DISCLAIMER: I don't own them.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Complimentary Dishes
By Janine
Sadie lifted the crossbow and aimed it at Eve's heart.
She paused.
'Pull the trigger, Sadie. Pull the trigger Sadie,' she chanted in her mind while her arm remained outstretched, her eyes steady on the woman seated across from her.
But she couldn't. She couldn't kill Eve like she had Rourke. Arturo was right. Eve was different.
She felt a connection to Eve. She was drawn to her, even though intellectually she knew that this woman had helped violate and murder her. And yet, when Eve looked at her, when her lips twitched hinting at a smile she wouldn't let show completely because she knew Sadie would respond badly to it, Sadie felt … warm.
"What are you doing to me?" Sadie asked, her eyes burning deeply into Eve's as she lowered the crossbow knowing that she wouldn't be using it on Eve anytime soon.
"Nothing," Eve said resting her elbows on the table and leaning forward slightly, directing her full attention to Sadie. "Nothing conscious anyway," she continued smiling a little bit now that she was sure Sadie wouldn't use the weapon she'd had pointed on her for the better part of half an hour. "We're connected, you and I," Eve went on. "We have a deeper sense of each other than most people … or vampires," Eve said slowly, very slowly moving her hand across the table to reach for Sadie's. "You can't hurt me because you know that I mean you no harm. You know that I mean it when I say that I'm glad you found me. You can feel my love for you."
"Love?" Sadie whispered harshly. She would have laughed, but she didn't think, she was still capable of it. "You kidnapped me. You stood by and watched while Bishop …" she paused there, her lips curling in disgust. She couldn't say it. "You murdered me," she continued her eyes drifting to the crossbow again. "You call that love?"
"I didn't murder you," Eve said her voice firm but not overtly challenging. "I saved you, as best I could. I shared the very core of my being with you," she went on taking Sadie's hand into her own, stroking the back of it with her thumb for a moment before turning their hands over so that the underside of her wrist was visible. "I cut my skin open there," Eve continued reaching with her free hand to indicate the veins she had opened. "You put your mouth to it and drank from me … of me," she went on softly, her voice sounding almost awed. "You were so beautiful in your desperation. You broke my heart, Sadie. I had no real conception of you as a person before that," she admitted, "but once we shared that," Eve breathed in deeply and bit her lip, "intimacy, everything changed."
"You're psychotic," Sadie responded her voice accusatory and disgusted though she made no move to remove her hand from under Eve's. As much as the other woman revolted her, she was enthralled by her.
"Then why are you still here?" Eve asked stroking Sadie's hand again softly. "You don't have to answer that," Eve continued smiling a moment later when Sadie simply glared at her. "It's because you feel close to me as well. You don't want to admit it, you feel as if you should hate me, you want to kill me, and yet … all you want to do is be around me," Eve went on, her eye burning into Sadie's. "And you can be. I can help you. I can make you feel warm, and safe," Eve said standing up, keeping her hold on Sadie's hand the whole time she moved around to sit on the other side of the booth beside Sadie. "You're not alone, Sadie. I know you're scared, and cold, and angry, but you don't have to be." Eve wrapped her arm around Sadie's shoulders. "Let me take care of you," she continued petting Sadie's hair tenderly before encouraging the other woman to rest her head on her shoulder.
Sadie breathed in deeply. She didn't want to, but she felt herself responding to Eve's touch and presence. She wanted to lean into Eve, she wanted to breathe in her scent and burry her nose in her neck and inhale the other woman's essence. She wanted to fold herself against Eve, and let her cradle her like a child and make her feel safe, and warm and loved.
Eve sighed contentedly as Sadie rested her head on her shoulder, her hand still petting the Asian woman's hair tenderly before she bent her head down and placed a kiss on top of Sadie's head.
She had never had a childe before and wasn't sure what to expect after turning Sadie, how she would feel about the former reporter, or how Sadie would feel about her. But she was just as enchanted with the other woman as she had been when she turned her, and Sadie was responding to her beautifully.
Eve purred in pleasure.
They could have a lot of fun together once she broke Sadie in.
A Week Later
Sadie moved her hips in time with the beat, her ass grinding against the body behind her as she tipped her head back giving Eve access to her neck, her eyes slipping shut as the elder vampires lips caressed the sensitive skin of her neck.
Sadie gasped and arched her chest forward as she felt Eve's hands slide up her torso to cup her breasts through the thin material of her tank top. Her senses were overwhelmed with the feel of Eve against her back, and her hands on her breasts while her teeth nipped at her neck. She felt intoxicated by the vibrating pulse of the music pounding through the club and the combined heartbeats and scent of sweat that surrounded her.
"Open your eyes," Eve whispered into her ear before sucking the lobe into her mouth and biting down sharply on it causing Sadie to moan. "Look down, over the edge," she continued when she was sure Sadie had opened her eyes. They were on the second floor of the club, tucked neatly away in a corner with an excellent view of the entire bottom floor. "Look at them. Feel them. Let your heart lead your eyes."
"My heart wants you," Sadie said trying to twist in Eve's arms, but the elder vampire held her still. Eve knew that she was trying to stall, that she didn't want to be out hunting people for their blood. They had gone out before, and Eve had relented when Sadie turned her attention to the elder vampire's pleasure instead of food, but Eve was focused that night and Said knew she would not relent. Playtime was over.
"I'm sure that's true," Eve responded smiling a little before nipping at Sadie's cheek. "But at the moment your body needs one of them if you want to have me later."
Sadie exhaled noisily, her body quivering slightly at Eve's words. She had always had a healthy sexual appetite, but since meeting Eve she had become … insatiable. She had tried to resist Eve that first night when Eve brought her to an expensive condo after they left the club she had tracked her down in. As Eve had kissed her neck and her hands slipped under Sadie's shirt, Sadie had placed her hands on Eve's shoulders and tried to push her away. She told her that she didn't want what Eve was doing to her, but that was a lie and they both knew it. And when Eve stepped back and removed her dress, leaving her in nothing but a very expensive thong and garters and then lifted the nail of her thumb to her neck opening up a small wound, Sadie had moaned and moved towards her. And once she had gotten her first conscious taste of Eve's blood, she didn't stop touching the other woman for two days.
"Focus, Sadie," Eve whispered in her ear, drawing Sadie's attention back to the present instead of the debaucheries of the last week of undead life. "Look at them, you'll find yourself drawn in a direction and when you see them your heart will quicken, your palms will sweat and you'll know who is the one for you."
"You make it sound romantic," Sadie breathed out her eyes on the crowd below her once more.
"It is," Eve said. "Taking someone's life is the most intimate experience there is. Before they fade away, in the moment of their last breath you share an incomparable pleasure, the ecstasy of life and death merging together for one perfect moment. It's lovely, Sadie," Eve continued softly turning her head to press her lips to Sadie's temple gently. "You'll see."
An Hour Later …
Sadie allowed Eve to pull her into the backseat of the Escalade, lips wrapping around her fingers and sucking the thick red liquid off of them as she settled against Eve's body.
"Look at me," Eve commanded, her tone gentle though it brooked no argument.
Sadie tilted her head back and looked up at the other woman, powerless against her.
Eve leaned down, her tongue poking past her lips to lick a trail up Sadie's cheek, drawing some of the excess blood that coated her lovers face into her mouth. She moaned and drew her hand under Sadie's chin, holding her face still and bent down again, licking at Sadie's face hungrily, as her hands trailed over Sadie's torso, smiling against Sadie's blood smeared cheek as the former reporter arched up into her hands.
Watching Sadie feed had excited Eve, the ferocity, the total abandon, the primal satisfaction of feeding and watching someone else experience that pleasure always made Eve throb. In fact it had been all she could do not to join Sadie's feast, but she knew that it was important to make that first conscious kill alone, to not have any excuses after the deed was done.
Eve turned her attention to Sadie's mouth drawing the other woman into a long, deep kiss, her hands on Sadie's belt undoing it as their crimson tongues dueled in each others mouths.
"Hurry," Sadie growled biting at Eve's chin hard enough to draw blood as she lifted her hips up off of the car seat to allow Eve to pull her jeans down enough that her hand could reach the hot, wet spot where Sadie desperately needed her.
Eve thought about teasing Sadie, about making her squirm and beg and scream and sob, but decided to give the other woman what she wanted. Sadie had been such a good girl, and done such a lovely job with her first real kill that it would have been cruel to deny her release. It wasn't of course that Eve was against being cruel, she considered it to be a delicate art that she was a mistress of, but seeing Sadie feed, and seeing the state she was in at the moment was having a very strong effect on her and she didn't have time to draw Sadie out because she desperately wanted her mouth somewhere else.
Sadie cried out as Eve pumped into her, her thrusts so hard they were painful which only excited Sadie more. The former reporters feet were pressed against the back door of the Escalade helping her brace her body as she arched up into Eve's fingers while the elder vampire chewed on her earlobe.
Sadie arched up one last time, her mouth opening in a soundless scream as she came, her thighs clamping around Eve's hand as she continued to buck against it.
"Like strawberries and chocolate," Eve sighed as she tilted her head to the side, looking out of the tinted window for a moment before turning her attention to Sadie. "Didn't I tell you? Lovely."
Sadie turned slowly in Eve's arms until she was looking down at the other woman. She was still lying on top of her but now they were face to face.
"You also said I got to have you," Sadie responded a slow predatory smile spreading across her face.
"And you do," Eve said relaxing under Sadie's body and looking up at her expectantly. She would give herself over to the other woman completely. Now that she no longer had her crossbow there was nothing Sadie could do to her that she wouldn't find absolutely delightful.
A Month Later …
Eve was seated in front of the ornate mirror in the bedroom brushing her hair when Sadie walked in. Their eyes met in the mirror and Sadie looked away.
Eve sighed and put down the brush.
"I'm going to have to start chaining you up," Eve murmured as Sadie slumped her way over to the bed and collapsed onto the mattress.
"You do that most days anyway," Sadie responded turning her head to the side to look at the other woman. "I kind of like that."
Eve smirked. "Kind of?" she asked knowingly.
Sadie grinned wolfishly.
"You're only making this harder on yourself," Eve said as she crossed over to the bed to sit beside Sadie. Now that Sadie had spent a lot of time around the brunette she could pick up the subtleties of her voice more and she detected a hint of irritation in Eve's tone as she spoke.
"It's already hard. What difference is 'harder'?" Sadie asked not bothering to hide her own frustration. She turned her head away from Eve and looked up at the ceiling.
"Did you ever think about what would happen if she saw you one of these nights?" Eve asked stretching out on the bed next to Sadie though she left space between their bodies. "Have you thought about what it would do to her, to think you were haunting her? To think that your soul was unhappy and you couldn't cross over to the afterlife."
"I can't," Sadie responded with an edge to her voice.
"But should that be your mother's burden to bear as well?" Eve asked. "Have you given any thought to what we talked about last week?"
"Yes," Sadie responded and left it at that knowing that it would irritate Eve.
"And?" Eve asked her annoyance as clear as day to Sadie.
Sadie turned her head to the side, her eyes finding Eve's almost immediately. "I already have a name."
"Sadie Blake is dead," Eve said softly, the irritation that had been in her voice a moment before no where to be found. "You need to let her go. You can't be that woman anymore. You are not that woman anymore," Eve continued reaching out to stroke Sadie's cheek. "Let them go, Sadie. Look forward, always forward. Never back. Madness lies in that."
"It's not that easy!" Sadie responded turning her head sharply out of Eve's grasp.
"No, it's not," Eve acknowledged. "But just because something is hard it doesn't mean you shouldn't try. I know that sometimes you hate me, and that this is one of those times," Eve continued a slight undercurrent of her hurt in her voice though she didn't let that stop her. "But I do understand what you're going through. I went through it too. I know the damage holding on can do," she went on, her eyes darkening as she spoke, a far away look coming into her eyes.
"What happened?" Sadie asked her voice low and gentle knowing that she was asking Eve something that the other woman would rather not have talked about.
Eve held Sadie's gaze unblinkingly trying to decide whether to answer or not before she finally sighed and looked away.
"I killed them," Eve said her voice a controlled monotone that Sadie had rarely heard. "I was hurt, and scared, and I ran home to last place I could really remember feeling safe. My little sister used to sneak into my room and crawl into bed with me when she was scared or upset, and after all those years of providing sanctuary I finally sought some out in her arms," Eve continued in the same tone. "She didn't wake up at first, just turned into my body and continued to sleep. But eventually something must have registered with her and she woke up. I saw the panic and fear in her eyes and I knew she was going to scream. I placed my hand over her mouth and tried to get her to calm down, but she wouldn't. Her eyes just stared up at me in terror and confusion - they thought me dead for two months at this time - and she struggled beneath me.
"I was weak with blood loss and exhaustion, but I was stronger than her and preternaturally aware. As she struggled her heart rate increased; sweat began to bead her skin and I could hear her blood rushing through her veins. I could smell her fear. And before I knew what I was doing my teeth were on her, tearing at her flesh.
"I wandered through the house after that on a blood high, the smell of that which covered me and ran through my own veins leading me on. Blood calls to blood, Sadie," Eve said turning to face the former reporter for the first time since she had begun speaking. "We are not safe. We are no longer daughters and sisters. We are predators. Your family is food Sadie, and if you keep going back to them, one day you will eat."
Sadie was quiet for a minute after Eve finished speaking. The elder vampire's words had disturbed her because she felt the truth of them. There were times when she would begin to drift while watching over her mother or sister, and at those times the sound of their heartbeats would begin to pulse through her, the sound of blood rushing through veins and their soft breaths creating a spellbinding symphony in her mind, and suddenly she would find her lips dry and her body leaning forward. She had always controlled the instinct but she knew a night might come when she could not, and that one night would be all that it took to destroy everything that she loved.
Sadie slid closer to Eve closing the distance between them and draped her arm over Eve's waist, pulling the other woman against her body, pressing herself against her as if trying to merge them into one.
"We should leave this place," Eve said minutes later when Sadie loosened her hold on her a little bit. "We should move across oceans and continents."
Sadie nodded once almost absently before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a moment at which time she nodded again. What Eve said was true, she was dangerous and she knew it. If she truly loved her family the best thing she could do for them was to stay away.
"There's something I have to do first," Sadie finally said opening her eyes and looking at Eve. Before she had met up with Eve again she had had a mission. Her current situation meant that the parameters of that mission had changed somewhat, but she still wanted someone to pay for what had happened to her, and since that could no longer be Eve it meant that Bishop was the sole receptacle for all of her rage.
"And that would be?" Eve asked though there was a touch of apprehension in her voice that indicated she had a very good idea what Sadie's response was going to be.
"Bishop," Sadie replied honestly. "More specifically, killing him."
Eve sighed deeply. "I can't help you with that," she said holding Sadie's gaze. "I'm bound to him as you are to me," she continued. "I cannot harm him."
"You don't have to," Sadie replied firmly. "You just need to stay out of my way."
Eve considered her for a moment. Bishop was much older and stronger than Sadie. The odds were not on her lover's side. Then again, Sadie had the same look in her eyes as she spoke then as she had the night that she was made. Her determination was considerable and a powerful force it and of itself. Eve wasn't convinced that it was enough to guarantee Sadie victory against Bishop, but she knew that there would be no stopping Sadie from trying, and she felt as powerful longing for the other woman just as she had the first night they had met.
"If you insist," Eve sighed though her lips twitched in a proud smile.
Two Days Later …
Eve was standing by the large windows in the living room when Sadie entered the condo. Sadie knew that Eve was aware of her presence the moment she walked in, but the other woman kept her attention focused on lights outside the window as she made her way towards her.
"Are you disappointed?" Sadie asked knowing that her presence there spoke to Bishops fate.
"No," Eve said finally turning to face Sadie. "It's just … I felt it," she continued a moment later, her hand drifting up her torso to rest between her breasts. Eve's fingers stopped in the exact spot where she had stabbed Bishop. "Since I was made I've always had a sense of him," she went on a second later holding her hand out to Sadie. "Now it's gone." Sadie took her hand and allowed Eve to pull her into her body. "Now we both have things to adjust to."
Sadie stayed in Eve's arms for a few minutes allowing the other woman to comfort herself with her presence since she couldn't honestly try to comfort her with words.
"Where are we going?" Sadie asked a few minutes later turning to look out of the window. Eve shifted behind her and rested her chin on her shoulder gazing out of the window as well.
"Where do you want to go?" Eve asked. She had lived in many places over the many years of her life. She had her favorites of course, places she wanted to take Sadie eventually, but for the time being she had no problem allowing the former reporter to choose their destination.
"Somewhere pretty," Sadie breathed out. "The Riviera," she continued her voice strengthening as she spoke, as if she were figuring out what it was she wanted as the words came out of her mouth. "Monaco."
"Monaco," Eve repeated smiling at Sadie's reflection in the mirror. "I didn't expect that."
"It wouldn't do to be too predictable at this point in the relationship, now would it?" Sadie responded turning a little in Eve's arms so that she could see the other woman's face, her lips curving up in a smile that was quickly covered by Eve's lips.
"Predictable?" Eve said finally pulling away from Sadie's lips. "Certainly not a word I would use to describe you," she continued. "No, you have a restless spirit. You seek out trouble and adventure, you made a profession of integrating yourself in other people's lives, becoming someone different for every story. You are mutable, and that is fascinating … and necessary."
Eve rubbed her hands up and down Sadie's arms for a moment before encouraging the other woman to turn around so that they could see each other direction.
"We're like sharks, Sadie. We need to keep moving forward, always. When we stop, when we bore, when we tire, we die. Slowly, so slowly fading away, alone as the others move on," Eve went on lifting her hands to Sadie's face cradling it gently. "Your desperation to live, your unceasing struggle to hold on to even the tiniest thread of life, ignited something in me that had been fading for years," Eve continued blinking against the wetness forming in her eyes. "You made me long again. You made me move. You saved me too."
Sadie's hand moved up to cover Eve's holding it for a moment as she held the elder vampires gaze. Then she moved forward, pushing up on her tiptoes slightly to press her lips against Eve's kissing her passionately, wrapping her arms around Eve's waist and pressing them more tightly together as Eve responded to her, salty tears mingling in their mouths as they clung to each other.
Sadie couldn't explain it in a way that made sense to her intellectually, but she needed Eve as much as the other woman seemed to need her. Eve was attracted to her instability, her fire, her reckless abandon, and she to Eve's calm, and certainty, and warmth. They needed each other in a primal, fundamental way that Sadie had never experienced before. She shouldn't want, or need or love Eve, but she did. And that was that. She was finally understanding that in this life she how had, she just had to let things be.
Eve's lips traveled from Sadie's lips to her jaw and then to her neck, sucking and then biting at the skin there hard enough - Sadie now knew - to draw a small amount of blood. Sadie moaned as Eve begin to lick up the mess she had made, her hands traveling to Eve's waist working at the woman's belt as they stumbled away from the window towards the nearest cushioned surface.
However mad it was, they were now complimentary dishes.
The End