Justine Ch. 17

Justine cried, begged and pleaded with him to stop saying that she had had enough to don't stop. The Plexiglas windows shook but held as Quinn took Justine in a variety of positions. They finally shattered after he allowed himself to feel Justine's vaginal muscles clamp around his cock as she came. His scream joined hers as the windows cracked but didn't shatter.

"Wow." was all that Justine could say as she finally fell asleep.

********

Lorenzo Delgado slowly opened his eyes and then closed them again. He had been watching the new queen and decided that he liked her and her kick ass attitude. She reminded him of someone that he knew but hadn't spoken to in several centuries.

He wanted to sleep a little more but it evaded him. He felt the prickle of anxiety in the pit of his stomach, it meant two things- trouble, and he would be hearing from his only sibling any day now. The question was would he comply? He knew that he would simply because not even he would ignore the call of the queen that would come through his brother Maurice.

"Shit." he muttered as he climbed out of the bed taking care not to wake the hooker lying on the other side of it. He was through with her and did not want to hear her spiel about being his one and only. He kept telling himself that he needed to stop seeing her but she was the only human woman that could keep up with his sexual appetite and who was open to whatever he was into at the moment even if it was another woman in bed with them.

She was in love with him and he to some degree was in love with her even if he hadn't acknowledged it. Every morning before she left, he would ask her if she was going to be servicing any other clients that day. If she was, he gave her more than enough money to cover what she would have made and it kept her owner happy.

Lorenzo stood up, looked down at the sleeping Naila and resisted the urge to get back into bed with her. He watched as she turned onto her back bringing her small but firm dark tipped breasts into full view. He realized that if he would only allow himself to do it, he could love her as a mate loves his woman but there were so many reasons why he couldn't and wouldn't. "There were reasons that he was ashamed to admit to, things that he would never tell her or anyone else.

He pulled his gaze from Naila's breasts and let it wander down to the vee between her legs. She had tasted exceptionally sweet last night and he wanted more of her. Abandoning the thought of leaving money on her table and then slipping out without saying goodbye, he slowly pulled the sheet away from her nude body and looked at her.

"This will be the last time." he murmured as he got back into bed with his head facing the foot of it. The scent of their earlier lovemaking assailed his nostrils as he slowly slipped his tongue between her vaginal lips and then stilled.

Naila moaned softly and thrust her hips up to meet his waiting tongue. He flicked it once, then once again before using it to press on her clit.

"Lorenzo?" she called out not sure if she was dreaming or not.

"I'm still here." he said looking up at her and then attacking her clit until she screamed his name.

"I love you." she murmured when he was finished.

"Don't say that!"

Naila sat up and looked at him not understanding his reaction.

"Is it because of what I am?" she asked.

"No! Baby no." Lorenzo replied hating that he was hurting her.

"Then what?" she asked her dark brown eyes filling with tears.

"There are things that you don't know about me." Lorenzo replied as he got dressed.

"Then tell me."

At that moment, he wanted to. He wanted to tell her everything but something stopped him.

"I can't." he replied and was gone.

When he got home, there were several messages on his answering machine all of them from his brother asking for a return call. Lorenzo closed his eyes and replayed the messages. Maurice sounded the same but different. There was contentment in his voice that hadn't been there the last time they spoke. It had to be because of his mate and child Lorenzo thought to himself. For a brief second he wondered if he could be that content with Naila but pushed the thought away, it did no good to think about things that one couldn't have.

He walked away from the phone deciding to call Maurice after he took a shower, changed his clothes and fed.

******** "If she isn't dead then what?" David all but screamed at Maurice.

"David, Josephine's daughter Justine is our new Queen."

David thought he had misunderstood, Justine their Queen? Impossible! He thought and then remembered the change in Josephine's eyes. It also explained why everyone had been so frantically searching for them.

"Are you sure?" David whispered.

"Positive." Delgado replied. "Where are you?"

"What... I...the queen? Jo is the Queen Mother?"

"So it seems but we have to get you here where we can protect the both of you." Maurice replied.

David's head spun. His Josephine was the Queen Mother?

"David, where are you?"

"We're at one of my homes outside of London... Maurice are you positive?" David asked again.

"I'm positive but if you need proof, I sent a picture of her daughter as she is now to your phone. Look at it and call me back."

David hung up, took out his phone and went to messages. Closing his eyes and then opening them, he opened the pending message. His eyes widened when he saw the picture of a young woman who could have passed as Josephine's sister. The woman in the photo seemed to be staring at him with an accusation in her eyes but he couldn't stop looking at her.

He was staring at the photo so intently that he didn't notice that Josephine had come into the office and was staring at him. He looked up just as she reached the desk and closed the phone.

"Why are you up so soon?" he asked trying to sound normal.

"I couldn't sleep anymore, why are you up?" she asked walking around the desk so that she could sit in his lap.

He wasn't ready for this; he wanted time to think about how he was going to tell her about her daughter but then remembered that procrastinating was part of what had caused their current issues.

"I couldn't sleep and thought that I would clear my messages while you slept. Jo..." he said and then hesitated, "the messages were from my friend Maurice Delgado."

"He's the vampire that helped you look for me." Josephine commented. 'I would like to thank him."

"You'll have your chance; I promised that once I found you that we would get together so that you could meet him and his family. He's also the one that I had looking for your daughter."

Josephine tensed, sat up straighter in his lap and turned to look at him. David could sense her anxiety as she waited for him to continue.

"Jo... she's alive..."

Josephine let out a sob of relief along with the breath that she had been holding.

"Thank god! Is she all right? Where is she? Is she married? Babies?" Josephine asked. She was asking the questions so quickly that he didn't have a chance to respond until she took a breath.

"First, she is well." David assured her. "She is mated..."

"Mated? She's married to a vampire?"

"Yes." David replied resisting the urge to tell her to let him finish. "Her mate was also human at one time and as of yet there are no children." He paused to give her time to ask questions.

"But she's alright? He doesn't hurt her?" Josephine asked.

"No love, she's fine and doing well."

"What does she do? Jussie always like to read, is she a teacher or a writer?"

"She lives in Philadelphia with her mate and she is an attorney..."

"When can we go? Can I call her?" Josephine asked excitedly.

David couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm and happiness but he still had to tell her who she and Justine were.

"Sweetheart, there's more." David said readjusting her on his lap. "I told you that Justine was a lawyer, she is but she's something more just as you are more than you appear to be."

Josephine stilled in his lap neither of them noticing that his cock which was usually hard when she sat in his lap was soft.

"One of the things that I have been remiss on is telling you about vampire politics. That's because for the most part I try to stay out of it but now that is impossible because of who you and your daughter are. Jo... Justine is our Queen. Remember the night that we went out to celebrate because the new Queen had come into power? It was Justine..."

"Justine? But ... but how? She was born human and... we don't have any vampires in our family and..."

She was rambling but couldn't stop. David silenced her with a soft kiss on her lips.

"I don't know the how's or the why's but there must be someone in your line who was or is vampire. Justine had the gene which lay dormant until it was needed which means that you also had the gene."

"So what does this mean?" Josephine asked.

"It means that you are also royalty- you are the Queen Mother. That's why your eyes changed; they signify who you are. Justine's eyes have changed too, they are black but the flames surrounding them are red."

"David, what are you saying?" Josephine asked her eyes flashing with anxiety.

"The red means that Josephine is the Queen of Queens. There will never be another after her unless she dies which simply will not happen. You are the missing piece to making her power absolute which makes it imperative that we keep you safe."

Josephine had stopped listening, she didn't care who or what they were she just wanted to see her daughter.

"When can we leave?" she asked again.

"As soon as I make the arrangements." David replied.

Josephine nodded, she was almost numb with relief that her baby was alive and well and that in several hours she would be face to face with her. She had to wonder what she would think. Did she think that she had been abandoned because she wasn't wanted? Josephine hoped that her sister made sure that Justine knew and understood that she would have never willingly left her.

Josephine listened as David called Delgado.

"We'll be leaving here within three hours time. Yes, I understand that, yes... do you really think that's necessary? Alright, we'll stay put and wait for your call."

"What?" Josephine asked.

"He wants us to stay here until tonight when he and his guards can get here." David replied.

"You have guards." Josephine replied anxious to be gone.

"Yes but he wants to be absolutely sure that you will be safe...."

"And how do you know that you can trust him or his guards?" Josephine asked.

"I trust him because he is Delgado and I would trust him with my life as I trust him with yours. I know that you are anxious to leave but Jo, I agree with him. Every precaution must be taken."

Josephine was going to argue but she saw the stubborn set to David's jaw and knew that it would be useless. All she could do now was wait.

*******

Maurice hung up and called Justine's private number.

"I have spoken to David Sheffield." he said.

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before Justine spoke.

"Is she alright? Is he bringing her?"

"Yes to both questions but I am sending someone to accompany them back." Maurice replied.

"Who?"

Maurice told Justine about Gremlin although he really didn't need to. Once she heard the name, the memories of him and his kind manifested.

"Good choice, how soon can he leave?"

"He will be my next phone call." Maurice replied. "I also planned on going with him."

"Good... Keep me posted." she said and hung up.

*********

She's coming." Justine said softly, "she's really coming."

Her stomach churned with nerves as her mind tried to accept that her mother was alive and that in less than twenty - four hour, she would be seeing her for the first time in more than twenty -five years. Quinn hugged her from behind and kissed her shoulder. He didn't try to settle her, it wouldn't have done any good but he did try to reassure her.

"She's going to think that you're gorgeous." he whispered in her ear, "and she would be right."

"God Quinn! What do I say to her?" Justine asked.

"How about something really simple like hello?" he replied kissing her neck. "All you have to do is be you. Not the queen but a daughter who is going to be reacquainted with her mother and I would bet that she's just as anxious and scared as you are."

"We've missed so much because of Jeremiah Mathers. There are things that we'll never be able to make up for like telling her about my first kiss or picking out a dress for the prom... so many things."

"That's true." Quinn conceded, "But she'll be here to help you plan our wedding and she'll be here to help you plan the gala."

"I know but there's a part of me that is so angry that we were robbed of those other things but it is what it is and I'm just happy that we found her alive and well." Justine said and then hesitated.

"What else?" Quinn asked as he looked in the direction of the Jacuzzi and turned it on.

"I want her to like you." Justine replied sounding very much like a young girl taking her boyfriend home to meet her parents for the first time.

"I hope that she does too but Jussie, this isn't about me. This is all about you and her. If she likes me, great, if not, then oh well. It won't be the first time that my in-laws didn't like me."

Justine turned in his arms so that she was facing him.

"Have I told you just how amazing you are?" she asked as she kissed his chin.

"You may have mentioned it a time or two but I am who I am because of you and you definitely are the better half." he replied as he picked her up and carried her to the waiting Jacuzzi."

*******

Word spread through the house like wildfire.

"The Queen Mother is coming!" could be heard shouted throughout the house. Even in the basement where Jeremiah was held, it was all that was talked about. Even the guards who rarely spoke to him were free with their information.

"When is she coming?" Jeremiah asked his stomach in knots.

"We don't know and it's not something that they would tell us." a guard replied. "I'm actually surprised that they told us this much." he added.

"Why is that?" Jeremiah asked wanting to keep the guard talking.

"Security but then again, the Queen has Maurice Delgado on her security detail now."

"Delgado as in the New Orleans Delgado?" Jeremiah asked.

"That's him... You know him?"

"Only by reputation." Jeremiah replied.

"Well anyway, he's setting up the day walker detail for the Queen and is arranging the security for the Queen Mother."

Jeremiah asked the guard a few more questions before going to sit on his bed. In as little as twenty-four hours, he would know his fate.

********

If the realm of the queens who have gone before was in a tizzy before, it was in an uproar now. Everyone with the exception of Wilhelmina was ecstatic that Josephine the queen mother had been found. The usually quiet realm hadn't been quiet for weeks and it was driving Wilhelmina crazy. No one was listening to her complaints about the noise and activity and that included Thomas.

Thomas had been a fun loving man in his human life and the fun and excitement had finally gotten to him. Unable to resist any longer and risking the wrath of Wilhelmina, he joined in and encouraged her to do the same.

"Come Willie! A little gaiety never hurt anyone."

Her only response was to glare at him to which he only laughed. Grabbing Lottie's hand, he ran off to join the others leaving Wilhelmina alone with her thoughts. She wondered what changes would occur in the realm and if she would be allowed to stay. She hoped not. She saw the realm as nothing more than a pretty prison that kept her from what she saw as her true calling- to be the queen of queens. She didn't care about what she thought to be pretty fairytales, it didn't matter that everything in those tales had happened down to the finding of the queen mother.

She knew that whatever she did, she couldn't go into it haphazardly, and it would take time and planning. The gala would be the best time simply because there would be so much going on and thousands of people in attendance all she would need would be one shot....

Wilhelmina looked up to see Thomas watching her with a curious expression on his face. She remembered that she would have to watch him; he was far too intuitive for his own good. She wondered not for the first time if it was possible to get rid of him. He was too weak for her and incapable of doing what needed to be done. As always, he turned away first and went back to what had turned into a full-scale party with music and dancing.

********

The hours moved slowly. Every five minutes Josephine would look at the clock. It would be another hour before they were on David's jet and on their way to Philadelphia. She was so anxious that the thought of food nauseated her. David held her in his lap and talked about anything that came to mind to calm not only her nerves, but his as well. He had no illusions about what Justine's reaction to him would be. She was going to be furious and he couldn't say that he blamed her.

He glanced over at Gremlin who was looking straight ahead and then at Maurice who was sitting across from them talking on the phone to Jon and then to Mikhail who sat toward the very front of the jet. He listened to the conversation that Maurice was having with Jon with interest.

"Are you taking good care of mommy?" Maurice asked and then laughed, apparently Jon had said something funny.

David looked away realizing that he had never really wanted children but that one little snippet of conversation had started him thinking about it. Josephine was still young in human years and they could conceivably have dozens of children if the fates allowed it. First, he had to get through the meeting with his stepdaughter. He stopped himself; Justine was and always had been his daughter because she was the child of his mate. It didn't matter that she didn't come from his loins, she was a part of Josephine and Josephine was his.

A different sort of guilt hit him. Not only had he denied Josephine and Justine the joy of being together, he had denied himself the joy of seeing their child grow up to become what she was. Gently he moved Josephine to the seat next to him and went back into the small bedroom that was located in the back of the jet.

He sat on the bed, placed his head in his hands and cried. It had finally hit home about how selfish he had really been. There was no escaping the fact that his initial choices were to keep Josephine safe but that the choices afterwards were based almost entirely on selfishness and lack of trust.

He looked up when he heard a tap on the door.

"May I come in?" Delgado asked through a crack in the door.

David quickly wiped his face and invited Maurice in.

"How are you doing?" he asked as he leaned against the door.

"I feel like shit." David replied. "It wasn't until I heard you talking to your son that I fully realized what I've done. I didn't just deprive Jo the joy of raising her daughter and Justine the joy if knowing her mother; I deprived myself of the joy of watching her grow into the woman that she is. Maurice, in effect I denied my own child and I only just now understand that."

Maurice didn't say anything as David talked more to himself than to him. Finally, David looked up at him.

"What do you suppose she'll say to me?"

Maurice sat on the bed next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't answer that but what I can tell you is that while she might be angry, she's fair. Don't lie to her or make excuses because I promise you she'll see right through it and no good will come of it whether you are the mate to her mother or not. Tell her what you told me and you can't go wrong. What she will do I can't say but David I cannot stress this enough, do not make excuses and whatever you do, don't lie. The two things that she respects is honesty and the courage to admit to doing wrong."