by Lucy Lyons
We’d inherited Glory’s vampires when we killed her. We’d also acquired her holdings, including her club, Exotica. We’d renamed it Pulse, and revamped the interior and the theme to be vampire friendly and enticing to human visitors. We sold drinks based on the idea that you could be served by a vampire, while making vampires sexy again. We even added glitter so if our dancers wanted to, they could sparkle.
The vampires all agreed aloud, that the club was exactly the way it should be. But, dissenters were bound to occur, especially now that
The high-end sex appeal of the club as all Nick’s doing. I still felt uncomfortable watching the almost nude dancers gyrating in their plexiglass cages, made to look like coffins. I could handle the death motif. It was the pasties and booty shorts that gave me pause.
I made a mental note to report Sasha to Nick for reprimand and headed down the winding stone staircase backstage that led to my new home. Jeremy was on duty with Fin, my best friend among the wererats.
“Hey guys,” I grinned as I hit the heavy door at the bottom of the stairs. “Anything fun happen while I was gone?” The fact that Nick hadn’t bothered to say goodnight to me before he passed out and let his vitals drop to nearly nothing, almost guaranteed that there had been serious drama beforehand.
“Oh, just the usual. One of Glory’s vamps tried to start a coup. He failed, but got six other vampires thrown out with him.” Jeremy leaned against the mossy stone wall and rolled his eyes. “So now we’ve got to be on the lookout for those jokers on the dancefloor.”
“I dunno, Caroline,” Fin piped up. “Since Jeremy put me in charge of security for Pulse, I’ve begun to miss the good old days, when we could just kill the offenders and never have to worry about them again.”
“Sure, but now we have public identities and human authorities to worry about, not to mention the Venatores. They love a dead vampire, unless they weren’t the ones doing the killing,” I reminded them. “I appreciate all your hard work. Do you need any extra vamps from my crew to help out with full moon guard duty?
Jeremy shook his head and jerked a thumb toward the door. “Nick was on one after he banished Crew and his groupies. He wanted to know the second you got back.”
I bristled and felt my jaw clench. He hadn’t bothered to let me know there was a problem, hadn’t replied when I tried to contact him, but was happy to demand my presence like my training with the wolves constituted dereliction of my duties as his servant.
He’d been moody and hard to anticipate since we returned from Arizona, and I was afraid that strengthening our vampire/human bond, might have irreparably damaged our boyfriend/girlfriend bond. I thanked Jeremy and Fin and waited for Fin to push open the steel-lined wooden door. I’d hated Glory when she was alive and I was glad she was dead, but I did appreciate her security and the luxury she’d managed to infuse in her underground lair.
I’d taken the stairs to avoid the most people, and made my way to my room without bumping into any vampires. I knew the rats I passed in the corridors and none of them were more loyal to the vampires than they were to their own king. Being here was a job for them, nothing more. But we shared something that the vampires didn’t. we’d go for coffee in the morning and sit out in the sun and silently remind ourselves that it could be worse.
Then again, I admitted to myself as I opened the door to my suite, even without the sun we didn’t really have it all that bad. My bedroom, if you could call it that, consisted of a 20’ x 20’ sleeping room with a slightly smaller sitting room attached. The en suite bathroom featured an orgy-sized tube on one wall, double vanities in the center, and an 8’ open shower teeming with shower heads at every possible height and angle. The commode was tucked neatly away behind a door next to the shower, and another door on the opposite side led to a massive walk-in closet.
When Nick had first shown me the room, I’d jokingly asked if he was going to move in and share it at some point, because even if he did, we might never bump into each other. Straight-faced, he’d replied that if we shared a room it would be his, because it was the larger of the two. I hadn’t believed him. I never had the courage to ask what Glory needed such a big room for, or such a massive bed. I did put my foot down and make him replace the bed and burn anything that had belonged to her, however.
I stripped down and started the shower. Nick might have been less predictable than he had in the past, but there was one thing I knew for certain. He never complained when I arrived at his command and I was straight out of the shower and dressed in one of the sexy and revealing outfits he picked out for me.
With the wolves, I’d been better off in my old Venatores moccasins, t-shirt, and cargo pants. But at home, I was the servant of the master of the West Coast, the boss’ girl, or the manager of Pulse. There wasn’t much in any of those job descriptions that allowed me to wear my old David Bowie t-shirts and knee-high suede slippers.
I ran the shower until it was hot enough to almost scald me, and leaned against the tile, letting the water beat a blistering tattoo on my back and shoulders. The water must have been on for several minutes longer than I intended. I felt a chill on my back and realized I wasn’t alone.
“Nick, I was just getting ready to come see you,” I said, keeping my back to him. he’d seen me naked within hours of meeting me, yet I was still nervous, my mind racing with a thousand judgments on my own body.
“I summoned you immediately upon your return, Caroline.” His voice wasn’t angry, but something in his tone made my pulse race even more. I felt the cool of his aura a split second before his hand was on the searing hot skin of my back. “Do you always use water this hot to shower in?” His voice was controlled, mildly curious, but his fingers trailed down my spine and made my knees weak.
“I need to get out. I’m light-headed,” I panted, and Nick scooped me up in his arms and carried me out to my bed.
He left and I heard the shower sputter and silence before he returned with a towel in his hands. He carefully dried me off and I clung to the bath sheet wishing for more fabric to cover myself with.
“Caroline, there is nothing I want more than to spend time alone with you and show you how much more I have to give you.” He sighed and his fingers drifted over the soft skin at the top of my thigh. “As usual, there isn’t the time, and we have pressing matters and a guest to attend to.”
I felt guilty for putting Nick off out of spite, and sat up quickly. I felt the blood drain out of my head, and Nick caught me and laid me back gently.
“I should’ve come straight to you. I’m sorry. I was irritated that you treat me like all your other lackeys and I put off coming to you just to be petty.”
“Yes, you did, and yes, I already knew. I felt your irritation the moment you came through the back door.” I waited for the lecture on why I should only use the elevator, but instead, he cupped my hip in his hand and kissed my forehead. “Sometime soon, we will have to run away together and watch the night sky lit up with shooting stars.”
“Shooting stars are usually just falling satellites though, Nick,” I reminded him. “They aren’t really magical.”
“Does it make them any less beautiful, Caroline?” he kissed me again and was gone in a rush of air. Meanwhile, I was finally feeling myself again after my too-hot shower, and I had been ordered very nicely and in not so many words, that my presence was required.
I sat up slowly and breathed deeply. I knew the water had been hot, and I’d been out in the sun all day. But I couldn’t help but notice that I hadn’t felt the least bit weak until Nick had shown up. I was willing to bet that he hadn’t fed yet, and my weakness was as much from his lack of blood, as it was me overheating myself.
We were still getting used to which parts of us we’d shared when we bonded in the Arizona desert, but the thought of having his appetites tied my stomach in knots. I filed away the latest epiphany for later to discuss when I talked to him about my “undead petting zoo” as Ashlynn had called it.
I glanced o
ver the rather monochromatic wardrobe I was acquiring at Nick’s behest. He hadn’t given me any clues to the guest, so I opted for a conservative look. If he’d seemed worried, I would have chosen one of the outfits that made me feel like a dominatrix. But for a simple meeting, a black blazer over a black skirt, with a red satin bra peeking out from between the lapels, and a gold chain.
I found a pair of stiletto heels to match and pulled my damp hair up in a bun near the top of my head. I had never gotten used to wearing makeup, so I settled for a reapplication of my waterproof mascara and some lip gloss before slipping my curved karambit into my bun, a knife under my blazer, and my Beretta at the small of my back.
None of my weapons were enough to kill a preternatural creature like a vampire or shifter, but I could hurt them a hell of a lot and slow them down while I used my magic to end them if I needed to. Remembering Crew and the vampires that had been sent packing, I added a phial of holy water around my neck for good measure.
Nick had given me an antique full-length mirror when I moved in and I stood in front of it, staring defiantly at the dark-haired woman in the glass. I looked older, harder, and, I was hoping, more dangerous than I felt.
“Well, I hope this isn’t too much,” I said to my reflection, and she offered me a wry smile in response. If it was, I’d have to hold my head up and roll with it, because Nick had started to press on my mind with an urgency that was unlike him. Whoever it was he was entertaining, they made him uncomfortable, and it was my job to swoop in and save him.
Fortunately for him, it happened to be one of my favorite things to do.
Chapter 4
I strode into the room we’d converted from one of the many, either sex-themed torture chambers or torture-themed sex rooms, into a proper receiving room. Nick had eyed some of the bondage pieces with open envy, but I was happy when he agreed to lock them up in an unused portion of the structure, and hadn’t asked about them since they’d disappeared, grateful that if we were ever descended upon by the Venatores, at least I would die with my dignity intact.
As if I had conjured the hunters by thinking about them, I strode into the sitting room to see not only Venatores, but my old mentor, Dominique, and Henny’s estranged husband, my professor and once-guardian, Professor Eldritch. My legs quit working and I gaped in shock at the sight of them both together in my home. It was enough of a shock that I couldn’t think of anything to say to them in greeting and stared at them until Nick drew me to the seat next to him and I sat with a thump.
“Not the warmest welcome, Caroline, though I suppose there was a time you’d have done worse,” Eldritch quipped. I chuckled and nodded my head.
“The Venatores taught me all about surprises and what to do when I was broadsided by the enemy, but nothing that I was taught prepared me to be a very good host.” I glanced over at Dom, who was as stunning as ever, and seemed less pleased to see me than the last time we’d managed to sneak out and meet for coffee and an information swap.
“The lady Borgia and the professor have come to warn us about an impending Venatores challenge to our right to live in Seattle and all down the coast,” Nick explained. I slid my hand into his and watched the expression on my mentor’s face. Sure enough, the moment I touched Nick, she paled and stopped looking at us.
“Why would the Venatores threaten us now? Vampire killings are at an all-time low in this city, and it’s thanks to me paying attention and learning the old contracts we made with the vampires, and honoring them.” Dom finally looked into my eyes, her gaze flitting to my clothes and my hand in Nick’s as she replied.
“The Vatican is sending him, to assess if that is indeed what you’re doing, and report back to the Pope,” she said with a scowl on her face.
“Then why come to warn us?” I asked, and her face changed from irritated to worried in a blink.
“Because I believe he isn’t coming alone. There have been rumors of a special assassin who’s looking for Dominique, and I have prevailed upon her to ask to stay down here with you until he has finished searching.” Professor Eldritch smiled at me, and I managed a wan smile back at him.
“So the Vatican is sending someone to kill Dominique? Suddenly I feel slighted at not being the worst abomination in town,” I teased, and Dom’s face softened a little. “I think I need to discuss it with my master, but…” I continued, and Nick cut me off.
“She will stay with us for as long as she needs to find her way,” he announced. I saw something familiar about the way he was staring at her and I jerked my hand out of his and glared at him.
“She will stay with the pack, who have greater mobility and cannot be trapped underground and burned out by overzealous Venatores hunters,” I countered, and Nick’s face registered shock that I had argued in front of Dom and the professor, then anger that I would undermine his power as the Master, by contradicting him.
“Be angry all you want, Nick, but if you wanted her here, you would’ve said yes before I walked in the door, and I wouldn’t have been invited to this meeting.” I stood and gave each of my old mentors a small bow. “I’m sorry to seem ungracious, but I have enough to worry about down here. I simply do not think that we’re equipped to pick a side in a battle between the society’s most powerful members.”
The professor’s eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open, making me blush. Eldritch, more than anyone, had been there to ride me and push me to do more and be better than I was. I’d been afraid to face him since leaving the compound, and seeing him here made me feel like I was kid again, and I’d just failed one of his infamous tests.
“What is it that you are responsible for here, Caroline?”
“Anything and everything relating to humans. I set the policies regarding entertainment and humans who choose to be donors. Basically, I act like a Venatores watcher and make sure that the vampires don’t break any rules that would result in the entire clan getting wiped out.” I fell silent, realizing I’d been babbling.
“That’s wonderful, Caroline. A good use of your talents and training,” Dominique said quietly. “And how is it, being the servant of the Master of the entire West Coast territory?”
“Busy. We hardly get to say hello, before there’s another someone who needs something from one or both of us,” I said candidly. Dominique ignored the barb and smiled at Nick, leaning forward and shaking her hair back over her shoulder as she lowered her voice as though he was the only other person in the room.
“Perhaps it is too much for you to have me intrude. I remember when you and I were together, nothing stood in the way of our alone time together. I guess everyone changes.”
Silently, I counted to ten, but the flash of anger that coursed through me was enough to make Nick glance in my direction. Dominique had no chance of coming between us as master vampire and witch of our clan, but the occasional reminders that centuries ago they’d been lovers still rankled.
“Well, I’m sure Nick would love to have as few responsibilities as he did way back when you knew him, but he can’t expect to keep his clan safe with distractions. That’s why I help him, instead of making everything about me.”
Dominique had always supported me as a sorceress, and simultaneously hated me being Nick’s girlfriend, but I’d never seen her so obviously flirtatious and disrespectful of our relationship. She was a centuries old assassin and had known Nick since he was a fledgling vampire. If they hadn’t been a couple before now, why would she think it was still a possibility?
“Dominique, how bad is it, really?” I leaned forward to match her pose and looked into her eyes. “Why are you trying so hard to get around me? Believe me, if you did, it would be worse for everyone.” I added the last as a warning to my sweetie, but I meant it sincerely.
“I have nowhere left to go. I’m homeless and worse, without a clan. I’ve never been so alone, not in centuries.” She leaned back in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose between her finger and thumb. “Please forgive my rudeness.”
&nbs
p; “Then of course you are welcome, and I forgive you. We never turn away those in need, of any station or ability. You should meet my bartenders. Hot as hell, but every one of them an addict who chooses to stay because we’re able to dampen the addiction while they’re inside the building.” I stood and smoothed out my suit. “You’re safe while you’re here, Dominique. But don’t forget that you’re here at my pleasure, not Nick’s.” I smiled grimly and she straightened in her seat, as imperious as I remembered her from my days as her apprentice.
“Thank you, Caroline. I’ll remember who I have to watch for.” She was angry, with me for not treating her as my superior, and a laugh bubbled up inside me.
“Oh, Dominique. I’ve learned things in one year outside the Venatores that I would never have learned with you controlling how powerful I was able to become.” I smiled at her, and my face shone with the pride I had in my advancement, through Henny’s teachings and the power I’d gained from my bond with Nick. “Don’t screw up what we’ve created here, and don’t ever try to end-game me with the man I love, and you’ll fit right in. Otherwise, I’ll take it as an act of war to impress the Venatores. I promise you, as much as I once loved you and wanted your approval, I would kill you to protect Nick and our family.”
I bowed to the professor and opened my mouth to say something to him about how sad Henny was without him. It was hard seeing two people I care about so lonely. Thinking better of it, I closed it and started to back away out the door.
