“Uh-huh,” said Palmer. “Right. That sure does sound a lot fucking better than good old-fashioned burglary.”
Jack offered him the flask. Palmer drained what was left in it and nodded to him as he passed it back.
“Come on, Jack,” said Katie. “We don’t have any time to waste.”
CHAPTER 39
“Will the unicorn sap work for the potion?” asked Jack.
Katie had been silent for the first few minutes of the drive back. She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel, staring out the windshield into the small portion of night illuminated by the car’s headlights.
“I think so,” said Katie. “At the very least, I have confidence in my abilities as an alchemist. A number of things can go wrong when you switch one reagent out for another, but oftentimes you still end up with a workable potion.”
“You’re sure you want to try it?” asked Jack.
“I’m sure that we don’t have any other fucking option,” said Katie.
Neither of them said anything else, and the tension held until they arrived back at the mansion and made their way inside. Ryoko was waiting in the lounge for them, and she immediately came into the foyer as she heard them arriving.
“Mr. Masterson, Ms. White.” She bowed slightly, smiling and seeming to ignore the fact that they were both dressed in leather in the middle of the night. “Is there anything I can get for either of you?”
Jack started to shake his head no and felt a wave of vertigo hit him midway through. He picked up both Katie and Ryoko’s scents and was momentarily entranced. His bloodthirst was outpacing his inebriation, and suddenly all he wanted was to pull one of them in close and go for the neck.
“He could use something to drink,” said Katie. “I’m fine.”
Ryoko’s lips turned down into a concerned frown.
“Is everything okay?” asked Ryoko.
“Fine,” said Katie. “Or at least, everything will be.”
She started toward the basement, and then seemed to think better of leaving Jack on his own. He was dimly aware of Katie leading him along by the wrist, pulling him into his grandfather’s workshop. Katie made a few annoyed noises at the state Mira had left it in, and then immediately started putting her equipment back into place.
She turned on a Bunsen burner and positioned a small cauldron on a stand over it. Jack passed her the ingredients they’d collected and watched as she slowly began weighing and adding amounts of them in. Ryoko came down into the basement carrying a mug of hot cocoa and seemed to be totally nonplussed by the secret door, the workshop, and what Katie was doing.
“Thank you,” said Jack as he accepted the cocoa.
“Of course, sir.” Ryoko bowed and headed back upstairs. Jack shot Katie a look.
“How is it that she’s so unconcerned by all this?” he asked. “We’re down here brewing a potion, and Ryoko acts like it’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
“For her, it isn’t,” said Katie. “Peter had an eccentric reputation. Part of the reason he hired Ryoko is because she doesn’t ask many questions or dwell on things she shouldn’t. And… she has her own reasons for minding her own business.”
Jack nodded, but he couldn’t help but feel like it might be in the maid’s best interest to be just a bit more inquisitive. Katie continued adding ingredients, pinching off a small piece of the silvery, waxy unicorn sap to toss into the cauldron. A small plume of pink sparks went up into the air as it made contact with the concoction.
“It’s almost done,” said Katie. “It just needs a minute or so to simmer to reach full potency.”
Jack nodded. He looked at Katie, letting his eyes linger on her pretty, freckled face.
“I owe you so much,” said Jack. “I really do. I can’t help but wonder why you’ve taken on so much risk to help me.”
Katie was stirring the potion with a large wooden spoon, but she still managed a nonchalant shrug.
“I guess I’m just doing what I think would have made your grandfather proud,” said Katie. “He was a great man, Jack. He really was.”
It was an answer, though perhaps not the one Jack had wanted most. Part of him had been holding out hope that Katie’s actions were driven by her own feelings toward him, rather than respect for his grandfather. It was a childish and petty way of viewing the situation, but recognizing that didn’t make him feel any different.
“We used to spend so much time as kids imagining what it would be like when we were grown up,” said Jack. “Do you remember that? We’d play house and each pick a different job. I think I was a firefighter, most of the time. It all seemed so simple.”
“I remember,” said Katie. “But you aren’t that little boy anymore, Jack. And I’m not that little girl. We’re both adults. And we have to do the best that we can.”
She turned off the flame underneath the cauldron and found an intact, clean potion bottle amongst the scattered objects on the floor. Using a ladle, she scooped a portion of the concoction into it. It looked similar to the last anti-enthrallment potion she’d made. Katie gave it a small sniff and dipped a finger in for a quick taste.
“This will do the job,” she said. “Hopefully.”
Jack resisted the urge to ask what would happen if it didn’t. They were out of choices, and it was past the point to be doubting Katie’s alchemy skills. He watched as she slowly drank the potion, making a face as she finished the last few drops.
“It takes a few minutes to kick in, right?” he asked.
Katie nodded. “Let’s head upstairs. I’m going to want to put the handcuffs on you again, just to be safe, and after what Mira did to the weapon rack, we’ll probably have to use your headboard.”
He led Katie up to his room and sat down on his bed. She pulled the handcuffs out and secured him into place. He was lying on his back, and the position left him feeling vulnerable. He was also aware of how much his bloodthirst had snuck up him, and felt the symptoms aggressively encroaching on his mental wellbeing.
He was used to the pounding headache and the scratchy throat, but there was an harsh, primal undercurrent to his current state that scared him a little. He watched as Katie closed the door to his bedroom and slowly approached him on the bed. She looked a little nervous, and somehow, that fact only fed into Jack’s desire to sink his fangs into her neck.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Are you?”
“I should be,” said Katie. “You’ll still have to be careful. Only drink enough to ease your symptoms, okay?”
“I’ll be careful,” said Jack.
“I trust you,” said Katie.
Jack let out a single, sardonic laugh.
“That goes against my grandfather’s code,” he said. “Never trust a vampire. Or an illusionist, or succubus.”
“That was what he aspired to,” said Katie. “But not always how he acted. I would have figured you’d have guessed as much from Mira’s ramblings.”
Jack let his eyes linger on hers. He still felt conflicted, despite everything.
“What if this is a mistake?” he asked. “What if–”
“If it is a mistake,” said Katie, cutting him off. “It’s one that I’m willing to make for the sake of love.”
Jack blinked.
“For the… sake of love?” He felt his heart fluttering in his chest, and a dumb smile spread across his face.
“Yeah,” said Katie. “Peter loved you so much, Jack. And if I am going to make a mistake, I’d prefer for it to be one that’s in line with what Peter’s heart would have wanted.”
Jack gave her a small nod, doing everything he could to hide his crushing disappointment. Of course that was what she had meant. He was being too reactive, probably because of his bloodthirst rather than anything real. He cleared his throat, trying to banish the annoying lump that had formed in his throat.
“All right,” said Katie. “Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER 40
The angle o
n which Jack had been handcuffed to his headboard posed a bit of a problem. Katie tried sliding onto the bed next to him, but Jack’s arms couldn’t twist in a way that let him bring his mouth into contact with her neck. She frowned and swore under her breath.
“I’m going to have to sit on you,” she said. “Again, just as a reminder. Please don’t do anything fucking weird to me, if you can help it.”
“If I can help it?” asked Jack. “It takes two to tango.”
“I’m not sure that saying applies here,” said Katie. “Let’s just both be super careful.”
She shifted position, straddling his chest, and then sliding down to sit on his crotch to get the right angle. Jack did his best not to notice how good her butt felt against him, or the cute, slightly awkward way she set her hands onto his chest as she started leaning forward to bring her neck into his range.
“Just a quick bite,” Katie said, sounding a little nervous.
“Just a quick bite,” Jack replied.
He inhaled her sweet smell, and it sent an excited rush through his entire body. Slowly, Jack brought his lips to Katie’s neck. She shivered as they made contact with her sensitive skin. He hesitated for a moment, and then opened his mouth wide and pressed his fangs into Katie.
The shudder his bite elicited out of her was far more pronounced than any of the other times she’d let him feed off her. Jack felt Katie undulating against him and was dimly aware of her fingers sliding through his hair. He forced himself to drink from her slowly, even though the fantastic, lemony taste was coupled with an intoxicating, euphoric rush.
There was a profound intimacy to the moment that was only matched by what Jack had felt when Mira had first bitten him. Realizing that scared him a little, and he focused through the fog of his bloodthirst. He wasn’t completely sated, but his symptoms were gone. He pulled back, licking the last of Katie’s blood from the edge of his mouth.
“Ohh…” moaned Katie. “Mmm…”
She kissed him before he could stop her. Her lips moved against his with hot urgency, and she held him in a tight, erotic embrace with the rest of her body. Jack kissed her back for a few seconds before managing to reel himself in. He turned his face away from hers.
“I’m finished Katie,” he said.
“Are… you sure?” she asked. “You barely took any blood from me.”
She whispered her words into his ear, keeping her head turned so that her neck was still exposed to him. A sinking feeling came over Jack as Katie pulled back a little, rubbing her hands across his chest, rocking back and forth as she continued to straddle him.
“I need to control myself,” said Jack. “I can’t risk taking too much.”
Katie seemed to come back to her senses. She cleared her throat and nodded a few times,
“I’m glad that you’re thinking clearly enough to realize that,” she said. “But... I’m not sure if that quick of a bite is going to be enough. Let’s do it again.”
Jack frowned a little. Katie fished the key to his handcuffs out of her pocket and started taking them off him before he could object.
“Katie…” he said. “Are you positive that the potion worked?”
“I’m the trained alchemist here, Jack,” she said, wagging a finger at him. “Not you. And I feel fine.”
Katie casually slid the zipper of her catsuit down a few inches, low enough to expose a significant amount of cleavage. She was still straddling him, and leaned forward as she undid the second handcuff, putting her breasts almost directly in his face.
“I think you should take a little more of my blood,” said Katie. “Since we’re already here.”
“You aren’t really acting like yourself right now, Katie,” said Jack. “And didn’t you tell me that my bite gives you some kind of head rush? Is that something I should be…”
He trailed off as Katie started kissing his neck, and then his lips. She pulled one of his hands into the unzipped portion of her catsuit, and he felt her naked breast underneath his palm.
“Trust me,” she whispered. “It’s okay. Just one more little bite. Please…”
Jack was already starting to push her off him when Katie pressed her neck onto his mouth. He sank his fangs in on reflex, and in an instant, they were in motion.
Katie shuddered against him, sliding further out of her suit until her entire upper half was exposed. Jack drank her blood at a furious rate for a couple of seconds before managing to get himself back under control, but the damage was already done.
She gave him a deep kiss, her hands moving with frantic urgency, unzipping his pants and sliding them down. Jack’s thoughts were a clouded mess, and she was the only thing he could see. He pulled her catsuit the rest of the way off and flipped her underneath him on the bed. He kissed her lips again, and then the spot where he’d bitten her, which made Katie gasp.
It was so fast and aggressive that it almost felt like it wasn’t really happening. Jack practically kicked his pants off, and then pushed up into her with a single, rough thrust. She was totally shaven, and Jack felt how smooth and tight she was as he pressed his shaft in as deep as it would go.
He didn’t know what to do with his hands. The anticipation had been building for so long that he almost couldn’t hold it together. His hips knew what to do, however, and with each of his movements, he felt Katie responding. Bucking upward. Crying out. Writhing underneath him.
They were both intoxicated by different things. Jack by her blood. Katie by his bite. Adding sex into the mix only served to stir the pot even further. He grunted as he thrust forward, chasing his pleasure like a man vying for first place in a sprint.
He took Katie with everything he had, not caring about the friction between their bodies, or the amount of strength he was putting into each movement, or the thin, beading layer of sweat that coated her naked breasts and made them glisten.
It was noisy, but neither of them cared. It was infidelity, but it was happening. The concept seemed ridiculous to Jack in light of the way Katie’s body felt against his. His heart was pounding out of his chest and aching at the same time. Pleasure pulsed through him like the first notes of a beautiful, brand new instrument.
It was a moment that had been years in the making, so far overdue that Jack had started to doubt that it would ever come. He’d been so disappointed when he’d first come back to the island, more in the uncaring march of time than in himself, or Katie, or even the situation. But now, here she was, and he was getting all of her. The sounds she made. The way she bit her lower lip and fluttered her eyes. The way she felt, from the inside and out.
They kept in perfect rhythm with each other, their movements laced with desperate, intimate need. Katie still wasn’t holding back vocally, alternating between passionately gasping for breath and letting out half-stifled cries of ecstasy.
The only thing he could compare it to was the way the sex had been with Mira. Jack was an animal, and he’d been unleashed. The bed groaned underneath them, and Katie’s breasts bounced in rhythmic, circular motions. Jack gripped her thigh with one hand, while the other caressed and explored her nudity.
She was whispering something into his ear, but he was too caught up in the moment to hear it. Katie’s cries slowly raised in pitch, and then her entire body tensed up as she reached her breaking point. Jack lasted only a few seconds longer, sensation exploding through him as he got off.
They were both dripping with sweat in the aftermath, but neither of them let go, holding each other in a tight embrace. Jack slowed his breathing, and realization of what had just happened slowly dawned on him.
“Katie,” he said. “We… probably shouldn’t have done that.”
“I guess,” whispered Katie. She let her finger trace the bottom edge of his back hairline, and nuzzled her lips against his cheek.
“Katie…” he said. “I’m done feeding. You should… probably let go of me.”
She immediately let go of him, pulling both her hands and face back with such a sudden m
ovement that it almost seemed reflexive. Or rather, as though she was obeying a direct command out of instinct, rather than choice. Jack’s heart skipped a beat as he realized what that meant.
“Put…” He swallowed, feeling like he could barely form words through the hard lump in his throat. “Put your clothes back on.”
Katie reached down to grab her catsuit from where it had fallen and started wiggling back into it.
“I know what you’re thinking, Jack,” she said. “But it’s okay. Really. I don’t think I’m enthralled. At least not completely.”
“Is that the truth?” asked Jack. “Or are you just saying that?”
She held his gaze for a long time.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Fuck. I don’t know.”
Jack ran his hands through his hair. He forced a smile, though it was so far from what he was feeling internally that it almost made him want to die.
“This is what I’d been hoping for,” he muttered. “When I found out that I’d be coming back here, being with you, like this, was all I could think of. But this… this isn’t even bittersweet. This is just bitter. Bitter enough to make me sick to my stomach.”
Katie didn’t say anything. The reality of what they’d just done seemed to have finally reached her.
“I’m engaged,” she whispered, in a scared voice. “This… I don’t know what to do.”
Jack stood up.
“I do,” he said.
He leaned over and kissed Katie on the forehead.
“Stay here, Katie.”
She didn’t follow him as he left the room.
CHAPTER 41
Jack left the mansion with just his phone, his wallet, and his keys. He left his grandfather’s duster behind, feeling as though it wasn’t appropriate for him to take it with him.
He called a taxi as he walked down to the bottom of the slope. It only took a few minutes to arrive, and the man sitting in the front seat seemed slightly familiar to him.
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