by Toni Goode
Natalie walked into the kitchen to get more coffee and she saw the coffee Thermus on the counter. She opened it and sighed when it was empty. She began opening cabinets as she looked for coffee, but she found nothing. He did have some mortal items because she was staying but she couldn’t find the coffee. She remembered the pantry he had in the basement and she headed that way.
As she got down the stairs she saw Demetrius working out as he hit a punching bag down there. For a moment she just stopped and watched him. He was a beautiful man. His body was sculpted and toned. So much of his body covered in tattoos, she also saw nipple rings on him.
He hit the bag one more time before looking over at her and she nervously smiled as she fidgeted with her hands. She hadn’t realized how attracted she was to him until now. They had spent so much time together. He had been so helpful, like a real friend. She hated that her mind immediately went to his body and what his hands would feel like on her. Damn it now was not the time! She loved Aidan, she wanted to find Aidan.
“I was looking for coffee.” She said as she now looked everywhere but at him.
He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off of his face. He made his way across the room and he opened the pantry. He reached inside and then she saw the coffee as he came walking over to her.
His eyes locked with hers and she swallowed hard as she stood there. She couldn’t look away. He held out the coffee to her. His eyes looked different now, almost softer but also intense. “Dinna look at me like that lass.” He said as he handed her the coffee and then he began to walk away.
His words made her swallow hard as she stood there for another minute and then she was quickly heading up the stairs. She didn’t quite know what his words meant but she had a feeling that he could tell what she was thinking. She was embarrassed to be thinking that way with him. Demetrius was a friend, a good friend. A helpful friend, she had no right to be looking at him like that!
Chapter Two
By the next day Demetrius was avoiding her. She felt really uncomfortable about their encounter in the basement from the day before and she hated having it feel weird around them.
They were both adults and she was going to make sure that he knew that she was not feeling weird about this. So, what if he was attractive, that didn’t mean anything, many vampire men are attractive. It’s like a requirement or something but yes, his accent may amplify his attractiveness, but she wasn’t about to go all boy crazy like a teenage school girl. She was there for a reason and that reason was to find Aidan.
Natalie pulled up her email and she sent Eve a quick message letting her know that she was still in Scotland and that she was still searching for information. She knew that Eve was worried about her. Everyone was worried, but she wanted them to be worried about Aidan, he was the one who was missing not her.
Demetrius came in the room as she finished up her email. She saw him in the corner of her eye and she glanced over at him. He was dressed in a blue button-down shirt and black slacks. He looked incredibly handsome and she swallowed hard. “Going somewhere?” Her words squeaked out. She hadn’t seen him with one female, not even once.
“Actually, got a lead across town. A small vamp bar.” He said, and she stood up.
“Anything good? Anything credible?” She began as she closed her laptop. She spoke again before he did. “I want to go too.”
“Tis too dangerous fer ye lass. Ye will be desert fer the vamps there.” He said quickly, and she sighed.
“I’m not afraid of vampires Demetrius.” She said seriously.
“Ye should be, especially here.” He said seriously. “I wilna be long.” He turned for the door.
“Wait! Please let me go. If I stay in here one more day I may lose my mind.” She said honestly. “Staring at that computer screen is depressing.”
“I dinna think ye understand. Tha only humans allowed are those who are wit their Masters.” He said seriously.
“Really? Why the stone age thinking here?” She said sarcastically but she spoke again before he did. “ Then I will pretend you are my master person or whatever.” She said quickly and now he laughed.
“Ye be mine?” he laughed some and she rolled her eyes. “ Lass ye be too opinionated fer anyone to believe that.” He said with a smirk.
“Opinionated? What is this like 1950!” She huffed. “Fine I will be quiet mousey Natalie.” She said with a roll of her eyes. He laughed, and she just looked at him seriously.
He stopped laughing. “Ye are serious?”
“I am. Please let me go. Two sets of eyes are better than one.” She said with a soft smile. “I promise to be on my very best behavior. I have worked undercover before, I know how this all works.”
“Ye dinna know this place. Tis not safe.” He said seriously.
“Well then you keep me safe and we wont have a problem. Please. Just let me go with you.” She pleaded with him and he sighed as she smiled. “Let me go get dressed. Is this formal, semi-formal or casual?” She asked as she got to the door.
“I dinna understand ya Lass.” He said with a shake of his head.”
“Well you look all handsome and what not. Your all dressed up.” She said with a smile and it actually looked like he blushed.
“Tis fine ta go like that.” He quickly pointed at what she was wearing which consisted of yoga pants and a big t-shirt.
“No way give me five minutes to get ready.” She smiled and then ran out of the room. She was excited to get out of there.
Natalie opted to wear a short black mini dress. It was the kind of dress every woman had in their closet. It could be used as a formal dress or a casual one depending on the shoes involved and accessories. Natalie opted for the go to mid-calf combat boots that laced up. She would need those incase they had to make a quick getaway plus she could hide her dagger there.
She pulled her black hair into a long pony tail. She got ready in exactly five minutes, it had to be a new record considering she put on makeup as well. When she came out of the spare bedroom, Demetrius was standing at the door. He glanced at her and his eyes lingered hard on her body. That same look of lust was there but he quickly looked away.
“So much fer not drawing attention ta yerself Lass.” He said, and she smirked.
“I have to fit the part, right? I mean you know people there. I’m sure no one would buy it if I came walking in pajamas.” She smirked.
“Tis true. Let’s go.” He said as he didn’t look at her as she walked out the door with him. He was purposely not looking at her and it made the drive to the club awkward to say the least.
Demetrius has an American car surprisingly enough. It was a 2017 black charger and the car was gorgeous. It ran incredibly smooth as well, but it was loud as hell. The club was not far away and for that she was grateful because sitting so close to him was making her feel all sorts of hot. He looked amazing in his semi-formal clothes. The silk button down blue shirt hugged his muscles and the black slacks hugged his body in all the right ways. She tried to not stare at him, but she wasn’t dead either. No pun intended!
The club had flashing lights outside of it and a long line to get inside. Demetrius parked out front and they both got out of the car. He walked over to her. “Just follow my lead.” He said as he walked up to the bouncer and they shared a nod as he looked Natalie up and down. He opened the door as Demetrius took her arm and lead her inside. “ Stay close, this place is not friendly.” He warned as she looked around. The place was packed with people, so much so that they were bumping into people as they made their way to the bar.
Strobe lights flashed, and club music played loud. It was crazy seeing that many vampires in one place. They all kept looking at her, even some of the women vampires. She could make out who the humans were, but the place looked like a sex club. She was pretty sure that some of the people there were actually having sex out in the open. Women sat on swings that were hanging high and a few stages had naked and half naked vampires on it.
It was like
a sensory overload. She had been to many vampire clubs over the years when she worked cases, but this was extreme. Maybe it was because of the location in Scotland. She had never seen anything like this in her life.
“Tis a lot ta take in.” He finally said to her as she looked up at him.
“I feel over-dressed.” She smirked some and he rolled his eyes at her as he leaned over the bar and ordered two drinks. He handed her a drink and he took one as well. We should make a toast.” She smiled. ”To good friends.”
“I will drink ta that.” He said as they downed their shots. She wasn’t expecting a vodka and she began to cough. “Light weight.” He smirked playfully at her.
“Really Demetri?” She rolled her eyes at him. “Another.” She said to the bartender who looked at Demetrius and then back at her as he poured another two drinks.
“Tis probably not tha best place ta get drunk.” He smirked as he took his shot and she grabbed hers. She downed it quick.
“One more.” She smirked at the bartender as Demetrius shook his head at her as he smirked.
“Ye are reckless.” He said as he downed his drink and so did she.
“I will take that as a compliment.” She smirked and then ordered herself a margarita.” Demetrius ordered a beer for himself. “You can’t get drunk, can you?”
“No but I have tried before.” He grinned.
“And?” She asked with curiosity.
“Let’s just say that if I twas mortal then I would have used up all me nine lives.” He smirked at her.
“Do you come here a lot?” She asked as she sipped her drink at the bar.
“It’s a good place to find a meal when I get tired of tha fake stuff.” He said nonchalantly. “We should find a table. We can scan tha place quicker that way.”
They began a walk through the club and Natalie tried to make a mental note of what people looked like here. According to Demetrius, he had gotten information from the club owner that Aidan had been at the bar a few weeks back.
There was a table at the other end of the bar. A few people already sat there but there was room for two more though it would be a tight squeeze.
The table had two couples there it would seem, two of them were vampires. One male and one female, then of course the male and female humans that were with them.
As soon as they got close the two vampires grinned as the tall blonde haired female vampire stood first. She looked like a model, absolute perfection. Her hair was long and full of bouncy curls. The other vampire was a tall man with his dark hair pulled back into a man bun. The humans almost looked to be in a trance of some sort and Natalie couldn’t help but wonder if persuasion was used on them. That made her think of Aidan though. It was about one of the last conversations they had about persuasion. He had promised her that he would never use it on her but after that one night in question, something was off. Lost memories and odd visions. She was pretty sure he had persuaded her at some point but now that he was MIA she couldn’t know for certain.
“Demetrius you look wonderful darling and I see you have a date. She looks delicious.” The female smiled big at him and then at Natalie.
“Layla ye look as radiant as always. This is Natalie.” He said with a smile.
“Nice to meet you.” Natalie said as she put her hand out and Layla quickly brought it to her nose and inhaled. Natalie blinked in shock, was this vampire smelling her? How odd!
“The pleasure is all mine. This is Damon and Geoff has his toy Lilly.” She smiled as she let go of Natalie’s hand. That woman gave her the creeps.
“Nice to see you out and about Demetri. What a beautiful specimen you have there as well. Maybe later we can share.” He grinned at Natalie then at Demetrius. Natalie was in shock at how open this guy was being. What did he take her for, a stupid American? She fought the urge to roll her eyes at him.
Both vampires were definitely not from Scotland originally. They had no accents at all. They sounded more American, possibly Canadian.
“Not tonight Damon. She is all mine.” Demetrius said as he put his arm around her in almost a protective way as they all took a seat.
“So, is your pet from The United States?” Layla smiled.
“Actually, I am, New York.” Natalie answered before Demetrius could. She didn’t like how this vampire chick talked about her as if she wasn’t there.
“She is a sassy one.” Layla smirked. “If you don’t mind us, this song is calling out to me and I love to dance. Do you dance Natalie?” She asked.
“Oh um. “ Natalie began.
“Don’t give the poor girl the third-degree Layla.” Geoff finally interjected. “Don’t mind her, she always gets a little moody before she feeds.” He added and then asked. “ So, what brings you here to the night life Demetri. Word on the street is that you rarely leave your place these days.”
“Tis nothing new out there. I suppose I got bored.” Demetri said honestly.
“By the look of your lovely human, I would say you are definitely not bored.” Geoff smirked.
Demetri looked over at Natalie. “Ye are verra right.” He said as his eyes smoldered with a heavy lust. It made her throat tighten. She kept telling herself that he was a good actor, but she wondered how much of his lustful looks were the truth. His hand rested on her exposed thigh and she glanced at it and then at him.
“You should come on the dance floor. Lilly here is very flexible, aren’t you darling?” Geoff said as Lilly smiled at him and he took her hand as they went to the dance floor.
“Do you think we should go out there and dance?” She said as she looked at Demetrius.
“I dinna dance.” He said quickly, and she rolled her eyes.
“Really? Your like my age, everyone dances.” She began with a shake of her head.
“I’m not yer age Natalie. Add about a hundred and fifty onto that.” He said quickly as he looked around.
“Really? But all the tattoos and piercings?” She said in shock.
“The nineties weren’t good to me. I was having a mid-life crisis of sorts.” He said quickly, and she couldn’t help but laugh now.
“But then why do you keep them in?” She said with a shake of her head.
“Artistic expression.” He shrugged his shoulders and she laughed again but this time she stood, and she put her hand out to him. “I dinna dance.” He said again.
“Well you are tonight.” She grabbed his hand as his eyes got wide. “Come on, all you have to do is shake those hips.” She smirked, and he shook his head. “You don’t want to make a scene, do you?” She added as she looked around and some people were now looking at them.
He got up quick. “Ye gonna get me killed tonight, ye know, that right?” He said sarcastically.
“Well if you just dance and stop complaining then we will be fine.” She smirked as she pulled him onto the dance floor as he looked around uncomfortably. She couldn’t believe how old he was behaving. She was going to change that. Might as well enjoy the time while they were out!
Demetrius looked so uncomfortable as he stood in front of her. She couldn’t help but laugh because he looked scared to death. “Tis not funny Lass, Me feet dinna move like yers.” He shook his head.
“Just try ok.” She smirked as she put his hands on her hips and he visibly swallowed hard as he looked at her. “You know I don’t even bite and your scared.” She laughed. He rolled his eyes now and she began to dance as she swayed her hips back and forth. “Here just follow my lead.” She said as she put her hands on his hips and moved him back and forth. “Seriously your too stiff, loosen up.” She smirked as she continued to dance.
He shook his head and smirked now. “Ye are a crazy Lass.”
“Damn straight.” She grinned as she twirled herself around and then she moved her hands to his chest. “Ok your getting better.” She grinned, and he swallowed hard again. “We are definitely working on this later.” She said as she spun herself around again but as she spun she saw something familiar out of the
corner of her eye. It was long dark hair but not just any long dark hair. It was his. She stopped immediately as Demetrius was finally finding his groove, but her eyes locked onto the side profile of Aidan himself.
For a moment she couldn’t breath and then she was rushing over to him as she pushed people left and right. Demetrius went after her as she got up to Aidan at the bar. She almost thought she was dreaming but then he looked at her with wide eyes. There was two people between them and she couldn’t help herself as she went over to him. “Aidan?” She said in shock as she got next to him.
“What are you doing here Natalie. You cant be here. You need to leave. Now.” He said almost frantically as he looked at her. He thought he was seeing things the second he laid eyes on her because why in the hell would she be in Scotland. She couldn’t be there. It was too dangerous for her.
“What? Why? Is that all you have to say? Where the hell have you been? Everyone has been looking for you.” She said in shock as she stood there, and he looked around nervously.
“Aidan?” Demetrius said in shock as he walked up. Aidan looked at his old friend in shock.
“You shouldn’t be here.” Aidan got up quickly. He knew that any minute Caitlyn would be back and then she would cause all sorts of hell. “You need to leave, both of you.” He said quickly as he began to walk away.
Aidan! Stop!” Natalie ran up after him and grabbed his arm as he spun around angrily.
“Go away Natalie, I don’t want you here!” He snapped at her as she blinked in shock. He roughly pulled his arm back as she gasped.
“What? Are you kidding me!” She snapped again as he spun back around and got in her face.
“Go away Natalie. I don’t want you ok. I never wanted you. Now leave!” He snapped angrily, and she felt like she couldn’t breath as she stood there.
“Hey! Ye dinna have ta be so rude Aidan!” Demetrius said angrily as he walked up to Aidan.
“You don’t want to start with me right now Demetri. Take her and get the hell out of here.” Aidan snapped again as he spun back around but Caitlin was standing there.