23. Vi
vi
. . .
I’d never really given much thought to where the coven lived. I mean, I assumed based on their air of obvious wealth, that it’d be overly fancy and make me feel even more embarrassed for crashing on Kaylee’s couch, but where it was, how big, how it was decorated… It never really crossed my mind.
So, it was a surprise when Ren headed toward the club. The little dented wheels on the rolling suitcase I’d thrifted back in college for a summer break beach vacation with Kaylee, paid for with tips from the shitty student bar we worked at, struggled hard to keep up with the vampire’s long strides.
“Walking distance, huh?” I asked, used to Ren’s pace after a few weeks of tailing her in the mornings.
“Yeah, it’s just above the club.”
I blinked. It never occurred to me that the windows I’d become used to seeing as I approached my workplace were actually portals into the lives of the vampires I’d steadily grown closer to. My eyes moved upwards as the glowing neon sign for O came into view, scanning the above floors to see if I could guess which of the lit rooms beyond belonged to each girl.
We crossed the street, my suitcase protesting only a little as it went from curb to curb. Instead of heading to the red-lit steps that led to the club, we continued down the block, entering the building through a set of glass doors with beautiful brushed brass handles into a bright and modern lobby with glossy white marble floors.
Sitting at a large, thick glass desk was an honest-to-god uniformed doorman who jumped up immediately to try and take my bag from Ren.
“Let me bring that up for you, Ms. Nakamura.”
“I’ve got it, Allen. Thank you,” she said, breezing past to head for the elevator while I marveled at the sparkling crystal chandelier overhead.
Fuck me, I knew they were rich. I knew they were powerful… But this?
This is a lot.
The Lower City was peculiar, a checkerboard of wealth and poverty that made it impossible to tell from the outside whether the building you were passing was a bug-infested rat den or—inexplicably like this—something straight out of a season of the Real Housewives.
I stepped stiffly into the elevator behind Ren, my eyes feasting on the carved wood interior. The vampire pressed a fob against the electronic panel, the red light at its center turning green before the elevator began to rise smoothly.
“We own the building,” she explained, as though she could sense the question on the tip of my tongue. “Or maybe Garrett does… I guess?”
I made a face at the reminder of their issue with Cherie’s will, which was more an issue with her surviving relative.
“So the deed to the club is…” I said slowly, a larger problem than losing their livelihood taking shape.
“Also the deed to our home, yes,” Ren replied, the irritation clear in her tone. “It’s a shit show, I know.”
The numbers over the elevator door ascended, marking our passage from floor to floor until we reached the top. The door slid open smoothly, revealing not a hallway as I expected, but an elegantly decorated entryway that fed into the open-concept living space. As we made our way inside, the living room and kitchen came into view, the dining room not far off, breaking into a short hallway. Just off the entry, on the other side, was a set of stairs, leading up to what I guessed was a second story.
It was, undoubtedly, massive.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, not sure where to look first.
The furnishings and fittings were modern, with white glossy cabinets offset with grey stone counters threaded with white to match. Brushed steel appliances with pops of buttery yellows and blues made it feel like the set of a cooking show, especially when paired with the rainbow colour-coded collection of cookbooks lying on top of the cabinets. Five blush pink and gold upholstered stools lined the kitchen bar, beautiful glitter-flecked acrylic placemats marking each seat.
The living room was spacious but still cozy, the coffee table littered with embroidery supplies, snacks, and a half-full teacup as a movie I’d seen half a dozen times played on the ostentatiously large flat-screen television, framed to look like a moving painting. It bordered on cluttered with the many plants, books, and decorations that filled the large built-in shelves spanning the far wall, dotted with lamps, brass animals, and flameless candles between beautifully covered special editions. But it was done so tastefully that it managed to toe the line happily between too much and just enough, landing on a look that was decidedly curated. Lived in.
Ren led me deeper inside, onto plush area rugs, as she pointed out the major areas as though you couldn’t fit all of Kaylee’s apartment into the living room of this veritable palace alone.
“Kitchen, dining, living room. That through there is my darkroom.”
“You have your own darkroom?” I asked, interest piqued, as I headed for the hallway she’d gestured to.”I sort of thought those were banished to the backs of failing department stores.”
Ren grinned, setting my suitcase aside to lead me into the first door on the left. She flicked on the light, and red bulbs glowed to life smoothly to illuminate a space about the size of a double walk-in closet. On either side of the room were metal shelves filled with paper, chemicals, cameras, and film canisters. A small, standing freezer in the corner hummed quietly as Ren gestured to the photographs hanging to dry from crisscrossing strings overhead.
“For my cameras,” she explained, “I’ve always been fascinated by film. Capturing a moment, you know? All the emotion of life in a still image.”
I studied the photographs, beautiful and alluring black-and-white stills of the girls from the club mid-performance, but my attention was captivated by something a little more personal—a collection of five photos of Juniper splayed on her back, a hand between her thick thighs as she pleasured herself.
My face flamed, and Ren inhaled sharply as the scent of my blood permeated the space. I averted my eyes, feeling a bit like I’d seen something I wasn’t supposed to.
But I desperately want to see more of it.
“This has… deep serial killer vibes,” I said, trying to hide my embarrassment.
She laughed. “I promise the freezer isn’t for body parts. It's for film.”
“Film? Why?” I asked, opening the door curiously to find opaque canisters. She opened one to show me the rolls of film inside.
“Film is perishable, and since I like to use vintage canisters that are out of production, I have to take good care of it to try and extend its lifespan.” She closed the door to the freezer with her hand over mine, leaning in to brush her lips over my shoulder. “You know, you should let me take a few of you…”
My mind immediately went to the portraits of Juniper, her plush body lounging on the sheets. The idea of having Ren take pictures of me in a similar circumstance was nothing short of thrilling.
“I’ll think about it,” I purred, turning to wrap my arms around her neck for a kiss charged by my fantasies. “Clothes on or?—?”
“Hey!” Juniper called irritably, shattering our bubble of privacy and making heat rise to the back of my neck again. “Who’s tacky suitcase?!”
“June,” Ren scolded, sticking her head into the hall. “I’ll get it in a second. I was just showing Vi around. She’ll be staying with us for a while.”
Juniper squeaked out a choked, embarrassed noise that made my ears perk.
“V-Vi?” she hissed. “She’s here, right now?”
“In the flesh—” I started, following Ren out of the room as she flicked off the light, closing the door behind me.
The redheaded vampire looked at me wide-eyed with the distinct air of someone who’d been caught. A bit of an overcorrection for hating my suitcase, or at least that’s what I thought until my gaze trailed down her plump frame, my lips parting as I recognised the T-shirt she was wearing.
Worn, heather grey fabric clung to her curves, the hem dusting her upper thigh, making me salivate. The faded, cracked logo of the Nightwalkers stretched over her round breasts, with the slightly stretched collar revealing just enough of her shoulder and chest for me to see the hint of her collarbone and her creamy skin.
“So that’s where that went.” I smirked.
It was undeniable; I’d recognize that T-shirt anywhere. I’d caught it out of a cannon during a charity game and lent it to Juniper—damn near six years later—so she’d be comfortable during her sleepover.
“I-I-” Juniper stammered, her blue eyes wide like a deer in headlights as Elsie came running down the stairs in a flash of silvery blonde hair.
She squealed, ducking around Juniper to race into my arms, grabbing my face in her hands for an excited kiss.
“Dana just called! Are you really staying?”
I couldn’t help but laugh, giving her a squeeze. “So long as someone is okay sharing a bedroom.”
She gasped excitedly, face lighting up as she stole another kiss. “Oh! You can sleep in?—”
“Already called dibs,” Ren said icily, smacking a loud kiss against Elsie’s cheek. “Let me show you where it is, Vi?”
“Sure.”
“Hey!” Elsie whined, hanging from my arms so heavily she nearly pulled me to the floor with her as she bent backwards to watch Ren head for the stairs. “That’s so unfair!”
Juniper had taken advantage of the distraction to disappear back into the house before I could really call her out on her minor theft. But there would be time to tease my thieving black cat later.
Besides… I liked knowing she’d found comfort in my clothes. It was easy to wonder what some of Ren’s photographs would look like with Juniper in my shirt, legs bent, pulling down the hem to hide her pussy demurely from prying eyes as she looked into the lens.
Killer birthday present idea alert, I thought as I pulled Elsie upright to lean against my chest.
“No one said you couldn’t join us,” I offered, pressing a kiss on her temple. It was unusual to see the little blonde vampire without any makeup, her bare skin scented with rose moisturizer as we shared air.
“Perfect,” she whispered. “Are you okay? How’s Babydoll?”
I’d been so distracted by this place—and the vampires in it—that I’d nearly forgotten Kaylee’s ruined apartment.
“Reasonably upset.” I winced, taking Elsie’s hand to continue our conversation as Ren led us up the stairs to the second floor.
On the way, affixed to the wall so that it took up nearly the entire space between floors, was a beautiful photograph of a vampire, her long white dress see-through in a pool of water, revealing her curves amongst flowers floating on its surface.
She was… familiar in a way.
Like an old-time movie actress you’d only seen clips of during award season. Or someone who had been on the cover of a magazine.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Elsie said, following my eyeline.
“Stunning,” I agreed, my heart squeezing as I looked at her face, drawn with inexplicable emotion. “Who is she?”
“Cherie,” Elsie said, a twinge of sadness in her voice. “My sire. She was so beautiful, like a supermodel.”
“Did Ren take this?” I asked, thinking of the darkroom just downstairs.
Elsie nodded, dropping her voice to a whisper—not that it would do any good with Ren’s improved hearing as we trailed after her in the carpeted hall. “It was for a class; her model canceled at the last minute.”
Ren smiled, though it didn’t quite touch her eyes, waiting beside an open door. “She was a really good sport about it too. Cherie hated getting her hair wet—she had this, like, really unruly half-wavy texture that was a pain to style. I take a university-level photography class every so often to keep my skills fresh, and the final exam was for the professor to watch you run an editorial shoot from concept storyboarding to execution.”
“Sounds like a lot of work,” I muttered.
“It was.” Ren shrugged. “But that’s what I paid them for—to assess me. My model no-showed on the day and I was freaking out. It was just good luck that Cherie had been wearing a sundress when she dropped off my lunch. One of the other girls lent her a bit of blush, and into the pool she went.”
“Was she pretty spontaneous then?”
“God no.” Elsie shook her head, silver hair catching the light. “She was all about order. Everything in its place—Juniper used to drive her insane leaving her stuff everywhere in the living room. Ooh! Maybe instead of making a big mess in the kitchen, I’ll order us all some takeout? We can cuddle and watch a movie.”
“Sounds great, Els,” Ren praised at the same time I said, “Pizza?”
“Mm-hmm! Also, dibs on the window side. I hate sleeping close to the door,” she said, pointing down the hall. “My room is that one! Come see it later?”
“Absolutely,” I said, joining Ren inside.
“Middle work for you?” she asked. “Might be a little squishy.”
I looked around Ren’s room—immaculately clean to the point of nearly sterile—and nearly let out a moan.
Against the wall to the left was a low king-sized bed, the tufted black velvet headboard and frame wrapping around a thick mattress with a cozy-looking duvet.
What a fucking upgrade from Kaylee’s sofa.
“I’ll survive it,” I promised, sitting on the edge of the bed and flopping backwards with a happy groan as I sank into beautiful, immobile, memory foam bliss. “Oh my god…”
Ren chuckled, setting my suitcase down by the door. “I’ll unpack you if you’d like. Can’t imagine that mess will be sorted any time soon, and there’s no reason for you to continue living out of a suitcase.”
“This is going to be home for a while,” Elsie promised, racing in after me to cannonball onto the bed, stretching out to lie against my side. “Sooooo, pick somewhere you’ll be comfortable. Like my room, if you aren’t into the boring minimalist thing.”
Maybe I died.
Maybe this is what heaven feels like.
“Like I said, I called dibs,” Ren reminded her, cocking an eyebrow. “And you have no closet space.”
“Dibs schmibs,” Elsie muttered as I sat up, accidentally dislodging her arm. “I can make room.”
Ren let out a disbelieving laugh as I sat up, taking in the monochromatic white, black, and grey combo of Ren’s room, streaked with swashes of colour provided by the lights outside the window.
The effect was a bit like a watercolour painting, washes of vibrant pink and blue made translucent in their lack of tangibility.
Beside the walk-in closet Ren opened to make space for my stuff in her drawers—where I could see row after row of clothes carefully organised by colour and type staring back at me like a high-end department store—was another door.
“Do you have two closets?” I asked. “Maybe the other is less, uh, full?”
“Huh?” Ren poked her head out to look at me, hair sticking up a little from the static of the clothes that she was patting down impatiently. “Oh, no. That’s a bathroom.”
She knocked before opening it, giving me a glimpse of the white tile and double sink vanity beyond. “It’s a Jack and Jill,” she explained, flicking on the light to point at the door on the far side. “That’s Juniper’s room.”
“You’re neighbours?” I asked, surprised that overly tidy Ren and notoriously disorganised Juniper were able to share a space without killing each other.
They were obviously close. Other than Elsie, the masculine vampire seemed to spend the most time with Juniper, but nearly sharing a room? With those competing personalities?
“Yes, they nearly kill each other three times a week,” Elsie stage-whispered, making me laugh.
“Dana won't feel left out?” I asked. “If I’m staying in your room and Els is sleeping with us?”
Elsie laughed. “Dana will absolutely sneak a spot in the middle of the night, so if you wake up with Ren’s elbow in your face, it’s not my fault.”
Ren caught my eye, the ghost of a smile revealing her fangs before she disappeared back into the closet. “You only have one bag. Do you think two drawers will be okay?”
“More than okay. When you’re done, do you wanna see if we can catch the game highlights?”
“Only if I get to pick the movie after,” Elsie complained. “It’s seriously the dumbest stereotype that all vampires like baseball.”
After way too many slices of pizza and a couple of beers, I was almost feeling relaxed.
Juniper had come down for dinner, but I couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t wearing my T-shirt anymore, going for her usual black dress with stockings instead. She pretended as long as she could that she was interested in the replay of the game Ren had found for us to watch before disappearing back upstairs to her room.
Elsie sat on the floor, using the coffee table to colour while she listened to an audiobook, happy to just be close to us while Ren, Dana, and I talked over the commentators.
Dana had arrived home a couple of hours earlier and gave us a hasty overview of the damage to Kaylee’s apartment between bites of pizza. Apparently, it would be weeks, if not months, before the place was livable again. First, they’d need to dry it out, and then they’d need to rip out the floor and walls to double-check that there wasn’t any lingering moisture to create mold before they could think about replacing everything. Her insurance company would need to cut her a check for her damaged belongings, and it would be up to her to source new furniture—not to mention new clothes.
I’d texted her, but she didn’t reply, which was fair enough. If I had to guess, she and Danny were about fifteen rounds deep into Hoarse right now, trying to forget the whole thing happened in the first place.
A call could wait until morning.
Ren toyed with my bracelet absently as she watched the screen. “She could move in too, you know,” she said, as though vampire powers had somehow begun to include mind reading.
“Kaylee?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“It is close to work… But I think she’s kind of excited to stay with Danny for a bit. Their place is close to the garage, so it gives her an excuse to go in and tinker.”
If I knew my best friend, the moment she sobered up, she’d either be elbow-deep in an engine or have her hands wrapped around the wheel. Kaylee’s friends—especially me—got bored to tears listening to her talk about her car. The only one who held any real interest in the topic was Danny, which made this the silver lining in the whole situation.
My phone buzzed on the table, and I leaned forward to get it, groaning as I saw the bank’s contact flashing on the screen yet again.
In my opinion, this was the worst part of the Lower City. Anywhere else in the world, telemarketers had rules against making calls after a certain time, but here? Most essential services were 24/7 to accommodate both vampire and human sleep patterns. Telemarketers and bill collectors could try to reach you anytime.
The sleep mode on my phone got a serious workout.
I knew I still didn’t have the money for all of it, but, at the very least, with the money I’d been earning at O, I could make a payment plan. It was time to deal with my mess.
I peeled myself away from Ren, sighing.
“I’m going to get this.”
“Want me to pause?” Dana asked, sliding her feet off my lap.
“So I can watch us get wrecked some more? Pass; it’s almost a good thing we missed it.”
Ren laughed. “You can say that again.”
I headed upstairs, answering the call on the way up. “Hello?”
“Hello. This is Dianna Webb from Dominion Bank. Am I speaking with Vivienne Knox?”
“Yeah, listen, I know?—”
The woman on the other end of the phone sighed in relief. “Oh, good. I’m so sorry to bother you, but you are the beneficiary of a safety deposit box, and the payments have lapsed. We’re hoping you could come in to empty it out.” She laughed a little as I entered Ren’s room, closing the door behind me to sit heavily on the bed. “We’ve actually stopped offering it as a service a few months ago, and they’ve moved most of the accounts to the central branch.”
“Oh! Um… I’m sorry, which bank is this? Which location?”
“Dominion, Miss Knox. On 114th and 102nd.”
Fucking typical, just a few blocks from my dad’s former office.
I doubted he even realised that he’d let the stupid thing lapse. The notices were probably sitting at home on the counter in his pile of unopened mail.
Jackass.
“Sure, yeah. I can come in tomorrow,” I offered. “I don’t have the key, though.”
A soft buzz met my ears, so quiet I nearly missed it. But the sound that came after, unmistakably the beginnings of a trembling moan, fully caught my attention.
No. Way.
“That’s alright. Just bring some ID and we will use the spares.”
“Yeah, totally, ID…” Another, louder moan made my heart race. There goes my train of thought. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bye!” I hung up, tossing my phone on the bed with no time to feel guilty about being slightly rude.
Standing from the bed, I crept to the bathroom door, just barely unlatched, inching it open with my fingertips.
With the bathroom between us to hopefully muffle the sound of my pounding heartbeat, I opened the door enough to get a view of the room beyond.
Juniper’s door was open to reveal her living space.
And Juniper was lying on her back on the bed, her little dress pulled down over one of her soft breasts as she toyed with her nipple, a pair of white headphones covering her ears.
The little chintz lamp bathed her in a warm glow, illuminating her soft, round stomach and plush thighs, indented by the band of her thigh-high stockings. The rubberised lace was gripping her skin hard enough that it spilled over the tops as she trailed a small, handheld wand vibrator up and down her glistening sex. The thatch of red hair on her pubic mound caught the light in shades of almost blonde, orange, and deep red.
Holy. Fuck.
I stood, frozen, watching as she touched herself with her eyes closed, her pretty pink pussy slick with her arousal as she nudged the vibe against her clit, drawing out another one of those decadent little moans that made my toes curl.
“Fuck,” she whispered softly, whimpering as her hips jerked and ground against the toy, fingers pinching her nipple hard as her full breast spilled to the side. “ Fuck , Vi, please?—”
What?
I must’ve heard her wrong.
Vi?
I pushed the door open so I could step into the bathroom, inching closer over the cold tile as quietly as possible to lean in her doorframe.
If she so much as opened her eyes, I’d be caught. But as I watched Juniper’s hand slide from her chest to her cunt, teasing herself with her fingers, I found I didn’t really care.
She was calling me.
Wanted me to be the one touching her.
Fantasised about it.
The least I can do is watch.
The vampire whimpered, two digits disappearing inside, and I swallowed hard, watching as she fucked herself with her hand. Blue eyes closed in bliss as her dimpled thighs trembled more the closer she got to finishing.
“Vi, please…” she moaned, a little louder. “Fuck, fuck, fuck?—”
Juniper’s entire body shuddered as she came, her chest and stomach jiggling with the force of it like an invitation to sink my teeth right into her. To feel the give of her body as I held it close to mine.
Her eyes opened, surprised blue sky meeting my dark, heavy gaze as she panted. She reached up to pull off her headphones, the whispers of a smooth-voiced, spicy audio narrator drifting toward me where I stood.
I couldn’t move and I couldn’t stop staring.
But neither could she.
I expected her to be bashful, to snap her legs together in embarrassment and refuse to meet my eyes after being caught making herself come to the idea of me only hours after I’d caught her wearing my stolen T-shirt. But Juniper spread her legs further, drawing my eyes to her glossy sex as she nudged the vibrator against her clit again, making herself moan as she arched her back.
Dirty little show-off.
“Are you just going to watch, or are you going to tell me what to do?” she whispered breathlessly, the need in her tone spurring me into action before I’d fully committed to what I wanted to do.
I shut the door of Juniper’s light-soaked bedroom with a bang and moved to the woman lounging on the navy blue sheets, the contrast with her pale, pink-toned skin absolutely electric.
“Neither,” I hissed, grabbing her ankle to drag her toward me at the end of the mattress, roughly sliding her over the embroidered duvet as my knees met the vintage rug. “You got it all wrong, Juniper.”
She looked at me wide-eyed as I took the vibrator from her, trailing its buzzing head along her inner thigh.
“Got what wrong?” she gasped, whining softly as I used my shoulders to spread her for me. “God, please touch me.”
“You won’t get away with just a little panting when I fuck you, baby girl,” I crooned, teasing inches away from where she needed my attention most, making her buck her hips impatiently. “I’m going to make you scream.”
She moaned as I rested her heavy leg over my shoulder, lips trailing along the silken material of her stocking reverently.
“I… I don’t do that all the?—”
“I’m flattered,” I interrupted her. “It was hot as fuck to see you make yourself come thinking about me. But I’m here now, and I can do it for you. Would you like that, June?”
“Yes,” she huffed, chewing her lip against a gasp as I nudged the vibe against her clit, pulling it away just as fast. “Touch me?’
I kissed her ankle, continuing to tease her quivering sex with the toy as I nipped and sucked my way to the lace band.
Juniper moaned as my fingers dug into her flesh.
We’d hardly begun, and I already knew I’d leave my fingerprints all over her, marking her dimpled flesh as easily as if I’d wrapped my lips around the skin to suck bruises into her skin.
Juniper whined, her hips lifting to chase the vibe as I pulled her stocking slowly down, revealing her smooth, hairless calf.
“Hands above your head,” I ordered softly.“Tell me about what they were doing in that little audiobook of yours. Were they touching each other? Did they have their fingers inside each other’s pussies? Did they?—”
She tried to chase the vibe with her hips, a frustrated moan escaping her.
“They were, fuck Vi, please—scissoring… Rubbing their clits together…”
“Is that what you want, Juniper? For me to slot my pussy against yours and ride you?”
“Vi, come on,” she insisted, already winding her hands through the metal headboard. “Stop teasing and fuck me already?—”
I peeled her other stocking off the rest of the way, bunching it in my fist and forcing it into her mouth mid-sentence, looking down at her with a cocked eyebrow.
“For such an eager little bottom,” I said, nodding to her hands where she’d already complied with my order. “You have an attitude problem.”
She grunted through the material, huffing her disagreement.
“How many times have you rolled your eyes at me? Or scoffed and said something snarky?” I asked, pressing the vibrator to her clit, rewarded instantly with a loud, whimpering moan. “No more. Not after listening to you beg for me to pleasure you. You want me, Juniper? Good. I want you more.”
She tried to protest around the stocking, her hands beginning to loosen around the metal rails.
“Do. Not. Move.”
I undid my jeans one-handed, pushing my pants and underwear down my hips to pool on the floor.
“Oh god,” she mumbled, muffled, as I used my knee to nudge her up the bed, making myself enough room to climb onto the mattress with her.
“I’ll let you behave however you wish out there,” I whispered softly. “If I’m honest… I kind of think it's hot when you’re a little mean. But in here…”
I turned the toy off and tossed it aside, using my freed-up hand to angle her pelvis the way I needed it, slipping one leg under hers as the other went over her hip.
“The only thing I want to hear from you is praise.”