From ScFiMarci@aol.com Sun Oct 27 22:57:27 1996 Designation: Explicit/graphic sex, between Nick/Janette/LC "Love, Play, and Overactive Imaginations" Part I A Forever Knight Erotica Story Copyright 1996 by Marcia Tucker =0D Time: Begins directly after the tag in "Blood Money" (2nd Season) =0D Scenario: Two vampires in love, one vampire in lust, two mortals with cr= eative imaginations =3D Five players in this story about getting about as= carried away in things as immortally possible! =0D Disclaimer: All the expressions and acts of homophobia and ignorance of g= ay lifestyles are intentional, deliberate and coming from the characters = themselves, not from any misconceptions of the author. The author intend= s this story to be an out and out fun romp, but also to serve as an indic= tment of homophobia. = =0D Content: m/m, m/f sexual contact, lots of suggestiveness and ribaldry! = All sex and intense activity (mild violence?) is completely consensual. =0D Part I: Lovers and Imaginations at Play =0D Nick found himself relaxing in her kiss more than he'd expected. It was= a warming kiss that eased his spirit and stole away his tension. Enjoyi= ng it, he set her glass down behind him and took her more fully into his = arms. Janette, too, was pliant and yielding against him, her youthful, l= ithe body soft and so feminine. It was a yielding, allowing herself to b= e supported in his arms, that surprised Nick, and warmed his own feelings= for her. He'd wanted to kiss her nicely, in a cozy, friendly way but h= er softness and the scent of her silky hair was drawing forth things in h= im that he'd kept dormant for a very long time. And again to his surprise, Janette opened her mouth against his first. = Her wondering, hesitant tongue touched his lips, then he, too, was openin= g to her. Suddenly the intervening centuries seemed to drop away and Nick= was kissing her deeply, feeling a wash of love that was so familiar. Hi= s tongue reacquainted itself with hers, and he felt her smile in the kiss= =2E His thoughts whispered her name, tasting it as he tasted her mouth, = and his pressure spoke of renewed ardor. When the kiss ended, Nick felt transported, warmer than he'd felt for a = very long time. Their eyes met, and his lips curved into a wide, easy sm= ile to match hers. But there was something else there in those ice-blue = eyes of hers, he could now see, and his smile faded a little in surprise.= How well he could still read her... In her eyes, a shadow of hope. Still holding her gaze, Nick slid his right arm beneath her knees, his l= eft sliding down to her waist. Then, cradling her against him, he picked= her up and stood. Janette nuzzled her face into his neck as Nick carrie= d her to the back room. =0D Behind the closed door, Nick leaned back on it for a moment, holding her= tightly to him. Then he was gently setting her to her feet. Janette si= ghed, expecting him to perhaps go, but Nick was already pulling her in ag= ainst his body. He tipped up her chin to meet his eyes again, and the lo= ok this time was suddenly electric. Janette gasped in unexpected anticip= ation as he brought his other arm around her back and she felt his finger= s on the zipper of her dress. The soft velvet fabric thus loosened, she felt his hands gently tug on= her hair backwards, bidding her to arch her back and neck. Janette comp= lied, then shivered involuntarily when she felt the tip of his tongue dip= in between her freed breasts and begin a slow lick up her chest to her n= eck. She closed her eyes, allowing his sensuous tongue to travel up her = windpipe to her chin, then descend again to her cleft. He bent her ever b= ackwards to get the fullest access to her breasts, supporting her weight = in his right arm. Now his left arm shifted and she felt his hand on her = buttocks, squeezing. = All Janette could do at this point was yield, her hands on his arms. In= fact she gave her weight to him as she raised one leg to wrap around him= , gaining closer contact to his groin. She felt the rock-hard shaft, and= shivered again. As his mouth now moved to take one of her breasts insid= e, Janette moaned softly and was rewarded with his own shortening breath.= Nick's tongue - that highly skilled organ that she remembered well knew= her every need intimately - worked on her nipple and around, then his mo= uth was shifting to the other breast, flooding her with pleasure. = Now, as he allowed her her weight again, she felt him stripping the dres= s from her, and her black satin panties as well. Nick's eyes were closed= - he was breathing heavily, his nostrils flared - but she knew by these = signs that his eyes were as gold as hers. And likely he felt the itch of= descending fangs as she did. He allowed her to at least get a few butto= ns of his shirt open before he gently pulled her hand away. Suddenly Nick had whipped her around to face away from him. Janette, re= cognizing his signature move with a deep thrill, felt a rush of wetness w= ithin her. The hardness at his front pushed at the cleft of her buttocks= , then moved away. Nick was holding her slightly apart from him, his han= d beneath her breasts, and she could feel him move his other hand behind = her, undoing his belt and pants. Then Nick was supporting her again as he reached down to the underside o= f her thigh to draw her left leg up before her. Janette let out a long, = growly groan as she felt the head of his cock touch her wet, nether lips,= and gasped as he plunged the whole of his shaft completely within her. = Releasing his raspy breath, he began to thrust. = After a moment, Nick shifted his position slightly to allow him greater = control. He now leaned his upper back against the door, and spread his l= egs apart a little more, knees bent. This gave him more leverage to thru= st. He resumed his pumping, using long, even strokes to massage her insi= des completely. = Suddenly he stopped. =0D "Don't stop... please..." Janette whispered tightly, clutching at his ar= ms. "Nicolas..." "I'm not," he quickly reassured her. "I'm not." She could feel his cool breath on her cheek. His arms tightened about h= er. "What's wrong?" she asked, hesitantly. She wanted nothing to be wro= ng. She wanted him, body and soul, and she wanted him for good. To her dismay, he carefully lifted her off him. Involuntarily, she gasp= ed as he withdrew from her. "No... Nicolas, please..." He did not speak as he straightened, hoisting her up into his arms again= =2E Nick was feeling far, far too much to speak. Janette clung to his n= eck fiercely as he carried her into the next room, then she felt her back= against her bed as he laid her down. She relaxed as he covered her, and= with great relief, opened her legs to him as he returned his organ to it= s silken sheath. But again Nick just held himself inside her, his cock s= till rock hard. = Now that he was facing her again, he descended briefly to her mouth, kis= sing her deeply, though he did not linger. When he lifted his head again= , their eyes met at last. He wriggled his hips a little to get inside de= eper and she wrapped her legs around him to hold him there. Slowly he be= gan to smile, a transformation of his features that was filled with such = light and beauty that it astonished her. His eyes were clear blue again.= "I think I like it here," he said impishly, winking at her. "I like you here, too," she replied, managing a smile. "In fact, I think= you might have to stay in there from now on." "Permanently?" He chuckled, shifting slightly so he could bring a hand = up to fondle her breast. His fingers drew a sigh from her. "Permanently," Janette echoed and his smile faded in surprise as he hear= d the emotion in her voice and realized how very much she wanted him. = Again the hope - did she really want him back? Nick thought= and a resurgent rush of love welled in him as well - unbidden, unlooked = for, even unwanted, but now, their bodies coupled, he could manage no mor= e coherent thought. Somewhere in the back of his mind was the awareness = that there would be hard consequences to deal with later, but all he coul= d do now was respond to desire and yield to the love that was taking him = over surely and swiftly. Janette gasped as his cock began to pull back again, but this time it wa= s not to withdraw, but in order to resume his thrusting. She dug her nai= ls into his back and pulled him down hard to her mouth as he began to slo= wly plunge the full length of his engorged shaft in and out. As they kis= sed again, eagerly, desperately, all tongues and wetness, the change took= them each over, and there were fangs striking fangs now as well. The in= evitable happened - blood drawn as those sharp canines heedlessly slashed= tongues and lips. Bloodlust surged in both Nick and Janette, the taste = of the other's blood sending them to a new level beyond mere desire. Nic= k pumped into her harder, sucking on the incredible taste of her, needing= to drink deeply of her. She shifted her grip on him, her hands now slippery from his drawn blood= =2E The need for his blood intensified tremendously now that she tasted = him. Simultaneously each vampire rose from the other's mouth and roared = deep in their throats, eyes gold-red from lust. Immediately they dove ea= ch for the other's throat and sank fangs into tautly stretched necks with= an awful, wet crunch. As the cyclic rush of blood from one to the other began, Nick continued = to fuck her hard, completely given over to his intense urges. Janette as= well, rocked in rhythm with him, her internal muscles applying quick ti= ghtenings to his thrusting organ to increase both their pleasure. But th= e blood... The centuries... Nick and Janette drowned in history, the joys and fears= , promises and betrayals of their many centuries of acquaintance. The lo= ve, woven so vibrantly in and out - the hurt they'd caused one another - = the intimacy in their link as LaCroix's children - the fear of losing sel= f and the fear of keeping self - the longing to abandon oneself completel= y to the other. And abandon they did now, throwing themselves at the sum= mons in their blood, the bonding of their bodies. Nick and Janette were = now totally gone to the world, existing on a plateau where only they live= d. Their link screamed in ecstasy as their orgasms exploded in their blo= od, brains, nerves... =0D Lucien LaCroix looked down at his hands in amazement. His fingernails h= ad bitten deep arcs in his palms, and blood was dripping onto the radio c= onsole. With a sharp intake of breath, he hastily switched the controls o= ver to a backup tape, then licked the blood off his hands. Within, the l= ink with his two favorite children was vibrating intensely. A rush of re= alization and he knew. Their renewed love, deep and strong, coul= d be tasted over his connection with them. = But he frowned and sat back, contemplating this new and most unexpected = development. he thought in dismay. He paused to consider the closing wounds on his palms. =0D They were a very long time coming back to themselves. Fangs gently with= drew. Nick slipped out of Janette again, reluctantly. He folded her clo= se within his arms, his cheek to hers, his eyes shut tight. Janette made= a soft little whimper at the loss of him inside her, then folded her arm= s up against his chest, resting in his embrace. She licked at a trail of= blood on his chin, gently and lovingly cleaning him. = He spoke first, his voice low, rough, and husky. "I won't let you leave= me again, Janette." "Never. I'll never leave you," she replied quickly, her voice as harsh = as his. "I should never have left you then, Nicolas." Nick shifted so that he could look at her. "Janette..." His voice caug= ht in his throat, his emotions still high. "I was afraid of this," she went on, caressing his cheek with a finger, = her mouth curving slightly into a smile. "Afraid of losing myself in you= , of loving you as strongly as you loved me. But I'm not afraid anymore,= except to ever lose you again, mon amour. No matter what the price." A= nd it was her turn for her voice to break. He kissed her fingers but looked at her in bewilderment. "The price..."= Janette, to his surprise, was about to cry. "You want to regain your mo= rtality," she reminded him, the dread thick in her voice. It was what ha= d kept her from pursuing him earlier. From the moment she'd first seen h= im enter the Raven. The electricity of seeing him again after so many ye= ars apart had been thrilling, but knowing what he sought, she'd sacrified= her longing. But no longer. She could not. He could not, either, she now knew. = And the dread, the agony rose again in Nick. "No," he breathed and inte= rnally struggled against his conflict. The quest seemed so distant, so u= nimportant as he'd been so totally focused on his beloved Janette. He di= dn't have to ask her if she'd join him in his search for a cure. She wou= ld. But she didn't want to be cured. But she'd do it for him. And he could never, ever ask her to give up her immortality for him. So= the sacrifice would necessarily be his. It wasn't such a huge sacrifice, not really. He'd been blissfully happ= y with Janette before as a vampire, and for decades. Realistically he kn= ew they could grow apart again, and perhaps the quest could be resumed la= ter. But now... "Janette," he sighed, brushing her lips with his quickly to reassure her= , "I'm yours now, forever. I've lived this long as a vampire and it won'= t hurt me to continue to do so, especially if I have you to help me to re= sist the darkness in me. It's far more important to me to live as a good= person, to use my powers to help rather than hurt, and to keep the hunge= r from getting out of control. You know I never want to kill again - but= that doesn't mean I have to become mortal. Mortality doesn't assure one= of escaping their evil side." She relaxed against him, closing her eyes briefly in relief. "I am so s= orry..." Nick kissed her again so that she could feel his smile. "Don't be! This= is no one's fault, Janette!" She slipped her hands around to the back of his hair, pulling him more d= eeply into the kiss. Love had overwhelmed them and she couldn't be more = glad. = Nor could he, though a century's effort had just been effectively erased= in a single night of glorious passion. = =0D The Raven was closed. One customer lingered, waiting for his paramour t= o join him. It had been three nights since the renewal of love between t= hen and they'd been together each of the days between. Nick felt his master's approach, and steeled himself. He'd known this c= onfrontation was coming. "LaCroix," he murmured by way of greeting. He = did not turn around, but continued to stare down into the red depths of t= he glass before him. A hand came around him, a finger dipping into the liquid to secure a tas= te. LaCroix tasted the sample, and sighed, laying a hand on his son's s= houlder. "Good evening, Nicholas. Mmmm... is this something we should t= alk about?" Nick tensed slightly at the touch, then relaxed. Not a confrontation, t= hen; perhaps only explanations would be required. "Um, not really," he r= eplied slowly. He did not want to admit to how good the wine-laced human= blood made him feel. = LaCroix let his hand fall, and turned, leaning back on the bar beside hi= m. "I understand you and Janette have resumed...relations." He sighed and smiled. "Yes." "I must admit I haven't seen our Janette this happy in quite some time."= The elder vampire turned his head to look down at his son, who still st= udied the glass of blood before him. "I see I have you to thank for that= =2E" "Janette's happiness is very important to me," Nick murmured. He lifted= the glass and took a sip. LaCroix's nostrils flared and he took his breath in sharply, thrilled to= see his creation drinking human blood again. He smiled. "I am so very = glad to hear this, Nicholas. You've resumed relations with her - can I a= ssume we are also talking about your relationship?" Nick, still holding the glass, was momentarily transported by the heady = libation, the blood making his senses sing. "Yes," he whispered. "She is very good for you, my Nicholas," LaCroix was murmuring, leaning = into his ear. "As is your excellent choice of dinner tonight. You are a= gain my son." Nick straightened and turned to regard LaCroix solemnly. "Or am I being precipitous?" LaCroix continued, straightening also. "Is= this just a little hiatus you're indulging in, a vacation from your poin= tless little quest for mortality? A break from the rigors of the self-ab= use you normally practice?" He spoke matter-of-factly, neither angry nor= accusatory. Briefly Nick looked down again at the glass of blood. Self abuse. Poin= tless quest. He'd known LaCroix would speak of it like that, but it stil= l stung to hear it described so. "This is not a hiatus, no." LaCroix smiled, enjoying his favorite's apparent change of heart. he mused, then grew cold= again. "No? So you're still searching. You aren't playing with Janett= e's feelings, then? She's in love with you, Nicholas. Are you in love w= ith her?" "Of course I love her..." "But are you *in love*? Is Janette the light of your life, the song in y= our heart? Will you and she be setting up house together? Will you give= up your stupid little quest for her?" The last was a deliberate sting. Nick took a deep breath, wondering if LaCroix would even believe him if = he said he would. As yet, he didn't speak, letting his master get his ar= gument off his chest. "You can't have it both ways," LaCroix was relentl= essly continuing in a low, cutting voice. "What if you find your cure, N= icholas? Will you toss her aside like yesterday's newspaper and run off = to raise babies with your little doctor friend?" "No," Nick said immediately, tightly. He hadn't even thought of Natalie= =2E = "Oh, really!" LaCroix laughed. "Or do you think you could run off to r= aise babies with Janette, then? That is what you intend to do with the r= est of your miserable mortal life, isn't it? A husband and family, a job= and a house with a picket fence, all the niceties of a human existence. = And you want that with Janette." He stared at the elder vampire. "Of course not." LaCroix, feeling quite near his triumph, took a deep breath. "So - it i= s over, then. I quite understand and approve, Nicholas. After all, how = could you give her up? Give up her blood in your veins and yours in hers= ? Can you?" The truth was there. Nick hated it, feared it, wanted it. "No." "I'm sorry, I don't think I quite heard that," LaCroix added, amused. "= Could you please repeat that?" "No," Nick repeated, then made himself look at his master again. "No, I= cannot give her up. Not now." He shifted position and sighed. He had = known LaCroix would taunt him over this. "LaCroix, I have done what I di= d not expect to do. I have fallen in love again with Janette. Again, as= so many times before. And yes, I feel her blood in my veins, and no, I = find I can't bear to give that up. In fact, if Janette were to leave me = again as she did once before, I don't think I could continue." LaCroix was quite stimulated by his son's declaration. "You wear ardor = well, Nicholas. And don't think I cannot appreciate the difficulty in wh= ich you find yourself." He laid a hand on the other's arm. "I am quite = aware that you find it hard to accept this new reality - that you must gi= ve up your search for a cure - and I am also aware that you still have s= ome feelings for your doctor friend." "We're just friends," Nick said quickly, frowning. A frown to match. "I see. And what does Dr. Lambert know of all this?"= "She knows I'm seeing someone. That's all." "Ah. What are you going to tell her?" A shrug, which actually relieved LaCroix more than any other body signal= given off by his child during their conversation. "I have no idea," Nic= k sighed. "I've been preoccupied enough at work and around her that she = probably already guesses a fair amount of it. She doesn't know it's Jane= tte, though. Or even a vampire, for that matter." LaCroix snorted. "I suppose she expected you to remain celibate..." "No," Nick said quickly, reflectively. "She told me once that if I had = feelings for someone, that I should act on them." = "All is well, then." LaCroix gazed at his beloved son with no little re= lief. "Remember this, Nicholas. I will not be able to look upon you so = favorably if you should hurt Janette in any way. I have long known of h= er hope to be with you again." "You have?" The gaze grew serious. "We have both suffered, watching you decline. J= anette, in particular. She has long denied her own feelings regarding yo= u because of it." Suddenly Nick became aware of her presence close by, realizing as he did= so that she'd been there a while. He moved off the bar stool to stand a= nd face her. "Janette," he breathed in greeting, breaking into a smile. = = She took the hands he held out to her and, as he bent his head down to h= ers, received his soft kiss. Then, keeping one of his hands, she turned = to face their master with him. "LaCroix, I see that you have been lookin= g out for my interests," she murmured. LaCroix looked upon these, his two closest children. "Both your interes= ts," he corrected her gently, then looked only at Nick. "It has always b= een a balm to my cold, still heart to see the two of you together. I lea= ve you with this caution - do not let lust blind you to reality." = In unconscious response, the two lovers drew closer together. LaCroix w= ent to each in turn, kissing Janette on the cheek and laying a couple fin= gertips lightly on Nick's cheek. Then he was gone. =0D Nick folded her arms around Janette, relieved to be alone with her at la= st. Janette clung to him tightly. For a long moment they simply rested = in the love they shared, but the weight of Nick's conversation with LaCro= ix was upon them as well. "You heard," he said at last. "I heard. LaCroix feared you might hurt me. But I know better." = She felt the touch of his lips behind her ear, on her cheek, then he was= gently moving her apart from him so that he could look at her. "He was = just concerned about my giving up my search, is all." Janette looked into his warm, blue eyes, into the love residing there. = "I hope you do not blame me for this." Nick gasped, and wrapped her back up in his embrace hastily. "Never," h= e said vehemently, shutting his eyes against her fear. "I told you befor= e - there is no blame. Love just is, Janette." "But you will give up your hope to go back across," she murmured. "I ca= nnot ask that of you, Nicolas! I would rather..." "No," he said quickly, guessing her intent. "This quest was mine to tak= e up, mine alone, and it's mine to lay down again. It may be that I will= seek it again one day..." and he paused, unable to say it. So she said it for him. "If we should fall back out of love again. As = we did once - as *I* did, though I never really did, not if I had admitte= d it to myself." Janette savored the strength of his arms, and was loath= e to leave them. Her fingers slipped up into the dark blonde waves of hi= s hair, caressing him lightly. "We were so happy once," Nick sighed. "Only in the bounty of your love= was I ever content to be as I am." "And now? Are you content now? Can you be?" Nick thought of the blood he had just been drinking. It no longer seeme= d to make any difference whether he drank human or animal blood, though o= f course the former was by far the more satisfying. To his relief, it di= dn't seem to trouble his control any. Moreover, to share blood with her = was - he dared to admit, though the image was ironic - heavenly. "Oh, ye= s," he replied. = Suddenly they were kissing urgently, desperately, pushing back the doubt= s and fears in a rush of love. = =0D Still watching from just inside the door to the club, LaCroix sighed. <= At least this will keep him from pushing me away,> he thought. He rememb= ered that he and Nick had been closer than ever in those 97 years when Ni= ck and Janette had been married. Nick, as a vampire, had been so differe= nt then, for he did not dwell on his nature or wallow in guilt or fear lo= sing control. Love had overwhelmed his self-destructive tendencies, and = hopefully would do that for him now. Even feeding back then had not both= ered him, becoming the emotionless necessity that it was meant to be. La= Croix rather doubted that Nick would ever return that far to his nature, = but at least he was feeding properly on human blood again. From a bottle= =2E LaCroix had been more of a friend, father, and confidante to Nick in tho= se days. It was a closeness that LaCroix had greatly treasured and it ha= d hurt to lose that with his son, who became disillusioned again after Ja= nette had left him. Disaster ruined that further when Nick fell in love = with a mortal, married her, then killed her in bringing her across. Nick= had never again known that happiness, not like that, though of course th= e boy had had plenty of liaisons. There had been a series of small hopes= when the liaisons were with another vampire - female of course - but not= hing like what Nick had had with Janette nor even the little mortal after= wards. = Then the long dark century of Nick's search for a cure had begun. LaCro= ix had been deeply disturbed at Nick's turning away from his family. The= n in recent years with the little experiments led by his coroner friend..= =2E this had been the final blow, for there was utterly nothing good in = it. The well-meaning Dr. Lambert was not a good choice for a partner in = this effort with Nick, as she was unable to maintain the necessary clinic= al distance from him personally. LaCroix had had to watch his beloved so= n slide further away and further into the crushing guilt that had plagued= him off and on his whole life. It was not a healthy relationship; the b= eautiful Dr. Lambert pushed Nick's buttons nearly as effectively as LaCr= oix himself did. = How had Nick, then, fallen back in love with Janette? Was it lust, a re= action to his years of denial? Or a desperate act of survival? His life= had not been living, not like he was, and LaCroix had nearly despaired o= ver Nick's self-abuse in trying to escape his reality. But it had happen= ed. Love had taken the two of them by the hand, leading them where it wi= lled. It had struck away the barriers between them, displacing the tensi= on and wariness. = LaCroix thought, savoring his link with his= favorite children. A wave of incipient lust passed through him. Once, even, he = and Nick had been far more than friends. And though he knew well that pa= rticular intimacy would likely never find them again, he could at least h= ope for a warmer regard from his son, maybe even affection. LaCroix thought with satisfaction. <= Oh, yes, I could live with that very well.> =0D After spending the day at the Raven with Janette, blissfully sleeping in= her arms, Nick flew to the loft to get ready for his shift at work. Qui= ckly he showered and dressed, pausing at one point to grin as he realized= he'd been humming. Then he heard the elevator door open. "I'll be right down," he called, = in the process of putting on his shoes. In a minute he was nearly bound= ing down the stairs. And pulled up abruptly when he realized his visitor= was Natalie. "Oh, it's you," he said, continuing down at a slower pace. He nodded to= her, smiling, then when he reached the floor, arrowed off toward the ref= rigerator for his dinner. Natalie was a little disarmed by the greeting. Plainly Nick hadn't exac= tly been expecting it to be her. "Ah - I tried calling earlier." Opening the refrigerator door, Nick gave her a quick smile. "I probably= wasn't home yet. You know, I don't think I checked my messages, either.= Sorry." She watched as he removed a bottle of blood and retrieved a clean goblet= off the counter. she wondered, watching him pour a f= ull glass of blood. But she couldn't ask hi= m that for some reason. "Ah, Nick, I thought maybe we could go to a movi= e before your shift starts," she said instead. Nick took a long swig of the blood - cow - and involuntarily grimaced. = "Ah, sorry, Nat, I thought I'd go into work early. I'm meeting someone f= or breakfast." He's said something about "seeing someone" a couple days ago, but his at= titude then had been so off-hand that Natalie hadn't thought anything of = it. Obviously she should have paid more attention. "Oh?" Another sip, then another. The cow blood was simply awful. he thought, recalling LaCroix's words. He flashed her = a quick smile, then moved over to the table behind the couch to retrieve = his watch and keys. "Yeah. Er, sort of..." Breakfast. That would be, = rather, having Janette for breakfast. And he would happily be hers. = Natalie raised her eyebrows, wondering mightily what was going on. Was = Nick really dating someone? She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. = Just then the phone rang. "Knight," he answered, then smiled, moving ov= er to sit in a chair. "Good evening to you, too." Nick shrugged apologetically at Natalie, gesturing for her to sit down a= lso. Gingerly she sat, her curiosity itching like a cat's. = The voice on the other end was saying, "I apologize for being so harsh w= ith you this morning, Nicholas." It was LaCroix. "You must realize that= I would be wary of this new wrinkle in your little reality." "I understand," Nick replied carefully. He really would rather not let = Nat know who had called. "It does take some getting used to. For you as= well." "Nicholas - as you've grown closer to our Janette, I hope you can one da= y come to grow closer to me as well. We are family after all..." Nick sighed. "Yes, we are that." "I don't expect much. We have been friends and confidantes before, Nich= olas." "That we have." Nick drank another swallow of blood. It went down a li= ttle better this time. "You and Janette are both important to me." "I know that. I suppose you have every right to be concerned." A pause on the other end. Nick looked down at his glass, momentarily fo= rgetting his observer. he mused. Aloud he said, "You don't have anything to worry ab= out. You know how I feel." "Very well, Nicholas," LaCroix said, relieved. "May I visit you, then?"= Nick was taken aback, and slowly began to smile again. LaCroix had neve= r asked before. He'd always just shown up when it suited him. Maybe the = ancient vampire was at last willing to let him be his own person, at leas= t a little. "I would like that. I think we need to talk more." "Indeed. I should like that very much. Perhaps tomorrow evening?" "Yes - I look forward to seeing you. Good night." "Good night, Nicholas." =0D Nick still held the phone, lost in a reverie, when Natalie's voice sudde= nly broke through. "Okay, well, I just thought I'd check to see how you = were doing." She stood, then noticed that he hadn't seemed to have heard= her. "Nick?" He hadn't. He'd been picturing Janette, her coy smile, her breathtaking= beauty, her touch, her kiss. Her breasts. As he heard his name a secon= d time, he stirred suddenly, belatedly aware of the beginnings of a hard-= on. "What?" he said, flustered as he straightened. Nat was frankly staring at him, having noticed the slightly-bigger-than-= normal bulge in his pants. = The phone in his hand rang again. Nick stood and faced away from her, = trying to will his cock to behave itself. "Hello, Knight," he said into = the phone. "Thinking of me, Nicolas?" Janette said in his ear. He laughed. "Unfortunately, yes. Er, I'll explain later. I thought I'= d go into work early so, ah, I could meet you." Janette was amused. "You're not alone, are you? Did Dr. Lambert drop i= n this evening?" "No, I'm not, and yes," Nick replied, again carefully. "She's there now?" "Uh, huh." = "Oh, how delightful," Janette teased him playfully. "I should talk to h= er, really I should. She might be interested in learning a few things ab= out you." The tone of her voice told him he was in deep trouble. "You're not goin= g to..." "Like your endowments. Does she have any idea how big you really are? = I must say you're a wonderful fit, Nicolas. I can't think of many men th= at I'd ever had who were quite that big around." "Don't do this..." He couldn't help grinning. "And, oh, what you are capable of doing with that! You know, I didn't g= et to use my mouth on it, do you realize? We were otherwise occupied, I = guess." "This isn't fair..." "If I was there right now, Nicolas, I'd be squeezing that nice big bulge= that you probably have just about now." = She was dead right. His organ was painfully straining against his pants= =2E If Natalie had seen this bulge, she would be more than shocked. She= might want it. "So why don't you come over then?" he asked. Out of the corner of his e= ye he saw Natalie move as if to come around in front of him, but he turne= d away from her, putting a hand out to keep her at a distance. Nick knew= she'd seen his earlier bulge and would be curious, especially since he w= as obviously acting so strange now - and obviously physically uncomfortab= le. He wanted to either take off his pants or stroke his front, or both.= Or more. "Ah, Nicolas, I have a nightclub to open. Do you have pants on right no= w?" "Yes." he thought, tantalized. His cock was now rock h= ard and straight, massively straining against his zipper. "Pity. Maybe Natalie could take them off for you? I can tell her exact= ly what to do to you, you know." "I don't think that's a good idea." The arousal was painfully wonderful= =2E "Oh, too, bad. I suppose it would be rather dangerous. Or maybe if I w= as there, she could watch? I could take that beautiful fat cock of yours= and suck on it." "Please..." Natalie by now had a fair idea of what was possibly going on. Disgusted= , she regarded his rigid back. His voice had been changing as the conver= sation had been going on, and this last word had held a pleading, despera= te tone. she thought with irritation. "It's so delicious," Janette was continuing. She was calling from her a= partment and in fact had hiked up her dress and slipped her fingers into = her panties, dipping down into her own wetness. "So big - so nice to suc= k." Nick made a little noise in his throat. "I'll just let myself out," Nat= alie said, hastily, and beelined it for the elevator. = As soon as the elevator door was closed and he heard it going down, Nick= let out a long sigh and quickly undid his belt and unzipped his pants. = He gave a little moan into the phone as he freed his organ. "Janette, s= he's gone. Nat's gone..." He was quite breathless. Suddenly there were two strange hands to his waist and a voice in his ot= her ear. "You seem to need some help here." Nick whipped around in shock. It was his master. =0D LaCroix, quite amused, was taking the phone out of his hand. "Janette, = my dear," he said into it, "you really are quite awful to our Nicholas. = You've gotten him into a most uncomfortable state." Nick, confused, went= to pull up his pants again, but the elder was staying his hand. = "LaCroix," Janette breathed in surprise. "What?" "Allow me to assist, would you my dear? We don't want Nicholas to be fr= ustrated do we? May I? I assure you, I don't have any intention of beco= ming a rival of yours, but perhaps, in time of need such as this..." Janette gasped, then smiled. "Ah, in time of dire need, I suppose I don= 't mind. I'm here, he's there... you're there... if it's all right with = Nicolas!" Nick of course, with his vampiric hearing, could hear Janette's side of = the conversation. Shocked, he realized what LaCroix was contemplating - = and that Janette would allow it - and with dismay, he noted that the idea= only made his dick that much harder. = "You see, Nicholas?" LaCroix was saying as he went around to replace the= phone receiver and turn on the speaker so they could both hear Janette e= asily and didn't have to hold the phone. "And you are in dire need, are = you not?" It had been a VERY long time for this sort of thing between Nick and LaC= roix. When he'd been a fledgling, he'd done quite a bit of experimenting= =2E Nick eyed the other man as he came back around toward him, breathing= a little heavily already. "You know I am, LaCroix, but...please..." But he already knew arguments were useless. They meant to have their wa= y with him, and deep down Nick knew he would not only allow this, but he = wanted it. = "Please be gentle?" LaCroix asked, his hands raised to unbutton Nick's s= hirt. "I can do gentle. Now, Janette, my dear, I am preparing our belov= ed Nicholas here. Please, continue." Janette was both appalled and titillated. Nick could have refused. Nic= k could have just told LaCroix to go, that he could get off on his own. = She supposed that at Nick's advanced state of arousal, he'd be agreeable = to just about anything. "Very well. Now, if it were me there, sweet Nic= olas, I would be sitting you down on the couch and making you lie back to= relax." LaCroix had deftly stripped the amenable Nick of everything but his shir= t, which he left open. Now he led Nick back to the couch and bade him li= e down again. "Close your eyes, Nicholas," he murmured, one hand on his = shoulder and the other on his thigh. He noted that Nick bore his touch w= ell. Eagerly he glanced at the rigid cock, anticipating the coming delig= hts. "I will be gentle and loving, exactly as Janette would. Imagine th= at my hands are hers..." And he brushed a finger across one of Nick's ni= pples, drawing a shiver from him. "And imagine that my mouth is hers..."= Janette took up the tale, quite stimulated herself at the thought of the= ir solemn master participating in this unique phone sex. "Relax, Nicolas= =2E Though I know well your desire, let me bring you closer to that fulf= illment in my own way. Let me begin with my tongue, my darling, that kno= ws you so well. Let me begin at your neck and work down to your nipples.= =2E." Nick made himself relax. he told = himself severely. When the tongue dipped in to lick at his highly sensit= ive neck, he moaned softly, moving his shirt aside and turning his head = to allow the other better access. As she spoke softly, the tongue worked= lovingly on his stretched neck - he was barely aware that his eyes were = already gold - and then moved down to his nipples. Lips kissed tenderly,= then parted as the tongue flicked out again to lick and suckle on each n= ipple in turn. Hands, cold, smooth hands - ignoring that these were too = big to be hers - lay on his stomach and shoulder, occasionally caressing = as well. "... as I reach down to pet you, my love, but not too close yet," Janett= e was murmuring. "Fingering the silken blonde hairs, caressing the insid= es of your legs..." Nick moaned some more, his voice now a little raspy. Gentle touches, fe= ather touches down the inside of his thighs, then gentle pressure for him= to move his legs apart slightly. The brush of the back of a hand agains= t his scrotum, then over to the other leg. A shift in position as the ot= her moved downward, then, per his beloved's murmurings, fingers caressing= the blonde nest and down to his scrotum for more serious attention. "...needs what my tongue can do, so I lower my head down between your le= gs and move your delicious cock up out of the way..." The back of a hand leaning his cock against him, the other hand pulling = his leg even wider apart, then Nick gasped as lips and mouth kissed his b= alls, the other's head between his legs now and he totally helpless. As = the mouth carefully took one of his testicles within, Nick put his arms u= p above his head, clutching fiercely at the cushions behind him. Then to= ngue indeed did its work on that delicate organ, drawing throaty growls f= rom him. He grunted as the mouth shifted over to the other testicle, doin= g its work there. "Please...." Nick moaned. "I see that it is time to move along, Nicolas," Janette said, her own br= eathing a little harsh. Her self-stimulation was bringing her closer to = her own release as her free hand massaged the swollen nub of her clitoris= =2E "Time for the main attraction. After all, I do not want my beloved = to suffer too long, hm?" "Janette..." Nick gasped, "oh, please... Janette..." What was worse was= that he was nearly blind from denied bloodlust. He wasn't sure if he co= uld last until his orgasm. Besides the exquisitely painful erection, he = ached to bite, to flood his senses with her blood. His fangs actually hu= rt, his mouth a little bloody, in fact, where he had cut his lips on his = long, sharp canines. = Janette was in pretty much the same state, and not for the first time wi= shed that she had just gone over to the loft to be with him, nightclub op= ening or no. She wasn't getting anything done here anyway! "Yes, darlin= g," she cooed into the receiver, continuing. "Now I am coming back up to= pay attention to that nice pretty cock of yours. Touches, sweet loving = touches do I apply to the base, the sides..." And fingers now gently circled the base of his cock, then slid up the s= ides and down again. Painfully tantalizing, but perhaps realizing his di= scomfort, both voice and hand proceeded to get more serious. The hand, f= ully circling now, stroked up and down, and as pressure was at last appli= ed to the sensitive head, Nick made a long groaning sound deep in his thr= oat. = "...and I must shift to a more suitable appliance to bring you to ecstas= y, my lovely one," Janette murmured, close to the edge herself. "I chang= e position to give me better access, my hands clutching your hips, and f= inally, at last, I can taste you, my love!" Hands shifted, and a tongue moved in to replace the hand's attentions. = At first, similar stroking, only now deliciously wet, then the agony of a= tickle to the underside of the head. Finally - at last - what he'd want= ed from the start - the mouth closed in on his hard shaft and began to su= ck wonderfully. = Nick was utterly lost in sensation. His fingernails were now dug deep i= nto the cushions, his back was arched, neck stretched, legs apart wider, = anything to allow the other to have the best access to his organ. His hi= ps were ever thrust upward, in fact, now that the sucking was becoming mo= re urgent, he began to pump his cock into the other's mouth in like rhyth= m. The mouth was like no vagina he'd ever entered, the pressures of lips= and tongue and throat incredible. = "... oh, it's so delicious, mmmm, how I love to suck on you, sweet Nicol= as..." Janette was nearly out of her mind herself, dangling on the preci= pice. "Your immense cock filling my mouth, thrusting down my throat, oh,= and I suck so hard on it, mmmm..." Suddenly she cried out as she came, t= he rush of her orgasm running like a flood up her legs and hitting hard w= hen it reached her groin. And suddenly Nick cried out as well, his orgasm exploding, his cock spur= ting and spurting into the throat of the other. The mouth kept a hard cl= amp on him, intending to suck him dry. And it did, catching his last shu= ddering spurts. But things were far from over. The other, releasing him, bloody semen d= ripping from the mouth, was abruptly attacked as Nick launched himself at= him, knocking him to the floor where Nick at last could relieve the pain= in his teeth. Nick roughly pulled the head aside and bit deep into the = neck... Janette wasn't so fortunate. To relieve her own ache, she'd had to bite= her arm and then, the initial agony subsiding, she quickly downed the co= ntents of a bottle of blood she'd fortuitously set close at hand. A poor= substitute. = The blood, Nick was dimly beginning to realize, was not Janette's. Stil= l, heedless, he sucked, still in hard need from the bloodlust. Also heed= less - he scarcely knew who he was or where he was, much less who he was = with - Nick stretched out his neck for his lover, and sighed when fangs a= t last pierced him as well. But it was not Janette. Nick was abruptly and brutally aware of the ide= ntity of the person with whom he was so lustily sharing blood. But he co= uld do utterly nothing about it, for the other had embraced him in a fier= ce hold that he couldn't break. = Wanted to break. Didn't want to break. He hated what he'd just allowed= , and reveled in it. Could not believe he had actually let... The hold loosened, and he pulled his fangs out, pulling his neck away as= well. He was now sitting on the floor beside him, facing him. The gold= was only just now leaving his eyes. Nick looked up to meet LaCroix's eyes at last. To his immense relief, t= he other was not grinning in triumph as he feared, or laughing. LaCroix = returned the gaze, merely looking at his son with a small smile, affectio= n in his eyes now where he hadn't dared let it show before. "I... I don't know what got into me," Nick murmured, wondering. He was = returning to himself at last, astonished at what had happened. Then he r= emembered. "Janette?" he called. "I'm here," she sighed, and the languor in her voice told both men that = she'd come as well. "Oh, my, that was..." Now it was her turn to rememb= er. "Are you two all right? Nicolas?" "We're fine here, my dear," LaCroix answered for Nick, who was still som= ewhat stunned. "Everything's all right." = "I'm okay. I think," Nick murmured, and suddenly could not meet his mas= ter in the eye anymore. LaCroix got to his feet - using Nick's shoulder as a support - and went = over to the telephone, smiling broadly now. "Really, I'm impressed, Jane= tte. You could have a new career as a phone sex operator." "No, thank you," she said quickly. She could only imagine what Nick mus= t be feeling at the moment. "I think we will just keep this to ourselves= , hm, cherie?" "As you wish," LaCroix replied, glancing over at Nick, who now sat huggi= ng his knees, apparently contemplating the fireplace. "Good night, Janet= te." It was a dismissal. Janette looked at the now-dead receiver in her hand= and sighed. she thought, hiking her panties back up, =0D After hanging up the phone, LaCroix went back over to Nick and crouched = down beside him. His son did not move. Casually, a hand went out to fin= ger the blonde waves on his head, and now Nick did flinch. "Don't." "Oh, *now* you don't want me near?" the elder vampire said with a mixtu= re of impatience and derision. "Please," Nick murmured, turning his head away. "Just go." LaCroix made a little snort of humor. "And I didn't even get a kiss." Suddenly a hand had clamped behind his head, pulling him forward. LaCro= ix found himself abruptly being kissed hard and bruisingly by his Nichola= s, who then pulled away and shoved at him, knocking him off balance. "Th= ere. Go." That was also a dismissal. LaCroix smiled and decided he should be sati= sfied to have gotten as much as he had. He picked himself up off the flo= or and brushed himself off, regarding his son a last time. "Poor Nichola= s - reality is so tricky, isn't it? Perhaps you forgot that giving up yo= ur quest means giving in to your nature." He stopped the tirade. This taunting wasn't getting him anywhere and th= ey both knew it. Maybe he had taken quite the liberty with his ardent so= n tonight. Maybe he had gone too far, no, he HAD gone too far. Was the = situation completely unredeemable, though? He reached out again to touch his son. But a hand struck his abruptly, = warding off the potential caress. Again. This time, when Nick's hand ar= ced up to strike his away, LaCroix grabbed it and held fast. Nick resist= ed for moment, then relaxed, resigned. "Good night, Nicholas," LaCroix murmured, giving his son's hand a final = squeeze before he released it and departed. =0D She knew the moment he entered the Raven that following evening, as thei= r link was tingling. His interior distress was thick and she steeled her= self for the ordeal ahead. But as yet she didn't move, remaining at the = end of the bar, sipping on a glass of wine-laced blood. = He slid to a stop beside her and she felt his fingers circle her arm. "= Come," was all he said, his voice low and a bit breathy. He steered her = to her office nearby and closed the door behind them. = Once away from public eyes, Nick pulled her around to face him. Their e= yes met, and all his carefully chosen words and anguish left him. Instea= d, a wave of love rose in him and he smiled. "Janette," he sighed, "that= was... " He paused, thinking of the right word. Relieved that he wasn't too upset, Janette matched the smile easily. "S= trange? Exciting? Fun? Awful?" she suggested, running her hands up his= arms. = Nick slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. "Let's s= ee - it wasn't fun." "No? You did not enjoy it?" She linked her arms around his neck, enjoyi= ng the feel of his body against hers. = He grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "I didn't say that. It wasn't aw= ful, either." "Which leaves..." "It was, definitely, strange. And... yes, it was exciting. But there's= another word I'm looking for..." Janette caressed the back of his neck and hair. "Ah, let me guess. Dis= turbing." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "That would be the word. Janette, I can= 't believe I let... *that*... happen. LaCroix..." He stopped again, exas= perated. "LaCroix is LaCroix, cherie, you know that," Janette gently reminded him= =2E "He does not believe - as I do not either - that mortal mores have a= nything to do with us. You identify too much with this culture if this d= isturbs you." "But I don't, ah, have any tendencies in that... direction." She smiled at his efforts to talk around the subject. "Nicolas, we are = vampires. We share blood with any gender. And for us, sex and sharing b= lood are all part of the same act. So it stands to reason that a vampire= is naturally bisexual." Nick looked away, frowning and upset. "Janette..." She continued quickly, wanting to get him past this, to face it. "You a= re not exactly a virgin in that regard, my love. Even with him. There h= as even been a time when the three of us quite enjoyed each other togethe= r. While I admit I would not want to return to those days myself..." It was his turn to interrupt as he looked at her again. "Janette, I'm i= n love with you! I don't want to be on intimate terms with *him*!" "I don't know that he expects that from you now. Wasn't it just a bit o= f play?" When he didn't answer, she narrowed her eyes at him. "What hap= pened after LaCroix hung up the phone, Nicolas?" "Oh, he was still trying to touch me. A little. I don't know, it just = seems that he thinks some barrier between us has been broken and that he = can continue to be..." Another roll of the eyes. "...physical with me. = I'm not sure which is worse - that, or the fact that you apparently don'= t mind sharing me with him!" Janette stroked his cheek soothingly. "Oh, Nicolas, it's not like that = at all. I do want you all to myself - all of you - but, LaCroix, I think= , just naturally wants to be closer to you. He perceives that you have r= eturned to us, so he expects a return of some of the intimacy you once en= joyed together. Truthfully, cherie, it would not hurt you at all to allo= w something with him. Not sex, no. But a closeness nevertheless." He began to relax again, taking comfort in her nearness. "I don't know.= Maybe. I'm just not comfortable with him... touching me. Not, ah, thi= s time." "You're talking like a 20th Century heterosexual, mortal male, Nicolas."= She sighed and resumed her caressing. "You always did throw yourself i= nto the part. And in public, I suppose that's appropriate. But in priva= te - you could loosen up a little. It would do you good, actually." A smile began to slowly return. "I'm not sufficiently loose with you in= private?" His hands began to wander downward toward her buttocks. "Hmmm," she murmured, wriggling under his hands, "Perhaps so, although I= would like to test that further to be sure." Nick grinned and then suddenly captured her mouth in his. At last he co= uld release his pent-up tension from the jarring experience of letting La= Croix... he was thinking, applying his to= ngue diligently to the inside of her mouth. Instead he concentrated on t= he beauty in his arms, his gorgeous and sensual Janette, his sister and b= eloved. He wanted only her hands on him, only his Janette, to whom he ha= d at last given his heart to again. = Janette, relieved that Nick apparently wasn't more disturbed by the phon= e sex and LaCroix's "assistance" than he was, abandoned herself gladly to= his insistent kiss, recognizing his urgent need for a little heterosexua= l contact to erase the queasiness he felt in the other. In fact, there w= as a stiffened rod in his pants that she delighted to feel up against her= , and she wondered if they had time for... But he was already separating from her, though reluctantly. "I have to = get to work, love," he murmured. "You're going to work with this?" Janette teased, a hand to the front of= him, rubbing against his shaft. "Ah, it's dark, I'll be all right by the time I get there," Nick said ha= stily, grabbing her hand away as she laughed with delight. "I'll stop by= for you when I get off shift," he added, and gave her a last kiss. =0D In the 96th precinct house, Nick weaved his way over to his desk. With = a mixture of relief and dismay, he realized that physically he felt quite= good, better than he had for some time. He'd forgotten how good it felt= to be sexually satisfied for a change. Although considering who his last= partner was... A hand fell on his shoulder. Nick flinched violently, nearly knocking t= he other off balance. Schanke pulled back in puzzlement. "Geez, Knight,= take my head off! Wow, are you ever wired!" "Ah, just a little preoccupied, I guess, Schank." He looked away toward= s the captain's office. The hand came down again. "Well, it looks like a calm night," Schanke w= as saying, but then was frowning. Nick had pulled away abruptly, shying = from his touch. Schanke of course only saw that as encouragement. "What's the matter wit= h you, Knight?" he asked, grinning sardonically, batting him on the side = of the head - Nick ducked this as well. "Afraid of a little touchy-feely= ? Big stud like you? Come on, man, we're partners! Ain't nothing to th= is! What's a little *love pat* between buddies, anyway?" "Just... just leave off, Schank, please?" The last thing Nick Knight wa= nted right now was *another* man touching him. His partner backed off, hands raised. Schanke followed him. "Hey, no pr= oblem - although I gotta warn you - you know your partner's half-Italian = and we use our *hands*, man! Hey, over in Italy, you know, men kiss each= other all the time." There was a wildness in Nick's eyes. "We're, ah, not in Italy, Schank." "So? Don't worry, Knight - " They were circling each other by now and N= ick was just about ready to bolt. "I'm not going to... geez, Nick... wh= at?" His skittish partner had fled, mumbling something about his car. "What is *with* him tonight?" Donald Schanke asked no one in particular = and then shrugged. =0D A few minutes later the county coroner entered, scoping for a particular= tall blond detective. Not seeing him, she sidled up to his partner. "S= chanke, you seen Nick?" The balding, portly detective snorted. "Seen and spooked. The guy jump= ed right out of his skin. All I did was touch him on the shoulder!" Natalie leaned her weight back on one foot, a hand to her waist as she r= egarded him. "Really? That's a bit strange. What did you say to him?" Schanke shrugged. "I don't know, Nat, except that mentioning about men = kissing men in Italy was not a good idea. He bolted out of here like one= scared rabbit. Can't say I've ever seen him this jumpy. 'Course we hav= e to consider we're talking about Mr. Weird here anyway. Who knows what = goes on in that pretty blonde head of his?" "Not me," Nat sighed, thinking about the strange phone calls in the loft= earlier. Then she did a double take. "He got weird when you mentioned = what?" she half-laughed. "Never mind," Schanke said. "Anything new going on in his life these da= ys? He never tells me anything, and I'm his partner!" Click. "Ah, he's dating someone," Natalie mentioned wryly. = Schanke's eyes popped out at her. "Nick is DATING?" "Uh, huh." Natalie fussed with the clipboard she was carrying. "And whom would that be, Dr. Lambert?" the detective queried, looking a= t her peculiarly. = Nat waved her hand in the air. "I haven't a clue. Ask him." = Schanke opened his mouth to say something, but just then the phone on Ni= ck's desk rang. He reached over and snagged it. "Detective Knight's des= k - you cook 'em, we hook 'em... oh, uh... no, he isn't here... can I ta= ke a message? A... friend, you say? Okey-dokey. Bye." He hung up, eye= brows raised. "Weird." Natalie narrowed her eyes at him, smothering a smile. "Who was that?" "A friend. Some guy - voice all muffled like he was trying to disguise = it. Go figure. I tell you, Nat, Nick Knight is the strangest person I h= ave ever..." Both saw Nick at the same time; he was slowly making his way back to his= desk. "Oh, hi, Nat," he said, his glance sliding off hers. He wasn't a= ble to make much eye contact with Schanke either. = "Nick," she replied in greeting, nodding. She exchanged a glance with S= chanke as Nick dropped into the chair behind his desk. And the phone ran= g again. = Nick did not notice their interest as he answered the phone. "Knight...= " And that interest was piqued further when he broke into a wide smile. = "Hi, there," he cooed, and swiveled his chair away from them. Natalie and Schanke exchanged another look, making faces mocking Nick's = obviously dreamy look, halfway to a giggle. = The object of their mocking was oblivious to them. "I'm looking forward= to seeing you too," he murmured to Janette, twirling a pen in his finger= s as he talked. "We have to work hard, cherie," Janette replied soothingly, her lovely t= ones warm in his ear. "At?" "At erasing certain memories," she explained. "And replacing them with = new ones. Are you interested?" "Very interested!" "He called me." Nick swiveled his chair around more. "Oh, really?" "To apologize. He, ah, assured me again that he has no desire to be a r= ival. But you know as well as I do that he will expect something from yo= u." "He'd just jealous. It's happened before." "Yes - well, I don't want to keep you, Detective. I love you..." A deeper smile. "You too. Good bye." He hung up the phone. "Yep, I'd say he's interested," Natalie quipped as Nick swiveled back ar= ound. "Oh, yeah," Schanke replied with a knowing smirk. "Big time!" Nick looked bewildered. "What are you two talking about?" "You, of course!" Nat answered, smiling. "Okay, so who is she, Nick?" "Details, we want details," Schanke chimed in, rubbing his hands togethe= r. But Nick did not want to tell them about him and Janette - not yet. Esp= ecially to Nat. He opened his mouth to say something but Cohen was calli= ng him and Schanke into her office. So he said nothing. When they'd gone, Natalie looked after them, thinking hard. The phone on Nick's desk rang a third time. Nat looked around, saw no d= etectives near by, and went to answer it herself. "Hello, Detective Knig= ht's desk, you..." The voice on the other end interrupted. Shadowy and distant, hard to ma= ke out, but definitely male. "I would like to leave a message for Nick i= f I could." "Ah, sure, let me get some paper - okay, what is it?" "Just tell him I'm looking forward to seeing him tomorrow night." Nat wondered mightily, her heart beating a little = faster. This was really odd. "All right - whom shall I say is calling?"= "A friend." And the line went dead. Nick and Schanke came back out of the captain's office. "We'll see you = later, Nat," the former explained as they grabbed their respective coats.= "We have some witnesses to check out for the Reynolds case." "Ah, Nick?" = Nick stopped and regarded her coolly. "Phone message for you." She han= ded the note over. To their further surprise, he smiled as he read it. "Figures," he murmu= red, and pocketed the note. "Come on, Schanke." Behind his back, Natalie and Schanke exchanged one last glance, eyes wid= e. =0D After his shift was up, Nick drove directly to the Raven where Janette w= as waiting for him. He ushered her into the car, then climbed in beside = her. "I think we'll be doing a lot of this," he murmured as he leaned in= to kiss her. Janette smiled with pleasure, enjoying the soft pressure of his lips. "= Kissing or meeting after work?" she asked when they parted. Straightening, Nick gave her a wink as he started the Caddy. "Both." In the loft, Nick and Janette strolled in hand in hand, although Nick ha= d quickly scanned around in case Natalie had decided to stop in and wait = for him. No Natalie. Relieved, he stopped and drew Janette into his arm= s. = For the moment, he wanted just her closeness, and pressed his cheek into= hers, sighing. "You feel so good," he whispered, inhaling the scent of = her. Janette, too, sighed for at last she had her Nicolas's arms tight about = her. She'd expected his body to be a little tense yet, but he was relaxi= ng against her quite nicely. Wondering, she felt, tasted their link toge= ther, gauging what that revealed about his emotions, and she guessed he w= asn't up for a sexual romp with her quite yet. = She'd take care of that. "Long night at work, cherie?" she murmured, ki= ssing his ear. = "Mmm-hmm," Nick replied. "I'd rather not talk about it - besides, you'd= be bored." "Very likely," Janette responded, running her fingers up into his hair. = Her tongue flicked out to apply some attention to his ear, but never mad= e contact as he was gently putting her off. = "Want some dinner?" he was saying, taking her by the hand again and lead= ing her toward the refrigerator. Janette exhaled in exasperation. "Depends on what you're serving." He shrugged and opened the refrigerator door. "Unfortunately..." He st= opped, releasing her hand. "That's strange." She peered inside to see what he was looking at. All of the bottles of = blood in the refrigerator had labels on them. = "LaCroix," Nick said, resigned, and took out a bottle. "Looks like you = don't need to be concerned for the menu," he added, going to the counter = for two clean goblets. He removed the cork and poured for them both, the= n handed her a glass. = "How thoughtful of LaCroix," Janette murmured with a small smile, and to= ok a sip. Nick drank deeply and immediately refilled his glass. But he did not dr= ink again right away, looking instead into the cold, red depths of the hu= man blood in the glass. he wondered, a= nd turned away from her. He to= ok another mouthful. The blood coursed wonderfully through him, so smoot= h and alive, so far beyond his usual cow swill. Once a couple years ago h= e'd inquired into Janette's sources for the club and was told that the bl= ood was from rejected donations from area blood banks. He'd even verifie= d it for himself. He'd like to think LaCroix used the same sources. At = least the labels were similar. = He glanced over to see Janette watching him. Wanly he smiled. "This is= good - although I'd rather not get used to this." Janette finished her glassful and poured another. "Is it the blood or i= s it because LaCroix put it there?" she asked. Nick sighed. She knew him oh, so well. Of course Nick vastly preferred= human blood to cow. Of course the blood was satisfying and delicious. = Of course it made him feel better than he had for a long time. But then = the sex had something to do with that as well. = He did *not* want to think about the last time he, er, had sex. "LaCroix," he replied. "I think. I don't know, Janette, I just wish he= wasn't so..." The laughter in her voice took the sting away. "Domineering? Controlli= ng? Possessive?" Nick drank down the rest of the glass and left it in the sink. He did n= ot answer. As she stood, finishing her glassful, he went over and closed= the blinds with the remote, as the sun was rising. Then he sank down on= to the couch, closing his eyes. When Janette placed her glass in the sink next to his, she went over to = join him. Nick seemed tired, resigned, and that would not do. Carefully= she placed her left knee on the couch beside him, then swung her right l= eg over to his other side so that she was sitting in his lap. His eyes fl= ew open at the sudden weight on him, and he shifted position to seat her = more comfortably, smiling slowly. "Dessert?" he inquired. She didn't answer. Instead, she smiled, holding his gaze as she slowly = unbuttoned her blouse. Nick's eyes naturally strayed downward - as she'd= intended - and his arms settled around her waist. When her blouse hung = loose and open, she undid the front hook in her bra. Lifting the cups aw= ay, Janette arched her back to display her ample breasts to him. = He drank in the vision of her, appreciating the round, perfect orbs befo= re him. A little pressure on her back and he was burying his face in her= cleft. His tongue began to taste her, starting at the side and then the= underside of one breast, his lips making little nips at her taut flesh, = his tongue making a wet trail around. Shifted over to the other to repea= t the slow, sensuous tasting. = By now Janette was holding him by the head, fingers tangled in his hair.= "Oh, Nicolas, your tongue..." she breathed, then gasped as he finally t= asted of one of her nipples. A deep interior shiver passed through her, = catalyzed by his gentle sucking and her favorite memories of his talented= tongue from years past. = Nick dreamily settled into sucking on her rosy, erect nipples, giving eq= ual attention to each. He could feel the faint tease of the hunger begin= ning to burn its way through him; as his sucking became more intense, his= eyes began to change. Janette, her head thrown back, gave a low moan as the change swept throu= gh her as well. She felt the convulsive tensing of his arms around her, = then he lifted them into the air, cleared the couch, and swiftly flew the= m to the upstairs and his bedroom. A moment later he was laying her gent= ly down on his bed. She sighed, sensuously stretching as Nick knelt bes= ide her and began to take his clothes off. "You are gorgeous beyond beli= ef," he murmured, shedding jacket and shirt. His voice was raspy, his fa= ngs bared at her. = He put a hand to his belt buckle, but hers was there first, reaching up = to pull him closer. Deftly she released the clasp and removed his belt, = then was attending to his pants zipper. She laughed musically as the evi= dence of his arousal became apparent once she was pulling his pants down.= Quickly they divested him of the rest of his clothes. = But before their sexual hungers could be attended to, a greater fire was= burning in their veins: the call of the other's blood. Janette pulled N= ick down beside her and began running her hands over his body as he now d= id the same to her, caressing and petting, their touch electrifying the b= lood waiting beneath the skin. Gasping, Nick bared his neck to her, long= ing for the first sweet piercing of her fangs. And Janette as well, stre= tching her throat for him. = Simultaneously they struck, fangs sinking deep into each other's neck. = Immediately they began to suck, given over to the feeding instinct that r= uled their minds and bodies at that moment. = Nick drank deeply of Janette's blood, its heady jasmine and rose signatu= re flooding his senses. He gloried also in the rush of his blood into he= r mouth and throat. Their blood was charged with ecstasy and love so th= at their environs, indeed the whole universe had quite vanished. There w= as only Nick and Janette, Janette and Nick, two vampires achieving a heig= ht of bliss only their species could reach. =0D = "He's coming tonight - meeting you here?" Janette inquired, watching her= lover get dressed after his shower. She sat on the edge of his bed, wea= ring his robe, her hair delightfully tousled. It was evening. Both had = slept blissfully in the arms of the other all day. There would be no mor= e lovemaking tonight, she knew. Nick was taut with apprehension about hi= s meeting with his master in an hour. He nodded, his gestures and movements betraying his nervousness. Nick h= ad taken out four different shirts, put three back into the closet, took = out two more, took out two different pairs of slacks - until she'd come o= ver to intervene. "Stop that," Janette murmured softly, taking the clothes out of his hand= s and returning them all to the closet. Then she stood back to regard th= e overall selection. = Nick slipped his arms around the front of her, folding them beneath her = breasts as he pulled her back gently to lean on him. For a moment, his f= ace nuzzling her neck, he could forget the encounter with LaCroix later, = especially when Janette turned her face to kiss his forehead. Then she w= as removing his arms as she made her selection from the closet. = "The dark blue silk - yes," she was saying as she turned to him and hand= ed him hangers. "With the black. You know, cherie, for someone who thin= ks they don't want to be a vampire, you sure do enjoy dressing like one."= "Janette, please..." = "Well, we know better now, do we not?" she went on as he slipped the sil= k shirt on. She helped to adjust it on his shoulders, then applied herse= lf to fastening his buttons. "It's all right, I won't tell..." She look= ed up at him, hoping he could tell she was teasing him. And to her relief, he was smiling. "Thank you," Nick said, just before = his lips touched hers. =0D Nick felt a rush of adrenaline the moment LaCroix arrived by the skyligh= t. He willed himself to calmness; he'd need it. Janette had left for th= e Raven about ten minutes before, so she would not be there in support. = Standing, he faced the top of the stairwell where his master stood. "Goo= d evening, LaCroix," he greeted him, nodding. In a flash, LaCroix was standing before him. "Good evening, Nicholas." = He paused, looking back at his son, who stood coolly but a bit nervously= watching him. "I wasn't sure you would be willing to see me so... soon.= " The pale, handsome face of the other bore several emotions on it, all vy= ing for supremacy: dread, love, disgust, desire. His nostrils were sligh= tly flared, his brow slightly furrowed, and his eyes slightly narrowed. = "I suppose we need to talk," Nick murmured. He stood with his arms at hi= s sides, but clenched and unclenched his hands a few times out of tension= =2E "I suppose we do," LaCroix answered with a quirk of the mouth that could= have been something approaching a smile. "May I begin?" The other twitched his head in a lame gesture of agreement. He turned t= o the leather couch and chairs to take a seat, but there was a hand on hi= s arm, holding him back. He turned back, but had slipped the grasp as he= did so. Uneasily, he folded his arms before him, facing his master agai= n. "We have to get past this, Nicholas," LaCroix began, and to Nick's disma= y, he reached up towards his cheek. Abruptly Nick had captured his wrist= , arresting the intended caress. = "Don't..." "Nicholas," LaCroix went on patiently, "we have been here before. We ha= ve, in fact, been past this point before, and quite content at that. Or = have you forgotten? Let me see - Venice, London, Hong Kong, Rio..." "I remember," Nick murmured, releasing him. "Lifetimes ago, those were.= " "Not at all," LaCroix countered, the smile more definitive. "One lifeti= me. Yours. It is all the same." He reached again, and again was rebuff= ed. "What are you afraid of, Nicholas? This isn't so hard, not consider= ing our history together." "It's..." He bit his lip, considering how to explain. "It's just hard = right now. I never expected to ever... go back to that." LaCroix looked at him intently. "Nicholas, I know that you love Janette= =2E I told you I do not seek to be a rival for your... attentions." Whe= n Nick looked away, the gray-blue eyes narrowed. "Or are you not in love= after all? Have your subsequent nights of passion fail to 'take' then?"= The blue eyes of the other looked back sharply. "I love her!" "Yes, of that I have no doubt. She sings in your eyes and in your veins= , Nicholas. It's quite a noble and beautiful love at that, I have to adm= it. And of course I approve." When Nick opened his mouth to make a hot retort, LaCroix hastily added, = "Not that you've ever asked for my approval! But I will say that I do ap= prove of my two best-loved children being together. Even the more reason= why I wish now to be closer to you." Nick closed his eyes briefly, turning slightly away as he contemplated t= he weight of those words on him. He knew this already. He'd tasted of i= t in LaCroix's blood. It was a cold truth that he had been pretending, e= ver since then, that wasn't there, but it was. Cold. Truth. Denial was= thick in him. And likely LaCroix had tasted of that in himself. = Fingers touched his cheek. Grimacing, teeth clenched, he allowed it. O= pened his eyes to see the other drawing nearer. "I do not expect to shar= e your bed, Nicholas," the beautiful, sepulchrous voice was murmuring. "= That is a hope in which I dare not indulge. Just... to be a little as we= once were." Something unfroze in Nick a little, due, likely, to the tinglings in the= link he shared with his master. The nearness of the other was a warming= tease. Wrapped for the moment in the seductive regard of the other, Nic= k leaned into the hand at his cheek, receiving the caress - then was pull= ing, turning away again, the ice clamping onto his heart once again. "No= =2E.. please..." The rejection communicated itself in their link. A sad, poignant hurt -= one of so many, too many, between them. The hand dropped, the fingers f= olding into a fist. = A silence fell between them. The fist opened, closed. LaCroix wanted b= adly to shake his son, cuff him, embrace him, smack him down, pet him. B= ut he did nothing. His blood burned with the unavailable nearness of his= favorite, his Nicholas. Rejected, denied. Prevented by pride, too many= years, the long catalogue of hurts between them, and Nicholas's foolishl= y adopted morals of the current age. He hated when Nicholas did that. = Nick stood a few feet away, turned slightly aside, wanting to run away, = embrace his master, scream, cry, be held... So he stood, hugging his arm= s to himself, doing nothing. = It was an impasse, but Nick knew only too well that LaCroix was not goin= g away, that they were going to have to get past this, and that he was th= e one who was going to have to make the allowances. Maybe. = =0D LaCroix cast his mind back longingly to one of those golden times when N= icholas allowed, no, *enjoyed* a closer relationship with him. A time wh= en the libertine atmosphere of the day eroded inhibitions and encouraged = indulgence in passions of the flesh. Nicholas, who as usual got quite sw= ept up in the spirit of things, was his constant companion, dragging him = around to round after round of frivolities. Janette had just left them o= nly weeks before, and understandably, Nicholas was still emotionally upse= t, as he always was when she left. It was in these vulnerable times that= his son allowed the closeness with his master he otherwise usually shied= from... =0D Rio de Janeiro, 1852 =0D It was a hot, sultry night when the two vampires returned from the lates= t round of revelry, culminating in two fresh kills. The prey had been, p= er Nicholas's then habit of preying on criminals, a pair of swindlers the= y'd been watching a week, con men who had relieved quite a number of the = Rio gentry of their treasured valuables. Not that the predator vampires = had had any intention of returning said valuables. Nicholas, in fact, ha= d delighted in arranging for the loot to go to several needy orphanages i= n the area. Nicholas had been high on the kills and his subsequent sexual conquest o= f a rich merchant's wife at the latest gala. The kill had been so satis= fying that he'd been able to bed her, and well, without the intrusion of = the sated vampire within. He'd even let LaCroix watch - he knew his mast= er quite enjoyed watching - but what he hadn't know was that the watching= only made LaCroix burn with desire for him. The younger vampire, once inside their rooms, stripped off his coat and = shirt, thinking of a long, languorous sleep when he suddenly felt hands = on him, turning him around. Flushed still with pleasure, he grinned at h= is master. "I've never felt more alive, LaCroix," he said, letting the o= ther take him in his arms. Though he was quite prepared for the embrace, he hadn't quite expected t= he ardor in the kiss he received from the other. LaCroix had wrapped his child close in his arms and bent eagerly to the = wide, smiling mouth. Nicholas flinched in surprise, but, thinking that h= is master was teasing him, went along with the play. But the elder now h= eld him tightly, pressing his body to him, his cool lips insistent and un= yielding. He felt the surge of unbidden desire in his son through their link, and = when he opened his mouth to him, Nicholas was quite willing and opened hi= s mouth in like. The thrill ran strong in LaCroix to taste of his child,= and he widened his mouth to get more of him. His tongue caressed the in= side of Nicholas's lips, the roof of his mouth, his gums, and with a deep= flush of sudden heat, felt the descent of the other's fangs. LaCroix shifted him in his arms to hold him by the back of the head with= one hand, applying intense, bruising pressure in the kiss. Nicholas, he= knew, could only hold on, the lust making him so weak in the knees that = if LaCroix had released him then, he'd have fallen hard onto the floor. = So carry his son's weight he did, his other hand slipping down to cup his= buttocks, fairly lifting him off the floor. His tongue and lips worked = diligently to massage his beloved's tongue, urged on by the short grunts = issuing from his throat. Fangs of both men, now fully extended, cut thro= ugh lip and tongue viciously and their mouths were full of blood. Massag= ing gave way to sucking as if LaCroix meant to feed directly from his ton= gue. Abruptly, backed up against LaCroix's bed, they crashed together onto it= =2E Blood splattered as their mouths broke apart, Nicholas gasping as hi= s master roughly began to remove the rest of his clothing. The younger m= an was completely unresisting under his hands, wiping at the blood on his= face to get more of his master's essence. LaCroix tossed the discarded = clothing on the floor, then leaned over his lover. More gentle now, he t= ook the other's hand, lifted the bloody finger to his lips, and sucked it= clean, his mouth now curving into a smile. "You mean to have me," Nicholas sighed as his hands were placed at his m= aster's throat to begin to disrobe him. As LaCroix sat beside him, he un= laced then slipped the shirt from his shoulders. Sitting up, he ran his = fingers up the naked chest before him. "And you me. I intend for you to have me as well, Nicholas. Would you = like that?" He sighed as fingers caressed his sensitive throat. "LaCroix..." the other whispered, a lover's sigh to speak the name of th= e beloved. "We haven't for so long." The elder drew in a ragged breath as Nicholas dipped his head to put lip= s to his neck, kissing the tender hollow there. "Then it is time again, = is it not?" "Oh, yes," came the murmur as his attentions switched from lips to tongu= e, holding his creator by the shoulders for support. = =0D LaCroix shook off the sweet memory with a jerk of the head. Bittersweet= , that, a nasty tease of all that had been lost between them, killed quit= e effectively by circumstance, time, and way too much pain. LaCroix's pa= in, as his frustration and his overbearing attempts to control this beaut= iful creature had quite undone him. To control because he desperately fe= ared Nicholas's rejection and absence - and he'd gotten both anyway. So = much destroyed between them. So little left apparently. Was it insane t= o even think that there could ever be any warmth between them at all? His tactics to again curb him, since finding Nicholas again in Toronto, = had failed miserably. Derision, mockery, taunting, trapping him in his o= wn mislogic - all had only made things worse. All in desperation, fierce= desperation to lose him forever. And he was losing him - had perhaps lo= st... =0D "LaCroix?" Nick was standing beside him, hand raised but not yet placed= on his shoulder. = He broke from his reverie, looking over at his son in fear and wonder. = The hand... settled. "Nicholas?" he murmured, fighting the hope that thr= eatened to well within. He could not afford hope. "There is far too much between us to ever return to those days," Nick sa= id slowly. He could feel the potency of the other, the attraction betwee= n them that he feared to acknowledge. "But I do not want enmity with you= , LaCroix, not especially now, for Janette's sake *and* mine. I, too, wo= uld far rather have peace and even a measure of warmth between us. But w= e know that is not possible." "It *is* possible," LaCroix stated tersely. A wave of despair was threa= tening his composure, but he must pursue this. "The past cannot be undon= e. But it can be set aside. It can be forgiven, even though we do not d= eserve it. You aspired to humanity, Nicholas, and this is a very human t= hing to do - to set aside and take the risk to love again. To dare to ke= ep trying." "It hurts to keep trying, LaCroix," Nick said, the pain now apparent in = his voice. "How can I believe you?" Unconsciously he'd placed his other= hand on a shoulder also. Holding his master thus, he gripped him with a= little squeeze. Then, aware of the contact, he was about to take his ha= nds away when he felt the other take his arms by the elbows, holding him = there. A small gasp escaped as he was drawn in closer. "LaCroix," he pr= otested softly. Hands drew down to his waist. "Did I hurt you that night?" Fingers closed, drew their bodies together= =2E Nick closed his eyes briefly against the unwelcome reminder, then made h= imself meet the deep gaze again. "No, of course not," he admitted reluct= antly. = "Do you hurt now?" Eyes closed again. The link whispered between them of their eternal con= nectedness. They would always belong to each other, master and child, de= spite anything they could ever do to the other in love or hate. Nick had= no choice but to lean on that link, knowing it was inextricably a part o= f what he was. Of course, before falling back in love with Janette again,= he had sought to lose that link forever, seeking a cure to his vampirism= =2E He had the thought now that that search must have hurt his master de= eply. Not that he hadn't deserved the pain. But now... Nick had abandon= ed that search. = LaCroix had forgiven him for it. The forgiveness and the longing to be = in his life again rested in their link. And for once, there was no pain = in it. "No," Nick replied at last. "Except with regret that what fell between = us had to be." He opened his eyes again, looked up into the eyes of his = master. "You're right. We must keep trying. Even if one day one of us = destroys the other because the pain of betrayal has grown too great. But= for now, we lay down the pain." It was his turn now to embrace the othe= r. Nick slipped his hands up behind LaCroix's neck and let him wrap his = arms around his waist. = "Relax, Nicholas," LaCroix whispered. The hope, so near and finally all= owed to be tasted. Ambrosia. Nick nodded, willing himself to untense muscles taut with apprehension. = "It's not so easy..." "Relax..." The deep voice was soothing, a father murmuring to a distraug= ht child. And after a minute, LaCroix felt at last his son relax against= his body, settling into their embrace. With a rush of warmth, he held h= im tighter and set his cheek against his as Nick's arms moved on around h= is back. "That's better," he added, whispering into his ear. "It will g= et easier. And I've told you I will not seek your bed, nor expect you to= come to mine. I know how your heart aches for our Janette, as it should= =2E We are a family, we three, and it is high time again that we act as = one." "Yes," came the soft whisper back. = LaCroix closed his eyes tight in relief and joy as he felt the cool brus= h of lips on his cheek. =0D At that ill-timed moment, the elevator door to the loft drew back a coup= le inches. The occupant of the elevator, uncertain of her reception, loo= ked in first, peering through the darkness. She could see the two dim fi= gures across the room, and her eyes widened to see their embrace - and th= at the closest figure was Nick - and that the other one - - was a man, taller than Nick. Nick was kissing the other man. The door closed carefully, silently. She left. =0D 10:00 pm. Donald Schanke was neck deep into the report on the Purcell c= ase when he heard a soft whisper in his left ear. "Meet me in the observ= ation room, 2 minutes." Peering up, he saw Natalie Lambert walk off past= his partner's desk. = His partner was swiveled around in his chair, murmuring sweet nothings i= nto his phone. Schanke could only catch a word every now and then: "...u= nbelievable... can't wait... sleep... you, too... " He made a disgusted = noise to himself. Knight had been on the phone for a good half hour. An= d the guy had the unusually bad luck of missing phone calls from... well,= the guy always just said "a friend." There had been two of those that S= chanke had picked up while Nick was in the interrogation room with a witn= ess. Then Nick had picked up the third one, and from the sound of his vo= ice... Schanke thought for the hu= ndredth time. He rustled some papers on his desk, made a comment to no o= ne in particular about getting more coffee, and went to meet Natalie. She closed the door behind him. "Schanke, I need to talk to you about N= ick," she began, obviously on edge about something. Schanke leaned back on the door. "Yeah, me, too - I mean the guy is jus= t so weird! Did you see him on the phone? He was *giggling*, Natalie!" Nat was pacing. "Okay, so he's obviously dating someone rather seriousl= y," she began, gesturing. "I don't have a problem with that - he's good = looking, single, sure, he's a hell of a catch. It's good for him to be i= n a relationship. And he's a big boy - he can be with anyone he wants...= " Schanke knew her well enough to see she was upset largely because Nick w= as in a relationship with someone other than her. "Nat -" She ignored him. "And I mean anyone. Even..." Natalie pursed her lips= , looking everywhere but at Schanke. "Even...?" He prompted her, confused. Natalie turned and looked square at him. "Even if it's another man." Schanke turned red and then pale. "You mean... those phone calls.. the = 'friend'? Nick is dating... a guy?" =0D "I think they're getting a little suspicious," Nick was telling Janette = on the phone. "I can't help it if I've got an extra spring in my step th= ese days!" "Cherie, they're just jealous," she giggled. "After all, you're getting= laid every night." He chuckled. "And you most certainly are a good lay, my dear..." "As are you, mon amour. Oh, by the way, I did call for a reason. *He* = wants the three of us to go out to celebrate." Nick sputtered, nearly tipping out of his chair. "Celebrate what?" he a= sked, incredulous. "And I'm afraid to ask how LaCroix would want to cele= brate!" "To celebrate your return to my arms, of course," Janette replied with a= deep smile. "I believe he has tickets to 'Phantom of the Opera' for tom= orrow night. It's your night off?" "Yeah - and I'd hoped to spend the night in bed with you. And I don't m= ean to sleep." Janette made a noise of pleasure. "That does sound inviting - and I can= think of a number of ways to pass the time in bed with you, Nicolas, but= you know how LaCroix is. He doesn't like it when you say no." "Screw him." "He'd like that, unfortunately," she countered wickedly. "Oh, I don't m= ean me..." "Janette!" Nick blew his breath out in exasperation. "So, what do I tell him? And did you know he's been trying to call you?= " "All right, all right. We'll go. And I'll give him a call, I guess." "Be good, Nicolas..." "Oh, don't spoil my fun, Janette," he countered with a grin. "In fact, = it'd serve him right if I strung him along a little." "My, we are feeling dangerous tonight! Well, it is your head. Ah..." He laughed out loud. "I will have to make you pay for that, my dear - a= nd oh, wouldn't I just like you to give me 'head' right now..." "Ah... there's no one around, is there." She was both thrilled and appa= lled at his raunchy talk. "Oh, no. Schank is off getting coffee somewhere. Hasn't a clue." "I think I better let you go, Nicolas - before you, ah..." She was thin= king of their phone sex night, and smiled. Her low, sexy voice was stimulating enough, and Nick had felt a slight s= tirring in his groin, but fortunately not enough to be embarrassed about = it. "I'll see you later. Love you..." He hung up the phone and grinned to himself for quite a while afterward.= =0D "You mean... Nick's gay?" Schanke was asking, his head swimming. "I don't know what I mean, Schank," Natalie replied. "I don't know what= any of it means. I just never would have thought..." "Wow, me, neither. Nick is such a... a..." Nat narrowed her eyes at Nick's partner. "Yeah?" "A stud. Sorry. I mean, everywhere he goes, the girls are all drooling= after him, know what I mean?" She pursed her lips again. "Sorry, I wouldn't know about that." "Nat, Nick is... " Schanke was scraping here, in deep trouble because Na= t was glaring at him, tapping her foot. "Okay, Nick is hot stuff to the = dames! What can I say? He's the last person I'd ever have thought... wa= it, how do you know he's *dating* this guy?" "They were kissing." Seconds later Schanke found himself sitting down, with Natalie hovering = over him. "Schank, you okay?" He was gasping for air. "Did you say... did you say KISSING?" Natalie gestured helplessly. "I, ah, went over to the loft last night b= efore work and I opened the elevator door just a little - he's been so st= range I wasn't sure I could just come in - and I saw them." "Wha... what did he look like? The other guy?" She shrugged. "It was too dark. You know what the loft is like. But i= t was definitely a man and he was about two-three inches taller than Nick= =2E They were..." "Yeah?" "Embracing. And, ah, Nick was kissing him." "Unbelievable!" "Yeah." Schanke's mind was working hard to put this all together. "You know, Na= t, maybe Nick is, ah, er..." He scrunched up his face at her. "Bisexua= l?" She didn't answer. She didn't want to think. She didn't want to think = of Nick in this way. It was not the Nick she thought she knew. It remin= ded her that he was 800 years old and had very likely tried out every sex= ual combination possible. It then occurred to her that Nick's paramour w= as probably a vampire. = Nah. "Not that he can't be anything he wants to be," Schanke was saying. "No= thing wrong with being bisexual, or even gay, but it's just that this is = *Nick*..." Nat stirred at that. "Yeah. Nick." "And I've always held Nick up to be the woman-infested hunk that every r= ed-blooded Canadian male aspires to be," Schank continued. "He's been my= idol!" "Schank, you're married," Natalie reminded him thoughtfully. "Oh, yeah. Well, we have got to find out more about this guy, then. Ma= ke sure he's, uh, treating him right - I can't believe I just said that..= =2E" She sighed. "It's okay, Schank. Look, I've got to go. I'll, ah, see y= ou later." "Yeah, see you later..." She left him still mumbling to himself. =0D Nick was apparently still on the phone when he got back to his desk. Sc= hanke sat, not looking at him, but listening as intently as he could none= theless. "I suspect an ulterior motive in this," Nick was saying, this time in a = normal tone of voice into the phone. "No ulterior motive, Nicholas," LaCroix was saying. "What can you be th= inking of?" A grin. "You know very well what I'm thinking of." "Do I?" The innocence in the voice was transparent. "Why should this time be different?" Nick asked. But not in derision. = He was amused, no more. "You always have an ulterior motive." "I assure you, I simply -" "...want to be a part of my life," Nick finished for him, then abruptly = was aware that Schanke was starting at him. Quickly he put a hand over t= he mouthpiece. "Family," he explained to his partner with a shrug. Schanke narrowed his eyes at him. he thought. Nick had = already returned his attention to the phone. "I do not think I am asking so terribly much of you, Nicholas," LaCroix = was responding. "No, I guess not," Nick replied with a sigh. "Really, we'll have a good time together tomorrow - we three have in the= past." "Yes, we have." he thought wryly. <= At least we won't be hunting.> "You know," LaCroix said reflectively, "I don't believe I've ever ridden= in your vintage automobile - your Cadillac." Nick had to grin at this. "Sure, I'll pick you up. What time?" "Seven o'clock shoud be adequate," LaCroix answered - he'd been careful = to make his voice more impassive. "I'll see you tomorrow night, then, Ni= cholas. I am very much looking forward to this." "As am I. Good night." He hung up the phone with a sigh and a little s= hake of the head. Then he realized Schanke was still watching him. "Wha= t?" "Family? You have family?" The eyes were still narrowed, skeptical. = "Eh, I have, uh, an uncle in town," Nick lied, pretending to search for = a report on his desk. "You know, you have to show them around, drag them= here or there..." IF Natalie hadn't delivered the "kissing" report, Schanke's clean and si= mple mind would have gladly pounced on and accepted Nick's explanation of= an "uncle" as the mystery man - evidently the phone caller. But Schanke= wasn't buying now. "Right," he said with a snort. Nick pretended not to notice and busied himself with a piece of paperwor= k, humming absently. Schanke thought, watching him with trepidation. Nervously he cleared his throat and then star= ted in. "Nick, we're partners - and I consider you my closest friend..."= Nick felt a speech coming on. Patiently he put= down his pen and looked up. "Okay - so?" "So - friends and partners share stuff, you know?" Schanke was using hi= s hands to full Italian effectiveness, a bad sign. "Yeah..." "So - if I had something, ah, different or, uh, new going on, something = I might need to talk to someone about... I could come to my partner, righ= t?" Nick was growing suspicious. "Of course. Schank, you and Myra aren't f= ighting again, are you?" Schanke blanched. "Oh, no, no, not me - I mean..." "What?" He looked sheepish. "Nick, I know what's going on with you. And I just= wanted to say..." He squirmed a little. "It's okay." Now Nick was really flummoxed as he had no idea what Schanke was talking= about. "It is?" "Yeah! Look, I'm an open-minded kind of person. You don't have to keep= secrets from me, Nick. Whatever way you want to live your life -" he g= estured grandly with open palms - "...is fine with me." "Er - good." "In fact, although this changes everything I've ever thought about you, = Nick, I just want to say - whatever makes you happy. I mean it." Schank= e sat back, beaming and very relieved to have gotten all this out. Nick could think of only one thing Schanke could be referring to. And h= e did not like it, not at all. Schanke must have found out - or conclude= d - that Nick was a vampire. "You do?" "Sure! And, hey, if you want to talk about it, I'm here." "You are." Nick's eyes were a little wild. "We're partners, Nick, and you can take that to the bank!" Schanke stoo= d, coffee cup in hand. "Excuse me - I think they just brought in the don= uts. Can I get you one?" "Er, no. Ah, Schank?" "Yeah?" Nick looked distinctly uncomfortable - no surprise to his partner. "Uh,= thanks." "Sure thing, Nick," Schanke replied, and sauntered off. =0D A few hours later Nick found an excuse to stop in at the Coroner's Build= ing. He exchanged a few pleasantries with the laboratory personnel, then= stalked in on Natalie once she was alone. She was perched on the edge o= f her desk, eating an apple. "Nat, I think Schanke knows," he began, panic creating an edge to his vo= ice. Agitated, he began to pace before her desk. "I haven't the faintes= t idea how, but... I think he knows!" Natalie, however, was still thinking a great deal about something else e= ntirely. "Um, well..." She finished chewing, then went on. "It's not s= urprising, Nick. He is pretty close to you." = she finished sardonically to herself. Nick could not believe she was taking this so calmly. "Well, I just don't know how he found out," he muttered, wonde= ring how this was going to change things. "Er..." Natalie waved her hand in the air. "I'm probably at fault." Q= uickly, she took another bite of apple. He stopped pacing to stare at her. "Your fault!" she thought, seeing how upset Nick was. She finished the bite of apple and waved the remaini= ng piece of fruit at him in apology. "Or, probably not - look, Nick, Sch= anke isn't that dumb. He probably, uh, just put a few things together, y= ou know?" No way was she going to tell Nick that she was spying on him a= nd his *boyfriend* at the loft! Nick's appalled glance went from the half-eaten apple in her hand, to he= r, then he turned on a heel and left, too shaken to talk anymore about it= =2E Natalie finished her apple, wondering if there hadn't been something jus= t a little effeminate in his dance of departure. =0D Cats are naturally curious. An hour later, Natalie decided that she'd h= ave made a good cat. She made an excuse to Grace and ducked out. Heading straight for the Raven. Going for the direct approach, Nat made a beeline for Janette, who occup= ied her usual perch at the end of the bar, surveying her customers. "Got= a minute?" the mortal asked the gorgeous vampire straight out, and jerke= d her head in the direction of the club office. Janette, a smirk beginning at the corner of her lovely mouth, replied as= she lifted herself off the bar stool. "Certainly, Natalie." Leading th= e way, she thought to herself, Inside the office, the vampire closed the door, leaned back on it, and c= rossed her glove-clad arms in front of her. "I suppose this is about Nic= olas," she murmured, and faked a yawn. Natalie crossed her arms as well, unconsciously copying the gesture. "I= sn't it always? Did you know he's seeing someone seriously?" Janette smiled and straightened. "So, that's it. Yes, I'm aware of tha= t." And added to herself, "You are. Huh." Natalie had been half-hoping to surprise Janette. "An= d you know who it is?" Janette realized, intrigued. Smo= othly she moved to sit at her desk. "As a matter of fact I do, Natalie."= Nat stared at her, amazed. "And - you're not surprised!" Immediately s= he chided herself. Janette was airily waving an elegant hand encased in black lace. "Shoul= d I be?" "No, it's just that..." Nat's arms uncrossed and she gestured in frustr= ation. "Well, Nick's the last person I'd ever guess that would go for a.= =2E." She stopped and fixed an icy glare on the other woman. "It's anot= her vampire, I take it." "But of course," Janette responded, now also growing curious as to what= Natalie was talking about. She wondered - It= was an effort to keep from giggling wickedly. she added. "What's so funny?" Nat was now standing before her, hands on hips, glar= ing. Hastily Janette schooled her expression. "Sorry, cherie. Just remember= ing another time." "I'll bet." She *hated* when Nick did that. "So, as I was saying, I ju= st can't see Nick like... this. I mean -" She waved her hands in agitat= ion. "Okay, I'll come right out and say it! Nick is having an, an *affa= ir* or whatever you call it with a *male* vampire?" The hands were throw= n up in frustration. "I just never..." She gave up, her hands dropping = to her side again. Janette leaned forward in her chair, which unfortunately gave Natalie a = rather complete view of her cleavage. "Natalie, over the centuries vampi= res tend to, ah, experiment. What can I say? We get bored. We like to = try new things. It's the way of our kind." Natalie thought with constern= ation. "It's just so unexpected." She glanced inadvertently down into t= he deep cleft between Janette's firm, ample breasts. The vampire noted the other woman's look with interest. "You kn= ow, cherie," she went on, her voice dropping a bit in pitch. "It's under= standable that you might be curious about vampire sexuality." Natalie broke off her stare. "Huh?" she told hersel= f. Janette thought with a deep smile, titi= llated by the possibilities presented her. She put a graceful finger to her lips. "Mmm, you like thes= e, don't you, Natalie?" "Oh, yes - ah, the color is really nice," Nat commented dreamily. "Indeed?" Janette reached behind her for her lipstick and held it up fo= r her companion. "Would you like to try some?" "Sure." Natalie even smiled. All thoughts of Nick had quite effectivel= y fled. = "Allow me," Janette murmured, and opened the lipstick. Then she gently = took the other woman's chin in her hand. "It's called 'Dark Kiss' - isn'= t that nice?" When Nat nodded, she began to apply the lipstick to her li= ps for her. "I rather like it - in fact, my own paramour is rather fond = of it as well. At least he makes me put it back on several times a day -= why, I'm not sure -" "Your paramour?" Natalie asked, again curious, though still drifting on= the vampire's cloud of seduction. = Janette surveyed her handiwork, then met the other's gaze. "Yes. I con= fess my bed is not empty these days. Ah - very nice indeed, Natalie. Th= e color suits you as well. Now, only one thing left, cherie." "What's that?" "Why, lips so lovely must be kissed, of course. May I?" The question was so innocently and sweetly asked that Nat could not imag= ine what would be so wrong. "Please," she murmured, and closed her eyes.= Janette smiled in triumph as she drew nearer the entranced mortal. Gent= ly she slipped her right hand into the heavy mane of hair and back to the= nape, while her left settled at the woman's waist, drawing her gently cl= oser. Then she bent to the waiting mouth, settled on the lips. Pressed = slightly harder so that the lips parted slightly - then was retreating. = Any more - any deeper or more intense a kiss - and Janette would be riski= ng her own self-control. The woman's bloodscent, tolerable before, was n= ow thick and luscious in her senses. = Nick would be *most* displeased if she... "Well, that was very delicious, Natalie," Janette was murmuring, taking = a deep breath as she released the other completely. "And I would like mo= re, of course, but I think it best we stop." "You do?" Then, as the vampire's long lashes lowered over ice blue eyes= , Natalie came back to herself somewhat. "Er, of course." She blinked a= s Janette finished breaking their gaze. "I should be going anyway." "Certainly. It was so very nice of you to drop by, Natalie," Janette s= aid smoothly as she moved gracefully to the door. = The mortal watched the vampire, still caught in fascination. "Ah, yes, = it's been, um, enlightening." Natalie followed the other, then, half in = the open doorway, turned to her a last time. "Did we just - ah -?" "I quite liked it," Janette murmured, smiling. "Didn't you?" Natalie was quite speechless. She gave a helpless shrug, her expression= somewhere between stimulated and horrified. Then she gave the other the= barest of nods, and stalked out, eager to get some distance between them= =2E Janette wondered what would get back to Nick about this - she would have= to tell him!. At the minimum, Natalie might act oddly around other wome= n for a while. she told hers= elf, hugging her arms over her breasts, a little stimulated yet from her = game. =0D Nick glanced at his watch. 4:09 a.m. He wondered if he could manage to= duck out early, though sunrise wasn't until 5:26 a.m. Things were quiet= around the station, though there was the possibility... = The phone rang. he thought hopefully, lifting the= receiver. "Knight here," he said, a wistful note in his voice. "Sorry, it's just me," Schanke replied sardonically. "Hope you don't mi= nd too much." Nick straightened. "Of course not, Schank. What's up?" "Marion Kendall is up - for questioning, that is. We're bringing him in= now. He could be rather cooperative, at least he was when I came callin= g with the Schanke special touch. Too bad you weren't along to watch. W= here were you?" "Er, I had some errands - good work, Schank. We're, ah, doing the quest= ioning now?" His partner's voice took on a sarcastic tone. "If it's all right with y= ou, Detective Knight! Really, Nick, your shift isn't up for over an hour= =2E I suppose you want to ditch out to go be with your little friend." Nick held the receiver away and stared at it, then brought it back up. = "Ah, no, Schank, of course not - now is fine." "I'm so glad you agree. Sorry, Nick, I don't mean to be snippy - or may= be I do - anyway, about earlier - I didn't say this then, so I will now. = You don't have to worry about a thing. I won't say anything to anyone a= bout it." "Ah, that's good - thanks," Nick murmured and again wondered how the hel= l Schanke figured things out and why he was so calm about it. "But I gotta say, Nick," Schanke was continuing, "try not to be so obvio= us. People are going to notice that there's something, ah, different abo= ut you. And believe me, this is not something you want spread all over t= he precinct!" "Don't I know it," Nick replied. he wondered, his head spinning. "Most guys around here, well, they'd be funny about this sort of thing,= you know. Me, I'm cool - and you're my partner, so that's that." "Thanks, Schank," Nick said, relieved but still bewildered. "See you in= a few minutes." =0D Ten minutes later they were both in the interrogation room with the chie= f witness in the Hinton case, one Marion Kendall, a small-time thug who a= pparently was certain the supposed murderer had no idea he'd been anywher= e near the murder scene on the night in question. Schanke had gestured t= o Nick to take over the questioning. Nick had nodded, and now leaned ove= r the table face to face with Kendall. For three quarters of an hour, Nick questioned the short, burly man, who= was less than fully cooperative. Schanke did not interfere nor assist, = which his partner wondered at, but stood impassively by, leaning on the w= all with arms crossed. Nick realized that if he was going to get what he= needed from the man he would need assistance of the vampiric sort, espec= ially as time was marching on and he desperately needed to get home very = soon. But this time it was a little unnerving because it would be the fi= rst time he'd mesmerized someone in front of Schanke now that Schanke kne= w what he was. It made him more nervous than usual. "Let's try a slightly different angle, shall we?" Nick murmured, sittin= g down opposite the man so that he had to look at him. His voice changed= as he spoke, pitch lowering, speech slowing. = Kendall blinked and found himself relaxing. "I don't think I can tell y= ou any more," he muttered, but his gaze was already fixed on the deep blu= e eyes of the detective opposite him. = "Oh, there is lots more to tell," Nick continued. The man's heartbeat t= hrummed through him, allowing him to fine tune his focus and put the man = more fully under his spell. His voice dropped even lower. "Last Tuesday= night, about 10 pm, you were..." In five minutes he had all he needed. The man had spilled his knowledge= of the movements of the victim and had given exacting details of what he= 'd seen. The testimony would go a long way to convicting the chief suspe= ct, already in custody. It really wasn't fair. = Once uniforms had taken Kendall out, Nick sat back in the chair, quite p= leased with himself. Schanke dropped into the vacated chair on the other= side of the table. "Very nice job, Detective," Schanke began with a crooked smile. "But I = did suggest that you be a little more discrete - geez, you literally sque= ezed the guy dry!" "Er, I did what I had to," Nick murmured, his mind already thinking abou= t meeting Janette at the loft soon. = "Nick, I'm telling you that you've got to watch how you come across," Sc= hanke was continuing. = "No harm done," Nick sighed. He'd made quite sure the man would remembe= r nothing about his methods - nothing about practically being under hypno= sis. "Nick, you..." Schanke shifted nervously in his chair, uneasy with just= coming out and saying what he was thinking. He tried anyway. "You *sed= uced* him, Nick! You can't go doing that sort of thing around here!" Nick frowned briefly at his partner's choice of words. "All= right," he was replying, though still baffled at how Schanke could perce= ive hypnosis as a form of seduction. "I'll be more cautious, I promise. = But you have to admit what I did was useful." "Er, yeah," Schanke replied, and got up again to leave the room. His fa= ce turned away from his partner as they left, his eyes widened and eyebro= ws raised as he contemplated what he'd just seen, which to him had looked= for all the world like his partner was trying to come on to the witness.= It gave him the creeps, despite his protestations of open-mindedness. = It was just as well their shift was up. Schanke wanted to do nothing but= go home to his wife. Nick was still thinking as he got into the Caddy to drive ho= me a couple minutes later. But the thought was effectively replaced by t= houghts of his beautiful Janette, waiting for him. =0D End of Part I =0D Marcia Tucker / scfimarci@aol.com = Dark Knightie / Unnamed / Immortal Beloved = "You really do like me, Nicholas, you just don't know that you do." - LaC= roix, Night in Question =0D --PART.BOUNDARY.0.21431.emout05.mail.aol.com.846474639-- From ScFiMarci@aol.com Sun Oct 27 22:58:11 1996 Return-Path: ScFiMarci@aol.com Received: from emout13.mail.aol.com (emout13.mx.aol.com [198.81.11.39]) by jbxl1.jbx.com (8.6.12/8.6.9) with ESMTP id WAA30725 for ; Sun, 27 Oct 1996 22:58:11 -0500 From: ScFiMarci@aol.com Received: by emout13.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id WAA27599 for gila@jbx.com; Sun, 27 Oct 1996 22:51:23 -0500 Date: Sun, 27 Oct 1996 22:51:23 -0500 Message-ID: <961027225122_1548822702@emout13.mail.aol.com> To: gila@jbx.com Subject: NEW JADFE: "Love, Play..." Part II MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: multipart/mixed; boundary="PART.BOUNDARY.0.24633.emout13.mail.aol.com.846474682" Status: RO --PART.BOUNDARY.0.24633.emout13.mail.aol.com.846474682 Content-ID: <0_24633_846474682@emout13.mail.aol.com.85535> Content-type: text/plain Hi, James! Here's Part II (segments 11-17) of "Love, Play, and Overactive Imaginations". Designation: Explicit/graphic sex, between Nick/Janette/LC Thanks! Marcia Tucker scfimarci@aol.com --PART.BOUNDARY.0.24633.emout13.mail.aol.com.846474682 Content-ID: <0_24633_846474682@emout13.mail.aol.com.85536> Content-type: text/plain; name="LOVEPL~2.TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable EXPLICIT/GRAPHIC SEX - Nick/Janette/LaCroix =0D "Love, Play, and Overactive Imaginations" Part II A Forever Knight Erotica Story Copyright 1996 by Marcia Tucker =0D Disclaimer: All the expressions and acts of homophobia and ignorance of g= ay lifestyles are intentional, deliberate and coming from the characters = themselves, not from any misconceptions of the author. The author intend= s this story to be an out and out fun romp, but also to serve as an indic= tment of homophobia. = =0D Content: m/m, m/f sexual contact, lots of suggestiveness and ribaldry! = All sex and intense activity (mild violence?) is completely consensual. =0D Part II: The Contest =0D She was standing before the massive fireplace, goblet in hand, looking i= nto the flames below when he came in. Stood still as he immediately came= over to her and put his body against hers, a very sensuous posture that = spoke strongly of his desire to be with her. Smiling, she moved to face = him. "Cherie... welcome home." Nick smiled deeply, and took the goblet from her. He took a long drink = from it, then set it down on a small table beside the mantle. Drawing he= r into his arms, he replied softly, "Would you like it to be your home?" "My second home, perhaps," Janette murmured, her arms linking behind his= neck. She briefly closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his hands on he= r sides, his arms circling her waist. And immensely enjoying the pressur= e of his long, lean body against hers. Looking at him again, she matched= his smile. "Ah, it is so good to feel you, Nicolas." He sighed, lost in pleasure as well. "You have no idea how good this is= for me, too." He glanced at her lips. "In a hurry to see me, Janette?= " he queried, eyes twinkling with humor. "Your lipstick is smudged." She pursed her lips together, and brought around a finger to try to even= the lipstick. "Let me," Nick murmured, and brought up a finger also, wi= ping away a stray smear. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you've been k= issing someone." He winked at her, then, her lips repaired, held her clo= se again. "And how do you know I haven't?" Janette said, running her fingers up i= nto his hair and rubbing gently at the back of his neck. Nick grinned. "Mmm, that's nice - okay, I'll bite - whom have you been = kissing, Janette?" "You're going to think me terribly evil and wicked - I better not say," = she teased. "Am I? Hmm, it must be someone I know, then," he replied, intrigued. <= How bad could it be?> he wondered, then decided she was just having fun w= ith him. "Do I get to guess?" "But of course, cherie. Three guesses. If you don't guess correctly - = let's see, what shall I do with you then?" "Oh, don't tell me yet, I might not make good guesses on purpose," Nick = murmured, and leaned in for a stolen kiss, which Janette evaded, laughing= =2E "You do need a little incentive. I'll tell you the consequences either = way, then." She looked up into his warm, blue eyes, loving him deeply. = "Let's see - if you guess correctly, I will not tease you ever again abou= t your job - or your car." Nick laughed. "My car!" "I do love your car, Nicolas, but it is fun to tease you about it," Jane= tte quickly amended with a wink. "And if you do not guess correctly - hm= m, if you do not guess, you will allow LaCroix to have his way with that = pretty cock of yours again!" He stared at her in shock, eyes wide, his mouth open. "Janette!" "Oh, it wasn't so bad - you admitted as much to me afterward," she remin= ded him. His grip on her had slackened in his surprise so she pressed cl= oser to him. "What could it hurt? I might even want to watch this time!= " "You're simply awful," he murmured, attempting to recover his composure.= Her suggestion had been a terrible shock. "I really don't think I can = allow *that* again, Janette." "Then simply guess correctly, mon amour." When he looked away, she turn= ed his face back to her. "It's all in play, is it not? Nicolas, we are = vampires and this sort of thing is nothing but an amusing diversion to us= =2E" "Janette," Nick tried to reason with her, "I don't want any sexual play = with... with LaCroix, please. Anything but that - you know he will want = more and more of me, even if you and I are in love." She cocked her head at him. "I will see that he does not, I assure you.= Well? This is but a game, mon amour. You have so little play in your = life. It would do you good - yes, even that." Nick opened his mouth but didn't reply yet. He brought his = hand up to stroke her soft cheek with a finger. Once he might have thoug= ht Janette was conspiring with LaCroix to compromise his values. But her= eyes, her blood told him otherwise. he considered ruefully. Then, again, he had to = consider - the "incident" with LaCroix had shaken him because of its unex= pectedness - unexpected that he'd even allowed it and unexpected that LaC= roix had shown up at that precise moment. Nick, as much as he hated to, = had to admit that the experience had been incredible. And LaCroix had *n= ot* teased him or laughed at him afterward, but had been unusually solici= tous. = Maybe it wouldn't be so horribly bad to repeat... or - he got an idea. = A brilliant idea. "All right," he said at last, sighing. "But if I guess correctly, I'm g= oing to need a bigger reward than a reprieve from teasing." He even wink= ed at her. Janette relaxed. She wasn't sure what made her make the audacious sugge= stion that she'd made, but it evidently worked. Anything that loosened u= p her lover's inhibitions more, was good for them. Nick was still so sto= dgy at times. "Name your reward," she replied, smiling. "If I win, you will allow LaCroix to pleasure you instead," Nick said, g= rinning wickedly. "While *I* watch!" = She gasped and broke apart from him in shock. "Nicolas! You can't be s= erious!" Nick laughed and folded his arms over his chest. "Why not? You were su= ggesting the same to me!" Secretly she was thrilled beyond belief that Nick would so effectively t= urned the tables on her like this. It tickled and stimulated her so that= she knew she had to have him as soon as possible. The audacity! Nick, = the overmoral, nearly-mortal-like Nick Knight, playing the game of a vamp= ire! = Looking back to his eyes, she saw that he was quite stimulated himself. = His smile had deepened, eyebrows raised expectantly, and he looked quite= like he'd caught the proverbial canary. "Well, cherie?" he asked, and w= hen he reached for her, she allowed him to take her back into his arms. = "Are we agreed? LaCroix gets the loser!" "You perfect devil," Janette murmured, returning his smile. "I remember= this Nicolas well, and oh, am I glad to have him back! I would have bee= n content with the other Nicolas - but this one is infinitely less boring= ! Very well, LaCroix to the loser it is." The phone rang just then. Nick gave her a swift kiss, then released he= r to go answer it. "I think we both know who this is going to be," he sa= id, and picked up the receiver. "Impeccable timing, as always," he spoke= into the phone, then activated the speaker and replaced the receiver. "I can always tell when my children are up to something," LaCroix replie= d. His connection with his Nick and Janette had been vibrating in an unu= sual manner. "So, Nicholas, what is it now?" Janette came over to be tucked back into his embrace. "LaCroix," she be= gan to explain, "Nicolas and I have made a little deal. And we're makin= g you the, er, prize that befalls the loser." "Indeed!" LaCroix, calling from his home, smiled. Already he had a fai= r idea of the bargain struck. "Do, tell me more." "Janette has been kissing a mysterious someone," Nick explained. "And I= have three guesses to guess whom that someone is." "And the loser gets me?" LaCroix inquired. "The loser gets your, ah, services," Janette added. "Of course, this is= all subject to your agreement. If you are willing to do this, the loser= must endure being pleasured by you." "Quite a nice punishment, in fact. And the winner? What would the winn= er gain?" "The winner gets the pleasure of watching," Nick answered. Somewhere = deep inside him a little voice was inquiring just what the heck did he th= ink he was doing, but he wasn't listening very carefully. LaCroix was quite tickled by the proposal - as they knew he would be. "= Either way I get to pleasure one of you? And the other watches us?" "That's the deal." Nick was won= dering, but he really couldn't care enough to back out of this now. = "Shall I come over there now? I should like to witness the contest itse= lf," LaCroix asked. He was thrilled with the prospect, though he, too, w= as deeply shocked that either of them had agreed to this. = "The sun has come up," Janette reminded him. "That's never stopped me before," their master replied. "It's early yet= - I won't get seriously burned." Nick and Janette exchanged glances. "Ah, sure," Nick responded. When t= he phone was hung up, he pulled her closer. "Janette, what have we gotte= n ourselves into?" She shrugged helplessly. =0D LaCroix was only slightly smoking when he entered the skylight a few min= utes later. "The things I do to keep my children happy," he muttered, bu= t was smiling at the same time, delighted by their new game. Landing dow= nstairs, he left his long, black leather coat and hat on the kitchen tabl= e then approached the couple who stood apart, each now sipping from their= own glass. As he neared, Nick handed him a third glass. = "Nice to see you remember how to be hospitable, Nicholas," LaCroix murmu= red. He took a long drink of the blood, then handed the glass back. He = greeted Janette with a quick kiss on the cheek, then approached his son. = "Good day, Nicholas," he added, and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek a= s well. But Nick turned his head and met his lips with his - briefly, oh so brie= fly. When his master straightened in surprise, he met his gaze as well -= open, candid, and for once without disgust. "Nicholas," LaCroix breathed, easing into a smile again. "You are full = of surprises today. If this is what being in love with Janette has done = for you, then I am sorry it has not returned long ago. You are ready to = return to being my son again?" Nick made a small smile. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I am too in love these d= ays to see straight. Love has made me insane? It must have, if I am agr= eeing to possible further physical intimacies with you, LaCroix!" "You rather enjoyed yourself the last time," the elder vampire was remin= ding him, winking at Janette. "Apparently I did," Nick replied dryly. = "And you, my dear," LaCroix said, moving back to face his daughter, "you= have also contracted this madness?" Janette lifted her glass to him in salute. "I can, uh, think of no bett= er person to be utterly mad with than Nicolas," she said, lifting her chi= n firmly. = LaCroix looked from one to the other, and gave a snort. "Love *is* madn= ess. But I will not complain - whatever keeps my children close to me. = I suppose that makes me just as mad as you two. Certainly we are seeing = a lot of one another these days - and now more than just seeing... are yo= u both quite sure you want to include me in this game of yours?" He could see the confusion in their eyes - yes, no - they quite rightful= ly feared his power and his control over them. But they were also perver= sely stimulated by the prospect of his involvement in their contest. he thought, intrigued = by the possibilities. He added, "You're not bored with each other alread= y that you need me to liven things up between you, are you?" Nick recovered first, managing a chuckle. "Not hardly!" He exchanged a = glance with Janette, then moved away from them to retrieve the opened bot= tle of blood from the table. He refilled his glass, then brought the bot= tle over to refill theirs as well. At his gesture, they sat down, Nick a= nd Janette on the couch, LaCroix on an adjacent chair. = "I'm not bored at all," Janette said, running her free hand over Nick's = thigh, squeezing it in pleasure. "As long as I don't have to listen to s= tories from around the police department, that is." She winked at her be= loved, who shrugged with a smile. "Very well," LaCroix went on, regarding them closely. "But I must tell = you that I am not at all happy to be considered 'the prize' as if I am no= thing more than a toy in a candy box!" The lovers looked over abruptly at the indignant tone in his voice. "We= did not mean..." Nick began, but stopped when their master held up his = hand. "I did not say I would not do it, dear Nicholas," LaCroix finished, givi= ng his son an amused smile. "But if you want my participation, you must = allow me to make some adjustments to the supposed outcome of your little = contest." As they stared, half in dread, he took a long swallow from his= glass, looking everywhere but at them. "Adjustments," Janette repeated. Unconsciously, she and Nick had joine= d hands in mutual support. They were both seriously regretting involving= LaCroix in their sexual escapades. The potential for abuse was too dang= erous. Unless they could be sure of his full cooperation. And who could= ever be sure? Would the experience, titillating as the prospect was, be= worth the risk? "And what do you have in mind, LaCroix?" Nick asked warily. He drained = his glass and set it on the table behind the couch. He could sense Janet= te's tenseness, and scooted closer to her, putting his arm around her for= comfort. LaCroix leaned forward in the chair, rubbing his hands together. "Nothi= ng you need to be alarmed about. Oh, let's see - how about if Janette wi= ns, she gets to watch, and if Nicholas wins, she doesn't get to watch?" Janette burst out laughing, then hastily apologized to her paramour, who= se expression was quite interesting. "Oh, I'm sorry, Nicolas - " she kis= sed his cheek quickly, then continued, "Really, LaCroix, you're the worst= tease!" "Thank you," the ancient vampire said gravely, but his mobile face settl= ed into his amused smile again. "But I was only partially teasing. I th= ink we all know that if I have a choice as to whom I may pleasure - or, f= or that matter, from whom I might receive sexual favors - I prefer that i= t be Nicholas alone." He looked at his son, who was unable to meet his g= aze. "Sorry, I'm just being honest." "LaCroix," Nick began, but was too unnerved to continue. He then starte= d in surprise as Janette suddenly put a hand to his crotch. "Mmmm, Nicolas, it seems that part of you is quite willing," she murmure= d, feeling the unwanted bulge in his pants. "Where does your heart lie, = mon amour?" "With you," he replied immediately, and with vehemence as he pulled her = hand away quickly. "I can't help the responses of my body, but I can hel= p what's in my heart - and that is devoted only to you, Janette," Nick fi= nished, and lifted her chin to give her a quick kiss. He then managed to= meet LaCroix's cool gaze. "I don't think this contest is a good idea af= ter all. You know how I feel about... about having sex with you." To his dismay, LaCroix got up and sat down again beside him on the couch= =2E "Now, Nicholas," he cooed, sliding a hand up his son's leg, but stop= ping short of his crotch. He didn't need to feel the bulge there. "Real= ly, I don't see the problem. Your beloved Janette doesn't mind if we two= *dally* - do you, Janette?" He looked beyond Nick to her. And so did Nick, whose eyes seem to be willing her to refuse LaCroix. "= Ah, while I claim Nicolas's devotion solely for myself..." "And you have that," Nick put in firmly. Her glance slid away from his uneasily. "...I also would like to see him= enjoy himself. Within the family. As he once did." "And you most certainly did," LaCroix, smiling, reminded him, stroking h= is leg. Nick had so far completely allowed the caress, to his delight. = "No matter that it was a very long time ago. Things have finally relaxed= between us - at least I believe they have - and I could not be happier a= bout that. But I remind you, my son, that I still have no interest in re= placing Janette in your heart - I want you and her to be in love as you w= ere meant to be. She is concerned for your well-being, as I am." "My well-being!" Nick snorted with irony, finishing in a smirk. "I sho= uld be so lucky. I'm just afraid..." He paused - they waited for him. = he was thinking. He knew that answer, to his dismay, considering his physical r= eaction at the moment to his master's petting. = Gently he put Janette's hand aside and turned to face his master more fu= lly. He let LaCroix settle both his hands on his thighs. "I only fear y= our old desire to take pleasure in torturing me," Nick said quietly. "I = need to be sure of your sincerity." LaCroix gazed back solemnly. "You read of that in my blood a few nights= ago, Nicholas. I assure you you will not read anything different there = now." Nick frowned, but relaxed though he'd crossed his arms over his chest. = A part of him was still quite wary of abandoning himself to his desires -= and he evidently had subconscious desires for his master that seemed to = function entirely outside his will - while another part of him, still in = the state of the dizziness of love, longed to yield freely to his nature,= even to embracing LaCroix, of all people. Of all vampires, that is. Th= oughts of his mortal friends were very far from him at the moment. Anoth= er factor was the time of day - Nick was tired from work. Yield? = He felt Janette's hands slide up to his shoulders, rubbing to e= ase his tension. LaCroix had dropped his gaze to let his son think, but = continued to gently caress Nick's thighs. And Nick still had a slight er= ection. He laid his hands on top of the other man's finally. "That feel= s nice," he sighed, his mouth curving into a smile at last. "I used to h= ate that your touch gave me so much pleasure," he added as the other's ga= ze returned to his. "And now, Nicholas?" LaCroix asked, still solemn. Nick shrugged and grinned. "Oh, what the hell! I said I was mad, and t= his proves I really am. I'll do it - if I lose. Not if I win." LaCroix smiled and clasped his son's hands in his. "Then we must renego= tiate! If Janette wins the contest, I get Nicholas. And if Nicholas win= s, then -?" Janette winked at him from over Nick's shoulder. "No, no, cherie, you'v= e got it backwards! If I win, *I* want Nicolas! If he wins, you get him= !" "I hate being so popular," Nick chimed in, though he gulped at his prosp= ects. Either way, he was going to be had. Not that he minded. But the = prize was turning out to be him, instead of LaCroix. "Don't I get a say = in this, too?" He tensed as he felt Janette's lips on the back of his neck suddenly. T= he sensation sent a thrill through his body that settled in his groin. "= Ah... I have an idea..." "Do tell," LaCroix murmured, looking on with approval. = Nick sighed, but his smile grew deeper. "We, ah, seem to be confused as= to what constitutes winning and what is losing. Is it a reward or a pun= ishment to receive pleasure or even to give? Or is the idea that we all = get rewarded in the end? Where's the risk in that?" LaCroix chuckled. "Oh, Nicholas, you are right, of course! Indeed you = are again my son - please, continue!" "Janette?" "Whatever you say, Nicolas," Janette murmured, still occupied with the b= ack of his neck and hair. Laughing, Nick pulled away from her, even him, and slid off the couch to= kneel before them on the floor, facing the couch. "This will be perfect= - oh, my final slide into insanity - whatever! Damn, but I don't care. = I have the solution. If I guess correctly, we shall flip a coin and LaC= roix and I will call heads or tails - if heads, that one will have Janett= e." She gasped, but LaCroix was nodding, his eyes bright with delight. = Nick went on, heedless of her reaction. "The other will, of course, wat= ch - or possibly even help, whatever. And if I do not guess correctly, y= ou two will flip a coin and the winner will have me. And so on!" "Have? Nicolas, what do you mean by have?" Janette asked, both appalle= d and thrilled. She ignored LaCroix's chortles. = "I have no idea," Nick replied. "We said before - 'pleasured' - however= that is achieved..." "Should be up to the one being pleasured," Janette finished. She did no= t want to have intercourse with LaCroix - the rest would be enough. And = of course blood would be shared. That went without saying regardless of = what else actually happened. "Fine with me," Nick responded, and LaCroix nodded in same. "So," Nick = went on, "this way there is risk and there is reward. Janette, you basic= ally have a 50-50 chance of having me. Satisfactory?" She was thinking more of the one in four chance that LaCroix would be th= e one to 'pleasure' her. An acceptable risk indeed. "What about watchin= g - or assisting?" "More coin tosses?" Nick suggested, and gave her a wink. That simple gesture was enough to ease her fears and restore her playful= ness. Janette returned a wicked grin to him, abandoning herself as he di= d to the challenge of the contest. "Yes, by coin toss - that way the ris= k may be increased or not. It will be entirely up to chance!" "And very good odds they are, too," LaCroix put in, winking at her as we= ll. "There are six chances out of eight that I will do more than watch. = I confess I like this arrangement! So - on with the contest!" = =0D The vampires as one removed themselves to Nick's bedroom upstairs, a mor= e comfortable and appropriate venue for their game. To get more comforta= ble still, the two main participants would remove *some* of their clothin= g. Nick and Janette looked at each other like two naughty children, on th= e verge of laughing, then Nick shed his jacket, shirt, and shoes, and Jan= ette removed her dress, nylons, and shoes. That left her in a satin slip= and underwear, and Nick in jeans and socks. LaCroix sat to the side, wa= tching with gleaming eyes, faintly smiling, though he did unbutton the fi= rst two buttons of his shirt. = The lovers perched, cross-legged, on the bed, holding hands. "Well, Nic= olas," Janette began, squeezing his hands, "are you ready?" He still had a devilish look in his eyes. "I had another idea," he repl= ied, smirking. He looked over to their master. "It would be more of a p= unishment if the loser did not know which of the other two won the coin t= osses." "Nicholas, how intriguing," LaCroix commented, leaning forward in his ch= air. "Explain, please." Nick looked around and then gestured toward a long, black scarf of Janet= te's on top of his dresser, left there after a previous liaison. "A blin= dfold. But the only way it would work is if there is no kissing on the m= outh - I think any of us would be able to tell in that case, but otherwis= e..." "Otherwise, it can be done in a way so that the person would not know un= til it is much too late," LaCroix finished, evidently pleased. "An excel= lent idea! And might I add that if the person's hands are tied, they may= not be free to use them to learn the identity of their attendant? Janet= te, my dear?" Janette regarded the two men with mock indignation. "I seriously doubt = that Nicolas will not be able to tell if it is me or you, LaCroix! But I= will go along with this, certainly. Even the hands, though you know tha= t if we really wanted to, we could pull free. Oh, mon amour, how I love y= ou when you are so playful!" She pulled him toward her to reward him wit= h a kiss. Nick leaned in gratefully, releasing her hand to take her head in his ha= nds. For a dangerous moment he'd had the thought of forgetting about the= game entirely and just making love to her, LaCroix watching or no, right= then and there. Neither would have minded, least of all Janette! But t= here was the Contest to play out. So he kissed her with proper thoroughn= ess, then released her reluctantly. "Let it begin," he said, his voice a= bit husky. This was going to be some experience! "Now," Janette began, smiling slyly, "whom was I kissing last night at t= he Raven?" Nick had already been thinking about his first response. "A question, b= ut it will count as a guess. Mortal or vampire?" "Ah," she murmured, then looked over to LaCroix. "Should I answer?" LaCroix, who had the unfair advantage of being able to read more of his = children than their body language and expressions, had a fair idea of the= correct answer. So his response here could work to bend the contest in = the way he would most like. Answering the question would likely make it = too easy for Nick to guess in his two remaining chances. "It must be the= guess of a name," LaCroix replied. Nick returned his master's impassive gaze, thinking hard about what his = response meant. he thought. There was something else in LaCr= oix's demeanor, he noted. = "All right," he said, finally. "A name. Alma?" He'd deliberately said= a name that wasn't likely to be the correct one. Not that the two lovel= y female vampires hadn't ever... it just wasn't likely this time. Janette giggled, then patted him on the cheek. "No, no, cherie. Not Al= ma. Two guesses left!" Then Nick said the name he thought was the most likely. "Schanke?" She clapped her hands together in delight, and LaCroix was openly grinni= ng. "No, not Schanke!" Janette replied with a wink. "One choice left!" Nick thought, defeated. <= I have no idea whom it might have been. I can only hope in the coin toss= that Janette gets me - 50-50 chance at that.> He sighed, and threw up h= is hands. "Well, now I really have no idea," he began. "Natalie?" The look of shock on Janette's face caused LaCroix to start laughing, an= d Nick, too, was shocked, for evidently he'd guessed correctly! "Really,= it was Natalie? You're kidding!" Janette, unnerved by this unexpected turn, gestured helplessly. "She, a= h, came to me to talk about you, and I guess I was leaning forward, and..= =2E oh, I could not resist the challenge once I saw her take note of my..= =2E " She straightened, regaining her composure. "Well, it looks like = I've lost, which means one of you is going to see that I experience a glo= rious orgasm," Janette went on, smiling. "Strange, it doesn't seem fair = to lose and gain such delicious pleasure!" Gracefully she rose from the = bed to retrieve the scarf. "Now, when will I find out who will be servic= ing me?" LaCroix was already fingering the coin to be used in the coin toss. "Wh= en *we* decide. But first, per our agreement, *you* must decide what you= will allow." "I want to hear more about Natalie," Nick said with a wink. = Janette looked from one male vampire to the other, then answered her bel= oved first. "Ah, she liked my lipstick, so I put some on her - she was a= little entranced, of course..." "Of course," Nick prompted, grinning. "And then she looked so lovely I just had to kiss her. She seemed to li= ke it, but she left right away after that. A shame - I would not have li= ked to have had to bite her, but a little more dalliance would have been = fun." "Lucky Natalie," he commented, wondering if he should ask Nat for her si= de of the story. At the least, he could probably get some good teasing o= f her out of it. = "Enough delay," LaCroix broke in. "My dear, you will need to take the = rest of your clothes off, don your blindfold - and then receive your rewa= rd for losing! And do tell us what we can get away with, or else we will= have to do as we please!" Janette, as she slowly removed her slip, thought fast - she hadn't befor= e as she hadn't expected to lose. "Very well. Let's see - no penetratio= n..." "Damn," both men swore softly, then chuckled together. "This isn't goin= g to be fun at all," Nick added. "Just hands and mouth. Tongue -" she smiled seductively at her lover. = "Lots of tongue." "I can do tongue," Nick laughed with a wink. "Tongue penetration?" She pouted prettily. "Oh, very well! Now, I'm going to need help with = the rest of my clothes, if you could, Nicolas?" As she'd spoken, Nick had risen to shed his jeans. It wasn't unlikely, = no matter how the coin toss went, that he wouldn't be getting a substanti= al erection, and he wanted to be comfortable. Tossing his jeans on the f= loor, he dropped back down on the bed and slipped his hands around to her= back to undo her bra. Removing it for her, he looked with pleasure upon= her lusciously ample breasts when they were revealed. "Mmm, so beautifu= l," he murmured, cupping one firm orb briefly before moving on to her pan= ties. Stripping those off, his eyes traveled down to the little nest of = dark hair. There was a response deep in his groin, and he felt the swell= ing beginning in his penis. = LaCroix stirred, finally. "I suppose it is time I joined you," he murmu= red. Expecting to have the same problem as the other man, he stood and be= gan to remove his pants and shoes. As he undressed, his glance rested mo= re on Nick than Janette, enjoying the sight of the crusader's lean body, = the grace in his limbs and face. Nick, then Janette turned to look up at= him, and suddenly the atmosphere in the room seemed to grow more serious= =2E He met their eyes, direct and calm, they wondering and shy. It had been well over five hundred years since the three of them had eng= aged in something like this together. Much had happened in their little = family in the intervening centuries. Despite the lightness of the "conte= st", the anticipated intimacy had a sobering effect on them. "Well," La= Croix began, looking upon his children with the barest of smiles, now wea= ring only briefs and the open shirt, "am I welcome to your bed, then?" Hands reached for him, drawing him down beside them. The elder vampire = exchanged a quick but fervent kiss with both daughter and son, the latter= no less ardent, he was tremendously relieved to note. There was no fear= in their eyes, no concerns that their master, so recently in an adversar= ial position with Nick, should betray them now in any way. Somewhere, so= meplace all that had gotten lost - somehow. Rising from Nick's lips, LaC= roix let a finger linger on his cheek, then sighed. "Your madness is app= arently infectious, Nicholas. Thank you... Shall we begin, then?" He h= eld up the coin. Nick's eyes were still hooded - he was deeply affected by the kiss - but= he looked up and smiled. "By all means!" He handed over the blindfold.= =0D Janette, lying at full length in the middle of the bed, had borne the ap= plication of the blindfold well, but balked at having her hands tied, cho= osing instead to lift her arms over her head and lay them against the bed= , promising to keep her hands to herself. The men acquiesced, but assure= d her they would brook no interference. So decided, she tried to relax. = A second later there was a lifting of the mattress as both men left the = bed. Then, nothing. "Well?" she queried after a few seconds. "We're tossing the coin," Nick explained, humor clear in his voice. She= heard him call it - heads... then more silence. Nick relaxed with a grin. He'd won the coin toss. He gave an encouragi= ng squeeze to the other's shoulder - LaCroix was not too happy over the p= rospect that he might have to end up watching after all. The second coin= toss - Nick called "tails". It came up heads again. More silence - Nic= k was gesturing and mouthing something to his master, who nodded, smiling= deeply. The latter was very relieved, though as they turned back to the= bed, he eyed the bulge at his son's crotch, already thinking - and plann= ing - for later. =0D Weight settled again on the mattress - on both sides of her, Janette dec= ided. The thought of what was to come had already quite aroused her, mak= ing her soft inner folds swell and her wetness start up. Suddenly she ga= sped and arched her back as lips closed over each of her nipples! she thought with an inner thrill. And evidently the "assis= tant" would have quite an active role. This would be so delicious! Each= tongue licked at its appointed nipple, each pair of lips sucked carefull= y, then hands, too, descended onto her body to caress and pet. Could she= tell who was whom? Both mouths were expert. Both pairs of hands applie= d lavish attention to her breasts, sides, and legs - and both adamantly a= voided her groin at this point. As yet, nothing revealed the identity of= either one. = Of course Janette knew Nick's techniques best. But likely her paramour = was deliberately not doing anything to give himself away. In a way, she = was glad, for she could stop wondering and simply abandon herself to the = pleasure. As well she might, for their attentions were now drawing soft = little moans from her. Then one mouth removed itself from her swollen, erect nipple and trailed= a tongue up her breast, continuing to her neck where that organ was appl= ied diligently to that highly sensitive area. Janette gasped as the chan= ge swept through her - the neck of a vampire was every bit as sensitive a= s nipples. She thought that this might be Nick, but then the other copi= ed the gesture as the first mouth returned to her breast. As the other s= ide of her neck now received the same loving licks - and so far everythin= g had been exceedingly gentle and loving - the first mouth continued down= her body, using lips and tongue to trace a new trail down her belly. = She clasped her forearms together above her head, wanting to touch her m= en badly. Her eyes burned and her fangs were descending, aching for bloo= d. At a certain point, Janette knew, she would not be able to keep from = pouncing on whomever was closest, a factor they hadn't taken into account= in their "contest rules." They hadn't bothered - vampire physiology wou= ld take over regardless of their game parameters! = Without warning, hands were gently pulling her legs open. With a rush o= f desire, Janette opened her legs wide apart, giving a long, drawn-out si= gh as a pair of hands pushed and petted the back of her thighs. French m= urmurings were tickled out of her as a mouth began kissing the insides of= her calves and thighs, first one side, then the other. "Oooh, Nicolas..= =2E Lucien... whomever... please, never stop," she gasped. All the while= the other vampire had continued liberal tongue attention on the upper ha= lf of her body. = The male vampires were not themselves unaffected by their ministrations,= of course. Both, by now, had had to pause to discard their briefs, for = each had tremendous hard-ons. As yet they'd been able to manage to only = rub their swollen members on her occasionally, but Janette was noticing t= hat hands lifted from time to time to evidently stroke cock. She smiled,= wondering, but no, not each other's. = Nick, fully vamped out, was having a hard time keeping fangs from slici= ng either her or his lips, and his hand strayed down to rub his cock. So= far, he and LaCroix had been carefully silent, but that wasn't going to = last - or matter - much longer. = The vampire attending to her lower half finally began to get down to bus= iness. Janette moaned as she felt - at last! - feather touches and lips = around her nest of pubic hair. Then as swollen labia were eased apart, a= tongue began to search her very wet depths, drawing further moans from h= er. She hoped fervently that it was Nick's tongue, for she knew his tric= ks all too well, and wanted them badly. Hands slipped around her upper l= egs to her hips to hold her firmly in place; the sensations were already = making her writhe with delight. = Janette thought, her hands clenched into f= ists. Her mind froze as the tongue in question = started to administer little flicks to her clitoris, varying in frequency= =2E It was indeed her Nicolas! The teasing was so intense that Janette = began to lose it, first ripping away the blindfold and then suddenly clut= ching at the head, then the shoulders of the forward vampire - LaCroix, o= f course, who was very near to biting her neck himself. He'd lost the sh= irt sometime before, so her nails dug into flesh, not cloth, not that tha= t mattered to either of them! But before Janette could sink her fangs into her master, Nick had abrupt= ly ceased attentions and was instead maneuvering her into a new position,= lifting her hips so that her legs were flung over his shoulders leaving = her entire nether region open to him. She gasped in surprise and release= d LaCroix. Now, when Nick resumed, his tongue traveled down from her pul= sing clitoris to dive into the lake of her vagina. LaCroix was now suppo= rting her upper back and head, and just in the perfect position to... Janette, growling deeply and moaning, arched her back as Nick's tongue b= egan to thrust hard into her. Unable to hold back, she lurched forward s= uddenly, sinking her fangs into the outstretched neck right above her, cl= utching at LaCroix's shoulders. At last she could relieve the pulsing ac= he in her fangs as she sucked out her master's blood. She was supremely = a vampire in that moment, completely taken over by sensation. Gripping h= er master hard, her nails bit into the pale, smooth skin and muscle, caus= ing him to gasp with something between agony and pleasure. Janette, snar= ling, bit only the harder, her mind totally gone in the twin sensations o= f blood coursing down her throat and the rhythmic action of her lover's h= ighly skilled tongue into her depths. = Nick, thoroughly absorbed in his ministrations, ignored the screaming bl= oodlust, ignored the painful erection of his cock. But at the very edge = of his awareness, around the intense tingling of his link with Janette, c= harged with her blinding arousal, was another vibration of equal and grow= ing urgency. LaCroix. His master's desire for him was a siren call to h= im in their link!. There was no doubt now, that when Janette was thoroug= hly satisfied, the contest would be far from over. Nick himself was near= ly lost in his own arousal, enough that any inhibition was far, far gone = he thought, burning with sup= pressed passion, = LaCroix, for his part, lost in Janette's drinking of his blood, was equa= lly deep into bloodlust, but as his control was superior to his children'= s, had been able to hold back so far. Not for long - in fact, he had pla= ns for his prodigal son once their little contest was over! he thought, his free hand still kneading Ja= nette's luscious breasts. Nick was thinking, alternating hard th= rusts of his tongue with wet slides back up through the swollen folds of = her sex. He almost laughed at himself as he realized he was in quite a g= ood position to do just that. Nick, up to now, had been careful with his= fangs, but now had no reason to. Indeed, her blood-tinged fluids were i= n his mouth and all over his face already. As he wrapped his arms around= her hips to steady her in her writhing, he felt her riding the edge, bot= h through her link with him and in the shudderings of her body. At the p= recise moment she went over, he gave her clit a last hard suck and then s= ank his fangs into the swollen folds, her blood rushing into him as her o= rgasm rushed through her. Overwhelmed, Nick was mindless as he rode the orgasm with her, sharing i= ts power in her blood. He was hard pressed to hold onto her, her bucking= becoming violent. Janette had done with LaCroix, literally throwing him= off her and nearly off the bed, while her legs and knees gripped Nick's = head as if to tear it off! Only vampire instinct and strength kept his h= ead on and his fangs in her as they crashed over onto their sides, heedle= ss of the other vampire, who, stunned, was quick to get out of their way.= = Indeed, LaCroix, having lost rather more blood than he'd wanted to, shoo= k his head, dazed, not yet aware that Nick was actually feeding. The tho= ught to take Nick was still swimming around somewhere in his mind, but he= had no idea of the other's intent. Nothing was revealed in their link, = only the thrum of the shared orgasm, which LaCroix, breathing heavily, sh= ared also in small part. At last it ended - a good ten minutes later. Janette, releasing Nick's = head as he withdrew fangs and mouth, curled up on herself, sobbing in rea= ction still. Nick immediately turned her around gently to bring her head= back up towards his, and folded his arms around her. Tenderly, he kisse= d her face and hair, murmuring reassurances to her. After a minute, Jane= tte came back to herself, pulling his jaw toward her and kissing him deep= ly. When she released him, and met his eyes, their glance was electric, = the power of the experience still singing through them. She smiled a lit= tle, and made a slight movement of her head toward LaCroix. Nick read th= e silent assent in that gesture, thrilling that she already knew what was= to be. Abruptly his head shot up and he riveted his gaze on LaCroix, who'd sat = at the far edge of the bed, watching them. The eyes of the elder were bl= ue again, his cock subsided somewhat - in fact, as Nick faced him, he was= rather taken aback that his son's cock was still rigid. Worse - the man= 's eyes were gold, rimmed in the red of lust, hooded. Behind him, Janett= e sat up and looked his way for a moment, winking, then slid off the bed = to retreat to the bathroom for a well-deserved shower. As she passed her= master, she trailed a bloody finger along his cheek. "Come here," Nick ordered the other in a low, heavy voice. = "Ready for more, I see, Nicholas," LaCroix said languidly, slipping clos= er but as yet still out of reach. "I'm delighted to see your passions so= enflamed. Very well, I shall have you as you obviously desire." He str= oked his cock as he spoke, preparing himself. "No," Nick countered, and in a smooth, sinuous movement, bridged the gap= between them. He grabbed the hand on the cock suddenly, and brought it = up to his mouth, holding LaCroix's wondering gaze with his eyes. Suddenl= y, he bit the wrist, causing the other to gasp sharply, then was lowering= the wrist he held, his master's blood dripping from his fangs. In anoth= er swift movement, Nick was abruptly kissing him open-mouthed, his other = hand hard to the back of his head. = LaCroix, supporting himself on one hand, let the other flail momentarily= until his son captured it, voiding interference. Awareness was only jus= t dawning on the elder vampire as he realized with incredulity that his w= ayward, passionate, desirable son was not only going to take him, likely = violently, but was stronger than he for once. The smears of blood on his= face had been from more than ejaculated vaginal fluids, then - the child= had fed! The thought of Nick this way - lusty and driven - sent a rush = of desire through LaCroix, making his penis stiffen again. LaCroix thought, astonished and thrilled. He s= quirmed for a moment with LaCroixian pride, for he'd wanted to do the tak= ing, wanted to surprise his child, wanted a show of dominance to let Nick= know who was the master here after all, but somewhere in that gullet-suc= king kiss that pride got hopelessly lost. And LaCroix knew, finally, tha= t he was totally undone, that his child, oh, his wicked, darling child ha= ppened to have remembered only too well that abandonment to pleasure alwa= ys overwhelmed his master's stuffy power-play tactics. That the elder va= mpire could not resist giving in to what his son could do to him, not eve= n if it meant a very serious loss of face and pride. he thought, at once hating this incredible creation of his while s= imultaneously delighted beyond belief. Below, his cock hardened painfully, and, i= n fact, when Nick shifted his position, their rigid members touched, send= ing such an electric charge up LaCroix's spine that he knew he was truly = and wonderfully doomed. = Oh, he would resist of course. The resistance would only increase both = their pleasure. And his son knew this, and expected this, expected to ha= ve to make it a brutal taking, and indeed, in LaCroix's weakened state, i= t would be rape were it not that he wanted it so badly. All the better t= o seal Nicholas into his vampire nature, the master thought, and though h= e planned to put up as much fuss as he was able, rejoiced that his son ha= d maneuvered him into such a position that he could not truly defend hims= elf if he'd wanted. = Then his head was being wrenched away from that heavenly mouth, held tig= htly in Nick's hands as he fixed his master with a golden glare. "Any la= st words, LaCroix?" he muttered with a rasp. Janette was suddenly beside them again, a wet towel in hand. "If you mu= st have your own private contest, at least let me make you somewhat more = presentable," she murmured. Heedless of the electricity snapping between= the two male vampires, she applied the towel first to LaCroix's face, cl= eaning it of the bloody mess from her beloved's face, then applied it to = Nick, who did not even flinch or break the glare, so fixed was he on thei= r master. Janette, withdrawing, chuckled softly, murmuring - though she = doubt either could hear, "Look what you have made, LaCroix - oh, my!" La= ughing, she went back to her bubble bath, happy to let her Nicolas find s= atiation and revenge in the body of the other - and happy to let her mast= er for once get what he deserved - and wanted! "Last words?" LaCroix croaked out, his hands clutched at the other's wr= ists, "oh, you demented, evil child of mine, how dare you..." "Good," Nick interrupted, grinning devilishly, "I was afraid you'd give = in, LaCroix. You know there will be far more pleasure if you fight me, o= f course." His features were demonic in lust, but it was obvious his min= d was all too clear. He knew, of course, that LaCroix hadn't that much f= ight in him as it was, giving him a terrific advantage - at last - but he= hadn't wanted him to just meekly take what was coming to him, either. = He gripped his master's head all the harder, inches from his face. "Yo= u want this, LaCroix - you want this so badly..." Nick, half-straddling = him already, ran his tongue up his master's cheek to clean a stray streak= of blood that Janette had missed. = LaCroix, shivered involuntarily at the unspoken reminder of what Nick was= oh, so capable of doing with that talented tongue of his. "Damn," he gas= ped, "apparently you've managed to learn something from me after all thes= e years, Nicholas." "Indeed." The tongue continued to play, licking at lips, eyelids, jawli= ne. "I bet you've wondered how much you've taught me, if anything. Mayb= e there needs to be a final exam of sorts." His deep, raspy murmurings w= ere interspersed with continued attentions. "Except the student will be = giving the examination!" Then Nick abruptly broke LaCroix's hold on his wrists, capturing his ins= tead, and with a deep growl fell over on top of the other, pinning his wr= ists to the bed above his head. He sat atop him, but not for long, and t= he elder vampire's last hope that Nick would instead take LaCroix's cock = into himself died. He put up a feeble struggle, but soon found himself w= ith his wrists behind his neck. "If you don't want these broken, leave t= hem there," Nick ordered, and straightened. LaCroix, beneath him, squirm= ed, but did not remove his arms. Then, to his dismay, Nick was scooting = up toward his shoulders to straddle his head. Fingers suddenly wrenched = his mouth open - he bit, but the other one apparently didn't seem to mind= - and then Nick's cock was filling his mouth. Seeing a chance to shift the odds, LaCroix bit down on the rigid rod, an= d immediately it not only withdrew, but there was a hard, sudden crack ac= ross his jaw. "You will not do that again," came the venomous voice of h= is son. Then, incredibly, the voice and demeanor of the other seemed to = soften. LaCroix looked up to see a sultry leer on the other's face. "Yo= u certainly liked sucking this a few days ago," Nick oozed, rubbing his s= till-hard cock on the other's cheek. "You're not quite yet in the spirit= of things, LaCroix - what can I do to get you interested?" LaCroix was half-lost in his son's danger and the promise of exquisite p= leasures. "D...don't give me orders," he gasped, the feel of that satin = rod on his cheek making his eyes burn gold. "I'll let you take me. Take= me, Nicholas, make love to me..." The last wrenched into Nick's bloodlust-soaked mind - his first inkling = that perhaps this wasn't all about lust after all. But he'd have to thin= k about it later, for his master's submission was his final triumph, and = to be savored. "Very well, have it your way," Nick murmured with a deep s= mile. He slid back down the other's body to lay atop him, sliding his ha= nds up his arms as he descended to his mouth again. This kiss was far di= fferent, neither bruising nor breath-stealing. Mouth opened to mouth and= tongues entwined in equal ardor. Their link, no longer burning with the= ir struggle for dominance, sang of something new - not love. This wasn't= about love. = There wasn't a name for it. It was a relationship without a special nam= e - master/child, father/son, friends connected through blood - something= only to be found between vampires. There was utterly no counterpart pos= sible in human relationships. And its strength was no less for being unn= amed. Nick, gasping, rose from the other's mouth first, and released his arms= , now accepting the other's embrace of his hips as he slid forward again = to offer his cock to his master. LaCroix now eagerly took his cock into = his mouth and throat, not needing to waste time on arousal, but going rig= ht into hard sucking. Nick, supporting himself on his hands above the ot= her's head, pumped into the mouth, losing himself momentarily in the inte= nse pressures of LaCroix's tongue and lips on his cock. = Then, with a grunt, Nick was withdrawing, taking LaCroix's wrists again = and again placing them above his head. But now, as he retreated down the= other man's body, he applied lips and tongue lovingly to neck, nipple, c= hest, belly, making soft noises of enjoyment. LaCroix gasped sharply at = the feel of his son's tongue on his sensitive neck - oh, the sensations m= ade him dizzy with love - then echoed his son's throaty sounds as lips mo= ved down his torso. = Janette, relaxing in her warm, soapy bath, smiled, listening to the moan= s of the two male vampires in bed in the other room. = Nick, his hands flat against chest and belly of his master, arrived down= at his groin. He glanced up the length of the body beneath him and thei= r eyes met. Nick smiled, and playfully kissed the tip of LaCroix's erec= t cock while watching his reaction. = "Demon," LaCroix accused him, but his voice was rough with affection. "= If you could be so good as to take care of that when you're finished, I s= hall be most grateful." "I might," Nick teased, then grew more serious. He slid a hand down the= inside of LaCroix's thigh, causing a shiver, then was lifting his leg, h= is hand moving back around the underside of his knee. Rising to kneel be= tween his legs, he did the same with the other leg, and now, aware that h= is master was in a most vulnerable position, was careful not to look at h= is face. Gently he pushed the thighs up until LaCroix's knees were up ne= ar his shoulders. Nick then got back down on his belly, sliding his hand= s around the other's hips. = First he awarded his master with sweet little kisses on the inside of hi= s thighs, winning a sigh from him. Then, carefully and even reverently, = he put his palm beneath LaCroix's scrotum, lifting it and his cock up out= of the way. He lowered his head, and began to apply his tongue to the t= ight muscle of the anus. LaCroix, moaning softly, only widened his legs farther, lifting his butt= ocks as best he could in that position to give Nick better access. He le= t out a long, shuddering moan as he felt the first penetration of a finge= r, gentle yet insistent, and tried to relax. Sometime during the expert ministrations of his son, LaCroix's desire to= have him inside of him had grown to exquisite agony. He wanted to be pi= erced, wanted to wrap his body around that gorgeous, hard rod, swallow it= inside himself and be massaged by it! He usually had entered Nick in th= e past, as their lovemaking more often than not had been not only initiat= ed by LaCroix, but rather one-sided. Nick had usually been resigned or c= omplacent, rarely ardent. = In Rio, he had been ardent... =0D Rio de Janeiro, 1852 =0D Nicholas's fervent attentions to his neck had made pleasurable sensation= s trip delightfully through him, and he had applied tongue in turn to aff= ord his son the same. Then LaCroix moved down his son's chest to attend = to the hard little buttons of his nipples. Nicholas had sighed in abject= pleasure, holding his master's head to his chest., then gasped sharply w= hen the mouth moved down to suddenly kiss his growing penis. LaCroix, sm= iling at his lovely one's enthusiasm, played with cock and scrotum, pushi= ng Nicholas back to lie at length on the bed. The other had writhed in p= leasure, even to giggling at the tickling to his genitals. Then he sighe= d as his cock was swallowed by his master, who sucked on it long and lovi= ngly. This left him so languid that he did not resist when LaCroix turne= d him over onto his belly and pulled his hips up so that he was kneeling,= facing away from him. = LaCroix, enjoying the feel and look of his son's lean, hard body, caress= ed his hips, then gently pushed at his back. The light touch was all Nic= holas needed to prompt him to assume the required position: knees apart,= his upper body supported by his elbows, head to the pillow, buttocks pre= sented for his master's use. LaCroix felt a rush in the obvious submissi= on, and rejoiced that he was, for once, eagerly allowed to take his preci= ous Nicholas as he wanted, and take him completely at that. = Growling softly, he reached under to squeeze the hanging genitals, then = with his fingers, pulled apart the cheeks to reveal the anal opening. Ni= cholas wriggled at the attention, grunting as fingers, one, then two, pus= hed their way inside. As the fingers worked to loosen him up, he also wi= ggled against them to assist. At the same time, Nicholas began to stroke= his own cock as he waited for the penetration he knew was coming... =0D LaCroix shook his head to dispel the image, remembering the sweetness, b= ut wondering how that lovely memory measured up to what was going on now.= He felt his son's fingers working his own anus, and realized that the n= ew equality between them was somehow far more exciting than the submissiv= e, lusty puppy Nicholas had been in Rio a century and a half ago. Even t= hat sweet time stood alone in their long history as a rarity. Before tha= t, there had been Hong Kong, similar, yet what lovemaking there was then = was harder, more adversarial. Then, longer before that still, was Venice= and London, and in both times, the absence of Janette had served to erod= e Nicholas's resistance. = Nothing in their eight hundred years together was like this. Perhaps Ni= ck's resistance to him in the past century had honed his assertiveness at= last, creating a Nick who could no longer be bullied or tricked. Certai= nly he'd anticipated LaCroix's machinations in their little contest, clev= erly tricking the master into allowing himself to be taken. Seducing him= , he, LaCroix! Manipulating him as he'd been taught by his master to sei= ze the opportunity presented - LaCroix's weakened condition. Slowly, gingerly they entered. First, they both happened to look at the= kitchen table on which lay a long, black leather man's coat. Nat nudged= her companion, and whispered, "Nick doesn't own a coat like this..." =0D Finished with his preparations, Nick descended to drop brief, loving kis= ses on the underside of LaCroix's legs as he moved up into position. Bre= athing heavily, a long low growl began in his throat, as he poised himsel= f for entry. =0D The heads of the mortals turned as one to look upstairs at the eerie sou= nd. "What was that?" Schanke asked in a low whisper. =0D Both vampires moved as one as Nick thrust upwards with his cock, enterin= g the other's anus - LaCroix had thrust upwards to meet him, engulf him. = "Nicholaaaasss!" he screamed in triumph, receiving him completely. =0D The mortals looked at one another, eyes wide and horrified. "I'm outta = here!" Schanke said, spooked, and Natalie was hard pressed to keep up wi= th him as he got. =0D "Shhhhh," LaCroix said next, clutching his lover, eyes wide. Nick froze= in mid-thrust. Now he, too heard the heartbeats. = "Damn," Nick swore softly. They held still until the sounds of the retr= eating elevator stopped. Then he pulled out slightly and thrust inward = again, making his master grunt. He slid his arms now around the legs of = the other and, without further comment, returned to their lovemaking with= renewed ardor. "LaCroix," he breathed in a low voice, just to say his n= ame. His eyes closed, Nick began to thrust in a regular rhythm, also gru= nting softly. LaCroix was again lost, drowning in sensation, his body given over to hi= s son's diligent fucking. He pulled at, kneaded his own stiff cock, hopi= ng to reach release with the other. For once in his long life he enjoyed= the taking, the invasion of his body, more so because of the invader, of= course, and even relaxed into the rhythms, matching the effort with his = own bucking. To aid in this, he put his ankles on Nick's shoulders, and = clutched at his elbows to gain anchorage. = Nick's whole groin was as much on fire as his fangs, which itched again = for blood. Already he was nearing the edge, and, roaring, pitched forwar= d onto LaCroix, shoving the man's arms back again. Stretching, Nick dove= into his mouth, and LaCroix returned the kiss, while gasping at his son'= s sudden attack. Now he wrapped his legs around him as Nick continued to = pump madly into his ass - he hadn't missed a beat! Indeed, the pumping g= rew deeper and harder, until LaCroix thought he'd be split in two. = Crying out, Nick tore his mouth away from his master, reared back his he= ad, fangs bared. The sight of those flashing fangs drew an equal respons= e from LaCroix, and they struck each other's neck at the precise same mom= ent. Nick still did not pause in his violent thrusting, just seconds awa= y from release. LaCroix's blood was a white-hot fire in his veins, wipin= g his mind clean of any thought. He was all reaction, all vampire, all c= onsumed in their mutual lust. = As he came finally, his whole body jerking violently with the explosive = spurts deep into his master's body, Nick bit even deeper, growling. Almo= st immediately, however, he withdrew his fangs, warned by LaCroix's blood= =2E Between Janette and himself, they'd nearly drained him. Gasping, N= ick continued to pump into the other's ass, still shooting, emptying hims= elf into his master. At last he was through, slipping out. He collapsed completely on top of= LaCroix, who still fed from him, yet quieter, his son's head in his hand= s, his fangs in his neck. The sensation of his blood being sucked into t= he mouth of the other calmed Nick further, and he gave himself over to be= ing fed upon. It was just a few seconds more - then LaCroix was releasin= g him, gently easing him off and to the side. Then, panting, both vampir= es lay side by side, spent. =0D Janette stood in the doorway to the bedroom, wearing Nick's red satin ro= be, observing them with mixed emotions. She, too, enjoyed seeing her bel= oved so lusty and free, but she couldn't help thinking that perhaps Nick = had bitten off more than he could chew this time. All physical barriers = between him and LaCroix had quite effectively been shattered this day, an= d it might be a trick to erect any new ones, at least for a while. Their= master was not going to be satisfied with dancing on the periphery of th= eir relationship, not now and not anymore. The contest had started in fu= n, but what she had just seen, coming back in after her luxurious bath, h= ad been unbridled vampire lust, plain and simple. = Being that she'd heard everything between them, every moan and grunt, sh= e'd waited until the end to venture back in. And even at that, she'd fir= st retrieved a couple bottles and glasses for their needs. LaCroix neede= d it, and perhaps even Nick, though he'd fed from both of them. The form= er began to stir first, and she went to his side, pouring as he struggled= to sit up. = "Janette," LaCroix murmured softly, his eyes blue again and hooded. He = sighed as she slipped onto the bed to sit beside him, and gratefully took= the glass of blood from her. He took a long swallow, then they both loo= ked over to the third member of the family. Nick lay on his side, quite out of it. Concerned, Janette left the sec= ond glass and bottle on the stand beside the bed and went around to his s= ide. "Nicolas?" she queried gently, sitting beside him. She turned his = face in her hands so she could look at him. His eyes were still closed, = his handsome features slightly pinched as if in some kind of pain. Blood= y tears trailed from the corners of his eyes. Even now he was breathing = a bit heavily still. "Nicolas, look at me, mon amour..." She brushed ba= ck damp hair from his forehead, reddish from blood sweat, and gently wipe= d away the tears, which, she noted in dismay, were still coming. Janette looked up at their master abruptly. LaCroix didn't need to be t= old of his son's new distress - their link and his blood had told him all= that. "I believe it's my turn for the shower," he murmured, rising unst= eadily. At her curt gesture, he finished the glass of blood, then wobble= d in the direction of the bathroom. = Once he was gone, Nick moved finally, moving his arms around her hips, b= urying his face in her side. "Oh, Nicolas, what have you done?" Janette = sighed, and ran her fingers through his damp curls. = "I had to," came his voice finally, muffled against her. "It was take o= r be taken." Nick tightened his hold on her, his emotions crashing back = in his afterglow. A sob escaped in delayed reaction, then another, anoth= er. Three, no more. He allowed himself to be shifted into her arms, lay= ing against her gratefully as he relaxed completely, again master of hims= elf. "I'm sorry," he murmured. His eyes were still closed. = She closed her eyes, too, briefly, noting his condition in their link to= gether. He was, of course, utterly and totally exhausted, but calm at la= st. Resigned, perhaps, aware that in his madness he had done something h= e should never have - or, if he had, then he'd better be prepared to face= the consequences. At the worst, he feared he had damaged his relationsh= ip with Janette irretrievably, and it was that fear that had made him cli= ng to her so fiercely a minute ago. Janette opened her eyes just as she felt him move to sit up. Turning he= faced her, meeting her eyes at last, a tentative hand raised to her chee= k. "Janette," he breathed her name as if in prayer. "forgive me..." She clasped the hand in hers, kissing the back of it quickly. "Mon cher= , you do not need to be forgiven. Please - forgive yourself. You did no= thing to be ashamed of." As he looked at her in amazement, she glanced m= eaningfully in the direction of the closed bathroom door. They could hea= r the shower running, but LaCroix could likely hear them anyway. She did= not care. "In fact, Nicolas, I love you all the more." Nick shook his head, incredulous that she could be so understanding. Bu= t then, they had the same master. She knew LaCroix as well as he did, lo= nger, even, and knew well that their master could be a bit uncompromising= about many things. "This isn't going to happen again," he said firmly, = then rolled his eyes and corrected himself. "Er, often I mean. However,= this isn't the end of it." "No - are you all right with that?" Janette caressed his cheek at last,= and leaned closer to kiss it. = He smiled, enjoying her loving touches. "I guess so. Yes. Amazingly, = I don't regret having sex with him this time. Except as how it might eff= ect our relationship." Janette brushed her lips against his quickly. "It doesn't - LaCroix is = LaCroix, Nicolas. He is our master and our family, and somehow that is a= part from what we share together." She gently licked away the last stray= tear. "He made us. He brought us together. And in his own bizarre way= , he does love us." Nick took her into his arms, then and drew her back down onto the bed. = "Well, we are, after all, quite mad, and I've just thoroughly proved how = mad I am," he teased. "So, yes, we perceive him as loving us. You know = what they say - 'love does strange things' - and what was that about stra= nger bedfellows? Oh, but I am forgetting, cherie - we are *vampires*. T= his sort of nonsense comes with the territory. You must remind me often,= I'm afraid." She laughed musically before descending to his lips again. A few moment= s later she felt him stiffen. LaCroix had returned from his shower. As = her lips were leaving Nick's, they felt LaCroix's weight on the mattress = again. She and Nick sat up again, and together looked over. Their maste= r was sitting on the edge of the bed, pouring himself a fresh glass of bl= ood, then sipping, his back to them. "LaCroix," Nick addressed him softly. The elder froze, then turned to regard his son. There was no emotion th= ere in the cold stare as he met the gaze of the other. "Nicholas." Ther= e was the barest incline of the head. Nick thought, recognizing the signs in his mast= er only too well. "I guess I got carried away - not that you minded," he= said aloud, the merest hint of amusement in his voice. No response right away. The elder continued to regard him impassively. = He was still thinking about what he'd just read in his son's blood, stil= l deciphering it. Then, slowly, he replied, "You know what I want, Nicho= las - what I've always wanted. I've always been completely open with you= - you know that. You know that I made you to be a vampire, and that vam= pires have hungers that lead them to be quite open sexually. But, what *= I* don't know is what *you* want." Nick was still feeling far too good and far too satisfied to buckle unde= r LaCroix's attitude. He'd read in the other's blood that while LaCroix = of course wanted badly for Nick to accept his nature, he wanted Nick more= =2E The desire had been unavoidable. It was unnerving that the ancient = vampire lusted after him - and even more unnerving that Nick should feel = again - after more than a century - any stirrings of desire back. Althou= gh his heart was Janette's, his thoughts, devotion centered on her, there= was this unmistakable *something* for LaCroix that perhaps hadn't been t= here before. Enkindled again by blood or through their link, maybe. The= link, certainly. That connection was eternal. "You also want us to be a family again, LaCroix," Nick murmured. He eve= n wished LaCroix was not clear over on the other side of the king-size be= d from him, them. He lifted a hand half in entreaty. "I'd like that, I = think. You are our father. I'm thrilled to be close again to Janette...= " and he quickly gave her a kiss, grinning. "...and I suppose it's a na= tural thing to want to be close to you as well." LaCroix almost felt like sneering at his son's child-like= , simplistic view. The man had not in the least considered how this "clo= seness" was going to affect his every-day life. He'd been thrilled to ta= ste real desire in Nick's blood, though he knew well and accepted that th= e chief object of Nick's desires would always be his beautiful Janette. = But there had been desire for *him*. Unmistakable. Not just something b= rought on by the stimulation of his vampiric desires. Had it been awaken= ed in their little phone sex episode? Or a natural side effect of his lo= ve for Janette? The link between master and children was a strong one an= d had worked before against better judgments to bring them together. = He sighed and dropped his gaze. It was too much to hope for. This "con= test" had only served to tease his lust. "Close to me," he echoed, and s= hook his head slightly. "Ironic, the words that now come out of your mou= th so easily. And I am to believe it..." "My blood told you as much," Nick interrupted, a bit more serious. He e= xchanged a glance again with Janette and clasped her hands in his. "I'm = in love with Janette, however..." And he paused to touch her cheek rever= ently. She looked back, eyes wide. "LaCroix, we are your children. As = we are drawn closer together, so also our link with you draws us closer t= o you." LaCroix snorted with derision as he looked up with golden eyes. "I know= what is in your blood! Do you really understand what this means?" He lo= oked over at his daughter as well. "And what of you? Are you really tha= t willing to share him?" Janette rolled her eyes, and made a small sound of exasperation. She ex= changed a glance with Nick. "Oh, LaCroix," she began, her mouth curving = into a smile, "I've *always* had to share him with you! Why should this = be any different?" "It is different because it is *now*," LaCroix reminded her tersely. "F= oolish children!" Nick was now relaxing a bit more. "I know your heart, LaCroix. You mea= n to sit there and tell me that you won't take any affection from me - wh= atever you can get? That you won't take advantage of my love-sick madnes= s?" The gulf between them on the wide bed was suddenly too distant to mainta= in. Nick had to stop his master from pushing them away, keeping them fro= m really getting close to him. He uncurled and rose from the bed, drawin= g Janette along with him by the hand, and moved to go around to the other= side of the bed. LaCroix, uncertain of the advance, stood awkwardly as = they approached. "You will wake up from this madness one day, Nicholas," he murmured as h= is children faced him. Despite the tension he felt, he couldn't help adm= iring their grace and beauty. Nicholas's still unclad body was perfectio= n incarnate, the knightly hard muscles preserved forever. The circumstan= ces of Janette's bringing across had always kept him somewhat reserved wi= th her, more so over the centuries than with the ardent Nicholas, but he = could see in her bright eyes that she, too, was touched by their link tog= ether. = Nick looked up into the face of his master, Janette securely tucked unde= r his arm. She, too, looked up, hopeful as he was to bridge the separati= on between them. Then, tentatively, they each reached out to slide a han= d up LaCroix's crossed arms. LaCroix closed his eyes briefly as he bore = the touch, then something in him unfroze at last. Sighing, he opened his= arms to them. In a last wave of passion, he dipped his head to meet Jan= ette's lips with his, affording her a tender, loving kiss, then Nick... He kissed Nick rather longer. Of course, Nick made it worse by releasin= g Janette and pulling him hard into his arms, his kiss ardent and true. = A flicker of desire swelled, then subsided. And it was worst yet when th= ey parted, for Nick was actually smiling. He looked at him in wonder, th= en back to Janette, whose smile equaled her lover's, then sighed again. The briefest of smiles now crossed his face as well as he allowed himsel= f to relax finally. "Children, it is time to sleep - exhaustion has evid= ently eroded our inhibitions as well," he murmured, releasing Nick. "I b= elieve it is your turn for the shower, Nicholas." Nick wrinkled his nose, grinning, aware that he did indeed need a shower= desperately after the activity of the last hour. He turned, but Janette= was tugging lightly on their master's arm. = "LaCroix - sleep with us?" She indicated Nick's huge bed, which could a= ccommodate all of them - snugly. = Nick looked surprised, but then delighted. LaCroix just looked amazed. = "Ah, I appreciate the gesture, Janette, but it is not necessary. I will= rest well on the couch downstairs." To his further amazement, his son stopped him when he made a move to go.= "No," Nick murmured. "Today it *is* necessary. Please stay." The elder vampire opened his mouth, then closed it, nodding. He was ple= ased, very pleased... and tremendously relieved. = =0D Nick, upon returning from his shower, smiled to see his lovely Janette s= nuggled up against their gruff master, who lay rather stiffly still. Nic= k, shunning pajamas for once, climbed into bed with them, waking them whe= n he wriggled his way between them. Exactly where he knew they'd want hi= m. Finally, with Janette curled up behind him, her arms circling his nec= k and chest, and his head on LaCroix's shoulder, he fell deeply asleep. =0D End of Part II =0D Marcia Tucker / scfimarci@aol.com = Dark Knightie / Unnamed / Immortal Beloved = "You really do like me, Nicholas, you just don't know that you do." - LaC= roix, Night in Question =0D --PART.BOUNDARY.0.24633.emout13.mail.aol.com.846474682-- From ScFiMarci@aol.com Sun Oct 27 23:20:37 1996 Return-Path: ScFiMarci@aol.com Received: from emout04.mail.aol.com (emout04.mx.aol.com [198.81.11.95]) by jbxl1.jbx.com (8.6.12/8.6.9) with ESMTP id XAA31470 for ; Sun, 27 Oct 1996 23:20:37 -0500 From: ScFiMarci@aol.com Received: by emout04.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id XAA15919 for gila@jbx.com; Sun, 27 Oct 1996 23:13:49 -0500 Date: Sun, 27 Oct 1996 23:13:49 -0500 Message-ID: <961027231347_552100844@emout04.mail.aol.com> To: gila@jbx.com Subject: NEW JADFE: "Love, Play..." Part III MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: multipart/mixed; boundary="PART.BOUNDARY.0.15677.emout04.mail.aol.com.846476027" Status: RO --PART.BOUNDARY.0.15677.emout04.mail.aol.com.846476027 Content-ID: <0_15677_846476027@emout04.mail.aol.com.84542> Content-type: text/plain Hi, James! Here's Part III (segments 18-25, Epilogue) of "Love, Play, and Overactive Imaginations". Designation: Explicit/graphic sex, between Nick/Janette/LC Thanks! Marcia Tucker scfimarci@aol.com --PART.BOUNDARY.0.15677.emout04.mail.aol.com.846476027 Content-ID: <0_15677_846476027@emout04.mail.aol.com.84543> Content-type: text/plain; name="LOVEPL~3.TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable EXPLICIT/GRAPHIC SEX - Nick/Janette/LaCroix =0D "Love, Play, and Overactive Imaginations" A Forever Knight Erotica Story Copyright 1996 by Marcia Tucker =0D Disclaimer: All the expressions and acts of homophobia and ignorance of g= ay lifestyles are intentional, deliberate and coming from the characters = themselves, not from any misconceptions of the author. The author intend= s this story to be an out and out fun romp, but also to serve as an indic= tment of homophobia. = =0D Content: m/m, m/f sexual contact, lots of suggestiveness and ribaldry! = All sex and intense activity (mild violence?) is completely consensual. =0D Part III: "A Little Madness" =0D Natalie thought, rifling through= the stack of reports on her desk, looking for one in particular. = The phone rang. "Da Morgue," she intoned. "Oh, hi, Schanke..." She w= inced, knowing what the subject of conversation was going to be. Donald Schanke was none too calm still. "Nat, what are we going to do?"= The detective's voice was shrill and whiny. "Do? Do what? Why do we have to do anything?" Natalie yawned, and rea= ched for her coffee cup. Empty. "About Nick! Come on, Nat, we gotta DO something! Who knows what's real= ly going on?" she thought morosely, then said = aloud, "Schank, Nick is a big boy. He can take care of himself." "Yeah, right. Are we talking about the same Nick Knight here? Really, N= atalie, the guy..." She interrupted. "Schank..." "He's our friend, Nat, amigo, buddy, pal..." "SCHANK!" "WHAT?" Natalie checked to be sure no one was in earshot. "Look, Schank, here's= the facts. Nick is having a love affair with another man. A hot and, u= m, heavy love affair. He's an adult. Whatever he does with his, er, lov= e, sex life, whatever, is his business. And none of ours. Look, we've n= ever even met this guy. We have no reason to think Nick is in any sort o= f trouble with him. All we can do is just show Nick we care and trust th= at if he needs us, he'll come to us, okay?" Schanke muttered a few things under his breath, then said, "Okay. But w= e tell him we're here for him!" "Sure, sure - look, I gotta go, Schanke. Talk to you - oh, you're off t= onight, right? Doing anything special?" "Thanks for reminding me - I gotta go pick up the tickets. Myra roped m= e into taking her to see 'Phantom of the Opera' tonight." "Ooh, sound like fun - try not to fall asleep, eh, Schank?" Nat laughed.= "Not if I want to live to see another sunrise! Talk to you tomorrow, Na= t." When she hung up the phone, Natalie yawned hugely. she wondered, poking at the papers on her desk again. =0D Nick awoke to discover his arms around something soft and very feminine.= Janette, sound asleep. He relaxed into a smile, snuggled closer, kissi= ng her tousled hair. he thought. The contest. Nick came to full awareness. It hadn't been a dream at al= l. His eyes flew open and looked straight into LaCroix's cool solemn gaz= e, watching him from over Janette's shoulder. The elder vampire was not = even touching either of them, propped up on an elbow on the other side of= the bed. = "LaCroix," Nick breathed, and immediately had to drop his gaze. This..= =2E was going to take getting used to. "Good afternoon, Nicholas, or should I say evening," LaCroix answered sm= oothly. "It is about six o'clock. We have a couple hours before the pla= y - we *are* still going, are we not?" Nick was carefully maneuvering into more of a sitting position, careful = not to wake his lover as he shifted her against him. "Yes, we're still g= oing." Settled, he look at his master again, and this time managed a sma= ll smile. "For a moment I thought today was a dream," he murmured. LaCroix regarded him thoughtfully. "Do you wish it was? All a dream? = Is that what you wish?" Nick thought, measuring his wo= rds carefully. "No, I don't = wish that. You know that I just don't want whatever there is between you= and me to affect what I have with Janette. That's all." He looked down= at Janette, drawing a wisp of dark brown hair away from her cheek. = She stirred then, instinctively moving closer to him. Relaxing, Nick ki= ssed her hair again. "Good morning, love," he whispered, holding her clo= se. "Nicolas," she said sleepily, then more awake, rose in his arms to kiss = him full on the mouth, her body at length against his. Nick responded gl= adly, for once unselfconscious before their master. He opened his mouth = against hers, and, invited in, her tongue entered to twine lovingly aroun= d his. After a long, delicious kiss, Janette rose to sit up on Nick's st= omach. She looked over at their master, something of a smirk on her face= =2E "LaCroix - you always liked to watch," she greeted him, pretending not t= o notice that Nick was kissing each of her fingers in turn. Correction -= sucking on each finger in turn, a wicked tease whose effect was not lost= on their master. "Mmm, I do like to watch," LaCroix admitted, though he was watching Nick= , not her. "Nicholas, Nicholas, you seem to have remembered which of my = buttons work best when pushed." Indeed, watching his son's lips indolent= ly sucking on Janette's digits was having a predictable effect on a parti= cular member of LaCroix's body. = Nick rose, then, setting Janette before him, returning attention to her = mouth for a long, loving kiss. Then, parting, he looked into her eyes. = "I'm afraid LaCroix and I have unfinished business," he said apologetica= lly. "if you will allow it?" Janette smiled easily, running a playful finger down the length of his n= ose. "I allow it only if I get exclusive access to you tonight... and th= e next... and the next..." She glanced again at their master, watching w= ith interest. "After all, LaCroix, you said you did not want to take him= away from me. I should not like that." "I did say that, didn't I?" LaCroix sighed, still looking at Nick. "Ver= y well. I shall be content for whatever you two allow, whenever you allo= w it, though, if you please, do not keep an old vampire too hungry for to= o long!" Laughing, Janette kissed Nick a last time, and rose from the bed. Nick,= leaning back with his hands behind his head, watched her movements, admi= ring the lithe, voluptuous figure of his beloved. She collected some clo= thes from the periphery of the room and waved a last time at the two men.= "I'll see you when you pick me up at the Raven to go to the play, mes c= heries." Then, with a last wink at Nick, "Have a good time!" =0D When she was gone downstairs, presumably to drink "dinner", then depart = when it was full dark, LaCroix lay back at length on the bed upstairs. "= Unfinished business, Nicholas?" he queried. Nick almost laughed. Instead, he smirked. "Oh, you remember well. I t= hink you said, 'if you could be so good as to take care of that when you'= re finished, I shall be most grateful'. And we both know what you want t= aken care of." = "Indeed?" LaCroix decided to continue to play coy as Nick sat up again,= scooting a little closer. But it was difficult as his glance fell again= to the beautifully muscled, hard body of his son. The nearness, the she= er physical closeness of that graceful naked form was intoxicating. Desi= re again rose thick in his throat, his nostrils beginning to flare in pas= sion, and LaCroix knew that his hunger indeed was far from being sated fo= r this incredible creation of his. = Nick felt his master's gaze on his body, sensed through their link the p= owerful desire of the other for him, and found himself relaxing - to his = amazement. It had been so long since he'd felt anything like this freedo= m with LaCroix, this ease of physical closeness, this intimacy. For a mo= ment it sorrowed him that circumstances - his own stubbornness, LaCroix's= greed - had pushed them apart. He remembered a time - oh, centuries ago= - when he was still a fledgling and completely abandoned to the explorat= ion of all the pleasures open to a vampire with another vampire - the fee= ding sex and the rest. Now - he felt ready to not just remember, but to = *be* the memory, to relive that sweet, open freedom again. It was madnes= s. He welcomed it. Sighing, Nick drew closer and, smiling a welcome to his master, opened h= is arms to the other enough to invite the embrace. He gladly let LaCroix= take his body into his arms, pulling him close, while Nick's arms circle= d his shoulders. Nick put a hand to the back of his master's head and dr= ew him to his lips, opening his mouth to him with a sigh. Suddenly they = were each kissing deeply, passionately, desperately, the elder releasing = all inhibitions with his child, the younger freely giving himself over to= the new love vibrating in their link together. = Then Nick was pulling back, pulling his mouth off LaCroix's. His eyes w= ere closed as his hands settled on the other's back. Slowly he opened hi= s eyes again to see LaCroix watching him with no little concern. "What's= wrong, Nicholas?" He shook his head quickly, then smiled again. The beauty in that smile = made the other's throat hurt fiercely. "Nothing. I just want to go slow= er." He rewarded his lover with a quick kiss to the lips, his smile deep= ening when the other wanted more. "Easy," he murmured. "I don't want th= is to be over in ten minutes, LaCroix." "You don't?" LaCroix asked ironically. "Am I to believe then that you w= ant this after all?" He was not smiling, still skeptical of his son's mo= tives. It was too typical of Nicholas to jump into the fray on something= and then pull back altogether. And LaCroix knew he was not going to be = able to let him do that, not now. If Nick backed out now, *now*, their b= odies pressed together, their erect shafts side by side between them - he= 'd have to take him anyway. the elder vampire was thinking, knowing all too well how Nick was cap= able of such thoughtlessness. = But his thoughts soon drifted away from suspicion, as Nick began his min= istrations to him. A kiss to his cheek, sweet and fervent pressing, a ca= ress of his head by the strong hands, and LaCroix was inadvertently sighi= ng with pleasure. "Nicholas..." he murmured. "Do not stop, I beg you...= " "I do want this, LaCroix," Nick whispered in his ear then let his tongue= trail downward from earlobe to neck. The pressure of lips and tongue on= that highly sensitive area made his master's eyes roll upwards and anoth= er sigh escape. "This morning we had sex together. Just hard, taking se= x," he continued to murmur in-between kisses. "I want to make love, LaCr= oix. I want to pleasure your body and receive your pleasure in mine. Pl= ease..." = LaCroix pulled away enough to look at him, their eyes meeting. He strok= ed Nick's cheek with his thumb, regarding him in wonder. "Though it is w= hat I desire," he murmured, searching his eyes for deception, "it is hard= to believe these words fall freely from your lips. Just a few days ago = you would not let me touch you. Even this morning you were so fearful of= what I might do to you that you had to take the offensive. How can you = have changed so and how so quickly?" Nick frowned a little, sensing and understanding his master's confusion.= "I don't know." A momentary wildness came into his eyes and he leaned = slightly into the hand at his cheek. "I suppose I'm a fool to trust you = to love me... after all that's gone on between us." Nostrils flared again in an upsurge of emotion. "That is past, Nicholas= =2E Coming so close to you now - how could I cause you any further harm?= And I know that is what I have done in my parental zeal." LaCroix let = his hand fall and settle to his lap. = Nick touched the hand, then took it tenderly into his own. "LaCroix, th= e centuries..." "I know. Let them die. We cannot take them back, Nicholas." He desper= ately wanted to do more than hold hands with his favorite, but uncertain = of the other's mood, he kept still. A drop of blood splattered onto his hand. Then, another. Looking up su= ddenly, each saw the red moisture in the other's eyes. Glances fell, app= alled, then Nick, his head bowed, was pressing gently on the center of La= Croix's chest, bidding him lie back. Wondering, the elder complied, then= took in a breath sharply as his son slid his other hand up his leg. = "Nicholas..." "Shhh,," the other bade him. "Close your eyes." He did not, but looked in wonder. Nick's eyes were closed, red streaks = on his cheeks as he cupped his hand around his master's scrotum and penis= , squeezing gently, and, perhaps lovingly. There was, LaCroix noted with= a pang, a quiet majesty about his beautiful Nicholas, and he thought - h= oped - that there was nothing of submission in the gesture, nothing of re= signation, giving in to the inevitable. Instead - dare he suppose? - a t= ender, warm regard. The hand left his chest, moving slowly and gracefull= y downward. "You do not have to do this, Nicholas," LaCroix sighed. "Shhhh... no more words." The blonde head bowed. Then the elder releas= ed a long breath as he felt the first touch of his son's tongue. He reac= hed up to caress the muscular white shoulders, fingers the soft waves of = hair, then let his hand fall. Only then, finally, did LaCroix close his = eyes to let the pleasure take him over. = =0D When the Caddy pulled up at the Raven to collect Janette an hour later, = that female vampire immediately noted two things about her family members= =2E One, LaCroix looked distinctively *pleased*, worse than she'd ever s= een him. And her beloved, her Nicolas, looked - she relaxed and smiled b= roadly to identify her lover's mood - Nick looked at peace. His eyes rov= ed over her appropriately - and oh, did she love to feel his gaze upon he= r body - lighting with pleasure to see her, but he was deeply peaceful. = At last. Once their master had vacated the front seat of the Caddy for h= er, she slid over to plant a thorough one on Nick, who so enjoyed the dee= p kiss that when they parted, she could see the encroaching gold in his e= yes. "Daughter, you look stunning," LaCroix observed with a smile, winking at= his son, who was quite affected himself by her presence. Janette wore a full-length sleeveless gown of dark red velvet, the bodic= e displaying her feminine endowments to full advantage. The choker neckl= ace she wore they recognized as one Nick had given her centuries ago as a= n anniversary present, the primary stone a blood-red ruby that was extrem= ely rare and priceless. She wore her hair swept up, leaving the milk-whi= te splendor of her neck and shoulders bare. Janette smiled to see their = eyes linger longingly on her neck and cleavage. = "I'm so glad you approve," she answered in French, dimpling prettily as = she smiled, enjoying their reaction to her. = "Oh, my," Nick added, remembering to breathe again. "Janette, I didn't = know you still had that necklace." She laughed at him musically. "Drive, Nicolas. We don't want to be lat= e for the theatre!" =0D The three vampires did indeed cut an impressive swath through the alread= y impressive throng at the Pangeres Theatre, and for once did not mind th= e eyes that followed them, admiring the tall, blond, extremely good looki= ng man in black with the stunning brunette on his arm, accompanied by the= even taller, distinguished-looking man with unmistakable presence, also = completely in black. The very observant also noted the evident warmth th= e three possessed for each other - the couple was plainly in love, and th= e elder gentleman a cherished companion as well. The production wasn't exactly one new to them; in fact, they'd known the= composer in Paris who had been the inspiration for the Phantom, and LaCr= oix had even enjoyed an evening's company with the exquisite "Christine,"= whose name had actually been Monette. It must be noted that the play i= tself was of little interest to them therefore, being more concerned with= enjoying one another's company, the music, and the ambiance. = The first act ended, and Janette smoothly rose from her seat, declaring = to her men that she would like to check her makeup. An amused Nick murmu= red something about assisting her in checking more than her makeup, then = she was gliding past them to the aisle, receiving a stolen kiss from her = lover and a gentle squeeze of a hand at her waist from LaCroix. Janette = wiggled her gloved fingers at them merrily, and proceeded up the aisle. Nick sighed, sitting back down. "LaCroix, you sure can pick them." The elder vampire, his arm around the back of Nick's chair beside him, t= hough not touching him, replied smoothly, looking his son over with the s= ame admiration. "I certainly can." Eyebrow raised, mouth quirked in amusement, Nick caught his look. "You'= re utterly shameless, LaCroix." = "And why not? Through all eternity only you two have I selected to be m= y companions. You know very well how I feel about both of you... and you= , Nicholas, know that you are my favorite." LaCroix spoke quietly so as = not to be heard by mortal ears. "My Nicholas, my beloved..." "Well, well, well! Looky who's here at the theatre!" a strident, loud m= ale voice interrupted them rudely. = Nick glanced up in surprise to see Donald Schanke leering at them from a= bove, hovering off LaCroix's right shoulder. The latter smiled; Nick fro= wned. "Uh, hi, Schank." Schanke was all eyes, thinking that he'd caught Nick out on a date. Cer= tainly the posture of the two men was interesting, he thought, noting the= arm of the other around Nick. Or so it looked from his angle. "I don't = believe I've met your, er, *friend*, Nick," Schanke said, shifting to fa= ce them better. Nick was wondering at his partner's odd manner of speaking. C= ould Schanke also know about his vampire master? = Just then LaCroix turned from Nick to look up at the mortal. "Nor have = I met yours, Nicholas. Please - do introduce us." Schanke was bewildered at the sudden chill the man's voice produced in h= im. And the face - long, pale, the thin, bloodless lips... he wondered, baffled. = "Ah, Schank, this is, ah, my uncle, Lucien LaCroix. And... this is my p= artner on the force, Donald Schanke." Nick explained uncomfortably. For= the first time he was aware of his master's arm around the back of his c= hair, but as yet he didn't think to wonder what Schank might think about = that. What he did wonder at was that LaCroix had changed his voice subtl= y - evidently he did not wish to be recognized as the Nightcrawler tonigh= t. Probably a good idea. LaCroix smiled cheerfully - not a cheerful sight. "Detective Schanke, i= t is my pleasure. Are you enjoying the performance?" He was completely = relaxed, his arm now settled against the back of his "nephew". = Schanke mused, irritated by Nick's obvious attempt at= deception. "Oh, sure, it's great. Always fascinating to see the depict= ion of a master artist obsessed with his protege. Or whatever." Nick almost gasped out loud - or laughed - or both, but instead he clear= ed his throat and shifted in his seat. As he did he could feel the tensi= ng in the muscles of the arm at his back. "Indeed," LaCroix replied tightly , now unsmiling. "Although perfection= is only achieved in a student by such 'obsession' as you term it. It is= unfortunate when the protege is unable to properly appreciate such atten= tion." Nick thought, grimacing. The words were obviously pointed at hi= m. As usual. His master never missed an opportunity to teach a lesson. "Huh?" Schanke said, frowning. The older man's words went right past h= im. A thought tried to settle in his mind in regards to the situation, b= ut it wasn't able to stick. As the ancient vampire had intended. Schank= e blinked, and again saw what he wanted to see - Nick, on a date with an = older man whose arm was draped possessively around him. Very strange. M= aybe Nick had been coerced into this relationship... = "Schank," Nick sighed, "go enjoy the second half. I think it's starting= again." The music was beginning up again. = "Think I'll go enjoy the second half," Schanke muttered, and arrowed off= to return to Myra. = Once back in his seat, he just missed seeing Janette's return to her sea= t as he turned to talk to his wife. =0D Janette noted immediately the posture of the two male vampires as she mo= ved past them to sit back down. "Something happen, cheries?" LaCroix wasn't looking her way. Nick gestured helplessly then gave her = a quick kiss. "Schanke." "Oh, dear," she murmured. "Here? And he met..." "He is a simple-minded oaf," LaCroix interrupted. "Unbelievable that yo= u waste yourself on such poor excuses of mortals such as that one." Janette frowned at Nick, puzzled. Nick shrugged. He knew better than t= o get upset with LaCroix's impression of Schanke. More, he was worried a= bout what LaCroix was thinking about in regards to the conversation with = Schanke. His master had unnecessarily pointed out to him that gratitude = was deserved and expected for his attentions to his Nicholas. Nick thoug= ht he could reassure him, though after what had happened earlier, he was = surprised he needed to. Evidently the past was too fresh for LaCroix as = well. The lights went to half, then went out altogether. Nick, in the dark, s= lipped his hand into LaCroix's right hand in his lap, giving it a warm, l= oving squeeze. = =0D The Caddy pulled up at LaCroix's townhouse. The master vampire exited t= he automobile, leaned back in to give Janette a long, loving kiss, then s= traightened to face his son, who had gotten out of the car long enough to= say goodbye. "Well, then," LaCroix murmured, looked down at the open, b= lue eyes of the other. "This has been a wonderful day - one which I admi= ttedly never hoped to see." Nick crossed his arms before him, but faced his master directly, standin= g very close. "Nor I, but for different reasons - " As the other's eyes= widened in surprise, he hastily added, "Not at all that I'm not glad for= how the day turned out! I admit I far rather prefer making love with yo= u than war, LaCroix!" He was smiling broadly, and at this last, even man= aged a wink. LaCroix smiled briefly. "Then we shall - more often - as your beautiful= Janette permits, Nicholas. I bid you both adieu - reluctantly - and a g= ood night." Then he was taking a hold of his son by the waist, pulling him gently to= ward him. Nick, surprised, glanced to see that there were no observers -= there weren't - then sighed and placed his hands on his master's chest, = allowing himself to be drawn against the other's body. "Good night, LaCr= oix," he murmured as lips descended to his. The kiss was warm and sweet.= Parting, LaCroix smiled again. "Be good, children," he whispered, then = turned abruptly and went up the stairs. He did not look back again. Sighing, Nick dropped back into the driver's seat just as the door of th= e townhouse closed behind their master. "Well. What now - the loft, I g= uess." "Oh, yes," Janette whispered, her mouth suddenly at his neck as he start= ed the car again. "Take me home, Nicolas..." He gasped in pleasure as her tongue licked at his sensitive neck, but ge= ntly put her off. "I'm driving, Janette. Save it for the loft." Instead of sitting back, Janette scooted closer and turned her attention= s to his belt. "I cannot, mon amour," she sighed. "At last I have you c= ompletely to myself - no LaCroix - and you think I'm going to sit back an= d enjoy the ride to the loft?" She had the buckle open, and as he squirm= ed, was removing the belt of his pants entirely. "I'm driving... ahhh..." He *was* driving, directing the ancient Cadill= ac down Bloor, heading back east. Luckily it was late and there were few= cars on the road. Being summer, the top of the Caddy was down, and the,= er, occupants of the car were more visible. = Janette had the zipper of his pants open. "What are you doing?" Nick as= ked, alarmed, one eye on her busy hands and the other on the road. "Having you, mon, amour," she explained, slipping her hand into his brie= fs. "Having you!" = Nick gasped out loud as her fingers closed around his stiffening cock an= d her other hand clutched at his scrotum from outside his pants. Gently = she drew his organ forth. "I can't believe you're..." he managed to croa= k before he gasped again as she began to stroke him. "Janette, not here!= " "Oh, but I told you I can't wait," she complained. By now she'd scooted= over to sit with her side pressed into his, her left arm around his back= and her right hand busy in his lap. "You feel so good, Nicolas..." The Caddy continued on to the loft with only a handful of wobbles. =0D By the time the Caddy had pulled up by the door, Nick was vamped out and= in quite a state. He slipped the car into park and immediately pulled h= er face to his for a kiss. But after a moment, she drew away, releasing = his cock as well, and began to move over to the door on her side of the c= ar. = "Janette?" Nick queried a bit breathlessly, reaching for her and just mi= ssing. Janette opened the car door and glided out, leaving him to gape a= fter her. She closed the door without looking at him, took a few steps, = then turned and looked at him, one elegant eyebrow raised in inquiry. Nick had never seen a more magnificent woman in his long life. The long= , clean lines of her body were perfection, and the luscious swell of brea= sts against the red velvet made his cock ache painfully. She was stunnin= g beyond mortal imaginations, standing there so, the moonlight making her= skin glisten like pure, fresh snow. "Coming," he rasped, and almost fel= l when he got out of the car in his haste to join her, one hand clutching= his pants together. To her credit, she did not laugh, but waited patien= tly. In the elevator, Janette turned her back to him, raised her arms over he= r head, folding her hands together behind her head, and leaned against th= e closed door. Nick, taking a breath in sharply, understood the gesture = immediately. He let his pants slip to the floor, quickly divesting himse= lf of them and socks and shoes, then put his hands to her sides. = Sighing, Nick ran his fingers lightly up the red velvet, feeling its sof= tness, then reached for the zipper of the dress, his other hand moving to= her hip. Standing close behind her, he drew the zipper down a couple in= ches, then leaned in to plant a couple soft kisses on the milky skin so r= evealed. A pause to undo the clasp of her bra, then he continued the pat= tern. Draw zipper down - kiss, kiss, maybe a little lick. Janette shivered with delight. It was an old favorite Nicolas thing to = do, and it had been far, far, too long since she'd been able to enjoy it.= She'd known he would remember. And he was going at precisely the right= rate, slow and easy, taking his time, remarkable considering the state t= o which she'd gotten him in the car. In the olden days, of course women'= s clothes had considerably more fastenings, which meant that it would tak= e a very long time because of course every piece of Janette thus revealed= , even if another layer of fabric was the revelation, had to be kissed. = Janette had made sure she'd worn a dress with the longest zipper she coul= d find. At last the mass of red velvet was in his hands, and Nick was sliding th= e rest of it down her silken legs and to the floor. To his credit, he di= d not stop in his attentions with lips and tongue, descending to his knee= s to apply same to sides, buttocks, and thighs. He'd slid her bra off a= s well, but was clearly saving their contents for another chapter of atte= ntion, as he did not even reach around to touch her breasts. She knew he= would, of course, get around to that. = Now Janette was left with red satin panties and black lace garters which= held up her nylons, which were of a translucent, shimmery beige. Nick o= f course knew that these were special panties, and with a couple tugs at = certain portions, he had them off her and in his hands, leaving the garte= rs in place. The panties he passed around to hand to her - she knew that= there was something he liked her to do with them - later. = "Just a moment," he murmured huskily as he paused to shed his jacket and= unbutton his shirt. He shed the shirt as well, then reached for her aga= in. Nick slid his hands up her sides, slowly, then to her upraised arms.= Holding her thus, he came closer and carefully laid his body against he= rs, pressing his semi-erect shaft upright into the crack between her butt= ocks. Janette gave a little gasp as he did this, and separated her legs = a little to help. Then the rest of his long, lean, knight's body pressin= g into her back, and at last she felt his mouth on her neck. = "Yesssss..." she sighed, her forehead pressing into the cold metal of th= e door, his weight on her, trapped for his taking. She gasped in pleasur= e as she felt the sharp crunch of his fangs sinking into her flesh. The = backwash of sensation as he fed from her, revealed his growing inner cont= entment, and she relaxed, savoring it. = Then Nick was withdrawing his fangs, licking clean her neck and his lips= , and he brought her arms down to her sides. Janette tilted her head to = the side and up, then back, sighing as he bent to her lips. Nick folded = their arms together in front of her, kissing her deeply, lovingly. For t= he moment, his eyes were blue again, his teeth back to normal. The kiss = was more warm than arousing, less exploratory and more gentle. Janette, = thrilled, did not mistake what he communicated in the kiss. Her Nicolas,= again after centuries apart, was in love with her, and she with him. = Abruptly she felt his lips curve into a grin as he rose from her mouth. = And just as suddenly, Janette found herself being quickly swept off her = feet and up into his arms. Deftly he got the door open and carried her th= rough into the loft proper. She barely had a chance to gasp when he'd ca= ptured her mouth in his again. The next thing she knew he was sitting he= r down on the waist-high table behind the leather sofa. Obligingly she w= rapped her legs around him as he supported her, still very involved with = her mouth. When Nick rose from their kiss finally, he began to work on her neck, ki= ssing and licking her lithe column from jawline to the base of her throat= =2E She gasped and pressed his head into her, wanting the sweet piercing= of his fangs again, but he was already continuing downward into the clef= t between her breasts. Janette gave forth a long sigh as Nick used his s= killed tongue at last on her breasts. She felt him shudder and guessed c= orrectly that the change had taken him over again. = Reaching down between her legs, she discovered his erect, rigid cock pre= ssing against her thigh. Making a noise of anticipatory pleasure, she ch= ecked herself - unnecessarily for the intensive attention to her breasts = had rendered her quite sopping. She guided the head of his cock to her o= pening, shifting herself for a better position. Nick, eager to assist, m= oved his hands down to her buttocks to help her move. He brought his hea= d up from her breasts just in time to catch her glance as he slipped his = hard rod up into her. A little moan escaped her as he filled her complet= ely, the change sweeping through her as well. = The next thing she knew he was lifting her up from the table, still insi= de her, and they were airborne. They landed on the worktable near the st= airs. The table, being on wheels, rolled about three feet from the impac= t. Paint cans, palettes, and brushes went flying as well. The vampires = laughed. Nick had landed hard on his back on the painting worktable, and Janette = was still astride him. "I have you now!" she growled in a feral grin, an= d grabbed his wrists, pinning them above his head. "Now, be a good boy a= nd leave these here." He grinned back, chuckling. "Now why would I do that?" Feebly he strug= gled against her grip, just for show. "I might not want to use a certain article of clothing on you," she rasp= ed. Janette was still carrying her red satin panties with her. "Are you= going to cooperate or not?" Nick was distracted by the vision before him. His hard cock was still d= eep inside her and enjoying her wriggling movements as they struggled. A= nd of course her ample breasts were hanging down deliciously. He so want= ed to suck on them or at the very least play with them! He made some noi= ses in his throat and gave no indication that he'd heard her. Janette could see that her beloved was quite a ways past reasoning and c= huckled. "Oh, mon amour, I see that I will have to put you out of your m= isery soon! Forget cooperation!" With a deep growl, she brought his wri= sts down to either side of his head and began to ride him hard. In respo= nse, he pumped his hips upward, matching her rhythm so that they were fuc= king each other in tandem. = But he was extremely aroused, and the sight of her luscious, swinging br= easts soon pushed him over the edge. Thrusting hard, Nick roared as he s= purted deep into her, shooting and shooting his load. Janette was coming= also and at the peak of her orgasm released his wrists and attacked his = neck. Nick followed by biting her a second later. Still he pumped, but = gradually slowed as the circuit of blood between their bodies commenced. = A minute later and they were still, lost in the sharing of their life es= sence. The loft was quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft s= ucking noises from the two feeding vampires. =0D Words cannot describe what went on between them in their blood. To say = that they tasted of their love and each other's life is so inadequate. T= here were so many centuries between them, so much love and strife, anguis= h and pleasure, fulfillment and mistrust... and though there may yet be a= time in which they would again be apart, each knew that they would alway= s be drawn back, each to the other. = And now, unmistakably, a third element in their relationship was present= as it had ever been, a factor that they could never dismiss, especially = now. = LaCroix. Their master and father. Their lover. Janette could still ta= ste him in Nick from earlier in the evening. His influence, his presence= was an intrinsic part of their lives. He would always be there, forever= =2E Not between them, not now. But with them in mind, heart, and body. Sometime later fangs slipped out of the wounds they'd made in each other= 's necks. Janette lay at length on top of Nick and laid her head on his = chest, relaxing completely against him. Nick wrapped his arms around her= and kissed her hair, sighing. Their bodies were still coupled together,= and they were content to remain that way. Finally Janette stirred and lifted her head to look at him. Nick slippe= d his hands to either side of her head, his fingers entangled in the dark= cloud of her hair. Their eyes met and they smiled. "I love you, Janett= e," he sighed, and she answered in turn, "And I you, Nicolas." = Nick's smile grew wider, the light in his eyes sunny and warm. "I hope = you don't think we're finished here," he said, his glance falling to her = lips, then back down to the long column of her neck. He reached down wit= h a finger to wipe up a stream of blood still left from one of the closin= g marks on her neck. Sighing again, he brought the finger to his mouth a= nd licked off the blood. Janette watched this with widened eyes. For their species, the sharing = of blood was the supreme act of intimacy between two vampires. No mortal= endeavor could ever match this act for intensity and vulnerability. "Ni= colas, I feel your blood in me," she murmured in a low voice, feeling he= r eyes change back to gold already as she gazed at him. "Your life is in= me, caressing me, becoming me as my blood is in you, becoming you." She= closed her eyes, savoring his essence inside her. = He felt a stiffening in his cock again, and was rewarded with a squeeze = of her vaginal muscles around him. She wanted him firmly planted in her = and had no intention of letting him leave her body yet! Nick shifted his= position to get as deep inside her as possible, drawing his knees up aga= inst her back as she sat up on him again. Though he had already come, an= d hard, he knew that his unique physiology would quickly restore him to a= state where he could come again. And again... and again, for as long as= he pleased. An element of vampire physiology that Nick had not relied u= pon in this way for far too long. That kind of indulgence had not been a= practice of his for a very long time. = But tonight, alone with his beloved Janette, Nick wanted nothing more th= an to pleasure her for hours, and to receive pleasure from her in turn. = In fact, he had no doubt that the intensity of their lovemaking would onl= y increase, even to violence. = "Your blood makes me burn for you more," Nick breathed, and suddenly pul= led her back down on him and rolled her over so that he was on top again.= = Janette gasped, thrilled to be continuing already, feeling his cock hard= ening and filling her again. "I, too, burn, Nicolas," she gasped and pul= led him down to her mouth as he started to thrust into her again. = Thus conjoined, their bodies writhed in their renewed passion for severa= l long minutes. Then, suddenly laughing, Nick ripped his cock out of her= and climbed down off the rocking table with her in his arms, drawing a s= queal from her. = "Nicolas! What are you doing?" Janette's voice rose shrill and indigna= nt and she wriggled in his grasp. She did not for any reason want to los= e his cock from inside her, for one thing. = Nick laughed and kissed her quickly, though because she was fighting him= , his kiss landed on her jaw. "This is no place to do this!" he proclaim= ed, kicking at the table and sending it rolling. "To bed!" And as she w= hooped with laughter, he flew them both up to the upper level of the loft= =2E "Ta da!" With grand ceremony Nick deposited her on his bed after sweepi= ng off the bedclothes. He wanted nothing in the way of his taking of her= =2E Nick was about to mount her again, but Janette used her vampire stre= ngth and the element of surprise to knock him onto his back, get on top o= f him and her mouth onto his cock before he could react. = Of course, he liked this! Making deep noises of pleasure in his throat = as she began to suck on him, Nick pulled her cunt down onto his mouth so = that he could return the favor. Wrapping their arms around each other, h= ugging each other fiercely, the vampires sucked on each other's genitals = with lusty, sucking noises, purposely exaggerated in fun! = But not for long, for Nick had a severe urge to rut. Pushing her aside = roughly, he wiped at his face with the edge of a discarded sheet, then pu= lled her away from his cock, throwing her down on the bed onto her back, = and this time successfully mounting her as he'd wanted to do before. = She let him, of course. Janette opened her legs wide for him and let ou= t a long moan of pleasure as he slid his hard, swollen organ up into her,= sinking it to its full length. Grunting, Nick clasped her legs in front= of him and started to pump into her. = He was not gentle and she did not want him to be. Nick released her legs= after a minute to lean on his hands. Growling with bared fangs, he fucke= d with long, hard strokes, increasing in speed, fucking harder and harder= =2E Janette had wound her legs around his waist, but otherwise gave him = full control to unleash his power. = And she thrilled, crying out in ecstasy, sent over the edge again by the= sheer force of his thrusts. In response, she timed the convulsive clenc= hing of her muscles with his inward thrusts and continued this all throug= h his ejaculation, in a sense, squeezing him dry! Again the vampires dov= e for each other's neck to bite immediately, again tasting each other's o= rgasm. They did not drink as long this time, and after several minutes, they wi= thdrew fangs and Nick rolled off her to lay next to her. Sated, he rela= xed, his eyes closed. When Janette's fingers touched his, he twined his = fingers in hers. She, too, relaxed and closed her eyes. = Their mixed blood sang within their veins. =0D It did not end there. Nick and Janette's lovemaking continued until far= into the morning, sometimes gently and with great tenderness and sometim= es with vampiric violence. They spoke less and less, their blood saying = anything to each other that they needed to say. When it was finally over= , their bodies sticky and red with blood, bloodsweat, and their sexual fl= uids, the last of their fang marks and scratches closing, they collapsed = into each other's arms and fell immediately and deeply asleep. The red satin panties lay somewhere under the pillows, unused and forgot= ten. In his townhouse some distance away, Lucien LaCroix sighed and smiled to= himself. He'd been vicariously enjoying the intense vibrations in his l= ink with his two favorite children, keeping vigil all these hours. He wa= s not at all jealous or envious, not any more, knowing that he would agai= n have access to Nicholas and they would allow it. Perhaps even Janette = would allow him to make love to her. = He'd chosen well, those centuries ago. Oh, yes, he'd chosen well! =0D It was seven o'clock in the evening. Dr. Natalie Lambert had just come i= nto the morgue five minutes before and still had her coat on when the pho= ne rang. She picked up the phone on the third ring. During the first two, she'd = stood there, scowling at the phone. After the unfortunate visit to the l= oft the other morning, she did not want to talk to Nick Knight because sh= e had no idea what she could possibly say to him. But, it could be anyon= e. "Morgue, Lambert," she replied. "Dr. Lambert, could you be so good as to let me know Detective Knight's = whereabouts?" came a vaguely familiar male voice quite unexpectedly. Nat sat down at her desk, hard. "I know who this is." At least she tho= ught she did and the thought appalled her to no end. = "Really... well, no matter. Is the Detective there?" She was sure now - the strange phone calls to th= e precinct with the muffled voice, the all-too-clear voice screaming Nick= 's name upstairs in the loft. Nat shut her eyes tight, trying not to think a= bout what LaCroix was doing to and with Nick. "No, of course he isn't," = she retorted finally. "Like you don't know." An amused chuckle from the other end only fueled her ire. "I do not kno= w where he is every second. Much as I'd like to. If you should see him.= =2E." "Forget it," Nat interrupted in disgust. "I'm not passing on your littl= e love messages to your Nicky-poo, LaCroix! Don't call here again!" And= she slammed down the phone. she thought, and dialed Schanke's desk at the pr= ecinct. "Hom-i-cide," Donald Schanke answered in a sing-song voice. "Schank, it's Nat." "I was just going to call you! You would not believe who I saw at the Ph= antom last night!" she thought morosely, tapping at a folder with a pen= in a fast, irate rhythm. "Try me." Schanke was bursting to tell, but at the same time scoped the room to be= sure his partner was nowhere in sight yet. Thankfully he wasn't. "Nat,= Nick was at the theatre and he was with a man!" "Tall." "Er, yeah, I guess, though they were sitting down. The guy had his arm = around Nick - can you believe it?" "Short hair. Buzz cut." "Yeah - you know the guy?" "Ah, I might." "Nick introduced him as his uncle. Yeah, right." "Did, ah, Nick tell you his name?" "Yeah - Lu-cee-an La-something." Nat didn't know what to say. She could not re= veal the secret of Nick's nature, but how much of that extended to Nick's= vampire family? Schanke knew about Janette, even that she and Nick had = been together in the past, and Schanke was aware of the Nightcrawler, but= not Lucien LaCroix. Evidently LaCroix had still disguised his voice at = the theatre. "Ah, I know of him, Schank, that's all. Nick has spoken of= him in the past, and I assumed that he was some sort of distant relative= =2E" A pause while the detective sorted out her words. "You mean this affair= has been going on for sometime?" "Or perhaps just recently moved beyond the= , ah, friendship stage. I don't know. Schanke, Nick is an adult. He ca= n live his life any way he chooses." To herself she added ironically, "Sure, but... Nat, you didn't see the way this guy was looking at him. = The guy is just so... so creepy!" "And Nick isn't?" That shut the detective up. Nick Knight, precinct weirdo and world-clas= s eccentric. However... "Nat, compared to Nick, this guy was Bela Lugosi= on a bender!" Nat almost gasped. Fortunately, Schanke had had no idea what he'd just = said. "Ah... whatever, look, Schank, why don't we confront Nick - tell h= im we're concerned?" At that moment, two of her aides rolled a body into= the room. "Schank, I've got to go," she finished hurriedly. "Think abo= ut it, okay?" "Sure, Nat. Later, alligator." She was never so glad to see a dead body in her life. =0D Nick walked into the morgue about a half hour later, wondering how much = he should tease Nat about Janette. He was humming absently as he came ov= er to her desk, feeling exceptionally well. It had been quite a night an= d morning that day. "Hi, Nat," he greeted her. She didn't respond, writing something in a folder. = he thought with exasperation. He tried again. "Ah, hello, Natalie." "Hi, Nick." She neither looked up nor stopped writing. He stood there a while longer, frowning. He cleared his throat unnecessar= ily, and said, "I'm here to pick up the Ivans report." A blue folder was suddenly slapped down in front of him. She still hadn= 't looked at him yet. "Ah, Natalie, = I was wondering if you'd seen Janette lately?" Nat had just picked up her coffee mug and taken a drink. Now coffee was= suddenly spewed all over the folder she'd been working on. "Dammit!" Nick looked on while she dabbed at the folder with a kleenex, trying not= to laugh. "Damn it, Nick," she continued, then finally glared up at him= =2E "She told you, didn't she?" "Told me what?" He hoped he looked innocent, despite the fact that ther= e was utterly nothing innocent about a vampire. "Never mind. Something that should not have been talked about. A momen= t of mental imbalance. I can't believe she told you..." To herself, she= was thinking, He gestured, trying not to smirk. "Well, Janette and I have that mental= telepathy link-thingie and we really can't keep secrets from one another= =2E" "Right. Well, you're a fine one to be talking about secrets, Nick. We = could, of course, discuss the new wrinkle in *your* life." She was reall= y irritated that Janette... and that Nick, of all people should bring it = up... considering the liaisons he'd been having himself. She still could= not believe... = "Come again?" Natalie laughed bitterly. "Oh, come on, Nick! Like we all don't know! = I'm talking about the love of your life here! And you bring up to me ab= out my little lapse with Janette, when you -" "What are you talking about?" He gaped at her blankly. She stood to face him. "All right, I admit to having really bad timing = when I drop in at the loft, which I assure you I will *not* any more - I'= m talking about the phone calls, the kissing, the long black leather coat= that is *not* yours, and I don't even want to mention the sounds Schank = and I heard from upstairs..." = Nick, stunned, leaned forward on her desk. "What did you hear??" Natalie was remembering Schanke's report from "Phantom." Then there had= been the phone call from Nick's vampire master to the morgue a short whi= le ago. "I'm trying to forget that! Tell me, Nick, is it much different = than with a woman? Aside from the obvious anatomical differences, of cou= rse, which shouldn't matter to a vampire, I suppose -" her voice was hard= and bitter - "... since you're far more interested in biting - or am I w= rong?" "Natalie..." He had no idea what to say. "Is it LaCroix? Are you having a torrid love affair with your *master*?= " Natalie asked angrily. A look of complete shock crossed his face and he was speechless, his mou= th half open. She persisted, "Look, Nick, you've had setbacks in the past, but this on= e goes way beyond a mere *setback*!" All her frustration with him, her d= isgust, was building to a head. "I mean, LaCroix? Nick, I can't believe= you could ever have..." "We are *not* having this conversation," Nick stated, his eyes wild. An= d again in two days he turned on a heel and stalked out of the morgue on = her. Natalie thou= ght in consternation, biting on a fingernail. =0D Nick steered into the precinct house, trying not to meet anyone's eyes. = Frowning, he wondered how this whole mess could have started.= But he knew that only too, too well. LaCroix, of course. Now things w= ere dropping into place - the phone calls. Nat and Schanke had intercept= ed several of those. And when Janette had called, it had always been Nic= k who'd answered. = Nick also thought with dread, ar= riving at his desk. His partner, he was relieved to note, was nowhere in= sight. Probably late, as usual. He could hardly believe it - Nat had actually seen him k= issing LaCroix? he wondered. = Heavily he sank int= o his chair. He recalled now - the elevator door, the heartbeats - but in the passion= of the moment, he'd completely forgotten. he concluded, his= head in his hands. A strong wave of denial rushed through him. The phone rang, causing him to jump. Testily, he picked up the receiver= =2E "Listen, we have to talk..." "Nicholas," purred the expected voice on the other end. "Your intuition= is improving. We really must resume those lessons, now that we two are = on more intimate terms." "Yeah, well about that..." Suddenly Nick spied Schanke approaching from = across the room. "Never mind." He tried to sound calm. "What can I do = for you?" "Do?" The invitation was too good for the other to resist. "Let's see,= suck my cock, bite me..." "What can I do for you over the phone?" he amended hastily, rolling his = eyes. "Now, Nicholas, surely many of the others receive personal calls at work= - it's not an uncommon practice," LaCroix oozed back. The deep, beautif= ul voice was sultry and suggestive. "May I not call my son from time to = time?" Nick waved at Schanke, trying to smile as his partner sat down at his de= sk with a wary glance. "Every night? Several times a night?" he continu= ed into the phone receiver, turning aside in his chair. "I like hearing your voice," came the answer. Nick could not hold back = a groan. = "Everything okay?" Schanke murmured, playing with some papers on his des= k which he plainly was doing for show. = Nick put his hand over the receiver. "Sorry, Schank - a family thing. = This will just take a minute." Schanke rolled his eyes and went back to shuffling papers. Nick took hi= s hand off the receiver. He knew all too well his partner was less than = satisfied with that lame answer. He spoke into the receiver again. "Thi= s is, ah, not a good time to discuss this..." "Oh, is Don Schanke there? I believe I've spoken to him on the phone a = few times. And of course we met at the theatre. Your incredibly dense pa= rtner." Teeth ground together - not fangs yet, but close. "Thanks. Look, I'll = call you when I get home in the morning." "May I come by?" he thought morosely. = Truthfully - and he did have to admit it to himself - Nick did not mind = LaCroix's "dropping by". For one thing it was a tremendous relief to be = finished with the adversarial aspect to their relationship. And Nick had= found, to his amazement, that he even liked the new closeness because it= somehow allowed him to be even closer to Janette. Her attitude was amaz= ing, but he realized that both she and LaCroix believed that the increase= d family intimacy - even the sexual intimacy - was good for him. Certain= ly he felt extremely good. Sexual satisfaction was good medicine, even f= or vampires. = "Of course you can come by," Nick replied, his voice momentarily taking = on a softer tone. = Schanke glanced at Nick sharply. Out of the corner of the eye, Nick cau= ght the look. "Ah, I'll talk to you then," he added hastily in a more no= rmal tone of voice. = "Au revoir, dear Nicholas," LaCroix replied slowly. Plainly his master = wanted to talk longer. "Au revoir," Nick answered automatically, then mentally kicked himself f= or the faux pas. = After he'd hung up the receiver, Schanke spoke up. "Oooh, French. How = romantic. So - what's he like?" Nick froze. "Who?" He pretended to play with his own = papers. "Your boyfriend. Who else? That was him, wasn't it?" He shrugged himself into the part, innocent to the hilt. "Boyfriend? W= hat are you talking about, Schank??" "Don't be coy with me, Nick Knight. I know you're..." he glanced aroun= d for eavesdroppers, then lowered his voice. "I know you're involved wit= h another man!" Nick looked properly shocked. "I am not! Schank, where did you get suc= h a ridiculous notion?" Schanke smiled tightly and shook his head. "Oh, you're good, Knight. D= eny, deny, deny. Look, I understand - I mean, you're a cop and it's not = exactly... well, what I mean is..." He fidgeted in his seat. "I've told= you I'm okay with it - really -" "Schank, you're imagining things..." "Am I?" His partner fixed him with a determined look. "Nick, I know wh= at I've seen - and heard..." "No, you don't," Nick countered anxiously. This nonsense had to be stop= ped. "Just because you saw me at the Pangeres Theatre with a friend..." "A friend? I'd say more than a friend, *Nicholas*." "You're crazy!" Nick slapped his papers down on the desk, agitated. "I= am *not* involved..." He suddenly realized where he was and dropped his= voice. "... with a man!" "Nick, why are you putting up such a fuss? I'm an open-minded guy - all= I want to know is - what's he like and is he treating you okay? 'Cause = you're my partner, and I don't want some old guy to be taking advantage..= =2E" He gaped as Nick launched himself from his chair suddenly. "Hey, N= ick!" But his partner was already striding hastily away, unable to liste= n to another word. Schanke sat back, rubbing his chin in thought. Clearly Nick wasn't hand= ling himself too well. Maybe things weren't going all right for him. He reached for the phone. =0D Nick had retreated to the haven of his car, taking to roaming the street= s in the Caddy. He had to get out of the precinct. He didn't know yet h= ow to face down Nat and Schanke and had to think about it. No way could = the turns of his personal life intersect with his "mortal" life. Automat= ically, he switched on the radio. Of course the Nightcrawler's intrepid tones rose into the night air. Bu= t for once, Nick listened with interest. "Gentle listeners," LaCroix was= saying to his radio audience, "Tonight we contemplate fantasies. Those = things real or imagined which feed our emotions and fire our spirits. Wh= at would our lives be like without it? If we could not imagine the impos= sible, it remains forever out of reach. Fantasies can become real - and = sometime the wishing for a fantasy to come true shapes our lives in ways = we cannot foretell. It may be a dream we have for our lives... or a flig= ht into imagination for fun... or a hope for a relationship. Ah, where w= ould we be without imaginations? Jack would be a dull, boring boy if he = could not imagine the reachable or even the unreachable. Just the stretc= hing for what lies beyond us enriches our lives, does it not, mes ami? S= uch is the mark of the *human* species." Nick glanced at the radio at the emphasis, and smiled wryly. Imaginatio= n in vampires was utterly essential, if one was to survive for nearly eig= ht hundred years. Even now, he and his family utilized imagination to sp= ice up their interaction, more so than perhaps ever. Certainly the "cont= est" was a first for them, though now it wasn't likely to be the last of = that sort of thing. = He sighed deeply, sinking a little more into the seat cushion. Natalie = and Schanke had certainly let their imaginations get the better of them, = though unfortunately now that *things* in his own life had taken a differ= ent twist, they were now far closer to the mark than originally. Despite= his own strong heterosexual tendencies, Nick was a vampire, and vampires= were generally bisexual. Blood was blood, and freely shared between the= m, no matter what the gender of the sharers. And for vampires, sex was v= ery much mixed up with the blood sharing. = Even now, listening to the smooth, even tones of his master, Nick felt = a faint stirring within him that he had to smile at. LaCroix was certain= ly a sensual being, and that sensuality had attracted Nick in the first p= lace, though... he mused ruefully. "However, imaginations and fantasizing can also be very dangerous," the = Nightcrawler was saying, catching Nick's attention again. "We can assume= too much - or too little - or believe that something dangerous cannot ha= rm us - or misjudge someone terribly. Wars have been fought and lost bec= ause of imagined slights or offenses. Even life-long friendships can be = dissolved in an eyeblink because we let a fantasy cross over into reality= that should be left where it is - or because we imagine what is not ther= e." Nick pulled the Caddy over to the curb and stopped. He knew full well t= hat LaCroix not only knew that Nick was listening, but was speaking direc= tly to him as well. But what exactly was he saying? = "We can build up hope in ourselves that may never be fulfilled, letting = our imaginations feed our fantasies to the point where we can no longer r= ecognize reality," the monologue was continuing. "We imagine love where = no hope of love exists, or... hate where none ever lived. Let's consider= the latter for the moment. Imagined hatred - believing that another wis= hes you harm or does not after all love you or that they wish ill upon yo= u - can keep apart those who could instead know love or at least friendsh= ip. Perhaps past actions have fed this fantasy, fed the overactive imagi= nation to the point where the one party imagines that the other is their = enemy when in fact... they are their most treasured comrades." Nick stared at the radio. LaCroix was talking about them - he and Nick.= Just then, his cellular phone sounded. Nick opened it and spoke, "I'm = listening." But it was not LaCroix. "Mon amour, I am listening to it, too, in my of= fice," Janette replied, concern tinging her voice. There was a pause in the monologue. Nick said into the phone, "Perhaps = this is something of a further wave of the white flag between us, Janette= ," he said thoughtfully. "I don't want to fight him anymore - I never wa= nted the enmity between us in the first place. He just..." "I know," she replied quickly. "He's just LaCroix. And we two have bee= n chosen by him to be family - we two of so many only. Why, I do not kno= w. But he is ours as much as we are his, Nicolas. We are bound together= =2E.." "For eternity," Nick finished for her with a sigh. "I know. Lucky us."= "He's not so bad, cherie. And he loves us in his own way." In the background, the monologue had resumed, moving on to other aspects= of overactive imagining. The personal note was left behind. = "I know, love," Nick replied with a wry smile. "Oh, by the way, Nat and= Schanke think that I'm gay. This must be my lucky week." "Really!" He could tell from her amused tone that she was already aware= of this. "Well, that is what Natalie wanted to talk to me about - but n= ot to worry, I did not encourage her... well, maybe only a little." "Thanks. So you're in on this too. Janette..." She laughed and said, "I know, you have to work with them! Sorry, it wa= s too delicious to resist!" An idea suddenly occurred to Nick. "Well, you will have a chance to mak= e it up to me, Janette," he said, cheering up. "I have an idea for somet= hing that should restore my, ah, reputation for the most part!" =0D In a half hour, Nick was walking back through the precinct headquarters,= humming to himself confidently. Schanke glanced up, then did a double t= ake as he saw Nick. Natalie, lounging in Nick's chair, vacated it sudden= ly. Patently they'd been talking about him. he thought. = "Hi, guys," he greeted them casually. "Anything interesting going on?" = Instead of sitting down, he perched on the edge of Schanke's desk. Nat and Schanke exchanged a glance. They'd finally decided to confront = Nick, make him face what he was trying so hard to hide from. "Yeah," Sch= anke spoke up. "Your love life." Instead of flinching, which is what he would have done an hour ago, Nick= chuckled. "I thought you might be discussing that," he said to their su= rprise. = They exchanged another glance, wondering mightily at his change of demea= nor. "So, ah," Natalie began incredulously, "you're ready to own up to i= t?" = Nick shrugged. "Why not? I suppose it's time!" Getting off the desk h= e turned around and faced the room. Clapping his hands together, he call= ed out, "Can I have everyone's attention for a minute?" = Various and mostly bored uniforms, detectives, prostitutes, petty thugs = looked up from their urstwhile business. There were about twenty people = present besides Nick and his two bewildered friends. "Thanks," Nick went on, his voice carrying effectively without shouting.= "My friends here have been trying to tell me that I'm gay," he announce= d to Nat and Schanke's horror. "Do you believe I'm gay?" Numerous comments ensued, mostly lewd, many skeptical. One lady of the = night muttered, "Can I test you myself?" to which the room guffawed. One= detective called out, "Knight, if you're gay, that might be a reflection= on your partner as well." Schanke shook his head vehemently, beginning to turn red. He tried to i= gnore the subsequent teasing. In defense he called out, "Look, we have e= vidence! We..." Nick quickly interrupted, speaking again to the entire room. "So, I've = arranged a demonstration to put their fears to rest. And I need all of y= ou to be witnesses!" Wolf whistles and lewd posturing ensured that Natalie turned red as well= , She wanted to sink into the wall and disappear. But Nick was reaching out with his hand, gesturing to the opposite end o= f the room. "I might as well admit it, folks - I am involved with someon= e - but if she's a man, we're all in trouble!" Heads turned to regard the approach of Nick's "involvement". The cops, = getting into the spirit of things, acted appropriately stupid - cheering,= leering, commenting on particularly voluptuous body parts and what could= be done with them! At this point it mattered not that his "demonstratio= n" would not *prove* anything whatsoever regarding his sexuality. What m= attered was that in the eyes of most of these mortals, many of them likel= y homophobic, it would suffice. Gliding to his side was Janette duCharme, sulty and alluring in tight bl= ack leather skirt and red satin blouse. Very low cut - some of the prost= itutes chuckled with approval, though they were admiring him as much as h= er. "Mon amour," she murmured, briefly smiling as Nick took her hand when sh= e reached out to him. = Nick glanced back at Nat and Schanke - they looked extremely uncomfortab= le - especially Nat, who could not meet Nick's eyes. "Whatever you thoug= ht you saw or heard was no more than unfortunate coincidences or misunder= standings," he explained, drawing Janette in close to his side. "You two= want to know about my love life so much - all right - I'll show you..." "Nick, ah..." Natalie had begun, but it was too late. Without further preamble, Nick had pulled Janette hard into his arms and= began kissing her ardently. The station house erupted in cheers and cla= pping. Schanke stared open-mouthed; Nat could barely look at them. Nick= 's hands were all over his beloved as well, caressing her back and even d= own to her buttocks. Janette applied equal attention to him, even to gra= bbing his crotch, which made their audience hoot with delight. The crowd= began to press closer, curious as hell as to how far this "demonstration= " was going to go, and hoping it would go *quite* far! Amidst loud suggestions and encouragements, Nick continued his ministrat= ions - carefully avoiding her neck - neither one wanted to vamp out *just= then* - then, abruptly, had picked her up by the ass and laid her down o= n his desk. Janette, her legs wrapped around him, pulled him down on top= of her for more kissing. His hands now ranged up and down her silken le= gs, and even kneaded her breasts from time to time. Nick could hear Schanke shouting - "Nick, what are you doing? Nick?" ov= er the crowd noises, and the couple times he came up for air he caught a = glimpse of Natalie on the periphery - watching Janette as much as she was= watching him, he noted wickedly. He also caught a quick glimpse of Capt= ain Cohen's approach.