A Glimpse of the Dark Side: Adult Paranormal Erotic Romance Collection (17 page)

Suddenly, Hollianne turned to Dreama smiling
widely.

"So you don't mind having Simon as your escort
to the wedding, do you?" she asked.

"Are you serious?" Dreama exclaimed. "How on
earth are you going to pull that off?" she asked in a whisper. Only
Holli knew about her real feelings about Simon.

"It's simple," Hollianne smiled.
"I
decided today that the bridal party will be each other's escorts.
That means that you, as my Maid-of-Honor, and Simon, as Erick's
Best Man, will be paired off together."

Dreama looked at her friend more closely. And
Holli rolled her eyes.

"Okay, something happened." And Holli quickly
told her about Simon's call.

She couldn't help but feel sad about her sister,
but she worried about something else. "You know how much I love
you, Holli," Dreama said. "But I really don't like the idea of
myself being forced on Simon."

"Oh, it will be nothing of the sort," Hollianne
replied as she waved her hand through the air dismissively. "If I
am not mistaken, he actually sounded relieved and excited about it.
I can imagine that he liked you rather better than your sister. I
mean, when you talk about someone pushing herself at someone --
that would be Raven at Simon. I heard from some reliable sources
that although Raven has been telling people they are dating, Simon
didn't seem happy when confronted with this. In fact, they said he
had looked irritated. Besides, this decision helped me out of a
rather sticky spot."

"Really? What spot was that?"

"Okay, Simon said that Raven is insistent on
being his date to the wedding. Well, I know she's your sister, but
you also know that there's no way in hell that I'm going to allow
her here on the most special day of my life."

""Uh-oh," she said.

"So I decided on the spot that Simon already had
a date for the wedding. And, I also told him that she's not welcome
here. I'm sorry, Dreama, but I know you understand."

"I see what you did there," Dreama said as she
tried to appear annoyed. "You know that the shit is going to hit
the fan when Raven hears this."

"I know, and I couldn't care less! I'm sorry,
Dreama. Again, I know she's your sister, but the two of you
couldn't be more different than day and night. She is not a nice
person. I know that she wasn't treated well when she was growing
up, but she's an adult now. Raven is responsible for making her own
choices. Therefore, when she starts acting like a bitch, that's all
on her."

"You know, if Raven really wants to come to the
wedding, she'll find a way to do it," Dreama said ruefully.

"Oh no, she won't. Erick has already taken care
of that by making a guest list that included everyone
individually
. Even married people are each getting separate
invitations. There are no 'and guest' invitations for single
people. So if she turns up, she won't have an invitation and won't
get past the men working the wedding entrance. All the guests must
present their own invitations so it doesn't matter who she shows up
with. She is not getting in."

Dreama looked at Hollianne in amazement. No one
had ever stood up to her sister like this. Those that had tried had
lived to regret it.

Somehow, she didn't feel that Hollianne would
have that problem. She was pretty strong on her own and didn't seem
to be afraid of anyone. It was clear to see what Erick had found so
enticing in her.

"Besides," Hollianne went on in a cheerier tone.
"We have to do something to get the two of you together."

"Shhh," Dreama cried as she frantically looked
over her shoulder. "This is not something that I want to be
overheard!"

"Oh, don't worry..." Hollianne replied. "Erick's
out of earshot. He would be happy about it, though. He also isn't
fond of your sister."

"Well, still." Dreama sighed. "Be careful of
what you say." She consciously rolled her eyes. "It occurred to me
just recently that when it comes to Simon, I always revert to my
former teenage self. I've been a professional for a long time. But
I also have had these... feelings for him from the moment I've seen
him when I was but fourteen and lurking on the edges of my parent's
Christmas Party. He was new to the firm then. Since then, I had
this huge crush on him. I thought it would go away, but it never
did." She shook her head embarrassingly.

"Oh, don't worry your beautiful head. I've seen
the way he looks at you when you think he's not looking. I'm
telling you that he's going to be thrilled! "

"We'll see," Dreama muttered. Holli had said so
many times that Simon had tried so many times to be here when he
knew Dreama would be here. And that Simon had been giving her looks
that he never let her see. Maybe she was right, she thought
hopefully. Maybe Simon Draco was finally seeing her as her own
woman, and not just a partner's young daughter or a colleague's
younger sister? "We'll see."

"Oh, and by the way, you did know that Simon
will be having dinner with us tonight, didn't you? I couldn't
remember if I told you or not."

"You mentioned that he might be in attendance,"
Dreama said teasingly.

"Well, he has accepted and will positively be
joining us. I also have it on good authority that he quite eagerly
accepted the invitation once he heard that you had also been asked
to come. Now, I can't say for sure, of course, but that sounds like
he is definitely interested."

"Maybe," Dreama said as she smiled. "Maybe."

ERICK, HOLLIANNE AND Dreama were all having a
drink before dinner when Simon arrived.

He had decided to return home to shower and
change clothes before coming out to Erick and Hollianne's. When he
learned that Dreama would be here as well, he wanted to look the
best he could without being too obvious. So he wore casual but
tasteful clothes.

Stopping by the foyer mirror, he glanced at
himself one more time before heading out to his car. His six feet
three inch height and two hundred pound weight appeared fit and
wore his khakis and pullover shirt quite well. The shaggy-cut black
hair dipped seductively onto his forehead, highlighting his neon
green eyes. His quirky smile was sexy and displayed some dimples
that caused more than one woman to drool.

It did not take long of his stay on Earth to
know how women delighted in looking at him, but it did take a while
before he could be comfortable on spending time with them. He
learned the trick that all it took for a successful date was that
he should really like a woman's personality, and he had found many
women who were really likeable. But no one had held his interest
than Dreama's beauty, because she really was beautiful inside and
out.

Once he decided that he was presentable, he
grabbed his jacket, and called out to Karl that he was leaving. He
had given Karl the night off to visit his friends or members of his
family. Karl's favorite nieces and nephews were all grown up now,
but he would often treat them to nights out oftentimes.

Karl had fallen in love with a woman a decade
ago, and they had planned to get married. It was very sad, because
the woman died in a tragic car crash before they could push through
with this. Since then, Karl had not even looked at another woman.
Simon wished he would, but if time could not heal her friend's
broken heart, he would make sure he would be comfortable all his
life.

For now, though, he had his mind on getting to
Erick's and spending the evening with the lovely Dr. Dreama
Addison. Karl had been happy when he found out where he was going
and why he was so excited that he had spent a long time choosing
what to wear and preening on the mirror. He did not preen.

Okay, he did a little, he admitted.
Grinning.

Hurrying to his car, he got in and drove
away.

On the drive there, his mind wandered to the
last time he saw Dreama.

It had also been at a dinner hosted by Erick and
Hollianne. That's why he had been able to spend time talking with
Dreama. Raven hadn't been around to interrupt and put a stop to any
interaction between Dreama and him. The least she would have done
was insinuate herself in the middle of their conversation before
she hijacked it and eventually dragged Simon away.

He had actually begun to think of Erick's huge
castle as a sanctuary of sorts. It was certainly a haven when it
came to escaping Raven. He hated to think of her in those terms,
but she really had become so very difficult. What worried him was
this hunch, that she would not allow anyone to have him if she
couldn't have him for herself. He hoped that wasn't true and he had
avoided thinking about this nasty thought, but he was rarely wrong
in these instances.

It was difficult for him to keep to the speed
limit because he was so eager to reach Erick's and see Dreama. He
had decided that this would be the night. He would manage to speak
with her alone at some point and ask her if she would have a drink
with him or something in the near future. He would book an entire
restaurant for just the two of them if she would just agree to
spend an evening with him.

By the time he pulled onto the road leading to
Erick's, he felt a lot like a high school boy on the way to his
first date.

His hands were sweaty on his steering wheel. His
heartbeat had accelerated and his stomach felt like bursting with
butterflies. He turned off the engine and found that he couldn't
seem to move to get out of the car.

This is ridiculous,
he thought.
I'm a
grown man -- an adult. Not a teenage boy going on a date with the
homecoming queen.

Dreama definitely looked like a homecoming
queen, yes. And any man would feel very lucky to be with her.

And wasn't he really lucky?

That seemed to be enough to motivate him to get
out of the car.

AS SIMON APPROACHED the steps, he was rendered
breathless at the enormity and terrible beauty of this place. He
couldn't, for practical reasons, acquire a place like this to live
with, but he appreciated the reasons why the Erick Angell that he
knew lived in a huge, private, imposing but beautiful place like
this.

He used the heavy knocker to announce his
arrival. Listening as it echoed through the huge structure, he
waited patiently for someone to answer the door.

Eli opened the door to Simon within a few
seconds.

"Mr. Draco," Eli greeted him. "Please come in.
Mr. Erick, Ms. Hollianne and Dr. Addison are all in the study.
Shall I take you there?"

"That's okay, Eli," Simon said. "I know the way.
Thank you."

After handing his jacket to Eli, he walked down
one of the long hallways and turned a corner into the large room
that was used as a study. Sure enough, the three of them were all
sitting there sipping on drinks. They all looked up at him when he
appeared in the doorway.

"Simon!" Erick exclaimed as he got to his feet
and went to embrace him. "We were just having a drink while we
waited for you. Come in and join us!"

"Simon, it's so wonderful that you could join us
tonight," Hollianne added. "We don't see nearly enough of you."

Simon leaned over to give her a quick hug and
kiss before accepting his drink from Erick. Finally, he had the
nerve to look at Dreama.

He lost time for a while as she smiled
tentatively at him. As always, her name fit her perfectly. She
looked as if she had just walked out of a dream. It wasn't even the
clothes she was wearing or her lightly made up face. She would have
been exceptional no matter what she had been wearing.

"Hi, Simon," she said quietly.

"Dreama," he acknowledged. "You're looking
beautiful, as always."

"You are such a flatterer," she laughed, her
eyes crinkling at the corners, looking alive and beautiful.

"I just call it like I see it," he retorted.

Erick cleared his throat discreetly before the
exchange could get any more involved. "I believe dinner should be
ready by now," he announced. "Simon, bring your drink with
you."

"Grace has something very special waiting for us
tonight," Hollianne said as she got to her feet. "I've been banned
from the kitchen all day, but that didn't stop these absolutely
mouthwatering aromas from wafting out of there."

They all headed to the formal dining room where
fine china adorned the table as well as many lighted candles. It
was all quite beautiful. Covered dishes lined the middle of the
table that held the food that constituted dinner.

And Hollianne was right. The aromas were
incredible.

As they sat down and filled their plates, there
was plenty of conversation revolving around the food that Grace had
obviously spent quite a long time preparing. There was a beef roast
cooked to perfection along with au jus, mashed potatoes, vegetable
medley, fresh baked bread and butter, and salad with a vinaigrette
dressing. They all began eating immediately.

Hollianne skillfully directed the dinner
conversation to the wedding.

She managed to work in that Simon and Dreama
would be paired as the Best Man and the Maid-of-Honor. Both she and
Dreama were both surreptitiously watching to see what Simon's
reaction would be to that piece of news. Even though Holli had
informed both of them separately of this plan, Dreama wanted to see
Simon's face.

To their relief, Simon's eyes actually seemed to
light up briefly. This caused Holli to give Dreama an "I told you
so" look along with a smug little smile. Dreama couldn't help but
smile back. There was a little feeling of warmth building within
and she was starting to feel a flickering of hope for the two of
them.

Maybe Raven wouldn't be able to ruin this for
her after all.

After dinner, they told Grace that they would
have dessert in the study. This was one of the most beautiful rooms
in the entire place. It had a floor-to-ceiling window that made up
the back wall overlooking the garden and everyone that ever saw
this room felt a peacefulness and serenity that wasn't easy to
acquire.