Flesh and Sin

by K. B. Ladnier

  I needed to get out of here for a bit. I couldn’t stand to be near him after what he’d just done. It wasn’t my night to work, but the girls wouldn’t mind. And I needed to dance away this aggravation. Not only that, but thirst for a good meal that didn’t come from a bag was nagging at me. Anytime my emotions warred inside me like this, my control over my feeding habits slipped. I’d been able to hold them off for a while, but now I doubted I’d make it.

  I quickly changed clothes and packed an overnight bag, planning to spend the evening at The Sassy Sanguine. We kept coffins there in case the nights ran late, and we couldn’t make it home before sunrise. I wanted Brahm to know that I was here and not going anywhere when I decided to force his hand to tell me what was wrong. But I never expected his reaction. I’d done this type of thing to him many times; maybe not in the shower, but definitely locked him in a room with me to make him tell me his issues. He’d always told me. So, why now would he turn me away?

  I locked up the apartment and made my way to the club, hoping to get a little tipsy, and dance away the feelings he made me feel; the arousal. The confusion. The pain. I wanted to escape all of them. Even if it was only for a night.

  Thankfully, Beck was off tonight, so at least I didn’t have to worry about her making my life more miserable than it already was. Another good thing about tonight was one of our bartenders named Nicole was working. She only worked two nights a week, so I rarely got to see her. She was one of my only other good friends next to Lucy and Sloan. However, they were working tonight and wouldn’t be able to talk to me about the raging emotions I had going on.

  When Nicole caught sight of me as I came in through the side door behind the bar, her eyes lit up with excitement. “Hey there, sweet face!” She greeted me with a smile curling the edge of her lips. When she saw the dried blood from my tears on the walk over, her expression sobered. “What happened? Are you okay?” She set down the bottles of liquor she was stocking and rushed to my side.

  “I’m fine, but I’m going to need a seriously strong Bloody Shirley stat.”

  She went to work making my drink without question. I quickly took the steps up to the room where the spare coffins were. I thanked whoever was listening that the stairs leading to it were next to the storage room behind the bar. I really didn’t need anyone here seeing me going up looking like a total mess. I dropped my bag and quickly wiped my face before going back down.

  I sat at one of the stools behind the bar, giving Nicole a grateful smile when she handed me my drink. The blood in it invigorated me, and the alcohol was twice as strong as what I usually drank. This would do perfect.

  I drained the glass then handed it back to her asking silently for another. Zero to shitfaced, here I come. I guessed now that I was tasting the alcohol, I was skipping tipsy tonight. Probably for the best. I was still swinging back and forth between feeling Brahm’s naked body pressed to mine, and his betrayal of the command he gave. It was a double-edged sword.

  “Okay, you better sip this one before you can’t tell me what’s going on,” Nicole said with warning when she handed me the second glass.

  I nodded and took a ginger sip of it, then lowered the glass to stare at it in my hands. “Brahm and I had a sort of argument. He’s been giving me the cold shoulder since last night, so I finally asked him what the hell was wrong,” I explained solemnly before looking up at her. I held back the tears that threatened to fall again.

  She leaned against the bar and crossed her arms. “What about? You guys argue all the time, but never enough you have to come here to drink it away.”

  “I know. This was different. He came home upset about something last night. Then tonight his mood hadn’t improved. Whatever it was, it was enough that he ignored me when I asked what was wrong. But you know me, I always prod until he folds when something’s bother him. So, when he went to shower, I cornered him in there. I figured it’d turn out how it usually does when I do that. Him arguing back and forth with me, then him giving in to my womanly wiles and telling what’s bugging him. But... that didn’t happen this time.” I took a slightly larger sip. My voice had started to shake a little, and the tears were getting harder to hold back. Fuck! I would have to reapply my glitter.

  “And?” She prodded me gently.

  I shook my head, still not believing it happened. “He reacted differently. He was aggressive in a good way at first. He dragged me into the shower and pressed against me. I was on fire, because he never touches me like that. It felt... nice.”

  Her eyes widened. “Yeah, I would’ve lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. You’re right, though. You guys have always been close and affectionate, but I’ve never seen him take it anywhere close to that level with you.”

  “Exactly! I’m used to that. This was more. It felt like more. Then... everything just hurt.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I bit my lip. A tear finally fell as I thought about it. “He commanded me to leave it alone. Not just saying forcefully to drop it, but a legit maker-to-progeny command. One I had to follow without question.”

  Nicole looked stunned. She turned and poured herself a shot and slung it back. “Shit. That is different. Didn’t he promise you he’d never do that?”

  I nodded and chugged back the rest of my drink. Yep, I am so getting toasty tonight.

  “I’m sorry, Sweet Face. That’s messed up. I get he has the right, being your maker and all, but to still do it? That isn’t very Abraham-like. You’re everything to him.”

  I knew this. God, I knew without a shred of doubt that Brahm would never do anything to intentionally hurt me. So, why did it feel like this was exactly what that was?

  Suddenly, Nicole straightened and slapped her hand on the bar. “You know what? Maybe it has something to do with Agent Grey and his colleague coming in last night.”

  I perked up and wiped my face. “Hollis was here with another agent? Why? Did you hear what they were talking about?”

  She shook her head. “No, but Sammy heard. I can’t believe I didn’t remember her telling me this when my shift started.”

  I set my cup down and leapt from the stool to grab her arms. “What happened? This has to be it! What’d she say?”

  “Something about Hollis and the other guy asking to talk to you about something. But Abraham was not having it. Sammy said the building practically shook with how loud he was yelling at them that they were to leave you alone about it. She didn’t catch exactly what it was because the music was equally loud. Only that Hollis had to jump between them before it came to blows. The other agent was pissed Abraham wouldn’t let him talk to you, I guess. The agent ended up leaving with steam practically billowing out of his ears. I thought the front door would break from the amount of force he put into shoving it open.”

  I couldn’t believe that had happened. Surely Hollis would have told Lucy about it. Then again, maybe not. Hollis and Brahm were friends. If Brahm didn’t want me knowing what Hollis wanted to speak to me about, then odds were Hollis would’ve kept his mouth shut. This other agent, however, may be willing to dish if he wanted to talk so badly.

  “Did Sammy catch the name of the agent with Hollis?”

  Nicole’s eyes flicked over to Sammy, who was currently dancing on one of the stages for a small group of clients. “Why don’t you just ask her?”

  I leveled her with a look. “Seriously? She won’t shut up after I’ve gotten the info I want. I love that girl to pieces and she’s so damn sweet, but my goodness. Even I have a limit when it comes to perky, and I am obsessed with rainbows and glitter.”

  Nicole chuckled. “This is true. She didn’t say a name. Only that he was hot and had a rough, Hispanic look to him. Definitely vampire because he had the red eyes.”

  I know that description... but what was his name? I went through my list of names, trying to match them with the face of one of the few agents I’d ever had a conversation with. This particular one I was thinking of, was one of the few Hispanic looking va
mpires on the STF as far as I knew. He was also the one Lucy had met when Vex had taken her into his creepy dungeon.

  “I know who to look for,” I told Nicole excitedly. I whipped out my cell phone and dialed Hollis’ number.

  “Hey, Claudia. What’s up?” He drawled out in a suspicious tone.

  “I think I should be asking you that. What happened last night?” I demanded, not bothering with pleasantries.

  He sighed. “I can’t tell you. Abraham said to keep you out of it, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

  I gritted my teeth together in aggravation. “Need I remind you that I was your friend before he was, and if it’s about me then I have the right to know.”

  “I’m sorry, Claude. I can’t tell you. He is your maker and I won’t go against him on this.”

  I growled with frustration. “Traitor! You remember this at Christmas Hollis Grey! Your present will be awful, and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself!”

  I wasn’t truly mad at him. Hollis was a very devoted man. Whether it was devotion to Lucy, or to his word, he never went against it. I knew it was futile to ask him, but it still felt worth a shot.

  “You wound me, Claudia,” he joked. “I really am sorry, though. He may come around. Just give him time.”

  “I’ll try. But there’s only so much of Abraham’s crap I can take before I wanna strangle him.”

  “You’ll live. I promise,” he laughed.

  “That’s really reassuring. Give Lucy my love, traitor,” I joked.

  “Will do, glitter demon. Talk to you later.” Then he hung up.

  I downed the rest of my drink and turned to Nicole. “I’m going to get changed, dance, then find myself someone to eat. I can’t handle diluted or bagged blood right now. My control is in the pits.”

  Nicole looked worriedly at me. “You sure that’s a good idea? Brahm will be pissed if he sees you in one of the back rooms.”

  The back rooms. They were reserved for private dances and feeding. Not to worry; the humans who went back in those rooms paid to be fed on. They got off on it just as much as we vampires did. I hadn’t fed from a human in a long time, but my self-control was at its limits tonight. I needed to stake this thirst inside me, which only built itself higher as my stress level climbed. Tonight, I was going for it. Fuck Brahm and his maker command. If he could go against his one promise to me, then I was in my right to do as I pleased.

  “Oh, yeah. I’m sure,” I replied resolutely.

  Chapter Four

  Abraham

  What the fuck was wrong with me?

  Never in the three years that I’ve had Claudia as my progeny, have I ever commanded her to do something. This was just another thing to add to my list of fuck ups I’ve done. Most of those were because of Claudia. I wasn’t proud of the man I was for those many, many years before I met her. I was a monster. It was why I’d been so against Vex when I first saw him in the precinct those few months ago before Bellamy’s siege.

  He reminded me of my past. A past I would like to forget. Unfortunately, it was my past that was threatening all that I’d done to protect my beautiful girl. My Claudia. If she remembered every detail of the horrors of what happened to her before I turned her, her sanity would snap much worse than Vex’s. I couldn’t do that to her; especially considering it was my fault for it happening.

  I was mortified with myself for slipping in my control tonight. I shouldn’t have pulled her into the shower with me. That was mistake number one. Mistake number two was touching her, and pressing myself against those sensual curves of hers. God, how I wanted my little vampire. I wanted her begging for me. Screaming my name. Shivering in ecstasy as I ravaged her body. I’d wanted that since the moment I saw her. We’d been intimate before, but those memories were wiped clean of her mind because of my block. I could still remember the sighs she made when I made love to her. I could still feel her succulent skin, wet with sweat and smelling like heaven. She was so beautifully damaged then, and I only tore her further apart. By the time I grew to love her for more than what I originally intended her to be to me, it was too late. I used every ounce of my soul to put her back together. I put up a solid block to prevent those memories from ever escaping. Only, she wasn’t whole when I was done. She was missing large segments of her memory about her past. A past that came slapping me in the face the moment Agent Brody and Hollis came into the club last night asking for her help.

  I was irate that the agent would dare challenge me and my authority over Claudia. She was mine. Mine to protect from everyone. Even myself.

  Especially myself…

  Being so close to her since turning her three years ago was torture. The bond between us practically begged for me to make her mine in every way once again. Everything screamed in me to make Claudia my lover and so much more. To worship her as often as I could. As often as I once had. But I couldn’t. If I did, I’d risk unraveling everything I put in place. Which was another reason why what I’d done to her earlier had me hating myself.

  Remembering even one of those memories could fracture the already fragile block I had created on her mind. I’d masked a majority of the pain and suffering. I’d wiped away few of the worst of the memories. But the smallest of triggers would set off a domino effect, undoing all the work I’d done to keep her mind intact. Not only would those walls fracture, but so would everything that made Claudia who she was now. Not only that, the force of the memories surfacing could kill her if the flood of them was too much.

  I couldn’t let that happen. No matter how badly I wanted more with her, I had to protect her.

  I paced the kitchen and tried to decide if I should go after her. I knew what I’d done was wrong. I knew commanding her had hurt her more than she would ever say. I just had to get her to drop the conversation. It was the only way I knew she would stop pestering me for answers. Except, I still hurt her. I touched her like that, then metaphorically slapped her across the face with my dismissal. I felt like such a failure as her maker. I didn’t deserve her.

  “I need to make this right,” I muttered to myself. I needed to at least fix the hurt and explain that there was a very good reason I couldn’t tell her why I was so lost within myself. I needed her to understand.

  I quickly grabbed my coat and hailed a cab to the club. I didn’t have the patience to walk the short distance. I had to see her now. It’d already been well over an hour since she left. It was long enough I wasn’t sure how welcoming she’d be of my apology. She could have cooled down by now. Oh, I doubt that, I argued with myself. There was a high possibility I was going to have something thrown at me the moment she saw me.

  When I arrived, I didn’t see her behind the bar or on any of the stages. I walked towards my bartender Nicole, who had a very guilty look on her face upon seeing me.

  “Where is Claudia?” I demanded with a raised brow.

  She closed her mouth tight and shook her head. I leaned an elbow on the bar and gave her a glare that immediately had her shaking. “Where is my progeny?” I asked her again with venom in my voice. I knew she was too afraid of what I might do to not answer me this time.

  Sure enough, her shoulders dropped, and she pointed a finger towards the back rooms. I jumped up in shock. “What?” I shouted.

  “I told her it was a bad idea. But she’s wasted, sir!” Nicole pleaded.

  I didn’t even bother replying. I ran with inhuman speed down the hall and began opening door after door to look for Claudia. I heard a male voice speaking in hushed tones behind the last door. I kicked it open and paused at what I was seeing.

  Claudia was dressed in an outfit that was far more revealing than any of the numbers she danced in. And my mouth went dry at the sight.

  She was in a black lace bra and underwear beneath a light pink, satin robe that was completely translucent. Thigh high stockings graced her stunning legs and were attached to the seductive panties with straps. She sat sideways in the human’s lap as she sucked at his neck. One hand was dug
into his hair, and the other was sliding along his naked chest. She hadn’t even flinched when I kicked open the door, obviously too caught up in her feed. The man was far too lost in the haze of her feeding to notice my presence either.

  I felt my blood boil at seeing her touch him like that. Seeing her touch anyone was enough to set my body aflame with rage.

  “Claudia!” I growled out loudly.

  She finally jumped in surprise and drew her lips from his neck. His head lulled to the side without her keeping it up.

  She smiled drunkenly at me. Her plump, red lips had blood dripping from the corners, and her fangs gleamed in the glowing light of the room.

  “Abraham. Come to command me to do something else? Was once not enough?” She giggled wickedly and licked her lips. She was completely wasted on both alcohol and blood. I could smell both on her breath from here.

  My anger grew at her for doing this. This wasn’t like my Claudia. “Release the human, Claudia.” I said sharply, leaving no room for argument.

  Her smile died, and she bolted to her feet. “I guess once wasn’t enough,” she sneered at me. She turned towards the human and patted his face. “Get up, sugar. You’re done for the night.”

  The human blinked his eyes open and smiled up at her, but his smile faded when he saw the leer I was focusing in his direction. I watched him closely as he quickly stumbled to his feet and rushed from the room. I was surprised he managed to do that without face planting into the floor with how weak he was from blood loss.

  I turned back to Claudia and closed the door behind me, then stalked towards her. She only watched me defiantly as I grabbed her arms and made her look me in the eyes. “What do you think you’re doing? You know better than to use these rooms, Claudia!”

  “I think I was doing what I wanted. It was only a matter of time before you came back to give me another command, so I figured why waste an opportunity to do something that made me feel good?” She tried to pry her arms from my grasp, but I held on.