“June.”
Three hours to sunrise. Anilia held the crying young woman while Bomber stood at the other end of the office, chewing on the inside of his cheek.
“June,” he said again, more quietly this time. He reached out to touch her shoulder.
“I didn’t want to!” She started crying again, burrowing deeper into Anilia’s shoulder.
“Did they hurt you?”
“No,” she murmured.
Bomber looked up at Anilia. “I’ll find out,” Anilia said. “Please, Bomber, let me.”
Bomber went out of the office, closing the door. A bouncer stood alone at the bottom of the stairs. “Did Morgan go home?”
“A while ago, boss,” he said, following Bomber out into the club.
“Who were the VIP patrons here tonight?”
“I’ll check the roster.”
Bomber watched as Robbie went to the front part of the club. The Beast was close to the fore, and he had to force himself to take breaths, to come back down. He had failed in protecting his Bitten, and by hell, he was going to find that fucking leech and make him or her pay.
He’d been out himself, combing through Paragon, looking for Scott. Scott’s blood was amazing, powerful now. He wanted more of it. He especially wanted to do something to mark Scott as his, that no one anywhere, at any time would touch him. The Bitten had their mark. Maybe a necklace, a ring, a bracelet – something Scott could wear to show other Kindred that he belonged to Bomber and Bomber alone. Whether his word, or his mark, was enough to stop a vampire from going after Scott, he didn’t know. But, by God, they’d think twice.
Robbie returned. “Purple Lady, that Toreador; Louis the Ventrue who likes 18 year old girls; Black Dog, the Nosferatu-something with the extra tentacles on its head.”
“Could have been Louis.” But Louis was always gentle with his conquests, making sure that his Kiss was as blissful as anything they might have known. Every member of the Bitten was bonded to Bomber, so although he could have been the best lover in the known world, they wouldn’t love him, but love Bomber.
Bomber paced, and listened. The door to the office opened and Anilia came down with June. June had lost all of her makeup, but at least it wasn’t smeared like it was before. Anilia smiled at Bomber and said, “Mind if she takes the next couple of nights off?”
“No, I don’t mind.”
“Thank you,” said June, not looking up at Bomber.
“Hey,” Bomber said quietly, and June did look up at him. “Whatever happened wasn’t your fault. You know that, don’t you?”
She nodded slowly, again looking away.
“Okay, I’ll see you Thursday.”
She left the bar, Robbie escorting her to the door, an arm around her shoulders. He murmured comforting words to her and Bomber could hear her sniffle.
“So?” he said to Anilia.
“Payette.”
“Who?”
She shook her head. “He used to come here, years ago. An Anarch, actually. He was a friend of Randy’s – the Kindred who built this place before you thirty years ago.”
“So he has no clan? Is he here for a reason?”
“I don’t know. He came here for dinner, and looking for Randy. When he saw all the new staff, and saw that I was the only old person left, he just grabbed something off the Rack. That’s the way things used to be.” Anilia smiled gently. “The Bitten had no choice, and he had plenty more to choose from in the old days.”
“Are you saying I should add more to the Bitten? There’s almost a dozen now.”
“There used to be twenty-one.”
“I can’t service that many.”
“We didn’t do what you’re choosing to do, Bomber.”
“It’s what they want,” Bomber said.
“They want to make you happy,” she said, and sidled up to him. “Just like I want to make you happy.” She let a long fingernail trail down the inside of his forearm and trace along the thick vein to his wrist. “The sex is great, wonderful, even, but to most of them, not necessary.” She looked up at him, taking his arm and bringing his wrist up to her mouth. “They only want this,” she kissed the inside of his wrist, “And a Kiss.”
“Is that all you want?”
“Right now, it is.”
=================
Two hours to sunrise. Anilia was sprawled in Bomber’s lap on one of the leather couches, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder. “Was that what you wanted?” he asked.
“Mmmmhmmm,” she purred, and snuggled close. He put an arm around her and squeezed her close for a moment. “What do you want?”
Scott’s blood. “To know my people are safe.”
“Next time I’ll intercept Payette. I didn’t even see him come in.”
“Need better guards,” Bomber murmured. “More security.”
“More to bond. Please think about adding more Bitten. I know of a few who wouldn’t mind joining the ranks.”
“Even with everything involved?”
“I know more who would join if sex wasn’t involved.”
Bomber cast his head back against the couch’s cushion. “All right, all right. What do you do, put up a ‘Blood Doll Wanted’ sign?”
Anilia playfully hit him gently on the shoulder. “No, silly, of course not. I vet them first, and then you meet them. Just Kiss them, you don’t have to have sex with them. And we need to cut down on the perks. Like the free books?”
“If they’re in the university, I want them to study.”
“You’re not their parents.”
“I’m their protector.”
“Here you are. Out there? It’s their world out there.”
He sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
She rubbed the part where she had hit him. “You’re not their knight in shining armor. I know that’s what you want to be.”
Bomber smiled, a lazy, tired smile that acknowledged she was absolutely right.
Words: 976
Inspiration: “If they (Bitten) get forced into it, I’ll make sure they (Kindred) will hear it from me.”