A Vampire's Bohemian

by Vanessa Fewings

  “It’s my nature,” I blurted. “Just as it’s your nature to bury your fangs into a victim’s throat.”

  “You’re hungry. It’s making you grouchy. You’re not eating properly. I’m worried about you.”

  “I ate that bagel this morning. Thank you for that by the way.”

  “What did you eat for lunch?”

  “Well…”

  “I’m taking you to dinner.” His hand flew up in defense. “You might want to revise your response.” He’d read my thoughts of refusal moments before I’d dared to speak them.

  Resisting the urge to sulk, my attention drifted back to that envelope inside his pocket. My envelope. I hoped Nick had made a copy. Pushing that thought out of my mind and hoping Jadeon wouldn’t catch it, I sunk into the leather.

  “Do you have anything new on Beatrice?” I said. “This is important to me.”

  “As it is to me.” He shook his head. “No new leads.”

  “I’m going to search Hauville’s property in Windsor.”

  “My men found nothing. They did a thorough sweep of the land. Hauville’s not hiding out there.”

  “You’ve used my skills on other cases in the past. Which I did in fact solve for you. Why are you refusing to involve me in this one?”

  “Ingrid, we have detectives on it. Our detectives.”

  “What are they? Ex-MI5? Ex-SAS? Retired police?” Are they qualified?”

  “Ingrid—”

  “Promise you’ll come to me if they don’t make any headway on this.”

  “Out of the question.” He leaned forward and brushed a stray hair behind my ear. “I refuse to place you in any more danger.”

  We drove the rest of the way in silence with him staring out of the window and me doing the same and hating not knowing where we were going. Within twenty minutes, though it felt longer, the Rolls pulled up outside Micelles, an Italian bistro off Caxton Street.

  Once out the car, Jadeon led me inside. The mere touch of his hand as he took mine sent a shiver through me. His firm grip made my legs weaken. As though sensing the effect he was having on me, he squeezed my hand and I melted in the wake of his heart-stopping smile that contradicted his deadly demeanor.

  Maybe I’d get the chance to persuade him to give me my envelope back if I played it right.

  The place looked like a little Italy, with frescos on the ceiling, the walls a mixture of brick covered here and there with dark green and blue shades of paint. Numerous family portraits made it feel like we were stepping into a home and not a cozy restaurant. Arches ran the full length of the seating, offset by a long mahogany bar at the end. Leather booths lined the dining room. Jadeon and I followed the maitre d’ to one of them.

  It all seemed so surreal, me ordering lasagna and salad and Jadeon ordering Rigatoni Del Casa, even though he wouldn’t eat it. He went on to order a bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, a 1989 vintage, which sent the already spiraling blonde waitress into a tailspin. The fact Jadeon was gorgeous and now evidently rich was apparently all too much for her. With flushed cheeks and a trembling hand, she took our menus and scurried off into the kitchen.

  I gave him a there, see? look to indicate I wasn’t the only one disarmed by him.

  Despite his stunning looks, Jadeon really did blend in. He merely exuded the air of a successful businessman or some other impressive profession. His supernatural quality was kept in check. He’d had two hundred years to perfect mingling with ease; a predator’s advantage.

  Jadeon folded his arms. “I forgot to order you garlic bread.”

  I leaned back. “Didn’t want to offend you.”

  “We won’t be kissing, Ingrid,” he said it with a smile.

  “I didn’t mean that. You know vampires and garlic. Deadly combo.”

  “Please, say it louder.” He rolled his eyes. “The couple in the back booth didn’t catch it. Unlike everyone else in here.” He shrugged. “Anyway, that’s a myth.”

  “Like asking permission to enter? I mean a room. I meant a room.” I blushed wildly.

  He gave a wry smile. “Myth too. Can you imagine the practicality of it?”

  Seriously, it made me wonder if he was using his paranormal skills on me and it wasn’t simply his mesmerizing aura making me giddy.

  Our bottle of wine arrived and Jadeon declined to taste it. “I’m sure it’s fine,” he told the waitress, breeching wine etiquette.

  She poured the full bodied red into two tall stemmed glasses. I waited for her to leave.

  “Can I have my envelope back?” I said.

  “I’m going with no.”

  I wanted to pounce on him and grab it.

  A frown marred his face. “Let’s pretend you didn’t just think that.”

  I slumped in my seat. “I visited St. Michael’s.”

  “I know.”

  “I was looking for you.”

  “So I heard.”

  “Your brother Alex looks well.”

  Jadeon flashed a smile. “He’s doing great. Seb’s good company for him. They both seem happy.”

  “Are they having an affair?”

  “Nothing is off limits to you, Ingrid, is it?”

  “Just interested.”

  “Alex is head over heels in love,” Jadeon said. “So is Seb.” He pointed at me. “No more spontaneous visits to The Mount. Understand?”

  “Seb is my friend too.”

  “As he is mine. I need to protect him. Your visits to Cornwall draw unwanted attention.”

  Dejected, I folded my arms. “Paradom’s still at the castle then?”

  Jadeon arched a brow.

  “He’s not a problem for you?”

  Jadeon waved off the idea. “Never.”

  “So what’s it like being...you know who?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Being Dominion?” I whispered.

  “It would be much easier if I wasn’t chasing a detective out of trouble every five minutes.”

  “So you’re keeping busy then?” I said, happy to rile him up.

  Jadeon nodded, seeing where I was taking this. “Keeping the peace is my main goal. Maintaining order. We dictate rules to our community and when they fail to abide by them we decide on a suitable punishment. A final death is never taken lightly.”

  Stunned by his words, I reached for my glass and took a sip. The heavy, rich flavor did a dance on my tongue and I closed my eyes before I could stop myself. This wine was expensive. Probably worth a week’s salary.

  Final death.

  His words echoed in my mind like the darkest nightmare screaming the reality of what he really was.

  “I would have ordered you a nicer wine,” he said. “It’s the best they had.”

  I took another mouthwatering sip and considered how Jadeon could never drink it. His expression softened a little and it made him look younger, vulnerable even. The waitress reappeared and set our plates of food before us, asking if we needed anything else.

  “Garlic bread, please,” Jadeon said. “Everything looks great.” He eyed his plate of rigatoni as though he really looked forward to tucking into it.

  When she left our table, his face returned to that intensity he wore so well. Despite the awkwardness of Jadeon merely nudging his food around his plate with a fork, I tucked in, taking a big mouthful of lasagna and almost burning the roof of my mouth. God, I was hungry.

  Jadeon quickly handed me a tall glass of ice-water. Taking a gulp, I gestured my thanks.

  “Now I can relax,” he said, placing his fork on his plate and reaching for his wine glass. He took a sip, or at least it looked like he did.

  With another mouthful of lasagna balanced on my fork and paused midair, I gave him an incredulous stare.

  He tilted his head toward the bar.

  We’d attracted attention, or more accurately Jadeon had. I took in the crowd of five dolled-up women standing at the bar and all of them had zeroed in on Jadeon. They giggled amongst themselves when they caught him staring back
. These mood inducing low level lights didn’t help to soften his ridiculously breathtaking face. Those girls were bewitched by him.

  Jadeon flashed me a mega-watt smile. “How’s your wine?”

  “How do you do that?” I said. “Be furious with me one minute and nice to me the next?”

  “It’s hard to stay angry with you for long.” He lowered his gaze. “I’m not the only one garnering attention. The barman hasn’t taken his eyes off you since we arrived.”

  “He’s probably gay,” I said. “And he’s scheming how to get rid of me so he can get to you.”

  Jadeon rested his fingers against his brow to let me know he was listening to the man’s thoughts. “No, he’s definitely coveting an all-nighter with you.”

  Unable to resist, I glanced over at the barman. He ran a tea towel over a tumbler, stealing glances our way. He looked around twenty and wore a tight black shirt and baggy jeans. The barman turned away when he saw me staring.

  The idea of dating mortals had become so boring. I’d been spoiled with too much adventure and ruined by the masterful touch of someone who knew the female form all too well.

  Squeezing my thighs together, I suppressed these feelings that threatened to make me beg Jadeon to take me home so we could reenact that shower scene from last night. There came a need so deep. My body yearned for him, ached. I suppressed it as best I could and took another sip to distract me.

  Braving to look at him again, I said, “This is delicious.” Seeing his uneaten food, I continued, “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  “After a century or two, one ceases to think about it.” He pushed his plate to the side. “The only concern is insulting the chef.”

  I smiled, allowing myself to enjoy this time with him. “You know you are conditioning me to misbehave. Every time I mess up in your eyes you reward me with your presence.”

  “Ah,” he said. “I’ve failed you.”

  “Hardly.”

  His stare burned through me. “Every waking moment I’m thinking of you. What it is to be with you. To taste you. Be inside you. Hear you scream as I make you come.”

  My fork slipped from my fingers and clanged on the table.

  “Wanting to make love to you this much is killing me.” He stretched his arms out on either side of the booth. “You can see the wisdom in choosing a public place.”

  “I thought you didn’t love me anymore.”

  “I’ll always love you.” He brushed his fingers though his black locks. “I’m ashamed.”

  “Of what?”

  “Part of me wants you to mess up so that I have no choice but to turn you. Bring you over to me.” He caressed his forehead. “I hate myself for it.” His hand swept over the restaurant. “All this and more will be lost to you.”

  “I’m scared of what we have.”

  “We have nothing. I’ve had to let you go in order to save you. My world is full of doom, and death, and secrets, and lies. Your world, the one you make better for being in it, is full of beauty and innocence and promise.” He raised his hand. “Please, let me continue.”

  I nodded, wanting to speak so much that the words of passion for him burned me up from the inside.

  “Everything we have shared I cherish,” he said. “From the memory of seeing you for the first time in the National Gallery. The most beautiful creature I’d ever set eyes on.” He beamed a smile. “Baring in mind I’m talking centuries, so that’s saying something.”

  Everything disappeared and it seemed we were the only ones here.

  Jadeon reached for my hand, saying, “When I took you out to dinner that night I first met you, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I ached for you when the evening was over. Then later, you trusted me enough to visit my castle.” He caressed my hand with his thumb. “You have no idea how many times you’ve saved me. Not just from the pitiful state I’d gotten myself into after two-hundred years of immortality, but you loved me despite this.” His hand rested on his chest. “You deserve a man who can walk with you in daylight. Share a romantic meal like this with you.” His hand gestured to our food. “More importantly, have a child with you. A lover who’ll not threaten your life because of your association with him.”

  That white picket fence was an illusion, and one that inevitably led to divorce, or worse, domestic drudgery. No, that had never been a possibility for me. Though Jadeon’s link to the underworld did come with a dubious ability to abide by the law. It clashed with everything I believed in. Everything I’d worked for my entire life.

  Jadeon shrugged as though agreeing with my thoughts. “Do it for me. If you truly love me as you say you do. Promise you’ll forget me. Forget the world I’m from. You’ll stay away. Stay safe.”

  “I don’t know how,” I whispered.

  “Then let me do it for you. For us. Let this evening be our last, but with the memory that we were honest and kind. That we want the best for each other.”

  “Jadeon, please—”

  “I realize that you need to know how much I loved you.”

  “Loved?”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched. “There are those who would harm you to torture me.”

  “But I—”

  “The elders are expecting me.” He let go of my hand. “I promised them I can handle you. That I can get you to see reason. Even after that stunt you pulled today hacking into their data.”

  I needed a second glass of wine.

  Jadeon motioned to the waitress. “Ingrid, the elders have told me in no uncertain terms that if they don’t have your assurance that you’ll drop your interest in them…”

  The waitress topped up my wine and quickly withdrew. She too picked up on this tension between us.

  “You won’t let them harm me,” I said. “I know you won’t.”

  “Listen to me—”

  “That place, the Athenaeum—”

  “They’ll kill you to protect it, Ingrid.”

  “It’s not just a library, is it?”

  His face became still, unreadable. “One more question like that and I won’t be able to stop them.”

  CHAPTER 15

  After crashing from the high of seeing Jadeon again, I lingered outside Micelle’s with him, stealing these last few precious seconds of having him near. I held his hands and stared into his eyes, soothing my soul for the last time as I prolonged the inevitable.

  When the Rolls pulled away with him inside, a terrible grief consumed me, twisting in my gut and threatening permanence. It felt like a part of me had been ripped away. I choked back tears.

  I’d refused Jadeon’s invitation to let Henry drive me home despite his insistence, telling him I needed to walk off our conversation. Breathing in the post rain soaked air helped calm me a little. London’s smog lifted and an earthy scent rose from the pavement. The city’s frenetic energy served as a welcome distraction. Late night shoppers scurried by, plus a few tourists walking with maps and locals making their way home from their 9-5 jobs.

  London, such an extraordinary city with its astounding architecture and intriguing history, yet I had never belonged here. Jadeon’s love had been the closest feeling to home I’d ever had.

  We left things on a positive note as only Jadeon could, with his reassurance all immortal matters would be ruled with an iron fist. I’d promised to let him find Beatrice. With Jadeon’s supernatural advantage, I believed it wouldn’t be long before she was home and safe again in Anaïs’ arms.

  I had a visit to make before I could finally lay to rest this part of my life. Not that I had any choice but to put it behind me. Conceding it was over left a deep chasm where my heart should be. I wondered if this ache would ever go away.

  In a daze, I found my way to the tube station and stop by grueling stop made my way to Notthing Hill.

  Within the hour, I stood in Anaïs’ living room. Nothing about her place hinted at what she really was. More interesting still, Anaïs showed no surprise at all with my visit. She was dressed in black yoga pants and a white
T-shirt, her long black hair pulled tight in a ponytail and her makeup flawless.

  The decor looked like it had come right out of an interior design magazine. I’m not quite sure what I expected Anaïs’ place to look like but this wasn’t it. The high ceiling widened an already spacious room. Modern lighting and plush furniture made the place feel welcome, and other than the enormous black marble fireplace there wasn’t a hint of goth.

  I tried a smile to lessen the uneasiness.

  “The Lamborghini’s number plate?” she said. “That’s how you found me?”

  “I ran it through our database. I didn’t expect to find your car registered.”

  “You wouldn’t have found me if I didn’t want you to.”

  “Ah.”

  “Anyway, the car’s gone now. Orpheus confiscated it.”

  “The Lamborghini?”

  “He was furious with me for taking you to the Athenaeum.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I took his Viper.”

  “You stole his car?”

  “It’s blood red. I much prefer it actually.”

  “What will he do when he finds out?”

  “Why?”

  “I’m worried about you.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you having sex with him?” I said.

  “No.” Anaïs threw her head back in laughter. “Would you be jealous if I was?”

  “No.” I flushed wildly. “Yoga?” I pointed to her mat.

  “Yes, I love it. Do you do it? You have a yoga body. Tall and lean.”

  “I’m a runner. When I get the time, that is.”

  The conversation felt surreal, forced even, but it would soon be over. I really had to get home and prepare for tomorrow. A good night’s sleep awaited me. That lasagna and fine wine that Jadeon had spoiled me with made me sleepy.

  “Orpheus sired me,” she said. “We have a special connection.”

  “You’re not frightened of him?”

  She lowered her gaze. “I don’t drool over him like all the others. That’s probably why he’s drawn to you. You’re in love with Jadeon. It appeals to Orpheus’ masochistic side. You’re the ultimate challenge. Still, he must respect Jadeon because you’d belong to Orpheus’ in a second if he wanted it so.”