"The Price"
By Miss UK (edits/rewrites by Princess Plum Jade)
Chapter Nine: Roses and Rain by Princess Plum Jade
Angel paid the check for their supper and reclaimed his leather coat on the way out of Green Evenings. It had been raining outside and the scent of it clung to Los Angeles, washing over the more common odours of motor exhaust and human bodies in various states of grooming.
They strolled along in peaceful silence, bodies casually brushing against each other from time to time with intimate ease. Angel noticed the looks they received from the humans around them. A rude pre-teen boy raised his eyebrows and gazed in open admiration at Tara�s model-esque face and hourglass figure. Angel barely managed to repress a powerful desire to plant his booted foot on the leering teen�s backside. An old lady glanced at them and slowly smiled, reminded perhaps of another couple she knew from her past or maybe herself at an earlier age. A middle-aged man, a business executive in an obscenely expensive suit, strolled past them, arm-in-arm with a gaudily dressed prostitute; his glance betrayed longing envy. Still others gave them admiring looks, appreciating the attractive symmetry of the brawny handsome man and his elegant girlfriend.
If they only knew...
Angel reached up in a reflexive motion to catch Tara when she suddenly stumbled and fell off-balance. The chunky heel of her dark blue Mary Jane pump had caught in a broken slate tile on the sidewalk. Her soft body crashed against his hard-muscled frame and Angel helped right her.
�Thanks,� she said softly, a little embarrassed.
�Watch where you�re going,� Angel gently chided her. �You should have perfect night vision by now.�
�I do,� Tara replied frankly with a little laugh. �That�s part of the problem.�
Angel arched an eyebrow at her.
�I was watching the sky,� Tara explained a little sheepishly. �It�s beautiful and it�s always changes! The depth of the colors and the movement from the clouds keeps changing patterns. It�s so subtle�and gorgeous! I�ve never seen these kinds of things before.� Her lovely blue eyes widened at Angel�s blank expression. Could he really have lived over two centuries and never noticed these things?
�Come on.� Impulsively, Tara took his large hand in hers and began walking more briskly towards a taxicab. �Take us to Hilliard Park,� she instructed the driver.
Angel spent the remainder of the evening in a mixture of awe and humility as Tara led him confidently along the garden paths of the huge local park and pointed out the startling beauty of a full-blown rose, the curvature of its dwindling outer petals and the shape of the veins near each petal�s base. Even the thorns were beautiful, the faintest patterns and alternation of pigment in them giving them the texture of polished wood. Above the roses, massive oak trees whispered and sighed, some nearly 500 years old, their dewy foliage reflecting the cloud-washed moonlight. The rain-drenched roses created a luxurious perfume that clung to the night as they strolled along the crooked brick path as easily and sure-footed as if they walked on new pavement.
�I�ve always known the world was a beautiful place,� Tara said softly. �But I�ve seen more of it in the last month than I ever would have been able to imagine�before,� she concluded awkwardly. She met his eyes. �I�ve lived my whole life thinking a rose is red. Now I know it�s so much more than just red, so many reds.� She inhaled deeply, out of habit and Angel felt desire spark in him at the gentle lift her bosom. �And the fragrance is so much more than I thought! It�s rich and heady and it�s entire composition is meant to inspire�love�� She looked all around herself, then turned back to her friend. Angel was watching her curiously. �Don�t you feel any of these things?� she asked, suddenly desperate for him to understand.
Impulsively, Tara grasped a nearby rose. She gave a melodious little cry when she misjudged her reach and drove a cruel thorn into the tender pad of her thumb.
Angel�s ears thrilled to the delicious sound reverberating through his senses. He felt very nearly drunk and deliciously happy. Tara was exuberant and childlike. She was so beautiful! And she was right. The world was a more beautiful place than he had ever imagined. Everything seemed so bright and flawless, the natural defects only adding to the perfection of the whole. Through Tara, Angel regained a new acceptance of his demon state. She had awoken him to the elegance of their fate, something he had never really stopped to savour. Why hadn�t he been paying attention?
When he had been sired by the cruel and captivating Darla, his existence had been all about killing. He had never truly revelled in the strength and supremacy of his being, merely lived through it kill to kill. Now he to saw everything through new eyes. And not all of it was ugly and evil and bad. Some of it was wonderful.
He made a softly sympathetic sound, the low bass note blending with her sweet cry, and
exclaimed gently as he lifted her hand. The thorn had torn her lovely white skin and a dark bead of blood shone in the watery moonlight.
�It�s only a little scratch.� Angel lifted the hurt digit to his lips and softly kissed it. He drew Tara�s thumb into the lukewarm cavern of his mouth and swept his tongue over the delicate injury. He shut his eyes at the brief shot of ecstasy from tasting Tara. Her demonically altered skin was already knitted back to smooth loveliness. �See?� He kissed her thumb again and released her hand. �All gone.�
Tara�s entire body quivered as Angel�s soft tenderness sent warmth coursing through her blood. The gesture had a curious intimacy to it, the soothing care of a parent for a hurt child as well as a lover�s tenderness. It was exactly the sort of thing Tara might have done to Willow.
�W�we should go back,� she whispered. �I�ll need to sleep soon.�
It was a lame excuse. It wasn�t even 4:00 a.m. yet.
Angel nodded his understanding and they turned back on the path to return to Hilliard Street where they could get another cab. As they moved alongside each other, their pace perfectly matched to each other�s comfort, it seemed completely natural for Angel�s arm to curl over Tara�s shoulders and draw their bodies together. A gentle breeze blew soft wisps of her fine hair against his, soft spun gold weaving into rich coffee-brown silk.
Tara closed her eyes and took another deep breath, the scent of roses, foliage, and rain clung to them. She smiled involuntarily. She felt warm and safe and very happy. No matter what happens later on, she thought, I'll remember this night forever.
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Chapter 10 "Destiny"
"The Price" Contents
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