TASTE OF BLOOD

Dressed to Kill

The lights dimmed with sunrise but the dark color of the glass walls left the room in the same darkness. There was a knock on the door and she woke, aware of the large body wrapped around her back, aware that it was daylight in the dim room, aware that they both were naked, and aware that the man wrapped around her had given someone permission to enter the room.

She fought to bring the covers over her but Rad just rolled over with his hands behind his head. The manservant—what was his name, Marco—was pushing a cart and she could smell coffee. She chose to just bury her face in a pillow.

"How is Alex?" The deep velvet voice beside her questioned.

"Sir, he is running around like a young buck, totally healed and finding new talents. Last night he had to go out twice to feed beyond the blood we have stored here. He can sense emotions. Your lovemaking drove him to go and find a woman to help his own cravings. Interesting what her blood did for him." This was all said with the respect in the voice of Marco.

She kept her face buried but she moved the pillow so that she could hear, interested in what was being said about Alex.

"Marco, make arrangements for all four of us to go to Rome. We need to be there as soon as possible. My lady will also need suitable clothes. We can't take a pillow for her to hide her head in." She heard the deep laugh and he moved away from her as he left the bed.

She heard the door close and she slowly looked over her shoulder. She was in the room by herself. She pulled a large sheet loose, wrapped it around her and went to the tray to pour coffee. She put cream and sugar in, rook a long sip and sighed. She lifted a lid and found warm beignets covered in powdered sugar. She picked one up and let the sugar fall over her hand and chin and chest as she took big bites from the confection. She chased the sweet dough down with sips of the coffee. Standing there in bare feet with the sheet loosely draped around her and powdered sugar fluttering around her body she turned and found him staring at her with those pale eyes.

She froze and she shook her head. "Rad, no, we must talk."

He moved across the room slowly, but with his predator approach. He had reached her and he put out a hand and with one finger touched some sugar on her chest and brought it to his lips. "I have acquired a taste for whiskey and I think I can acquire a taste for sugar." He smiled that crooked grin that tore her insides into knots.

"No, wait, please. The others heard me last night. You did what you threatened. You made me scream with pleasure. They would have had to be deaf to not have heard. In fact, according to Marco, Alex did hear us. How can I face them? How can I have any dignity? What must they think?" She gathered the sheet and backed up but he just followed.

He reached and took more sugar to his mouth. "They will think how lucky we both are, to have such love." Again they were on the bed. It was so fast that it took her a moment to realize he had moved her to the bed, and a moment more to realize he had said the word love in connection with both of them. They really did need to talk, but after he got done tasting all the sugar.

The next time there was a knock on the door she was drying herself and she had a large towel wrapped around her, so she peeked out and saw Marco pulling in a large rolling rack. Hanging from it were zippered garment bags, and boxes were on the bottom.

Marco nodded at her. "These are for you. I have no idea what is to your taste but I chose items for your color, for the delicious red highlights of your hair, for the green specks of your eyes, and the soft pink of your skin." He looked down and back up. "I am sorry, I hope I have not stepped out of bounds. I am the trusted servant of Radames and you can trust me with your life." With that he turned and left, pulling the door shut behind him.