Four, page 19
“I’m not interested in any vampire ladies right now,” he replied.
“Well, then, I saw plenty of vampire men in there.”
Stefano let out a chuckle and took a step toward her. He gave a little bow and held out his hand. “Since you seem a bit feisty again, my dear, how about a dance?”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not much of a dancer,” she said flatly.
“You’ve never had a partner as good as me,” he fired right back.
“Then I don’t want to make you look bad.”
“No one could look bad in my arms.”
Georgia still shook her head. “I’m kinda here with someone else, Steve, you know, your friend, Mr. Lambley—”
“Oh, Gingersnaps here wouldn’t mind if I take you out for a spin, would you, old boy?”
“Gingersnaps?” Georgia mouthed while eyeing the now red-faced vampire.
“Miss Sutherland is free to dance or not dance as she chooses,” Geoffrey stammered out.
“Then choose to dance with me, sweetheart,” Stefano said, holding out his hand once more.
“No, really, I am terrible and don’t want you to look bad,” she protested again.
The vampire didn’t back down. “The dance floor is packed. Who is even going to notice you in the crowd, hmm? Come on, one dance to one song, and then you’ll be rid of me if you so choose.”
“One dance, and then you will leave me alone?” she sighed.
“If that is what you desire.”
“Fine, but only if there is something from this century playing,” she muttered as she took his hand. Stefano nodded to Mr. Lambley and gave a little wink. “Well, then, we shall simply have to request a little twenty-first century ditty, won’t we? Wait, you’re not into country music, are you? That would pretty much be a deal breaker right there.”
“Wow, I’ve never wanted to be a Kenny Chesney fan so much in my entire life,” Georgia said. “But no, I prefer something more urban.”
“Interesting,” Stefan said. “Well, I’m sure we can find something that you can dance to.”
She let him lead her back into the crowded hall. A few rolled their eyes or gave a brief hushed titter as they saw the girl with a rosy tint and an aqua dress once more step into the room, but that was pretty much it. Far too many were focused on Mina doing a barely legal tango with that Tepes guy, or on the Aryan threesome holding court in the back. She tried to turn back to Mr. Lambley, but the surprisingly nimble little toad had slipped off into the crowd.
“I’ll wait for one or two more songs, but that’s it,” she sighed as the tango faded into some sort of medieval folk tune.
“Geoffrey is just taking care of the deejay, sweetheart. Never you fear,” Stefano said.
“Oh, I’m just in a strange place surrounded by humanity’s chief predator. What do I possibly have to be afraid of?”
Stefano raised her hand to his lips and purred, “Certainly not me, darling.”
“Ugh,” she sighed as she kept looking for familiar red hair. Stefano continued to chatter away, while Georgia did a bit of vampire watching from the sidelines. She noticed the smaller blonde Jaeger slip out a side door with a suspicious glint in her eye—licking her painted lips like a starving cat. On the other side of the room, the perpetually perturbed Pendragon, Lorcan, looked absolutely miserable as the professor talked one ear off while the sheriff and Mr. Sugar gabbed into his other. In the middle of the room, a writhing swarm of pale faces continued to dance in all manner of styles—from a Dark Ages ronde to a decidedly more modern group doing the frat-boy shuffle.
Georgia let out a deep sigh. “No one is going to see this or remember it, so let’s just get it over with,” she said.
“You don’t want to wait for one of your songs?” he asked.
“Whatever,” she said, grabbing his hand. She hadn’t made it ten feet into the throng when the genre changed again, from lilting harpsichord strains to clanging synthesizers. Georgia began to giggle as a group of vampires began to flail around to an eighties’ one-hit wonder.
Stefano pounced on her good mood and broke into a dazzling white smile. “Who doesn’t like “The Final Countdown”?” he asked as he jerked her into hold and led her to an open spot smack-dab in the center of the dance floor. Georgia stumbled a few times before she relaxed into a sort of fast waltz, ducking in and out of frenetic undead couples.
“I remember this from when I was a kid. It’s the kinda song you hear in commercials or movie trailers,” she laughed as Stefano swung her out and then snapped her back into hold. True to his word, he was exceptionally nimble on his feet and able to flick and kick around her large and ungraceful feet. Every time she so much as swerved, he was able to adjust and guide her into a position where she managed to look graceful among the discordant mix of dance styles filling the room. As the music swelled into the first chorus, she even allowed him to lift her and swing her around into the heart of the dance floor. Finally she looked up and gasped as she realized just what sort of mischief Mr. Lambley had gotten into while Stefano had lured her away.
“Oh . . . my . . .” she breathed as she looked up at the wall of metallic balloons, which had been expertly turned and shifted to form a wall of a hundred mirrors, a wall where Georgia was the only reflection, suspended in thin air as her partner lifted her higher.
All of the chaos melted away as he continued to guide her around, always keeping her floating in the magical image. He burst into a huge smile as he dropped her into a dip. “Now you see the world just as I do,” he whispered in her ear as she snapped back against his chest. “In this room there is only you.”
Georgia relaxed and let him swing her about for the rest of the song. As the final chorus swelled, she let him lift her completely to his shoulders and spin frenetically, forming a swirl of aqua as she giggled with delight. As he eased her down, she slid against his long, lean frame and could feel just how well-built this hunter really was under his fancy suit and tie.
She looked right through him into her own reflection, blushing more than she probably should have. She watched a stray hair slip behind her ear as she felt cool breath against her neck.
“Can we go outside?” she managed to choke out.
“But of course,” he said, leading her out as the music blended into yet another Billy Idol tune, this one more soft and slow.
“I danced with a vampire,” Georgia gushed as they swept back out into the gardens. “I really danced with one.”
Stefano shook his head in amazement. “You just realized this? You do know we’ve been there all night, right?” he said with a little laugh.
“You know what I mean,” she said, punching his arm. Her smile only widened. “It was like I was flying.”
“There is magic in the air tonight, sweetheart,” he said, kissing her hand again.
“You were right. That was amazing,” she said. “I guess I was so busy being annoyed with all of you that I never thought to just relax and . . .” She trailed off as she noticed a strange bit of movement behind one of the trellises.
Both she and Stefano looked at each other with a conspiratorial wink in their eyes as they heard a soft moan coming from the bushes.
“Sounds like someone is having a better time than us,” Stefano chuckled as he nudged Georgia.
“You mean you—well, yeah, I guess your kind—wow, I think I can hear slurping. You want to move farther down the path?” Georgia said over the rustling.
“It’s not the kind of thing that gets you excited?” Stefano teased.
“If you are about to say something to the effect of ‘how American of you,’ then I will seriously knee you in the crown jewels, Mr. DeMarco,” Georgia snapped. The rustling stopped suddenly, and Georgia ducked in close to her vampire companion, as she could hear heels clicking on the garden stones. Still, she couldn’t resist peeking over his arm to see a leggy blonde stopping under one of the trees to tug the hem of her little red dress and to double-check that her twins were safely tucked back into their holsters. She then ran her finger slowly around her lips and flung something off into the vegetation. Finally, she applied fresh lipstick and tossed her tousled hair back over her shoulders.
Stefano burst out with something that sounded both snide and guttural at the same time. The blonde snapped back in German so quickly that Georgia didn’t have a chance to even try to figure out what was being said. After a few more rapid-fire exchanges, Stefano gave her an obnoxious thumbs-up.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said while turning back to Georgia. “She just wanted to know if her lipstick was back on. She decided that she didn’t like the catering and needed a light snack.”
The blonde made a rude gesture at Stefano. He smiled as she stormed off. “My sister is such a bitch,” he sighed.
“Minerva, right?” Georgia asked. “You mean she screws a guy while she drinks his blood?”
Stefano laughed again. “Blood is one type of sustenance, yes, but my dear older sister has a taste for something a little easier to get at a party, if you know what I mean.”
Georgia rolled her eyes. “Oh, she fancied a little protein shake from a lucky fellow? How nice.”
“She does have a mouth that is the basis of legends,” Stefano said with a slow and respectful nod.
“Eww. Isn’t she your sister, Stevie-boy?”
“Not human,” he fired back. “Still, she’s not my type at all. I prefer . . .” He trailed off to start a sarcastic round of applause as the second party made his walk of shame from the shadows of the bushes. Georgia joined him for a second, but stopped cold as she saw the unique combo of pale green eyes and Asian features in the moonlight.
“I see that she ordered the usual tonight,” Stefano cracked as Ren immediately stiffened and lowered his eyes.
“Do you require anything, sir?” Ren asked softly while pointedly not looking at Georgia.
“Oh, it looks like you’ve already been of plenty of service tonight,” Georgia snapped.
“Yes, why don’t you go freshen up and see if Mother needs anything? That is, if you have anything left to give,” Stefano said.
“As you wish, sir,” Ren said with a quick bow before hustling toward the main ballroom.
“You know, I think I’m going to find Mr. Lambley now,” Georgia said flatly. “It’s probably about time for us to go.”
Stefano grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Go? Why would you want to go now?”
“I want to go because I remember now exactly why I’m here for creatures like you,” she snapped.
“I don’t see you like the others do,” Stefano said, pulling her closer again.
Georgia shoved back again. “Yes, you do. To you I’m just an after-dinner drink. Wait, I am the dinner and the drink!”
“Sweetheart, please—”
“My name is Georgia, Steve,” she snapped. “Not honey, not dame, and certainly not sweetheart. So if you would excuse me, I’d rather just forget about tonight.”
“Fine, if that is what you want,” Stefano said before yanking her against his chest. “Your wish is my command,” he purred before sweeping her into his arms and kissing her passionately.
She froze for a moment, taking in the heady mix of night air, alcohol in the blood, and his firm grip until the chill from his lips passed to her own and her eyes snapped open again. She pushed away and stood there, stunned for several seconds.
Stefano sighed and shook his head. “Such a pity.”
Georgia continued to stand there, staring off at the distant fairy lights until her vampire companion’s face melted back into his familiar cheeky grin.
“Oh, hello there, are you all right, signorina?” he said. “I just noticed you alone out here, and I thought I’d introduce myself. I’m Stefano DeMarco von Jaeger, and you are?”
Georgia blinked a few times. “Georgia Sutherland.”
“Ah, such a beautiful name. A pleasure to meet you, Georgia.”
Georgia raised a brow. “I wish I could forget tonight, but no matter how hard you try, Steve, I’m not giving you a do-over. Ugh, kissing you was like kissing a raw piece of meat. Yuck!”
“What?” Stefano gasped. “You mean you can remember me? Remember tonight?”
“Like I said, I want to forget, but, ugh, no,” she said as she wiped her mouth with the hem of her dress. “Good night, Steve. Let’s hope we don’t meet again.”
10
“You kissed a vampire,” Gail gushed. “You really kissed one?”
Georgia waved her hand contemptuously. “It’s not quite what you think. Imagine kissing a hunk of raw meat.”
“Oh, I bet he was a hunk,” Gail said between sips of her drink. “Come on, you have to tell me more.”
“It was nothing, really. Really, Stefano is just that type. He moves fast and normally hops from girl to girl without a thought, quite literally. I learned that night that Stefano is a little different than your average bloodsucker . . .”
“You actually remember him kissing you?” Mr. Lambley asked as they settled into their limousine for the return trip. Georgia stared at the clock on the dash with a furrowed brow.
“Will we make it back to the hotel well before sunrise?” she asked the driver, not acknowledging Mr. Lambley for a second. “My companion is not the best during the day.”
“No worries,” the driver said before closing the polarized screen between them.
“But, but I’ve never heard of anyone . . . even vampires are affected by Stefano’s charms,” Mr. Lambley stammered. “Are you certain that he kissed you?”
“I’m certain that vampires have pretty bad breath,” Georgia muttered. “Yes, Geoffrey, I remember him kissing me. What is the big deal? It wasn’t that great an experience for me.”
Mr. Lambley started wringing his hands. “All of our kind have the same basic abilities—the immortality, the lack of reflection, the resistance to heat and cold and all of that, but a very few of us have extraordinary gifts,” he said.
“You mean like how you can scramble electronics when you get stressed?” she said, pointedly eyeing his phone going haywire on the seat next to them. “Calm down, Geoffrey, or I’m going to have to spend another two hours stuck at the phone store.”
“Stefano is special even among special vampires. He’s known as the Great Shadow throughout much of the vampire community because he has what is known as a universal ability, one that affects all kinds—”
“Geoffrey, what are you babbling on about?” she said as she snatched up his now completely black phone and tucked it as far away from him as possible.
“You know how we all have miasma? He has a most concentrated form in his saliva, one that can make you forget almost anything if exposed to it. The Caesars called it osculum oblivio—the kiss of nothingness. I’ve watched him make a woman forget an entire week once, but the longer the kiss and the more passionate he becomes, the greater the effect. All he has to do after causing the amnesia spell is use a few suggestions to replace whatever the victim missed. He’s used by the sheriff as a means of last resort to help clean up messes our kind makes all over North America.”
“Well, I wish I was like everyone else, because he’s a rather terrible kisser,” Georgia said.
“Does anyone else know?” Geoffrey asked.
“Know what?”
“Does anyone else know that he kissed you and you can remember it?” he asked, this time grabbing both her hands.
Georgia shook her head ferociously. “Just you.”
The vampire let out a sigh of relief. The flush of color left him, and he returned to his normal pallor as his phone flickered back to life on the edge of the seat. “Please, Miss Sutherland, promise me that we will keep this between ourselves. I’ll call Stefano and make certain that this is kept quiet.”
“Really, what is the big deal? They already know that vampire voodoo doesn’t work on me.”
“They know that you are one of those people, the rare few unaffected by the miasma, but in my decades of knowing Stefano, I have never met anyone immune to his kiss, and neither has the sheriff. If she were to find out that even he could not control you, well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pleasant for either of us.”
“Wait, was he some sort of backup plan for you? Did you think that if things didn’t work out that he could just pull a reverse Sleeping Beauty on me and I’d be out of your hair or something? Tell me the truth, Mr. Lambley.”
“Well, no, not really,” the vampire said as he looked away. “Stefano was supposed to be my backup in the beginning if my miasma was too weak to control a girl—you know, when I was looking for something else and not an assistant—but even his kiss couldn’t take away our time together. The sheriff is just more comfortable having someone like you around our kind if Stefano is tasked with erasing any mistakes.”
“So, if I see something I shouldn’t, he’s the cleanup crew? You know, like seeing Ren being used as a toy by that blonde bitch? I really wish he could have erased that.”
“Oh, I see Minerva got hungry. She’s always been the pickiest of that lot. Stefano’s boy is her personal favorite as of late. She’ll even come up from Washington for days to feast on him. I thought you knew.”
“Well, no, I didn’t, and it just reminded me what I am to . . . to all of you.”
“No! Please do not confuse the Jaegers with my family. I see you as a valued assistant, Miss Sutherland.”
“Except when you have too much blood in your system and I end up sleeping in the bathroom,” she snapped.
The vampire continued to hold her hands, draining the warmth from her fingers. He finally craned his head around to look her right in the eyes. His normal placid expression tucked away among doughy pillows of flesh was replaced by something far more intense and focused. The sheer power of his glare actually gave the furious human girl pause.
“I made a promise to you, Miss Sutherland, and a vampire’s word is his bond. I do swear to you that I will never hurt you, never betray you, and never so much as think of you as food. So help me god, Miss Sutherland, I am devoted to you and your service and would be lost without you. Are we clear?”
