Reluctant Partnerships (15 page)

“I couldn’t ever be a threat to a woman like her,” Pascale said. “Look at me. I’m all of a meter and a half. She has at least thirty centimeters on me.”

“Her partner wasn’t bigger than she is,” Angelique said. “In fact, he was somewhat smaller, but he was a vampire. That gave him far more strength than she possesses. She relies on her magic to protect her in situations when her physical prowess can’t, but magic doesn’t work on a wizard’s partner. I really shouldn’t say any more. I probably shouldn’t have said even what I did, but if you’re going to have to deal with her, you deserve to understand that much at least. She’ll help you because that’s what she does, but she may or may not be gracious about it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Pascale said. She could not completely stifle the disappointment she felt at hearing Adèle’s partner had been male. It was still possible the wizard enjoyed the company of both genders, but the news was certainly not encouraging. “Thank you for all your help. I wouldn’t have survived the past few days without you, and while I’m not ready to be happy I’m a vampire, I’m beginning to feel like I can live with it.”

“Then it was worth it,” Angelique said, enfolding Pascale in a fragrant embrace. The feminine scent and the press of soft breasts against her own stirred Pascale’s interest, but Angelique had been clear about her feelings for her partner and her availability. Even so….

“Would it be all right if I came just to visit you sometimes?” Pascale asked softly. “I feel like you’re my only friend right now.”

“I’m always happy to have visitors,” Angelique replied, pulling back a little and stroking the hair back from Pascale’s face. “My partner was not the most adventurous of men, but I’ve convinced him to expand his horizons. You never know what he might agree to.”

“I don’t want a pity fuck,” Pascale said.

Angelique laughed. “Oh, my dear, I can’t offer you anything permanent, but I assure you, pity has nothing to do with it. All you need is a little self-confidence and you could have your pick of women. You’re beautiful and sweet and absolutely adorable.”

Pascale made a moue of disgust. “I’ll take beautiful, if you really think so, but sweet and adorable just get me a pat on the head from the women who catch my eye.”

“Then you’ve been going about it the wrong way,” Angelique said. “Give me a few days to make some calls. I know some women who could all use some time to get together and enjoy themselves. I’ll put together a girls’ night out for us, and we’ll find you a woman who appreciates you for who you are.”

“Why are you being so nice to me? I know what you said that first night, but you can’t really expect me to believe you’re this generous with every newly turned vampire,” Pascale said. “The blood, the guidance, maybe, but arranging a night out, trying to boost my confidence this way… that’s far beyond any call of duty.”

“Because as dear to me as David is, he’s mortal,” Angelique said softly, her eyes sad though no tears could fall. “There’s a lot we don’t know, but a wizard can’t be turned. In a few years, he’ll be gone and I’ll be alone, and you are very much the kind of companion I would have chosen if I had not met him first.”

“So I’m supposed to wait in the wings until he dies?” Pascale asked. “What’s in that for me?”

“That isn’t at all what you’re supposed to do,” Angelique disagreed. “You’re supposed to go home, live your life, perhaps find a partner of your own, wizard or not. You’re supposed to experience everything you can and perhaps think of me kindly from time to time. Eventually, when David is gone, maybe I’ll come see you, maybe I won’t, but if I do and if you’re similarly unattached, maybe you’ll remember these days fondly and consent to keep me company in my grief. Vampires love slowly and rarely because it is hard to lose the ones we love. When we do love, it is with all we have, and losing that lover can be devastating. I’ve sat vigil with vampires who have lost lovers, and it is a long, painful process for them to recover. Most of them do, but not always. If nothing else, maybe you will sit vigil with me then because I helped you now.”

“If it’s so hard, why don’t vampires pair off among themselves?” Pascale asked. “They wouldn’t have to worry about losing their lovers that way.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” Angelique agreed, “but that doesn’t seem to happen very often. I think it’s because of the feeding. We can’t feed from other vampires, but after a few years, sex and feeding become so tied together that it’s hard to do one without the other. Not impossible, but hard, and how would you feel if your lover had sex with someone else on a regular basis?”

“I see your point,” Pascale said. “Unless you could find someone who would take both of you to bed, even if only one of you fed. Or maybe two people to feed from and then sex with each other.”

“Like I said, not impossible,” Angelique agreed, “just complicated. If I met a vampire I cared about to that degree and who was willing to work out the details, I wouldn’t say no, but I have yet to develop that kind of relationship with another vampire. As a group, we tend not to play well together.”

“But what about the Cours and all that?” Pascale asked.

“Attend a meeting of the Cour in Autun or here in Paris,” Angelique said with a laugh. “You’ll see what I mean then.”

“Do you love David?” Pascale asked, changing the subject suddenly. The entire conversation had left her ill at ease, and she thought she knew why.

“He is… my partner,” Angelique said after a moment. “I’m far too jaded to think in terms of love. While he lives, I will share his life and his bed. I’ve watched too many people sicken and die to commit to more than that. Why do you ask?”

“Because he isn’t particularly old,” Pascale said, “certainly not old enough for you to be thinking of what will happen after he dies. It feels like you’re dismissing him already.”

“He’s thirty-five,” Angelique said, “and I’ve been told wizards tend to live longer than the average mortal, but even if he lives for another hundred years, that’s still a drop in the bucket. I was turned in the 1400s. I’ve lived six times that already. And most mortals live nothing like that long. For most mortals, from the time they’re old enough to be of interest to me until the time they die is forty to fifty years. I might take a lover for more than a night, or even more than a year or two, but I can’t let myself fall in love. I’d never survive.”

“How do you stop it?”

“I lived in a different era,” Angelique reminded Pascale. “The idea of falling in love, of spending my life with one person, was unheard of. I lived in a harem and served at the will of my master. He preferred fairer women, so I was one of the girls he offered to visiting lords. There was no pretense of love, no desire for it. I found companionship with the other girls, but that was all I expected. David gives me that same companionship now. I’m willing to accept his conventions of fidelity because they’re important to him, but I’m also pragmatic enough to know I will be alone again sooner than I would like. Planning for that day makes me practical, not heartless.”

“So you think I should avoid romantic entanglements with mortals?” Pascale asked. “That I should feed when and where I can and take my pleasure from that? It seems like a lonely existence.”

“Why do you think I run Sang Froid?” Angelique asked in reply. “It guarantees a steady stream of people through my life. My employees rely on me for their livelihoods, and my customers rely on me to offer them the best selection of blood around. I never have to be alone if I don’t want to be.”

“Was that really enough before you met David?” Pascale challenged.

“It’s the one thing that will never leave me,” Angelique replied.

It was hardly an answer, but Pascale let it go. She did not know Angelique well enough to force the issue. It seemed like such an empty to life to her. Not that her life had been full before she was turned, but she had lived in hope of meeting someone. She was only twenty-six. She had time to meet someone, or so she had always thought. Angelique’s attitude called that into question, but Pascale was not ready to give up on all her dreams. Orlando had not used the word “love” when he spoke of his Avoué, but Pascale had no doubt he felt it. He had not discouraged her from finding someone to share her life. Nor had he discouraged her from seeking companionship among other vampires.

Pascale had no idea who Angelique had in mind when she talked about a night out with “the girls,” but perhaps one of them would be a vampire like herself who would be open to forging a friendship. Pascale had felt an almost instant connection with Orlando, although he seemed so wrapped up in his Avoué that she did not know if he would have time for her. The other vampires she had met, again, while busy, had all seemed approachable despite Angelique’s warnings. She would simply have to make an effort if she wanted to keep her future from being empty.

“Will you help me go home tonight?” Pascale asked again. “I’d love to join you on the girls’ night, but I need to go home and get my feet under me again first.”

“You can’t go anywhere until it’s dark,” Angelique said, “but once the sun sets, I’ll ask David to take you back to l’Institut. From there, someone can drive you home. David can’t cast a spell to somewhere he’s never been unless he’s following someone else’s magical signature. They keep a car at l’Institut for situations where using magic is impractical.”

“Thank you,” Pascale said. “I’m sure you have lots to do, so I won’t keep you. I have a lot to think about.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Angelique said, “and I’ll bring David when it gets dark.”

Angelique closed the door behind her as she left, cocooning Pascale in the relative darkness of her room once more. Pascale took a deep breath and tried to order her thoughts. If she had a plan, maybe everything would seem less overwhelming.

Her first order of business had to be making sure she still had a job she could do in a way her boss would accept, and that meant explaining her new physical limitations. With the anti-discrimination laws that had passed two years ago, she did not have to worry about being fired because she was a vampire, but she still had to do her job or she could be fired for failing to meet the performance standards of her position.

She was not looking forward to that conversation, but she had a good relationship with her boss. She could tell Pauline what had happened and explain her physical limitations. Pauline would be shocked, of course, but Pascale was still shocked, and she was the one living with it. Pascale’s record was good enough that she hoped that would merit her some consideration when it came to adapting to her new situation.

Once that was done and Pascale was assured of having a way of making a living, she could think about her house and what changes she would need to make in order to stay there. She could cover the windows with blankets temporarily if she felt like the blinds did not give her enough protection, but she would prefer a solution that would not leave her feeling like a prisoner in her own home.

Not that she had any idea what those solutions would be, but she knew a few vampires now. Surely one of them could help her.

After that was finished, she could start thinking about the rest: her friends from before, the new vampires she had met, the women Angelique suggested she go out with. It helped as well knowing there was a branch of Sang Froid in Dommartin. Angelique would not be there, but it would guarantee Pascale a way to feed until she could begin to hunt on her own.

She also needed to make contact with the Cour in Autun. Autun was a bit of a drive, but she could still go there if she needed to. If nothing else, she wanted to know what the Cour entailed and whether it could help her with any of the adjustments she would have to make in order to survive as a vampire. That could wait a few days or even a few weeks, though. Dommartin was closer, and from what she could gather, l’Institut had no shortage of vampires should she need immediate advice.

Chapter 10

“I
HAD
a good day at work,” David said, wrapping his arms around Angelique from behind. “When do I get my reward?”

Angelique laughed and turned in her partner’s embrace, kissing him lightly as she rubbed the arse she had spanked that morning. David barely even hissed. “As soon as you take Pascale to l’Institut so she can go home. It’ll be dark in half an hour. You can take her then.”

“You mean I’m supposed to wait?” David said with a teasing pout.

“We’ll need far more than half an hour for your reward,” Angelique purred. “Take a shower and unwind now. You can pop her down to l’Institut when you’re done and then I’ll give you my undivided attention for the rest of the evening.”

David grinned. “I can’t wait.”

“Maybe you should eat too,” Angelique added, releasing him and walking toward the foyer of Sang Froid. “You’ll need your strength.”

David groaned in anticipation. The revolution role-play, then. He had yet to figure out how a scenario that was ostensibly all about her always ended up being all about him, but he was not about to argue. Not when it always ended with him coming so hard he could barely breathe.

He showered and changed quickly, all the while wondering exactly which “sexual favors” Madame Defarge would demand in exchange for escape from the guillotine tonight. The last time they had played this scene, she had drizzled honey all over her body and demanded he lick her clean. Then she had returned the favor.

When he was dressed again, he checked the position of the sun, deciding he still had a few minutes before he could take Pascale down to l’Institut. His impatience aside, he did not want to do anything that might endanger her. He took a few minutes to heat up the seafood risotto Angelique had made two days before. He felt bad sometimes that she cooked for him as often as she did when she could not even eat it, but she insisted she enjoyed it. He never asked and always made a point of thanking her profusely when she did cook, but he did not refuse when she did. Not when it was this good.

By the time he finished eating and cleaning up, the sun had set, so he knocked on the door to the room Pascale had been using.