Hello all! Thank you for your patience yet again! This one is super long to make up for lost time, and the next one will be even yummier! Thank you to everyone who has shown me support on this, it means so so much! You're all the best, seriously. I take every word to heart and aim to please, so if you have any suggestions or requests, I am always listening! Now read on and enjoy!
"Hey Mara," Juliet greeted with a smile, instantly assaulted by the smells of different herbs and plants. The door closed behind her with a ding from the bell as she made her way to the owner.
"Afternoon, Juliet. How are you?"
Smiling, she pulled her small list out from her purse. "Pretty good. Got a date tonight," she said, knowing the older woman would find this amusing.
"Do you now? Well I must say I'm a tad shocked," Mara teased.
"Thanks, Mara. Didn't think I was pretty enough, huh?" Juliet jested back.
The shop keeper furrowed her brow. "You know I've been harping on you to let some poor fellow in. I'm surprised because for all the times I've nagged at you, you always said you didn't have time," she corrected, watching as the young witch made her way around the store. "What changed?"
Juliet scoffed. "I lost a bet."
That had Mara laughing. "Of course you did. Well, what is it you're after today then?"
She plucked a bundle of sage off of a shelf, then grabbed another, before turning to the woman. "I need some vervain, just a small amount."
"Vervain?" she asked, surprise on her face.
"Yeap." She stopped again to pick up a vial of anise oil, before setting it back down. "Trust me on this one, Mara, you don't want to know."
Taking her word for it, Mara headed toward the back room. "I suppose I don't. Give me one minute to grab you some."
Juliet walked up to the counter to riffle through some charms that were in a bowl. Mara wasn't a witch herself, but she had been around them her whole life. Adopted at a young age into a coven, she grew up to respect those with power and help out when she could. This store had been her adopted mother's and Mara had taken over several years ago. Most of the items in the store were for tourists – a love potion, incense to make the home smell nice, and protection charms to slip under a pillow and ward off bad dreams. But a lot of it could actually be used in her spells so she came here frequently – even if some of the time it was just to talk to the kind woman whom she had grown fond of.
Mara stepped out from behind the beaded curtain with a small bunch of the pretty plant in hand. Juliet placed the white sage and a small silver winged charm on the counter as well.
"That it then?" she asked, pressing some buttons on the cash register.
"Yes ma'am; haven't used much since my last visit, so I'm pretty stocked up."
They finished up their business and Mara placed Juliet's items into a small bag before handing them over. Saying their goodbyes, Juliet made to leave but was stopped right before she walked out the door.
"Be careful, my girl. I worry over you enough as it is. This business with vervain better not be what I think it is," the older woman warned maternally.
Smiling, Juliet looked at her with affection. "I'll be careful, I promise."
Walking out, she took a deep breath of the fresh air and began walking. Now that she had the necessary items to protect Cassie from Kol's compulsion, she felt she could now focus on her next task: finding an outfit for tonight. Grinning, she headed for the mall with determined purpose.
Shutting the front door behind her with a kick of her foot, she carted her shopping bags to her room and dropped them on her bed. Flicking her wrist toward one of her dressers where the stereo sat, the radio clicked on. She pulled out her phone and saw she had spent considerable time at the mall, leaving her with three hours to get ready. Absently, she also noted he hadn't texted her yet, a fact which left her slightly disgruntled. Not liking that she actually seemed to care, she tossed her phone next to the bags and went to go make herself a small dinner.
After making some grilled ham and cheese, she went to her bathroom to work on her face. Juliet planned to take her time on this phase, knowing that the right smokey eye and lip color could make any man melt. And that's exactly what she was hoping for. By the end of the night, she wanted Kol so crazy for her he was begging. So far, the score was Kol: 4 Juliet: 1. She planned to tip that scale tonight.
She may only be going on this date because of a lost bet, but she'd be damned if she wasn't going to make the most out of it.
A half hour later, she was nearly done with her makeup when her phone went off. Trying to calm the excited thrill that shot through her, she saw it was Kol finally asking for her address. Responding, she made sure to remind him to pick her up no sooner than 9 – she needed all the time she could get.
Juliet worked on her hair, trying not to think of what the night held in store. To keep her hands and mind busy, she also worked on putting her shopping bags away in her closet and laying out her outfit. When she was nearly done, she slipped the tight dress she had purchased earlier over her head and wiggled into it. Glancing at the clock, her heart started to race slightly. Chastising herself for getting nervous, she rushed into the bathroom for some finishing touches.
She swept her loosely curled hair to one side for an elegant side sweep using a few bobby pins. Grabbing the small tube of Tarte® Poppy lipstick, she layered her lips with the glossy pink color and gave them a smack. Knowing he was a predator and would pay particular attention to her smell, she spritzed herself with her favorite perfume before heading back into her room.
Standing in front her full length mirror, she couldn't help but grin at herself. "Damn girl, you done good!"
She turned and checked herself out from every angle, making sure she was flawless. The royal blue bodycon dress hugged every curve she had and stopped mid thigh. The twist of the material on the bodice highlighted her cleavage and the ruching on the sides was sliming. Turning to look at her back side, she had to smile at how the dress gave her ass awesome emphasis. The straps crossed in the back to form a wide X. Not wanting to take away from the dress, she only donned her ears with small silver studs and left her neck and wrists bare.
The bandage on her finger caught her eye – the only flaw with her appearance. Biting her lip, she gently peeled it off, and was relieved to see that it was healing up nicely. After debating her options, she decided to keep the bandage off.
She began putting her on her black heels and was securing the ankle strap in place when she heard her doorbell ring. "Holy shit," she exclaimed looking at the clock; 9 o'clock exactly. "Just a minute," she called out, knowing he'd hear her.
Scrambling, she grabbed her clutch and stuffed her phone, keys, wallet and lipstick in it. Taking one last look in the mirror, she took a deep breath and headed down the hallway to the front door. Opening the front door, she instantly patted herself on the back at the look on his face. Pure female satisfaction ran through her and she beamed at him. Kol: 4 Juliet: 2, she thought smugly.
She was a vision. He was about to start cursing her for taking so long and leaving a man waiting, when she opened the door and left him speechless – something that never happened. He could do nothing but drink her in. When he met her smokey eyes, she was giving him an incredibly seductive look. So far he had only seen her in her work uniform, minimal makeup, and tennis shoes. This? This was a very pleasant change. Kol had to squeeze his fist tight to reign himself in and try to gain the upper hand again.
"You look simply delicious," he complimented. He smirked as Juliet grinned and rolled her eyes at his pun. "Ready to go, love?"
She held up a hand to stop him. "I have some conditions," she began. She had thought long and hard about this, and thought it would make the night more fun – as well as give her the advantage.
"Do you?" he asked, amused. "Well then, why don't you invite me in and we can talk about these 'conditions.'"
She laughed and grabbed her pea coat off of the hook, swinging it on. "Not happening." She placed her hands on her hips and loved the way his eyes flickered down to the way her body moved. "Tonight, we forget what we are. No magic on my part, no vampire abilities on yours. Deal?"
He considered her for a moment. "Deal," he agreed, holding his hand out for her to shake, his ever present smirk gracing his features.
She pursed her lips before reaching out and grabbing his past the threshold of her door. He pulled her outside and brought her knuckles to his lips, just as he'd done the day before. Smiling politely, so as not to let him know the affect he had on her, she turned to shut and lock her door. Kol, having heard her heart skip, waited patiently. When she turned back around to face him, he gestured toward the waiting cab.
The ride was quiet but filled with tension as they made their way to the nightclub. She knew it was early, but it was a Saturday and the club would fill up soon. Sure enough, as they arrived and descended the stairs, she saw only a small crowd.
"Well now, this looks like right fun," Kol drawled sarcastically.
She cast him an annoyed look. "It's still early." Juliet sauntered over to the coat check, making sure to give her hips a little more sway than normal. It didn't go unnoticed; he couldn't tear his eyes away from her backside or her long legs.
The music was playing, but not as loud as it would get when the club filled with more bodies. As Kol checked his coat, she scanned the area for where they could go and talk. There were the booths near the back, but she thought that might be too intimate too soon. The innocent cab ride over already had her blood singing, God knew what kind of havoc he could wreck on her system sitting in close proximity in a dark corner. So she chose the stand alone bar tables and guided him over to them, his hand on the small of her back.
As they reached the table, he leaned close to her ear. "If I haven't already said so, you look stunning darling."
Sliding to the opposite side of the table, she gave him a sultry smirk. "You did, but I worked hard on this so I'll take it," she joked. "I'm going to grab something to drink."
Kol stepped in her path when she went to head towards the bar. "Allow me," he offered confidently.
She shrugged. "Alright. Can you grab me a - "
"Let me guess," Kol interrupted, causing her to quirk an eyebrow at him.
"There is no way you can know what I like to drink."
"Let me guess. If I'm wrong, I'll drink it and get something you like."
She thought about it. Might as well have fun with it; what was the harm, right? She smiled and nodded. "Knock yourself out, sugar."
Grinning, he glanced at her clutch. "Do I have permission to compel the bartender to keep this out of harm's way for the night? Wouldn't want you to lose it now would we?"
Juliet rolled her eyes. "You just want an excuse to break our deal." Kol's grin just grew and she couldn't help but give in. "Fine. And thank you."
Now that she was alone, she allowed herself a moment to admire Kol. Biting her lip, she glanced down at how well his jeans framed his ass as he walked away. The black Henley he wore fell nicely over his body and hugged the muscles of his arms. She had a particular weakness for arms. His hair was tousled in its usual way but that didn't mean she didn't want to run her fingers through it all the same. Oh boy, she thought. You're in trouble.
It didn't take him long before he came back to where she was waiting patiently, and not a little smugly. She was looking forward to bursting that cocky bubble of his. He set a familiar dark colored drink on the table in front of her and she looked at him skeptically.
"One Black Cat, darling."
Her jaw dropped. "How did you -" Then Juliet narrowed her eyes at him.
As if reading her mind, he waved away her suspicions. "No, I did not compel anyone to figure it out."
"Then how did you know? Nobody even knows about this drink!"
He just shrugged and took a swig of his own drink – whiskey, she knew. "You seem to have an appreciation for irony," he theorized.
She eyed her drink. "And that alone led you to guessing my favorite drink," she said incredulously.
"Maybe you're just easy to read," he teased, leaning closer to her.
This made her scoff. "I am not!"
Kol enjoyed the way her brow furrowed when she got flustered. "No. You're not," he agreed.
Shifting under his gaze, she took a sip of her drink and let the flavor sit on her tongue. "Lucky guess then," she said, trying to get him to stop looking at her like he was. When he continued to smirk at her, she pursed her lips and looked around the bar, trying to think of something to talk about. Deciding she wanted the attention off of her for the moment, she turned it on him. "So, Kol, since you're the one that wanted this damn 'date', why don't you tell me about yourself?"
He visibly tensed up, his easy demeanor faltering. "What do you want to know?"
"Hmmm. Why don't you tell me about your family?" She knew this might be a touchy subject for him, based on his previous reactions to any mention of them. But he was the one that wanted this. "I already know some about Elijah, as I've said. Oh, and I know a little bit about Klaus. So I guess I'm just wondering -"
"You know Klaus?"
"Well, yeah," she answered with a shrug. "Not like Elijah. He was in Chicago a couple of months ago slumming with a witch that I knew. Our paths crossed very quickly. And I mean, every witch has heard stories of Klaus to some degree I guess. It's the rest of you know one seems to know anything about."
Sneering, Kol gulped down some alcohol. "Yeah well that's probably because that ponce kept us daggered for the majority of our immortal lives," he said bitterly.
Juliet's brows raised; this was the first time she had really heard venom in his voice. "You lost me; daggered?"
He glanced at her cautiously, as if he slipped up. "A temporary way to put us down. It kept us out of his way."
"You know, I got that douche bag vibe from him," she teased, trying to lighten his mood.
His lips twitched and she found she was glad to have succeeded, even slightly. "Niklaus has always had a superiority complex. He didn't like it when we meddled in his plans, so none of us were able to rack up much of a reputation over the years."
"How many of you are there?"
"Five, including myself. My oldest brother Finn and my darling brat of a sister Rebekah are the others."
She blew out a breath. "You should be nice to your sister. To be the only girl among a horde of Original boys? That's gotta be a rough life," she sympathized.
Kol smiled at her affectionately. "She would agree with you."
Juliet returned the smile. "We girls gotta stick together."
"Enough family talk," he finally pushed, sliding closer to her. Her heart skipped when his arms brushed against hers and she cursed herself mentally – it was just an innocent touch. "Tell me something about yourself, Juliet."
Smiling to herself, she watched as he walked towards the bar to get her third drink of the night and couldn't help the thrill that ran through her. She had to admit, she was enjoying herself. Juliet loved the game they continued to play with ease, and she planned on amping up her own game. Other than being a cocky asshole, he was actually quite charming and actually had some class to him. She only hoped she could continue to peel back his layers – besides, it wasn't every day that one got to flirt with and seduce an Original vampire. Daggered or not, he still knew and had seen so much! She'd by lying if she said she wasn't the slightest bit curious.
So far, so good, she mused. She was surprised that her 'normalcy' rule was working and their night was going well. She mentally pat herself on the back for picking a club, as it had kept things light and casual. Conversation was flowing easily and there hadn't been a moment of awkwardness yet.
Juliet glanced around the club. It had filled up considerably since they had first arrived. The dance floor was crowded and she watched as bodies grinded and moved together, debating on if she should drag him out there. As she weighed the pros and cons, there was a sudden presence behind her, followed by a hand at the small of her back.
"Hey gorgeous," the man said.
Juliet bristled and turned to face him. "Not interested," she deadpanned with a glare.
"Oh, come on sweetness, gimme a shot," he pushed, his ego getting in the way of logic.
"I said I'm not interested, 'sweetness'," she shot back. She went to move away from his touch, but his grip slithered to her waist and tightened to the point of near pain.
Leaning closer, he glared. "Don't argue and come dance with me."
She watched as his irises dilated and felt power flood her system in rage. "Oh for fuck's sake -"
The scum bag was suddenly yanked back. "There a problem here?"
Feeling a rush of calm come over her at the strained accented voice, she took a step back from the creep – her skin still crawling.
The stranger, clearly not understanding the danger he was in, stepped closer to Kol. "No problem at all. Why don't you go find another broad for the night," he tried to compel, reaching up to give Kol's shoulder a shove.
Before he could even touch him, Kol had his hand in his grasp and she watched with a sick kind of satisfaction as pain screwed up his features. "I don't think so mate. Now. Apologize to the lady," he demanded. When the guy continued to hang on to his pride, Kol gave a slight twist of his wrist and had the stranger yelping out in pain before looking at her with some fear in his eyes.
"Sorry," he muttered through clenched teeth.
With another twist, Kol had the baby vamp looking at him once more. The barely controlled rage on his face was yet another layer Juliet realized Kol had to him – one she certainly did not expect to see tonight. "If I see you put your filthy hands on her again or even come near her, I'll rip your sodding head off. Now leave."
It took her a second to realize as the guy walked away that he had been compelled. "Did you… did you just compel him?"
He leaned against the table and sent her an annoyed glace. "Yes. And don't get snippy at me for using my compulsion because I saw the fire snapping in your eyes. You were seconds away from frying the bastard yourself."
"But… you compelled another vampire," she said, completely ignoring his remark.
His eyes narrowed at her and she could all but feel the sizzle of his temper. "I figured you'd be against me ripping his heart out where he stood, so yes, I compelled him."
His smart ass tone snapped her out of her confusion and made her realize she needed to clarify. "No, I mean… is that like a perk of being an Original? Being able to compel other vampires? I've never seen that happen before."
Her question seemed to confuse him. "Yes." His brows furrowed as he regarded her warily. "You're not upset?"
"What? About that? God no," she answered with a scoff. Juliet watched as he nodded, accepting her answer, but continued to have a scowl on his face. But clearly you still are… "Apparently I'm good at attracting vampires," she tried to joke. When all she got was a distracted nod, she chewed her lip.
At that moment, a new song came over the speakers, one she was quite fond of. Deciding it was a good time to up her game, she grabbed his hand and smiled at him mischievously. "Come on, let's dance. I love this song!"
Kol followed her without resistance as she pulled him through the mass of people on the floor. The lighting was dim, but that didn't stop his eyes from yet again admiring the long shapely legs that seemed to go on forever. When they were far enough in the crowd she turned to face him – a light in her eyes that he hadn't yet seen before and it lightened his mood.
"I get that you've been daggered and kept in a coffin for like, ever," she started, relaying facts she had learned about him, "but you do know how to dance, right?" She had to shout over the music.
He smirked back. "I'm a fast learner, darling."
Her body began to move to the beat and she smirked back. "I'm counting on it, then."
Usher's voice guided her movements as she moved to the bass of the song, staring at the man in front of her the whole time. The alcohol and energy of the club flowed through her system and she felt light as a feather, riding the high that had settled over her brain.
Truth be told, she had been worried Kol would do something drastic when the creep had been copping a feel, and she was genuinely surprised he had showed so much control. But there was something else that she just now was realizing – the possessive look and demeanor he had displayed had turned her on inexplicably. As she let her hands run over her body, she saw the same possessive look cross his dark brown eyes right before she felt hands on her waist. They were small and delicate so she wasn't alarmed, and she turned her head to see an attractive blonde – completely intoxicated – dancing with her.
Smiling, she looked back at Kol and made a show of grinding on the girl. Juliet called on every seductive cell in her body and brought them to the surface. Placing her hand over the one at her hip, she moved in sync with the girl, each girl slithering against the other in a way only women knew how. She was pulsing with excitement at the dark look in the vampire's eyes, loving that every twitch of her hips and purr that she made put it there.
Biting her lip on a smile, she closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the music and the body behind her for just a moment, before she was suddenly being yanked forward. Stumbling a bit, she collided with something firm, her hands automatically going to rest on his chest to regain her balance. Hard hands made themselves at home right about the curve of her ass, pulling her closer against him. She looked up and saw the hungry smirk first, then the predatory look in his eyes. Quickly regaining her composure she returned his smirk with a seductive one of her own and began to move their bodies together. She danced her fingers up his chest to wrap around the collar of his Henley to pull their faces close.
He was all lean muscle and warmth against her – in the back of her mind she registered being slightly surprised at how warm he was for some reason. But a fast learner he was indeed, and the way he glided against her was so erotic she found herself getting dizzy. Images of him gliding over her in a more private setting began filling her mind and she hummed in approval. Not forgetting that she was currently molding against him simply because he didn't want anyone else touching her, she decided to chastise him.
Not missing a beat, she slid her fingers up and threaded them through his mussed hair, making sure gently scrape her nails over his scalp. She had been so focused on seducing him with her smell earlier, she hadn't considered she would get intoxicated by his! It made her mouth water. Moving so their chests were flush against each other, she placed her lips at the shell of his ear. "Jealously is unbecoming, Kol."
Her sultry voice and the way she was moving with him made his own hands flex and travel lower to grip her luscious ass and grind into her more aggressively, earning him a small gasp of pleasure from her. The witch was awakening parts of him that had lain dormant for far too long.
His reaction to her had her breath hitching. Kol: 4 Juliet: 3. To add the cherry on top of the cake, she flicked her tongue out and traced the outer line of his ear before turning around and slithering her backside down his body before slowly coming back up and leaning into him. Juliet grinned when his hands snaked around her to rest on her waist and his nose slid along her temple to inhale her scent.
Her body was humming at a whole new frequency. Somewhere in her mind she was aware that she never intended to get this physical with him, but that seemed irrelevant now. All she could focus on was his touch through the thin layer of material separating his hands from her skin.
In that moment, with Juliet in his grasp, nothing else fazed him. He forgot about the scum who had touched her, forgot about his annoyances with his family, and just let himself drown in her. She had been taunting him all night with small touches or flirty glances, but he had to admit that not even he expected her to be so forward. Not that he was complaining. The way her tiny and delicate body swayed and flowed against him made him feel empowered; he could break her but she was trusting him not to. He enjoyed watching how natural she felt dancing – how she would run her fingers through her hair or over her body, or come to rest over his hands at her waist to push against him a little more.
Juliet was vaguely aware that the song had changed and a remix of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance was thumping over the speakers now. She couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun! With no reserves or worries on her shoulders. Which was actually ridiculous considering she was currently a hairs breath away from a blood sucking vampire. But here she was having the time of her life. The light smoke that had settled over the crowd, the blinding colorful lights and lasers, the swamp of people surrounding them – it all disappeared.
That is, until a particularly drunk girl stumbled into the pair.
Reaching out as much to steady the girl as herself, Juliet briefly noted how cute she thought the little black dress with metal studs all over it was. Then, as soon as she had crashed into them, she twirled away back into the mob – snagging the healing abrasion on Juliet's finger on one of the metal pieces of her dress.
Hissing, she drew her hand to her chest and immediately felt Kol stiffen. Her first instinct was to excuse herself to clean it up and make sure she didn't get blood on anything. Her second instinct, however, came out of left field and planted itself firmly in her mind.
Smirking, she acted fast and began moving to the song again as if nothing happened. After a moment, he began moving with her as well, movements slightly rigid. Juliet was practically giddy with excitement and she could feel her heart racing. When Kol seemed to have gotten back into the groove of things, she leaned further into him and tilted her head slightly – exposing the bare side of her neck. Very slowly and deliberately she brought her hand to her neck and let her wounded finger trail down the expanse of creamy skin.
And not only heard, but felt him growl. Growl! It sent a shiver racking down her spine as she dropped her hand back to her side.
Her perfume had been plaguing him all night, but to have her fresh scent so exposed and to see the line of crimson? It drove him straight over the edge. On a groan, he leaned down and let his tongue trace over the delicious treat she had left for him, loving the way she whimpered. Goosebumps spread over every inch of her skin at his ministrations. Once he had lapped it all up, he closed his lips over her flesh and proceeded to pepper her pulse point with kisses, careful not to scrape her with his fangs. Kol was desperately trying to hang on to whatever semblance of self control he could find.
Try as he might, though, she felt the graze of his fangs and it sent heat straight to her core, making her gut clench. That, and the fact that she could feel his arousal pressing against her ass made her jolt against him. Juliet didn't even recognize herself anymore! Never before had she even entertained the thought of a vampire as remotely sexual. Now she was about to pass out she was so damn turned on by the Original. Spinning in his grasp, she looked into his gaze and bit her lip when she saw the veins spreading around his now red eyes.
Before she could do anything else, she was suddenly being pulled toward him and his lips crashed against hers. With a squeak, she closed her eyes and kissed him back. It was hot and hard and she traced his bottom lip with her tongue, earning her access into his mouth. Their tongues battled and flirted and she felt the prick of a fang on her own lip at one point, making her fingers flex and dig into the back of his head. He tasted so damn good, and she could taste the lingering tang of blood on him. It all made her skin feel like it was on fire and she could feel her core pulse with desire.
Kol had to pull away – both to give Juliet a chance to breath and to stop himself from throwing her on the floor and taking her right then. She was panting against him, breath skating across his lips, and her emerald eyes were dark with want. Jesus, he thought. She was fucking gorgeous and he needed to have her. He had never tasted anything so divine and the only thing that continued to run through his mind was more.
Juliet reached up and took his lip in between her teeth to nip him. "Take me home?"
He growled against her, leaning down to nuzzle in her neck. "Absolutely."
They very quickly grabbed their coats from the coat check and slipped them on before Kol grabbed her by the hand and began pulling her towards the exit. She couldn't wipe the grin off her face no matter how hard she tried until she suddenly gasped. "My clutch!"
On an exasperated groan, he was suddenly gone from her sight. Giggling, she leaned against the wall and tried to take a calming breath. He was infecting her with something; that must be it! There was no other explanation as to why she was completely losing her head over a guy she swore she would keep her distance from. Play it cool, that had been her mantra. This was definitely not playing it cool. For Christ's sake, she had just tempted a vampire with her blood – and had nearly come undone at the results! All she knew was that everything seemed to be happening so fast, and she didn't know if she could stop it.
As quickly as he had vanished he reappeared, small black purse in hand. She opened her mouth to say something, but forgot what that something was when his hand cupped the back of her neck and he pushed her more firmly into the wall before brushing his lips over hers yet again. This kiss was different and left her trembling in the knees at his light touch.
You've unleashed the beast, Juliet.
Thank you lovelies! I hope you enjoyed and I promise the next one will be full of even more goodness! If you would like to see Juliet's dress, there is a link on my homepage. Reviews are my life, darlings, and help me so much!
Stay tuned!