Cake (32 page)

“
Don’t laugh,” I scolded. “Claudius was on his knees begging the Lord Emperor to spare you. Don’t give me that kind of power over you.”

Marcus lifted his hand and rubbed a thumb over my bottom lip. “It is far too late for that. You have had that power over me since you stabbed me,” he told me earnestly, staring into my eyes. “The fire and anger you showed, even though I knew I had left you in agony with a broken arm and a torn portal, stole my heart. I knew then that I would never break you. I had debated for some time over making you my mate, but when you showed signs of the mayhem you are capable of, I knew that you would be mine. All that I did to you, I did so out of my love for you.”

That little speech was not comforting. It was supposed to be, but it wasn’t. I must have blanched, because he pulled me away from the door and back into his arms.

“
If you are concerned about my welfare, Xavier, handle me with care,” he said, dropping a gentle kiss to the top of my head as the car pulled to a stop. “Where is the credit card?” he asked as he released his hold on me.

Oh
crap. I thought back to how I’d thrown the broken, useless card at Claudius during my temper tantrum. “I’m sorry. I must have left it back at Sanctuary, when I fetched the sunglasses.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.

“
Well this means that your spending is now limited,” Marcus replied.

“
All I need is a couple of pair of jeans and a few t-shirts. I could get those at a department store,” I told him.

“
You do not yet have fang control, Little One. I really do not want to have to bring you down from rampage, with this.” He lifted his sport jacket to reveal a stun gun hidden inside.

“
Am I
really
that dangerous?” My voice was barely a whisper as I stared at the menacing device.

“
You would be like an unsupervised child in a sweet shop, with all the humans being the sweets,” Marcus explained as Darius moved toward the back door.

“
Should I even bother getting out?” I asked sourly.

“
This establishment is vampire friendly,” he told me. “Still, need I remind you to keep your hands and your fangs to yourself?”

I shook my head no, just as Darius opened the door to my first taste of freedom in three hundred and sixty-eight days.

Marcus took hold of my hand and pulled me out after him into the bright light of day.

S
ixteen

Shopping and Peril

Following Marcus from the darkened interior of the limo and stepping out onto the sun-drenched street was like suddenly standing in front of an arc light. The unbearable brightness burned straight into my eyes, drowning out my vision like a shower of acid.

Oh fuck, I can’t see! I’m blind again!

A hand caught my wrist and dragged me forward, pulling and leading until I stumbled into the cooler, shadier confines of a store, where my face bounced off Marcus’s strong chest when he finally stopped his frogmarch and wrapped his arms around me.

“
You understand now why I asked you to bring sunglasses?” he quizzed. “Your eyes will take decades to adjust to the light of the sun. Until then, you will need the protection of very dark shades when in daylight. Ah, greetings, Frederick,” he said, turning his attention towards someone I couldn’t see. “Might I trouble you in asking for a cup of…coffee?”

I’d heard the small, hesitating hitch Marcus had in his voice when asking for coffee, and a moment later, I lifted my head off his chest as I heard movement behind me and caught the scent of two humans.

No. No, nononono!

I felt that now familiar tingle in my gums where my vampire canines were beginning to emerge, and it was only through sheer force of will that I stopped them from descending all the way down. Even so, I could still feel that they were visible, hanging just a bit lower than the rest of my teeth, so I clenched my jaw shut in an attempt to hide them, and the fangs curved over my lower teeth. Concentrating, I managed to get them pulled back up so that they were just beyond my normal teeth level, and that was about as good as it was going to get.

The human scent faded quickly from the room, as if they had been ushered a safe distance away from me, and their smell was replaced by that of another vampire, who spoke to Marcus as if he was an old acquaintance.

“
Marcus! It is always good to see you. I did not expect you to come back so soon after your last shopping spree, although I do like your business. And who is this? Is he the object of all your recent purchases?”

I was blinking as I heard myself being talked about. My vision was returning, but it was washed out, almost like when you got your picture taken with one of those cameras that has a back flash red eye option. Yeah, though I didn’t have to worry about red eye in photos anymore because my retinas were now scorched out of my eyes. Every blink I gave revealed a reddish gold haze that burnt into my brain.

“
This is Xavier. He is my fledgling and my mate.” I got a comfort hug from Marcus.

Oh Dear Lord, I’m going to cry.

There was a loud crash from behind us, and Marcus tightened his hold on me, either to keep me from jumping out of my skin, or to prevent me from flashing the fangs I had just worked so hard on concealing. I could feel his chest rumble as he laughed, and a moment later I felt his hand slip down from my comfort zone to an erogenous zone. I knew he was a deviant, but I never knew how much of a pervert he was until that moment.

“
Do you mind, I can’t see!” I hissed at him as I smacked his hand away from its point of flagrant violation.

Marcus was totally unperturbed at my chastisement. “Frederick, do you think we can have that coffee now? It seems my Little One needs it more desperately than I thought.”

“
But of course, come back to my office. You can tend him there without interruption,” this Frederick person replied. His words were spoken in a feminine sing-song way, and even though I couldn’t see him, I swear I could hear his hips swishing as he walked away from us.

I squealed out loud when Marcus picked me up in his arms, and I held onto his neck for dear life as he moved his body first this way and then the other as he wound his way in and out through the racks of clothing I could feel brushing against me. Then I bounced in his hold as he climbed a set of stairs. And all the while I continued blinking back those bright golden mini-suns that were still flashing in my eyes.

I’d fully expected him to drop me to my feet when he reached level flooring, but Marcus set me gently down on a couch instead, and a warmed mug was placed carefully in my hands.

“
Drink it up. It will help with the healing,” Marcus whispered to me. I sniffed at the mugs contents. Blood. My fangs began tingling again.

“I will leave you in privacy, Marcus,” the sing-song voice said, “while I go see to the humans. After they leave, I will lock the store behind them.”

“
You will lose sales,” Marcus replied, concerned.

“
Lord Marcus, the amount that you purchase whenever you come in
more
than makes up for the sparse spending of the few humans who bounce through my door.” Jingle…jingle…jingle.

“
Thank you, Frederick. Please tell Darius, my driver, what you are doing though. He might find it odd if he cannot get in and could come to an unnecessary rescue at the expense of your door.”

“
Oh, for the wealth of the Ancients!” This was said with a dramatic sigh as Frederick moved to do what was asked, the keys or whatever it was he was holding continuing to make the jingling noise.

“
I value loyalty more,” Marcus shot back as he urged the mug up to my lips. “Drink,” he said to me. I found I had to, or else I was going to end up wearing the blood.

“
Of course you do, Marcus. You do not have to scrape by on meagre earnings, such as young ones like me have to,” Fredrick replied. “There is blood in the small bar fridge by the desk and a microwave is just above it if your fledgling needs more.” A bell rang somewhere in the room. “Maybe you could park your limousine in front of my store once a week, Marcus,” he continued. “It always seems that my human customers pick up when you are here. Star gazers.”

“
They are looking for a celebrity,” Marcus said dismissively. “They’ll be disappointed when they discover that it’s only me in your establishment.”

“
Don’t underestimate the power of the House of Du Bussey. Other House fledglings do come around buying after word gets out that you were here purchasing scads of a season’s wear.” Jingle.

“
How do reports of my visits get out?”

“
By word of mouth.” Jingle…jingle.

“
Whose mouth?”

“
Oh…customers…” I could hear the hesitation and evasion in his answer, and then I heard him jingle quickly down the stairs.

“
Drink it all,” Marcus barked at me, and the mug tapped my front teeth. I reached up and took the mug away from him, gifting him a scowl as I finished the drink and held out the empty vessel. He took it from me and set it on the floor, pausing for a moment before grabbing me around the waist and forcing me to lay flat on the couch, pulling me up until my shoulders were settled against the arm of it.

“
I am going to heal your vision, Xavier. It will sting, but try not to fight me,” he warned as he laid a hand on my forehead and began pressing my head backwards.

“
What are you going to do?” I asked, licking my lips nervously.

“
I’m going to make you better,” he replied simply.

His fingers stroked my face gently along my hairline, and then they moved down to pry open one of my tightly closed eyelids. Something hot landed on my face, but most of whatever it was landed in my exposed eyeball, and I felt it start to burn. I jerked my head out of his touch, protectively covering up my hurting eye with my palms, trying to stop the serious stinging that was going on.

I was suddenly winded as Marcus sat upon my stomach and wrenched my hands away. “Do not touch it. Let it work,” he commanded.

“
What was that shit?” I had wanted to scream the words at him, but they only came out as a whimper.

“
My saliva; It has healing properties.”

“
You spat in my eye?” Now that
was
uttered as a shriek.

“
Do you want to remain blind for the next six months?”

“
Just hurry up and do the other one before I get a chance to think about it,” I said, taking a couple of deep breaths, forcing myself to relax.

The next eye stung just as badly as the first one had, and Marcus had to pin my arms to my sides with his knees to prevent me from rubbing at it. I laid there panting through the pain, trying to keep from squirming and whimpering beneath him.

“
Open,” he said, and I felt his thumb at my mouth, pulling down on my bottom lip. I obediently dropped my jaw and he ran a finger along my fangs. “Excellent. You are getting the hang of them. Eventually you should be able to prevent them from descending all together, but this is excellent progress. I couldn’t keep my fangs from dropping for at least three months when Claudius made me his fledgling.”

He gave me a quick kiss, a mere brushing of lips actually, and then he slipped off my hips. I heard myself give a little sad sigh. What the hell? Was I actually disappointed he hadn’t deepened it?

“
Okay, my Little One, open your eyes,” he instructed. “Open your eyes and tell me how many fingers I am holding up.”

I blinked a couple of times, squinting. Everything was still so bright. But then it began to dim slightly, and Marcus swam into focus after a couple more blinks. And then I saw the middle finger he was holding up.