Thank you to jellysnakes, Kazzy, twin1, kit-deluca and Cat2000 (the spelling mistake has been corrected, thank you for letting me know! I really appreciate it,) for reviewing. Keep them coming, it'll fuel the updates!
On with the chapter.
7. Vegas
It had been another long drive, despite Poppy and James actually doing the driving. By the time they met up with the escort that Thierry had provided, both Ash and Mary-Lynette were exhausted.
Sometime later, Ash woke Mary-Lynette up. "We're here. Look, it's the strip."
Mary-Lynette gazed blearily up at the lights. In her semi-comatose state, she was just too tired to appreciate any of it.
"Don't worry, it's not too much further to Thierry's," said Ash, sensing what she was feeling. "And a good thing too…"
"What? Why?"
"I need to feed. Badly. And you lost too much blood from the coffee table incident for me to even think of asking you."
"I'm sure it would be fine-"
"No. It wouldn't. Just don't start bleeding and I'll be fine 'til we get there."
The driveway that they pulled into was the biggest Mary-Lynette had ever seen. The mansion was even bigger. "We're going to be staying here?" She looked at Ash in disbelief. "This is where you stay in Vegas?"
"Yeah," said Ash deprecatingly. "Don't worry, all the people inside are really normal, no one is completely stuck up. It's mostly big because so many people come to stay."
"Oh. My truck might be a little out of place…"
"It'll be fine. Don't worry about a thing."
They were ushered inside by some people in black suits and dark glasses. "What are they, feds?" whispered Mary-Lynette to Ash.
"Nope, that's just the security," he whispered back.
The "feds" left the four of them in an atrium. It had a large piece of glass instead of a roof, creating the impression that it was open air. The large shallow pool in the centre of the room emphasized the feeling of being outside.
A door at the other end of the room opened. "Mr Descourtes will see you now," the voice intoned.
The next room that they walked into was completely different again. It was definitely a lounge, with comfortable couches and lots of pillows, but there was still an air of formality about the room. Particularly shown, Mary-Lynette felt, by the feature of the room. A very large Monet.
This is just a little overwhelming… thought Mary-Lynette to herself. Or at least mostly to herself, she amended, as Ash squeezed her hand in reassurance.
A young blond man sat on a couch in the centre of the room, his arm around the waist of a girl with corn-blonde hair and a red-wine birthmark on one cheek. There were several other couples sitting on the other couches.
The girl immediately leapt up on seeing them, to exclaim, "Thank goddess! We were so worried!" She turned to Ash and started to waggle her finger at him. "And you mister, what were you thinking? You've only just got her back and then you go putting her in danger again?"
"Please, please, let's not go there right now. I'm having enough trouble with this as it is…" Ash trailed off, suddenly seeming to realise something. "Mare, everyone here knows who you are already, but you don't know any of them."
He turned towards the blond guy in the middle. "This is Thierry, and yes, he's the one who owns this house. Hannah," he gestured to the girl who had waggled her finger, "is his soulmate. Over here," he pointed to another couple, a girl with short blonde hair and a taller guy with dark brown hair, "we have Gillian and David. This here is Thea, a distant cousin of mine and her soulmate Eric." A girl with long blonde hair and a guy with brown hair. "Rashel and Quinn you've already met. Everyone, this is Mary-Lynette." The last statement was made with a certain amount of pride.
Before Mary-Lynette had time to be completely overcome by everything going on around her, Thierry stood up.
"Before anything happens, you four need to get some rest." He gave each of them a quick look. "Ash, you had better come with me…"
Ash nodded quickly and followed Thierry. Don't worry, you'll just get shown to a room, he told Mary-Lynette. I'll be back soon; I've just got to take care of… what I was talking about in the car…
Oh. Right. See you soon.
The girl called Hannah stepped towards her. "Come on, I'll show you to your room." Mary-Lynette got up to follow her. As they walked out of the lounge, Hannah said, "Don't worry about all of this, well, stuff. You know, the house and all. I couldn't believe it at first either."
"That's something of a relief," said Mary-Lynette with a shy smile.
"And you and Ash will work out fine too. If Rashel and Quinn can turn out okay, so can you."
"Why wouldn't they have worked out?"
"Rashel was a vampire hunter. Quinn is a vampire and he hated humans. Part of me is still amazed that they didn't kill each other.
"Anyway, here's your room," she said as they stopped outside a door. "Your things should be in there already, and so should some food. I'll see you later for dinner." She gave Mary-Lynette a quick hug. "We're all really glad you're here safe, Mary-Lynette. You and Ash mean a lot to all of us."
With that, Hannah walked back off down the hall.
Mary-Lynette opened the door, only to gasp in surprise. She had been expecting a nice, small but serviceable guest room.
This wasn't a guest room at all. Clearly, this was Ash's room.
Ash was feeling much better by the time her got to his room. The cramps had started shortly after he arrived at Thierry's and his control had started to waver.
Mary-Lynette was sitting on the edge of the bed, thumbing absentmindedly through a novel. She looked up at him as he entered to give him a warm smile, and he returned with a flashing grin. Ash loved it when she smiled, as she didn't do it very often.
"Feel better?" she asked.
"Fine now, thanks." He gave her another grin. "So… what do you think?"
"Of what, your room?"
"Yeah…"
"I knew it was yours as soon as I stepped in, even though Hannah didn't tell me."
"How's your arm?"
"Not bad. Itchy more than anything else, which is a good thing I suppose…" She poked gingerly at the bandage, a lock of hair falling over her face as she looked down at it.
Ash couldn't resist. He gently sat down beside her and tucked the hair back behind her ear. He'd done this to girls before of course, but only as a "move". Not because he was feeling gentle and wanted to see Mary-Lynette's lovely face.
She turned to face him at his touch, just like all the other girls did. He put a hand under her chin and kissed her slowly, and that's where all the comparisons with other girls ended.
They melted into each other, driven by both urgency and passion, and the rest of the night was filled with discovery and bliss.
Mary-Lynette was definitely not like all the other girls.
A/N: Awww! Anyway, hope you liked it! Please review.
10 points to anyone who knows what Thierry's entranceway is based on. Any speaking of Thierry, could someone please tell me what the correct spelling of his last name is? I didn't have any of the books with him in handy and so I couldn't find it…
Next update soon!
F
