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been two days since he d last seen Damian, and his body was crying
out over the loss. The last thing he needed was to go hear him sing
and know that he wasn t his anymore.
It s a special performance, Allasandro. You know how much I
love La Petite Morte s performances. Salvatore adjusted Ally s
skewed tie and lapels. Besides, you ll be in the VIP section with me.
You won t even have to talk to him.
I don t want to see him, Ally argued. Because if I do I might run
into his arms and beg him to forget the whole thing, and it would
embarrass the shit out of me to do it in front of all my brothers. He d
made up his mind to forgive Damian and try and make this
relationship they had work, but he still wasn t ready to face him. If he
were being honest with himself, he d admit that he may have been
hiding from Damian deliberately the past two days. Insecurities he
didn t even know he had kept him away from his gypsy man. What if
he didn t want him anymore? What if he were angry with him? What
if he never said he loved him? That one was probably the biggest. He
knew he loved Damian, but Damian had never said how he really felt
about him. He d be mortified if he d gone through all this anguish to
admit he loved Damian only to find the other man didn t feel the
same. Man, he had it bad.
He shook his head to clear it. He needed to focus on what
Salvatore was saying because he was still talking.
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can t believe you would deny me the opportunity to see it
performed for the first time in ten years, Salvatore finished, looking
cross. Ally sighed. He knew that look. That was the I m getting my
way because I am Prince and you are my Ravyn, so you have to listen
to me look.
Fine. Let s go. Ally relented, getting into his place beside
Dageus.
It ll be okay, Dageus whispered. He gave Ally a half-hug. I
promise.
I don t think anyone can promise that to me, Ally murmured
miserably. He just wanted to go back to bed. He rubbed his chest over
his heart. It hurt being away from Damian. The damn Bride bond was
ridiculous. It took codependent to a whole other level. He could eat,
sleep, and breathe Damian and be perfectly happy doing it. To
circumvent the worst of the cravings, he d taken to stealing and
watching Damian s old performances on disc from Salvatore. He was
pathetic.
It goes both ways, Dageus said suddenly. He was apparently
finding the wall they were walking toward very fascinating because
he was staring at it doggedly, avoiding Ally s gaze.
What does? Ally wondered.
The love, the need. It goes both ways in a Bride bond.
I so don t want to talk about it right now. Ally held open the
door for the rest of their party as they piled into the waiting SUV.
Dageus looked like he was about to say something but seemed to
decide against it. He shrugged and settled back into his seat beside
Ally. Ally leaned his forehead against the glass of the door. Today
could not get over with fast enough.
* * * *
This isn t the theater, Ally stated as they pulled into the parking
lot of a swanky-looking building toward downtown. The valet stood
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ready to take their keys and go park their car wherever it was the
vehicles were kept. A trickle of relief went through him. He was glad
they weren t going to the theater. There were too many memories
there.
Nope. It s a smaller venue, and they re serving a delicious dinner
with the performance. The place is called Bon Nuit, Salvatore
offered. He looked positively glowing. Happy as a lark. Was it bad
that he resented his cheerfulness? It s a much more intimate setting,
and the food is supposed to be phenomenal.
They made their way inside and were seated at a long table
covered in soft white linens and covered in pale orange rose petals
and tall white candles. The plate settings were good china with gold
filigree around the outside edge. A plate at this performance probably
cost a small bloody fortune.
Ally sent his mind out through the crowd out of curiosity. It
wasn t that big of a crowd, twenty-five people not including the
Prince, the Ravyns, and the shifters, and most all of them were
vampires. Ally frowned. He d never seen a performance done by the
troupe that wasn t meticulously planned and advertised. This seemed
almost out of character for them.
It s an exclusive performance. Only family, friends, and a few
extremely wealthy patrons who donate money every year to the
theater are allowed to attend, Salvatore supplied. It still didn t
explain why Dageus wasn t included in the lineup or why Santiago
hadn t been raising hell at the house where most of the vampires
lived.
Then the food came. The servers, humans, and shifters, dressed to
the nines in uniforms of black and white, delivered food that made his
mouth water just to look at it. The smell was just as intoxicating. The
plate was set before him. Hmmm...yum. All his favorite foods were
piled onto the plate. Loaded mashed potatoes smothered in gravy and
cheese, filet mignon, and a pasta salad were arranged artfully on his
plate. He expected a wine or champagne, neither of which he was a
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fan of, to fill the glasses in front of him, but instead one waiter with
pretty brown eyes poured him a cola instead. He blinked. Soda pop?
Really?
What is going on, Salvatore? he asked suspiciously. Salvatore
just smiled.
Shush and eat your food, he encouraged.
The lights dimmed, interrupting his reply. A small stage that sat
no more than five feet from their table was illuminated, and Santiago
appeared near a nearly invisible microphone on the center front of it.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this very special occasion. As
most of you know, my sire child has not graced this stage in many
years. While he was set to come out of retirement a few weeks ago he
encountered an unexpected problem and was unable to honor us with
his voice. Santiago spoke, and Ally got a sick feeling in the pit of his
stomach. But that is going to be remedied tonight. Tonight is going
to be a night of merrymaking and celebration the likes of which have
not been experienced since we first celebrated our coming to this
country. A cheer went up at that. Sometime when Ally hadn t been
paying attention, the other members of the theater had snuck in and
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