Chapter Ten: Learning the Hunt

It had been four days since Hestia heard from Victor, and she had began to give up any hope that he had any intentions to contact her in the first place. She had just finished a simple meal of homemade shrimp scampi, and her hands worked to carefully place dishes into the dishwasher. She could still smell his cologne on her, even after the showers between then. She had even washed his scent from his now clean pajamas. They sat still on a desk in her home office, still wrapped in a white patient's bag. She hadn't had many night visitors lately, and this allowed her to catch up on other hobbies, such as completing the reading of a few books and learning a few new yoga poses. She pondered the idea of going out tonight, given that it was a different doctor's turn to work the midnight shift.

Before she came to her own decision, she received a phone call. It was from Amy. She was trying to get the girls together to go to Fish's or some other nightclub, but they were taking a vote as to where. Hestia gave her vote easily as she strolled into her bedroom. She had an hour to get ready, so she decided leaving her locks down would suffice as she painted her face and dressed in a dark green cocktail halter top dress. She wore her uncomfortable shoes again and spritzed on the perfume she had purchased just days ago. Tonight she would forget about Victor Zsasz and have fun with her friends while she had the time to. She walked the few blocks over and started to pull out money for her entry fee. The man at the door pushed her hand away and gestured for her friends to enter. "But, the cov—"

"Friends of Miss Mooney's get in for free. Enjoy your evening, Miss Zaqar."

Her friends seemed to gawk at her in a mixture of annoyance and jealousy. She shrugged at them as they made their way to a table. Tonight seemed to have a swing kind of theme, and Hestia was itching to make it to the dance floor at some point. Her friends wanted to enjoy a few drinks before they headed off, and so Hestia obliged. She started her night off with a rum and coke, following with a shot of some liquor with her friends. Once they had started to warm up and joke around they made their way to the dance floor.

Hestia tried to follow the movements of her friends as they took turns dancing to each other. They knew the dance style a little more than she did. She had wasted her time on the Waltz with her parents. At least, she felt that way since she hardly ever used it. At some point the music seemed to change into a pace that she was more in tune with. After all, she did enjoy to party in college. They had a few more drinks at their table, and it was enough to give Hestia that floaty feeling as she grinded against her friends.

Fish had been coyly watching the doctor from afar, her hunger growing in her stomach. She pulled Oswald aside and whispered something in his ear as Hestia found a different dance partner. The man had approached her and she was more than eager to take up his dance offer. They kept a distance at first as they just enjoyed the beat, but as the songs changed, the closer they got. Soon his hands were on her hips as she grinded against him, sweat beading on her neck. Her own hands moved through her hair in attempt to look a little more appealing and to try and cool herself off. He leaned in and attempted to say something in her ear, but before Hestia could answer, Fish was approaching her quickly.

The club owner leaned in towards Hestia and hissed in her ear. "I would stop this behavior right this instant. He's here."

The red head was confused as she and her partner continued to dance, as she tried to process what had just been told to her. Before it finally clicked in her mind, Victor was on the dance floor, his eyes locked onto hers as he reached her. His hands shot out, one pushing the other man away, the other grasping tightly onto Hestia's forearm. The grip was bruising as he pulled her from the floor and off towards the hall. Hestia turned her head to look at the lioness still on the floor, her smile all knowing. Victor pulled her through the hot building, the alcohol dulling her senses lightly as they made their way out of the back door.

She stumbled lamely to his pace, a few attempts to get him to slow down proved fruitless. As soon as they were out in the cool air of the alley, he snapped around, his other hand grasping her other arm. She looked dazed into his eyes as he stood, his chest raising and falling rapidly as his jaw twitched. "Victor?" She finally spoke and his nostrils flared at the sound of her voice.

"The way you were behaving tonight is unacceptable." He loosened his grip only slightly as he waited for a response.

Hestia was left in a state of bewilderment. "My behavior? I haven't hear a peep out of you in days. I just figured that you were one of those kinds of guys." She had moved her face closer to his to focus through the alcohol vision she currently possessed. "I've heard about it you know? How you apparently just sleep around. So let's talk about your behavior." One of her arms slipped from his grasp as she jabbed a finger against his chest.

Victor growled low in his throat before taking control of her free arm again. "I was working, and I wasn't able to come by. And you shouldn't believe everything you hear, especially if it comes from poor sources." He attempted to remain calm as he watched the red head before him squirm under his grasp.

Before she could answer, the purring of the lioness echoed through the air. "Are you two alright? I came to bring the little one some water and to return her clutch." She offered a glass out to Hestia, and Victor allowed the influenced red head to take it from her while he snatched the clutch from her claws.

"We are fine. Leave us." Victor hissed through his clenched teeth. Hestia worked on drinking the water, the cooling liquid tingling through her body.

"I just wanted to make sure everything was alright. Want me to call a cab for the two of you?"

Victor answered by taking the empty water glass and thrusting it towards Fish's chest. The club owner scoffed at him as Victor wrapped one of Hestia's arms over his shoulder, while he stooped to snake and arm around her waist. He started to lead her out to the street, leaving Fish to stand in the cool fall air. She smiled deviously at his back as she turned on her heels to head back in to attend to her club. Victor helped Hestia make her way back the few blocks before using the keys from her clutch to open the door to her housing unit. He locked the door behind them and moved to carry her bridal style to her room. He plopped her upon her bed and he tossed her clutch into a chair in the corner of her room.

She had sobered up a bit on the way home as she realized the impending trouble she may have caused herself. Her eyes fell on the top of his head as he kneeled down to remove her shoes before he looked up at her. Her eyes were dark and heavy as they made eye contact, and he sighed. "I am not good at sharing." He finally spoke as he straightened out his posture.

Hestia gently took one of his hands and turned it over to trace the lines on his palm. "I just assumed that you were done with me after I didn't hear from you. I didn't mean to embarrass you or cause you any trouble tonight, I just honestly decided that I didn't want to get let down again." Her fingers continued to loop on his palm as he stood there, watching. She suddenly recalled his clothing in the other room and so she slipped off the bed carefully, allowing his hand to fall back to his side. "I have something for you."

He stood in the middle of the room as he heard her shuffle around in the other room. He heard a few distinct unpleasant words as a few thumps came from the other room. She returned a moment later, rubbing her elbow as she grasped a bag between her fingers. "Are you alright?"

She nodded and examined her elbow. "I just bumped it on the desk is all. I hit my not so funny bone."

He took the bag from her as she extended it, and he glanced inside. The bag smelled like her, probably due to her laundry soaps. It was flowery and almost reminded him of the woods outside his home. He placed the bag on her dresser as she began to undress, her fingers still under the little effects of the alcohol left in her system as they fumbled with the zipper on the back of her dress. He reached forward and helped her, the dress falling to the floor leaving her only in a slip. She looked towards her bathroom door as she debated taking a shower, and as if he read her mind, he began to slip off his suit jacket.

By the time they reached her bathroom they were both nude, and he was already lowering her into a warm shower. He carefully washed her, and he kissed over where his fingers had held her so tightly. She rested against him as the water removed the suds from their bodies, taking most of the night's unpleasentries to the sewers with the rest of the shit where it belonged. She allowed him to dry her off at the end of the shower, and then he was pulling back the covers on her bed. She climbed in and he walked over to close her bedroom door and to shut off the light, and she felt the bed give way under his weight as he moved in to lay next to her.

He quickly warmed the covers with his body heat, and she sought him out as she tangled her limbs in his. A yawn escaped her lips as his fingers worked calmly through her hair. "Victor, what are we then? Just dating? A couple? Friends with benefits?" Her voice was quiet and nervous as she traced over a few of his tally marks.

His voice rolled through his chest as he answered. "You are mine, take that as you will." She left a kiss on his chest in return, and interlocked her fingers into one of his hands.

"Then I shall behave so."

A twisted grin played at the corners of his mouth at her answer, but it fell quickly at her next question. "So why were you there tonight?"

He sighed in a bored manner. "Mooney was most likely trying to stir up trouble. She had her sniveling weasel call me about you. She probably saw us at the restaurant the other night. Falcone has spoken to me about it as well."

She leaned to look at his face in the darkness, one of her arms gently propping her up. "Is it going to be an issue? If so, I don't want you to be in any trouble, Victor."

"You're already in trouble. You were seen with me, and whether you like it or not, along with your deal with Falcone, you have blatantly taken the side between the families. I don't worry about the thoughts of others about me, but you must be careful how you conduct yourself."

She stayed silent at his response before touching his face gently. "You have my word that I won't embarrass you like that again. I just wasn't sure of our—standing prior to tonight…" She leaned in and placed her plump lips against his and kissed him slowly.

After a few moments passed she laid back down and wrapped back up in his heat, allowing her heavy eyes to close as she thought of what the future might hold in store for them.

((Author's Note: I apologize for the delay in posting. I typically write out four or five chapters at a time, and then go through and revamp them as I see fit. Let me know what you all think as it goes along JThank you for reading.))