A/N: Here's chapter four! Shippy-ship-ship chapter! A taste of three very different relationships…hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. It is also a rather citrusy chapter, considering the content.
Trust wasn't the issue. It was paranoia.
Ferrum didn't consider himself paranoid, though, he considered himself 'prepared'. Or maybe he was a little paranoid.
He wasn't sure if it was too early. He wasn't sure if it was too late, if it was the perfect time, he had no idea. He considered asking someone, (likely Cadmus), but that would be more than embarrassing. Of course he couldn't ask. He just had to act on what he felt was right. And, it felt pretty right.
He wasn't going to do it any time soon. Or, at least, within the next week. He had it at least, that wasn't the problem. He kept it on him in case she went digging around in his things for whatever reason.
He stopped in at a fast food place to grab something for Angelique. Might as well stop by. She was so worried about Cadmus recently, he noticed she hadn't been eating as much. Not enough meat, at least.
He wasn't paying attention to anyone else in line until he heard a familiar graze, "Yeah, have a good one." The customer turned around and nearly bumped into Ferrum, "Hey, buddy."
One of Ferrum's eyes twitched, "The hell you doin' in town, old man?"
"California's got a great sense of hopelessness, you know." He smiled, but it was never something happy or joyous. It was always smug, narcissistic, bitter. "Got good work."
"Yeah, I'm sure." Ferrum waited a beat, "Mind getting out of the way?"
"How's that broad a' yours?"
His eyes narrowed, "Way too late to be a family-man, you know."
"Never too late to be a family-man. Grandkids?"
"You can't even have a regular fucking child, the hell gives you the moxie to even look at me?" He sneered, minimizing the distance between them.
Of course, being Ferrum's father, the man wasn't even slightly intimidated. He slung his head back and snickered, "She get you that tie?"
Ferrum grabbed him by the collar and really struggled not to drain him dry right there. Maybe if the little blonde cashier wasn't looking at them with a horrified look, he might've. "You got one last shot to get the hell out of this city, dammit, this country before I send an entire fleet a' helicopters on your ass."
"Gotta say I'm glad my son inherited a good set 'a brass balls." He pushed himself away and brushed himself off, walking past Ferrum, "You take care out there, kiddo."
"Fuck you!" Ferrum raged, flicking the bird his direction before he scowled and turned back towards the register, "Ugh…" He rubbed one of his temples, the rancid smell coming from the bathrooms wasn't helping.
"Number two?" She asked quietly.
"Yeah. Yeah." He opened his eyes, "Number two."
"Six fifty."
"Yeah." He scrounged around in his pocket and forked over the cash, waiting briefly before the food was ready and he headed out.
After he dropped it off to Angelique and chatted briefly to that pair, he headed back to his room, helping a disoriented Tremere on the way there. Or at least, he hoped he helped.
He shut the door as he walked in, the familiar smell of Miranda in the room was like some sort of incense, it just instantly put him at ease. He saw her in the living room, and sat next to her on the couch, "Hey."
She put her book down and turned to face him, "You look troubled…"
He shook his head, "Ah, it's nothin'." He slung an arm around her and gently kissed her lips, letting the feeling of her soft skin and body consume any of the leftover stress he had.
She smiled and kissed him back, "The Anarchs' defeat was a glorious triumph for us. Without them in the city, all that's left to deal with are the Sabbat."
"How'd that go over again?"
"They attacked the Tremere Chantry, and we were then sent as a counter strike." She said, "What really won the battle was Mister Madison killing Nines Rodriguez…finally…"
"Yeah, really. Any other notable Anarchs croak? Not that it really matters."
"Supposedly the Magister is hunting down the last bit of survivors. He and other members of the Camarilla have really done a fine job ending their rabble in our city once and for all…"
"Yeah, kinda quiet out there. 'Scept for the Sabbat, wish there was really somethin' I can do to help."
"Primarily we're on tower protection, with rare exceptions." She said, getting up to get herself a glass of blood, "Cadmus is also on tower protection, usually. He's been…rather paranoid…ever since that Malkavian Antitribu started going after him. He refuses to leave his room, even."
"I know. I have to keep feeding his ghoul cause she's too busy feeding him."
"It all started when he took Santa Monica back from Remus." She said, "I must say, it's quite fortunate that he perished…his tactics were imaginative and unavoidable…there's no telling what he would have done if Strauss had not intervened…"
"Yeah…" Ferrum scratched the back of his neck, thinking back to his adventures with Beckett, "He was a tricky bastard…"
"Did you want a glass?"
"I'll just take whatever you can't finish."
She returned to his side with a glass of blood in her hand, taking a sip from it, "I suppose Andrei never told you much about his childe, did he?"
"Not much." He looked up at the ceiling, "He told me he had one. Told me he planned to let him take over. Never thought that would come as soon as it did."
"He seems quite intent on revenge…" she said, "Nevertheless, if we were able to thwart his sire, his childe will fall all the same."
"Course he would. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree." He snorted, then he frowned briefly, "Well, sometimes it does….sometimes it…it rolls…"
She smiled, "Yes, sometimes it rolls to a better tree." She hugged him. He smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her a little harder. Her smile grew as she received the kiss, she held him close and gave a little sigh.
He pulled her into his lap, combing his fingers through her hair, "Hey…I got a question, toots."
"Hmm?"
"Does my hair bother ya?"
"No. Of course not."
"Alright…wasn't sure if I should just chop it off…kinda sticks out in the Camarilla…"
"That's your decision to make. I think a fair amount of Kindred in our organization have eccentric hair."
He thought about it for a minute.
At least, he thought about Cadmus.
"Yeah, alright. S'long as it doesn't bother you."
"It doesn't." She smiled, "I promise." He squeezed her waist before kissing her again, pressing her chest up against his. She sighed and untied her kimono, it fell to the floor. She reached down to take her socks off, "I hope I'm tending to your…needs well…"
"My needs, huh?" He snickered.
"Yes…you have…been tending to yourself in the bathroom…recently…so…I want to make sure that…if you want me…you merely need to say so…"
"Eh, that was different. You were out for a while, wasn't like it was your fault…"
"I do hope I am able to please you tonight, at least…"
"Course." He kissed her cheek, "Wasn't your fault, sweetheart, it was mine, I got impatient."
"Very well." He pulled at him as she laid back, so he more or less fell on top of her.
His eyes fell to her breasts as they bounced a bit, then back up to her eye, "The hell did those pictures come from, anyway?"
"Hmm?"
"Those pictures I found of you. The uh…the naughty ones."
"Oh…well…it's a long story, involving the Nosferatu Primogen…Gary…" She said, "He wanted pictures, I accepted. I thought he was going to merely share them with the other Nosferatu, but he shared it with the entire Camarilla…if I'm lucky, it was just the entire Camarilla…" She said, "Needless to say, LaCroix was not pleased…"
He snickered, "Nah, I'm sure he was pleased, maybe not about the company…but…"
"Ugh…don't put those thoughts in my head…"
He snickered and kissed her, "Just think about me, then." He roughly handled her breasts. She groaned, wrapping her arms around him and letting him do as he pleased. He pulled his shirt off and leaned in to suck on one, bringing it to his mouth and gnawing on it before he focused solely on the nipple, groaning as he heard her and felt her squirm beneath him. She closed her eyes, writhing with ecstasy. Her arms shook as they kept trying to hold him tight, "Oh…oh my…"
He grinned before he gave it one last lick, "What did you want tonight?"
"Oh…I have no preference dear…I just…I'm just surprised at how direct you are tonight…"
"Direct?" He asked, "I just do whatever makes you the loudest."
She chuckled, "Then you've learned well."
He sat back a bit and slung her legs over each one of his shoulders, moving in to gently bite the outer folds of her womanhood before he spread her legs wider and focused his tongue on more sensitive areas.
She bit her lip, sighing and eventually groaning as he got to work. She did what she could to spread her legs a bit to give him more room and feel the sensation better. She gradually clawed at the cushion, shaking out of a climax after a few minutes of this.
He gently put her legs back down and rubbed her upper thighs and hips, "Now I got you nice and relaxed…" He stood up and pulled his pants off, then his underwear. He stretched too, maybe trying to show off his muscles, or maybe not.
Her legs and hips were already sufficiently tired, "S-Steadman…" She whispered.
He grinned, getting back on the couch and teasing her opening with the tip of his length, "Say it again…" He said lowly.
"Steadman!" She begged.
He plowed into her, a deep growl in the back of his throat as he pumped in and out of her ruthlessly. She groaned back, spreading her legs as far as they could as she felt his length burn her from within.
He kept his upper body away from her so he could watch her face, watch her body as it responded to each thrust, but his patience only lasted so long. He moved himself in so he could bite and gnaw at her neck and shoulder, reveling in the feeling of her curves beneath him.
She held onto his lower body in an attempt to keep up with his rhythm, getting louder and louder until she finally tired out, waiting with wide and tired yet excited eyes as he finished up.
He slowly pulled out, rubbing her stomach, "God, yer hot…" He collapsed beside her, scooping her up and laying her on top of him. She smiled, kissing him on the lips as she gave him a squeeze.
He combed his hands through her hair again, "Pretty too…and smart…and loyal…" He held her tightly, "And yer mine…" She gave a slight nod, giving him another squeeze. He closed his eyes as he pet her head, drifting off as he pondered what kind of proposal he could offer her.
Killian was outside asleep under the deck, and that seemed to put Skelter at ease. Didn't have to worry about him being a problem from there. Damsel took the couch in the 'living room', Cissy and Catalina went back to their room. He was still a little irritated they didn't pack their belongings yet, but didn't want to make a big case of it. As he saw it, it would likely take them a few days to get their stuff together anyway. His eyes flickered around as he did mental roll call, Anastasia was at his side, Sirius was 'out', likely at home, and Nines was—
Right. Nines wasn't here.
He sighed briefly through his nose and headed for the staircase. He didn't want anyone sleeping upstairs but him and Anastasia. At least, he hadn't told Anastasia she wasn't allowed up.
"Hmm? Where are you going?" Anastasia followed him.
"Bed." He looked back over at her as he ascended the staircase. He briefly eyed over her, like he was checking for injuries, "You alright?"
She nodded, "Mmm-hmm."
He gave a curt nod and headed into the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed and holding his face, enjoying the rare sliver of silence.
"Relax." She took her shoes off and knelt behind him on the bed, massaging his shoulders, "I can feel your stress from the other side of the house…"
"I'm supposed to take over." He put his hands down and rolled his shoulders back, "If Nines were here, he'd want anyone else before me. He was always holding me back. My instinct is always off, he said, I was too headstrong, too much acting and not enough thinking. Look where that ended up with him. Look what happened to him when he took a chance and acted instead of thought things over." He paused, "Doesn't help that I'll frenzy at the drop of a pin. I've never felt this before. It's like the damn thing is there every time I shut my eyes."
"But you are the best candidate." She said, "Who else would lead us? Damsel? Me? Killian?"
"That's what Damsel said." He muttered. "He'll be dead by the end of this week. Before we leave. I'll kick you guys out, lock him in the basement or die trying. He ain't getting away with what he did. They push and we push back. This is war now, that much is clear. Gotta be an idiot to miss that."
"Who are we talking about?"
"Madison." He gave an awfully wolfish snarl, "He's lookin' at death by two-by-four."
She went pale, even paler than usual, for a vampire. Her hands fell at her sides, "James…please don't…"
"What?" He snapped and looked over his shoulder, "I'm the leader now, aren't I? I get to finally do what I want. That's one goddamn miracle I can pull from this landfill of motherfucking shit. We lost our state, we lost our pride, we lost our entire movement, what the hell is a measly Blood Hunt gonna do?" He turned his head back, "If I die, tell Damsel she's next."
"So that's it? You're just going to kill yourself?" She frowned, "Don't try to tell me otherwise, I tried to kill him too! And I failed, while he was handcuffed, and…and he was weaker back then too. He didn't have half the crap he has now…"
"And chances are, I'm gonna frenzy the second I get him in that basement. Or the second he raises a hand to use whatever the hell kinda shit he's got. By then, I won't feel it, by then, he'll be dead. Shredded to bits. The only way I'm going out is if he's got a hand free to boil me."
"It's too risky…we should just run while we have the chance…"
He put his face back in his hands and mentioned something about how he knew he shouldn't have told her his plan.
"Oh, sorry for my reaction, you're practically throwing your life away for nothing. He killed Nines, remember? Why would you stand a chance?"
"I don't know. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm doing something about it because no one else will, and he'll hunt us down until he's dead. I'd rather die trying than running."
"He doesn't know who survived the Anarch purge and who didn't. We need to take advantage of that while we can."
He gave a shaky sigh, "He knows enough."
"You're set on killing him?"
"It's not black and white, alright?" He sat back, seeming irritated with her arguments, "If I can, he's dead. If he puts up a fight, I'll book it while I can. It's not like I'm braindead."
"Handcuffs alone won't cut it." She said, "And you can't run from a Tremere, not like him. Nines made that pretty clear."
He was silent for a moment, "I'll put a bag over his head. Can't use nothing if he can't see."
She buried her face in her hands, "Alright…" She said weakly.
He yanked his shirt off before he stood up and kicked his boots off, "Did you pack your shit up yet?"
"…you know I have nothing to bring with me…"
"Alright." He didn't sound in an argumentative mood. He sat on the edge of the bed and gave her a look that suggested he wanted her to move over and make room for him to lie down. She got up and left the room. He shut his eyes and prayed for the beast to stay away as he threw a punch at the bed board and shattered it.
Sirius was nothing but snickers as he entered his house, "Things are finally starting to get fun around here!"
"Huh?" He heard his wife's voice from the bathroom.
"Oh, you're on the can? Never mind, I'll bring it up later…"
"Nah, I'm just doing laundry!"
"Oh yeah?" He walked over to the bathroom, (one of the many, considering it was Sirius's lavish house), and opened the door, "Need help?" He grinned.
"Help?" Of course she was bent over, butt in the air, reaching into the dryer, "Do you even know how to do laundry? These things are so new, it's like they've never been used before I came here." She stood up and put her hands on her hips.
"Thanks for the ass view."
"You're welcome. Did you want to help? I think there's some laundry upstairs that can be brought down. Half the problem is that it's so hard to find."
"Hard to find?" He asked, "There's only two of us here…"
"Well, it ends up in rooms I don't expect." She said, "I wonder why that is." She crossed her arms.
"Probably because someone gets inventive or something…"
"Yeah, inventive." She shut the dryer door with a hip and left the bathroom with a basket of clean clothes, "So tell me about work."
"Oh, that…yeah, everyone like…died, except for a few people…they're dropping like flies, it's great." He followed her out.
"That's great?" She turned over her shoulder, "Who's to say you're not next? You better keep your heart in that honey jar."
"Jeez…how many times have I told ya? I'm not dying anytime soon, it's fine."
"Alright. When you talk about everyone in work dying, just makes me a little anxious, that's all." She set the basket down, "So…no one you cared about died?"
He shrugged, "Kindred die every day. I'd say we die quicker than humans." He said, leaving the room, "I'll go get more clothes for ya."
She sighed, "Yeah. Okay." She tried to roll her shoulders and relax before she went into the laundry room again, setting up the washer for another load.
"Found some." He returned to the bathroom, a pile of clothes in his arms, "Gee, we have sex in some pretty cool places. Lucky for you there's an inventive person in the relationship."
"Yes…very lucky." She grabbed the clothes and stuffed them in the washer machine, "So you don't care about anyone…? Anyone who died?"
"I mean, it was a risky operation. It's not like no one was gonna die…"
"What operation?" She asked, turning around, "You need to tell me a little more about this shit because it's starting to really make my blood pressure dangerous."
"Because you're worried about me?"
"I am. I know you say you're safe but…you can just never tell. I trust you, I know you have good gut instinct, you're pretty much invincible, but there's always that two percent that you're not invincible, that you won't be okay. I want you to be careful out there and honestly tell me if something is happening. If you die, if you disappear and I never get to hear anything of why or what happened, I'm not going to know what to do or where to go or who to avoid. At the very least, grant me that."
He took a deep sigh, "You know what I am. A Follower of Set. We're secretive bastards who are constantly fooling and manipulating the Jyhad from behind the scenes. That means I have enemies, a lot of 'em, and it's probably only going to get worse the longer I stay here." He said, "But it doesn't matter, soon I'll be too strong for other Kindred to take down, I'm already older than most of the population here. Look…long story short, I have yet to feel as though I'm in any real danger. Some shit went down already, but soon, I'm gonna make shit really hit the fan. Still, even that's negligible, to someone like me. If I feel like I'm in danger, I'll say as much, but…as messed up as things sound, they're smooth sailing right now, least to me they are."
She took a deep sigh and nodded, "Okay. It's not just me, remember. It's the other four, too. We really should come up with some sort of escape plan if something does happen."
"Escape plan? Now way, this place is fine, I spent way too long and hard trying to get it. No one's ever gonna find it." He said, "No one has in the time we've been together."
She met his gaze for a while, then she nodded, "Okay."
"What? Do you not believe me? I don't tell anyone else about ya. And no one's ever been here." He said, "I mean, if someone did find out, then we'd leave…but…"
"I know, I know. I'll chill out. Sorry, it's…it's the hormones." She took his hand tightly in hers.
"Nah, it's fine…those are…legitimate concerns…" He said, "Look, I'll be able to tell you some stuff later, okay? A lot of stuff…I just gotta wait, in case…"
"Okay, thanks." She went into the living room with him and sat on the couch, holding her arms out, "I just want to hold you and…be held."
He gave her a hug, "So…that operation…yeah…we, uh…attacked a Tremere Chantry…basically this big magic building. We blew it up…but…we lost the battle…big time…"
"Shit, really…?" She asked, her eyes still worried.
He nodded, "But…things will be fine. Only like…seven of us survived, give or take…but, everything's going according to my plan…"
"Your plan…?"
"Yup." He chuckled, "That's why I'm so chipper, even in the heat of things, one can say I predicted all of this stuff."
"Uh huh…" She gave him a look, "You're still hiding something."
"Course I am."
"You're not gonna tell me, huh?"
"In a couple days, I will. It's more fun this way."
"Fuck…" She sighed, "You really test my patience sometimes." She glared up at him.
"Honestly it'd be more unsafe if I told you now." He said, "I thought you wanted to be safe."
"I do, but you're also being a tease."
"Jeez…number one thing that pisses you off is a tease." He said, "That's basically how our relationship first started…you didn't care for my flirting."
"You wanted me to vomit on you."
"In my defense, I didn't think you could hear that over the roar of the engine…"
"It came back to me after the whole ordeal…" She said, "Well, if you just hang in there for a few months, I can vomit all over you."
"That's perfectly alright…is was kinda a joke anyway…"
She smiled and rested her head on his chest, then grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach.
"How have you been feeling?"
"I've been alright. The first month doesn't really kill me much. More of the second and third."
"If you need anything, you let me know, alright?"
"Mmm hmm." She kissed his cheek, "You're my go-to."
He smiled and kissed her on the lips, giving her a gentle squeeze. She squirmed herself up into his lap, then started kissing his jawline, threading her fingers through his hair. She then muttered in his ear, "My ass is gonna get bigger, you know."
He snickered, "You have mentioned that from time to time…"
"Excited?" She smiled.
"Who wouldn't be?"
"I don't know, my legs, my feet…"
"Oh yeah…" He said, "Well, I could take care of those for you."
"You can." She smiled, "Well, you lucked out for now cause nothing's sore."
"I don't know about that, you look kinda wiped out."
"Well, nothing's the pregnancy's fault…this is just a big place to manage…"
"Huh…I guess having a big place isn't all it's cracked up to be." He kissed her, giving her a squeeze, "Why don't we go rest then?"
"Rest, huh?" She asked.
"Yeah, like, so you don't die of exhaustion."
"I thought you had plans to fuck my brain out first. Sure seemed like it."
"I mean, if you feel up for it."
"We'll head up and see." She said, taking his hand as they traveled up the stairs and to the bedroom. Once she got there, she took off her sweatshirt and sweatpants, "Yeah, I could take a good porking."
"Is that right?" He snickered, taking his coat and shirt off.
"Yeah, I wanna make it up from the other night." She sat on the bed.
"What do you mean?" He asked, "What happened the other night?"
"I don't know, I wasn't really in the mood."
"But you are tonight?"
"Hell yeah." She stared over his chest, then reached her hands out.
He got his pants off, then he gave her a squeeze as he approached her, kissing her over and over again. She smoothed her hands over his broad chest, sighing into his mouth as her fingertips ran over the smooth muscles there.
He reached down and held her butt, giving it a nice massage with as much leverage as he could muster. She moved her mouth away from his so she could groan, gently rolling her hips against his as she pressed her lips to one of his shoulders.
He snickered and kept giving her butt attention, reaching his hands under her panties to get that much of a better grip. "Fuck…" She hissed before she reached down and slid her panties off so they'd land on the ground.
He slowly guided her to the bed, once she got situated, he reached down and starting rubbing her waistline, then her lower abdomen, and finally her entrance.
Her legs more or less flew open as soon as he reached there, "S-Sirius…" She squealed in a whiny and desperate voice, letting her head fall to the side of the pillow as her hips thrusted towards him.
"Yeah?" He asked as he reached in deeper.
She sucked in a deep breath, letting a scream fill the air as he felt her walls quiver around his fingers, "…d-do something…please…th-thrust or…o-or jus-st…do something…pl-please…"
"You know, hearing you sound like this is nice."
She hissed again, maybe it was something she picked up from him, he decided. She clawed at the sheets, "Fuck…move…please…" Her hips squirmed, trying to urge his fingers to move in or out.
"Jeez…" He moved his hand away, replacing it with his mouth, as he began to explore her, holding her lower half firm.
Her voice carried far as she reached her climax in seconds, wincing as she felt him flinch and freeze up there for a second, "Shit…" She panted, "Sorry…it…didn't get in your eye, did it…?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Okay…" She melted onto the mattress, "That was a lot…I'm sorry…felt like a…fucking water balloon…" She panted.
"I'll say." He moved back a little, "I didn't think women could make that much…"
"You really got me going…take it as a compliment…"
He smiled, "Got any left for another one?"
"Oh yeah…please…"
"Good." He took his underwear off, revealing his huge erection, "Gotta put this somewhere." He leaned on her, thrusting her stomach with his length. She bit her bottom lip, snapping a hand over like a snake to grab his shaft and stroke it. He relaxed at her grip, "Careful…"
She slowly slid her hand up and down, keeping her eye on it like it was some sort of animal.
"Alright…I'm…I'm gonna use it…the way it was intended now…"
"Good." She spread her legs, "Pork me to the moon and back…"
He smirked as he looked her over, seeing how good and lubricated she was somehow made him even more eager to get on with it than before. He charged in, giving her the humping she so badly desired as he began his penetration.
Her voice hadn't failed her yet, she was able to scream even more as she finally felt herself get filled just to the level she was craving. She honestly wasn't sure she would be able to reach another climax, but Sirius was set to it. He kissed her feverishly as he unhooked her bra and threw it off, either fondling a breast or teasing a nipple as his member went in slightly deeper at a more ruthless pace.
She gasped as she shut her eyes and felt a pure wave of fire boil through her veins as her walls clenched around him with an unforgiving force. Her breathing was very shaky as he finally pulled himself away, her body coated in sweat, "Oh god…" Her voice was measly and battered.
"Heh, heh, you always look so good and fucked when we're done." He said as he gave her a bit of room.
She nodded, swiping her wet hair away from her forehead, "Oh…..good…" She panted.
"I also think cause you're pregnant you're probably going to get a bigger load each time."
"Ooh…I can't wait….." Her eyes flickered over to him as she grinned.
He snickered, kissing her cheek, "I'll keep in touch with you from now on…about work and stuff, as best as I can, at least."
"Yeah…sorry the service here blows…"
"Pfft, it's alright, I picked the place, didn't I?"
"Yeah…" She slowly closed her eyes, completely worn out, "It's….it's okay…" She said softly.
He gave her a squeeze, "Goodnight, Juliet."
"…uh huh…."
A/N: Sirius is just really fishy all-around, isn't he...? Thanks for reading!