La Luxure: Discover Your Blood Lust (14 page)

Chapter Nine

Wedged between a group of hipsters and
screaming tourists, Julia somehow managed to hold down their spot
on the crowded curb while Dave, Beth, and Mike went back to the bar
to get drinks and use the restroom. By some stroke of unimaginable
luck, they'd happened to find a section of Decatur that wasn't
completely elbow-to-elbow packed, but the curb edge where Julia
stood was still prime real estate.

She was thankful for her oversized wig. It
had deterred two screeching women from trying to reach over her
shoulder for beads. They now stood beside her, beer sloshing from
plastic cups as they strained and clawed at the marchers in the
parade, trying to get their cut of the booty.

Julia was glad to be alone. It gave her the
opportunity to enjoy the parade without the distraction of her
associates. Beth was fine, but Mike was an ass and Dave liked to
stand way too close. The feeling that they were on a "date" had
intensified once they left the bar. On the walk over, the foursome
paired off and Dave attempted to charm her the entire time.

Even though she could certainly benefit from
a man's touch, she had decided against following Clare's advice to
sleep with him. She knew for certain he was not the love the
fortune teller had spoken of, and would feel guilty having
meaningless sex with him when he was clearly looking for more.

Besides, there was only one man she wanted to
be under right now, but there was zero chance of that
happening.

And unfortunately, unless she did something
to stop it, the evening was leading up to that one, horribly
awkward moment where Dave leans in for a kiss and she would have to
reject him. She wasn't looking forward to it. Maybe she should have
blown him off, after all. Now it felt like she was leading him
on.

Through a break in the floats, and past
dancers wearing black capes and pale, cake face makeup, Julia
suddenly caught a glimpse of Armand, standing isolated across
Decatur and looking dashing in late 18th century costume.

He was the last person she expected to see
standing on the street. Never in a million years would she have
dreamed they'd randomly run into each other again. And if he'd
actually been looking her direction, she might have worried he was
stalking her. But he was carefully watching the floats as they
approached, his hands buried in the pockets of his frock coat, his
expression distant, like he was more focused on some internal
monologue than the parade before him.

She couldn't help the smile that crept over
her lips. He looked amazing. His dark hair was poofed, powdered,
and pulled back into a ribbon secured ponytail, his blue brocade
frock coat a perfect fit over his V-shaped torso. Even the ruffled
stock-tie and silk, cropped trousers couldn't deter from his overt
masculinity.

With an abrupt shift in gaze, his hazel eyes
swung to meet hers, and her breath caught in her throat. Had he
felt her watching him? It wouldn't surprise her if he had.
Heightened senses were common in vampire lore.

She offered a shy wave, and his face curled
into the most devious smirk she'd ever seen. Even from across the
street, she could feel his devouring gaze cover every inch of her
form.

She wished she knew what part of her he
wanted to devour.

A float with a huge Paper-Mache Death at its
bow rolled down the street, blocking her view. Beads and
glow-necklaces whizzed past her head, thrown from the living
corpses standing on a trailer decorated with dozens of tombstones.
Dark, heavy techno blasted from speakers mounted at the rear of the
float, and a mass of fire spinners followed on foot, weaving their
streaming orange fireballs in intricate, spiraling circles.

Maybe it was the Absinthe, but from the fire
tracers cutting the night air, the pulsing Electronica beats, the
beads, feathers, costumes - her head started to spin and the
sidewalk joined it. It was no longer only the fire spinners that
streaked past her vision. All of the surrounding images whirled
around her, gaining speed until they were a blur of colors and
light. She stumbled back, blinking against the images attacking her
senses. It was like being in the carnival funhouse, only this
wasn't fun, it was terrifying.

Closing her eyes, Julia focused on her
breathing in an attempt to steady the earth. She hadn't consumed so
much alcohol to get the spins. In fact, she didn't feel that drunk,
tipsy maybe, but not drunk. But the earth continued to slosh around
her in an accelerating vortex that was threatening to suck her
down.

"
Vous etes une femme dangereuse dans cette
robe
," Armand's decadent drawl suddenly cooed in her ear,
yanking her back to solid ground. The swirling earth skittered to a
slow wave.

She gasped, partly because he surprised her,
and partly because the sound of his gorgeous voice in her ears sent
pulses of heat through her body. God, he would speak perfect
French. She now regretted taking Spanish in high school.

She turned to face him, relieved when the
image of his beautiful face remained perfectly still. It wasn't the
Absinthe that made the world spin. It was Armand.

"How did you get over here so fast?"

He just grinned, like the answer was some
cherished secret. She was pretty sure she knew his secret.

"Your Majesty," he said with a little bow.
"You make a lovely Marie Antoinette."

"Thanks. Although I doubt she ever wore a
skirt this short."

"She might have if she'd had your legs."

She tried not to blush as she looked him
over. "And you make a rather dashing Marquis de Sade."

He cocked his head and almost
looked...disappointed. "Is it that obvious? I usually have to
explain that I am not the vampire Lestat."

She laughed. Except for the lack of blond
hair, he did make a pretty convincing Lestat. "You do have a copy
of
Justine
in your coat pocket."

His grin broadened. "Impressive," he purred.
"Have you read it?"

"I have," she admitted. "I was both disturbed
and turned on at the same time. It was very unsettling."

He leaned forward. "Now that's something I'd
love to hear more about." Even more heat pulsed through her
body.

He glanced at her drink and took a quick
sniff. "Are you drinking Absinthe out of a plastic cup?"

She bit her lip. "I am."

"I don't think that's allowed," he
teased.

"Are you the Absinthe police?"

"If it means I get to take you into custody,
then yes."

The alcohol was making her as bold and
confident a flirt as he was. Hopefully, it made her half as sexy.
"Arrest me then," she said.

His golden-green eyes locked on her, his face
mere inches from hers. He was going to kiss her and she was going
to burst into flames.

"Julia?"

She pulled back abruptly, shaking off
Armand's spell and breathing for what felt like the first time in
hours. She swallowed hard and turned to greet a confused looking
Dave. "Oh, hey."

"Your drink." He handed her the Absinthe, his
narrowed eyes never leaving Armand.

"Thanks." She had to swallow again to keep
her throat from closing. The men were sizing each other up like a
pair of dueling bucks. "Dave, this is Armand. He lives here in the
Quarter." She turned to Armand. His posture had stiffened and his
face was like a stone statue. If either man had fur, their hackles
would be raised. "Dave is here attending the same conference I am,"
she added, trying to assure Armand that his hackles could
relax.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
All the formality in the world could not hide Armand's disdain.
"Happy Halloween."

Dave actually grunted, not even pretending to
be genial. "Nice costume. So what are you supposed to be, Count
Dracula or something?"

Armand's tiny smile looked like it would
crack his face. "Not quite," he drawled. His hazel eyes swept over
Dave like he was the most insignificant insect on the planet. "Let
me guess, you must be the sales prick from the Gap."

Julia choked on her giggle, covering her
mouth and coughing in an attempt to hide it. Dave glanced at her.
"I'm sorry," she said, clearing her throat. "The Absinthe..."

Dave looked back at Armand. "No," he said
slowly. "I quit playing dress up years ago, when my Spider Man
jammies no longer fit." Obviously pleased with his retort, Dave
glanced at Julia with the most obnoxious grin on his face, like she
was going to pat him on the back or something. Didn't he realize he
had inadvertently insulted her?

"How sad for you." Armand said coolly,
calmly, and with a hint of pity.

Dave's smile dropped and Julia had to bite
her lip to keep hers at bay. He looked like he was attempting a
response, but was luckily interrupted by Mike, who suddenly burst
through the crowd. "There you are. Dude, where's my beer?"

Mike trotted over with Beth in tow. He had
the same reaction to Armand Dave had. He took one hard look at him
and grimaced. Beth on the other hand gave Armand a coy smile and
approving bat of her eyelashes that sent
Julia's
hackles
up.

While Mike diverted Dave's attention and the
brass band passing by in the parade overwhelmed everything else,
Armand turned to Julia, moving their conversation away from the
others.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your date. I'll
get out of your way."

"It's
not
a date."

"Your friend doesn't seem to think so."

"I don't care what he thinks. Please don't
leave."

Armand glanced at Dave who was attempting to
shoot him down with a glare. "I doubt I'm welcome in your little
group."

"Then we'll ditch them. But I do want to be
cordial about it. They've been really nice to me and...I did invite
them out."

He didn't look convinced and Julia knew she
had to make him stay. Suddenly, nothing else mattered, not hurting
Dave's feelings or pissing him off. The only thing that mattered
was keeping Armand within her grasp.

"Please Armand, promise me you won't leave.
I'm not here that much longer. I don't want to miss this
opportunity to be with you." She meant to say 'hang out', but 'be'
just slid from her mouth. It was more appropriate anyways.

His brow knitted together as he studied her.
"
Ditch
them, eh?"

"Nicely."

He inclined his head. "Always."

"Maybe we could just go somewhere they
wouldn't want to follow?"

Armand considered it. "I think I know just
the place."

"
La Luxure
?" The prospect was both
exciting and terrifying. There was no way Julia would venture there
alone, but she'd feel somewhat safe as Armand's guest.

Armand grimaced. "While I imagine it would be
effective, it's not a good idea. There's another bar called The
Cell that's close to Bourbon. It's similar but
less...dangerous."

That Armand worried for the safety of the
others when he obviously did not care for them erased the last of
Julia's fears and confirmed what she'd felt about him all along. He
wasn't a danger to her or her colleagues.

Suddenly, the idea that
La Luxure
was
filled with vampires didn't bother her in the least. In fact, she
was beginning to like the idea. It was intoxicating to be on the
inside of some monstrous secret.

"Sounds good. Let's go." She started to turn,
but he grabbed her arm. It was the first time he'd ever touched
her, and heat rushed to the space beneath his fingers.

"Not so fast," he said, but she barely heard
him. All she could think about was how good his flesh felt against
hers, and how wet having his fingers wrapped around her arm was
making her.

Maybe she
was
drunk. She shouldn't be
this turned on from such an innocent touch.

"It's still very early," he was saying. "The
Cell isn't even open yet. Why don't we enjoy the parade and head
out afterwards?" His voice was this melodic drone in her ears that
made her want snuggle into his arm and just listen to him purr.

"Julia?" He squeezed her arm, and her eyes
snapped open in surprise. She didn't even realize they'd been
closed.

He was looking at her curiously. "I'm sorry,"
she said in a self-conscious mumble. "I just spaced off. Your voice
is very soothing."

He grinned again and slowly released her,
trailing his fingers down her arm in a tingling caress. "You did
hear me though?"

She glanced at the ground, embarrassed that
she was acting like a star-struck schoolgirl. Again. "Yeah, Cell,
too early, not open, stay and watch the parade."

He actually chuckled. "That's good to hear."
He glanced towards Dave and the others. "Why don't you socialize
with your colleagues for a bit."

"You aren't leaving?"

"No. I'll be right here. But if you want to
be cordial, interacting with them might be a good idea."

She flushed. "Of course." Stepping up the
curb, she headed back to the huddle that was Dave, Mike, and Beth.
Pausing just before she reached them, she glanced over her shoulder
towards Armand. "Stay," she mouthed, flicking her finger at
him.

Wearing a broad smile, he held up his hands
in surrender. She laughed, and joined the waiting and watching
trio. "Cheers," she said when she reached them, holding her cup of
milky green alcohol high. "What a great parade."

Beth met her cup enthusiastically, but the
men were more reluctant. Dave had barely taken his eyes off Armand,
who now had his back to them.

"So what's with your
buddy
?" Mike
asked.

"Armand?"

"Sure. Whatever."

"He's just a friend of mine that lives down
here. We were supposed to meet up later to go to this bar." She was
surprised how smoothly the lie came out. This trip was making a
decent liar out of her. She wasn't sure if she liked that or
not.