And, to further silence her thoughts, she focused on the name of his match. Raven. In fact, she had a date to plan. After reflecting on that for a while, she leapt into action by sucking in a slow breath and letting out a loud groan. Inching her legs over the side of the bed to place her feet on the ground turned her short while into a long one, and she sighed at her ability to turn procrastination into a competitive sport.
On her way to her coffee maker, her only nod at a kitchen facility, because no one should have to experience her without at least one dose of caffeine, she stumbled over Vincent. Or Vincent’s body as it lay on the floor. She bent closer, leaning over him.
If she hadn’t known what he was, he’d have been on a one-way trip to the mortuary while she freaked out at having woken to a stone-cold corpse in her room. She cupped his cheek, and his normally cool skin was icy to her touch. He didn’t move. His chest didn’t rise and fall, his eyelids didn’t flutter, and his fingers didn’t twitch at her closeness. She blinked away tears over the cruel mockery of loss. But he wasn’t gone, he just slept. Even so, he was far, far from her reach, and she was about to push him further still by engineering him a different future.
Once she’d sat down at her desk and cleared a space for her coffee mug, she pulled her notepad towards her. She and Vincent would have a date. No. Vincent and Raven would have a date. She and Neville would have a date.
Still…she would be there with Vincent, and it would be a date.
It had been a very long time since her name and date could be said in the same sentence, and what an opportunity. She could plan her very own dream evening—with appropriate adjustments for the vampires present.
Ten hours later she blew on the carefully inked calligraphy of Neville’s invitation. Well, not so much invitation as summons. She forced herself to swallow past the small lump of horror in her throat. In those terms, she sounded like Gerald, and romance never sounded like Gerald. She was nothing more than his little foot soldier.
She added the envelope to the other two she’d prepared, then cast a look over her shoulder at Vincent as he slept on her floor. She’d checked on him a couple of times during the day, more often than she wanted to admit, in fact, but he hadn’t shown any signs of waking. As she pushed her chair back from the desk, she grabbed the invitations and tucked them into her bag.
“Good morning.” From behind her, Vincent brushed her hair from her neck and planted a kiss against the tender flesh of her neck.
She startled away. “I thought you were asleep. Not to mention you should keep your lips to yourself.” Her cheeks flamed as she shook her hair back into position and pretended to bring order to it by making appropriate smoothing motions with her hand. The hint of fang that had grazed her sent a jolt of fierce desire to her core, and she fumbled for her next words. “I need to head out for a sec. Can you get home, or do you need to hide out here, still?”
Indecision flitted across his face before his lips quirked into an adorable smile. “I probably don’t need to stay any longer…but I’d love to.”
He reached out to her again, but she stepped away, pushing aside the turmoil of feelings he created in her.
Before she looked up at him, she willed her face to remain neutral. “Like I said, I have to go out. You should probably leave if it’s safe now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You know, when you said you’d see me ‘tomorrow,’ I had no idea you’d keep me waiting all day then show up looking like a vision of my deepest desires, mon amour.” Vincent stepped from the shadows just as Penny bustled through the door to check the final arrangements for the double date. Geraldine’s love of whimsy was all over Penny’s favourite level, and gone were the steel tube corridors. The space opened into a giant room with false rock walls and outcrops, bordered on one side by huge plate glass windows looking out into an ocean.
“You’re early.” The words slipped from her mouth, breathy and quiet, as she took in his formalwear, the fit of his trousers hugging muscular thighs and a cummerbund highlighting his narrow waist.
“And you’re stunning. You chose the most amazing place. I knew you could make a success of this. Thank you for the lovely invitation, by the way. I was very pleased to receive it this morning.” He hurried after her as she tried to scurry across the aquarium space. Blue light shone from the great glass tanks and created washes of rippling colour on the floor and the walls. The strands of fairy lights she’d spent hours hanging from the ceiling lent the room a twinkling sky of wishes and dreams.
“Thank you.” The long dress and heels, taller than she usually wore, didn’t allow for more than a slow sashay to the table set up at the far end of the room. She approached the table, straightened one of the forks, then reached into her bag for the battery powered candles she’d brought.
“You think of everything.” He rested a hand on her waist as he spoke and leant in towards her before his fingers tensed and his movement stopped. “Four places?” His voice came out tight and flat.
She spun to look at his face, then closed her eyes at the pain creasing the corners of his eyes. “I…it’s my job. I thought you were expecting it.” Her shoulders shrugged of their own accord. “I have to pair us all. Match us.”
“And I thought you might have changed your mind after… But what I want doesn’t matter?”
“Please, Vincent.” She took his hand, willing the familiar curve of his fingers around hers. “Please. Just let me see you happy.”
“You can make me happy.” His eyes almost glowed in the dimly lit space, and she looked away. “You know you can. You do make me happy.”
“I’m trying.”
“Am I interrupting?” A low, sultry voice carried across the room.
Penny dropped Vincent’s hand and stepped back. “Not at all.”
From out of the shadows stepped possibly the sexiest creature Penny had ever imagined. Next to Raven’s waist length brunette hair, smoky eyes, and dramatic red sheath dress, Penny might as well have arrived bald and wearing her oldest, most comfortable pyjamas. She cast a quick look at her dress and bit back her insecurity.
Vincent began to brush past her. “I said you’re stunning,” he murmured against her ear. As though he hadn’t spoken, he held his hand out to the new arrival. “Raven, I presume?” He made the words sound like a caress, and Penny’s heart crumpled.
It would be a tough date.
Raven, whose eyes had narrowed as Vincent had spoken to Penny on the way past, rewarded him with a throaty laugh. “The one and only.” She placed her hand in his, and a small smile gave her features a satisfied appearance as he raised her fingers to his mouth.
“Am I late?” A male voice barked the question across the room. “Only you didn’t give very good directions in the note you sent.”
“You’re right on time.” Penny’s voice came out too high and a bit thin. “Thank you so much for coming, Neville. I’m Penny.”
“Ah, yes. The witch. Are you sure you’re a pureblood? Gerald assured me I’d be in good company on board.”
“Um, I…” She cast a glance at Vincent, irritated to see him raising his eyebrow and aiming an amused smile in her direction. “I assume so.”
“Not that it matters, I suppose.” Neville strode forward, his cloak flapping around his legs, and settled himself at the table. “You’re the only witch here, and my other options for ensuring my future heirs are magical are rather limited.” He gave her a cursory look. “You look like you have childbearing hips, anyway, so that’s a positive, I suppose.” He gave his napkin a flamboyant shake before smoothing it over his lap and looking at her.
Her move. She stumbled rather than glided to the table, half the person she was when she’d arrived at the aquarium. Vincent stepped forward as though to come to her aid, but Raven’s elegant hand on his arm prevented further movement, and he turned his attention back to his date.
Blinking back tears of disappointment, envy, sadness…she didn’t know what…Penny diverted past the tab
le and approached the heated hostess trolley she’d tucked away behind one of the wide columns.
Bearing a tray made walking even more difficult, but she bit the inside of her lip and kept her back straight. “Raven, I checked with Geraldine for your favourite type.” She placed a large glass of A negative in front of the female vampire and suppressed a giggle at the green pallor Vincent suddenly wore. “And for you, Vincent.” She passed him his usual virgin Bloody Mary.
Raven reached over and flicked the celery. “Cute touch. Very amusing…innocent, almost. You really are naughty.” She flashed a conspiratorial grin, and her fangs glinted in the dim light.
Vincent just nodded.
“I don’t have much time this evening.” Neville tugged at his tight white collar, before giving up the fight against being uncomfortable and undoing his top button. “In fact, if you just give me a quick demonstration of your magic, I think it could be all I need to make my decision.”
“Your decision?” Penny’s mouth dropped open, and she sloshed some of his tomato soup onto the pristine tablecloth as she put it down in front of him.
“Quite. As, although you’re a witch, and therefore most suitable, there are other magical beings on the ship that I could potentially turn my consideration to, I suppose.” His lip wrinkled a little as he spoke.
She ran the passenger list through her mind. He was correct. There were nymphs and sprites, pixies and fairies, all of whom had their own magical abilities. But they all needed pairing like with like, too. Geraldine had created the perfect mess for her—especially if people started to resist her good intentions.
Instead of answering him, she clapped her hands lightly together. “Our starter. A theme on tomatoes.”
“Here.” Neville spoke as he lifted a spoonful of soup to his mouth. “Move one of those tea cups towards you.” He nodded at the cups she’d lined up on one of the rock ledges. If things went well, they might need after-dinner coffee. “It’s a very basic move, so you should really have no difficulty complying with my request for a demonstration.” Neville’s pomposity grated over her nerves as he gestured at the cups again.
“I’m not sure now is the time, Neville.” She forced her face to relax into her sweetest smile before indicating Raven and Vincent. “We’re hardly in the right place for a magical demonstration. I wouldn’t want to bore our other guests. Those are actually my grandmother’s old cups and saucers. They’re heirloom and antique.” She added the last comments in an attempt to change the subject.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’d quite like to see you hover one of those little old things over here.” Vincent lounged in his chair, glass in one hand, toying with his celery.
Raven looked at him and offered a slow smile. “And I was hoping we might find some more private entertainment.” Her fangs glinted again.
“Just do it fast.” Neville glanced at Raven’s glass, then made a show of checking his watch. “I really do have somewhere else I need to be.”
“Okay.” Anything to get rid of the man. Penny closed her eyes to centre herself, and magic prickled in her fingertips, then along her arms. She sneezed.
“Gesundheit, dearheart.”
Oh, for God’s sake. She glared at Vincent, who shrugged and grinned at her before offering her a tissue. She waved it away before turning her glare on the floral-patterned cup.
“I asked you to move it, not set it on fire. All right…now you just look constipated. Are you sure you can do this?” Neville’s face reddened further with each word from his lips.
“Of course she can move a little cup like that. We just need plenty of tissues.” As Vincent spoke, anger flared through her and, losing her focus, she sneezed again.
“See?”
“What’s happening to her now?” Neville’s voice screeched in alarm, and she closed her eyes again to better concentrate.
Just move, stupid cup, dammit.
“That? Oh, that’s just the allergic reaction to her magic. The rash will have settled down by morning, but it might not be limited to her face and neck, so if you were thinking of getting your own after dinner entertainment, you’d probably be wise to keep it parental guidance rated.”
Penny ignored Vincent’s constant need to hear his own voice and inhaled, sucking a deep breath through her nose to stifle the latest sneeze and prevent it from putting her off. She peeped one eye open…it was working. The cup shook just a little on its saucer, porcelain clinking gently against porcelain. Just a bit more force. She pushed a fraction, imagining the power zinging from her centre, filling her limbs, crackling into her fingers, and focused harder on keeping in the sneeze threatening to destroy her progress.
“Aaaaaiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!” A piercing shriek broke her concentration, and her violent sneeze shifted the whole table a couple of inches, slopping large drops of every red liquid onto the cloth.
Penny’s eyes flew open, and she stared straight at her best friend. “Vincent, I was trying to focus.” She watched as the red stains on the table bled into watercolour poppies.
“Ladybird! I saw a ladybird! I thought the giraffes were the first breeding success? Where’s it gone? How did it get down here?” He waved at the air above his head. “What if it lands in my hair?”
Raven laughed. “Calm down, darling. I’ll save you from that little monster.” She placed a protective hand on his arm and gave him a full view of her fangs.
Watching them, Penny’s magic surged through her, too late to stop and uncontrollable in the wake of her sneeze. She lost her fragile grip on the teacup, and it shot out of sight.
“Well done.” But Neville’s smarmy smile didn’t agree with his words, and neither did his slow clapping. “Any idea where you moved it to?”
“It’s a surprise.” Her gaze swept the room as desperation crept into her. “Surprise!”
“Well?”
“It’s like locating Wally, isn’t it, sweetie?”
She glared at Vincent. “Not helpful.”
“There!” Raven pointed in triumph into the corner of the furthest aquarium, and Penny squinted as she tried to bring the faraway detail into focus. “Do I get a prize?” Raven squeezed Vincent’s forearm and licked her lips.
“Are you sure that’s my cup?” Doubt echoed in Penny’s voice.
“My eyesight is flawless.” Raven’s tone turned cold.
“Nice!” Vincent held his hand up towards Penny to receive a high five. “That’s more than a couple of feet. What do you say, Neville? Did she pass your test?”
Penny heard the sarcasm in his words and her muscles tensed in case anyone else had.
“If supreme lack of control were a quality I looked for, she would.” Neville’s mouth tightened into a line. “You shouldn’t even call yourself a witch. What are you going to do, now?”
Penny looked in the direction of the aquarium. An octopus held her teacup aloft for a moment before slithering on its remaining tentacles into a dark cave mouth.
“Oops.” Vincent pulled the corners of his mouth down. “Looks like we have a thief on board. Still, you shot it right through the glass of the tank, so that has to count for extra points or something, right?”
“That was part of my collection, Vincent. God damn you.” She shook her head as he showed her the tip of his tongue in a childish don’t-care gesture.
Raven hissed in pain. “Don’t say that, you fool.”
“Oh my God. Raven. I’m so sorry.”
Raven hissed again and slammed her glass down on the table. Blood soaked into the tablecloth around the base. “You will pay for that, you stupid little witch. Never speak His name.” Her pupils grew larger, her fangs elongated, and her mouth twisted into a vicious grin as she indicated her glass. “You’ve weakened me, and this lukewarm offering won’t fix it. I want a proper drink—warm and fresh.”
Neville’s chair shot backwards, and he ran for the door. “Gerald will hear from me about you. You aren’t what he promised. You can’t spell cast, and you certainly shouldn’t
be let out in public—any of you.”
Vincent leapt onto the table in front of Penny. “Raven…love,” he crooned, and Penny’s chest tightened. “I really don’t think this is necessary. How about we all take a moment to calm down, and I’ll walk you back to your room. A good rest will sort out your strength.”
Penny peeped around Vincent, watching Raven’s reaction. The vampire pouted. “But I didn’t want to rest.” She ran her fingers across Vincent’s chest. “I wanted to play.”
Vincent stilled her hand with his. “Plenty of time for that, my darling.” His soothing, hypnotic tone had Raven nodding along in agreement. She swayed in her seat, and he reached to steady her. “In fact, you look like you need a good long sleep. Are you able to get back to your room?”
“Yes.” Raven slurred the word and swayed some more.
“Is she drunk?” Penny whispered, and Vincent made shooing motions behind his back. As quietly as she could, Penny eased her chair from the table, before tiptoeing into the corner of the room.
Vincent held Raven’s gaze as he reached for her hand. Then he lowered himself from the table, led her to the door, and Penny looked down. Watching Vincent leave with another woman squeezed her heart and stole her breath. The door opened, closed…and the the beeping of the lock setting echoed around the room.
“Phew.” Vincent shoved his hands into his pockets as he approached the table. “She’s gone and shouldn’t remember a whole lot in the morning. Well, she might remember yours truly, but who could blame her?”
Penny whipped her head up. He hadn’t left her. She quashed her surprise and attempted to sound normal. “What was she going to do?”
He shoved his hands into his pockets and approached the table. “I think she was going to drink your blood.” Vincent deepened his voice into a stereotypical vampire accent and gave her a fanged smile. “Good job she’s a relative baby, and you’d already weakened her, or she wouldn’t have been so easy to convince to go away.”
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