by Emjay Soren
Clearly Cookie had gone AWOL, and most likely taken a clueless Tavern along for the ride. Damn trouble maker. Cookie's voice filled the room.
“You better watch your mouth Cacius Troy. I have told you a fucking gazillion times, if you want me to stay safe and listen, then tell me shit, keep me in the loop. Don’t get mad when a random Wednesday arrives and we go shopping unaware that we're in danger.”
He looked like he could freeze rain with his stare. “Here’s the loop for ya, the Cado want Tavern you little shit!” The ‘you're being with her is an insanely awesome bonus’ went unsaid, even if we were all thinking it. I was trying my best to seem calm when I was anything but.
I'd told Tavern to stay in the mansion. She said she would trust me to keep her safe and that she would follow instruction. And yet, she'd left, gone shopping for Christ's sake!
“Oh!” She growled and then with an exasperated 'hmpf', she hung up on him. Cookie was riled the fuck up, and I was just as pissed as she was.
“Why didn’t you tell her what we were waiting on?” I questioned Cash, but was pretty sure I knew the answer. It was the same reason I hadn't gotten around to mentioning it to Tavern.
“She’s hot as fuck! What do you think distracted me?” He acts as if it’s all the answer I need. Another thought I’m not acknowledging.......Cookie doesn’t hold a candle to my Bird.
“You should have told her. Tavern wouldn’t have left had Cookie not begged. Damn, you know that girl and shopping. Had she known though, she wouldn’t have thought of leaving you dumb fuck! She’s a smart girl.” I am so pissed at him and his dick for forgetting vital information, refusing to admit I did the same thing.
“Why didn’t you tell Tavern then?” That bastard!
“I was busy, same as you.” I mumble as Leushus walks in.
“Hell, we're all gonna get killed if you two can’t learn to keep the snake in the cage.”
Seconds later, before Cash and I can get in a witty comeback, Cookie walks in, mad as hell, with an equally pissed Tavern, and a livid Bastian right behind her.
Before she could rip a piece into Cash, we both asked in unison, "You had Bastian with you?"
“Of course we did you fucking Cavemen. I....am.....not.....stupid!” She pushed against Cash’s chest but got nowhere. “How many times do I have to tell you that I know the rules?”
“Like your note was explanation enough?” And there it was, the guilt. She knew that the note could barely be classified as a half truth.
She danced right on over the comment. “Touch what we bought, and you won’t see what I bought for you.”
That had him smiling, and the rest of us uncomfortable.
“I didn’t know it was a big deal Preacher.” Tavern whimpers, and I can see my little Bird shaking. “If I had known I was in danger I wouldn’t have left, I swear.”
She looks terrified, but not of the danger we're talking about, of me. “Bird, I know that. You're not in danger really, it was just a precaution.” She seems confused by this.
“She is in danger.” Leushus says from the sink where he is dipping Oreos into milk. Though he lives similar to a vampire, he can eat when he desires. Angels have no needs as far as food or beverage, but because he deals with the Custos, he needs to drink our blood to bond with us. It is his only need on earth. Oreos are a bonus. They taste like paste to me.
“How? How did they know where I was?” She asks, and I realize I had tuned out the idea of her being in danger because of cookies? I was terrified for her safety, but thinking of Oreos.
Leushus laughs and dips another cookie, looking at me. “It’s a little bit of shock, and a whole lot of denial, Preacher.”
I just ignore him and move on. “Danger? How?”
“Because the three of us are all now tied together. They're tied to me. The one who stole from the Cado. She needs to understand the danger she’s in, Preacher. You attach yourself to her, you need to prep her for how things are done in the paranorm, feel me?”
“Attach myself? Are you kidding?” I ask him, completely dumbfounded.
“Yeah, Preacher. You have attached yourself to her, made her safety your priority, so keep her safe and explain what’s fucking expected of her.” Leushus speaks to me as if I’m a child.
“She went shopping with a guard!” I snap not seeing the big deal or whatever the point is he's trying so hard to make. I’m uncomfortable with the entire conversation while she is in the room. She can’t get attached.
“She was confronted by two Nex that had… serviced her in Bliss.” Bastian says, and I can see how uncomfortable it makes him.
“And how did they find her without any inkling where we are or that she would be out, guard or no guard?! How the bleedin’ fuck did they know?!?!” I am demanding answers now, attached or not, I am pissed that she was met outside our defenses by our enemy.
Leushus spoke with an even tone. “What I'm trying to say without pissing anyone off, is that she is at more risk than London because of the addiction. Her scent is picked up by all of us, Preacher. Out in the real world it can be too. She can’t be out there following London’s lead. It's bad enough we have to keep London out of trouble, we don’t need another one.”
Cookie gasped, outraged I’m sure. “Keep me out of trouble?”
Leushus looks at her, “Tell me I’m wrong?” Cookie rolls her eyes, but says nothing.
“I get it, I’ll cover all the bases with her.” I say , moving towards Tavern. Time for a little Vampire 101.
“Do that. And keep yourself in line, too.” I catch his meaning, I turn around and lean in closer to him, talking low enough that Tavern won’t hear me. “A bit of fucking won’t puzzle my brain. There are no attachments here.”
He laughs darkly and pats my shoulder. “I’ll try and remember that.” He says and walks away shaking his head in what looks like disappointment. “In the meantime, I need all the information from you about whatever happened while you guys were mall hopping.” Leushus says to Bastian, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Dominus was fuckin’ pissed.
I turn to Tavern and see what appears to be disgust in her eyes. She turns and follows Leushus out of the room.
Great!
*
Preacher
“I get it!” She says as I slam her bedroom door behind me. I'd followed close on her heels as she'd stormed off.
“No you don’t. You took what I said out of context.”
She spins around and pins me with a glare. “Preacher, you just said, and I quote, ‘A bit of fucking won't puzzle my brain. There are no attachments here.’ Does that sound right? Did I get it all?” She sounds as if she's about to cry and I wish she hadn’t been standing there when I'd spoken those words to Leushus.
“It wasn’t meant like I didn’t care for you Bird. I do, but we're not a couple. We are fucking. Cold, hard comfort, right?” I needed to be honest here and if I have to I'll throw stones. She cannot care for me.
“You're right, we did agree. I just thought…” She doesn’t finish, and I don’t know what it is she thought.
“Thought what?”
She shakes her head as if she is banishing the thought with all her might. “I thought that after this morning maybe something changed.”
Oh, shit changed alright, but I wasn’t acknowledging it, so she couldn’t either. “Why? Because I clipped your clit? I told you from the start Bird that I like rough, dirty, fast, hard fucking. I like control and a little pain. I like my fear to delay my gratification, and I like you screamin’ my name.” I remove my Mariners cap and roll it till it fits in my pocket and run my fingers through my hair. “I was in the moment and wanted your blood, and pleasure at the same time. It was nothin’ special Bird.” The words were like acid coming out of my mouth.
She nods, and I can see the tears rimming her perfect eyes. I fuckin' hate myself. She is strong and full of pride. Holding back, she won’t let the tears fall in front of me. “You're right, I’
m sorry. I didn't say I was in love with you, or that we were something more than sex. I can admit though, that you’re my friend, Preacher, and that makes you an attachment to me. I have no desire to replace ANYONE!” She roared that last part and stormed to her door, opening it, a silent demand for me to get the fuck out. I knew who she meant when whe said 'anyone'. She could have slapped me across the face and offended me less. I said nothing, just walked away. Because I was a fucking liar and refused to acknowledge it.
Chapter Sixteen
Tavern
One week had passed since I'd last touched Preacher. We had been distant and though I could understand his need to keep things light, he hadn’t even been willing to admit that he cared for me. No one is heartless enough to not care about the person they are fucking. Unless he really is that cynical, and if that's the case I don’t think I should touch him ever again.
I didn’t need to worry about that tonight though. Darcallion had taken an interest in me, that much we knew. He was keeping his distance, hiding in whatever hole the Cado crawled out of. He was sending young, naive Nex vampires out in search of me instead. I still didn’t know what the Nex from the mall were looking for, or what Preacher had to do with it. I assumed it was because Darcallion and the rest of the Cado thought I was their property after my time at Bliss. If they were able to smell Preacher on me, it would make sense that they called him my boyfriend.
“Why would he send such inexperienced Nex to find me when he knows I am being watched by you guys?” I asked Cash as London applied black glittering shadow upon my lids. She called it a smoky eye. I didn't really care what kind of eye it was. I, like everyone else in the house, let her have her way because she was worse than an spoiled child when she wanted something.
Cash scoffed, leaning against the counter watching London doll me up. I had taken to hanging out with them more and more to avoid Preacher. They had quickly become like family to me and I valued their opinions. “Probably because any Nex this side of sunrise isn’t dumb enough to take us on. Preach and I have some serious notoriety behind us. We're known for not fucking around and getting the job done. We don’t cower in the face of danger, we fucking laugh and kill it.”
“So tonight the plan is to what, just flirt and wait for a Nex to bite me?”
“We'll be enticing them.” London says and starts in on some mascara. I was never big on a ton of makeup. I was a little gloss and mascara kind of girl, adding blush and liner when I went clubbing. London was treating it like war paint. “See, it's fun to be bait, because we get to drink and dance and look pretty and when it’s time to fight we get to sit in the van and watch our men…” She didn’t finish hearing the error in her words.
After an extremely uncomfortable silence I finally spoke up. “He was never my man and there are no hard feelings London. Don’t feel bad ok?” I knew it was hard for her to see the obvious crack between Preacher and I and still maintain loyalty to both. What she needed to learn was that there wasn’t a problem. We were just no longer fucking.
“I hate that he is so stubborn.”
“How is he stubborn?” I ask, genuinely curious. Preacher is selfless, he needs to be a little greedy and enjoy things for himself sometimes.
“Because he won’t admit that what he said to you was wrong and rude.” London starts shaking her head and throwing makeup into the black bag where she keeps it. “I hate that he can be so cold when I never saw that side of him before.”
“I have no issues with Preacher.” Lie. “I think that had we continued to sleep with one another one of us would have been hurt. I agree with the decision to avoid one another.” No, I thought he was kind of a dick, and I didn’t deserve what he said to me.
Cash laughs uncomfortably. “Sweetie, I can’t hear your thoughts because of your bond to my Princess, but I have supernatural hearing and I heard your fight. I know he hurt you.”
I felt the tears burning behind my lids and I didn't want to let them see my pain. Then Cash, the same vampire that had terrified me when we'd first met, brought me into his embrace, and I couldn’t help but cry. I'd longed for kindness my whole life, and after having everything raped from me by Nex, it was in the heart of a gang of immortals where I received comfort.
“Can I give a piece of advice, Tavern?” Cash asked and stroked a hand down my back in comfort.
“Please!” I cry and for once I don’t feel small. I feel cared for.
“Make him eat his words.”
London laughs and Cash chuckles with her. Obviously it’s an inside joke.
“How?”
“Give Father Mac a dose of good old fashion jealousy. I happen to know, from personal experience, that a dose of jealousy will light a fire under his ass.”
Now I just wanted to hear the story behind it his words. “How do you know?” I ask teasingly, and London bursts into another fit of the giggles.
“I had been trying to get Cash’s attention before we hooked up and I was dancing, being flirty, when Leushus came into the bar. I hadn’t met him before, but I still danced with him and flirted.”
I’m laughing when Cash intervenes. “No, she thought he was a vampire and tried to entice him.”
“It worked didn’t it?” She demands.
“Yeah Princess, it did.”
“See, we are proof that it pays to make a man crazy.”
I laugh because I really love these guys. I just can’t see Preacher falling for it though. “I don’t know, I’m still a little thrown from my time at Bliss. I’m only comfortable with you guys.”
“Then let me play along.” Bastian says from the doorway, a very dark and knowing glint in his eyes.
*
Tavern
We walked into the club called Sinners and Saints. I found it fitting to the group who was watching London and I closely.
Leushus said this would be the place to get spotted tonight according to a few informants he had. London had dressed me in a little black dress by Coco Chanel. The fabric felt like a gentle touch against my skin, and with my Victoria’s Secret wonder bra I looked better than I ever had before. My short hair was styled in messy but perfect flips, and according to London I looked like a blonde Victoria Beckham when she was sporting the 'posh'. Having no clue what she meant, I decided it was a good thing because I felt like a glamour girl. Honestly, I could see why London liked this stuff. It was amazing how easily my confidence shifted when I looked in the mirror. My ruby red heels were plastered in blood red glitter, on the shelf they looked like a joke, on my feet however, I was completely in love. I'd thought of Jezzi as London was dolling me up, remembering my last night with her as she'd vamped me up. I wanted to find her, if to only see if she was looking for me. Preacher had planned to help me find her, but with things strained between us right now, I wondered if London would help instead.
Looking at her as she stood beside me, she outshined me at every turn. She wore a purple wrap around dress that hugged her every curve at the top, and flowed loosely at the bottom hitting just above the knee. A giant belt in black and red clasped beneath her bust, accentuating her mega-cleavage. Her hair was down and pulled back on one side by a large diamond crusted hair comb, and her heels were black with silver buckles on the side of the toe. She was breathtaking, and Cash had to be dying a little at the sight.
“Let’s get a drink.” She yells over the music, and I nod following her. I hadn’t been out since the night I was abducted and was more than a little nervous. A drink was definitely needed.
“Two lemon drops, please.” London yelled with a smile to the bartender then turned to scan the crowd. We had covered the basics of how to spot a vampire and Nex, and I knew she was using those rules now.
"Ok there are signs of vampires and good or bad, they are all the same. The older the vamp the harder they can be for a human to sense, but like Cash told me, the guys are all close by so we shouldn’t be scared
"So here's a list for you to keep with you. Cash gave me the same copy. I jus
t re-wrote it because his handwriting is atrocious and mine is pretty.” She says, grinning.
I look at the paper and see she wrote in purple ink on paper that had flowers on it. It screamed, London. I would give her that.
Just make sure that you memorize this list, and fast. Make it your bible, baby!”
I read the list to myself as I sip on my lemon drop.
"One. A male vampire will always mark the infatuation immediately, by touching an arm or hand, hair, ect. This contact, when applied directly, will enhance the humans need to listen and obey because the touch will always feel sensual and erotic. Even if they are smacking the life out of you, all a human will feel is bliss, absolute erotic bliss."
“Well I'm familiar with rule one.”
She frowns consolingly at me, and I continue reading.
"Two. A female vampire will most likely take a mild approach. Most females stay with male humans for the attention, but if a female should try and infatuate a human, the key points are as follows: They will not touch, but will simply talk close to the ear or neck, eye contact will never falter, and a human would find it impossible to look away. If a female vampire were to touch a human female, it would feel warm and comforting, the infatuation taking a different role, more towards what a human female may feel towards an actress or famous person. The feeling would be one of being star struck and wonderful happiness, even if they were killing you."
Three. All vampires have a scent that a unique to them; unlike any other vampire. Vampires don't wear perfumes or colognes because of the strong sense of smell they survive on. While you are with us we ask that you not wear any, but also be careful with soaps and hairspray. Our senses are too keen, and they could get smothered at the wrong time. We can smell fear, sadness, joy, any emotion you might have, but if you're doused in perfumes we may not catch it if you're in danger.
“I've been wondering why everything is unscented.”
