Faline

She reaches out tentatively as if I'd jump at her, but if it hurts I'll just take it out on the one who caused it in the first place. Plan to anyway when I can. His head comes down on mine, his lips pressing to the base of my ear.

I run my extremely rough tongue over his skin between my teeth. Hearing his breath catch, the older woman freezes for a moment but keeps messing with my leg. A hard tug pops the shoulder back in place, my teeth clench harder, but I make no noise.

Her hands go to the ankle or wrist bone, whichever you wanna call it, and start fiddling with it. My shoulder starts feeling better pretty much right away. Sharp teeth dig deeper as it feels like she's digging between the bones in the lower half of the leg.

Nicolaus starts breathing heavily and it takes me a moment to recall that biting really gets his motor running. Crap. I turn to a constant licking of the bite wounds I caused, a sharp scrape of sandpaper to make the smallish holes wider and deeper, tearing them open.

That gets me a more favorable action as he inhales sharply, his own teeth setting into my tender ear. Keep going though as the healer starts tugging and turning. The growling 'no no no' sounds start up, very unhappy.

Nicolaus knows I'm doing it because it hurts, but he doesn't care when he himself likes to cause pain. A section of my ear gets pulled into his mouth, his fangs pressing into the soft thin flesh. I can't even try to shake him off since it will probably jack up my ear. It'll heal, yes, but still hurts.

The old woman finally does something and it stops hurting, so I stop digging in with my tongue and slowly pull away. Got serious soggy ear going on from him drooling all over it. Don't see what the older woman is doing now, since I seem to be playing tug of war with my own damn head, hissing as I try to pry myself loose. My now free leg comes up and paws at his face since it's still tucked close to me. With his arms and hands busy holding other legs, the Vamp can't do much.

His loose brown and red-streaked hair falls around me as he steadily bites down harder and starts suckling. We're basically stuck in a game much like chicken. Wanting to get down, I give ground, moving closer so my ear doesn't get shredded, let alone pulled off.

I settle in his arms grudgingly, huffing out my annoyance. With another lick to my outer ear, he draws back. Going to have a serious strawberry if I ever go back to skin. Screw the damn kitchen work, a lot of things have been written down and Kerry's shown she knows what she's doing.

Flicking my ear and shaking my head as the nude man turns back to the Lady behind the desk, the old woman is gone and the Mistress is busy writing something in what looks like a ledger.

"You two are very amusing to watch, and I would love to keep doing so, but something has come up. However, I would like to spend some time with your Kitten, Nicolaus. Soon. Might want to keep Madaline away, she gets very jealous."

Huh? Jealous? Of me and Nicolaus? She can have him! I'll tell her myself next time I see her. If I can keep her from killing me long enough to do so anyway. His body had stiffened, but he steadily relaxes.

"Now, if you could take her back down to the kitchen, she can get back to work."

The male holding me goes rigid again, his arms tightening around me till I meow at him in protest. Dual-colored eyes flick up to him for a moment then back down.

"You may go."

Can't say I blame him for getting angry, I would be too if I were dismissed like that, but he deserves it anyway.

"When I do call on you, Kitten, you are to be wearing one of the outfits I had sent to you."

Shit.

Wait, does everyone know me by that damn name? Wonderful. As for the whole outfit thing; Shit. The only ones intact are the lingerie, and one doesn't have underwear to it. Maybe Maii can get the dress from the solarium if it isn't gone.

Of course, I'll either have to find a way to mime it, or go human. Neither sounds fun, to be honest. I squeak at her in response before Nicolaus turns and walks out. His pace is angry as he moves through the halls.

He readjusts me in his arms, and with as volatile as he seems to be right now, I don't even try to get down. Not a mumbler, so it's his eyes that give him away. Those and the scar on his face.

Reaching from above his left eye, going over it and reaching over to his left ear, the jagged line is usually pale, but when he gets really angry, it will flush with blood and darken. Don't know how dark it gets if he hasn't fed, he's got a dog to keep him full up.

I don't pay attention to any of the art going by, none of the people, not even the corridors we take. I keep all my attention on the face that can very easily determine life or death for me. My mind flashes on the memory of someone telling me that he'd killed at least a couple of women before he'd 'acquired' me.

An even further back memory surfaces of Nicolaus himself telling me that he'd had others, but they begged to become like him, so he had to 'be rid of them', I believe are the words he'd used, told me before he'd finished converting me. Doesn't mean I'm safe even though I'd done the opposite, anything that creates any kind of discomfort and he's there.

It makes me wonder about Madaline though. Is she one that he turned? It would sort of explain the way she acts towards him. Not sure I really want to know, either way.

If I'm destined to become her kind of crazy, or his, I'll meet the damn sun myself.

Already know it burns, having run through a patch or two of it in the solarium. My eyes had stung horribly, unable to realize it at the time since I was going through my sisters crazy. Everyone around me is crazy. I feel kind of left out now, it must be nice to lose yourself that way.

My golden gaze connecting to his blazing orange wholeheartedly changes my mind though. His madness swirls deep within the depths, until that is, he looks at me. Then it's like everything calms within him, settles.

Still don't know why he chose me, whether I was convenient or if he really did develop some kind of attachment at some point. Either way, I don't want that responsibility, now or ever. I willingly take those that I have put on myself with my actions, but not him.

Not him.

Nicolaus looks at me intently as he keeps walking, seeming to know where his feet will take him without having to look. I'd started falling for that face, those eyes. Easy to see why when he isn't so wrapped up in his insanity.

I'll still get the feeling of danger once in a while when he's near, usually when he's been gone for any long length of time, then returns. But while he's with or around me, he feels safe, almost comfortable.

Shaking my head hard, I drag up my anger, my disgust, my torment. Everything I've gone through at his hands, yet when my eyes meet his again, those feelings start to fade in the wake of the memories that have been made here in this house. My heart thumps hard at what that could mean.

The way he's carrying me, his right hand is below me holding my abdomen, splayed wide as he braces my weight in his arms, while his left lightly rubs at my side. The awkwardness of being carried through a brothel by a very naked man doesn't even touch me.

The emotions in his eyes as he looks at me are frightening in their intensity, I have to drag mine away and look to the floor as I try to understand why I'm feeling like this when I should be trying to claw his eyes out. Even if not for myself, then for my sister. Anger does gather with that, but not to the conflagration it should. Knowing that her continuous foiling of his plans seems to be enough, that her strength and will to fight are so strong that she can go up against anything and come out on top.

Tears of confusion fill my eyes as my heart thunders within my chest, filling his hand with the pounding. I'm lifted higher against him as he buries his face into the back of my neck and scruff, his familiar scent filling my nose.

When we stop, I can't see where we are until he reaches out and opens a door. The smells, if nothing else, tell me where we are. Solarium. Blinking away blurriness, I look around then back to him in confusion. Not the kitchen, dude.

Dipping his head, I look to see his pants and the dress I barely made it out of when I'd come in hours ago. If it weren't for the Lady's demands, I'd stay on four feet. Putting me down, I test my foreleg and find not a twinge of pain.

I make my way to the dress, it doesn't look torn at all, thankfully. As Nicolaus pulls on his blue jeans, I gather my courage. Which is all exhaled when he sweeps down and grabs up the underwear.

Hey!

I yowl at him, tail twitching behind me in irritation. I just get a smile as he sticks them in his pocket.

Perv.

Sniffing, I shift, pulling the dress up as I stand to my total height of five feet. I'm actually four-foot-eleven and a half inches, but I won't tell if you won't. Shaking the debris from it as I glare at the male opposite me, I turn my back to him before stepping into it. Not sure why I bother, but it's a habit. My body stiffens as his hand slides over my back.

He's run his hands over me semi-recently when he helped heal the bruising on my back, but that was before I really remembered all the scars on my body. Thanks to him. Fingertips slide over the bundle of scar tissue that Kerry had earlier found and traces them just as she had.

"The marks of survival. Of a spirit unbroken by time or lash."

"Think you mean the marks of my shame for finding the one actual Vampire on the internet."

My reply is snarky, but he doesn't seem to mind as he keeps roaming, trying to head lower till I bring the dress up, holding it in place with one hand while the other works the zipper up. His larger one goes over my fumbling one as he steps in close to my back. Pulling my failed attempts away, he takes hold of the zipper.

His chin comes down to rest on my shoulder while his big hands take position, one taking the zipper as the other presses to my hip. Nicolaus pulls it up slowly while his lips move to nuzzle my ear. A thudding heart picks up at the sound of the zipping slowly making its way to just below my breasts, body being bent forward by the heavier one at my back.

His unbuttoned groin presses close, too close. Skin to skin. A small sound of fear escapes me as the barely-there skirt hikes up over my rear, his heated and hard loins pressing to mine. The deep baritone of a moan sounds in my ear.

If I squirm, it will just make things worse, if I try to pull away, it will reposition him when he pulls me back, and pressing back will give him the wrong idea. I don't know what to do, so I freeze.

The bending has moved my chest into the position this garment calls for. The zipper once again continues its upward trek, pulling the material snug as it encloses me within it, black leather confining me in place as it conforms to my shape. Fingertips feather over the mounds of my bust, his other hand still at my hip. Once it starts moving forward and down, I start shaking.

"Nicolaus, let me stand."

"You are standing, love."

I start to become frantic as skin touches on my thigh.

"Please, Nicolaus, don't."

My voice is soft but firm. My body stiffens however when a different female voice calls out, saving me once more. Even if it is unintentional on the 'saving' part, I thank her in my head.

"Nico, I'm more than willing to play with you, and I will be much more receptive. You don't need one who is unschooled in giving pleasure."

I think at some point I should be offended by that, but right now, I'm grateful. He'd stopped moving, had as soon as I said please, which in and of itself was a miracle. My heart is still thundering, as I'm sure he feels since his hand is right over it.