Out of the Dark (Forbidden Love) (18 page)

     Brea felt a stab of pain in her chest just at the thought of leaving.  But what else was she to do?  Angel only hired her for the week, and that time was drawing quickly to an end.  Perhaps he would ask her to stay, she thought.  No, her job was nearly done.  At least, she thought with a sigh, she had her memories.

*******

     “Good evening,” Sebastian said to his leader.  “How was your night?”

     “Good, there was another body last night,” Angel replied, tying his hair back.

     “Ricco told me.  So, I know this is none of my business, but does Brea know about your mark?”

     “What mark?” he asked innocently.

      “The one on your neck.  It looks a little like a dragonfly.  Does this mean you have made her your mate?” Sebastian grinned.

     “It’s on my neck?” Angel said incredulously.

     “You didn’t see it?”

     “I wasn’t looking for it. 
I wasn’t sure it would appear, and really I never thought it would appear there,” he said, now examining his neck in the mirror.  There it was.  Undeniable proof that Angel had given himself to his true mate.  Only the true mate caused the tattoo-like markings on a vampire.  It was red tinted, swirling lines that crept over the side of Angel’s neck.  And Sebastian was right, it did look like a dragonfly.

     “Does she know?”

     “No,” Angel replied, a little apprehensive, and somewhat relieved.  He hadn’t looked for the mark, fearing it wouldn’t be there.  But now he had to find a way to tell Brea that she was his mate.

     “I saw Brea
earlier, she was on the phone with the bartender.  I didn’t see a mark on her,” Sebastian said.  “Am I to assume she did not join in the mating?”

     “No, I have not marked her.  I have not bit her, I have not even told her about me.  What am I to do?  She will leave here tomorrow, and I fear I will not bode well without her near.  As it is, I can barely stand to not taste her now.”

      “You need to talk to her.  I see the way she looks at you.  She was never star struck by any of us, she is very level headed.  I think she might understand better than you know.”

     “And if she doesn’t?”

     “Then you were very unwise to give yourself to someone who didn’t understand what was going on,” Sebastian chastised.  It had been foolish of Angel.  There would never be anyone else for him, no one else would ever hold his heart.  A part of him just didn’t care.  He wanted Brea, and no one else would do.

     In the great hall, things were going on schedule.  The bartender had arrived, the alcohol unpacked, the decorations were up.  Angel had little time to say anything more than hello to Brea for all the work that needed doing.  But to his delight, she seemed happy.  She was bustling around giving orders and directing traffic.  When everything was said and done, there was only an hour to get themselves ready before the guest were scheduled to arrive.  

     “So, when did Angel get that tattoo?”  Keelie asked as she pinned Brea’s hair on her head.

     “I don’t know, he was with me all night.  Maybe it’s just a vampire thing.”

     “He was with you all night?” her friend asked with a sly smile.  “Does that mean you, um, ya know?”

     “Yeah, I did,” Brea smiled.

    
“Ohmagod!  Details, I want details.”

     “Well,” Brea hesitated looking for the right choice of words.  “I have heard a lot about sex and what is supposed to happen.  I never thought it would be like that, though.”

     “So he was good?”

    
“Better than good.  The man is quite talented, I think.  I don’t have anything to compare  it to, but he went three times.”

     “Three times, wow.” Keelie stared at Brea.  “What about you?  Did he satisfy you?”

     “I lost count,” Brea said, blushing.

     “I am so jealous!
  I’m happy for you, though.  I think you two will be good together.  But I’ll miss you at work.”

     “What are you talking about?  I’m going back to work tomorrow.”
      “Oh, I just thought that since you two….well never mind.  It’s none of my business anyway.”

     “Keelie, what are you talking about?  Why wouldn’t I go back to work?”

     “Well, with someone like Angel, I don’t see why you would want to.  He’s rich, and he would give you anything you want.  Since you’re mated, I don’t see why you would want to wait on people when they should be waiting on you.”

     “Mated?” Brea asked incredulously.

     “Yeah, you know, he bites you, you drink from him, you get to live forever…mated.”

     “He didn’t bite m
e.”

     “Oh my,” Keelie said, looking more than a little worried.

     “What are you not telling me?” Brea demanded.

     “I think you need to talk to Angel.  He should be the one to explain it.”

     “I’m asking you, and you are going to tell me.  Now.”

     Keelie hesitated.  “You drank from him, right?  About the time he was coming?”

     “Yeah, so?”

     “So, he gave you more than a night of great sex.  He gave himself to you.”

     “I don’t understand.” Brea admitted.

     “I’m no vampire, so I probably don’t have all my facts straight.  But this is what I have been told:  when a vampire finds his mate, he feeds from her while she is climaxing.  The mate gives herself to him and she will forever belong to him.  If he allows the woman to drink from him, the same is true.  A true mating will leave a mark on both parties, a mark that looks like a tattoo.”

     “So, Angel mated with me?”

     “Yes.”

     “So, what does that mean for him?”

     “Since he didn’t mark you, I’m not sure.  I know that once a vampire mates, it is for life. 
There will never be anyone else for him.  Not for blood, not for love.  He belongs to you and you alone.  From what I understand, mated vampires only feed from their mates.”

     “Will he starve then, if I don’t let him bite me?”

     “It would take a very long time to starve a vampire.  Like I said, you need to talk to him.”

      “Oh, I plan to.  I might just knock some sense into him while I’m at it.” Brea mumbled under her breath.  How could he be so stupid?  Why didn’t he tell her?  A part of Brea wanted to jump up and down with joy. 
Wasn’t that what she had wanted?  A man to love her more than life itself?  He must love her very much to give himself to her, but why hadn’t he told her?  Now, she felt obligated to him, and that wasn’t what she wanted.  It had been selfish and presumptuous of him to take that kind of step without knowing how she felt about it.  She would have to let him feed from her.  Brea had all but decided to let him anyway, but now she felt like the choice had been taken away from her.  She wanted to march downstairs and give him a stern talking to, but there were other things going on that took precedence over her anger.  But he would tell her, Brea decided.  Tonight.  She would make sure of it.

     Brea sat at the end of the bar, slowly nursing a margarita.  The guests were pouring into the great hall in a steady stream.  Brea had expected mostly vampires, but she was pleasantly surprised by the number of humans in attendance as well.  She had expected a vampire from every state, but she learned that some clans spread over a couple of states.  Brea silently enjoyed the praise Angel received on the decorations and the theme.  She had done her job well.  Now, all she had left to do was see that the night went over without a hitch.

     Angel was ever the gracious host; greeting each guest with a handshake or a kiss on the back of the hand.  Brea had hardly been able to get in a single sentence with him, much less a conversation.  If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was avoiding her. 

     Keelie was dancing with Brandon on the newly laid dance floor.  It had been surprisingly easy to bring in the wood panels and lay them down.  The lighting was just right, as Brea had hoped.  The chandelier was glowing from the center of the ceiling, and the candles on each table cast shadows in the right places.  Vampires and humans alike were drinking and talking, having a good time.  Brea sighed a content sigh.  She had done her job well.

     “This is fantastic,” a woman to her right said.

     “Thank you,” Brea answered.

     “Angel says you planned this all out.  Are you a professional party planner?”

     “No,” Brea replied.  The woman was definitely vampire, she noticed.  Her blonde hair rolled down her back in waves, her eyes were the clearest blue, and she had fangs.  “I’m not sure what possessed Angel to hire me.”

    
“Well, then perhaps you should consider the possibility.  I am having a get together in a few months.  If you are interested, I think I would like for you to plan it for me.  I would pay whatever the cost.”

     “I have worked on this party almost around the clock,” Brea told her.  “I don’t know if I want to go through all this again.  But I will think about it.  Can you leave me your number?”

     “Angel knows how to get in touch with me,” she said.  “I am Rhiannon, by the way.  And you must be Brea.”  The woman held her hand out to Brea.  Brea took it and gave it a squeeze.

     “It’s nice to meet you.”

     “Likewise.  Oh, look.  I see my dinner approaching.  Call me,” Rhiannon called over her shoulder as she sauntered off to a human gentleman sitting alone at a table.  Brea shuddered.  Would she really want to work for someone who might think of her as dinner?  But if this woman paid half as well as Angel, wouldn’t it be worth it?

     Angel watched from the corner of his eye as one guest after another greeted Brea and commented on her exquisite planning and attention to detail.  There was nothing he would have liked more than to be by her side all night, but he had to fulfill his duties as host.  It seemed there was a constant stream of people, human and vampire
alike, that needed his direct attention.

     Brea either hadn’t noticed or didn’t say anything about the reddish tattoo mark on Angel’s neck, and he didn’t bring it up.  It was a conversation that needed to take place somewhere private, not in the middle of a party.  Angel hadn’t planned on being marked; it just happened.  He knew full well what he was getting into at the time; he just hadn’t thought it all the way through.  But he was by no means upset by it.  He rather liked the way female vampires looked at his neck with disappointment in their eyes.  Several men had noticed as well, and he received several claps on the back for it.  When he was questioned about it, he refused to tell anyone her name.  The last thing he wanted was for someone else to unknowingly tell Brea.

     The evening was in full swing by the time Angel finally got a free minute.  He went to the bar in search of Brea, but she was not there.  She wasn’t sitting at any of the tables, and she wasn’t with the group talking against the wall.  Where in the hell could she have disappeared to?

     Angel figured that she must have run to the ladies room or off somewhere with Keelie or Brandon.  But she was not with them either.  Keelie was dancing with Ricco, and Brandon was having what appeared to be an intense conversation with Antonio.  Angel walked over to Brandon to ask if he had any idea where he might find his love.

     “Hello Gorgeous,” Brandon cooed. 

     “Hey Brandon,” Angel greeted him.  “Have you seen Brea lately?”

     “Oh my god!  Have you seen that dress?  She looks so good tonight, I could just eat her up!  What I wouldn’t give to be you!”

     “I meant
, do you know where she is now?” Angel said, smiling and shaking his head.  Brea’s friend was certainly unusual.
      “Oh yes, she’s out there,” he said, gesturing to the dance floor, “dancing with that delicious hunk.”

     Angel whipped his head around in search of Brea and the ‘delicious hunk.’  He found her dancing to a slow song with John Rainer, the Clan Leader of Texas.  He was dressed in a vintage pin striped suit and tie.  He looked every bit the twenties mobster, except for the Stetson cowboy hat on his head.

     Brea looked stunning.  She was wearing the dress.  His dress.  The one she wore in his bedroom the day she proposed the Roaring Twenties theme.  Her hair was pinned up with little ribbons trailing around her face and neck.  John said something to her and she tossed her head back and laughed.  The motion caused her to bow her back, and John grasped her tighter around the waist.

     Angel watched as the Clan Leader trailed his hand lightly over Brea’s exposed back.  He watched as he let one hand drop so low that it was nearly on her ass.  Angel saw red.  He held both his hands at his sides, both rigid fists.  The only thought he had was ripping the other man’s head off for touching his woman.

     “Easy tiger,” Antonio warned.  “Just go cut in.  Don’t start a fight right now.”

     Angel stalked over to the pair, his fists at his side.  He saw Brea’s eyes widen as he approached, and he quickly pulled his temper in.  The last thing he needed was to frighten her.  Angel stood behind John and quite loudly cleared his throat.