Master for Tonight (16 page)

“
Lover!”

“
Again! Tell me who I am to you,
Kate!”

“
Oh! Loverrrr! Yeaaaas!
Yeeaaaaaas!”

Harder and harder he worked as he replayed
her voice calling to him, until his cock stiffened even more and
his thigh muscles locked. As his cum shot out to mix with the water
on the floor of the shower, he called back to her in his thoughts,
repeating his promise to return to her side. He fisted his hand as
he watched his essence slide down the drain, wasted, rather than
filling Kate as it should, claiming her in the way men have always
claimed their women.

He knew Evangeline hadn’t been to Kate’s
house. Reese would have said something, since he was there each
night. He had even rearranged his personal schedule to handle
security himself, instead of asking another vampire for assistance.
Julian would never be able to repay his friend for the favor.

After leaving the shower and getting
dressed, Julian found Evangeline at her vanity, brushing her hair
with a thoughtful look on her face. He took a moment to put his own
‘face’ on.

“What are your plans this evening?” Julian
asked, taking the brush from her and running it through her blonde
tresses.

“Why? Why do you care?” She regarded him
with suspicion in her eyes.

Julian’s hands stilled as he prepared for
the grand theater.

“Why are you asking me this, Evangeline? How
have I not made my feelings clear? Haven’t I shown you enough? Have
I not pleased you, lover?” He took her hand and motioned for her to
stand. He wrapped his arms around her waist, slowly bent his head
to hers, drawing out her anticipation, and kissed her. He pricked
her tongue with his fangs, loving the feel of her blood going down
his throat, knowing every drop strengthened him.

She pulled away to look him up and down. Her
eyes were slits.

“Why do you suddenly care about me, Julian?
It is very curious. Don’t you agree?” She tilted her head from one
side to the other as she studied him. “So sudden, your ardor. All
these
feelings
. What is your game, Julian?”

He chose his words even more carefully,
hoping to use just the right tone and gesture to lessen her
mistrust.

“No game, love.” He took her hand in his,
looking into her eyes with what he hoped looked like some semblance
of caring. “Your jealousy at my…can we call it a foolhardy
indiscretion? Your jealousy opened my eyes to your true affection
for me. I had always thought it false, for some reason. That’s why
I ran from you in the past. Do you understand? That is why I ran
from you those times, and the reason for my indiscretion. I could
not bear the falsehood. Now, you have fed me both your blood and
honey, filling me with yourself when I was so empty before.” He ran
his tongue slowly over his lips, trying to gauge her reaction to
his words. “I’ve become ravenous for you, and only you. You must
know this. How could I care for another woman, much less a human
one, when I already have such beauty in my arms?”

Sitting back down, she looked at her
reflection. “He calls me ‘love’ now. Speaks in a flowing tongue.
Says the words he wants me to believe, when mere weeks ago, he
spoke them to another.”

“Spoke lies to the other, love. The truth is
here with you. I am here at your side, as I should be, and as
you
stated to me those weeks ago. Put the past away. It
upsets you, and I don’t like seeing you upset over something so
silly.” He brushed her hair with long, languorous motions, running
his fingers through her hair after each brush stroke. “Please look
at me, Evangeline. How could I know your true heart when you have
always taken other lovers? How was I to know I was your most
cherished? How could I stand by as my jealousy tore at me? I acted
out in a childish way. My actions and the reasons for them are
clear to me now.”

She reached back, stilled his hand, and
looked at his reflection in the mirror.

“I will know the truth soon enough,
Julian.”

And then, shortly after, you’ll be dead.

He kissed her neck.

“Yes, love. You will.”

*

“So Kate, Reese is going to join us at your
place tonight. Okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“What do you think of him? We’ve been
texting a lot. You know, me and Reese? He seems like a cool
guy.”

“Yeah.”

“I can’t quite figure him out, though.”

“Hmm?”

“You think he’s gay? He dresses so well,
designer clothes, and knows a lot of things normal guys don’t. For
instance, he knows more about the new summer collections coming out
than I do.”

“Hmm.”

“He is really good looking. So tall, with
that shaggy, blonde hair. Did you notice how well built he is? I
wonder how big he is.”

“Hmm.”

“Maybe I’ll just ask him to show it to
me.”

“Okay.”

“Kate! You haven’t heard a word I said.”

“Yes, I did. I heard every word. You want to
see his package and figure out which side he bats for.”

“Good save, K. I’ll be at your place at
eight. He said he’d be there ten-ish.”

“Okay. See you in a couple of hours.”

Kate set her cell phone down on the kitchen
table, closed her eyes, and thought about the dream she’d had the
prior night. Over time, the lock on her dreams seemed to be
slipping, allowing her to remember bits and pieces of the puzzle as
her memory was slowly excavated while she slept. The hidden gems
mined from the murky blackness sat in front of her, to unlock the
code of their meaning.

“
You're mine, Kate. Do you
understand?”

“
Yes, lover!”

“He’s real. I know he is.”

She tapped the table with her pen in
victory, small as it may have been. She had hoped her mind would
work in solving that mystery, the same as it had with other
problems she’d encountered in the past. Constantly working, delving
into the creaks and crevices of her subconscious in ways she
couldn’t when awake.

The answers for which she searched seemed
both elusive, yet within easy reach. It was almost like if she
could stretch her arm between the bars a bit more, she could grab
the keys on the wall and unlock herself from this hellish prison of
darkness. Her fingertips kept brushing against them, but she was
not close enough to get them in her grasp.

She knew what she needed to do and where she
needed to go, but was afraid of how she would react, even after
such a long time had passed. Her hands started to shake as she
visualized herself walking up the stairs and into the room.

Closing her eyes, she spoke a calming mantra
a few times and stood.

“Kate, you can do this. Just go.”

Her feet felt heavy as she forced them to
take her to the foyer, and then to the stairs. Looking up the
staircase, her heart hammered in her chest at the thought of
ascending to the room she once loved. Determined to accomplish it,
she grabbed the banister and used her arm to pull her body in the
direction she wanted it to go.

“One foot in front of the other, and then
you’ll be there. You can decide how far to go once you’re up the
stairs. You can do this. You can do this! It’s only fifteen
steps.”

She took them with care, placing both feet
on each stair step before moving to the next. Her legs trembled,
but she continued. As scared as she was at how she might react, the
promise of knowledge spurred her on.

“Fifteen.” Her whisper of success settled
her for the moment.

Smoothing her hands over the fabric of the
front of her pajama bottoms, she ventured forward on her tiptoes,
trailing her fingertips over the wall as she stepped to the
entrance of her abandoned bedroom. Her head swiveled left and
right, and her eyes darted about as if she expected the ghost she
hunted to spring out from the shadows to startle her.

When she reached her bedroom door, her feet
flattened to the floor. She clutched her mid-section as her stomach
dropped at the immediate ache in her heart for her lover lost. She
no longer doubted that description of the man now missing from her
life. To her, it was a certainty as much as it was a mystery that
she had yet to resolve.

This isn’t going to get any easier. Get in
the room.

She didn’t trust her voice not to crack at
the strain of her heartbreak. All those weeks later, it was still
as sharp as at her first wakening.

Barely stepping in, she closed the door to
lean against it before sinking down to sit and observe. She ignored
the pin pricks at the back of her eyes. The tears would fall, no
matter how hard she tried to stop them.

Her burled-wood sleigh bed sat in the center
of the room dressed in an abundance of pillows and the flowered
coverlet she’d bought at a vintage shop a few months back. Nana’s
lamp and some scented candles were on the nightstand, and an
armless bedside chair draped by a lavender throw blanket stood at
the window.

“
In or out, Kate.”

“
In.”

She breathed in sharply at the recollection.
His voice was masculine and faintly British, as if he had been away
from his home country for many years. He also sounded frustrated,
and she wondered what she did to trigger his tone. One thing could
not be questioned.

I said, “Yes.” I knew he didn’t drug me.
Mazzie, I told you!

Her gaze was drawn to the bathroom, but she
couldn’t yet bear to enter what she had come to consider a sacred
space. A place she knew she had both been worshipped, and
worshipped another, in turn. A place in which she sensed absolute
truth of heart was spoken.

Rising to her feet, she approached the bed
with unsteady steps and touched the coverlet hesitantly. She missed
the feel of the soft fabric and lay down on top of it before she
thought about it too long. Her legs hung off the side of the
bed.

I need to move back in here. I can leave the
bathroom door closed. I can’t go in there. It’s going to hurt too
much. Maybe one day, but not now.

She pulled one of the pillows to her and put
it under her head as she considered whether or not she could
emotionally and mentally move back into her master bedroom. She
scooted to the middle of the bed, pulled her knees up to her chest,
and started thinking about how she could make the move work.

I have to try. I can always move back
downstairs if this doesn’t work out. Maybe more will be revealed if
I stay here.

Resolved, she decided to wait until Mazzie
arrived to help in that step of her recovery. She had been such a
support to Kate. Mazzie would be ecstatic at her finally putting at
least one piece of her life back together, even though Kate dreaded
it with all her heart.

*

“There. That’s all of it.” Mazzie walked out
of the closet, to where Kate sat on the bed with her head down.
Taking a seat beside her, Mazzie placed her hand on Kate’s thigh.
“This is going to be a good thing, sweetie. Trust me.”

“I...I just don’t know. I’m so scared. I’m
not used to feeling this way. I’ve always been a strong woman. Yes,
I’ve have some anxieties in the past, but I’ve never been a weak
person.”

“You’re not weak. You’ve lost your bearings
is all, and you will get them back. Moving back into this room is a
big step in that direction. You’ll sleep in here. I’ll make sure of
it. That’s what the wine is for tonight. I’m going to get you all
nice and loosey-goosey before I bring you up here and put you to
bed. I’ll stay in the downstairs bedroom. Okay?”

Kate leaned on Mazzie’s shoulder, linking
their fingers together.

“You don’t know how much it means, you want
to get me drunk and take me to bed. Oh!” Kate covered her flaming
cheeks with her hands as she laughed. “You know what I mean!”

“Ha! You and I have been through a lot over
the years, but this really does take the cake. I’d do anything for
you, girl. It just bothers me, you know, the similarities.”

“I know, but it isn’t the same as what
happened to you. You have to trust me.”

“I’m trying.”

“Yeah, I know.” Kate glanced as lights in
her driveway lit up the night sky, and she went to the window.
“Reese is here. Let’s go.”

They went down the stairs, and Kate opened
the door as Reese jaunted up the steps, bag in hand.

“Hey, Reese! Come on in. Glad you could make
it tonight.”

“Thank you for the invitation, Kate.” Reese
walked through the door and handed her the bag. “Brought some vino
for you ladies. Can’t ever have enough of the red, right?”

“Make yourself at home. I’m going to uncork
these right now.” Kate held up the bag and left for the
kitchen.

As soon as Kate was out of the room, Mazzie
walked up and stood close to Reese.

“I’m getting her drunk tonight, and you’re
gonna help. Got it?”

Reese’s eyebrows lifted. “Are we talking
massive hangover drunk, or just tipsy enough to sleep?”

“Either will do. Let’s go.”

They decided to have their drinks and visit
in the living room. Kate snuggled up in a corner of her couch with
a blanket over her. Mazzie sat on the other end of the couch, and
Reese lounged in the chair beside her. A few hours passed as the
conversation flitted between fashion, newly opened restaurants, and
motorcycles. Reese and Mazzie had a passion for all three.

“Another bottle then, ladies?” Reese held up
the second empty one.

“Absolutely! We’re not driving anywhere
tonight. Right, Kate? Kate…” Mazzie touched her foot.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll have another glass.” She
smiled weakly at them.

Reese gave a worried glance to Mazzie, who
shooed him away to the kitchen.

Once there, he looked back to make sure he
wasn’t followed, and hit a number on his speed dial. It barely rang
before being picked up.