Chapter 24-
by Michelle M Pillow & Mandy M Roth
Interview with
Anya Bast
Michelle picked up a
flower from the black bucket and sniffed it. Leaning over to read the
tag, she couldn’t make out what it was. Seeing the florist, she said,
“Excuse me, what’s this one called?”
The man paused, tilted
his head back to see through his glasses and said, “Poppy.”
The man continued on.
Michelle sighed, putting it back. To herself, she muttered,
“It’s…different.”
Flower shopping was
the last thing Michelle wanted to be doing. According to Mandy and
her endless stack of wedding etiquette books, the maid of honor and
best man were suppose to help with all of the wedding details. Now,
Michelle was no expert, but the whole thing sounded highly suspicious
to her. Mandy and Armando decide to get married and suddenly she had
another full time job? Where was the fairness in that? And, to make
matters worse, Dmitri was the best man. Life was definitely stacked
against her right now.
She glanced over her
shoulder where Dmitri stood, looking at a book with a female florist.
He said something and the woman giggled. Michelle rolled her eyes and
silently started mimicking her laugh so she couldn’t see. Edging
closer, she tried to hear what they were talking about.
“Mmm, Sage,”
Dmitri laughed, sounding all too charming. “I don’t know. Domestic
virtue doesn’t seem to be the bride’s strong suit. How about violets
or stephanotis?
The woman giggled louder. Michelle
grabbed the nearest flower, barely looking at it and stepped forward.
“How about this?”
Dmitri turned at her interruption and
Michelle thrust a piece of lavender at him. “It smells good and
it’s…lavender.”
Dmitri’s brow arched. “Don’t you
know anything about flowers? Lavender is the flower of distrust. If
I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to curse this wedding.”
The woman giggled. Michelle
grimaced.
“Well, excuse me, flower boy! I’m so
sorry I’m not a hundred years old like some people. Too bad the
centuries of living didn’t teach you to control your damned temper.”
Michelle tossed the lavender in its bin and stalked to the far side of
the store. A few minutes later, Dmitri was standing by her side.
“What the hell is your problem?” he
growled under his breath.
“My problem?” Michelle shot. “I’m
not the one with a problem. You’re the one who can’t control your
temper.”
Dmitri looked at Michelle’s angry
face. “I already said I was sorry, but you’re brother insulted me.”
“Sometimes the truth hurts.”
Michelle shrugged.
“How come you never told me you had a
brother?” he demanded.
“What? Why would I tell you anything
like that? Michelle frowned. “I once had a goldfish who died and I
flushed him. You think you need to know that to?”
Dmitri’s features hardened. “Because
we’re…were together. You never mentioned anything about a brother.”
“You never asked.”
“I shouldn’t have to ask.” Dmitri
frowned. “Friends just tell each other things. Hell, when we were
dating you never even let me know where you live. You never really
trusted me. Admit it.”
“Why are you bringing this up? It
was obvious we weren’t meant to be. We’re not really even friends.
We’re only here because our best friends are getting married.
Otherwise, we’d probably not even be talking to one another.”
Michelle felt a pain roll through her but she swallowed it down.
“Face it, Dmitri. We’re too different. There is nothing about us
that works.”
“You never gave us a chance. You
kept yourself from me.” Dmitri’s eyes softened as he looked at her.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. Her mouth went dry until she forgot
who she was.
Michelle remembered how hard she
tried to keep her feelings light when they were together, knowing that
was what he would want from her. She hadn’t wanted to burden him with
her emotions. She hadn’t wanted to ruin what they had by talking
serious. Dmitri had been, and still was, a bad boy. Bad boys didn’t
like to be tied down with romantic sentiments and serious types like
her. They liked to be wild and carefree. Didn’t they? As she looked
at him, his eyes full of some unnamable emotion, she wasn’t so sure.
Had she misjudged him?
“Dmitri,” she began, “I—”
Her phone began to ring, cutting off
her words.
“I have to take this. It could be
work. Anya Bast is supposed to call me for an interview time,”
Michelle said. Dmitri nodded.
“Hello?” Michelle answered the
phone. Glancing at Dmitri, she stiffened and turned her back. “Yeah,
Hi Brian. What’s up?”
~*****~
Mandy sat there
staring at Darren unsure what to say or do. He picked up his sandwich
and took a bite, his eyes focused on her the entire time. Her stomach
tightened. She wasn’t sure if was from being overwhelmed by the fact
that he’d appeared at her office less than twenty minutes ago.
He winked at her. “What’s wrong,
honey?”
“What’s wrong?” Mandy’s mouth
dropped open as she thrust her plate forward. She’d lost her appetite
the minute she’d seen him. “I don’t hear from you for two years and
suddenly you show up here, of all places, and insist that I come to
lunch with you. What the hell’s going on, Darren?”
He ruffled his hand through his
brown, shaggy hair and gave her a wolfish grin. “What? You’re not
happy to see me?”
She stared the lycan across from her
that had managed to do the unthinkable—break her heart. Her eyes
narrowed and she knew he could sense her anger, rage, pain from his
actions.
Darren’s face softened. “Honey, I
wasn’t ready for a relationship then. I wasn’t ready for you.” He
let out a low whistle. “You’re a handful you know. I’ve got primal
urges and you still managed to wear me out.”
Mandy stood slowly, grabbing her
purse, and phone in the process. Darren caught her wrist and held it
tight. “No, Mandy. It took me this long to find you. You will
sit down and talk to me.”
“What the hell are you talking
about? It’s not like I was hard to locate. I write for a National
Magazine you idiot.”
He winched, but didn’t release her.
“You moved three states away… no…you RAN three states away and left me
no way to reach you. I stopped by your mother’s house but she
threatened to put a silver bullet ‘where the sun doesn’t shine’ if I
attempted to contact you again.”
Mandy beamed brightly, proud of her
mother’s phrasing. “Maybe I should call her and let her know that you
didn’t listen.”
Darren’s green eyes widened. “NO!”
She laughed. “Oh, is the big bad
wolf scared of my mommy?”
“Hell yeah!”
He leaned forward and touched her
hand, sending heat racing up her arm. She jerked back like he’d
scolded her, when in truth he’d done far worse. He’d made her second
guess her feelings for Armando.
“I should have never agreed to meet
you. I’m supposed to be meeting Michelle and Dmitri at the flower
shop.”
“You didn’t agree. I left you no
other choice.” He said with a sly grin.
She hadn’t realized that she’d spoken
aloud and wasn’t sure how to respond to him now. Mandy had spent
their entire relationship denying they had one and when he walked out
on her she’d been devastated. It’s what set her off on a six-month
“use anything that moves for sex” spree and she wasn’t the least bit
proud of that. She’d thought that her feelings for him had vanished,
having him here in front of her told her otherwise.
“So, tell me about yourself.” She
said, hesitantly.
“I own several real estate agencies
spanning from here to Florida. I still spend my weekends out on the
boat or at the islands. You know how it is.” He added, he voice low
and sexy. He reached out and touched her hand again. “You look a bit
pale. Are they working you like a dog at the Nocturnal Journal?”
Mandy laughed at the thought of
anyone thinking her pale. Every time she stood next to Michelle,
Michelle looked iridescent—borderline translucent. She looked down at
her hands and noticed for the first time that they really did look
paler than normal. It was no doubt from taking on a nocturnal
lifestyle to better suite Armando’s rising hours.
“Mandy?”
“What? I’m sorry, Darren. You were
saying?”
“I was saying that I’m in town for a
few weeks to oversee a few large sales and was hoping that we could
spend some time together… catch up… that kind of stuff. You’re free,
aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not free.”
His green eyes narrowed on her.
“You’re not serious with anyone are you?” The threat was veiled but
there. “How about I pick you up at your place tonight around eight?”
Mandy stood quickly, knowing that if
she sat any longer across from him that she’d never leave. “I can’t.
I’m sorry.” She made a run for the door, but her heels didn’t want to
cooperate with her.
Darren was there in an instant to
help steady her. He pressed his mouth down to her ear and spoke low
to her. “I can smell your excitement, your fear and I like it.” He
licked her cheek before freeing her.
~*****~
“Come on, you can tell me.” Michelle
reached over the counter and set a twenty dollar bill on the
countertop. Looking the young florist in the eye, she said, “I
recognize you as the delivery boy. Now, I want you to tell me who
sent me all those lilies.”
The delivery boy looked at the twenty
and glanced around the flower shop. Michelle and Dmitri had hit every
florist in town looking for the best deal and best arrangements. For
some reason, half the shops in town refused to do supernatural
events—something about magic getting out of hand with the use of some
of the herbs and their insurance not covering it. This shop, the last
on their list, was one of the only ones willing to work with them on
the grand event. She’d been just about to settle on a bouquet when
she’d seen him—the dreaded lily delivery boy.
“Come on,” she wheedled, “you can
tell me.”
Michelle threw down another twenty.
“I…I can’t, ma’am.” The kid shrugged
and let the money lie. His eyes darted behind her back and she
glanced over her shoulder. Dmitri stood there holding a hundred
dollar bill.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“What? I thought we had to pay some
of the deposit.” Dmitri came forward. “Our order’s all done.”
“Hum,” Michelle sighed. “In that
case, I have to get going.”
Michelle turned to
leave.
Dmitri threw down the
hundred when Michelle wasn’t looking and shook his finger in warning
to the delivery boy for silence. The kid grinned and nodded. Calling
over his shoulder, he said, “Don’t take the bus. I’ll give you a
ride.”
~*****~
Mandy double-checked
that all her windows and doors were locked before climbing into the
tub. The meeting with Darren had left her a bit shaken. He was a
notorious hot head who was very sexy, but very deadly. While he’d
never raised his hand to her, she’d seen him lose control of the beast
within him more than once. No part of her wanted a repeat
performance.
She sunk down into the warm water and
took in the scent of vanilla bath crystals. If there had ever been a
day that she required instant relaxation and no stress, today was it.
The phone rang and she reached out to
swat it with her hand on the floor. She knocked it over and saw
Armando’s name on the caller ID. She couldn’t talk to him right now.
Her mind was reeling with a billion thoughts and none of them were on
her husband to be. She knew how powerful Armando was and he’d sense
her distress the minute he heard her speak and she couldn’t risk it.
Armando tried to call two more times
before Mandy gave up and got out of the tub. It was clear to see that
she wasn’t going to get the relaxing soak she craved. She wrapped her
yellow silk robe around her and wandered out to the kitchen to start
tea water.
A knock on the door left her missing
the stove and dropping the teapot onto the floor. She narrowed her
gaze on the door as she stalked over to it. “Just because you didn’t
get me on your first three calls does not mean you need to run right
over here!” She said, throwing the door open.
“Surprise,” Darren said, with a
devious grin.
Mandy’s heart went to her throat.
Unconsciously, she rubbed her hand over her neck as she tried to force
a smile to her face. “Darren, what are you doing here?”
He brought his wrist up and extended
it out to her. “It’s eight, remember.”
“I thought I told you no.”
Darren’s green eyes swirled to amber
as he took a step into her apartment. “You did, but I think we both
knew that I wouldn’t listen to you.”
Mandy glanced at her window
nervously. Darren was acting edgy and the fact that he lost control
of his eyes told her that it was either close to a full moon or a full
moon. Since Darren wasn’t born a lycan he didn’t have the same
control that Dmitri and Mike did. No, Darren had survived an attack
when he was in his early teens and had been left a werewolf ever
since.
“Darren, should you be out and about
this time of month?”
He slid an arm behind her and pulled
her close to him. Mandy put her hands on his massive chest in an
attempt to keep from getting too close to him, but his mouth was on
her before she could react.
Darren pulled the short silk robe up
and grabbed hold of her backside, bringing a yelp from her. Mandy
pushed on him harder, but made no headway with him. Part of her
wanted to shove him out the door, another part wanted to explore her
feelings for him. He’d been such a huge part of her life that it was
hard to think clearly around him.
Thankfully, Darren ended the kiss,
but didn’t let her go. “Hi honey, I’m home.” He said with a laugh.
“You can’t tell me that you didn’t miss me. Admit it, you did, didn’t
you?”
“Darren, I…”
His mouth clamped down on hers before
she had a chance to answer. He pulled away with a low growl. “You
can’t stay mad at me, can you? Tell me that you want me, that you
missed me. I need to hear you say it.”
“Yes, Mandy, please enlighten us. Do
you miss him?”
Mandy froze when she heard Armando’s
voice. Darren pulled her tighter to his chest and growled at
Armando. “Stop it, Darren!” She cried out as she tried to free
herself from his embrace.
Darren eased up, but didn’t let her
completely out of his arms. “Why in the hell is there a vampire
standing in your doorway?”
Armando cocked an eyebrow at him and
Mandy noticed that his eyes were jet black. That was bad, very, very,
bad. “Funny, I was about to ask you why a wolf was standing in your
living room with his mouth pressed to yours and his hand on your
backside.”
Armando took a step in and Mandy
could feel the power pouring off him. He was beyond pissed. She
stepped in front of Darren, trying to defuse the situation. “Armando,
please…”
“His name’s Armando. Why not skip to
the chase and go for a Rico Suave? I’m digging the accent there
buddy. Spend a lot of time working on that. Do you find it off sets
the fact that you’re dead?”
Mandy spun around and put her and on
Darren’s chest. “Stop it, now! I’m serious. Don’t provoke him.”
“Mandy, it is obvious that he is not
afraid of me. Why would you be concerned over him provoking me? He
thinks himself the better of the two of us, should I test his
theory?” Armando sounded every bit as evil as a vampire was capable
of sounding and it sent chills down Mandy’s spine.
“Who is this man, Mandy?” Darren
asked. His voice was deeper than normal and that meant he was close
to the change.
Armando smiled wickedly, letting his
fangs show. “I think the better question is, who are you?”
“I’m her husband.”
Armando stopped dead in his tracks as
his penetrating gaze went to Mandy. She couldn’t help but back up and
felt Darren’s hands on her arms. He slid them around her
protectively, pulling her into his body.
“Have you nothing to say, Kitten?”
Mandy swallowed the lump in her
throat. “Ex…”
“Excuse me? I had hard time hearing
you with you whispering and all,” Armando said, his black eyes locked
firmly on her.
“He’s my ex-husband. We were only
married a few weeks before…” The words got stuck in her throat.
Armando put his hands in the air and
tipped his head. “Before you what, Mandy? Before you realized what a
horrible mistake you made, or…?”
“Before he walked out on me and I
filed for a divorce.”
“I see.” Armando’s voice never
waived. “Were you ever going to tell me of this?”
Mandy looked away, unable to lie to
him, but unsure whether or not she ever really planned on telling him
about Darren. Hell, she’d never told a soul about it. It hurt too
much. It was the one time in her life that she’d let a man in her
barriers and had ended up betrayed and hurt beyond belief. It was the
reason she was gun shy to go through with another wedding.
“Answer me, Mandy. Were you ever
going to tell me?”
“If Elizabeth hadn’t have shown up,
would you have told me about her?” It was petty and wrong to stoop so
low, but Mandy didn’t feel she had a choice. She didn’t play fair
when her back was against the wall.
Armando tipped his head back and
laughed wickedly. His eyes seemed to reflect her image perfectly.
She swallowed down the lump in her throat and felt the hair on the
back of her neck rise.
“Stop it, Armando.” She knew he was
using his vampire tricks on her and she didn’t appreciate it. “Knock
it off!”
He put his hands up and attempted to
look like he wasn’t doing anything. She knew it was a lie. “Kitten,
would I ever use tricks on you?”
“Why don’t you just revoke his
invitation?” Darren asked, pressing his mouth to her ear. “I’m a
little sick of him calling you Kitten and I’d kind of like to see him
be ripped out of the room.”
Armando narrowed his eyes on her as
Darren’s lips swept past her neck. “Yes, Mandy. Why don’t you revoke
my invitation? It would save the wolf from having to step out from
behind you.”
The minute the words came out of
Armando’s mouth Mandy knew that Darren would retaliate. He always
teetered on the edge with his temper and Armando had picked up on that
instantly. He had hundreds of years to learn to control his demon.
Darren only had fifteen years.
Darren pushed past Mandy and moved
towards Armando. They circled each other warily. Each crouched to
the point that they were hunched over and snarling. Mandy moved to
the center of their endless circle and glared at them both. The air
was thick with their power and she knew that the scene would turn
violent if she didn’t intercede.
“Armando, you need to leave.”
Darren grinned as he waved goodbye to
Armando. “Looks like she picked, vamp.”
“It would appear so.” Armando’s
voice was cold.
There was no way she could let Darren
leave. He was too close to turning and she would feel responsible if
he hurt anyone. “You keep poking the bear, Armando, and you won’t
stop. Darren can’t be let loose on the town. It’s full moon and his
control isn’t like Dmitri’s or Mike’s.”
“I am not a bear, Mandy. And, you
never complained about my ‘control’ before.” Darren said, reaching
for her. She sidestepped his touch to avoid upsetting Armando
anymore.
“Don’t start. You can sleep in the
closet for all I care.”
Darren winked at her and licked his
lower lip. “We’ll see about that.”
“Darren,” she said, pleading with her
eyes for him to stop. He growled at Armando as he walked back towards
her bedroom. The look on Armando’s face said he wasn’t happy about
that either.
Mandy waited until Darren closed the
door before speaking to Armando. “What happens now?”
“I would have thought that an apology
would be in order, but you apparently do not think as most do.” His
tone was harsh and his face unreadable. He walked closer to her and a
cold wind swirled quickly around them.
She’d never seen him display this
kind of power and wasn’t sure what to do. The last thing she wanted
to do was hurt him, but it seemed like that was all she was capable
of. Armando put his hand out and lightening flashed outside the
window, followed by a roll of thunder that made the house shake. Her
gaze went back to Armando. Had he caused that?
He smiled, showing his fangs. “There
is much you have never bothered to learn about me, Mandy.”
She bit back the ‘apparently’ that
was on the tip of her tongue and stood motionless. Armando wasn’t
acting like himself and no part of her wanted to play the let’s get to
know the vamp in me game.
“I think it is past time that you
‘got to know the vampire’, cara mia.”
~*****~
Michelle was still
shaken from being so close to Dmitri when she met Anya at the club.
It seemed like she’d been coming to the Raven forever. Seeing Mike
behind the counter, she smiled at him. He motioned to a far booth
where a blonde, blue eyed woman waited and handed her a coffee with
cream. Michelle took it and went to the booth.
“Hi, you must be Anya
Bast.”
Anya stood. “Yep,
that’s me. This is Gabriel, the man I was telling you about on the
phone. He’s the inspiration for BLOOD OF THE RAVEN.”
Michelle turned to the gorgeous
vampire at her side. He had long black hair and blue eyes. She was a
little surprised to see him in the club while it was light outside.
“I came through the ‘other’
entrance,” he said, as if sensing Michelle’s momentary confusion.
“Anya tells me you’re from France?”
Michelle smiled at him. He wasn’t bad on the eyes in the least.
Gabriel chuckled, “France about 400
years ago.”
“I know who to call for historical
reference tips.”
“I would be happy to assist you. I
aide Anya in ‘anyway’ I can.”
“So, Anya, tell me about your new
release.” Michelle took a seat and grabbed her notepad from her
purse. If she kept talking to Gabriel she’d make a fool of herself
and drool or worse yet, think of Dmitri and go into heat. Why did
supernatural men have to be so damn gorgeous?
“Autumn Pleasures. It’s a historical
fantasy romantica, the fourth in a series, but can definitely
stand-alone. Over the course of the series there has been a war
between Nordan and Sudhra. The war is over, but now there's a rift
between the two countries. Lord Gregor of Nordan accepts Lady Anaisse
of Sudhra as his wife in an effort to stitch up the tear between the
nations, and because he's been attracted to her for years. But there's
another man lurking about who has also been attracted to her for
years. In his disturbed mind, he has only one goal and that’s to kill
Anaisse.”
“Wow, sounds great,” Michelle said,
taking notes. She debated on asking for an autograph, it seemed a
little rude. “And don’t you have a book that’s in print?”
“BLOOD OF THE ROSE,” Anya answered.
Michelle caught a glimpse of Dmitri
over the distance. Great, the in heat session was about to start.
Someone had to market a lycan repellant and she needed to find out who
that was.
Anya continued to talk
and she tried her best to listen, but her eyes kept straying to
Dmitri. Brian was still livid about being punched and she couldn’t
blame him, but on another level Dmitri’s possessiveness had been kinda
sweet. Did it mean anything? Or had he simply been trying to defend
his own honor? She honestly was confused and didn’t know where to go
from here.
“I love writing, how
about you?” Anya asked.
“I love him, yes.”
“Him?”
Michelle looked at
Anya with wide eyes as the shock of what she’d just slipped hit her.
“I…umm…yes, I love writing.”
Anya looked towards
the other side of the room and back to Michelle. “It looks like
‘writing’ is coming this way.”
Michelle dropped her
head down onto the table. Could the night get any worse?
Something touched her
shoulder gently. “Michelle?” Dmitri asked, softly.
