The next night, they all chose to remain in the library. Charles found a book to read, while both Will and Irene chose to work on their documents.
“I’ve ordered you a laptop, pet,” said Will as he looked up from his work. “It’s supposed to arrive within the next three days.”
“Thank you, Will,” she said, smiling. “It’ll sure make getting this book typed in a whole lot easier.”
“God, you two are so sweet,” Charles said, grinning. “I just love to watch you interacting. It’s a whole lot better than watching a soap opera or a movie.”
Hiram came walking in with a concerned look on his face.
“What’s the matter, Hiram?” asked Will.
“Vittorio Manchenso, sir,” he said. “I just went to check the mailbox, and he appears to have sent you and your lady an invitation to some party he’s having next week. Why on earth would he have done something like that?”
“Oh yes, I’d forgotten all about him,” Will smirked. “I guess he was more interested than I first supposed, if the plot has thickened already.”
“You’re kidding,” Irene groaned. “You mean I really do have to play that little game.”
“For me, pet?” Will pleaded. “I’ve got a score or two to settle with that man, and this little game might just prove to be the best way ever. So, yes, I believe I want you to do this for me, and I will definitely find a way to make it up to you somehow.”
“Fine,” she grumbled. “I suppose it gives me an excuse to go buy a party dress.”
“That’s the spirit,” Will chuckled. “You two keep practicing a bit. I need to have a word with Hiram alone.”
He stepped off with the butler, looking over his shoulder to make certain they were not followed.
“Sir? Are you sure this is a good idea?” Hiram said. “Vittorio has long been lusting after your death. With bait such as Irene, won’t that make him want to kill you even more than he did before?”
“Hush, Hiram, you don’t understand,” Will told him. “She isn’t bait meant to get me killed. She is bait meant to draw him out. If he attempts to seduce my bride, no one would find me in the wrong for taking his life.”
“That’s a mighty huge risk, don’t you think?”
“It may well be, but I am confident in my success,” Will replied. “And besides, once Vittorio is out of the way, my little pet will be much safer. In effect, drawing out the danger right away is better than risking her through complaisance.”
“Master William, I know that, in the past, you have enjoyed such peccadillos when you were on your own, but endangering your bride is hardly wise,” Hiram insisted. “It’s one thing to take her about town, maybe even to flirt with danger just a little by showing her off, but if you actually take her right into the den of the lion, then you are truly a fool, sir.”
*****
Two days before the party, Will told Irene that they would need to be at full strength when they attended it. That meant they needed to feed.
“We will feed tonight and rest up tomorrow so we are ready to go,” he explained. “But I think it may be best to go to Berkeley this time to find a couple we can keep for a while and feed from at our leisure. Keep them both alive for a few days before we give them their final release.”
“Keep them alive where?” asked Irene. “You said we can’t take anyone out to the resort.”
“I have a hotel near the coastline, only twenty miles south of where we will be hunting. It’s somewhat secluded, and the cabana is far enough away from the units that nobody would hear any sounds from there,” said Will. “The most important thing would be to keep our prey quiet during the day, so they will need to be subdued.”
“How are we supposed to subdue them?”
“Mesmerize them and tell them to remain silent, usually,” Will explained.
“But mesmerizing doesn’t always take,” Irene said with a worried frown. “We don’t want them to be discovered.”
“If you are not confident in your abilities yet, I suppose I could subdue them both.”
“I at least want to give it a try first,” Irene told him. “My abilities must be getting stronger by now. And, as has already been pointed out more than once, with Charles, it’s highly probable I wasn’t trying very hard.”
Will chuckled. “No, I don’t suppose you were.”
“Well, I suppose we should get ready to go then,” said Irene with a shrug.
Will looked at her with a worried frown. “Does all of this bother you, Irene? The couples and what we have to do to feed? I’m sure if I was new to it, it’s something that would bother me.”
“It doesn’t,” she insisted, coming to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “Do you know what I was doing this time last month? The dishes. I had a sink full of them because I hadn’t felt like washing them for the last three days, so I decided to get them done before Cameron got home to take me out to that bar where we met. Seems kind of funny, remembering that and realizing everything that we’ve been through has happened in just one month’s time.”
“Yeah, I suppose tonight is an anniversary of sorts, huh?” Will replied. He pulled her even closer, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “Maybe we should bring along a bottle of champagne and tell them they are helping us celebrate.”
“No, I’d rather not do that,” Irene said. “I don’t want to form a lasting connection, you know?”
“It does get easier, pet,” Will promised. “I suppose it takes time, but it does. It’s just like holding your breath for a really long time. You have to retrain your mind to think like a vampire instead of a human, and then it all becomes easy. Second nature, even. It won’t always cut so deep.”
“I really am okay, Will,” she told him, bringing her hands up to cup his face between them. He met her halfway as she went to kiss him. Their lips caressed, and then his tongue slipped out to take possession of her mouth. Irene groaned softly at the contact.
“You’re so damned gorgeous when you’re trying to be sincere, pet,” he whispered. “But you don’t have to be so brave. Don’t forget, sweetheart, we’re connected. I know exactly how you feel. How you revel and how you sorrow, all at the same time. I feel it in my heart too.”
“Like you said, I just have to learn to think like a vampire,” Irene insisted. “Once I’ve grown used to doing this sort of thing, it’ll be old hat. I just have to get through all the steps between this day and that one, that’s all. It’s perfectly natural for me to be a bit melancholy in these early days.”
“You have got to be the bravest woman I have ever met,” said Will appreciatively. “Brave, beautiful, and all mine. How did I ever get so lucky?”
“What did luck have to do with it?” she chuckled. “You found me in a seedy singles club.”
“Because there’s no way this was random,” Will insisted. “We were meant to come together somehow. I’ve lived long enough to know nothing ever happens by chance. You were always supposed to be my bride.”
*****
Irene shuffled through the ten dresses that Hiram had gone out and bought for her, liking each one better than the last. Will was waiting for her, she knew, but right this moment, she was feeling—decadent. She realized strangers were going to see her body that night, and for some reason, she felt the need to look her best.
She chose the deep red velvet dress, knowing what the little number would do to Will and likely do to their unknown prey as well. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves, and she applied just enough make-up to enhance her face.
When he saw her, Will’s eyes lingered as they traced her curves. However, she was just as captivated by him. He wore a black shirt and pants along with a dark brown blazer. His hair was drawn back into a ponytail, making it easier to see just how handsome he was. Also, he was smooth-shaven, and the heady scent of his cologne sent her nostrils flaring into overtime.
“Will, I’m the one who is lucky,” she said as she came into his arms. “You are, without a doubt, completely gorgeous.”
He chuckled. “I guess I must have chosen the outfit well.”
“The outfit’s just a wrapper,” she grinned. “I’m talking about the whole package.”
As she said this, she teasingly reached down and patted him on the balls. Her naughty little action had him laughing again. “You are so bad, pet. Come on, we need to go.”
Irene latched onto Will’s arm, and the two of them headed out to the van. While Will drove them toward their destination, she remembered something she’d been meaning to ask him.
“Will, with all this sex, I suppose I should have asked by now, but I’m twenty-six years old and not worrying about if it has worked so far. I was wondering, can I still get pregnant or anything?”
“Oh, that,” he chuckled. “Now that you’ve been turned with my blood, I am the only one who is capable of getting you that way. Which, if you think about it, is the most effective method of birth control ever, where other men are concerned. Also, you should know that mine is the only vampiric blood that you should drink. If you drank from another, my blood and theirs would wage a war inside you that would be quite harmful to you. It might even kill you. And if you survived, it is uncertain where your loyalties would lie.”
“Well, then, I should probably make sure I avoid that at all costs,” Irene replied.