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A Place in This Life...	By : Ginevrasn Category: Anita Blake > Het Views: 3558 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This work of adult fan fiction is intended solely for entertainment purposes. I do not own any part of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter franchise. No disrespect or copyright infringement is intended. I make no money from this work.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter franchise. The world and all its inhabitants belong to Laurell K. Hamilton. I’ve just borrowed her world for my own, and hopefully your, entertainment. I make no money from this work and discourage any attempts to sue me as being fiscally unrewarding.

Warnings: Legal adults only. Graphic sex, violence, adult themes, vampires and lycanthropes. Read at your own risk.

Authors Note: Ever had a character keep pestering you in the back of your skull until there was nothing to do for it, but sit down and write? Damian may be quiet, but he’s bloody persistent. Enjoy.

Chapter Six: Feet on the ground.

It was strange and awkward dressing in front of the two men, Erica mused. It took her longer than she liked to find a full set of clothing. She definitely regretted not packing more carefully. But at last she was dressed in her own things: faded blue jeans, a plain white tank top, and a long sleeved shirt in a pale blue. Oh, and her own sneakers. The borrowed ones had been a half size too large and kept falling off her feet at inconvenient moments.

By that time, Damian had completed his own dressing, which consisted mainly of throwing a shirt on over his jeans and slipping his feet into a pair of shoes. Apparently vampires did not suffer from bed head or wrinkling their clothes in their sleep. Erica stifled a sigh and began to drag a brush through her hair. She’d kept her back to Caleb until then, and now turned to catch him watching her with drowsy interest. He gave her a lazy smile, but didn’t comment. Shadow had curled up on his chest and was purring loudly.

“Don’t steal my cat while we’re out.” Erica shook her head, then returned to brushing her hair.

“Can’t help it if she likes me.” Caleb drawled lazily and scratched behind the cat’s ears.

“Are you ready, Erica?” Damian’s voice drew her attention back to him. Caleb was right; he seemed much calmer now that he’d fed. He held out a pale hand to her in invitation. She gave her hair one last swipe and tossed the brush onto the bed before taking the offered hand.

“I’m ready.” His hand was warm on hers and he pulled her close for a kiss. His lips were even warmer and the coppery tang of blood lingered on his tongue. He took his time, making it a slow dance of lips and tongue, sensual and erotic. Even though she knew it was as much for Caleb’s benefit as for hers, she still found herself lost in his kiss. There was a strange thrill to tasting the blood in his mouth. In knowing that it was Caleb’s and that he was watching them. What did that say about her?

She wasn’t sure and she was careful not to look back at the wereleopard as Damian led her from the basement and out into the house. The place was quiet and felt as close to empty as she’d seen it so far. They found Noah in the kitchen, eating a sandwich and watching the night outside through the patio doors. Damian nodded to him, gliding past the wereleopard to open the doors. Erica went with him, her hand still in his.

“Where are you going?” Noah called quietly. “Anita said…”

“I go where you cannot follow.” Damian stepped through the doors and pulled Erica against him with one arm. Noah was frowning, but he didn’t move. “Put your arms around me and hold tight.” Damian spoke quietly to her, sliding the glass panel shut before tightening his grip on her.

Not sure what was coming, Erica wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. A moment later, her feet left the ground and she gasped, clutching at him in reaction. She turned her head, daring a look at the swiftly retreating ground and her eyes grew wide. They rose straight up, Anita’s house and back deck growing smaller and smaller below.

“Oh my God! Damian…Are we really flying?”

“Oh, yes.” A glance at his face showed him smiling, his lips curling in a smug grin. “I will not drop you.”

“You never… I didn’t know… This is how you got me here--down there--isn’t it?” In the confusion and excitement of the past few days, she couldn’t remember if she’d been told how she got there or not. She hadn’t even really given it much thought. But this was something incredible. “I didn’t know vampires could fly.”

“Not all can do so. And we do not often show humans. We are frightening enough as it is.” Damian’s voice was low and soothing and his body was a comforting warmth against hers. As they rose, the night air was growing cooler and she was glad that he’d told her to dress more warmly than she would have done on her own. “Does this frighten you?”

“No. No. It’s amazing.” And it was. The world stretched out small and dark beneath them as they moved through the air. She had no idea how high up they were, but Anita’s house was a small spot of light in the darkness below. The woods stretched out around it, the road beyond cutting through it in a winding line. Flying wasn’t like she would have expected, the air didn’t whoosh around them, instead it flowed gently, but steadily.

Turning her gaze upward, she looked past his profile at the sky. The moon hung low, well past half full and haloed with silvery clouds. Stars sprinkled the night sky, seeming small and distant next to the moon’s brighter glow. The air stilled around them, or maybe they slowed. Erica blushed to realize that she’d twined her legs around his, gripping with all four limbs as if she were afraid he would drop her. Glancing down again, the world seemed lost in shadow and she felt a trace of vertigo.

Erica shivered slightly and buried her face against his chest. She could smell the wood of his coffin, a whiff of some perfume that was either soap or shampoo, a trace of Caleb’s cologne, and beneath that, the sharp, dry scent that seemed to fit nothing in her experience. Unless that was the scent of a vampire. Maybe it was. Scent had taken on a whole new importance since she’d become so entangled with vampires and lycanthropes.

“Are you all right?” Damian’s voice was soft with concern. “Are you cold?”

“How high are we?”

“I don’t know. I would not care to fly much higher than this as the air grows colder and thinner.” The air began to move gently around them. No, they were moving through it, descending slowly. She got the impression that he was surveying the area for signs of intruders, though she couldn’t say what it was that told her that. He was quiet and she hesitated to interrupt the silence. “Sometimes I forget that flying can be its own joy. I thought perhaps you might have grown tired of being so confined.”

“A little, I suppose.” She dared to look down again before returning her gaze to his face. He looked serene, though his expression was too neutral to be called happy or content. “It’s nice to have some privacy. I’m not used to the way the wereleopards… I’m not sure how to explain it. I’m used to having more personal space.”

“Ah. I understand.” Her stomach gave a lurch when he shifted his grip, sliding her from his side to the front of his body and lifting her up so she could wind her arms around his neck. He drew her legs around his waist for good measure. “I can see no other way to keep you safe without sending you away. I do not wish to do such a thing. I suppose I am being selfish.”

“I don’t want to go. It’s not really a problem. Just something I have to get used to.” Erica buried her face in the cool silk of his hair until she could press her lips against his neck. She breathed deeply, paying attention to the scents on his skin, trying to tease the different threads apart and give them names. Yes, that sharp, dry scent was Damian himself. She sighed and relaxed into his embrace, no longer caring that the ground was far below or that all that held her safe from gravity were his arms and whatever magic it was that held them aloft. “We haven’t had much of a chance to talk. Privately, I mean. I think we probably should.”

“No one will hear us here, my lovely.” He rubbed his cheek against her hair and his voice was a gentle caress of sound. “We may talk freely.”

“I think I’d feel better if I had my feet on the ground for this talk.”

“Something is wrong?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s just different.” Erica raised her head enough to gaze at the night sky over his shoulder. The moon’s pregnant shape seemed like a message or an omen to her. Though what it might mean she had no idea. “Caleb said it was less than a week to the full moon. Like it meant something.”

“It does.” Damian sighed and she felt the slightest jolt when his feet connected once again with the wooden deck behind Anita’s house. He’d landed to the side of the patio doors where they would be invisible to anyone in the kitchen. “It was, no doubt, a factor in this morning’s events.”

“So this Richard guy isn’t always so…” She searched for a word that wouldn’t be too harsh or insulting, but would convey what she’d seen. She stalled by slipping from his grip to set her own feet onto the deck. She was surprised to find her legs trembling when she put weight on them.

“Volatile?” Damian stroked her cheek and brushed her hair back from her face. “He is often so, regardless of the moon’s influence, especially when it concerns Anita.”

“Caleb did say something about that.” She watched his face for some sign of jealousy or disapproval at the other man’s name, but the vampire still looked serene. He simply watched her face, his green eyes looking darker than usual in the dim light. “That it wasn’t really about me. It was about Richard being jealous over sharing Anita. I was just an easy target.”

“I have not spoken yet to Anita, but it sounds likely.” Damian was giving her very little in the way of clues as to how he felt. He let his hands drop to hang motionless at his sides. His stillness was a little unnerving. A human would fidget, look nervous or irritable. He was like a marble statue, only his eyes showing signs of life. She wasn’t even sure he was breathing. She reached out to touch his arm, just to reassure herself that he was real. He blinked and gave her a hint of a smile. “Say what you wish to say, Erica.”

“Today has been a strange day. I’ve been threatened. I’ve been hit on. I’ve had my roommate tell me I’m out as soon as the lease is up. But she was worried enough to ask me if I needed help. And I woke up to…” Unsure how to phrase the frightening tableau that had greeted her eyes, she fell silent.

“I would wish you had not seen that.” Damian’s voice was heavy with regret. “I did not think of how it would frighten you until I saw your face. What must you think of me?”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, Damian. I really don’t.” She dropped her hand and stepped back a few paces. “Not just about Caleb. I said I’m yours, and I meant it. Just tell me what you want me to do. I’m not even sure I could go back to my old life now. I am sure I don’t want to.”

“I want you to do what you wish to do.” He raised his hand to silence her when she opened her mouth to protest. “Today, Caleb was there when you needed someone. You were frightened, perhaps even in true danger, and I could not be there with you. I can only give you the night, Erica. I would give you more, if I could. But I am what I am.”

“Damian…”

“I will not behave so again. If Caleb is your choice, I will live with it.” He stepped forward to take her by the arms and pull her close to him. “I will not ask of you something that I cannot return.”

“I’m not sure he is my choice. Though I think he’s decided that I’m his.”

“If you decide that he is not…” Damian’s voice grew deeper, a hint of threat coloring his tone.

“I can handle Caleb.” Erica snuggled into his embrace with a sigh. There was one more topic she felt she should tackle. He’d taken this part better than she’d hoped. “One thing was bothering me about today, and when I asked, Noah couldn’t give me an answer.”

“What is that?”

“Micah gave Noah money to pay out my lease and then some. It wasn’t Micah’s money, whose was it?”

“You are my pomme de sang. You are my responsibility. I have had little use for the money that I earn from the club. Some, if not all of that money would be mine, but I did not make the arrangements.”

“You don’t know?”

“I do not work for Jean Claude for the sake of money.” Damian shrugged. “I have little in the way of personal expenses. I keep my tips and Jean Claude sees the rest invested for me. Of course, the situation has changed.” Looking up at him, she saw a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“I guess it has. Still, that’s a lot of money. I’m not used to someone spending that kind of money on me. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with it. I doubt I’ll be able to pay it back any time soon, if at all.”

“Neither I nor Jean Claude would expect you to do so. In fact, he might be offended by the idea.” Damian hugged her closer and chuckled. “You would not wish to offend the Master of the City.”

“No. I guess not.”

“Good. Jean Claude is generous with his favorites.” He swept the hair from her shoulder and bent to brush his lips against her neck. His breath ghosted over her skin and raised goose bumps up and down her body. “I am not a master vampire, Erica. Were I not bound to his human servant I would be of little importance. Ransoming me from my maker was an act of mercy that I still do not understand. I brought little of worth to his Kiss and cost him a great deal.” His words were accompanied by soft kisses that made her shiver. It was distracting, making it hard to think through what he was telling her.

“I don’t think I’ve done anything to make me one of his favorites.” Erica gasped when she felt the nip of teeth, her whole body suddenly strung tight with the memory of his bite. Damian’s lips moved lower again, while his hands held her lower body against his, so that her back bowed slightly and she was looking up again at the moonlit sky. “Or do you mean that I…” He’d pushed back the collar of her shirt so that he could nibble a trail along her collarbones. She found herself cradling his head, fingers buried in the warm silk of his hair. She moaned softly and tried to finish her thought.

“If you wish to be a part of our world, my world.” He raised his head so that his lips hovered over hers. His pale face blotted out the moon and filled her vision. “You would do well to understand our masters and how to please them.”

“Our masters?”

“Yes.” Then he kissed her and she gave up the struggle of thinking about anything but the taste and feel of his mouth. The solid strength of his body against hers. He groaned, a low, deep sound. Her body responded, excitement pooling low in her belly, nipples hardening. She could feel the hard evidence of his response pressed between them. “I want to make love to you again.”

“Would that please our masters?” She asked, unable to resist the streak of mischief that caught her up. She smiled against his mouth, nibbling at his lower lip for good measure.

“It would please me a great deal.” His voice sounded hoarse, breathy. And the serenity of before was nowhere to be seen. His desire was written all over his face and in the way he held her against him.

“OK.”

~*~

Erica’s enthusiastic response was a pleasantly welcome surprise. Her mouth tasted sweet, her body molding to his with a delicious mix of novelty and familiarity. His relief that he had not frightened her off with his impulsive actions fueled his determination to make her forget the fear he’s seen in her eyes tonight. She was still his, still willing to let him uproot her life, to make herself a part of his.

He knew somewhere in the back of his mind his mistress would have found his responses to Erica’s questions disgustingly arrogant. And Erica’s willingness to bend her will to pleasing him and his masters as distastefully submissive.

There was nothing submissive in Erica’s touch. Her kisses were hungry, demanding, passionate to the point where he had to pull away or risk her cutting tongue or lips on his fangs. There was nothing passive in the way she bared the sweet smelling skin of her throat to him, or the way her fingers tangled in his hair pulled him closer. Full and sated as he was on the leopard’s blood, he still craved the pulse of life beating just below the surface. That flavor on his tongue, that essence of her. He pressed his lips against that gentle pounding, nibbled and licked at it and groaned with the wanting of it.

“Please, Damian.”

“No. No. It is too soon.” And the words were meant more for himself than for her. “There will be time for that later.” He pulled his lips away from that vibrating beacon to take her mouth again in a kiss. She gave a soft growl of frustration, but met his kiss with fervent passion.

“Promise?”

“Of course.” He chuckled at the flush in her cheeks, the way her pupils had grown large and bottomless. He could feel the press of her nipples, stiff and hard against his chest, even through the layers of their clothes. And he could smell her desire, thick and heady. “Come, my lovely.” He took her hand and led her toward the light spilling from the kitchen doors.

The kitchen was empty now, Noah’s plate sitting in the sink next his glass. The flicker of the television was the only illumination to be seen in the darkened living room, though he could hear the soft breathing of at least two people. He paused only long enough to make sure the door was locked securely behind them before leading the girl through the house to his basement apartment. Cherry and Zane glanced at them as they passed through the room. The two were curled up companionably on Anita’s couch.

Wisely, Caleb had vacated the room and only the cat remained to greet them. Pleased, Damian offered the little creature a few strokes along her furry spine when she leapt up onto the back of his sofa to ask for attention. Erica added a few perfunctory caresses of her own before shooing the cat away and turning to him expectantly. When she had his full attention, she began to strip away her clothing, tossing each piece away with an air of mischievous challenge. He couldn’t help but smile at her.

“I do believe you are feeling better.”

“Much better.” Taking her at her word, Damian began to shed his own clothes, never taking his eyes from his companion. He watched her with a heady mix of desire and fascination. He’d paid more attention to the leopard than the girl when she was dressing before and he found her choice of undergarments much more pleasing to the eye than the borrowed ones had been. Deep blue lace graced her curves, above and below. Pretty enough that he was tempted to tell her to halt her disrobing there, so he might admire them.

“You will wear this again for me?” He hadn’t intended to move so quickly, but she looked startled to find him just inches away. He traced the edge of the lace where it curved over the swell of her breasts.

“You like it?”

“Oh yes.” He pulled her close so that she could feel just how excited he was through the fabric of his jeans. He claimed another kiss from her before backing away to allow her to finish undressing. He did the same, smiling again at the way her eyes were drawn to his body. In just seconds, they had both bared their bodies and he caught her up in his arms. She gave a startled laugh, but returned his embrace wholeheartedly. He let his hands wander over her skin, so warm and soft. And she touched him in return, hands moving with greater confidence then before, as if she were surer of him. “So lovely.”

Their embrace became more heated, mouths meeting with a dance of lips and tongues. Her heart beat now with a reassuring steadiness, quick but strong. Discoloration still marred the skin about the puncture marks, but she did not flinch away when he dropped gentle kisses there. Her hands urged him on, pulling him closer, touching him intimately, almost aggressively.

“Please, Damian. I want you.”

“And you shall have me.” He lifted her up easily, carrying her to his sofa where he set her on her feet on the cushions.

“What are you doing…Oh!” Rather than answer her with words, he did so with action. While she steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders, he dropped his mouth to pull the hardened tip of one breast between his lips. He licked and sucked at it carefully, mindful of his fangs. He kept one arm around her, to steady her while his other hand roved up and down her body, kneading and caressing. She moaned softly, fingers sliding through his hair, hands clutching at his shoulders. After a moment, he switched his efforts to her other nipple, lavishing attention on it until the girl in his arms was crying out his name, begging for more.

He silenced her pleas with a rough kiss. In his excitement, he was careless, nicking her lip with his fang. The coppery sweetness of her blood coated his tongue and drew a heavy groan from him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, fisting her hands in his hair, returning his kiss with single-minded intensity. Not trusting himself with her blood on his lips, he broke the kiss. He pushed her back a few inches, finding himself panting as if he truly needed to breathe. She looked at him, her expression such a confused mingling of lust and concern that he chuckled.

“I have cut your lip. Your blood is like a drug. Intoxicating.”

“I don’t mind.” He watched her lick the blood from her own lips. “It’s not enough to hurt.”

“It is enough to tempt me.” He reached for her again, turning her gently in his arms until he could press a kiss against the nape of her neck. He held her close for a moment, then took her hands and guided them to the back of the sofa, wrapping her fingers around the edge. He covered her hands with his own and whispered into her hair. “Kneel down for me.” He felt her shiver at the sound of his voice.

He drew back enough to allow her room to do as he bid her. He slid his hands down her sides in a single long caress before bringing them to rest at her hips. At the slightest pressure, she shifted obediently. He could hear the racing of her pulse and the quickness of her breath. He could smell her arousal, the scent hanging in the air, mixing with the faint tang of blood. His own pulse sped, his heart beating strongly with borrowed life. The leopard’s scent still lingered, and rather than dulling his desire, it sharpened it.

She was his.

When he pressed himself against her, thrust himself into that wet warmth, she pushed back against him, her soft cries urging him on. It was almost enough to make him forget himself, the feel and sound and scent of her, her eagerness. He nearly forgot his resolve to be gentle, to be careful. It was difficult to think with her body writhing against his, the taste of her blood still lingering on his tongue, the sound of his name spilling from her lips.

Passion swelled within him, demanding release. But he clung to his control, waiting on her pleasure. It came swiftly, her body arching, inner muscles clutching at him, threatening to make him spill himself far too soon. He froze, holding her still until the tremors ceased before beginning anew.

Twice more he brought her to that shuddering, gasping pleasure before his own control broke. His release came with a heavy groan of relief, his flesh buried deep in hers, his seed spilling into her warmth. She shuddered, the movement sending fascinating sensations along his skin wherever they touched. Slowly they sagged together down onto the sofa, his body covering hers so that he could press his lips to the pulse below her ear. He nuzzled and kissed her there until she giggled softly.

The sound brought a smile to his lips. She was so warm and alive that for a moment he could remember what it was to be mortal again. His Erica.

~*~

Damian remained comfortably attentive for the rest of the night. He’d even been willing to watch a few of Anita’s DVD’s with her. They had curled up in their pajamas on the couch in the living room upstairs. She wasn’t sure if he’d actually enjoyed them, but he’d been polite enough not to laugh at the gross misconceptions portrayed in the vampire flicks. Or at least he’d waited for her to laugh before he joined in.

The house had been very quiet all night and while she was certain there were guards somewhere nearby, they stayed out of sight and hearing. Which she appreciated. It was sometime in the wee hours of the morning when her constant yawning prompted Damian to insist she go to bed and sleep. He did join her, curling his long frame around hers, holding her until she drifted off. Of course he was gone when she woke, tucked away in his coffin.

Once again, the house seemed almost empty with only Nathaniel to keep her company. Merle seemed to be the guard of the day, but he didn’t talk much. At least not to her. Nathaniel seemed perfectly happy to talk to her about anything and everything that came to mind, but by late afternoon she was bored enough that a nap was more than welcome. She’d even tried helping Nathaniel with housework, but he insisted on treating her as a guest.

If she was offering to do housework, she knew she was bored. She even missed Caleb. In fact, his absence sort of worried her after the previous evening. He wasn’t there again when she woke from her nap. She nearly broke down and asked Anita about him at dinner. But there was something about the way the woman looked at her that made the words die in her throat.

She had the sense that something was going on, but no one was talking to her. Both Damian and Nathaniel worked that evening Anita left with Damian and Nathaniel shortly after sunset. Micah got a call and left soon afterwards. She’d had just a few moments with Damian before Anita had pulled him away and she felt rather shorted. That left her all alone with her guard for the night, Noah. She was tempted to just borrow a stack of Nathaniel’s magazines and lock herself in the basement with Shadow. But instead she decided to try to get some answers from the wereleopard.

“Noah?” The young man had been channel surfing for the last fifteen minutes. He didn’t even seem to notice her presence.

“Hmm?”

“I was wondering where everyone is.”

“Working. Most of them.” The light from the television played randomly across his features, making them hard to read. “Did you want to watch something?”

“No. I just got the feeling something was going on. I haven’t seen Caleb since last night. Is he…OK?”

“He’s fine. Should be at work by now.” Noah shifted restlessly in his seat on the couch. She thought he looked uncomfortable.

“Did you really send him to Damian to punish him?”

“Donating blood to the vampires is strictly voluntary.” It sounded like something he was repeating from memory.

“Noah…” She studied his profile, letting her skepticism show in her tone. Noah didn’t intimidate her half as much as some of the other wereleopards. He just seemed too…normal. He didn’t crowd her personal space the way the other leopards did. Maybe he didn’t like her?

“Anita told Caleb to stay away today. Let things cool off.” He finally turned to look at her. “Damian must have said something to her.”

“You got chewed out over it?” Or maybe that was it. Maybe he was worried about getting into more trouble.

“Micah doesn’t exactly chew you out. But it gets the job done.” He frowned and turned back to the TV. “I’m sorry if I caused trouble for you.”

“It scared the crap out of me, Noah.” Erica tossed the magazine she’d been trying to concentrate on onto the coffee table hard enough to make a slapping noise. “I thought Damian was going to hurt him.”

“And you aren’t afraid of getting hurt?” He turned to look at her again, his expression serious.

“Damian wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Damian’s not the only monster you should worry about.” He turned back to his channel surfing. “Things have stepped up because Jean Claude just got word that another Master of the City is sending some sort of VIP to St. Louis.”

“Which Master of the City?”

“Chicago, I think.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with the attack on me, does it?”

“No one has said anything like that to me.” He shrugged. “Vampire politics. They like to try to impress and intimidate each other. Jean Claude has most of his people working on it.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t leave you unprotected.” He stopped flipping channels and rose from his seat. “Mind if I watch a movie? There’s nothing on.”

“Help yourself.”

“Sure.”

Noah seemed to prefer comedies that had nothing to do with lycanthropes or vampires. They watched a couple together before Erica excused herself and went to bed. She was pretty sure he had pretended to be more engrossed in the movies than he really was in order to avoid any more awkward conversation. His laughter had seemed a little forced at times.

Sleep came slowly. Thoughts about Damian and Caleb, her conversation with Noah, nameless, faceless vampires from other cities… Lying alone in Damian’s bed with only Shadow for company, she no longer felt as confident of her safety as she had when she was talking with Noah. Being left out of the loop the way she had been tonight didn’t help things any. If she were going to be a part of this world, Damian’s world, shouldn’t she know more about what was going on around her?

She’d fully intended to question Damian about it when he came home. That thought had been in her mind when she fell asleep. But when the vampire slipped into bed beside her and kissed her… The thought just couldn’t compete with the taste of his lips or the feel of his body against hers. In fact, the thought didn’t occur to her again until after she woke the next day.

She rose with the question in her mind, but the house was so quiet she thought she must be the first one up. Intending to grab some juice and a bowl of cereal, she headed to the kitchen. The morning sun streaming in the windows confirmed her first guess that she’d risen relatively early. But she was wrong about being the first one up.

“Good morning.” The sun made fiery sparks in the long spill of Nathaniel’s auburn hair while he moved about the kitchen setting two places. “Have a good night?”

“Yeah. I did.” Erica blinked at him. He couldn’t have had but a few hours sleep but he looked not only fresh, but full of energy. “Aren’t you up early?”

“It’s Micah’s turn this morning. They wanted some time alone and I didn’t mind. Besides, I was hoping we could have breakfast together before anyone else showed up.” His smile never faded as he deftly slipped omelets and fried potatoes on the plates and began to pour juice. “I thought we could talk.”

“About what?” Erica worked to process all that he’d said without blushing at his completely unabashed attitude. Micah’s turn to have sex with Anita, he meant. She also knew that wasn’t necessarily a one on one thing between the three of them. It was impossible not to know, really. Not in this house and with the frank way Nathaniel talked about their relationship.

“Sex.”

She stopped in mid-motion. She’d been in the process of pulling out the chair across from Nathaniel. He’d chosen to set the smaller table in the bay window. There was enough laughter in his lavender eyes and twitching at the corners of his mouth that she wasn’t sure if he was teasing her or not. She hadn’t taken any of his flirting seriously; he was so obviously in love with Anita.

“Nathaniel, I… I’m not sure what you’re getting at.” She knew she was blushing furiously. She hesitated, ducking her head to let her hair fall forward to shield her face. Kicking herself inwardly for acting childish, she slipped into her chair. “I’ve had the birds and the bees talk.”

“I don’t think you’ve had the Lycanthropic Sex Ed 101 talk.” Nathaniel pushed a glass of orange juice in her direction. “By the way, that’s cute.”

“What’s cute?” Erica picked up the glass and took a sip, doing her best not to meet those too-frank eyes.

“You’re blushing. Anita used to do that any time I started talking about sex. I kind of miss that.” He smiled and picked up his fork and knife. He began to cut his omelet into bite-sized pieces.

“I’m not sleeping—having sex—with any lycanthropes, Nathaniel.” That came out almost normal, she congratulated herself. How old was Nathaniel? He had to be at least a couple of years younger than she was. Too strange.

“Not yet.” Nathaniel paused to chew a mouthful of potatoes. “Which is why it’s a good time to have this talk.”

“I wasn’t planning on it, either.” Erica frowned and began poking at her food. It was a crime to spoil Nathaniel’s cooking with uncomfortable talk.

“It’s the sex you didn’t plan for that usually gets you in trouble.” Nathaniel took a sip of his juice. “Especially if that sex is with one of us.”

“We’re talking about Caleb, aren’t we?” A thought occurred to her and she set down her fork. “Is that why Caleb isn’t here? Anita didn’t want me to…”

“Anita is worried you’re already in too deep. I think she’d like to separate you and Caleb. But she doesn’t believe in running our lives like that. He’ll be one of the guards today.”

“And you’re supposed to give me the talk before he gets here?”

“I volunteered.” Nathaniel grinned at her. “Anita would spend so much time talking around it and trying to talk you out of it, she’d never get through it before Caleb showed up.”

“Oh.”

“And Cherry is working. So I’m the next best thing.” He pointed a fork at her plate. “Is it OK?”

“It’s great. It’s just me that’s a little off kilter. I wasn’t expecting the birds and the bees over breakfast.”

“OK. Well let’s start off with the simple things. What makes it harder to control what we call our beasts? Being closer to the full moon, things that trigger our animal instincts, pain, fear, and sex.”

“Makes sense.” He waited until she took a bite of her potatoes and began chewing before he continued.

“The full moon is night after tomorrow. We don’t have any new leopards in the pard, but many newer lycanthropes have difficulty with control this close to the full moon. Stress can make even an experienced lycanthrope lose control.”

“OK.” She nodded, speaking around a mouthful of her breakfast. Maybe if she kept her comments to a minimum, this talk would be over faster?

“Sex is sort of like a test of a lycanthrope’s control. If he’s going to lose it, it will happen during sex. Probably during orgasm. If the other party is a human, it can go very bad, Erica.”

“I’m sure it could.”

“We aren’t just dangerous if we shift. We’re stronger than you. Strong enough to break bones by accident if we aren’t careful.” From someone else, that might sound like bragging or maybe even threatening. But from Nathaniel, it just sounded truthful.

“Are you trying to scare me out of even thinking about it?”

“No. From what I hear, Caleb’s pretty popular at the club. If he had control issues, we’d have heard about it by now.”

“I haven’t said I was going to sleep with Caleb.”

“But you need to know what can happen. And what to do if it does.”

“What can I do? I’m human…”

“The major triggers are the scent of fear and blood. If you panic and start to flail around, try to run, it will only make you seem more like prey.”

“So I do what? Just lay there and try not to think about getting eaten?”

“Stay calm. Try not to act frightened. If you’re bleeding, try not to spread it around or make the bleeding worse. Speak calmly. We can still understand you even in full animal form. But we don’t think the same. Your tone will mean more than your words, especially if we’ve gone all the way to animal form.”

“Caleb… He said all his beast understands is food, fucking, and fighting. I don’t want to be food and I can’t win a fight with a lycanthrope.”

“Natural leopards are loners. They aren’t social like wolves. Another leopard is either an enemy, a mate, or offspring. They aren’t friends. It’s our human side that needs the closeness of the pard. We need the closeness so we remember that we aren’t enemies when we go furry. So we don’t start fighting each other.”

“I think I understood some of that already.” Erica scooped up a forkful of potatoes and chewed thoughtfully. “But if I don’t go there…”

“If you stick around lycanthropes long enough, someone will wind up going furry around you. I’m not just talking about sex. The same principles apply.” He took a long swallow of his juice and licked his lips afterwards. “Whether or not you plan on going there with Caleb, he plans on it. ‘Maybe later’ doesn’t work with guys like him.”

“Nathaniel…”

“I’m just saying what everyone else has been thinking.” Erica didn’t know how to respond, so she picked at her omelet while her companion sorted out his thoughts. “We didn’t talk about how you catch lycanthropy. Cat is harder to catch than wolf or rat, though nobody really knows why. And you can only catch it when we’ve shifted. Teeth, claws, blood, semen if there’s any tears or cuts.”

“All right. All right. Is there anything else? This really isn’t helping my appetite any.”

“That’s it for now. Except that I’m supposed to ask you if you want Anita to keep Caleb away from you and Damian.”

“No. It’s all right. I can handle Caleb on my own.”

“I told Anita you’d say that.” He smiled again. “Want some more juice?”

“Sure.”

After that, Nathaniel was willing to let the conversation turn to less embarrassing topics. Like the shopping trip he had planned for later. With so many visitors coming and going, they were starting to run out of groceries and other odds and ends. Nathaniel was in charge of the shopping as well as the cooking.

“But Anita won’t let me go on my own right now. Between the attack on you and this guy that Augustine is sending, she doesn’t want me going anywhere without a bodyguard.”

“Augustine?”

“Master of Chicago. He’s one of Jean Claude’s friends. Sort of.” Nathaniel was done and had begun to gather up the dirty dishes. “Everyone is a little nervous about it. This guy is supposed to show up night after tomorrow. On the night of the full moon. Which means Jean Claude can’t use any of his lycanthrope guards or blood donors. Just vamps and humans.”

“Is that unusual?”

“Yes. But not enough to call things off. Anita thinks the other vamps want to see what Jean Claude’s strength is like without the lycanthropes for backup.”

“What do you think?”

“I think it’s weird. And that Anita is going to be nervous leaving Jean Claude on his own. She won’t be going. She wants to stick close to the pard.”

“Oh.”

“So do you want to go?” Erica puzzled over that. Did he mean the vampire thing? The full moon… No. That didn’t make sense.

“Grocery shopping?”

“Sure. You must be getting cabin fever by now. I already asked Anita and she said it was OK as long as we took two guards. Noah is already here. Caleb should be here soon.”

What was better? Staying home alone with either Noah or Caleb? Or getting out of the house altogether? Not that hard a choice.

“Yeah. Just let me grab a shower and get ready.”

“Go ahead. I’ve still got to make my list.” He pulled a notepad and pencil from a drawer and leaned over the counter to begin writing. Erica shook her head at the picture he made. He wore nothing but a pair of jeans and his ankle length hair, tossed over one shoulder so that his upper body was framed by it. With his lean, muscled dancer’s body and the exotic hair, he looked more fantasy than reality. Erica shoved the thought away and turned on her heel, marching out of the kitchen and in search of a fresh change of clothes.

Maybe Anita knew a little something about living with sexy lycanthropes after all.
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A Place in This Life...