Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (2010) (19 page)

"Why Baker? I understand not keeping your father's name, but Baker is not your mother's maiden name."

I wasn't prepared for the question--no one had ever asked that before. "I wanted something that I felt represented me, and baking is something I'm good at. Baking cookies with my mom on the weekends was my favorite thing to do as a kid. I make awesome chocolate chip cookies."

"I don't doubt it."

"That's one thing I love about the cafe: I'm a big believer in the healing power of food. A good burger can cure what ails you. It's not an accident that my butt's so big," I joked.

"I wouldn't call it big."

"No?"

"No. Lovely would be a better word."

I rolled my eyes at the compliment, and he shook his head at my reaction. "You still don't like me very much."

I blushed, feeling a bit bad that I was so transparent after he'd gone through the effort of being a courteous host. "No. Well, yes, but we aren't working under ideal circumstances here. You're Mr. Rich and Pulseless, and I'm just a waitress from the suburbs. A waitress who just happened to find her mother ripped apart by vampires. No matter how friendly you are, I can't have a warm fuzzy feeling to all this." I waved a hand at the gorgeous room around me for emphasis. "I'm not exactly here on vacation, considering you blackmailed me into staying."

"Regardless, you are my guest, and I wish you to be as comfortable as you can be while you are here," Harrison said, attempting to placate me. "And for the record, I do have a pulse."

"You do?"

"See for yourself." Pushing back the cuff of his sleeve, he bared his wrist and held it out to me across the polished wooden top of the bar. I eyed it warily, expecting some sort of trick. I reached out two fingers and lightly placed them against the vampire's skin. He was cool to the touch, as though he'd been sitting under an air-conditioning vent for too long, but he wasn't a popsicle. Not cold enough to qualify as a corpse, but still abnormal. Trying to remember back to my Girl Scout days and my first-aid patch, I felt around for a pulse. I found a slow, sluggish beat beneath my fingertips, like the sleepy tune of a waltz. I frowned, somewhat surprised, and then I caught the scent of smoke as I felt an electric line of heat shoot up through my fingers and zing through my body.

"Whoa!" Snatching my hand away, I glared at him. Rising to my feet, I stepped back from the bar.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to harm you."

"What'd you do?"

"Increased my heartbeat to raise my body temperature. I didn't realize you'd be affected by it. Actually I'm quite surprised you were able to sense it at all." Harrison seemed impressed by my abilities. "You really are quite remarkable, Catherine."

I opened my mouth to correct him, to tell him to call me Cat, but my good sense kicked in and reminded me that I didn't want to be on a chummy, nickname basis with Dracula. Instead, I shrugged and thanked him.

"Well, now that I've made you uncomfortable I suppose this is a good point to end our evening," Harrison said, smiling dryly. Stepping out from behind the bar, he crossed over to where I stood, and taking my hand, he raised it to his lips and brushed a light kiss across it. "Thank you for a lovely evening, Catherine."

A faint blush stained my cheeks as I struggled to come up with a reply. It was most tempting to ask if I could go home now, but I had a feeling it wouldn't go over well. Flustered, I stared up at him. He had stunning green eyes, the same shade of emerald green that my robes had been in my dream. Lex's warning leapt into my thoughts, as though he stood behind me, speaking the words aloud. I backed away, but the vampire tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me tight against him.

The magic washed over me in a wave of smoke and lust, and I recognized it as the same seductive spell Simon had placed over me. My heart did a startled flip, and though my brain warned me to back the hell away, my body seemed to be happy right where it was. With one hand firm against my back, Harrison placed his free hand under my chin and turned my gaze up to his. The color had somehow drained from his eyes, making them a pale, watery green. The smoky smell intensified, and what little part of me that hadn't been inundated by Harrison's magic cringed in anticipation of being bitten.

And then he kissed me.

The sheer shock of it allowed me to shove more of his influence away, just enough to let me struggle in his arms. I felt a small but sharp nick of pain on my lower lip, and dimly recognized the faint taste of blood in my mouth. Aside from the bloodshed, Harrison was quite a talented kisser--I'm sure he had a lot of practice with the never-ending parade of models and Hollywood starlets the man dated. Yet aside from the spell I felt nothing, none of the fire and emotion I felt with Lex. This was empty, hollow. Fake.

I managed to turn my head away and break the kiss, but the vampire took that as an opportunity to plunge his fangs into my exposed throat. I shuddered and my legs went weak at the knees as another wave of power rushed through me. I didn't think it possible, but the sensation was even stronger than Simon's bite had been. The realization frightened me. I'd let Simon bleed me into unconsciousness, would I let Harrison bleed me to death?

Harrison moaned against me, like a diner appreciating exquisite cuisine, and I gathered my resolve to fight. His effect on me was magic, nothing more, and having experienced it before I was pretty sure I could fight it off if I concentrated hard enough. Focusing on the memory of Lex's voice telling me not to let the vampire bite me, I gathered a wave of energy and shoved Harrison away with my shields. The energy fizzled and faded after a moment, as I was too scattered to concentrate enough to keep them up, but they'd helped. Harrison stared at me, almost slack-jawed with amazement, and I took the opportunity to haul back and slap him hard.

"I. Am not. For dinner," I informed him, my voice weak and breathy. Staggering away, I backed toward the bedroom. It made no sense to try and head for the hallway--I'd only run right into the security guards and I doubt they'd be sympathetic to my plight.

"How did you do that?"

"Magic," I said snidely.

"You severed the spell, that's not possible." The vampire glided toward me, the expression on his face reminiscent of a scientist studying a specimen under a microscope. I turned to bolt into the relative safety of the bedroom, but he moved with frightening, unnatural speed and caught my arm, hauling me back against him.

"It is too possible, you're just used to easy women." Wriggling and squirming, I tried to fight my way out of his iron grip. The stench of vampire magic rose around me so strong that my eyes watered, and it triggered a sneezing fit. Either it's difficult to bite a girl who's sneezing like someone with cat allergies standing in an animal shelter, or Harrison was just too shocked by the reaction to respond, because my neck remained fang free long enough for me to manage to put up my shields and shove him away again.

Like a terrified bunny I bounded through the doorway to the bedroom and cut to my left, through the closet and into the bathroom. Slamming the door behind me, I locked it and turned to my reflection to see how bad the damage was. My throat hadn't been ravaged or anything, but there were definitely two bleeding holes in the side of my neck that would make a horror film director proud. With some arterial spray I'd qualify for a Tarantino movie.

"Catherine!" Harrison called from the other side of the door. The knob jiggled but refused to open. Thank goodness the man demanded quality construction in his buildings. I wiped my right hand over the wounds and placed my open palm flat against the door, drawing a sloppy protective pentacle.

"
Open only for light and life, seal thyself from death and blight
," I breathed a quick impromptu spell. The smeared symbol glowed brilliant white for an instant, burning its image into the wood. An indignant, inhuman howl sounded from the other side of the door, and I drew myself up in satisfaction.

"I am not on the menu,"
I yelled at the very top of my lungs. "Now get the fuck out!" Deciding to make my point clearer, I grabbed the nearest bottle of bath oils and hurled it at the door (after I'd backed away far enough to avoid the glass that exploded everywhere on impact). "Out, out,
OUT!"
I screeched, throwing another bottle with each word. The room filled with a horrid mix of floral scents, but I was really more concerned with the scent of dying embers that seeped in under the bottom of the door. It rattled on its hinges but stayed shut, and a long string of curses followed. I responded to said string of curses with one of my own, a parade of colorful metaphors commenting on Harrison's parentage, breeding, manners and various suggestions of just what he could go do with himself.

Sitting as far as I could from the door, I snatched up a washcloth and held it to the side of my neck to staunch the bleeding, and then curled up and hugged my knees to my chest. I supposed it was a petty female thing to hide in the bathroom and throw things, but if being a petty female kept me from being on the dinner menu then I was all for it. Course I had no idea what I'd do when someone managed to open the door. I'd deal with that problem when it occurred.

Chapter Seventeen

The spell proved powerful enough that it kept out maintenance men as well as vampires, which made me wonder what sort of people Harrison hired to maintain his building. It didn't help their cause that the hinges were on my side of the door. As far as I could tell, no one with an impure heart was getting through the door thanks to my improvised spell, and a magical locksmith with a pure soul is something you just don't find advertised in the yellow pages.

I'd made a good choice by picking the bathroom to barricade myself in. I had water, a toilet, plenty of fluffy towels, and my toothbrush. My fat ass could use a day or two of starvation, so I was all set. After arranging a nest of towels into a makeshift bed, I fell asleep on the floor. Insistent knocking woke me from a deep and dreamless sleep, and I mumbled several unkind suggestions in the direction of the noise. Blearily I glanced at my watch and noted that I'd been left in peace for several hours, a pleasant surprise.

"Cat, honey? You okay?" a familiar voice drawled from the other side of the door.

"Lex?" I squeaked.

"Yeah it's me. You gonna let me in?"

I fought back the urge to leap to my feet and throw the door open. Was this a trick? A sneaky ploy by one of Harrison's minions to get me to open the door? Wouldn't surprise me. I approached the door and sniffed it--the air was still so thick with vampire magic it triggered a sneezing fit. "How do I know it's really you?"

"Should I slip my driver's license under the door?" he asked.

"No. How'd you get here?"

"Drove."

"That's not what I meant." The man was irritating enough to be Lex, that much was sure. "How'd you get past Dracula and his thugs?" Images of Lex opening up a can of whup-ass inspired by the many blockbuster action movies I'd seen zoomed through my thoughts. Maybe it was my lucky day and Lovely Laura had lost her head, literally.

A chuckle sounded on the other side of the door, and I pictured him smiling and shaking his head. "They had to let me in to check on the health of the Titania. Kinda like havin' a search warrant. Now are you goin' to open the door or am I goin' to have to pick the lock?"

"I want proof you're really you."

"Thought you might say that. I have chocolate chip pancakes for you."

I unlocked the door.

Lex grinned at me as he leaned against the dressing table, looking out of place surrounded by the girly glass perfume bottles and the lighted mirror. Of course I did the sensible, composed thing, and threw my arms around him and kissed him as though I was afraid he'd disappear when I stopped.

"It's okay, honey, you're all right," he murmured once he pulled away. With an enormous amount of effort I swallowed the urge to burst into tears and buried my face into his chest. Lex continued to murmur to me for a few more moments as he held me close, until he finally turned his head and spoke to someone standing in the doorway to the bedroom.

"She's leaving with me." There was a steely, almost frightening tone in his voice. It was so different from his normal easygoing drawl that if I hadn't been pressed against him I wouldn't have known it was Lex talking. I turned to see who was the intended target of the scary voice, and a rush of anger sizzled through me as I spotted Harrison. The vampire was dressed in a new expensive suit, and he watched us with an intrigued expression. Said expression turned to surprise when I moved with speed that shocked even me, snatched up the nearest perfume bottle, and hurled it at him. The delicate glass cylinder shattered upon impact and splattered the front of his suit with a strong, obnoxious floral scent.

"You son of a--"

Lex grabbed hold of me and prevented me from showering the head vamp with more perfume retribution. That didn't stop me from cussing Dracula out though, and two light bulbs exploded over the dressing table, victims of my fury.

"You said you wouldn't bite me," I snapped.

"No, I said I wouldn't harm you, and I haven't." Harrison made a great show of slowly brushing away the remnants of the bottle, refusing to let his calm be ruffled. Turning me toward him, Lex peered at my bloodstained clothes and the twin bruises on my neck, and then he ran his fingers over the marks to better gauge how bad they were. I resisted the urge to flinch, but honestly it didn't hurt a great deal. Harrison's bite had been fairly neat and the holes had healed shut. Normally a wound that small would've been completely healed by now, but I had a feeling that because magic was involved it interfered with the healing process.

"This looks like harm to me," Lex accused.

"Miss Baker suffered no permanent damage. She is not leaving with you, because she agreed to stay here until the full moon. You are only here to observe her condition, as was agreed. Though I must admit after tasting her blood I'm considering keeping her as a pet," the vampire commented, his tone as casual as if he were remarking about the weather.

"Oh hell no." There was no way I was allowing myself to be signed up as a permanent menu addition. Ever.

"Catherine is Titania for the Midwest. She serves Faerie, not you. You can't keep her here once the agreed upon time is over."

"Miss Baker has not been officially appointed Titania as of yet. That makes her fair game. Besides, she may very well wish to stay once the time is over."

"I'm not anybody's game," I growled. Harrison ignored me, and it made me long for my lighter. I bet he'd respect me more after I lit his undead ass on fire. Temper sizzled through me and the rest of the bulbs around the mirror began to flicker and buzz ominously.

Before I could continue destroying innocent lighting fixtures, Lex drew me against him and gave my arms a squeeze to remind me to control myself. "This isn't a fight you want to pick, Harrison. You already put her clan on the warpath, and they can wipe out every vampire from here to Miami if you give them reason to."

"But they won't, not for a cousin, and someone who hasn't yet been crowned Titania." The vampire smiled, a sly expression that made my stomach roil and my fists clench. "Miss Baker stays here for now."

"For now," Lex replied. "But Catherine is my soul mate, and when your agreement is over, she'll be leaving with me. If I hear that you laid a hand on her during her stay, I'm gonna take it personal."

"Is this true?" Harrison raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes," I answered. The vampire looked royally annoyed by my statement, and I had absolutely no sympathy for him.

We glared at each other in strained silence, but then he shrugged nonchalantly at the idea. "Very well. Catherine will continue to enjoy my hospitality for now, after which I will return her to you."

"Your hospitality hasn't been up to par, Harrison," Lex warned, cutting me off before I could launch into a hailstorm of expletives.

"A lapse in judgment, for which I apologize. You have my word that Miss Baker will not be harmed or bitten against her will." It wasn't much, but it was something. I turned my attention back to Lex and stared up at him.

"You'll be okay, sugar. I'll see you soon, I promise," he said softly. Something in his eyes made me want to burst into tears, and I choked the feeling down. All I could manage was a nod and a weak smile. Lex turned toward Harrison, looking grim and determined. "Don't cross me, Harrison. You don't want to pick this fight."

"Duly noted. Now if you would be so kind..." The vampire extended an arm toward the exit.

After a long parting kiss Lex walked away from me, and for a tense moment it looked as though he was going to take a swing at Harrison. Instead he kept his temper in check and glared at the vampire. "If you put your hands on her again, I will end you," he said, his voice so low I could barely hear it across the room.

Without waiting for a reply Lex turned and disappeared from my sight. Harrison followed, leaving me alone and unsure of just what to do with myself. Since I was already in the closet I decided now was as good a time as any to grab a new change of clothes, as the sensible blue suit I'd chosen for dinner last night was a tad bit on the rumpled and bloodstained side. Yet another outfit I'd been extra hard on--guess I wasn't a friend to fashion anymore. Not that I had ever been in the first place, but until recently my previous clothing destruction experiences had all been of the tragic waitressing-accident variety.

There was still not a pair of blue jeans in sight and it was downright un-American. If I was going to be trapped in the tower, I needed comfortable pants. I stood with my hands on my hips and surveyed the selection. Eventually I heard a soft step in the doorway. Harrison had returned.

"I'm not talking to you," I informed him.

"Catherine, I apologize for my behavior last night, it was inexcusable."

Pausing in my search, I glanced over at him. His expression seemed sincere but there was no way I was going to buy that. Vampires don't apologize for being predators--it's like a lion feeling remorse for the gazelle it just brought down. He must have realized from my less-than-pleased reaction that putting the bite on me wasn't going to endear me to him, and now he was doing damage control. Right, good luck with that one, fang-face.

"Please, hear me out," he said. Emphasizing my displeasure, I ignored him and concentrated on rummaging through hanger after hanger of endless blouses. "I'm not leaving until you've heard what I have to say." Apparently Harrison was still not entirely clear on the concept of "no", and I wouldn't be rid of him until he'd spouted whatever apologetic speech he'd prepared.

"Fine, what do you want?"

"A second chance."

I barked a short, bitter laugh. "That's nice."

"We still have several days to spend together. It will be easier if you will at least listen to what I have to say."

"Uh-huh."

"Need I remind you that part of our agreement involves you listening to what I have to say? If you refuse to hold up your end of our bargain, I have no reason to uphold mine," he informed me.

A chill ran down my spine--I
had
to listen to Harrison, Mac's safety depended on it. "Okay, okay, I get it." Checking the tag on a blouse, I sighed in disappointment when I couldn't find the type of fabric listed anywhere, only some fancy designer name embroidered in a flowing script. "If I didn't know you had more money than some countries, I'd suspect you of being a communist."

"What makes you say that?"

"No jeans. Denim is the American way. They do make designer jeans, you know. Not that I own any," I trailed off. "And exactly what do you have against white cotton socks?"

"My apologies, I did not choose the wardrobe."

"Oh yeah? Who did?"

"Ms. Barrenheart."

"Figures." I snorted derisively. "So what's her real name anyway? I bet it's long, contains a ton of consonants, and ends in -ski." Tossing the blouse over my shoulder onto the floor behind me, I looked for another candidate. If Lovely Laura had picked these clothes out, I was going to be extra mean to them. A couture bonfire might be in order.

Harrison changed the subject, wisely avoiding answering any Laura-related questions. "Catherine, I am truly sorry for my actions. I was surprised by your abilities and I let my curiosity get the better of me."

"The old 'curiosity killed the Cat' story. Very original. Never heard that one before."

"It's the truth," Harrison insisted. "I've never encountered anyone like you."

I pitched another blouse onto the floor and glared at him. "You just aren't used to people telling you no. I'm sure you have at least heard of the word before."

"Well, yes."

Chuckling ruefully, I shook my head at his confused expression. It was likely the sad truth, after all he had been raised a spoiled little rich boy who grew into a spoiled rich man. Zachary Harrison was the very definition of privileged. I doubted there were many people with enough spine to refuse him anything.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure all the girls just throw themselves at your feet and are more than eager to open a vein for you. Not this girl."

"Which is what I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"How you can be immune." Slowly Harrison stepped toward me, cautious not to spook me. I watched him like a bunny eyeing a snake, but I resisted the urge to bolt since just moments ago he had given his word to Lex that I wouldn't be harmed, and I didn't think he was going to go from businessman to oathbreaker in that short a time span.

"May I?" he asked.

"May you what?"

"A small touch, nothing more."

With Mac's continued safety in my thoughts, I nodded a grudging reply, and Harrison reached out and took my hand in his. I felt a sizzle of spell at the contact, but I was prepared for it and pushed his magic back and refused to let it affect me. The vampire seemed amazed by this and turned my hand over, peering at it as though my skin would reveal some vital clue as to why I hadn't been reduced to a panting puddle of lust on the floor.

"Here's a hint: magic," I explained, drawing my hand away.

"I have encountered witches before. I also deal with sorceresses on a regular basis, in fact. Nothing like this has ever occurred."

"How many of them hated vampires?"

"None, I suspect."

"There you go."

For a moment we sized each other up. I was surprised he wasn't angry about it--I almost expected a frustrated temper tantrum, but Harrison seemed too polite for that. Instead he tilted his head to the side, looked me up and down, and then picked out a deep green silk blouse and held it out to me. It was the most acceptable shirt I'd seen thus far, but I tossed it over my shoulder and added it to the pile. I grabbed a white cotton shirt instead.

"I'm not buying the apology, Harrison. You wanted to butter me up and put the orgasmo bite on me so I'd be all about your fiendish master plan and get you the faerie hook-up. The bite backfired and now you've dug yourself into a pretty deep hole. I don't think you can climb out of this one."

"I'm willing to try," he said, sounding awfully sincere. As if punctuating his good intention Harrison handed me a pair of plain black pants and loafers, exactly the sort of clothing I was looking for next.