A/N: So, this prompt once again came from Facebook's DWP - MirAndy page. The guys 'n' gals on the page keep my muse happy.
Summary: Miranda is a very successful nightclub owner. Andy is new to town and applies for a job at one of Miranda's nightclubs. Andy then finds out that Miranda is not all she claims to be.
Disclaimers: The usual disclaimers apply. Do not own them and do not make $$ from them.
NOTE: Thanks to those that have continued to wait patiently for me to update this since I put it on hiatus in mid-2019. Seriously, through the craziness of 2020, with the world held in the grip of a major pandemic, I have continued to work full time while living with full-blown anxiety and seasonal depression and I swear, this year seems to only have brought the worst out in a lot of people. I am trying to push through the meh-mentality, which has surrounded me this past year.
xxxxxxxxx
It had been four long days since she had managed to get Andréa to open up about what happened between her and the mutt, but since then she had been unsuccessful in getting the other woman to talk, even via their mind link. That night, before the family descended on them querying things, Miranda had been allowed to loosen Andréa's grip on the heart clenched in her hand and dispose of it and the remains of the silver-tipped cane, while Andréa simply sat, staring into space.
Since then, when she was spoken to, the words were ignored or unheard, it was hard to tell.
Their day sleeps after that long night was spent together, in silence, with Andréa curled up in her lap. She woke up feeling tired and unrefreshed and even feeding didn't help. She had no idea how to reach the brunette and was at a total loss. Jocelyn had also been unable to read her, and even when she spoke softly to Andréa, she received not a flicker of acknowledgement.
"Maybe we should see if Asher can help," Serena muttered after her offer of tea and hot, buttered toast was ignored once again.
Miranda glanced up and frowned at the sight of her mate. Dark circles had formed around Andrea's dull eyes, she looked gaunt from lack of food and drink, her hair was lifeless and her face was pale and pinched. She looked so far removed from the young woman she had bonded with just a week before. "I don't know how much good that will do, Serena," Miranda muttered. "She hated the very sight of him."
"Exactly," Serena stated. "Perhaps that is just the thing we need to get some kind of reaction from her."
Miranda shook her head, still gazing at Andréa. She watched as her head turned slowly towards Caroline and her brow scrunched up in a frown. It was the first reaction she had seen for days. "Leave us." She whispered, not taking her eyes off her mate and daughter even as Serena stalked from the room gracefully.
Caroline was staring at the brunette, her eyes wide and her lips moving silently. Miranda read her words easily.
"Mom loves you so much and you can join us in our day sleep if you want. We wouldn't mind as long as you don't get all lovey-dovey and start snogging each other's faces off."
Miranda attempted to cast her mind towards the silent conversation but was met with a wall of silence once more. It was frustrating. If Andrea had any thoughts on the offer, she wasn't broadcasting them.
"You need to eat and drink something too, mama. You're wasting away and everyone's worried, especially mom."
Miranda was certain she must have misread the lip movement. Surely Caroline hadn't actually called Andréa mama, had she?
Andréa's lips twitched and she licked them. Miranda felt a surge of something inexplicable form deep within her.
Hope.
A flicker of something, like a radio being turned on at an unused frequency, jolted her from her seat and in two steps she was next to Andréa. She saw the tears in her eyes as her thoughts sprang to life.
"She called me mama. Holy shit. Why are they calling me Mama?" Andréa's mind was focussed on that one word and she felt the blaze of happiness unfurling within her mate. "That means they want me here. I'm not a monster to them."
The tears started to flow earnestly and unable to resist she sat beside Andréa and pulled her close, letting her sob into her chest. This was clearly what her mate needed, an outlet for all that had happened.
Glancing over Andréa's head, she saw Cassidy had joined her sister and they were holding hands. Offering them a gentle smile, she gave them her gratitude. "Thank you, Bobbsey's" She muttered, knowing their preternatural hearing would allow them to pick up on her words. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Mommy. We just want you to be happy." Cassidy told her softly.
Miranda pressed her lips against Andréa's head and offered up her silent prayer of thanks to the Goddess for this blessing.
She had her Andréa back and she would never take that for granted.
xxxxxxxxxx
Andy was tired and her attempts to eat and drink anything were harder than she ever imagined possible, she just had no energy.
With Cassidy and Caroline hovering beside her, offering up small bite-sized pieces of fruit and miniature sandwiches and glasses of water or fruit juice and cups of tea and coffee, she tried her best to be enthusiastic, even though everything she placed into her mouth was now rather unpalatable.
"Eat mama." Cassidy insisted.
"Drink this, mama." Caroline pushed a glass of apple juice towards her.
In all honesty, Andy was stunned by the care and attention she was receiving from the twins, but she could also see how much they were enjoying doing something as normal as using their kitchen.
Miranda had disappeared shortly after leading her to the kitchen, with a promise she would be right back. Andy wondered about it since they hadn't really spent a moment apart since her return from the club with Jocelyn. They had even slept through the day beside each other.
For her, sleep had been a small escape from the memories of the moments in the club that haunted her waking moments, her refusal to accept Nate's apology as she ended his life.
Andy caught the sound of a shovel overturning earth from outside the kitchen and glancing through the window, she saw the moon shining onto Miranda's silver-hair. Pushing the plates in front of her away, she stood up and moved closer to the window. She gazed at Miranda as she placed a plant in the small hole she'd dug in the soil and fell to her knees, her arms outstretched and palms upturned. Closing her eyes, she caught the words, Miranda's mind provided.
"Goddess, I give this offering of Brugmansia, as thanks for my many blessings. For my children's acceptance of my eternal mate and for bringing her back to me. I give my thanks to you, always."
The moment was so pure and the words so heartfelt, Andy felt like she had witnessed something divine.
Miranda was her Goddess, and she had been so good with her, bringing light to her world even in the depths of her darkness. She understood what she shared with Miranda was a love that went far beyond the physical realm. A love that allowed them to share their souls and she was grateful for that.
"What are you staring at, mama?" Caroline asked, stepping beside her and wrapping her arm around her back.
"Your Mom." Andy husked, still unused to speaking out loud after so many days of silence. "She's beautiful."
"C'mon, mama. We should all go and plant something and give our thanks too." Cassidy insisted.
"And after that, we could go for a walk with Patricia, or you could hunt with us." Caroline grinned.
Andy's throat burned with an unmistakeable hunger at the idea of the hunt, but she was also wary. Did she really have what it took to hunt the evil-doer as Miranda and her family did? Miranda's eyes blazed open and she stared at her.
"You'll be fine, mama." Cassidy insisted as if reading her thoughts.
"How do you do that?" Andy glanced at the small redhead that had silently crept up beside her. "And why are you both calling me mama?"
Cassidy smirked and Andy was reminded of her mate. "We'll teach you. As for calling you mama, as mom's true mate, when you become Queen, she'll also be a Queen and we'll kinda be princesses so it seemed only right. Plus, it's not like you're not going anywhere now you're bonded."
"You don't really mind, do you?" Caroline asked quietly, pulling away slightly as if distancing herself from her response.
Andy pulled Caroline back against her, much to the little immortal's surprise. "No, I don't mind at all. But don't feel you have to call me that, you know." Andy glanced down and saw Caroline's frown. "I'm just Andy, nothing's changed, not really."
Caroline rolled her eyes and bared her teeth slightly. "Don't be silly. Everything's changed, mama. You just don't see it yet, but you will, given time."
Andy shuddered at the prophetic tone coming from the vampire child.
Miranda stood and offered the three of them a wide smile. "Come, my loves." Her soft voice carried to them. "There's more to plant and much to be grateful for."
xxxxxxxxxx
Miranda had felt Andréa's thirst acutely as Caroline offered her the chance to hunt.
She was wary, but as she and Andréa followed the twins from a distance, she knew it was the right step.
She understood food and drink just didn't taste the same now Andréa was dhampir and she was concerned over her lack of appetite. They still knew so little about this change.
Pulling Andréa to a standstill, she let her mind speak for her. "We need to wait."
"Why?" Andréa was a little confused, they had been ambling along nicely, with the twins remaining within their hearing distance for some time.
"The twins have caught the scent. A child molester." Miranda explained. "They will do what they need to."
She knew Andréa now understood the reasoning for them travelling alone in the dark, waiting for just the right kind of person to stumble across their path. They were never able to resist her two angelic children, pretending to be scared and whispering their pleas for help to their admiring rescuers.
Her lips pursed. There would be less filth roaming the streets of New York City after tonight and as they swept Caroline and Cassidy out of the darkened streets, they would know little except for thin arms winding about their necks and full plump lips against their throat. They wouldn't see their eyes glazed with burning hunger. These predators would find death quickly since the twins didn't play with them.
Andréa had come to realise the twins were far more mature than their ten-year-old bodies belied upon first seeing them. She had explained how they had continued to develop emotionally and intellectually even as their body's remained static and unchanging.
Her daughter's had lived 100 years with Miranda by their side and were, more often than not, like grown women trapped inside the body of children.
She had given them the freedom to move through the City as they liked, as long as they fed on the evil-doer only and did not leave a trail of destruction in their wake, and it was something they had agreed upon, feeling the same way as she, that if they had to live as immortals, they should continue to live with goodness at the forefront of their existence, even if they were, at times, mischievous little imps.
Miranda had not stripped either Cassidy or Caroline of their rights to autonomy and individualism by keeping them in a perpetual childlike state. After seeing their growth, she had encouraged them to read, to think for themselves and to have control of their own lives, as much as that was possible. She spoke to them, as her children, but also as equals.
It had only been her need to have Andréa close after coming across Nate that had seen them reaching a silent impasse.
Miranda respected her children and she hoped Andréa could see why. At first sight, with their red, curly hair and bright blue-green eyes, they looked cherubic, but if you looked close enough you could see they possessed adult eyes which were far from innocent. She knew, despite certain youthful enthusiasms, the twins needed to be treated as peers by everyone in their lives. Miranda had learned the hard way in those early years as the twins grew, without changing. She stopped deciding what they wore, wanting them to be comfortable as they moved through the world, she did not stop them from reading or watching whatever they wished, while trying to keep it age-appropriate to match their human years and eventually standing back, allowing them to make decisions for themselves. The last thing Miranda wanted was for them to live a half-life, wishing they were dead.
"They are not children anymore, Andréa." She explained.
The whisper of words, spoken brokenly from Miranda's mind had Andréa glancing at her. "I know, my love."
A small scream breaking through the night, had her head lifting and she inhaled sharply as her face changed. Wrapping her arms around Andréa and lifting her easily, she took off at a run towards the sound, dodging trees easily as she found the quickest route to her children. She rushed along, little growls tearing from her throat until she entered a dense patch of trees and inhaled sharply once again. She looked around at the three men surrounding her daughters who were holding each other tightly. Placing Andréa on her feet silently she caught her eyes. "We must move quickly and quietly - no noise. Take the legs out on the one to the right and show no mercy."
She watched intently as Andréa swept the legs from one of the men and lunged at his throat, her teeth bared but her low snarl took the attention away from the twins. Spinning around, she caught one of the men by his throat and lifted him off his feet easily as he made to run. The twins jumped on the other man, their teeth tearing at his throat and bringing him to his knees.
The four of them worked swiftly to bring death, each of them happy in the knowledge unsuspecting children would now be safe from unimaginable abuse at the hands of these monsters.
"I thought I said no noise, my darling." Miranda licked the throat of the man she had held in her grip, healing the bite.
Rolling her eyes, Andréa swiped the small trail of blood that had trailed down her chin, wincing as her teeth caught her hand. "Schtoopit teef."
xxxxxxxxxx
Andy's hands slid around the curve of Miranda's hips as she bent to kiss and nibble on her neck. They had settled the twins into their rooms just a short time before and had changed into their pyjamas but they had a little time together before Miranda would need to sleep. Moving her left hand up to knead and caress Miranda's breast, she felt her nipple hardening under her touch in response. She let her right-hand shift down to the sleek heat found between her thighs.
Gasping softly at the first light touch, Miranda turned face turned away slightly to bare her throat to her as her hand clutched at her forearm, her nails leaving tiny crescents in Andy's skin, forcing her hand harder against her. Her luminous blue eyes fluttered closed and her face transformed.
When she finally looked back up there was only lust and an intense need in their depths. With her hand on Miranda's chest, she felt the heat of her skin beneath the silk shirt and her own heart pounded under her rib-cage. Her other hand was pressing and stroking firmly at her clit, bringing her closer to climax. Miranda's pale skin glowed and grew warmer with each brush of her fingers and the room was filled with her breathy moans, sharp gasps and low rumbling growls.
Holding Miranda's eyes, her fangs extended and a warm hand came to rest on her cheek. "You are so beautiful," Miranda told her, appealing for her to believe her words. "Please." She begged. "It's been too long."
Andy understood Miranda's need. It was something she reciprocated, feeling the same deep desire rooted within her. There would be no more waiting. Sinking her teeth into the flesh where Miranda's neck met her shoulder, she pushed Miranda's pyjama pants down and thrust three of her fingers deep inside her. She was intoxicated by the first burst of Miranda's rich, exquisite blood and the music of her cry of pleasure. Miranda's hand moved from her face to grasp her neck as Andy pushed her towards her orgasm.
Miranda's climax came quickly and had Andy extracting her teeth from her neck. Her tongue lapped the wound until it healed itself. Her head fell against Andy's shoulder as her hips jerked and her thighs trembled. Eventually, she slumped against Andy, spent and satisfied and Andy stopped moving her hand but continued to hold her close until the trembling had subsided. Removing her fingers, she gathered Miranda up in her arms and stepped slowly across the room to lay her down on the thick mattress of her bed.
Curling her body around Miranda's, Andy found she couldn't stop caressing her and when Miranda turned to face her with a lazy, sated smile alighting her face, she placed a tender kiss on her lips. "I love you, Miranda," she whispered.
"And I love you." Miranda's mind broadcast the words back to her before her eyes closed and she fell into a quiet slumber.
Andy was concerned she had drunk too much as Miranda's breathing turned shallow before stopping entirely, but a soft smile graced her lips and her arm moved sluggishly to wrap itself around her, pulling her closer still.
Andy watched rapt as Miranda slept, her eyes were drawn to her features, marvelling over her beauty. She had been drawn to the immortal woman from the first moment of their meeting and it was only now she realised she would never be without her, even if she decided to remain dhampir rather than turn fully immortal.
Miranda was like the sun. She could do nothing but bask in her brightness and warmth. She let her gaze linger on the sharp points of Miranda's teeth, shown by her mouth remaining slightly open and she ached for them to be on her, her blood flowing freely, sustaining the woman she loved and bonding them further together.
Her hand didn't stop caressing; she wanted Miranda with every fibre of her being, to taste her again, to feel her against her lips, tongue and teeth.
However much she wanted Miranda, in the quiet moment of reflection Andy was content brushing her fingertips against her mate's warm, pale flesh and committing the moment to memory. She took delight in every curve and light freckle, wanting, above all else, to capture the uniqueness of the gorgeous immortal woman beside her.
Fighting her swirling tiredness, her eyes fell shut and her hand ran down over Miranda's back. She was stunned to feel the raised criss-cross of flesh, never having noticed the slightly roughened skin before and she wondered over it as darkness finally descended and she slept.
xxxxxxxxx
The sensation of Andréa's hand on her back had Miranda pushing herself up and out of her mate's arms quickly. She hoped, more than anything, Andréa wouldn't question the origins of the scars immortality couldn't diminish. She wouldn't be able to lie about it.
As Andréa gazed at her, watching her closely, she knew the question was coming. The brunette was simply thinking about how best to raise it with her.
Lifting herself onto her forearm, she licked her lips. "Miranda, I..." Her mind faltered. "...how..." She ground her teeth together, her sharp canines piercing her lip. "...who did that to you?" The words were almost growled out.
Miranda reflected on the swathe of scars across the skin of her lower back, scars that had been there when Asher turned her immortal.
She felt vulnerable as the full force of her memories hit her and she felt herself recoil from Andréa's demand to know. Her mate looked furious.
Andréas thoughts burst out readily. "Who hurt you?" She pleaded for an answer."Why would someone do that to you."
As she remained silent, Miranda felt the waves of protectiveness coming from her mate. There was a possessiveness that left her wanting to cry. Anger was cascading heavily within her mate, only for it to be replaced quickly by compassion.
"Who left their mark on you in such a way, my love?" Andréa had tears in her eyes but her voice was low and dangerous.
Hope flowed through Miranda once again.
Perhaps Andréa could be trusted with this pain.
Moving quickly towards her mate, she curled up beside her once more, asking herself if she could find the strength to tell this story.
Andréa wrapped her up, pulling her close and cradling her on her lap. Her head rested against her chest. "You can trust me, my love."
Miranda attempted to get her thoughts. "Do not judge me harshly, my darling." She pleaded.
"Never." The promise was absolute.
Miranda closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. "Gregory did this." She admitted. "And I deserved it." She breathed.
"I can't imagine you doing anything that would warrant such a thing, my love," Andréa told her tenderly.
"I had a..." Miranda stalled. "...after the twins were born, I was advised not to conceive again. Gregory blamed me for not being able to give him a son and things became even more difficult between us. We had a new ranch hand, Stephen, and I...Oh God, this is so hard..."
Andréa's warm hands rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Please, go on." She urged.
"I swear, it wasn't an affair." Miranda insisted. "We flirted, for want of a better word, and I found myself enjoying his attention, but Gregory..." She pulled back. "...Gregory found us together as Stephen comforted me. He took his cane to him, beating him to death as I watched in horror. Then he used his horsewhip on me. He left me bleeding and broken on the floor of the stables as Caroline and Cassidy cried out for me. If it wasn't for...well, I was found by a native woman that was passing through. She was from a family of healers. She took the twins and I back to her camp and nursed me back to health. By the time I recovered enough to return home, Gregory had contracted smallpox and died."
She caught Andréa's deepest desire to have just one moment with Gregory, to tear his throat out and rent him limb from limb before ripping his heart from his chest.
The whirling hatred crashing through the younger woman was intense and she recoiled again. Andréa noticed and held onto her tighter, refusing to let her pull away. "No-one will ever hurt you that way again. I swear it now. No one will ever treat you less than the Queen you are."
Something stirred in her and the tears she had refused to shed all those years before fell from her eyes.
A soothing sound, almost like a soft purr rumbled from Andréa's chest as she attempted to soothe her and looking up into her gentle dark eyes, she knew, no matter what, she would be loved and protected.
Andréa was home, she was safety and no-one could ever compare.
She let Andréa know this, allowing her to read it from her thoughts as she turned and caught her lips in a chaste kiss.
A soft smile formed on Andréa's face, her mouth tilting up beautifully and she couldn't stop herself from cupping her cheeks tenderly as she pressed her lips against her cheeks. "Thank you, my darling."
Pulling back slightly, she raised her hand and ran it through Andréa's long chestnut curls. "When the help heard what Gregory had done, they refused to assist him. They abandoned the ranch as soon as they realised it was variola. They left him alone..." She glanced down, her blue eyes filling with blood tears once again. "...when I arrived home, he was still in our marital bed and pus-filled blisters covered his face and hands."
Andréa looked a little nauseous and she let a few moments pass silently between them, listening to the rapid fluttering of Andréa's heart. She found herself at a loss. she wasn't used to sharing her pain, being far more adept at causing it. And yet Andréa seemed to know just how to console her.
"Show me," Andréa urged, breaking the silence.
Miranda could sense she was trying to keep her voice light, but the anger was still there. She moved back off Andréa's lap and started to unfasten her shirt and turned her back to the brunette as she let it fall away from her shoulders. She lay on her stomach, hiding her face in the mattress, but felt the heat radiating from her mate as she inched closer, but then she felt the most surprising thing of all, soft lips and a moist tongue trailing along the length of each scar.
She turned her head as Andréa kissed her shoulder and she suddenly had the overwhelming urge to feel every delicious inch of her mate, craving skin-on-skin contact in a way she never had before. Turning, she saw Andréa's surprise and her hands moved urgently to pull at her clothing, lifting her t-shirt hurriedly over Andréa's head and throwing it carelessly aside. She spotted her desire reflected in Andréa's eyes as she quickly moved to help, pushing her shorts over her legs so she was also naked.
They crashed together and capturing Andréa's mouth with hers, their tongues entwined as they sank against the mattress, their legs and arms tangling as their passion and need for each other overwhelmed them. She could feel the wetness seeping from her Andréa's core where her thigh pressed against it and hands clutching at Miranda's shoulders almost desperately. She settled in further, pressing down and a low moan tore its way from her throat as long legs wrapped around her hips. She moved against the woman under her, rocking into her with greater force. Their breasts and stomachs slid together as she moved and she could hear the furious pounding of her Andréa's heart. Her every thrust was punctuated with panted gasps and the sound of the bed hitting the wall.
She adored the delicious friction that was growing between them as she moved and she couldn't remember the last time she experienced passion like this. This was more than her typical thirst for blood. She simply couldn't get enough of Andréa, of her warmth, her understanding and her love.
Moving her lips to Andréa's throat, she sucked hard, bringing the blood up to just below the surface of her skin. She felt the low growls vibrating against her lips as she soothed the skin with a swipe of her tongue. She knew that there would be a small bruise. She ground down at the same time as Andréa thrust up, their movements growing frenzied.
Miranda knew they would fall over the edge together and go on to love each other more until they woke entangled in one another's arms. A low whimper rose from the woman beneath her as she slid her hand between them, over the fluttering muscles of her stomach before cupping the hot flesh between Andréa's thighs in the palm of her hand. Andréa's desire coated her fingers as she swiped between the fleshy outer lips of her labia.
She looked up into those burning chocolate orbs and holding her gaze, she slid two fingers deep into the wet, pulsing heat. Andréa's head lifted from the pillow as her back arched off the mattress and she cried out silently. "Stay with me." She demanded.
At Andréa's furious nod of agreement, she maintained a steady rhythm, rolling her hips and thrusting her fingers, pushing her towards her climax. She curled her fingers against the slick yet rough spot inside her, feeling Andréa's inner walls starting to contract against her fingers. The hips beneath her began to move erratically and waves of exquisite pleasure pulsed through her as a firm thigh provided the perfect pressure against her aching core. A sudden keening wail soared through the room as her palm was flooded with the proof of Andréa's release as she continued to clench and flutter around her fingers.
"More." The low plea stunned Miranda and before Andréa had even managed to catch her breath, she settled between the long legs, feeling Andréa's glorious thighs trembling slightly beside her head. Spreading Andréa further, she slowly began to kiss and lick the flesh close to her lips, savouring the sweet yet tangy flavour and listening to her mate moan with each delicate press of lips and tongue. Grasping the hips that bucked as her tongue slipped between the folds, she pulled her up into her mouth, urging Andréa to continue to move against her.
Her lips moved and she hummed in pleasure as Andréa's arousal coated her tongue as she hungrily licked, increasing the pressure and flicking her swollen clit..She couldn't stop herself from greedily devouring the moaning woman before capturing the sensitive bundle of nerves between her lips, allowing her teeth to scrape against it lightly.
Low growls escaped from Andréa's lips prompting her to suck harder until she cried out once more and shattered as another orgasm crashed through her.
Miranda felt the weak tugging at her hair and smiling, she moved up Andréa's body. She smiled happily at the love held in Andréa's bright eyes before pressing her lips against her mates, letting her taste herself on her lips. Breaking their kiss, she shifted back onto the mattress and let Andréa wrap herself around her, her fingers trailing nonsensical patterns on her skin as her head rested against her breast. "I will love you forever, Miranda," Andréa stated. After a few minutes, she spoke again. "I think maybe we should start to make plans to turn me fully immortal."
"We will. Soon, my darling," Miranda told her. "There's no rush now. We can simply be, for a little while, at least."
"Yes, Miranda." Andréa agreed.
She felt Andréa's uncertainty, even in her acceptance and knew it was a conversation they would need to revisit, and soon.
xxxxxxxxxx