Scarlet Masquerade Read Online Free Page A

against me?”
    “No, I barely know Monsieur De Marcus. Besides, I can make my own decisions. I would love to have lunch. What could it hurt?”
    “Indeed, what could it hurt?” Alexandra asked, walking back into the shadows. “Then I will send a carriage for you. Is Tuesday okay?”
    With that, Alexandra was gone off the porch and back into the house, leaving Clarissa to wonder why she had accepted the invitation to dine with someone she barely knew. Someone who, according to her date, had a very racy past and hated men.
    Clarissa twisted the glass of wine between her fingers as she was pulled back into the present. Remembering the first time she had met Alexandra seemed like yesterday and yet it was over a century ago.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    A.J. sat back on her bike and watched the moon as it moved on its protective path across the midnight sky. How different she was back then. She had been a vampire for almost seventy-five years when she met Clarissa. Suddenly, memories of her own turning flooded her mind. She had innocently taken her horse out for a simple ride through the forest when she lost track of time. One minute it was a beautiful, sunny, warm day and, before she knew it, night had fallen throwing her into the darkness of the forest and waiting arms of a vampire. He had been stalking her since dusk, moving stealthily through the forest waiting for his opportunity to strike. Her horse spooked and she was thrown, or so she thought. Landing on her back, she was straddled by a man with shining, almost glowing black eyes.
    “You really shouldn’t be riding alone, my dear. Things happen in the forest. Haven’t you read the children’s stories of things that go bump in the night?”
    Alexandra raised her hips against the dead weight that sat firmly on her, but with no success. She tried to squirm loose but he only laughed at her attempts to dislodge him.
    “Please, you’re only delaying the inevitable, my love.”
    “How dare you?” Alexandra questioned the audacity of the man straddling her. “If you are set about to rape me, I assure you my family will hunt you down like the animal you are and kill you. Release me.” Alexandra felt the cold hand of fear squeeze her heart as her body tensed.
    “Oh, I assure you I’m not here to rape you my love, oh and you will be my love when I am finished with you. You’ll have no choice. You see,” continuing as he bared his fangs, “I intend to own you. A bite will do more than a kiss any day and you will be mine.”
    A simple ride in the country had cost her everything she valued at that time. Her parents, her life and her freedom. To say her master was benevolent was like saying a snake could be kept as a pet. Of course the snake is always a snake and they eventually do what nature intended, kill, as does a vampire. He taught her to control her urges, how to be discreet and how to blend in with society. With time she was free to lead her own life without his tutelage or guidance. She had heard that his life was forfeited when he tried to turn the wrong person. A blacksmith had struck him through the heart with a hot poker when her master had tried to attack his daughter. A fitting end to a man who had lusted for too many and taken much from his victims. But that was another time, a lifetime for everyone else, but young in her lifetime.
    Remembering Clarissa though was another gentle reminder of her past life. It was Paris in the eighteen hundreds and A.J. was rich, beautiful, and independent. It was a time when women were like children, never meant to be seen or heard from, unless their husbands gave them permission to do so. Clarissa, on the other hand, was young, beautiful, and single. She had a fire in her that A.J. loved, and it was what drew her to Clarissa immediately when they had met. The role A.J. played at that time was the one of a rich, widowed woman who loved to travel and had estates in several countries.
    For as long as A.J. could remember, she