Scarlet Masquerade (8 page)

“Perhaps it is you that I should be concerned with, Madam Locke. I hear many interesting things about you.” Clarissa blushed when Alexandra steadied her gaze on Clarissa’s breasts.

“Touché. See, you can volley across the court.” Alexandra smiled, pouring the tea that had been deposited on their table. “So your boyfriend, De Marcus. Will he be joining us?” Looking up from tossing a sugar cube in her tea, she smiled demurely.

“He is not my boyfriend. We had this conversation the other night, remember?” Clarissa said, stirring her tea fervently. “Perhaps this was a mistake, Madam. If you will excuse me—”

“Please, forgive me, Clarissa.” A hand stopped Clarissa from getting up. “I don’t know when to stop baiting such beautiful women. I promise to behave if you will stay. Otherwise, we will just have to make a date for another time.”

“What makes you think I would do that?”

“Again, I am being presumptuous. See, I don’t know when to stop.” Alexandra sat back in her chair staring at Clarissa. “You are not a prisoner here, Clarissa. You may leave if you would like. I hope you don’t, but I understand if I am too forward for someone so beautiful and so young.”

Clarissa stared into Alexandra’s blue eyes and felt drawn to them. She wondered what power this woman had over her to make her want to stay, to continue the repartee they were exchanging. Clarissa’s goose bumps returned as she watched Alexandra slide her tongue over her top lip, then close her mouth in a pout.

“Oh mon ami, you are cold. Let me call the waiter. No, wait, here. You can wear my shawl. It should keep you warmer.” The soft cashmere shawl slid down Clarissa’s arms and enveloped her with a scent she remembered from the other evening, honeysuckle. “There. Are you warmer?”

“Yes, thank you, Madam.”

“Please, call me Alexandra. We are friends, no?” Alexandra’s eyes twinkled when she smiled at Clarissa. Clarissa felt like she was cheese in the clutches of a very smooth mouse.

“Yes, I would like to be friends.”

“Good. Let’s order something. All of this friendship is making me hungry. Waiter.”

An hour later, Clarissa and Alexandra had finished a light dinner and ended it with interesting conversation of Alexandra’s travels. Clarissa was enthralled with the tails of travel and adventure. Clarissa learned that Alexandra had been married only once. “Once was enough,” according to Alexandra, to know she wasn’t suited for it.

“Well, perhaps next time you can come with me to my summer home. It is beautiful. The vineyards are heavy with grapes and we can relax and swim in the pool at the estate.” Clarissa felt Alexandra’s hands grasp hers and stroke her palms. “I usually have business during the day, but in the evening we can venture into the vineyards, eat grapes and swim in the pool. It will be fun.”

“I would love to come. However, my father would not approve, I’m afraid.”

“Perhaps I can speak with him on your behalf?”

“I don’t think that will change his mind.”

“I can be very persuasive. Trust me.”

Clarissa smiled at Alexandra’s determination. It was clear she rarely took no for an answer.

“All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Hmm, don’t be surprised if you’re at my summer home soon.”

Smiling to herself, she realized she liked this dark, secretive woman. Something about her was dangerous, yet protective of Clarissa. Looking down at her arms, the goose bumps were back, and a tingling had vibrated through her body when she took Alexandra’s arm. Clarissa looked up at Alexandra and studied her as they walked arm in arm down the street. Yes, Alexandra was definitely an interesting woman she wanted to learn more about.

Clarissa relaxed in the bath as she thought about the masquerade ball. She loved the opportunity to dress up in period clothing, especially a period familiar to her. There was still so much left to be done that she needed to make sure the students stayed on task. There was only one problem. This year a major donor had pulled their funding because of the rough economy. She was surprised more donors hadn’t done the same thing, but was thankful for the few who had assured her of their long-term support. This event wouldn’t be a success if the club couldn’t replace that donor. The economy had hit everyone hard, including the university. Dean Marsh had made it clear no money would be coming from the university. Carol had recommended a few of the bigger companies that did research for the university, so tomorrow she would send a letter to each and find out what their level of interest might be. One company looked promising. A research and development company had recently set up a lab on campus and had made it clear that they were interested in helping the university in any way they could. No one on campus knew much about the company so the details were light. She had asked the grants and finance department to send over what they could about the new company.

She thought about Marge and the call that she needed to make. After the experience in the garage, she needed some grounding and Marge was just the person to help her. Marge had lived twice as long as Clarissa had and would be able to give her some much needed advice.

Clarissa had led a protected life for the past eight years, but now she was worried she had been too careful. With the exception of Marge, she didn’t have any friends like herself. She stayed out of the culture for a reason, but now it looked liked her past might be looking for her. She had heard of a sub-culture of vampires called seekers, but she hadn’t seen any evidence of them. Maybe last night had changed all of that. Clarissa tingled as she remembered how easily her body had worked into the orgasm. The only person who could do that to her would be an older, established vampire like De Marcus. De Marcus wouldn’t hide though, he would take what was his. And she was still his, if he was alive.

Dunking her head under the warm water, she tried to rinse the prior evening’s memories from her head. Things were getting complicated and maybe it was time to start thinking of moving. But, first things first. The masquerade ball and then deal with the insanity that was starting to swirl around her.

A.J. grabbed the first available elevator and made her way to the back. Her shoulders pressed firmly against the wall. She always stood in the back, watching who got on and who got off. This time though, she noticed there were a lot of new faces. She didn’t like new faces, even if she didn’t get a vibe off them. She liked knowing who worked for her. It was what kept her safe. Getting off at her floor, she half smiled at the receptionist in the lobby and went straight to her office. It was still early and Kevin wouldn’t be in for another half hour. That would give her plenty of time to walk the floors and check things out. She didn’t like it when she lost focus on what was important, and this company was important to her.

The new high-grade blood replacement could change the way she lived, and she was enjoying the stuff R & D had sent for her to try. A.J. was the guinea pig when it came to stuff like that. If something went wrong, she could handle it, so she tried all of it out. This new drug showed a lot of promise, and she was happy with the results. She hadn’t fed on real blood in ages, and she felt better than she ever had. It had taken years to develop the formula that they experimented with now. The highly concentrated blood in the pills acted fast enough that A.J. could resist the urges that took over her body when she needed to feed. Her motivated staff was well compensated for their discretion and it was amazing what money could buy. Loyalty, privacy, dedication and an iron clad contract that made it impossible for her employees to work in the industry if they quit. Few left, and on the rare occasion one did quit, she had ways to protect herself. She told them that the project was top secret for the military, a blood replacement for war that was both convenient and portable. Rehydration was the reason for the high concentration, she told them.

“Hey boss lady.”

A hand slapped her back causing her reflexes to spike, her body to go rigid and her nails to grow before she could control it. Taking a long deep breath, she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her tailored black slacks before she sliced the idiot.

“Mike, how many times have I told you not to surprise me like that, or call me ‘boss lady’?” A.J. felt the bones in her neck pop when Mike slapped her on the shoulder.

“Hey, lighten up. Life’s too short to be so uptight. Right?” Mike sat down at his desk and turned his computer on. “Besides, we haven’t seen you in a while. You okay?”

Mike was an underling that hadn’t learned his place in the world yet. Perhaps it was time she gave him a lesson in decorum.

“A.J.” A.J. heard Kevin call her down the hallway by her office.

“Mike, you and I are going to have a conversation on employee and employer boundaries this afternoon,” A.J. said, finally able to pull her hands out of the shredded, interior pockets of her pants. “See you at 1 p.m., and I wouldn’t be late if I were you.”

A.J. walked past Kevin and into her office, sitting down on the leather couch.

Seeing the exchange, Kevin said, “I’ll talk to him.”

“No, I’ll talk to him. What the fuck is wrong with everyone? Shit.”

“A.J., relax. You’re just off kilter right now. It stands to reason. You just found out a woman you thought was dead, is alive. She lives a couple of miles from here, and she doesn’t even know you’re alive, yet.” Kevin looked at A.J., hoping logic would take over from emotion.

“Don’t patronize me, Kev. We’ve known each other way too long.” A.J. made her way to the window and pulled down the sunshade. “What did you find out about Clarissa’s daily habits?”

“Well, like I said before, she’s an assistant professor over at the university. Teaches literature, English, stuff like that. Oh, I did find out something interesting. Every year she puts on the Renaissance Masquerade ball. They have donors that contribute large sums of money and that money goes to scholarships and grants at the university for the students.”

Shaking her head, A.J. said, “That sounds like something Clarissa would do. She was always putting others first. Okay, get me more information about donating, tickets, that sorta stuff. I want to see her up close and in action.”

“You think that’s a good idea, A.J.? I mean she doesn’t know you’re here. Don’t you want to keep it that way?”

“Kevin, why must you always second guess my actions?” Sitting down at her desk, she called for her assistant. “Kevin, if you can’t handle working with me then maybe we need to reassess your position with the company.” A.J. motioned her assistant to come in.

“A.J., it isn’t that and you know it.” Leaning over her desk, he whispered, “I just want you to be careful, that’s all. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Thanks buddy.” Shooing him away, she finished, “I think I can take care of myself. Now, find out what you can and give me a status report this afternoon.”

“Okay.”

A.J. turned her attention to her assistant.

“Gail, can you pull Mike Tyler’s file. We’re having a meeting this afternoon.”

“Good Morning, little Miss Sunshine,” Carol said, closing the door behind her.

“Hmm, well aren’t we chipper. I see you met someone new.” Clarissa poured herself some coffee and passed a cup towards Carol. Clarissa noticed a bruise on Carol’s neck and instantly the hairs on her arm stood, and a chill worked through Clarissa.

“Well, if you must know, I just met him the other night.”

Raising an eyebrow, Clarissa looked at the darkening mark on Carol’s neck. “So I see.”

“Oh, that.” Carol reached up to pull her collar closer to the mark, “It’s my sweet spot, he says.”

“Is it a bite? I can’t quite tell,” Clarissa said nonchalantly, ruffling through paperwork on her desk.

“It’s a hickey, silly. Kinda embarrassing, but it happened so quickly.” Still trying to pull the collar closer, she asked, “Can you really see it? I mean really see it?”

“Naw, it’s barely noticeable. Besides you can always tell the students it’s a curling iron accident.” Clarissa started chuckling at the bad joke.

“So what does this guy do?”

“Well…he’s a teacher.”

“Really. Hmm, I would’ve thought he was—”

Carol cleared her throat cutting Clarissa off as a few students walked towards them. “Well, I gotta get to class. Hey, are we on for lunch today?”

“Sorry, I have an appointment with that new research company, Knight-Pharmaceutical, on campus. I need to try to fill that donor’s slot we lost. How about I call you later and maybe we can do drinks or something,” Clarissa said, as they started walking down the hallway.

“Okay, sounds good. Let me know what they’re like over there. I hear they do animal experiments.”

“No, they don’t. The university has a policy on that. Geez.”

“Hey, I’m just telling you what a student told me. Besides, maybe you’ll meet some gorgeous researcher over there.”

“Is that all you ever think about? Sex?”

“Hey, Ms. Woods, nice hickey,” said a student as she passed by the two women.

Clapping her hand to her neck, Carol glared at Clarissa. “I thought you said you couldn’t see it?”

“No, I said it was barely noticeable.” Grinning, Clarissa watched as Carol took out her compact and started dabbing make-up on it.

“Oh right, well….” Carol fidgeted with her collar again, trying to cover her neck, looking embarrassed.

“Well, at least you have the decency to look embarrassed. Don’t you two get enough?”

“Well...I’m advising him on changes he might want to make to his lesson plans.”

“I didn’t know he was teaching sex ed.,” Clarissa smirked. She knew Carol fell fast and hard, but a hickey on the first date? That was fast, even for Carol.

“Well, I gotta run, Ms. Smarty Pants. Call me after your meeting and let me know what happened.” Carol kissed Clarissa on the cheek, and made a beeline for the door. “See ya later.” Tossing a wave over her shoulder, she was gone.