Out of the Dark (Forbidden Love) (6 page)

     Everyone stood behind their chairs, as was customary, waiting for Angel to take his seat at the head of the long table.  He walked with confidence and pride, ignoring the odd looks from his family.  He knew they were wondering about the cologne.  He usually
didn’t wear any.  He knew they were wondering about his dress, but Angel couldn’t care.  No one said anything about it. 

     He stopped in front of Brea.  God, she was beautiful.  Her red locks were trailing down her back once more, set off nicely by the white blouse she chose to wear.  She was wearing a tan skirt and tan heels.  She looked very business
- like.  “Good evening,
Ma Cher
,” he said, kissing her hand.  “I trust your day has been well?”

    
“Yes, very nice, thank you.  Did you sleep well today?”

     She was even speaking like a business partner!  Angel knew he had to put a stop to this business stuff before it got out of hand. 
“My dreams were full of visions of your beauty.”  That did it.  Her cheeks warmed to the color of roses.  Perfect.  “Everyone, please, sit.  Let’s eat.”

     Freida and Ricco sat plates in front of everyone, rare steak for the vampires, and medium well steak and steamed vegetables for the three humans present. 
“How did you know how I like my steak?” Brea asked Freida. 

    
“Angel does his homework,” she smiled.  Brea took a bite.  It was delicious.  Wine was served with the meal, it was good, but strong.  Each of the vampires had an additional glass full of deep red liquid.  Blood, Brea presumed, but did not ask.  Just the thought made her shudder.

    
“Are you cold?” Angel asked.

    
“No, I’m fine.  So, you guys all play together, live together, and work together.  Do you ever get tired of each other’s company?”

    
“Are you kidding?  I love these guys!” Antonio laughed.

    
“Love to irritate us,” Rebel shot back.  “Antonio likes to play practical jokes, so watch out.  If it seems fishy, he is probably behind it.”

    
“Yeah,” Gage added, “and Jacque probably helped him.”

    
“You have no room to talk!  Remember what you did to Angel in San Hose?”

    
“That was nothing!  Just reminding him where he came from.”

    
“Gage!  You buried him!” Antonio laughed.  He had a good laugh.  Rich and contagious.

    
“You buried him?” Brea asked, now genuinely interested.

    
“He was being a jerk.  So while he was sleeping in one evening, I dug a hole in the back.  Just before eight, I tossed him out the window and into the hole.  Then I filled it in.  Took him half the night to work himself free.”

    
“Everyone needs to be humbled every now and again,” Rebel agreed.

    
“I did not think it was very funny,” Angel said with narrow eyes.  “But by the time I was free, Gage was gone.  He took off for the rest of the night, and I didn’t see him until the next night.  By then, I had gotten over it.”

     “Just be happy Antonio didn’t plant one of his bombs,” Sebastian said.

     “Bombs?” Brea gasped.

     “Antonio is also an explosives expert.  I think he must have been a firebug in his former life.  Everyone here has a specialty.  Gage is communications, Rebel is our weapons specialist.  You’ll get the idea,” Angel explained.

     “Tell us about you,” Antonio suggested.  He blew a stray lock of hair out of his eyes, showing the intense brown iris underneath.  It was a shame he kept his hair in his face.  He was quite attractive.

   
“What would you like to know?  My name is Breanna Hunt, but call me Brea.  I have lived here for two years, I wait tables at Rhino’s.   What else is there to tell?”

    
“Tell us about your friends.”

    
“I guess I only have two real friends.  Keelie and Brandon.  I live with Brandon.  He is, interesting.  I know he would like to meet y’all sometime.”  Brea put special emphasis on ‘interesting.’

    
“What makes him, interesting?” Rebel asked, accenting the last word just as Brea had.

     
“You just have to meet him.  He is drop dead gorgeous, a great server and the biggest slut I have ever met.  I swear, he would do anything with a heartbeat.”   The table went quiet.  The five vampires just looked at each other as if waiting on someone to say something.  Brea realized her faux paux, and immediately added, “And even a few without one.”

     Angel was troubled.  Had Brea been involved with her roommate?
 A
Is he that friendly with you?”

    
“Oh, he wishes.  He’s offered more than once, but I won’t take him up on it.”

    
“What about Keelie?” Gage asked.

   
“No, she won’t sleep with him either.”

     A slow smile spread across Angel
’s face.  She was teasing, he thought.  She was making jokes with his family.  Laughing out loud, Gage rephrased,
A
no, I mean, tell us about her.”

     Pretending that she hadn
’t realized that from the beginning, Brea answered, “Oh, well, she is about my age, beautiful, confident, icy blue eyes, but that’s how all wolves are.”

    
“So your friend is a werewolf,” Rebel said.

    
“Uh huh, but she isn’t creepy like most of the ones I met before.  She’s really cool.  But she can have a temper!”

    
“Most wolves do, and animals in bed!  Can you introduce me?”

    
“Dinner is finished,
Ma Cher
, why don’t we get on to the great hall and begin work?” Angel interrupted, saving Brea from having to answer.

    
“Sounds great.  Nice to meet all of you,” she said, rising from her chair.  Five vampires rose with her as a show of respect.  “Y’all don’t have to do that,” she drawled in her southern accent.

    
“Yes we do.  Angel would have our heads if we disrespected his--..”

    
“Company,” Angel cut him off.  He shot Gage a warning glance before offering his arm to Brea.

     Taking his arm, Brea left the dining hall. 
“So, who are these people, this council that is coming?” she asked.

   
“Did Sebastian explain my position to you?”

    
“Yeah, what a head trip, huh?  Famous rock star and a clan leader?  It’s no wonder you seem to think you can have anything you want,” as soon as the words left her mouth, Brea regretted them.  She pretended not to see the stab of hurt cross Angel’s face before he hid it behind a mask of composure.  “I’m sorry, you have been nothing but nice to me, and generous.  Thank you for the things in my room, by the way.”

      He shrugged his shoulders. 
“It was my pleasure.  If there is anything you want or need while you are here, all you have to do is say so.”

     
“I think I will be fine, now, let’s get to work.”

     Angel led her to the main hall.  It was exactly as she had remembered it earlier that day, only the skylight was clear and allowed the stars to be seen.  That is, until Angel turned on the lights
and the chandelier came to life, lighting the entire room.

    
“This is where most of the gathering will take place.  I will meet with some leaders privately, but this time, it is mostly a party.  To conclude our meetings.”

     Brea looked at him as if he were speaking Latin.

     “We vampires leaders meet in every region over the course of eight months every five years.  We discuss any political issues that have arose, work out problems, see to the details, things like that.  At the end, one vampire clan leader holds the culmination party.  We all get together and have a good time.  Every party for the last one hundred years has been themed.  One year, it was S & M.  One year it was Halloween.  Another, it was just a costume party.  You get the idea.”

     
“So, you get to host the party this year?” she asked.

     He inclined his head once in agreement. 
“I was hoping you could help with that.”

    
“Have you got any ideas what kind of theme you want?”

    
“Not a clue.  I am not comfortable with bondage, so please, steer clear of that.  But otherwise, I will give you free reign.  I look forward to hearing your ideas tomorrow night.  I will need several days to prepare, you know.”

    
“What if I have ideas before tomorrow night?”

    
“Come, there is something I must show you,” he said, taking her arm again.  Brea trotted along at his side, doing her best to keep up with his long stride.  He stopped abruptly at her door.  “Inside,” he said, gesturing into the room.

 
“What?”

   
“There is something I want to show you.  No one else knows of it, but you and I.  I want it to stay that way.  Over here, on this wall.”  Brea looked but didn’t see what he was talking about.

    
“Um, ok.”

    
“Here,” he said, tapping on the wall lightly.  With a very soft click, the wall opened up.  On the other side, was another bedroom.  “My room.  I specifically wanted you to have this room so that you could have access to me if the need arose.  I keep my door locked during the day, so this is the only way in when I am asleep.”

    
“What reason could I have for disturbing your sleep?”

    
“I can think of a few.  While I am certain of your safety here with my family, there will be others joining us in a few days.  I cannot fathom the idea that anyone would put you in danger, but just in case.  I will not allow anyone to hurt you.  If you find that you are uncomfortable, or even just lonely, you may enter my room.  Always make sure you close the door behind you.  Always.  And for God’s sake, keep the blinds closed in my room during the day.”

    
“Can I ask a dumb question?” Brea asked, on that subject.

    
“Anything.”

    
“Will sunlight make you burst into flames?”

    
“No,” he laughed.  “That is but a myth.  But the sun does weaken my kind, very much so.  I am what we call a night walker.  The sun will burn my skin quickly, and it is quite painful.  Too much time in the sun, and believe me, it doesn’t take much, can weaken a vampire to the point of death.  There are some who are day-walkers.  They suffer no effects of the sun, but those are rare.”

    
“So, are any of the other myths true?”

    
“Some are, some are not.  I have no aversion to garlic or crosses.  Holy water will not burn me and I can cross running water.  And yes, I do have a reflection.”

     “What about the stake in the heart?” she asked.

     “There are few ways to kill a vampire.  Cutting off his head will work sufficiently, or the stake in the heart.  But not because it’s wooden or a stake.  Any injury that causes a vampire to bleed out will eventually cause death.  Why do you ask?  Are you thinking to kill me?”

     Horror struck, Brea sucked in her breath.
 A
Goodness no!  I just, ya know, was curious is all,” she drawled.

    
“You try to hide your accent, but when you are nervous or upset, it comes through.  Where are you from?”

    
“Georgia.  I grew up in Valdosta.  I hate the accent.”

    
“I find it endearing.  I wish you would use it more,” he said, sitting on the edge of her bed.

    
“Not likely,” she huffed.  “The last impression I want to make is that of a Southern Belle!”  To further her point, Brea grabbed the hem of her skirt and pranced across the room, fanning herself with the other hand in her best impression of Scarlet O’Hara.  Angel rolled back on the bed, shaking wildly with laughter.  It was a rich, throaty laugh, and Brea decided she like it.  She found herself laughing along with him.  When she finally caught her breath, she sat on the bed across from him.  “Where are you from?”

    
“Originally?  I am from France.  I was born in a small village just east of Paris.  But I moved to the New World when I was only seventeen.  I have watched the United States grow up around me.  I think at some point or another, I have lived in every state.”  The New World.  Just those words resonated in Brea’s mind.  If he was seventeen when the United States was the New World, then he would have to be more than two hundred years old.  The fact that he looked no more than thirty was mind boggling.  “I am two hundred and ninety-nine years old,” he said, seeing the gears turning in her mind.  A knowing smile spread across his face, revealing just enough of his white teeth to make her shudder. 

    
“So, um, what about the other stuff?  I mean, if you live forever, do you, sleep in a coffin?  Can you change into a wolf or a bat?”

    
“I am not a shape shifter.  The only vampires who can change form were shape shifters before they were changed.  And no, I do not sleep in a coffin.  I got over that when I was very young.  Any place devoid of sunshine will do.”

    
“When did you, um, change, I mean.  You don’t have to tell me, I was just curious.  I don’t know much about vampires,” she admitted.  She was a bit surprised by her open curiosity, but he didn’t seem to mind.  In fact, he seemed to enjoy telling her the things she grilled him over.