The Vampire and the Beast. Part 2.

Chapter 11: Nutella

000

"How come you still keep this useless thing?" Jennifer asked Gold pointedly, as she held a slender golden dusty lamp in the palm of her hand. She lifted the small top, glancing inside it with a bit of disappointment on her face, and sat it back on its intended placement on the table.

"I keep it in any case someone thinks it's worthy of value," Gold replied, watching her walk around the shop.

She strolled over to him, her heels tapping the hard wood underneath so delicately until she stood on the other side of the counter, across from him. A little sparkle of mischief twinkled in her eye.

"Hate to break it to you, my dear husband, but without a genie, a lamp it shall forever be—and that's hardly worth anything," Jennifer told him.

She lightly skimmed the counter top with her hands—Gold watched her tap the glass with her fingertips, but what truly made him ponder her intentions towards this visit was the smoldering gaze she gave him; Gold knew there was more than one magical figure on her mind. Not that she ever stopped looking at him like that—those soft lips of hers lifted into a crooked smile, and the usually bright sapphires were darker, content with the picture that he knew was scrolling through her mind.

"I thought you would be having lunch with the Mayor today," Gold told her softly, but he nearly lost his grace when she lifted herself up onto the counter, her legs cascading over in a simple sweep and she was sitting right in front of him, her feet dangling. Jennifer wordlessly pushed the register a little ways down the counter; then she leaned forward and by the tie of his purple-on-black suit, Jennifer pulled him gently towards her. Gold exhaled a soft sigh of amusement, smiling at her direct advances.

"Forget the Mayor," Jennifer uttered quietly. "Even if that were still true, no appointment would pull me away from you." She lowered her eyelids, the naturally long eyelashes of hers fluttering seductively as Jennifer's smile widened.

"So the friendship is over." Gold assumed.

"For now," Jennifer replied softly. "She thinks I am on Emma Swan's side. Despite the fact that I do love a nice cat fight from time to time, I don't like the idea of a child getting hurt in the process. Neither will back down...things are going to escalate radically if they don't stop now." She smirked at Gold, uttering, "But I enjoy a little chaos from time to time."

Gold watched her eyes look him up and down, and as though she was entranced, her hands moved behind his back and lowered to his waist. She pulled him even closer so he was directly between her legs—not a single bit of space left between them. Gold could feel himself becoming intoxicated by her sweet, dangerously low voice, the way she kept her lips parted only slightly as she spoke.

"Chaos isn't always beneficial," Gold told her calmly.

"It can be."

"And if you get pulled into the mess?" Gold asked.

"I personally like getting a little dirty. You should know that, more than anyone." Jennifer told him.

Gold retained his cool disposition, but it was hard to pretend he wasn't aroused by Jennifer's ministrations when her hand slid between them; he felt her fingers wrap around him, despite the barrier of his clothes. He made a point to pull away from her—god forbid someone come in on business and they'd walk in on this interesting little show. But Jennifer simply hopped off the counter, moving towards him until he was stopped with his back against the wall.

"Jennif—"

Jennifer shoved her mouth against his, stopping him. Gold realized just how much she was pining for him; the passion and force with which she kissed was a little overwhelming and not even Gold could attempt to spur her advances any longer. Her fingers grabbed handfuls of his suit, wrinkling them out of their usually fine pressed state. Briefly, Gold wondered what had led to this preemptive strike as the lust that normally kindled in the loins of his beautiful wife seemed to roar to life tenfold. Gold followed his instincts when it came to satiating the concupiscence of his true love—and that was simply to do what she wanted…for she wouldn't stop.

Just as Jennifer was beginning to undo his belt and defy the laws against indecent exposure, the door bell rang. Jennifer rolled her eyes, scowling. Gold smiled at Jennifer, amused, although he was certainly disappointed too—Jennifer's aggression was always a trait he liked to play to his own little advantage, and now, unfortunately, was directed towards the customer. Gold told her to calm down.

"Hey..."

Jennifer saw David Nolan approaching the counter, paper in hand, looking lost.

"I didn't know they let you out of the hospital," Jennifer stated, chuckling.

Gold saw David look awkwardly at Jennifer. Then she realized what was wrong. He didn't remember a lot of people as he'd just gotten out of his coma. There had been an invitation for everyone to come to the Nolan house but Jennifer, not having been in the mood to entertain both Emma Swan and Regina in the same house, decided to stay home that night. She hadn't gotten the chance to meet David Nolan—although she had met Prince Charming several times. David looked at Gold, seemingly recognizing him.

"Are you his…?" asked David, looking at Jennifer uncertainly. Wife...daughter...sister? He seemed a little cautious as what to say and Jennifer simply smiled. She regularly forgot how young she appeared—eighteen years old, maybe younger, and being married to a man who looked old enough to be her father would have made a few people uncomfortable. But David seemed at a loss.

"I'm his wife. Jennifer," she said sweetly.

"Oh." David said, clearing his throat. "I'm sorry...you just look a lot younger than..."

"I get that a lot," Jennifer said, smiling at Gold, who returned it.

"I'm meeting someone at the Troll Bridge." David explained, indicating the paper. "The Mayor gave me directions but I don't see the fork in the road near your shop…"

"So you're meeting your wife there?" asked Jennifer.

David didn't reply immediately, and Jennifer said, "I'm guessing that's a 'no'."

"I left my wife," David answered calmly, and a little defensively. "I've had a lot of people give me their opinions and I am hoping you don't think—"

"Who you go to meet at the middle of the night is no one's business but your own, Mr. Nolan," Jennifer answered plainly. "Personally, I couldn't care less if you were meeting fifteen hookers on the bridge for a midnight gang bang and slathered yourself in nutella."

David's eyes widened, clearly taken aback by her response, and he looked at Gold who simply put his arm around Jennifer's waist, saying, "My wife is known for having a twisted sense of humor."

"I can see why." David uttered slowly, albeit politely. He chuckled nervously, saying, "Could you tell me how to get to the Toll Bridge?"

Gold told him where to go and David thanked him. He said to Jennifer, "And it's been a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Gold."

"Remember that," Jennifer reassured him, smiling at him slyly.

David gave her and Gold a second's look, wondering what that was supposed to mean but as though remembering that he had a date to see, he left shortly, but not before stopping suddenly in front of a windmill. Jennifer and Gold glanced at one another knowingly, but David saying "I remember" was almost a joke. He remembered his cursed memories—and that wasn't really remembering at all. As David left in a bigger hurry, Jennifer tilted her head to the side, then looked at Gold.

"Would you be interested in seeing my body slathered in Nutella?" Jennifer asked.

Gold didn't dignify that with a response.

Smirking, Jennifer said, "I'd cover you with Nutella."

"Oh my..." Gold sighed.

Jennifer giggled, watching him shake his head, although there was no denying he found that thought more titillating than just simply amusing.