WARNING! Spicy Chapter!
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The two other Vampires seemed just as shocked as Luke, and the human worked to collect his thoughts to decide what kind of 'partner' Nicholas was referring to.
Did he mean dance partners since they were at a party? Or did he mean...That kind of partner?
"Now wait just a minute!" Frederick stormed up.
Nicholas looked immensely amused as he watched the man puff in outrage.
It was the red head who deescalated the situation. "Oh Nicky, you really shouldn't tease like that."
"Sorry, I couldn't help it." The Archduke chuckled.
Greer snorted. "Well I certainly didn't find it amusing."
Luke's free hand was snatched up as Frederick yanked his ward away from the Archduke's grasp. "I'm sorry, but I'd appreciate it if you'd showed some decorum!"
Nicholas was unbothered by the man's harsh tone. "Yes, my apologies. The truth is, I figured since Luke doesn't have much of a social circle, I'd introduce him to a few of my own friends."
"As your 'partner'? Without his Master's consent?"
"Alright, I'll admit I went too far with that."
"And what is this?" Frederick waved his hand at the surrounding guests. "You made it sound like you wanted to talk alone."
"Oh, did I?" Nicholas tilted his head. "I thought I made it clear on the invitation that this was a Ball. Didn't you read the back?"
Frederick paused in thought, then cleared his throat awkwardly. "I must have misread that part."
Luke couldn't help the nervous chuckle that escaped. The only time he saw the invitation himself was when his Master told him it arrived.
"Look, we've clearly gotten off on the wrong foot." Nicholas turned his full attention on Frederick. "If you'd like, we can speak privately on the matter at a later date. In the meantime, I invited you here so you could have fun. Luke looked like he'd been stressed lately so I figured this would help him loosen up."
His Master shot a look towards Luke and the human shuffled his feet. "Thank you for the consideration."
Since this was a formal party, Luke figured he might as well try and act the part he was dressed for, so he went to bow towards the Archduke only for Nicholas to stop him.
"No need for such formality. We're friends after all."
The red head clapped her hands, drawing attention to herself. "Yes, that's correct. Speaking of friends, how about you introduce us? Properly this time."
"Of course." Nicholas waved a hand towards her. "This is Duchess Elizabeth Bennett from Steamworks."
The Duchess curtsied politely. "Pleasure to meet you."
"And I'm Archduke Greer Wainwright of the Saxony Territory." The blond introduced himself with an eyeroll. "We met the other night."
His Master put a tense hand on Luke's shoulder. "I am Frederick Shaw, and this is my ward, Luke Shaw."
The human tried not to react at the fake names. He had never needed to be formally introduced to anyone before, but it was probably part of his Master's survival plan to give false information.
"Pleasure." Greer sniffed, then was promptly slapped on the shoulder by Elizabeth.
"Be nice!" She scolded, then smiled back at Luke. "Don't mind him. He's just a little upset from Nicholas's joke. The two used to date so anytime Nicky finds someone new, he gets a little cranky."
"Elizabeth!" Greer snapped as his face turned pink.
"What? We're here to make friends, not enemies, and friends are open with each other."
Violin music began to fill the room, drawing the groups attention to a band situated against the west wall. After a moment, the Duchess approached Luke and held out her arm. "Would you like to dance?"
Luke instinctively slid behind Frederick. "He doesn't know how to dance." His Master explained in warning.
"How strange." Elizabeth tilted her head, unfazed by his tone. "He must be very young if he doesn't know social etiquette. Even fledglings learn at least one dance before maturing." She then shot Nicholas a look, and he coughed into his fist.
Once more, Luke felt bad about how vague he'd been with his age.
"It's not a problem. I can show you the basics." She offered. "If that's alright with you, Sir Shaw?"
Frederick looked conflicted on what to do. It was common curtesy to dance at least once at a formal party. It was also considered rude to turn down a noble's invitation.
Eventually the Vampire stepped aside. "By all means."
Luke stiffened as she waited for him. He glanced nervously at his Master, who was urging him with his eyes to cooperate. So, he grabbed the woman's arm and walked out onto the floor.
The Duchess politely instructed Luke on where to put his hands and what steps to take. It was a simple waltz, though the human kept his eyes on the ground most of the time in order to avoid destroying her feet.
She seemed amused by his ignorance and barely contained her laughs. Luke eventually dared to look up at her, then noticed Greer, Nicholas and Frederick talking together off to the side. He eyed the blond, wondering what it was that Nicholas saw in such a grumpy man in the first place.
"Jealous?" Elizabeth asked, noticing how Luke was casting glances over her shoulder. "Don't be. They broke up ages ago and Nicky has made it clear that there's no hope of getting back together."
"What happened?" Luke asked.
"Oh, the same thing that usually happens. Greer became pushy and started showing his true colors. Then Nicholas became stubborn and refused to give into his demands. The two just work together now, but they stayed friends thanks to their long history together."
"That's it?"
"I'm sure there's more to it, but that's their personal business."
"Oh..." Luke replied distractedly, then realized he was being a poor conversationalist. So he thought of another topic. "What's it like running the Steamworks territory?"
The Duchess had to stop what she was doing as she burst out laughing. "Oh heavens. I don't run Steamworks. I'm just a duchess."
"Doesn't that mean you're the same rank as Nicholas and Greer?"
She shook her head. "You're thinking of an Archduchess. Do you really not know how nobility works?"
Luke shook his head honestly, and she proceeded to give him a brief run down of the pecking order.
At the top was the Emperor, then there was the Emperor's children who would be named as kings or queens, and their children would be princes and princesses. However the current Emperor had no children, which meant the next in line would have to be an Archduke. The difference between an Archduke and a Duke was that an Archduke was related distantly to the Emperor, either by blood or marriage, where as a Duke was simply a noble who owned a small portion of a territory.
The entire time she was explaining this, Luke continued to watch the trio of Vampires off to the side. Every now and then his Master would glance his way, then return his attention to the Archdukes. At one point, Frederick looked upset and suddenly walked away, leaving Nicholas alone with Greer.
When the music stopped, Elizabeth curtsied again. "You're a fast learner"
Luke stood back and gave her a short bow. "Thank you."
"Why don't you go back to Nicholas? It seems like he's the one you're really here for."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Luke stuttered. "I didn't mean to be-"
She put a finger against his lips to silence him. "It's alright. He's quite handsome, isn't he?"
Luke blushed and nodded. The Duchess then smiled and dismissed him so Luke could hurry back to Nicholas's side.
"Can I talk to you?" Luke blurted as soon as he was in earshot.
Nicholas quirked an eyebrow. "Of course." He then waved Greer off, causing the blond to cast one last glare at the human before stomping away.
"What would you like to talk about?"
"Not here." Luke declared.
A familiar spark shone in Nicholas's eyes, but he immediately calmed down, recalling what happened last time. "Certainly. I'm assuming no guards again?"
The human nodded, and Nicholas looked over to where Frederick was. The man was watching the crowd with is arms folded, somewhat distracted by another guest who was clinging to him drunkenly.
Seeing an opportunity, the Archduke gestured for Luke to follow and they left the Ballroom.
"I'm sorry if this was overwhelming for you. I thought you'd turn down the invitation if you didn't like parties."
"That's not it. My Master just didn't read it properly. It's our fault." Luke admitted, then reached down into his pocket where the vial was stored.
He didn't know what kind of poison it was, but he figured if he showed it to Nicholas, the man would know what to do with it once he explained the situation.
"Here, we can talk in one of the guest rooms." The Vampire stopped at an open door and waited for Luke to enter.
Inside there was a small table with two chairs, a desk, and three book shelves on the left wall.
"Let me take your hat." Nicholas insisted as he removed it from Luke's head. "I noticed your Master didn't make you take it off, so I'm assuming he's trying to hide that tattoo of yours."
The sudden topic made Luke forget what he was initially there for and he scratched the back of his head. "Were we supposed to remove our hats?"
"It's formality. Though since this is a party, the guests will assume anyone still wearing their hats have just arrived or are about to leave, so don't worry too much about it." Nicholas loosened the ascot around his neck. "Did Elizabeth tease you any?"
"No. She was really nice. I like her."
Nicholas stepped closer. "Careful. I might get jealous."
"Why?"
"Oh I don't know." The Archduke reached out and stroked Luke's cheek. "Maybe because she stole your first dance from me?"
Luke's face began to heat up from their proximity. "I-I-Is that something to be jealous of?" He stuttered.
Nicholas leaned down until their noses were nearly touching. "What about you? I noticed you seemed rather focused on me throughout your dance."
"I was just curious about your relationship with Greer."
The Vampire laughed. "There's nothing to worry about. We're nothing more than friends now. If he says anything that upsets you though, let me know."
Luke was only slightly relieved by the man's words. Then the Vampire became serious. "You know I have nothing against peppermint, but I think I like your natural scent better." He tilted his head and leaned in closer, his voice becoming sultry. "As a matter of fact, I think I can smell it a bit right now."
The Vampire's breath tickled his ear. A hand on his hip held the human still as the Vampire gazed down at him.
"Can I kiss you?" Nicholas asked.
Knowing this wasn't what he came here to do but willing to put it off a little longer, the human nodded, and the Vampire closed the distance between them, kissing Luke tenderly.
The hand at his hip began sliding upwards under his coat and along his chest. Luke tried to do likewise and clumsily ran his hands over the Archduke's arms. Then the Vampire pressed against his body, causing Luke to step backwards until he was pinned against the wall.
Nicholas's tongue flit across the humans lips, futilely begging for access.
Luke felt the man's knee pry his legs apart and nestle between them. An arm snaked around his back as the Archduke hugged Luke against himself to satisfy the need building between them. Then he slowly began sliding Luke's tailcoat off.
Luke didn't think twice about the move and pushed himself from the wall just long enough to let the coat slide down to the floor. Then he continued their kiss with his hands clutched against the Vampire's chest.
The heat between his legs swelled the longer they embraced, and Luke felt that strange knot building in his gut again. One of the hands that were caressing him slid down to the hem of his paints and Nicholas pulled back momentarily. "Is this okay?"
Once more, Luke nodded, and the Archduke trailed kisses from the human's lips to his cheek, then to his shoulder. Meanwhile, the Vampire's hand was dancing across the front of his pants, sending strange sensations shooting through his body as he desperately hoped for more contact.
He didn't know why his body was reacting like this, but he knew he was enjoying it.
With a needy sigh, Luke focused solely on the man's touch. The world seemed to fade away as all these new sensations built to a crescendo. Then, the hand dipped beneath his pants and Luke jerked in surprise, letting out a small moan.
In an instant, Luke was enveloped by warmth and he mewed as Nicholas pumped him.
The Archduke's lips against his neck only heightened the moment and he rolled his head back so the man would have better access. Then he felt something he wasn't expecting as Nicholas's fangs grazed his skin.
His common sense was telling the human to pull away, but his body was urging him to let things continue just a little longer. Why? He wasn't sure until Nicholas tugged a bit harder, sending another wave of pleasure through his body.
The human didn't know what was happening, but the heat between his legs made him feel like he suddenly needed the restroom and in embarrassment, he tried to tell Nicholas, but it was too late as the Vampire's hand sped up and with one last squeeze, Luke's body stiffened.
Ecstasy washed over the human as he found release, and his body twitched in Nicholas's embrace. A breathy moan escaped him, then all the strength left his legs as the Archduke caught him.
Gasping, Luke stared up in wonder at what he'd just felt, only to be met with a pair of very hungry eyes.
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