7.8. "I know you, you're a perfectionist. You're going to punish yourself enough for everyone."
Miami Medical
Co-written with
obscuritnoire Juliette was positively beaming as she guided the woman down the corridor towards the suite she shared with Blaise. He had been feeling down since he'd lacked a decent meal and now she had the perfect solution. Maybe Juliette wasn't as adept at picking the humans who had been in true love, but after decades of hunting by his side she had a feel for what he always seemed to look for. Now she had her arm around the waist of a petite redhead who seemed enamoured by Juliette's beauty, and her accent. Juliette couldn't really blame her. Apparently she hadn't lost her mojo completely, it was just working on the wrong sex. There was a silver lining, though. The woman had readily agreed to come and meet her friend, and now Juliette could offer Blaise a surprise to help celebrate Bastille Day.
Juliette and Blaise were away from France on the one day that meant everything to their country, but that didn't mean they still couldn't celebrate in their own special way. Her eyes sparkled as she held a finger up to indicate the redhead needed to be quiet, and Juliette opened the hotel suite door before making sure Blaise wasn't about to spring them before she was ready.
"Mon ange?" she called out, her voice light and melodic. It was the best she had felt in days and she realised it was because if her little surprise worked, it would mean that Blaise would feel at his best. He really was her soul mate in a lot of ways. There was nothing she wouldn't do to see him happy. "Blaise?" She led the woman through the suite and into the bedroom where she found her friend reclined and focused on his laptop. Juliette wasn't wearing a red dress, but she was wearing one with a plunging neckline that he would still approve of. She hitched it up as she crawled onto the bed and pulled the computer from his grasp. "Cher, I have a petit surprise for you..."
Blaise's intense blue eyes locked on Juliette's face as she drew the device away from him, and he quirked an eyebrow at her in question. He was in nothing but a blood red silk robe with black lining, his wet hair brushed back after the bath he had taken a little while ago. He was aware it was Bastille Day, but in Scotland, a country the holiday meant very little to, it was difficult to find a decent way to celebrate. He still had a lot of business to see to on their trip to Ecosse, but it was getting late now and he was happy to unwind in the hotel suite. It wasn't particularly relevant at that point that all he was doing on the laptop was playing the mind-numbing card game, Solitaire, but along with a lack of decent fresh prospects for him to feed on seemed to be a distinct lack of good card players. "And what did I do to deserve this, amour?" he asked her smoothly, looking over her face to try and read what she was up to.
Juliette batted her lashes as she took the edge of his robe between her fingers and lifted it up to kiss along his thigh. "Rien, mon ami. I just thought you might enjoy a treat. I wanted to do something to put a smile back on your face. At least I hope it will. It's certainly put a smile back on my face organising it." She sat up and grinned at him before she kissed the end of his nose. "Mon chérie! It's time!"
A flash of red hair appeared around the edge of the door as Juliette's guest surveyed the scene. She saw the gorgeous Frenchman on the bed with the beautiful brunette and her heart definitely skipped a beat. She seemed to hesitate only a moment before she found her bravery, no doubt driven by lust, and stepped into the bedroom properly to walk up to the end of the bed.
Juliette gave her an encouraging smile as she ran her fingers through Blaise's luscious hair. "Blaise, this is Bonnie. Isn't she darling? Bonnie, this is Blaise."
Blaise's eyes flashed just a little as they took in the sight of the petite redhead in their presence. He could sense her, and his sense of smell and taste immediately piqued, causing him to run the tip of his tongue briefly along his lower lip when he drank in every inch of her body. He looked at Juliette momentarily before looking back at the woman with a hint of a smile on his lips. "Where is your lover, mon cherie?" he asked of the girl. There was no doubt about it, she had been in true love at some point... and recently. Blaise's hunger kicked in, but he remained reclined on the bed, holding his composure.
Juliette felt a thrill run up her spine as she watched Blaise. He might be holding his composure but she could still read him. The redhead even seemed to relax the more she was in their presence and it was all Juliette could do not to just reach out and pull her up onto the bed with them.
"He's, he's... He's in London," Bonnie answered as she tucked her hair behind her ear and subconsciously exposed her porcelain neck. "I dinnae normally do this sort of thing. I shouldnae be here, but Juliette was just so persuasive. She said you needed cheering up..."
Blaise stifled a small sigh as he looked questioningly at his mate. He pushed up off the pillows and leant forward into the girl's comfort zone. He reached out to trail the tip of his finger over her cheek and down her jaw. "You mustn't my Juliette, mon amour. She is yet to truly understand the meaning of falling in love. You will regret this, non. Unless you have an open relationship, of which I would query the depth of your love to start with." He moved slowly off the bed and came to stand behind her. What he failed to mention was in a mere heartbeat, he could make the girl forget anything she indulged in with them. He was testing her. He never just settled for anything. He came to stand behind her, his hands smoothing softly over her hips as he pressed a kiss to her pale throat, the hunger increasing rapidly inside him. "Magnifique..." he purred against her ear.
"But mon ange, you can't not indulge in her. This is what you've been craving. She might even understand more about falling in love afterwards. What happens in this room is nothing to regret, Bonnie. But you do perhaps need to give it some serious thought," Juliette replied softly.
Bonnie shuddered at the feel of Blaise behind her, and squeezed her eyes shut as thoughts of her boyfriend popped into her head. "It's nay open... I really do love him. He's just been in London for so long and we had a fight on the phone. But this is stupid. I feel so stupid. Maybe I shouldnae. I didnae mean to waste your time. I really do love him. It's just hard. A girl has needs."
"She understands..." Blaise returned, shooting Juliette a look over Bonnie's shoulder. He could smell it on her, and it was almost dizzying. It was there for the taking and he could feel her pulse beating just a breath away from his lips. He could just take her, and wipe her memory in the wake of it. It was more than tempting and the desire was burning inside him. The hunger for a good meal had been gnawing at him for days, and although he wouldn't go without feeding, nothing had intensely satisfied him like the thrill of a fresh, new blood. But there was something innocent about this Bonnie and it was sitting strangely. He knew Juliette yearned to please him and satisfy him, but he was curious as to what tactics she had used to get the young girl under her hypnotic spell if she was so in love with her boyfriend.
Juliette held her hands up with a sly smile as she tried to indicate nothing underhanded had transpired. "We were discussing the important men in our lives, weren't we, Bonnie? How we love them no matter what. I was merely telling her how today was Bastille Day and I wanted to give you a present to celebrate it since we're so far away from home. I explained how meeting you would be the perfect gift."
Bonnie gave a small nod, still not sure how she should feel about Blaise sizing her up but he did seem to like her. He'd called her magnifique or something. That was good, right? "It's okay, I want to help. Juliette seemed so sad that you were sad. I know what it's like. I just maybe got carried away with the whole idea and now here I am. He's not going to mind... He might not even care." A note of anger tinged Bonnie's words and she let out a huff. "He missed my birthday."
Blaise did pull away, though it was a definite struggle. It took all his self-control to actually move away from her now that the hunger was sparking through him. He cocked his head in the direction of the adjoining living room of the suite. "A word, Juliette," he requested and touched Bonnie's hair. "Une minute, cherie," he promised the girl and then sauntered in to the other room. He was looping the silk robe at his hip when Juliette appeared and he did give her a disapproving look. "Conditions, chaton. You knew they were coming. We remove any memory she has of this, you ensure she gets safely to a hospital afterwards, and you call her boyfriend pretending to be a nurse and alert him to the fact she is in hospital," he told her, holding her gaze. "Innocence is brimming in her, mon amour. Sometimes that is difficult to swallow."
Juliette pouted just a little. "She was the best I could find, mon amour. I tried, I really did. I thought I'd struck gold with Bonnie. I know she's innocent, but she's at least got true love. You really should have tastes for something else, ma chere. True love is so hard to find." She raised her finger to cross her breast where her heart would have been and looked up at him from under her dark lashes. "Are you mad with me? I just wanted to bring you something to eat. I miss your smile."
"Those who have loved and lost taste the finest," Blaise murmured, resting his thumb against his lips as he analysed her quietly. He might be a vampire, but he had some standards, and did try to enforce them wherever he could. Feeding on anyne too young was just a no go, and Bonnie was borderline. But he was burning with the hunger. There was feeding to survive, and feeding to indulge in sheer pleasure. The latter was hard to come by, and he growled softly in frustration before giving his head a slight shake. "Non, cherie. I am not mad. Merely curious how you pursuaded her, but I fear you could have pursuaded her to walk off a cliff with your enticing presence."
"Well, either they're not losing their loves, or they're not in love in the first place," Juliette commented as she cupped his face with her hand and stretched up to kiss his cheek. "J'adore toi for knowing what you want. I'm just sorry I couldn't find it for you. I did try. And for the record I really wasn't all that evil in my persuasiveness. It was just some girl talk and a little attention. Poor girl's starting to feel left out. Part of me wonders whether or not her partner isn't playing up himself. How could he leave such a darling little creature alone for so long? And he did miss her birthday. That's very poor form."
Blaise pulled away and went over to the window to look out at the castle in the night. "You are not helping, Juliette..." he told her, resting his hands on the sill. He turned around and shook his head. "Non, you must take her back. It's not going to happen. She's too young and naive. I am beyond that."
Juliette's face fell, she couldn't help it. She hadn't thought she was doing anything wrong. She had really thought that Bonnie would be the perfect gift for Blaise. "If you're really sure. Je suis désolé, mon amour. I'll try not to be too long."
Blaise looked back to the castle with a heavy sigh. This long after his Embrace, some days, immortality just seemed like a very long time. He was too restless to even try to deal with Juliette's apologies, too. He waved a hand dismissively. "Young blood. I've never had a taste for it," he told her, baring his teeth just a little. The hunger was inevitably attempting to turn into an anger and he wasn't going to be able to stay hanging around in the hotel room. He needed something... evidently that he would have to find himself.
Juliette touched her hand to his back as she brushed her fingers between his shoulder blades. The next moment she was gone, disappearing into the bedroom to collect Bonnie. The apparently too young redhead now looked very sad and clearly gathered that something about her wasn't too Blaise's taste. Juliette gave her a smile and kissed the girl's forehead. She really did smell good, even to Juliette. She threaded her fingers through Bonnie's as she led the girl back out into the main room with a glance at Blaise.
"Goodnight, Blaise," the Scottish lass murmured with her blue eyes fixed on him. "I'm--Happy Bastille Day..."
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