Book Cover created in acrylic by the extremely talented @therealpaul
If you're just joining the adventure and would like to start at the beginning, click here
Chapter Fifty Five
The following day Harriet told Michael and Seth-whose room she had been seen coming out of in the morning by Jess, the resident peeping Tom-that she and her nieces were stealing Anna for the day and into the evening, and that they shouldn't worry, they would keep to well lit places.
Michael didn't like it but the wolf man, who was in a particularly good mood, rallied for them.
"Come on, she needs to get out of the house. Besides she's with a group and no one knows about her, how much trouble can she get in?"
Michael sighed. "Okay, but keep your phones on."
Jess had spent the morning with Tyros and tried to bow out of the excursion, having not yet been clued into the plan but Jenna forcefully insisted. They set out to a salon they'd found on the net and when they were far enough away from the house they filled Jess in. She was instantly worried and even hearing that Harriet had had a "feeling" didn't alleviate her concern.
"I don't think it's a good idea," she kept repeating.
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Listen Miss Queen of bright ideas, she's doing this, so enough with the broken record."
"Hey, if you were the one just hearing about it, you'd be thinking the same thing," Jess shot back.
"Actually you're right," Anna put in, "Jenna was pretty adamantly against it until Harriet intervened." Anna raised a brow at Jenna daring her to disagree.
"Yeah, but since we're all on board, Jess can just be quiet and go with the flow."
"So I'm not allowed to have an opinion about anything?"
"Girls, girls, stop." Harriet commanded from the driver's seat. "I don't know what the outcome will be, I didn't have a vision. But when I was walking into the room and I overheard Anna I had this feeling, this fated feeling." She shifted her gaze to Anna. "You are meant to do this, but I can't promise it will be simple."
Anna nodded. Good enough.
Once at the salon Anna sat nervously in the chair while one woman worked in the black dye as another applied her make-up. She was so used to her moonlight hair it felt like she was removing an appendage. Of course it wasn't permanent, she'd selected the most temporary dye they had and it would start to fade from her roots in a week. She was also having some curls put in for body, and the final touch was a very temporary and non-toxic dye for her eyebrows.
When it was finished she barely had time to look at herself in the mirror before she was tugged out the door and walking to the shop where she would purchase her "new eyes". Because a vampire's sight would pick up the edges of a normal contact too easily, she spent five thousand dollars on a pair that was specially designed to look one hundred percent real under the scrutiny of a microscope.
Next was clothing and she tried on one sexy outfit after another, while the girls made catcalls. In the end it was Harriet who picked out the most suitable attire and when she finally had the chance to survey herself in front of a full length mirror she did not know the person looking back at her.
Along with her wavy raven hair and purple eyes, she was wearing dark maroon lipstick, black mascara and liner, and dark purple shadow. Her neck up was shocking enough, but her outfit made the complete package. Snug black leather pants hugged her small bottom and a shimmery purple blouse sculpted her body with a neckline that dipped into her cleavage. She had purchased a push up bra that nearly pressed her boobs right out of her shirt. And last but not least she wore a pair of black leather high heeled shoes.
"Oh my God Anna," Jess was exclaiming, "If I hadn't been here for this and you passed me on the street? I would not know you. You look really hot!" She pinched Anna's butt and made a kitty noise in her throat.
"I do look pretty sexy," she agreed, "and I finally got my Batgirl outfit!"
Jenna laughed. "Yeah, holy shit!"
She was so amazed by the change in her appearance that when it came time to leave she had difficulty pulling her gaze from the mirror.
The next stop on their journey was a relatively empty park. Now that she had successfully accomplished making herself look the part, it was time for her to work on acting it. Harriet began the instruction, showing her how to walk the walk.
"It's all in the hips," she told her and Anna followed the older woman's movements until the others agreed she had it down.
She worked on her facial expressions next, Jess coaching her on how to give a guy the once-over. She managed to affect it well enough to appear sexy, and she was feeling pretty good about herself until it came time for talking. She could not make herself sound all “badass sexy vampire bitch” without erupting into giggles.
"See, this is why Austin dubbed you the indestructible fairy, how can you possibly pull off bat woman giggling like an adolescent?" Jenna goaded.
But even when she managed to minus the giggles she felt foolish.
"I think the less talking the better," Harriet declared, "You'll take a pack of cigarettes in with you and only speak when you need to...all right, I think we're ready so why don't we go find a place to get some drinks, a little liquid courage couldn't hurt."
They chose a club on the brightly lit side of town and Anna ordered up two shots and a beer in hopes of calming her nerves.
"Why doesn't Anna practice on some of the men in here?" Jess suggested.
They decided that was an excellent idea and pretty soon she was dancing with one guy after another, all of them vying for her attention and buying her drinks.
She broke free from one of them and beamed at her friends, "I'm not too bad at this!"
"Of course you're not bad at it honey, you're gorgeous," Harriet raised an eyebrow.
"Thanks, but normally my appearance does not have men falling over themselves to get to me."
"That’s because you don't choose it," Jess told her. "A little makeup and a suggestive smile is all it takes for a pretty girl to attract attention."
They left the club at ten o'clock and headed for the bar called Stokes hoping that he would be there, or someone could direct her to where he was. It would royally suck if all of their preparation was for nothing.
When she mentioned this, Jenna shook her head, "It won't be for nothing, all you have to do is change back into normal clothes, wash your face, take out your new eyes and we can just tell your housemates that you wanted to dye your hair for a change of pace. Then we can try again another day."
"I guess, but the black will make them suspicious, and I'm pretty sure they won't like it."
"Too bad!" Harriet exclaimed. "You are a woman and they are not your fathers. If you want black hair to sister up with Jenna and me, then who are they to nay say?"
"Yeah Anna, they'll have no reason to think anything else."
She considered this and nodded. "Okay, so if we don't find him tonight we keep trying. But I really, really hope we do."
They parked down the street from Stokes trying to determine the best place for them to wait when Anna was hit with a sudden inspiration.
"I know I can always blur back to Michael's but...what if I were to take your vein Jenna, that way I could track and blur directly to you if I need to?"
Jenna raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "Sure." She moved her head to the side.
Anna grinned and shook her head. "I'll use your wrist, the neck might be a little weird. Actually this could serve more than one purpose since it’s probably a good idea for him to smell human blood on me."
Jess and Harriet had turned in their seats and they watched with undisguised fascination as Jenna held her arm out and Anna gripped her elbow gently. Once she sunk her teeth in and took the first pull she studied her friends's face. Jenna's eyes slid shut, but rather than her heart speeding up like most of the guys, it appeared to calm her. Anna realized that it was the same reaction she always got from Josh.
"What did it feel like?" Jess asked Jenna as soon as Anna let go.
"It's hard to explain...a little like I was being tickled by a feather all the way down that side of my body, but more intense."
Jess started to say something more but Anna cut her off.
"I'm ready."
Harriet leaned through the middle of the seats and put her hands on Anna's face. "You're going to do great," she told her, "I have complete faith in you."
"She's right," Jenna agreed, "You've got this." Jess nodded her assent.
Anna smiled at them, "I got this," she echoed, then reached for the door handle.
She stepped out of the car feeling pretty good. Her nervousness had melted away with the liquor and the blood. She could do this, she could definitely do this. She was going to kick some ass and take down names.
She walked into the bar keeping her head high and meeting the eyes of everyone she saw. There were a number of male vampires inside as well as a group of human females and she swept her gaze over them.
She started to head towards the counter when she saw him and felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, freezing her feet to the floor in the process. Oh God, she breathed, staring at the beautiful male. The one who looked like a statue of a Greek warrior god, with eyes the color of ice and shimmering golden hair. The one who had ripped Jake's head clean off and thrown it against a wall.
She stood frozen thinking, please don't let him be Jared, but she knew that it was. That this was the mammoth muscular warrior Matthias did not dare go up against in a fight. She made her feet move and changed direction, heading over to the juke box. She gathered herself, just barely remembering to keep her stance cool and confident. As she flipped through the music she could feel a number of eyes on her back and she started to lose her nerve.
Come on, she coaxed herself, they need those weapons.
She could do it for Will and Josh and Jack. She was not a meek little child anymore, she was a strong vampire female. She took a deep breath, chose a couple of goth rock songs, then strode over to the bar and ordered a beer.
She purposefully placed herself two stools from the towering male, and if he hadn't noticed her before, he did now. She could feel his eyes all over her, and it was as if he had fingers attached to his gaze. Her body was filling with heat so quickly it nearly made her lose her nerve once more. She steeled herself against the impulse to run and turned to face him instead. She inwardly congratulated herself when she met and held his gaze, allowing a smile to slowly come across her face.
"You must be Jared." She said his name with emphasis. When his eyes narrowed a bit she let her smile grow a touch wider then picked up her beer, making the act of putting her lips on the bottle sensual as she sucked its contents. In her mind she was cheering herself on wildly. She pulled a cigarette from her pack and lit it, taking a drag and letting the smoke slide through her pursed lips. He didn’t answer and she had a feeling it was purposeful, meant to unnerve her.
"Not a particularly talkative male are you?" She quirked an eyebrow, taking another drag of her cigarette.
He stared at her a moment longer taking a swallow of his own drink. "Most of whom I encounter have nothing of value to say."
Anna tried not to stare. His voice was as beautiful and masculine as the rest of him, like the strum of a guitar and a drum beat blending perfectly. She mulled over how to respond. She could dazzle him with her wit and intelligence....yeah right, or just...."You're right of course, I find words to be exhausting myself. So I'm going to cut to the chase."
He lifted a brow and she felt another shiver course through her.
She pressed on. "I haven't been in London for a very long time, and upon arrival I find you are the subject of interest and competition." She pushed the tip of her cigarette into the ashtray and slid off the bar stool, then walked over and stood in front of him. She decided to wait him out this time.
He was studying her intensely. "Go on." He said finally, his ice blue eyes narrowing.
She tried to think of what to say next but the sharpness of his gaze was muddling her thoughts. She pulled it together and managed, "Hmm. I think I’ve changed my mind," with a slight tremor. She turned and started to walk away and nearly ran into his massive chest. How did he move that quick, she thought nervously. His hands settled on her shoulders, then snaked their way down her arms and back up again. She looked up at him and lifted a brow.
He put a hand under her chin and stared at her hard. "Who are you?"
"Terasa."
"I've never heard of you."
"You wouldn't have. I have kept myself...apart."
"In America?"
She nodded.
"No one mentioned a female visiting from the States."
"I haven't been here long."
He released her chin and took a step back from her. She had a feeling that a vampire female would not back down so she took a step forward then brazenly placed her hands on his chest. She could feel the muscles rippling under her touch and barely suppressed a shiver.
He caught her wrists and turned her around, shoving her towards the hallway that led to the restrooms. Once they were there he spun her around once more and pinned her against the wall. He put his hands under her ass, lifting her to his middle and her body exploded in sexual reaction. When he pressed his mouth to hers she almost forgot who she was and what she was doing there. He was kneading her bottom while rubbing his enormous erection in tight circles against her leather clad crotch and she couldn’t think beyond the sensations it was causing. He moved his hand to cup a breast through her blouse and squeezed her nipple with two fingers.
The sharp pain shocked her out of her trance. She pulled back from him. "No,” she said shakily. “Not unless you take me to your place."
His brows drew together. "My place?"
She nodded and forced her voice to steady. "That's right. No female has seen where you live and since I'm the new girl I want to make a statement. We go to your place, or I find someone else."
He still had her pressed firmly against him. She ground her hips lightly and he growled deep in his throat.
And then they were gone.
Generously created for me by @son-of-satire