"Can't be at the Haven ALL the time, man." Cash mock swatted
at the back of
the younger Kindred's head.
"I know," Joe said, ducking so just the tips of the Gangrel's
fingers
caught his hair. "But couldn't we play something a little
more interesting."
"And what would you suggest, Mr. Girard, a game of spin
the bottle?" The
question, accompanied by a decided smirk, came from a
different Gangrel, the
female lawyer sitting across the table.
"Or maybe strip poker?" David added with a knowing
glance. He shifted his
weight so Morgaine rested more across his lap than on
one leg.
"The problem is, Joe, that you young ones don't
know how to amuse yourself
without a party or at least the television," Daedalus
announced, looking up
from the book in his lap. "You have all had your amusement
handed to you.
This is rather how the noble families spent their time
together."
"Don't be pompous, Daedalus," Morgaine teased. "Even though
you're right. I
have to admit, I rather like having more than six books
though. Modern life
has advantages."
"So, have I missed our team's turn?" Julian quizzed as
he walked back into
the room. The prince, dressed utterly casual in worn
jeans and chambray
shirt, took the seat between Dina and Cash. "Michael
says he and Elsbet will
drop by later. They had some art reception to do."
"Joe's not happy with the game," David commented.
"He's having trouble with the concept of staying home
for the evening,"
Morgaine added.
"Guys, stop it." Joe stood up and stalked over to the
sideboard, which was
doubling as bar tonight. "I didn't say that. Exactly.
I just wondered if we
couldn't find something more interesting to play than
this board game."
"Got a different game in mind, cub?" Cash drawled teasingly.
[I can think
of several.]
Joe turned around and leaned back against the sideboard,
beer in hand.
"Well, I'd be agreeable to David's suggestion," he said
with a leer.
"No." The resounding negative came from about six different
directions at
once.
"Okay," Joe said, making the word sound like it had six
syllables. He
turned the Corona up and chugged at it. "Somebody else
make a suggestion."
"Truth or Dare." Cash flung the words out like a formal challenge.
"Childer," came a muttered comment from the corner.
Joe nearly sputtered his beer down his shirt as he heard
the words.
[Awright. I knew there was something I liked about that
man.] "I'm game."
"Going out on a limb, Cash?" Julian smiled as he glanced
askew at his
lover. "Could be dicey."
"I'm in," Caleb announced with a feral grin on his face.
"Love a good
story."
"And it could be fun, Julian." Morgaine got up from David's
lap, where she
had been curled, and moved toward her brother. "We're
all family."
"Sure. I'd love to know more about you guys," Dina said.
"Jason? This is
one you *can* play. C'mon."
The ever cautious Jason peered over his glasses warily.
Ever since he'd
come to live in this house, circumstances had seemed
to conspire to force
him out of the shell in which he'd lived all his years
as Kindred. "Okay,"
her sire agreed reluctantly after a few minutes of nudging.
Cash grinned, getting up to lean over Julian's shoulder.
"No dares that
break the Masquerade, and everybody gets one 'pass' --
only one, mind you,
so think before you use it. The next question might be
even more
embarrassing." He ran a finger along Julian's neck as
he went to get himself
a beer. "Daedalus, you in?"
"Okay, I give." Julian sighed as his lover's fingers fell
against his
shoulder. [Cash. Joe. You're both going to pay for this
later. Don't think I
don't know you're collaborators.] The mental tone was
lighthearted.
"I shall remain neutral in this game, as adjudicator if
you will should any
of you feel a dare is unjustified." The Nosferatu put
his book down on the
table beside his chair.
"Ever the neutral one, eh?" Morgaine's gently teased her
oldest Kindred
lover.
[Trust us, Julian. You'll have fun.] Joe stepped forward
and leaned over
the back of David's chair. "Davy, you haven't committed.
You going to play?"
"I should BE committed. I know you won't play fair. But
hell, why not. I
can't die of embarrassment. Again." The young Ventrue's
chuckle took the
sting out of his words.
Joe kissed the top of his sibling's head. "I'll play fair
enough for you to
enjoy it," he teased.
"Daedalus, who should start?" Morgaine asked, playfully.
"And don't say 'Julian, 'cause he's the prince',"
Julian quickly added.
"I'm stepping down for the night." He pushed his chair
back and moved to
retrieve a bottle of wine from the bar.
"Very well, then Caleb, the youngest
of us. You ask the first question."
Daedalus smiled at the boy, rather liking this intense
childe of Cash's and
his fierce protectiveness of Morgaine.
"Me?" Caleb mouthed, then shrugged. "Okay. David, truth or dare?"
David gulped. [Oh, shit. Why me?] It
didn't help his composure that his
baby brother was still breathing down his neck. "Uh,
um. Truth." He leaned
his arms on the table.
"He'll go easy on you, bro." Joe whispered into his sibling's hair.
Caleb glared at the youngest Ventrue, affronted, though
he had planned to
ask an easy question to start this out. His eyes narrowed.
"The night I met
you at the Celtic exhibit, what did you think of me?"
Caleb leaned forward
as he asked the question. He'd gotten such mixed messages
from all three of
the Kindred that night. He was pretty sure of his place
with Cash and
Morgaine now, the blood bonds shared with them assuring
him of his place in
their lives, but the others in this room were still very
much mysteries to
the mathematician turned bodyguard.
"Damn. That's going easy on me, Joe?" David sighed. At
least the question
was open-ended enough to allow the Ventrue to equivocate
just a bit. In all
honesty, he had thought the mortal was damned attractive,
but he wasn't sure
about admitting that. Not here.
"I thought you were anachronistic, like the rest of us,
enough so to fit in
rather well. You were quick on your feet, able to keep
up with the curves
the three of us were throwing you. Nice looking. Pleasant."
[That's sidestepping the whole truth nicely, love.] Morgaine
caught David's
eye with a mildly disapproving look.
"Hmmm, the truth, but not the whole truth," Cash muttered
to his fledgling.
"You'll have to ask more direct questions than that,
mine own."
The glare and backhanded slap were more than enough. David
leaned back in
his chair and let out a tiny scream. "Okay, whole truth.
I thought you were
damned good looking. And, yes, I was flirting with you.
Just a little." He
looked down the table and smiled. "Everyone happy now?"
" I am. For now." Caleb raised his glass in salute to
David's answer.
"Who's next? Andrews?"
Laughter rippled around the table; even Daedalus in the
corner caught in a
chuckle.
David looked around and noticed his fellow scholarly type
doing his best to
blend into the woodwork. "Jason. Truth or dare?"
Jason bit his lip a little, eyes narrowing behind his
glasses. "Truth."
[And I hope I don't regret it. Dina, the things you talk
me into......]
[And you love them, dear, you know you do.] The pert female
Gangrel poked
her sire in the side. "Brave man," she teased.
"Hmmm, what to ask such a mysterious man?" David mulled
over the question
for a few minutes. "Have you gone all the way with Elenor?"
Poor Jason didn't know which way to look. If he *could*
blush, he would be
flaming red right about now. "Errrrrrr..... define your
terms," he
desperately stalled.
"Oh, c'mon, Jason, surely you know what 'all the way'
means," Joe said,
laughing. "Sliding home. Scoring."
"You. The Toreador. Sex. Simple." Dina giggled. "I know
the answer to this
one."
"Hush." He glared at his fledgling. "Never sleep with
a lawyer. I'll tell
you that gratis. They *always* find out whatever they
want to know." He
sighed. "Not yet, and it's not for lack of trying. She
'doesn't poach on
other women's turf'. "
There was a collective sigh from the room, mixed in with
a few "damns" and
one "too bad."
"So Victorian of her." Dina sighed in turn. "Do you think
I should talk to
her?"
"Actually, it might not hurt," Morgaine offered. "She
just is holding onto
her mortal morality longer than most of us do."
"Keep trying. She's bound to crack sooner or later," David
added. "Your
turn, Jason. Pick a victim."
Jason looked around the table appraisingly. "Cash. Truth or dare."
"Um, dare, I think." The elder Gangrel grinned, the imp
that hid just
beneath the surface breaking free. "Yes, I'll take the
dare."
Dina leaned over to whisper in her sire's ear, a gleam
in her eye. He
nodded decisively, and grinned ferally, for the first
time really looking
like a Gangrel to the others. "I dare you to show us
what *really* goes on
in the dungeon."
"SHIT." Cash dropped his head to the table top, shoulders
shaking with
laughter. "I didn't think you had it in you, Jason, my
boy." The he turned
to Daedalus, a hand raised in appeal.
"Oh, yeah, we wanna see that one," Morgaine's boys moaned in unison.
The grave Nosferatu shook his head. "You will not be breaking
the
Masquerade nor is this hazardous to life or limb. The
challenge stands."
"You started this game, Cash." Julian was barely suppressing
his laughter
at the thought of Cash demonstrating their dungeon activities.
"Perhaps
Jason would like to volunteer to assist you." He was
genuinely amused at the
young Gangrel's initiative in creating the dare.
Morgaine had remained silent as she moved behind Cash.
She pulled the knife
from the sheath at his back and leaned down, stretching
her arms out along
his. She placed the knife in his right hand and closed
his fingers around
it. "Let us show them, my gypsy," she whispered against
his hair.
"Domina." [My heart, let's give them a taste, something
to tease them a
little. Call me, command me.]
The other Gangrel watched in amazement as their primogen
slipped away,
replaced by a more primal man. Cash let down the civilized
barriers, warrior
and wolf and thrall colliding in his mind and bearing.
The Ventrue took a step backward. "Connain, cu," she said,
intentionally
mixing the endearments. "Come, please me."
"As you will it. What is your pleasure?" He rose from
his chair and stalked
toward her as she backed away, as if drawn to her side
by an invisible
leash. The watchers disappeared from his mind, only his
Dark Lady filling
his senses.
"Wolf cub, then wolf," David muttered, when Joe poked
his shoulder,
demanding a translation.
"Give me the blade," she said, her hand held out, palm up.
Cash went down on one knee, reversing the blade in his
hand, presenting the
hilt to her over his upraised arm. Caleb inhaled a sharp
breath, the action
being one of a liege man to his lady. She caught the
eye of her vowed
Gangrel across the table. [Your turn soon,] she promised
silently.
Caleb closed his eyes, savoring the promise. [Yes.]
Morgaine pulled the blade from Cash's clenched hand, pressing
as she did to
ensure it drew blood. She put the silver tip to her tongue
and licked at the
taste of Gangrel. "Take off your shirt, gypsy."
Julian quickly downed a glass of bloodwine and poured
another. [Damn. If we
don't end up downstairs for real later ...] His attention
was quickly drawn
to the soft moaning of the Ventrue to his right. [As
bad as their sire,
those two.]
His hand slick with blood, Cash hastened to obey. The
first couple of
buttons were managed fairly well, but the congealing
blood made his grip
sticky and in frustration he simply ripped the remaining
buttons loose. The
denim slid off his shoulders and puddled behind his still
kneeling form.
Morgaine moved forward into Cash's space and wrapped her
hand around his
neck, pulling him off his feet to face her. She pulled
him into a bruising
kiss as she let the tip of his knife score a pattern
across his shoulder
blade. [It has been too long, my love. We must continue
this later.]
"Please," Cash grated out in response to her unspoken
invitation. "Too long
without you," he whispered against her lips. [Don't know
how much of this is
pretense - very little, I think.]
The scent of his blood in the air carried especially to
the other Gangrel,
his arousal apparent in the very essence of the scent.
Dina gasped a little
as her sire gripped her hand. [I had NO idea, and I'm
sure they aren't
playing this as hard as they do without witnesses.]
Joe pulled a chair up next to David, just so he wouldn't
have to drop to
one knee to get closer. He rested his hand on his sibling's
thigh, rubbing
gently, and nudged his shoulder with his chin. "Truth
or dare, Davy. You
like this?" he whispered.
"It's intriguing," David replied, trying to sound clinically
detached. It
wasn't working. As he turned slightly in his seat, Joe's
hand slid into his
crotch and his brother's mouth found his. The kiss was
just on the edge of
passionate, fueled by an unequivocal arousal surging
in both.
Morgaine pulled back from Cash's lips, but didn't release
her hold on his
neck. "Are you mine?" she asked. [I think we've just
about made our point,
Cash. Much deeper and we'll go past the point of return.]
Caleb, on the other hand, had seen glimpses of the relationship
between his
sire and his regnant. They had been honest with him from
the beginning, as
was Daedalus. He looked to Julian, wondering what the
prince thought of
this. [Cash belongs to him like I belong to Morgaine,
does this bother him?]
"Yours, domina. Yours and Julian's, vowed in the blood."
Cash's words
seemed to echo in the sudden stillness of the room. He
bowed before her,
deeply from the waist, her grip sliding from the back
of his neck into a
gentle caress of his hair.
Julian had found himself distracted from Cash and Morgaine
by the exchange
between David and Joe. He has seen little of the interaction
between them as
more than siblings, a glimpse in the hallway now and
then. But the mention
of his name and the sound of Cash's vow brought him back
to the realities of
the moment. He was immensely pleased with this game,
especially with what it
was bringing out in his little family. "Morgaine, if
you please," he said,
his voice neither commanding not bidding but simply Julian.
The eldest Ventrue looked up and nodded, knowing without
speaking what her
brother was asking. "I am yours, Julian, as he is. And
your wish is my
command." She tilted the Gangrel's face up to hers. "Your
regnant awaits."
"My Lady," he acknowledged, brushing her lips in passing.
Julian held out
his hand, and Cash took the four or five swift steps
to bring him to
Julian's side. He slipped to one knee again, bowing over
the Ventrue's hand.
"My Lord." The kiss was no mere formality, but warm and
lingering.
"My prince. Regnant. Beloved." With each word, a kiss,
the final one after
turning Julian's hand palm up.
Julian clamped down on his control; he wanted Cash more
than anything right
now, the scent of Gangrel blood driving the Ventrue nearly
crazy. But that
would have to wait, and so Julian sated himself with
what was available, the
blood oozing from the knife wound on Cash's back. He
pulled his lover
forward, leaning down over his shoulder and licked at
the blood, sliding his
tongue along the wound, sucking up each droplet as if
it were the last.
"Utterly delicious," he mused.
"Julian, please, a Kiss." [Why starve at a banquet? No
one will grudge
you.] "If not now, later?" Cash whispered.
"Later, little one," Julian whispered. "We're in the middle
of a game, I do
believe." His face was beaming in devilish grin. "One
you started."
Morgaine came around the table as all the other eyes in
the room were
riveted to Cash and Julian, but Caleb's were only on
her. "Please," he
unconsciously mimicked his sire as she laid a calming
hand on his shoulder.
She cupped his chin and tilted his face toward hers,
bending down. "Later,
my love," she said, brushing his lips with a soft kiss.
"We're just whetting
the appetite."
"Damn," Cash half whimpered, half growled. He turned,
still half on his
knees, to Jason, "Challenge satisfied?" Jason, open-mouthed,
merely nodded.
Daedalus cleared his throat, "Thus were the courts of
the Ventrue years
ago.... But Cash, it is your turn to question or challenge."
Rising to his knees, Cash prowled around the table, drawing
out the moment.
He paused behind his fledgling and then Morgaine, shaking
his head
regretfully each time, grinning. Finally he ended up
back behind the
prince's chair. "Julian, Truth or Dare?" The Gangrel
was in an impish mood,
and rather trying to pay his Ventrue lover back for not
Kissing him. He also
was still aroused and tempted to go for maximum embarrassment
potential.
"I have a feeling I'll regret it, but I don't think the
room's quite ready
for another dare," Julian started, "so I'll opt for truth."
He pushed his
chair back and stood up, taking his glass of bloodwine
with him as he turned
to face Cash.
Smiling up into his lover's face, Cash drawled, "Of those
in the room that
you haven't tasted, who would you most like to have?"
A smirk accompanied
the question. Cash has tasted every one of them except
Daedalus, either as
sire or lover or in the rituals of the Gangrel pack.
"Touché, Cash," the Ventrue said as he sipped at
the bloodwine. "An
exceptional question."
"To the victor, the spoils," the Gangrel quoted with a
laugh, throwing
himself into the chair he'd vacated to perform Jason's
dare.
He resisted the urge to ask for a definition of "to have,"
opting to take
the widest latitude possible with the question. He turned
and surveyed the
room. Four out of the eight he had tasted before, so
that left the three
young Gangrel and, he smiled, David. Why hadn't the elder
of Morgaine's
childer approached him? [Now's not the time to bring
that up, though.] "To
taste? Jason. He's the most unknown entity at the table."
It wasn't a lie.
It just wasn't exactly the answer Cash was looking for,
a fact that Julian
knew. He smiled.
Cash laughed as a totally panic stricken look flashed
over the young
scientist's face. "That's just theoretically, Jason."
"Taste, Jason. Like drink from your wrist," Julian added.
He looked askance
at Cash. "You did say 'taste' and not take to bed, Cash."
The grin turned to
a smirk.
"Julian, diplomatic answer. I did only say 'taste', didn't
I? So who's the
next ... victim?"
The elder Gangrel smiled reassuringly at Jason, but tucked
away the
thought, the youngster and his childe were from a foreign
bloodline and it
wouldn't hurt to bind them closer to Julian's lineage.
The Ventrue had noticed his nephews were still nuzzling
and had only been
cursorily paying attention to the last minutes of the
game. He walked to
behind their chairs and leaned over their shoulders.
"Excuse me, gentlemen.
Are we keeping you from something?"
"Especially since Joe was the one that wanted a new game,"
Dina commented
to Morgaine with a grin. The young Gangrel has been intrigued
with the two
Ventrue since the opening night of Elsbet's club, the
three of them doing a
dance of half seduction, half aggression that strongly
reminded their elders
of the early days of Morgaine's return to the household.
"Uh, er, no. Sir, no sir." Joe snapped his head up from
out of David's
neck. "We heard. You want Jason."
"That was several minutes back, Joe," Cash chuckled.
David looked a bit chagrined. A few months ago, he would
have been
apologetic and utterly chagrined. But, these days, he
was less inhibited.
"Sorry, Julian. We got distracted. Blame it on that end
of the table." He
made a motion toward the Gangrel and stray Ventrue at
the other end of the
room.
"Never mind. Truth or dare, Joseph?" Julian rested a hand
on the younger
man's shoulder. "Question or challenge?"
"Err, truth seems to be a little bit safer. Truth, sir."
The young Ventrue,
responding to Julian's intentional use of his full name,
straightened his
spine and pulled away from David.
Julian smiled at the slightly submissive posturing. He
glanced at the
female Gangrel and his question hit him; Dina and Joe
had been sparking off
each other for months, ever since they first met, and
their dancing at
Elsbet's club a couple weeks ago had been more than friendly.
But he knew
for a fact that nothing had happened between them. Yet.
"Tell us, Joe, what
do you think of Dina? Honest feelings."
Joe's gaze flew to the woman, only to watch what he privately
called her
'courtroom face' shutter her emotions behind a controlled
facade. [She's
afraid I'm going to say something awful,] he realized
with a pang.
David winced, as much for his brother's predicament as
for what he imagined
was coming. They had talked in private about the woman,
both admitting they
had the collective hots for her. [Be nice, Joe. She might
actually end up in
bed with us one day.] He kept the thought pretty much
to himself.
"I think she's one of the smartest people I've even known.
I admire the
hell out of her for what she accomplished as a mortal
and how quick she's
settled into Kindred life. I. Uh. I want her to want
me." Joe stuttered to a
stop, that last impossible phase unspoken. [I wish she
was vowed to me.]
Dina's eyes flew open as if she'd heard his unuttered
words. Their gazes
locked and it was his that fell away first, but not before
he saw her almost
imperceptible nod. She cleared her throat, and shifted
in her seat, as the
attention falls on her and she's not sure how to react
after all her
sparring with Joe over the last few months.
"Whew," David let out under his breath.
"At least that's honest, Joe. Good answer." Julian kissed
the top of the
Ventrue's head and stood up. "Care to choose a victim?"
Joe breathed out a huff of relief and turned to his sib.
"Davy, truth or
dare?"
David was startled at hearing his name. "What? No fair.
I've already gone
once. Isn't there a 'everyone has to go once before you
can be called on
again' rule? Daedalus? Help."
"We did not set that rule at the beginning, David. Only
no breaches to the
Masquerade and no risk to life or limb." The Nosferatu
is amused by this
game, so like the challenges of the young gallants in
the remembered courts
of the Renaissance.
"Oh, shit." David shook his head. "Okay. I know you, Joe.
I'm damned either
way. So let's go with the dare." He knew that decision
wasn't safe, but
opting to tell the truth again didn't look very inviting
either, so dare it
was. He said a silent prayer that Joe would be gentle.
[Gotcha, bro.] Joe chortled to himself. He'd known since
before they moved
to San Francisco that his sibling had been fascinated
with the stories of
their sire's sib. And he'd been baffled why the hell
David hadn't flung
himself into Julian's bed. "Davy, I dare you to kiss
Julian, or Kiss him.
Either, both." Then, as the daring words left his mouth,
Joe reconsidered.
"Provided that Julian agrees, of course." He slanted
a look over at the
prince, willing Julian to not be angry at his effrontery.
[No way. Joe. How dare you?] David wanted to sink into
the floor. He about
melded into the chair, but stopped himself before his
body could take hold
and complete his mind's desires. He slapped himself mentally
for every
letting his brother know how much he wanted Julian.
"Oh, cub, below the belt," Cash murmured. [He wants this,
Julian. He's just
shy as hell, though not as much as when he moved here.]
The Gangrel
encouraged.
Julian smiled, a deep satisfying bemusement gracing his
face. He sat his
wine glass on the table and extended a hand toward the
embarrassed Ventrue.
"David, it's fine." He wanted it, too, but hadn't asked,
hadn't sought out
this childe of Morgaine's.
David hesitantly took Julian's hand and stood up. With
Cash and Joe and
Morgaine he had become much more assertive, almost demanding
of what he
wanted, but where Julian was concerned, David still had
an incredible amount
of respect and awe. In London, when he was Joe were lusting
from afar for
their sire's lovers, it had been simple.
Here, in person, it was different. What he wanted he felt
he couldn't have.
Or shouldn't have. He wasn't sure which. But now, thanks
to his errant
brother, he was faced with the prospect of having it.
Cash smiled and winked at Morgaine. [It's about damn time,]
he remarked to
her privately. [I hope he opts for a Kiss, at least some
time soon.]
[I wonder what he tastes like,] Jason thought, still mildly
frightened by
the thought that the Ventrue prince might ever taste
his blood, but
intrigued at the same time. Since he'd never really known
his sire, he'd
never been exposed to the side of the clan that is vowed
to individual
Ventrue, never even known about those private bonds before
coming to live in
the mansion at Julian's command.
Julian laced his fingers through David's, gently, just
enough to try and
comfort the young Kindred. "David, it's alright. Really.
Whatever you want."
"I want to kiss you," David said breathlessly, almost
silently. He looked
down into Julian's eyes, falling immediately into the
dark pools. He tilted
his head and leaned in, brushing the other's lips. David
pulled back, just
an inch, and smiled. Initial contact made, he stepped
into the confidence
that had been nurtured under Cash's expert hands. "Julian.
I want you," he
whispered before pressing back into the other's mouth.
"Ahhhh," and a whispered, "Yes," a murmur of pleasure
swept around the
table as the young Ventrue assayed the kiss. Cash winked
at Joe and flashed
a quick 'thumbs up' to the youngest Ventrue.
The elder Ventrue slipped his free hand to the small of
David's back, to
keep the Kindred from backing away, to feel the curve
of his flesh, to
connect. He wasn't sure which emotion to deal with first,
the arousal or the
love; he felt both, all at once. So, instead of processing
either, Julian
went submissive and just enjoyed the experience.
Morgaine watched, outwardly impassive at the embrace of
her childe and her
sib, but inwardly a memory lights of Julian and Archon
wrapped around each
other thus, once their mutual rage had transmuted into
something less
destructive. [David, my lovely, shy scholar, what are
you becoming? How you
have grown,] she marvels as she watches him take the
lead in the kiss.
David moved his lips across Julian's cheek and
along his neck, continuing
to nuzzle at the flesh. [Do I dare? God, I want it. So
much.] He kissed
softly, the feel of the blood rushing just beneath the
skin. "Julian?" The
request was met with silence and the sudden pressure
of a hand in his hair,
pushing his budding fangs closer to the prince's flesh.
Caleb groaned at the sight and turned to bury his
face in Morgaine's
shoulder. He was the youngest of the Kindred and had
the least experience in
controlling the beast and the teasing eroticism of the
night was
overwhelming him. "God, Morgaine." Her arms came around
his back, soothing.
As David bit into his throat, Julian's body tightened,
one arm locking
around the young Kindred's waist. "Yes, David. Taste
me." The words were
soft, barely spoken.
David drank, for what seemed an eternity. He drowned in
the familiar
flavors of his sire lurking in Julian's blood, then soared
on the passion
that was uniquely Julian's. He was flying when he pulled
off, kissing the
wound closed. He looked into Julian's eyes. "Thank you."
"My pleasure, David," Julian said. He stroked along David's
cheek. "Truly
my pleasure. You must let me return the favor some time."
The young Ventrue smiled and stepped back out of Julian's
embrace. "Yes,
sir," he said simply.
David stepped backward until Joe's arms found him and
settled him back into
the chair. "Think you'll survive, bro?" Joe asked lightheartedly.
"Sure," David said absently. "Remind me to pay you back later."
Joe laughed. "Your turn, by the way."
David shook his head, not really wanting to loose the
warm intimacy of
Julian's blood so quickly. "Dina, my dear, you haven't
been on the hot seat
yet. Truth or Dare?"
"The dares are too rich for my blood," she laughs. "Truth,
'though it's not
much safer."
"Life is best lived on the knife's edge, daughter." Cash
laughs. "By the
way, Morgaine, can I have my blade back?"
"Mind if I keep it for the night?" the Celtic beauty asked with a wry grin.
"Go ahead, love. It's not like I don't have others," Cash
replies. [And
what do you need it for, witch? hummmm?]
"Truth, then, Dina." David smiled. "Do you want my brother?"
"Somehow I saw that one coming," the Gangrel lawyer sighed.
"Against my
better judgment, David. Yes."
She turned to Joe and almost snarled, "but don't let it
go to your head,
Girard."
Joe held his hands up in defense. "Wouldn't think of it."
With a little 'humph' noise she sat back in her chair
and crossed her arms
over her chest. "That's everybody, isn't it? No, Morgaine.
Truth or Dare?"
"Well, let's see. I agree with David. Damned either way
we go. What the
hell. Why not end the evening on a dare? Have at me,
Dina." Morgaine stood
behind Caleb's chair, her hands lightly caressing his
shoulders.
"I can't think of anything," Dina admitted. "I'm usually
better at getting
people out of trouble than getting them into it. Any
ideas?" she begged the
assembled Kindred.
Cash laughed out loud. "Have her kiss Daedalus. He deserves
a reward for
refereeing this crowd." At Dina's amazed glance
he explained sotto voce,
"It's okay, they've been lovers."
"Oh?" The young Gangrel slanted a glance over at the stern-faced
Nosferatu
and shook her head, somehow she hadn't thought that he
even had lovers, let
alone one outside his clan. "What he said." She pointed
at her primogen.
A giggle escaped Morgaine's lips before she regained composure.
"An
excellent suggestion, Cash." She moved sultrily, almost
a sashay, toward the
Nosferatu. "You've been a saint to preside over our merriment,
my love." She
had known the Nosferatu long enough to know how to play
with him.
She curled herself onto his lap, linking her hands at
the back of his neck.
"So stoic." She kissed his forehead. "So resilient."
She kissed his eyes.
"Did you enjoy our games, my lord? So much like the games
we used to play."
She kissed his lips, long and lingeringly.
"Childer, all of you. Even you, the eldest," the Nosferatu
retorted, though
lovingly as her lips claimed his.
As his arms came around her, the door to the dining room
opens. Elsbet was
the first to enter, her merry laugh ringing out. "Michael,
we were
definitely at the wrong party tonight."
Julian laughed, nearly falling backward against the wall.
"Just like you to
show up after all the fun, Michael."
Morgaine laid herself back in Daedalus' arms as their
kiss broke. "Ahh, new
victims to play with." She let her fingertips tease along
the Nosferatu's
jawbone.
Elenor peeked out from behind her sire's back, her eyes
widening as she saw
Jason tipped back in his chair, a grin on his face and
a half-empty wine
glass in his hand.
"Let me guess, Julian. Truth or dare." Michael shook his
head. They had
played this game often enough as young Kindred, each
pitting the other to
the most decadent dares. "Your idea? Or Morgaine's?"
In unison the two elder Ventrue point at Cash. "His!!"
Cash shrugged. "Hey, it beat Scattergories!"