By: Stephanie Beck
StephanieBeckAuthor on Facebook
"Ta da!"
Sara spun theatrically and put her hands on her hips before she faced her handsome fiancé. The look on his face told her the skimpy angel costume was once again a success. This reincarnation of her favorite theme was pure white, cut just short of her knees and high enough to cover her breasts. The sexy came in with the details as the skirt was in strips of gold making it look like with every step there was a chance to see something really good. But her goods were taken now, the whole of her body and soul in the possession of one James P. Raven, vampire.
"So?" she asked when he continued to stare, his piercing brown eyes taking in every nuance of the costume for what it did and did not cover, "I was thinking it would be perfect for all of our Halloween plans. Demure enough for your parents' party, foxy enough for the clubs after."
His appreciative smile slipped and the dismay in his eyes made her crumble a little. James was her everything and she couldn't imagine why he wouldn't approve of her plans. It was their first Halloween together and she wanted it to be perfect.
"What?" she asked when he seemed to debate with himself.
"I love it," he said and closed the distance between them before she could blink, "I love the way the skirt pieces hug your hips. I love the lacing under your breasts and how every man will look and want but never touch. The halo is plain but I'll have something made that is near as beautiful as you before next week."
"But?" she asked, letting him cuddle her as his hands stroked her bottom in the most distracting way.
"But…I think we should find you something different for my parents' party," he admitted and she could see the pained expression telling her that he didn't want to deny her but thought it was best. It was an expression she rarely saw but with his protective streak it did show on occasion, "I know, we'll go to Tiffany's tomorrow, I'll buy them out and you can go as their cover girl."
"Oh come on, James," she protested, although the promise of diamonds did get her attention, "I know your parents aren't prudes and obviously vampires aren't affected by angel costumes if you're all hugged up to me. I fail to see the problem."
"You're right, they aren't prudes and the angel reference takes no toll on my vampire nature or my father's but it's my step-mother that will have issue. She doesn't care for angels," he explained, genuine anger and fear in his tone at the mention of his father's wife.
"Oh yeah? Why's that?" she asked, trying to keep her voice interested and concerned instead of demanding and homicidal. No one messed with her man/vampire. No one.
"She's a time demon," he answered with a harsh sigh, "Dad didn't know it when he bonded with her and afterward there was nothing he could do to void it."
"Time demon?" Sara asked, thinking hard but coming up blank, "What exactly do they do?"
"If we piss her off she blanks our memory as a way of stealing time," he explained.
"That doesn't sound so bad," she replied.
"I broke a teacup around the civil war and don't remember anything until two thousand," he told her, the bitterness and anger in his tone shoring up her new found desire to destroy the demon.
"Poor baby," she muttered soothingly, drawing his head to her chest, petting her hand through is ebony hair as his cool breaths turned to hot kisses on her skin.
"I know," he said, his tongue dragging along the inner cleft just barely showing above her dress, "I love you, Sara. I can't let that happen with you. I want you as long as I can have you."
"I love you too," she said, tugging him to the sofa, "Just try to get rid of me."
---
She looked at her fellow freaks, and when five heads nodded at once, Sara knew her future mother-in-law was no longer a problem. When it came to friends, she knew she couldn't do better than the group around her. There was Dina the witch, Amy the nymph and Kate the unfortunately hairy werewolf. They were all her girls, but she was closest to Pammy and Rachael. Pammy nodded hard, the rings on her nose and eyebrow flailing wildly. She was a kindergarten teacher who moonlighted as a demon hunter. Rachael didn't nod so much as freeze in indecision. Sara loved her dearly, but the girl was timid. A succubus from a long line of sexual deviants, Rachael had secrets she hid behind her matronly librarian wardrobe that only was removed on weekends when she danced at a strip club eighty miles north in Vermont.
"So, any suggestions?" Sara asked, swirling her glass of orange juice and cream, her newest craving since James had planted his vampire spawn inside her, "I have and always will dress like an angel on Halloween. I refuse to change for a bitchy demon. Oh and James, I want her to leave him alone too."
"Well," Pammy said, twirling a knife blade on her index finger, "The obvious answer is for me to chop off her head."
"But she is bonded with James' father," Sara replied with a shrug, "If extermination was an option I could handle that myself."
They threw out more ideas and threw popcorn too but by midnight when Pammy had to get hunting they were still short on ideas with Halloween only three days away. Sara checked her watch and knew James would be by any minute to take her home. She didn't want to leave without a plan. The whole situation sucked.
"Suck," she said and jumped to her feet, the faces surrounding her turning away quickly as light shot out from her every pore, "Sorry. I know what we have to do. Rachael, how do you feel about a little time-demon snack?"
---
"Are you sure you're feeling up to this, pumpkin?"
"I'm fine, bloodyboo," she assured James while patting the velvet arm of his leisure suit. He was something straight out of the nineteen seventies and she loved it, "I might want some pretzels and cream cheese soon. I hope your step-mother has some."
"If she doesn't, I'll get you some," he promised, holding her to his side as he rang the doorbell of the townhouse that glowed with the party inside, "Remember what I said about her, okay? The angel thing…just stay really close to me."
"Okay, sweetie," Sara said, smoothed her bodice and turned on her smile.
The woman who answered the door was adorable in a bright blue dress and a white lace pinafore. The bevy of sheep beanie babies and shepherdess staff proclaimed her `Little Bo Peep'. Sara bit back a grin as the sheep keeper looked them both over and smiled in approval, "James dear, who is this lovely girl?"
"Ah, Addie this is my fiancé, Sara," he said, confusion in his voice but Sara kept on smiling as she offered her hand, "Sara, meet my step-mother, Addie Demona."
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Demona," she said, warmly.
"You too, dear, you too," Addie said and opened the door wider, "Do come in, James and dear Sara. I love your costumes, my darlings. A vampire and an angel, how perfect."
---
Lying in bed Sara bit her lip as James gushed over his step-mother's change of heart. The old bat had been hostess of the year, confusing her guests who attended her parties more out of fear than affection. James and his father were thrilled, both relaxing for the first time in centuries when they realized it wasn't a trick. They didn't claim to know what happened but assumed the demon part of her had been called back to Hell.
They were nearly right. In the end Sara decided the best way to get rid of the demon without killing Addie was to suck it out. Luckily for them, the time demon was just like the rest of its breed, willing to jump anything with power and something fun between its legs. She, Pammy and Rachael went the night before when James and his father were out and without remorse she'd siched her succubus on the demonness. Rachael left the longevity but took all the power, leaving Addie docile and sweet.
"So," he said and she realized her participation was required, "I'm hoping Thanksgiving and Christmas go as smoothly as tonight. If we can keep her level through the holidays I bet she'll be fine for the wedding and baby. I should have known you would win her over."
"Well of course, my lovesucker," Sara said, tucking close to his side, "I am pretty amazing."
No comments:
Post a Comment