Page 43

––––––––

“O n my word, little angel, your beauty guts me.” Amaros walked out of the closet, dressed in a light-tan suit with white pinstripes, getting his mind right for the meeting to come, when he was pulled from his thoughts by the vision of loveliness standing before the window bathed in morning sunlight.

She glanced over her shoulder and gazed at him, and all he wanted to do was strip her of the clothing he’d just had Sherman, his attendant, a Prime, bring up while Michaela was in the shower.

“How do I look?”

Even from the thirty feet of distance between them, he could see the shadows clouding her features, insecurity.

“Come here, little angel,” he beckoned.

Michaela turned from the window and walked toward him, her golden-heeled sandals clicking softly on the floor as she glided toward him.

He admired the pronounced sway of her hips, incited by her balance in the high, four-inch heels that made her long legs extraordinarily longer.

The seafoam green of her haltered chiffon skirt set was complemented by the pale golden-brown of her skin tone.

The uneven hem of the skirt flirted with her toned legs and gave him a repeated glimpse of one of her thighs.

Fuck, she’s gorgeous .

She stumbled, the misstep so minuscule human eyes would not have caught it.

He knew she’d heard his words; there was no reason to shield them from her.

However, her response to them gave him pause.

The longer he was around Michaela, the more things about her were revealed.

She seemed uncomfortable with compliments, as if no one had ever told her how breathtakingly stunning she was. He didn’t understand.

When she stopped before him, he slipped his hands into his pants pockets to keep them off her. Amaros knew if he touched her, they would never make it to breakfast with the leaders.

“You are lovely, Michaela.”

A rose tint bloomed in her cheeks. “Thank you, Amaros. I was worried about the shoes.” She glanced down at her feet, slipping one foot forward. Turning her ankle left and right, she studied the shoe.

He examined them as well, but his mind quickly thought about how the heels’ inches placed her ass at the perfect height for him to drive his cock into her if he bent her forward.

Michaela was tall for a female, but he was taller. He had a good seven inches on her.

“You don’t like the style...color?”

“I don’t know fashion, so I guess they work.” She shrugged. “I’ve never worn anything but hand-me-down sneakers...well, and hospital slippers.”

Amaros frowned. It was another tidbit about her past. There was still so much he wanted to ask her, but they needed to get downstairs, the Coven leaders would be waiting.

“We need to go.” He slipped one of his hands from his pocket and reached for hers.

“Are you sure we are not overdressed? I mean... it's just breakfast, right?”

He linked his fingers through hers and tugged her along with him. “No, and yes for the most part.”

A frown creased the space between her delicately arched sable brows, but she remained quiet.

However, since she didn’t know how to shield her thoughts, he could hear all the questions ricocheting around in her mind.

They were loud and numerous, so he narrowed their mind-link to filter out some of them.

He didn’t want to close himself off completely to her, especially while they would be present with the leaders.

When he pulled open the door and stepped out into the hall with her, he heard the loud intake of her breath.

“Are you alright?”

She licked her lips, but nodded.

Staring into her eyes he saw a slight ruby tint, but those Arabian-sand-brown eyes were all hers. She was okay.

“I never thought I’d get out of that room. It is beautiful, but I was starting to become a little stir-crazy.” She inhaled. “And now...I can smell everything...”

“It’s understandable. It can be overwhelming.” He squeezed her hand. “Take smaller breaths. We don’t need as much oxygen in our lungs as humans. Focus on me...my scent.”

He needed her to do this because if she kept her senses wide, she’d pick up on every human in the house and bloodlust would kick in.

“Okay.” She leaned closer to him and took one, two, three shallow breaths, taking him in. “I’m better.”

“Good. Let’s go.” He quickly led them down the stairs from the upper room of the cathedral home. Keeping their pace steady, but fast, he held her close at his side as they traversed one corridor after another.

It was early, and not many Primes or servants were moving about, not because of the early hour, even though Vampires normally slept in, servants were often about.

Not this morning, because he’d ordered that all humans remain in their rooms until after the meeting and only those necessary for the meal to be in the kitchen.

He needed to limit Michaela’s contact with them for now.

His fellow leaders were only up now because they were summoned. However, they were all anxious to meet the newest of their kind and came eagerly.

“This place is magnificent. I’ve never seen anything like it. Maybe in a history book featuring those massive cathedrals in France.” Michaela's head swiveled left, right, up, and down as she tried to take in everything about the place. He whisked her through one hallway after another.

“Excellent memory. This is the Saint Joseph’s Oratory. We selected it because of the landscape surrounding it. There was another in the heart of the city, but unfortunately, like many major cities and towns, it was destroyed during the war. I’ll give you a tour later.”

“Vampires living in a cathedral...seems stuff of fantasy.”

“We prefer to be myths and legends. Over millennia, it has kept most humans at bay.” Marceline smiled from her seat at the table.

Michaela stopped. She had been too busy looking around at the stained glass and architecture they passed to notice when they entered the small dining room, converted from the main office. They used it more for meetings than meals.

At the door, Michaela stared into the room and met all those dressed as elegantly as the two of them gathered at the table staring back at her.

“Come, little angel. They won’t bite.”

She gasped and licked her teeth as she looked at him.

You won’t bite them, either. Holding her hand, he walked into the room and directed her to one of the two empty seats.

After she sat, Amaros settled into the chair at the head of the table. He was happy to see that Marceline had instructed the staff to follow his wishes and have their meals already on the table instead of servants serving them each course as usual.

He nodded, permitting everyone to remove the domes over their plates.

“She is lovely, Amaros.” Jezebel gave Michaela an appraising look from the other end of the table.

“I can see why you chose to keep her so long to yourself.” Athan chuckled.

“One does what is necessary,” Amaros commented, refusing to add at the moment the true reason he’d kept Michaela hidden from all the leaders. They knew about a newly changed vamp and how unpredictable they could be because of the bloodlust, but Michaela had extenuating circumstances.

He watched Michaela place her dome toward the center of the table as others had done. Usually, two or three servants would be present while they ate, and a servant would take the covers away, but it wasn’t safe for them to do so now.

Amaros wanted to laugh when he noticed how Michaela scrunched her nose and rolled her lips inward, making it evident she didn’t find any of it appealing.

You must try everything and two bites each .

She shot a look at him. I’m not a child, Amaros.

No, but you are new, and as I explained before, your stomach needs to be trained to digest food again, not just blood.

Michaela’s eyes flashed red but she blinked it away before turning back to her food.

He was proud of her controlling the blood lust that still sat too close to the surface for her.

“Well, she’s here now. Let’s not stand on ceremony.” Velorina picked up a carrot and snapped it loudly with her teeth. “Introduce our delectable new addition.”

Soft guffaws went around the table.

Amaros held his spoon, ready to taste some of the leek and potato soup before him.

“Michaela, everyone gathered this morning is a leader in their own right. We ruled continents before the Catastrophes, which forced us all to the same place. However, Asia and Africa were large enough to be divided in two. Before you are Vampires whose ages would add up to more than two-millennium collectively.”

He watched the stretch of Michaela’s eyes as she glanced around the elegantly laid table.

He saw the tremors in her body and reached over to lift her hand to his mouth, kissing the back of her long, elegant fingers.

She released a soft exhale before turning to gaze at him. The corners of her mouth curved into a small smile. She understood what he was doing, which appeared to calm and reassure her.

First because there wasn’t a fiercer motherfucking Vampire here than him.

Secondly, she could not show fear. Their kind was all about strength, confidence, and if the leaders for a moment suspected she was weak, they would deem her unworthy and he’d be forced to kill each one of them to keep them from coming after her.

They all knew it, too. Mates meant everything, the only way their kind really survived.

His little angel inhaled slowly, and steadied herself. The shaking ceased.

When he released her, she lowered her hands into her lap below the table as he continued.

“At the other end of the table sits our Coven’s Vice, Marceline.

Beside her is Ambrosia, across from him, D’Arcy,” Amaros continued, crisscrossing the table with his introduction.

“Jezebel, Athan, and Velorina, Ciaran is beside you, and finally Kenia and Amdis her mate is to my right. Everyone, this is Michaela.”

“Hello.” Michaela glanced at each of the leaders, meeting them in the eye and offered a slight nod, acknowledging them.