Touch Part 3 --PG-13

[librarian_7]

Usual disclaimers…

This is part three of a three part story. Please read, enjoy, comment….

Touch


Part 3


Josef laughed, a deep rumble in his chest, and shook Lucky out of her thoughts. She’d been close to dozing, feeling so utterly relaxed and at home where she was. As she listened to Josef’s voice on the phone, she began to toy with the buttons of his silk shirt. He smiled, but brought up his free hand to cover hers, capturing her fingers in his grasp, shaking his head. No distractions, not yet. No more than her mere presence in his lap already caused him. She didn’t mind. She knew that he was aware of her, that she would have his full attention sooner or later. She pressed her lips against his chest, over where his heart lay silent, a gesture of affection, not provocation, and he responded by stroking her velvet cheek with the backs of his cold fingers.

It pleased her so much, to bear him silent company. She’d talked to the others, and while none of them shared all the details of their times with him, she’d heard enough to know that they all seemed to suit different moods, they all seemed to fill different needs. She’d heard a few sneers, comments made behind her back, about “harem mentality,” and “submissives.” Mostly from 100% freshies, the ones who were just out there, and fair game for any set of fangs. Envious bitches, the lot of them, she thought. There was more to this business of being a freshie, to this relationship with the vampire, than just the blood. Not that she’d always known that, but she’d learned. She’d learned, one lesson at a time.

&&

Josef had spent more time than usual debating which freshie would accompany him to the local council of elders meeting. Damned tedious proceedings, in his opinion, with that bunch of paranoid old vamps. Of course, he reflected, he had been the one to institute the custom of BYOBlood, so maybe he fit right in. Normally, the choice was not difficult. It was no place for an inexperienced girl; some of the elders made a game of trying to terrorize each other’s snacks, trying to provoke incidents they could turn to their advantage.

His first thought had been Ariel, one of his most experienced companions, but with less than a week until the meeting, she’d been called to the bedside of her mother, who had been hospitalized after a car accident. Of course he couldn’t object to her departure, but it was frustrating. Josef just didn’t have that many other choices of calm, unflusterable freshies at the moment. There had been a few amicable retirements, a few girls who graduated college and decided that while youthful experimentation was all well and good, any further blood donations they made would be mediated through the American Red Cross. And two had been summarily dismissed. One for bad behavior, the other for turning up with unpalatable foreign substances in her blood. Her protestations that she had only used X once, and tearful promises never to do it again, had fallen on deaf ears.

The ones left, they were all good girls, he thought, but distressingly temperamental and independent. Which was fine in the normal course of things. As he’d said before, at the 400 year mark, you start to value unpredictable. Just not at Council meetings. What he needed, was a girl who would trust him to protect her, and not let herself be distracted. It was taking a chance, but he thought that new girl Seven might do. She’d been around a few weeks now, and the three times he’d tasted her, she’d seemed very steady.

Accordingly, he’d asked Seven to leave Belinda’s with him, two nights before the meeting. He could tell she was enjoying the ride in his Ferrari, and the scent he caught from her indicated to him that she was very pleased to be alone with him. Not that it was misplaced, but it never ceased to amaze him that these girls could be so trusting among the predators. He’d mentioned that to Ariel, once, and she’d shrugged. “But Josef, human men are predators. Women deal with that every day. Vampires are merely a little more open about it.”

When he pulled up in front of Seven’s apartment building, she turned to him, eyes shining in expectation. “Would you—would you care to come up?”

“And leave the Ferrari on the street? We’ve got to get you into a better neighborhood, babe.”

She looked down. “I’m sorry, Josef. I didn’t mean to—“

He chuckled. “Seven. It’s all right.” He reached over and stroked his fingers along the far side of her jaw, the gentle pressure of it turning her face to him. The racing pulse under his hand was certainly gratifying, he thought, and it was tempting to take what was offered. She had already stretched her neck, obedient to his hand. He wondered if she was this easy for every vamp she met, then decided it wasn’t something he could ask without offense. After all, he’d never smelled another vamp on her.

But he had brought her here to ask something. He forced his thoughts away from the sweet scent of her skin, and the hungry ache of his fangs. “Seven.”

“Y-yes, Josef?”

He swallowed. “I’m not going to feed from you tonight, pleasant as that would be. I need someone to accompany me to a—a meeting, this Thursday. Boring evening, but I’d like you on my arm. Are you willing?”

She didn’t answer at once, and he found he appreciated that. “A meeting? Like, a vampire meeting?”

“Yes.”

“I thought the custom was more about how big your entourage was. I mean, that’s how it looks at the clubs.”

“Clubs are clubs. This is a little more serious. It’s about the quality. But it can get a little scary for the freshies.”

Seven smiled. “That’s very flattering. And I have to trust that I’ll be safe with you, don’t I?”

Josef quirked a smile. “Safe with me, yes. Safe from me, may be a different story.” He paused, awaiting her comment, but none was forthcoming. “So?”

“Was there any question? Of course.”

“Expect me at 11:30 Thursday.” He caught her wrist, and laid his lips against it for a moment. “My lucky number Seven,” he said.

&&

Thursday night, Seven smoothed the short skirt of her deep purple dress down over her thighs as best she could. She wasn’t sure it was quite her color, and she was completely sure it wasn’t her style, but the ladies at the dress shop Josef had sent her to had not really asked her opinion. The hairstylist had been a bit more lenient, merely trimming and conditioning, and suggesting that a loose braid might be flattering. When she’d stolen a hand up to the most recent fang marks on her throat, he’d nodded.

“Oh, yes, honey, you do want to show those off, don’t you?” He’d smiled. “Trust me, I know all about it.

It was all a bit overwhelming, and now here she was, dressed in something she was sure cost more than she’d ever be comfortable with, sitting uneasily in the front seat of a Ferrari. That the driver was one of the most compelling men she’d ever met, didn’t really help. The phrase “way out of my league” kept intruding.

Josef slid a glance at her, smiling sardonically. Without a word, he reached out and pulled her hand over to rest on his thigh, palm up. Then, with deft, cool touches, he massaged his thumb over the scars of his fangs on her wrist. Seven began to feel waves of sensation spreading from the point of contact throughout her body. Within the dark confines of the car, she felt as though the entire world had focused down to those two marks, to his subtle attentions to her wrist. She relaxed back into her seat, not even seeing the street ahead as they glided through the night.

She wondered if he knew what he was doing to her, if he knew that she was melting under his hand. He must, she thought, if those vampire senses were everything she’d heard they were. But could he really tell what was happening inside her head? What he was doing to her mind?

He took his hand away, to downshift as he pulled up to the covered entrance to the club where the meetings were held, and Seven was bold enough to turn her hand over and rest it against his leg. She’d seen the other girls hang on him at Belinda’s, and he never seemed to object, but something had always held her back. Maybe she’d been too reserved, too shy. She worked on making her breathing steady, not really daring to look at Josef as she did.

As he took her hand to assist her from his car, before tossing the keys to the valet, he gave her a look of such intensity that her eyes widened in apprehension. “Just a couple of words, doll,” he said. “Once we’re inside, keep your mouth closed and your eyes to yourself. You’re with me, you’re safe. All you have to do is focus.”

Her hand trembled a little in his, but she repeated. “I’m with you, I’m safe.”

“That’s my girl.” He inhaled deeply, and gave her an enigmatic smile. “You’ll do fine.” As she stood, he tucked her hand through his bent arm, and matching his stride to hers, walked into the clubhouse.

Seven had a hard time not gawking at her surroundings. The place reeked of old money, the kind of ambiance she’d expect—not that she’d ever seen such a thing—of East Coast tradition, or possibly one of the swankier gentleman’s clubs, the kind she’d read about in English novels. Dark paneling, stuffy portraits of men in antique suits…the only difference was that the subjects of the portraits were uniformly younger and more handsome than the usual fossils one would expect in such a place. She hung on Josef’s arm, both hands on the sleeve of his immaculately tailored suit. Besides money, an indefinable air of danger hung in the air.

When they began to encounter the other members, Josef exchanging civil greetings with his peers, Seven realized that unlike the clubs, where so many of the vampires were young in the life, and most were relatively powerless, it was different here. These vampires were old. Powerful enough to live without limits. Arrogant enough to take whatever they desired, and never count the cost. She tried not to look at them, but she couldn’t help see the way the vampires were looking at the freshies. Not just her, but all of them.

“I’m with Josef, and he will keep me safe,” she whispered her mantra almost soundlessly. Somehow the thought of him, protecting her, excited her. She tried to tell herself not to have illusions, not to cultivate foolish fancies. She was here as food, she should remember that. But she didn’t think she wanted to be food for anyone else except Josef.

He heard her faint murmur, of course, and allowed himself a trace of a smile for it. Not pausing in his conversation with another elder, he reached to cover her hands with his right hand. “I’m essentially agreed with you, Lunos, but you have to understand my position in the matter.”

“So you’re saying we need to conserve blood? Blood? Look around you, man, there are oceans of it, just for the taking. The supply is inexhaustible.”

Josef shook his head, and the intensity in his eyes would have told anyone else to back down. “Do you know what the next big trend in business is going to be? Green. Sustainable. Eco-friendly. If I’ve learned one thing on this earth in four hundred years, it’s that nothing is inexhaustible. Particularly the tolerance of humans for predators such as ourselves. Of course there’s plenty of blood available. But if we misuse this bounty, if we hunt indiscriminately, then we get noticed. And make no mistake about it, they will hunt us down, and they will kill us.”

Lunos made another dismissive gesture. “You give them too much credit. None of them are a match for any of us.”

“No, but a thousand of them are. If any among us are stupid enough to draw attention, there will be thousands of hunters. For myself, I have better things to do with my time than spend my nights watching out for wannabe Van Helsings wielding mail-order stakes. One of them might get lucky.”

The other vampire sneered, inhaling deeply. “And you would rather pass your time playing their silly business games, or dallying with humans like your little slut, there? At your age, I’d think you’d be past all that.”

Josef lifted an eyebrow. “This would be your concern, how?”

“Oh, believe me, it isn’t. I’ll confess to being amazed to think you’ve deluded yourself into thinking you can still feel anything. But you’re right, it is none of my affair. Just as my affairs need not trouble you.”

“Now that is exactly where you are sorely mistaken. You’ve compromised the security of the community, and when that happens, it is my business.”

The other made a slashing gesture with one hand. “You blend too well with the humans. It’s not necessary. And it’s a weakness.”

Josef laughed. “Camouflage is not a fault. It’s a strategy.” He glanced down at Seven. “Come along, my dear. I believe you might be happiest visiting the library.”

Lunos scoffed. “And you prove my point, Kostan.”

The girl shrank closer, huffing out a breath. Josef turned away casually, placing his body between Lunos and his freshie. The other vamp had a bad reputation, in every direction. No integrity, Josef thought, walking away.

The library was exactly as she’d imagined it would be; floor to ceiling bookcases mostly populated with aging leather-bound editions. One small section held perhaps a hundred garish paperbacks, she guessed for the amusement of freshie guests. Three locked, glass-fronted cases appeared to hold ledgers, perhaps the archival records of the council. She was in heaven. Josef chuckled to see the way Seven came to attention at the sight of the
library, eagerly scanning the shelves. She slipped her hand from the crook of his elbow
and stepped closer to the nearest wall, catching her lower lip in her teeth as she peered at a shelf.

“Oh, Josef, this is—“ She turned her head to speak to him, and realized with a sudden shock he had moved with her, a silent presence just over her shoulder. Had he been any closer, her lips would have met his as she spoke.

She froze, transfixed, as he laid his splayed fingers on her bare shoulder blades. “I like this dress,” he commented, his voice low and intimate in her ear. “So much skin.” Slowly he slid his hands to the tops of her shoulders, then explored down her arms at his leisure, all the while leaning closer and closer behind her, until his hands were on her wrists, and his body pressed against her from shoulder to hip. Dropping his lips to the side of her throat, he began to tease the skin over her pulse point, licking, nibbling, circling the old marks with quick, flickering strokes of his tongue, grazing the points of his fangs across her skin. She barely noticed as he lifted her arms by the wrists to brace her hands against the shelves. She moved to his rhythm, swaying between the solidity of the wall of books, and his body, scarcely less yielding than stone.

Josef smiled around his extended fangs. He’d known she was responsive, but this was beyond expectations. From what his senses told him, if he’d been of a mind to slide her skirt up a few inches, he could have buried himself within her as easily as his fangs would slide through her skin. No resistance, only sweet surrender. Before he realized what he was doing, he’d dropped one hand to the silken skin just below the hem of her dress. Josef blinked, twice. He had other aims tonight than simple pleasures, and he would do well to remember that, he told himself. Besides, this girl…she could easily become a regular bite, and he had rules.

He dropped one last kiss on her pulse, enjoying one last press of her lush little bottom against him. “Temptress,” he said, growling softly. “If I didn’t have a meeting to get to…”

“Josef,” she reproached him, “you started this.”

“And I’ll finish it—later.” One way or another.

Seven sighed and leaned her head against the leather bindings of the books. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a first class tease?”

Josef smirked. “Frequently.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and sauntered out, taking an appreciative sniff as he went. Yes, he’d done his task well. A scotch, that was what he wanted. Well, of the things he wanted, that was what he’d allow himself, anyway.

In the bar area, a pretty girl poured him a drink, asking brightly what type blood he wanted her to add.

“What’s your type, sweetheart?” He flashed her just a hint of fang, noting her response.

She blushed prettily. Very nice. “B positive, sir.”

He ran the tip of his tongue across his fangs, thinking of the A positive simmering in the library. Now there was a sweet vintage, indeed. “B positive?” he said. “My new favorite.” He glanced around, eyes and movements casual. Over a dozen vamps, and their accompanying freshies, were mingling in the room. Even over the blended scents of the others, he could still catch a drifting trace of the aroma of the freshie he’d left in the library. So far, he thought, her mind was still on him. Good. He sipped at his drink, watching and waiting.

Older vampires, he reflected, tended to be very aware of all aspects of their surroundings. He could see more than one angling himself to face toward the library and the source of that appetizing scent of aroused humanity. So far as he was aware, none of them were personally acquainted with the blood of this freshie, but any vampire would respond to a human in that state.

“Kostan.” One of the other vamps, a dark-haired man who had looked perhaps twenty-two for the last 213 years, distracted him for a few moments with some question about the agenda. Nothing of dire importance. They moved into the council chamber, and the discussions began around the large round table.

Centuries of experience with the tedium of meetings tended to lend a casual air to the proceedings. While rights of precedence and courtesy were strictly observed, as long as the flow of the debate was not interrupted, the vampires moved as they wished through the chambers adjacent to the meeting room. After all, it was not difficult, given their sensitive hearing, to follow the discussion, even from another room. Josef himself had been known to step into the library, to verify a fact or figure, even if of late he had come to rely more on his laptop. No one gave a second thought to the natural ebb and flow. And with immortality on their hands…Josef had known debates to run from midnight until well past dawn.

Tonight, the debate was not so intricate, with a list of subjects covered relatively quickly. Josef offered his opinions, but he kept a good bit of his attention on the movements of the council. So when he smelled the sudden spike of adrenaline and terror, and every vampire in the room whipped his head toward the smell, he was on his feet instantly, and moving toward the source as rapidly as his nature would allow.

Seven was pinned against a wall of bookshelves again, but this time she had her back to the books. Struggling, her face was red with the futile fight, the bodice of her strapless dress pushed down to her waist, leaving her breasts exposed.

Lunos held her arms pinned, poised to plunge his fangs into her. She was gathering breath to scream, when Josef came through the door, followed by three other vamps.

“Lunos!” he barked, and Seven felt the vampire’s grip shift. Josef’s tone became conversational. “It does not appear that this freshie is willing. And I believe you’ll have to allow that in any event, she is not yours to bite.”

“Smell her,” Lunos said. “She’s willing, all right.”

“Perhaps we should ask her.”

Seven shook her head. “Josef, please,” she sobbed out, “help me.”

The vampire did not answer her directly, but what Lunos saw in his face was enough to make him relinquish his grasp. Seven twisted and plunged away, fingers scrabbling at her dress, trying to cover herself.

She stumbled to Josef’s side, but he ignored her to turn to the other vampires behind him. “It would seem that our kinsman has no respect for the property of others.”

Josef could tell, even through the guarded expressions of the other elders, that his point had been taken. Powerful or not, there were still boundaries to be observed, and Lunos had demonstrated his willingness to disregard them. His credibility in the community would be seriously damaged, as Josef had intended. It served the fool right. Confidence in the power that came with age was one thing, but arrogance another. He surveyed the girl quickly, and found no damages. “Looks like you got lucky, Seven.’

“If that’s the case, I’d hate to see unlucky.”

He had to grin at her snark. Already, he could feel her pulse steadying under his hand, and her breathing losing that ragged edge he’d heard. If her eyes were still a bit wide and fearful, that was all right. His hunch about her had paid off, she’d been perfect for her role. He tended to be fortunate, that way, picking the right person for the right job. Or maybe after all this time, it was skill. In either event, he was looking forward to giving her the extra attention and petting she deserved for this.

“Come on,” he said, “Let’s get out of here, Lucky.”

&&

Josef snapped his phone closed, and leaned his head against the back of the couch, closing his eyes. “Thanks for being so patient, doll. I had no idea that would take so long.”

“It’s not a problem.” Lucky shifted to look at his face. “I had no idea you spoke French fluently.”

He gave a slight shrug. “I spent a few years in France. Fin du siècle Paris was…interesting.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Josef sat up, pulling her closer. “I promise I’ll tell you all about it, sometime, when you’ve been naughty enough to deserve that kind of bedtime story. Right now, though, I think we’ve both been waiting long enough, don’t you?”

Lucky smiled as he took her wrist in his hand, his cool touch sweet along her skin. “Yes, Josef,” she said.

He was enjoying the feel of her as his hands moved. “Sometimes,” he mused, “I think I’m very lucky to have you.”

“Oh, no, Josef,” she replied, leaning over to kiss his neck softly. “I’m Lucky.”

[ari]

Loved it!!

I do love the way you write

[mitzie]

Great story! Lucky was very lucky that night with Lunos!! Josef really manipulated that scene very well to prove Lunos' bad vamp behavior. Cleverly done!!!!


mitzie

[tucutecats]

Bravo, you are a magnificent writer. your Lucky and Sam stories are my favorites.
Dust is also one of the best, I don't think it would be possible for you to write a story that;s not great. Thank you,thank you for all your efforts.liz

[Fishy]

Here I am, at my computer, preparing seriously for next week's work - and I thought - 'oh, come on; lets just take a peek at 'the' website - I've earned and deserve a break!'

Wow! What a smashing surprise I got - that I was able to read this lovely story. As I said in a PM to you - these stories are like watching films, so real to me are the characters.

Lucky, I am seriously 'hooked' on your work. Your stories, especially the Joseph/Lucky ones are a joy, taking us through every emotion that it is possible to feel. All of us moonlightaholics have busy lives, whatever our circumstances. We have to deal with the real world with all its ups and downs. (I have been reading some of the posts on site that truly tug on our heartstrings). Through your work and the work of other great writers here, you give us a chance to revel in a fantasy world that is a gift for us. Its of your making, and appeals to, and (usually!) helps us to relax.

Can I give a greater compliment to you, and of course, your fellow writers? I don't think so. Res ipsa loquitur.
Fishy

[allegrita]

Wow! So this is when Lucky met Lunos, huh? No wonder he remembered her...and relished the idea of using her as a weapon against Josef. *shudder* He's a truly creepy character.

But aside from the (extremely gripping) adventure in this chapter, I love watching the dawning of Lucky's special relationship with Josef. He already knew, this early, that he could trust her good judgment and cool head. He also knew that she was unquestioning in her loyalty to and trust of him. She was devoted to him in a way that differed somewhat from the others. I get the feeling that even at this early stage, Josef already saw Lucky as a refuge against the craziness and politics of freshiedom.

But... he absolutely used her. Cold-bloodedly. (No pun intended.) He knew this would happen--in fact, he set it up to happen in just the way it did. He did this to Lucky without warning her. Because Josef does use and manipulate people...and if they are utterly devoted to him, well... they're that much easier to manipulate.

And Lucky? I think she knew what he'd done, and tucked it away for reference, but it didn't change her devotion to him one bit. And maybe that's part of the reason that her relationship with him developed over time into something that was so much more than either of them originally expected. He knew that she knew what he was and what he was capable of, and she accepted him unquestioningly anyway.