When Cyn Met Emma
Paranormal Haven
November 28, 2011
(Just after DUNCAN’s release)
Author’s Note: At the end of DUNCAN, the big bad vamps are all glaring at each other over the Council table. But did you ever wonder what happened when Cyn met Emma?
CYN TUGGED THE towel more closely around her neck. The fog had rolled in with a vengeance and it was cold in Malibu tonight. She’d just finished a major workout, and not just with Elke, but Juro’s hulking twin, as well. With all the Council members in town for the big meet, Raphael had insisted she have a second bodyguard, even on the estate.
She’d argued that Raphael needed the protection more than she did, since he was the one meeting his fellow homicidal vampire lords. Predictably, that argument hadn’t gone over well, so both Elke and Juro’s twin now shadowed Cyn everywhere she went unless Raphael was with her. Although when Raphael was with her, they had his guards and her guards, so that was hardly an improvement.
But the point was that when she worked out tonight, it had been with Juro’s twin instead of Elke. Elke had been there, but she’d watched from the sidelines, insisting it was better training for Cyn to fight someone new. Of course, the twin wasn’t just someone new, he was someone new and fucking huge! He was at least double Cyn’s entire body weight. And she was feeling every ounce of that extra weight right now. There was, apparently, a huge difference between throwing the 130-pound Elke over her shoulder and trying the same thing with the nearly 300-pound Japanese bodyguard. Her muscles screamed just remembering the attempt.
She could hardly wait to get back to her private quarters and a long, hot soak in the Jacuzzi tub. They hadn’t taken more than a few steps across the courtyard when she was forced to draw up short, because Juro’s twin suddenly went on alert. Without warning, he stepped in front of her, halting her forward progress. Next to her, Elke, too, was staring across the courtyard suspiciously.
“What?” Cyn demanded and peered around her bodyguard’s bulk.
It was another limousine. One more vampire lord joining the party. Okay, this wouldn’t take long . . . she hoped. Depending on who it was, he might rush out of the car and into the house, or he might instead stand next to the car and preen awhile, letting the peons get a good look at his wonderfulness. Cyn shivered slightly in the cold and hoped it was the first kind of vamp. And she wished she had more than the small towel to keep her warm in the meantime. The limo door opened and her two bodyguards relaxed infinitesimally, like a pent-up breath suddenly released. She stepped to the side again, just enough to see who it was. She caught sight of a familiar blond ponytail and grinned.
“It’s Duncan,” she said impatiently. She dodged around Juro’s twin, racing across the courtyard. Her bodyguards were right behind her and then in front of her by the time Duncan turned with a smile.
“Elke,” Cyn said irritably, pushing at the immovable object of the female vampire. “It’s Duncan,” she repeated. Elke didn’t move until the twin gave one of the security team’s hand signs, which clearly said it was okay.
“What the fuck?” Cyn grumbled.
“Don’t blame them,” Duncan said, as she drew closer. “I’ve two unknown vampires with me, and I’m a newly ascended vampire lord. Not everyone takes well to the transition. They were only being cautious.”
“Whatever,” Cyn dismissed, and hugged him. “Are you all recovered from your various mishaps? Every time we turned around lately, someone was shooting you or trying to turn you into a crispy critter.”
“Yes, thank you for reminding me,” he said dryly. “Cynthia, darling, you need a shower.”
“Duncan!” A dark-haired woman climbed out of the limo, making use of Duncan’s proffered hand to assist her. “What a terrible thing to say,” she added, then turned to Cyn with a smile. “Don’t mind him. He’s just grumpy because traffic was bad and he doesn’t like being the last one here.”
“Emma,” Duncan chided her gently. “Cynthia, this is Emma Duquet. Emma, Cynthia Leighton.”
Cyn’s eyes widened in realization. So this was the woman who’d hung up on her when she’d called to check on Duncan after the fire. The woman who’d all but bragged about spending hours and hours in Duncan’s bed, when she’d thought Cyn was a romantic rival. Hmm.
“Cyn,” Duncan warned her in a low voice.
“What now?” Cyn asked in mock exasperation. Goodness, what did he think she was going to do? Start a cat fight in the courtyard? Duncan was her friend, and Cyn cherished her friends. If Emma was important to Duncan, then Emma was important to Cyn, too. Besides, she had it on pretty good authority that Emma might just have saved Duncan’s life in that whole Washington mess.
Not that she’d ever say any of this to Duncan. Instead, she turned to him and said haughtily, “If my sweat bothers you, why don’t you go on in. Emma and I can—” Cyn’s words died in her throat as Emma shifted to let someone else out of the car and Cyn fully appreciated for the first time what Emma was wearing. She was dressed all in black—turtleneck sweater, wool blazer, and an A-line skirt to mid-calf. But the boots . . . the boots were red leather stilettos . . . no, the leather wasn’t red, it was oxblood, and the boots were the most beautiful thing. . .
“Oh. My. God,” Cyn said, eyeing the fabulous boots. “Those are Alexander McQueen stirrup boots.”
“Yes!” Emma turned her foot to better show off the boot’s unique detail. “Aren’t they gorgeous?”
“I’ve been looking all over for those; where did you get them?”
“Online,” Emma said enthusiastically. “You can find anything online, which is great, because I’m really not much of a shopper. Duncan gave them to me for Valentine’s Day, but I picked them out. Of course, they’re far too expensive, so I told him they could count for my birthday, too, but—”
“No, no,” Cyn corrected her, taking her arm in a companionable way and turning her toward the house. “Duncan has plenty of money and what better way to spend it than on you? How long are you going to be here this trip?” she asked as she and Emma walked away from the limo and started up the stairs. “You know,” Cyn confided, not waiting for Emma’s answer, “Manhattan has nothing on Beverly Hills when it comes to stores. Maybe we can do a little shopping after I shower,” she said with a pointed look over her shoulder. “You’d think they’d appreciate a little sweat when a woman’s trying to stay fit, but they’re so delicate, aren’t they?”
“Well, I think you smell just fine,” Emma agreed. “In fact, I think we should go online and get you some boots. I’m sure they—”
“Cyn,” Duncan called somewhat plaintively.
Both women turned to look back at him. He didn’t say anything, just gave Cyn a meaningful look.
“He’s afraid I’ll corrupt you,” she confided to Emma, but in a voice loud enough for Duncan to hear.
“Sounds exciting,” Emma said. “Does it involve wine and chocolate, by any chance?”
“Is there any other way?”
THE TWO WOMEN laughed as they turned and disappeared into the big house, followed by Juro’s twin.
Elke lingered long enough to greet Duncan.
“I’d rather hoped they wouldn’t get along.” Duncan sighed, looking after the two departed women.
Elke grinned in amusement. “Never underestimate the power of shoes,” she said, then gave him a little bow and hurried after Cyn and Emma. She didn’t want to miss a minute of this.
The End