By afternoon, I was still a virgin, and, despite Julian’s many attempts to show me all the interesting things he could do with his newly liberated fingers, nothing could change that fact.
Pressed next to him in the back seat of his Bentley, I couldn’t keep my thoughts from straying to all the close calls we had the night before. He looked almost as good in his cashmere coat and gray suit as he did naked. Almost.
After the hours we’d spent creatively christening his Parisian flat, I no longer doubted Julian wanted me as much as I wanted him. What I couldn’t quite figure out was why the hell he kept resisting? Every time we got close to crossing the line, he managed to pull us back to safety.
“Are you certain you don’t want me to come with you, pet?” Julian asked for the fiftieth time since we’d finally gotten up for the morning.
I shook my head and pasted a smile on my face. “I’ll be fine–as long as Jacqueline doesn’t bite.”
“She’ll have me to answer to if she does,” he promised darkly. He leaned over and stole a kiss. “If you change your mind…”
“I will call,” I said. “Make sure you actually have your ringer turned on, old man.”
“Don’t worry. I think I have the hang of this damned thing.” He held up his cell phone. His gloves were back on, but I couldn’t resist reaching over to brush a sliver of his bare wrist. “Careful, or I’ll take you right back to bed.”
“Promise?” I licked my lower lip, earning a frustrated groan from him. “Then what would I wear to all the events? I’d have to go naked.”
“Stop putting ideas in my head, pet,” he said grumpily. His hand flashed inside his coat’s breast pocket, and then he held up a thin, black card. “Speaking of, you’ll need this.”
I hesitated, staring at the credit card. It was weird to take his money. We’d only known each other a week, but he seemed utterly nonchalant about giving me access to his bank account. “I have a little saved up. I can use that–”
“I promise you that a little savings and shopping with Jacqueline are incompatible concepts,” he said dryly. “You’ll need this, trust me.”
“But…” The look he gave me ended the argument. I sighed and took it from him. “What’s my budget?”
“Budget?” he repeated.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “How much should I spend? I don’t want to max it out.”
Julian’s lips pressed into a thin line, and it took me a second to realize he was trying not to laugh.
“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “It won’t run out.”
“Julian, I don’t know…”
“I’ve spent nearly a millennium padding my bank accounts,” he said firmly. “Besides, the card is in your name.”
“What?” I nearly dropped it. Turning it over, I found my name listed above his. “Wait. How did you get this so quickly?” We’d only discussed shopping yesterday.
“Banks tend to respond quickly to my requests.” He pressed his index finger to my chin and tipped my face up. “Stop worrying about money.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” I muttered.
“Just give it to Jacqueline and tell her I said to use it wisely,” he said, sounding annoyed.
“Wisely?” I narrowed my eyes, staring into his sparkling blue ones. Why was it so hard to think when he looked at me like that? “So there is a budget!”
“Jacqueline’s interpretations of wisely will be more in line with mine, pet,” he said with a slight chuckle. He kissed the tip of my nose. “Trust her. I do. You can tell her anything, and she will look after you. Now go before you wind up attending all the events naked.”
“Why do I have a feeling that wouldn’t be frowned on?” I asked as I unfastened my seat belt.
“I would frown on it.” His voice was raspy as if the thought had thickened the words on his tongue. “I don’t think I would be able to control my blood-lust.”
“Oh.” He had a point. “I’ll find something to wear.” My door opened, Phillipe on the other side. But I couldn’t resist the urge to lean back in. “I’m sure they have a sale rack.”
“Jacqueline won’t let you near it.”
As if summoned, Jacqueline appeared at my side, turning heads all around us in her ivory sheath dress and scarlet-red overcoat. Her blonde hair fell in thick waves around her shoulders, and her face was completely bare, except for her lips, which were painted the same vivid hue as her jacket. She poked her head inside the Bentley. “She’s safe with me, Jules.”
“Just keep your hands to yourself,” he told his old friend, shaking his head, “and don’t let her see any price tags.”
“Done!” She straightened, offering me a blinding smile. “Shall we?”
I followed her inside the large department store, feeling more out of place than ever. Brands I recognized only from movies and magazines had little shops all along the perimeter. As soon as we were through the doors, a security guard moved toward us.
I nervously slipped the credit card Julian had given me into my old thrift store purse as the man approached us. Was it that obvious that I didn’t belong here? I’d chosen the most sophisticated outfit I’d packed–a pair of cropped black leggings and a wispy white blouse I’d borrowed from Olivia. I didn’t think I looked that out of place, and there appeared to be several tourists wearing jeans shopping nearby. Then the guard bypassed me entirely and went straight to my companion. Jacqueline greeted him with a kiss on each cheek.
“Jean-Pierre, you’re looking very handsome.” She dusted something off his shoulder, and the older man turned a candy-apple red shade. “I’ve brought a new friend. I believe Sophie is expecting us.”
“Oui,” he said, glancing over me. Confusion flashed across his face, but to his credit he recovered quickly. He gestured for us to follow him. The crowd parted for us. I wasn’t sure if that was because we had an armed escort or if Jacqueline simply had that effect.
Everywhere I looked, I found some new beautiful object waiting: silk scarves in every color and pattern I could imagine, delicate bottles of perfume displayed like pieces of art, and shoes, and purses. It was a bit overwhelming.
“I arranged to have my private stylist work with us,” Jacquline explained when we reached a door marked privée. “But if you prefer to shop the floors, we can.”
I quickly shook my head. I wouldn’t know where to start.
“I gave Sophie your measurements, so we should have somewhere to start.” Jacqueline’s mouth twisted as she studied my bag. “But I think you will need some handbags as well.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t need a new one.”
“Don’t confuse need with want while shopping,” she said with a soft laugh. “It takes all the fun out of it.”
“I…I don’t really shop,” I admitted to her as we were shown into another room.
“Because you don’t need to?” She guessed, her eyebrow rose. Her voice was warm as she spoke. There was none of the judgment I’d felt in the presence of Sabine or, to some extent, Celia. It seemed impossible, but I was beginning to believe Jacqueline was not only friendly, but kind. “Julian mentioned you are a student. I imagine that doesn’t allow for many luxuries.”
“Unless food is a luxury, then no, it doesn’t.”
“Then allow Julian to spoil you a little,” she advised. “Besides, Julian’s consort will be expected to dress well.”
I thought of the green velvet gown I’d worn a few nights ago. It had felt ridiculously over the top when I put it on, but in the company of vampires, I’d blended right in. I nodded, but there was one thing I found a bit odd. “Consort?”
“Girlfriend,” she corrected herself. “Lover. I can be a bit old-fashioned.”
Lover. If she only knew. I thought of what Julian told me–that I could trust Jacqueline. I wondered if that extended to really personal matters like my vampire boyfriend not having sex with me.
An older woman approached us before I could summon the courage to bring it up. Her hair was knotted at the back of her neck into a perfect chignon, and she wore a stern expression. She greeted Jacqueline and then began speaking rapidly in French. A few minutes later, they were both laughing.
“Come. Sophie has pulled some choices for you.” Jacqueline guided me toward the many racks of clothing waiting in the room. “It will take you a while to try this all on.”
“Wait.” I stared at the racks, which had to contain a hundred different pieces, at least. “All of this?”
“It’s a start,” she said, pursing her lips. She riffled through the hangers and then plucked a striking black dress off one. She held it up. “Try this.”
Looking around, I realized there was no dressing room. Apparently, vampires thought nothing of being naked in front of strangers. I shimmied out of my clothes. Jacqueline’s eyes pinched a little, and she said something softly to Sophie.
“I’m going to have her pull some lingerie as well.”
“Oh, I don’t–”
“Nonsense,” she cut me off, already knowing that I was going to object. “You will need appropriate pieces to wear under these clothes. It’s a need.” She smiled. “But we will find some scandalous pieces to tease Julian with, too.”
“I’m not sure how he’ll feel about that.” But Jacqueline only laughed harder.
Sophie reappeared with a small treasure chest’s worth of filmy chiffon and lacy nothings. They patiently showed me how to use a garter with stockings, and I couldn’t help but admit that I’d never felt so sexy.
I lost track of the hours they spent zipping and tying me into gowns and dresses. Eventually, they segued into everyday clothing after what seemed like an impossibly high number of Jacqueline’s must-haves. I could have cried when Sophie presented me with a pair of jeans. Then I caught sight of the price tag.
“I have jeans,” I told Jacqueline.
“And you have a purse,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “If you won’t spend Julian’s money, I will. And before you argue with me, I’m under strict orders to get you everything you might need for the rest of the year.”
I doubted I could ever need this many clothes, but arguing with Jacquline was proving as pointless as arguing with Julian. Maybe it was a vampire thing. I nodded, grateful that I’d have something normal–if I could just forget the price tag–to wear. But the movement made my head spin, and I stumbled on my feet. Thankfully, I wasn’t wearing any of the stilettos that had been added to my ever-growing pile of purchases. I pressed a hand to my forehead as a wave of dizziness hit me.
“Merde,” Jacqueline swore under her breath, keeping her voice low although we were alone. “You’re hungry. I forget that humans eat so much.”
“Or anything,” I said faintly. I’d been too preoccupied with sorting through last night to eat a proper breakfast this morning. Checking my phone, I realized it was already nearly two.
“Let’s get you something to eat,” Jacqueline suggested, “and then we will choose what you’re going to wear tonight.”
“The Salon,” I said, feeling my appetite vanish. “Are you going?”
“It’s not meant for me,” she said. Her gaze swept over me. “You look nervous. Has Julian told you what to expect?”
“No,” I said with a grimace, “and the last party he took me to was an orgy.” Unfortunately, Sophie returned just as the last part of the sentence left my lips. Her mouth fell open, but she quickly rearranged herself back into a composed professional.
Jacqueline’s eyes danced with laughter at my faux pas as she hooked her arm through mine. “Come. There is a little tea room. Let’s have a bite and talk.”
She said something in French to Sophie, who nodded.
“I feel bad,” I admitted as we left. “She’s been waiting for me to choose things all day, and now she has to wait longer.”
“The bill will make it worth it,” Jacqueline said with a wry smile. “And she isn’t waiting for us. I already saw to the purchases. We just need to pick tonight’s ensemble.”
“But I have Julian’s card.” Or my card, I realized.
“I’ve waited for nearly eight hundred years for Julian to find someone for me to shop with. This is my treat,” she said, waving off my objection. “Now, let’s get lunch.”
The tea shop was tucked into a private nook away from the mass of shoppers. Jacqueline ordered for me, and before I could blink, a tray of mouthwatering pastries was in front of me, along with a steaming pot of tea. I poured myself a cup and took a grateful sip.
“Let me guess,” she said, watching me. “He forgets to feed you.”
“Only sometimes. Sometimes I forget to feed myself.”
“Well, that will change,” she said mysteriously. “He’s learning. I doubt he expected to find himself attached to a human.”
“I didn’t really expect to be attached to a vampire,” I admitted. I picked up a beautiful chocolate tart and took a bite. I groaned with pleasure. “Sorry. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
“Don’t apologize for your nature.” Jacquline poured herself a cup of tea and took a few sips. “May we speak of this evening?”
I nodded, unable to say yes without showing her a mouthful of food.
“About tonight,” she began, lowering her teacup to the marble tabletop. “You must have questions.”
I swallowed my food and reached for a napkin as my heart began to race. This was my chance. “I have a lot of questions…not just about tonight.”
“About vampires?” she asked. “Or Julian?”
“About everything,” I confessed.
“And Julian isn’t answering them?”
“Some.” I took a deep breath and plunged forward. “But there are questions that I’m not sure if I can ask. I can’t decide if he’s protecting me from his world or keeping his world from me.”
“I see,” she said thoughtfully. She traced the rim of her teacup, and I wondered if I’d crossed a line.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I shouldn’t ask you to talk behind his back.”
But Jacqueline only giggled. “I was only deciding where to begin,” she told me. “But I’ll leave that to you. Thea, what do you want to know?”
What did I want to know? What didn’t I want to know?
But it turned out that I did know what to ask because the first question burst out of me. “Why does he have to get married?”
I had a feeling that one had come from my heart and not my head. Mostly because I’d never consciously asked myself that question. But there was an urgency behind my words that I couldn’t deny and an ache in my chest that grew as I waited for her answer.
“Well…” Jacqueline’s mouth twisted as she raised her teacup and took another delicate sip. “I guess we’re going to get straight to the point.”
“I mean, what are the Rites?” Why hadn’t I thought of that question first? It sounded reasonable and not at all like I’d been obsessing over Julian and marriage. I hadn’t been obsessing, had I? My heart answered with another pang.
“That’s a bit easier to answer,” she said, lowering her voice and leaning closer.
It must look like we were two women gossiping over lunch to the outside world. If anyone actually knew…
“Several hundred years ago, vampire bloodlines were starting to die out. It was about the time that they were burning witches at the stake,” she said matter-of-factly.
I blanched, thinking of history lessons from high school. “I guess that was real.”
“Sometimes it was,” she said grimly. “But they burned as many innocent people as they did witches. After all, it was never about stopping magic. It was about control.”
“You have a point.” That had definitely been part of the history lesson.
“And then, accidentally, they found a solution to both of our species’ problems. Only the oldest and most powerful vampires could still conceive purebloods. But they pretty much all hate each other. I mean, who can blame them? I don’t think any couple would want to fuck after thousands of years.”
“I don’t know about that.” I blushed as soon as I said it.
Jacqueline’s wide smile nearly blinded me. “You’re young.”
“They sound like the Greek gods.”
“Where do you think humans came up with that?” Jacqueline asked. I started to laugh until I saw the seriousness on her face. “Humans want to control what the world believes. Vampires decided to stop fighting them on that a long time ago. Witches, too. It was safer for all of us. So now our histories have been rewritten into myths and legends.”
“That sucks.”
But she only shrugged. “It did, at first. But it was easier than choosing between massacring a mob of ignorant humans or being massacred by them. Contrary to what some vampires claim, most of us have a conscience.”
“Most?” I couldn’t help noticing her careful choice of words.
“Not everyone is happy with changes in recent centuries,” she said darkly.
“Okay, so what does that have to do with the Rites?” I felt like I was sitting in Vampire 101. There was so much to learn. Not just about how things functioned in their world, but why.
“Sorry. My mind hops about.” She tapped her temple. “There’s a lot to keep straight, and I’d forgotten half my life.”
“So have I,” I said before realizing how ridiculous that sounded. I’d forgotten snatches of twenty-two years. She must have lost decades.
“There’s a whole debate as to whether vampires or witches came first and who had magic first. There were all different kinds of magic back then, but only very powerful vampires had much magic. So witches liked to say they were the only ones with true magic and that they created vampires. And vampires like to say they’re older than witches, and if witches were so powerful, they could live longer. Nobody’s really sure who’s right, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
“Like the chicken or the egg debate?”
“Exactly,” she said brightly. “So witches didn’t trust us, and we didn’t trust them. There were lots of curses and secret alliances. This was all happening when Julian and I were very young, so we didn’t know much about it. And things got out of hand. I mean, for an entire century, witches cursed vampires to burn in sunlight.”
“Oh! So that one is true!”
“In a way. Thankfully, we got that reversed.” She paused as the server appeared to ask if we needed anything else. Jacqueline ordered a fresh pot of tea and continued, “Long story short, something backfired or a witch betrayed their people–because magic was put to sleep.”
“Put to sleep?” I had no clue what that meant, but it didn’t sound good.
“It’s still there in the blood–true magic–but they can’t use it. They can cast family magic. Use potions,” she explained when she saw my face. “Nothing like they used to do. But the vampires paid the price as well. Our own magic diminished. We’ve always depended on the magic we gathered when we fed.”
“On witches?”
“All mortals have some magic in them. Some cultures call it the life force or the soul or whatever,” she clarified for me. “But once magic went to sleep, we found our own powers diminishing. Suddenly, it was harder to conceive new vampires, so more vampires were made, turned from humans. But these made vampires rarely–if ever–conceived new vampires. So to grow our families we had to turn people, and the more people we turned, the fewer humans there were. Until, for a while, there was less blood and a lot more vampires. And the new vampires didn’t always understand the old traditions–or the rules. Witches were not happy about that.”
“But something changed. Vampires and witches don’t hate each other anymore,” I pointed out.
She snorted. “There’s still plenty of hate. We marry each other as a matter of survival. You see, familiars needed vampires to hide them and protect them. Vampires discovered that witch blood made them more powerful. But more importantly, they discovered a female familiar can carry a vampire’s baby. And a female vampire can carry a male familiar’s child. Only the oldest vampire females can have children with another vampire. But a familiar can conceive or impregnate. So we were keeping each other alive. Literally. A deal was struck, and everyone agreed that the two species would come together for a social season every couple of hundred years. Vampires already host these all the time. Every fifty years, it’s just nonstop balls and dinners and orgies.”
I swallowed a laugh at her obvious annoyance, especially since fifty years seemed like more than enough time to keep them from getting stale…
“Eventually, familiars began to care more about matching their children with the most powerful vampire families for reasons other than protection,” she continued. “The better the match was, the more power or money or status came with it.”
“So why are witches called familiars?” That bit still eluded me.
“It was a subtle insult–part of the agreement. To receive vampire protection, witches became their familiars. Before magic went to sleep, witches could cast spells, and a spirit would appear to them in some form–a familiar. Their familiar would serve them in some way. Witches used to claim that they created vampires to be familiars and lost control of them.”
“Did they?” I asked.
Jacqueline’s blonde waves rippled over her shoulders as she shook her head. “No clue. Chicken or egg again. But calling them familiars reminded them that they were indebted to vampires for their survival.”
“Weren’t vampires in their debt, too?”
“Of course,” she admitted, “but we were in the position of greater power. We had the money and resources to fade into the shadows while the humans hunted both our kinds. Witches needed us. It’s worked out better than imagined until recently.”
“Recently?” I pressed.
“Vampires are conceiving less, and there are rumors that old spells and potions aren’t working as well–if they work at all. It’s why the Council enacted the Rites permanently. They want to ensure that the oldest bloodlines–which still have some magic of their own–don’t die out.”
“They want babies,” I said in a hollow voice.
“Yes, it’s like being around a bunch of hopeful grandmothers all the time. When are you going to settle down? When are you going to have a baby?” she mimicked a high-pitched voice.
I tried to imagine Julian’s mother badgering him about this. It was impossible to think of Sabine, who looked far too young to even have a child Julian’s age, like a grandma.
“Wait,” I said as something occurred to me. “If vampires can have babies, why do you all look like you’re in your twenties or thirties?”
“Look closer, and you’ll find there are vampires of all ages. We age, but differently than you. A typical vampire childhood is a hundred years. Puberty lasts several hundred years. It differs a bit for any of us who are born vampires.”
“So, how old does that make you? In human years?”
“Thirtyish,” she said, sounding unconvinced of her own answer. “It’s hard for me to think in human years. They never feel like long enough.”
“I never thought much about lifetimes until my mom got sick, and then I realized how little time we have,” I told her softly.
“It’s difficult for vampires to comprehend, too. When we become attached to one of you, it feels like we lose you in the blink of an eye.” She swallowed, turning her head away. When she finally looked back at me, her eyes glistened.
I wondered whom she had lost. They must have been important to her. “If vampires are children for years, their familiar parent must die while they’re still little.” My stomach twisted. It had been hard enough to spend the last few years scared I might lose my mom. I couldn’t imagine if she’d been taken from me when I was a kid.
“Sometimes, that’s part of the marriage arrangement. After an heir has been produced, the vampire agrees to turn the familiar. But not always. Some vampires only care about producing an heir. Some familiars refuse to become vampires.”
I couldn’t decide if that made me more or less sad.
“It’s a lot to take in.” I bit my lip, wondering how I had found myself sitting in a little café in Paris talking vampire politics. “I wish I was a familiar. At least I’d know how everything works.”
“Even they aren’t fully prepared. That’s what this evening is about. The Salon du Rouge is a chance for familiars to learn more about what will be expected of them if they marry a vampire. But it’s all a chance for vampire mothers and sisters to decide if a familiar would be up to the task of being a vampire’s wife.”
“That’s what’s going on this evening!” I snatched another piece of cake up and stress ate it. But it didn’t help. “Is Sabine going to be there? Why would Julian make me go to that? He knows she’ll never approve of me, and it’s not like…”
Part of me wanted to spill all the details of my temporary relationship with Julian, but it felt like breaking a promise.
“I’m afraid you might be right,” she said gently. “Sabine is very traditional.”
“She wants Julian to get married so he can make another little vampire.” A sour taste filled my mouth. “But he doesn’t want babies.”
“You two have talked about babies?”
She seemed to have missed the important part of that information. “He just mentioned his mom wants him to get married and have a baby. He didn’t seem particularly enthused.”
“He has good reasons, even if he might need to rethink them,” she said cryptically. “I think you might be helping him rethink them, actually.”
“Me?” I nearly spilled my tea. “I doubt it. I can’t have his babies, anyway.”
“Regardless of what the Council or Sabine or anyone else thinks, a family can be made, Thea. Maybe you won’t have babies, but you two could make a lovely family.”
“From people he’s turned?” I was trying to imagine Celia as my stepdaughter. I wasn’t really sure how to feel about it.
“Or ones you choose together. The families we find are the families we keep.”
“I don’t think Julian plans to keep me.” My chest squeezed as I said it. He told me I could trust Jacqueline, and I needed someone to talk to.
She tilted her head and studied me quietly for a moment. “Why do you think that?”
“Because we have an arrangement,” I confessed. She listened as I filled her in on the story of how we met and the arrangement we’d made, and the fact that he refused to sleep with me. By the time I finished, my cheeks were burning, but she only looked amused.
“Interesting,” she said, a smile playing at her lips. “Julian has always had a soft spot for virgins, but there are rules.”
“Rules?”
“He must have forgotten to mention that.” She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Males. Yes, there are rules. Have you heard of thrall?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It’s basically when a mortal is under the influence of a vampire. Many mortals choose to be enthralled and serve our kind.”
“Why would they do that?” That had to be the equivalent of choosing to be a walking blood bag. I didn’t understand.
“Money and power. We try not to get involved much in human affairs, but sometimes they seek us out for help.”
“So you enslave them?” I asked.
“Think of it as a magically-enforced nondisclosure agreement. The humans are always given the terms of the arrangement,” she explained.
“If they refuse?”
“We compel them to forget they ever met a vampire or that we exist at all. We aren’t interested in enslaving anyone.”
“But you use them for blood?”
“Only if that’s part of the agreement,” she said. “Some humans serve as lawyers or guards or accountants.”
I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of a vampire’s accountant. It was just too mundane. “Wait, am I in thrall?”
“I think he’s more in thrall to you,” she said with an unladylike snort. “Which brings us to vampires having sex with virgins. There can be a problem,”
My eyes narrowed. Julian had very conveniently left this part out. “What kind of problem?”
“It’s like being under thrall but turned to eleven. The mortal is tethered to the vampire.”
“Until the vampire releases them?” I guessed.
“No. Death is the only release.”
My stomach flipped as I processed her words. This was why Julian wouldn’t take my virginity. “And he knew this? Why wouldn’t he tell me?”
I deserved to know. I need to know!
“I think he’s worried it will scare you away.” Her face screwed up like she shared his concern.
“But what if we slipped and accidentally…I wouldn’t know what happened until it was too late.”
“That’s less forgivable,” she admitted. “I suspect he’s relying on centuries of carefully cultivated restraint and a fair amount of self-loathing to keep that from happening.”
“Why even risk it?” Was I asking her or myself? “Why didn’t he just leave when he found out?”
“Sometimes, what we intend to do is different from what fate has in store. I think even Julian’s restraint is no match for destiny.”
“Destiny?” I shook my head with a laugh. “I’m not sure I believe in fate.”
“How long have you known Julian?” she asked. “A matter of days? A week?”
I nodded.
“A blink of an eye for a vampire and hardly any time for a human, even, correct?”
“Yes. I guess so,” I said.
“Now, answer one question honestly for me.” She leveled a fierce gaze at me. “Are you in love with him?”
