by Renee Rose
“Better now.”
“Glad to hear it. She’s a good one. It is always a shock when they find out. Some take it better than others,” Erik replies.
“Isn’t that the truth?”
We walk out to the balcony that overlooks the property.
“There is Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.” Erik points out the three bright stars in the constellation Orion.
“Most just refer to it as Orion’s Belt,” I tease.
“Most aren’t doctors in astronomy,” he responds.
“You can’t help but be a Viking, can you?” He knows I am joking with him. “Of all the professions you could have chosen, of all the hobbies, you pick one that doesn’t make you rich.”
“I am plenty rich. I have millions of dollars in every currency, thank you. My father used celestial navigation to orient himself when the sun went down. He was the helmsman.”
This is a familiar story, I have heard it a thousand times. Erik will tell me how his father used the stars to navigate the ship out of many storms, and used them to evade being killed by my people. I understand his connection to the stars—in a way, it gives him a connection to his people, the way of life which has long since diminished to almost extinction. It makes him feel good to tell it, so I will listen, as a good friend. Just as he listens to my recollections of my father.
They say vampires lose their ability to feel human emotions. I found it to be the complete opposite. We have the choice—to silence those emotions, or to allow them to be magnified by our condition. Erik and I choose to allow them to be magnified, like the rest of our senses, to never lose the humanity that was taken from us against our will.
“He would be proud of who you are today,” I say.
“He is in Valhalla with the rest of the Vikings, waiting for the day that I arrive. Someday, I will join him,” Erik answers.
“I am sure you will, brother.” I don’t believe in Valhalla. Hell, I’m not sure what I believe comes after this existence, but I won’t detract from his feelings.
“Speaking of waiting: I grow weary of waiting for my revenge.”
“I hear you.” Revenge has eaten at us for centuries. We had learned to control it before the monster reappeared, his torture continuing. Two years ago, Erik’s wife was killed in front of him in cold blood. He is convinced it is the monk’s doing.
I am not as sure. My anger, my bloodlust for justice, isn’t as all-consuming as his. I have Keri to distract me.
“Did I mention I found a house?” Erik says.
I am glad for the change in topic of conversation. I want this weekend to be perfect. I don’t want the monk, even the mention of him, to shadow the plans I have for Keri and me.
Chapter 4
Club Toxic is everything I imagined, and more. Walking up to the door with Bentley’s hand on the small of my back, right around the line of people waiting to get in, I feel like a celebrity. There is a man at the door; is he a vampire too? How will I tell the difference between human and vampire?
“I will tell you, when necessary. He is not a vampire,” Bentley leans in to whisper in my ear.
“He’s a wolf,” Erik volunteers.
“A wolf?”
“You didn’t tell her?” Erik looks at Bentley with narrowed eyes. “You told her about us but left out the part about werewolves?”
“He’s teasing, right?” I say.
“Seriously, Bentley? You didn’t think to tell her?” Erik accuses.
“We didn’t make it that far. To be honest, those mangy mutts didn’t enter my mind during our discussions over the past two days. They barely enter my thoughts to begin with.”
“Haha. You two are so funny.” I laugh nervously. They are always joking with me.
We reach the door. The bouncer looks at the three of us and nods hello, waving us in. He reminds me of the military men who run around Washington with their closely cropped hair, clean shaven faces, and broad shoulders. I stop in my tracks and study him. He looks normal.
“Bentley. I see you have a guest with you tonight,” he says.
“Jared,” Bentley acknowledges back. “My submissive, Keri. She will be with me regularly, so make sure she is added to the list. This is Erik; he has been approved by Lucius. He’ll be a regular, too.”
“I imagine you will be downstairs most of the night?”
“That is the plan.”
“Are you a…” I can’t get the words out. Surely, they are lying to me, playing a practical joke.
“She’s trying to ask if you are a wolf,” Erik says.
Jared pulls his tightly fitting shirt back from his shoulder, revealing a paw print tattoo. “That I am, and proud to be.”
I gasp. I know, deep down, that his words are true. “What else are there? Fairies? The Loch Ness Monster? Unicorns? Narwhals?”
“Butterfly, narwhals are real.”
“Figures! Vampires, werewolves, and now narwhals.” Jared’s laughter follows us inside.
“Um, Keri?” Erik says.
“Yes?”
“You are teasing us now, yes?”
“What do you mean?” I’m confused. What would I be teasing them about?
“Narwhals?” Erik asks.
“No?” I’m really not following him.
“Butterfly, narwhals are real,” Bentley says gently.
“Yes, I know. You just told me that.”
“No, I mean, they’ve always been real.”
“No, they are mythical creatures. I mean, they were mythical creatures like vampires and werewolves. Narwhals and unicorns. You know, I think I’d rather have had the unicorns be the real ones.”
“No, sweetheart. They’ve always been real, never mythical. They are a species of whale. In fact, Bentley and I saw a beautiful pod of them off the coast of West Greenland. Do you remember?” Erik asks.
“I do,” Bentley says. “I remember the barbarian Vikings cutting off their horns to try and convince communities that they came from unicorns.”
“Vikings? How long ago was this?” I ask.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that narwhals are very real. They are mammals and still exist to this day. I’ll take you on a trip to see them in the wild. They use their horns to break up ice. Beautiful creatures.” Bentley leans in and kisses my forehead. “You really thought they were mythical?”
“I… the unicorn of the sea. Unicorns are mythical, so I figured…”
“My incredibly intelligent, beautiful investigative journalist thought narwhals were made up.”
Bentley and Erik laugh. I feel myself blush, the heat rising in my cheeks before I join in. Narwhals are real? Who knew? Apparently, everyone. Everyone but me.
“It’s okay. I won’t judge you… too hard,” Erik teases once more. “Dimitri is over there, I’m going to say hello. Excuse me.”
“This place is…” I pause to look around. I’m not sure there is an accurate word to describe the overwhelming vibe I’m feeling.
“Yes,” Bentley agrees. I smile, thanking him for not making me finish my sentence. “You haven’t been downstairs yet.”
“Nope. I can’t wait.”
“Then let’s go,” he says.
“Wait. What, now?”
“Is there a better time?”
“May I, maybe, could I have a drink first, Sir?” I need a bit of liquid courage. Most of my courage will come from him, but my nerves are about to unravel. I am about to be in the den of vampires. Bentley and Erik are one thing, but like all groups of people, there are good with the bad. Bad humans are scary enough but bad vampires? A chill goes down my spine.
“Lucius is very careful about who he allows into his club, Butterfly. He doesn’t just allow anyone in off the street.” Bentley’s careful with how he words things. We are on the human floor of the club. “I’ll be with you the entire time. No one will touch you without facing my wrath.”
“I’d still like that drink if it’s okay, Sir.”
“Of course. Let
’s get you that drink.” He effortlessly guides me to the bar and orders our drinks. The techno beat to the remix playing has my heart pounding. I smile as I watch the younger, unattached girls bobbing around on the dance floor. Oh, the joys of youth.
“You aren’t that old,” Bentley teases in response to my thoughts.
“No, but there is a difference between late twenties and barely able to drink. It might not seem like it…”
“Oh, there is. I don’t disagree.”
I take a drink and look around some more, taking it all in. The Club Toxic. Upstairs, it is comparable to many clubs I’ve been in before. The bar, dance floor and booths, although much more elaborate and expensive, are very common for vanilla nightclubs. I take another long sip of my Mai Tai and spot the most beautifully exquisite woman I have ever seen walk in. Her long sleeveless gown with its tribal patterning and expensive silk look like something off a fashion walkway. The colors—the reds, greens, and blues—are a contrast to the sea of solid black, navy and red gowns in attendance, and the one very odd white dress on the girl over at the bar talking to two male lovers. This woman, she commands attention, and I can tell right away that she is not a submissive. Her dark skin is flawless, her head held perfectly high, and when she walks toward us, I swear I catch a glimpse of a fang. That can’t be right. Bentley said the vampires in attendance tonight were all men? In fact, I remember him saying all original vampires were men.
“I’ve been wrong before, Butterfly,” Bentley says, his eyes following mine. “You are correct. She is exquisite. I wonder who she is.”
“You can’t read her?”
“Oddly, no. All the more reason to get to know her. It is a very rare, very powerful one who can block me from reading their thoughts.”
“So, she is a…”
“Yes. It would appear so.”
I wonder if she can feel us staring at her. Her beauty is like an aphrodisiac. I’m not a lesbian, and have never been interested in women, but this woman, she could ask me to do anything and I’d happily oblige. Bentley’s chuckle tells me he is continuing to read my mind.
Mind your own business, I think, sending him the message.
“You are my business,” he growls back into my ear. We watch together as a male approaches the beauty.
Human or vampire?
“Human.”
“Oh. He’s brave.”
“He’s stupid,” Bentley answers.
The man swaggers up and starts talking. She seems annoyed, but like a fly buzzing around at a picnic, he doesn’t get the message. I gasp when he reaches out to touch her. My gasp turns to a squeal at the sound of bone breaking. Bouncers rush forward, and Bentley turns me away from the scene.
“Well, that didn’t go well for that bloke,” Erik says, coming up to us, a drink in each hand. He hands one cup to Bentley.
“Russian Mule. Remember that one time…”
“At band camp?” I can’t help but finish the sentence. They disappoint me. Neither of them laugh.
“I remember.” Bentley’s curt response makes me curious, there’s a story here and he doesn’t want me to hear it. I’ll have to get Erik alone soon and get the story out of him.
“You will do no such thing.” Bentley frowns at me.
“Damiano is here, wants me to send you over,” Erik interjects, giving me a half smile.
“Perfect, I’ll go deliver his collar. Stay here with Erik, Butterfly. I will only be a minute.”
“Actually, I need to go to the ladies’ room. If that is okay, Sir?”
“I’ll walk with her,” Erik volunteers.
“You don’t think I can go to the bathroom alone?” I ask Erik. I don’t need an escort to the bathroom at our BDSM club in Washington.
“I don’t want you getting lost or stumbling down the stairs without me.” Bentley kisses my forehead before walking across the room to deliver the requested collar to the other vampire. Erik takes my arm and guides me over to the restroom, chit chatting in my ear as we go, pointing out the variety of masks that we see along the way. He really is easy to be around.
Entering the bathroom, I shut the door behind me and lean against the nearest wall, exhaling slowly. I don’t really need to relieve myself. What I need is a moment to catch my breath. I am living in a real-life Hollywood movie. It feels like a dream, and I wonder when I will wake up. I want to splash water on my face but I don’t want to mess up the perfect makeup that was applied with more skill than I will ever have by an artist who cost more than I make in a year. Instead, I run the water as cold as it will go, cool my hands underneath for a few minutes, and then wet and wring out a hand towel. Classy. Individual cotton hand towels for everyone. I press the cloth towel to right below my armpits, far enough down not to mess up my deodorant, but it will still cool me down. It’s an old trick a college sorority sister taught me. I sigh as I feel my body temperature start to lower.
“Do you stink or something?” a beautiful blonde girl in a low cut red dress with a scrap of a black material across her face inquires, stepping up to the sink to wash her hands.
“No.” I laugh awkwardly, wishing I had seen her before I cooled down my pits. “I’m just flustered.”
“And you decided to wet your armpits?”
“It’s an old trick. If you can’t get your face wet because of makeup or your neck because of perfume…”
“You put perfume on your neck?” She steps forward and literally laughs in my face. Reaching around me, she snatches a towel off the shelf and steps back, drying her hands.
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“Not those of us who want to go downstairs,” she says cryptically.
“I know what is downstairs.”
“Oh. Have you been? I’m a regular,” she boasts proudly.
“No, it’s my first time. My dom, um, my boyfriend, is a member.”
“Who is your boyfriend?” She seems very interested now.
“His name is Bentley. Have you ever met him?”
“Liar!” she shrieks at me.
“Excuse me?” Her reaction startles me, and I step backwards. What is her problem?
“Bentley does not have a girlfriend; I would know if he did. He is who I’m here to play with tonight.”
“I hate to break the news to you but he does have a girlfriend, and that girl would be me.”
“No. Bentley doesn’t do relationships. He does scenes. Play partners. One night stands. Not relationships. I’ve been trying for years to get more out of him and you mean,” she looks me up and down with disgust all over her features, “some whore like you got and kept his attention long enough to be his girlfriend? Doubtful. There must be another Bentley.”
“Two vampires named Bentley? That sounds likely.” I’m fuming. Who is this bitch?
“He can’t possibly be with a moron like you. You just said the V-word in here without even checking to see if we were alone.”
Fuck. She is right. He did tell me not to mention anything that happened downstairs or use that word within hearing of humans upstairs. Panicking, I look under the stalls, happy to see that they are empty.
“Well, he is with me, and happy,” I say.
“How long?”
“What?”
“How long has he been with you?” the girl asks me.
“Over a year.”
“Then he has cheated on you. A lot. Every time he comes here, he plays with me. He brings me to multiple orgasms, and I, him. He spends every second here with me. You must be easily forgotten. In fact, he was just here last month. Where were you when he was skillfully finger fucking me to oblivion in front of everyone downstairs?”
“I-I I…” She has to be lying. He did go to Arizona last month for work, but he wouldn’t have, he couldn’t have. Would he? Would he have cheated on me? He lied to me about the vampire situation, has he been lying to me about being loyal, too?
“Find Taylor, and ask him. He’ll tell you,” she says.
A loud knock on th
e door interrupts our conversation.
“Keri, are you okay in there? I heard raised voices,” Erik asks.
“Everything is fine, I’ll be right out,” I call. Everything is not fine. Everything is far from fine.
“Oh, poor girl. You really thought Bentley wanted you? By the end of the night, he’ll be back where he belongs, with me.”
It takes every ounce of control I have not to punch her in her smug face.
I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as Keri dressed for the masquerade. The elegant off-the-shoulder black silk mermaid gown with the black and gold silk mask studded with diamonds makes a pretty picture. I asked the makeup and hair artist to do something simple and classy with her, and they didn’t let me down. A smooth, slick, high ponytail allows for the mask to sit perfectly, showing off the dripping gold and diamond earrings hanging from her lobes, while the movie star red lipstick shows off her pearly white teeth. The contrast is perfect. Her kohl-rimmed eyes sparkle from the diamonds around her neck. I’ve outfitted her from head to toe in millions of dollars’ worth of gold and diamonds. Nothing is too much for my girl. I want this vision to stick in my memory forever.
After delivering the collar, I turn to head back to my girl. Erik looks concerned, and I am surprised to find him still standing outside the bathroom door. I blur over. “Everything all right over here?”
“I don’t know. I heard raised voices in there,” Erik says.
“Raised voices?”
“She said she is fine and will be out in a minute.”
I can’t imagine why Keri would ever raise her voice. She has the calmest of tempers, I have rarely seen her upset. Her red face and flashing eyes upon exiting the bathroom confirm Erik’s observation: something is definitely wrong.
“Butterfly?” I then see who follows Keri out of the bathroom. Nina. She comes over to me and rubs her hand up my arm.
“Hello again, Sir. Nice to see you.”
I remove her hand from my body. She knows better than to touch me without permission. “Don’t touch me.” My voice is cold, hard. I don’t know what she has said to Keri, but I am sure that whatever it is, it isn’t the truth.
