Free Microsoft Word - Blood and Sex from CE.rtf by Administrator

Khalil turned toward his seat.
    “Wait.”
    He looked back over his shoulder to her, and waited for her to move closer.

    67
    She whispered, “Michael assigned a bodyguard to me. Blane. Would you tell him to stand down?”
    His eyebrows rose. “You only arrived here.”
    “Yes.”
    Khalil grinned. “And Blane already has you begging for him to leave.”
    She didn’t answer.
    That seemed to please him even more. “Why?”
    “He’s rude, pushy, domineering, and…” She looked for another insult to describe him, but a twinge of guilt blanked her mind. Less than twenty-four hours earlier, she had been in bed with him. Now, she was telling the leader of them all he was a horrible person. She groaned.
    “And he argues with you readily, I assume.”
    “Yes.”
    Khalil gave a quick nod. “He needs to stay with you through the week. I have no reason to think that Blane is any less of a gentleman than the one I’ve always known. He may even be good for you, if he can weather that fearsome temperament I love.” The creator stepped forward and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, then turned toward the table. “Blane,” he called, waving the vampiro toward them.
    Oh gods, no.
    “Since you are assigned to guard my Christiana, I would be honored if you would sit at my right hand. Victor will move to your place, and my daughter will sit beside you.”
    “Thank you.” Blane dipped his head.
    “Now, let us enjoy the evening.”

    * * * *

    68
    As Khalil took his place, the other vampires moved into their seats, keeping to protocol.
    They sat like a formal courtroom and kept the chatter minimal during the announcements. The hours that followed were filled with coma-inducing speeches from cosca heads. New vampires were presented by their creators. Breaches of the laws were discussed, as was the death of Castillo, the vampiro leader who was Michael’s predecessor. Overall, it was as exciting as a broken bicycle.
    Even after so many years of witnessing these meetings, Christiana still saw the archaic, monstrous side of the people there. Now, of course, it was modern, clean, and shiny. A human walking into the meeting might have no clue that the red stuff in the dessert dishes was a congealed blood dessert, but it made the entire scene even more twisted to her. Beneath the thin façade was a meeting of monsters who dined on the blood of virgins that had been collected by the frightened upper class in Venice as a means of appeasing the horde and keeping their beloved city safe during the assembly. It had been this way for centuries, but it wasn’t getting any easier to comprehend.
    Khalil stood and cleared his throat as the last of the dishes was taken away. “I have things to discuss with others in private. Please feel free to stay as long as you like. Our festivities will begin tomorrow at sunset. I look forward to seeing you all there.” He made a small bow and headed off toward a side door.
    Victor, a young Egyptian, hurried after him. He was in essence Christiana’s brother, though he missed no opportunity to remind her that her rank, as a woman, was far below his.
    With each decade, she was beginning to wish more and more that Khalil had let him die in that battle at Megiddo the way fate would have had it.
    “Is your Vincenzo here?” Blane whispered from the seat next to her.

    69
    Christiana turned to see him holding up a blood-filled martini glass.
    He took a sip, then continued. “I’m waiting on you to go back to the hotel. Michael and the others are in a private meeting with Khalil.”
    “What about?”
    “I don’t know. It was a need-to-know thing.”
    “In that case, I’m ready when you are. I don’t care to stand around chatting the rest of the night.”
    He downed the drink and set the empty glass onto the table beside her. Again, keeping to the protocol they were all trying to pull off in front of each other, Blane helped her from her seat and led her toward the exit.
    “Christiana!” a high voice