Billie Holiday
BILLIE HOLIDAY
Celine
The sun rises, but I don’t bother with a coffin. I let the heavy day take me. It makes me impossibly weak, keeps me bound in my useless body. I let it sap my strength, weigh me down to the floor. It feels good to be helpless.
I spend another two days like this, a prisoner in my suite.
Then I start to miss the music. But I’m too weak for the piano, and its bare melodies make me more melancholy.
I crawl to the record-player. It’s too difficult to change the record, so I simply move the arm back to its original place and press play. It’s the last record I listened to.
.
Amara
There’s a strange mood in the club when I arrive for my shift. I’ve been off for a few days, so maybe it’s just my imagination. But the air seems heavier and somber. There are more vampires than living humans, and they stay near the back, eying each other like predator and prey.
“Nova, is everything ok?” I ask, pouring a whiskey for the bear shifter as they take their usual seat at the bar.
“Didn’t you hear?” they ask, their pale eyebrows furrowed. “Tudor Thornblade came back for a visit after he heard about what happened between Celine and Cedric. He was not happy. Xia said he drained someone just to teach Celine a lesson.”
I gasp. “He what ?”
“Yeah,” Nova downs the entire glass in one gulp. “Really nasty business.”
“That’s awful.” I put a hand to my chest. I make a silent prayer to the moon for the life of an innocent lost too soon. “I thought that sort of thing didn’t happen as much anymore.”
“It’s more common at other vampire clubs. Here, Celine usually prevents vampires from draining humans. She says it’s because it’s bad for business, but I think it bothers her. That must have been why Tudor did it in front of her. He knew it would upset her,” Nova says, putting their glass out. I refill it quickly. “Ugh. Vampires . I don’t mind working for Celine and Renata, because they don’t do things like that. But Tudor Thornblade, he’s one of the oldest vampires on the continent. He plays by the old rules. It gives me the creeps.”
Nova sips their second glass of whiskey somberly. I pour myself some wine. I typically don’t drink so early in my shift, but I feel shaken up by this news.
We drink in silence until a customer appears. I mix her Long Island iced tea and then I have nothing to do again but polish the same spot on the counter. Nova goes to patrol the club.
I wish it was a bit busier. I wouldn’t mind some work right now to keep me occupied. Instead, anxious thoughts start to swirl in my head. I don’t like the tension between the vampire gangs, even though Lavinia thinks it’s below us to worry about things like that. And if Tudor and his prized progeny are also on the outs, that can’t be good for the Triple Council, or the thin peace that Lavinia is trying to keep.
And my brain keeps looping back to Celine.
That’s why when she shows up at the bar, I wonder if I’m imagining her.
“Hello, Amara,” she says, flatly. Her dark hair is piled on top of her head. It looks lanky and duller than usual. She has a haunted look in her eyes. She looks like she’s been to hell and back.
“Hi,” I reply, my tone a bit short. Despite everything Nova said, I’m still hurt from the other night. And I need to remember that Celine is the enemy. Just because she doesn’t like draining humans, it doesn’t mean she wouldn’t kill me if she had to. “Can I get you anything? ”
“That tasteless bloodwine my sister makes? No, thank you.”
I match her cold stare with my own. “Then what are you doing here? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me anymore. You’re a terrifying monster, remember?”
Her lip twitches. “I am a terrifying monster.”
There’s a heavy pause between us. I inhale deeply. I wish a customer would break the tension by ordering something, but they’re all giving Celine a wide berth.
I know that I have to be cautious around her, but I’m just not a cautious person. I can’t help myself. She’s like a black hole, pulling me in. I move to the edge of the bar, putting my elbows on it. We’re only a few feet apart. I can see the curve of her dark red lips and her collarbone.
And I see…something else. A deep, penetrating sadness behind her eyes.
It tugs at me.
“Is this you trying to apologize?” I ask, with a tilt of my head. “Because you’re very bad at it.”
She moves a little closer. Her voice softens.
“I was harsh with you before. I didn’t mean to be. I had…a bad night.”
“So you’re…” I wave my hand suggestively.
She presses her lips together in a thin line.
“I’m sorry ,” she concedes. “Do you accept my apology?”
I sigh. “Well, I wouldn’t mind if you groveled just a bit more.”
She puts her face close to mine, whispering in my ear. Her voice has a deep, silky rasp with an edge of vulnerability that knocks all my defenses down.
“Amara, I’m so sorry I said those things to you in the alley. I was angry. I had a bad evening. But that’s no excuse. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have pushed you away. It had nothing to do with you, or the way that I feel about you.”
My heart flutters slightly. The way she feels about me? How does she feel about me?
“I miss you, Amara. Will you forgive me? Please?”
There’s something desperate in her pale eyes, in the light tremor of her voice, which is usually so firm.
And…I melt. I’ve always been a sucker, and I completely fall for it.
It’s embarrassing, how easy I am.
I know this is a bad idea. I know she’s a bad vampire. But! It’s my job to spy on Tudor and his progeny. What a better way to spy than to get close to his eldest progeny, the notorious vampire mafia boss?
Surely Lavinia and the other Hecate witches would agree.
And I’ll keep an eye on her. I can hold my own if I need to.
Really, it would be stupid not to take this opportunity.
Plus, she’s groveling !
I can’t believe she’s acting this way. Is it real? Is it an act?
I want to believe that she’s truly sorry, although I know I can’t trust her. But my sappy side gives in. My father always told me that I should listen to that side more than the other.
“All right,” I whisper back. “I forgive you. But you have to make it up to me!”
“Well…do you like hot tubs?”
There are perks to sleeping with your boss. One of them is getting out of your shift early.
And when your boss owns a fancy chain of hotels, another perk is apparently very fancy hot tubs!
“Oh my Goddess,” I gasp. “I thought you meant like…a normal hot tub!”
She furrows her perfect eyebrows. “What’s a normal hot tub?”
I shake my head in disbelief. “Not this .”
Celine has taken me to a private cabana on the roof of the hotel. Lounge chairs stretch out in neat rows, under the lush foliage of dozens of potted ferns. The hot tub is impossible to miss. It’s built right into the stone, and it’s massive . You could do laps in it. Yet the curated grasses and soft, underwater lights give it an intimate, sensual ambiance.
The city provides most of the light. To the north, the bright lights of the city glitter, more numerous than the stars in the sky. To the south, the lake shines like glass, reflecting the city back onto itself.
I guess that’s why they call it Silverlake City.
Celine pulls off her blazer, and then her tank top and shoes. I’m close behind, kicking off my sneakers eagerly.
If this is what espionage is like, I could really get used to it.
She’s in the water first, submerging herself quickly. She takes her hair down, so it shines, sleek around her shoulders.
It’s early September, so the air is still quite warm. But we’re so high up that the breeze feels wonderful on my erect nipples and exposed body.
I dip my foot in the water first. It’s properly hot, and my muscles immediately relax. I put another foot in, then start to walk down the hot tub’s marble stairs.
It’s exquisite. I didn’t realize how much tension I was holding in.
She turns around, her body glistening with water.
“You’re perfect,” she purrs, admiring me boldly with her gaze.
Two hundred years, but I feel like a stupid, babbling teenager at her words.
“So are you.”
She reaches out for me, wrapping her hands around my waist. Her cold skin contrasts strangely with the heat of the water, but something about her grounds me. She moves like a creature of the night, seamlessly cutting through the water like it’s nothing.
Her strong arms hold me close. Her embrace is more tender than before, more careful. She’s holding me like I’m precious, like she’s terrified to lose me.
Or perhaps I’m just imagining that. There must have been hundreds before me - thousands, probably.
Although we’re both centuries old, I’ve amassed comparatively fewer lovers. The lifestyle of a good witch is very different than that of a vampire mafia queen.
As she kisses me under the stars, I’m struck by how completely I’ve been pulled into her world. What a rush the past months have been.
And as I kiss her back, I realize that I don’t want these moments to end. Not the ones with her. I hadn’t realized how difficult it was to lose her the first time. I don’t know what sort of hold she has on me, but it’s more than I ever bargained for.
More than I know what to do with.
I kiss her more urgently now, my tongue insistent and my teeth gently biting her lips. She responds in kind, her hands traveling my body, caressing my backside in the hot, steamy water .
My hands come up to her breasts, dripping wet and firm. Her nipples are hard and smooth. I run my fingers over them lightly. She gives me a strange look. I wonder how often it is that someone pleasures her in this way. I realize that I’ve never actually seen her completely naked.
“Is it all right?” I ask.
She nods, something in her eyes softening. I sit down on the hot tub’s bench, submerged to my shoulders, and she straddles me, so I can take her soft nipples between my lips.
I work them with my tongue, caressing her slowly. Her eyes shut and she sighs, more powerful than any scream or moan could have been.
I want to go slowly, to give us time together. I want to build the intimacy between us, even though reason tells me not to.
But she looks so peaceful…so trusting…
I put my hands on her hips, pulling her closer to me. She puts her arms around my shoulders, holding me like an anchor. I move to her other breast, licking and exploring her, my tongue consistent and firm.
When I can’t wait any longer, I stand again. She puts her hand under me, moving toward my slit.
“Can I touch you too?” I ask. “I want us to come together.”
She gives me another strange look, then nods.
Our bodies move together now, as one. I bring my hand close to her, touching her softly at first. She wiggles a little bit, and I back off, then she eases into my touch. I wonder again how often she’s been touched. If she’s ever been touched like this before.
“I can stop, if you like, just tell me,” I whisper in her ear.
“It’s ok,” she says. Her voice is so low I almost don’t hear it.
I use one finger to stroke her gently under the water. She’s slick with fluid, and I easily massage her, moving up and down the lips of her slit. She starts to move with me, then reaches for me.
My knees almost buckle at her skillful touch. She matches me, stroking up and down confidently. My pleasure makes me more bold, and I reach for her clit, my fingers dancing in tight circles around it.
“Oh!” she gasps. She falters for a second.
I can’t help smiling; there’s something so charming about this always-in-control, stoic vampire queen, getting a little weak in the knees at my touch. I pull her closer, holding her up.
She looks at me with surprise, but doesn’t stop me. The faint expression of vulnerability on her face makes my sappy heart melt.
But then a mischievous glint returns to her eyes and she takes my clit between her fingers, rubbing it quickly and expertly. I moan loudly, my pleasure mounting again.
“Ooh, I’m close!” I whisper urgently.
“Me too,” she says.
There’s a powerful moment between us as our eyes lock. Her lips part. I can see her fangs now, her pointy canines lined up between the rest of her perfect teeth.
As the pressure builds up inside me, I can see it building up in her. And I want so badly for her to pierce my skin with her sharp fangs, to suck at me, to drink from me…the desire is so raw and so taboo…but now that it’s entered my mind, I can’t think of anything else. I picture the wonderful mixture of pleasure and pain, the delicious wrongness of the transgression, the absolute surrender of being her’s…
And a wonderful, powerful wave of pleasure crests through my body as I orgasm. Her eyes shut in an expression of pure joy and I feel the throbbing of her clit as she comes.
I sit back down on the bench of the hot tub, engulfed in the incredible, warm water, like a soothing blanket wrapped around me.
And to my delighted surprise, she sits in my lap, her arms around my neck. Her eyes are still closed and she nestles her head into the crook of my neck.
There’s a strand of wet brown hair against her cheek. I move it out of her face and I hold onto her tightly, not speaking. Her face is so peaceful in this moment. I want to savour it.
I try not to think about the forbidden urge I had just moments ago. It’s much too dangerous to entertain, even as a fantasy. If she drank my blood, she might be able to taste the magic in my veins, and it could give me away. If that happens, who knows what she could be capable of.
But looking at her, so tenderly wrapped in my arms, it’s hard to imagine that she could hurt me. Her lips are curved slightly upwards, and she nestles into me so sweetly.
Her eyes open slightly and she looks up at me, her brow furrowed.
“I’m sorry,” she says. Her voice doesn’t sound like her’s. It sounds softer, like the hush of a breeze through a graveyard.
“No need to apologize,” I reply. “We can stay like this, if you like.”
She nods, and pulls me a little tighter.
I wonder how long it’s been since she was held. How much she might have needed it over the years.
I don’t ask her. But I don’t need to.
We stay that way, until the first whispers of the dawn appear over the city skyline.