"You had a friend stop by," Selina told Dorian later in the day. "Actually, I doubt he was a friend. Anyone who brings along my greatest rival is not a friend. Right? Guy named Rodan? Dark eyes, unkempt beard?"
Dorian's eyes widened. "He was here? Did you let him in?"
"Well, yes, and I know I shouldn't have, but he and Katherine were yelling at each other and I didn't want to disturb anyone," Selina sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Did he break the vase?" Dorian questioned.
"No, that was Katherine," Selina replied. "She got mad at him because he tricked her and put a bracelet like mine on her wrist without telling her what it was for and broke the vase over his head before storming out of here."
"Oh, well," Dorian gave a little grin. "I suppose it gave itself to a worthy cause then. I like this Katherine. Is she really as bad as you say?"
"Well, I'll concede that she's improved over the years, but I'd be an idiot not to be at least a little wary around her," Selina replied. "She's very sneaky, that one."
"Yes, but if her being sneaky helps us rather than hurts us, is that really a problem?" Dorian questioned.
"Katherine never does anything for anyone," Selina told him. "The person she's really and truly interested in helping is herself. And at this point, it just so happens that she hates Rodan and wants to piss him off. Don't mistake that as her being sympathetic to us."
"Well, all right," Dorian nodded. "I promise I'll keep that in mind." Then he took her in his arms and looked into her eyes. "I need more details about your meeting. Did he say anything? Did he want to meet me?"
"Of course he did," Selina nodded. "Why else would he come over here? Not just to see me, that's for sure."
"Maybe he did," Dorian told her. "Maybe he found out I've embarked on a new relationship and wanted to see what you were like. He's done it before."
"What?" Selina asked. "Been interested in the same woman as you?"
"Yes," Dorian nodded, his eyes narrowed as he thought of Eric's mother, the woman who'd come between him and Rodan, who he'd once thought of as a friend. "Exactly."
"I don't think you have to worry about him stealing me," Selina told him. "I won't fall for his nonsense and even if I was vulnerable to that sort of thing, Katherine would make sure that she kept him all for herself."
"But I thought she hated him," Dorian told her. "Wouldn't it make sense for her to see his attraction to you as a perfect way to get rid of him?"
"You would think so," Selina nodded. "But for Katherine, nothing and no one is more attractive than when they are unavailable to her, even if she hated them before."
"What a strange woman," Dorian sighed.
"Yeah," Selina scoffed. "Tell me about it."
"I should probably go see what Rodan wants," Dorian decided. "If I wait much longer to go see him, he might come over here again and I don't want that."
"Would you like me to come too?" Selina offered. "I think he and I had a good rapport, and if it would make things easier…"
"You're very sweet, but no," Dorian shook his head. "I need to be an adult about this. I need to learn how to handle Rodan on my own."
"Don't start any fights with him," Selina requested. "Come home to me in one piece. I'd really appreciate that."
"All right," Dorian smiled and planted a big kiss on her before letting her go and giving her a wink. "I'll keep that in mind, I promise." He put his hand on the door and then turned to face her again. "I'll be back in an hour, I promise."
"Sounds good," Selina nodded. "And if you're not back in two, I'll send a search party."
"It's always good to have a backup plan," Dorian told her. "Goodbye, darling."
"Goodbye!" Selina called as he made his way out the door of the penthouse and down the hallway. "Good luck!"
"You came alone?" Rodan asked, his face twisting when he saw that Dorian was on his doorstep alone. "I hoped your wife would come with you."
"Why would I bring her?" Dorian questioned. "She's not involved in any of this yet. She offered to come, but I told her I would rather face you by myself."
"I just wanted to have a little more conversation with her," Rodan gave him a grin. "She was a real joy."
"Well, I wasn't intending to stick around to have a real long conversation," Dorian told him and elbowed his way into the house. "Now, what did you want? Tell me so I can leave."
"I just wondered what your plan was now that you have a new wife and a son," Rodan said. "Is he the next in line to rule over all of us?"
"You mean 'is he the one I'm going to have to kill to take power for myself'?" Dorian pointed out. "I know what your game is."
"I'm surprised that I'm the one you're worried about when it comes to that," Rodan grinned. "I'd be more worried about your ex-wife. She won't be happy Eric is being tossed aside." He paused. "I mean, you have to worry about me too, I suppose. But I'm not your biggest problem. Remember that."
"More problems," Dorian ran his hand through his hair. "Yay."
This made Rodan chuckle. "You mean you didn't think about how she would take your being remarried? Having another child to replace hers in the line of succession?"
"Well, Eric seems to be taking it well," Dorian pointed out. "He has plans of his own for what he wants to do with his wife and his life and I'm sure he told his mother about them, so she has no reason to worry."
"Oh, dear," Rodan put a hand on his former friend's shoulder. "Either you're stupid or you've completely forgotten what she's really like," he said. "Because I still remember and no matter what you do, no matter what Eric tells her, Sibyl has her plans for him and won't be dissuaded from them."
"Of course I've forgotten about Sibyl," Dorian nodded. "It took me years and years and when the last memory of her was buried deep in the recesses of my mind, it was a blessing. Once she left me for you, it was a fucking blessing."
"Yes," Rodan grinned fondly. "It certainly was."
Dorian then narrowed his eyes and gave Rodan a push. "You bastard!" He told him. "Why did you have to say that? I've been trying so hard not to start a fight with you and you're making that very difficult!"
Rodan punched Dorian in the nose. "Oh, don't do that," he said. "Don't act like you care about Sibyl anymore. You haven't given a shit about her for years!"
"It doesn't mean that what you two did didn't hurt me at the time you did it," Dorian replied. "How you could betray me like that…it was low, even for you! We were happy until you ruined things and couldn't keep your lustful feelings for yourself!"
"Me?" Rodan replied. "You're blaming me alone for all this? What about Sibyl? She's no innocent! She was just as much a part of the affair as I was. Go be mad at her!"
"Oh, I am," Dorian replied, his face turning red and his hands balling into fists as an image of his blue-eyed, blonde wife appeared in front of his eyes and her laughter, like broken glass, sounded in his ears. "I've been mad at her for years. And now I remember how mad I am at you."
"Fine, leave," Rodan replied and picked Dorian up by his collar, pinning him against the door, punching him in the face, and then throwing him out the front door and onto the pavement before locking the front door behind him. "No one said you had to stay. Goodbye!"
After Dorian headed back home, Rodan didn't have even a moment of peace before he heard lots of banging and crashing. "Oh, damn," he muttered under his breath and ran in the direction of it, meeting Katherine along the way. She had two suitcases under her arms.
"Damn, why are you here?" She asked. "I was hoping to sneak away while you were fighting with Dorian!"
"Why are you leaving?" Rodan asked.
"Because I don't want to be married to you!" Katherine cried. "When you just wanted to have sex with me, that was one thing, but I can't be your wife and bear your children."
"Why not?" Rodan questioned.
"Cause I'm a vampire and I can't," Katherine said. "So if you want that, you'll have to pick someone else."
"No, I don't," Rodan told her. "Once you become a demon, you'll be able to have children like you can't now." He began pulling at her suitcases, but she clung just as tightly. "Give me those," he said through his teeth. "You're not leaving."
"Yes I am!" Katherine nodded and gave another tug.
But Rodan was stronger and pulled the bags away with such force that Katherine fell on her bottom as her things were thrown against the wall and fell to the floor. "Hey!" She cried. "Will you be careful with my stuff? I could have had breakable things in there!"
"Oh, stop!" Rodan told her. The fight with Dorian had put him in a very bad mood and he wasn't in the mood to listen to her whining. "You aren't leaving. If you do, you just know you're going to get bored and come back like before, so let's save you a step, shall we?"
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't leave?" Katherine cried.
"All right," Rodan nodded, grabbing her and kissing her as he unzipped his pants, pulled up her skirt, and pulled down her panties and slipped inside her, pushing into her over and over again as Katherine clung to him and moaned his name. "You had to do this, didn't you?" She panted. "Why? Why couldn't you have done other things first?"
"Cause I know you well enough to know this works," he said as she moaned and licked her bottom lip while he nibbled on her ear. "It's working, isn't it? You don't want to leave, do you?"
"If you don't mind me just liking you for your body," Katherine replied. "That doesn't bother you, does it?"
"No," Rodan shook his head. "Anything to make you stay." He then kissed her again and she lapsed into silence until she was so tired that he finally pulled out of her and she had to have him hold her up and carry her to bed.
"You want me to unpack for you?" He asked her as he tucked her in. "It's the least a husband can do for his wife."
"I'll make you a deal," Katherine replied. "You never refer to me as your wife out loud and I won't leave again, all right? That's not a difficult request, is it?"
"Yes it is," Rodan told her. "I don't agree. I have a wife and you are going to bear my children."
"No, thank you," Katherine shook her head and closed her eyes. "That'll make me fat and then you'll get bored and cheat on me. I'm not gonna like that, Rodan."
"You don't know that that will happen," Rodan replied. "If I ever leave you, it will be because of your less than pleasant personality. Not because you're fat."
"It still doesn't make any difference," Katherine told him, burying her face in her pillow. "I'm not having children with you, even when or if I can. I just don't want to. And unfortunately, you can't use sex to change my mind this time."
"Maybe not," Rodan replied, playing with her hair and giving her a spank. "But I'll think of another way to convince you. I promise you that."
