Undesirable Chapter 20
TITLE: Undesirable (A vampire novel)
RATING: NC-17 (This chapter NC-17)
SUMMARY: Serenity is a creepy, creepy place, but that doesn't stop Wally from demonstrating his priorities.
Word Count: 6651
Chapter 20
The town of Serenity had all the Hollywood backlot requisites: a charming main street, three churches sitting adjacent to one another and courthouse complete with park and fountain. All cliché perfect, or rather it would if it didn't also look like the place was built by the lowest bidder. The paint was bubbling and peeling on most of the stores, one church had a sizeable settlement crack up the front. The courthouse was actually covered with those faux-brick tiles, and in several places patches had fallen off leaving the pale unpainted cinder block exposed. The street was full potholes that had been sloppily filled rather than properly repaved.
Despite the haphazard maintenance, we passed several new construction projects. Each had a large sign that included the same perplexing symbol that I'd seen on the Serenity Faith Alliance billboards. It looked a bit Arabic until I realized it was just an extremely stylized capital A and it didn't take a genius to figure out what that A stood for.
"New theatre," I said to Officer Douche, mostly to break the silence. "That's got to be welcome."
"Ah-hah," he replied. "Serenity is growing."
"That's nice."
"When I was a kid, there was no Serenity. Just a bunch of smaller towns. Serenity is our Lord's project."
"Ah." I wasn't sure whether "our Lord" was meant in the religious or practical sense. Given the way Lord Abram tended to attach his symbol to scripture quotes, maybe the locals didn't see much distinction either.
Fuck, why were we here again? Oh, Darlene. Why was Darlene here? Now, that was the $20,000 question.
Officer Douche turned his head gave me a big toothy grin. "We're about to have a population boom real soon. We all gotta be prepared for it. One day Serenity is going to rival Nebraska City, or maybe even Beatrice."
Neither name meant anything to me, but I nodded sagely. "That's great. I suppose all the fresh air and clean living leads to… uh, babies…" I physically tried to grab that last sentence back. Wally's mouth dropped open with a wha? painted on his lips.
"If by 'babies' you mean 'industry' you'd be right." The cop cranked the wheel over hard and took us past a row of half-constructed houses. "We are diversifying. Farming's too subject to bad weather. We need income we all can count on. Lord Abram has promised us a factory. Jobs enough to bring new blood into our beautiful neck of the wood." He must have meant that "wood" part facetiously, aside from a hedge or a deliberately planted tree here and there, there was nothing taller than waist high growing out there.
"And you want this? Strangers invading your protectorate?" I asked, incredulously, thinking of the gate scam they had running. "I mean," I said after both Wally and the cop looked at me funny. "It's just that you don't seem to be the kind of town that welcomes outsiders."
"You read that right, we don't welcome visitors," said Officer Douche, wrapping his mouth around the last word like it was dirty. "They come, they make a lot of noise, they cause problems. But, you see, it's not because they are bad people, it's because they don't feel any ownership for the place. We want good people who are willing to set down some roots and pitch in. People we can get to know. We like new neighbors." With that he leered at me. I felt suddenly unclean.
"We aren't staying," Wally said hastily. I hope we aren't, I mentally added, less certain.
The cop nodded. "Lady Darlene seems to be a good woman. Bit down on her luck from what I saw, but she's got some pretty good assets. Our Lord says that she can do our town some good."
"Aren't you afraid that these new neighbors will change the character of the town?" I pressed. It was like poking a sore. Part of me dreaded the answer, but I just couldn't let the subject slide. Deep in my gut, I sensed it was important.
"Nah," said the cop. "They'll learn to fit in fine. They always do. People are people, and if they've been raised a bit funny, they learn this is the way things are. And if they don't, our Lord gives them a talk-to and they come around." Though he didn't turn his head, I could hear the grin in his voice.
"What exactly has our Lady promised to do for this town," I asked.
Officer Douche scratched the side of his head just above the ear. "Well I'm not sure about that. She and my Lord are still in negotiations. But she's a big city Lady, and that means she's got money and access to the kind of people our town needs. Professionals, skilled labor. People my Lord might find personally useful."
Wally's face had turned very pale with that last remark. His hand groped over to mine then gave it a squeeze, but he said nothing. I could tell he was regretting his insistence on coming here. I did, too, but it was way too late to change that.
During our conversation we'd passed through the entire town, including a couple of streets worth of half-constructed suburb, and were back out in crop country. Though the sky was dark with clouds there was no sign of rain, just a sharp smell of ozone that had seeped through the air-conditioning grille. The cop took a left down a narrow country lane. With a sudden shock, we'd left the dry grass and wildflowers for an emerald green lawn, mowed and weeded into such uniform perfection that it looked like Astroturf. The sprinklers were on, little dark hubs poking up periodically and spraying out across the vast expanse.
The driveway curved up and under the flat, stark awning of a gracelessly utilitarian building. The one story structure sprawled out, its sandy grey brickwork dotted at uniform intervals with horizontal window slits. It looked too grimly utilitarian to be a vampire's home - more like a school or a government building. Maybe a fortress.
Officer Douche drove us up to the front door and then shut the engine off. Climbing out with a huff, he opened Wally's door and the two of us slid out and stood on the snow-white gravel in front of a pair of poured cement steps. Posh mixed with cheap in a way that bothered me in more than just an aesthetic sense. Something told me that Lord Abram's ambitions were a bit higher than his paycheck. And here I was, a walking sack of money, waiting to be claimed.
There was nothing to do but to continue with the charade and hope that people around here just weren't that bright. Wally sensed my hesitation and stepped ahead, reaching out a long arm to knock on the ostentatiously paneled front door. He turned to me, tight lipped and pale. My fault his expression seemed to say. Let me handle this.
A skinny young woman in K-Mart capris and a flower print blouse answered the door. She gave Officer Douche a curt nod. "Hey, Dan, these them?"
Dan, I guess his name was, nodded. "Rose, meet Walter Aronsen."
With a shy dip of the head, Rose held out a limp hand to Wally. Wally returned the handshake but ignored, or possibly didn't notice the flirty look. He was looking past her into the building behind her, which struck me as a bit rude until my eyes happened that way and I saw the four foot tall anatomically gruesome crucifix hanging on the wall of the entryway. I cold shiver rippled up over my skin. Please don't let this be like Jonestown.
Dan continued the introductions, "And this is part of Lady Darlene's retinue." He didn't offer my name, perhaps because he'd forgotten what it was, or maybe he didn't think I rated one. "George," I offered for him. She smiled at me and did that same little flirty head dip. I shook her hand and gave her the attention Wally hadn't. She preened a bit.
"You part of her harem?" Rose asked.
"Nah," I said. "Just her driver."
"He's undesirable, Rose," said Dan with a bit of warning in his voice.
Rose's smile dropped. "Shame." She turned her head away as though I wasn't worth looking at any more. "Come on in," she said. "We got a room for you to get freshened up in."
At freshened up, Wally reddened and I felt a stab of self-consciousness. Yeah, there's that thing about being in a car for two days without bathing or changing your clothes, after a while you develop what is kindly termed as musk or more accurately as B.O. I hadn't really noticed it with Wally, but maybe my own pungence masked it. He, at least, hadn't been doing mattress push-ups before our road trip. I suddenly wondered if Rose could still smell the decaying reek of day's old sex on me.
If she did, she didn't mention it. Instead she ushered us through a series of living areas in various themes: Western, English, Modern. The inside of the house looked a lot nicer than the outside, whitewashed wainscoting and elegant wallpaper. Chairs upholstered in cream and taupe. But despite the light and tasteful furnishings there was a kind of a cave like feel to everything. The windows, such as there were, were high up and rather small, as though the people weren't supposed to look outside, and even during the day, the lamps scattered around the room were left on.
We passed from the public portion of the residence to the private rather abruptly by stepping through an unassuming door at the end of the hall. Suddenly, the carpet was replaced by linoleum and the walls, painted cinderblock. We walked past a row of identical doors labeled only with gold numbers. She stopped at number five and put a key in the lock.
"We weren't expecting two of you," said Rose, apologetically. "Or I'd have fixed up a separate room. I'll have another bed made for you by the time the two of you are ready for sleep, but for now, you can rest and get changed into fresh clothes here. Does Dan have your bags?"
Wally and I looked at each other.
"This is my only suit," Wally said, pointing to his rumpled outfit. "All I have is jeans and a T-shirt."
"And, uh, I kind of lost my luggage," I muttered. "All of it."
Rose looked momentarily nonplussed. After a moment she shrugged. "We're reasonably casual around here, so I guess jeans are fine, so long as that's what your Patron is okay with. Our laundry lady comes in Wednesday, she can get your suit dry cleaned." Turning to me she said, "If you give me your size I can run by the Shirts 'n' Things." She took in my designer digs. "Won't be fancy if that's what you are used to, but they won't smell." Ouch. That was a bit pointed.
"When will we be able to see Lady Darlene," asked Wally, touching her arm to get her attention back.
"As soon as she wakes up." She seemed uncomfortable and looked Wally in the eye. "Your Lady… Did anyone tell you what happened to her?"
"No need. We were there when it happened," said Wally. "We know."
Rose looked relieved. "She's pretty scary to look at. Just warning you. Even though the sores are closed up now, it's like a freak show exhibit. Sure you want to see her? If you wait a few days, she'll be more presentable."
"Yes," said Wally firmly. "I really need to see her as soon as possible. Thanks for the concern, I'll be fine. In fact, I'm surprised she survived. We thought she'd been killed."
Rose still looked a bit dubious. "Lord Abram is taking care of her. She's getting everything she needs, blood, rest, protection. But you should know there are some safeguards in place, for everyone's protection."
"Safeguards?"
"Okay, I'm just warning you so you won't be surprised. She's chained and locked in her room. We aren't being barbaric, she has to be, restrained or she might seriously hurt someone. Even kill them. So when you go down there, make sure you stay behind the line, unless Lord Abram is with you. Don't let her touch you. Don't let her feed on you. That's the rules."
"I understand," said Wally, nodding. "We'll follow the rules."
Rose nodded. "Even so, you'll have to wait until Lord Abram authorizes it." She looked at a slim watch on her wrist. "He's doing his devotions right now, then he'll need to feed, but then I expect he'll be available after dinner." She suddenly perked up, as if relieved at the chance to change the subject. "We are having pot roast and potatoes, I hope you like that."
"Love it," said Wally with a smile. She glowed back.
I fought a strong urge to tell her it was pointless, she wasn't Wally's type, but that sounded awfully catty. A single blowjob, no matter how awesome it was, didn't entitle me to presume on Wally's behalf. And to be honest, it was even more stupid than that. Though I didn't even want Rose, in fact, I didn't even like her, it pissed me off that she wanted Wally, the gay guy, more than me, the more or less straight. After being treated like the most delicious donut in the box for over a week, it actually stung to realize that I wasn't as devastatingly attractive to humans as I was to vampires. What the hell. Was there nothing that the vampires couldn't mess up for me, now I have a hyperinflated ego to contend with?
While I kicked myself, Rose managed to figured out on her own that she wasn't getting anywhere with Wally. I didn't hear most of her earnest attempt at conversation with him, but the moment she gave up came through loud and clear. "Okay, then," she said sharply, turning her head away. "I gotta get George his clothes, so I'll let you guys be. Dinner's at 6:30 sharp." With that she opened door number 5 for us, then turned around and sashayed back to the main part of the house.
Wally sighed with relief and shook his head. I followed him into the room Rose had opened. It turned out to be a small bedroom, rather on the Spartan side, with all the creature comforts of bible camp. No television. No comfortable place to sit. The double bed was done up with a dirt brown blanket and hospital corners. There was a cross on one wall, and a cross-stitch proverb framed on another and a huge portrait of Jesus holding his burning heart on the third. The single window was high up, nearly five feet across but less than a foot high and only gave us a view of the sky. Wally sat down on the creaking bed, and I took the hard chair by the desk.
"Well, this is homey," I said after a moment.
"We aren't staying here, Geo," Wally said very firmly. "I promised and I mean it. I'm going to clear things up with Darlene and we'll be on a plane by tomorrow." He looked painfully earnest.
So that's what complete denial looks like from the outside. I thought, depressed. Even if Abram never figured out who I was, these people were a bit too eager to add to their population. Maybe I misread the gate scam. Maybe it wasn't about bilking people for their cash so much as it was keeping strangers in town long enough to brainwash them into becoming residents. The place was getting creeper by the moment.
Because nothing good would come from disillusioning Wally -- reality would smack both of us soon enough -- I clapped my hands against my thighs and stood up. "I call the shower first."
Wally nodded, but seemed lost in his own thoughts and I wasn't sure he'd heard.
The shower was a cement floored, custom tiled contrivance; the kind of thing you see when you have a handyman in the family. A dish of toiletries had been laid out with scented soaps in the shape of roses and a bottle of Suave shampoo, a loofa and Bic disposable razor to take away my sad, sad excuse of a beard. Posh and cheap. Posh and cheap. It was like the town mantra.
I was rinsing my hair when I heard the shower curtain being pushed aside and felt an arm side around my waist. I jumped and struggled away, slamming my shoulder painfully into the unyielding wall.
"Christ, that better be you, Wally!" I blinked the water out of my eyes, turned my head, attempting to level an angry look at him.
Wally's response was to hunch in and snuggle his head into my shoulder. "Mmm… you taste like shampoo." He spat then went back to mouthing my neck, apparently not learning his lesson.
I laughed. Just like that, the panic in me burst like a soap bubble and even the residue of annoyance was replaced by a strange, warm feeling inside. I grabbed his arms and pulled them tighter around me, then I wrapped my own around him. For a minute I stood their under the spray, just holding him there and feeling his realness and breathing in the air that he exhaled. Inexplicably, I felt nearly moved to tears. I needed this. I needed him. My life was shit and I needed someone to hold me.
But I also needed him not to be jumping me when I wasn't looking. I was way too paranoid for that kind of crap. "You scared the shit out of me," I said, reproachfully after a few minutes. "You could have been anyone."
"You knew it was me," said Wally, dismissing my concern. "Said my name 'n' everything." He licked my ear in a way that made my knees weak and my thoughts scatter. Whatever it was that I'd been complaining about seemed completely unimportant.
Pressed belly to belly, a neglected part of myself woke up. I felt a half-ticklish, half painful pressure at the base of my cock that shot down to my balls. My cock went from a shower-happy half-mast to full and throbbing in the space of a hissed in breath. I knew, in no uncertain terms, I needed sex. That public restroom blowjob had hardly made up for the deficit that those vampire fuckers had built up on me. I needed to come again, now, here, in the shower. Grabbing Wally's hand, I yanked it down to my cock, and signaled what I wanted in the only truly universal language.
Wally obliged running his hand lightly over my rod, and I learned the true paradox of shower sex that water in fact is a kind of an anti-lube. No matter how carefully Wally rubbed, it seemed his hand seemed to stick to the skin of my cock, tugging and jerking, rather than having that delightful slick friction. Desperate for anything that would turn this maddeningly almost good enough hand job into what I needed it damn well to be, I grabbed one of the little rosette soaps and lathered up my hairless groin.
Oh yeah, that's the ticket. That's right. Wally's hand worked me up to a literal froth. Oh, god I was getting close. I was going to spew soon.
And then my endorphin high failed me. I'd masturbated in the shower hundreds of times before, but this time was different. Unfortunately, this time was worse. At first it was just an undercurrent of stinging pain, buried so deeply by the pleasure that I barely noticed it, but with every stroke of Wally's firm hand my skin hurt more. I hissed and tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. The chastity sheath had rubbed a number of itty bitty patches raw up and down my cock. All that yanking around taking the device off had given me a couple more scrapes and bruises. And then there were the relentless hand jobs I'd been subjected to only two nights ago. I'd thought I was mostly healed, but I guess not enough. Worse and worse. I needed to come and I couldn't. The frustration bordered on traumatic as I couldn't help but remember how the vampires had teased me all night and then left me to suffer. I couldn't have that again, not here with Wally. Pain overrode pleasure and my erection was flagging. Every rub just made it worse. I pulled Wally's hand away, practically in tears.
"This isn't working. I need lube, something," I muttered, as despite my need, my cock turned completely limp. Miserably aroused, I leaned against the wall and hung my head.
"No problem." Wally moved back. "I got some. And a condom, too."
"Where the hell did you find lube and condoms?" I asked. I couldn't imagine Lord Abram leaving them for us.
"Rest stop yesterday while you were sleeping. I figured, even though we couldn't stop at a hotel, we could probably pull off somewhere and use the back of the Limo to, you know, fool around some."
"I owe you for that blow job."
"Damn right you do. Though not necessarily a blowjob." He leaned forward and rubbed his bobbing cock meaningfully against my side.
But my cock wasn't the only thing chafed. When Jeffrey said I was going to feel what he did, he wasn't lying. I'd been pretty quiet about that, since it's not really the kind of thing you want to bring up, well, ever. But I didn't think I could take a cock up my ass. Not today, probably not tomorrow. Maybe not for a week.
"I don't think I can," I bit back a sob. "Christ, I'm so fucking horny, Wally, but I'm so beat up I don't think I can bottom to you, dude."
Wally rolled his eyes. "So… top," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Or give me a hand job. I just want sex, Geo. I'm not going to throw a snit over what kind. I want what will be good for you, but I fucking need to get off soon, too. And while I like giving blow jobs, I'd really like it if you touched me somehow. If it doesn't turn you off."
Prove to me you aren't straight. He didn't say it, but I got the message.
I went up on my toes and kissed him, pressing all my frustration and need into it. I was rough, and hard, and even a bit toothful. The harshness of his beard chafed my skin, but his lips were surprisingly soft and tender. He caught me and tamed me a bit. Pulling away he murmured, "It's okay, I'll take care of you, baby." I breathed and tasted soap and water, then we kissed again, and this time it was easier, more comfortable. He was so much taller than me that my head was tilted back at a strange angle. At once I felt both powerful and wanted and also helpless and out of control. Excited and comforted. This wasn't just hot, this felt completely right.
The water had cooled past tepid and was on its way to icy. Wally reached past me and turned it off, then half-pushed half guided me out of the stall.
We stumbled back to the Spartan bedroom, dripping wet and tripping over each other's feet. I fell onto the narrow bed covered with a scratchy brown blanket. Rising above Wally's shoulder, Jesus stared beatifically at me from the wall, as if daring me to defile his holy presence with my lowly bestial needs. Fuck that. I rolled off the bed and put the picture face down on the desk, before Wally could question me.
Wally took care of the more practical concerns, spreading a towel across the bed and reached into his discarded pants to retrieve a couple of packets of flavorless lube and a condom. Then we lay down together, cuddling a bit to regain the mood in the shower. For a while it didn't go any further. We just explored each others skin until the last drop of water from the shower had dried. We kissed each other's hands, faces, necks, chests, exploring everything there was about the other person.
Then I noticed Wally kissing my hickeys. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes. A sudden, incredibly inopportune pang of nausea hit me and I gently pulled his head away from them. "Don't even think about it," I growled at him. Don't you dare mark me, too. I'd enough of being claimed as a possession.
Wally looked briefly hurt, but then something solidified behind his eyes. He rolled away for a moment and grabbed the little packets of lube. I was relieved. "Yes," I said totally unnecessarily. "Let's do this." No vampire was going to mess this up for me. Not this.
Grinning, Wally opened one of the lube singles, spread half across his cock and poured the rest into my hand. I knew what he wanted. I wanted to give it to him. Delicately I reached down and ran my hand over his length. Half in lust, half in fascination, I explored the unfamiliar veins, pulling back the long foreskin to reveal a deeply purple head. It was so much like my own, but so different. Then I began rubbing him in earnest. Wally sucked in a deep breath and threw his head back in pleasure. God, he was so beautiful. He was so much prettier than any chick I'd ever dated.
Wally went up on his knees. "Fuck me, Geo, Please. I want to come with you inside me."
"You sure?" I asked. None of the vampires had let me top. Not even the female ones, when I came to think of it.
"Hell, yeah."
The bedsprings creaked and sighed as I settled myself behind him and rolled the condom down my length. "Tell me if this hurts," I said, hushed. Using the second single, I lubed both him and myself up. Wally grunted with impatience and I heard the wet schlicking of him rubbing his own cock.
"Do it, do it, do it," Wally said, his voice took on the whine of pure desperation. He rubbed his bottom against me. The muscles of his back flexed in a mesmerizing way. My fingers found his anus relaxed and responsive. I lined up and pushed. Immediately I felt surrounded and hugged. So damn good. Wally was so fucking hot, so slim and strong and sleekly muscled, and the pressure on my cock was tight and slick and wonderful. I straightened my back and felt the pleasure of flexing my hips combine deliciously with the friction of fucking. There was no pain, for once, none at all. Only pleasure. Just that perfect itch that made me gnaw my lip and drove me to press forward, surge, pull. Wally worked with me, rocking, amplifying every move, taking my pleasure and doubled it back, over and over. Almost unbearably thankful, I leaned forward and reached around his lithe middle. My hand met his at his cock, fingers sliding over each other as the two of us worked together. Then his hand moved up to cup the end of his cock and it was just mine working his gristled stick. Wally choked a loud moan back and held it deep in his throat. My hand became hot and wet with cum, but Wally caught most of it in his palm.
Abruptly he pushed away, pulling me out, and tossing me one-handed back across the bed. Ignoring the gasp of protest on my lips, he leaned over and began rubbing my sheathed cock with his sperm slicked hand. Goddamn but that was hot. I caught my breath at the sight of his thick, white cum all over my penis, then I came myself, filling the reservoir of the condom to capacity.
"Christ," I said, catching my breath and trying to pull the condom off without spilling out its contents. "I thought the point of this was to be neat." Laughing, I managed to get the little balloon tied off. "Or was this just to keep our spunk segregated. Fuck me, I'm covered in you."
"I only had one condom," Wally said, meekly. "I ran out of quarters."
My next word was cut short by a perfunctory knock at the door.
"Oh sh-" Wally grabbed the towel and ran into bathroom. I managed to claw my way under the blanket and pulled it up to my neck just before the door opened.
Rose stepped in with a brown plastic bag draped over her wrist and a small piece of luggage rolling behind her. She stared at me for about two seconds, then placed the luggage and bag next to the door. "Dinner's in fifteen minutes." She left.
Wally ducked his head out of the bathroom. "Holy crap."
"We were so fucking caught," I said, laughing.
"You fucking should have locked the door, Geo. Worried about a damn picture of Jesus, where's your priorities. Asshole."
"Asshole," I replied back affectionately. Standing up, I went to rectify the situation, but to my utter dismay there was no lock. Not on this side. My happy buzz was gone, replaced by a shuddering claustrophobia. This was too much like the room Claudia had me trapped in - absolute vulnerability, complete containment.
I heard the shower surge back on and I knew Wally was cleaning himself off. I wandered into the bathroom long enough to clean my cock in the sink, then pulled the clothes Rose had gotten me out of the bag. There was a pair of no-name khaki slacks and a navy polo shirt, and a threepack of briefs. They all fit well enough, though they didn't particularly flatter me. I probably looked like an electrician.
Wally was out quickly, toweling his hair dry, and putting on a pair of jeans and t-shirt from his luggage. His beard was gone and aside from a bit of a sunburn, he looked like how I'm used to seeing him. I relaxed a bit at the familiarity.
We were ready for the second knock. Rose lead us silently to a dining room where, at one end of an enormous mahogany table, dinner had been laid out for the three of us. The roast beef was tender and I ate my way ravenously through two thick slices before pausing to sop up the juice with pieces of potato, then tucked into the green beans with great pleasure. I ate like I wasn't sure when or if I'd eat again, which considering the circumstances wasn't unreasonable. Half my mind was already on running away again. It wasn't until I'd cleaned my plate that I realized that Rose was looking at me.
I thought she was going to talk about my caveman table manners, but instead she asked, "So you two a couple?"
"Yes," said Wally. His voice dared her to make an issue of it.
For the first time I considered that maybe the locals might have a problem with homosexuality. What if Abram condemned such a thing? I'd thought that all vampires were bisexual, but Nadette certainly wasn't. If Abram were completely straight, he might not see a reason not to allow the old prejudices of the past to color his protected people.
Rose pressed her lips together. "It's okay," she said in such a way that made it obvious that it really wasn't. "There are other people round here having a thing on the down-low. So long as you put it in perspective, it'll be fine."
"Put it in perspective?" I asked. That was a loaded word if I'd ever heard one.
"So long as it doesn't interfere with your other relationships," she managed not to clarify.
"What other relationships," said Wally, his voice low with worry.
Rose clicked her tongue. "You know. Your family. Your community. Your Lor-Lady. God understands, the rest of us need a little help."
"Why would anyone care?" I asked. "It's not their business."
"Well, your wives might have a thing to say about it if you aren't discrete." She made it sound like she was stating the obvious to idiots. "Take Officer Dan, we all know he's having an affair with Charlene Meyer. Not that we talk about it openly. He's got an understanding with his wife and she's cool with it because I'm pretty sure she's got something going my sister's best friend's dad. You get an understanding and everyone's happy. We all know, 'cause it's a small town, but it's not rubbed in anyone's face."
"What does your police officer's affairs have to do with me and my boyfriend," said Wally.
"Don't call him your boyfriend," Rose gasped, then looked around as if worried the cook might have heard. "That sounds so weird."
I gaped.
"But I'm not married," said Wally, brushing away her objections to get at a point. "He is my boyfriend, and while I might one day have a spouse, I'm never going to have a wife. So I'm with Geo, whose business but ours is this?"
"See, that's just selfish."
"Say what?" Wally and I chorused.
"It's selfish," Rose said. "You have to get married. Everyone gets married, how else are the children going to come? You might have an affair with your…" She hesitated then softened her voice to a whisper, "Boyfriend. But that's just all for yourself. What about your community and your Lord. It's your duty to help bring up the next generation to carry this one when our prime has passed. You are harem" she said to Wally. "Who is going to feed our Lord in twenty years if your genes aren't there to help sweeten the pool."
There was dead silence for a moment.
"My Lady has never mentioned a need," said Wally very stiltedly.
Rose's face turned white. "Right, your Lady," she said hastily. "Big city customs always confuse me." She turned her attention back to her food.
Dinner finished up a few minutes after that. The elderly cook came back from a side door and took our plates while Rose ushered us into one of the living rooms. Wally and I sat uncomfortably on fashionable chairs while Rose went over the rules and schedule of Abram's home, making it abundantly clear that she, at least, expected us to be staying there for at least a week.
"I heard there was a airfield near here?" I said, wondering how much of the stuff Wally had been fed over the phone was true.
"Yes, just south of us, we share one with Selene and Verdon Protectorates. Why do you ask?"
"Your Lady will not be ready to fly home for a while," said a deep masculine voice. Abram showed up so quietly that none of us noticed it. There he was leaning on the half wall that separated the sunken western living room from the hall. In my head, I'd pictured him as looking like Moses from of a TV bible special: longhaired with robes and sandals. He looked like a car salesman. Fiftyish and graying, but strongly built, with a firm jaw and heavy brows. His suit was not expensive like a lawyers, but respectable. His smile was warm and winsome, but just a tiny bit oily and insincere.
He stepped out from behind the barrier and held his hand out for us to shake. I rose and pressed my palm to his, not surprised to find it cool and solid. "George," I introduced, not offering and trying not to dwell on my last name or why I wouldn't want to remind him of it. Wally leaned in and distracted Abram. My hand was released in favor of his and the moment passed.
Abram motioned us to sit again, choosing a spot for himself next to Rose on the couch. "I'm glad you were able to make it in without a problem," he said. "I hear that you would like to see your Lady."
We nodded.
"Rose filled you in on what to expect, then?"
"Yessir," said Wally primly.
"Excellent. Well, I hope you had a good dinner. My harem tell me that Martha is the best cook in 5 states and they can't lie to me," he reached over and gave Rose an affectionate squeeze with one brawny arm. She glowed with pleasure. Rose is harem? was my first idiotic thought. But she's so ordinary looking-- I cut the thought off as Abram's eyes turned to meet mine. Shit, mind reading. Polite thoughts, polite thoughts.
Abram chuckled. "You can relax around me, George. I'm not going to eat you."
Wally spoke up so quickly that he almost interrupted. "I want to thank you for helping my Patron, sir. I was surprised to hear that she lived and I'm really happy to see she's in good hands."
"I'm happy to be of service," said Abram. "I couldn't turn down a person in need. That's not me. Though at first I wasn't quite sure what I'd do with a vampire dependant. As a rule, I don't like my kind that much. But I must say I find your Patron to be bit of an exception."
I felt a wave of relief.
"But you boys know we are going to need to be a bit circumspect about all this." Abram leaned forward and folded his hands together bridging his knees with his arms. "I can't have it known outside this house that I have her here. Nadette is a formidable woman, and I'll be crossing her at my peril. And I do have to deal with her from time to time, albeit from as great a distance as I can manage," he laughed. "My people take care of all my needs, but to take care of theirs, sometimes I got to wade into the stinking morass that is vampire politics, you understand."
Wally gave him a tight and nervous smile. "Well, I do appreciate you going through all this trouble. We won't cause any problems for you."
"That's all I can ask," responded Abram. He stood up. "Now, let's go down to see Darlene, shall we. Do mind the rules. She's pretty safe but we can't be too careful."
My gut hardened with fear. What would her reaction be to me, I wondered. Did I actually want to go and see her? What if her first reaction was to jump and me and slit my gizzard.
Abram was looking worriedly at me and I quieted my thoughts and tried to concentrate on just admiring the architecture. "You'll be safe," he assured me, leaning over and putting his hand on my shoulder. Then he sniffed a little and seemed to look a bit puzzled. I'd seen that reaction before, at the party. I had a flash of memory of Gregory sniffing at me in curiosity. Stop thinking… stop thinking….
"How injured was she," Wally said, his voice tight and loud.
Abram turned his attention back to Wally and I felt relieved. While he rattled off Darlene's injuries he lead us down a new hall past the kitchen, then through a door and down a wooden staircase to the basement. There was nothing raw or unfinished about this place. A wide hallway was covered in plush carpeting. There were four doors on one side. The last one had a piece of paper taped to it. As we approached, I saw that it was a reiteration of the same rules Rose had given us.
Abram unlocked the door.
"Darlene," he said with a quirky half smile to the darkened room beyond. "You have company."
Back to Chapter 19
Forward to Chapter 21
RATING: NC-17 (This chapter NC-17)
SUMMARY: Serenity is a creepy, creepy place, but that doesn't stop Wally from demonstrating his priorities.
Word Count: 6651
Chapter 20
The town of Serenity had all the Hollywood backlot requisites: a charming main street, three churches sitting adjacent to one another and courthouse complete with park and fountain. All cliché perfect, or rather it would if it didn't also look like the place was built by the lowest bidder. The paint was bubbling and peeling on most of the stores, one church had a sizeable settlement crack up the front. The courthouse was actually covered with those faux-brick tiles, and in several places patches had fallen off leaving the pale unpainted cinder block exposed. The street was full potholes that had been sloppily filled rather than properly repaved.
Despite the haphazard maintenance, we passed several new construction projects. Each had a large sign that included the same perplexing symbol that I'd seen on the Serenity Faith Alliance billboards. It looked a bit Arabic until I realized it was just an extremely stylized capital A and it didn't take a genius to figure out what that A stood for.
"New theatre," I said to Officer Douche, mostly to break the silence. "That's got to be welcome."
"Ah-hah," he replied. "Serenity is growing."
"That's nice."
"When I was a kid, there was no Serenity. Just a bunch of smaller towns. Serenity is our Lord's project."
"Ah." I wasn't sure whether "our Lord" was meant in the religious or practical sense. Given the way Lord Abram tended to attach his symbol to scripture quotes, maybe the locals didn't see much distinction either.
Fuck, why were we here again? Oh, Darlene. Why was Darlene here? Now, that was the $20,000 question.
Officer Douche turned his head gave me a big toothy grin. "We're about to have a population boom real soon. We all gotta be prepared for it. One day Serenity is going to rival Nebraska City, or maybe even Beatrice."
Neither name meant anything to me, but I nodded sagely. "That's great. I suppose all the fresh air and clean living leads to… uh, babies…" I physically tried to grab that last sentence back. Wally's mouth dropped open with a wha? painted on his lips.
"If by 'babies' you mean 'industry' you'd be right." The cop cranked the wheel over hard and took us past a row of half-constructed houses. "We are diversifying. Farming's too subject to bad weather. We need income we all can count on. Lord Abram has promised us a factory. Jobs enough to bring new blood into our beautiful neck of the wood." He must have meant that "wood" part facetiously, aside from a hedge or a deliberately planted tree here and there, there was nothing taller than waist high growing out there.
"And you want this? Strangers invading your protectorate?" I asked, incredulously, thinking of the gate scam they had running. "I mean," I said after both Wally and the cop looked at me funny. "It's just that you don't seem to be the kind of town that welcomes outsiders."
"You read that right, we don't welcome visitors," said Officer Douche, wrapping his mouth around the last word like it was dirty. "They come, they make a lot of noise, they cause problems. But, you see, it's not because they are bad people, it's because they don't feel any ownership for the place. We want good people who are willing to set down some roots and pitch in. People we can get to know. We like new neighbors." With that he leered at me. I felt suddenly unclean.
"We aren't staying," Wally said hastily. I hope we aren't, I mentally added, less certain.
The cop nodded. "Lady Darlene seems to be a good woman. Bit down on her luck from what I saw, but she's got some pretty good assets. Our Lord says that she can do our town some good."
"Aren't you afraid that these new neighbors will change the character of the town?" I pressed. It was like poking a sore. Part of me dreaded the answer, but I just couldn't let the subject slide. Deep in my gut, I sensed it was important.
"Nah," said the cop. "They'll learn to fit in fine. They always do. People are people, and if they've been raised a bit funny, they learn this is the way things are. And if they don't, our Lord gives them a talk-to and they come around." Though he didn't turn his head, I could hear the grin in his voice.
"What exactly has our Lady promised to do for this town," I asked.
Officer Douche scratched the side of his head just above the ear. "Well I'm not sure about that. She and my Lord are still in negotiations. But she's a big city Lady, and that means she's got money and access to the kind of people our town needs. Professionals, skilled labor. People my Lord might find personally useful."
Wally's face had turned very pale with that last remark. His hand groped over to mine then gave it a squeeze, but he said nothing. I could tell he was regretting his insistence on coming here. I did, too, but it was way too late to change that.
During our conversation we'd passed through the entire town, including a couple of streets worth of half-constructed suburb, and were back out in crop country. Though the sky was dark with clouds there was no sign of rain, just a sharp smell of ozone that had seeped through the air-conditioning grille. The cop took a left down a narrow country lane. With a sudden shock, we'd left the dry grass and wildflowers for an emerald green lawn, mowed and weeded into such uniform perfection that it looked like Astroturf. The sprinklers were on, little dark hubs poking up periodically and spraying out across the vast expanse.
The driveway curved up and under the flat, stark awning of a gracelessly utilitarian building. The one story structure sprawled out, its sandy grey brickwork dotted at uniform intervals with horizontal window slits. It looked too grimly utilitarian to be a vampire's home - more like a school or a government building. Maybe a fortress.
Officer Douche drove us up to the front door and then shut the engine off. Climbing out with a huff, he opened Wally's door and the two of us slid out and stood on the snow-white gravel in front of a pair of poured cement steps. Posh mixed with cheap in a way that bothered me in more than just an aesthetic sense. Something told me that Lord Abram's ambitions were a bit higher than his paycheck. And here I was, a walking sack of money, waiting to be claimed.
There was nothing to do but to continue with the charade and hope that people around here just weren't that bright. Wally sensed my hesitation and stepped ahead, reaching out a long arm to knock on the ostentatiously paneled front door. He turned to me, tight lipped and pale. My fault his expression seemed to say. Let me handle this.
A skinny young woman in K-Mart capris and a flower print blouse answered the door. She gave Officer Douche a curt nod. "Hey, Dan, these them?"
Dan, I guess his name was, nodded. "Rose, meet Walter Aronsen."
With a shy dip of the head, Rose held out a limp hand to Wally. Wally returned the handshake but ignored, or possibly didn't notice the flirty look. He was looking past her into the building behind her, which struck me as a bit rude until my eyes happened that way and I saw the four foot tall anatomically gruesome crucifix hanging on the wall of the entryway. I cold shiver rippled up over my skin. Please don't let this be like Jonestown.
Dan continued the introductions, "And this is part of Lady Darlene's retinue." He didn't offer my name, perhaps because he'd forgotten what it was, or maybe he didn't think I rated one. "George," I offered for him. She smiled at me and did that same little flirty head dip. I shook her hand and gave her the attention Wally hadn't. She preened a bit.
"You part of her harem?" Rose asked.
"Nah," I said. "Just her driver."
"He's undesirable, Rose," said Dan with a bit of warning in his voice.
Rose's smile dropped. "Shame." She turned her head away as though I wasn't worth looking at any more. "Come on in," she said. "We got a room for you to get freshened up in."
At freshened up, Wally reddened and I felt a stab of self-consciousness. Yeah, there's that thing about being in a car for two days without bathing or changing your clothes, after a while you develop what is kindly termed as musk or more accurately as B.O. I hadn't really noticed it with Wally, but maybe my own pungence masked it. He, at least, hadn't been doing mattress push-ups before our road trip. I suddenly wondered if Rose could still smell the decaying reek of day's old sex on me.
If she did, she didn't mention it. Instead she ushered us through a series of living areas in various themes: Western, English, Modern. The inside of the house looked a lot nicer than the outside, whitewashed wainscoting and elegant wallpaper. Chairs upholstered in cream and taupe. But despite the light and tasteful furnishings there was a kind of a cave like feel to everything. The windows, such as there were, were high up and rather small, as though the people weren't supposed to look outside, and even during the day, the lamps scattered around the room were left on.
We passed from the public portion of the residence to the private rather abruptly by stepping through an unassuming door at the end of the hall. Suddenly, the carpet was replaced by linoleum and the walls, painted cinderblock. We walked past a row of identical doors labeled only with gold numbers. She stopped at number five and put a key in the lock.
"We weren't expecting two of you," said Rose, apologetically. "Or I'd have fixed up a separate room. I'll have another bed made for you by the time the two of you are ready for sleep, but for now, you can rest and get changed into fresh clothes here. Does Dan have your bags?"
Wally and I looked at each other.
"This is my only suit," Wally said, pointing to his rumpled outfit. "All I have is jeans and a T-shirt."
"And, uh, I kind of lost my luggage," I muttered. "All of it."
Rose looked momentarily nonplussed. After a moment she shrugged. "We're reasonably casual around here, so I guess jeans are fine, so long as that's what your Patron is okay with. Our laundry lady comes in Wednesday, she can get your suit dry cleaned." Turning to me she said, "If you give me your size I can run by the Shirts 'n' Things." She took in my designer digs. "Won't be fancy if that's what you are used to, but they won't smell." Ouch. That was a bit pointed.
"When will we be able to see Lady Darlene," asked Wally, touching her arm to get her attention back.
"As soon as she wakes up." She seemed uncomfortable and looked Wally in the eye. "Your Lady… Did anyone tell you what happened to her?"
"No need. We were there when it happened," said Wally. "We know."
Rose looked relieved. "She's pretty scary to look at. Just warning you. Even though the sores are closed up now, it's like a freak show exhibit. Sure you want to see her? If you wait a few days, she'll be more presentable."
"Yes," said Wally firmly. "I really need to see her as soon as possible. Thanks for the concern, I'll be fine. In fact, I'm surprised she survived. We thought she'd been killed."
Rose still looked a bit dubious. "Lord Abram is taking care of her. She's getting everything she needs, blood, rest, protection. But you should know there are some safeguards in place, for everyone's protection."
"Safeguards?"
"Okay, I'm just warning you so you won't be surprised. She's chained and locked in her room. We aren't being barbaric, she has to be, restrained or she might seriously hurt someone. Even kill them. So when you go down there, make sure you stay behind the line, unless Lord Abram is with you. Don't let her touch you. Don't let her feed on you. That's the rules."
"I understand," said Wally, nodding. "We'll follow the rules."
Rose nodded. "Even so, you'll have to wait until Lord Abram authorizes it." She looked at a slim watch on her wrist. "He's doing his devotions right now, then he'll need to feed, but then I expect he'll be available after dinner." She suddenly perked up, as if relieved at the chance to change the subject. "We are having pot roast and potatoes, I hope you like that."
"Love it," said Wally with a smile. She glowed back.
I fought a strong urge to tell her it was pointless, she wasn't Wally's type, but that sounded awfully catty. A single blowjob, no matter how awesome it was, didn't entitle me to presume on Wally's behalf. And to be honest, it was even more stupid than that. Though I didn't even want Rose, in fact, I didn't even like her, it pissed me off that she wanted Wally, the gay guy, more than me, the more or less straight. After being treated like the most delicious donut in the box for over a week, it actually stung to realize that I wasn't as devastatingly attractive to humans as I was to vampires. What the hell. Was there nothing that the vampires couldn't mess up for me, now I have a hyperinflated ego to contend with?
While I kicked myself, Rose managed to figured out on her own that she wasn't getting anywhere with Wally. I didn't hear most of her earnest attempt at conversation with him, but the moment she gave up came through loud and clear. "Okay, then," she said sharply, turning her head away. "I gotta get George his clothes, so I'll let you guys be. Dinner's at 6:30 sharp." With that she opened door number 5 for us, then turned around and sashayed back to the main part of the house.
Wally sighed with relief and shook his head. I followed him into the room Rose had opened. It turned out to be a small bedroom, rather on the Spartan side, with all the creature comforts of bible camp. No television. No comfortable place to sit. The double bed was done up with a dirt brown blanket and hospital corners. There was a cross on one wall, and a cross-stitch proverb framed on another and a huge portrait of Jesus holding his burning heart on the third. The single window was high up, nearly five feet across but less than a foot high and only gave us a view of the sky. Wally sat down on the creaking bed, and I took the hard chair by the desk.
"Well, this is homey," I said after a moment.
"We aren't staying here, Geo," Wally said very firmly. "I promised and I mean it. I'm going to clear things up with Darlene and we'll be on a plane by tomorrow." He looked painfully earnest.
So that's what complete denial looks like from the outside. I thought, depressed. Even if Abram never figured out who I was, these people were a bit too eager to add to their population. Maybe I misread the gate scam. Maybe it wasn't about bilking people for their cash so much as it was keeping strangers in town long enough to brainwash them into becoming residents. The place was getting creeper by the moment.
Because nothing good would come from disillusioning Wally -- reality would smack both of us soon enough -- I clapped my hands against my thighs and stood up. "I call the shower first."
Wally nodded, but seemed lost in his own thoughts and I wasn't sure he'd heard.
The shower was a cement floored, custom tiled contrivance; the kind of thing you see when you have a handyman in the family. A dish of toiletries had been laid out with scented soaps in the shape of roses and a bottle of Suave shampoo, a loofa and Bic disposable razor to take away my sad, sad excuse of a beard. Posh and cheap. Posh and cheap. It was like the town mantra.
I was rinsing my hair when I heard the shower curtain being pushed aside and felt an arm side around my waist. I jumped and struggled away, slamming my shoulder painfully into the unyielding wall.
"Christ, that better be you, Wally!" I blinked the water out of my eyes, turned my head, attempting to level an angry look at him.
Wally's response was to hunch in and snuggle his head into my shoulder. "Mmm… you taste like shampoo." He spat then went back to mouthing my neck, apparently not learning his lesson.
I laughed. Just like that, the panic in me burst like a soap bubble and even the residue of annoyance was replaced by a strange, warm feeling inside. I grabbed his arms and pulled them tighter around me, then I wrapped my own around him. For a minute I stood their under the spray, just holding him there and feeling his realness and breathing in the air that he exhaled. Inexplicably, I felt nearly moved to tears. I needed this. I needed him. My life was shit and I needed someone to hold me.
But I also needed him not to be jumping me when I wasn't looking. I was way too paranoid for that kind of crap. "You scared the shit out of me," I said, reproachfully after a few minutes. "You could have been anyone."
"You knew it was me," said Wally, dismissing my concern. "Said my name 'n' everything." He licked my ear in a way that made my knees weak and my thoughts scatter. Whatever it was that I'd been complaining about seemed completely unimportant.
Pressed belly to belly, a neglected part of myself woke up. I felt a half-ticklish, half painful pressure at the base of my cock that shot down to my balls. My cock went from a shower-happy half-mast to full and throbbing in the space of a hissed in breath. I knew, in no uncertain terms, I needed sex. That public restroom blowjob had hardly made up for the deficit that those vampire fuckers had built up on me. I needed to come again, now, here, in the shower. Grabbing Wally's hand, I yanked it down to my cock, and signaled what I wanted in the only truly universal language.
Wally obliged running his hand lightly over my rod, and I learned the true paradox of shower sex that water in fact is a kind of an anti-lube. No matter how carefully Wally rubbed, it seemed his hand seemed to stick to the skin of my cock, tugging and jerking, rather than having that delightful slick friction. Desperate for anything that would turn this maddeningly almost good enough hand job into what I needed it damn well to be, I grabbed one of the little rosette soaps and lathered up my hairless groin.
Oh yeah, that's the ticket. That's right. Wally's hand worked me up to a literal froth. Oh, god I was getting close. I was going to spew soon.
And then my endorphin high failed me. I'd masturbated in the shower hundreds of times before, but this time was different. Unfortunately, this time was worse. At first it was just an undercurrent of stinging pain, buried so deeply by the pleasure that I barely noticed it, but with every stroke of Wally's firm hand my skin hurt more. I hissed and tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. The chastity sheath had rubbed a number of itty bitty patches raw up and down my cock. All that yanking around taking the device off had given me a couple more scrapes and bruises. And then there were the relentless hand jobs I'd been subjected to only two nights ago. I'd thought I was mostly healed, but I guess not enough. Worse and worse. I needed to come and I couldn't. The frustration bordered on traumatic as I couldn't help but remember how the vampires had teased me all night and then left me to suffer. I couldn't have that again, not here with Wally. Pain overrode pleasure and my erection was flagging. Every rub just made it worse. I pulled Wally's hand away, practically in tears.
"This isn't working. I need lube, something," I muttered, as despite my need, my cock turned completely limp. Miserably aroused, I leaned against the wall and hung my head.
"No problem." Wally moved back. "I got some. And a condom, too."
"Where the hell did you find lube and condoms?" I asked. I couldn't imagine Lord Abram leaving them for us.
"Rest stop yesterday while you were sleeping. I figured, even though we couldn't stop at a hotel, we could probably pull off somewhere and use the back of the Limo to, you know, fool around some."
"I owe you for that blow job."
"Damn right you do. Though not necessarily a blowjob." He leaned forward and rubbed his bobbing cock meaningfully against my side.
But my cock wasn't the only thing chafed. When Jeffrey said I was going to feel what he did, he wasn't lying. I'd been pretty quiet about that, since it's not really the kind of thing you want to bring up, well, ever. But I didn't think I could take a cock up my ass. Not today, probably not tomorrow. Maybe not for a week.
"I don't think I can," I bit back a sob. "Christ, I'm so fucking horny, Wally, but I'm so beat up I don't think I can bottom to you, dude."
Wally rolled his eyes. "So… top," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Or give me a hand job. I just want sex, Geo. I'm not going to throw a snit over what kind. I want what will be good for you, but I fucking need to get off soon, too. And while I like giving blow jobs, I'd really like it if you touched me somehow. If it doesn't turn you off."
Prove to me you aren't straight. He didn't say it, but I got the message.
I went up on my toes and kissed him, pressing all my frustration and need into it. I was rough, and hard, and even a bit toothful. The harshness of his beard chafed my skin, but his lips were surprisingly soft and tender. He caught me and tamed me a bit. Pulling away he murmured, "It's okay, I'll take care of you, baby." I breathed and tasted soap and water, then we kissed again, and this time it was easier, more comfortable. He was so much taller than me that my head was tilted back at a strange angle. At once I felt both powerful and wanted and also helpless and out of control. Excited and comforted. This wasn't just hot, this felt completely right.
The water had cooled past tepid and was on its way to icy. Wally reached past me and turned it off, then half-pushed half guided me out of the stall.
We stumbled back to the Spartan bedroom, dripping wet and tripping over each other's feet. I fell onto the narrow bed covered with a scratchy brown blanket. Rising above Wally's shoulder, Jesus stared beatifically at me from the wall, as if daring me to defile his holy presence with my lowly bestial needs. Fuck that. I rolled off the bed and put the picture face down on the desk, before Wally could question me.
Wally took care of the more practical concerns, spreading a towel across the bed and reached into his discarded pants to retrieve a couple of packets of flavorless lube and a condom. Then we lay down together, cuddling a bit to regain the mood in the shower. For a while it didn't go any further. We just explored each others skin until the last drop of water from the shower had dried. We kissed each other's hands, faces, necks, chests, exploring everything there was about the other person.
Then I noticed Wally kissing my hickeys. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes. A sudden, incredibly inopportune pang of nausea hit me and I gently pulled his head away from them. "Don't even think about it," I growled at him. Don't you dare mark me, too. I'd enough of being claimed as a possession.
Wally looked briefly hurt, but then something solidified behind his eyes. He rolled away for a moment and grabbed the little packets of lube. I was relieved. "Yes," I said totally unnecessarily. "Let's do this." No vampire was going to mess this up for me. Not this.
Grinning, Wally opened one of the lube singles, spread half across his cock and poured the rest into my hand. I knew what he wanted. I wanted to give it to him. Delicately I reached down and ran my hand over his length. Half in lust, half in fascination, I explored the unfamiliar veins, pulling back the long foreskin to reveal a deeply purple head. It was so much like my own, but so different. Then I began rubbing him in earnest. Wally sucked in a deep breath and threw his head back in pleasure. God, he was so beautiful. He was so much prettier than any chick I'd ever dated.
Wally went up on his knees. "Fuck me, Geo, Please. I want to come with you inside me."
"You sure?" I asked. None of the vampires had let me top. Not even the female ones, when I came to think of it.
"Hell, yeah."
The bedsprings creaked and sighed as I settled myself behind him and rolled the condom down my length. "Tell me if this hurts," I said, hushed. Using the second single, I lubed both him and myself up. Wally grunted with impatience and I heard the wet schlicking of him rubbing his own cock.
"Do it, do it, do it," Wally said, his voice took on the whine of pure desperation. He rubbed his bottom against me. The muscles of his back flexed in a mesmerizing way. My fingers found his anus relaxed and responsive. I lined up and pushed. Immediately I felt surrounded and hugged. So damn good. Wally was so fucking hot, so slim and strong and sleekly muscled, and the pressure on my cock was tight and slick and wonderful. I straightened my back and felt the pleasure of flexing my hips combine deliciously with the friction of fucking. There was no pain, for once, none at all. Only pleasure. Just that perfect itch that made me gnaw my lip and drove me to press forward, surge, pull. Wally worked with me, rocking, amplifying every move, taking my pleasure and doubled it back, over and over. Almost unbearably thankful, I leaned forward and reached around his lithe middle. My hand met his at his cock, fingers sliding over each other as the two of us worked together. Then his hand moved up to cup the end of his cock and it was just mine working his gristled stick. Wally choked a loud moan back and held it deep in his throat. My hand became hot and wet with cum, but Wally caught most of it in his palm.
Abruptly he pushed away, pulling me out, and tossing me one-handed back across the bed. Ignoring the gasp of protest on my lips, he leaned over and began rubbing my sheathed cock with his sperm slicked hand. Goddamn but that was hot. I caught my breath at the sight of his thick, white cum all over my penis, then I came myself, filling the reservoir of the condom to capacity.
"Christ," I said, catching my breath and trying to pull the condom off without spilling out its contents. "I thought the point of this was to be neat." Laughing, I managed to get the little balloon tied off. "Or was this just to keep our spunk segregated. Fuck me, I'm covered in you."
"I only had one condom," Wally said, meekly. "I ran out of quarters."
My next word was cut short by a perfunctory knock at the door.
"Oh sh-" Wally grabbed the towel and ran into bathroom. I managed to claw my way under the blanket and pulled it up to my neck just before the door opened.
Rose stepped in with a brown plastic bag draped over her wrist and a small piece of luggage rolling behind her. She stared at me for about two seconds, then placed the luggage and bag next to the door. "Dinner's in fifteen minutes." She left.
Wally ducked his head out of the bathroom. "Holy crap."
"We were so fucking caught," I said, laughing.
"You fucking should have locked the door, Geo. Worried about a damn picture of Jesus, where's your priorities. Asshole."
"Asshole," I replied back affectionately. Standing up, I went to rectify the situation, but to my utter dismay there was no lock. Not on this side. My happy buzz was gone, replaced by a shuddering claustrophobia. This was too much like the room Claudia had me trapped in - absolute vulnerability, complete containment.
I heard the shower surge back on and I knew Wally was cleaning himself off. I wandered into the bathroom long enough to clean my cock in the sink, then pulled the clothes Rose had gotten me out of the bag. There was a pair of no-name khaki slacks and a navy polo shirt, and a threepack of briefs. They all fit well enough, though they didn't particularly flatter me. I probably looked like an electrician.
Wally was out quickly, toweling his hair dry, and putting on a pair of jeans and t-shirt from his luggage. His beard was gone and aside from a bit of a sunburn, he looked like how I'm used to seeing him. I relaxed a bit at the familiarity.
We were ready for the second knock. Rose lead us silently to a dining room where, at one end of an enormous mahogany table, dinner had been laid out for the three of us. The roast beef was tender and I ate my way ravenously through two thick slices before pausing to sop up the juice with pieces of potato, then tucked into the green beans with great pleasure. I ate like I wasn't sure when or if I'd eat again, which considering the circumstances wasn't unreasonable. Half my mind was already on running away again. It wasn't until I'd cleaned my plate that I realized that Rose was looking at me.
I thought she was going to talk about my caveman table manners, but instead she asked, "So you two a couple?"
"Yes," said Wally. His voice dared her to make an issue of it.
For the first time I considered that maybe the locals might have a problem with homosexuality. What if Abram condemned such a thing? I'd thought that all vampires were bisexual, but Nadette certainly wasn't. If Abram were completely straight, he might not see a reason not to allow the old prejudices of the past to color his protected people.
Rose pressed her lips together. "It's okay," she said in such a way that made it obvious that it really wasn't. "There are other people round here having a thing on the down-low. So long as you put it in perspective, it'll be fine."
"Put it in perspective?" I asked. That was a loaded word if I'd ever heard one.
"So long as it doesn't interfere with your other relationships," she managed not to clarify.
"What other relationships," said Wally, his voice low with worry.
Rose clicked her tongue. "You know. Your family. Your community. Your Lor-Lady. God understands, the rest of us need a little help."
"Why would anyone care?" I asked. "It's not their business."
"Well, your wives might have a thing to say about it if you aren't discrete." She made it sound like she was stating the obvious to idiots. "Take Officer Dan, we all know he's having an affair with Charlene Meyer. Not that we talk about it openly. He's got an understanding with his wife and she's cool with it because I'm pretty sure she's got something going my sister's best friend's dad. You get an understanding and everyone's happy. We all know, 'cause it's a small town, but it's not rubbed in anyone's face."
"What does your police officer's affairs have to do with me and my boyfriend," said Wally.
"Don't call him your boyfriend," Rose gasped, then looked around as if worried the cook might have heard. "That sounds so weird."
I gaped.
"But I'm not married," said Wally, brushing away her objections to get at a point. "He is my boyfriend, and while I might one day have a spouse, I'm never going to have a wife. So I'm with Geo, whose business but ours is this?"
"See, that's just selfish."
"Say what?" Wally and I chorused.
"It's selfish," Rose said. "You have to get married. Everyone gets married, how else are the children going to come? You might have an affair with your…" She hesitated then softened her voice to a whisper, "Boyfriend. But that's just all for yourself. What about your community and your Lord. It's your duty to help bring up the next generation to carry this one when our prime has passed. You are harem" she said to Wally. "Who is going to feed our Lord in twenty years if your genes aren't there to help sweeten the pool."
There was dead silence for a moment.
"My Lady has never mentioned a need," said Wally very stiltedly.
Rose's face turned white. "Right, your Lady," she said hastily. "Big city customs always confuse me." She turned her attention back to her food.
Dinner finished up a few minutes after that. The elderly cook came back from a side door and took our plates while Rose ushered us into one of the living rooms. Wally and I sat uncomfortably on fashionable chairs while Rose went over the rules and schedule of Abram's home, making it abundantly clear that she, at least, expected us to be staying there for at least a week.
"I heard there was a airfield near here?" I said, wondering how much of the stuff Wally had been fed over the phone was true.
"Yes, just south of us, we share one with Selene and Verdon Protectorates. Why do you ask?"
"Your Lady will not be ready to fly home for a while," said a deep masculine voice. Abram showed up so quietly that none of us noticed it. There he was leaning on the half wall that separated the sunken western living room from the hall. In my head, I'd pictured him as looking like Moses from of a TV bible special: longhaired with robes and sandals. He looked like a car salesman. Fiftyish and graying, but strongly built, with a firm jaw and heavy brows. His suit was not expensive like a lawyers, but respectable. His smile was warm and winsome, but just a tiny bit oily and insincere.
He stepped out from behind the barrier and held his hand out for us to shake. I rose and pressed my palm to his, not surprised to find it cool and solid. "George," I introduced, not offering and trying not to dwell on my last name or why I wouldn't want to remind him of it. Wally leaned in and distracted Abram. My hand was released in favor of his and the moment passed.
Abram motioned us to sit again, choosing a spot for himself next to Rose on the couch. "I'm glad you were able to make it in without a problem," he said. "I hear that you would like to see your Lady."
We nodded.
"Rose filled you in on what to expect, then?"
"Yessir," said Wally primly.
"Excellent. Well, I hope you had a good dinner. My harem tell me that Martha is the best cook in 5 states and they can't lie to me," he reached over and gave Rose an affectionate squeeze with one brawny arm. She glowed with pleasure. Rose is harem? was my first idiotic thought. But she's so ordinary looking-- I cut the thought off as Abram's eyes turned to meet mine. Shit, mind reading. Polite thoughts, polite thoughts.
Abram chuckled. "You can relax around me, George. I'm not going to eat you."
Wally spoke up so quickly that he almost interrupted. "I want to thank you for helping my Patron, sir. I was surprised to hear that she lived and I'm really happy to see she's in good hands."
"I'm happy to be of service," said Abram. "I couldn't turn down a person in need. That's not me. Though at first I wasn't quite sure what I'd do with a vampire dependant. As a rule, I don't like my kind that much. But I must say I find your Patron to be bit of an exception."
I felt a wave of relief.
"But you boys know we are going to need to be a bit circumspect about all this." Abram leaned forward and folded his hands together bridging his knees with his arms. "I can't have it known outside this house that I have her here. Nadette is a formidable woman, and I'll be crossing her at my peril. And I do have to deal with her from time to time, albeit from as great a distance as I can manage," he laughed. "My people take care of all my needs, but to take care of theirs, sometimes I got to wade into the stinking morass that is vampire politics, you understand."
Wally gave him a tight and nervous smile. "Well, I do appreciate you going through all this trouble. We won't cause any problems for you."
"That's all I can ask," responded Abram. He stood up. "Now, let's go down to see Darlene, shall we. Do mind the rules. She's pretty safe but we can't be too careful."
My gut hardened with fear. What would her reaction be to me, I wondered. Did I actually want to go and see her? What if her first reaction was to jump and me and slit my gizzard.
Abram was looking worriedly at me and I quieted my thoughts and tried to concentrate on just admiring the architecture. "You'll be safe," he assured me, leaning over and putting his hand on my shoulder. Then he sniffed a little and seemed to look a bit puzzled. I'd seen that reaction before, at the party. I had a flash of memory of Gregory sniffing at me in curiosity. Stop thinking… stop thinking….
"How injured was she," Wally said, his voice tight and loud.
Abram turned his attention back to Wally and I felt relieved. While he rattled off Darlene's injuries he lead us down a new hall past the kitchen, then through a door and down a wooden staircase to the basement. There was nothing raw or unfinished about this place. A wide hallway was covered in plush carpeting. There were four doors on one side. The last one had a piece of paper taped to it. As we approached, I saw that it was a reiteration of the same rules Rose had given us.
Abram unlocked the door.
"Darlene," he said with a quirky half smile to the darkened room beyond. "You have company."
Back to Chapter 19
Forward to Chapter 21