One week later, Mick answered a knock at the door to find a very bedraggled looking Beth standing there, her expression pleading with him to let her in.
He considered her for a moment and then turned and looked at Josef who was standing just behind him. Josef sighed and made a gesture with his hands to indicate "it's up to you, Mick"
Mick stepped to one side and motioned for Beth to come in. She hurriedly made her way through the door and over to the couch, whilst Josef took a seat at the opposite end and Mick grabbed a chair from the kitchen and sat directly in front of her. As soon as he had taken a seat, the floodgates open and she started blubbering hysterically, barely able to coherently get the words out she was trying to speak.
"Beth." Mick said firmly "Just calm down, take a deep breath and start from the beginning"
"I'm sorry, Mick. Josef. I'm so sorry, I tried I really tried but I just couldn't do it" she took a deep breath "I'm a mess; my whole life is a mess. I need help, please" she begged.
"You had help, Beth. Remember" Josef stated "I had to pull a lot of strings to get you into that place and you couldn't even manage to string together two days" he half snarled at her.
"I know Josef. I know and I am so...."
She was about to say sorry but Josef cut her off "It's no use being sorry after the fact, Beth"
Mick shot him a pleading look to "please don't do this now, Josef" and then turned to Beth.
"Why didn't you stay there?" he asked her gently, trying to keep the tone of his voice as least recriminating as possible.
"It just...it just didn't work out, ok" Beth replied and then added "but I do want to find somewhere else, another program, and one that is going to work for me. I mean it this time, I really do. I am going to get help"
"Yes, just like all the other times" Josef muttered under his breath and Mick flashed him a warning look that made Josef roll his eyes and quickly stand up.
"I'm going to the freezer" he muttered darkly, not bothering to bid either Beth or Mick a goodnight.
"Josef. Wait." Beth called out after him, "Please, I need you to hear this as well".
Josef hesitated for a moment and then resumed his seat on the couch: arms crossed over his chest; his expression almost challenging as if to say "go on I'm waiting for it and this better be good"
"It's just...." Beth paused, trying to find the right words for what she was about to ask "look...I know this is a really big favour to ask and I don't want to put you guy's to any trouble...god knows you've been good enough to me already" she added.
"But?" Josef challenged her
"But, I was just wondering...could I please stay here with you. Just for a little while, I promise" her eyes darted pleading from Mick to Josef and then back again.
She could hear Josef's teeth grinding together and hurriedly added, trying to plead her case "It would only be until I found a program I could go into and got back on my feet, got my own apartment and that. Please?"
Mick looked over at Josef and raised his hands to indicate that the decision was up to him, but the look in his eyes told Josef he wanted him to say yes.
"Oh for fucksake" he muttered under his breath and rolled his eyes "Ok. Ok, Beth you can stay here"
"Oh my god. Thank you, thank you so much...."she started to gush but Josef held up his hand to stop her.
"But" he said firmly "there are a few ground rules"
"Ok" Beth replied, looking at Josef half expectantly and half apprehensively.
"First of all. Mick and I are in a relationship and you accept that" his tone let it be known that he as not asking Beth whether she did or not, he was telling her.
"Second of all" he continued, not giving Beth time to respond "Upstairs is off limits. When we are up there, you do not come up and interrupt us. Is that clear?"
Beth nodded in affirmation and gingerly asked "Is there anything else?"
"Yes." Josef said in a tone of voice that said "this is non negotiable"
"If anything" he continued "and I mean anything, goes missing from this house; you are out. No excuses, no second chances"
"Ok, I understand Josef" Beth said quietly. "But I promise you that won't happen"
"We'll see" Josef muttered and then stood up and reached out for Mick's hand, indicating he was to follow him right now.
"We're going to bed Beth; there are some bags of ice in the freezer. You can pack those around yourself"
And without another word he turned away and walked up the stairs, leading Mick behind him.
"Beth?" Mick said, gently shaking her awake the following evening.
"What" she mumbled in reply, still half asleep.
"Could you go upstairs please, I'd like some alone time with Josef down here. There's a TV in Josef's office up there, you can watch that".
"What's wrong with the bedroom" she muttered, stifling a yawn.
"Come on Beth, it's not just my bedroom you know..."
"No Mick, I meant what's wrong with you and Josef having alone time" she felt a little uncomfortable saying those words "in the bedroom"
"Because I want alone time with Josef down here" Mick was starting to become frustrated with Beth's reluctance to move off the couch.
"Where is Josef anyway?" Beth asked
"He's upstairs, in the bedroom"
"Then why don't you just...." Beth was about to say "go upstairs" when Mick abruptly cut her off.
"Beth, just go upstairs and watch TV in Josef's office, ok."
"Ok, ok" Beth mumbled slightly annoyed and waving her hand dismissively.
Mick waited until she had ascended the stairs and heard the click of Josef's office door, then checked the time and went outside to wait for his expected visitor. She arrived, fifteen minutes late, and he hurriedly ushered her inside and told her to wait in the kitchen whilst he went upstairs to fetch Josef.
"Good evening, my beloved" Josef said happily, reclining back on the bed with his arms above his head, as Mick walked through the door.
"Good evening" Mick walked over to him and bent down to kiss his lips "how was your shower?"
"Hmm nice" Josef replied, returning Mick's kiss "you should have joined me though" he added, sitting up and brushing Mick's hair out of his eyes with his finger before he kissed him again, probing his mouth open with his tongue as he gripped the back of Mick's head with his hand.
Mick returned the kiss for a few minutes, before he reluctantly broke away and took Josef by the hand "I have a surprise for you downstairs" he said with a smile as he helped Josef to his feet.
"A surprise? For me?" Josef looked at Mick curiously and arched an eyebrow. "Should I get dressed"
"No you don't have to, but you probably should put a robe on. Not that I don't enjoy the view" Mick added with a sly smile.
"Why thank you" Josef grinned at him as he slowly put his silk robe on and tied the cord around his waist, just as Mick came up behind him and blindfolded him with one of Josef's own silk ties.
"Ooh Kinky" Josef quipped "this could get interesting"
"It's just until you get downstairs"
"Oh, ok" Josef replied sounding disappointed. "Well in that case can't I take this damn thing off? I can't see where I'm going, how am I going to walk downstairs with this thing wrapped around my head." He griped.
"Leave it on" Mick instructed. "I'll help you. And don't roll your eyes at me like that Josef"
"How did you know I was rolling my eyes at you, Mick? I have a blindfold on?" Josef snipped at him.
"Because I know you." Mick shot back. "Now come on, take my arm."
Mick slowly helped Josef down the stairs and then into the kitchen, where he removed the blindfold to reveal a young, rather attractive, blonde haired female standing in front of him.
"She's for you." Mick grinned "A thank you present for allowing Beth to stay with us."
"A freshie?" Josef clapped his hands together and then turned to Mick. "You bought me a freshie? Oh my god I could kiss you. Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
"Yes, Josef you have" Mick laughed just as the girl stepped forward and extended her arm.
"Hi I'm...."
"Dinner" Josef said, cutting her off "yes I know".
He grabbed her arm, looking at Mick and snarling his appreciation as his eyes flashed to pale blue and he sank his fangs into her flesh and began to drink deeply; making small suckling noises that sent shivers down Mick's spine.
"Do you want some?" he asked when he'd drunk his fill.
"No thank you" Mick replied with a soft smile "She's all for you".
Josef dropped the freshies arm from his grasp and moved over to Mick, wrapping his arms around his waist and drawing him towards him.
"I've finished with her for the night" he stated, then leaned up to whisper in Mick's ear "but I'm just getting started with you"
"Oh really? That's what you think" Mick whispered back, his tone holding the promise of things to come.
Josef kissed Mick then, gently at first, using only the lightest feather strokes. He ran the tip of his tongue over Mick's fangs and then probed into his mouth, teasing him, before he twisted his fingers through Mick's hair and crushed his mouth hard against Mick's lips
Josef felt the freshies hand snake in-between them and quickly released his hold on Mick, growling at her to, "Get away, you were just the appetiser," before he turned his attention back to Mick and added with a salacious raise of an eybrow, "this is the main course."
"Yeah alright whatever" the freshie rolled her eyes "can I like use a phone or something? I need to call my driver"
"Hmm what?" Josef muttered distractedly, his attention focused on Mick.
"Oh Jesus..." the freshie sighed "a phone, you know the little mechanical thing you use to call people who have other little mechanical things that they can speak to you on"
"I know what a phone is" Josef snarled at her and then turned to Mick. "Do you want to help our guest to the door and call her a taxi, or whatever the hell it is she needs to do to get out of here."
Mick laughed and disentangled himself from Josef's embrace, then lead the freshie over to the phone.
"You can ring whoever you need to on that," he told her, opening the front door at the same time. He waited until she'd made her phone call and then ushered her out, closing the door behind her.
"Now where were we?" Josef asked as Mick rejoined him, eager to continue their make out session uninterrupted.
"I believe you were saying something about main courses and only getting started?" Mick grinned as he wrapped his arms around Josef's waist and drew him back towards him.
"Oh yeah that's right..." Josef started to say but his words were abruptly cut off when Mick spun him around and pushed him down onto the kitchen table, almost knocking the wind out of him.
"I told you had another think coming when you said you were going to be the one to get things started" he whispered, pulling the belt out of Josef's robe and letting the garment fall to the floor. He grabbed Josef's arms then and pinned them behind his back, using the cord in his hand to tie his wrists together at the same time.
"Mick?..."
Mick clapped his hand over Josef's mouth and bent his head to his ear. "Did I say you could talk? As a matter of fact did I tell you that you could even make a sound?"
"No"
"Well shut up then"
He reached down between Josef's legs and took hold of his cock, stroking the length of him with slow measured strokes.
"What? Did I just tell you?" Mick huffed as Josef let out a groan of pleasure.
"Sorry. Submission, right."
"You know this doesn't really work if you don't play along as well, Josef." Mick rolled his eyes in exasperation and then smiled when Josef didn't reply.
After another minute of Mick's continuing attentions to his cock, Josef couldn't help himself and let out another groan.
"Right, that's it," Mick grabbed the tie he had used to blindfold Josef before, "if you can't do what I tell you, you leave me no choice." With that he wrapped the tie around Josef's mouth and tied it around the back of his neck, gagging him.
"Now. Are you going to do what you're told?"
"Yeah alright." Josef managed to mutter behind the gag around his mouth.
"Good." Mick bent his lips towards Josef's ear and whispered the word to him, as he continued to stroke his hardnes, varying the pace and bringing Josef to the brink of orgasm repeatedly. Josef bit down on the gag and tried to keep from crying out with a mixture of sheer ecstasy and frustration.
"Do you want to come?" Mick whispered to him then.
"Bad luck." Mick laughed as Josef nodded his head frantically and let out a little pleading whimper. "You'll come when I tell you to come."
Josef writhed and bucked his hips against the edge of the table, trying to release the almost painful build up of tension in his cock. He let out a snarl of frustration when he felt Mick's hands grab him around the waist and pull him away.
"What did I just tell you, Josef?" Mick growled playfully, exerting his dominance over him as he gripped the back of Josef's neck with one hand and quickly unzipped his pants, releasing his own erection into his hand. Retrieving a tube of lubricant from his pocket, he quickly slicked some of it's contents over the head of his cock.
"You want to come?" he whispered again, stroking one lubricated finger over Josef's hole.
"Yes, for fuck sake yes." Josef muffled desperately through the confines of the gag.
With that Mick removed the gag from around Josef's mouth and pushed himself inside him with one hard upwards thrust of his cock and began to fuck him as hard as he knew Josef could take it.
His mouth released from the constraints of the gag, the first sound out of Josef's mouth was a loud cry of pleasure as he practically roared the word, "Oh Fuck " over and over again.
Upstairs, Beth turned the volume up on the TV as loud as it would go and clasped her hands over her ears to drown out the sounds she could hear coming from downstairs.
Downstairs, Mick could feel Josef's body trembling violently beneath him as he pounded into his arse and offered Josef his wrist; knowing he was close to climaxing. It only took a couple more hard thrusts and Mick felt Josef's entire body tense up just before he sank his fangs into the flesh of Mick's arms and began to convulse and snarl with pleasure as wave after wave of powerful pulsations of sheer unadulterated orgasmic pleasure tore through him.
Josef's fangs biting into him sent Mick spiralling into his own release as he bent forward and sank his own fangs deep into Josef's shoulder and exploded inside him, growling out the rhythm of his own climax.
When the last pulsations of their respective orgasms were finally spent, Josef's legs went out from underneath and Mick had to grab him around the waist and gently lower him to the floor, laying down next to him and wrapping his arms around his neck as he kissed his cheek tenderly.
"Did you enjoy you're little thank you present" he asked him with a soft smile.
"Uh huh" was all he could manage to say, his breath coming out in sharp ragged little gasps as he lay there staring up at the ceiling and trying to control the rate of airflow from in and out of his lungs.
"Good, I wanted you too. You deserved every moment of it for what you did, allowing Beth to stay with us again I mean".
"That's...oh...kay" he panted, still trying to recover his senses.
Mick laughed and pulled Josef closer, embracing him tightly as they lay together on the kitchen floor.
"I love you" he whispered to him.
"Ditto" Josef whispered back after a few moments, when he was finally able to speak properly.
Mick?" Josef said a few minutes later, still lying on the floor with Mick contentedly snuggling into his shoulder.
"Hmm, what?"
"Do you think you could possibly untie me now, please" he replied, wriggling his hands behind his back to make a point "this is kind of getting a little uncomfortable"
"Huh? Oh shit sorry, yeah hang on a moment" Mick said, looking a little contrite and embarrassed as he quickly turned Josef on to his side and undid the cord around his wrists.
"Are you ok? how's the circulation?" he asked, massaging Josef's wrists for him gently.
"I'll live, Mick. It's ok" Josef replied, laughing gently and running his finger down Mick's face.
"Yeah well, I'm just checking. You did just have that freshie for dinner you know"
"I know, but I'm fine really, stop fussing" he said with a laugh and pulled his wrists out of Mick's grasp and getting to his feet. "Come on, get up. I'm going to get dressed and then we're heading out"
"Where?" Mick asked, looking at Josef questioningly.
"I don't know? Anywhere. We'll go for a drive or something" he waved a hand almost dismissively "I'm just feeling a bit restless after that"
"After what, Josef?" Mick asked him with a cheeky smile.
"You know what, Mick" Josef replied, returning Mick's self same smile "and thank you"
"You liked it then?" Mick asked, drawing his arms around Josef's waist.
"No, Mick I hated every second of it. I always tend to yell out oh fuck like that when I'm not enjoying something" Josef quipped back to him.
"Don't be a smart alec, Josef"
"Well don't ask stupid questions then, Mick?" Josef laughed as he gave Mick a quick kiss and then headed upstairs to get dressed.
"Tell Beth she can come downstairs again now if she wants" Mick called out after him.
"Yeah, yeah ok" Josef threw back to him over his shoulder, waving a hand dismissively.
He hurriedly ran upstairs to the bedroom and threw on one of his more casual suits, which still looked like it should be paraded in a haute couture fashion show, and then went to the door of his office and rapped on it a couple of times.
"Beth? It's Josef. Mick just asked me to let you know that you can come downstairs again now, ok"
"Ok, thanks Josef" Beth said, looking a little agitated as she opened the door and tried to force a smile "Did you guys have a nice evening?"
"Yes, we did" Josef replied and couldn't repress the slightest hint of a wicked grin that played at the corners of his mouth.
"Yeah, well." Beth started to say a little uncomfortably "it certainly sounded like it from up here"
"Yeah, well" Josef mimicked, smiling with gracious sarcasm "you spend fifty years with someone you kind of get to know which buttons to press, in a manner of speaking"
"I'm sure you do, Josef?" Beth forced a sarcastic smile back at him and then quickly excused herself and headed downstairs, with Josef following closely behind.
"Hey Beth" Mick tried to greet her warmly as he saw her descend the stairs and walk into the lounge room.
"Hey Mick", Beth tried to keep her tone of voice as casual as possible but it still came out a little forced.
"Are you ready to go my love?" Josef said, his voice breaking through the awkward silence in the room as he walked over to Mick and wrapped his arm around his waist.
"Yeah, just give me a minute to grab my jacket. Ok?"
"Beth?" Josef turned to her and spoke "Mick and I are going out for a while. You will be ok here won't you" it wasn't a question it was a statement.
"Yes, Josef. I will be fine, you two just go out and have a lovely evening" she replied forcing herself to try and smile as graciously as possible.
"Thanks Beth" Mick replied, smiling at her as if he was completely oblivious to the forced exchange that had just happened, either that or choosing to ignore it all together "We won't be long, there's some blood in the fridge if you need it"
"I might just try and get some sleep" Beth replied, pretending to stifle a yawn.
"Oh ok then. Well, goodnight" Mick smiled at her as Josef pressed his hand into Mick's back and began to move him along.
"So where exactly are we going? Mick asked, as he climbed into the passenger seat.
"Nowhere in particular, like I said" Josef shrugged, gunning the engine and pulling the Ferrari out onto the road ahead of them.
"So we're just going to drive until we run out of fuel are we? Yeah ok, that sounds like a plan" Mick laughed.
"No Mick, we're not just going to drive until we run out of fuel" Josef snorted and rolled his eyes "We'll find something to do"
"Oh I'm sure we will, Josef" Mick grinned, raising his eyebrows suggestively as he reached over and ran his hand up Josef's thigh. "Haven't you already had enough for tonight though?"
"Not really. No" Josef smiled as he reached one arm around the back of Mick's head and pressed him forwards, trying to unbuckle and unzip his pants at the same time.
"Josef. For fucksake, just drive the car" Mick exclaimed "I can do that"
Josef placed both hands back on the steering wheel as Mick hurriedly finished undoing his trousers for him and bent his head towards his lap, taking his growing erection into his mouth; hearing Josef snarl with appreciation as he started working his tongue over his shaft.
"Oh fuck" Josef muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth as Mick worked both his mouth and hand over his cock; his hands gripping the steering wheel hard as he felt the growing arousal building up from deep within him, his body starting to tremble with the need for release.
Mick sensed Josef's impending orgasm and increased the pace, faster and faster; holding up his hand towards Josef's mouth so he could bite into him when the time came. A few more thrusts of his hand and swirls of his tongue was all it took to push Josef over the edge and he growled with pleasure as he climaxed into Mick's mouth, biting into the flesh of his palm at the same time and losing control of his foot on the accelerator of the car; kicking the speed up far beyond the legal limit for the stretch of road they were travelling on.
"Oh crap" Josef exclaimed under his breath as he heard the sirens and saw the flashing red and blue lights behind them. "Mick. Get off me, we're being pulled over" he said hurriedly frantically trying to make himself decent as he pulled the car off to the side of the road and sat their waiting for the Cop to pull up behind them and get out of the car; trying to control his breathing rate as Mick sat next to him with a nervous look on his face.
"Mick" Josef hissed at him "try not to look so guilty and for god sake wipe your mouth" he added, throwing him a handkerchief from his suit pocket just as the Cop who had pulled them over tapped on the window of the car and gestured for Josef to wind it down.
"Do you realise how fast you were driving, Sir?" he asked Josef, leaning his head slightly into the car and shining a torch around inside the interior.
Just for a moment Josef was going to say something incredibly sarcastic such as "No, but why don't you tell me? you were the one keeping up", but thought the better of it and smiled at the officer and tried to look apologetic instead.
"I'm so sorry about that, the car's new" he explained with polite charm "the accelerators a little touchy sometimes, I'm still getting used to it"
"I'm still going to have to give you a ticket, Sir. Can I see your registration and driver's licence please"
Josef reached over Mick to open the Glove Box and retrieved the items, both of which he'd had to have repeatedly forged and reforged over the years, and handed them to the Officer; still slathering on the Kostan charm and smiling as graciously as he could possibly manage.
"Ok, well these look in order" the Cop said to him, as he took out a small pad of paper and a pen and began scribbling the details of the offence and fine on it, before handing it to Josef with a curt but polite, "Have a good evening, drive slower next time".
"Two hundred Euros?" Josef snarled, glaring at the paper in his hand as he read the details of exactly how much his little run in with the law was going to cost.
"Payment for services rendered" Mick laughed and shrugged, the tension of the situation finally leaving him.
"Yes Mick, ha ha very funny" Josef smirked at him, before starting the car and pulling back onto the road.
Beth had no intentions of sleeping after Mick and Josef had left the house for the evening, instead she took to pacing around the house as soon as they had walked out the door; muttering to herself over and over again.
"You don't need it, you don't need it, you don't need it"
She looked around desperately for something to distract herself, to take her mind of her cravings for the drug.
"Go for a walk, perhaps" she thought to herself and then quickly dismissed the idea, knowing deep down exactly where and what she would immediately head to, if she was to leave the house.
"A book?" yes that was it, she would find a good book to read; lose herself in the pages and try not to think about anything else but the words in front of her. There had to be something decent to read around here somewhere; surely Josef at least must have collected some interesting books in 400 years, she thought to herself as she hurriedly wandered through the rooms downstairs before heading upstairs and finding the bookshelf in the drawing room.
Browsing through the various titles on the shelves, she found one that sounded interesting and pulled it from the shelf, revealing the small velvet box that had been hidden behind it. She reached into the small space where the book had been and retrieved the box from the back of the shelf. Opening it, she gasped as she saw what was inside. It looked expensive, very expensive, the kind of expensive that could be converted into a lot of drug blood.
All thoughts of trying to resist the cravings flew out the window and without a second thought she pocketed what she had just found and headed back downstairs, hurriedly scribbled a note to Mick and walked out the front door to try and find an all night pawn shop.
"Oh come on Josef" Mick was saying as they arrived home and entered the house "you have to admit, it was kind of funny"
"What's so funny about two hundred Euros, Mick" Josef continued to fume "and the fact that I have to go out in the daytime to pay the stupid Fine"
"Oh, you poor baby" Mick said in tones of mock sympathy, then laughed and kissed Josef gently on his forehead "come on, let's get you upstairs to the Freezer. You can worry about the Fine in the morning".
With that he kissed Josef once more and then hurried him upstairs while he went to check on Beth, who was pretending to be asleep on the couch. She had only just gotten home before Mick and Josef, after finding an all night Jewellers that was more than willing to take such a high quality item of jewellery off her hands and then quickly making her way straight back out onto the streets, where she knew she would find an abundant supply of junk fuelled blood.
Mick looked down at Beth and smiled, she seemed so peaceful lying there. Maybe everything was going to be alright for her after all. He went to the freezer in the kitchen and fetched some bags of ice, then packed them around the body and gave her a quick peck on the cheek and whispered
"Sleep well" to her, before he turned and went upstairs to join Josef in the Freezer.
Josef woke up the following day, to the high pitch bleep of the alarm on the Freezer he had set the night before, in a foul mood.
"Where are you going" Mick mumbled half asleep, as Josef opened the lid of the freezer.
"Where do you think I'm going" Josef snapped "I'm going to pay that damn Fine"
"Alright, sorry I asked" Mick rolled his eyes and Josef let out a deep sigh and bent over to kiss him gently.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so short with you" Josef said, smiling apologetically "I guess I've just woken up on the wrong side of the Freezer today"
"Yeah. Well. You don't need to take it out on me, Josef" Mick sulked.
"I know, I said I was sorry, Mick" Josef shot back at him and flounced off to have a shower and get dressed, before returning to Mick and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and telling him he would see him when he got home.
"Don't I get proper kiss goodbye then, Josef? Wow. You are in a bad mood aren't you?"
Josef leant over the freezer once again and grabbed Mick's head, crushing his lips almost forcefully against his mouth and kissing him passionately for a few seconds.
"Was that better?" he asked with a sarcastic smile when he'd finished.
"Yes. Yes it was" Mick replied, returning Josef's sarcastic expression back to him before he reached up and drew him back down to him.
"Are you sure you have to go out right now?" he asked, brushing his lips invitingly against Josef's mouth.
"I just want to get this out the way. Ok?" Josef replied, reluctantly pulling away from Mick's embrace. "I won't be too long. Hold that thought" he added with a devilish grin.
Pulling a wide brimmed Fedora hat down over his forehead and wrapping a pair of dark sunglasses around his face, Josef stepped outside into the harsh glare of daylight and started making his way to the Court House; getting half way down the street before his travels were interrupted by a cell phone call that turned his already grey mood completely black.
"Thank you for letting me know" he said through gritted teeth, as politely as he could possibly manage at that moment, and then slammed the phone shut.
"Josef Kostan" the old bespectacled Jeweller said apologetically, as Josef walked through the door of the shop "I wasn't in last night, but I recognised the piece straight away as soon as I came in. I am so sorry, that this has happened".
"It's not your fault, Dieter" Josef replied and gestured reassuringly "How much do I owe you?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Please, put your money away. I know how much this item meant to you. Consider it's return a gift from me"
Josef considered this for a moment and then smiled graciously, not wanting to offend the old man's hospitality "Thank you, Dieter. I'll remember this" he said kindly as he took the small velvet box from his hand and then turned and walked out of the shop.
Mick was up and dressed and sitting at the kitchen table making polite small talk with Beth, when Josef walked in looking for the entire world like an ominous storm cloud descending over them.
"Mick" he said firmly, as he took out his wallet and peeled off a couple of Deutschmarks. "I wasn't able to make it to the Court House. Take this and go pay it for me"
"Josef?" Mick began, but Josef gave him a warning look and held up his hand "Now, please Mick. I want to talk to Beth. Alone"
Mick hesitated for a moment and considered the look on Josef's face, before deciding that now was not a good time to argue or disagree with him. Taking the money from Josef's hands he looked over at Beth and shrugged, trying to give her a reassuring smile at the same time before he turned and walked out the door. Leaving her alone with Josef.
Beth was shaking and too scared to turn her head and look Josef in the eye as he slowly approached her and took the small velvet box out of his pocket. He placed it on the table in front of her and then bent his head down towards hers; letting her feel his breath on her face for moment, before he put his lips right up to her ear and snarled through gritted teeth,
"Get. Out"
"Josef?" Beth started to whisper as she stood up and looked at him pleadingly. Josef's face immediately changed into that of the Vampire in full predatory mode and he roared at her furiously, warning her to not say another word to him.
Beth stared at Josef, frozen and terrified for a moment, before she quickly averted her eyes and hurriedly moved into the lounge room; sweeping up the few belonging she had bought with her into her arms and walking out the door; terrified that Josef was going to kill her at any given moment until she was safely out on the street and away from the house.
Back inside the house, Josef, his mind still clouded with red fury, poured himself a glass of blood and tried to calm down. He was not looking forward to having to tell Mick what had happened, when he returned home. Not looking forward to it, at all.
"FUCK" he roared angrily and threw the glass in his hand, hearing the harsh tinkling sound it made as the glass shattered as it shattered against the wall.
Mick returned home, half an hour later, to find Josef sitting on the couch looking very serious and gesturing for him to come join him.
"What's going on? Where's Beth?" Mick asked, looking around the room.
"Just come over here and sit down, ok?" Josef replied, taking Mick's hands in his as he sat down next to him. "I threw her out" he said simply, trying to keep the level of his voice to as calm a tone as possible, "I had to. She broke one of the rules I set down before I allowed her to stay with us again"
"What? I don't understand what did she do? She hasn't been out of the house at all since she got here?" Mick said, looking confused.
"Mick. She must have gone out last night; while we weren't here." he squeezed Mick's hands gently "She stole something from me. She just happened to be stupid enough to try to sell it back to the same place I bought it from. They contacted me and told me what had happened when I was on the way to the Court House".
"Stupid or desperate?" Mick said with a sigh.
"Probably a bit of both" Josef responded gently and wrapped his arms around Mick's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Mick. Really, I am...but she left me no choice"
"I know" Mick sighed and rested his head on Josef's shoulder, "You told her the rules from the start and she chose to break one of them. I understand, Josef. Really, I do...it's just that"
"What Mick?"
"She seemed like she was doing ok? She seemed like she really wanted to beat this thing?"
"Well wanting to beat an addiction and actually doing it are two completely different things, Mick" Josef tried to explain carefully.
When Mick didn't respond, Josef continued "Mick" he said softly, "I know you care about Beth, but it's time to let go. Like I keep trying to tell you, you can't save someone from themselves" he kissed Mick then and whispered to him "Just let go of this, please".
"I know, Josef" Mick whispered back to him and nodded his head sadly, "I know. Ok"
"Come on" Josef said, standing up and pulling Mick to his feet with him "we'll catch a couple of hours sleep before night fall. Then I'll take you somewhere nice, just the two of us. Ok?"
"That sounds nice, thanks" Mick sighed, as Josef took him by the hand and lead the both of them upstairs.
"So where exactly are we going?" Mick asked later that evening, as he walked along the street beside Josef; their arms wrapped around each others waist.
"I told you, just somewhere nice where we can be alone together" Josef responded with a cryptic smile as they reached the doors to a local apartment building.
He lead Mick up the stairs to the rooftop and opened the stairwell door,
"For you my beloved" he said, smiling at Mick and bowing graciously.
"Wow. When did you do this?" Mick asked, smiling back at Josef as he surveyed the display of candles, around a blanket, that was laid out just in front of him.
"I snuck up here while you were still asleep" Josef whispered to him conspiratorially and took Mick by the hand.
"Come on, I've got a nice bottle of scotch for us and some blood to mix with it as well" he said, as he lead Mick over and pulled him down onto the blanket with him.
"You spoil me too much, Josef?" Mick said as he settled back into Josef's embrace.
"I don't spoil you as often as you deserve, Mick" Josef replied as he kissed him softly on the neck and then gently scraped his fangs lightly along the soft flesh there, eliciting a shiver of anticipation from Mick.
"Do you like me doing that?" he whispered to Mick, blowing gently on the small wet patches that his lips had created on Mick's neck.
"You know I do, Josef" Mick whispered back to him, a shiver running down his spine again as Josef ran his tongue along the nape of his neck.
"I'll have to do it more often then" he responded and continued teasing the flesh of Mick's neck with his lips and fangs, before slipping his hand down between his legs and starting to squeeze Mick's erection lightly through the material of his pants.
Mick's hands immediately moved to undo the belt; button and zip on his trousers to give Josef better access, but Josef quickly pushed his hands away and whispered in his ear.
"Don't. Just relax and let me do everything. I'm the one whose in control tonight, Mick"
Truth be known Josef wasn't actually planning on being the one in control at all that evening, not in the end at least. Mick had taken the news about Beth far too well and Josef had decided he needed to push Mick into doing something to release all his anger and frustration. Josef could easily overpower Mick if he wanted, but tonight he was going to push him over the edge and then willingly submit to him; just like he had willingly submitted to him all the other times before that.
He continued teasing Mick's cock through the covering of material for a few more minutes before he slowly undid the fastenings and slipped his hand down the front of Mick's pants, wrapping his fingers around his erection and starting to stroke his hand up and down the shaft of Mick's penis with long slow strokes.
He varied the pace to match the tone of Mick's reactions, going slowly one minute and then quickening the movements of his hand the next, bringing Mick almost to the point of no return and then dropping him back down again until he had Mick gasping and writhing beneath him.
"For fucksake Josef, are you going to let me come?" he half panted and half snarled
"I've got at least 3 centuries of experience on you, Mick" Josef whispered to him seductively "I could keep you like this for hours".
"Fuck you" Mick hissed at him desperately.
"Why don't you then, Mick" Josef whispered challengingly and handed Mick the small tube of lubricant he'd retrieved from his pocket.
Mick let out a predatory growl and broke away from Josef's embrace momentarily, rapidly shedding his clothing as Josef quickly did the same, thankful for the small break in proceedings that allowed him to do so; more than a little concerned at that moment that in the state Mick was in he may very well have torn his clothes off of him and left him with nothing to wear home.
When they were both completely naked, Mick grabbed Josef's legs and pulled him over to him, the look in his eyes so feral that for a single solitary moment Josef wasn't quiet sure if Mick was planning to fuck him or throw him over the edge of the building.
"Get here you" Mick snarled at Josef, as he flipped him onto his knees and gripped the back of his neck with one hand, pushing his face down onto the blanket below them at the same time.
Josef took a deep breath and braced himself for the onslaught he knew was about to come as Mick hurriedly smeared lubricant around the entrance to his arse and just over the tip of his cock, before he positioned himself against Josef and slammed up into him in one sudden violent thrust.
"Oh fuck" Josef snarled, with the force of Mick's entry into him; repeating the same words again as Mick started fucking him as hard as he could, slamming into him over and over again.
"That's it, Mick" Josef thought to himself as he handed himself over to Mick completely and felt the first stirrings of approaching orgasm; his body starting to tremble under Mick's frenetic movements "get rid of all that frustration and anger"
Josef knew from Mick's increasingly uncontrolled thrusting that he was close to climaxing and he pushed himself up onto his hands more; using his superior strength against Mick, just for that moment, as Mick tried unsuccessfully to keep his head pinned down.
A few more violent thrusts of Mick's cock into Josef's body and both of them sailed over the edge at the same time, snarling and growling with their respective release as Mick grabbed Josef around the waist with one arm, holding him up and sinking his fangs into Josef's shoulder at exactly the same time as Josef grabbed hold of Mick's arms and bit sharply into the flesh of his forearm.
"Fuck me" Mick hissed, as wave after wave of unadulterated pleasure washed over him, the words muffled by Josef's shoulder as he continued to bite into him, tearing at his flesh slightly.
When they were both finally spent, Josef collapsed forwards and Mick fell down on top of him, both Vampires trying to catch their breath and recover their senses as they lay there together and listened to the rapid beating of each other's undead hearts; made possible only by the blood they consumed on a daily basis.
"Josef?" Mick said with concern a few moments later, as he slipped out of him and raised himself up onto his arms; looking down at the wound on Josef's shoulder where he had torn some of the skin away with the force of his bite, "are you ok? I didn't hurt you too much did I?"
"No Mick, you didn't. It's ok, I heal quickly remember" Josef laughed and turned over onto his back, wrapping his arms around Mick's neck and drawing him into his embrace.
"We didn't get to have any of that Blood Scotch you bought up here for us" Mick said apologetically a few moments later, as he lay in Josef's arms and nuzzled his head into his, now completely healed, shoulder.
"Well. That wasn't really the purpose of bringing you up here, Mick" Josef admitted to him with a small laugh and Mick laughed back at him knowingly and said,
"I think I kind of figured that, Josef"
"So? Did it work then?" Josef asked him as he stroked the top of Mick's head and curled his hair around the tips of his fingers then "have you gotten rid of some of that tension you've been holding onto ever since I told you the news?"
"Yes, Josef. It worked and I have" Mick said smilingly, then reached up to kiss Josef's face and whispered "Thank you. I love you"
"You're welcome and ditto" Josef whispered back to him and looked up at the moon, seemingly hovering in the night sky above them, and thought to himself.
"I would give you all that and more if I had it in my power, Mick St John"
Josef?" Mick began tentatively the following morning, as they sat at the kitchen table together sipping their respective glasses of blood.
"No" came the stern reply, before Mick had even had a chance to open his mouth and say another word.
"Josef? You don't even know what I was I going to ask"
"You were going to ask if I would consider taking Beth back in, weren't you."
"No, Josef. Actually I wasn't" Mick replied, a little too defensively.
"But you are going to ask me something regarding Beth, aren't you Mick" Josef stated simply, his gaze fixed on Mick's nervous expression, awaiting his response.
"Yeah. Yeah I am" Mick nodded, the tone of his voice quiet and low; almost as if he was thinking out loud before he broached the subject of Beth with Josef.
Josef's gaze remained fixed on Mick's face, his eyebrows arched as if to say "well, come on. I'm waiting. Spit it out"
Mick took a deep breath and then turned to face Josef, speaking hesitantly at first "It's just that..."
"It's just that what?, Mick" Josef prompted him, the tone of his voice sharp; wanting Mick to just come out and say whatever it was he wanted to say and stop playing games.
Taking another deep breath and letting it out with a soft sigh, Mick paused for a moment and gathered his thoughts, "It's just that...It's just that I hate the thought of her being out there. On the streets. Alone and cold and scared and confused and in trouble"
"Mick..."
"Josef, she wants help. I know she does. Do you think she actually wants to be the way she is now?"
"And what's that Mick?" Josef asked, with a slightly bitter edge to his voice, "a Vampire, an addict or both?"
"Everything, Josef" Mick responded, throwing up his hands in a gesture of sheer exasperation. "Just, everything".
"Well you can't do anything about the first point now, Mick and as for the second, well you can't do anything about that either. So explain what you mean by everything", Josef paused for a moment and then added, "or more to the point, explain to me how you intend to fix the unfixable"
"Josef?" Mick began, surprised at the harshness of Josef's tone.
"No, Mick. Ok, just no" Josef snapped at him in frustration, "I am not having this conversation with you again. I am sick of hearing this from you" he let out a deep breath and then quickly continued, before Mick had a chance to say anything in response, "Yes, you turned her Mick and yes that shouldn't have happened, but...."
"Exactly, Josef. I turned her" Mick interrupted, slamming his glass down on the table in front of him to emphasise the point "I turned her, this is my fault"
Josef stood up and stared at Mick for a moment, unsure whether he wanted to enfold him in his arms and comfort him or punch his lights out in sheer frustration. Finally he merely sighed and turned to leave, muttering under his breath "I need to go and pay this fine off"
"Seeing as someone forgot to do what I asked him the other day", he added with wordless annoyance but decided to not bring up that particular little faux pax of Mick's right at this moment.
"Josef. Wait" Mick called out after him, reaching out to grab his arm as he started to walk away.
Josef hesitated for a moment, then allowed himself to be pulled down onto Mick's lap and wrapped his arms around Mick's neck, kissing him gently on the forehead at the same time.
"Mick..." he started to say softly, before Mick interrupted him in a sad voice.
"Josef, please don't be mad with me"
"I'm not mad at you, Mick" Josef sighed "I just hate seeing you beating yourself up over something that isn't your fault-"
"But-"
"-that isn't your fault", Josef repeated, ignoring the start of another round of protests from Mick, "and that you can't just magically fix either. It's like watching you bash your head against a brick wall, Mick. No matter how hard you try, the wall's still going to be there and you'll just end up giving yourself a headache or worse"
"Josef. I'm a Vampire, I'm pretty sure if I hit my head against a wall hard enough I could knock it down" Mick quipped with a tiny snort of laughter.
"Not this wall you can't, Mick" Josef replied simply, kissing Mick softly on the lips before placing his mouth against Mick's ear and whispering to him "She has to want to come down herself"
"I know, I know, Josef. Ok" Mick replied in a low voice.
"Do you though, Mick? Do you really?" Josef asked, not really expecting an answer "I mean you keep saying that, but most of the time it doesn't really seem like you do"
When Mick didn't respond, Josef placed a hand under his chin and turned his face towards his; looking at him in earnest,
"This. Is not helping her, Mick", he spoke firmly, emphasising each word carefully as he tried, almost desperately, to make Mick finally see what he considered to be common sense, "how do you expect her to even want to try and do anything to save herself, or to try and stand on her own two feet and actually deal with stuff, when you keep rushing to the rescue and propping her up? What possible incentive is there for her to actually put the effort that is required into changing her current situation, when you keep making it just as easy for her to let things go on the way they are?"
"I know, Josef." Mick repeated, "I know, alright. You've hammered that particular point into me already and I get it, ok? I get it"
He heard Josef's intake of breath as he started to say something further and held up a hand to stop him,
"Josef. Please" he began, the tone of his voice and his expression pleading with him to please just listen to me and try and understand, "I just need to know she's safe" he continued, "Ok? I just need to know that she is somewhere where she is safe and that there's someone looking out for her. That's all"
Josef reached up and slowly traced a finger over the contours of Mick's face, as he held his gaze for a few moments and considered the depth of concern that he found there. He knew, despite everything he had tried to say or do, that Mick already lived with a big enough shadow of guilt for what had happened, or rather what he had done, to Beth in the first place. If anything were to actually happen to her now it would almost completely destroy him and Josef just could not, would not let that happen; not if there was still at least something he could do to try and help.
"I will take care of it" he said finally, brushing Mick's mouth softly with his lips as he kissed him gently and silently added "for your sake".
"Thank you" Mick replied quietly, the tone of his voice filled with relief and gratitude as he returned Josef's kiss and deepened it; tangling his fingers in his hair as he wrapped his hands around the back of Josef's head and drew him into him, pressing his lips fervently against his as he probed and explored his mouth with his tongue.
"Wait?" he said a few moments later, suddenly breaking away from the kiss and looking at Josef questioningly "what exactly are you going to do?"
"I said I would take care of it, Mick" Josef repeated; pressing a single finger to Mick's lips to indicate that he wasn't to say another word on the matter, before getting to his feet and reaching down to pull Mick up with him.
"I really need to go and pay this fine" he said, giving Mick a quick final embrace and kiss before he instructed him to "go back upstairs, get some more sleep; there's no sense in both of us going out into daylight when one of us doesn't have to", then gently added "after that, I will find Beth and I will take care of her " and turned to go.
"Josef?" Mick called after him, just as he reached the door.
"What, Mick?" Josef asked, turning back towards him.
"Nothing, just...I love you"
"I know" he replied simply and repeated the same words back to Mick, before he opened the door and stepped out into the harsh light of day.
Josef hurriedly made his way to the Salzburg Court House, moving through the streets as swiftly as possible; shielding his face from the glare of the sun with his arms and mentally kicking himself for not remembering to wear his black Fedora.
He finally reached the large, imposing looking building, quickly made his way up the stairs to the doors of the front entrance and then stopped dead in his tracks; letting out a furious roar as he kicked the reinforced glass of the door sharply; almost causing it to shatter.
"Closed for Business: Fridays 9 am - 1 pm" the sign on the door read.
"Fuck. Goddamn it" he shouted, fuming and kicking against the door a few more times; prompting a Court Security Officer to emerge from a side entrance and demand to know,
"What the hell is going on?"
"It's closed" Josef snapped at him, waving the slip of paper in his hand under the guard's nose "and I need to pay this damn fine off. That's what's going on"
"Well trying to kick the door in isn't going to make the fines payment office magically open just for you" the guard snapped back, snatching the piece of paper from Josef's hand at the same time. "You can post a cheque in payment of this" he said, showing Josef the section on the back of the Fine slip that explained the different payment options, "the address you send it to is written right here".
"Well it would have helped if someone had actually told me that in the first place" Josef replied sharply.
"But it's written-"
"Right here. Yes. Thank you. I can see that now"
Josef snatched back the slip of paper from the guards hand and turned to leave; the guard calling out sarcastically after him, "You're welcome", as Josef raised his hand and waved back over his shoulder dismissively. Being out in the sun was starting to get to him and he needed to find somewhere a little more sheltered from the daylight, somewhere where he could sit in peace and make the phone calls he needed to make.
"Mick, you had better appreciate why I'm doing this" he muttered under his breath as he walked along the street and continued trying to shield his face from the penetrating rays of the sun with his arm; finally coming to one of the local basement coffee shops and slipping down the stairs into the inviting darkness below.
There seemed to be some sort of unwritten rule in Salzburg that all basement coffee shops had to be dimly lit, regardless of the time of day; not that Josef was complaining as he took a seat at one of the tables tucked away in the darkest corner of the establishment and pulled his cell phone out of the pocket of his suit coat, placing the first of four phone calls he needed to make.
The first call he made to the ticket section of the Salzburg Train station, booking two tickets; one return the other one way; for passage to Cologne. The second call was placed to a local real estate contact in Cologne that Josef had established several years ago, to arrange the short term rental of what he described as "suitable premises"; requesting that a large upright freezer unit be installed at the chosen address as soon as possible at. The third call he placed to the Bank of Salzburg, where his main accounts were held, to arrange transfer of three months payment of rent for the address that had been given to him by his real estate contact and finally he dialled Ryder's number and quickly apprised him of the situation with Beth and the arrangements he was making for her on Mick's behalf.
"Josef Kostan, you are in love aren't you?" Ryder laughed cheekily down the line to him.
"Yes. Thank you for stating the obvious, Ryder" Josef quipped back to him "Now are you able to keep an eye on her for me or not? Please"
"To keep the wench out of your hair and ensure the continuation of the greatest Vampire romance in history" Ryder replied with mock tones of Shakespearean drama, "Of course"
"Thank you" Josef responded gratefully, chuckling a little at Ryder's remarks about the 'greatest Vampire romance', "I appreciate it, Ryder".
"I know you do, Josef" Ryder replied warmly "I'll keep in touch, ok?"
The last of the phone calls out of the way, Josef sat back and closed his eyes for a moment; stretching his legs out in front of him and placing his hands behind his head as he considered the best places for him to start looking for Beth. Vampires tended to be creatures of habit with when it came to things like blood and staying out of the sun and finding somewhere cold to sleep, and a Vampire with a habit was also going to be drawn to places where they could readily obtain the drug laced blood they craved so much.
"That's going to narrow the search field down considerably", Josef thought to himself and started mentally mapping out a route of all the most likely places Beth would be at this time; deciding to start with the abandoned warehouses just on the outskirts of the city.
His instincts were right and he quickly located her, passed out on a threadbare and filthy mattress, in the second warehouse he had searched.
"Beth" He said firmly, prodding the prone form lying in front of him with his foot "Beth. Wake up"
"Wha..What?" she mumbled, her voice croaking as she clumsily stirred and sat up; absentmindedly scratching the skin on her face and looking up at the figure standing over her through bleary eyes.
"JOSEF"
"Beth, Beth it's alright I'm not going to hurt you" he said, squatting down and trying to reassure her as she pressed herself back against the wall where the mattress lay, suddenly wide awake and wide eyed with fear and recognition. "You need to come with me. Right now"
He extended out his hand towards her, trying to keep the expression on his face as convincing as possible as he encouraged her to "come on".
"No. No Josef, I think I'll just stay right here. Ok?" she replied, shaking her head and swallowing nervously as she continued to press herself back against the wall like a cornered animal.
"Beth" Josef said, speaking slowly and firmly to her "I have had a really, really shitty day so far. Don't make it any worse". He opened the jacket of his suit slightly to reveal the sharpened wooden stake just inside the lining and added, "And please don't make me have to use this on you".
She stared at the stake fearfully for a moment, then looked at Josef, trying to gauge the expression on his face and wondering if she had a chance to make a run for it. Realising that even if Josef wasn't blocking her way he would still be way too fast for her to even think about making any sort of a break for it, she felt the fight go out of her as she sighed and limply accepted his proffered hand; resigning herself to whatever fate he had in store for her.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked in a small plaintive voice as Josef took her by the arm and started leading her out of the Warehouse.
"You'll find out when we get there, Beth"
"Josef?" What are you going to do to me" she asked next, her voice cracked with fear and emotion as she instinctively started to pull away from me.
"Beth" he replied gently, tightening his grip on her arm at the same time "I've already told you, I'm not going to hurt you", he paused for a moment and then quietly added, "I wouldn't do that to Mick"
"Mick? What's Mick got to do with this?
"Nothing, Beth. Just...come on. And stop asking questions" he snapped at her, rolling his eyes in frustration as he tugged at her arm to try and move her along a little faster.
Falling silent, Beth stepped up her pace a fraction and fell obediently in line with Josef as he continued to grip her arm firmly and walked her through the streets of Salzburg, towards the main train station of the city.
"Now am I allowed to ask where we're going, Josef" Beth demanded once he had collected their tickets and manoeuvred her along the platform towards the waiting train.
"Cologne" he replied matter of factly.
"What's in Cologne? Are we going to see Ryder?" she asked as Josef pushed her through the doors of the carriage and lead her up the aisle to their respective seats.
"You'll find out when we get there" Josef had started to say, as he shoved Beth into the seat closest to the window and sat down next to her; keeping his hand firmly on her arm to make sure she didn't do anything stupid like try and run away, before Beth cut him off and finished the sentence for him.
"-find out when I get there. Yes Josef, so you've already said" she huffed, shaking her head and staring moodily out of the window as the train began it's journey towards Cologne.
Josef pretended he hadn't heard her last remark and ignored her for most of the journey, occasionally nodding and mumbling a few short sentences in response when she pointed out some scenery of interest along the way.
"Hey. Look, a Squirrel" she called out excitedly at one point, her finger pointing towards the small furry creature that was perched on a fencepost alongside the railway tracks. "Squirrels are cute" she declared in girlish voice, batting her eyelashes and giggling mischievously before she leant over and whispered in Josef's ear, "a bit like you".
Josef was about to launch an indignant protest of "I am not a Squirrel", when he realised what Beth was trying to do.
"You? Flirting with me?" Isn't going to work Beth" he told her flatly, as he tightened his hold on her arm once again and turned away, forcing her to go back to her silent, moody reverie of staring out the window and watching the world along the train tracks pass on by.
A few hours later the train pulled into the Cologne train station and Josef half dragged, half carried a rather, by that stage, moody and reluctant Beth out of the carriage and towards a waiting taxi; throwing a bundled up wad of bank notes towards the driver and instructing him on the quickest possible route to the address that was scrawled on the piece of paper he was handing to him.
They drove through the streets of Cologne; the taxi driver ignoring Josef's instructions, of course, and taking the longest possible route to the location Josef had given him; until they eventually arrived at the frontage of a small, but elegantly stylised in it's stone architecture, two storey building.
"Josef? What is this place? Where are we?" Beth asked, staring out the window of the taxi and looking up at the building in stark wonder.
"You're new home, Beth" he replied matter of factly as he stepped out of the taxi and walked around to her side door; opening it and offering her his hand to assist her out of the vehicle.
"My new what?"
"Home, Beth" he responded with a gracious smile, picturing the look on Mick's face when he told him what he had arranged for Beth, "Come on I'll show you inside"
She allowed Josef to take her by the hand and walk her up the steps towards the front entrance, shifting nervously from one foot to the other and fiddling with her hair as he bent down and retrieved a set of house keys that had been left under the door mat and used one of them to unlock the door.
The door finally open, Josef stepped to one side and ushered Beth inside; following closely behind her as she stepped through the doorway and into the house. Although the decor was far more simplistic and low key than Josef's own personal taste, the residence was still fully furnished and decorated in tasteful stylings of black leather, marble and chrome. It was also far more expensive than anything Beth could ever hope to afford on her own.
"Josef" she gasped as she stood inside the doorway and looked around the room in amazement, "this is beautiful, what is this place?"
"I told you. It's your new home Beth" he replied, quickly adding, "somewhere where you will be off the streets and safe and away from temptation"
"This? Is mine?" she looked at Josef with complete bewilderment and then hesitated as she took a step forward, almost as if she awaiting his permission for something.
"It's ok Beth, you can have a look around" he said with a stifled laugh "you are going to be living here after all."
"For the next three months, Beth" he called out to her as she started exploring the various rooms of the house, "the rent is payed up until then. There's a freezer being installed for you tomorrow" he paused and lowered his voice back to talking level as she returned to the foyer entrance of the lounge room "until then" he continued "there are bags of ice in the kitchen freezer".
"What about blood?" Beth started to ask, but Josef smiled and held up his hand to indicate he knew what her next question was going to be.
"Ryder will bring a supply around for you later this evening, in the meantime though there is a small bottle in the fridge" he replied, adding with a sly conspiratorial smile "courtesy of a certain real estate agent who knows when to not ask too many questions"
"Josef. I...I...I don't know what to say?" Beth told him, stammering the words slightly and feeling more than a little overwhelmed by this unforeseen act of generosity on his behalf.
"You don't have to say anything Beth" he responded simply "Just get yourself well again. For your sake and for Mick's" he added pointedly.
"Is Mick going to come and visit me? Sometime?" she asked quietly.
"No Beth, not for a while" Josef replied, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. "Not until you've gotten your life under control again. It upsets him too much to see you destroying yourself and I will not allow Mick to be upset. Not by you or anyone else; not anymore and not if I can help it. Do you understand?"
Beth smiled wanly and nodded in response, trying to understand what Josef was telling her but still feeling a little hurt by the knowledge that Mick wasn't going to be coming to visit her anytime soon.
"Well. If you don't have anymore questions for me" Josef said then, "I'll be off. Ryder will come by around seven pm with that supply of blood I mentioned before...Oh, and Beth?" he paused for a moment even though he wasn't actually waiting for a response "I've asked Ryder to keep an eye on you, so expect to see a lot more of him over the next few months"
He turned and reached for the front door knob, giving it a quick turn and then holding the door open before glancing back over his shoulder and looking at Beth from beneath two rather conspiratorially arched eyebrows, "Who knows" he said with the slightest hint of a wicked smile playing at the corners of his mouth, "perhaps you and Ryder might even get to like one another"
"Josef Kostan" Beth replied with mock incredulousness, folding her hands over her chest and trying to look serious as she fought to suppress a laugh at the mere idea of what he was suggesting, "are you trying to set me up with Ryder England?"
"Not at all Beth" Josef smiled and bowed graciously towards her. "I'm just teasing you. I'm the smart alec one, remember?"
"How could I possibly forget, Josef" she laughed in response as Josef smiled again and bade her farewell, telling her to "take care yourself Beth" before he walked out the door and closed it behind him.
"Josef. Wait" she called out after him, catching up with him as he reached the bottom of the front stairs.
He turned and looked at her, raising an eyebrow questioningly and silently prompting her to speak, as the taxi idled nearby.
"Why?" came the simple, single word question from her lips; the tone slightly bewildered as she grappled to understand the exact motivation for this act of generosity towards her, on Josef's behalf.
Josef sighed and looked skywards, shaking his head in momentary disbelief before he looked at Beth and asked her quite plainly "Why do you think Beth?"
She studied the expression on Josef's face, as he stared at her pointedly; almost like he was wordlessly trying to convey a message to her ("come on girl, work it out already. Surely you're not that stupid") and Josef watched as the veil of recognition finally fell over her eyes.
"You really do love him, don't you?" she said with a soft sigh and slow smile as the realisation of exactly how devoted Josef was to Mick finally dawned on her.
Josef was sorely tempted to shout "Hallelujah, it's about damn time" right at that very moment, but refrained himself from any such acts of rambunctiousness and responded instead with a quick smile and nod, telling Beth gently "Yes. Yes I do".
He turned away for from her for the final time, throwing a quick wave and a "goodbye Beth" over his shoulder as he headed towards the waiting vehicle.
"Josef?" she called out after him once again, waiting until Josef had turned his head and glanced over to look at her.
"Thank you" she said sincerely, as he looked at her and then nodded his head briefly; as if to say "you're welcome"; before he opened the door of the cab and began to climb in.
"And...Josef?" she hesitated for a moment, waiting again for Josef to lift his head and look at her one more time. "Take care of Mick, ok?"
Josef smiled at her warmly and replied "Always Beth. Always", then gave her a final nod before he slipped into the passenger seat of the taxi and peeled off a few hundred Deutschmark from the money clip in his wallet; handing the notes to the driver and instructing him to.
"Drive to Salzburg"
"Salzburg? That's a long way?" the driver remarked offhandedly, although not surprised at the length of the trip he'd just been asked to make, after all this wasn't exactly the first time a passenger had asked him to drive such a distance and so long as the fare was paid in full at the end he drove wherever he was told to drive. "What's in Salzburg" he asked , trying to make the usual driver passenger chit chat and not really expecting a response as he turned the car onto the road and headed towards the main freeway leading out of Cologne.
"My life" Josef responded quietly, smiling to himself as he stared out the window of the moving vehicle and shielded his eyes from the still beating rays of the sun.
"My. Life" he repeated silently to himself, as he traced Mick's initials on the window next to him and then rested his head against the glass; closing his eyes and drifting off into his own thoughts.