I came to and immediately wished I hadn't. My head throbbed. There was a nasty taste in my mouth. And my stomach was threatening a return to sender policy. I squeezed my eyes shut as the night before came back to me. I had obviously had too much wine.
I bit my lip as images of after the party came to me. Katty and Jason had been carefully undressing me and themselves. In my drunken haze, I had assumed they wanted sex. Honestly, I had kind of wanted it myself. I had stripped down to nothing and rolled onto my stomach, presenting myself.
I knew they had noticed. Hell, I had stopped them dead as they drank in the sight of me. It wasn't until they were coming towards me that I thought about it fully. I was too drunk to have thought this through. They were blood drunk and I couldn't think straight enough to stop them if I couldn't take any more.
They surprised me by climbing into bed and curling around me, settling in for sleep. I had relaxed, pressing my back against Jason and holding Katty in my arms. I still had Katty in front of me. Jason was gone.
"Hangover huh?"
I jumped when Katty spoke up. She turned a little so she could look at me. She smiled sympathetically when she saw my misery.
"I think Jason went to get you some water and pain killers. How does your stomach feel?"
"Not good."
She nodded and opened her mouth. Whatever she had been about to say was interrupted as Jason came in. He offered me a couple pills and a glass of water with his own look of sympathy. "Here. Take these and then I'll get some breakfast started."
I groaned as I swallowed the pills and washed them down with the water. I shook my head. "No. I don't want food."
Jason smiled. "I'm sure. But it'll help. I promise." Katty shot me a look that said she agreed with Jason but wasn't going to push me. I sighed and nodded. Jason grinned and left to get started in the kitchen.
He made french toast and bacon. I wasn't sure why it worked, but it did. They also kept making me drink water until I stopped complaining of my headache. It wasn't until I felt mostly normal that I realized just how much they had been pampering me over tonight and the morning before. And at the party too. It seemed they were both terribly concerned with making sure I was taken care of.
It made me feel I owed them. But the thought didn't bother me like it would have usually. They had been doing a lot for me. And other than blood and sex, I had no good way to repay them.
I was still trying to figure it out when there was a knock on the door. Katty looked busy so I went to get it. I pulled open the door and blinked at the person standing on the other side. It was a gorgeous woman that looked entirely too familiar. I slammed the door in her face and leaned back against it, heart beating rapidly.
Katty got up with concern, coming towards me with a question on her face. I quickly shook my head. "Don't open the door. Remember that lady who caught me when I ran? I think you called her a Succubus. She's back."
She gave me an apologetic look as she reached past me for the door. "It's not a good idea to piss off a demon, and this door isn't exactly demon proof." I couldn't argue with that logic so I got out of the way when she opened the door. She carefully shielded me behind the door as she dealt with the demon woman.
"Hello darling. Looks like you convinced the human to stick around. It's so good to see you again."
Katty leaned back like she was avoiding the demon and frowned as she came in. I lifted a hand to grasp at Katty but I stopped before touching her. I didn't want to distract her.
"Did you just come to catch up or did you have some sort of business here?"
The Succubus sounded terribly pleased with herself. "You know, I never before considered eating a Vampire. I thought they wouldn't taste very good. At the very least, lack nutrition. But a curious thing happened. Not only did I enjoy you greatly, your life force gave me quite the boost in energy. Almost like the humans and their coffee."
"Fascinating." Katty sounded less than impressed.
"Quite. I think it has to do with the fact that you weren't afraid of me and gave yourself willingly. Took all the taint out of the meal."
"Unfortunately, I'm not going to hand myself over to you again. That was a one time deal under very special circumstances."
"Exactly! An exchange of services. I'd like to propose another deal."
"I don't need or want anything at the moment."
"I don't know about that. I would bet you still want that human. I've got a way for you to keep him."
Katty didn't even hesitate. "My species has it's own way of binding without physical restraints. I don't need any of your tricks." I studied her. It had been a statement of fact, rather than some sort of notion she had been playing with or was using now.
"Ah, but how about if you had him compliant? Responding to your advances instead of pushing you away, giving you the attention you deserve." Katty shook her head and the demons tone darkened. "Then you'll do it to save him. Just like last time."
I wasn't sure what happened then. I just lost it.
When I came back, Katty had me securely and was snarling at the Succubus to leave me alone. That I was hers. I couldn't see anything with her hand over my eyes and her other hand was shaking around my wrist. Then the Succubus changed tactics. She stopped messing with me and started messing with Katty.
Katty trembled. Her entire demeanor changed behind me. Instead of stiff and shaking with angry nerves she was calm and still. She pulled my head back to rest on her shoulder as she listened to the Succubus telling her to kill me.
I protested, making sure to only do so verbally rather than physically. I didn't want to set her off into doing exactly what the demon wanted.
Katty suddenly hissed and snapped her teeth, silencing both me and the Succubus. "Shut up. No one talks about my lover like that. My lover would never betray me. My lover trusts me to take care of them from any who would dare touch them." I shivered as I felt her lips at my throat. I gasped, fear choking me for a moment. Right up until I heard a light purr.
Katty suddenly released me, giving me back my sight so I could watch her stalk across the apartment and up to the demon. I bit my lip when Katty grabbed up the Succubus and bit her. The move surprised the Succubus into revealing her wings, tail, and horns.
I watched them struggle as Katty forced the demon back onto the table and they began to fuck. Or really, Katty began to fuck the demon. She thrust her fingers between the Succubus' legs and into her pussy even as she drank in the demons blood.
I could only watch in stunned confusion. I swallowed as Katty drank the Succubus to death and she dissolved into ash with a scream. Katty stumbled back, drunkenly wiping her hands on her jeans. I caught her before she could hit the floor and she twisted around to grin at me.
"Like I said, nobody messes with my lover. You're mine. Even death himself is going to have to go through me to get to you."
I choked on a laugh as I turned her around. She clung to me tightly. "I thought I had lost you for a minute there."
She dropped her head forward and buried her nose in my shoulder. She slurred with too much blood. "You did. I'm so sorry Max. I didn't mean to get lost in her. She never really meant anything to me, I promise. I'd never purposely cheat on you."
I gently rubbed her back and soothed her. "Shh. It's okay. I understand." I did. Once again she had thrown herself in harms way to protect me. I frowned, trying to come up with something to say. She was shivering. I heard a stuttered purr before it cut off and she tried to push away from me. She almost lost her balance and I caught her again.
"Katty? You don't look so good. You feeling okay?"
She slowly raised her gaze to mine, shaking her head. Her legs folded beneath her and I tried to keep her up for a moment before lowering her to the floor. Then she heaved up blood. I stiffened, completely at a loss. I panicked when she started crying blood.
"Katty?!" I wiped the blood away, trying to figure out what was wrong as she continued to vomit blood and it flowed down her face. She weakly tried to assure me she was okay before she passed out. The panic hit new levels. I had never been so scared, not even when I was holding my dying friends.
I scooped her up and held her close as I rushed for her bathroom. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no one to ask for advice or help. But she had been trying to reassure me. I could only assume that if she knew there was something wrong, she would have given me a way to help her.
I climbed into the tub and settled her in my lap, trying to at least keep the mess contained and her body warm. She shuddered and heaved, bringing up everything she had just drank and a little more. I could only assume the demon blood was a poison and her body was purging it.
I realized I was rocking her and fighting my own tears as her body settled and she stopped heaving. Out of all the friends I had lost, all the pointless deaths, every horror I had witnessed, I wouldn't be able to handle it if I lost Katty. Jason wouldn't either.
I swallowed. The thought terrified me. I shouldn't be this emotionally invested in a Vampire of all things. I sighed and looked down as Katty began to stir. She wasn't a thing. She was a person. She was important. And I owed her so much. My life in fact. Multiple times. I gently smoothed my thumb across her face one last time, brushing away the bloody tears.
I would never be able to repay my debt to her. But it was more than that. So much more. Katty slowly woke and distracted me from the gut wrenching fear festering. I frowned as I watched her climb out of the tub and stumble over to the sink to wash her face. Getting the dried blood off her eyes didn't look comfortable at all and I winced sympathetically. She noticed that right before noticing that I was covered in blood. It made her look me over in concern.
"You okay?"
She accepted my reassurance that I was fine, though she did start rambling in a distracted sort of way, trying to apologize for the whole incident despite the fact that there was very little either of us could have done.
She tugged her blood-stained shirt off and held out a hand for my own ruined clothes. I stripped down to my boxers after a moments hesitation, then almost panicked when I heard Tony yelling from the other room. Katty was already dealing with it, knowing very well I didn't want to be seen.
"I'll bring you some clothes."
I stayed put while she staggered out the door to deal with Tony, frantically calling for her sister. She had obviously seen the blood stains and it had made her think the worst. Katty quietly explained what had happened, and soon was cracking the door open to pass me clean clothes.
I pulled the clothes on and stepped out of the bathroom to join the conversation. Katty stopped still when she saw me. Her gaze went gold as she appraised me, obviously liking what she saw. But then Jason came home and her eyes faded back to gray. Not that it really mattered. Once Jason came in, he gave me the exact same look.
He abruptly shook his head and turned back to Katty. "What happened? Everyone okay?"
I spoke before thinking about it. "The Succubus came back for another meal." Everyone was immediately staring at me again. I realized I was fiddling with the collar of the borrowed shirt and drawing attention to my neck so I quit. I flushed when it didn't appear to do much. Tony broke the tension.
"Should I leave you three alone?"
Katty sighed and shoved to her feet. "Only if Max doesn't mind getting jumped. Otherwise, we should probably find me something to eat."
I shuffled a little and shoved my hands in my pockets. In her condition, she wasn't going to get very far. I doubted she would be able to hunt properly considering she was struggling to stay on her feet. I shuddered at the thought of her killing someone, and the notion that I owed her popped into my head again. "You can."
She froze and stared at me. "Can?"
"Drink from me." I shrugged when she stared at me with a raised brow. "You didn't kill me the last time you drank from me so..." I didn't feel the need to continue after that. I wasn't sure it was a good idea to openly admit that I owed them my life.
"You know you don't have to." The protest was distracted, and I noticed she had already sat down again before saying it. Though whether that was because she hadn't been sincere or was simply already thinking about my blood I wasn't sure. Regardless, I shoved up my sleeve to reveal my wrist as I sat down next to her.
"You can't hunt in that condition. Predators aren't supposed to stumble around." The mildly rude statement was an attempt to armor myself in abrasiveness. Katty just chuckled as she took my wrist and drew it to her mouth. I blinked in surprise when she kissed my pulse before biting down. And then I was even more surprised when she barely took any of my blood.
"That's it?"
She was already looking better. She smiled as she leaned in and lightly kissed me before getting back to her feet. "Thank you. I just needed enough to stop stumbling around." She kissed Jason before heading out the door and calling over her shoulder. "Come on Tony. See you boys later." Then she was gone.
I frowned after her, a little confused. Then abruptly had Jason in my face. I jumped as he dropped to his knees between my feet and pressed between my legs just as insistently as he pressed his lips against mine. My hands flew up to his when I felt him unbuttoning the shirt.
He still managed to get it undone before I stopped his hands and leaned back on my elbows to escape him. His eyes roved over me lustily. "Jason what-!"
Jason shook his head and leaned over me, kissing my chest. His fingers closed around my hips, enough pressure to keep me still but not nearly enough to hurt. "Shit Max. I've gotta get this shirt off of you or I'm gonna combust."
"What?! Why?!"
Jason groaned against my belly, then lifted his face to meet my gaze. "Max, have you ever noticed that Vampires don't wear a lot of red?"
I nodded. "Yeah, but they put their humans in it all the time." I blinked when Jason abruptly relaxed, looking almost concerned. He finally sighed and leaned in, tilting his head to ask for a kiss. After a moments hesitation, I straightened and gave him what he wanted. The kisses were soft and sweet, completely different from a minute earlier.
Jason finally broke away, his eyes hooded as his warm fingers began sliding over my flesh, once again trying to remove the shirt. "Red is an invitation. We don't usually wear it because it gets other Vampires all hot and bothered. Wearing red is about the same for Vampires as it would be for a human to wander around the streets naked."
I blinked in surprise at the comparison. "But, you obviously wear it."
Jason grinned at me. "Yeah. And Katty rode me into the mattress, which is what I had been going for. I don't believe you're looking for a hard fuck."
I frowned. "Not at the moment. But I didn't want to walk around half naked either." Jason grinned at me. I growled and lightly shoved at him, not that he moved much. "Stop it."
Jason laughed and shoved up off his knees to loom over me. I automatically dropped back to lay flat before thinking about it. Jason just looked me up and down once, a smile on his face. "Sire Max, do you realize how much I-" I cocked my head when he cut off and made a rumbling purr instead. He just shook his head and straightened away from me. "Never mind. Give me my shirt back. I'll find you something less risque to wear."
I watched him disappear with the garment, trying to figure out what he was going to say.