My Little Ventrue Pt. 07 Ch. 09

"Oh, it's J-Jessy." Natasha scooped up her underwear, threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, and opened the door to her apartment. "Hi!"

"I smell boys." Nodding, eyes stern like a detective on a trail, Jessy walked into the apartment, and sat at the kitchen counter like she always used to. "I hear boys."

"M-Matt and Art are here, and—hi Eric!"

"Hey Tash." Eric Tanverson, beautiful in his casual suit, smiled at her and joined Jessy at the counter. "You said Matt and Art here?"

"Mhmm." As Natasha stepped around the counter, she noticed Jessy was grinning at her. Not only that, but once she made eye contact with Eric, he avoided eye contact with her. "You... saw the t-t-t-t-ta... movie."

"We did! Good fucking god, that is some epic porn, Tash. Eric and I fucked within seconds, in the street."

"You w-watched it in the street!?" She gasped, stepping back and staring at her friend, her very very dumb friend.

But Jessy laughed and waved a hand. "We were in an alley. No one else saw."

Good god, she would be radiating red if she was Blushing Life. "As long as no one else saw. It's p-p-private! Wait, in an alley? D-Did you... have sex in an alley?"

"We did." Jessy grinned, like a happy cat. "That's how good your video was."

"Um, good! Good." Good, because she was very attached to the project now, and she was excited to see what sort of movies she could make. And Matthew seemed to be super into it, too. Arturo was, but in a different way, in a 'I'm so handsome and I'm fucking the pretty lady' sorta way, while Matthew genuinely seemed to want to create movies. She was happy to have both.

"Eric, Jessy," the boys said as they came down the hall.

Eric managed a small nod for them, but Jessy's grin grew enormous as she looked over her shoulder at them.

"Hey booooys," she said. "Maybe you can—" Eric pinched her arm, hard enough to make the Gangrel squeak. "Hey!" She pinched him back, going for the thigh. Eric yelped, and returned the pinch once again.

This went back and forth for a while, and Natasha did her best to not giggle. They were a strange couple, but she was hardly one to judge.

"We were wondering," Eric said, after a few more painful pinch exchanges, "if you could teach me how to cross the Gauntlet tonight."

"Tonight?" Arturo shrugged, and hopped onto the couch nearby. Natasha's kitchen was connected to her living room, giving plenty of space for everyone to sit down and talk as long as they spread out. "Sure, if you want. Did everyone get tonight off?"

The two vampires nodded, and Eric too.

"Alright then," Matthew said. "Uratha need to cross over to the Gauntlet at a locus, a place where essence gathers. Arturo can cross without one, cause he's Irakka, but the rest of us will need a locus."

Arturo nodded. "Avery has something that basically creates a locus wherever she is, but that's not really an option for us."

"How do we find one?" Eric asked.

Matt raised a hand. "We already know where some are."

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~~Damien~~

Fiona stared around at the sensual sights of Bloodlust, squeezed Damien's hand tight, and giggled up a storm as they walked.

"Ya cannae come here and nae think, sex is in the air." She pressed her cheek to his shoulder, and followed him as he stayed as far away as he could from the dance floor. Thankfully she got the hint, but he could see she was thinking about suggesting it.

"No denying it. Everyone here is looking for intercourse."

That sent her into a fit of giggles loud enough people could hear it over the music. "Nae intercourse! Ye dobber." After a moment, she started pulling him, instead of him guiding her, and she took him up the stairs. "Sex, nae intercourse."

"Right, right." His somewhat stilted way of speaking never bothered Fiona; it did make her laugh, however. "Are you sure you want to be here, and not back in your apartment?"

"Aye, I'm sure. Ye need to be around folk from time to time, Damien. It's healthy for ye, ye ken?" Soon they were on the second floor, with the balcony that overlooked the dance floor. A bit darker, a bit quieter, it was where Kindred almost always came when they visited the club. But tonight there weren't any. They were out on sweeps, like he would be again come tomorrow night.

He slid into the booth of her choosing, and relaxed as he felt the shadows and walls of the booth surround him. "I'm not so sure. I'm Kindred, not kine. Kindred are solitary creatures."

"I dinnae believe ye."

"We're like... snow leopards. We meet every once in a while, but really prefer to be alone."

Again, she burst into giggles. "And yet ye vamps are fucking each other, and yer humans, all the time!"

"Dolareido's got a good thing going here. I—"

"So ye do think it's good that vamps are meeting each other!"

He paused, lowered a raised hand, and set it on his lap. "I guess I do. But it's not easy. Do Begotten not crave solitude?"

"Aye, we do. From dragons — real dragons — to monsters like me and Athalia, monsters of shadows ye ken? Our horrors all like being alone. But there's also me, and not Vrall. I like being around folk. Athalia... does nae."

"I suppose that's a big difference between us. The Beast's desires are subtle. There's no monster walking around in my head, demanding certain behaviors. It stays quiet, its influence gentle, unless I'm starving." Damien had frenzied several times in his younger years, when he had to do all that he could to avoid detection. Thankfully the Beast wasn't smart enough to do anything but hunt. He'd been lucky to be far away from anything that would create an incident, unlike Jack and his first night.

To frenzy was an interesting sensation. It was power, hunger, desire, coursing through withered veins until the Kindred lost all control. It was overwhelming. It was exhilarating. He could not remember the details of his frenzy, only blurry images of the walls he'd shredded with his nails. After a time, the Beast spent itself, unable to maintain its chaotic greed and yearning for blood, and only Damien remained, shivering on the floor of the storage room he'd hidden himself in, deep in the tunnels. After that, finding a kine he could feed upon had been difficult, and every second was agony trying to resist the monstrous urges of the Beast.

Fiona snuggled in close to him, rubbed her cheek against his shoulder some more, and hugged his arm. She was in a dress tonight, a very revealing dress, dark green, with cleavage that plunged to her navel. It didn't do a good job of covering her breasts either, and it reminded Damien of the dress he saw Antoinette wear at the ball. His girlfriend didn't have any of Antoinette's regalness, but that made it all the more appealing, that it was the fun bouncy girl wearing the dress and not the royal Daeva.

"Ye're staring," she said, grinning up at him.

"I am not." Shit, he was. He forced his eyes up from her breasts, and to her golden gaze.

"Ye are!" All giggles and fun, she leaned up from her seat beside him, kissed his jawline, and got cozy against his side again.

She leaned forward over the booth table a bit, peeked around to see if anyone could see her, they couldn't, and she snuggled back into his side as her mischievous grin grew. One of her hands slipped up to her shoulder, slid off the shoulder strap of her green dress, and she used the same hand to pull out one of her breasts.

"Ye can touch, whenever ye want. Ya dinnae need to ask, just... grab me, and take me, like a hungry beast." She cupped her one exposed breast, like how she did in her pictures, and she squeezed it gently, causing it to spill over her fingers with its mass and softness. Her large nipple, pink and lovely against her pale skin, poked out from over her palm between finger and thumb. Without losing a beat, the giggling redhead next to him massaged her breast, and made sure to bounce it several times in her hand, to make sure he could see how it rippled with each impact.

"Whenever I want?"

"Aye! Um, well, ye know... nae when it's nae a good idea. This body is alive, unlike ye vampires. But aye, please... jump me and... do things to me." She leaned her head down, lifted her breast, and gave her areola a slow kiss.

Good Lord. Why did this woman delight in tempting him so? No doubt she saw the conflicted look on his face that he was sure was blatant, and it ignited her giggling again as she pulled the dress back up to hide her breast. If he'd been Blushing Life, he'd have been aroused, and would have probably pounced her, sank his fangs into her, and fucked her right there in the booth.

Maybe that's what she wanted? It was her idea to come to Bloodlust. Everyone knew that people had sex in this night club, and every Kindred knew they could come and get an easy meal. Maybe she wanted to be that easy meal? He'd never considered having sex in public, but it did seem like she was tempting him to do just that.

He smiled at her, and tried to make it look dark, a touch evil, and a bit mischievous. Yeah, ok, he could do that. He could climb on top of her, pin her down, slide her dress up, get inside her, and sink his fangs into her. Maybe? Yes, he could. But not yet. There was fun in waiting, in the build up, in anticipation, and in the mystery of what sort of things he'd do to her in the future. He could see it in her eyes, in how a small grin from him was enough to elicit a shiver from her and a sparkle in her gaze.

She gulped, licked her lips, and fluttered her eyelashes at him. So damn cute.

"I think you should get a pet, by the way."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mentioned it to Jack, and he believes if you got a pet, a young one, it'd be perfectly happy with you as an owner."

She tapped her chin at that. "I had thought about it, aye. I'm still afraid though."

"Maybe visit a pet store?"

"Nae! Nae a pet store, ye wanker! It's gotta be a breeder. Pet stores dinnae take care of their animals, and they buy from backyard breeders and mills and... and..." Wow, sexy mood ruined. Fiona folded her arms across her chest, and harrumphed, like he'd offended her and her ancestors.

"Is that right? Sorry, I had no idea." He nudged her with his shoulder, leaned down, and kissed her ear. "You just tell me what sort of pet you want, I'll see if I can help."

"Ye sure? A good breeder can make a pet cost a lot of money."

"Unless it's tens of thousands of dollars, I'm sure I can afford it."

Nodding, she turned her head to kiss his chin. "Maybe a few thousand for a dog, but... I think maybe I want something cheaper. Like a bunny!"

"Bunnies are pretty cute. But I don't think they'll cuddle as readily as a dog, or Eric's cat."

"Eric's cat, but nae other cats?"

He shrugged. "Eric's cat sounds pretty unique, from what I've heard. We can look into a cat like that, or affectionate rodents and mustelids, or a cuddly dog?"

"Ye seem awfully invested in this idea."

"Do I?" He looked out to the railing ahead of them as his mind wandered. "I guess I am. It definitely seemed like something you really wanted."

"And ye want it because I want it?"

"I guess I really want you to have it. I never got to have anything, not really, not when I was kine, and not after my embrace."

"Awww." She pat his leg, sighing dramatically. "Well, I do want a pet. And it definitely has to be cuddly!"

"Then I suggest dog, if you're willing to watch over something for ten to twenty years."

"Ten to twenty years." She blinked, stared down at her legs, and then set her head down on the table, on her cheek. "That is a long time, I cannae lie."

Right, Fiona was a young woman. Asking her to take care of something for as long as she'd been alive, was quite a request from any animal.

"Think about it," he said. "I'll help, anyway I can." He rubbed her back, unable to stop from smiling as poor Fiona finally understood the gravity of what it meant to take care of a dog. At least with a thrall or ghoul, they could take care of themselves. Even Jack's crows took care of themselves, despite their growing affection for the Ventrue.

Speak of the devil. Jack came up the stairs, and waved.

"Hey guys."

"Jack," Damien said with a nod. Like Damien, Jack was dressed in his Invictus suit, but unlike Damien, no curvy woman was found on his arm. "Where's the Prince?"

"Antoinette is doing dragon things with my mom. She's got information that might help with this ghost issue, and—"

"Ghost?" Fiona said, sitting up.

"Yeah." Sighing, like someone had thrown a heavy iron chain around his neck, Jack sat down on Damien's side of the booth. "My sister's ghost, currently haunting my old home."

"Oh my god!" Well, if Damien's comment about the lifespan of dogs didn't kill Fiona's sex drive for the moment, Jack's comment about his dead sister sure did. "Did ye get to talk to her?"

"I did. I... did."

"Did ye—"

"Yes, I got to say the things I wish I'd said before she died, more or less." Groaning, Jack put his elbows on the table, and buried his face in his hands. "But she's a ghost. The Uratha are convinced this is not going to end well, and fuck me, I knew that before I even asked them."

"I... I suppose I cannae believe it, but Vrall can." Nodding, Fiona quickly checked her chest and shoulder straps, probably to make sure she didn't have anything still on display, and reached to pat Jack's closer elbow. "Sorry, Vrall does nae have anything good to say about it either."

"I figured."

"Why're ye here anyhow? I'm on a date with my boyfriend!" She hooked her arm with Damien's, and smiled at Jack. It was half a 'I'm glad to see you' smile, and half 'go away I want to be alone with my boyfriend' smile.

"Sorry to interrupt your date. Normally I'd be with Antoinette, but she's busy, and our sweep ended early tonight. Wait, did Athalia not tell you about the Mary? I was talking to her on the sweep."

"Athalia keeps to herself. She'd tell us, eventually. And it's ok if ye wanna stay for a wee bit. Damien and I are just enjoying a little time outside, before we go back."

Jack lifted his head out of his palms, blinked at Fiona, and then blinked at Damien. "Damien, enjoying outside? Sounds like madness."

It was madness. "I don't really enjoy it, but I like that Fiona likes it. And I like Fiona, so, here I am."

Jack laughed, grinning at Damien between chuckles. "Understandable. I'll be gone a minute, once I've..."

Damien and Jack both stared at the stairs, off to the side of the balcony, and watched a man step up onto their floor. Each step was slow, careful, calculating, and the man looked left and right as if waiting for a bullet to say hello to his spine. No strange aura emanated from him, no presence that would signal a paranormal to an observing Kindred, but it was obvious the man wasn't supposed to be here in Bloodlust.

He was a tall man, black, with short curly hair and a bit of stubble. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, which stuck out quite a bit in Bloodlust; Damien had no idea how he managed to get in wearing that. Maybe he sneaked in? He had large arms, and there were various tattoos covering them. Not tattoo sleeves, but strange markings that looked more like they had a purpose, instead of artwork. Circles, patterns, symbols. There were scars as well, several of them, and a few more on his fingers, the signs of a man who spent his life doing something dangerous with his hands.

"Hello," the man said, glancing around nervously as he did, "I'm Brace Harcourt. I... uh... came here to talk to you, Jack. Or, well, any of you, really. Guess I'm lucky that you're here in person."

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~~Jack~~

This man knew his name. Jack didn't know his, until he just said it. He didn't recognize him, or his voice, or—no, he did recognize him. As the memories came swarming back, Jack's eyes widened, and he froze solid, staring at the man.

This was one of the hunters he saw in the hospital, after Angela opened the portal. This was one of the guys who had shot Julias up.

The man slid into the booth. Damien, who must have noticed Jack's gaze, got ready to stand up and jump the man, but Jack held up a hand. Fiona didn't have a clue what was going on, and that was fine. She just stared, eyebrow raised, confused.

"I'm here to help," Harcourt said. "I want that bitch Angela dead and gone, and if you can take that psycho Jeremiah with her, I'd appreciate it."