Chapter 75

~~Eric~~

Ganders was more than understanding of Eric’s circumstance. Hell, all Jessy had to do was give him a few words and the man accepted everything with a smile. It really was a different universe these vamps lived in. They didn’t worry about money, they worried about where their next blood bag was, or when the sun rose. They didn’t worry about making friends, they just turned humans into slaves, and indulged in what a brainwashed ghoul would do for you. They worried about other vamps, and getting into turf wars. It was so alien to him, a guy who’d spent years now worrying about his next paycheck, and whether he’d be able to pay rent, and his loans.

He wasn’t sure it was better. Since his new life had hit him, he’d gone through hell, and nearly died when a fucker put a silver knife into his god damn chest. It was still tender, and Eric rubbed the wound as he and Jessy found a booth. He was technically working, and was dressed in his suit for it, while Jessy had dropped by her place to get something more fitting a club.

Except, it was more fitting a beach than a club. The top was a black bikini top with some silver jewelry worked into the straps around the neck. And the skirt was barely a skirt, more like a small black piece of fabric that hugged the front of her pelvis, and another for her ass, with each piece joined by some straps that crossed her outer thighs and hips. An extremely short, extremely revealing skirt, that also made it obvious she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it since it left her hips and thighs exposed. She did put on some heels, and Eric found himself quirking a brow at the sight of her in those deathtraps; they looked great, but he expected a sporty woman like herself to stay away from such unhealthy footwear. Apparently, she enjoyed dressing up. And being the weak fool that he was, he enjoyed looking at her all the more when she did.

“Look over there.” Jessy nodded across the way to another booth. The two of them were on the bottom floor, where it was noisier, with people dancing, the music louder, and more people in booths compared to the second floor.

Eric followed her eyes, and like a firecracker went off in his mind, he immediately snapped to attention. A vampire, and a werewolf. He’d seen them before, and now he could make out their scents in the chaos of the club. There was more to it, too. His eyes noticed the way they moved, the way they looked back at him, and looked at the others. Subtle signs about who they were, what they were, mixed into the scents, confirmed what he knew.

“That’s Tilly and Mason,” Jessy said. “Tilly’s a Carthian.”

“A Carthian, here?”

“Yeah, and she shouldn’t be.” Frowning, Jessy glared at the two, and tapped her fingers on the table in front of her. “This is Invictus territory. She’s not allowed to be feeding here.”

“Doesn’t look like she’s feeding.”

“Vamps come here to feed.”

Eric shrugged, and watched the two intruders for a while. Mason gave him a nod, but otherwise turned to resume talking to Tilly. Tilly, on the other hand, seemed to take delight in Jessy’s attention, and blew her a kiss. She had red hair cut to only a couple inches, and was a thin woman, average height with pale skin, and a few freckles. Mason was also average height, buzzed head with blonde hair, and like all the werewolves, a very athletic, muscular build. Eric took note, and memorized the faces for later.

“Is it breaking the rules if she’s feeding on Mason?”

“I ... don’t know. I suppose not. We can’t feed in each other’s territory, but I guess the spirit of that rule has always been about not taking each other’s kine.” The reasoning didn’t seem to make Jessy any happier though, and she frowned all the more as she continued looking at them. “We’re not exactly on good terms with the Carthians lately. The Mirrden district takeover pissed them off, and then they did this shit with you and Terra Den, practically asking for escalation.” With a long sigh, she nuzzled up against his side, eyes still on the distant couple. “They’re damn hot, though.”

Eric laughed, and she raised a brow as she looked at him. “Sorry. Still not used to my girlfriend—”

“Ooh, girlfriend. Never had someone call me that before.”

“Never had a girlfriend so brazen about being attracted to other people, especially other women.”

She returned his laugh, and gave him a buddy-buddy punch in the shoulder. “Men are hot, but women? Women are fucking hot, you know?”

“Agreed.”

While the music continued, the hum of the crowd died down, and everyone looked toward the entrance of the club. Eric and Jessy both raised a brow at each other, before looking where everyone else was looking. Both of them dropped their jaws.

It was the Prince, Jack at her side, and two women the same size as the kid. Jack was wearing a nice suit, which Eric had come to expect from any dude in their Invictus covenant by this point. The two girls, who looked like they could be gymnasts with how lean their strong little frames looked, were wearing pink and blue tube tops, the brunette in pink, the blonde in blue; looked like cotton candy, together. They both wore miniskirts of the same color as well, and each girl held one of Jack’s hands. Eric thought he was escorting the two humans, but on second glance, it seemed Jack was being pulled by the two girls.

It was the Prince that everyone was staring at. How the fuck did she get into that dress? It looked like it was made of leather, black leather, and it was nothing but straps cutting across her in various patterns. The skirt was straps, exposing basically all of her ass and legs, with a single strap covering her sex with all the conservatism of a g-string. A black, tight corset circled her waist, underbust, and a couple straps cut upward across her breasts, barely managing to cover her nipples. She wore fingerless black gloves of leather that reached her elbows, and knee-high black boots, with shallow, thick heels, the sort made for stomping. The woman already was ridiculously tall, so high heels did seem a bit overkill.

The Prince and her entourage walked past the bar, and out to the cusp of where the club opened up. To the front of her, the open stage where some humans were dancing, grinding, kissing. To the sides, tables and booths that were pressed against the sides of the stairs, the stairs snug to the walls, leading up to the second floor that sat above the club entrance. She looked around for a moment, and smiled a demon’s smile, as she noticed Mason and Tilly, but also Eric and Jessy.

If Jessy was right, the Prince might disapprove of Tilly’s actions, and—nope, that didn’t happen. The Prince offered them all a small nod, and guided her three little ones up the stairs, disappearing onto the second floor. With the second floor only using half of the room, the other half open above for the dancing area, the seating on the first floor was able to look up and see the railing of the second floor. There were always a few people standing around, talking, drinking, kissing and touching. But the Prince didn’t come to the railing, likely taking one of the grandeur booths behind.

Eric breathed easy. She made him nervous. Very nervous.

“God damn, she has the most ridiculous tits,” Jessy said.

“ ... yeah, I’m gonna have to agree with that.”

“Something about her isn’t natural. She’s super tall, fine, that’s rare but not freakazoid weird or anything. White hair though? What caused that. And the tits with that tiny waist? That isn’t natural.”

“I assumed she dyed her hair, when I met her.”

“Nope.” Shrugging, Jessy pointed down at her breasts and the bikini top she was wearing. “I got big tits, despite being lean. I got lucky. When the first eight letters of the alphabet aren’t enough to cover your cup size, and you have a tiny waist like that? I’d vote fake, times a thousand.”

“I mean—”

“But the way they bounce and jiggle? That ain’t fake. And I’ve seen her wearing less, at some of the banquets. They jiggle for days.”

“Banquets?”

“Balls and parties and shit, that you haven’t seen yet. We gather up, get a bunch of kine in there, and go to town. Chow time.” Jessy grinned at him and gave him another buddy punch in the arm. “You should come. Vamps suck down a lot of blood, and we get the kine off too. Lots of blowjobs and clit sucking, fingering and shit. Some of the more adventurous vamps have given tit fucks, to some lucky fuckers lying on tables while other Kindred Kiss them through their orgasms.”

“Well ... damn. This is a frequent thing?”

“Nah. During my time as Kindred, we were recovering from the purge, and by the time that settled down and people were getting back to normal, the Invictus and Carthians were at it, Viktor being a giant jackass, and then that Tony fucker started causing more trouble with his own group. So each covenant did their own thing in this time, but occasionally it got pretty sexual at the Invictus banquets, especially ones the Prince attended. Just a while ago, the Prince ran her own banquet, same night Jack got kidnapped. Saw a lot of kine tits and dicks, and more than a few Kindred tits, too.” She held out her hands in front of her, cupping imaginary breasts. “Prince was wearing something that exposed the inside of her cleavage, right? But, like, all of it, half of each nipple and everything, no bra. Bounce, bounce bounce, with every damn step. Was like watching jello.”

He choked on a laugh, trying to keep it from getting loud, but damn it, he laughed anyway; she did, too.

He didn’t know who Tony was, and only Viktor by occasional mention. It was hard to imagine that Dolareido had an entire nightlife, with giant figures of larger-than-life power, and he’d never known about it.

“Sounds like there’s a lot I still need to learn about this world.”

“Damn right.” She lifted his arm up over her shoulder, and snuggled into his side. She was a bit tall though, basically his height, and it was a little awkward getting his arm around behind her neck; she didn’t mind. Maybe she would have, if it was her arm being lifted up at an odd angle, but she’d have probably laughed and shoved him away.

So, he relaxed his arm over her shoulder, and gave her a half hug. She chuckled, kissed his jawline, and turned to watch the dance floor.

“Think you’d be comfortable coming to one?” she said.

“What, a blood banquet orgy?”

“It’s not really an orgy, cause the vamps aren’t getting off. We’re drinking, and getting off our drinks.” She gestured to the dance floor. “Like, anyone in there you’d like to see stripped naked, laid on a table, and have a couple vamps sucking dry while another eats out her pussy?”

“ ... I have to ask, what happened to this city?”

“Huh? Whatcha mean?”

He nodded the way she was looking, to the dance floor. One of the women was wearing a top that was, what would have been, the top half of a flowing gown, except the stomach was cut so high that it completely exposed the underside of her breasts; absurdly large breasts at that, fake and defying gravity. Every time she moved with the beat of the thumping music, the gown lifted enough to show her nipples. No one batted an eye. When a guy came up behind her, pressed his pelvis to her ass, and cupped her breasts from behind, she responded by pushing herself into him, and joining his rhythm with the beat.

“I mean, maybe I never really noticed,” he said, “because this really wasn’t my scene, when I had money to waste. But, I gotta ask, what happened to this city to get everyone in it so sexual?”

“You don’t like?”

“That’s not it. And don’t get it wrong, I like that you’re an insufferable horn dog.”

She chuckled, but also punched him in the ribs. Ow. Regular buddy punches were going to be a thing in this relationship, evidently.

He nodded to one of the booths. A girl in what must have a thousand-dollar dress was sitting cozy, a smile on her face as she sipped on something. Underneath the table was a guy, head between her legs.

“Looks like a man doing his civil duty,” she said.

Laughing again, he shrugged, and tapped on the table as he considered his words. “I’ve been to Las Vegas. I’ve seen how into the drugs and sex people can get. Dolareido’s the same way, except even more so. And, I guess the cops don’t stop it because—”

“Because we own the cops.” She nodded, and tapped a finger on the table as well, next to his. “Dolareido is Slut City mostly because of Antoinette, I guess. There are lots of cities with a dominant Kindred presence, big cities, and they all indulge in sex and drugs, and vamps take advantage. Dolareido’s a bit different, though, cause the Prince actually pushes for sexual ... openness, you know? The Prince controls so much of the money in this city, and I know she quietly pushes for more sexual expression and acceptance in everything. I don’t think anyone’s been arrested for sex-related crime in this city in forever. Prostitution is practically legal, as long as it doesn’t get media attention. And you can fuck in public areas and shit, and no one cares, as long as it’s not in the middle of the street, in the middle of the day.”

Eric had seen some very beautiful prostitutes in his life; never fucked one, but parties were parties, and in Dolareido, that often meant the birthday boy got fucked by a professional. Sometimes, birthday girl.

“That’s a lot of sex.”

“Yeap. S’what happens when you get a succubus running the city.” Shrugging again, Jessy took his finger, and guided it to her mouth, where she chewed on it. Not kissed, or Kissed, but chewed, like a bored dog. It was terribly cute. “If the Prince had it her way, she’d legalize it all, unionize sex workers, and get them good benefits and shit.”

“That is strangely admirable.” He was all for live and let live. People wanted to get addicted to hard drugs and ruin their health and bank accounts? If they were old enough to make the choice, let them. People wanted to pay for sex, or make a living having sex? Let them. There were issues with those ideas, ramifications that weren’t obvious at first glance, but they were either solvable, or the lesser of two evils.

“Parker and Vicky do that kind of shit, particularly in Devil’s Corner. And I’m sure those two indulge in their work, too.” Laughing, she guided his arm off her shoulders, hand down to her leg, and set it on her thigh closer to him. Smooth, and hard. “I bet that Parker asshole has ten women, doing everything and anything to each other, while he sits on a throne, getting sucked off.”

“That does sound like a typical male fantasy.”

“Male? Ha. Women got that fantasy too, except, you know, I think I’d prefer half guys half girls, if I was going to have that many bodies trying to fuck me.” Laughing, she shook her head, and looked up, lost in a memory. “One time when I was younger, a Daeva I knew had seduced a whole fuckload of people with their Majesty discipline, and we legit just stripped down, and got into the fucking pile of kine. Must have been at least a dozen pairs of legs.”

“One time, I had sex when I knew company would be over at any moment. That ... is basically the most harrowing of my sexual adventures.”

She stared at him, for a good long while, before she erupted into laughter. “Sweet merciful christ, I am going to have so much fun with you. I—” Something cut her off. She looked to the door, and raised a brow, as another woman walked in.

Clara.

The werewolf found them, and walked straight toward them. Eric froze. She didn’t look happy, box braids bouncing with her steps. She wasn’t dressed for a club either, jeans and a tight white t-shirt. A gorgeous woman, to be sure, but a deadly one, and she looked like she was ready to do some stomping.

She slid into the booth next to him. The other bouncers knew to let her and her pack in, despite the street clothes, and it looked like she was comfortable enough to use that fact. Or maybe anger was driving her to not give a shit.

“Clara, how you doing?” Jessy said, big jackass grin on her face.

Clara glared at her, glared at him, before glaring at her some more. “You sent them.”

“I did.”

“Again.”

“Well, I mean, I told them to come by every second night. Thought maybe you’d want a break between visits.” Without ever breaking her grin, Jessy leaned back, and hooked her elbows over the back of the seat. “If you want them over every night though, just tell them. They got the stamina, especially if I’m not Kissing them.”

Clara’s eyes could cut steel with the way she was looking at her. “You ... you can’t ... just...”

“What? Make life a little more enjoyable for you?” With her elbows on the back of the booth, her arm closer to Eric reached out and started playing with his ear. He didn’t move a muscle; maybe if he didn’t move, he wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. And her touch was kind of nice. “I know you had a good time that first night. They told me all about it.”

It took every ounce of self control Eric had, to not wince or grin or something at that. They’d done more than tell her, and the image of Clara struggling to handle three dicks at once was permanently burned into his mind. Hell, he was having a hard time not imagining the beautiful woman naked right now. A glance at Jessy showed her looking Clara up and down a few times, too. She was imagining Clara naked, for sure.

“I—”

“Come on,” Jessy said, “be honest. Think I’m gonna slam you for admitting you indulged? Christ, the last thing a vamp is going to insult you for is enjoying sex.”

“I was drunk as fuck that first time! And alone ... and I ... I would have ... agreed to anything, like that.” The vulnerability in the werewolf’s voice was blatant. He didn’t expect that from her.

“And the second time?”

“I...”

And like a dam had broken, Jessy sighed joy, smiled, and leaned in over the table, elbows on it and fingers netted together. Almost looked like she was making a business deal, and winning. “I know how to pick em, right? I trained them good, too.”

Clara blushed, and Eric couldn’t help but smile. Much as Jessy was being an asshole, it did seem like she was trying to help Clara, in her own perverted way.

“Yeah, they knew what they were doing.”

“Right? Isn’t it great, when you know the guy is going to actually get you off, multiple times, before he’s done. You can relax, get into it, not fucking worry about getting off like it’s a fucking race. Something so fucking awesome about knowing for sure you won’t be getting out of bed until your legs don’t work.”

“Fucking god, Jessy. I’ve met a few Daeva with the same obsession, but never a Gangrel,” Clara said.

Jessy half snorted, half laughed, and shrugged. “Slut City is run by the Queen of Sex, and she’s rubbed off on everyone. She’s upstairs right now, with Jack.”

Mention of the kid’s name earned a wince from Clara. “Thought I smelled her. I’ll go speak with Jack before I go.” Nodding, Clara leaned in, and managed something close to a sheepish grin. “So you didn’t ... do that to try and get back at me?”

“What? Fuck no.” Rolling her eyes, Jessy slapped a hand on the table, as if lightning struck her brain. “And by all means, transform when you’re with the boys.”

“Excuse me?”

“Transform. Wolf out, full on werewolf form, you know?”

“That is dangerous! That is ... that is asking for someone to get really fucking hurt.”

“Ghouls are tough, they can take it. And I’m sure they’d be down to try some new kink like fucking an eight-foot, lean and sexy furry thing.” Chuckling, Jessy looked up at nothing, undoubtedly imagining it.

“I uh ... I don’t think I’ll do that, but thanks for the suggestions. You prob—you already did that with Eric, didn’t you?”

“Ha! Yeah. It was awesome.” Jessy slapped a hand on the table again, and snuggled into Eric’s side. “Felt like he was in my god damn womb.”

Clara facepalmed, shaking her head. “Please be careful, Eric. You’re still new to all this, and urges in that form are so fucking dangerous. Just being near another Uratha who transforms can lead to more transformations, and for some of us, there’s no getting out of that form until we’ve tasted violence. Hell, no one in the pack has even considered sex while in Gauru form; didn’t know we could, and not dumb enough to try.”

“Don’t worry, we got it under control,” Jessy said. Eric didn’t agree, but as long as they experimented in safety, he didn’t really agree with Clara’s concern either. Not that he had any idea what he was fucking doing. “Seriously though, I hope you have a good time with the boys. It must suck to have the punk you’re interested in, out of reach.”

Clara winced, and leaned back, folding her arms across her chest. “You’ve never been in that situation?”

“Never really wanted something someone else had, that I couldn’t just take. But I highly suggest you don’t try taking Jack from the Prince, it won’t end well. If she were someone else, I’d wonder if you could get into their bed. But, the Prince and Jack are pretty much joined at the hip in love, and the only people getting into that bed are her pets. Pretty sure they’re there to be a source of blood and pussy, not a romantic rival.”

Eric pursed his lips for a moment, and waited. The woman never handled anything with grace or care, always bulldozing through anything without a second thought. There was value in telling someone the truth without sugarcoating it, but then there was taking it too far and running the person down. He enjoyed the brutal honesty, and it was a great change compared to Sheryl’s passive aggressiveness, but he wasn’t everyone.

Sighing, Clara nodded, and hugged herself, arms folded across her chest as she looked to the stairway. “Yeah. That’s ... a part of the reason I agreed to your ... sharing.”

Eric was a bystander in this conversation, and he was sure if he said something, he’d shatter the strange, fragile peace forming between the two women. Christ, they were being open about some pretty private shit, sexual and romantic. Did women always talk like this with each other?

“If you want, I can set you up with someone?” Jessy said.

“You ... already got me stepping well outside my usual comfort zone, vampire.”

“Heh, way the boys tell it, you agreed to a lot of stuff. Which is awesome, not trying to make a dig at you.”

Clara lowered her head to the booth table, set her forehead against it with a thud, and left it there. Blushing. “You vamps are turning everyone in the pack into sluts and whores. Mason, Matt, Art. I figured it was just guys being guys, chasing anything with a hole. Ugh.”

“Nah, with them it seems like romance.” Jessy looked over her shoulder to Mason, and to the vampire nudging her cheek against the man’s shoulder. “You though? You looked like you needed some stress relief. So, I vote you give up on the Jack crush before Antoinette hurts you, and instead, look for romance elsewhere. And while you look, enjoy my boys; the best form of stress relief.” Chuckling, Jessy leaned in super close, and knocked on the booth Clara still had her head resting on. “Did Vincent do that thing with the fingers?”

From the look on Jessy’s face, she was undoubtedly talking about something carnal. Anal fingering, Eric figured. The guilty look from Clara, head turned just enough so he could see her eyes over the booth table, sealed it.

“ ... yeah, he did.”

“Awesome. Bet you came your brains out.”

“ ... I did.”

“Awesome.”

“Ugh, no one’s—”

“No one’s going to care.” Rolling her eyes again, Jessy grabbed her top, and pulled it up over her breasts. Clara raised her head, though still leaning low, and joined Eric in blinking at the blonde next to him as she shook her shoulders a bit, making her breasts jiggle. “See anyone even looking my way twice? Except, you know, a few ‘I want to fuck that’ glances.”

Both Eric and Clara looked around, though Eric knew what he’d find: nothing. Everyone kept dancing, chatting, drinking, and only a few people bothered to look at Jessy for longer than a second.

“I—”

“You should stop worrying. What, is it because they’re ghouls? Those boys get to live for centuries now, s’long as I or any other Kindred keeps feeding them, and they’re glad to be living that long, getting to fuck and get Kissed whenever a need arises. Don’t worry about them, they’re happy to fuck a bombshell like you.”

“Bombshell? That is the cheesiest compliment I’ve ever heard. But ... thank you.”

Nodding, Jessy put her elbows on the table; without pulling her top back down. Eric struggled to not stare, or let his memories of how her breasts moved during sex, covered in cum, give him an erection.

“Hell yeah. Come on, seriously, the boys’ told me you’re a fucking fox. And if you’re worried about looking like a slut, I can guarantee you no one will give a shit. Hell, Jack is fucking three pussies and a set of tits the size of mountains on a regular basis. He won’t care. The mighty Julias Mire is fucking Triss and her friend. You remember them from the banquet? Crocodile mouth, and Jen was the one with the tits hanging out.”

“I’m ... aware. I’ve seen the largest, most developed sex and pleasure spirits in my life, ever, in this city.”

“Ha, figures. And I’m sure I’ll eventually find some pussy to join Eric and I. Can’t wait to—”

“Jessy,” a new voice called out, quiet and almost inaudible over the thudding music. Thank god, Eric could only take so much barrier smashing from Jessy in a ten-minute span. Clara either, from the looks on her face. “Oh, and Eric, and C-Clara. You—Jessy! P-Pull your top back down!”

“Hey Tash. Here to see your boss? She’s upstairs with Jack.” Jessy did as ordered, and gestured with a thumb to the petite vampire. “This one, ha. You know her deal.”

The little creature frowned at Jessy until she looked like a chipmunk. “Um ... h-how are you feeling, Clara?” Tash came up to their booth slowly, though Eric doubted she realized she walked slow. Timid. The girl was the tiniest thing, well shorter than five feet, pale skin with long black hair. She looked delicate. But, she’d gone on the mission with the rest of the rescuers, and was probably not delicate at all. And unlike Clara, little Natasha was wearing a dark dress with a surprisingly revealing amount of cleavage. Still, she acted shy, and that little bit of timidness in her body language set off prey signals in his mind.

Clara picked up on it too, and Eric noticed a moment of ... of ... of what? Animal hunger? The hunt? Something in the girl’s eyes tagged the little Mekhet as prey, and it was a body language Eric never really noticed before. Maybe it was unique to wolves?

“I’m fine,” Clara said. “We heal fast.”

“That’s good-d.” Nodding, the little vampire pulled out her phone, checked something, then nodded before she poked Jessy in the shoulder. “I’m g-going upstairs, to t-t-talk to the Prince. Cya.”

The three of them made tiny waves, before Jessy leaned back in to Clara.

“She took years to break, but I turned her, with time. Got her ready for a two-boyfriend relationship, I guess.”

Clara squinted at her. “You’re a regular saint, Jessy.”

~~Antoinette~

She adjusted one of her straps as she sat down, and motioned for Jack to sit beside her. To her ghouls, she motioned for them to stand behind the booth; similar to guards. She would be indulging them later, but for now, it was time to spend a moment with her love.

“When was the last you spoke with your sire?” she said.

“Couple days.”

“I wish to know more about this favor he owes Jacob.”

“Me too. I want to know what Jacob is up to, and Black Blood. And ... anything else out there.”

She looked at the boy, and he looked at her. Awareness. What did the boy know of the mysterious forces that plucked at the delicate weave of her city? Her love had a frustrating habit of getting involved in things that should have passed him by, things that went well beyond the purview of a neonate. She was partly to blame, she was sure, for the inevitable inclusion of the boy in events far above his ability. She was Prince, Voivode, and by virtue of that alone, a relationship with the boy meant he was in danger.

Except, that did not appear to be the primary driver of his involvement in many things. His own curiosity and tenacity had led to his participation in trials he should not have been involved in, especially where the werewolves and monsters were concerned. And it was they she had grown most concerned about, especially if the boy was involved in this hunt for the unknown presence. Were it so simple as to point the finger at the hunters, but she had a feeling it was something else.

Poor Daniel. How many nights now had he spent hunting things in realms beyond their imagining? How many nights had the man used his mastery of Auspex, and used his Twilight Projection to hunt for things hidden in the walls, hidden in the depths, hidden in the rock and shadow. There were other tools in his repertoire, and she was not happy he was forced to use them. There was something out there though, something that had to be found before it turned her city into chaos, or ashes.