The old friends talked for a few more minutes and closed the gap. They could not use their magic for long, or it could be traced to its source and destroyed.

Mel lay in her bed thinking about Sara long after she felt the girl fall asleep. Mel had begun working her magic throughout the world in little increments so as not to cause a trail back to the nursing home since she woke two years ago. She was getting so much stronger everyday and would very soon need to face her mate. Sara had given up so much to protect her when everyone else had given up the search for her.

Mel was sending more and more power to the young guard whenever she could manage it, siphoning off some of hers to strengthen up Sara's power base. This was part of what she needed to talk to Sara about as soon as possible, as she needed to find someone to take her place soon. Sara knew nothing about the added powers, and would be magically stronger than any living human very shortly.

As a now unmated queen, Mel could have no more children. A royal born queen could only conceive once. This was another reason her talk with Sara needed to be soon. Maybe Sara's vampire would be the one to help them both. Melody, Mistress of Light, Keeper of All Magic, had a lot to do before her friend came to see her.

*CHAPTER TEN*.

"Carlovetti Airways, how may I help you?" the voice at the other end of his phone asked, and Aaron took a deep breath.

Aaron had been both dreading and looking forward to calling Sara all day. Now that he had her on the phone, his mind completely shut down. He glanced down at the index cards full of notes that April had helped him with yesterday. The first card said, "ask about her health."

"h.e.l.lo, Sara, how are you feeling this fine evening?" His hearing was excellent, so when she muttered, "Well, h.e.l.l, f.u.c.k a duck and watch it waddle," he nearly laughed out loud. He was glad her disposition had not changed at least.

"Mr. MacMa.n.u.s, the Carlovettis are not here yet. I'll be sure to tell them you called." He was sure she was about to hang up when he stopped her.

"I called to talk to you, my dear. You didn't answer my question. How are you feeling? Better, I hope."

"I'm fine, sir." Her tone was cool, almost distant. But he knew she was far from indifferent to him.

He caught himself wadding up his notes and stopped. As he was smoothing them out, he flipped to number two. Very funny, he thought. "Breathe, and don't f.u.c.k this up," it said. He would have to tell April how helpful her notes were next time he saw her.

"I need for you to do something for me...well, me and the Carlovettis, that is. I need for you to help me out on Friday night." Sara did not acknowledge Aaron in any way. He knew she was there; he could hear her breathing. "Sara?"

"Yes, sir?" He had never known anyone, human or vampire, that could convey so much in two little words; frustration, aggravation, irritation.

"Did you hear me?" he asked again. "I need a favor; we need a favor from you."

"I heard you. Believe it or not, I hear perfectly well. I'm really busy here. You've stated your business. I need to go."

He had been antic.i.p.ating this since Monday, how to ask for her help by writing notes, practicing, but this was going nothing like he planned. Why did she have to be so d.a.m.ned stubborn all the time? April said that Sara wouldn't say anything unless he asked her a precise, direct question. He would have to resort to his d.a.m.ned notes again.

"I was wondering if you'd be my date this Friday night at the Alliance Dinner at six-thirty? It's here at the mansion." He wondered if he sounded rushed and didn't think so.

"No."

Nope, not going well at all. She was not supposed to flat out refuse. Notes, he had to keep with his notes. He felt like he was in high school kid on his first date and that he had had his big sister write out what to say.

"Let me explain this better for you. The Alliance Dinner is for every vampire in my realm to come here and pledge their fidelity to me. All are required to attend, including the Carlovettis. In addition to them would be the person or people who made the attempt on our lives a few weeks ago. I want you to be there to help keep an eye on everyone dear to us both. So let me ask you again, I was wondering if you'd be my date this Friday night at the Alliance Dinner at sixthirty?"

For a long, tense moment, she did not make a sound. There was such a delay in her response, in fact, that he had thought she had hung up. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Aaron felt like h.e.l.l now. She could make him madder than all h.e.l.l one minute, and then make him feel like the worse kind of heel the next. d.a.m.n it, he thought as he stretched out his shoulders.

"Yes, you do, Sara. You can say no. You're actually quite good at it. You certainly say if often enough to me. Anyway, just say no and that will be the end of it. Is that what you want?"

"Thank you, Mr. MacMa.n.u.s, but I don't really. You and I both know that. Is there anything else, sir?"

"No, I'll work out the details on what I need from you, and then I'll call you sometime in the morning."

"Yes, sir," she said shortly.

"Oh and Sara, it will be important that you call me by my first name if we are going to be seen as a couple. It's Aaron, not Mr. MacMa.n.u.s."

"Yes, sir." Her temper was rising. He could tell by the venom she put into her answer now. He grinned. How he hoped she would put as much pa.s.sion into making love as she did her answers to him.

Long after he hung up, he thought about what he had done to her. He realized he really had made it so that she had no choice in the matter; he knew that when he had worded it the way he had. But d.a.m.n it, he wanted to see her, needed to see her. If this was what it was like to have a mate, then to h.e.l.l with it, he thought. It was not worth the d.a.m.n problems she always seemed to cause. Then he smiled. He was going to get to see her again soon.

Now, she thought, I need to get a dress. Not just any dress either, a cla.s.sy one. She knew that this was a formal affair because she had heard April telling her husband about the dress she had picked out. The alterations alone cost more than Sara made in a week. How she was going to afford a dress to this thing was beyond her.

Sara wasn't used to asking for help, so it did not occur to her to ask for it now. In the end, she found herself at the mall looking for a suitable, affordable dress at every boutique and store there. She was not having any luck. She was sitting in her van at the mall, eating a chicken sandwich, when she spied Duncan coming out with his arms loaded.

She reached out and found out that he was there to pick up the tuxes for him, Colin, and Mr. MacMa.n.u.s. They had been altered by a specialty shop inside one of the shops that she had just been in. She jumped from her vehicle and followed him. Certainly a person who knew about tuxes knew where one could buy a stupid dress for this thing, wouldn't they?

"Mr. Duncan?" He turned quickly at her greeting, startling her.

"Goodness, Miss Sara, I did not see you coming. How are you, dear? Fine, I hope." His smile was just what she needed to bolster her feelings.

"Fine, I'm fine. I was wondering if you had a minute or two you could spare me, please? It's about this dinner thingy with Blood...Mr. MacMa.n.u.s. First, I was wondering about the dinner part. I'm not...you know, part of the dinner, am I? I mean, they're calling it a dinner and all. So...?" She shuddered a little. Maybe if she was part of his dinner it wouldn't be so very bad. d.a.m.n it. More and more thoughts like that kept popping up, and she was gonna seek professional help, she thought.

"Oh no, miss. It is nothing like that at all. It is called a dinner because a great many of our kind have humans working for them who are not aware of what they are. It is just a courtesy for them. Understand?" She nodded, relieved. "Good, what else may I endeavor to a.s.sist you with?"

Okay, endeavor? He needed to get out more and meet more people, she thought, but then she decided that she liked him very much the way he was, eccentric or not.

"Mr. MacMa.n.u.s wants me to be his guard Friday night. I...I mean, do you know where I can find a suitable dress? I don't know a flippin' thing about fashion, even less about shoes and stuff. I really don't have a great deal of money to spend, just about eight hundred dollars, I guess."

Sara really didn't know fashion, and wasn't sure if what she had to spend was a little or a lot. Mrs. Carlovetti had spent over two thousand on her dress alone, and another three hundred on shoes.

"I do know a couple of reputable places we can look. There are also a couple more that are second-hand shops. Which would you prefer?" He asked as he opened his car door.

"If you don't mind, just give me the address to both places, please? I can go and look to see what I can get for my money. I'm sure they'll have something I can use."

Second-hand sounded okay to her. The dresses would be much cheaper now that someone had already worn them. She hoped so anyway...even with the added cost of dry-cleaning, the price difference would make it well worth going to the second-hand shops first.

"One of the places is owned and operated by one of our kind, so maybe we could manage a discount from them. We will see what we can work out, shall we? There are two places that deal in antique dresses that I think might suit you. We should go to those first, I think."

"Oh, no, Mr. Duncan. No, you don't have to go. I can manage by myself. I'm sure you have plenty to do for this shindig. I wouldn't want to take you from your job."

Oh no, she thought, he can't mean to go. She was nervous enough as it was being a guard again. Plus, she needed to do this on her own as she did all things.

"Nonsense, come along. Now, I just need to put these suits in my car. You can either ride with me, or follow. Which would you prefer?"

Sara saw by the look on his face that he was not going to be deterred. She knew how to buy clothes. Just go in, get what you want, pay, then leave. Wal-Mart always had what she needed, but somehow, she didn't think this was going to be quite so easy.

Sara had watched women in the couple of shops she had been in. It was mind boggling how much c.r.a.p went with a simple dress. She looked at him again. Surely after all this time, he would be better at this business than she would be.

"If you don't mind, I'll follow you. That way, if you need to go, or get called away, you won't have to worry about me. Mr. Duncan, are you sure you won't get into hot water with the big guy? He can be sorta...well, he is very bossy, as I'm sure you know." She could only hope that he was called away, and then he would not need to explain why he was helping her out again to his master.

"No, miss. He'll be happy that I was able to a.s.sist you once again. And I believe I will enjoy this excursion as well. Shall we?"

They loaded the garment bags into this monster Hummer and went to get her van. He drove her over to it and then off they went to Vintage Wears in downtown Zanesville, a beautiful shop that dealt in antique dresses and apparel.

"Sire, it's Duncan."

Aaron smiled. He had expected this call since he had found the note Duncan had left him in the kitchen telling him that he'd gone to the mall to get the "tuxedos and finery." Duncan rarely drove and he had taken the Hummer to the mall. A deadly combination if there ever was one.

"Yes, Duncan, having trouble with the Hummer again? I told you to practice more before going to the mall; it's a nightmarish place for even a good driver."

"No, sir, I've met up with Miss Sara, and she has asked for my help. It seems that she is in need of my help knowing where to find a dress suitable enough to be your guard at the dinner Friday. She also seemed to be under the misconception that she was to be a part of the menu, if not the whole menu. I have explained that part to her to both your satisfactions, I believe. We are out shopping for a dress as we speak. She thought that I should inform you, as I will be later than the time I allotted myself to be back to the mansion."

"My guard, huh? Where is she?"

He wasn't going to think about her and menus. About sinking his teeth into her creamy neck as his aperitif. Nor about how taking her as his main course, all of her body spread before him on his bed. d.a.m.n, he really was in bad shape here, he thought, as he adjusted himself for perhaps the hundredth time today.

"She is following me in her van," Duncan said. "She is just behind me."

"I never thought about her clothing when I asked her." Aaron had a horrible thought. "Christ, she is not going to buy a t-shirt and cut-offs is she? Duncan, please, make sure that she wears a dress. I will of course pay for anything she needs. You have my credit cards; make sure that I get the bill, Duncan."

"Sir, I do not think that would be a good idea. I believe Miss Sara has a great deal of pride and would, how should I say this...ah, yes, bristle at the idea of you buying her clothing. We are on our way to a little shop I know in order to purchase me a little time to speak to you."

"Bristle?" Aaron snorted at that. "That would be an understatement, I believe. What's really going on, Duncan? Because I'm sure you didn't call me to make me feel guilty about this. I know that she doesn't have any money for this, so just what do you have in mind?" Bristle. He would be lucky if she didn't stake him while he slept.

"I do not believe my paying for her purchases will be wise for either of us, sire. She would most definitely have a fit of major proportions, I think." Duncan couldn't be more right, Aaron thought. "No, it would be very beneficial for all concerned if you were to make a phone call to a place called Other Worldly Creations and see if the proprietor would be willing to cut the new master a favor, so to speak. I'm sure you can handle the details of the transaction, can you not?"

There was a tone there, but Aaron wasn't about to point it out to the man. He was doing him a favor by letting him know about her financial situation again. He was still trying to track down who she was providing for in Nevada.

"Yes, I think I can handle it. You are a wily one, Duncan. However did I miss that?" He asked sarcastically, though it usually went over Duncan's head.

"I believe I'm getting better with age, sir. You can only expect more in the ensuing years. Do be quick about the call, sir. We are nearly at our first adventure. We should be at the shop in less than an hour."

Aaron disconnected the call and went to find the phone numbers he had seen just recently. He had found the file cabinet with all the names of the proprietors of every vampire-owned business in his realm just yesterday. He had been hiding from Sara and thought to clean up the desk when he came across it.

"Yes. h.e.l.lo, this is Aaron MacMa.n.u.s. I'd like to speak with..." He looked down at the file in front of him. "Elaina Spencer, please."

"If this is you, Daphne, I don't think this is the least bit funny. I don't need the added stress of you pretending to be the new b.a.s.t.a.r.d in my life I like to refer to as h.e.l.l."

Aaron did not say anything. He was not even sure what to say. He was just about to hang up then call Duncan back when the voice spoke again.

"Please tell me this is Daphne and it's a joke. I'll laugh. I'll think it's as funny as you want me to," the woman begged.

"No, I'm not Daphne, and it frightens me on many levels that you think that I sound like her or her me. Laughing won't be necessary either. I'm not usually thought of as funny anyway. I'd like to speak to Ms. Spencer. Is she around?"

Duncan said they would be there soon and Aaron wanted to get this taken care of before they arrived. He had to arrange his end of the shopping trip or have Duncan upset with him.

"Master, I'm very sorry. I had no...I beg you not to hurt my employees. They had nothing to do with my behavior. Some of them are humans. Please, master."

Aaron leaned back in his chair and contemplated finding the previous master's ashes and killing him again. This would be funny if it was not so frustrating.

"Ms. Spencer, I presume. I don't make a habit of harming people, human or otherwise, because you thought a joke was being played on you. I have a friend coming to your shop and I..."

"She'll have whatever she wants. No charge. My shop also has a line of naughty clothes. I just got in a French maid outfit. Just tell me what you want her to look like and I'll make sure it happens." She was gushing and Aaron could barely think.

The thought of Sara in a short maid dress distracted him momentarily and Aaron reached down to adjust his c.o.c.k. He was going to be permanently bruised, he just knew it. He shifted in his seat and finally had to stand up his erection was so painful. He thought that it was a small miracle that he could even think at all, what with his blood always pooled in his groin.

"No, no outfits, please." He took a deep breath before he could continue. "She needs a dress, a formal dress. It's for the pledge dinner. And I will be paying the bills. But I don't want her to know. Can you arrange that for me?" Maybe he should have her wrapped in a toga. The more of her covered the better.

"You'll pay for it? I don't understand. Oh! I see, you want me to pretend you have an account with us. I can do that. Usually, I just give them what they want, but if you want her to think you're paying, I can-"

"No, you don't...I actually want to pay for whatever she picks. Just, I don't want her to know. Duncan, the man that'll be with her, he'll have a credit card. Just let him pay for it and it'll be fine."

"What happens if she doesn't find anything? Then what?" Elaina suddenly sounded resigned. "I mean, will you give me time to relocate my people before this Duncan does his part and kills me?" Christ, even dead Carlos was certainly making his life difficult.

"Ms. Spencer-Elaina, my date and Duncan will be there in a few minutes. I want you to sell her whatever she needs to wear to a formal function; dress, stockings, shoes, everything. Then I want you to charge my credit card for it. The full price. If she doesn't find anything she likes, then she'll move to another shop." He could only hope she found something there; he so did not want to do this again. "I swear to you that it'll be no reflection on you. No harm will come to you or your employees. Sara is a very nice woman. She only gets mad at me when she gets her panties in a twist. Well, there was that time with Colin, but he started...I digress. I a.s.sure you, as your master, you are safe."

Aaron didn't think he convinced her of anything as he hung up the phone, other than someone was coming by her shop, who may or may not buy a dress, which may or may not get her killed and that she was to charge it to an account that may or may not be real. If there was ever a time in his life as a vampire, this was the one time he really could use a stiff drink. He looked at the clock and realized Duncan and Sara were probably already there. Christ, he thought again, I hope Sara doesn't kill me for this. He smiled. Maybe he would just go there soon and purchase her the little maid outfit and see what else they might have in the naughty section.

*CHAPTER ELEVEN*.

Sara felt the terror and hatred slap her hard as soon as she walked into the lovely shop. She gently reached out to find the source and was surprised by what she found. So Aaron was paying for her clothes, and Duncan, now that she looked into him, had arranged the whole thing. d.a.m.n it. The entire store was in a mental meltdown, waiting for the axe to befall the vampire and the human employees working there. She gave a small push to the woman, relaxing her somewhat.

"h.e.l.lo, I'm Sara Temple. I'm going to be an escort for your master at the dinner Friday night." Sara held out her hand as she moved toward the woman who seemed to be radiating with anger. "I need a dress for the event, and was wondering if you could please help me. I'll be honest; I don't go out much-actually, never. I know absolutely nothing about dressing up, not enough to not embarra.s.s anyone, anyway. I don't know what it'll take to make me look presentable. I'm not even sure of my size or anything."

Elaina moved forward to take Sara's hand. There was confusion, as well as surprise written all over the vampire's face. Good, Sara thought, one good thing at a time.

"I'm Elaina Spencer, I'm the owner. Let's see what we can do for you. I think we should get you to a dressing room and size you up. That will give us a better idea of what we have to work with, okay?"

Elaina's voice was sharp, and a little condescending. Sara was not offended. If the arrogant men would have stayed out of this, the poor woman would have been fine.

Sara was ushered off to a beautifully appointed pink dressing room, where she was asked to strip down to her under clothes to be measured. The room only had one small mirror, but it had the most gorgeous fainting couch she'd ever seen. It was of the deepest red, almost a blood red, with two floral pillows that had been beaded and st.i.tched by hand.

Sara's wounds had healed nicely, and since she had not met up with her tormentor in a few weeks, her bruises were actually all gone. She was glad; she did not want nor need any embarra.s.sing questions right now. And right now she had to deal with Duncan while she waited for Elaina to bring her some things to try on.

"Mr. Duncan," she whispered thorough his mind. "I'm not at all happy with you right now."

"Miss?" he said out loud. In her anger, she had forgotten he might be surprised by her talking to him in his mind.

"I'm in the dressing room, so speak to me mentally, please. I don't know when you called your master and arranged this shopping spree, but you shouldn't have. Do you know what this has done to this poor woman? She believes I'm here to get a dress or have her and her employees killed if they don't make me happy." She laid her hand over her bared belly when she thought about the rest of their a.s.sumption. "They also believe that your master is my lover and he is fulfilling one of my wildest dreams. Of owning a dress made by a vampire. How sick is that, I ask you? No, don't answer that. I'm upset with you both right now."

"I'm sorry, miss." He sounded contrite. Well, she was p.i.s.sed, d.a.m.n it. "Truly I am. I only meant to help you. I know that you are low on funds. And the master did ask you to go, did he not? He is very happy to purchase what you need. In fact, he felt quite bad for not thinking to tell you so when he asked you to begin with."

"Does he normally pay for the dresses of women he invites out?" Hurt, and something else she didn't want to a.n.a.lyze when she thought of him buying things for other women, she tried her best to sound like having men buy her dresses wasn't that big of a deal. "Please don't answer that. I don't want to know what he pays for or who he pays for. I'll play the part of the helpless woman this time, and I'll go so far as to a.s.sure Elaina that her new master is a kind and gentle man, no matter how much it makes me want to puke. But, Duncan, understand this, you've hurt me. I came to you for help, not a hand out. I won't make the same mistake again."

Sara angrily brushed at the tears as she closed the connection between them. She would not hold a grudge. It was not in her nature. But to think that Aaron knew of her situation hurt her somehow.