by Eve Newton
He pushes his hand into my hair and moans, “Oh, Dawn.” I pull back like I have been slapped. He sits upright suddenly, blinking at me as I yell, “Dawn?” in his face and he says, “What?”
I gaze furiously at him as I say, “I was sucking you off and you called me Dawn! I have no problem if you are fucking her but at least have the decency to get our names straight.”
“What?” he asks again in a daze. “I called you Dawn?” he says in horror as he finally comes to enough for that to sink in. “No, no baby. I’m not fucking her, I swear. I don’t know why I said that. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he says desperately, and I frown at him. He sounds so sincere I can tell he isn’t lying to me.
“Were you dreaming of her?” I ask.
“Maybe, I don’t remember,” he says, looking away. Oh, I see, he was dreaming about her.
“Cole,” I say sternly. “You don’t need to lie to me.”
“All right, yes,” he snaps at me. “I was dreaming about her. Happy?” He pulls the sheets up over himself and flops back down.
I stifle a small smile and crawl over him.
“Tell me about it,” I say slyly.
He glares at me. “It’s not like that. It’s all your fault,” he grumps.
“Oh? Why is that then?”
“I’m hungry so I was dreaming I was feeding on her. Then she dropped to her knees and took me in her mouth, clearly because you did. She just happened to be in my dream at the time.”
“Oh, baby. It’s okay. I really don’t mind.”
“Liv. Don’t start.”
“What? I’m not starting anything. She fancies you, if you want to take her, take her.”
“I don’t want to take her.”
“Not even just once?”
“Liv! I said stop it.” He is getting annoyed with me so I can it.
“Do you want to take me?” I ask.
“Always,” he says, humor restored as he flips me over and rams into me without further ado.
Friday brings Devon’s day and I have specific plans for him. I tell Cole about them as I watch him get ready to leave for work and he is surprised. “Really? I thought you were against it?”
“Not anymore.” I shrug. “I want her out in the world, not stuck inside obsessing over Devon.”
“Oh,” he says as he bends down to kiss me. “Well, wish him luck for me.”
“I will. I love you. Say hi to Dawn for me,” I say with a wicked wink and he glowers at me.
“I would tell you to where to go but I don’t fancy a beating this early in the morning.”
“How about later?”
“Hm, now that might fit nicely into my plans. You will be around tonight?” he asks casually.
“Yes.”
He smiles then, happy. “Good, I will see you later then. Let me know how it goes. I love you.”
“Bye, baby.”
He leaves me then and I flop back to the bed. Alone. I’m not happy about being alone. I jump quickly into the shower and head down to Devon’s suite within minutes. It isn’t even 6 AM yet so he will no doubt be fast asleep. I Astral in, we have no secrets (well, not many, anyway) and land next to him, just getting out of the shower. He leaps into midair, his hand on his heart.
“Fucking hell, Lizzie!” he snaps at me. “Give an old guy a bit of warning.”
I snicker at him and take him in my arms. “I missed you last night, very much. You should’ve come up.”
He shrugs. “Had some thinking to do. But next time, definitely.”
I give him a curious look. He’s being far too serious. I mean, since when does Devon prefer thinking over fucking?
“About Jess?” I ask sagely.
“Obviously,” he retorts, making me feel a bit dumb for asking.
“Care to share?” I snap at him, annoyed now.
“No,” he snaps back, also pissed off.
I huff at him. “I want to talk to you about her. It’s time, Dev.”
“Time for what?” he asks, sitting on the sofa, still only in his towel. He’s killing me here.
“Time for you to do your sire duty by her.”
He looks askance. “You mean…” He holds his left thumb up.
I nod. “Yes. We all need to be on the same page here with what is coming, and it is just too difficult, especially with her trying to do her job as well.”
“So I have to go and sort her out? Why can’t you go? You said you’d take responsibility,” he sulks at me.
“I’m not her sire, my love. You are.”
“You are Queen. Just go and ask them for one and they will give it to you.”
“I can’t do that, sweetie. How would that look?”
“Bad,” he admits. “What about the disc? I still have my ring; can’t we just give that to her?” He rubs his finger over the spot where the disc is under his skin.
“Works the same, my love. It’s yours and only yours.”
He sighs. “Fine. I suppose if she can go out during the day, it’ll get her out of my hair more. Can you tell me anything about it?”
“It is a trial that is specifically for you. There is nothing I can tell you about it.”
“Humph,” he says rudely. “Where do we go? How long will it take? What if I fail?” He is starting to panic a bit now, but I grab his hand to reassure him.
“I am going to try and call Corinne here and she can tell us more. It will take a couple of hours or so and you won’t fail. I promise you. You are strong and smart, and you never fail.”
“Easy as that?”
I nod again. “Advice from a sire to a sire. I know you don’t have the bond, but you said yourself you like her, and I know you feel bad she is suffering.”
“What about her punishment though?”
“I think she realizes that she made a mistake and has to live with you not having a bond with her for eternity. I think that is punishment enough,” I say quietly.
“Yeah, I guess so. Well, I suppose I will go and get ready.”
“Wear casual clothes you don’t mind getting ruined,” I call after him, much to his horror.
Chapter 19
Devon returns shortly thereafter, dressed as casually as he can. I shake my head at him, and he says, “What? This is the worst outfit I have.” He indicates his designer jeans and t-shirt.
“Fine. At least you can afford to buy more,” I chuckle.
“How do we do this?”
I shrug. “No clue. I have been trying to call her for months. Xane just bellowed out her name and she turned up.” I frown as I remember that with a flash of annoyance.
“So, you are just going to call her?”
“Not out loud,” I say mysteriously. “Come now. I want to get this show on the road.”
“Right, let’s do this.”
I take his hands and close my eyes. I concentrate, thinking of Corinne, trying to call her to me. I feel a wave go over us and I open my eyes. We have changed locations, but we didn’t Astral here, it was something different. I turn around and notice Corinne sitting behind a massive mahogany desk in what appears to be a library very much like CK’s at Ponte.
“Aefre?” she looks up in surprise. “What on earth are you doing here?”
“Err, sorry, Corinne. I was trying to call you. Seems I inadvertently came to you instead,” I apologize as we have clearly landed in on her at home. She is dressed casually in pants and a shirt, her hair loose. Every other time I have seen her she has been dolled-up in long flowing gowns with her upswept dark hair and perfect make-up.
“It’s fine. I am just surprised. This castle is heavily warded. I am surprised you got through. Although,” she chuckles, “you are Queen, I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised. Seems your Powers are growing, Your Majesty.”
Humph, not quick enough, clearly.
“Corinne, my love, what happened?” Ahmed strides into the room, face full of concern until he sees us. “Oh, Aefre. How nice to see you.” He bows.
“And you
, Ahmed. So sorry to barge in unannounced, it wasn’t my intention to come to you. I was trying to call Corinne to come to me.”
“Is everything all right?” he inquires.
“Yes, we just need help with Devon’s sire trials. I don’t know of anywhere to go near where we are staying.”
“Sire trials? You have chosen to allow the girl a reduced punishment?” Corinne asks.
Now how did she know it was a punishment?
“Yes,” I answer with narrowed eyes and she looks abashed.
“Sorry, the records, we know the history.”
“Oh. Well, can you please help us?”
“Of course. In fact, I will take you myself, Devon.” She acknowledges him for the first time. He looks like he would rather she had carried on ignoring him.
“No, Corinne, don’t go to any trouble, just point us in the right direction,” I say to her.
“It’s no trouble, My Queen,” she says. “Ahmed, please see that Her Majesty is comfortable in our absence.”
“Of course, my dear,” he says to her and bends down from his seven feet in height to her five to kiss her lightly on the lips. Such an unlikely couple.
“Dev.” I take his hands and he grimaces at me. “You will do great.” I pull him to me for a light kiss and then say, “When you return, I will take you to home to L.A.”
He cheers up at that and takes Corinne’s proffered hand. She Teleports them to wherever it is they are going, and I turn to the sofa to sit and wait.
“Can I get you anything?” Ahmed asks.
I shake my head, too nervous for anything. He sits next to me and the only sound is the clock ticking away on the mantelpiece. I wonder vaguely where we are. Corinne said the castle was heavily warded, which is probably why no one could find Ahmed, if he was here behind them. I suppose that does make it noteworthy that I managed to pop through them. I cheer up a bit at that. Maybe this Thirteen character should be more afraid of me than I think It is which, in my humble opinion, is zero.
“He will be fine.” Ahmed breaks the silence.
“I hope so.”
“He is stronger than he thinks. Plus, there is no way he will let you down.”
“Me? His concern should be for Jess.”
“He has no bond with her. His only concern is making you proud of him,” he states.
“Oh,” I say dumbly.
“Is there anything you want to ask me, while we wait?”
“About what?” I ask.
“Anything...” He shrugs.
I turn my full attention to him then and he smiles at me as I ask, “You will answer?”
“If I can,” he says.
“What do you know of The Thirteen?”
He looks only mildly surprised by my question and answers, “Probably the same as what you know. Serena is very knowledgeable.”
Yeah, so I keep hearing.
“You don’t know anything else? That might be useful to get rid of It?”
“Is there a reason you want to get rid of It?”
I stare at him. “I thought you knew everything,” I say with a half-smile. “It is…bothering me.”
He sits upright then and asks, “By ‘bothering’ do you mean coming after you?”
“Yes. It is messing with my dreams and has appeared a couple of times.”
“Appeared?”
“As someone who has crossed over.”
“It’s back then,” he says with a sigh. “We feared he one day would. You must defeat...It, my child.”
He? He said ‘he’.
Erm, duh, obviously.
“I don’t know how, hence why I asked.”
“Corinne and I will look into it further. Come back on Sunday and we may have some help for you,” he says decisively.
“Should I go and ask my mother?”
“Uhm, no need to bother Her with this. You are quite capable of getting rid of It yourself.”
“It’s quite powerful,” I insist.
“So are you,” he says with a pointed look. “Believe in yourself child. Embrace the Powers your mother gave to you.”
I nod with a gulp. He keeps calling me child and a very random question enters my head, “Erm, Ahmed. I have never even thought to ask this before, but if Tiamat is my mother, who is my father?”
It sounds bizarre that I never thought of it but when you haven’t had parents for over a millennium it isn’t really the first thing you think of.
He looks shifty and clears his throat. “That is something you will have to ask of your mother.”
“Do you know?” I press.
“I…do not,” he says but I don’t quite believe him somehow.
I drop it as he clearly isn’t going to tell me anything. I must remember to ask Tiamat next time I see Her.
We resume our silence and Devon and Corinne return shortly thereafter. He is disheveled and dirty, his hair all mussed, and his t-shirt ripped. He looks like he’s been ten rounds with Lincoln in Wolf form. He beams at me and I clap my hands excitedly. “You got it then.”
“I did.” He shows me the box.
“I knew you would, my clever boy,” I praise him, and he glows. “Let me see.” I am curious as to what it is, he got for her.
He holds out the box and I open it. Inside is a small flat disc the same as the one I got for him and Cole last year to ensure that Cole could withstand the light when he has to take his ring off.
“No ring?” I ask slyly and he shakes his head.
“I don’t want her getting the wrong idea,” he says firmly. “This is just fine.”
“Just the one?” I ask casually.
“Oh, hell yes. There is no way I am turning anyone, ever again,” he says with more force than necessary. He turns to Corinne and thanks her. She bobs her head in response.
“You should be proud of him, Aefre. That was the quickest time on record,” she says with a small smile at Ahmed.
He looks less than impressed, so I’m guessing Devon just beat his record.
“Thank you,” I say to her, covering up my own smile at my charges obvious pride. I turn to Ahmed and say, “I will see you again soon.”
“I hope that we have something that will help you,” he says as Devon and Corinne look at us curiously. “I will fill Corinne in now.”
“Good.” I take Devon’s hand and say, “Let’s go. We have some celebrating to do.”
“Bye, Aefre,” Corinne says.
I wave at her as we Astral off home.
“Home, Sweet, Home,” Devon says as we land in his bedroom. “Just the two of us. Makes a nice change.”
“I know. It has been so long since it was just us,” I agree. I Shift to Elizabeth, naked, and his eyes light up.
“I miss just us,” he says as he pulls me close. He throws the box onto the bedside table dismissively and kisses me. “Now, about those plans I had,” he whispers. “You said to think of something suitable to my needs.” He pulls away and the wicked glint in his eye has me piqued.
“I did say that,” I say. “What are your needs, my dear?”
“Currently, I wish to tie you up and fuck you senseless,” he remarks as casually as if he had just said “pass the salt.”
“Hm, well, I can’t say that I am surprised,” I say as I tap my chin thoughtfully. “Question is, will I let you?”
He laughs as he bends down to retrieve something from the bedside drawer. “Question is, Lizzie, am I going to give you a choice?” In a flash of Vampire speed, he has clicked the handcuff around my wrist and thrown me onto the bed. He knows he has to be quick as my speed and strength is superior and I can overpower him without batting an eye. He also knows that, without a doubt, I could get myself out of this situation as easily as a stroll on the beach…if I wanted to. He leers at me as I let him have his fun. He cuffs my other wrist after he loops it around the railing on his headboard.
“Perfect,” he says smugly. “Do you know how beautiful you look, cuffed to my bed?” He trails his hand ov
er my nipples, and they stand to attention. “I am going to take my time with you.”
He undresses slowly, discarding his torn clothes in a heap on the floor. I watch him closely as he does the same to me. I think half of him wonders if I will allow this to continue. I owe him, big time, so I stay exactly where he put me, and he rewards me with a soft kiss to my aching clit. “I love you, Lizzie,” he says before he dives his tongue into me, causing me all sorts of pleasure. He is relentless in his ardor and he has me squirming against the silk sheets, the hard steel of the cuffs digging into me as he makes me come again and again.
“Fuck,” I breathe heavily as he comes up for air with a smug look. He drops onto me to kiss me, gently, pushing his hands into my hair as he pushes his tongue against mine. He slides into me with ease as I am so wet. I am pinned in place and all I want to do is push him over and ride him until he comes, but I can’t. So, I leave him to do the work. And he does it well. Making love to me so slowly, he is relishing every second of being the dominant one for a change. We come together and he kisses me again.
“I do like you helpless but if I don’t have your hands on me soon, I am going to wither away,” he says, shaking his head at me as I laugh.
“You had better be prepared, my darling boy, because as soon as you uncuff me, you are mine,” I say.
“I expect nothing less, my sire,” he says as he uncuffs me. “Do your worst.”
I launch myself at him, fangs and claws drawn, and proceed to rip him to shreds, drinking from his wounds as I fuck him so hard, he won’t remember his name. He revels in it and as much as he loves taking control, I know this is what he prefers.
“Oh, yes, baby,” he moans as I make him come and I flop down onto his chest, panting.
“We are so good together,” I murmur as I kiss his chest. “I cherish our bond and the feelings I have for you.”
He rolls us over to stare intently into my eyes. “I do, too. Take us to the pool,” he says, and I am left wondering what the abrupt change of attitude is about.
I Astral us to the pool, as requested, and he sits on one of the sun loungers. I follow suit, not bothering that we are naked due to the shadow cover over the garden, which effectively blocks us from prying eyes.
