Chapter 10

I drown my sorrows in the student union bar. Alice has told everyone I left with Lilly, and Carolyn is -

‘I’m not talking to you, Jay ...’

I sip a large shot of vodka with a splash of tonic; it’s my sixth but as usual I can’t get drunk. I feel like murdering Nate and I know he is avoiding me because I can’t find him in any of his usual haunts. Steve is nowhere to be seen either. Is he drinking in some quiet corner because Carolyn has shown him the road? Or maybe they are making up.

The smoky atmosphere tastes of lung. I breathe it in but feel little pleasure from this extra taste of mortality. Then I smell her. I look up through the hair that has fallen over my face but it is not Lilly I find before me. Carolyn looks remarkable in black jeans and a powder blue tracksuit top. Her long straight hair and slender frame are a support beam in the crumbling house of my world.

‘Lilly told me ...’

That explains it. Lilly’s scent is all over her. Human bonding is an interesting medium.

‘I know what Nate did. I think Steve put him up to it. I’d told him about us ...’

‘That must be it. He obviously didn’t take it well?’

‘No.’ She is awkward for a moment. ‘Can I join you?’

‘Of course.’

I move around the crescent shaped bench that curves around the table forming a booth. She slides in beside me. Her hand reaches out and she touches my face. Her kiss is smoked salmon and cream cheese; all the fattening foods I love. How odd; I’m not hungry. Even so I embrace her, pulling her respectfully into my arms. I return her kiss, pleased that the desperation has fled at least for now. Time is once again on my side. Her cheek smells of Lilly’s lips and there are vague traces of her aroma in Carolyn’s hair. I press her in my arms breathing in deeply.

‘Then we are still friends?’ I ask pulling away to look into her baby blue eyes.

‘I hope more than that ...’

‘So do I.’

‘Then let’s start to enjoy being together, Jay. Let’s go out somewhere tonight. Not this dump. Somewhere you know.’

Ah. There it is. Wealth is more seductive than a thousand sincere lovers’ kisses.

‘Amanda must have the best trousseau,’ my future mother-in-law, Lady (‘Please call me Harriet’) Newham said slowly.

‘Naturally.’

‘It’s not as though you can’t afford it, Gavriel, and with all of our finances invested in the new invention ...’

‘Ah. I see.’ My grip tightened on the riding crop.

‘We wouldn’t ask ... only.’

‘Order whatever you need, send the bills here.’

‘I knew you would understand. The wedding itself will be such an expense.’ She sighed. ‘And of course George would never have approached you ...’

‘Let me meet all expenses. I would like also to treat you to any outfit of your choice. However ... I want a short engagement. Will that be a problem?’

‘No. No problem at all, Gavriel. Heaven forbid we let propriety stand in the way of young love.’

Amanda’s smile widened as her mother relayed my generous ‘offer’ when she entered the conservatory a few moments later.

‘Gavriel’s paying for everything, dear.’

‘That is so generous of you!’

‘I’m sure you’re worth it, my darling.’ I returned her smile, keeping my fangs in check.

She sat down in the single wicker chair opposite the two-seater that her mother occupied, while I stood. My hands, behind my back, held the black leather riding crop. My knuckles ached. I would have loved to use it on Harriet’s sly, greedy face. Amanda, despite her seeming innocence, showed no signs of embarrassment at finding herself once more among the plants and furniture, where her mother and father found her in my arms, her breasts exposed and her head thrown back wantonly as I kissed her throat. In fact she was altogether too pleased to be pushed into marriage with a man she barely knew; a man whose generous donations to her father’s ventures could only mean he was very wealthy.

The ring on her finger was expensive and ostentatious and cemented the deal far more quickly than was decent. This did not worry me because Amanda was still what I wanted and her blood on our wedding night would nourish and sustain me the same as her predecessors. She was merely a product of her time, bred to marry well.

‘How soon were you thinking of, Gavriel?’ Harriet asked. ‘We could perhaps bring the arrangements forward to six months.’

‘Three weeks.’

‘Three weeks! Impossible!’

‘It has to be. I cannot wait longer because I must travel to New York to oversee some of my foreign investments.’

Harriet pondered for a moment. ‘It could cause a scandal. People would think ...’ Her eyes trailed to Amanda’s flat stomach and flitted briefly around the conservatory interior. ‘It will cost more to arrange so short notice. The caterers ...’

‘No problem. Do whatever you must.’

I bent over Amanda’s hand and kissed her fingers softly, and then the flush did appear because of the sensuality of my supernatural touch. She wanted me. I could smell the urgency leak through her skin in response to the lust. Oh yes. She would do very nicely.

‘Our wedding day is going to be beautiful,’ she whispered.

The night more so. I could not help penetrating the thought that she wore on her skin like a layer of desperation. It was the same for them all when they had tasted the lust. I could have finished it sooner. No need to spend so much money on trousseau and wedding, but of course the tantalising was such a huge part of the game.

‘Excuse me, darling. I need to change if I’m to be half decent for the reception this evening.’

She was aware of my male odour, excited by it. Reluctantly she released my hand.

‘My! You are such a lucky girl, Amanda. In every way,’ her mother whispered as I left the conservatory.

‘I know.’

‘What is it?’ Carolyn asks, her forehead wrinkling as she frowns.

‘Sorry. Miles away. I was thinking how lovely you look.’ Good save.

She kisses me. Long and hot. I’ve already passed far more bases than the amorous Steve and yet I feel surprisingly indifferent. I open my eyes as we kiss and I notice Alice leaning against the bar, one leg crossed over the back of the other. She looks like she’s joined the army, except her combat pants are too long and they hang off her thin legs and flat bottom so that she has to keep hitching them up. She swigs Vodka Ice from the bottle and throws a disgruntled look in our direction.

Carolyn pulls back. She is breathing too quickly; her excitement buzzes in the atmosphere. She takes a mouthful of air and moves in closer for more. I respond to her. The pleasure she feels tugs at the blood lust and adrenaline pours through my veins in rhythm with her speeding heart beat. As my eyes begin to close - I’m determined to give her the attention she deserves - Lilly joins Alice by the bar and my radar squeaks in protest. She looks stunning. Her hair shines and the odour of lavender fills my nostrils. She looks around as though she has radar of her own and our eyes meet. She smiles, amused. I take in her appearance in one sweeping glance. She has changed into a pair of black figure-hugging denims and a pair of low-heeled black boots. Her hair is loose, tumbling in thick waves around her shoulders. She has clearly showered and changed, so why is it she is still wearing my sweater?

Carolyn gasps. The full impact of the lust courses through her before I slam down my defences. I pull away quickly. I am shaken by the force of my response to the sight of Lilly in my pullover and feel I must exit. My fangs have grown longer again and my control is slipping. I should be more cautious. How can I be so careless?

‘I’d better go ... sort something out for us for tonight. Wear your best dress.’

She flops back against the back of the booth, smiling like a cat that licked up all the cream and still wanted more.

‘You really have to go now?’ She smiles coyly. ‘I can’t persuade you to stay?’

I back away, keeping my eyes averted from the bar and trip over a low stool. I am as awkward as an adolescent boy.

Carolyn’s smile is no longer coy; she seems sure of her charms. She crosses her legs and watches me reverse with a look that resembles a spoilt child getting its way once more.

‘I’ll pick you up at seven ...’