keeping his features smooth he continued to back Robert into a corner.
“Of course, as you mentioned, you are a gentleman, and gentlemen don’t question what ladies do with the gifts they are given. I do hope we are all of an understanding here? Did you need a ride home or would you perhaps like to stay in the suite for a while and recover yourself? We are checking out, but the room is good until 11:00 this morning. You are welcome to stay and rest a bit. You’ll find some fine champagne in the refrigerator there under the bar. Please help yourself to it.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Robert interjected. “You can’t silence me with your fancy words or buy me off. I don’t need your stupid suite. I have my own mansion for God’s sake!” He took another healthy swig of his drink.
“Just what is it you want, Robert?” Grace spoke for the first time.
He turned toward her, his eyes wild. “I want you to admit what you are. You know as well as I that our clubs and covens are just for kicks. You don’t think I honestly believe I’m a vampire. Shit, you mocked me that first time I met you at the Coven Ball. But you!” His glare moved from Grace to Julian. “The two of you are something else again. Just admit it to me. Admit what you are. I’ve been watching the news—all those bums lying around with little holes in their necks. I’ve been developing my own theories since the two of you showed up.” His eyes glittered with mean intelligence.
Julian entered his mind, feeling the confusion that whiskey wrought, but beneath it cruel intentions. Robert planned to expose them, to tell the authorities that these were dangerous people who sucked the blood of others and left them for dead. He didn’t honestly believe they were vampires—there was no such thing, of course. But they were dangerous sickos who deserved whatever they got, once he handed them over to the police.
Julian sighed. He had hoped to avoid something like this, but Robert had offered them no choice. As Robert blustered, Julian silently stood and walked around behind him. With a deft movement, he locked his arm around the young man’s throat, getting him in a chokehold that soon left him unconscious.
“Oh, God,” Margo whispered, “Are you going to kill him?”
“I think we have to,” Julian answered. “The poor idiot gives us no choice.”
“Please, Julian. Let’s just leave him weakened. Leave him so he won’t be able to take action until we’re long gone. Margo’s still got to live here, you know. She doesn’t need to be part of a murder investigation.”
Julian sighed, letting the two women persuade him. He hoped it wasn’t a decision he would come to regret. “Okay, let’s take him down the private penthouse elevator to the garages. We’ll deposit him near his home and let him come to on his own accord. We’ll be gone before he revives. But first, we need to take his blood. To make sure he stays weak and unconscious until we’re well away from this cursed place.”
Turning toward Grace, he said, “Would you like the honors, my greedy girl?”
“Oh, Julian, no. No, I would rather you did it. Somehow I haven’t the appetite at the moment.” Julian knelt behind Robert, who just looked now as if he were sleeping, all the wrinkles of rage smoothed from his face. As Margo watched, her expression one of mixed horror and fascination, Julian bit down, his canines distending into sharp little points that pierced Robert’s flesh with ease. He sucked deeply, drawing the man’s blood until Robert was pale, his head fallen limp against his chest.
Grace lightly touched Julian’s shoulder and he shuddered, but slowly released his grip. A droplet of blood remained at Robert’s throat and Julian leaned back down, licking it away with a flick of his tongue. Turning to Margo, he said, “You’ve seen something no human should see. But this is an unusual situation and I don’t want to risk the safety of either one of you. Hopefully he won’t remember the events just preceding this, or the taking of the blood here. Luckily for us vampires, humans seem to have no memory for these things. I don’t want him making life difficult for you, Margo.”
“Don’t worry, cher, I’ve taken care of myself all these years. Robert is easy to handle, don’t you worry. I’ll have him talking to himself by the time I’m done with him. Vampire? There’s no such thing as vampires, you silly boy!” she grinned.
He stood still a moment, and then laughed a hollow little laugh. “To think—I’ve been alone for so long and suddenly two lovely women are by my side, with all my secrets at their disposal.”
“Perhaps we are your new circle, Julian. A circle of three?” Margo said hopefully. She still hadn’t entirely put her dream of being “turned” to rest.
Julian was aware of the subtext of her words. He looked sharply at Margo, sensing her unspoken but still intent longing to go with them, and to be turned. He’d learned after many years that it was better to let things flow than to try and control them. It seemed that Margo had dropped into his life just as surely as Grace had. He would wait and see what her path was to be and how it would cross his and Grace’s as they set out on this new part of the journey.
Now he only said, “Come on, let’s unload this stupid boy. Grace and I have a plane to catch!
Epilogue
The sky was a brilliant dark blue, fading into a twilight of color that made Grace catch her breath. “We call it le bleu in French literature,” Julian offered. His arm was loosely draped over her shoulder as they stood on the crest of a low hill overlooking the fields of his native lands in the Champagne region of France. “Somehow the twilight is more brilliant here in France than anywhere else on earth.”
“It’s lovely,” she breathed. The sun was setting fast over the low, smooth hills at the horizon. Their flight had been uneventful and Grace had been so focused on making an escape and then settling down in their hotel in Paris that she’d barely had time to take in the fact that she was actually on French soil.
They had each hunted the second evening in Paris. For Grace, it was her first time out alone and she felt empowered by her ability to stalk, subdue and take her feed without being observed and without harming her prey. How she loved the silky, pure power the blood gave her. It spread through her limbs like hot wine, but unlike liquor, it left her head clear, her thoughts focused, her body buoyant and strong.
After a lifetime of feeling enfeebled and not at home in her own skin, what an experience now! To be free and alive, with the knowledge that she had all the time in the world to hone her skills and share the love she had found with this amazing man.
They had taken the scenic drive out to what used to be his father’s properties so long ago. As the sky darkened to a purple gray, Julian bent his head toward his lover and kissed her. A warm summer breeze wafted gently, lifting the tendrils of silky hair that framed her face.
Without speaking they sank together on the soft heather, their lips still locked in a kiss. Julian reached down, easing open the little buttons that held Grace’s long flowing summer dress closed. Pulling back from her a little, he swooped down his head toward her. She was naked beneath the open dress—save for little panties that barely concealed her auburn pubic curls. She sighed with pleasure as Julian suckled and licked at her sensitive nipples.
Reaching blindly, she opened Julian’s soft cotton shirt, pulling it back to reveal his firm smooth chest. She trailed a hand down his body, her nails lightly grazing his skin until her fingers met the buttons of his faded denim jeans. With a pull, she opened the fly, her hands greedily seeking his hard cock.
As Julian sat back, she leaned forward. Lovingly she took his member into her mouth, savoring its pungent sweetness as she licked and caressed it with her tongue and hands. Julian groaned with pleasure and whispered, “I adore you, beautiful girl.
”
Grace tickled and teased Julian’s balls and cock until he was panting with desire. “Stop,” he managed to gasp. “I want to see you. Stand up, my sweet, submissive girl. Take off those panties.” Obediently, Grace released his cock from her passionate grip and stood in a graceful lithe movement, dropping her silky panties to the ground.
She was no longer the skinny, lonely paralegal from a small Louisiana town, wondering when her pain would stop and her life would begin. She felt like some kind of vampire princess in a perfect fairytale. And Julian was her lord prince—truly the man of her dreams. For hadn’t she dreamed of just this moment, over and over again, in her little apartment on many a hot summer’s night in sultry old New Orleans? Yes, Julian had been the man in the dreams and now he stood before her, his large dark eyes focused solely on her.
Grace didn’t feel awkward standing naked for her lover. She felt at peace and eager for his touch, desperate for it, her sex hot and wet with need. Her long, pale body gleamed in the last light of the setting sun. Julian, standing now naked as well, pressed his strong, hard body against hers.
“I want your blood, Grace. I want to claim you in every way.”
“And I you, my lord,” she whispered, letting her head fall back so that her long hair streamed out behind her.
Tenderly they bit, each gently sucking at the soft flesh where neck met shoulder. Their bodies pressed close, her nipples tingling against his chest as they sank together again in the soft grasses. Hot, sweet blood coursed between them as they held one another. When Julian entered her, Grace gave a cry of animal pleasure, shuddering and jerking against him in almost immediate orgasm.
Together they rocked and moved, their mouths still suckling, drinking the powerful elixir of the blood of the true kin as they fucked with deliberate slowness. There was no hurry. Life had taken on a different pace now, and one night was nothing but a moment in time. The minutes slipped into hours as they made love, their bodies connected through sex and blood, through delicious heat and stinging pain, weaving together in a perfect sacred circle that seemed to have no beginning and no end. The moon had risen high in the sky and was slipping down the other side of its night arc when Julian uttered a little cry and arched hard against his lover, shuddering his pleasure into her.
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