Waiting in the Wings

Chapter Five

The explosion of movement on stage held Richard captivated. He barely acknowledged the waitress delivering a bottle of blood wine or filling his glass. Kristina danced with verve. She shimmied and shook to the music, riding the crescendos up with leaps, twists and spins. The other dancers writhed in and out, playing a scene of battle—and seduction. The stage smoke and lights gave the illusion of storms and shadows.

One by one, Kristina conquered the other dancers. When she bent her head to take the neck of one, his whole body sizzled in reaction. A sensation not unlike hunger flooded through Richard. The fallen dancer writhed against Kristina’s assault, and despite the provocative nature of the red droplets slipping down her throat—it wasn’t blood.

Amusement curled through him. It was syrup. The sugar tickled his nostrils, but the knowledge hardly detracted from the exotic allure of her tossing her hair back as she lifted her head. A hint of the faux blood turned her lips ruby, but the pitch-black midnight of her eyes—that couldn’t be faked.

Those midnight skies pulled him in, beckoned him to dive into their velvet embrace. Unlike the natural born, the changed always betrayed their nature through their eyes—some turning blood red, but more often like his Kristina’s starry-sky gaze.

Cursed or not, she remained a turned vampire, and her arousing performance awakened the hunger in her blood…or perhaps it was his presence. He rubbed a hand against his jaw. His will wouldn’t allow his fangs to descend—no matter how provocative. But he longed to taste the passion reflected in her gaze—the eagerness, and the energy.

The music changed. The dark and somber threat of the hunters of the night segued into something uplifting. The lighting on the stage changed, blazing brighter and brighter until he was forced to squint. The black clothing slithered off her body and she sparkled.

Diamonds glittered over her skin, shimmering and rainbows danced off the different prisms as the light struck them. Naked, save for the gems, she stood there, arms up, radiant and captivating. The music plummeted and the lights muted, reducing the blinding glare. Kristina looked right at him.

“Diamonds are a vampire’s best friend,” she murmured in a throaty whisper and winked.

The theatre plunged into darkness and breathless silence. Richard rose first, hands coming together in applause, and as the house lights came on, every member of the audience stood, cheering, applauding and wolf whistling. The dancers pranced back out onto the stage, each bowing with grace and playfulness. But the crowd waited for Kristina to stroll back out—he expected her to have draped something over her nudity, but she strutted before the entire assembly, bold, brash and fearless.

They rewarded her with renewed applause and cheers. She bowed twice, waving her hand with a smile so wide and effortless it pulled at his heart.

Happiness cloaked her. Pure, unadulterated happiness. It struck him a physical blow when her gaze found his, and she smiled at him. The pulse of heat, the instantaneous connection sizzled through his veins. She winked and took one last bow, and the curtain dropped.

Show over.

He resumed his seat, finally picking up the glass of wine and draining it in one long swallow. The coppery flavor of the blood slaked some of the hunger her performance aroused, but couldn’t quiet the ever-growing list of questions in his mind.

A flash of movement blossomed into existence across from him. Anton and David whirled as a ruddy skinned creature stared at him with saucer-wide eyes and flicked her tufted ears first toward his men and then to him. Her tail lashed back and forth, agitated like a cat.

Richard held up a hand to halt any action on the part of his guards.

Less than two feet in height, the slender little beast shifted from side to side as though uncertain of whether to sit. She glanced up at Anton and pointed a clawed finger at him. “Go get me a booster seat.”

The vampire stared at her but didn’t move.

“Anton, please get our guest a booster seat.”

“Yes, sir.”

The ragamuffin’s face wrinkled in a frown. “Hmm, kind of rude that he didn’t do it when I asked.”

“You didn’t ask.” He offered the observation with a careful smile. Considering Heidi’s earlier visit, he should have expected the Minion—was that actually her name?—to make an appearance.

“True. But he’s getting it anyway, so I guess I didn’t have to.” She grinned and set a folder on the table in front of her. She hopped up to lean toward the wine bottle, and Richard pulled it away and refilled his own glass.

“Can I have some?”

“Perhaps.” He set the bottle well out of her reach and swirled the wine in his glass. “But I suspect you are not allowed, or you would simply order your own.”

“Hmmph.”

Anton returned with a booster in hand. Richard suppressed a snort of amusement at the vampire’s befuddled expression. The bodyguard set it down behind Minion on the seat and backed away. The imp hopped down and bounced on the seat once before sitting. She shifted, as though crossing her legs, and tapped her claws on the file folder.

“I am…”

“Richard, Prince of New York—giver of fabulous orgasms. I know.”

He managed not to choke on his wine—but only barely. Clearing his throat, he set the glass down. “And you are?”

“Minion. But you know that, Mr. Prince Big Shot.” Hostility and annoyance twisted in the little one’s tone.

“I seem to have offended you somehow.” He studied the large, almost luminous eyes staring back at him, unblinkingly.

“You can’t have Kiki.” Minion flattened her hand against the folder. “You can play, make her happy and then you can go away.”

Not going to happen. A snarl strained against the jesses of his control, but he smoothed it over. He handled negotiations regularly through the centuries—often with despicable nuisances. He could manage an imp. “I’m sorry you feel that way. What can I do to set your mind at ease?”

“Hmmm.” Minion cocked her head to the side. “Leave.”

“No.” He reclaimed his wine for another sip and let his gaze wander away from the creature.

“But you have to. I won’t let you take Kiki away.” The imp folded her arms across her chest and glared. The hair at the nape of his neck stood on end. Nostrils flaring, he scented only the mildest hint of sulfur. The imp was young—very young. Her magic was nowhere near its maturity, which meant she couldn’t set him on fire.

He could afford to be patient with her. “If you wish to bargain with me…”

“Bargain?” Minion jumped to her feet and hopped onto the table. She marched across the wood, pointing a clawed finger at him. “No, sir. I came here to threaten you.”

She was barely a foot away from him. He could snap her neck before she took another step. Anton and David twitched, but he shook his head once, and they remained where they were. “And how do you plan to threaten me, little one?”

“I don’t know. But I am.” She stomped her foot and the bottle of wine jumped. He caught it before it could spill.

He suppressed a smile. She was well and truly angry with him. “You care about Kristina that much?”

“Her name is Kiki.”

“No.” He shook his head, offering her a hint of sympathy. “Her name is Kristina. She may go by Kiki now, but she was Kristina when she was born, and she will always be Kristina to me.”

“I don’t like Kristina.” A plaintive note entered the Minion’s voice.

“I don’t particularly care for Kiki, either. So we are at an impasse.”

“No. We’re at the Midnight Mystery Lounge. She’s Kiki here—says so right there.” Minion pointed to the poster hung on the wall near the stage. Richard sighed. His bride blew a kiss to the camera. If those posters were everywhere outside the theatre… He swept a look around the theatre…nearly every table was full. She packed the house with her performance.

“Very well.” He could concede this to the little creature and perhaps draw her attention back to the file folder. But the moment his gaze touched on it, Minion leapt backwards and gripped the manila folder tightly. Pretending innocence, he lifted his brows. “Problem?”

“You can’t look at this.” She hugged the folder to her chest.

“Okay.” He nodded agreeably and glanced at the stage. He resisted looking at his watch. Kristina told him she would join him after the show. So where was she?

“She’s probably washing off her makeup and dancing with the girls. But she’s coming. She told me to wait for her here.” The imp spoke with the defiant air of one who wouldn’t have joined him otherwise.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” He could appreciate the affection.

“I love her. She’s my best friend. I won’t let you take her away.” The trembling lower lip spoke volumes for the imp’s emotional investment.

“I love her too.” Why the hell he was confessing this to Minion, he didn’t know. But maybe it would make her feel better about the whole situation—particularly if it turned her into his ally. He leaned forward, hands on the table. “I have loved her for a very long time and missed her for far too long. We were happy together.”

“Yeah?” Minion’s nose wrinkled and her ears swiveled forward, her attention focused on him. “Then where have you been for the last fifty years?”

“That’s an awesome question.” Kiki strolled around the edge of the booth and leaned against Minion’s side of the booth, arms folded and chin lifted. “I know we knew each other. I didn’t know that last night, but I know it now. So where have you been all my life, Richard? And why the hell don’t I remember you?”

Her heart had raced from the moment she stepped on the stage until the final curtain dropped. She’d dreamed of stepping up center stage, taking lead and bringing the house down. But taking control also meant bearing the brunt of the responsibility. The sheer joy she took in dancing couldn’t quite overcome the nervous zing. The improvised show went darker than she expected, but “hunting” her sisters on that stage felt good.

Good and right.

Richard had watched her from the audience. Even in the uneven darkness, her gaze found him unerringly. He drew her like the proverbial moth to his incandescently cold flame—why the hell do I think of him as cold? His passion consumed her, searing heat and unquenchable lust. In the audience, however, a deep inner light shimmered about him—blazing brighter than anyone else. Her mock hunger toward the end became very real and, if she’d possessed actual fangs, she would have sunk them into Britta’s neck.

She lingered longer backstage, apologizing to her friend, and delayed her meeting. She might have skipped it altogether, but when she peeked out into the post-show audience, she saw Minion at his table.

Halfway to the table, uneasiness and questions had swirled around her like an unstable whirlpool. She wasn’t sure what she planned to say to him—if anything at all.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” Richard’s dark chocolate voice had poured over her, soothing and arousing.

“I love her. She’s my best friend. I won’t let you take her away.” Minion’s unabashed declaration brought a smile to Kiki’s lips. She adored the little rascal.

“I love her too. I have loved her for a very long time and missed her for far too long. We were happy together.” The statement thrust a hot poker into her gut. The heat seared through layers of ice shackling her heart. The painful melt thawed her unease and filled her with questions. She knew him—she’d remembered that much in the dressing room. But he’d loved her for a long time?

He spoke to and about her with a familiar intimacy. Why? The question pounded against the inside of her skull, smacking with every thud of her heart.

“Yeah?” Minion’s voice filled with skepticism and challenge. “Then where have you been for the last fifty years?”

“That’s an awesome question.” Spurred into motion, Kiki forced her feet to move, one in front of the other, until she arrived at Minion’s side of the table. This close to Richard, a wild hunger surged through her. The familiar ache in her gums swelled with a vengeance. “I know we knew each other. I didn’t know that last night, but I know it now. So where have you been all my life, Richard? And why the hell don’t I remember you?”

He rose to his feet in a smooth, artless gesture. A hopeful smile turned up the corners of his lips, but she ignored the lust surging through her insides. Answers before pleasure.

Whoa…answers before lust? Where the hell did that come from?

“Kristina.” He held out his hand, and she studied it and him. Uncertainty quivered through her. But she refused to be chased away—or to be afraid. She took his hand, intending to shake it and retreat, but the feeling of his palm gliding along hers awoke a fresh wave of lust and eagerness. With surprising charm, he bowed his head and lifted her hand to his mouth. The whisper of his lips feathering the gentlest of kisses to her knuckles unspooled her tension.

“Richard.” He glanced up and smiled. Her heart did a little flip-flop. She would do anything for that smile—anything. Kill, steal, maim—suffer—it didn’t matter. With regret, she pulled her hand away and folded her arms across her chest again. Easier to keep from dancing into his arms or throwing herself at him.

“Please, sit with us?” He gestured to the table, and Kiki glance down at Minion. The imp gave her a wide-eyed shrug and bounced her booster seat to the side. Perching on the seat, with one leg out, Kiki knew she could bolt at anytime. Across the room, Stan leaned against the wall. As promised, she’d told him when she planned to head out, and he merely nodded.

Where she typically resented his watchfulness, she appreciated it tonight.

“I don’t know how long I will stay this time.” She lied, recklessly abandoning her plan to get laid. Minion leaned against her arm, comforting and supportive in the same innocent gesture.

Richard sat slowly. Like the night before, he dressed in comfortable, casual elegance in a blue button-down shirt and midnight-black pants. He wore them as though they had been tailored just for him.

Who knew, maybe they had?

“I was hoping you would spend the rest of the night with me.” He poured a second glass of wine and slid the glass across to her. Minion reached for it, but Kiki slapped her hand lightly.

The imp growled, and Kiki bared her teeth at her until Minion giggled. “I just wanted a sip.”

“Uh huh and the last time you had wine, you teleported all of the shoes around the casino, and it took us hours to find them. No way.” Amused, but watchful, the dancer picked up the wine and swirled it in the glass. Her stomach cramped with hunger at the sinfully sweet scent. She didn’t gulp the wine, but the first flush taste of it against her tongue doubled the hunger. Richard watched her with a vibrant intensity in his eyes.

“We have plenty,” he soothed. “Drink all you want.”

“Answer my question, and maybe I will.” Defiance unfurled. No matter how much she longed to drain the bottle, she would pace herself until he answered the mystery frustrating her.

He glanced at Minion briefly and then to her, eyebrows lifted.

“Minion, sweetie, can you excuse us for a bit?” She swallowed the rest of the wine. The coppery undertones coated her tongue like ambrosia. Sighing, she slid the glass across to Richard, and he refilled it with a small smile.

“But I brought you the file you wanted.” Minion tapped her claws against the folder. “I was sneaky careful and everything.”

Ignoring the fresh wine, she wrapped her arms around the imp and gave her a hug. “Thank you, sweetie—I appreciate it. Really. And you can totally go play with my clothes and my makeup.”

Minion’s eyes widened in disbelieving joy. “Really?”

“Absolutely. Anything you want, you go right ahead and do.” She knew she’d just invited a hurricane to blast through her closet and cosmetics table, but Minion deserved a reward.

“Thank you!” Minion bounced, kissed her cheek and squeezed Kiki super hard before poofing out in a flash of light tinged by the faintest trace of sulfur.

“She’s adorable.” The surprise in his voice tickled her senses.

Shrugging, Kiki picked up the wine and pulled the folder toward her. Now that she had it, her gut twisted with uncertainty. “She’s a friend.”

“I can tell. She doesn’t want me to take you away from here.”

“Good.” Kiki nodded once, drinking down half the glass. The warmth in her belly seeped out to her limbs, relaxing the unease. Hunger still seemed to gnaw at her backbone, and the ache in her teeth left her jaw humming. “Do you mind if we order some food?”

Richard’s gaze narrowed. “Of course not—allow me to order it?”

“Sure. Let’s see if you know what I like.” She drained the wine and started to flip the file folder open. His hand blocked the action, keeping it closed.

“Kristina, I have one favor to ask you.” The wild intensity in his gaze arrested her complaint.

“What?”

“Don’t read that yet.” He exhaled the request on a slow breath, as though it cost him to even make the suggestion. “If it is your file, it probably has some of the answers you want—but I am starting to believe that may not be the journey we need to take.”

Confusion fisted in her stomach. “You make me crazy.”

His quick grin made her pulse jump. “The feeling is mutual, darling. I want to answer your questions and I have more than a few of my own—but tonight I just want to be with you, talk to you and spend time together. The past—let’s leave it there tonight.”

What doesn’t he want me to know? “Do you really love me?”

“Yes.” No flowery declarations, no passionate oaths—just one simple word ringing with absolute certainty.

Chewing her lips, she drummed her fingers against the folder. “Did I love you?”

“Yes.” No hesitation. He covered her nervous fingers with his hand.

Her heart thudded against her ribs. “Can I trust you?”

“Yes.”

She believed him. She couldn’t explain why or sort out the tangles of it in her mind, but she believed him. “Okay. I won’t read it tonight but I want answers.”

“So do I.” He squeezed her hand and motioned to one of the succubi. The flirty little bitch came over and gave Richard a fuck-me-now smile.

Kiki growled, but Richard rolled his thumb along the side of her hand, soothing the anger. She pulled her gaze from the waitress to meet his apologetic, if amused, eyes. She barely heard the order he gave to the waitress or the request for another bottle and a different drink. She didn’t calm until the waitress sashayed away.

“Your teeth are showing, my love.” The tease didn’t settle the irritated anger flaming through her. “And they need not. I have exactly who I want right here.”

Barely mollified, she pulled her hand away and drank her wine. “She all but tried to climb into your lap.”

“She’s a succubus. They thrive on sexual tension and feed off pleasure. But she isn’t who I want.” The heat of his gaze scorched her, and her sex clenched at the memory of his pounding into her, the fever on his skin, the pleasure winding through her. No, he definitely didn’t look at the succubus with the raw need he displayed then.

Okay, I feel a little better.

As if reading her thoughts, Richard laughed softly and linked his pinky around hers. She knew she should pull away, but the intimate, possessive gesture unlocked some of her tension.

“Did you like the show?”

“I loved the show.” His immediate response surprised—and delighted—her. “I didn’t particularly like you strutting nude up there, but you were magnificent.”

“Well, I wasn’t completely naked. I had on a lot of diamonds—and glitter dust—all strategically placed. See?” She pulled her dress to the side and bared one breast. Her nipple twinkled, outlined by gleaming cosmetic gems. Lust rippled across his expression and tightened his jaw. His hand locked around hers.

He flicked a look at his men, and they came together, backs to the table. He didn’t want anyone else to see, and they complied, blocking her breast on display from the nearby tables. Not that she cared, but he obviously did. Excitement scrambled through her. Her nipple hardened, and the quivering in her thighs doubled.

“It’s exceptionally lovely.” The strained words sounded forced. Maybe she shouldn’t tease him. If they were closer, she would settle his hand against the breast just to see what he would do. Another thrill skated over her skin. The table wasn’t that wide. She could slide around, lay his hand to her breast and slide her hands over that silk shirt.

Would he make love to her right here? Temptation tingled up her spine, and she squeezed her legs together. Sliding the fabric of her dress closed, she couldn’t suppress a shiver at the whisper of aching need racing from her nipple to her sex and back again.

Just looking at him turns me on.

He exhaled noisily and picked up his wine glass, she claimed hers and held it out. “To unexpected delight?”

“To familiar pleasure.” Their glasses clinked together and she drank. The waitress returned and set out two large platters of food and a frothy red drink. Her stomach growled, and Kiki laughed.

Richard grinned at her and released her hand. They dug in. The meat was exceptionally—downright bloody—rare. It tasted of heaven. The frothy drink was rich and super sweet. It did more to quench her hunger than the food. They spoke little, but he watched her eat with gusto throughout the meal. She refused to contain her enthusiasm. It had been a while since she’d been this hungry and, for the first time in days, she managed to assuage her cramping stomach.

Satisfied and replete, she let him reclaim her hand after the succubus cleared away the meal. The alcohol zooming through her system warmed her, relaxing the post-stage anxiety and filling her with a deep sense of contentment.

“So, tell me, Richard, where have you been all my life?” She meant the question to be playful, but a core of unexpected sadness echoed within the words.

His fingers tightened around hers. “Waiting for you, my love.”