by Rena Marks
I was thinking of him when I drove to an appointment for a facial at Connie’s SkinSpa. As I walked down the corridor, Leo stood in the doorway, watching me approach. He looked strong and masculine, with dark stubble lining his jaw. His face was lean but tiny dimples dipped into his cheeks when he smiled. His hair was longer and tied back into a ponytail.
“Anjelia. It’s good to see you again.”
“Leo. What are you doing here?” I asked, as the hairs on the back of my neck prickled.
“I wanted to see you. I need to talk to you about that mark you have.”
“Why?”
“Because I have curiosities about it and your relationship with the vampires. Please. I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important.”
“Sorry, Leo. I don’t trust you and it really is my business.”
Still, he smiled easily. “I don’t blame you. But we are not at all close to a full moon and I assure you I am in complete control. Let me buy you a coffee. Come see what my personality is normally like.”
“I have an appointment with Connie right now.”
“She knows I wish to speak with you.” Arrogance rang in his tone. I realized that while I owed Leo nothing, Connie certainly did. She was a member of his pack and how much pressure would she have to take by me avoiding him? If I agreed to meet with him, a coffee shop was at least a public place.
I nodded, but stepped into her doorway anyway. She was sitting behind her desk, looking worried. I smiled, mostly to reassure her.
“I’m canceling. Having coffee with Leo.”
She nodded. “Call me later.”
Leo and I headed across the street to a small, old-fashioned restaurant. Once our coffee arrived, he got down to business.
“I’d like to know about your werewolf brand. You mentioned it was not willing. What happened to you?”
It was just like Julian suspected. Once the novelty of my mark being unwilling faded, I was fair game.
“I had an abusive husband. He branded me. I had no idea what it was or what it meant. I just thought it was a burn for a long time.”
“Several wolves in my pack have been conversing on this. We don’t believe that you belong to the vampires. We would like to fight for you. I’d like you to be my queen.”
That certainly wasn't what I was expecting.
“Thanks. It’s a little sudden, isn’t it?” I muttered.
“No.” He looked puzzled, as if I’d already been in the running. “I have a lot to offer you. You wouldn’t be just anyone. You’d be my queen, unlimited resources and power at your fingertips. I have money, a lot of money. You would never want for anything.”
He listed his qualifications like a job interviewee.
“Oh. Leo, I’m flattered. You’re a handsome man. A prime catch.” I smiled. “But I’m with Julian. I want to be with Julian. I love him,” I said, as gently as I could.
“Would you want to be with Julian if you weren’t mesmerized?”
My body stilled. If it was able, I’m sure my heart would have stopped. Instead, it just seized in my chest. “What do you mean? I’ve been mesmerized a couple of times but I’m not mesmerized now.”
“Aren’t you? How many years did you refuse his advances? And suddenly, within this short period of time, you are not only aligned with him, but sleeping with him? Willing to tie yourself to him for life?”
I was sure he had just assumed we were sleeping together. After all, we started out as a pretense. But how did Leo know I’d refused Julian for years? He’d certainly done his homework.
“I can prove it, Anjelia,” he continued.
“How?” I whispered.
I was curious, yet afraid to know. My breath was shallow as my gut clenched with horror.
“Your brand. It’s my mark. The wolf-face in the moon. The face is mine. We have our own power together. I can un-mesmerize you if you’ll let me.”
Was I currently mesmerized? It was beginning to make sense. I fell in love with Julian quickly and had decided to make our pretense real while outside my car with him kissing me. The first time I told him I loved him was that very same night. It was also the night I agreed to become his human servant. It was possible I was already mesmerized by then, even though I could not be introduced to it now. There were moments when I wondered why I acted a certain way or couldn’t remember why I didn’t react a different way.
I closed my eyes and swallowed down the nausea that was fighting its way up my stomach. I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to know. And yet, I needed the truth.
“How are you able to un-mesmerize me without being a master vamp?”
“Only through my brand, which you already wear. It bonds you to me. I couldn't, otherwise.”
“Yes, then un-mesmerize me.”
Then I would know. I would know if I truly loved Julian.
Leo scooted his chair closer to mine. “I’ll need to touch your mark, you see.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and massaged the base of my spine where my brand was. It began to feel warm and then scorching hot. I gasped and knew he was right. The mark was real. The mark was his.
Leo lowered his lips to mine. “This’ll take away the pain, Anjelia.”
I wrenched my head away before his lips could descend. What was I, fair game for the supernaturals? Besides, the pain in my back would take away the pain in my heart.
Julian's awareness snapped into my head. He knew what was happening. I felt his emotion—his desperation as the tie was severed and I learned the truth.
I had been under mesmerization this entire time.
Heat flushed throughout my entire body, a violent wave that left me nauseated. My eyes slowly began to focus. I found myself staring into Leo’s face.
“Do you see now, Anjelia?” He asked softly.
I nodded. Yes, I saw all right. I stood shakily.
“Where are you going?”
“Home. Julian’s there.”
I left Leo sitting at the restaurant. I owed him nothing.
I cried the entire time I drove home. My cheeks were still wet when I arrived at my house. I opened the front door and Julian stood inside. His eyes were bloodshot as he reached for me.
“Anjelia, my sweet—”
“Don’t touch me,” I shrieked.
I wasn’t sure if I could resist him if he touched me. Or what power it gave him. Perhaps he could mesmerize me again.
He dropped his hands to his sides.
“You tricked me, dammit. None of this was real.”
“Of course it was real. My love for you is always real.”
“But do I love you?”
“Only you can answer that. You already did. We were happy together. You’d told me so.”
“It doesn’t matter, does it? Because I don’t trust you. I could never trust you again. You took my will from me. Leave, Julian.”
“No, Anjelia. Don’t throw this away. Think about what you’re doing. Why would Leo wish to disarm us? He merely wants you as a werewolf, my sweet. Trust me.”
“How can I trust you! You kept me mesmerized, dammit.”
“I was afraid, Anjelia. Afraid that you would never come to me on your own. Afraid that you would go on without me.”
I hardened my voice. “Leave, Julian.”
“Anjelia, wait. Whatever happens between us, we cannot let the outside world know. You would become bait for other supernaturals. We must at least keep up a pretense. You are still, you will always be, my human servant. We need contact and blood exchange between us.”
“You are no longer welcome here.”
I’d never revoked an invitation before. Didn’t even know such a thing existed. It wasn’t intentional. I didn’t mean for my statement to be taken literally but that’s exactly what happened. A wind blew and Julian was forced from my house. The front door didn’t close but I knew that he could not enter. I remembered the force field. So I gently closed it myself.
I collapsed on the sofa. Julian stood before t
he porch window, watching me.
“I also revoke my invitation for Johnny, Anna, Nicki and Lily,” I said aloud. They were the only vampires I’d ever invited in.
I’d cried myself to sleep that night.
* * * * *
When I awoke the next day, my eyes were swollen and red. Simply lovely.
The gym was silent and empty, as if my gym itself knew my sadness.
I knew it wouldn't be long before the vampires arrived.
“Leah?” Lily asked in a hesitant voice.
I looked up at her. I felt miserable, and I'm sure it showed in my face. She ran toward me and held me. We cried.
“You’d think I’d have no tears left with as much as I cried last night. And here I am crying some more,” I said.
“I thought you would never see us again, Leah. I felt your revocation last night.”
The revocation didn’t work at the gym because it was a public place. I hoped Julian would respect my privacy and not show up.
“I didn’t want Julian ordering you guys over to change my mind.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“Wouldn’t he?”
She shook her head emphatically. “Are we still welcome here, then?”
I nodded. “I just need some time, Lily. That’s all.”
I received the time I wished for. Julian still called me. I refused to answer so he left messages. At first I couldn’t listen to them and erased them as fast as they came in. After a week, however, I was able to start listening. They were what I’d imagined. Please call him back. Please come to my senses. Please realize I loved him and know that he loved me also.
I did what I do best. I worked out. All the time. There’s something mind-numbing about punishing your body. With my hair tied up in a sweaty ponytail, I’d crank up the music and try not think about anything at all. I worked out alone, I worked out with others. And yes, I continued to work out with the girls next door.
Until I started to sicken. I began to drag, lethargy taking over my limbs, barely aware of the girls watching me. I knew what the problem was, I'd been warned. I needed contact with Julian. Human servant to her master. Skin contact and blood exchange.
I was vampire dinner. And it pissed me off to be in that position.
Leo called me while I was at the gym that day. As far as I knew from Connie, Leo was eccentric enough that he didn’t use the telephone. Which was why the last time I’d met him it was in person at Connie’s spa.
“Hello? Anjelia, is that you?” He shouted into the phone.
“Leo? Yes, it’s me. What’s going on? You’re shouting.”
He lowered his voice. “I wanted to see how you were. I didn’t know.”
“I’m fine. But I thought you didn’t make phone calls,” I said, still holding the phone from my ear.
“Normally, I don’t. But my attempts to see you have been thwarted.”
“Thwarted? How?”
“Julian sends vamps to patrol the parking lot where you work. I finally found your address and he has vampires guarding your house also. Vampires at night, his human employees during the day.”
“I see. Well, Leo, I am fine, I assure you.”
“Perhaps we can meet? For dinner or coffee. Or just to visit, if you’d like.”
“I don’t know, Leo. I have to think about it, okay? Can I call you back?”
He rattled off his phone number once I promised to let him know in a day or two. I wasn’t planning on meeting him. Or dating him, for that matter, because I knew what he wanted, eventually. But I was angry at Julian’s highhandedness over having me watched.
Locking up the gym, I strode next door to the club. I was escorted in and the vampiric eyes of those who’d been my friends now avoided me. Julian was down in a heartbeat and gathered both my hands in his.
He took my breath away. I’d almost forgotten how beautiful he was. The jet-black hair, the perfectly pale skin and the piercing onyx gaze. I pulled away abruptly and he let my hands drop.
Grief shone in his eyes. Too bad. Yet, just that small contact of hand holding made me instantly feel healthier.
“I need to talk to you, Julian.”
“My office?”
I nodded and followed him up the stairs. Once we were alone, he closed the door. He perched on the edge of his desk, long lean legs stretched out before him. It would take almost nothing to stand between his legs and offer my throat. Anger at my emotional weakness hardened me.
“I heard from Leo that he’s being kept from the premises.”
To his credit, Julian nodded. “I’m sorry, Anjelia. I don’t trust the wolf.”
“Well, I don’t exactly trust him either but you can’t keep him from here. Or from my house.”
“Do you intend to see him, then?”
I thought about it. “Yes, I do.”
He was quiet for a moment, and the silence stretched between us. “May I suggest then, that you go somewhere I can have a vampire in attendance? Just as a precaution?”
“With me? Like a bodyguard?”
“No, neither one of you needs to know who nor where the vampire is. Yet he’ll be within screaming distance.”
“Like a public place? In broad daylight?”
“I can get a vampire anywhere. But an underground restaurant is best, where he does not have to stay out of direct sunlight.”
I nodded. It wasn’t a bad idea, and I didn’t trust Leo.
“Anjelia, I am truly sorry. I really do love you.”
“I know, Julian. I love you too, but I don’t trust you. I don't know if I ever can.”
Finally, I moved into the small distance between us and kissed him gently. I couldn’t help myself, I missed him so. But, before it developed into too much, I pulled away.
“You know we need a blood exchange, right? And some skin contact before you sicken?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Let me love you, please. Without it, this will be painful for you.”
“I can’t bear to be intimate with you. Not now. I’ll take the pain instead.”
He stared into my eyes, and then nodded. He lowered his lips to my neck. The bite was vivid and I caught my breath. Never before had I fed him without lust dulling the shock. I tried not to wince but of course he knew.
“Relax, baby. Relax.”
He blew his breath over my fang marks and sweet sensuality flowed through my veins. He began to drink, gently at first, until his hunger grew. A hunger that matched my growing orgasm.
My body was taking over. My nipples hardened, begging for sweet licks and the now-familiar swirls of his tongue. Heat gathered between my legs, and I had the urge to spread my thighs wide to receive him.
I refused. I squeezed my legs together but that was even worse. It focused my attention on my swollen sex between them.
I wanted to run my fingertips over his chest. I wanted to let them trail down below his pants and cup the weight of his testicles in my hand. I wanted to stroke his cock, to feel the strength of it as it hardened in the palm of my hand. I wanted to feel it thrust into my warm, wet, softness over and over until I reached climax.
Damn traitorous body. Tingling began from my clit and hit nerve endings everywhere in my body as my climax began to grow.
When it burst, I cried out and collapsed in his arms. He held me and rocked me, while I came to my senses. I have to admit, it took me a while because it was so comforting to be held. I felt so cherished. I lifted his shirt and wrapped my bare arms around him. Skin to skin.
I should have been angry. I’d told him no love, just a feeding. But right now I was just too relaxed to feel anger. I wallowed in my afterglow, enjoying the temporary security of his arms enclosing me. The pretense of everything was just fine.
When I was ready, I stood and let his arms fall away. Sorrow struck us once more.
Julian and I agreed to keep up our pretense. I knew it was going to be difficult, but now that the initial anger had left me, I realized that I had no ot
her choice. By breaking up with him, I was opening myself to every supernatural Tom, Dick or Harry who wanted a taste of the vampire dinner. We were bound for life, although I was choosing separate lives.
The first start of our pretense was to have dinner again, like old times, in a public restaurant. The second was me calling Leo. I wasn’t sure if I could lie directly to Leo, to pretend that Julian and I were still together, or if I should be honest with him and ask him to keep it quiet. It would be difficult to lie to him since he was technically the one who broke us up.
Leo and I met for lunch, which was Julian’s idea. I heeded his advice and met Leo at The Subground. The restaurant was exactly that, partially underground with plenty of dark corners for those vamps with special powers, like those who do not need as much “sleep” during the daylight hours.
Leo was already seated in the waiting area when I arrived, and rose to greet me.
“Leo.”
“Anjelia. I am so glad you called and agreed to meet with me.”
I smiled. I hoped it reached my eyes. “I have a little free time on my hands these days.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He didn’t look sorry. I didn’t respond as the waitress brought drinks to our table. He waited until she finished before he continued the conversation.
“How are you?”
“Fine, actually. Julian and I have an understanding. He still protects me, I protect him with the humans and we pretend that everything else is hunky-dory.”
“A pretense?”
I looked at him firmly. “Yes. And I am fine with it.”
He nodded. It wasn’t close enough to a full moon for him to begin acting insane. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here. I feel responsible.”
Feel responsible? I almost snorted. The derision must have shown in my face because he spoke quickly.
“You carry my mark. It makes me responsible for you.”
“Don’t worry about it, Leo.”
He looked at me intently. “Friends, then?”
“Friends,” I agreed.
I held out my hand, and he reached for it across the table.
At that moment someone approached. It was the reporter from the paper.
