Page 59 of Rock Bottom
“Yes, we do. Always. There’s another of us. She moved to Alaska, but Kirsten teleports her to us for our Girls’ Night Out extravaganzas and other social occasions. She’s pretty powerful, so she and Marco have to be careful around each other, but they make it work.”
“She’s a vampire?”
“Yes, and I miss having her close, but vampires can’t stay in one location forever. Aaron and I will have to leave in probably eight to twelve years for the same reason. We don’t age, and it’s possible to stretch the time now by insinuating you’ve had plastic surgery, but that only lasts for so long.”
Kirsten and Cora were in the kitchen putting some kind of breakfast casserole into the slow cooker, and I realized we were all sober. I grabbed a lemonade from the refrigerator and told them about my flight and all the things I’d seen.
“I’m not a fan of Faerie,” Kirsten said. “The whole place just feels wrong to me.”
“And wolves need special permission to go,” Cora said. “I’ve been for a couple of balls, but that’s it. I’m glad you got to ride a dragon and see Faerie from above, though.”
“Well, I’m glad we don’t have rules against thanking people here, so I can thank all of you for the advice and wisdom, as well as the night of fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a girls-only party night like this, where we can just sit and talk and have fun.”
Mordecai showed up as I was saying goodnight to everyone, and he handed me all the chains I’d wanted, along with a couple of torcs I’d envisioned. Also, the thick bracelets in all the colors I’d thought would work. Nearly two dozen items, in all.
There were also two waist chains, made so they’d conform to my waistline without dropping below my hips.
“Thank you. I’d ask how you knew exactly what I wanted, but since I know how you knew, I’ll tell you the same thing I keep telling Marco — it’s creepy that you know what’s in my head.”
He touched the coin hanging around my neck and then pulled it away from the chain without breaking either the chain or the coin, and handed me the coin. “If you want it back on the original chain, I can put it back without having to pry open the links. The chains and bracelets all have super-secure clasps that have to be both screwed and clicked closed, and then clicked up and unscrewed to open them.”
“Thank you, again.”
Chapter 20
About a month later
Julian
“I need pain, Master,” I told Marco shortly after I rose in the evening.
“I haven’t given you pain for a while, for a reason.”
“At first, I was relieved, but now…”
I thought he’d finish my sentence for me, since he knows how I feel. When he didn’t, I fumbled through the twist of emotions. “I’m itchy for it. It isn’t that Iwantto be hurt, but I need it.”
“You need to talk to Silver.”
I shook my head. “I Top her. We don’t have that kind of relationship.”
“You know Silver enjoys topping men. You’ve seen her in action when you share members of the flock with her. She enjoys it. She’s good at it.”
“Are you saying she wants that kind of relationship with me?”
“I’m saying you need to talk to her about it. My advice would be to set up a dedicated place for it. Perhaps when you go to her house? Or a secluded cabin she can rent?”
It was like talking to a brick wall. He’d made his edict and that was that. “Can I be excused to speak with her, Master?”
He glanced at his watch and nodded. “You know my schedule. Be back before I need you.”
That should give me about an hour and a half. I found Silver in the underground game room, her face lit by flickering graphics, her fingers graceful on the controller. I sat beside her and waited until she reached a save point, maybe three minutes.
“You’re done early?” she asked.
“No, Marco feels I need to talk to you about something. Can we go somewhere private, please?”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “The sun’s still up, so I guess that’s the suite down here?”
