Blood, Body and Mind (13 page)

Sara felt the terror and hatred slap her hard as soon as she walked into the lovely shop. She gently reached out to find the source and was surprised by what she found. So Aaron was paying for her clothes, and Duncan, now that she looked into him, had arranged the whole thing. Damn it. The entire store was in a mental meltdown, waiting for the axe to befall the vampire and the human employees working there. She gave a small push to the woman, relaxing her somewhat.

“
Hello, I’m Sara Temple. I’m going to be an escort for your master at the dinner Friday night.” Sara held out her hand as she moved toward the woman who seemed to be radiating with anger. “I need a dress for the event, and was wondering if you could please help me. I’ll be honest; I don’t go out much—actually, never. I know absolutely nothing about dressing up, not enough to not embarrass anyone, anyway. I don’t know what it’ll take to make me look presentable. I’m not even sure of my size or anything.”

Elaina moved forward to take Sara’s hand. There was confusion, as well as surprise written all over the vampire’s face. Good, Sara thought, one good thing at a time.

“
I’m Elaina Spencer, I’m the owner. Let’s see what we can do for you. I think we should get you to a dressing room and size you up. That will give us a better idea of what we have to work with, okay?”

Elaina’s voice was sharp, and a little condescending. Sara was not offended. If the arrogant men would have stayed out of this, the poor woman would have been fine.

Sara was ushered off to a beautifully appointed pink dressing room, where she was asked to strip down to her under clothes to be measured. The room only had one small mirror, but it had the most gorgeous fainting couch she’d ever seen. It was of the deepest red, almost a blood red, with two floral pillows that had been beaded and stitched by hand.

Sara’s wounds had healed nicely, and since she had not met up with her tormentor in a few weeks, her bruises were actually all gone. She was glad; she did not want nor need any embarrassing questions right now. And right now she had to deal with Duncan while she waited for Elaina to bring her some things to try on.

“
Mr. Duncan,” she whispered thorough his mind. “I’m not at all happy with you right now.”

“
Miss?” he said out loud. In her anger, she had forgotten he might be surprised by her talking to him in his mind.

“
I’m in the dressing room, so speak to me mentally, please. I don’t know when you called your master and arranged this shopping spree, but you shouldn’t have. Do you know what this has done to this poor woman? She believes I’m here to get a dress or have her and her employees killed if they don’t make me happy.” She laid her hand over her bared belly when she thought about the rest of their assumption. “They also believe that your master is my lover and he is fulfilling one of my wildest dreams. Of owning a dress made by a vampire. How sick is that, I ask you? No, don’t answer that. I’m upset with you both right now.”

“
I’m sorry, miss.” He sounded contrite. Well, she was pissed, damn it. “Truly I am. I only meant to help you. I know that you are low on funds. And the master did ask you to go, did he not? He is very happy to purchase what you need. In fact, he felt quite bad for not thinking to tell you so when he asked you to begin with.”

“
Does he normally pay for the dresses of women he invites out?” Hurt, and something else she didn’t want to analyze when she thought of him buying things for other women, she tried her best to sound like having men buy her dresses wasn’t that big of a deal. “Please don’t answer that. I don’t want to know what he pays for or who he pays for. I’ll play the part of the helpless woman this time, and I’ll go so far as to assure Elaina that her new master is a kind and gentle man, no matter how much it makes me want to puke. But, Duncan, understand this, you’ve hurt me. I came to you for help, not a hand out. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Sara angrily brushed at the tears as she closed the connection between them. She would not hold a grudge. It was not in her nature. But to think that Aaron knew of her situation hurt her somehow.

Sara walked out of the dressing room some forty minutes later with the gown Elaina had said would suit. She walked to the three way mirrors and looked at the person staring back at her. Elaina was just behind her, fluffing out the back just a little. The dress was magnificent. And it fit Sara as if it had been made with her in mind, both in style, color, and size.

“
Oh my.” Sara could not believe that that was her staring back from the mirrors. Elaina walked up to her and twisted her hair up and off her neck. It bared her shoulders and long neck, making the dress look all the more exotic.

“
Yes, and what an understatement that is. Miss Temple, if you don’t mind my saying so, you look beautiful.”

Sara grinned at her. She turned right and left to see the whole of her reflection. The dress made her feel beautiful too. She didn’t think she had ever felt this way before. She wondered what Aaron would think of it, wondered if he would think she was beautiful. She suddenly realized where her thoughts were and abruptly shut that train of thought down.

The dress was an array of dark greens, starting with the strapless green velvet that made up the top of the gown. It showed off an ample amount of her breasts that were pushed up and together to show the spectacular cleavage that Sara already had. The form-fitting bodice and waist hugged her smallish figure with braids of dyed green leather crisscrossed across her flat tummy and then attached to the gauzy material that hung from her hips and flared out to the floor. The dress emphasized her willowy body, as well as showed off her unadorned neck. The elbow length black gloves were the finishing touch to the elegance and beauty.

“
You’ll need to wear your hair up and swept away from your face like this. I wouldn’t wear anything else, no jewelry at all.” Elaina winked at Sara in the mirror as she continued. “I’ve seen other women try that dress on and I thought they looked okay in it. But you, Miss Sara, you are that dress.”

“
Thank you, thank you so much. I didn’t know I could look so pretty. The dress does wonders, doesn’t it?”

Elaina showed her how to do a simple twist in her hair. It was just a fancy way to pull her braid up and off her neck. She was a little embarrassed by the amount of her breast that seemed to almost spill over the top of the bodice and tugged at it again. Elaina smacked her hand away gently with a grin.

“
Leave it alone. You look lovely and there isn’t so much of you showing that you need to keep trying to put it away.”

Sara saw Duncan looking at her in the reflection of the mirror. Apparently, so did Elaina.

“
So, what do you think, Mr. Duncan, will she be the hit of the ball?”

“
It is not a ball, Ms. Spencer. It is just the dinner. And she will be the most beautiful woman there, I believe.”

Sara flushed deeply at his words. She retreated to the dressing room to change back into her street clothes. First, however, she sat down on the couch. She was suddenly afraid. Afraid of what Aaron would think about her in the dress. What if he thought she looked to be playing dress up and should have tried something else? What if he thought that she was ridiculous-looking, or that she was not pretty enough now to be his...date?

“
There won’t be a charge. I want her to have the dress. No one will be able to look nearly that lovely in it, and I won’t have another woman even trying to.” She overheard Elaina tell Duncan this just as she stepped out of the little room.

“
Oh no, miss. That is not what the master wanted. He wants to pay for the dress. It was never his intention s of taking the dress, I assure you.” Sara frowned at the wording of what he said, but was not going to worry overly much about that right now. It was Duncan, she thought.

“
Yes, I’m aware of that now. But there still won’t be a charge for her dress,” Elaina said again.

“
Then I won’t take it,” Sara told her as she approached the counter. “I’m sure that I can find another dress, not near as lovely, but I won’t take this from you without paying for it. Even I can see that this is a hand stitched. You also have a good many hours in just the beading alone, no doubt. No, I’m sorry I can’t let you do that. I won’t let you do it. You are in business to make money, and if I ever have need of another dress, I want to be able to come back here to get one. I will also want to be able to send anyone who asks about this dress to you and I won’t be able to do that if you are out of business, now will I? No, you charge Mr. MacManus for the cost of the dress, the real price, or I go elsewhere.” She regretfully laid the dress across the counter and turned to leave.

So Elaina sold the dress to Mr. A. MacManus for what would be three months’ salary for Sara. She was staggered at the amount, but steeled herself with the knowledge that somehow, she would pay the stupid man back.

As they turned to leave the store, Elaina stopped her again, only this time with a gentle tug on her arm. “Thank you very much, Miss Sara. You have restored my faith in my kind. Would you be so kind as to tell the master that it was my honor and pleasure to serve him through you, and I will be the first in line to pledge to him tomorrow night?”

“
Yes, I will. Please, I’d like for you to call me Sara. Thank you and I will see you tomorrow night.”

Sara hurried to her van, carrying her garment bag and the smaller bag containing the shoes, stockings, gloves, and hair clips. She was reaching into the large slider door when she looked over at Duncan.

“
Miss, I would beg your forgiveness. I was wrong.”

She wanted to tell him it was okay, not to worry about it, but it was not. She was getting tired of these guys running her life. “Yes, you were. But I wouldn’t have gotten to meet Elaina nor have gotten this dress if you hadn’t been so high-handed. So, I forgive you. But Mr. Duncan, know this, I won’t be so forgiving next time. You had no right to tell him of my financial needs. Again, I wouldn’t have been able to get this dress without his help, but I assure you, I would not have embarrassed him in any way by my dress or my actions if that’s what concerned him.”

“
No, miss, I assure you that was not my intention when I telephoned him. No, I only meant to lessen your burden in your time of need. No, I am sorry if that is what you thought,” he said in earnest.

“
It doesn’t matter now. But please let him know that I will pay him back every penny he spent. I do not want to feel obligated to him or anyone else. I pay my way. Understand?”

“
The master will not be happy about that,” Duncan said with a sly smile. “He will be mad enough to know that you found out what we were up to tonight. More so that you know how much the dress actually cost him.”

She looked at Duncan and realized he was going to enjoy telling his master what she had said. She grinned broadly at him. “I’m sure his ego will be able to take it. It’s certainly big enough. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go and park. I’m tired, and I have to go to work in a few hours. You should hurry home. I’m sure he is chomping at the bit, wearing down his fangs wondering what you are doing out so late.” She started to shake his hand and put hers out to do so when he suddenly turned it over and kissed the back of it. “Duncan, thank you very much for your help, I couldn’t have done this without you.”

~~~

“
Would you like to see my dress? It’s quite nice. Well, it should be for the amount it cost.” Sara contacted Mel as soon as she got back to the wooded preserve.

“
Yes, show me.”

Sara thought about what she had looked like in the mirrors and sent the image to her friend.

“
Oh my goddess, Sara, you’re even more beautiful than I remember. When did you grow up?”

“
You are so very funny today, aren’t you? But isn’t it nice? I hope I don’t fall off the shoes that go with it. That’s all I need.”

“
You’ll do just fine, have faith. Besides, no one is going to care if you hobble all night long once they see that lovely neck of yours.”

Aaron, she thought, what will he think of my neck? She tingled all over at the thought. “What is it, what’s happened?” Sara could feel the tension in Mel’s voice and with a quick scan, could tell that it was not just in her voice; her whole body was nearly brittle with it.

“
I’m stronger now, Sara. It’s time for me to show myself again. The world needs this magic, and we need to show them that they are not alone in this world. It’s been too long already.”

Sara did not say anything for some seconds; she’d known this day was coming. She had been wondering when Mel was going to make the decision. She just hoped it would have been later rather than sooner. Sara had failed her once, and she was not yet ready to be put to the test again. Not yet, anyway.

“
You know I will continue to protect you no matter what you decide, now or later. You are my queen first, and my friend always. Please, Mel, don’t do this because you think to lessen my involvement. I’ll always be there for you.”

“
I know that, Sara. I’ll need to show myself soon, very soon, I’m afraid. Changes need to be made, Sara. I’m not the same queen I was when you put me here to rest. I’ve made some decisions that will affect a great many people, you especially. You have sacrificed so much for me and our magic. My first priority is to have you exonerated of all charges as well as those who fell to save me. You need to be recognized for what you did. Then I’ll need to deal with Sherman. It’s time for that as well.”