100% Freshie Chapter 24 --PG-13

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librarian_7
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100% Freshie Chapter 24 --PG-13

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Disclaimer: The characters from Moonlight are copyrighted by CBS, and no infringement is intended.
Special note: This work takes place in the world of Moonlight, but your favorite vamps are not the main focus. Sorry about that; try to enjoy the story anyway. You might be surprised.

100% Freshie
Chapter 24

Danni felt like laughing, but didn’t dare. Of the three of them seated in the tiny booth, the vampire and the two freshies, two were very obviously terrified, and she wasn’t one of them. Maybe it was because she knew Tyler fairly well, but she’d never seen a vamp blow his cool factor quite so thoroughly. Even pissed off vamps didn’t look nervous. Scary, yes. Out of control, yes. Flustered, not so much.

And this newbie freshie he’d saddled himself with…what had he been thinking? Danni looked at the girl, wondering yet again what she was doing at Pulse! It seemed obvious to Danni that the girl was wildly out of place. Tyler had been chatting to her, carefully, trying to set her at ease, but Danni suspected that her fear of the vampires’ bite was overriding all Tyler’s efforts. Danni was about ready to smack her, treating Tyler like some kind of poisonous snake. Couldn’t she see she’d had the luck to attract the notice of possibly the nicest vamp in the place? Danni had experience with vamps who’d have dearly loved to get their fangs in a girl with the kind of fear vibes little Annie was giving off. It crossed Danni’s mind that maybe this little tart enjoyed the fear. Maybe she wanted to be terrified. There were freshies like that, although they usually didn’t last long. Seeking out terrorization tended to lead you to the vamps who went too far. Danni damped down a quick memory of Javier and his friend.

She didn’t think that frightening people was Tyler’s thing, either, from what he’d told her. Still, she supposed it was one of those variations any vamp might try from time to time, to keep from getting bored. She sipped her orange juice, watching. It was too noisy in the club to follow their conversation, but she could watch the body language. Out of habit, she checked to see if she knew anyone in the area. No luck. It was always surprising to her that in such a small community, she knew so few people.

Tyler supposed he should be happy. Here he was, possessed of a booth in one of the most popular freshie clubs in the city, flanked by two freshies. He could feed from either any time he wanted. Hell, he could feed from both. Maybe. He’d been talking to Annie, his arm casually along the back of the booth behind her. She was very nervous, and he was starting to wonder why in the world he’d ever picked up a girl who had yet to experience her first bite. If he could’ve broken into a cold sweat, he would have. Meanwhile, on his other side, Danger had been very patient with being ignored. Served her right, he thought sourly. It occurred to him, belatedly, that maybe she was purposefully trying to deflect his attention. Maybe she had been upset about his—stupidity—the other night. He smiled, apologetically, he hoped, at the brown-haired girl, and turned his attention to Danger.

She was aware of his movement even though she was pretending to watch the dance floor. Maybe it was the natural attunement from sharing blood, but even through the club noise she heard his inhalation of her scent, heard the slow exhale of his breath against her neck. He took his arm from behind Annie, and reached across to stroke the far side of Danger’s face even as he leaned close to her ear.

She heard him, actually heard him, lick his lips before he spoke, tones pitched for her alone. “Damn, Danger,” he said, “your scent—destroys me. Tell me you’re willing. Tell me you’re still willing.”

Danni put down her orange juice and put both her hands over Tyler’s left hand as it rested on the tiny table that was barely big enough to hold their drinks. She turned her head to look him in the eyes, their mouths scant inches apart. “Tyler, love,” she said, “I promise you I wouldn’t be sitting here if I wasn’t—willing. But I think maybe you owe Annie there a bite.”

Tyler closed his eyes, and pressed his lips together, feeling the frustration of his vampire nature manifesting in the pressure of his fangs against his tongue. He tilted his head forward to rest his forehead against hers, and when he could speak, he sighed. “Danger, you’ve got to help me.”

“What do you mean?”

She could feel the movement as he cut his eyes more than she could see it. “I’ve never,” he paused, “damn, this is stupid, I’ve never been a freshie’s first bite before. My sire saw to it I only hooked up with experienced girls. I—“ he swallowed hard. “I don’t want to fuck this up for her.”

Danni had to reach up and caress his cold cheek at that. “You are just entirely too sweet to be a vamp, Tyler,” she said. “Look, I’m going to take her off to the ladies’ lounge and talk to her a bit. There’s no way she should be walking through this place on her own right now.”

“Yeah?” Tyler said darkly, “I’d love to see someone try and touch her now.”

Danni shook her head. “Once she gets ten feet away from this table—you wouldn’t be able to stop it and you know it. I’m sorry to leave you unattended, but give me ten minutes and then call me. I think we need to consult privately.”

He nodded, appreciating the arrangement that kept the appearances of his control. “It’s a plan,” he agreed. Then he kissed her lightly on the mouth. “Let’s get this moving,” he added. “I’m getting hungry.”

##

“You know,” Danni said, “I’m sure there’s a really interesting story behind why you’re here, and what your motivations are, and I’d love to hear it someday, but right now—we’re probably pressed for time.”

The brunette had the sense to just nod. She seemed calmer now that they’d gotten to the relative safety of the ladies’ lounge, less likely, Danni thought, to run screaming into the night. She remembered her first visit here, the beginnings of her own journey, and the talk she’d had—just over there by the mirror—with Lucky. It seemed like years.

“Look,” Danni said, “I know Tyler asked you earlier if—if you knew what he was. I want to hear from you that you do.”

The girl nodded again. “I know.”

Danni shook her head. “Not good enough, hon. What is he?”

Annie looked away for a moment, and when she swung her gaze back to Danni, her eyes were fierce. “Fine. He’s a vampire,” she said, “okay? He’s a vampire.”

“And you do understand what he wants from you?” Danni kept her voice low, trying to keep the conversation between the two of them, despite the steady stream of young women passing by.

“Blood.”

Danni nodded. “Here’s the deal, honey. Yes, he’d like—very much—to bite you and drink some of your blood. Not all of it. Not enough to hurt you. But he needs it to survive. I mean, blood generally, not yours in particular.” She paused. “This is very serious stuff, Annie, so listen and understand. At some point, Tyler is going to ask you if you are willing, and it is vitally important for you to be honest in your answer.”

She swallowed, and whispered, “What if I say no?”

“Then he won’t bother you. He won’t force you, and he won’t try to coax you. In fact, knowing him, he’d make sure you got safely out of here and into a taxi home.”

“Safely?”

“Honey,” Danni said with a sigh, “if you hadn’t realized, you ought to be aware that this place is hip-deep in vamps. Most of them are pretty civilized—and discreet. It’s a survival trait, these days. But they’re not all as, I guess you’d say, as scrupulous as Tyler, and most of them assume any human who comes through these doors is a willing freshie.”

The girl took a deep breath and seemed to really focus in on her guide to this very strange situation for the first time. “Danger,” she said, “you’ve got to tell me one thing. Does it—does it hurt? Very much?”

Danni flashed back to the first time she’d felt Will’s mouth on her neck. “Oh, sweetheart, no,” she said, “If it’s done right—and, trust me, Tyler knows how to do it right—it’s…” she paused, searching for the best word, and failing, “it’s better than anything. I can’t describe it.” She looked around and noticed a striking blonde coming in, supported by a friend, to collapse on another of the couches waiting there. She held a bloodied handkerchief to her neck, but her face was transfigured, ecstatic. Danni nodded in her direction. “Does she look like she’s suffering?”

As Annie began to answer, Danni’s cell phone rang, but not with the call she was expecting. The ring tone was “Iris.”
“Danger,” Will said as she answered, “can you talk?”

“I’m kind of in the middle of something, Will.”

“I won’t keep you,” he replied, and there was something in his tone that seemed off to Danni. He was upset. “But I need to see you later.”

“Okay.”

“Can you come to my place?”

“Umm, yeah. Sure.” Danni paused, wanting to ask something as delicately as she could. “Will—do I need to have Tyler bring me by right away? I mean, you know, do you need me to—“

“Ahh, no. No—I—I just want to see you, okay? I need someone to talk to.”

“You’ll be okay til I can get there? It may be a couple of hours.”

She heard a snort. “Yeah,” he said, “I think I can hold on that long, darlin’.”

“Okay. I’ll be there.” Danni barely had time to disconnect, and say, “Well, shit,” before the phone rang again. Tyler this time, as they’d arranged. When she finished that call, she looked at Annie. “I need to go back out to the table, okay? Will you promise me you’ll stay here until I get back?”

Annie nodded slowly. “I guess.”

“Just do it. It’s for your safety.” And she walked away.

##

Danni made it back to the table without incident. She supposed it was because the vamps could smell Tyler on her. Laying a hand on his shoulder, she slid into the booth. “Hey, babe.”

“Danger. How’s she doing?” Tyler was still looking distinctly nervous, and Danni wondered if he’d be happiest if she told him Annie had taken off. Well, he was just going to have to step up, here, and be a big vamp. Still, she had thought of something that would help him stay in control better. She scooted as close as possible, and leaned in to put her lips unexpectedly against the bare skin of his neck. “What are you doing?” he gasped. “You’re killing me.”

She moved to whisper in his ear. “I think it would be a good idea for you to take the edge off, before we get her back out here.”

Tyler drew in a deep breath, and swallowed. “Uh, yeah. Okay,” he said, reaching for her hand. “I like this better when you’re sitting on my lap,” he grumbled.
“Shut up and bite me.”

She cupped her hand around his cheek as his fangs pierced her skin, and she felt the familiar rush of pleasure, the feel of the blood running into his mouth, the roughness of his tongue as captured it. She could tell he was thirsting, tell he needed to drink deeply, but she didn’t want to sate him, only to give him the control he would need with the new girl. And besides, despite what Will had told her, she didn’t want to have to refuse him if he asked. She wrapped her free arm around his silky head, and whispered in his ear again. “Tyler, shh, honey, not too much.”

He raised his head, eyes still silver, a little of her blood spilling down his chin. “I don’t want to stop.” His tongue searched along his lips for the last of her blood that remained there, and she hugged him to her, feeling the shaking in his body.

Tyler showed no inclination to release her from his arms, pulling her close to nuzzle and lick at her neck, reveling in the scent of her skin. Danni could feel the tension building in him again. She was so tempted to just say to herself, “Screw Annie,” and surrender her throat to the sweet penetration of his fangs. His hands, too, were moving on her body, one on her back, shifting her closer still, the other starting a delicate, familiar slide up the inside of her thigh.

Danni moaned and brought her hands up to his cheeks. “Tyler. Tyler, honey. I need to get Annie. I’ll get Annie for you.”

The vampire pulled his head away, breathing hard and fighting back the beast within him. “Danger,” he said raggedly, “what am I going to do with her? How am I going to do this?”

Danni’s first instinct was to wrap her arms around him, but, honestly, this indecision was getting tiresome. If it were anyone else - any human - Danni would have told him to suck it up, but that seemed to be in rather poor taste in this instance. “Oh, for God’s sake, Tyler, pull yourself together.” She started to slide away. “Just bite her. Honey, you give a great bite. All you have to do is ask her one last time if she’s willing, and bite her the way you bite me. What’s so hard about that?”

“Wait—wrist? Throat?”

She blew out a breath. “It’s her first—she deserves the classic neck bite, don’t you think?”

Tyler nodded and took three deep breaths, visibly collecting himself. He sat back, reaching for his drink, and smiled ruefully. “I’m really sorry about all this. I’m an ass. So—this was supposed to make me look cooler, huh?”

“Well,” she smiled back, “it should’ve worked. And I guess at least you’re having an interesting evening.”

“Yeah.” He paused. “Before you go, Danger, I want to ask you something.”

“Okay.”

“While I feed on her, I’d like you to keep one hand on me. Skin to skin, if you can manage it.” His eyes pleaded for her understanding. “I’m afraid I’ll get lost in her—the way I got lost in you.”

Danni nodded. “I can do that.” She looked at him, considering the logistics of his request. “You might want to untuck that shirt, though.”

In the end, that was how Danni found herself, sipping her orange juice, with one hand discreetly against the cool skin of Tyler’s lower back, trying to ignore the play of his muscles, trying not to watch him initiate another girl into the stunning sensations of a vampire’s bite.

Whether he found it inside himself, or whether it was something in the touch of the freshie at his back, Tyler drank with enough finesse, enough restraint that Annie shuddered to completion under his mouth against her throat. When he lifted his eyes to her face, the first thing he noticed were the crystal tears sparking on her cheeks. He brushed them away with the back of one finger as she sagged against his shoulder.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes,” she said, voice low and sleepy. “Danger was right.”

Tyler searched her face, wanting to memorize it exactly. This girl—he would remember her forever, remember the surging joy he had felt in her veins, and the secret sorrow in her heart.

“Cry,” he said to her, softly, suddenly.

“What?”

“I have the right, under our custom,” he said with unaccustomed formality, still feeling the liquid of her precious tears beneath his fingertips, “to give you the name you will use in this society. And the name that I give you tonight—is Cry.”
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francis
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Re: 100% Freshie Chapter 24 --PG-13

Post by francis »

Danni can only see her own point of view at this time. She doesn’t have much patience for Annie, or Tyler, or Will, or Lucky. But then, she does the right thing, helping them all, reassuring Annie (and repaying Lucky’s gift from way back), calming down Tyler, promising Will to be there for him.
And she gets over her jealousy for Annie’s and Tyler’s sake. She’s a great girl, sometimes.
I love the name he gave her.
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