Bloody Heretic (9 page)

    “
I don
’
t need help. I
’
ve managed t
o keep myself fe
d for o
ver three hundred years.
I
’
m fully capable of feeding from someone without your advice.”
He fumed. She held up her hands.

    “
Okay. Don
’
t say I didn
’
t warn you.”
She had seen a few of his feedings. He always took men and it was quick and efficient. Seduction, the sexual part of blood taking, the rush of bleeding a person into yourself, seemed to be beyond him. If left to hi
s
own devices he
’
d probably end up taking blood from the bartender with a Red Cross kit.

    “
I
’
m sorry. I didn
’
t mean to yell at you. I
‘
m just upset that we even have to go this far just to blend in.”

    “
It
’
s a necessary evil. And really it isn
’
t so bad. The girls will enjoy every second of it, I assure you.
”

    “
What
’
s the difference between that and feeding them drugs to keep them compliant?
I
’
m sure a heroin addict would say she enjoys taking a hit too,”
he argued. He had a point.

    “
The di
fference is we won
’
t be feeding any habits, as it were, for more than another day or so. I
’
m confident I
’
ll have the information we need by then.”

    “
What makes you so sure?”

    “
I slipped Ivana a note with that tip and I implanted the thought with it
that after the show she needed to immediately talk to her boss about taking my offer to have her perform at my club in America. I
’
m sure by the end of the night I
’
ll be in Boris
’
s office, arguing about whether or not he
’
ll let go of her. And if I
’
m lucky
I
’
ll be able to glean some information from him. If I
’
m really lucky I
’
ll be able to talk him into giving her to me.”
She grinned at the thought. Dominic looked angry. “
What?”

    “
It
’
s brilliant.”
He scowled.

    “
But of course,”
she said. “
Why are you so
angry?”

    “
Because I didn
’
t think of it,”
he answered. She laughed at the statement and he scowled harder.

    “
Come now, Dominic. Don
’
t fret. I
’
ve been at this longer than you.”
She reached out and smoothed away the line that had formed between his brow
s. He let her.

    “
I still should have thought of some way to get into the office.”
She slapped him lightly in the cheek.

    “
Snap out of it. Self deprecation does not suit you. How about another round of Quid Pro Quo?”
She hoped she would be able to w
easel some more information out of him, particularly about his aversion to women.

    “
I suppose we have the time,”
he answered, looking at his expensive platinum watch.

    “
Excellent! I
’
ll go first. What did you do before working in Investigations?”
He
didn
’
t seem to like this question and it looked as though he was going to lie.

    “
I didn
’
t do much of anything really. I worked the shipping trade with my father when I came of age. Once I was turned Vampire I just sort of floated about aimlessly. King
Niles found me in Miami in 1957 and for some reason wanted me to join him in New York. Investigations just sort of happened. I
’
m honestly not sure how I fell into it.”
He wasn
’
t lying really, but he
was
definitely not telling the whole truth either.

   
“
It seems a good fit, no? I think you
’
ve done a fine job so far.”

    “
Thank you.”
He looked away from her.

    “
Well? Ask me something.”

    “
Why didn
’
t you tell me
that your club was a gay bar?”
His eyes held hers as he asked. She was pleasantly surprise
d that he had not only the gumption to ask but that he had bothered to find out about her club in the first place.

    “
It
’
s no secret, I
’
m sure you saw for yourself on the website. And I did say that it wasn
’
t your type of crowd.”

    “
Yes, but why? Are
you...I mean why would you open that type of bar if you
’
re not...”
He fidgeted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the question. She let him
twitch for a few moments, enjoying the torture.

    “
A lesbian?”
She answered for him. 

    “
Yes. Are you? Not
that it matters, of course.”
Didn
’
t it?
She mused.

    “
I refuse to answer. You asked two in a row. It
’
s my turn,”
she said. He scowled but didn
’
t argue. “
Let
’
s see. Hobbies. What do you do for fun?”

    “
Fun?”
He repeated, cocking his head.

    “
Yes, fu
n. You understand? Something you do just for the enjoyment of it. Something that gives you pleasure.”

    “
Pleasure,”
he repeated back again. His gaze slid out over the crowd. She watched as the wheel spun out in his brain.

    “
Oh
,
no. You
’
re not a dread
ed workaholic are you?”
She planted a hand to her chest and feigned a gasp. His eyes slid back to her, darting down to her chest for the smallest second before meeting her face. He smiled sheepishly.

    “
I guess I am.”

    “
Non, inacceptable.
We must make sure you have fun tonight. What would you like to do? Dance?”

    “
I would like to be scouting the building for underground passageways. Or calling Chris to see when he
’
s coming back from Boulder to escort the next batch of girls we pick up. I don
’
t dance, that
’
s for damn sure.”
Jeanne huffed at his answer. She couldn
’
t work with that at all. Without giving him time to react she snatched him by the hand and pulled him fr
o
m the table. He didn
’
t fight her but he didn
’
t exactly look pleased to be led through the crowd of writhing, sweaty bodies that filled the dance floor
either
.

    “
Don
’
t look so worried,”
she assured him. “
I won
’
t make you dance.”
What she did was memorize
every girl that eyed him in interest as they made their way toward the back rooms. He started to balk as she opened the door to an empty room. Vampiric force became necessary when he turned to leave. She grabbed him by his shirt and threw him down onto a
velvet covered settee.

    “
Stay!”
She pointed at him. He straightened
up and looked ready to argue until she cocked her head, daring him to defy her. “
Pouting does not become you,
mon petit
chou
.”
She left the room, shutting the door behind her and locki
ng it with a flick of her thoughts. She slid back through the crowd, snatching three of the
best looking
girls that had watched Dominic as they had passed through. A quick word in their ears and
they came with her willingly. Just before they reached the do
or she leaned to whisper to two of the girls.

    “
Seduce him. Do not take no for an answer. Whatever it takes.”
They nodded in understanding. The blonde she kept for herself. She opened the door to find Dominic pacing the length of the floor, his long le
gs eating up the space between the walls with ease. He whirled to confront her but his lips immediately snapped shut upon seeing the presents she had brought back with her.

    “
What are you doing?”
He whispered to her.

    “
Bringing you something to take
your mind off of work for awhile.”
She smiled as the tw
o girls walked slowly toward him
, and the incredulous look he gave her as he backed up to get away from them. It was now or never. She would find out if he truly preferred men or if he was just that f
rigid. The memory of this morning rose up and she had to focus to keep her cheeks from becoming pink at the thought of his taking himself in hand, spilling as he growled her name.

    “
Out of the question.
They
’
re human.
”
He backed up until his legs hit t
he large couch situated along the wall. One of the girls pushed him down and he fell like a ton of bricks.

    “
They
’
ll be your warm-up for later.
Consider it a necessary part of the job if you have to
, but you will feed from them.”
She walked the blonde t
o the settee and sat with her. Dominic looked ready to do murder. She couldn
’
t help but to smile at hi
s discomfort. One of the two had
positioning herself in his lap. He didn
’
t seem to know what to do with his hands. “
Be at ease, Dominic. Let them do all t
he work. Relax.”
She watched him as she brushed the hair off of the blondes shoulder. The girl smelled clean, a bit drunk perhaps, but not drugged up. She preferred them that way. The
duo was
givi
ng it their all across the room.
S
he could see one unbuttoni
ng his shirt as the other loosened his tie. He didn
’
t stop them but he certainly wasn
’
t relaxed. The cords of his neck stood out as he craned his head awa
y from the girl kissing his throat
. Though
he seemed unresponsive to the treatment, Jeanne certainly wasn
’
t. Her heart beat skyrocketed as she watch
ed them
go to
work on him. Between the girl
beside her and the action in front of her she was revved up and ready to go.
A quick flick of her wrist and
she had the girl turned and sitting in her lap, straddling her thighs and ready to be devoured. Her hand snaked up the girls back until she got a hand under her hair and around her neck. Dom didn
’
t even seem aware of the girls in his lap. His eyes were g
l
ued to hers as she bent to pierce the flesh of her victim
’
s neck. As the blood filled her mouth she watched as Dominic sank
down, literally deflating with defeat. His eyes closed for the barest moment before he snatched the girl on the left by her neck and
sank his fangs into her. Jeanne moaned out loud to see him finally pulling the girl towards him. She didn
’
t even care about the girl writhing on top of her. The eye contact she and Dom were making across the room was enough to make her pull away from the
girl. She was about to order the three humans away when a knock on the door startled her out of her revelry. Her head snapped to the door as it opened and a Vampire came in uninvited. She snarled at him but he seemed uninterested in how close his death tr
u
ly was.