Promise Me Anthology (21 page)

Nate glared at me, his face flushing angrily.
“The truth here is that you want her for yourself, Dev. So fine,
keep her! The bet’s off!” He stood, shot me a last glare, then
stalked out.

I let him go, knowing that in his mood, there
was no sense going after him. I was already tired from the events
of the last few days. I didn’t need to heal up bullet wounds as an
additional measure. Nathan was never without at least one gun, and
he would not hesitate to use it, in the mood he was in.

I absently plinked a few piano keys,
wondering what to do next.
I could ask Mary Ann to become a
donor. She was sure to accept, at least for the coming year, if I
threw in sex and serenading as part of the deal. It would be nice
to have a fan as part of my donor base. Nathan was right in that
aspect, that I wanted her for myself. But I’d have been willing to
share, if he hadn’t been such an ass...

“Devlin?”

I looked over my shoulder. Mary Ann was at
the door, dressed in her date clothes of last night, her expression
embarrassed.

“Good morning,” I said politely, rising and
closing the keyboard. “Would you like some breakfast? I can have
one of my servants make you something.”

“That would be nice,” she replied, her tone
subdued.

I took her hand, leading her to the kitchen.
Hopefully one of the female werebears was around, or I’d have to
call on my sorceress Leri to create something edible. Since we
needed to walk a few moments to our destination, I gave her a short
tour of the house. In spite of my efforts to engage her, Mary Ann
remained quiet.

“Morning regrets?” I asked, as we entered the
kitchen.

Mary Ann stopped still, then turned to me.
“Yes,” she said, biting her lip. “It’s not that I didn’t enjoy last
night. But I shouldn’t have done it. Mike is a good guy. He—”

I let her go on for a few more seconds, then
interrupted. “Mary Ann, you don’t have to make any excuse to me. I
enjoyed our time together, but I’m not looking for a permanent
arrangement.”

She had the gall to look pissed off and also
like I’d broken her heart. “Then why did you write that song for
me?” Her tone changed to anger. “Or was it even for me?”

I was tired, and in no mood to argue. “I know
you have a fiancé,” I said tactfully. “I don’t want to get in the
way of that. But you did inspire that song, and I wanted to share
that with you, and what happened last night.” I brought her hand to
my lips and kissed it, then released it carefully, so the action
didn’t appear insensitive. “But we don’t have to continue seeing
one another, if you’d rather not. And it goes without saying that I
will not reveal our tryst to anyone, least of all your fiancé.”

All the fight went out of Mary Ann as I
spoke. By the time I’d finished, it was her who held my hand in
hers, caressing it. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just not sure
how to act this morning. Part of me is scared Mike will know.”

Odds are he has his own little dalliance
on the sly he is hoping you will not discover.
“He will not
know, Mary Ann, unless you tell him.”

“What was this to you?” she asked
bluntly.

“Just what I said,” I replied, trying not to
yawn.

Mary Ann looked at me, then away. “I can’t
see you again. Please show me the way out.”

While I was in secret relieved—and impressed
that her strength of character was so remarkable to stop our
relationship cold turkey—I was the picture of regret and politeness
on the surface.

“Very well,” I replied dolefully. “Thank you
for your gift of last night.” I led her to the door of the garage,
then opened it, revealing her car parked just outside in the harsh
light of day. “Adieu.”

Mary Ann walked off without a word, got in
her car, and drove off. I shut the garage door, then walked back
inside and up to my bedroom, thinking I was glad everything was
over.

* * * *

My normal life resumed of various meetings,
donor visits, hours on the computer, and days spent in
well-deserved-if-solitary sleep. In short, things were back to
normal, except for one thing: my urge to create had been
reawakened. Yet as before, my muse that had been so recently found
seemed to have abandoned me.

In normal times, I would have taken my
concerns to my best friend—and long-time bodyguard and
companion—Lash. But he was off on a string of freelance jobs, which
meant our conversations were mostly him touching base about various
aspects of my estate Hayden’s defenses, and making sure that when I
needed him for appointments, he was available to teleport in. I
could have persisted, sure. Even if he’d have bitched about
listening to my inspiration worries, he would have made time for me
if I asked him. But Lash was cut from a similar cloth to Nate’s,
having no interest himself in any creative enterprises. In summary,
I wasn’t sure that he would even understand my artistic angst, much
less be able to give me any pointers on how to overcome it.

I worked hard to overcome my imaginative
block, even going so far as to purchase some additional
instruments, and procure training in them, thinking that some new
endeavor might spark some artistic fervor. Instead, I was
frustrated, and ended up discarding most of them, those I didn’t
destroy in my fits of pique.

So it was that when Mary Ann called me three
months after our night together and asked that I accompany her to
an overnight masque ball on Halloween, I readily agreed. I was in
dire need of inspiration. That was worth a little risk, even if I
was regretfully skipping my dear brother’s first efforts at a
Hallow’s party of his own to celebrate his ascension to the throne
of New York.

* * * *

I met Mary Ann at her house on a night in
early fall. As she had specified, I was wearing full evening dress
circa 1860s, complete with top hat, gloves, watch chain, boots, and
cane with a carved bear’s head in silver. Mary Ann was also decked
out beautifully in a fancy blue satin and lace dress. While its
design was not traditionally correct, it did regale me with a
lovely view of the tops of her breasts, something I was very
willing to put aside historical accurateness for.

We took a limo to the address of the party,
which was some lonely looking mansion. When we were dropped off at
the wrought iron gates, an old-fashioned horse-drawn carriage
picked us up. While we crept at a careful walk up the long hickory
lined driveway, I read the hand-lettered invitation that Mary Ann
had received. A list of events was on the thick vellum, along with
a timeline.

6:00 Orientation

6:30 Tour of Mansion

7:30 Dinner

8:45 Dancing

12:00 Stroke of Midnight

“We’re just going to make the tour.” I turned
the card over, but there was nothing on the back. “Who is giving
this party?” I asked. “And why were you invited?”

“A benefactor of the college,” Mary Ann
explained. “He’s big into history, especially funding several
chairs, as well as three graduate programs. The entire history
department was invited, as well as professors in music, romance
languages, and literature.” She smiled. “I was only one of five
people selected in my department.”

I took her hand, trying to soften my words.
“Why did you invite me and not your fiancé?”

“Because he’s no longer my fiancé,” she said,
swallowing hard. Her eyes were already tearing up.

Thanking my presence of mind to include a
handkerchief in this evening’s outfit, I took the small cloth from
my breast pocket and handed it to her. She dabbed at her eyes.

“What happened?” I inquired, knowing it was
expected.

“He asked for his ring back,” she said,
clutching the hanky. “He had someone else. Bastard waited until
right before the wedding practically. I lost all my deposits.”

Her swearing surprised me, but then I
recalled that she and I hadn’t exactly spoken that much in our
previous time together. “Why were you paying for the wedding, if
you don’t mind my asking?”

“I had the better job,” she said, flushing
slightly. “But I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind,
Dev. I want to be happy tonight.”

“Of course,” I said. “Your dress is
beautiful, Mary Ann. It sets off your eyes perfectly.”

“Thank you,” she said, a smile returning to
her lips. “And thank you for coming. I wasn’t sure you’d say
yes.”

“I never miss a chance to role-play,” I said,
giving the words a double entendre. Then I kissed her full on the
lips, enjoying the way she gave herself over to my desire. When I
moved to set her astride me, she stopped me with a shocked
admonishment. “Dev, we can’t!”

“Why not?” I said gleefully, opening my pants
to let my member spring free. I gave her a wicked look, enjoying
her slack-jawed look of riveted lust as she stared at my slightly
bobbing organ. “No one will see anything, with your long skirt. And
we have minutes yet before we reach the mansion. Why not truly
enjoy the ride?”

Mary Ann hesitated, then moved onto me.
Settling her skirts over us, she began to move. Our twin sighs
filled the small carriage as it clopped slowly up the long drive to
the mansion.

* * * *

We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, but didn’t
lose ourselves completely. As the carriage pulled up, we were again
sitting side by side, clothes in place, our boisterous post-coital
laughter filling the air.

“Think everyone enjoyed their ride as much as
we?” I quipped as we stepped down. Mary Ann flushed, then took my
arm and pulled me toward the large oak door. Queerly, there was a
knocker with a label above it in engraved bronze plate which said
“For Old Friends” and also a normal modern electric doorbell
button.

“Which shall I push?” Mary Ann said.

“The one for old friends, of course,” I
chuckled.

Mary Ann lifted the knocker and rapped hard
twice. The door opened into a hall, where a coat man took her coat
and my cape.

The house was intimidating. A butler showed
us into a large parlor, where at least a hundred guests were
mingling and eating h'ordoerves. Everyone was in historical dress,
though it was all different, from Roman togas to medieval armor to
peasant garb to ladies in waiting. Most of it was also inaccurate
and over the top, a garish modern version of what had once been.
This comforted me. That might sound odd, but I did not want to deal
with any vampires or other long-lived supernatural beings tonight.
I was in the mood for a little human fun of the light-spirited
variety. My one thought as we waited was that we might somehow
chance on meeting Mike, so I could not only tell him he was a
complete loser, but also deck him for good measure.

“Attention!” a man called loudly from one
side of the room. He was dressed as I was, in top hat, gloves,
cape, and a black suit. “Thank you all for coming.”

Conversation ceased as the costumed crowd
turned to face him.

“The tours are about to begin,” the announcer
called. “Please let me have all the 1200 and previous years
historically dressed people over here for the first group.”

Mary Ann and I moved aside to let several
other people pass by in gladiator costume. One was a woman, which
briefly took all my attention.

“She must think she’s Leia in
Return of the Jedi
,” Mary Ann said mockingly, taking
my arm and leading me away.

An apt description of the woman’s
voluptuousness, though I would not say it aloud. “Do you want
anything to nibble?”

“No,” she responded. “You?”

There was no one nearby, and I was in front
of a cordoned off doorway which had to lead somewhere that we’d
have a little more privacy. Now was a good a time as any, because
when we parted ways tonight, I did want to see Mary Ann again.
“Actually, yes.” I led her through the curtains, then shut them
after us. I turned to her, then took her hands in mine, trying to
make my expression earnest. “I’m a vampire.”

Mary Ann, blinked at me, then her expression
changed into burgeoning realization. “Of course. That explains your
cool skin...and why you weren’t starving that night we skipped
dinner, like I was.”

“You should have said something,” I said
quickly, slightly embarrassed that I hadn’t thought of her physical
needs. “I could have ordered in some takeout, at the very
least—”

“Never mind that,” she said impatiently. “Are
you going to drink my blood or not?”

Maybe she was a vampirephile? God, that
would be incredible luck.
“Would you like me to?”

“Only if it’s like it is in the movies,” Mary
Ann said with a look of distaste. “I don’t like the sight of blood,
especially my own.” She kissed me, stroking my cheek lightly. “I’ve
seen some movies where the woman almost orgasms as she’s bitten,
because it feels so good. Does it really feel like that?”

It will for me.
“Why don’t we try it?”
I offered. “Just a little bite here, to see what you think? If you
don’t like it, then we’ll consider the matter closed.”

Mary Ann didn’t reply, but she took a step
back and opened her arms. I went to her immediately. I shivered a
bit in anticipation as I put my mouth to her neck. Kissing her skin
once, I bared my fangs, ready to bite.

“Excuse me!”

Startled, I bit my lip, then turned with a
snarl. The announcer stood in the doorway, looking at us with a
stern expression. “The last tour is leaving,” he said stiffly,
clearly irked. “You can’t stay in this area anyway, as it’s off
limits to guests.”

“Why not?” I said belligerently. “We don’t
need a chaperone.”

“Please come with me,” he said, making it an
order. “Or I’ll have to call security.”

I would have thrown the man out the nearby
window, if Mary Ann hadn’t taken my arm, murmuring that there would
be time later for us “to experiment.”