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Well now Francesca understood what Gabriella had been trying to tell her, and better late than never. But now she had to fix this. She reached out to take hold of the door handle. But no, she couldn't be sure that she could best Fulton in a fair physical confrontation. She would have to be devious in this and make Fulton sunder himself from Gabriella.
The seeds of a plan took root in Francesca's mind. It would have to be devious and subtle but it would also have to work quickly.
She could live without Fulton but he would not take Gabriella away from her. She released the door handle and padded up the stairs as silently as she had come down. It was time to put the first steps of her plan into motion.
She passed the door to her own bedroom and entered Fulton's room instead. Persephone glanced over from her position curled up on the bed.
"He isn't here."
Francesca ignored the other's icy tone . "I know. He's downstairs plotting with Gabriella." Francesca told her what she had heard.
"I don't believe it," Persephone said. "He loves me. I'm the one he chose to turn."
"That could be so," Francesca said. "But he is confused. He treats you badly because of his conflicting feelings."
Persephone regarded Francesca. "Why aren't you angry? You should be livid having them both try to turn against you."
Francesca kept her voice in check. "It is my fault for forcing them to live in such close proximity. I propose to you that we should work together to break them apart."
All the time they had been speaking Francesca had moved closer and closer to the vampire girl. Now her hand was slowly stroking her naked thigh, gradually moving higher and higher up under her night-dress. Her fingers had almost reached their goal when Persephone gasped and pulled away.
"Why should we have to work together? Just take your little tramp and leave me and Fulton alone."
Francesca ignored the insult against Gabriella and moved her hand back to work. "That wouldn't work. We need to destroy the feelings they have for each other."
Now Francesca's hand did reach the prize it sought and she used her free hand to take one of Persephone's and guide it up between her own legs. "Let me tell you my plan."
Chapter Thirty-five
It had been a couple of days since Fulton and Gabriella had had their talk, and as promised Fulton was giving her time to make her decision. As far as either Francesca or Persephone were concerned nothing had changed and life was going on as normal. Fulton acted as though nothing had changed as well but on more than one occasion Gabriella caught him watching her and giving her a smile. Gabriella would return the smile and then try to get back to acting normally.
She must have been doing a better job of it than she thought because Francesca hadn't picked up on the change in her. But it was getting more and more difficult to keep acting normally. It helped that Francesca had taken a trip on the first night after the talk to collect some of the funds she was owed from her earlier trip. But even space apart from her hadn't made it any easier to come to a decision.
In her heart she knew the choice she wanted to make. She had always known. But she was afraid to act upon it. As soon as things were put into motion there could be no going back.
They were alone again for a few precious moments as Fulton gave Gabriella another lesson in looking after herself. Even though their other partners were both close by in their respective rooms Fulton could imagine that it was already just the two of them. But as he had promised he gave Gabriella space to make her decision and to gather the strength she would need to tell either Fulton or Francesca the outcome of her deliberations.
The two vampires moved into grappling positions. Her cool, shallow breath washed over his bare sweaty torso as she exerted herself in an effort to topple him. His own inhalations brought with them the intoxication of her scent, which was only growing more intense as she herself became sweaty with the exercise. Fulton couldn't help his mind being carried away as his imagination conjured up times in the future when he could smell the same scent following a more pleasurable activity.
With his concentration broken Gabriella was finally able to drop Fulton to the floor. He was now even more distracted suddenly finding himself back in reality and dropped onto his back. Using his continued distraction to her continued advantage she rolled him onto his stomach and brought his arms up behind his back. She sat herself so that her weight was on his lower back and pushed forwards to hold his arms in place with all her strength. Fulton struggled against her grip.
"This doesn't count," Fulton said talking into the floor. "My mind wandered."
"Any excuse," Gabriella laughed. "And where did your mind go?"
Fulton stopped struggling. "Heaven."
Gabriella released her hold and he felt her weight leave his back. He rolled over and pulled himself up into a sitting position. Gabriella stood pulling at the material of her jogging trousers and the T-shirt that was just starting to stick to her sweat.
"I think training in this bulky clothing could be limiting me," she said.
Fulton smiled. "I can think of an easy way to remedy that."
"Me too." She crossed her arms over her front to take hold of the bottom of her T-shirt at opposite sides. She started to lift the garment.
Fulton jumped to his feet and rushed over to stop her. He held the bottom of her T-shirt in place.
"We shouldn't be rushing this."
"What are you talking about?"
"This," Fulton said gently tugging the material he held. "We should wait until we have sorted ourselves out before we get that serious."
"I absolutely agree." Gabriella stepped away from him and he released the T-shirt.
In one flowing motion she had the T-shirt over her head and had tossed it into the corner of the room. It hit the blinds that covered the large patio windows which covered most of that wall but didn't disturb then enough to admit any sunlight.
"I thought . . ." Fulton began, trailing off when he noticed that Gabriella hadn't been naked under the T-shirt.
She didn't stop at removing that one item of clothing. Her jogging trousers quickly followed and were piled on top of the T-shirt. Leaving Gabriella standing regarding him in a navy blue leotard.
"What were you expecting?" Gabriella asked standing with her hands on her hips.
"I think you know," Fulton replied.
Gabriella tried to keep a serious look on her face but couldn't prevent it being eroded by a good-natured smile. "Are you disappointed?"
Fulton gave her a lingering look. "Definitely not."
He circled around her and when he was looking at her from behind he put a serious mask over his own face. "Except . . ."
The smile dropped from Gabriella's face. "What is it?"
"Nothing," Fulton said unconvincingly.
"Tell me."
"It's just not the most flattering thing I've seen you wearing. From behind it kind of makes your bum look . . . well . . ." Fulton stopped as though unwilling to voice his criticism. Instead he simply brought his hands up in an ever widening gesture.
As the look on her face changed from one of seriousness to embarrassment and she twisted her body to get a look, Fulton couldn't help but laugh.
"Got you."
Her embarrassment gave way to exasperation. "Bastard."
"I know."
There was a comfortable silence then Gabriella said, "Shouldn't we get back to training?"
Fulton nodded. "I suppose we should. But I don't know how much use I'm going to be. If I was distracted before imagine how it's going to be with you dressed like that."
"Perhaps I should remove this as well so that you don't have to be distracted by your imagination."
"If you did that there's only one thing I'd be good for."
Gabriella crossed the space between them in three slow steps. "And what would that be?" Her voice was so low Fulton only just caught her words.
Fulton didn't answer with words of his own. Instead, unable to resist her allur
e any longer he took her into his arms. Their mouths found each others and they kissed like starving people. They were animal things as they let their hands roam each others bodies.
"We shouldn't be doing this yet," Fulton managed in a brief respite from kissing.
"We should wait," Gabriella agreed.
Their mouths were still plastered together and they sank to the floor together. The heat of their passion threatened to cook them both.
But it wasn't the passion they shared that bound them together. Fulton had Passion with Francesca as did Gabriella, but what Fulton and Gabriella had was more than that. To give into animalistic instincts like this would be cheapen, and possibly destroy, the love they had.
"We need to stop," Fulton said releasing Gabriella and sitting up. "What we have is special. Unique. And we need our first time to be equally as special."
Gabriella followed him into a sitting position and twiddled her fingers in his hair. "You keep resisting my charms like this, and keep trying to make it perfect for me, and I'm going to start mistaking you for a gentleman."
"I'm only a gentleman when it suits me."
"Glad to hear it."
They lay back down and Fulton held her in a close embrace. But for now they were both content to simply hold each other. More would come later.
Chapter Thirty-six
Francesca opened the door to Fulton's room and instructed Persephone to follow her back into her own room. The first of her plan had been put in place now she had to make sure that the rest would proceed according to her designs. This meant keeping Persephone on her side and preparing her for the part she had to play in the proceedings.
"Now what? I agreed to go along with your plan."
It took all of her self-control to keep from snapping at the insolent girl. "You agreed to help, yes. Now I have to give you the tools to perform your role."
"Can we get this over with quickly then? Fulton should be back upstairs soon."
"He's with Gabriella trying to further poison her mind against me," Francesca said. "Neither one of them will be coming back up any time soon."
She spoke without anger but inside she was seething. All those years she had spent with Gabriella were being unravelled by Fulton in just a few weeks. If she wasn't quick in separating them she would loose her. In fact, although she was reluctant to admit it, it could already be too late. Fulton could already have pushed her too far away. But she had to try.
Francesca noticed Persephone looking impatient. She would have to keep this one around after she drove Fulton away. Yes, Fulton would not be able to carry on with Persephone, he would be totally alone. And then if Francesca did find that Gabriella was too far gone to be brought back she would at least have immediate access to a substitute until she could find another more permanent partner.
But first she had to separate Fulton and Gabriella and she wouldn't do that unless she got on with her plan. She opened the wardrobe that was filled with the few outfits of Gabriella's they had salvaged after fleeing the nest. She searched through until she found two nearly identical plastic halter tops and two almost identical pairs of black trousers. She cast one of each onto the bed and hung the others in the front of the wardrobe.
"All her jackets are of different styles so we'll just pick the one which disguises you best. She doesn't wear jackets inside anyway. The same goes for shoes."
Francesca went to her own wardrobe and removed a cardboard box from the bottom. She put it on the floor and lifted the lid. Inside were a selection of wigs in a variety of colours and styles from down the ages. She chose a dark wig that matched the current colour of Gabriella's hair. The wigs hair was long and straight where Gabriella's was cut just above her shoulders. Francesca took a pair of scissors from the dressing table. The problems with the wig could be rectified easily.
She turned back to find Persephone still standing where she had been at the beginning of her search through the wardrobes. Still dressed in the clothes she had been when Francesca fetched her from Fulton's room.
"What are you waiting for? Put those on so I can see how you look."
Persephone looked down at the floor. "I don't have any underwear on so could you please leave the room while I change."
She was being respectful at least even if she was being stupid. "You don't want me to see you naked, even after what we got up to yesterday. I think we are a bit beyond that sort of shyness."
Persephone looked up from the floor but didn't meet Francesca's eyes. "I don't know what came over me."
"I do," Francesca said. She took hold of Persephone's hand and ran her fingers over the back of it. "Do you need a reminder." She started to pull Persephone's hand towards her as she had when she convinced her to go along with her plan. Persephone let her hand be guided but after a few moments Francesca pulled it away.
"First things first," Francesca said.
Persephone shook her head as though to clear her confusion about what had just happened. She started taking off her own clothes and getting dressed in the ones Francesca had put out for her.
When she was done Francesca made her do a twirl so that she could see her from every angle.
"It looks promising," she said. "Now for the finishing touch."
She tucked Persephone's mousy hair under the black wig. After adjusting it to the correct position she started trimming it to the correct length and style to match Gabriella's current hair style. She took a step back to better see how it looked and then trimmed a little more from the fringe. Finally she stepped away and nodded.
"Perfect."
She motioned for Persephone to do another twirl. Francesca's eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. "Not quite perfect," she said. "You need to wear the clothes like Gabriella."
Francesca moved in closer to Persephone and started adjusting her top pulling it slightly tighter. She slipped her hand down the front of the top cupping Persephone's breasts and lifting them higher in the top in turn to emphasise them as Gabriella would. She let her hands linger only slightly as she did so.
"Now you're perfect," Francesca said. "You need to keep these things hidden from Fulton. If he remembers seeing them in your wardrobe the game will be up."
Persephone nodded along and started to remove the outfit. She seemed very eager to get herself out of the tight top. She also appeared eager to get out of the room and Francesca's presence. She was proving to be surprisingly resilient to Francesca's charms.
Persephone had finished stripping and had taken up both the outfit they had just picked and the one she had been wearing before and was making her way to the door.
Francesca got there before her and stood in front of the door obstructing her. "So eager to leave. Why not stay and have a little fun? They'll be downstairs for a while longer yet."
She caught the younger vampire with her eyes and felt the walls of resistance crumbling. Not giving Persephone any time to mount another defence, she walked her back to the bed and pushed her down. At first Francesca was the one doing all the work but after a few minutes guiding her the other vampire got the idea and started reacting all by herself when Francesca presented different parts of her body for her to play with. Within a half hour she was at it like she had been doing it all her life.
Yes, she would make an acceptable stopgap if Gabriella could not be salvaged. Francesca groaned in pleasure and moved her hips to grind herself harder against Persephone as the young vampire explored her novice techniques. Persephone could only mumble something about Francesca liking it like that.
Possibly Francesca would have keep her around anyway even if Gabriella remained hers. She was a very quick study.
Persephone had been uncharacteristically pleasant when Fulton rejoined her after 'training' with Gabriella. Fulton had tried to clear Gabriella out of his thoughts. He had managed to control himself with Gabriella and they had made a joint decision to wait until they had sorted the mess of emotions and lovers that they were in. Persephone might have caught on to his barely con
tained sexual excitement because she was all over him as soon as he entered the room. In seconds they were back at it as they had been those first few times. Only this time Fulton was trying to keep the noise down so that hearing Fulton make love to another woman wouldn't upset Gabriella. Even though Fulton knew she could well be at it next door with Francesca at the same time.
Fulton tried to keep thoughts of Gabriella out of his mind and resisted the temptation to imagine that it was Gabriella's body bucking beneath him. Gabriella wouldn't have those sorts of problems with Francesca.
When they were through Persephone was content to let Fulton lay in silence instead of alternately pestering him with questions and complaints. Fulton was reluctant to speak in case what he said broke Persephone out of this uncharacteristically quiet mood.
"Francesca wants me to go somewhere with her tonight. You and Gabriella are supposed to stay here."
He didn't have a clue where Francesca was going to take him. She had said something about checking out another house. Fulton fully expected Persephone to complain either that she was being left behind or that Gabriella would be staying as well.
Persephone didn't voice either complaint, she didn't even roll over to face him. "All right."
Fulton thought about asking what had brought about this change of mood in her but decided just to accept it and reap the benefits. Hopefully he wouldn't be living like this for much longer so he should make the most of this calm time. When he and Gabriella told Francesca and Persephone about them things were bound to get crazy.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Francesca had gone upstairs almost as soon as they were back in the house, Persephone had followed her a few minutes later leaving Fulton and Gabriella alone together again. Fulton just sat there watching her in silence. She wasn't doing anything remotely provocative, just lounging there watching television, but Fulton was captivated by her every movement however small or mundane.
He watched her shuffle her body on the settee turning more on her side to get comfortable. Curling her knees up a little and resting her head on her right hand on top of the arm of the furniture. Brushing her straight dark hair from in front of her face, where it had fallen when she moved, to cast it back over her head. She fiddled with her hair to make sure it would stay behind her ear. When a single lock fell back in front of her face she gently blew it out of her line of sight but left it hanging there.