"Come on boyo, I'm not so bad, let's go home

The Monte Carlo roared as Ashley turned it towards Canal and pushed her foot heavily against the accelerator. As she entered her territory she could feel the presence of vampires who did not belong. Anger filled her head and small snarl escaped her throat as her eyes hyper dilated ready for a fight. With a rush of adrenaline her senses kicked up even more and she could smell Gabriel's fear beside her.

"Don't worry, bebe, tonight you having nothing to fear." The boy relaxed, barely, but enough that she knew he no longer feared her anger but what lay ahead. Never before had another vampire dared enter her territory while she was gone, but now an entire cadre of foreign vampires had invaded and threatened her own blood there would be a high payment for grievances such as these. She pulled up in front of a bistro called Sang, there was a car in her parking space. As owner of the restaurant and lord of the territory the space was the least of her many possessions but tonight it needled her above all else. Parking illegally in front of the door she threw open her car door and stepped out. She could feel her anger radiating from her body like heat and every vampire in the vicinity could feel it too. Gabriel opened his door much more carefully and followed her as she stalked towards the door.

As she stepped through the ornate glass door of Sang the human metre'd stepped towards her. He had been hired since she left because she did not recognized him and he obviously did not recognized her. Flashing her angry black eyes at him he took a step back and allowed Gabriel and her to pass unmolested. Dressed as they were the two new comers were very out of place in the bistro Sang was a top end establishment and human or no you could not get in without a suit and tie. The vampires dotted about the room shivered as they felt the angry heat of Ashley's power prickle across their skin. The humans watched her with disdain as she half ran through the elegant dining room to the manager's office.

The door was closed and in her anger Ashley nearly knocked it off the hinges with a single knock. The door opened to reveal a pasty faced man in a tuxedo whose eyes grew wide at the sight of his better.

"Lady Ashley what a surprise to see you. I trust Paris was lovely this trip?" He said his voice trembling ever so slightly.

"Botte, there are strange vampires in my lands; they threatened my child, who the fuck is responsible for this!" She said her voice rising into an enraged shout.

"My lady, it is not my fault I could not stop them I am not strong enough."

"Who is 'tem'" She asked fighting to keep her voice under control. Botte cowered slightly against this new wave of rage that breathed across his skin like air from the mouth of a cave.

"The master calls himself Lyzander, they came from Florence. They're an old bloodline…so powerful. The master, he carries the gift of fire." The tall man stammered twisting the rings on his fingers nervously. A hiss of anger and frustration escaped from Ashley's mouth as she slumped into the chair behind the desk. Gabriel sidled between the thin vampire and the desk coming to stand behind her right shoulder.

"Where are they staying." She said her eyes widening as she noticed Botte shudder.

"They took over Greywind." The man whispered flinching as her rage caused the temperature in the room to drop drastically.

"Goddammit!," she shrieked standing and sending the heavy wooden desk scooting across the floor. "This foreign bastard has the gall to come here and invade my home. Come on, bebe, we have some housecleaning to do." She said nearly knocking over Botte as she brushed past him. As they passed back through the restaurants the people sitting at the tables shuddered and stare as a very angry master of the territory stormed by them an icy air following her like a train.

The pair had settled themselves back into the front seat of the Cobra where Ashley sat seething staring blindly out the front windshield. The temperature inside the car dropped the moment the angry vampire got in and continued to drop steadily. Fog began to form on the windshield as the glass grew cold enough to cause the humid outside air to condense against it.

"Ashley? What's Greywind?" Gabriel asked as the curiosity and his discomfort got the better of him. Ashley didn't say anything for a moment as she slowly counted to ten. She swore that she would not scare the boy anymore tonight and she intended to stand by that.

"Margaritte's b&b is where I stay when I'm in the city. My actual home is on the outskirts, Greywind. It's where I keep my belongings and for this lifetime it is my legal residence. Ah…think of me as the president of the city and Greywind is my whitehouse….that damn Florentine ass took my white house!" She shouted losing control of her temper Gabriel barely flinched as the wave of energy filled the car causing the temperature to plummet and the condensation on the windshield to freeze with an audible crunch. Gabriel pulled his trench coat tighter around himself, the cold really couldn't harm him but he didn't enjoy it and it caused his exposed nipples to pebble.

"Well let's go kill them horribly, shall we?" Ashley turned to him her jaw dropping slightly before she burst into laughter. As the tension left her the car began to warm the balmy temperature outside invading the car and thawing the frost that had formed on the window. As the air warmed Gabriel allowed the heavy leather to fall away from his chest but still crossed his arms for his own modesty's, what remain of it, sake.

"I'm sorry for laughing; you're too cute to sound frightening." She explained gasping through the last trickles of laughter bubbling up from inside.

"I wasn't going for menacing, I was going for funny…you were trying to freeze me to death." He replied covertly trying to massage some of the blood away from his protruding nipples.

"You can't freeze to death but it probably wasn't very nice to got ice queen with you in the car. I'm sorry. So ­shall we go kill them horribly?"

"Um…actually I'd rather not. You see that one fellow I ran into was rather large and he shook me like a rag doll, I'd really prefer not to die…aren't I too cute to die?"

"Well…I would be sorely vexed if you got killed or hurt…and I probably couldn't find another one like you for a couple of years…though I could look…."

"Hey!"

"But I'd rather keep you with me for a few centuries at least, if only to peek at that pretty little ass while you sleep." She murmured fixing the young man with a lewd gaze and lascivious smirk. Gabriel responded by sinking lower in his seat and fighting back a bright red blush that spread across his face, chest, and stomach.

"Now that is cute. I'll definitely have to keep you alive now just so I can make you do that again. Does it go all the way down?" She pondered taking in the full body blush.

"You…you're gonna undress me while I sleep. Again?" Gabriel asked sheepishly.

"No, that was a joke. You really don't like girls do you?"

"Not particularly, I mean like I said we never got many down at the gravel pits…but we did get a few. They usually went for the bigger muscle guys but one came for me once."

"You didn't enjoy yourself did you?"

"No, not that I ever really enjoyed myself, but I was usually on the bottom anyway that time I had to be on top and….and I mean she was pretty considering…but…" He stammered.

"But you couldn't get it up?"

"Or keep it up. She laughed at me, said that if I was gonna fag out on me I could walk back to the pits and go hungry."

"If you ever see her when we're out together, point her out for me would you, baby?"

"Sure…why?"

"I'll eat the bitch! No one calls my boy a fag and survives!"

"But I am, aren't I?" Gabriel said unable to help being pleased by the older vampire's protective vehemence.

"No, fag is a bad nasty word that no one should use in regards to another person, you're gay…there's a difference."

"So you'd really eat someone for calling me a name?"

"You're my baby now; I'll eat someone for looking at you funny."

"We don't have to have sex do we?" Gabriel asked scooting further down into his seat and looking out the window.

"Sex, why would we have to have sex? Listen I was just joking about leering at your ass while you're asleep. I just wanna have someone to keep me company you don't have to do anything you don't want to. I promise, if anyone ever tries to force you to do anything I'll eat them…actually I'll probably just dismembered them slowly while they watch." Gabriel still kept his face towards the window. Ashley reached out her hand and threaded her fingers through the soft hair that fell down his back in waves. Gabriel leaned into her caress before turning to wrap his arms around her waist.

"You'll keep me safe?"

"Forever."

"You won't leave me behind again?"

"Never."

"You won't undress me again?" Ashley was quite for a few moments before answering.

"Not without asking you first."

"Fair enough, and if I say no?"

"I'll ask again in twenty minutes."

"Is that persistence or patience?"

"A little bit of both."

"Do I really have a sweet ass?"

"Oh, yeah. A sweet ass, a sweet face, a tight little stomach, and the prettiest chest I've ever seen." Ashley muttered running her hand through the young vampires swirling red locks.

"Really?"

"Yes, the only reason I'm not fondling you right now is because you wouldn't enjoy it half as much as I would."

"I couldn't stop you." He stated his voice empty of emotion.

"No you probably couldn't but you might start crying and crying boys make it itchy."

"I've never cried…not unless they asked me to…or made me." He whispered a small shiver running through his slight frame.

"Well it's a moot point really. I don't like doing things to people against their will. You're virtues will remain intact as far as I'm concerned, I can get boys on my own without having to force myself on such luscious creatures as yourself, mon chaton."

"Okay," he said releasing her waist and sitting back up in his seat. "We gonna go kill the bad guys now?"

"No, not tonight, I've calmed somewhat now. It wouldn't do to go in half cocked, I might get injured, you might get injured, I might get killed, you might get killed. I'm wouldn't look forward to any of those things. If I bit it I'm sure Rolyn would take care of you for me, but I'd rather take care of you myself."

"Rolyn is a very large, very scary man. I'd rather you take care of me too."

"Royn is a very large, very scary pussy cat. He'd be good to you: give you the finest blood, let you wear anything in the shop, lavish you with jewelry, and slobber after you like a schoolboy."

"Rolyn is gay?"

"Rolyn is a big queen with a heart of platinum, gold's tacky. He looks mean but he sits all there all day reading sappy romance novels by southern women and dreams of finding Mr. Right."

"Wow."

"You wanna drop back by the warehouse?" Ashley asked teasingly.

"Not particularly, Rolyn could break me and half…trying to be gentle. I'm not ready for…sex or anything that might lead up to sex."

"Okay, but I'll help you nail someone pretty when you're ready. Let's head back to Margaritte's. We can but away all your new clothes, unless you wanna play fashion show for me."

"Maybe." Laughing Ashley put the car into drive and sped off towards the Black Orchid.