Blood, Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter Ten

Okay, I was getting real tired of this being-knocked-unconscious thing, even though this particular incident hadn’t involved me being hit in the head with an almighty whammy, and instead involved suffering severe blood loss. Again. Lord and Lady. Really embarrassing blood loss too. I’d volunteered myself to be molested by a damn vampire. I must be losing my mind. Totally. Completely. Irrevocably.

The sensation of two purring machines sleeping curled up on my feet woke me this time, and I was pleased they hadn’t decided to nip me awake. Groaning, I blinked my eyes open, but much to my surprise I did not see the familiar surroundings of my apartment. Nor was I in the vampire’s library, or Lex’s SUV, which I also would have expected to wake up in. The setting felt familiar to my fuzzy, addled brain, and I struggled to place where I was. I was beneath the covers of an enormous, orgy-sized four-poster bed, with Merri and Pippin napping happily on my feet. Thick navy blue velvet fabric stretched in a canopy above me, falling in curtains around the bed. To my right the curtains had been pulled aside, tied back with a silver cord. Silver. The word finally triggered the correct memory: Castle Silverleaf, in Faerie.

“Portia?” I called out, and was answered by the sound of excited fluttering wings.

“You’re awake!” The faerie plopped herself down on the edge of the bed. “Here, drink this.” With one hand she guided me into a sitting position while she handed me a silver chalice with the other.

“What is it?” The liquid was cold and looked a bit syrupy, a far cry from my usual mug of morning coffee.

“Pink drink.”

Not a good sign-the pink drink is a super energy drink for magic users, like Red Bull on steroids. It’s hard to find and costly to make, so if I needed it I must have been in sorry shape. Grimacing, I began to sip the beverage. Chugging the pink drink is a bad idea-it can make smoke come out your ears. Literally.

“How’d I get here?”

“Lex brought you. I went back to your apartment for the cats, and Tybalt brought your equipment.”

“Thanks, Portia, I appreciate that.” I winced with guilt at the mention of Lex. He’d looked mad enough to shoot laser beams from his eyes before I’d fainted. “Where is Lex now?” I asked, doing my best to sound only casually interested.

“Out in the courtyard sparring with Tybalt. Tybalt wanted to bring your clothes too, but I made you new ones so you wouldn’t need them anyway. Better ones too. They’re so pretty, you’ll love them, look!” Launching herself into the air, she zipped across the room and out of my line of sight. Glancing down at myself, I realized for the first time that I was dressed in a frilly white nightgown, the stuff of Victorian fantasies-long sleeved, high collared, with enough itchy fabric to clothe three people. Shaking my head in disbelief, I cautiously got out of bed to investigate Portia’s source of high-pitched glee.

With her wings working a mile a minute the fairy hovered in front of a large wooden wardrobe filled to capacity with dresses. They were the sort of fashion popular in fairytale movies and upscale Renaissance faires. Ribbons, silk, satin, intricate embroidery, lace. It was a virtual hit parade of women’s fashion throughout the ages, featuring only the softest, most feminine, flattering and formal. I paused, frowning at Portia dressed like a 1980s punk princess in her halter top, ripped stonewash jeans and combat boots. Elaborate gowns were not her style, and they certainly weren’t mine. Hell, I didn’t think there was one dress in my closet at home. Probably not any skirts either.

“Look!” Portia gasped, holding out a gorgeous scarlet dress with golden embroidery of leaves and suns. The much-neglected girly part of my brain leapt up from the dark, dusty corner of my mind I’d kicked it into with my white gym shoes, and it did an excited dance of approval.

“Wow. I can’t wear that, it’s too nice. I’d only end up getting it dirty or bleeding all over it.” I shook my head.

Undeterred, Portia held the garment up in front of me with a contemplative expression on her face. “I think the color would go well with blood…maybe something darker,” she decided, oblivious as to how morbid her statement sounded. Turning back to the selection, she sorted through gowns, looking for a more suitable dress. “And I have jewelry, and we can style your hair, and I have all kinds of shoes for you to pick from, and-”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down there. What’s with the sudden desire for a makeover party?”

“Well, you’re going to have to get used to it sometime, Kitty. When you’re Titania you’ll have to go to big formal gatherings like banquets and masquerade balls and you need to dress pretty, like a lady.” She lectured me matter-of-factly, her serious tone unusual for the playful faerie.

“Great, something else to look forward to. Okay, fine. I’ll wear a dress. A plain dress.”

Squaring my shoulders, I endured my torture like a good soldier, sipping my pink drink and regaining my strength as I let Portia have at me. She buzzed and chattered around me as though someone had crowned her my Extreme Makeover Fairy Godmother. After a great deal of agonizing, she settled on a deep forest green satin gown with silver knotwork embroidery along the neckline and hem and a matching cloak, and then made my hair her next project after getting me dressed.

I honestly don’t know what magic she used on my hair, but with a few strokes of her brush and the strategic placement of several decorative silver combs, Portia managed to tame my mane more effectively than I ever had in my entire life. Amazing. By the time she finished with me I hardly recognized myself in the mirror. The only things I’d been allowed to keep were my glasses, so I wouldn’t be blind, and my wristwatch, because without it I’d slip out of Earth’s timeline and that would be really, really bad.

“Eat your heart out, Liv Tyler,” I murmured as I twirled around to ensure it was truly me reflected in the looking glass. Though I would have thought it impossible, Portia had transformed me into a fine lady-at least in appearance if not in spirit. As much as I hated to admit it, I felt better. A lot better, by leaps and bounds, and the realization brought tears to my eyes. It had been a long time since I’d given any real thought to the way I looked. I’d forgotten that beneath the messy hair and behind the glasses I was kinda pretty. Maybe even beautiful, but I doubted my self-esteem would ever be healthy enough to buy that.

“Thank you, cousin.” I hugged her, carefully avoiding her wings.

“Let’s go show Lex how beautiful you look,” Portia insisted. If my girly instincts hadn’t been enjoying their big day out by preening in front of the mirror, I might have picked up on the mischievous glint in her eyes, but the majority of my brain was taken up by “ooh, shiny” at that moment. Portia led me outside, though I could easily have found the way by myself. Castle Silverleaf is like a second home to me, and Portia and her clan are the only family I have left. I hold the title of cousin within them-which is a big deal for a human-and I can trace my faerie blood to the Silverleafs a few generations back on my mother’s side.

Family blood ties create most of the contact between humans and faeries. Faeries once lived in our world, but they left to form their own sometime in the distant past. The sheer magnitude of power required to create Faerie left them drained as a people, and inherently changed as well. While they are almost impossible to kill, age incredibly slowly, and are immune to all manners of disease, they are also sterile-at least where each other are involved. A full-blooded faerie child has not been conceived since the split, but they can impregnate and be made pregnant by humans. As a mixed-blood, my ties are to Portia, Tybalt and the Silverleafs. In many ways Castle Silverleaf is the only real home I have.

The pale winter sunlight glinted on Portia’s delicate, silvery wings as we emerged into the courtyard, and normally I would have been jealous, but with my stunning dress and my fabulous hair I felt pretty damn good about myself. The ringing, clattering, swooshing sounds of frantic swordplay could be heard even before we set foot outside, and I spotted the two combatants locked in their battle. From the look of it Tybalt was winning, but really that was to be expected, considering he had a millennia or so more experience than Lex did. To his credit, Lex was holding his own, even managing to press the faerie back toward the stone stairway Portia and I were descending.

“Get ’im, Tybalt!” I shouted in encouragement. Lex glanced up at the sound of my voice and did a double take. Tybalt took advantage of the guardian’s momentary distraction and swept Lex’s feet out from under him. Falling flat on his back, Lex grunted in shock. Triumphant, Tybalt kicked the sword out of Lex’s hand.

“You cheated.” He coughed, staring up at the faerie standing over him.

“Not my fault you let yourself get distracted by a lovely lass,” Tybalt argued, grinning, and then he turned to me. “I see you finally allowed my sister to adjust your wardrobe. You look very elegant.” He gave me a courtly bow, and I did my best attempt at a curtsey.

“Why thank you, cousin.”

“Were you planning on attending a ball, Cinderella?” Lex drawled, a sour note in his voice. I had the distinct impression he wasn’t happy to see me, but I wasn’t about to let him ruin my princess vibe.

“I just might. I think we can rustle up a pumpkin and some mice for my coach and four.” I turned to Portia for confirmation. “I already have my Fairy Godmother here.”

“A ball? Yes! We should have a ball, that’s a splendid idea! To celebrate our cousin’s ascension to Titania,” Portia exclaimed. Her eagerness nearly popped my eardrum, and I resisted the urge to tell her to use her indoor voice. Sadly, faeries don’t have one.

“But I haven’t gotten the position yet.” I was more than a little afraid of the eager gleam in Portia’s dark blue eyes. Portia loves parties. I should’ve been more cautious with my reply. Damn.

“Then this will be a show of support. I’ll handle everything, don’t you worry,” she assured me, and vanished in an excited puff of frost.

“No good will come of this.”

“Guess it’s a good thing you’re already dressed as the belle of the ball.” Lex chuckled at my dilemma as he pushed himself to his feet.

“Yeah, laugh it up, she’ll be after you next, trying to dress you in a doublet and hose. Just you wait.” I shook a finger at him in warning, and Tybalt snickered.

“You’d look good in some nice pastels, guardian.”

“Not a chance.” Lex shook his head firmly. “Well if there’s goin’ to be a party, I guess I’d better go catch a shower. See ya ’round.”

I frowned at his back as he wandered away, feeling rejected. Didn’t I at least deserve a hug after being a blood bank? Well…I wasn’t about to let it bother me, just like I wasn’t going to pay any mind to the fact that as he walked away Lex looked as good from behind as he did from the front. Tearing my gaze away from that perfect posterior, I turned to Tybalt, who was watching me pensively.

“Come walk with me, cousin.” The faerie led me to a familiar spot up on the wall of the keep, a walkway that would have been patrolled by the castle’s defenders, if there’d been a need for them. There hadn’t been a war in Faerie…ever, actually. I think they must have left those tendencies behind on Earth. Tybalt often came up here when he needed to brood, which true to his namesake was a fairly regular occurrence. With nervous care I brushed away the snow and hitched myself up to sit on the edge of the wall, smoothing the skirt of my gown into place around me.

“So you two are back together now?” Tybalt asked without preamble. I blinked in surprise, startled.

“I suppose so.”

“You don’t sound very sure of that.”

“I said I was willing to give it another try. I don’t know. I’m still not sure what he sees in me. Lex needs the kinda girl who’ll bake cookies for his kids and be on the PTA council, and in guardian terms I’m practically an ex-con.”

“Don’t be silly,” he scoffed.

“It’s only a matter of time before I screw up again. Tick tock. In fact he’s already mad at me again.”

“Because you were foolish and let a vampire feed from you.”

“A chronicler, not a vampire.”

Tybalt rolled his eyes. “The difference is purely academic. You’re just making excuses. Kitty, I know that you know not all men are base villains like your father, and I can generally tell the good from the bad, which is why I tried to talk your mother out of marrying Dorian.”

“And?”

“And despite the fact that he hurt you, I’ve come to think that Lex is a good man. He cares a great deal for you. He stayed by your side from the moment he brought you here until I dragged him out into the courtyard for some fresh air.”

Squirming, I fidgeted with the fabric of my skirt. “We’re a bad match. I already failed once at being a guardian’s girlfriend. I don’t play by the rules enough for him.”

“I’m not so sure. Magic needs a balance-masculine and feminine, lord and lady, order and chaos. I think if you worked at it, you could make it a good match. You’re obviously attracted to each other, since I hear you’ve been, ahem, kissing again.”

From his expression it was obvious Tybalt was referring to a little bit more than kissing, and I thought I’d die of embarrassment. “He told you that?”

“Of course not. Your blush just did though.” Tybalt grinned mischievously and I couldn’t believe I’d actually fallen for that trick.

“One night doesn’t mean anything.”

“Oh no? Then why does he watch you like a man in love?”

“You’re being overly dramatic.” It really wasn’t much of a stretch though, because we’d been in love before our relationship had gone down in flames.

“I’m not blind either, cousin. Well, I’d better go and stop Portia before she throws you a parade. You’ll want to find another dress, I’ll wager. She’s going to insist you wear something even fancier to your party.”

The blood drained from my face at the idea of wearing an even fancier gown, and I nodded as Tybalt walked off. Deciding I’d better pick something before she did, I made my way through the castle and tried to ignore the fact that the noise level had raised a few decibels with general excitement at the prospect of a party. Faeries love to party-they love food, they love booze, they love music. Wine, women and song is a nicer way to phrase it, but the plain truth is faeries are as rowdy and fun-loving as the Greek community on a Big Ten campus.

When I returned to my room, I stood standing in front of the intimidating array of outfits, having absolutely no idea what I was doing. Like I said, dresses are not my style. I pick my clothing based on comfort, durability and machine washability. I don’t iron. I don’t dry clean. I wasn’t even sure how to get into most of these outfits, much less the undergarments that went with them. There were no less than three corsets, and the mere sight of them made me want to run screaming from the room.

As I contemplated which one would be the least torturous I found my mind wandering. Lex’s favorite color (aside from black) was red, and there were several dresses in various shades of it. Would he like me better in the dress with the ridiculously low-plunging neckline, or the anorexically tight dress that would push my girls up so high the tops of my breasts could almost brush the bottom of my chin? The train of thought continued on to consider if the bright scarlet fabric emanated a woman-of-ill-repute vibe.

“Ooh, ooh, the pink one!” Portia squealed from behind me. “Pick the pink one, he’ll just love it.”

“Pink?” I frowned. “Not going to happen. This thing is a nightmare dipped in Pepto-Bismol.”

“It’s pretty.” Portia pouted as she hovered over me, literally.

“It’s got ruffles! I don’t do ruffles.” I shook my head in a firm no. The faerie sighed, the weight of the world in her tone, and poofed the offending dress out of existence in a puff of shining dust. “Is there slinky? Maybe slinky that flows into a twirly-skirt-type thing?” I suggested in my “I know nothing of fashion” speak. “And maybe long evening gloves. I like those, the silky kind.”

Portia nodded, pressing a petite finger to her lips as she plotted. “What color?”

“Black.”

“Not black. Black is not a color.”

“Geez. Red? Like garnet red maybe?”

“I can work with that. Stand still.” Tilting her head to the side, she paused for a moment, and then I felt a tingling rush of prickly heat flash across my body in the blink of an eye. Glancing down at myself, I discovered the green and silver gown had been replaced by sleek scarlet silk. I gasped, my torso now constricted by an oxygen-depriving torture device that had to be a corset.

“Ow! Bloody hell, Portia, I can’t breathe.”

“You don’t need to breathe. You look fabulous, see for yourself.”

At her direction I turned toward the mirror and blinked. The evil device had sucked me in and fluffed me out, giving me ample cleavage and the illusion of a slender waist. Slowly I approached my reflection and did a series of half turns, amazed at the effect a little torture had on my figure. Maybe breathing was overrated after all. The skirt of the gown fanned out just under my knees, flowing with a fluid grace every time I moved. Strapless, the gown bared my shoulders, and matching silk gloves stretched up my arms and ended just above my elbows, marred only by the bump of my wristwatch concealed beneath one.

“Wow,” I said numbly.

“Am I good or what?” Portia grinned, and I nodded in mute agreement. “We should do something about the glasses.”

“Don’t touch the glasses.”

“But they don’t ma-”

“You’re not touching the glasses.” With my luck she’d accidentally screw up the prescription and I’d spend the night stumbling around half blind.

“Fine. Okay, now we just need to do your hair, and I was thinking maybe a diamond and ruby choker with matching drop earrings, and I have such perfect perfume, you have no idea, and a matching evening bag studded with crystals…”

The music floated up around me as I approached the grand ballroom, and I paused at the unique combination of snow falling indoors mixed with a multitude of small, crystalline spheres that waved and danced in the air like soap bubbles blown by a child on a summer’s day. They caught the soft light and reflected it in rainbow patterns throughout the hall. As always it was cold, and I wished Portia had thought to add a wrap of some sort to my ensemble.

I almost felt like Cinderella about to enter the ball as I walked down the stairs, but there were too many important differences keeping me from embracing that story. This party was held in my honor, and I already had a place here, a home. I wasn’t a poor scullery maid looking to escape her dreary life-not that my life was glamorous, but it’d certainly been exciting the past few days.

I needed the support of my clan, and I needed their protection from the vamps that wanted to tear my throat out before I could become Titania. The purpose of this party was politics, and the fact that a guardian with a sexy southern drawl was probably somewhere on the other side of those huge double doors meant nothing to me. Honest.

Standing straight and proud, I approached the doors and breezed through them confidently when they swung open for me. The room was beautiful, as expected-the Silverleafs don’t do anything halfway. More falling snow and crystal bubbles floated overhead, mixed with multicolored balls of light that darted to and fro in time with the music. Though they have a love of all varieties of music, a classical selection had been picked for the occasion, a symphony of strings, reeds and percussion instruments weaving together to form an entrancing waltz. Not my typical style of music, though I do have an appreciation for some classical pieces.

A woman in a rich purple gown glided up to me, her face lit with a bright smile, and it took me a moment to recognize Portia without her wings. The confusion must have shown on my face, and she giggled at me.

“They ruined the line of the dress so I took them off,” she explained as she took my arm. “The wings get in the way when I’m dancing too. I’ll put them back on later.”

“Oh. Well, that makes sense then.”

With Portia on my arm I surveyed the room. A large percentage of the clan had decided to attend, both full-blood faeries and mixed blood mortals like myself, creating a virtual sea of glittering finery that moved and hummed with excitement. There were several familiar faces in the crowd, but I continued scanning it until I realized what I was doing and then mentally kicked myself for looking for Lex. Apparently he was still upset, and a cold knot of guilt formed in my gut. Yeah, he should’ve told me what was going on, but it couldn’t have been easy watching a vampire paw at the woman he’d spent the night before with.

Pretending everything was all right in the world, I allowed Portia to lead me around the room. I smiled, I laughed, I chatted, I nodded, and smiled some more. I danced when asked, and eventually sat down and had a glass of wine with a circle of Portia’s friends, listening to their gossip.

I didn’t enjoy myself. My eyes kept wandering over the crowd, looking for a long black coat and listening for a familiar drawl. The tension caused the urge for a cigarette to loom larger and larger in my mind, until finally I decided to sneak outside for a smoke.

The faeries wouldn’t have cared if I smoked indoors. I could’ve smoked an entire pack like a virtual chimney in the middle of the room and it wouldn’t have fazed them. Faeries are immune to disease, so they had no worries of cancer from secondhand smoke. But I’m used to living in a world where smokers are right up there on the popularity list with lepers and felons, so when I feel the need to light up I find somewhere to hide. Excusing myself, I slipped out of the ballroom and then outside into the courtyard.

The moon hung high above in the night sky, and I took a moment to stop and stare. There aren’t as many stars in my neighborhood, where the constant light from the city drowns them out. My first night in Faerie I spent hours just staring up, mesmerized by the sight of all those stars and how large and bright the moon was. The moon is important to me and my magic. It’s the second tarot card I wear tucked in the band of my top hat, the planet that rules my sign of the zodiac, Cancer. Now it was a bright, shiny reminder that the full moon was approaching, and the time left before the third test was running out.

Ducking into a shadowed archway, I dug my pack out of my tiny handbag and grabbed a cigarette. My hands shook from the cold as I reached for my lighter and fumbled with it. This was the replacement for the one that had exploded in my hand, and I hadn’t broken it in yet. I have a love/hate relationship with my lighters: I love to smoke, they hate to light. The long gloves weren’t helping matters either.

“Sure you’re allowed to use one of those after what happened last time?”

I glanced up to spot Lex as he wandered toward me across the courtyard. Under his long black coat he wore a black button-down shirt tucked into black slacks. He would have blended right in to the darkness if the moonlight hadn’t been so strong. I gave him a dry look as I continued to fight with the lighter, and then the flame finally caught, allowing me to light my cigarette.

“We’re safe as long as no vamps try to jump us,” I assured him after I took a long drag.

“Then I guess there’s nothin’ to worry about. Didn’t your fairy godmother think to give you a coat?” He slipped his duster off and draped it over my shoulders. The coat was heavy, and I resisted the urge to poke through it and search for hidden pockets and concealed weapons.

“No, and she’ll freak out if she sees me in something that doesn’t match this outfit.”

“You look beautiful.”

“It’s not bad.” I brushed self-consciously at my gown. “Though I think I’m going to buy Portia a set of Barbies so she’ll play dress up with someone else next time.”

We stood together in strained silence for several moments as I smoked my cigarette, and then he finally spoke up again. “Smoking is bad for you, you know.”

“I know. I tried to quit. A few times. Besides, trying to become Titania’s been bad for me too, and yet I signed up for that.”

“You’ll be good at it.”

“Should I live that long, I suppose,” I replied, trying to sound flippant about my imminent demise.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.” The sincerity in his gaze sent a tingle down my spine, and I nodded.

“I know you won’t. I’m a big girl though, I can take care of myself. More or less.” Trailing off, I itched at the side of my throat with my free hand, remembering the sharp slice of fangs piercing my skin. “Lex, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what would happen.”

“You should’ve left Simon’s lair when I asked you to.” He scowled and pointed an accusing finger at me for emphasis.

“My problem, my responsibility.” I exhaled a long stream of smoke in his direction, and he waved it away in annoyance.

“It was my idea to bring you there, the payment was mine to make.”

My face turned nine shades of red as I blushed, and I was thankful for the concealing darkness of night to hide it. I ground out the cig under my ridiculously impractical high-heeled shoe and immediately lit up another smoke. “So it’s okay if the big, bad vampire molests you but not me? Forgive me if I’m not convinced by that.”

“He wouldn’t have done that to me. I’d already agreed on terms with him.”

I blinked, not understanding. “Wouldn’t have done what to you?”

Lex sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “It’s my fault, what he did to you-I should’ve been more careful in namin’ conditions, but I never thought you’d volunteer to be bitten. Vampires-and chroniclers-can vary the pain or pleasure in their bite. Simon wouldn’t’ve made me experience what you did, because he’s not attracted to men, so I didn’t think to mention it when I agreed on the price. He bespelled you in order to hurt me. I’m sorry. You’re right, I should’ve told you what the price was.”

“Wait a second, he did it to hurt you?” I blurted in disbelief. “I’m the one who got molested, how did that hurt you?”

Stepping away from his spot in the doorway, Lex moved toward me, almost pinning me against the wall. He snatched the half-finished second cigarette out of my hand and flicked it out into the middle of the courtyard. Frozen and wide-eyed, I stared up at him, and he placed a gentle hand upon my cheek and ran his thumb across my lips.

“It did,” he said, his voice low and strained. “What happened to you was my fault. Just like…it was my fault you were attacked that night. I should’ve been there. I was going to stop by the café, drive you home, but I got a call. If I’d been there, I could’ve done something.”

My heart sank-I’d never thought of it that way. “Lex, it wasn’t your fault. You know my neighborhood, it could’ve happened at any time. You couldn’t be there all the time.”

“I wanted to be.”

Swallowing nervously, I struggled for something to say as I tried to decipher his expression, but my thought process ended when Lex kissed me.

I closed my eyes as he drew me into his arms. One of Lex’s hands slid up my back beneath his borrowed coat, while the other tangled in the upswept mass of curls Portia had styled my hair into. My hands rested against his chest as he pressed me close to him, and I moaned low in my throat. Lex made a noise in response that sounded surprisingly like a growl, and it startled me enough that I pulled away from him.

“Catherine,” he whispered against my ear. As he trailed kisses down the side of my throat it triggered a sudden flashback to the sensations of being bitten, and I tensed in reflex. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, misreading my reaction.

“For what? Kissing me? Don’t apologize for that. I’m still a li’l annoyed about the macho ‘I should’ve fed the vampire’ thing, but the kissing I won’t complain about.”

Encouraged by my words, he grinned and then kissed me again, long and thorough, until I was so intoxicated by the feeling that it made me weak in the knees, and I had to tighten my grip on the front of his shirt to steady myself. With my gown and my high-heeled shoes I felt a bit like a girl who’d snuck away from the prom in order to make out with the school bad boy under the bleachers.

Oblivious to everything but Lex, I lost track of time. I’m not sure how long we stood there in the archway.

“Is your room close?” Lex asked when we pulled away from each other.

“Fairly.”

“How ’bout you give me a tour?”

“I suppose I could arrange that.”

Taking Lex’s hand, I led him through the castle to my bedroom, doing my best to appear calm and collected on the way there. When we arrived Lex shut the door behind us and glanced around the room. “Nice. Bigger than mine.”

“The benefits of being family.” I set my evening bag down on the dressing table. My heart beat wildly, though I knew there was no good reason for it-I wasn’t a virgin, this wasn’t our first time. “I believe this is yours.” Slipping the coat off, I held it out to him, and he grinned as he took it and nonchalantly tossed it to the side. The coat landed on the floor with a muffled thunk, and I laughed, shaking my head in amusement.

“I don’t think I’ll be needin’ that.”

Peeling off the long gloves, I plopped them on top of the bag, flexing my fingers once they were free. Coming up behind me, Lex slid his arms around my waist and nibbled the back of my bare neck. Impatient, he spun me around to face him and kissed me long and hard.

I nudged him away, needing to catch my breath, and decided to take the opportunity to remove his shirt. One by one I undid his buttons and tugged the garment out of his pants. Pushing the shirt off his shoulders, he moved his arms to let it fall to the floor behind us. Reaching up, I freed his hair from the tie that held it back, and it hung loose around his shoulders. Immediately wrapping his arms around me again, he slid his hands up the back of my gown and then paused.

“I’m not sure how Portia got me into this dress. I have no idea how to get out.”

“Hmm. Hold extra still, sugar,” he warned. I frowned, and he drew a knife from the sheath on his belt and promptly sliced a long cut down the back of the gown, through the lacing of the corset underneath. “Sorry, but I don’t have time to find the manual.” Lex tugged both garments off, leaving a pool of scarlet silk around my feet as I stood in nothing but a pair of lacy red panties and the evil high-heeled shoes.

“Fine, I’ll blame you then when Portia looks for someone to murder for ruining her dress.”

“I think she’ll agree it was worth the sacrifice.”

Stepping out of the dress, I kicked the shoes aside and grabbed the buckle of Lex’s belt, dragging him back toward the bed. He nudged me back a bit as I sat on the edge, and I scooted toward the pillows. Before I was out of his reach, Lex took hold of the panties, sliding them off as I moved.

Stretched across the bed, I laid my head back among the pillows and moaned as Lex kissed a line up my inner thigh. One hand caressed its way up across my stomach and fondled my breast as his mouth teased the edge of my sex. I gasped, squirming slightly in anticipation as I felt the warm pressure of his tongue parting my lips. Lex moaned against me as he licked and nibbled at my clit. Arching my back, I ran my fingers through his hair as he tormented me with his tongue. A sharp wave of pleasure surged through me, and I cried out.

Lex drew away, and when I managed to catch my breath I grabbed his shoulders and tugged him upward. I kissed him, slow and savoring, feeling the heat of his body close to mine. I fumbled with the buckle of his belt, and managed to unzip his pants. Lex tried to tug both his pants and boxer briefs off at the same time, which really didn’t work well at the awkward angle he was in as he hovered over me. I smirked, shaking my head, and he grinned.

“Hold that thought.” Moving to the side of the bed, he quickly stood and removed the rest of his clothes. I ran my eyes over his naked body appreciatively-he really was all muscle, sleek and toned like a swimmer. Shivering from a combination of anticipation and the chill of the room, I ducked beneath the covers, and Lex joined me. As he lay beside me I ran my hands up and down his body in a slow caress. Reaching up, I drew Lex to me and kissed him, sliding my other arm around him as he moved to hover above me.

My arms encircling him, I watched him with a mixture of eagerness and anxiety. Lex gazed down at me, his eyes dark with desire. I could feel the hard length of him poised to enter me, and I shivered. He paused, and without a word thrust into me hard and deep.

“Lord and Lady,” I gasped.

He moved slowly at first, a careful pace that allowed us both to savor the experience. Lex murmured endearments to me in French, and I had only a vague notion of what he was saying. It didn’t really matter, because the sound of his voice alone was enough. He began to quicken his thrusts, and I matched his pace. Lex kissed me hungrily, as though he would devour me, and I felt an overwhelming wave of climax building.

I writhed beneath him, wanton and eager, until I let out a scream of ecstasy. My heart raced, and I let the sensations wash over me as we both slowed. He glided in and out of me with a lazy rhythm, enjoying my every whimper and sigh. Then when he decided I’d recovered enough, Lex pulled me even closer to him. This time he was relentless, and I came twice before he lost control. Shuddering and gasping he filled me, my name almost a prayer on his lips as Lex collapsed forward onto my chest.

Spent for the moment, we lay quietly in each other’s arms. I nuzzled his neck, and he tried to stroke my hair but was foiled by my elaborate hairstyle. Lex moved and lay next to me, propping himself up on one arm as he gazed at me.

Caressing my cheek, he kissed me softly. “I love you, Cat.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I blinked back tears. There was a small part of me that still wanted to hate him forever for handing me over to the witches’ council, but I couldn’t. “I love you too. You know, I think this may be the best party I’ve ever been to.”

Lex laughed, and then grinned. “Night’s young, Cat. There’s plenty of party left.”