Page 16

Barbara

I couldn’t sleep that night, so I sat in my window nook, looking out for that familiar ember of Phantom’s cigarette. It appeared soon enough, and then suddenly, white light turned on, revealing Phantom himself. He had a flashlight that he turned on his face to give me an eerie grin while he waved with his hand holding the cigarette.

I laughed under my breath at his goofy antics and waved back, cringing a bit when I realized he must have known I’d stared at him every night for the past week.

My embarrassment was short lived, though. Phantom flicked his cigarette away, gripped the flashlight between his teeth, and started climbing the tree that grew the closest to my window. I kneeled on the padded bench, giggling as he climbed fast, the white light marking his progress.

Soon, he was on the same level as my window. I opened it a crack to hear. The tree rustled, branches creaking, and Phantom crept closer, hanging on to a thick branch.

“Why aren’t you in bed, doll?” he asked. “Any mosquitoes bothering you?”

I smiled, shaking my head. “Guess I’m just wired. There’s a lot to think about.”

Like you. You and your weird jokes. Are they only jokes, Phantom? Could they maybe, possibly, have a bit of truth in them? Please.

I didn’t say any of that. Instead, I opened the window wider, shivering when the cold air swooped into the room. I wore a long-sleeved top, but it was still cold.

“Why do you keep climbing trees?” I asked to change the topic.

“It’s the only way I can get a ballerina to flash me,” he answered, his voice growing husky. “Your nipples are cold, by the way.”

“Oh.” I winced, folding my arms on my chest. “Well, thank you. Have you seen your suit, by the way? For the gala tomorrow. My mother said she had one ordered for you.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I saw it. I’m hoping to make a little arts and crafts project tomorrow when I’m off patrol duty.”

“I knew you wouldn’t wear it. I even told my mother not to bother, but she was under the impression you’d have a good reason to dress up for the gala.”

He dropped suddenly. I shrieked in fear before I realized his thick thighs still hugged the branch. He hung upside down, grinning up at me.

“I could drop on my head right now and still be perfectly fine,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t scream on my account. And yes, your mother offered to pay me ten grand if I wore appropriate attire.”

He scoffed, grabbing the branch. He pulled himself up without effort and straddled it, swinging his legs cheerfully.

“To tell you the truth, I would have folded for twenty-five grand.” He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “There is that obscenely expensive set of artisanal knives I want to get, and that’s how much more I need. But since I’m not getting twenty-five grand, I’ll accompany you as my ordinary self.”

He spread his arms wide, showing off his black combat clothes, belt heavy with weapons, and his grinning skull. My chest heaved with something warm and wanting.

“I wouldn’t have you any other way,” I said solemnly.

“I saw your dress, too, by the way.” He whistled. “It’s a nice little number, eh? Very elegant, of course. Demure, but also slutty.”

I pursed my lips. I saw the dress as well. It was backless, made of sizzling black silk, and completely at odds with the image my team had promoted for me for years.

In the past, I always had the clean, good girl look. Heels just high enough but never too provocative, dresses that were pretty rather than sexy, lots of pinks and creams.

Yet now, I was expected to wear a dress with a thigh slit so high, it would reach my hip, and six-inch strappy heels that gave me vertigo. When I’d asked my mother about it, she only raised her eyebrow and huffed, letting me understand I wasn’t supposed to ask questions.

“I won’t wear it,” I said softly, trying the words out.

My heart hammered anxiously. I knew logically Phantom wasn’t going to attack me for refusing to wear that outfit, and yet, I was still nervous simply testing out the words I’d have to say to my mother tomorrow.

“Why?” he asked, reaching for his cigarette case. “You don’t like it? I wouldn’t mind seeing this dress on you, doll.”

I frowned, looking away. “It’s not that I don’t like it. It just isn’t what I want to wear. Maybe some other time. When it’s my choice.”

“Ah.” He nodded, letting out a puff of smoke. “Well, if you want, I can sneak in there and screw it up. They won’t tell you to wear a torn up dress, yeah? And we can say… We can say mice got it. Some mutant ninja mice.”

I laughed despite myself, some of my tension easing. “No, I need to do this on my own. But thank you.”

“So you’re going to rebel? Good girl wants to be bad?” he asked, his eyes flashing silver.

Unease churned in my belly when I nodded. In all truth, I dreaded making my stand tomorrow, and it seemed utterly ridiculous. It was just a dress, but I knew my mother would make a big fuss about my disobedience.

What if she decided to ship me off to that institution for even the slightest dissent? My aunt had told me there was no way out of there. You only got out when your parents were happy with your progress.

“Phantom?” I asked, my voice suddenly small. “Could you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Well, if I… If my mother… If she decides to send me away, will you save me?”

He shot to his feet in a sudden leap, balancing perfectly on the branch. He crouched and jumped, flying through the air until he smashed into the wall, his hands clutching my windowsill.

“Ow,” came his muffled voice.

“Oh my God,” I gasped, opening the window wider. “Are you all right?”

“Move back, doll.”

I hastened away from the window. There was a grunt, a muffled curse, and Phantom heaved himself up with the sheer strength of his arms. He hopped onto the floor with a heavy thud of his combat boots and looked nonchalantly around.

“You know, normal people use doors to visit others,” I said, looking him up and down in search of injuries.

“You hit the nail on the head. I’m not normal. I’m an abomination,” he said with a proud grin. “Now, back to our conversation. Yes, I will save you. If they drug you and ship you off, I will either get you in transit and slaughter everyone who lays their hands on you, or if I’m too late, I’ll storm the asylum and get you out, then burn it to the ground. Do you understand? No one will lock you up. Not on my watch.”

My eyes felt hot. He had delivered that speech in such a measured, cool voice, I had no doubt he meant every word. He also seemed to have given it some thought, seeing how his plan was already formed.

It was overkill, too, but I didn’t protest. I didn’t truly think I would be sent away. It was just that deep fear that paralyzed me whenever I wanted to do something forbidden.

“Thank you,” I whispered, pushing my emotions down my tight throat.

“You’re welcome, doll. So rebel all you want, okay? I won’t let them hurt you.”

I wanted to hug him again, but I remembered how it had ended. It wasn’t even my intent to grind on him then, and yet, I knew somewhere in the back of my mind it wasn’t coincidental. I felt attracted to him, but it would be stupid to act on it.

So instead, I offered him my hand. “Thank you. I’ll do everything in my power to help you, too, should you ever need it.”

He took my hand, shook it, and then bowed over it, pressing his teeth to my knuckles.

“I kind of feel like a knight offering allegiance to a princess,” he said with a grin. “By the way, are you done with my book yet?”

“Oh.” I looked away, my hand still in his. “Well, no. I got… stuck.”

He let go of my hand with a mean little laugh. “You don’t like the porn, eh?”

“You don’t even know at which part I stopped,” I said defensively.

“Nah, I know. It’s the porn. Goodnight, my lady.”

The next day, Norma, who was serving breakfast when I came in, told me my mother was gone for the day and wouldn’t get home before the gala. I was to take the limousine and behave.

“Sounds like good news,” Phantom said, coming in just a moment after Norma left. “Mmm, fresh steak. You know, even if you were a total nuisance, I’d love this assignment for the food alone.”

“Glad you see the positives in my situation,” I said gravely, studying the food laid out on the sideboard. “You know, with me becoming a laughingstock and almost dying.”

Phantom served himself a juicy cut of raw steak dripping with blood and set the coffee machine to make him two double espressos.

“You’re not a laughingstock,” he said, bumping his hip into mine on his way to the table. “Haven’t you seen the news? You’re a martyr! Someone leaked the info about the murder attempt. Your father is basking in glory, and you’re the brave, strong victim. Everyone is so outraged about the way you’ve been treated after the video.”

I straightened, the news a total shock. “Who leaked it?” I asked, spinning in place.

“Beats me,” Phantom shrugged. “Looking at the results, my bet is on your father’s PR team. Anyway, you’re a heroine! Everyone will be thrilled to shake hands with you tonight.”

I released a heavy breath, trying to digest this. I was used to not checking the news too often, especially when I knew I’d be mentioned. Ever since the video, I’d put myself on a permanent ban. Isolation was better than facing the hate.

“I recommended they keep it quiet, of course,” Phantom said after taking a long sip of his strong coffee. “I hoped he would feel safer if no one made a fuss, and come back to finish the job. I would have had him then.

“But alas, that didn’t happen. We might have to go out more. Create opportunities for him to attack, because so far, both the police and your father’s detectives have nothing. We don’t even know what species he is because, as it turns out, all mind controlling species have glowing eyes. That’s how they mesmerize you.”

“So you want me to be bait,” I said, getting a sausage from a heated plate.

I made a point to ask myself what I wanted every time I had to make a decision today. Apparently, I wanted sausages, not my perfectly macro-balanced oatmeal.

“Doll, you’re not bait. You’re the target, and I won’t let you get hit.”

I nodded with a smile, but inside, I was reeling. Because suddenly, I didn’t want my attacker to be caught anymore. If he was, Phantom would leave, and I would be on my own again. I didn’t know if I could handle not seeing him every day like I did now.

When my prep team arrived in the afternoon, I was determined. Doing my best to stay cool, I showed them the dress I got myself on one of my outings with Phantom and a pair of matching heels.

The dress was pink, but not the infantilizing, light candy floss shade I usually wore. The pink I chose was bolder, brighter, yet still on the classy side. The dress had three thin layers, the outermost one patterned with thin chains of lace protruding from the fabric. The heels I chose were high but also comfortable.

I was very proud of that dress. It was similar enough to my usual image while transgressing beyond it. Overall, a much better way to transition into another style than the slutty black number my mother had picked.

“Tiffany, you’ll need to cut my hair today,” I said when my three stylists set up, chatting about the gala and praising my outfit.

Phantom stirred on the elegant chaise where he lounged, watching everything with mild interest.

“Why are you cutting your hair?” he asked, sitting up in alarm.

“I know it’s a cliché.” I shrugged. “But I really want to own my body and appearance, and this seems like the quickest way. I suppose I could get a tattoo, but I’m not brave enough yet.”

“I tattoo people,” he said, standing. “So if you change your mind, I’ll be happy to help. Are you sure about the hair? What if you meet a man who’d like to wrap it around his fist while he f—while he rides you?”

Tiffany laughed, while her assistants exchanged wide-eyed looks, taken aback by Phantom’s crudeness.

“He’ll have to wait for it to grow back,” I said crossly, hoping I didn’t appear obviously flustered.

An image of Phantom taking me from behind, my hair in his fist, flashed in my mind’s eye. I blinked a few times to clear my head. Suddenly, I didn’t want to cut my hair anymore, but then, it would be stupid to let a mere fantasy stop me. I wanted to make a stand and take control back.

“I was thinking about something like this.”

I showed Tiffany a picture of a long bob I wanted to try out. She nodded and directed me to the hair washing station. We were in the room my mother called the beauty salon, which was equipped with everything our stylists needed to get us ready before an event.

Phantom groaned when Tiffany washed my hair, and then stomped out of the room, evidently unhappy.

He returned while she was already combing through my wet hair, getting ready to cut it. His face was fixed in a frowning grimace, and he plopped down in the station next to me, putting his legs up on the dresser with a huge mirror.

“Since you don’t have time to read, I thought I’d give you a hand,” he said, showing me his vampire romance.

“You got it from my room?” I asked incredulously, shocked by his audacity. “Without asking me first? How could you?”

“Very easily since you don’t lock it. I just had to turn the knob. Anyway, do you girls want to listen to some smut while you work?”

“Sure,” Tiffany said. I caught her shoot him an appreciative look in the mirror. “You do have a nice voice. Should be fun!”

Her assistants nodded, one of them giggling as she bent over my nails that would be pink to go with the dress.

I didn’t say anything, even though my face was hot at the thought of Phantom reading that scene. I knew what was coming, since I’d skimmed a bit before I decided it was too much for me. The voices in my head that demanded I stay virginal and pure for my future husband made it difficult to enjoy smut.

Listening to Phantom reading it out loud would be a hundred times worse, too, and yet, I knew he’d make fun of me if I asked him not to. I pressed my lips together, bracing for the experience.

“Let’s see,” he said, making a show of finding my bookmark. “Oh, chapter sixteen! What a coincidence. It’s my favorite one.”

He gave me a knowing grin, which I saw from the corner of my eye. Tiffany chose that moment to make the first cut. Strands of my wet blonde hair fell on the floor, and Phantom hissed, looking like he was in pain.

“So, this vampire lord is romancing his maid,” he said, turning his eyes back to the book.

I watched him, though. Every time the scissors snipped, his foot propped up on the dresser twitched. Snip, snip. Twitch, twitch. Like… Like he couldn’t stand the fact I was getting my hair cut.

I refused to follow that train of thought, taking a bracing breath to focus on his recap of the book.

“He keeps trying to seduce her, but she’s a very proper, religious girl, and she suspects he just wants to use her, so she resists him, even though she’s falling for him at the same time. He’s been coming up with excuses to get her into his bedroom at night.”

“Sounds delicious,” Tiffany said with a laugh, turning my head gently. “You really have a voice for this, too.”

For some reason, that annoyed me. She’d already said it, didn’t she? There was no reason to repeat herself.

“Thank you,” Phantom said with a pleased grin and began reading.

“She stood in my chamber, clutching her soft hands to her heaving breasts, her heart beating with want. I smelled the scent of her blood as it frothed anxiously in her veins, ready to be reaped. Ready to satisfy my thirst as I plunged myself into her.

’Sir, I really shouldn’t be here,’ she murmured imploringly. ‘I’ve fed your fire and fluffed your pillows. If that is all, I would like to leave.’

’Stay,’ I growled, my voice turning harsh with pounding desire. ‘For that is not all. I require you to warm my bed, as well. The night is cold, and you know very well I cannot get warm on my own. Please, Beatrice.’

She flinched in shock as I addressed her so, baring my soul to her. Seeing her hesitation, I seized my chance, falling to my knees in front of my maid like she was the lady, and I her mere servant.

’Please, I beg of you, sweetest,’ I murmured, looking into her wide, fearful eyes. ‘Please, do not leave me alone. I am so cold, so lonely. Let me inside you so I can be warm. Let me drink of you, so I am not alone.’

Trembling like a leaf, she finally gave a nod. I sprang to my feet at once, taking her face in my hands. Her quick breaths warmed my fingers, and the pink flushing her cheeks made my fangs elongate with desire so great, I’d never felt such before. When she closed her eyes and nuzzled her cheek into my hand, taking a timid step toward me, my control left me in a rush.

’Such a lovely thing,’ I whispered, grasping her thick, luscious braid in my fist. I pulled it slowly back, baring her creamy, slender neck for my pleasure. ‘Thank you.’

I slid my fangs over her throat once, relishing her violent trembling. When I pierced her skin with reverent slowness, she sagged in my arms, releasing a moan so loud, my manhood hardened at once, straining for her. I pushed into her until my fangs were buried deep and drank, the sweetest nectar flooding my mouth with vicious pleasure.

‘Oh!’ she cried, her hands burying in my hair and tugging me closer.

I needed no other encouragement. With a sharp tug, I ripped her dress open, revealing warm, creamy breasts. One filled my hand and I squeezed the plump flesh, my chilly skin heating from the touch.

More blood filled my mouth, satiating my thirst, until I had my fill of that. I pulled away, lapping at the punctures soothingly. As my venom dripped into them, they closed, leaving behind the faintest marks.

‘You warm your master so well,’ I murmured, kneading her breast. ‘Come into bed, beloved.’

She swayed on her feet with a moaned assent, and I took her into my arms and leapt through the room, draping her on top of my sheets. She covered herself with her hands, and I coaxed them apart with kisses and murmured pleas.

‘Never hide from me, dearest,’ I begged before I pulled her dress off, revealing all.

She trembled but let me look. I freed myself from the confines of my trousers, my pulsing, aching length cold and weeping. When she saw me, her face flushed darker, eyes hooding with need.

‘Will you let me inside you so I can be warm?’ I asked, shaking with desire.

When she looked up at my face, so sweet, so obedient, her red lips parted, and she whispered, ‘Yes, Master.’

Phantom closed the book, and I took a shaky breath, realizing how shallowly I’d breathed while he read. My face was flushed in the mirror, my eyes as dark as Beatrice’s in the story. He got up and stood behind Tiffany, giving me a wide grin in the mirror.

“You’ll have to read the rest yourself, but I hope I got you over the worst hurdle,” he said with a snicker.

As he went back to the chaise, humming under his breath, I eyed my emerging haircut and wondered if it was long enough to be gripped and tugged just a bit. And then I thought about Phantom and whether I could call him into my bedroom under false pretenses and seduce him—or maybe beg him on my knees.

Frivolous, stupid thoughts. But at least, they kept me distracted as I openly went against my mother’s wishes for the first time in years.