Savor (34 page)

He looked all business in his suit and shades. I set the frame aside and picked up another

one, inserting a candid of Deidra turning down my bed. She had no idea I’d come in and I

caught her with such a peaceful expression. She loved her job. It must have taken everything

for her to set aside being a maid to express how she felt about my scars. I hoped my gift

would show her how much I appreciated what she did for me on a daily basis.

The next picture was of Yana in all her Gothic Lolita gorgeousness, standing in the

sidelines amongst the harsh cords and cables at the Crescent City Today studio. The hardness

around her perfectly juxtaposed the softness of the lace and ribbons she wore. She looked on

at the band as they performed like a proud mother watching a talented child impress the

world. Even in her stillness she seemed to move.

I chuckled at the picture of Dray leaning over his beakers and test tubes. I called it The

Mad Scientist Drummer in His Element. I wished I could give him one of the prints from his

splatter drumming, but those were top secret until the Spring Showcase. Another chuckle

escaped my lips. I’d kept this picture black and white except for the glow in the dark paint

inside the glassware. I specifically picked out a matted silver frame to set off all the grays.

For Demitri I chose a picture of him among his collection of biographies. He sat behind his

desk with his feet up on the table. The serenity on his face as he read could be compared to

that of a monk meditating. In that single moment Demitri found nirvana.

The reason I’d been secretive about the pictures while printing them out had to do with

the one I’d chosen for Phoenix. I’d never met anyone so confident with her sexuality. Asking

me to take her picture during an intimate yet vulnerable moment with Demitri spoke of self-

assurance and trust. I caught her during climax, head tilted and back arched. Her long brown

hair cascaded in waves behind her. I blurred the rest of the photo and only kept her in focus

during that second of complete ecstasy. In my head I called the picture The Rapture.

Despite my annoyance at Calixta’s very existence, I couldn’t forget to include her. I didn’t

have that many of her, but there was one I thought she might like. It showed her retouching

Phoenix’s lipstick at the video shoot. The look of concentration on her face reminded me of a

painter in front of a canvass. I also kept this one black and white except for the deep red of Phoenix’s lips and the tip of the brush.

I stopped at the last picture. The one of Luka. I had such a tough time choosing. He didn’t

take any bad photos. I ultimately settled on the one where he sat on my couch. The morning

sun caught his hair just right, setting the curls on fire. The memory of how his presence filled my apartment and how his fingers tapped out a beat filled my mind and I smiled. If I had a

perfect image of Luka in my head, it would be that moment in my apartment. He seemed so

much himself, so relaxed and unguarded.

With the tape dispenser at my side, I quickly wrapped the frames and bound them with

ribbon. I wrote out the names of the recipients on festive rectangular cards and stuck them to the wrapped frames. I said a small prayer that they liked my simple offering then stuffed the

presents back into the two shopping bags. The sun had completely gone down by the time I

walked out of my bedroom.

The main room was located to the left of the front door. I hadn’t spent much time in there

when I explored the manor. It seemed like one big living room to me with the exception of

the floor to ceiling vista windows.

I took my time getting there, marveling at the amount of Christmas ornaments already

decorating the house. The scent of pine entered my lungs every time I inhaled. I loved it. A

wreath in festive colors hung on every door. Even mine. It seemed they were sticking to the

traditional red and green with hints of gold. Dangerous mistletoes dangled from entryways. I

could just imagine the stolen kisses it produced.

Red silk ribbons brought a beautiful touch to light fixtures. Garlands decorated with fruits

and flowers wrapped around banisters. I inspected a strand when I reached the grand

staircase and realized the fruits and flowers weren’t plastic as I had suspected. Everything

was natural and real. I made a quick computation of the decorating cost and my head hurt

from the estimated amount.

Shaking my head, I clomped down to the foyer. The usually empty round table now

boasted a miniature Christmas town complete with mechanical train. It whistled as it passed

the station, puffing smoke. The houses and roads were covered in snow. Fake. Smart move

since no one wanted a huge puddle in the middle of the foyer. Tiny people were positioned in

various parts of the town. There were even a couple horse drawn sleighs. Staring in wonder, I

carefully deposited my bags on the floor and picked up my camera. I’d done this several times

throughout my trek to the main room. Because of all the pictures, it took me longer than the

usual ten minutes.

Christmas carols pulled me from the tiny town. Recognizing Deidra’s voice, lilting now in

song, I picked up my bags and headed for the main room. I hadn’t gone several steps in when

I had to stop. A magnificent, twenty-foot pine tree stood by the large windows. A group of

servants all singing a jaunty version of Jingle Bells surrounded it along with two A-type

ladders. I’d never seen a Christmas tree so big in person. And man, could everyone in Lunar

Manor carry a tune except for me?

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Deidra asked when she reached my side. I’d been so busy gawking I

hadn’t heard her approach.

“It’s huge.” Again with the stating the obvious. “Where’d you get it?”

“Gregory grows them at the edge of the property.”

Sure, because getting a tree that big so far from the city was completely ludicrous. No

wonder the entire house smelled of pine. “How’d you get it in here?”

“Do you really want to know or do you want to help decorate it?” Deidra picked up my bags

of presents and brought them toward the monster tree. They’d already wrapped it with white

twinkle lights.

“I think I saw a squirrel in there,” I teased, finally able to move. The closer I got the bigger the tree seemed.

“Really?” one of the guys said, stopping mid-chorus while the others continued. A lock of

gray hair fell over his forehead when he scanned the tree. “I could have sworn we’d checked

to make sure none of the tenants were left over.”

I chuckled at his consternation. “Chill. I didn’t really see one.”

Placing his hand at the center of his chest, he breathed a sigh of relief. Afterwards he

rounded the tree, making sure the squirrel I’d joked about wasn’t really there. Mental note:

don’t tease the servants
. They were way too dedicated.

Switching from Jingle Bells to Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer, Deidra handed me cute toy

soldier ornaments and I hung each one at varying heights, humming along. A ball of emotion

grew inside my chest. At around this time of year my mom and I would be decorating our tree

as well. I hated not being home with her, but I had to suck it up in the name of my art. My

plane ticket was ready and waiting for the first of the new year. I’d have to make sure to make up for missing Christmas.

Pretty soon, I lost myself in the oddly calming activity of decorating a Christmas tree and

the servants’ a capella group. All the ornaments looked expensive. The glass balls had gold

specks on them. Crystals studded the candy canes. At our house, we made our own

ornaments. The Lunar Manor tree felt impersonal to me until Deidra started handing me

mini gilt frames with pictures in them.

I smiled down at a blond boy with bright blue eyes. “Is this Luka?”

“Yes.” Deidra sidled closer. “I believe that was during his fifth birthday.”

Someone had neglected to wipe his mouth that day. He had what looked like chocolate or

jam smeared all over his face. I just wanted to hug him and kiss the top of his cherub head.

Hard to believe what a rock star he’d become today. Bossy. Overprotective. Sometimes

inappropriate. Sexual harassment should be his middle name. Yet he had his sweet moments.

For every frame I hung, Deidra had a story. The first time Demitri lost a tooth. Yana’s first

haircut. Dray’s first microscope. I wasn’t surprised by that one. Being a mad scientist meant

starting young. The only person without a picture was Phoenix. My heart twisted for her until

I remembered she wasn’t part of the family…yet. Demitri would be a fool if he let someone

like her go. Plus, I didn’t think the band would survive a breakup like that.

I wondered about the party they were at. Were they sipping expensive champagne? Was

Dray being good and keeping his facts to himself? Was Demitri hovering close to Phoenix

without really touching her? Yana would surely be on her phone or schmoozing some

industry bigwig. Then there was Luka. Would he be charming and sociable or sulking and

brooding in a corner? With Luka I never knew what I would get. The many facets of him

could just as easily make him endearing or confusing, depending on his mood. Either way, he

reminded me of a diamond. Beautiful yet tough to crack.

Shelving the enigma that was Luka, I poured all my attention on the task at hand.

No one told me a twenty-foot tree took several hours to decorate. The grandfather clock

standing guard at one side of the room chimed midnight when I climbed one of the ladders.

I’d fought hard for the pleasure of placing the angel at the top of the tree. Since the ladders didn’t reach that high, one of the servants handed me a stick. The angel hung from the end.

At the top of the ladder, I reached out with the stick. My tongue darted out of my mouth,

hooking at the corner of my lips. Not quite reaching the top of the tree, I leaned forward

further, kicking my leg out to give me the extra inches. I felt all the servants staring up at me with bated breath. A couple of guys stood by the ladder just in case.

I concentrated on my task, pushing thoughts of falling to my death out of my mind. I’d had

so much fun decorating the tree. It was my favorite part of Christmas besides opening

presents.

Almost got it. I leaned in a little further. “Got it!”

“Dakota!”

Luka’s bark distracted me from my precarious balancing act. My foot slipped. Screams

followed.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Distress

Time crawled when plummeting to your death. My hands groped for the air in front of me.

Beyond my fingers, the white angel I’d successfully planted atop the tree. If I’d done

something good in life before I died, I’d want that to be it.

Falling from a fifteen foot ladder didn’t take more than a few seconds. I hardly yelped

when I closed my eye, waiting for the impact my soft body would make with the hard ground.

Instead of brain splattering, I landed with an
oomph
into someone’s arms. On reflex, I wrapped my arms around my hero’s neck and opened my eye. One of the burly servants

who’d kept the ladder steady while I climbed it carried me princess style now.

“Thanks,” I said through the frantic beating of my heart.

Before the guy could respond to my gratitude, another pair of hands yanked me out of his

arms. My protest died in my throat when Luka’s scent went in with my inhale. I froze. In fact, everyone froze. My gaze locked on the demon mask Luka’s expression had become.

“How dare you allow her to help in this meaningless task?” he hissed through his teeth.

The servants all flinched away, their heads bowed.

“Luka, I’m sure they didn’t mean it that way,” Yana said from somewhere. I only saw her

in an all-black ensemble when Luka whirled us around so he could hiss at her.

“Shut up, sister.”

The infallible Yana cringed away. The rest of the band stood shocked behind her.

I had to salvage the situation, so speaking seemed like the smart thing to do. “Yana’s right.

I was the one who wanted to help.”

He growled down at me. Like literally growled like a dog with bared teeth and all. For a

second I had another Beauty and the Beast moment.

At my silence, Luka returned his attention to the poor servants. “You’re all fired!” His

voice bellowed within the cavernous main room. I half expected plaster from the ceiling to

fall, he’d been so loud.

“Luka!” Demitri barked too. “Think about what you are doing.”

“What the hell?” I said at the same time. “Are you crazy?”

Luka locked gazes with me again before he stomped out of the main room with ground

eating strides. With my height, I at least thought he would have a hard time, but it seemed I

weighed feather-light in his arms. Only when he took the grand staircase two steps at a time

did I notice he wore a white tuxedo with a black tie and lapels. Despite the insane anger on

his face, he looked extra hot this evening.

I snapped myself out of admiring him. This night would not end well if I didn’t stand up

for myself. Luka was acting all kinds of crazy and I wasn’t about to let him bulldoze through

one of my favorite Christmas activities.

Puffing up my chest, I said, “Luka, I swear, if you don’t put me down…”

He snorted at the threat in my voice.

Anger rising my hackles, I thumped him in the center of the chest. My fist bounced off