“Please! You can fuck Shamira any time you make a reservation, and you’re worried about not getting enough?”
“Okay, that’s a valid point, but –”
Shamira glared at both of them. “Sitting right here!”
Clara leaned over and kissed her. “I know.” They went on to discuss the finer points of being able to have their way with Shamira’s body, and she really had nothing else to contribute. It wasn’t as if she really minded. Apparently, Clara had gone off to meet with one of her donor’s as well, meaning Sebastian was the only one of them that had gotten any that night.
“Shamira, I was thinking we need to take a road trip. I want to check out Lacroix’s warehouse, as much of his residence as we can, and come up with a pattern of his movements. From the way things sounded when the meeting ended, he’s probably pretty pissed right now, so he might make a mistake.
Shamira nodded. “When do we leave?”
“This afternoon, I think. Banshee and Henry are older vamps, so they can sleep on the way down. Probably take two nondescript cars, loaded for bear.”
“Afternoon, huh?” Clara said. “I guess that means I’m going to have to trump ownership of you,” she murmured, giving Shamira a steamy look. “You may be gone for a few days –”
“Hey!” Sebastian yelped. “I had dibs!”
“You had her last night. And besides, what part of ‘trump’ don’t you understand? I saw her first. Literally.”
Sebastian was grumbling. “I’m sure there’s something in the rules about slave-robbing.”
“There is. Seniority. And the only ones who have more seniority than me are smart enough not to try and take her away from me if I might not be seeing her for a while.”
Shamira’s heart gave one of those rare, involuntary thumps. That was the most romantic thing anyone had said about her. Which was kind of odd, the more she thought about it.
They got home, Shamira and Clara hoping to get a few minutes to themselves before Shamira had to get ready, but they had a message waiting for them. Shane and the Representative requested Shamira and Sebastian’s presence They headed over to a small conference room off of Shane’s office.
The Representative, Henry, Banshee, Reaper, and Valeska were already there, and Shane wanted to discuss the upcoming foray into Lacroix’s territory. They were there for about an hour, hammering out times, places, and communications strategies. Then everyone was dismissed except for Shamira, and soon she was alone with Alessandra and Shane.
“Yes ma’am?” Shamira asked.
The Representative smiled. “I was hoping you might join us for a bit. I sense that there is still some tension between you and Shane, and would like to help resolve it.” Alessandra waited for a moment, sensing reservation on the young vampire’s face. “For the time being, you can say anything and fear no reprisal. This is at my behest.” She smiled. “I’ll even say ‘please’ if it makes you feel better.”
“Representative, I know you mean well, but my issues with Shane are just that . . . with Shane.”
“But your issues are unresolved, and I cannot have that. Not now, not with so much at stake.” Alessandra stepped forward and met Shamira’s gaze. “This is not about petty rule disputes anymore. This is about putting our foot firmly down of the snake in the garden of Eden. Not only is Lacroix a possible dealer in the most diabolic substance in our community, but he has been openly defiant of his regional lord and of the Tribunal. We need to do more than defeat him. We must make an example out of him.”
“Yeah, I get it. Anyone who challenges the system gets squashed.” Shamira could hardly believe it, but for a moment she empathized with her enemy. Then she felt disgusted with herself.
“It’s not the same thing and you know it,” Shane grumbled. “I am at least trying to reconcile.”
Alessandra looked the younger woman over. “In life, was it your nature to hold a grudge like this? Are you so disgusted with Shane –”
“It’s not disgust,” Shamira interrupted. “It’s disappointment. I thought he’d be different than other bosses, but he isn’t. And by whatever laws you people live by, he doesn’t have to be. I’m still here because the job is important and . . . and because there are people here that mean something to me. I know that you want me to get over it and to some degree I have. I’m not mad anymore, but it doesn’t mean that I trust him like I used to. And I don’t feel . . . that way . . . when I look at him.”
“And you are afraid this might affect your working relationship?” the Representative asked.
“Around here, there’s not much difference between the work relationship and the house relationships. He made that perfectly clear when I first came here. Am I just supposed to lie back, spread my legs and think of England?” She noticed Alessandra’s cocked eyebrow. “It’s a saying I heard somewhere.”
“You really think that I would do that to you?” Shane looked and sounded shocked.
“If you needed to show off your control to your peers, are you saying that you wouldn’t? Isn’t the rule in this community that appearances are everything?”
Shane looked beyond offended, bordering on a dark and brooding anger. “Maybe you SHOULD leave then,” he replied coldly. “Finish this job and then set you up as an independent enforcer downtown. Or perhaps Lord Pritchard would be willing to take you on –”
“Lord Stapleton, would you excuse us?” Alessandra asked.
“But –”
“Shane, please,” she continued, her voice flowing like a sweet Italian wine. As each sound passed escaped those promising lips, Shane’s stiff posture melted just a little bit . . . in all places except one. “Wait for me in your workroom. I shall be there shortly.” Now her voice held more eagerness than promise. Shamira was reminded of something Shane had once told her . . . his creator was also his first real submissive. That look of fondness returned as he glanced at the Representative before exiting the room. “You hurt his feelings.”
“Yeah, feeling really bad about that,” Shamira replied flatly.
“It does not strike you as strange that you could insult his leadership, his person, his culture, or even his manhood without causing a serious trespass, yet to say that he might take sexual liberties with someone less than enthusiastic is what finally does the job?”
“He gets offended anytime I challenge him on anything.”
“He gets annoyed, yes, but not hurt. He would never take someone unwilling. To do so would violate his sense of honor at its very core. From the moment I first laid eyes on him, he has been the sort to protect those that needed it, and would never use his power to attain sexual favors. And if you were not so invested in being angry at him, you would probably acknowledge that one of Shane’s visual appearance and style does not need such lowly tricks to bed a woman. Or a man, as his mood strikes him.”
Alessandra looked towards the door. “I do not understand your almost fanatical need to not like him. I cannot understand anyone feeling that way about him. When we are done speaking, I shall go to him and he shall do things to me that very few are allowed to, and none who do them as well. I cannot understand NOT wanting him.”
“How . . . how do you manage?” Shamira asked. “You’re the most powerful woman . . . hell, the most powerful person that I’ve ever met? So how –”
“Vampire culture is about age,” Alessandra interrupted. “The older you are, the more powerful you become. The more powerful you become, the more responsibilities you take on. So simply surviving in our world means taking on responsibility that not all of us want. I want to continue my existence, but there are those who covet the power I possess, not understanding that I would freely give it to them if I could. I would rather stay here, in Shane’s arms, bed, and chains for the remainder of my days.”
Her voice was soft and sensuous, and Shamira could hear deep, genuine love in every tone. “But I cannot, at least not yet. The rules need to be changed, and that will take patience, perseverance, and most importantly, passion. So you see, my desire for you to stay and help Shane has a selfish component.”
“Which is?”
“Shane’s house being the vanguard of change means that it will need direct support and supervision from the Tribunal.”
Shamira grinned in spite of herself. “So to help the transition go smoothly, the Tribunal sends a member such as yourself to have a more hands-on role in the process?”
Alessandra nodded. “Note that this part is simply me being opportunistic. It was not as if I swayed the entire Tribunal to expose the magical realm just so that I had an excuse to come back here.”
“Hey, you saw an opening and you took it. So are you staying here for a while, then?”
“I must return to Italy at some point to make certain arrangements, but I am in no hurry. Shane and I have much catching up to do.” The elder vampire flashed a wicked smile. “And I would not be at all adverse to sharing him or being shared BY him should you someday find yourself more agreeable to being with him again.”
She stood up. “I am going to him now, and he will probably strap me to the barrels and do unspeakable dastardly things to me, and for a while I will not have to be one of the most powerful people you have ever met. Enjoying my body will distract Shane from his current petulance.”
“You use a lot of big words, you know that?”
“I’ve been alive for almost a millennium. I have received many word-of-the-day calendars in that time.” Alessandra pressed a hand to Shamira’s cheek. “The more I know of you, the more I am convinced that there is no better place in the world for you than right here. Perhaps when you get back, you could sit with him and talk. No apologies, no accusations, but just getting to know one another.” She smiled. “Now if you will excuse me, I am sure that we both have people waiting for us.”
Shamira nodded and left, looking for Clara. The Native American was already naked and lying on top of the covers of the bed they shared. Shamira was spanked suitably for making Clara wait, and then both those cheeks were nibbled on until the muscular woman almost came from just the touch of her lover’s teeth. There were many more games to play for them, but they kept it light for the evening. When both were sated several hours later, Clara reminded her of a promise.
“When you get back, we’re having that first date, dammit.”
Shamira had grinned. This relationship, the weirdest she had ever been in by far, just always managed to make her smile.