My Book Read online

  Though there had once been an incident with Drusilla at Zinnia’s diner years ago, almost right when my sisters and I had first arrived in Blue Moon Bay, when she’d bumped into me and for a woman normally so refined and regal she’d literally stuttered her way through a bizarre apology that’d even included a bow.

  I’d simply stood there in silence, too shocked by her odd behavior to attempt speech. It’d never happened again, but now if I ever encountered Drusilla in town she gave me a wide berth and would never even look me in the eye.

  Shaking off this strange malaise that kept gripping me with a firm shake of my head, I turned and inhaled, intending to speak with Giles for the first time. To ask a question, or maybe offer an apology for my offness tonight, but my words died on my tongue when I realized the butler had vanished like a wraith, just as his master had done not too long ago. I was alone in the parlor.

  I worried my bottom lip, there was something so strange about all of this. I didn’t feel unsafe though, and that was the oddest part. There was a comforting familiarity here that I couldn’t place my finger on.

  But it didn’t seem abnormal for me to walk over to the shelf of romance novels, or even that my eyes latched onto one in particular. A black bound and smallish book with gold script on its spine. Of all the books on the shelf, this was the only one that actually looked as though it’d been well read. And even loved.

  Feeling outside of myself as I slipped it almost reverently off the shelf, I turned on my heel and walked over toward the French wingback chair and sat. I cracked open the book and smiled with delight, because the moment I opened the first page and smelled the musty odor of ancient paper I felt home. But then when I read the title my grin stretched even further.

  This was a first edition print of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. My absolute favorite book in the entire universe.

  “There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.”

  I gasped, and glanced up. Shame and embarrassment burning in my cheeks at the sound of Dracula’s silky voice speaking the words to me.

  He stood in the doorway, staring down at me like a haughty David come to life. His eyes were deep brown, nearly black, but they sparkled with something I could not name.

  His hands were behind his back and he did not break in his recitation even as he watched me like an unseen predator watching its prey.

  “We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so somber, and a rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was now out of the question.”

  I swallowed, fingertips feeling cold as my breathing hitched. The intensity with which he watched me was almost frightening, and yet, I felt the very opposite of fright in that moment.

  “You…you know Brontë?” I couldn’t believe I’d not stuttered my way through that question.

  Dracula was unquestionably the most handsome and virile male I’d ever been around before in my life.

  A muscle in his cheek twitched and the sparkle in his eyes dimmed. “It was my bride’s most favored treasure. She would often have me recite the entirety of the book to her during the long, cold winter nights huddled together in our cottage.”

  The idea of a fanged monster like Dracula reciting a book in its fullness to a woman he must have loved a great deal was awe inducing to me. But more than the romantic nature of such a gesture, if he wasn’t simply lying to me, was that he’d just called her his bride.

  I blinked. “But…” my mind was a chaos of emotions and thoughts. “You’re not married?”

  I wasn’t sure why I’d said that, or why my statement had come out a question. Heat blazed bright in my cheeks and I glanced down at my lap. I could actually speak to the male, first male in forever that I could speak with, and yet I was being an impertinent boob.

  “I’m. I’m sorry,” I whispered, “I had no right to—”

  He held up his hand, cutting me off. “It’s okay, Rose.”

  I shivered, liking the way he’d rolled the R of my name. Like a tender caress I felt his words glide over my skin like the sheerest satin.

  “You should not apologize for having thoughts. We all have them. They are not wrong. I’m sure my legend precedes me, but I can assure you I did have a bride and she was the world to me.”

  Again my tongue got the better of my common sense. “Was? She is dead? Was she not a vampire like you?”

  His eyes were hot brands, and I swear but the way he looked at me, I knew I was a fool for not being afraid.

  Still he did not move from where he casually leaned against the frame of the door. His legs were crossed at the ankles and I began to fidget with my mustard colored silk skirt, wondering why I’d not worn my prettier outfit tonight.

  Hm, that was a strange thought indeed. I should not be speaking so informally to a potential client and yet, I was exceedingly curious. More than I’d ever been in my life.

  “No, dragā, she was not.”

  I wanted to ask him what he’d called me, but those weren’t the words that came out of my mouth. “What was her name?” I asked instead.

  “Evanora,” he said without flinching.

  I laughed and knew immediately I should not have done that. And now I was quick to stammer through an apology. I held up my hand. “Oh, dear me, I apologize. I suffer from bouts of inappropriate laughter.”

  If I’d imagined he might rail at me for daring to mock his deceased beloved I was again in for a shock, because he did not. Instead, his eyes were laughing. The handsome male simply stared at me as though amused.

  “Do you think her name funny, then?” he asked, his voice deep and silky and doing wonderfully terrible things to my insides.

  “Oh, no. No, no, no.” I shook my head, causing one of the pins holding up my curls to shake loose and drop to the ground. I shoved at the curl that slipped immediately over my right eye. “No, it’s not that at all. It’s only that it’s such an unusual name. I’ve never heard anyone else with that name. You might not believe this but I actually have a great-great-great-great”—I huffed and gave a crooked grin—“many times removed great aunt Evanora. A great beauty it was said.” I laughed lightly. “Perhaps it was her, wouldn’t that be quite the coincidence?”

  His smile that he’d shared so freely just seconds ago was gone now and he was back to studying me like a dark beast prowling the night. I shivered.

  “Indeed,” he murmured softly and I curled my toes inside my boots and clutched at my stomach.

  Goodness, the male overwhelmed the senses.

  The shared camaraderie I’d imagined was gone now and I quickly set the book down on the edge of the table. “Anyway.” I took a deep breath, more to calm myself than anything else, my nerves were shot and I’d not even begun to inquire as to why I’d been summoned as I had by him. “I suppose it is time to speak of the notice I received this morning. You wished my services? You do understand I’m a caterer, yes?”

  For a moment I could have sworn I’d seen a hint of bitter sadness in his gaze. A deep and yawning chasm of such pain that once more I shuddered. But that pain was gone as quick as it’d come and he was once again smiling easy.

  “Of course, madam Rose. The terms are these, I will be hosting an event in a fortnight. A very special occasion that will mark my return to the land of the living once more. The lords and ladies of my,” he rolled an elegant wrist, “community will join me here to mark my reascension as it were. Times being what they are, we cannot drink from humans any longer, but we are still required to consume a certain amount of plasma, but animals work just as well.”

  I sniffed, trying to hide my disdain as best I could. Unlike my sisters I was a vegetarian. I did not enjoy consuming the flesh of those I considered friends. But I tried very hard not to judge those who did. My sisters saw nothing wrong with eating animals so long as they were butchered in a dignified manner. Which really sounded
like an oxymoron to me, but I was in the wrong business if I didn’t at least try to be understanding of the needs of others. Especially vampires, which I knew full well, could only survive and thrive off the restorative powers of blood.

  His lips twitched.

  “I see it bothers you,” he said and I didn’t detect rancor or judgment from him, which made me feel terrible since I’d done it to him.

  I cleared my throat and wiggled on my seat. “Well, no. It’s only that—”

  “You do not consume flesh, yes?”

  I blinked, how had he figured all of that out merely by looking at me?

  “I…” I shook my head. “Well, honestly, no I don’t.”

  He gave a gentle sniff. “I know. And if you do not wish to do this you have my consent to say no, I promise I won’t bite.”

  I laughed, not expecting him to play up his vampiric nature in that manner. Rubbing at my neck, I was momentarily lost for words. “Well, I… goodness.” Then I laughed again. “That’s very good to know. Thank you. I think I’ll be holding you to that promise.” Squaring my shoulders I tipped my head at him. “But I can handle this. I understand that like the shifters of my community your dietary needs are what they are, and I will keep my thoughts mostly to myself.”

  He gave me a look that said he very much doubted that, and he was right. I laughed again, marveling at how light and carefree I felt around a male many would call the penultimate monster.

  I’d been minutes in his presence and hadn’t stuttered even once. It was a minor miracle and if I thought too long on it I might actually weep from the pleasure. I had heard that Dracula, unlike most vampires, had an alternate form. It was said to be animal in nature, either a bat or a wolf. If that was the case, it made sense in a roundabout way why I was able to speak with him so easily. He was mostly animal.

  I hid my snort of amusement by wiggling on my seat. I wasn’t too sure my host would enjoy me thinking of him as a big, dumb, and adorable slobbering puppers.

  “Okay, I promise I won’t harp on your diet. Much. Better?”

  His full, gorgeous lips curved upward and my heart literally skipped a beat. “Better.”

  I couldn’t shake the bloody grin overtaking my face, I’d not smiled this much in what felt like ages. If my sisters could see me now they’d marvel at this creature that did not at all act like the somber quiet church mouse they were both used to.

  “So,” I shrugged, “It’s a coming out party? Then?”

  His lips pursed and he looked like he wanted to laugh again and I got the sense that this wasn’t a male who laughed much or often.

  “Something like that, dragā. I will be hosting at least two hundred, but more likely five. I’ve been asleep a very long time and the curiosity of my reawakening will have them returning in droves, no doubt.”

  Again with that strange affectation, I wanted to ask, but his other statement had me slightly more curious. “Really? You think so? Do you only awaken then when something monumental looms upon the horizon?”

  I laughed at my own silliness, but he did not join in. His look was bold and intense as he said, “Yes. I only awaken when it is time.”

  “Oh.” Was all I could think to say as I bunched the fabric of my skirt in hand.

  “I understand the undertaking I ask of you. This is a very large gathering and it will only be you and I in the kitchen.”

  I blinked. “You? As well? But you’re hiring me? Aren’t you?”

  He grinned. “I find I very much enjoy the routine of the kitchen. Evanora and I often would cook and share meals together.”

  As he said it he glanced quickly down at his feet before adjusting his blood red cravat. He was nervous. And that was… surprising.

  I cocked my head.

  He cleared his throat and glanced back at me with his soulful, nearly black, eyes. “Anyhow, room and board plus fifty thousand should cover the cost, if it’s agreeable to you, that is.”

  My mouth literally flopped open like a dead fish’s. “Ex…ex…cu…cuse me?” I cringed, hating the bloody stutter, but so shocked that my brain had temporarily ceased functioning properly. “That. That…Th—”

  “Breathe, Rose.” He rushed over to me, moving with the quickness that only a supernatural like him could and latched his warm, callused hands onto the tops of my balled hands. And it was reflexive in me to obey. I took three deep breaths. Instantly I felt the twist in my tongue unknot itself. Stunned by how he’d done it, I looked at him through new eyes.

  “Did you trance me, vampire?”

  He was so close I could smell his aftershave and it was lemon and moss and cinnamon, the colors of warmth and spring and I inhaled greedily. In one corner of my mind I knew I should demand that he release me, but his touch was strangely calming and I felt myself swaying toward and not away from him.

  He swallowed, and his eyes turned down toward where we touched. I too looked down, noting the glide of his thumbs upon my flesh. My back broke out in a wash of goose pimples and I had to clamp down on my tongue to keep from moaning at the unbelievable pleasure of his hot hands on me.

  “I had a… friend once who suffered that same malady.”

  I hadn’t failed to note the pause in his words and wondered at them.

  “She often told me breathing was the key to loosening her tongue.”

  He looked up at me and I could read something in his eyes but I couldn’t make sense of it, only that the emotion was a great one.

  “Evanora?” I guessed.

  He went completely still, even his thumbs stopped moving, but he swallowed hard enough to make his Adam’s apple noticeable roll. He gave one hard nod.

  “Da.” He cleared his throat and before I could even blink he brought my hands up to his mouth and clasping them both together, planted a firm hard kiss upon them. Lingering slightly longer than usual.

  Though, I couldn’t claim that I’d ever been kissed so formally.

  That said, he might have only touched his lips to my hands but I felt the heat of that warmth roll through me like fire.

  “Why did you?” I didn’t even finish the thought.

  Instantly he was on his feet and backing away. A contrite pinch to his forehead and around his eyes. “I should not have done that. I offer my sincerest and humblest apologies, my lady. Giles will see to whatever needs you might have. And if you choose to turn down my offer I completely understand. Though I do hope that we can work together in the future.”

  I lifted my hand, sensing his imminent departure. “No wait, please.”

  But he took his leave with an elegant bow and I was left gaping at the space that he’d inhabited just seconds ago. Where before I’d felt warmth and centered, now I felt void and empty. I looked up the empty stairwell for the enigmatic vampire who I’d never met before in my life and yet who seemed somehow so familiar to me.

  “Madam Rose,” Giles deep tone so startled me that I gave a tiny eep of fright and twirled on my bottom, clutching at my now pulsing vein in my throat.

  “You. You. You. You.” Where before I’d been able to speak with eloquence, now there was nothing but the terrible stutter and I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the sudden onslaught of tears that I couldn’t understand.

  But Giles ever the faithful butler didn’t seem fazed by my quirkiness. He merely tipped his head at me. “Would the mistress care for a refreshment?”

  I shook my head, too humiliated to attempt to speak again.

  “Very well then. And will you be staying with us, mistress?”

  I blinked, only now remembering I’d never actually agreed or disagreed to Dracula’s terms. My tongue felt heavy and swollen and I knew that if I tried to speak I’d butcher things, so I reached into my pocket for my ever present notepad and with my wand instantly wrote my response back to him.

  Then I turned the pad around.

  I will need my clothes and to let my sisters know where I’ve gone to.

  “Ah, very good. We will send a courier to retrieve
your goods and leave notice for your sisters. If that pleases the mistress?”

  I frowned, wishing he’d stop being so formal with me. I was nobody’s mistress but my own. Still, he was trying to be kind. It wasn’t his fault that I was such a flustered boob.

  With my wand I wrote out a detailed description of my trunk and the goods I wished packed up for me. Typically Myrtle was the more adventurous of us three, she was the one who generally ran pell mell into a situation without first thinking matters through. And usually she’d wind up in a big pickle that Generva and I had to free her from.

  But I was strangely easy about all of this. There was no fear in me that I was doing wrong, or acting foolish.

  I sensed deep in my innermost being that I could trust the surprisingly gentle Dracula. The male was not at all as I’d imagined, which was both exciting and very, very confusing.

  Giles gave a grunting nod of assent after he read my note and with a quick clap summoned two more very handsome looking males. Both dressed in the style of the Victorian era with bowler hats on and single-breasted suits. They looked quite the dapper gents, but neither of them looked back at me. Their faces were serious as they took Giles’ instruction as though it were gospel.

  I could say this, Dracula seemed to run a very tight ship around here.

  I wondered what type of monster the men were, they weren’t vampire, that was certain. In fact, I’d almost peg them as human which would be odd. But then very little of what Dracula had done and acted like so far was in keeping with the rumors bandied about him.

  “Dinner will be promptly served at seven. Should you care for a rest before then I’d encourage you to do so. You might find we keep unusual hours here. I do apologize for not coming to the door earlier, the manor was only just waking up.”

  I waved off his apology, already forgetting about my long wait in the beginning, which now seemed like forever ago.

  He took me up the same staircase that Dracula had vanished to minutes ago and I couldn’t help but wonder as I walked down the long, plushly carpeted hall if any of the countless rooms belonged to the master of the house.