Chapter 18 Arabella #3
“Speed doesn’t kill vampires, Gideon. It’s suddenly becoming stationary that makes all the mess.”
“Well, please don’t make a mess. I have to keep the leather pristine or Winnie will never accept a ride from me again.”
I momentarily forget how much I hate Gideon in my haste to scramble around to the other side of the car. He steps out and makes some grand gesture, which I ignore. I slide into the driver’s seat, my feet finding the pedals. The leather hugs my curves like it was made for me.
Gideon opens the door to climb into the passenger seat, but I plant my foot and the car leaps away.
The wind slams the door shut, and I’m alone in the most beautiful machine humans have ever created. I cackle like a witch who’s just discovered a self-cleaning cauldron.
I know I’m supposed to be seducing him, I know I’m waiting for my real revenge, but the look on his face as I left him in my dust was too good to resist.
I tear through the woodland path, carving up the corners and making the tyres squeal. My heart leaps in my throat, my breath hot and heavy as the rush of adrenaline warms my icy veins.
It’s been a long time since I felt this free.
Not since the hot air balloon over Paris, or the night—
No. Don’t think about that night. Don’t let yourself believe this warmth in your veins or the pulse between your legs is because of Gideon.
He betrayed me.
He stole from me.
He burned my theatre.
He destroyed everything I built for myself.
Because of him, I had to start over from scratch. Again.
And he’s so ready to believe that I’ll forgive him. Leaving him on the side of the road is nothing compared to what he did.
I slow down as I pull up to the Sanctus gates and flash my ID at the security guard.
“Welcome home, Ms Lestrange. Um… isn’t that Mr Blake’s car?” The guard looks puzzled.
I smirk. “He lent it to me.”
“Oh, um, yes. That isn’t in my instructions.” The guard glances down at some notes. “Mr Blake would have you go up to Sanctus House. I guess he’s meeting you there in another vehicle?”
I’d like to see him try.
I park the car diagonally across three parking spaces.
I can’t resist having a little snoop around before I step out of the car.
The glove compartment is filled with paperback dark romance novels – some of my favourites – with their edges dog-eared and notes scribbled in the margins. Most of the notes are simply, “WTF???”
Curious.
Sinead studies me as she meets me at the entrance, no doubt trying to puzzle out why Gideon isn’t here. I can taste her loathing in the cool air. It’s tiresome – I’m not going to stop Gideon nibbling on her neck. But she plasters a smile on her face as she ushers me inside.
Why does she look so familiar to me?
“Your car is parked in front of your property, Ms Lestrange.”
“Thank you, Sinead. I appreciate your attentive and personal service.” I lean in close, hissing in her ear. “If I find you have adjusted my seat, I will use your rib cage as a xylophone.”
She swallows. “F-f-follow me. You and Gideon were supposed to arrive together, but I guess he’ll be along shortly.”
I wouldn’t count on it.
She leads me away from the lively crowd gathering at Brimstone and down a wide hallway to a locked door with a RESERVED sign.
Sinead pushes it open and ushers me inside.
Gideon has set up two chairs in front of a large projector.
A bottle of blood sits on the table with two glasses, and a series of candles are lined up beside them.
The title screen for the film reads “Moulin Rouge”.
Interesting – a film about the Paris cabaret that was one of my biggest competitors. I’ll enjoy picking apart everything inferior to La Petite Mort, starting with the lack of blood.
I inspect the candles. They all bear a Spell The Tea label. Are my friends in on this? I sniff a red cherry candle, enjoying the notes of one of my favourite scents, although I prefer it when it’s mixed with honey and poppy—
This is actually… sweet.
No, it’s not.
It’s… it’s presumptuous. Why does Gideon think I’d like to spend an evening drinking blood and watching a movie with him? After he stole my car? It’s the kind of thing that would be hot in a dark romance novel but in real life…
I can’t stand Gideon.
Although… drinking blood and watching a movie would be the perfect chance to grill him about the Thralls on the estate.
Except that Gideon’s not here because I left him on the side of the road.
Oh well, I’m not wasting a perfectly decent bottle of Duke. I settle into the nearest seat, slide the cork from the neck, and call out to Sinead, “Roll film!”
“I see you’re enjoying your surprise.”
I stretch languidly in my reclined seat and glance over my shoulder. Gideon leans against the doorframe, the warmth in his eyes edged with danger, just the way I like it. There are leaves in his hair and a smudge of dirt across his cheek. His once-immaculate trousers are torn.
He looks hot like this, like a forest nymph after a drunken revel.
“Took you long enough,” I murmur, raising my nearly empty glass to my lips.
Truthfully, it hasn’t taken him long at all – most vampires can move much faster than humans when we want to.
Sinead looks up from where she kneels at my feet, giving me the best massage I’ve ever had in my life. “What happened to your watch?”
He regards his naked wrist with wariness. “I lost it in a fierce battle with a badger.”
I blink.
Gideon grins. “It was either give him my watch or he’d scratch up my beautiful face. What choice did I have? That badger is going to pull all the hot badger-ettes with his new bling.”
Sinead untangles herself from my feet and throws herself at Gideon. “What happened to you, Sir?”
Gideon sinks into the chair beside me. “What happened, Sinead, is that I’m going to need another bottle of blood.” He shakes the bottle I’ve been enjoying. The dregs slosh around. “Be a doll and fetch one for me.”
Sinead shoots me a vile glare before storming out.
“Tsk, someone should teach Sinead that other women aren’t her competition.”
“She’s upset because I’m not drinking from her,” Gideon says. “And possibly because I smell like badger.”
He doesn’t smell like a badger, but he does smell like the woods and sweat and red cherries. I wave my hand. “I don’t mind if you pop open one of Sinead’s veins. You must be thirsty after your walk.”
Gideon fixes his gaze on me. “There are a lot of marks on her neck. I think she’s getting addicted. We’ve already had an incident—”
He cuts himself off.
“Danny?”
Gideon sighs. “Yes, Ms Nevermore Coven, I’m talking about Danny.
We never had any complaints about Patrick Stock, and he wasn’t a Thrall, so I don’t think their deaths are linked to Sanctus, but your friends are determined to prove me wrong.
Danny was a menace. Members were going off him – he was bothering the female residents, touching them inappropriately while they were feeding.
Alyra made a complaint and we let him go, but he came back a couple of times, demanding we rehire him or he’d reveal our secrets.
Lilac snuck one of her potions into his drink at the pub, but he was husked before we found out if it worked.
” Gideon accepts a bottle from Sinead and slides the cork out in a sensuous motion.
“I’m sorry he was killed in such a brutal way, but I’m not sorry that he’s no longer making women uncomfortable. Speaking of uncomfortable…”
He reaches beneath himself and draws out a long, gnarled twig, wincing as he tosses it into the corner of the room.
“I can’t believe you walked back to Sanctus.”
I wish I wasn’t impressed, but I am.
Gideon pulls off a leaf stuck to his shoulder. “There was no phone reception on that road, and there aren’t exactly many cars going past at this time of night. It was a pleasant walk. I got to catch up with my badger friend. What do you think of the movie so far?”
“The operatic excess of it appeals to me, but must we have all that singing?”
“I thought you loved opera.”
“That was no opera.”
He grins wickedly. “I knew you’d love it.”
“It reminds me…” I trail off as a blur of tassels and corsetry and peacock feathers soaked in blood dance across my memories. I gesture to the line of scented candles on the table between us. “Why the candles?”
“Ah, now these are genius.” Gideon leans forward and lights each one with a silver lighter pulled from the dark recesses of his suit.
“We can enjoy the scents of a human movie theatre without having to eat the food or be around other people. That one is butter popcorn, that one is some sort of cherry-flavoured candy, and this one is foot odour from when other people take their shoes off. And this one reminds me of… well, you just have to smell it.”
He holds the candle up to my nose. Notes of peony, iris, waterlily and apple blossom stir a bitter memory. I’m the woman in the painting, lying back on the stones, bathed in the scent of blooming flowers, my naked skin kissed by the moonlight, and Gideon…
I wrinkle my nose and set down the candle. “Why did you do this?”
“I thought it was obvious.” Gideon shrugs. “It’s my grand gesture.”
“What?”
“My grand gesture. Like in the romance novels you love. Me and you… we were amazing together, remember?”
I fold my arms. “No.”
He sighs. “I’m not denying that mistakes were made. We don’t get to go back in time and fix the things that were broken, but this is the next best thing. A second chance to make this work. Hardly anyone gets that, but we do. Isn’t that amazing?”
He looks so earnest, with all his dangerous edges softened by sentiment. This is exactly what I wanted. Gideon Blake is still completely besotted with me. This will make the moment I betray him that much sweeter.
But I can’t let him think he’s won me over so easily, or he’ll know something is up.
“That’s called being a vampire,” I bite out. “Our lives are an eternity of second chances. It’s rather tedious.”