Title: Meet the council (part 7/?)
Author: BELOVEDbyWAR
Rating: PG-13
TV verse: Blood Ties
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money..
AN: Thanks to luvinmike for beta-reading!
Sequel to 'Undercover Revelations' and 'Desperate Times'.
WK: 956


Meet the Council 7:

Henry stood frozen in place, his eyes still looking but not seeing, in the direction the detective had gone.

A dozen different feelings paralyzed him.

What had he almost done?

Why did he stop?

What would Vicki think if she knew he had once again lost control in front of Celluci?

What was that smell on the mortal?

Why had he reacted so strongly?

Who had dared to touch what was HIS?

Since when did he possess so little restraint that he allowed Cal's words to influence him?

Claim!

NO!

YESSSSSSSSSSSS!

Mobilizing all his reserves, he fought an inner battle and managed, after what seemed like an eternity, to move from the room, but not without taking the cop's smelly shirt with him. Only after having scrubbed it with water and soap in the kitchen sink was he able to relax. Having successfully removed the foreign smell, Henry quickly went to his own bedroom, not trusting his ever-changing mood swings.

There, eyes closed and hands clasping the armrests, he sat in a throne like chair, desperately trying to calm his turbulent emotions. It simply wouldn't do for someone of royal birth to let emotions get the better of him!


The shower took longer than expected.

At first he had doused himself with ice-cold water to cool off in more ways than one, but even that crisis-tested measure didn't have the desired effect.

It might have cooled his body, but it didn't calm his temper. Instead it made him cranky and his bones hurt, so he quickly switched to scalding hot. That at least helped to relax his cramped muscles. But after about fifteen minutes, his thoughts started to drift as Mike began to feel a little dizzy.

"Shouldn't have turned it that warm," he berated himself, all hostile thoughts vanishing as he instead concentrated on staying vertical.

Quickly throwing on the bathrobe, he stumbled, still half wet, to his room. Once there, he collapsed on the bed, taking deep calming breaths while his heart hammered in his chest.

A sudden cool hand on his brow took him by surprise and made it speed up even more.

"What did you do now?" the irritated voice of the vampire murmured, but he simply didn't have the energy to argue with the other man. Instead, he concentrated on making the world stop spinning.

He must have blacked out for a moment because the next thing he knew, his head was being carefully supported and a glass of water was being pressed to his lips.

Mike drank greedily and after he had his fill, Henry carefully lowered him back down and drew the comforter over him. It wasn't until then that Mike realized he was shivering.

"Thanks," he rasped, without opening his eyes.

Silence. When he still received no reply after several minutes of waiting for any kind of response from the living dead, he wrestled up enough energy to open his eyes and turn to the silent figure sitting next to him on the bed.

"Fitzroy?" he whispered.

Mike couldn't be sure, but even though the other man looked at him intensely, Mike got the feeling that Henry wasn't really seeing him at all.

"Henry."

He tried again and reached out to touch the vampire's shoulder, but before he could touch it, the royal attitude was back in place and Henry swiftly stood up.

"I trust you are feeling better and will be able to attend the council meeting."

Mike only nodded, stunned at the sudden coldness from the other being.

"Very well. We will leave in half an hour. Please dress accordingly."

Fitzroy left without waiting for an answer, making Mike feel like an uncultured, rowdy child.

If he weren't feeling so drained, the blond might have gotten angry at that snobbish manner, but seeing as he still felt a little shaky, he only shook his head and muttered:

"Vic, I'll never understand what you see in that highborn bastard!"


Meanwhile, Henry remained outwardly calm and detached while he chose his own apparel for the evening, but his thoughts ran amok.

The incident had shown him just how fragile his human companion really was, but what bothered him even more were the feelings that had been invoked by seeing that normally strong and stubborn man so pliant and at his mercy.

It had taken all his newfound strength not to pounce, not to reacquaint himself with the human's taste. His fingers still tingled as he remembered the feeling of running his fingers through that soft blond hair, then parting it to gain access to the strong, but oh so fragile neck. And as he supported the man's head and sensed that acceptance had nearly been his undoing.

To have Mike willingly allow Henry to assist him had made his heart pound and his mouth water. Forbidden pictures of the blond in the throws of orgasm had flooded Henry's mind reminding him of the way Mike had so wantonly relinquished control that one night in Vicki's office while under Henry's influence. How easy it would be to have Mike do it again. Just one command, one suggestion…

NO!

Henry was appalled at his lack of self-control. He didn't need to plant suggestions to have people melt in his arms! Hell, normally all he had to do was look willing and both men and women came running at a chance to be with him. No, he would have Celluci by his own free will with the man begging him for his touch!

Henry dressed while still enjoying his fantasy but then managed to turn his mind back to more pressing matters at hand, namely the council. Hopefully all would go well, but something deep in his gut foreshadowed otherwise.