Till the Break of Dawn (3 page)

She took a minute, seemingly to digest what I’d just said. “And what do you want now?”

I reached over and took the whiskey bottle from her again. “The hell if I know.”

Jamie laughed. “Yeah, turning thirty will do that to you.”

“Shut up. Thirty is not old.”

“Of course not. It’s just like you said, time to figure out what I’m doing.”

That wasn’t exactly what I said, but it was close enough.

“You know, I never asked this before because I knew it was a painful subject.” She paused. “But what is it about Marcus that you can’t seem to get over? I mean, it’s been seven years, Dawn. Seven years that I know you’ve slept with other men because I’ve met some of them. Did they just not do it for you? Were their dicks not big enough? What?”

I laughed a little, but still answered, “You’re right, it is a painful subject.”

“Does that mean you aren’t going to answer me?”

“It means I’m not drunk enough yet. Find us some music to listen to and hand me that bottle. It’s been a long time since I got drunk and it’s been even longer since I talked about Marcus. If you want to hear how I feel, stick around.”

An hour and a half pint of whiskey later, we got back to the subject. My hair was almost dry and I thought about going upstairs and braiding it. But, the look from Jamie said she was ready for an answer.

“Are you drunk enough to talk about Marcus yet, because I’m drunk enough to hear it? Much more of this,” she said, pointing at the whiskey,” and I’ll end up asleep on your couch.”

I sighed. “Sure, why not?”

Jamie propped against the kitchen counter where I was standing and took my hand.

“I understand why it’s hard, you know. If it didn’t matter, then you’d talk about it all the time.”

She was right. Jamie knew Marcus and I dated. And she knew when we stopped seeing each other. What she didn’t know was how serious things had been. To be quite honest, I’d tried to hide it, even from her. If I talked about our relationship it seemed to make the loss more real. But if I kept it to myself, then no one knew I had lost anything. At least, that made sense to me.

But, talking to Jamie wasn’t like telling some random person. I trusted her and it was time I spilled it all to somebody. As a matter of fact, she was the reason Marcus and I met in the first place.

Chapter Three

When Jamie and I first moved in together she figured out in a hurry that I was a huge P.F.C. fan. I never missed a fight. Once I forced her to watch a few shows with me, she started to get into it too. For my twenty-third birthday not only did she get us into the show, she got us a job working the ticket booth. It was better than just watching the show because you got to meet some of the talent. (I learned from Marcus that that’s what people in the business called the fighters.)

She also knew of my huge crush on Nightmare a.k.a. Marcus, because by this time she had noticed how much I drooled every time I watched him. I started watching P.F.C. fights when I was a kid. Actually, the company started doing shows when I was three years old. By the time I was four, they had already recruited the best professional wrestler in the game, Marcus, who was even then known as Nightmare.

Sometime around the age of sixteen I developed a taste for tall, dark, and sexy. Most people were intimidated by the fact that he was six-foot-seven and heavily muscled. But I’m not most people. Everything about him turns me on. Besides, he’s a really nice guy. Of course, no one outside of the business knows that except for a handful of people. Even if things didn’t work out between us, I felt fortunate to know the real him.

But back to my point. Thanks to Jamie, I got to meet Nightmare. Actually, that part was kind of an accident. The show was almost over and I was trying to find the bathroom. I have a horrible sense of direction to begin with and the crowd that was already gathering in some of the hallways didn’t help. I got lost in the arena and when I turned a corner too fast, ran right smack into him. My head bounced off his bare stomach and I would have fallen if he hadn’t caught me.

When I realized whose body I was pressed against my heart fluttered so hard that I felt faint.

“Excuse me,” I said breathlessly.

He smiled down at me and I knew I was lost. He had green eyes like no one else and a thin goatee that surrounded his mouth, adding to the sensual appeal of his lips.

“You all right there darlin’?”

He had the sexiest voice I had ever heard. It was deep and rough. And the way he spoke was slow, sultry and … southern? I’d never noticed his accent before because Nightmare only ever uttered a few words on camera. Mostly they were threats to other fighters.

“I think I’m um …” I could feel my face burning. I wanted to lose myself inside the robe he was wearing. Here I was finally getting to meet the man I had lusted after for so long and I could barely speak. I laughed and his smile widened. “I think I’m blushing.”

He took a step back, but didn’t release me. His eyes sparkled and my stomach did a little flip-flop. “So, you are. Anything I can do?”

I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. “No, it’s everything you’ve already done.”

He raised a brow. The effect was striking.

“My name is Dawn. I worked the ticket booth tonight and I’m a fan of yours. Have been for a long time.”

I stuck out my hand for him to shake. When he kissed it instead I almost peed in my pants.

“I had no idea my fans were so attractive.”

My laughter sounded nervous, even to my own ears.

He leaned forward and put his arm around me, taking me underneath the robe and against his side. I couldn’t believe this was really happening.

“Tell me, what brings you back here?”

I wanted to ask him the same thing. I couldn’t have wandered into the backstage area because that was guarded by security. So, what was he doing wherever the hell I was? And where did everyone else go?

“I’m lost actually. I was trying to find the restroom.”

“It’s this way,” he said, continuing to lead me down the hall.

As we walked I kept stealing glances up at him. In reality, he was only a few inches taller than Terry, but it seemed like much more. Maybe it was because he stood up straighter? Or maybe he was just so much larger than life to me.

“The bathrooms here are really terrible,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

“The bathrooms, they’re not that great.”

I wanted to laugh. How did I end up discussing public bathrooms with my favorite wrestler? “Either way, that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve got to go.”

“How about I let you use the one in my dressing room?”

There went my heart, fluttering like a trapped butterfly again. “All right.”

“That is of course, if you’ll go out with me tomorrow night?”

I crossed my arms and paused to look up at him. “Would you really make me use the other one if I said no?”

He laughed and the sound poured over me like liquid velvet. Was that part of his vampire powers or just his natural sexy way? I never got around to asking him.

“Of course not.”

He led me to the opposite side of the arena and right past security. My heart was working overtime. Here I was tucked underneath the arm of a superstar like Nightmare and being walked through the backstage area like it was perfectly normal. Maybe it was. Maybe he took women back here all the time. But even as the thought crossed my mind I saw the way some of the staff looked at me and decided that wasn’t so. Whatever this gesture was, it was not normal for Nightmare.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a seven-foot werewolf approaching and almost didn’t need the bathroom anymore. Without realizing what I was doing I moved closer and hid myself underneath Nightmare’s heavy black robe. About that time the werewolf slapped Nightmare on the shoulder.

“You knocked out my back teeth,” he growled.

Nightmare winced, showing a little bit of fang in the process. Why was that so sexy to me?

“Sorry about that.”

It took me a second or two to get past his bloody mouth and realize that the werewolf was smiling and not bearing his teeth.

“It will take me a week to grow that shit back,” he complained.

“I guess this means you don’t want to go out for steak tonight?” Nightmare asked.

The smile I had was involuntary as I listened. I never knew he had a sense of humor. It was odd to have watched someone for years and realize that I really knew nothing about him. It was also wonderful to see him smile.

The werewolf’s laugh was closer to a bark. “Smart ass.” It was then that he noticed me, hiding against the vampire’s side. “And who is this?”

“Dawn.”

Hearing him say my name gave me such a thrill. As he introduced me, the werewolf changed back to human form before my eyes. His transformation was much less theatrical than when he was in the ring and quite smooth. It was like watching special effects in a movie, except it was real and it was right in front of me.

“Dawn, this is Hellacious Harry.”

The man standing before me was tall, blond, and completely naked. The torn jeans he was wearing fell off when he transformed. Even though he was still a big man, his waist was much slimmer as a human. Obviously, this had happened before because he seemed completely unfazed. He reached to shake my hand and my smile widened.

“Nice to meet you, Dawn.”

“If you’ll excuse us, Harry, we were going somewhere.” He paused and gave the werewolf an evil grin. “And you need to put on some pants.”

Nightmare tightened his grip around my shoulders and continued down the hallway.

“Here we are,” he said. “I’ll wait here.” He opened the door and ushered me inside. “Bathroom’s to the left.”

I’m not sure what I had been expecting, but his dressing room was nice. It looked more like something you’d expect to see in a theatre than in a wrestling arena. I suppose I was envisioning a sweaty locker room or something along those lines. There was a small vanity table in the corner with lots of lights and makeup. I couldn’t imagine Nightmare sitting in the dainty chair and almost laughed at the thought. There was also a rack of costumes along the side of the wall and a red sofa near the back. And of course, there were lockers.

I headed to the left, past the shower stalls and found the bathroom, which I was relieved to see was clean. By suggesting that the other bathrooms were dirty, Nightmare had unknowingly hit on one of my biggest fears. Stupid as it may sound I actually have a fear of dirty public restrooms.

I tried to make things quick so he wouldn’t think I was snooping around in his dressing room. When I walked back out into the hall he was waiting for me. I’m sure that with his vampire senses he knew I was there. However, when he didn’t immediately look my way I took the opportunity to drink in the sight of him. His long legs weren’t covered in their usual black spandex. Instead he was wearing what looked like black silk pajama pants with a drawstring at the waist. The cloak he wore was one he had used in his act a few times. It was black with red embroidery with some sort of ruffled fringe along the edges. It was also ankle length, which meant I could have used it as a blanket.

“The show is over,” he reported smoothly. “I hope you weren’t really interested in the last match.”

I shrugged. “Not really. I’d rather be here.” Damn, had I really said that out loud?

“So, I take it I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Maybe.”

He laughed again and the sound did things to me I can’t explain.

“Can I walk you to your car?”

I paused and gave him a skeptical look. “You’re really going to walk outside with all the fans and paparazzi, just to walk me to my car?”

His grin was devilish. “If you want you can pretend to be my prisoner. With the character I play, I’m sure it could be worked into the storyline.”

It was difficult at first to reconcile the charming vamp in front of me to the dark and frightening persona of Nightmare. I had always known that P.F.C. was scripted, but right then I understood just how much.

“How about you walk me to the door? It’s not that I wouldn’t love to be seen with you, but I don’t think you realize what a huge crowd is out there tonight. I’d be mangled just for standing beside you.”

He leaned closer toward me, still propping against the wall. The movement was surprisingly graceful for someone his size and terribly sexy.

“Do you really think I’d let anyone mangle you?”

No, I didn’t. The look in his eyes said he would do anything to protect me and that in itself caused me concern. As much as I had wanted for this to happen, we had just met. Why would he be willing to risk his safety and possibly breaking character in public for me?

“I’d rather not take a chance.”

He shrugged. “Have it your way.”

As we walked toward the backstage exit he told me they were thinking about having him in a handicap match against six other vampires. The match ended up being a success, but at the time had never been done before.

“Two of them are undefeated. So, since you’re a fan tell me, what do you think?”

“You’re a dead man.”

He gestured to his fangs and said with a laugh, “Obviously.”

I think that was the moment I fell in love with him. But if not, then surely it was the one that immediately followed. He pulled me against him and as he leaned in close I realized he was going to kiss me. My body and my heart were completely unprepared. He touched my face lightly, tracing the line of my jaw as he bent over me. As he did this his hair spilled forward. I can still remember the smell of his shampoo and thinking that he must have already showered after his match because he smelled so good.

He moved his hand to the back of my neck, gently cradling my head as he whispered, “My name is Marcus,” against my lips. And then he kissed me. His lips were soft against mine, not demanding much, but offering many things. I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing my body flat against his. I had wanted this for so long and now, I didn’t know how to react. To feel his body against mine was beyond arousing. A fire coursed through me, awakening something deep within, a yearning that has only been fulfilled in his arms. I opened my mouth wider, inviting him to deepen the kiss and as he accepted this invitation my hand slid down over his chest. There was no heartbeat. It was this that made me withdraw. But that didn’t mean I hadn’t enjoyed myself. To this day I remain convinced that Marcus’ kiss should be listed among the seven deadly sins.