Head bowed Shane stared at the spilt coffee in the sink, before turning on a faucet to wash the coffee away. He could feel her eyes burning into his back, yet he didn’t turn around to face her. Battling to suppress his own jealousy, he just couldn’t. Saying the words that he approved, and feeling that deep within was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. How he hated sharing her, but it was the way of things now. To defeat Vincent, it was the only way.
Shane felt the press of her hand lightly on his shoulder, and a sigh escaped his lips, before he turned to face her. Seeing her eyes begging him to forgive her, and then the way she put her arms around his neck, to draw him into a kiss, that fed through all her very love to him. At first his response was weak to say the least, like he was just letting her kiss him. Then the walls started to break down, and he found himself kissing her back, hard and hungrily, till a familiar voice filled the air.
“It got pretty darn kinky last night, Misty. Never saw that side of you before. God, how many dolls did you have? Four, five?” Jarvis said, as he breezed into the kitchen, Misty in tow shrugging, not really caring. They both came to a stop seeing Carmen and Shane kissing. Jarvis coughed and then headed to the fridge.
“You’d think she had enough of that last night.” He said carelessly. Brains were clearly not something he had a lot of.
Shane broke the kiss and growled at Jarvis.
“And there is a law against kissing my mate now? Shane spat now clearly angered. Jarvis stood holding a blood pack and toyed with it. “That’s not what I meant. Oi vey. Me and my mouth.”
<3>
There had been just the barest of reactions from Shane when she kissed him and when she stepped back to wait, she was slightly discouraged that what happened the night before would haunt them the rest of their unlives. Until he hauled her forward and kissed her hungrily. She could have sobbed with relief as she felt his familiar passions claim her once more.
Until their moment was interrupted…once again…by Jarvis.
“You’d think she had enough of that last night.”
Shane broke their kiss and growled at the younger vampire.
“And there is a law against kissing my mate now?”
This wasn’t the first time Jarvis let his mouth overrule his brain and Carmen, for one, was tired of it. Snarling, she removed herself from Shane’s arms and Jarvis suddenly found himself pinned to the wall with an angry vampire queen’s claws around his throat, her eyes glowing red of the demon beneath the flesh.
“You would do well to remember who you speak to.” she snarled, flashing her fangs. “You not only disrespected your Sire, but you disrespected his Queen and all he stands for. I think it’s time to teach you a lesson…one you will remember for some time.”
Before anyone could blink, Carmen sat at the kitchen table, Jarvis over her knee with a large wood paddle in her hands, laying it across his backside in rapid movements. Misty came in to see what all the noise was and slapped a hand over her mouth before she started laughing at witnessing Jarvis, pants down around his ankles, getting a spanking as if he were a 5 year old child.
She leaned in to Bianca. “What did he do to piss her off now?” she whispered.
“He brought up last night while Shane and Carmen were reaffirming their bond.” Bianca answered back. Misty made an “O” face and tried not to cringe.
Jarvis, for his part, was struggling to get away from Carmen’s evil plot but she was much more stronger now that she’d fully embraced her new nature. Carmen did not let up until his bare bum was glowing redder than Rudolph’s nose. Only then did she let him free. He quickly yanked up his pants, sniffling and trying not to look at anyone in the room, who had witnessed his degradation at her hands. Carmen wasn’t the least bit upset over her actions. It needed to be done.
“I trust you will think on what you wish to say before you open your mouth in the future?” she questioned him in a hard voice. He nodded, and her glare went up in degree. “Look at me when I speak to you! The least you can do is be a man and own up to your mistakes by respecting the person who is speaking and looking him or her in the eye!”
Jarvis’s head snapped up and he caught Carmen’s gaze, his scared, hers angry.
“I’m sorry.” he muttered.
“The next time you say something derogatory about myself or Shane and our relationship in this coven, I will tear out your throat. Do you understand me?” Her aura flared and all in the room could feel it. Misty and Bianca did not hesitate to fall to their knees as their Queen spoke. It took Jarvis a moment longer, due to the stinging sensation in his arse and he winced as the back of his heels pressed against his backside. He bowed his head before her and spoke his words.
“I hear and obey, My Queen.” he replied, respect once more coloring his voice. She nodded and dismissed the three back to their rooms. Once they were gone, she gave a great sigh.
“That was pleasant.” she huffed, reigning in her temper and her aura. She turned to look at Shane to see if her actions met with his approval or not.
The humiliation was of a kind that Jarvis would not have had or expected in a very long time. Pants down around his ankles, and given a good hard paddling, that had his cheeks so red and raw, you think he had been sitting on the griller. While Misty and Bianca looked on with a veiled sort of horrified amusement, Shane watched on silently, as his mate and Queen was dishing out her own special brand of discipline.
When Jarvis got up and madly tried to pull up his pants, this only made matters worse since he was sniffling and acting like a child, not an adult vampire. He muttered he was sorry, when Carmen laid into him again. Her voice was raised, demanding respect and showing her authority in a way that had all the kids kneel before her in a show of unified respect and submission.
The kids all filed out when the show was over, leaving Shane still standing where he had been, as Carmen huffed and claimed that she found that to be a pleasant experience. Shane snorted something of a chuckle, but his face told a different story. Jarvis was always one that suffered from foot in mouth, so hopefully this lesson might teach him how to act around the couple in future. One can only hope.
“Kinda strange having them refer to you by your title. Course, I should have expected it, but you know.” For some reason, Shane was a bit standoffish. Maybe he was still getting used to the idea himself. Being the possessive type that he was by nature. “I think we are all in for some…getting used to the changes. Not that I mind…I mean, you were simply stunning down there. A true Queen of the Night.” The usual quips that he was so famous for alluded him, and he again placed his hands in his pockets, as though he didn’t know what to do with his hands.
“You might want to check on your twins, since they may not be used to things here up in the house.” He suggested, before walking casually out to the den.
<3>
“You might want to check on your twins, since they may not be used to things here up in the house.”
Carmen watched him walk out of the kitchen with his head bowed low and she felt the loss as clearly as if he’d killed her all over again. She couldn’t even reach him through their link, he had cut his mind off from hers.
Dejected and more then upset, she waited a few moments before she left the kitchen. He was in his den, as the door was closed and the light was on. For a moment, she had the urge to storm in to confront him and his standoffish attitude, even had her hand on the knob, ready to enter, but something made her pause. And she was suddenly angry.
She glared at the door.
The awkwardness between them was NOT her fault. He was the one to encourage her to embrace who she truly was. He was the one who offered her the blood dolls. He was the one who walked away, when he should have stayed.
“Oh fuck no!” she hissed, wishing she could burn a hole in the door with her eyes alone. He had absolutely no right to treat her like some kind of whore. She was doing what her new nature demanded. If he had a fucking problem with it, then he should rip her heart out and be done with it.
But she was done rolling over for him. If he wanted her, he would come find her.
Snarling, she turned on her heel and went in search of her new companions. She was pleased to see that Jarvis was in his room he shared with the girls, laying on his stomach. She did not feel the least bit guilty for punishing him.
She found Ethan and Eric in the next room, getting settled in their new accommodations. They looked up when she entered, sensing the rage within her, as she paced back and forth.
“Is everything okay, Mistress?” Eric ventured. She looked at him and he visibly flinched back from the heat of her gaze. She noticed this and stopped pacing, eying him speculatively.
“No, everything is NOT okay.” she snapped. “Stubborn jackass.” she snarled, glaring out of the open door.
“The Master isn’t pleased.” Ethan guessed.
“That’s an understatement.” Carmen snorted.
“He was a solitary man when he first started our coven. He had some pretty epic rants about you when you first met. But we could sense the passionate nature behind them. He was obsessed with you, wanted you in a way that confused him. And now that he has you…well…to share you…he’s jealous.” Ethan stated. “And he doesn’t know how to deal with it.”
“Well he better fucking deal with it soon because I can’t deal with his attitude any longer. I’ve tried to be what he wants me to be and now that I am, he keeps pushing me away. It hurts and it’s fucking annoying.” she raged, picking up an expensive vase and hurling it across the room where it smashed against the wall. Her skin rippled with her anger and she clenched her hands, nails biting into her skin as she tried to control her temper.
She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m not angry with the two of you.”
“Can we help?” they asked in unison. She shook her head.
“No…he needs to work this out for himself.” She looked around and noticed they were still unpacking their things. “I’ll let you finish getting settled. Dinner will be ready in an hour or so. We take turns cooking, so expect to have your own turns this week. I think Bianca is making lasagna tonight. I’ll come get you when it’s ready.”
“As you wish, Mistress.” they nodded. Carmen turned and walked from the room. She avoided Shane’s room and went into her own, closing and locking the door behind her. She climbed upon her bed, pulling a pillow up under her head and stared at the wall in absolute silence.
The light may have been on, but in the Den Shane was simply pacing back and forth, as he tried to reign in his emotions about how he was at a loss to deal with the new Carmen. Was he being stupid to react like he was? He did after all encourage and condone what she was to become, hell, he even led her into it. But underneath the bold exterior, lay a man that had some issues with jealousy, and it was acting up badly at the moment, no matter how hard he tried to beat it back. He kept looking to the closed door, thinking he should just go upstairs, and drag her off to his room. Then, he thought she may well be mad at him for his behavior. Either way, he was torn about what to do. He needed someone to talk to about this, someone impartial. And as luck would have it, the sound of heels click clacking on the tiled floor could be heard just outside his den door. Not even bothering to knock, the door opened, and there stood Marissa, his personal assistant with a box load of files from his down town office.
“These cases are not going to be presented on their own, Shane. They can’t sprout legs and stand before a judge and jury. So…I brought them here to you to go over.” Not noticing his demeanor, she sailed on in and planted the box heavily on the edge of his desk, before throwing her bag on the nearest couch, and flipping back her hair.
“You won’t believe the traffic on the way over here. Honestly, the roadworks are a disgrace and someone should be getting on to the town office of roads and maintenance. I am going to end up losing a Tyre one of these days.”
Shane nodded simply, not really acknowledging her and lifted the lid on the file box taking a peek at all the files she had brought. There were certainly a lot of them. Marissa looked around and noticed Carmen’s absence, and the fact the house was so quiet.
“Where is everyone? Bit early for them to not be out of their rooms.” She raised a brow sharply, then sensed something was a miss by Shane’s lack of response. “What am I missing here? This…isn’t like you to be all clammed up, Shane Williamson. Anyone would think your tongue had been cut out. Spill. I hate to be the last one in on things.”
Shane placed the lid down carefully on the box, and then pressed his hands onto his desk, leaning forward slightly.
“Carmen had her ceremony last night. She is Queen of the Coven.”
This was said with a stony face, as Marissa beamed and gave a little clap.
“That’s wonderful though..isn’t it? I mean, I knew it was coming just not so soon. You must be thrilled. Only…you don’t look it. Did something happen? I mean, those ceremonies are pretty…HEY..why wasn’t I invited? Gosh, I bet it was one hell of an orgy.”
Marissa had more or less just answered her own questions, but her nature of missing out on something this grand, had her completely oblivious to why Shane was behaving so coolly.
“It wasn’t planned, Marissa. I just felt it was time.”
“Okay. But that doesn’t answer why you are Mister Sour puss. Come on Shane. What is eating at you?”
Shane stepped away from the desk, and walked the few steps to his chess set table. Standing still, he then reached for the white Queen, and toyed with it with the tips of his thumb and forefinger, staring at it.
“She took two followers. Male, twins. Blonde…things.”
Marissa nearly swallowed her tongue, and said with a garbled voice.
“You don’t mean Eric and Ethan? Oh god, those two. What I wouldn’t give to have them….heh.” Marissa was nearly wet at the idea, and then she noticed Shane toying with the chess piece and the penny dropped. “Ahhh now I get it.”
She crossed the floor and stood at his side, looking at him directly till he could take his eyes off the chess piece. He normally didn’t like her being so close, but she wasn’t about to try anything.
“You’re jealous.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Is the Pope a catholic?’
“Ugh!” Shane tossed the chess piece and Marissa had to fight from laughing. It was perfectly natural for Shane to be jealous, but it wasn’t really Carmen’t fault at all. It had placed an awkward strain on their relationship, and Shane had to fight his way past this, or it was going to cause irreversible damage. Marissa placed a hand on Shane’s shoulder, causing him to look over at her as she shrugged her shoulders.
“Could you picture someone like me being made Queen of the Coven?’
“Uhm..not meaning to be rude, but no. Your orgies would never end.” He had a point, but she was trying to make one.
“Right. Now you picked Carmen for this for a reason, Shane. You know she is the chosen one, and you also know she loves you. But with her new role, comes responsibility to her coven, and that means, being close to her followers. She sired the twins, and they are hers to use. You knew this.” Marissa knitted her brow, trying to get through to Shane, and you could see that he was starting to understand where she was coming from. “You were given the same, Shane.” It was true, he was. “So why treat her any different? Or are you afraid, she will…turn into you…or me?’
Maybe this was his biggest fear. He bowed his head momentarily and mumbled.
“The thought crossed my mind.”
Marissa laughed and slapped his arm playfully.
“There is only one Shane Williamson, and one Marissa Tomeii. Carmen is unique. Shane, she isn’t like us at all. You are going to have to put on the big boy pants and go and make it up to her. Before you ruin everything you made with her.”
Shane stared at Marissa, and then he placed both hands on her cheeks and kissed her forehead.
“Thank you.”
Marissa was not expecting such a reaction and smirked. “Never had a man kiss me there before. Heh. Now go on up and see her.”
Shane nodded and left the room, while Marissa helped herself to a glass of brandy and waited for him to return.
Outside Carmen’s room
Having made it up the stairs, he had searched for Carmen in his room, and the kids. Jarvis was still laying on his stomach and grumbling, while the girls both shrugged at Shane’s queries on Carmen’s whereabouts. He left them and then found the twins, who both stopped unpacking and bowed before Shane.
“She went to her room I think, Master” Ethan said, as Eric nodded. They could see that Shane was worried, and didn’t press him further, for really it was between Carmen and Shane.
Finally he made it to the outside of her door, and knocked twice.
“I know your in there. We need to talk.”
<3>
Jason walked in silently dressed in his usual black pants and muscle tee that advertised his well sculpted arms and chest. However though his skin was not unmarred as it was covered in both scar’s and tattoo’s telling wordless tales of how he had served abroad in both Persian gulf wars. His service went above and beyond to the point of him earning the congressional medal of honor at the cost of two years in rehab. Now that he was able to work again after applying for an honorable discharge from the marines he had applied for New Haven’s police force after the death of his parents little more then a year ago. The middle aged male then sat in his chair at his desk before sighing softly and propping his feet up on the desk silently. As he sat at his desk he would hum to himself before a blonde haired women walked up to him with a armful of paper work. “Glad to see your doing well this morning Mr.Cox..” Jason’s only response was to grunt gruffly and wave her along not particularly caring for her. How had he gotten his job? Simply the man before him Rodger had apparently pissed off the wrong people and was killed in a drive by leaving his spot open for Jason to take. Then with a muffled grunt Jason would drop his feet from the desk before reaching for the phone and dialing the extension for the forensic’s lab. As he waited for the forensic’s specialist to pick up he would grab a pencil and begin to twirl it idly. Assuming she would pick up the phone Jason would speak with a soft tone. “Miss Amelia would you like to come over to my apartment after work for some dinner and a movie?”
It had been a tough few months for Amelia after the death of her Dom and lover Rodger. Getting back to work seemed to be the only cure for her depression, and she had caught up on a great many cases in the short time she had been back at work. While her bosses were happy with her efforts, and reaching her quotas well before time, some of the top brass were worried about her personal life. Many attended the funeral of Rodger Marx, who died in a drive by shooting. The offenders were never caught, but whoever set it up, were professionals. Quietly at night, when all her other work was done, Amelia poured over the evidence, but each time she came up blank. No other case had been this difficult to solve, and soon it was shelved by the department. A cold case.
Sitting in her office, she toyed with the collar that she continued to wear around her neck. Her last reminder of Rodger. She sighed audibly, as the memories seemed to haunt her waking hours, as well as her dreams. Would she ever get over his death and move on with her life?
She picked up a pair of scissors, and started to twirl them around lazily, before doing the unthinkable. She cut off the collar. Holding the single piece she looked at it sadly, before placing it in her top drawer, and closing it slowly.
“I know I made a promise to you, Rodger, but I need to get on with my life.” She thought to herself.
Just then, the phone on her desk rang. Buried beneath papers and chip packets, she cleared the mound away and picked up the receiver.
“Forensics lab, Amelia Reed speaking.”
“Miss Amelia would you like to come over to my apartment after work for some dinner and a movie?” The voice sounded familiar, and soon Amelia put the voice to a face in her mind. It was Jason Cox, the guy that had been brought in to take over Rodger’s department. For a moment, Amelia was lost for words. Did he want to go out with her? She chewed on her bottom lip, then touched her now naked throat.
“Uhm…sure, Jason. I’d love too. Just need some details on your address, and what time you would like me to pop over.”
If he gave her the information, she would jot it down on a piece of paper on her desk. Was this the start of something new?
<3>
Jason couldn’t help but smile with joy as he spoke into the phone with a happy smile on his face. “Sure thing would say 5 pm work for you? and I live in the Bayview Apartment complex Apartment number 22.” As soon as he had given her the details he would continue on to speak softly. “Look i’m sorry about Roger i know you where close to him but i’m in the process of going over the files concerning the drive by Amelia and rest assured i will have those fucks behind bars soon enough. Consider it a gift from myself to you. Oh and before i forget…..See you soon sweetheart.” He then hang up the phone before offering a sigh of contentment knowing he had just got a date with a rather beautiful women and one he was determined not to let slip through his grasp if he could help it. Then like he had promised to Amelia Jason would bury himself in his work trying to trace what he could to what ever was possible in an all out zealous effort to put the ones responsible for Rodgers death behind bars….for good. Though soon enough the day was over and he decided to head home for the day. Jason would proceed to shut off his computer for the night before locking his drawers and walking out to the parking lot where he hopped in his 1980 dodge Challenger and drove home while thinking about the night to be spent with Amelia. Once he had gotten home he would strip and hop directly int the shower wanting to be as clean as humanly possible. He then put on a set of khaki’s and a tight fitting linen short sleeved shirt that proudly displayed his muscled abs and his muscled arms. Jason after freshening up would set about cleaning the apartment of the remnants of a party a few nights ago. All of this took about two hours before Jason began to pace waiting for five pm to roll around so he could spend some time with the very beautiful Amelia Reed.
“Sure thing would say 5 pm work for you? and I live in the Bayview Apartment complex Apartment number 22.”
Amelia jotted down the address as Jason spoke, and then tapped the pencil on the desk a few times, wondering in her mind what to wear, and if she should bring something along. Wine perhaps? Or was he more into beer? She really didn’t know him that well, though they had met on a number of occasions on various cases that she had been working on. Not only was Jason incredibly handsome, he had a certain mystique about him, an aura you could say. There would be so many tales he could tell of his duties that he performed overseas while on duty serving the US armed forces. Amelia couldn’t help but be interested to hear, and maybe this “date” was what she needed.
“Number 22, got it.” Amelia said in a clear voice. She could hardly believe that he was even asking her out, but the real jaw dropper came as he finished up the call.
“Look i’m sorry about Roger i know you where close to him but i’m in the process of going over the files concerning the drive by Amelia and rest assured i will have those fucks behind bars soon enough. Consider it a gift from myself to you. Oh and before i forget…..See you soon sweetheart.”
He was actually going to give his all on the cold case of Rodger’s murder? Amelia could hardly believe it, and she felt her eyes well with tears. An answer was all she wanted, one that would truly help put his memory to rest in her mind.
“You don’t know what this means to me, Jason. I mean that. Closure is all I want.” She paused when he called her Sweetheart, blushing furiously on her side of the phone.
“See you at 5.”
Hanging up the phone, she had a beautiful smile on her face. Quickly she looked around, then did something of a little victory dance, before going back to finish her work for the day.
Amelia got all her case files finished well before four and then turned out the lights to her office, before going off to head home and get ready for her date with Jason. Her small hatchback was parked in the police station bay, and she started the engine with a loud vroom and cloud of smoke from the back. It could really use some work, but she loved that car all the same. Going back to her apartment, her kitten who was now much older was waiting at the door, when she pulled up in the car spot out side her apartment. Poor thing looked like it needed a feed, and Amelia hurried out of her car, slamming the door, before heading up to get her mail, and then take out the key for her front door.
“Guess what? Mummy has a date tonight. Yeah, I know.” She was talking to her cat, that purred as it rubbed itself around her legs, till the door opened, then the cat shot inside, waiting for Amelia in the kitchen. Amelia wanted to have a shower before her date, so kitty would have to wait. Going up stairs, she entered her bedroom, slowly stripping off her uniform, before going into her ensuite, and turning on the shower nozels. The room soon filled with steam, as she washed the grime of the day off her naked form, and hummed a tune to herself, as the cat appeared in the doorway, watching her with its tail flicking back and forth. Still hungry.
The shower done, and wrapped in a fluffy towel, Amelia went through her closet, to find something suitable to wear to a dinner and movie night with Jason. She went for a casual look. Red singlet shirt and black jeans with boots.
She wore her hair down and long, brushed out to perfection, with a natural look in her makeup, a far cry from her office look which was a little more goth inspired. Turning around in the mirror, she was happy with herself, and smiled, for the first time in a long time. Her neck was bare…but she didn’t mind. She was free…at least for now.
Going down to feed her kitty, she checked on her pet snake, and he was fast asleep under his heat lamp. All done, she headed out the door, and then got in her car, to go to Jason’s apartment. Arriving just before five, she sat in the car a moment and took a deep breath. Amelia had to try not to be too nervous, but she could feel the butterflies in her stomach. Getting out of her car, she walked casually to the front door, and knocked twice, stepping back to wait for Jason to answer.
<3>
