Sara walked out of the dressing room some forty minutes later with the gown Elaina had said would suit. She walked to the three way mirrors and looked at the person staring back at her. Elaina was just behind her, fluffing out the back just a little. The dress was magnificent. And it fit Sara as if it had been made with her in mind, both in style, color, and size.

"Oh my." Sara could not believe that that was her staring back from the mirrors. Elaina walked up to her and twisted her hair up and off her neck. It bared her shoulders and long neck, making the dress look all the more exotic.

"Yes, and what an understatement that is. Miss Temple, if you don't mind my saying so, you look beautiful."

Sara grinned at her. She turned right and left to see the whole of her reflection. The dress made her feel beautiful too. She didn't think she had ever felt this way before. She wondered what Aaron would think of it, wondered if he would think she was beautiful. She suddenly realized where her thoughts were and abruptly shut that train of thought down.

The dress was an array of dark greens, starting with the strapless green velvet that made up the top of the gown. It showed off an ample amount of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s that were pushed up and together to show the spectacular cleavage that Sara already had. The form-fitting bodice and waist hugged her smallish figure with braids of dyed green leather crisscrossed across her flat tummy and then attached to the gauzy material that hung from her hips and flared out to the floor. The dress emphasized her willowy body, as well as showed off her unadorned neck. The elbow length black gloves were the finishing touch to the elegance and beauty.

"You'll need to wear your hair up and swept away from your face like this. I wouldn't wear anything else, no jewelry at all." Elaina winked at Sara in the mirror as she continued. "I've seen other women try that dress on and I thought they looked okay in it. But you, Miss Sara, you are that dress."

"Thank you, thank you so much. I didn't know I could look so pretty. The dress does wonders, doesn't it?"

Elaina showed her how to do a simple twist in her hair. It was just a fancy way to pull her braid up and off her neck. She was a little embarra.s.sed by the amount of her breast that seemed to almost spill over the top of the bodice and tugged at it again. Elaina smacked her hand away gently with a grin.

"Leave it alone. You look lovely and there isn't so much of you showing that you need to keep trying to put it away."

Sara saw Duncan looking at her in the reflection of the mirror. Apparently, so did Elaina.

"So, what do you think, Mr. Duncan, will she be the hit of the ball?"

"It is not a ball, Ms. Spencer. It is just the dinner. And she will be the most beautiful woman there, I believe."

Sara flushed deeply at his words. She retreated to the dressing room to change back into her street clothes. First, however, she sat down on the couch. She was suddenly afraid. Afraid of what Aaron would think about her in the dress. What if he thought she looked to be playing dress up and should have tried something else? What if he thought that she was ridiculous-looking, or that she was not pretty enough now to be his...date?

"There won't be a charge. I want her to have the dress. No one will be able to look nearly that lovely in it, and I won't have another woman even trying to." She overheard Elaina tell Duncan this just as she stepped out of the little room.

"Oh no, miss. That is not what the master wanted. He wants to pay for the dress. It was never his intention s of taking the dress, I a.s.sure you." Sara frowned at the wording of what he said, but was not going to worry overly much about that right now. It was Duncan, she thought.

"Yes, I'm aware of that now. But there still won't be a charge for her dress," Elaina said again.

"Then I won't take it," Sara told her as she approached the counter. "I'm sure that I can find another dress, not near as lovely, but I won't take this from you without paying for it. Even I can see that this is a hand st.i.tched. You also have a good many hours in just the beading alone, no doubt. No, I'm sorry I can't let you do that. I won't let you do it. You are in business to make money, and if I ever have need of another dress, I want to be able to come back here to get one. I will also want to be able to send anyone who asks about this dress to you and I won't be able to do that if you are out of business, now will I? No, you charge Mr. MacMa.n.u.s for the cost of the dress, the real price, or I go elsewhere." She regretfully laid the dress across the counter and turned to leave.

So Elaina sold the dress to Mr. A. MacMa.n.u.s for what would be three months' salary for Sara. She was staggered at the amount, but steeled herself with the knowledge that somehow, she would pay the stupid man back.

As they turned to leave the store, Elaina stopped her again, only this time with a gentle tug on her arm. "Thank you very much, Miss Sara. You have restored my faith in my kind. Would you be so kind as to tell the master that it was my honor and pleasure to serve him through you, and I will be the first in line to pledge to him tomorrow night?"

"Yes, I will. Please, I'd like for you to call me Sara. Thank you and I will see you tomorrow night."

Sara hurried to her van, carrying her garment bag and the smaller bag containing the shoes, stockings, gloves, and hair clips. She was reaching into the large slider door when she looked over at Duncan.

"Miss, I would beg your forgiveness. I was wrong."

She wanted to tell him it was okay, not to worry about it, but it was not. She was getting tired of these guys running her life. "Yes, you were. But I wouldn't have gotten to meet Elaina nor have gotten this dress if you hadn't been so high-handed. So, I forgive you. But Mr. Duncan, know this, I won't be so forgiving next time. You had no right to tell him of my financial needs. Again, I wouldn't have been able to get this dress without his help, but I a.s.sure you, I would not have embarra.s.sed him in any way by my dress or my actions if that's what concerned him."

"No, miss, I a.s.sure you that was not my intention when I telephoned him. No, I only meant to lessen your burden in your time of need. No, I am sorry if that is what you thought," he said in earnest.

"It doesn't matter now. But please let him know that I will pay him back every penny he spent. I do not want to feel obligated to him or anyone else. I pay my way. Understand?"

"The master will not be happy about that," Duncan said with a sly smile. "He will be mad enough to know that you found out what we were up to tonight. More so that you know how much the dress actually cost him."

She looked at Duncan and realized he was going to enjoy telling his master what she had said. She grinned broadly at him. "I'm sure his ego will be able to take it. It's certainly big enough. Now, if you don't mind, I need to go and park. I'm tired, and I have to go to work in a few hours. You should hurry home. I'm sure he is chomping at the bit, wearing down his fangs wondering what you are doing out so late." She started to shake his hand and put hers out to do so when he suddenly turned it over and kissed the back of it. "Duncan, thank you very much for your help, I couldn't have done this without you."

"Would you like to see my dress? It's quite nice. Well, it should be for the amount it cost." Sara contacted Mel as soon as she got back to the wooded preserve.

"Yes, show me."

Sara thought about what she had looked like in the mirrors and sent the image to her friend.

"Oh my G.o.ddess, Sara, you're even more beautiful than I remember. When did you grow up?"

"You are so very funny today, aren't you? But isn't it nice? I hope I don't fall off the shoes that go with it. That's all I need."

"You'll do just fine, have faith. Besides, no one is going to care if you hobble all night long once they see that lovely neck of yours."

Aaron, she thought, what will he think of my neck? She tingled all over at the thought. "What is it, what's happened?" Sara could feel the tension in Mel's voice and with a quick scan, could tell that it was not just in her voice; her whole body was nearly brittle with it.

"I'm stronger now, Sara. It's time for me to show myself again. The world needs this magic, and we need to show them that they are not alone in this world. It's been too long already."

Sara did not say anything for some seconds; she'd known this day was coming. She had been wondering when Mel was going to make the decision. She just hoped it would have been later rather than sooner. Sara had failed her once, and she was not yet ready to be put to the test again. Not yet, anyway.

"You know I will continue to protect you no matter what you decide, now or later. You are my queen first, and my friend always. Please, Mel, don't do this because you think to lessen my involvement. I'll always be there for you."

"I know that, Sara. I'll need to show myself soon, very soon, I'm afraid. Changes need to be made, Sara. I'm not the same queen I was when you put me here to rest. I've made some decisions that will affect a great many people, you especially. You have sacrificed so much for me and our magic. My first priority is to have you exonerated of all charges as well as those who fell to save me. You need to be recognized for what you did. Then I'll need to deal with Sherman. It's time for that as well."

Sara was afraid for Mel. And then she wondered if Mel realized that she was not the same either. "I never expected anything from you." She had been working too. "Nor do I now. I didn't do anything that anyone else wouldn't have done. I've given up nothing that you wouldn't have done for me. As for Sherman, you aren't to worry about him until you're stronger. I've been working on my powers daily, and he won't get the better of me again." Amazingly enough, since meeting Aaron, she had wanted to be better at a lot of things.

"Oh Sara, do you think I wanted you to give up your life to hide away from everyone so you could shelter me? Do you think I like knowing that you have been paying so much money to have me protected and taken care of while I healed? No, love. Never." Sara could feel Mel's anger even over the long distance. "My duty as your queen was to be the one offering and guaranteeing your safety, not the other way around. I know you aren't going to like what I've done, but I have decreed it to be so. When we finally get to talk, you will begin to understand what I have decided."

Sara was reasonably sure she was not going to like whatever it was. It angered her that Mel was making decisions on her behalf without asking. It reminded her of someone else in her life, she thought with a grimace.

"I have to go to sleep now," Sara told her. "I'm mad, as I'm sure you are aware. I've had a really long day and need to rest."

"Good night, Sara. I love you, daughter of my heart." Sara felt the warmth Mel sent her, but she was too p.i.s.sed off to acknowledge it.

"I love you too, my queen."

*CHAPTER TWELVE*.

Aaron watched as she walked in the office the next morning and stopped dead when she saw him sitting in her chair. Not exactly the reception he was hoping for.

"You might as well come on over. We have a lot to go over before tonight, and I still have to travel back home," he told her.

"You said that you were going to call. I'm reasonably sure whatever you have to say to me could have been said over the phone. In fact, I would prefer it that way." She didn't move from her position when she asked, "Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to see your lovely face again, isn't that enough?" Her glare nearly made him laugh. "No, I can see you don't believe me. Oh well, have a seat, let's get tonight finalized. I will have a car pick you up at your home at four o'clock. I've already asked and found out the Carlovettis are closing at two, so that will give you plenty of time to get there and wait for the driver. What is your address, by the way? All I've been able to find is a post office box number."

Aaron picked up a pen off the desk she had been using. It smelled of her, he had discovered. It was a very neat desk, everything in its place. He wondered if she would be willing to help with his at home. Nah, he thought, she would probably set fire to it and start over, which, come to think of it, was not a bad idea.

"No, I'll drive myself. I'm quite capable of getting to and from there on my own. You know, I have had a life up until you," she told him. Quite impertinently, too, he thought.

"Have you noticed that you are forever saying 'no' to me? It's getting quite old." He leaned back in the chair. "Now, as I was saying, no, you won't drive yourself there. Someone will pick you up. Where do you live? I'm quite serious about this, Sara. Tell me."

"Did you ever think to listen when I say 'no' to you? I doubt you think you're ever wrong either, do you?" She flopped down in the other chair before she told him, "I live two point three miles from here, due west. I can give you the longitude and lat.i.tude if you'd like. Let me see, for Columbus, where you live it's thirty-nine degrees North by eighty-three degrees zero feet West. Now where I live, it's a little different, its forty degrees four feet fourteen inches North by eighty-two degrees, ten feet, thirty-three inches West. Is that specific enough for you, your d.i.c.kship?"

"That's very funny. Don't be a smart a.s.s, Sara. What is your physical address?" She looked away from him and out the window just over his shoulder. This is not going to be good. Deep in his bones he knew without a doubt that whatever she was trying to avoid telling him, he was not going to like. "Sara?"

"There isn't an actual address there. I just know where it is. I...like it there, it's very quiet." She turned and glared at him as if to say he was the cause of all the noise in her life.

"How quiet, and what does the house look like?" His head was beginning to ache again. He had lived for over fourteen hundred years and in only two weeks of knowing her, he wanted an aspirin and hard liquor. Not necessarily in that order.

"There isn't a house," she said quietly, still not looking at him.

"The apartment then, or trailer. What's the building look like that you are staying in?" He was so frustrated, which to his way of thinking, was a foregone conclusion when talking with her.

"There isn't a building there, none of any kind. There might have been at one time, I suppose. I think I saw a foundation once when I was on my way to the little creek."

He stared at her for a full minute. "Are you telling me you are sleeping outside? Are you kidding me?"

"No."

"No, what?" He didn't even try to hide his anger. "You aren't sleeping outside, or no, you're not kidding me? Which is it? Because either one you answer 'no' to is gonna p.i.s.s me off."

"Like there's a big surprise," she snarled at him. "You get p.i.s.sed about everything. And the answer is 'no' to both. No, I'm not sleeping outside, and no, I'm not kidding you. At least I'm not sleeping outside right now."

"Where exactly are you sleeping?" He asked her quietly.

"In my van."

"How long?" His head now was at the about to explode stage. His eye started to twitch a little too.

"I don't know, about eight feet long, I guess." She grinned at him then. "Shall I satisfy you curiosity and go out and measure it for you?" She had a tone. She had the nerve to have a tone with him!

He slammed both hands down on the desk as he rose over her, making her jump.

"How long...have you...been sleeping...in your van?" He said each word slowly, and each one enunciated so as she would not misunderstand what he was asking her. He was beyond mad at this point and wanted her to answer the d.a.m.ned question.

"Since it got warm again, March twenty-second." She stood too, her anger evident in every part of her lovely body. "I don't really keep track of the precise date. Do you know the date of things you do? Yes, you probably have this note pad just filled with stupid information like that."

"Again? Where were you sleeping during the previous months, and I can only a.s.sume that it was during the winter months, correct?" He moved away from her before he did something stupid...like pull her over the table and claim her, drink from her, strip her down, and f.u.c.k her.

He wasn't going to justify his notebooks of dates to her. He began to pace. She just would not understand. Sometimes, to be honest, neither did he, but that was beside the point.

"Yes, the YWCA. They have rooms to let for a low price." As if that should explain everything to him. He stopped pacing.

"And again, meaning that you have been doing this for a number of years, also correct?"

"Yes," she hissed at him. "Not that it's any of your business, but four."

"Four. Four years. You've been living out of your van for four years and you didn't think to tell anyone?" He needed a drink...not just a drink, he thought, but the entire bottle. No, maybe the entire keg, maybe that would be enough.

"Tell anyone what?" she asked him incredulously. "It isn't anyone's business where I live, what I do, not so long as I do my job. And I do my job. I'm very good at it too."

He turned and stared at her. She was serious, he realized. She actually believed that it wouldn't be a problem to anyone, her living in the wilderness alone.

"You don't think anyone would care enough about you to want to know this information?" he said softly. "That, like you said, as long as you were doing your job, it would be okay with them? Okay that you were out there unprotected, alone, just three miles down the road? That you'd have no heat, no way to cook? Where did you bathe...the creek?" He paused when she flushed. "You bathed in a creek bed?" he shouted.

"Two point three miles, not three," she corrected. "If you're gonna yell at me, get your facts straight."

He roared. Three pilots came rushing into the room to see what animal he was torturing. Mrs. Davis, one of the cleaning crew ladies, crossed herself and said two Hail Mary's as she came to a screaming halt just inside the doorway.

"Get out!" he roared at the room. Then, just as quickly as they entered, they ran out again.

His eyes had turned in his anger; his fangs had dropped as well. He knew this because he could see the red haze through his eyes, her body, and her anger, brighter to him. He felt his fangs explode from his gums. He wanted to bite, to take, to make her body his. His heart was pounding and his blood was roaring hotly through his veins. He did not think he had ever been so p.i.s.sed in his entire life.

"Sara." When she started to say something, he raised his hand. "No, don't speak. I don't know what I'll do to you if you say one thing more." He took a deep breath, then another. "There will be a car out front at two o'clock to pick you up. They will deliver you and all your belongings to my house. If, for any reason whatsoever, you are not here to go, I will punish the driver, do I make myself clear?" Even in his anger, he knew that threatening her personally would do no good.

"I'm not a child, and I'd appreciate it if you'd just mind your own f.u.c.king business. I don't need you to treat-"

He cut her off before he did something drastic. "You should really shut up now. I'm not finished." He took a deep breath before he could continue. "Another driver will bring your home to the estate and you will remain a guest in my home until such time I see fit to let you go, if ever. You are a danger to yourself, and if I have to have you declared unstable, I will. You need a keeper, and you are going to get one."

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I really hate you," she snarled at him.

"Yes, and with all probability, you will even more so before this is over. You will not run, Sara, or so help me when I catch you-and I will, make no mistake about that-I will make you very sorry. You hear me?"

"Yes," she hissed at him. "You're a p.r.i.c.k. I hope you know that. "

"Nice. Very mature. Polite, and name calling too. Now, be a good girl and do as you're told. I will see you this evening." With that, he turned and left.

Sara sat down in the desk chair and burst into tears for the second time since meeting with the overbearing vampire.

At five minutes until two, two werewolves showed up at the hangar to do just what Aaron told her they would. When the younger man asked for her van keys to drive it to the estate, she refused to give them to him. He did not even bat and eye, turned, broke into the driver's side door, hotwired the ignition, and drove off as simple as you please.

The older man looked at her. "You can either get into that monstrosity of a vehicle all by your sweet little self, or...and I gotta tell you, I'm hoping you opt for door number two here, I throw your cute little b.u.t.t up over my shoulder and carry you to it. It don't matter none to me, darlin'." He grinned at her, showing her just a little of his canines.

Mustering as much dignity as she could, she s.n.a.t.c.hed up her backpack and followed him out to a dark green Hummer. When he opened the back door for her to enter the dark car, she looked at him, pulled open the front pa.s.senger door, and got in. She heard him laugh, and that made her angrier.

"The man said you'd be madder than a hornet, but you'd be polite to me. I gotta hand it to you, little lady, you sure have him all in a twist." She looked at the man, wondering if he was angry at her for making the vamp mad. He looked genuinely amused by it.

"Good," she said. She did not say another word all the way to Columbus.

The wolf threw back his head and laughed. And he continued to laugh all the way to the estate.

*CHAPTER THIRTEEN*.