Chapter 23
I woke up to the sound of my intercom ringing. I stumbled into the lounge.
“What?” I snapped into the intercom.
“It’s our spa day!” Mia reminded me, waving at the camera.
Oh shit. I’d forgotten. I’d also missed the gym with Dan.
“Come on up, I’ll be in the shower,” I offered.
I caught sight of a box on the balcony. “You’ve got to stop leaving me gifts on the balcony.” I muttered and pulled it inside, placing it on my coffee table. It was a large box, with ribbon around it, and a note on the top.
Quinn, please do me the honour of wearing these at the Masquerade on the evening of the thirteenth next month. - Matteo.
An invite was attached to his note, with my name on it.
I lifted the lid carefully, afraid of what I’d find. Inside, in a nest of green fabric, was a beautiful black and gold Venetian mask, with feathers that held a green tint. As I was staring at it, Lilith and Mia walked in.
“Oh my god,” Mia whispered. “We get an invite, she gets a mask and dress! Quinn, that’s beautiful!”
“You got invites?” I asked.
“They were dropped off this morning,” Lilith said, and her eyes fell on the painting I still hadn’t hung on my wall. “He’s really lavishing you with gifts!”
“How was dinner last night?” Mia gushed. “We want all the details.”
Lilith pulled the mask from the box as I lifted the dress, tears forming in my eyes. It was a beautiful dress, green with a long satin skirt, the bodice of lace and off the shoulder.
“Oh hun, what’s wrong?” Mia asked.
I shook my head. “This is too much. The painting, the mask, and this? I don’t even know if I should go.”
“If you have a gentleman wanting to shower gifts on you, he’s deemed you worth the chase,” Lilith said. “Why wouldn’t you go?” She lifted a hand, pointing to her and Mia. “We are. An excuse to buy a nice dress and have a fancy night out? Yes, please!”
I couldn’t look away from the dress. “You’re going?”
She sighed. “Quinn, you have a man who wants to spoil you. Let him, even if it’s just to see where it goes.”
I nodded. “You said you got an invitation, too. Why did he invite you?”
“I think because we know you. Maybe he wanted to make sure you didn’t feel alone.” Mia grinned. “He’s so romantic.”
Lilith helped me return the dress to its box. “Go, shower. We have time, we can have a coffee before we go to the spa.”
I lay back with my eyes closed as a mud mask was painted onto my face, my nails being manicured.
“So, he kissed you?” Lilith asked beside me after I gave her and Mia all the details I could, omitting anything relating to vampires. “I could see, that first night, that he was into you. And that you felt the same, since you did miss the thing with my solo.”
I groaned. “You’re not going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Why would I? You missed the solo on account of gazing across the bar at a hot Italian artist-slash-gallery owner.”
The beautician had finished my nails and started to massage my hands. I sighed with bliss, letting myself relax.
“This is the life,” Mia murmured .
In that moment, I couldn’t agree more. I smiled. “Maybe we should treat ourselves more often,” I suggested.
“You two need to not spend all your money before we’ve made it,” Lilith commented with amusement in her voice.
“Spoil sport,” Mia grunted.
“We should go shopping for the two of you for new dresses,” I said. “Unless Lil thinks that’s excessive spending?”
“Of course it is,” Lilith said. “But for such an event, I could make an exception.”
“What is the reason for a masquerade ball, anyway?” Mia wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, someone rich decided to host a fancy event?” Lilith replied. “Rich people and their extravagant lifestyles. They like to show off their money.”
“When we’re rich, we’ll probably do the same,” Mia daydreamed.
The massage on my hands stopped, and fingers pressed into my head. I’d thought I couldn’t be any more relaxed, but that proved me wrong.
“Doubt it,” Lilith’s voice had a smile in it. “Quinn would still be going out for steak, or ‘Death by Chocolate’. I’d still be getting more tattoos, and Mia…”
“Mia would fit into it, though,” I laughed. “She has expensive taste, for everything.”
The three of us laughed. Laughing easily pushed down the gloom that threatened to rise. That had been lurking since I’d woken up.
After we finished at the spa, we went shopping for dresses for the masquerade.
“I’m going to propose to Mia,” Lilith whispered as we waited for Mia to try on a dress. “At the Melbourne concert. On stage. I have ideas for how to pull it off, and I’ll need your help.”
Excitement burst through me. “Oh my god, of course! That’s awesome!” I glanced towards the changing room. “I’m so happy for you both!”
She grinned. “Maybe Matteo can be your plus one at our wedding.”
Matteo. The kiss from last night replayed itself.
“You’re thinking of that kiss again, aren’t you?” Lilith asked.
“How did you know?” I couldn’t deny it.
“Because you have that wistful look on your face. Are you falling for him?” She joked.
Despite him being a vampire, he’d been such a gentleman. Apart from his moment in the limo, and fangs and red eyes at the end of the kiss, he had done his best to not terrify me. To put me at ease. He’d answered questions, and we’d had a decent evening. I didn’t want to think of falling for a vampire, so instead, I focused on the part he’d played for our date. The man.
Usually men wanted one thing, but there was something else he wanted from me, and I wasn’t sure this would end well. “I don’t know, maybe?”
She gave me a smile. “Something’s still holding you back, though.”
“I’m just being cautious,” I lied. “He’s a mysterious guy, I guess it’s too early to tell if this is anything serious.”
Lilith smirked. “Do I have to warn him that if he hurts you, I’ll hunt him down and kill him?”
I couldn’t hold back the laughter at the image of Lilith unknowingly threatening a vampire. “You wouldn’t kill him. ”
“No, but I’d kick his ass. I’ve been trained in three different styles of martial arts, so you know I could.” She stood, taking on a stance to prove her point.
Her family had forced her into lessons when we were kids, and I had no doubt anyone who tried to attack her would find themselves having a bad day rather quickly.
“I think I’m going with this one,” Mia announced, stepping into view.
She wore a red and black dress, with a matching mask and black gloves. Lilith gazed at her, speechless. Mia stared back, the two of them not moving.
I loved these two and the devout adoration they held for each other. I hoped to have that and wondered if Matteo would be that guy. I let out a longing sigh.
“Is that sigh about a certain hot Italian art gallery owner, slash artist?” Mia asked. “Other than the extremely steamy kiss, did anything else happen? You’re very vague on the details.”
Maybe because he’s a vampire and I’m coming to terms with that . It hit me hard, that I was coming to terms with the whole thing. There was no one I could talk to about it, but in the daylight hours, I was a lot calmer about him being a vampire than I had been last night. I couldn’t deny that our kiss had definitely had an impact.
“The dinner was alright,” I said. “I couldn’t read the menu, so he had to help me.”
Mia grinned wide. “So romantic.” She narrowed her eyes. “If he hurts you, we’ll just set Lil on him.”
“Lil already made that threat.” I wished I could tell them everything. But I needed to talk to someone about my fears, even if I couldn’t reveal the whole thing. “What if there’s a side to him that isn’t, um…” I stopped. There was no way to say anything without sounding strange.
Lilith leaned forward. “Are we talking kink or a player?”
“You have to stay away from those cheaters.” Mia narrowed her eyes. “One was bad enough.”
“No, he’s not…I mean…” I struggled to find words.
“So, he has a kink, then.” Interest sparked in Lilith’s eyes. “Tell me.”
I had to make something up before the next word out of my mouth was ‘blood.’ I’d never lied to my friends before. “Biting,” I said.
Lilith frowned. “You said he kissed you. He bit you?” Her eyes shifted, an unreadable expression on her face.
“No, but he may have a thing for it.” Half the truth was better than a complete lie. “But he won’t do it if I’m not comfortable with it.”
“Good. I mean if you want him to, by all means, you might enjoy it, too.” Lilith grinned across at Mia. “I know I was pleasantly surprised by what Mia was willing to do.”
“I don’t want him to,” I admitted, probably a little too quickly.
“Then make that known,” Lilith told me.
“I have,” I affirmed.
Mia gripped my hand tighter. “Then there will be no problem. He’s not Steven. If he’s a monster, like Steven was, it will be known.”
I forced the pain of Steven down. That man had broken me, and I’d almost lost a main part of me because of him. The manipulation, and the moment I’d learned he’d cheated on me.
“At least this one likes my voice,” I brightened. “There’s no way he’d make me quit.” I forced a smile. “Your dress is beautiful, Mia. Time for Lil to try hers on.”