Skin Deep
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Chapter Eleven
Fuck.
Eyeing the newcomers with trepidation, Remy thumbed out his cell phone in case they need back-up. Or with Rogue's mood and Victor's presence…body bags.
With the speed shown by the black female in the bustier as she sped over to play with a teenage boy in a booth, they could only be vampires, and judging by their body language…they don't come in peace.
Pressing a number he kept on speed dial, just in case, Remy let it ring muffling the earpiece when the other end picked up.
"What?" The female on the other end who was perennially bad-tempered was on a tear if her voice was any indication.
"Votre type de problème au Merlotte. Mieux arriver rapidement si vous voulez que le Rogue de jalonner un couple de votre propre en public pour merdes et fous rires." (Your kind of trouble at Merlotte's. Better get here fast unless you want the Rogue to stake a couple of your own in public for shits and giggles. He murmured low into the mic before hanging up.
Because having a couple of mutant assassins in the form of Sabertooth and Rogue offing a trio of vampires in front of a bunch of humans wouldn't be good for anybody. Except maybe Rogue's temper.
Chuckling low under her breath as Sam tried to get the vampires to leave, Rogue peeked out from under Victor's restraining arm. With a wicked grin she whispered so only Victor's enhanced senses could hear, stretching up onto her toes.
"I had a run-in with the one in charge a while back." She stared into those feral-gold eyes, arching a brow. "Feel like playing?"
Walking around him with a sensuous slither that heated his senses, Rogue came into view just as the lead vampire complained about being "thirsty."
"Well, well." Malcolm grinned at his good fortune. "Look who we have here. Northman's little pet."
Rogue just rolled her eyes at that when Victor gave a pissed snarl behind her at the vampire's words.
"I'm no one's pet." She corrected him politely, running one hand down her silk-clad side. "I can't be caged or put on a leash."
"Isn't that the truth." Victor growled under his breath, coming up behind her and resting his chin on top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Oh goody." Diane grinned as she ruffled the blood-bag's hair she was playing with. "Because you just smell divine."
"Ok that's enough." Sam snarled pointing towards the door. "You're not welcome here."
"That crap only works on private homes." Diane yawned, straightening and moving to flank her Maker. "Not a public business."
Bill rushed through the doors of the bar, hearing the sounds of trouble from his place in the woods.
"Ah, Billy boy." Malcolm grinned. "Glad you could join us." He said moving over to drag one finger down Rogue's cheek, ignoring the snarls coming from the over-large creature hanging on her.
"Do you wish for the true death?" Bill demanded. "She's Northman's."
"Well," Malcolm said as Rogue just gave a feral grin. "His or not, Northman isn't here. And when Northman is away, Malcolm will play."
"Oh yes." Rogue said picking him up with one hand as Victor released her. "Let's."
"What the fuck is going on here?" Eric demanded as he breezed through the doors and took in the tableau, Pam at his back.
Hurt and enraged at the sight of him, Rogue shot-putted Malcolm right into Eric's arms then leaned back into the comforting heat of Victor at her back, the deadly feral grumbling under his breath over "kill-joys."
"Oh, nothing much Sheriff Northman." She spat the name. "Just a few of your people getting a little unruly. Nothing we couldn't handle on our own."
"Compton?" Eric snapped, demanding his version of events.
"I arrived just as Malcolm touched your female. After an exchange your female picked him up and then you arrived." Bill gave as clear an account as he could without incriminating himself.
"The female seems to disagree with your claim, Sheriff." Malcolm said as he straightened his cuffs after climbing to his feet.
"All that aside." Eric growled. "Did you or did you not come into a public human establishment and cause a scene?"
"They intimidated my customers." Sam said with a growl of his own. "And refused to leave when asked."
"It will be taken care of." Eric promised, signaling Pam to round up Malcolm and his two nest-mates. "That I can promise you."
"Good." Sam said with a short nod.
Exchanging a burning, meaning-filled glance with Rogue, Eric took his leave.
Rogue watched him with flaming green eyes until the door closed behind him and she couldn't hear him anymore, then let out a breath.
Catching sight of all the curious – and scared – glances the patrons of the bar-and-grill were sending her she grimaced then looked up at the still-hovering Victor over her shoulder.
"Walk me home?" She asked simply.
Casting a glance up and down her, taking her and her outfit in, he laughed.
"In those heels?" He shook his head, shifting so his arm was across her back with the palm of his hand resting just above her ass. "I'll drive."
*l*l*l*l*
Eric watched as Pam shoved the trio of idiots, now sporting silver handcuffs, into the back of her van.
"I never took you for one to get upset over a little rowdy behavior." Bill commented as he moved to stand beside the massive Sheriff of Area 5.
"And indeed I'm not." Eric drawled with a mocking smirk on his cold face. "But threatening behavior in front of a bar full of humans and mutants – mutants that cannot be glamoured to forget – towards a mortal…" He trailed off with a meaningful glance at Compton. "Is something that cannot be ignored. The Authority expects us all to live according to a certain standard now. Busting up a bar, threatening the owner, and getting into an altercation with a mutant is not allowed."
"Particularly when that mutant is the Sheriff's?" Compton mocked, jerking his head towards the motorcycle roaring away from behind the bar with Rogue holding onto the driver, her skirt pulled up high on her thigh and showing those long legs in all their glory.
"Another reason to punish Malcolm. One even the Authority can't argue with." Eric said nonchalantly.
"Even though she disputes your claim?"
Eric just smiled as Pam slammed the door to her van shut and whirled on Compton.
"Since when does what a human – mutant or not – have to say about a claim fucking matter?" She hissed. "That creature belongs to my Master whether she agrees or not."
"Have fun with that." Bill said with an arch look before vamp-speeding away.
"Can I just gut him and get it over with?" Pam asked petulantly, rolling her eyes.
"Not until we find out what I want to know." Eric smirked. "Then you can play with Mr. Bill Compton all you like, dearest."
Sobering, Eric stared off in the direction of Rogue's house. She left with that feral creature that was hanging all over her. A male that touched her as if completely unconcerned with her power. Eric growled low in his throat as his fangs lowered with a click at his rage, anger heating his icy blue gaze.
Pam just smiled at this sign of her Master finding his balls again after moping around for days acting like someone stole his favorite toy.
"Are you going to drain him?" She asked with an amused chuckle as she moved around to the driver's side door. "Or just strangle him with his own viscera?"
Eric arched a brow. The second option had merit, he hasn't done that in ages.
"That depends." He said after thinking it over for a minute.
"On?" Pam queried as she slammed her door and started the van.
"How clothed she is when I get there."
*l*l*l*l*
Inside the bar Sookie watched and listened in concern as the mild anti-vampire sentiment that ran through the town exploded like a wildfire. The patrons of the bar didn't know what to focus on first: the vampire "attack" or her cousin's little display of strength. Personally Sookie felt like the guy Rogue left with was the real cause for worry…an idea Jason seemed to share and Remy just shrugged off.
"Rogue's known M'sieur Kitty for years. Longer dan anyone else she still talks to b'sides his little brother. De only t'ing we have to worry 'bout wit' those two is if de town can survive de two o' dem in one place."
"You really did call him to come see her…didn't you?" She asked with a quiet look. At his nod she asked another question. "Why?" His thoughts made Sookie want to take a hot shower…with lava to scrub the residue off of her. What the hell kind of good would a man like that have on Rogue?
"Roguey…" Remy rubbed one hand at the back of his neck in a sheepish gesture. "There's only two men in de world who can touch her b'sides de vampires. One o' dem is Logan and he like a pere to her. Victor…until Roguey met de vampire Remy always thought she'd end up wit' him. If anyone was gonna pull her outta dis funk over dat undead le con," asshole, "it would be him."
A curse from Jason pulled Sookie away from her conversation with Remy.
"What? What is it?"
"Some of those idiot bubbas are talkin' about burnin' down the vampire's house." Jason said low under his breath. "And a couple others are askin' questions about Rogue. About what she is."
Trading a worried glance the Stackhouse siblings looked as one towards Remy.
Thinking it over a minute, Remy fiddled with a couple of cards before shrugging. Rogue's unpredictable, there's no way to tell what she would want them to say or if she'd want them to say anything at all.
"Alright," Jason sighed, motioning to his and Sook's friends who've just been watchin' all the drama and suckin' down beers on Rogue's tab. "Here's what we're gonna do…"
*l*l*l*l*
Swinging off the back of Victor's Harley before he could even come to a full stop, she strode up onto the porch unlocking the door and waiting until he caught up, saddlebag thrown over one big, brawny shoulder. Leading the way into her home, she took off her high-heeled boots as soon as she was inside the door and out of Victor's way. Cracking her neck she let out a sigh then led the way upstairs to her guest suite.
Waving him inside, she just leaned against the doorway as he moved into the room, throwing his bag on the floor next to the walnut armoire.
"Did you ride straight through?" Was all she asked as she watched him stretched and crack his joints now that they don't have an audience, letting him unwind and relax without needing to worry about keeping up appearances as big-bad-Sabertooth.
"Yeah," he sighed, rolling his shoulders before shrugging out of his leather jacket and tossing it on an armchair. "Sixteen hours. I was at my cabin outside of Denver when I got the call. Closed the place up and rode straight here. Wasn't sure what I'd find." He said the last almost too quietly for her to hear.
Both of them just stood there for a moment, remembering the last time he got a call about her instead of from her.
"Full bath through that door," she pointed to a door nearly hidden in the room's wood paneling. "I'm going to go change and throw something together in the kitchen." She tapped her hand against the doorframe with a little smile. "Take your time."
"Marie." He called her name quietly as she turned to go. "I'm glad I don't need to call Jimmy, this time."
She just nodded without turning back around to meet his golden eyes that always saw too much.
Moving down the hall she entered her master suite. Once inside the privacy of her own domain she shed the silk dress and fancy underpinnings, exchanging them for a simple raw-silk camisole with lace edging and a pair of yoga pants both in a deep emerald green. Slipping her feet into a pair of sheepskin slippers, she ran a brush roughly through her teased mane, bringing it into a braid as thick as Victor's wrist.
"I thought my imagination was excellent after all these years." Eric's deep voice came from within the shadowed confines of her curtained four-poster bed. "But you've managed to exceed it."
Walking over toward the dimly lit portion of the suite that held the king-sized bed, Rogue brushed aside the sapphire-blue silk revealing his long frame spread diagonally across the wide expanse of her jewel-toned quilted comforter. Laying down beside him, matching up her head with his, she turned to gaze out into the room, seeing her closet and dressing area clearly from her position. Flipping onto her side she studied his smooth face that refused to yield any of his thoughts to her gaze. Rolling her eyes at the absurdity of males, she rabbit-punched him in the ribs making him hide a wince at the reminder of her strength, then climbed back off the bed and went to sit on the arm chair beside it.
"Have you come to some sort of monogamous epiphany or are you just here to irritate me?" She asked, crossing her legs and sighing.
"Neither actually." Eric said, sitting up now that the show was over. And what a show… "Irritating you was a side-effect of not being able to speak once you started taking off your clothes."
Laughing at his unrepentant leer, Rogue shook her head.
"Besides," Eric pointed out as he stalked over to her side, looming over her and placing his hands on the arm rests of her chair. "You basically waved a red flag in front of a bull back at that dive. And again when you left. You didn't think I could leave such blatant tactics unanswered did you?"
"I don't have time for your macho-territorial-bullshit right now." She rolled her eyes at him. "I have a guest that drove sixteen hours straight without a stop to rest just to make sure that I'm ok. You know why?" She asked, voice sarcastic. "Because someone called and told him I needed him. That's it. That's all it took. And you still don't know why I'm not willing to get involved with your conceited ass?"
Pushing him away she got up and strode towards the door.
"I dropped everything I was doing to come here tonight." He said softly. "All that took was a single phone call, as well."
She snorted, turning on her heels and crossing her arms, facing him.
"You came to avoid a media-nightmare stemming from me and Victor kicking some vampire ass all over Bon Temps."
"No." He admitted. "That just gave me an excuse to come without damaging my pride. I came because of you. I could've just sent Pam or some underlings to handle it. There was no need for me to deal with this personally."
Rogue watched the fleeting expressions flying across his face. The son-of-a-bitch was telling the truth. Seeing that she wasn't going to take the first step, he shrugged and walked over to her, taking one of her deceptively-delicate hands in his firm warrior's grasp.
"You hurt my pride." He kept his voice soft, not wanting to draw her guest's attention to his presence. "You let me get so far and then called me on the carpet and running away. When I followed there was another male at your home, one who was obviously more welcome than I. Then you sent me away and followed after him. You haven't come back to my bar, called, or reached out in any way in over a week."
Stroking the hand not cradling her own down her smooth cheek he shrugged.
"I'm a thousand year old vampire Sheriff. By the time I could see beyond my own pride and agenda I couldn't contact you without seeming weak to my subordinates." Grinning wickedly he added: "Besides, I've never had to chase a woman before. I'm a little fuzzy on the etiquette."
Covering the hand stroking her cheek with her own she let herself lean into the caress, closing her eyes with an internal sigh then made an admission of her own.
"It's not like I'm the poster-girl for functional relationships." Opening her deep green pools, she gave him a gentle look. "I'm willing to work within the expectations of your society. If you're willing to work within mine as much as you can. All I want is for you to try. Faithfulness is highly important to me, for a lot of reasons that I don't have time to get into right now. But if you're at least willing to try…so will I."
Pressing his thumb to her rose-petal bottom lip, he studied her carefully.
"You're going have to share some of those secrets of yours." He said after a long moment. "In my world some secrets can get you killed while others will keep you alive. But I'm going to need to know which yours are before you get pulled in any further."
"Same goes." She gave him an arch look before turning and tugging him towards the door. "Your world isn't the only one with monsters. The ones in yours just have better masks than those in mine."