Chapter 13: Feels Blind
Olivia left the dazzling party behind and rushed outside to the cool silence of the pool deck. The fresh night breeze ruffled the tall palm trees that lined the beachside garden gently. There wasn't a single cloud up in the sky, but the resort's lights obfuscated the stars all the same. She looked out to the ocean's black horizon and wished deeply to get lost in it and leave everything behind. Her emotions were spinning out of control and her ribs were strangling her lungs trying not to scream. Olivia's heart was aching so bad she would sell her soul to the devil right then and there in order not to feel anything like this ever again. She felt her life as she knew was over.
The love of her life had hurt her, mutilated her soul, wounded her so deeply it made her hate herself. She should hate him, but she found herself not being able to. She loved Jamie so much, so deeply, she couldn't even fathom a version of herself who didn't. Olivia wandered the night alone as she drowned herself in self-pity, hatred and guilt, hoping the earth would swallow her. She shouldn't have done it - read his mind. Liv promised herself she would never ever do it. Her curse allowed her to see people's true faces, she was never fooled by anyone, ever. But God, why? Why couldn't she just be a fool once?
There was no need to ever doubt Jamie, that's what she loved the most about him. He was the most truthful and honest man she had ever met. Liv never had to wonder what he thought, he was the type of confident man who always spoke his opinion in a room full of people without a shade of doubt or hesitation. And the wildest part was that people listened to Jamie. He had that kind of cocky but respectable arrogance that made people instantly listen to and trust him. She trusted him and Liv never really trusted anybody.
But tonight she learned what her fiance really thought of her. And it broke her - shattered her heart. She met Jamie Kennedy the summer before her senior year at Princeton at an internship at an accounting firm in Manhattan (he went to Columbia). It was foolish to admit it, but it was love at first sight. Meeting him was like reconnecting with someone you knew for a very long time already, their bond was unexplainable. After graduation, they both got jobs at the same firm they interned at and moved in together in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn (an oxymoron, all apartments in Brooklyn are tiny). He proposed the day they moved by writing "Marry Me?" on a moving box label, and she said yes without a shadow of a doubt in her heart.
They never let their romance get in the way of work though. Both were very ambitious people in their own ways. Olivia was known to bring in and manage... Prestigious international clients while Jamie had the attention to detail and precision of a Rolex technician. Jamie and Olivia worked in different accounts entirely, and their work never overlapped. A good thing too, she was terrified of Jamie - or anyone at the office - ever finding out who her clients really were and where the money really came from. It's how she got so good at her job. She knew the sordid details of her client's businesses, her clients made a point of making her know it. Their partnership relied on the understanding that no one else would know and she was paid extra on the side for it.
They were now at a company retreat in a private resort in Costa Rica. Lee Shultz, the VP, was giving a long speech to introduce the company's new Accounting Managers and Controllers. It was a company tradition to announce the promotions in front of everybody during the retreat before everyone got blackout drunk. It was after dinner and everyone was at the edge of their seats. Out of the new intake of accountants, she was the only woman and by far the youngest. It was a bit intimidating and disheartening at times, but Olivia was confident she had a real shot at it. She was good at her job, never made mistakes, always had excellent results. She thought Jaimie had a good shot too. Names were finally announced, and on the very last spot, Shultz said her name. Her name! Olivia Carson, new Accounting Manager. She was ecstatic. HOLY SHIT her first promotion! She did it!
Everyone applauded and cheered, Karen from the P&G account team gave her a tight and excited hug. She looked at Jamie sitting beside her but all he gave her was a small demure smile. He hesitated for a second before starting clapping and cheering along with everyone else. A second - that one tiny second - was all it took. Before she even knew what she was doing, her mind narrowed into his eyes. He wondered if she had slept with her boss to get the promotion.
What was supposed to be a big and happy milestone for Olivia, ended up shattering her heart into a million pieces. Her favorite person in the whole world, the man she loved with all her heart thought that… Even after all her dedication and hard work, he thought she still wasn't good enough or deserved to get promoted. That the only way she could advance her career was by spreading her legs to her boss - who was fucking married! The only way she could have ever earned the position was by cheating the game and cheating on him.
Now her brain was trying to come up with reasons not to break up with him. To somehow forget it all happened and just move on. He was just jealous, an insecure little man. But was that the kind of person she wanted to be with? Olivia was trying to bite back the tears as she headed to the beach past the poolside chairs. There were no other guests here, it was completely silent. It's all she needed right now - silence, no thoughts.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you to never cry over a man?" A soft voice asked from behind her.
Olivia's heart almost jumped out of her body; she was so startled. People didn't usually sneak up on her, she could hear their anticipation coming from a mile away. But somehow the owner of this voice did. Olivia turned around and saw a woman laying on one of the poolside loungers she just walked past. How did she not notice this woman Liv had no idea. She was just absolutely beautiful. Flawless glimmering white skin, perfectly vintage-curled copper hair, bright red lipstick that made her blue eyes put the ocean to shame. The woman was wearing a cream sleeveless jumpsuit, with a high waist and loose-fitting bottoms that had a special 70s flair to it. She was stunning, sipping on a dark and thick red wine.
The woman had a certain smirk on her face like she knew all of Olivia's secrets.
"I'm not crying," Olivia said in a particularly aggressive tone, 100% overcompensating for the fact that she was, in fact, about to bawl her eyes out from a broken heart.
"Good. Take a walk with me, Olivia," the woman stood up and walked towards the dark beach.
"How do you know my name?" She asked as the woman passed her. This was Olivia's trick. She narrowed down deep into the stranger's thoughts, but she reached… Silence. Nothing. There wasn't a pushback either, or the cloudiness she sometimes encountered in people. There was only oblivion, a void. Like if she wasn't there at all - a ghost.
"Let's say we have… Mutual Mexican friends."
The Mexicans she knew surely did not have friends. Olivia felt the hairs on the nape of her neck rise. She wasn't Alejandro, the man she did her usual business with. Nor did her client send any messages to meet in person which they so rarely did. Olivia found herself automatically following this woman into the beach, away from the loud music and drunken laughter coming from the resort. It would be bad to get spotted by any of her co-workers right now. She had to know if she was in trouble, but how could she when this woman's mind gave her nothing?
"What happened to Alejandro?"
"Oh, Alejandro is no more. None of them are."
Olivia had so many questions she didn't even know where to start. Was Alejandro dead? Was his boss, The Big Boss, dead too? Or in prison? No, she would have heard about it - they would have frozen the accounts, she would have gotten indicted. Would she be caught at the airport? She shuddered at the thought of getting arrested in front of Jamie, her bosses and coworkers. But also, if her Mexican clients were really dead it would be very bad to lose their business now. Her reputation kinda depended on it. "What happened to them?"
"They were breaching into my territory, so I ended them," she said it so calmly, so naturally as if she just told her she got her jumpsuit on sale.
Olivia stopped following. The two women were in the middle of the dark deserted beach now, the ocean was much louder here than by the pool. "Who are you?"
She turned out so quickly her eyes missed it completely. "I am Queen Sophie-Anne LeClerq, of Louisiana."
What the fuck - "Is this a joke?"
The stranger stared her down and softly opened her mouth to reveal abnormally long and sharp canine teeth, which sent Olivia three steps back at the realization of what this woman was. She was a vampire.
They had been all over the news for a couple of months now after making their debut to humanity, but she had never met or seen one in real life until right then. Was this the reason she couldn't read her thoughts? Were Olivia's powers only limited to the living and breathing?
Already fearing the worst at the realization she was alone at a dark beach with a vampire, Olivia dared to ask. "What do you want from me?"
The vampire woman smirked, retracting her fangs and just keeping her perfectly straight white teeth. There was just something so magnetizing about her - Olivia didn't know if she wanted to be her or fuck her. Actually, she did know.
"You were their accountant."
It wasn't a question, but Liv answered anyway. "Yes."
"And your employer was aware of who they were?" The vampire nodded at the party happening 100 feet away. They could hear music faintly playing and the occasional drunk laughter.
"God no! We would be immediately indicted and I'd lose my license and go to jail. I made it all look legal on paper. They are a company of exported Mexican canned goods for all anyone cares."
The Queen smirked again, studying Olivia head to toe for a moment. "Good."
Good? "You still haven't told me what you want."
"Very simple, Oliva," she stepped closer. This time, she didn't step away. "I want you."
Liv fell and she fell hard. Into the dark fantasy that was the vampire world, into the luxurious lifestyle they led, and the absolute fuck ton of money she was making. Was money a fetish? Because looking at her own accounts made Olivia absolutely horny. The Grand Plan was happening much faster than she had expected and no promotion of any kind would ever feel as good as this.
She flew back to New York, broke up her engagement with Jamie, ended her lease in Brooklyn and quit her job at the firm to move to New Orleans. The Queen insisted she could not be taken as a client at her current firm because being a vampire was not something easy to hide, like being a drug cartel. She needed the utmost privacy, and Olivia agreed without a second thought. She asked the universe for an out, and the karmic cosmos had delivered.
Her family seriously thought she had fallen victim to a human trafficking ring because she moved so fast. But after bringing them all over for a Mardigras vacation a couple of months later (all expenses paid) they believed the "consulting" gig she landed in New Orleans was legit.
Olivia felt bad lying to her family, but honestly, this wasn't much different than before. She laundered money for criminals in New York then, and she was laundering money for criminals now. Technically she just had cut the middle man of an employer, but her family didn't need to know the details. Especially when the details involved vampires and her mother and aunt always clutched their pearls when the undead came up in the news.
The job also came with some serious benefits. The Queen had arranged a penthouse apartment in the French Quarters, a Mercedes-Benz for her to drive and her new salary paid double of what she would be making at the NY firm, even after the promotion. Her mother was ill and her treatments were expensive. Olivia promised her family living 5 states over and taking up this job was the only way she could afford to pay for what her mother needed. Once her mother and aunt arrived, saw her alive and thriving and discovered the open container laws of downtown New Orleans they forgot real quick about the shadiness of it all and just enjoyed the vacation. Liv had never seen her mother or aunt Suzie this drunk, and although the two were absolutely hilarious, she hoped they never visited again - NOLA couldn't take it.
Working for the Queen also had other perks - lavish parties, shopping trips, random gifts and bonuses. Plus Sophie-Anne was absolutely remarkable in every way. The history she lived through, the people she had met, her whole life was inspiring. Sophie-Anne was poor and disposable as a human, but once she became a vampire she rose up high in society and learned to excel in the old world and in the new one as a woman. She was quick-witted, highly intelligent and incredibly funny. The two spent hours talking after their work meetings, and often they would end up crying from laughter.
This was the closest bond she had with someone since her father passed. She never took for granted the inability of reading her dad's mind, not even for a second. After his death, Liv tried her hardest to have normal relationships with people by practicing constant vigilance and self-constraint - something she found out to be both exhausting and impossible. It only took one thought, one unspoken truth to bring it all down. Relationships with humans were just too fragile. But she didn't have to worry about any of it with Sophie-Anne or any other vampires.
Vampires weren't ordinary people by any means, but their quiet minds were incredibly comforting. Maybe it spoke volumes that she could only feel like a normal person around dead people. And taking home in that comfort was by far her biggest mistake.
It was almost dawn. Olivia was sobering up within the halls of the Queen's palace after a long night of partying. Sophie-Anne always threw parties, post-Curia Regis, knowing how much richer her Kingdom had become after each quarter, always put her in a good mood. The Queen never allowed Olivia to attend the actual Curia Regis which frustrated her to no end. It was strictly vampire business between the Monarch and their Sheriffs. Sophie-Anne always told her the courts were boring, and it was unheard of to have humans who weren't meals to attend. There were ancient societal rules in the vampire world - who was her, a mere mortal, to argue? But still, Liv couldn't help but feel if she were present at these meetings, she could talk individually to each Sherriff about their finances and perhaps find all sorts of liabilities, vulnerabilities or areas of improvement. She was hired to be an accountant and financial advisor, so let her advise dammit.
All Olivia got to look at were the books they brought in, but they could have been forged and 100% imaginary if their accountants were good enough. One of them, Area 5 for example, had about 60k missing over the last 3 quarters. They had done it sneakily, but the math didn't add up. That was the thing with math - it takes real talent to make it lie. Who knows what else she had missed? She needed to be in that room.
With a big glass of water in one hand and a whole bottle of it in the other, Liv found the Queen in her greenhouse. It was warm and humid and exceedingly bright, which irritated Olivia's incoming hangover.
"Your Majesty?"
The Queen was closely inspecting the leaves of a tall Birds of Paradise, completely unaware of the world around her. She still wore her white shimmering dress, with beautiful champagne embroidery down to the hem. Sophie-Anne looked like an angel. "I finally got rid of the last of the thrips that were absolutely devouring my greenhouse."
Olivia knew nothing about plants other than what the Queen told her. Thrips were a nasty insect pest that ate the leaves of pretty much everything, leaving ugly brown holes behind. "That's good!"
"Did you have a good time at the party?" Sophie-Anne smiled.
"I always do. Shouldn't you be in the ground? It's almost dawn."
The Queen moved over to another bush, inspecting the leaves closely with her bright red nails."I know, Liv. I can feel it coming, I just don't want to go just yet. Did you need something?"
Olivia fell quiet for a moment. She just stood there enjoying the view of Sophie-Anne's hands ever so delicately moving each leaf, her nimble fingers searching for intruders. Olivia had met many vampires since their encounter in Costa Rica, but no one she ever met was quite like her. Sophie-Anne wasn't the first woman Olivia ever felt attracted to, she knew she wasn't particularly straight since her late teenage years. But Sophie-Anne was a whole other tier of attraction. Olivia wished Sophie-Anne's good looks were enough to suppress what she really needed to say.
"Why don't you want me to attend Curia Regis, really?"
She laughed sarcastically. "Are you offering yourself as the next meal? That would be something-"
"Soph don't bullshit me."
"Fine," her smile vanished. "It's because if any of my Sheriffs liked what they saw they could claim you."
"Claim me? Don't they know I work for you?"
"Claiming and working for are two very different things in our world. If I claim you as mine no other vampire can drink from you, glamour you or harm you - though the latter one can vary by who you're talking to-"
"How is that any different from the edict of protection you wrote for me?"
"It's different." She said simply and walked away, moving her attention to another plant. The horizon was starting to change colours, from dark blue to faint yellow. They really shouldn't be having this conversation now, but sometimes you have to take the chances when they present themselves. The Queen's avoidance told her all she needed to know.
"You are hiding me. If you don't want them to claim me, then claim me yourself." Olivia didn't know where she had found this strange new boldness, but it was how she felt as of late.
Suddenly, Sophie-Anne was close, body and face inches away from her own. She was frowning with certain darkness in her eyes. "You don't know what you are asking."
"You and I had a deal, you'd never withhold things from me!"
"Only about your job-"
"This is my job," Olivia felt her voice rising. "What exactly aren't you telling me?"
Her ocean-blue eyes had a spark of fury. "In order to claim you, I have to drink your blood, and you have to drink mine. This isn't just a formality, we will be deeply bonded by the higher powers of our essences. I'll know what you feel, I will know where you are, I will haunt your dreams for a very, very long time. I will be a part of you, and you will be a part of me, and it can take years for it to fade - if it fades at all."
"Then I'm afraid to inform you not much will be different, Soph." The Queen softly gasped. "You already always know where I am. You already haunt my dreams and you have to be an idiot not to know how I feel about you."
Sophie-Anne froze in place for a second before her features softened into a smile. "You… Are a fool. My fool."
And their lips collided. Entire galaxies crashed into one another with them. Sophie-Anne and Olivia held each other tightly as if they would never hold each other again if they ever let go. Liv could feel Sophie-Anne's fangs sharply come down, and soon she felt the Queen's cool blood enter her mouth. As it washed down, Olivia felt an instant high - a lightness she never felt before. She could feel Sophie-Anne's touch everywhere, all at once. Liv was so lost in the pure bliss of the vampire blood she didn't even feel Sophie-Anne bury her face on her neck. Even the pinch of her skin breaking under the Queen's teeth felt sweet. Her body let go into the vampire's embrace.
Olivia opened her eyes, she faced the wide-open sky through the greenhouse's glass ceiling. She could see Mars and Venus shining brightly beside the fading Moon, the sky turning bright orange and the darkness retreating fast. Even though it felt time stood still, she could no longer risk losing it all for lust. Their time was over.
"Sophie-Anne," Olivia whispered. "It's day-"
But the Queen bit down deeper, letting out a deeply inhuman groan. A loud click by the door echoed through the place and the lights which were on an automatic switch turned off, but the room didn't get much darker. It was officially day time. Their love spell was quickly swirling into reality.
The dimness of the sunrise was coming and there was no stopping it. "The sun - Soph you -"
She felt Sophie-Anne's nails dig sharply into her ribs, a lion's mouth deep into her prey. The vampire was furiously sucking every drop of blood she could out of the small wound. Olivia could feel her legs start to go numb and the edges of her vision blur. Her fight or flight response kicked in and she pushed the vampire away, but Sophie-Anne held her tighter making it hard to even breathe.
"Sophie-Anne, stop!" Olivia ordered, but the vampire did not listen.
She had seen the vampire feed hundreds of times, but Liv never witnessed her latch on this wildly or this desperately. There was something deeply wrong. Much to her disadvantage, Olivia's heartbeat spiked, spilling more and more blood from her neck for the vampire to drain. The blurriness of her vision was quickly turning to darkness.
She could no longer hold herself up; she was fading so quickly into unconsciousness, the two of them dropped to their knees. "Stop!" Olivia cried, grabbing a bundle of bright copper hair with her fist and yanking Sophie-Anne's head off her with the last bit of adrenaline her body pumped out. The Queen was a red vision - she had Olivia's blood all over the cheeks and chin, dripping down her neck and dress. Olivia felt her own hot blood spill down her collarbones and left breast, she quickly pressed on the bite with her hand, trying to stop the bleeding. Sophie-Anne looked lost in a blood high but frowned at the same time. Her big eyes and even bigger pupils stared back at her in hesitation.
Liv wanted to yell at Sophie-Anne for not stopping when she begged, but something even more terrifying happened. Bright golden yellow rays of sunshine flooded the greenhouse, bathing the plants and the two of them at the same time. The Queen's face was fully in the sunlight.
And nothing happened.
Sophie-Anne stood up quickly, completely immersing herself in the sunrise and leaving Olivia bleeding alone by her feet. She basked into the light just like someone who couldn't for 500 years would. Open arms, red tears in her eyes. After a long moment, maybe the longest or the shortest in Sophie-Anne's life, Olivia broke the silence.
"How… Is this possible?" Olivia muttered, still confused at the biblical level of a miracle she was witnessing. A vampire was standing fully in the sunlight.
The Queen's head turned, finally returning her attention to Olivia. With a quiet frown, she asked the million-dollar question.
"What are you?"
Then everything clicked. It was her. It was her blood that allowed for this to happen. Her powers, somehow, must have made Olivia's blood special, allowing the Queen to expose herself to the sun.
"I-" but the words failed to come out. She knew better, she couldn't say the words, she couldn't tell the Queen her secret. Her said little mended heart said yes! Trust her! You love her, she loves you, give yourself fully to someone. Finally, someone who accepts you for who and what you are. But her mind screamed Rule number 1. It was indoctrinated into her head by her father for as long as she could speak. Absolutely under no circumstances tell anyone you are a telepath. But why not? Her father told her mother at some point, didn't he?
Before she could do or say anything else, the Queen's perfect pearl skin started to softly turn pink and steam. The effects of her blood were not permanent. Sophie-Anne then disappeared into a blur, dashing back inside.
Clumsily, Olivia got up and tried to follow her into the palace. She felt weak, legs not entirely coordinated. Her left hand still pressed down on her neck, she could feel the blood thickening between her fingers.
"Sophie-Anne?" Olivia called. This night was not over. It couldn't be. It was supposed to be a dream, not a nightmare.
She heard loud crashing noises and followed them. Liv found the Queen in her bright day-room, by the pool. She stood alone looking lost, head hanging down, looking at the blood in her hands with the same intense gaze she had when looking for parasites in her beloved plants. Soph was crying in anger, but she was no longer burning.
"It's wrong!" She cried loudly. Her voice was hoarse, filled with more sorrow than she could hold inside. "It's all wrong!"
Olivia didn't quite understand what she was talking about until she watched the Queen start throwing empty glasses and bottles from the party up at the chandeliers and wall sconces. Shards of glass and crystals started hailing from above, making Olivia take five steps back away from Sophie-Anne. The lights that were hit were going out one by one with a loud pop as the lights smashed on impact.
Only three small bulbs were left before the Queen collapsed crying on the floor. Olivia couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly guilty by all of it. She had given the vampire a cruel taste of the sun and now the grand illusion she had spent so long building for herself was shattered.
Sophie-Anne howled and sobbed, and the second Olivia stepped forward to console her, the Queen roared with her fangs out. "I DO NOT WANT YOU! LEAVE!"
Olivia may not have said she wasn't entirely human with words, but the Queen was the first person she ever revealed that part of herself to. Sophie-Anne was as special as they came, she was a person Liv trusted and deeply cared about. But what she really got in return was the most painful truth Olivia feared the most all her life - that deeply secret part of herself was so hideous, not even the undead wanted it.
The Queen cancelled all her meetings and dodged all her phone calls and messages for a week. Then, the letter came. The next day, she was on a flight to Shreveport.
The two stared at each other for a very long time, the silence growing between the trees around them as the city went further into sleep. Olivia looked deeply and intensely at him with her sullen blue eyes. It was as if he had asked her to drown a litter of puppies in the Red River.
"You have no idea what you're asking of me. You are way beyond out of line," she said in a low voice, holding back everything she was feeling. Their blood bond only revealed a deep dark pain, like a heartbreak.
"You didn't even ask in which way I want you," Eric responded, raising a brow.
"Does it matter?"
"No other vampire would claim you-"
"They already don't. They know I work for you and that's enough."
"Don't be coy, I've seen the way other vampires look and talk to you at Godric's party."
"So what is it that you're really after? You want a girlfriend?" There was a bitter tone of sarcasm in her voice as if the thought of Eric wanting a girlfriend was something childish. He guessed in a way, it would be.
"No. Although I'd be delighted to fuck you," Eric tried to bite back the smile off his face. He tried to take her up to his office within 5 minutes of ever laying eyes on her, this was not brand new information to her. Still, she glared at him in disapproval. "What? You're gonna call HR on me?"
She rolled her eyes. "You deeply overestimate HR's efficacy with sexual harassment."
"So it's one of your personal rules then," she didn't respond. "What I want is your blood."
For now.
"No," she spoke then looked down at her feet. The woman that stood in front of him was one he hadn't seen before. There was a lot of turmoil in her quietness. Pain in every breath. "I can't."
There were only three good reasons Olivia Carson - or any other human for that matter - would deny her blood to him. One is fear. Of dying if you are simple; or fear liking it if you are a bit more interesting. The second was hatred. Vampires disgusted certain humans deep in their core. A raw and illogical and downright hatred, like racism or misogyny - can't be fixed, reasoned or argued with. And the third… Well… She wouldn't give him her blood because it wasn't hers to give away.
"Can't or won't?"
"What you are asking of me is the exact opposite of what I asked of you," she muttered. She wasn't the type who was afraid to speak. Why was this so important? So forbidden?
"No, it isn't. I will give you all of the accounts, follow your every request, sign every dot, buy every corner store you want me to buy - shit I'll buy the entire Shreveport if you tell me to. You'll only see me on established work hours, at the office. I will be absolutely truthful in every word. No more games."
"No. I'm afraid I can't. Plus you wouldn't like it anyway."
"Oh, look who's not being truthful now," Eric only dealt in absolutes. He didn't take no for an answer. He was uncompromising, relentless and throughout. He was not going to give up an inch, not in any way that mattered. He was not going to let this go. Eric was adamant to have her taste on his lips and the more she fought him, the more thirst overcame him. "You do know I can just take it, right? I doubt Queen Sophie Anne would see it as harmful, especially the way I do it. But I am asking you, in the spirit of boundaries and all."
Her lips pressed together and he could see her anger rising - she was finally cracking. Yes, let's see what you're made of. "Why can't you be more like Godric?"
Her words hit him like a punch to the jaw. "You do not get to speak of my Maker."
"He wouldn't ask me this."
"You're right, he wouldn't ask. You act as you know him but trust me, you really don't." No one does, not even Eric anymore. Not really. "I gave you my blood."
"Don't act like I wanted it! And you didn't give me your blood either, you pinned me to the wall and forced it down my throat. Ask for something else-"
"There is nothing else. You are the only thing in this town I don't have."
Olivia laughed, but not because she found it funny. "You are unbelievable," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head. It was refreshing how anger always brought her back to life. "How about this, we change the game."
Interesting. "Go on."
"Instead of being a punishment-based game, it's a reward-based system."
He cocked a brow. "In which you give me your blood?"
"Only if you are very good, Mr. Northman," she smiled maliciously. "Like, giving me the keys to my own Taj Mahal good. But even then, I won't be yours."
Yes, you will. "I'm listening."
"Since you said you'll give access to all the accounts… Please do come in, Mr. Northman." She stepped aside, standing tall again like her usual self.
Eric put his foot forward and just like nothing had happened, he entered his own house. He stared her down, being a guest in his own house didn't feel much like a reward. There was a noise in the driveway, Pam had pulled up in her dark red Porsche Macan. Laughter and drunken giggles were coming from the car, followed by the sound of her pumps on the pavement - Pam had not come home alone.
"Up the stairs, you go ladies," Pam commanded three hot college girls. They were a bit tipsy and got momentarily quiet at the sight of Eric and Olivia talking in the foyer. Mostly at the sight of him. Eric felt envious of the night Pam was about to have for a second. She was out having fun with lively young gals, and here he was negotiating with a bureaucratic terrorist.
Pam stopped suddenly at the door, the girls disappeared upstairs leaving the tall blonde vampire alone outside.
"What the fuck is this?!" She roared. "Eric why the fuck can't I enter the house?!"
He of course, had to spin this another way. If Pam really knew what Olivia had done, she would set fire to the house with her inside and laugh at her screams until dawn. "I put the house on Olivia's name, for protection."
Olivia went stone cold but said nothing. Unlike his progeny who shrieked profanities at the both of them. Eric and Olivia looked deeply at each other, completely ignoring Pamela's threats from the porch. They both knew getting invited into their own home was a shitty reward, but Eric protecting her from Pam was a steep one. If she were to accept it, the ball would be in her court.
"Please do come in, Pamela." Olivia finally said, uneasy.
"Oh Jeez, thank you, Olivia. Now can someone explain what the fuck is going on here? Last I remember I didn't agree to a fuckin' house swap, Eric."
"It's something I've been thinking for a while, Pamela. Putting the house on a human's name gives us the highest layer of protection I can think of."
"Protection against who exactly? What kind of fuckin' moronic vampire is gon' invade Eric Northman's lair?"
"The Magister, for one. You two aren't particularly law-abiding vampires." Olivia added.
If Pam's glare could kill someone, Olivia would drop dead this very instant. She did her famous slow strut, hands high on her hips which was so typical of Pam when she was pissed and had to hide it. She approached Olivia briefly, eying the woman head to toe. "I'm gettin' real tired of you finding… Vulnerabilities."
"I find liabilities too. Are the girls upstairs even 18 Pamela?" Olivia's eyes glimmered with attitude.
Pam's fangs came out, but Olivia didn't flinch. This human was either stupid or had a death wish. "Wanna come up and find out, cupcake?"
But Olivia did not bite on the provocation. "I'll have to trust your judgement."
"Thought so. Rescind any of our invitations and I'll shove my hand so far up your ass I'll use this pretty hair of yours as a fuckin' feather duster, copy?"
Olivia didn't move an inch in response. Pam then turned on her boots, and as she passed Eric on her way up the grand stairs, she gave him the cold shoulder. She was right to be pissed at him giving the house away to someone Pam did not like or trust without telling her first. But his progeny's wrath would have been unimaginable if she knew the truth - that their house was stolen while they slept because of a legal loophole of all things. It would be best if she didn't know.
They were alone on the first floor again, as they heard Pam slam the bedroom door and muffled music blared upstairs as the girls continued their sleepover. Eric pondered some more at the absolute marvel of a woman who stood in front of him. With a contract clause like that, Olivia could have done catastrophic damage - she could have taken everything: the house, the cars, Fangtasia, all the money. Even disappeared into the sunset with it. But this little sneaky plan was not about money or taking assets, it was about sending a message - just like him taking all her clothes. The clothes don't really matter, just as this house at the end of the night, doesn't really matter.
Eric lived in and owned hundreds of houses in his life - many bigger and better than this one. But the point was not to underestimate Olivia. If he pushed her, she was going to push right back. Even at the cost of mutual destruction, as she put it. She was not afraid of going there and she wanted him to know.
Olivia was a hell of a punishment, and one day she was going to be his. It was just a matter of time, and time he had an infinity of.
"See you tomorrow at 8 PM to discuss contractors for the strip mall?" Eric asked, putting his hands in his pockets before they went exploring Olivia's exposed arms.
"Certainly, Mr. Northman," She nodded, picking up her briefcase gently.
And for another intended - or not - reward, he enjoyed watching her walk away.
A.N.: hello bonjour!
This chapter took a while to write because it had a lot ~emotion~ and I had to get into the right headspace for it. I hope the wait was worth it!
Thank you for everyone's comments and questions! They are incredibly helpful and I will always answer the plot questions in the story (or in a note) so please ask anything you need clarification on.
And to make things crystal clear - Olivia is a bisexual character. As a bi person IRL I am always disappointed at the bi-representation in media in general. Even in this fandom, I've read so many OC's who had a "liking girls phase", which I'm sure it happens and it's valid (!) but it was only used in a way to either lead Pamela on, or as a 'quirky' 'sexy' trait that was never used or explored. So if you are bi yourself, I'm here, I see you. (rant over)
I hope everyone had a magical holiday/winter vacation
Until the next time xoxoxoxo