Murphy's Law Bar
2:23 a.m.
Toronto, Canada
Time was running out. That was all Auri could think as she walked through the bar, searching the faces of the bar, trying to block out the smell of sweat, alcohol and sex rife in the air, the place was so packed she could barely breathe.
"What'll it be?" the bartender asked, distracting her momentarily.
"Whiskey, on the rocks." She said, her Irish burr rolling across her tongue.
"Coming up." He said and placed the crystal glass he had been drying onto the bar then scooped ice into the glass.
"Excuse me…" she said politely, waiting for the bartender to pour the whiskey and hand her the drink. "… but have seen a woman who looks much like me?"
"Like you?" the man asked, his face puzzled.
"Yes."
"Not recently, a couple of days ago a woman a woman who looked much like you strolled in, but she had red hair."
"When did she come in exactly?"
"Don't remember, that was a while ago."
"Thank you."
"No problem, now that'll be two dollars for the whiskey."
Nodding she passed two bills across the bar and turned the stool to face the rest of the room, many of the people who occupied the bar were dancing on the floor, bumping and grinding to the sounds of techno blasting from the bar's speakers. Carefully she took a sip of her whiskey and felt it trail warmly over her tongue, the taste was bitter to her senses and burned a hot trail down her throat before curling warmly in her stomach. Auri sighed, yes, time was running out for her sister Valerie and if she didn't find her soon, there would be trouble. Tentatively she took another sip and allowed her eyes to wander over each face, resting on each for brief seconds before moving on.
"This is useless." She said to herself, finishing her drink with one last sip.
Auri had been looking for Cassandra for almost 3 days, searching every bar she could find for her twin who seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. Honestly Auri wasn't too concerned for it seemed that Cassandra decided to leave town every other week and not return, leaving Auri to find her and drag her back to Toronto to satisfy their over-protective mother. Auri stood, nodded at the bartender, placed the glass on the bar and waited for a refill then paid the bartender once more and took the glass with her. Immediately she searched for a place where she might have a good view of the door and still be able to keep to the shadows. In her distraction she hadn't noticed when a man had bumped past her and spilled the contents of her drink onto his very stylish white shirt.
"Oh, I am so sorry." She said, instantly contrite.
"It's okay…" the man said.
Her eyes met his and everything seemed to freeze, his eyes were the deepest shade of hazel she had ever seen, dark and smoky they seemed to hold hers in a trance.
"Let me get a napkin." She said slowly, her voice showing her distraction.
"No, seriously, it's okay."
Auri couldn't seem to take her eyes away from his.
"Here, let me but you a drink to replace that one." He said, a smile touching his lips.
"Oh, geez." She finally pulled her eyes away from his, having honed in on the killer smile that graced his features. "I'm sorry, I've been so distracted lately."
Auri pulled her eyes away from his mouth and tried to tamp down the fantasies that were flashing in her head of being kissed by this man.
"Come on."
He took the glass from her hand and pressed a palm to her lower back, leading her back towards her place at the bar, he placed the glass on the bar and ordered the whiskey again, then offered her a seat on one the stools before taking a seat himself.
"My name's Henry." He said, smiling once more.
"Auri, and I'm really sorry, I'll pay for any damage to the shirt."
"Enchanted, Auri."
Henry took her hand into one of his and pressed his lips to the top, inwardly she sighed and shivered.
"You sound to be Irish, am I correct?"
Henry
"Yes."
Utterly enchanting. Henry thought to himself as he stared at the woman sitting so primly in front of him, even the damage to his shirt couldn't make him take his eyes off of her. Compared to the other women in the room, Auri wasn't beautiful but she held herself in a way that gave her regal bearing and made her plain features more unique. Her most noticible feature was her lips, thick and lush, perfectly formed and pink, a lover's lips, next was those unnerving turquoise eyes that seemed to change in the light from blue to green, then her hair, it was thick and wavy and fell to her shoulders in charming curls that wrapped around her heart shaped face.
When he had first seen her walk across the room, bearing a drink in one hand and looking decidedly distracted he had noticed the way she walked, swaying her hips sensually in a way that no woman could do thinking about it. Henry had watched for several minutes, taking in each detail of her finely molded body, from the way her tight jeans wrapped around her firm legs and wide hips to the white t-shirt that exposed only so much of her stomach then molded to her lush breasts.
"Auri, is that short for something?"
"Yes, actually, Aurielle."
"Beautiful name." he said softly.
She paused for a minute, took the refilled glass into her hand and brought it to her mouth, sipping the cold liquid, he watched her throat work as the drink slid into her body. Her pulse caught his eye, thrumming softly against porcelain skin.
"Thanks…" she trailed off. "You're going to think this is strange, but have you met me before?"
Henry was momentarily taken off guard. "No, I don't think so."
"Oh, okay, well thanks."
"Is something wrong?" he said, sensing her hesitation.
"No, not really."
She was lying, he could tell. "Are you sure?"
"Yea, I'm sure everything's fine."
She turned to stand. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Henry, but I think I'm going to go over there." She pointed at a space on one of the many blue couches in the bar.
"Don't go." He whispered. "Dance with me."
"I don't know…" she looked around. "The dance floor's pretty packed."
"It'll be fun."
"I'm supposed to be looking for…" she stopped when she had realized what she was saying.
"Looking for what?"
She paused. "It's okay, I'm not going to bite." Yet. Henry thought to himself.
"Well, I'm looking for my sister."
"Sister?"
"Yea, she's gone missing and I'm really not too concerned but I wanted to be sure and usually she comes here." She said quickly.
Henry smiled. "No worries, you can still watch the door from the dance floor, I'll even help you find her, what does she look like?"
"Me."
"Well, that will make it extra easy." He watched her smile tentatively.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt."
He held out his hand and waited until she had taken his before standing and leading her out onto the dance floor, Auri stood and followed, never taking her eyes away from his. A slow song started just as they're feet touched the dance floor.
"Time for a slow song now, all you ladies and gents, so grab a partner and dance." The DJ called over the speakers.
Henry guided her hands to his shoulders, then placed his palms against the soft curve of her hips, gently he pulled her close until her chest was pressed against his own. The woman in his arms was shorter than him so that he could easily place his chin to the top of her head, he moved in slow motions side to side, feeling her arms slide more firmly around his neck and lock.
"Not so bad." He whispered in her ear.
She laughed and smiled, placing her head in the curve of his neck.
Auri
She couldn't believe she was doing this, it was not what Auri would normally do but she was slightly drunk and didn't know exactly what she was doing. Inside her chest her heart was pounding, his body was pressed so close to her own it made her body go into sexual overdrive.
There was a nip at her earlobe as Henry bit the soft cartilage lightly, Auri giggled and swayed into him, the whiskey hitting her system hard even though she hadn't had the much all night, maybe 3 shots.
"I thought you said you don't bite?" she said laughingly.
"Hmmm… so I did." His breath was warm on her neck.
She pulled her away from his neck suddenly and looked at him, her head spun for a minute before settling, she wasn't quite drunk enough to allow him the liberty of touching her much more intimately than that. He smiled that killer smile and dipped forward, pressing his lips against hers, softly at first, questioning then harder and more passionate when she didn't fight him.
"No…" she said. "… I can't."
He kissed her again, freeing all his passion into her mouth, she felt his tongue tracing her lips, a question of his entry, she opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to taste the inside of her mouth. He tasted of iron and something darker, more primal but not a hint of alcohol tainted his mouth, he deepened the kiss even more. A spark of pleasure zinged from her head to her toes then back up, she couldn't remember the last time she had wanted a man like she wanted this one. Henry's hands lowered from her hips to her full bottom that filled his palms sweetly.
"Not here." She moaned.
"My apartment is just down the street, come with me." He whispered.
"I don't…"
"Maybe it's not a question." His voice was husky and low in her ear.
Auri didn't reply and fell under the trance his eyes and voice was weaving over her, her body warmed when his hand slid up from her bottom to her lower back and led her once more away from the dance floor. She followed, unsure how to tell him she couldn't go with him, a part of her wanted to go with him and yet another part was afraid of what would happen if she did, so still unsure she allowed him to lead her to the door and outside.
"I should really go home." She said smoothly.
He smiled again and Auri knew that she had lost the fight, she wanted him and it had been too long since she had kissed a man and felt anything, something about his kiss and touch heated the very core of her. Slowly they made there way to his car and got in.
"How far?" she asked, her voice a breathy whisper.
"We're almost there."
He smiled again and put the car into gear, then pulled out of the bar's parking lot and onto the highway they rode in silence, Auri drowned in her own thoughts involving the utterly fascinating man sitting so close to her. They rode for almost twenty minutes before Henry pulled into another parking lot and stopped the car, already Auri was having second thoughts even though it was too late for them. Henry got out of the car and came around to the other side, opening the door gallantly then closing it after her, Auri got out and smiled hesitantly, he pinned her against he door of the car and kissed her again, as if sensing she was hesitating.
They were inside his apartment in record time, it seemed the last few minutes from the parking lot to his place were a blur, it became especially blurry when she thought about the heated kisses they had shared in the elevator coming up here.
"You got the key?" she said, flirtingly.
"Of course."
He kissed her against the door while he fumbled around in his pocket then produced a key and inserted it into the lock, never once breaking the kiss, Auri turned the knob and both of them tumbled into the apartment, shutting the door firmly behind them. Henry pushed against the closed door and pinned her hands to side of her head, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and twining with her own.
"I don't know if I can wait." He whispered, his voice husky.
"I know I can't." she said, tilting her head back so that her throat was exposed.
He smiled and kissed the front of her throat, drawing his teeth across the soft, pink flesh, Auri shivered and keened softly, taking a handful of her rich hair he pulled her head back and ravaged her mouth more fully. With his other free hand he pulled the hem of her white shirt up over her stomach and finally over her head, his hand ran down her front, over her bra and stomach, tracing the circle of her navel. A storm of sensation rushed over her, fire raced inside her veins and honeyed warmth slid down between her thighs, making her damp with passion, Auri ran her hands through his hair, threading her fingers into the silken locks.
"More." She moaned.
He tugged on the front of her bra and snapped the flimsy front in two, the bra fell away and she felt cooler air touched her hot skin, in reaction her nipples tightened and hardened to diamond points.
"Off." She tugged on his shirt. "Off now."
Without speaking he tugged off his shirt and threw it on the pile with the rest of their clothes, she ran her palms over his chest, running her palms along the coarse blonde hair that arrowed to the waistband of his pants. He tugged the button and zipper of her pants and drew them down over her long legs until they pooled on the floor at her feet, then tugged off her underwear as well until she was naked, pressed between the cool wood door and his hot hard body. Lifting her he pressed her more fully against the door, instantly she wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling the hard edge of his arousal pressed to her naked womanhood. Pinpoints of light flashed in front of her eyes, her heart pounded fiercely in her ear and her body was on the edge of exploding.
"Beautiful." He whispered.
"Please."
"Please what?"
"Please!" She was on the verge of screaming.
She heard the rasp of his zipper then felt the hard length of his length pressed against her thigh, she kissed him hard on the mouth and ground her body against him, his hands glided up the sides of her stomach and took the full weight of her breasts into his hands. He rolled each nipple in two fingers and sparks of pleasure ricocheted through her body sending goosebumps flashing over her skin. Auri reached down and took his length into her hand and stroked it, he hissed loudly and leaned back thrusting himself into her hand.
Auri stroked him harder, from base to tip and bit the side of his throat gently, Henry groaned and took her hand away, pinning it once more to the side of her head, kissed her and shifted his hips into the cradle of her thighs. She gasped when his length pushed into her body, she felt stretched and hot, she thought nothing could be as pleasurable as having his hard length buried in her body. She moaned and arched, closing her eyes against the lightening that zinged through her, Henry rocked, only a little, not even an inch but a wealth of sensation rushed through her, she could barely breath he was so deep inside.
"Am I hurting you?"
"No…" her voice was a breath a air.
Henry
Nothing could be as orgasmic as being inside of this woman, this woman he barely knew, actually to be more accurate he didn't know her at all but being inside of her was the best feeling in the world. Henry enjoyed the slide of his fangs as he laid his head on the curve of her neck, he withdrew from her heat and slid back home just as he pressed his lengthened incisors into the vulnerable part of her throat. Blood rushed into his mouth, the taste was bitter sweet of iron and sweetness, memories that didn't belong to him flashed in his brain, faces that belonged to other people and words came into his ears. Henry banished the thoughts and thrust into her again, beginning a rhythm of withdrawal and thrust, he felt her quiver around him, tight and wet, she moaned and arched taking him deeper into her as he moved.
He continued to drink from her neck, hearing her keening moans until finally he pulled away, blood spilling from his mouth and dribbling down his chin, she murmured something and rocked her hips, rotating, Henry groaned and thrust harder and faster into her body. Her head went back and rested against the wall, her cry of release filled the room, several moments later Henry came as well, thrusting hard into her three times before spilling his seed into her heat. He leaned his large body against hers, pressing her fully into the wall, making it almost impossible for her to move, she squirmed for a minute then rested her body.
"What was that about?" she said, her body adjusting to the darkness in the room.
"I don't know, but it was fantastic."
Auri sighed. "This is so not something I do on a regular basis."
"Think nothing of it, besides it's excellent for my pride to hear you say that."
"Don't let it get to your head."
Henry laughed. "I like you."
"Well, that's good. I did just sleep with you."
He laughed again. "Are you always this sarcastic?"
"Of course." She smiled, her breath still not quiet steady.
"Let's go into the bedroom."
"Yea, let's."
He pulled her away from the wall but didn't withdraw from her heat, instead he carried her all the way to the bedroom and laid her on the bed, his body already hardening inside of her, she moaned and arched into him.
"Very sexy."
They made love once more that night before collapsing onto the bed and quickly falling asleep.
A couple of hours later Henry sat up in bed, hearing a sound that didn't belong in his apartment, the sound of a key turning in the lock and the door opening.
"What great timing Vicky." Henry growled, knowing who it was.
"Henry?" her loud voice reverberated in the apartment.
Henry looked to the woman lying on the bed next to him, her hair falling around her face in wild disarray, she smiled and yawned in sleep but did not awaken, Henry nodded and sighed, standing he dressed in his pants realizing that his shirt and the woman's clothes were still in the living room.
"Vicky?" Henry said, looking out the UV light filtered window, the sun was rising. "Isn't it a bit late for you to be here?"
"I wasn't sure, I wanted to catch you before you went to sleep." She wiggled her eyebrows.
"What?" he said suspiciously.
"Having a little private party?" she smiled.
Henry looked at the clothes strewn about the room, he turned back to her and gave her a toothy grin. "Yes, and speaking of which I would prefer if you didn't wake her."
"Oh, it's a bit late for that." Auri said from behind him, she sounded irritated.
"Um…. Good morning?" he said lamely, unsure how to continue.
"Good morning, I hope you don't mind but I borrowed you robe."
"It's no problem."
"Who's this?" she asked politely, turning to Vicky.
"Auri, this is Vicky, Vicky, Auri."
"Hello." Vicky held out her hand.
Auri took it. "Pleasure to meet you."
"I'm a private detective, Henry here is my partner."
"Oh." She said, nodding as if this was the appropriate response. "Well, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."
"It's okay." Vicky said awkwardly, the whole situation becoming more awkward by the minute.
"Yea, I'll just get my stuff and go." Auri said.
Henry said nothing but watched as the woman left, she turned and looked at Vicky once more.
"You said you're a private detective, right?"
"Yea, I work on Holland."
"Oh, would you mind if I came over this afternoon, I'm looking for my sister."
"How long has your sister been missing?"
"Four days, which really isn't unusual for her but I don't want to call the police if she's on another one of her joyrides."
"I'll schedule you for sometime this afternoon, you can call me or just come over."
"Okay, thanks."
"No problem." Auri turned again to enter Henry's room. "One more thing before you go."
"Yea?"
"What's your name, I don't think I caught a last name before."
"Aurielle Cromwell."
Henry frowned, he had heard that name before, but where?