After Dark

by Nancy A. Collins

  “Boo!” Lucky laughed. “Gotcha!”

  “No fair sneaking up on me!” Cally squealed in mock protest.

  Lucky put her back down but didn’t let her go, his hands linked around the small of her back. “You know,” he said, looking down into her upturned face. “We never really got the chance to finish our dance that night at the Grand Ball….”

  A warning bell at the back of Cally’s head began to clang its alarm. The last time she followed her heart, it had resulted in disaster for everyone involved. The safe and sane thing for her to do would be to simply tell Lucky she was flattered but not really interested. It would be a lie, but at least she wouldn’t get hurt in the long run. Then she could go join Sister Midnight in her office for that drink and head back home for a well-deserved rest.

  She was still trying to figure out the best way to let Lucky down gently when he pulled her close and planted a long, deep kiss on her lips. Instead of pushing herself away, like she told herself she should, Cally melted in his arms, returning his kiss.

  When they finally came up for air several minutes later, Cally shook her head in dismay. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Why not?” Lucky asked, a puzzled look on his face. “You like me, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do—very much,” she admitted.

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “The problem is that your father is the sworn enemy of Victor Todd, and my father is…” She paused for a second, then quickly looked away. “My father is Todd’s loyal vassal. That means, by blood, I am sworn to protect Victor and serve him, as my father has. That makes us enemies. I’ve lost so much already, Lucky. I don’t want to lose you, too.”

  “It doesn’t have to be like that,” Lucky assured her. “My sisters and I have been discussing things lately and have decided it’s time that our father call off his vendetta. We’re trying to convince him to do so because of our friendship with you.”

  “You would do that for me?” Cally whispered in amazement. “You would actually make peace between the families?”

  “Cally, I would do anything for you,” Lucky replied, taking her into his arms. “All you ever have to do is ask.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Normally Lilith would have hung around for the reception after the fashion show, but she couldn’t stomach having to stand around and watch everyone fawn over Cally. So, while the other models sipped O poz laced with cheap white wine, she changed back into the clothes she arrived in and left. She felt that Sister Midnight had lied to her about Lady Elysia, but she wasn’t ready to burn her bridges with the retail tycoon. She had her own ideas that would benefit from her support.

  As she rode the elevator down, Lilith recalled the dopey look on Cally’s face as she looked out at the crowd gathered at her feet. What an idiot! Did she really think everyone genuinely liked her clothes? Didn’t she realize that the only reason they were toadying up to her was because of the Shadow Hand, not her skill at the sewing machine? They were just there to suck up to her and try to get on her good side so she wouldn’t have a reason to kill them later on.

  As the doors opened, Lilith was surprised to find Xander standing in the lobby, dressed in his pea jacket and navy watch cap.

  “What are you doing here, Exo?” Lilith asked as she stepped out of the elevator.

  “You sent me a text message asking me to come out and show my support,” he said, holding up his cell phone.

  You and everyone else on my contact list, Lilith thought. Still, she was secretly pleased that Xander made the effort to show up. She knew his idea of a good time was tinkering with potions, not hobnobbing at fashion shows, so his being there actually meant something.

  “Is that a present for me?” she asked, pointing to the black velvet-covered jewelry case he held in his hand. Lilith not only enjoyed receiving gifts from admirers, she more or less expected it. After all, hanging with someone as popular and beautiful as herself was a privilege, not a right.

  “Yes, it is,” he said, smiling bashfully. “I hope you like it.”

  “Is it diamonds?” Lilith asked, all but snatching the box from him. “I positively adore diamonds.” She flipped open the clamshell case and gasped in amazement at the blue diamond tennis bracelet inside, nestled like a tiny, shining snake on a bed of white satin. Lilith lost no time slipping it onto her left wrist.

  “I had it commissioned especially for you,” Xander explained. “The blue diamonds are the same shade as your eyes.”

  “Thank you, Exo!” she said breathlessly, admiring her newest trophy.

  “Do you like it?” he asked. “Because I can get you something you like better if you don’t….”

  “Like it?—I love it!” she said with a laugh, gently brushing Xander’s cheek with the edge of her hand. She was surprised at how good his skin felt against her own. She experienced an unexpected tingle as Xander looked her in the eye.

  “If you love that, then you’re going to adore the other present I have for you.”

  “Something better than a diamond bracelet?” Lilith asked, cocking an eyebrow. “This I’ve got to see!”

  ***

  “I was expecting to see Jules at the fashion show,” Lilith said as she followed Xander into his workshop. There was a time, not so long ago, when she would have freaked out at the thought of being alone in a room with Exo. Now she found herself psyched while in his company. “Did you see him?”

  Xander shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”

  “Have you heard anything from him recently?” Lilith asked as she slid out of her Nanette Lepore coat, draping it over the back of a nearby chair.

  “Jules and I haven’t talked since that night at the club,” Xander reminded her. “The only de Lavals and Orlocks who are close right now are my mother and father. My father and Uncle Julian aren’t speaking to each other, either. Hey,” he said, changing the subject. “You were a knockout tonight. You were so beautiful in the white dress. You looked like a goddess. I wish I had a picture of you in that gown.”

  “Yeah, too bad there’s no way to photograph me.” Lilith sighed. “That way I could look at it and remember what it felt like to walk down the runway. A keepsake, you know? So, where’s this gift you promised me?” She loved presents, and Exo had already demonstrated superior taste when it came to jewelry. Lilith rubbed her new bracelet fondly, trying to imagine something better.

  Xander knelt beside the chair where she sat so that they were eye to eye and held up a small, unmarked jar. “This is it.”

  Lilith scowled for a moment, then realization dawned in her eyes. “By the Founders!” she gasped. “Exo! Is that what I think it is?”

  “There’s only one way to find out.” He smiled. “Close your eyes.”

  Lilith shut her eyes, her pulse throbbing in eager anticipation. She flinched as something cold, wet, and sticky made contact with her right cheek. She wrinkled her nose in distaste on catching a rank odor. “Yuck! This stuff reeks of toadstools! I thought you were serious!”

  “Hush!” Xander said firmly, continuing to spread the cold goo across Lilith’s face. “It smells like that because it has toadstool in it. I’m using the most recent formulation—the one incorporating some of your suggestions, partner. This was your idea, after all. We can see about fixing that later. Right now I just need you to stay put and keep your eyes and mouth shut. I don’t want to get any of this where it doesn’t need to be.”

  Although she normally disliked being told what to do, Lilith responded to the commanding tone of Exo’s voice and the soothing, almost hypnotic sensation of his hands smoothing the cream across her skin.

  Xander stepped back to admire his handiwork. “Lilith, you once asked me if you were pretty. I said you were beautiful, but you didn’t truly believe me. But now I’m going to prove it to you! I want you to look at me.”

  Lilith opened her eyes to find Xander pointing a digital camera at her. “Exo—what are you doing?” she gasped. “You know what would happen
if anyone saw you with that!”

  “Say B neg!” Xander grinned as he snapped her picture.

  “Exo—no!” Lilith cried out as the flash went off. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Providing you with the confirmation you need,” he replied, reversing the camera so that she could look at the display on the back. “See? You are the most beautiful woman in the world!”

  Lilith gazed in wonderment at the image in the viewfinder for a long moment. The last time she had seen a picture of herself, she had looked like an artsy optical effect, with a body as transparent as window glass. Now she appeared as solid and three-dimensional as any human—except that her hair and eyes seemed to be missing. Jumping to her feet, she fished out a pair of oversized YSL sunglasses from her Prada bag.

  “Take another picture!” she said excitedly, sliding on her shades.

  This time when Exo showed her the picture, the illusion of normalcy was almost complete. “Too bad about the hair.” She sighed. “But I guess I could wear a scarf.”

  “I’m working on that,” Xander said matter-of-factly, pointing to an open notebook sitting on the worktable. “I should be able to bond the active ingredients that allow for reflection into a simple shampoo. And the problem with the eyes can be solved by using contact lenses.”

  “This is incredible!” Lilith exclaimed in delight. “I can see myself in a photograph! I can actually see myself! You’re right, this is better than a diamond bracelet! Exo, do you realize what this means?”

  Instead of answering her, Xander pulled Lilith into his arms and kissed her. At first she struggled to free herself from his embrace, but after a couple of seconds she began to respond. To her surprise, Exo was a great kisser—much better than Jules. After a long minute they drew back to stare into each other’s eyes.

  As she looked up into his face, features she had once made fun of, like his long fingers and pointed ears, no longer repulsed her. In fact, they now seemed to arouse her. She had to admit that Exo possessed a unique aura. Unlike Jules, who was physically perfect no matter which way you looked at him, Xander could look hideously ugly from one angle and then, a second later, somehow manage to appear ruggedly handsome.

  The difference between the cousins wasn’t limited to physical appearance. Jules’s masculinity often seemed to be part facade, whereas Xander’s was part of every fiber of his being. Although Xander appeared self-conscious and shy, at his core he was confident in his power and abilities, which Lilith found incredibly sexy.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled his head back down to hers for a second, lengthier kiss. With Jules, kissing always seemed rushed, as if it was something he had to do in order to get to the next step in his seduction. But with Xander, it was nice and sweet and slow, as if he was trying to savor her instead of devour her. The feel of his full mouth against her own was fantastic, unlike anything she had experienced before.

  She moved sinuously against him, like a cat eager to be scratched behind the ears, as his powerful hands traveled over her body. As his long, spidery fingers brushed against the bare flesh of her outer thigh, she arched her spine, tossing back her head as she hissed through her teeth. Xander leaned forward, pushing her against the worktable hard enough to jostle the racks of beakers and flasks.

  Lilith boosted herself onto the edge of the table, wrapping her legs around Xander’s lower body. As she kissed him, she began to pull his shirt off over his head, running her hands over his totally hairless yet surprisingly broad chest. However, as she began to tug on his belt buckle, Xander abruptly broke free of their kiss and stepped back, gasping like a winded runner.

  “Why are you stopping?” Lilith panted, literally trembling with lust.

  “This isn’t right—we both know that.” Xander shook his head. “You’re promised to Jules, and despite everything, he’s still my cousin and oldest friend. I have no right to be with you—especially not like this.”

  “Jules and I are so over!” Lilith assured him.

  Xander’s cheeks turned bright red, but he said nothing else as he put his shirt back on.

  Lilith quickly hopped down off the table. “Do you really think Jules would do the same if the roles were reversed?”

  “It doesn’t matter to me what Jules would have done,” Xander replied solemnly. “It only matters what I do. I think you should go home now, Lilith. It will be dawn soon.”

  As he held the door open for her, Lilith paused to look up at him. “Are you sure you want me to leave, Xander?” she whispered, leaning in so close her breasts were brushing against his body.

  “We’ll talk about this later, okay?” Xander said, letting out a shaky breath. “I think right now—I think we’re in danger of letting our excitement get the better of us.”

  “I certainly hope so,” Lilith said.

  CHAPTER 15

  “Here you go—door-to-door service,” Lucky said as his driver pulled up outside the Plaza.

  “It’s not the first time you’ve escorted me home,” Cally reminded him.

  “That’s true,” he said, leaning in for a long, lingering kiss. After they finished, he smiled down into her eyes, stroking the curve of her cheek with his thumb. “When can I drop by for a proper visit?”

  “Give me a couple of nights to break the news, okay?” she replied. “I don’t want to be sneaking around behind my father’s back. I’ve had enough of that already.”

  “I understand,” Lucky said. “I’ll start in on my dad, too. Don’t worry, Cally. We can make this work, baby—I promise you that.”

  ***

  Cally pirouetted her way across the marble lobby of the Plaza, giggling like a schoolgirl in love. The night-shift concierge behind the desk looked up, baffled by such a display of ebullience at six in the morning. Cally’s first response was to halt what she was doing and hurry to the elevators, but she stopped herself from doing so. Why should she have to worry about calling attention to herself all the time? After all, why shouldn’t she giggle and act silly? She was a schoolgirl in love!

  It had been a fabulous evening—her fashion show was a huge hit, her designs were being picked up by Sister Midnight for sale in her chain of boutiques, she’d been offered an apprenticeship in Paris by none other than Nazaire d’Ombres—and to top it all off, she had a new boyfriend! It would take her hours to come down to earth long enough to sleep. She couldn’t wait to tell Baron Metzger everything.

  Although he was her father’s vassal, she trusted the Baron enough to try to plead her case. Surely Victor would welcome a truce between himself and Vincent Maledetto?

  As she unlocked the door to the apartment, it stopped halfway, blocked by something just inside the threshold. She stuck her head into the gap between the jamb and the door, frowning down at the packed suitcases parked inside the foyer.

  “Edgar? What’s going on?” she shouted as she squeezed her way inside. “What are my bags doing out here?”

  “I do not know, Miss Cally,” Baron Metzger’s butler said as he stepped into the front hallway, carrying Cally’s sewing machine under one arm and a fully loaded steamer trunk under the other. “The master has instructed me to pack your things, so that is what I am doing.”

  Cally pushed past the undead manservant and hurried in the direction of the living room, where she found Metzger standing in front of the fireplace, drinking blood from a brandy snifter.

  “Baron! What’s happening? Why are my things sitting in the foyer?”

  “I’m afraid I must return to Europe, my dear. Something has arisen that requires my immediate attention. I fear I will be gone for some time.”

  Cally’s heart, which had been as light as spun glass moments before, suddenly transformed into lead. Wonderful! Just as things were really looking up for her, now she was going to be torn away from her friends and opportunities and sent packing to some foreign land.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I’m afraid you don’t understand,” Baron Metzger said gently
. “You will not be accompanying me, Cally. Where I’m going is very dangerous, even for our kind, and especially for someone your age. Besides, your probationary agreement with the Synod requires that you remain in New York. There is no way you could leave the city without bringing Count de Laval down on you.”

  Cally frowned. “But if I can’t stay here and I can’t go with you, where am I supposed to live?”

  “Come tomorrow evening, you will be residing with your true father.” Baron Metzger smiled, placing his hands on Cally’s shoulders. “You will remain under Victor Todd’s roof until you have finished your education at Bathory Academy. You have nothing to worry about, my dear. As far as Old Blood society is concerned, Victor is merely extending hospitality to the child of his vassal, nothing more.”

  A stricken look crossed Cally’s face as she realized what Metzger was saying. In the brief time she had spent as the Baron’s “daughter,” she had become quite fond of the old gentleman. Although her grandfather Cyril had died long before she was born, Baron Metzger treated her the way she always imagined he would have.

  “But I don’t want you to leave, Baron!” she said tearfully, throwing her arms around him, burying her face into his broad chest. “Please don’t go! Can’t you talk my father into letting you stay?”

  Metzger gave a deep, sad sigh as he tried to console the weeping girl. “As much as I would like to do so, I must serve the House of Todd as your father sees fit. I have served him without question for over a hundred years, just as I served your grandfather Adolphus before him.” He gently disengaged himself from Cally, handing her a linen handkerchief from his breast pocket. “However, I will admit that pretending to be your father has been the most pleasurable task ever commanded of me. I wish you were my real daughter, Cally. My beloved wife and I always wanted a little girl, but it was never meant to be.”

  “Will I ever see you again?” Cally sniffled. All her life she had dreamed of going to live with her real father, but now that she was doing so, she was surprised to find herself ambivalent about the whole thing.