by R M Taylor
By the time Kathy arrived, Stacy had calmed, and Joseph had talked to a friend who owned a hotel nearby, the women had somewhere safe to stay for now. After dealing with more tears from an obviously still sore Kathy, Joseph left to take the women home to get their things and take them to the hotel. He needed the photos and needed to scent their apartment, if it was a vampire he would be able to tell. Aris was relieved to be left in silence. Usually he would be the first to defend the vampire rights to anonymity, but tonight he wished they had the register that the shifters had, it would make tracking this guy easier. He didn’t know whether the break in, the blackmail and the coven challenge were related, but he suspected it was. A feeling of dread solidified in his belly as he weighed up the possibilities. He was naturally suspicious, he didn’t believe in coincidences or flukes. Things happened for a reason and he needed to find out why.
Chapter 15
The orange cocktail spilled over the side of the glass as Lucy was jostled again by passers-by. The club was busy, not packed but busy enough for tables and seats to be scarce. She eyed the private booths towards the back of the club that lined the wall. Each looked like an individual mini room, with an arched entryway, leading to a sleek curved room dominated by a U-shaped sofa. Each was cordoned off with screens showing reserved signs and policed by bouncers. Grabbing Althea, she pushed through the crowds towards one of the bouncers. The bouncer was a tall woman, alert and ready for anything it seemed. Her black hair was pulled back into a bun, her uniform form fitting and stylish. Lucy wondered how many women could pull this look off as well as this woman, likely a vamp, Lucy thought. Raising her voice above music and shouting, she asked “How can I get one of these booths please?”
“VIPs only I’m afraid, unless you’re on the list you can’t have one, I’m sorry”
Lucy frowned, but was determined nonetheless.
“How do I get on the list then? I’m happy to pay for a booth” Lucy asked with a smile, waving her credit card.
After negotiating and speaking to another woman who was obviously the manager, she paid handsomely, and they finally managed to settle in their own booth. It could seat about 6 easy, so it felt lonely with just 2 of them. Swiftly, drinks were brought over to them, as well as trays of tiny snacks. They had their own server, or “fairy godfather” he called himself, which amused Lucy, and she soon realised why he called himself that when he offered to procure some extra “services” for them, listing off different items he could get, some legal and some not so legal.
Lucy asked for the best champagne and enjoyed Althea’s face when their server listed off the best brands and price ranges. Choosing the biggest bottle of the best, she thought “fuck it” and smiled at Althea, making an “eek” expression.
“I can’t believe you paid so much Luce! How minted are you woman?? No wonder you kept the inheritance a secret from Connor!” Althea shouted.
Lucy was about to respond when she realised she had never told Althea she had neglected to tell Connor about the inheritance. She deliberately left that information out on purpose and allowed Althea to assume she had told him.
For two reasons, one she felt like a heel for keeping him in the dark as they had been together a while, so she felt like maybe she should have given some money when she left, like she owed him, but her grandmother’s lawyer David Edmonson specifically said to keep details of her inheritance and her family history to herself. He had reason to believe there was someone who could hurt her, so by extension, Connor. The second reason was she wanted to avoid Althea’s judgement, inevitably Althea would have an opinion on the matter and she had no energy to deal with it if it was negative. She had simply changed the subject when they had discussed things, or interrupted her, or answered in very vague terms. How did Althea know she hadn’t told Connor? She had only told Althea about it the day before she left for the city.
“Allie, I wasn’t being a bitch about it, it’s just that it’s complicated, and I was advised to keep quiet” Lucy said, wishing Althea would leave it alone.
“What’s complicated? You were entitled to the money, so you don’t owe him any explanations, do you? It’s not like you were committed and with him for ages, ooops, yes you were!” Althea laughed obnoxiously and downed another drink. Lucy was annoyed, Althea had kept her opinions about certain things quiet, obviously. Lucy had believed she was firmly in her corner, but obviously she was keeping her true feelings to herself. Lucy couldn’t help feeling betrayed, Althea was her bestie, she should be on her side, even if Lucy had done something she didn’t agree with. Lucy would have preferred she was just honest, but technically Althea had told her no lies, or she would have heard the lie in her words. But then something didn’t sit right, how did Althea know she kept it to herself? She must have talked to Connor at some point. Why has she talked to Connor when she had only met him a few times? Deciding to say nothing, she tested Althea’s knowledge.
“Well, he has a decent job, and as I say it’s complicated. He will be fine” Lucy took a long pull from her straw as she waited for Althea’s reaction.
“Decent job? His salary is less than mine and I’m a city employee! We get paid peanuts, seriously Luce you should have told him, at least when you left that day!” Althea was swaying slightly.
“How did you know I didn’t? I never said that I didn’t tell him” Lucy asked. Althea went quiet when she realised her mistake. An awkward silence dragged on while she was obviously trying to find the words to explain.
“Have you talked to him? Have you talked to Connor?” Lucy asked as her heart started to pound. She knew the answer, suddenly it was obvious. Althea couldn’t possibly know all of this unless she had talked at length with him.
“Aw damn it Lucy, I’m sorry.” Althea paused, not able to meet Lucy’s eyes.
“My new boyfriend is Connor. After we met again at your birthday party last year we got on so well I got his number, it was innocent at the time, he felt like a new friend. But as time went on and things got worse with you guys he eventually texted me to ask me what I thought about it, I think he was exhausted and just needed to talk really” Althea looked Lucy straight in the eye and her expression went hard.
“You guys were terrible for each other, but he’s a decent lovely guy and I think I’m falling for him. You haven’t been fair to him, you should have broken up long before you did, and you knew you were going to for a while that’s why you kept the inheritance to yourself, you must have known you were getting it, these things take ages to sort!” Althea spat the words at Lucy, it was obvious they had been festering for a while.
Lucy was devastated, Althea was her best friend and she above anyone should know Lucy didn’t mean it like that. She had kept it to herself to protect Connor and herself until she found out more about her family. Her mother mating a tiger had shamed her grandmother, so she had broken all contact with her mother when she had Lucy. No-one was told who she had mated, the family was told her mother was single still, living overseas and working as a high-flying lawyer. The little family that was left would believe that the inheritance went to her mother, since there was no funeral, no-one would really know. The family didn’t talk to each other much, she wondered if everyone even knew, especially since they lived in other parts of the world. It wouldn’t take a genius to find out about Lucy if they wanted though, it was easy enough to track birth certificates.
Lucy had no idea if she had enemies at this point, she was so out of the loop. David had told her he was intending on moving away he was that concerned about a potential threat. He had insisted everything she needed was in the books he gave her. There was simply no-one she could turn to. Why her grandmother had left her the fortune anyway was a mystery since mixed mating’s were obviously wrong in her eyes.
“Allie, it wasn’t like that, I wish I could explain more but it’s.” before Lucy could finish, Althea finished for her “......complicated. Always complicated. I can see why things didn’t work with Connor, he’s so open and car
ing, and you’re so closed and hard, you’ve always been this way. It’s selfishness Lucy, withholding affection like that. He needs it, and you never gave him it that’s why it wouldn’t work” Althea looked at the floor, avoiding Lucy’s eyes.
“Allie, you don’t understand. You know I’m not cold, Connor and I were a bad match, it was no-one’s fault there’s reasons I kept this to myself!” Lucy was exasperated, how did things turn so quickly? They were just having a blast then this all spilled out.
“You’re wrong there. It was your fault, and now because you fucked him up so much he won’t let me in. God knows how long it will take for him to trust me. I thought I could get over this, your loss is my gain after all eh? But he didn’t deserve all this pain Lucy, he put on a brave front but you leaving has knocked him sideways” Althea shook her head and swayed again. Very obviously too drunk and over emotional. Lucy couldn’t believe the words coming from her mouth.
“I’m not apologising Allie, I did nothing wrong. We both hurt each other. The money is another thing entirely, we halved everything down the middle while together Allie, but we aren’t together now, and I wouldn’t have expected him to give me money if it was the other way around. I’m not his future, I would have expected him to use his money for himself. If it wasn’t a potential risk I would have given all of my friend’s money. As it stands I’ve hardly touched it myself, I’m a bit afraid to, I’m hardly living like a rock star” Lucy felt her eyes filling with tears as the realisation that her friendship with Althea was not what she thought it was at all.
“As for not being able to tell us about it and potential risk, that’s very convenient isn’t it? That way you can justify things without explaining yourself. It’s very drama queen, Lucy, what harm could it be to spend your own money? You know, to a certain extent that’s just how you are, you don’t let others know details, don’t let them close. Just be honest and say you don’t want to share any of it. We must be all righteous and say you don’t have to, but that’s the thing, if you love people you share with them. Good times, tough times, money, homes, whatever. Not sharing the money insults how close we are, but you could at least have given Connor some money as a parting gift. At least then some good would have come from the relationship with you. Since you’re spending so much I assume the inheritance was substantial. You know he always wanted his own business instead of just working for someone else’s. As it stands all he got was three years of his life wasted. Karma is a bitch Lucy, and she will come find you, make no mistake about that!” Althea rose and swayed as she did. Grabbing her bag, she made her way slowly out of the booth and into the throng of people. Lucy felt like she had been slapped. She downed her drink and wiped her tears. She was strong, and she would weather this like everything else she had weathered in the past, but the betrayal felt bone deep. After a few minutes her fairy godfather, seeing she was upset, came over and asked if she needed anything.
“Another glass of champagne please, and some dessert, something really naughty and chocolatey. I need a pick me up” Lucy smiled weakly at the concierge, and took a deep breath as he left, trying to calm herself. She would have the champagne and dessert and then make her way home. She really didn’t want to be on her own. The concierge hurried off and she repeated their words in her head over and over, trying to make sense of it all. She was blindsided, and she felt absolutely alone.
Chapter 16
Aris exited the elevator, intent on looking around the club, the women had described this John guy’s features and, so he sought out any male that looked like their description. As he scanned the crowd he saw dozens that could fit the description he looked for. Vampires could be identified by their movements, even though they acted like everyone else there was a speed to their actions that were discernible to other vamps. That, and their pallor was slightly pale, obviously due to the lack of sunlight. Their eyes tended to be darker, and their behaviour could be predatory, especially in the dominant ones. There were always exceptions to any rule, but overall the majority followed suit.
As he scanned the room, his eyes landed on the booths, and he started at the booth where Lucy sat. It was her, the woman, Lucy, his heart rate sped as the realisation sunk in. She looked upset, she was wiping her eyes discreetly like she was crying and trying hard to hide the fact. Before he could process her presence, he found his body moving in her direction, seemingly of its own volition. She was gorgeous, she was wearing a halter dress, her curly hair spilling over her shoulders. She suited curls, hell she probably suited any hairstyle. Her gorgeous face was enhanced with smoky makeup, but not overdone.
She was stunning, most women looked ordinary, but this woman did not look like any other woman he knew. Her features were unique, unusual even, in a good way. He approached her slowly, and when she looked up, he smiled gently, making eye contact.
“Hi, I’m the manager, I would ask if you were having a good night, but you look very obviously unhappy right now, can I get you anything? A drink, some food? I have a shoulder here if you need one to cry on” he laughed so she knew he was joking. He was serious, he would give her anything, but he didn’t want to be creepy and weird. He was nervous, damn it all, he could stare anyone in the eye, he was confident with his abilities, he was attractive, intelligent, badass, highly capable and a millionaire; and he was nervous. His heart was pounding, and he was relieved when after a second, she finally smiled back at him.
“Thanks, my fairy godfather is getting me more champagne, and dessert. It’s been a shitty night. Well, actually it was good until my friend dropped a huge bombshell on me”
“Tell me about it if you like, I’m on a break, and would rather sit with a beautiful woman and chat, than sit on my own people watching” he smiled again. She seemed to relax a little, and so he did too. She smiled and nodded to the seat opposite, so he could sit down.
“She and my ex are now an item. We broke up two days ago, so I suspect they have been “friends” for a while” She made the exclamation marks with her fingers to emphasise the friends remark. Obviously, her ex had cheated, with her best friend no less. That was harsh, people were such bastards. He said as much, and she smiled at him, seemingly grateful for the acknowledgement.
“They’re good people, but there is a lot of pain there. She blamed me for some things that aren’t my fault. What hurts is that she was right about some other things, and I guess I assumed I was the victim in the whole situation. It didn’t occur to me to see things from his point of view. Shocked the hell out of me when she came out with all that stuff. I had no idea they were even in contact with each other. There were no signs, but I wasn’t looking for them, the relationship was dead in the water for a while. Apparently, they have been talking since last year, and are now an item. Considering what I do for a living, it’s embarrassing that I missed it” She stared down at the table, and he resisted the urge to hug her. Too soon, it would freak her out.
“Sounds like they deserve each other, it wasn’t right for you and him so maybe they are a better match. Maybe you had a lucky escape” the words left his mouth before he had a chance to weigh up the meaning. She smiled and looked at him direct, the tears gone now, and her demeanour seemed happier. Her fairy godfather appeared with an opulent chocolate dessert, expertly presented and looking like a something off MasterChef. The food here was top notch and he paid very well to guarantee decent talented chefs.
“Oh, my goodness this is gorgeous!” her face lit up and she turned the plate as she examined the dessert. It had layers of several types of chocolate with curly chocolate swirls and shapes on top. Even the plate had intricate swirls and patterns in dark and milk chocolate sauce. He was sorry he couldn’t eat some, whatever it was looked and smelled superb.
“How do they do this? I can barely heat up a pizza in the oven and they can produce this beautiful thing. It’s amazing, the chef is really good!” She dug in tentatively at first and he admired her as she took a second bigger bite. No shy girl here then, good on her for go
ing for it. Some women are so self-conscious about eating it’s off putting. He watched her lips as she ate, and as her tongue licked her lips to clear the chocolate cream he could imagine it somewhere else. This woman was dangerous, he could easily be her slave and thank her for the privilege. He watched her swallow, and as she demolished her dessert, he tried to distract himself by pouring their champagne, the server had brought a second glass when he realised he had joined her.
She cleared her plate in record time, and he asked her if she would like another. With a quick shake of her head she finished her last bite and licked her lips. Fuck, those lips were gorgeous. He could imagine them around his cock, her tongue licking while she knelt in front of him, her big beautiful eyes looking up at him as she gave him head. Fuuuck.
“You look like you could do with one yourself” she smiled, knowingly. He was sure she knew he was turned on. He took a big gulp of champagne while he rearranged himself by crossing his leg over his knee and leaning forward.
“I would love one, but vampires can’t process solid food, only liquids. It would bounce, and I would prefer not to grace the floor with a wasted dessert, especially one as nice as that one. You looked like you enjoyed it” he was lost in her eyes. No-one he ever met had eyes like hers, the grey-blue was patterned and unusual, you could tell she was a shifter this close.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Aris Landon. I’m owner of the club, along with Joseph, my coven mate”
“My name is Lucrezia Delarossa, it’s nice to meet you Aris” she smiled again, and he wondered what she was thinking as they shook hands, pretending to just meet.
