Catherine (Echoes of Ossiria #1) (7 page)

“School. A little
learning abroad. It’s my first real night out.”
 
And now I’m flirting?

“My lucky night,
then. Care to dance before you get back to the books?”

She took his
offered hand.
 
“I’d love to, Mr.….”

“Ian.”
 
Ian the Irishman.

She followed his
lead to the dance floor.
 
Ian was just
her type, dark-haired and broad-shouldered.
 
Pretty hazel-green eyes.
 
His hand
was warm, so at least he wasn’t a vampire.
 
She wasn’t ruling out some kind of demon, since many could appear as
humans, and they
were
in a demon bar.
 
Spotting William chatting up a girl out of the corner of her eye, she
made a show of wrapping her arms around her partner’s neck and smiling up at
him.
 
Just in case someone was
watching.
 
Had to put this makeover to
use somehow, right?

“So, how long do
you plan to stay here?” Ian asked.

“Not sure. Maybe a
couple more weeks. I do miss home.”

“And where’s
that?”

“California. I miss the
sun
.”

He chuckled.
 
“It is a rare thing to see, especially this
time of year. I bet you look beautiful in sunlight.”

She sighed.
 
“Too bad we can’t find out…but I bet you say
that to all the girls.”

“I only compliment
those worthy of it.”

She smiled,
shaking her head.
 
“Good answer.”

The song shifted
to a fast techno beat.
 
The old Catherine
wouldn’t have tried staying out on the floor; the new her put her new skills to
work and kept the boy’s attention.

Then they went
upstairs.

She and Ian were
having a nice chat until someone tried to beat the door down.
 

“God, what is your
damage, William? Knock, much?” Catherine exclaimed.

He looked her over
in a second before yelling, “Do you have any idea what he is?”

She rolled her
eyes.
 
“We were only talking. It was loud
down there.”

“Hey, no hard
feelings, mate. Didn’t realize she was taken.”

“I’m not,”
Catherine said.
 
“He’s my…chaperone,” she
said, then turned to William.
 
“Go away!”

“Oh, gee, since
you asked so nicely…
no
. He’s an incubus.”

She blinked.
 
“So?”

“So, they seduce
women, show them a good time, and then you’re having demon spawn burst out of
your innards four weeks later like one of those things from the ‘Alien’ movies.”

“A chest-buster?
You are seriously deranged, William.”
 
To
the incubus, she said, “I’m so sorry. He’s still not housebroken.”

“You…two…seem to
have some things to work out…” Ian said, and made a hasty retreat out of the
room.

Catherine threw
her hands up in disgust.
 
“Oh, that’s
great
!
The one guy who’ll talk to me in this place and you chase him away.
Thank
you
, William! This night has been so fun.”
 
She grabbed her purse and jacket in a huff and made for the door, only
to be yanked back by the arm.
 
“Let. Go.
Of. Me.”

“
No.
”
 
William slammed the door shut.
 
“We need to talk.”

“No, we don’t! I
have nothing to say I haven’t already said.”

“We
kissed
,
Catherine.”

“
You
kissed
me
.”

“You kissed me
back.
Or did I imagine you wrapped around me with all four limbs, making all those
delicious little sounds.”

“A lapse in
judgment,” she coldly replied.
 
“It won’t
be repeated.”

He stalked
forward, stopping boot tip to boot tip.
 
“So, only the heat of the argument, then? A bit of cold comfort?”

“
You
kissed
me
when I had a stake at your heart. Question your own motives before
you start in on mine.”
 
She pushed past
him and yanked the door open, her feet clomping loudly on the stairs a minute
later.

The atmosphere
between them couldn’t have been any colder during the drive back.

Alicia followed
Catherine up to her room, inside, and shut the door.

“Can I help you?”
she asked the genie.

“Is
this…whatever…between you and William going to screw up business around here?”
Alicia asked.

“Not as far as I’m
concerned. I don’t care what he does.”

“Uh-huh… I’m
guessing he screwed up since he’s
male
, so what are you going to do
now?”

“Do?”

“Curse him, ignore
him, chop his man parts off…you know, the usual.”

Catherine sighed
and sat on the bed.
 
“Nothing so drastic.
I don’t even know how this all happened. It’s insane! I shouldn’t even know he
exists, or you exist. I was happy minding my own business in my little college
life… I wish everything could go back to the way it was. I just want to go
home.”

“So go home.”

“I can’t,
yet.”
 
My allowance won’t be in the
bank until the first.

Alicia
shrugged.
 
“Suit yourself. But you’re
going to have to find some way to get by until you
are
ready, because he
won’t hide from you in his own home.”

“I know.”

Catherine thanked
her lucky stars most of her routine could be conducted before he was awake and
out and about.
 
He typically got up at
sundown, spent time in the office, and then joined them for dinner.
 
It was Saturday, so that meant it was movie
night in the TV room instead of class time.
 
She could avoid him tomorrow, too, since Sunday was her day off from
self-defense training.

****

Catherine’s
hand still in his, he pulled her in the room with him.
 
Her heart-beat rapid like a bird’s, she cast
wide eyes about the room, taking in his private sanctuary.
 
He smirked, drawing her further in, closer to
the great canopy bed with its ebony silk sheets.
 
She knew what she was here for, of
course.
 
It had been her training for
weeks.

The vampire let
his coat slide off his shoulders to the floor, then sat on the bed, his hands
on her shoulders gently pressuring her to her knees.
 
She was nervous, but with anticipation, not
fear.
 

She’d never
seen a grown man revealed in the flesh before, so as she unfastened his
trousers, her eyes were fixed on that spot.
 
It was easier than looking up into the intensity of his eyes.
 
She could feel them burning through her
skull.

His erection
sprang out as she lowered the zipper, surprising her.
 
She touched it, caressing it softly with her
fingertips.
 
The vampire hissed in
pleasure, the heat of her hand in contrast to his room-temperature skin.
 
She was again surprised by how soft his skin
was, yet the muscle underneath was hard as steel.
 
Her hand made passes over and around as she
learned his contours, until she felt his hand in her hair.
 
It was a signal to get on with what she was
supposed to do.

She couldn’t
take that thing in all the way…her mouth just wasn’t that big, but she tried
her best, and found it wasn’t entirely unpleasant to have him this way.

 
He moaned at the first feel of her lips
passing over the head and down his shaft.
 
Praised how hot she was.
 
He made
more encouraging sounds when she grazed her teeth along his length as she
lifted her head back up.
 
Up-down,
up-down.
 
Apply suction.
 
Flick her tongue in the little cleft.
 
She fell into a rhythm, learning what he
liked.

Even learned
she wanted to please him.

It was soon
apparent, though she was on her knees, that she held the power here.
 
She could bite clear through and maim
him.
 
Rip his testicles off with a twist
and pull of her hand.
 
Make him make a
myriad of sounds, good or bad.
 

Lucky for him
she was determined to make him scream in pleasure.

His body warned
her of what was coming next, so she was prepared for the jerk of his hips and
the spurt of thick fluid down her throat.
 
She’d been trained to swallow, too, unless he didn’t want her to.
 
It didn’t go down easily but the taste was
alright.
 
Salty.
 
The hand that had been tangled in her hair
massaged her scalp.
 
She released him
from her mouth and looked up at the panting vampire.

Strange that he
felt the need to breathe.

He pulled her
to him to kiss her, plunging his tongue past her lips.
 
They clashed in desire, warring for
dominance.

He had to have
her now…

She needed to
be satisfied…

Was that really
my
dream? Catherine thought.
 
This was
so
not good.
 
Why couldn’t she have dreamt of Ian, the hot
young stranger?
 
At least that fantasy
would make sense.
 
But dreaming of
William was trouble.
   

On Monday, he came
to find her before dinner.

“Look, we’re both
adults, so there’s no reason we can’t be professional during the remainder of
your stay, right?”
 
He stood stiffly, his
voice neutral.

“I’m agreeable to
that,” she said.

“Good. I’ll see
you in the gym after supper, then.”
 
He
nodded curtly, then walked off.

Her stomach
fluttered nervously through dinner at the prospect of sparring with him, being
in close contact.
 
You couldn’t practice
a full-contact sport without touching the other person.
 

Stupid
hormones.
 

Her head wasn’t
looking for a boyfriend, and her heart wanted to go home, but her body kept
responding to the one attractive male she was around for the past month.
 
It made sense from a biological standpoint,
except you couldn’t reproduce with a vampire.
 
But her body didn’t care about details.
 
It only recognized that he was pleasantly shaped.

She needn’t have
worried.
 

He brought in one
of the other girls to do the actual sparring and only gave instructions.
 
It was the least fun she’d had in class since
she started.

Chapter Five

Wednesday, October 31
^st
 

Halloween

Catherine was told
to pack everything she needed to get ready for the evening in a bag and meet
the car outside at two o’clock.
 
She made
sure she cleared her plate at lunch in case she didn’t get to eat again until
very late, and was waiting on the steps promptly on the hour.
 
The chauffeur picked her up in the limousine.

They drove into London, stopping at a
pretty building in a nice part of town.
 
She was led up to an empty flat, and had a moment of confusion, before
others entered with various things: a dressing table, adjustable chair,
full-length mirror, boxes of all sizes, and a food cart with beverages and
treats.
 
She recognized the seamstress
that had worked on her dress.

“Good afternoon,
Miss Mitchell. The gown is complete to your specifications. Let us do a last
fitting in case last-minute adjustments are needed?”
 
She removed the lid on a large box and lifted
the dress up.
 
“Magnificent, isn’t it?”

“Um, I need
somewhere to change.” Catherine said.
 
The dressmaker pointed to a wardrobe screen set up behind her.
 
“Oh.”
 
She changed into the appropriate foundation garments before the lady
came back with the dress and helped her step into it.
 

She adjusted the
ties in back, then directed Catherine to come back out to the mirror and stand
on the pedestal.
 
“Mmm-hmm…”
 
She circled her with a critical eye.
 
“Shoes, please.”
 
They were brought instantly.
 
“Perfect. Add the jewels, and you will look
like royalty.”

The gown was
gunmetal gray silk, the bodice constructed like a corset with hook-and-eye
closures in front, lacing in the back, and heavily beaded with seed
pearls.
 
The boning in the bodice created
noticeable cleavage.
 
Intricate beading
bordered the top hem, running along each side of the closures down the center
to the floor-length hem and around the slight train.
 
The skirt split at knee level to reveal
hidden layers.
 
The rest of the beading
was in tones of silver-to-black to create a blossom pattern on the bodice and
train.
   

It was the most
expensive thing Catherine had ever put on her body in her life.
 

“It was a bit
complicated to adjust the length, but not so difficult in a week. Surprisingly
comfortable, yes?”

“Yeah… I can still
breathe.”

The dressmaker
nodded.
 
“It is the new flexible material
for the stays. The boning holds its shape, but is not nearly so rigid as in the
past. Fashion need not be torture. So, you’re happy with it?”

Catherine turned
to face her, smiling.
 
“Very much so.
It’s…wow. It’s too beautiful for me, but I’ll wear it proudly!”

“I think it suits
you just fine, Miss Mitchell. Now, out of the dress! You need hair and make-up,
and…”

People instantly
swarmed her.
 
They helped her out of the
dress, wrapped her in a robe, and plopped her down in the chair.
 
She was primped head-to-toe in a whirlwind of
activity.
 
Eating was allowed until they
did her lipstick, so she nibbled on little pastries and canapés.
 

She was
nervous.
 
She did want to make a good
impression that evening, pass the test of her training, but she also had plans
of her own.
 
She couldn’t pass up on the
chance of escaping while she was already in London.
 
Her bag was packed with everything she couldn’t bear to part with, buried
at the bottom under her things for tonight.
 
She only had to get away from William while they were still in London and make it into
daylight where he couldn’t follow.

“Miss Mitchell…
Wake up, dear. It’s time to get you dressed.”

Catherine
blinked.
 
“Sorry…”
 
It was easy to be lulled into a daze when
someone was playing with your hair.

The vision in the
mirror was so removed from the girl that arrived there four weeks ago.
 
Her hair had been slicked back from her face,
then twisted and curled into an intricate bundle at the back of her head,
crystal pins holding it all together.
 
Her eyes were defined in black with smoky shades of charcoal and
lavender blended up toward her brows.
 
Plum-pink color graced her lips with a touch of gloss in the center for dimension.
 

She was handed the
beaded earrings that match her dress.

Back behind the
screen to discard her robe, she adjusted her bustier, then stepped into the
gown.
 
The ribbons were cinched a bit
tighter this time, prompting her to glare at the assistant.

“Your shoes,
miss?”

Catherine lifted
the hem of her dress and stepped into one, then the other stiletto sandal.
 
Simple black satin.
 

Once fastened, she
walked out to face the crowd.
 
“Well?”
she asked, turning for the assembly.

“You’ll stop
traffic,” Alicia said.

“Alicia! What are
you doing here?”

“Making sure
you’re on time. William was anxious, not that he’ll admit to it. Ready?”

“Just have to grab
my cloak and my bag,” she said.
 

The long black
velvet cloak hid her dress from view until the perfect moment as well as
providing warmth on this chilly evening.

They rode down in
the elevator alone.

“You know, I
haven’t even asked what we’re seeing,” Catherine mused.

“Probably
something morbid and dull. I prefer the American Halloween with its bow to capitalist
gain. The children really do make out with an excellent deal, except for the
potential razor blades and poison in the candy.”

“My parents took
me trick-or-treating every year when I was a kid. It was fun.”
 
The limousine was waiting out front.
 
“Is he in there?” she asked.

“Oh, just go! You
have to see him sometime tonight. Really, you humans and your petty arguments…”
Alicia groused.
 
She pushed Catherine
through the door first.

The chauffeur
opened the door as they came out.
 

William stood,
wearing a wool coat over a black tuxedo.
 
“Miss Mitchell. You look lovely this evening.”

She nodded in
acknowledgement.
 
“Thank you, sir.”
 
She handed her satchel to the chauffeur who
placed it in the trunk, and offered her gloved hand to William.
 
He kissed it, then helped her into the
car.
 

“Play nice, you
two,” Alicia said cheerfully, then vanished.

Once inside the
car and moving along, neither knew what to say first.
 
Catherine finally swallowed her pride and
asked what they were seeing.

“’Classical Music
for Halloween’. I kid you not. They’ve put together a ghost story to scary
music, or something.”

“Well, there are
several works that fit in tone. Was
Faust
too expensive to produce? I’d
think it would be perfect for Halloween. A moral tale warning against deals
with the devil?”

“I think
Mephistopheles gets a bum rap in that one. Soddin’ humans screwed it up for
themselves.”

She rolled her
eyes.
 
“I take it you saw it after you
were turned?”

“Not the first
time. Took my mum one year while I was still in university.”

“Well, it’ll be
nice to listen to music. I used to play the violin.”

“Did you, now?”

She nodded.
 
“In elementary school. I was…
competent
. Always struggled with the
fingering. I didn’t get very far with piano for the same reason.”

“Your parents pushed
you in the Arts?”

“I wouldn’t say
‘pushed’. They encouraged us in all subjects. They both worked in education.”

“Us? I thought you
were an only child.”

“Me and my foster
brother. They placed him with another family when my parents were killed. My
grandmother was willing to take him in, but Child Services thought two
teenagers would be too much for her,” she said.
 
“Did you have any siblings?”

“One.”

“Oh. What
happened?”

“She was
kidnapped.”

“That must have
been hard for your family.”

He shrugged.
 
“I got you something.”
 
He fished into his pocket, pulling out a
velvet box.
 
“Alicia told me the color of
your dress, so I thought these would suit it well.”
 
He opened the jewelry box to reveal a choker
of South Sea pearls.

Catherine’s eyes
widened to comic proportions.
 
“Please
tell me you didn’t buy this just for tonight!”

He scoffed.
 
“Oh, heaven’s no! They’re on loan. If you
don’t want to wear it—”

“No…they’re
beautiful. I’d be honored. Um, will you help me?”
 
She unclasped her cloak, letting it slip off
her bare shoulders, and turned her back to him.

He took the
necklace out of the box and unhooked the clasp, then draped it around her
neck.
 
“Is this too tight?” he murmured,
his breath tickling the fine hairs at her nape.

“It’s fine,” she
said, actively trying not to shiver.
 

He fastened the
clasp on a link and withdrew back to his seat.
 
“Let’s see how it looks.”

She straightened
in her seat, angling to face him.
 
The
choker was very simply designed—two rows of black pearls in graduated sizes,
the largest centered in the hollow of her throat.
 
With the size and rarity of the pearls, it
had to be worth at least $20,000.

“Exquisite,” he
said, looking into her eyes.

She felt a warm
flush creep up her neck as she re-fastened the cloak.
 
The heat in his gaze was exactly why she
didn’t want to reveal the dress until they were in public.
 
Why had she let Alicia encourage her to pick
something so revealing?
 
They’d done very
well the past few days
not
having any lusty, tense moments, and now he
was looking at her like
that
again.

Thankfully, the
limo pulled up to the venue at that moment.
 

William exited
first, then held out his hand for her.
 
“Milady.”

“Thank you.”
 
She looked around at the other arrivals, most
of them middle-aged or elderly couples dressed to the nines.
 
“Is it always this formal?” she asked.

He waved it
off.
 
“It’s a thing. There’s the concert,
and the party, and a charity auction…an excuse to play ‘Who’s got the biggest
checkbook’. You’ll probably see a few Hollywood
types, too.”

“
Oh.
How’d
you get in, then?”

He smirked.
 
“I have my sources.”
 
They passed through the doors and reached the
coat check.
 
He stopped and looked at her
expectantly.

“Oh…yes…”
 
Catherine set her purse on the counter and
took off the cloak, passing it carefully to the clerk, who handed her a
numbered ticket.

“Sir?” he said,
nodding to William’s coat.

“I’m fine,
mate.”
 
He turned to her and released a
low-pitched whistle.
 
“
Well
worth
the wait, love. Remind me to tip your dressmaker.”
 
His eyes blatantly raked over her form.

“Yes, fine. Can we
find our seats, please?”

He winked, and
offered her his arm.
 
She accepted, not
looking at him.

There were
whispers in the halls as they headed up to their box.
 
Everyone wanted to know “who the striking
couple was” and “where they came from”.
 

He soaked it up
while she squirmed inside.
 
She didn’t
like being the center of so much attention, and let out a sigh of relief when
they finally reached their box and the attendant checked their tickets.
 
There were two rows of four seats each.
 
William guided her to the front center two and
took off his coat, laying it on the seat next to him.

“That thing’s
precious to you, huh?”

“Killed someone
for it,” he said, unashamed.
 

“Very funny.”

“I spent over a
century taking what I wanted, Catherine.”
 
They were high above the orchestra, but could see the entire stage.
 
“Would you like a pair of those little
optics?”

“Oh, opera
glasses? No, it’s not necessary. Thank you.”
 
She smoothed her dress under her and carefully sat down, feeling his
eyes on her cleavage.
 
“Are you going to
do that all night?” she quietly snapped.

“What?”

She glared at
him.
 
“Stare at my breasts. I can feel
it.”

“Hey, you chose
the dress, kitten. I’m only a man.”

“You…! God, you’re
insufferable!”

“And you’re even
prettier when you’re angry,” he countered, his eyes flicking to her heaving
bosom.