Dark Awakenings (Danse Macabre Book 2)

by Christina Quinn

  “I just want to sleep.” He whispered against my neck. After a few minutes he laughed abruptly. “At least this business with Nikolai is keeping my mind off of Swan Lake.” I leaned back against him, in his sleep Nikolai grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. Neither refused to let me go, and that was how I fell asleep sandwiched between the two of them as each tried to claim more of me for their own.

  3

  SHOCK TREATMENT

  THE LIGHT THAT STREAMED INTO THE VAST REHEARSAL SPACE MADE the whole scene seem surreal. Aleksi danced without enthusiasm. His jumps were spectacular and high giving him a falsely perceived weightlessness, but his face was more or less blank. Everyone in the room seemed to watch him with awe, but he seemed bored at best. I sat in the corner and watched him. The repetituer stared soundlessly enraptured as he watched Aleksi dance. They clapped when he finished the variation. Aleksi didn’t seem pleased in the slightest, but I noticed he didn’t say anything. His lips twisted into a sneer but he turned away from the repitituer and the pianist wordlessly. But it was clear that they were pleased with his progress. After a few words in Russian everyone packed up and left to break for lunch.

  Once we were alone Aleksi started again without the music. I loved watching him dance, no one else could move like he could. He pushed himself through the solo with violent determination. The thuds of his slippered feet hitting the wooden floor was the only accompaniment needed. However, as Aleksi danced it, what was supposed to be a scene of joy seemed utterly morose.

  The door creaked open, and my concentration broke from Aleksi as a tall blonde woman walked in. I noticed that two men dressed in all black stayed in the hall guarding the door. She was clearly someone important. The clothes said that as well, she was all long legs, sparkling green eyes and pale hair. If not for the angular nature of her features I would have said she looked not a little like Charlotte—only with a balcony you could perform Shakespeare on. I looked down at my own breasts for a moment, maybe I was exaggerating. She wasn’t much more well-endowed than I was.

  “Smile, Aleksi. It’s supposed to be joyous.” The woman spoke with a smirk. Again, another Russian with perfect English. I could tell by looking at her that she was a vampire. It was noon, and her face was covered in that thick cream sunblock they used, and dangling from her arm was a dark green parasol.

  “I’ll smile on stage.” He snipped out as he stopped dancing and for the first time ever I saw Aleksi retie his bun. “Why are you here?”

  “I’m here…” Her voice faded into nothingness as she turned around and looked at me. After a moment she rolled her eyes and turned away from me. Someone doesn’t like you. “Because I wanted to talk to you more about Nikolai.”

  “And I told you Saturday. He petitioned us. The petition was granted and I was given the petition so I have to turn him.”

  “But I was hoping I could persuade you, like old times?” She shrugged out of her coat to reveal that she wore nothing underneath. I swallowed and gathered my coat and purse. The reaction wasn’t what I expected. Aleksi laughed at her.

  “Oh, Galina, fucking and murdering your way to the top, you’ve probably made Elizabeta very proud. But I’ve no intentions of taking you up on your offer.”

  “So you’ll make a fool of me?”

  “No, you did that yourself. I’m not some eighteen year old child, and I’m not one of Pietro’s flunkies who stared at you from a far all of these years. If you want to keep playing the role of Catherine the Great, you’re going to have to learn to calculate your losses better. I don’t fear you, and I don’t want to fuck you. I respect you… and I appreciate that you’ve solved our problem with Pietro. But like I told you before. I am turning Nikolai, not you. And he’s coming with us for the rest of our tour. Maybe he wouldn’t have petitioned us in the first place if you hadn’t played head games with him for four of those eight years.”

  From their reflection in the mirror I could tell they were both pissed. I decided the best place to be when two vampires are having a pissing contest is away from the vampires. Without a word to either of them I slipped out of the doors as they started to close Galina yelled at Aleksi in Russian and he continued to glare. Oh, she was speaking English for my benefit, that was nice of her. She might hate you but at least she’s been politer than Aleksi lately.

  It wasn’t until I left the building that I realized I had no clue where I was going. I stood in the frigid Russian winter wind and squinted at the people walking around in their thick winter coats. I pulled the hood on my coat up and turned around to find Nikolai grinning from ear to ear. He looked almost exactly like Aleksi in the overcast light. He had a black beanie hiding his hair from sight, it actually covered most of his ears, leaving the lobes peeking out underneath. His eyes were darker because of the overcast, but whereas they weren’t that vivid blue of Aleksi’s they were still in the same shade range. To make matters worse he was dressed like him. Black skinny jeans and a leather jacket. But tucked into his leather jacket was a scarf that was bright red, Aleksi’s shade of red.

  “Going somewhere?” He teased with a smirk.

  “Anywhere but in there.” I laughed nervously and shook my head stuffing my hands into my pockets to warm them.

  “Oh, then you were on your way to lunch with me!” He linked arms with me and flashed me a playful grin. We walked arm in arm for a few blocks until we reached a nice little cafe. The wait staff spoke only Russian and when we were seated he ordered our drinks and grinned from ear to ear while I stared at the menu.

  “I can’t believe I did it again.” He sighed and licked his lips. “Chicken again?” He glanced up at me from the menu. The waiter came back with a bottle of mineral water that he proceeded to fill our glasses from. Nikolai said something to him and he went away.

  “Yes, please.” I answered him as I took my glass off of the table and sipped the water. I actually hated mineral water, but I was thirsty enough that I was willing to overlook it.

  “Hot or cold?”

  “Cold, please.”

  “Salad or Sandwich?”

  “Salad.” You forgot to say please. Miss Manners’ astute observation was emphasized by Nikolai glancing up from the menu at me. He gave me a look, I couldn’t place my finger on it, but there was no malice in those pale eyes—disappointment maybe. “Please.” I added and that look melted from his face entirely to be replaced with a smile. “I know what you’re doing.” I stated before taking another sip.

  “What do you think I’m doing?” He asked raising a brow as he closed the menu.

  “I think you’re trying subtly making me submit to you. I looked it up online—there are plenty of fine dining establishments in Moscow with English menus.” At my accusation he held up his hands in playful surrender.

  “So I’ve been found out it would seem.” He chuckled and took a sip of his glass. “How does this revelation make you feel?”

  I took a short breath and stared at him. Soft piano music played around us, something nondescript and unintrusive. How did it make me feel? With a swallow I unfolded my napkin and smoothed it over my lap. You like it, admit it.

  “I don’t know, it’s different. Aleksi was very forceful in his control, it was order after order. So being asked, that’s new.” I flashed him a little smile.

  “I’m not Aleksi, I’m Nikolai. I do things differently. I know he went slowly with you. I—if you’ll have me—will go a bit quicker but it will be different. When I watched you the other night…” He wet his lips and sighed. The waiter appeared and he hastily ordered practically shoving the menus in the waiter’s hands. After the man had been gone for a moment he laughed nervously. “He’s very rigid in his dominance over you. I was actually a little surprised. It was very cold. I could never submit to someone who was that cold to me. Come here. Arms up. Turn off the light.” He tried to mimic Aleksi’s tone as he rolled his eyes. “After a while I’d rebel a bit just to get him to show me emotion. He looks at you like you’re a nice piece of art in a
lobby somewhere and you look at him like he’s god. I don’t think that’s fair.” He is very observant isn’t he?

  Silence invaded after that. Our food came and Nikolai pushed his lettuce around with his fork for a few moments. We kept looking up at each other but not saying anything. There was lots of nervous lip chewing on both our parts.

  “Sorry…I did that awkward thing again.” He laughed nervously and shook his head. I fingered the pearls at my throat and smiled at him.

  “No, you’re fine. I…want this. I-I want you.” My words made his face light up like Christmas morning and that playful cheeky grin slipped across his lips.

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded and he swallowed.

  “Then, I would like to hear you say it.” Don’t do it! You’re Aleksi’s! He’ll come around! Do you think Mr.Pain-Junkie is going to be able to give you what you need? I took a few slow breaths, and actually considered what Miss Manners had said. Say it? Could I say it? I wasn’t even completely sure what the it was. But the heat from that pale gaze made my skin feel like it was on fire. “Say it, Autumn.”

  “I’m—” Thud. I stopped talking as someone slammed the hands down on the back of Nikolai’s chair and he turned around and rolled his eyes.

  They started talking in Russian and Nikolai seemed very unhappy to see this big burly man with a tattoo of a cross in a circle on his neck. He was a massive meat mountain wrapped in a navy pea coat and topped with a toboggan. He wasn’t a very attractive man. His eyes were dark, nose aquiline and his mouth seemed to be set in a permanent snarl. As they spoke he kept looking at me like I was the vilest thing he had ever seen.

  Twice today people I didn’t know had given me death stares. It made me nervous, and the nervousness made me lose a bit of control over my powers. My fork started shaking, I slid my hand over it to stop the soft clatter as Nikolai Pointed at the door and repeated the same short phrase over and over.

  Eventually the man turned and left. Nikolai death glared at him all the way to the door. He glared daggers until the man was completely out of sight.

  Once there was no trace of that man with the circle cross tattoo, Nikolai sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead for a while. I knew that face, he was worried. This is a bad idea, leave! Aleksi will come back around you just have to wait. I swallowed, Miss Manners had a point. Not about Aleksi. But it suddenly seemed like a bad idea to get mixed up with Nikolai. He seemed so sweet and charming, but associating with big burly Russian guys in all black, with neck tattoos, who happen to look like movie villains… that seemed dangerous. Says the girl who likes to be tied up by something that views her as food.

  “Well… I think I’ve lost my appetite.” He laughed nervously and shook his head slowly placing his napkin on the table. He slouched back in his chair and that pale gaze danced around the different tables before falling back to me. “Have you ever done something incredibly stupid out of revenge?”

  “I’m not really the revenge type.” I wet my lips and took a small sip of my mineral water. That’s certainly true, you even forgave Kendra.

  “No, I knew that. I don’t know why I asked.” He laughed nervously. “I am very much not like you, when Galina left me this last time I got mixed up with some… the wrong kind of people. I think it’s about to bite me in the ass.”

  “I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think it is.” I offered him a reassuring smile, he reciprocated it.

  “Maybe you’re right. Hopefully you’re right. But I believe before we were so rudely interrupted you were about to tell me something?” His smile blossomed into that playful grin. With those pale blue eyes sparkling and that charming impish grin I was practically a puddle on the chair. Usually that would have been enough, but not in that moment. The memory of the big guy and him yelling in the middle of this very nice restaurant was too fresh for me to say what I had before been ready to. He’s not Aleksi. Something passed over his face, he caught on to my silence and he nodded slowly. “It’s okay, I can understand if you need time to process”—he gestured around—“this. Feel like getting out of here though? I was thinking about heading home and watching a movie. Interested?”

  “Always.” I plucked the napkin out of my lap and set it on the table. He pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and left a few bills in the center of the table.

  We went back to his apartment and watched movies in silence. The couch cushion between us felt a mile wide. I was hyper aware of that gaping space. I wanted to desperately close it, to lay my head on his shoulder and feel the heat of his body. Only part of that was because my stocking clad legs were still cold to touch. You should stay on this side of the couch, Aleksi will come around. Admittedly I was almost oblivious on how to make the first move.

  “It…it seems a little cold in here.” I stated innocuously, my voice almost caught in my throat as my fingers trailed over the hem of my skirt just above my knees. Nikolai looked around the room for a moment before he stood and grabbed a soft black throw off of a chair. While he was up he switched DVDs and walked back to me. He stood in front of me with that devilish grin of his and draped the soft blanket over my shoulders.

  “There.” He purred as he pulled the blanket closed over my chest before he sat down beside me. I was freakishly proud of myself. You shouldn’t do this. Aleksi’s going to be pissed. He slipped his arm across my shoulder and I practically swooned. What the hell was wrong with me? I nervously glanced at him and swallowed. “Are you still cold?” He asked glancing down at me.

  My gaze darted up to meet his and I anxiously started fussing with the cuffs of my shirt. With one hand he rubbed my shoulder, and with the other he laced his fingers with mine. His skin was almost hot to touch, I had forgotten what real living flesh could feel like.

  “No, I’m…I’m fine.” I stammered out before chewing on my bottom lip. Stop that! I released my lip and drew a shaky breath. His hand slipped from mine and slid over my skirt to my hemline. Those scorching fingers trailed over my ice cold, stocking clad flesh, and I pushed my thighs together as I felt that telltale reaction spread through my body. My breathing quickened with my pulse, which seemed to beat everywhere at once, the apex of my thighs, and the tips of my nipples which stressed against my bra and blouse. That simple, innocuous touch of his fingers on my thigh sent my body in a tailspin and made my head swim. Had it really been that long? No.

  “Your skin’s like ice.” He breathed as his fingers started to trace little circles just above my knee. I raised my gaze to his again. What I found there in his eyes—the pure lust and longing—made me tremble. My breathing had become so deep that the rise and fall of my chest was noticeable…and so was his. “If you want me…you’re going to have to say it.” He purred as that dancing digit of his slipped an inch further up my thigh. That simple motion made things low in my body clench and I became aware of the dampness between my thighs. Don’t do it! Think of Aleksi!

  “I”—Don’t say it!—“I’m yours.” The words brought a groan from his lips as he lunged forward and seized my mouth with his. It had been so long I forgot what it was like to kiss another human, to not have to be mindful of fangs as your tongue explored another’s mouth was nice. Then there was the heat. That raise in body temperature was a beautiful thing, it was practically intoxicating when mixed with that feeling of lightheadedness that he gave me. My hips twisted as he kissed me, but that hand of his stayed where it was. Mine, however, slid up his neck and my fingers traced his jaw as he deepened the kiss, practically forcing his tongue down my throat. It was a claiming kiss, a kiss that said I was all his.

  He broke the kiss and lingered near enough that we were breathing in each other’s breath. His hand slid up my thigh, over my skirt. As he passed my hips, they raised for him, but he didn’t stop. He continued tracing up my body till his hand found my breast which he seized almost brutally. The unexpectedly possessive seizing of my flesh forced a surprised gasp from my lips. Stop him before this gets out of control. Miss Manners was forgotte
n about as Nikolai took the gasp as an opening and started kissing me again as that hand of his massaged my breast. He wasn’t as skilled as Aleksi. Everything about Nikolai was wild, instinctual and primal. I fed off of that wild energy, with a hesitant touch I slid my hand from his jaw, to his thigh. At first I let it rest there as we kissed, but that simple addition of my hand on something as inconspicuous as his thigh made his kisses grow all the more frantic and needy.

  Need was the word that fueled his pawing of my body. My hand slid up his thigh to rest on his rigid denim encased flesh. I could feel his body still the moment I made contact. Admittedly it had been a while since I had been this sexually forward. We were making out and I was the one who was making it about sex. You should stop before this gets out of hand. Think about Aleksi! No, Miss Manners did not like Nikolai one bit, but he made my head swim enough that I barely noticed the nagging sensation in the back of my head. Still…I started to slide my hand from him, and he caught my wrist and broke the kiss.

  “I want you to touch me.” He panted as his hand stilled, and I shivered. There was something about his tone, it was demanding but at the same time there was warmth to it. He wanted me to touch him, and that made my face flush. I bit my bottom lip and leaned towards him as my hand slid along his unyielding length. I could tell through the fabric that he was actually thicker than Aleksi. The thought sent a little thrill through me and I pressed my thighs together again—my panties practically squished. “Such a good girl.” Nikolai cooed as I traced the outline of him with my fingers before I stroked his length with a single finger. It couldn’t have been comfortable for him in those skin tight jeans. So I got a little bolder, my fingers traced up to the waistband and found that button and he pulled away from me. “No, not yet.” He snickered playfully before offering me a quick kiss.