Amber & Lochlann (Flesh & Blood) (2 page)

Chapter 2

Rachel had been a little surprised when she had agreed to do it b
ut Tristan had been delighted and said that he would make all the arrangements for a bedroom to be ready for her by the end of the night. Tonight would be her last performance on the main stage, from then on she would only dance for the vampire. Tristan had promised he would introduce her to him later that evening after her set. She was nervous about meeting him. What would he be like? Attractive was a given, they all were, but would he be cruel, kind, creepy, nice, or even evil? She had met very few nice ones in her time. Tristan was always kind to the dancers, and even to the staff he ‘Owned’ but she knew he had a dark side, they all did, and no one truly good would demand ownership over a person surely? Would she be safe with him, without Tex or Al around to watch her back? She had no idea what to expect, she just hoped that he had good control on his thirst. With him being an ‘Elite’ member he should, but age was never a guarantee.

“Don’t worry Amber, Lochlann is an old vampire, fully in control of all h
is senses,” Rachel said as if reading her mind.

“What’s he like?” she asked.

“I don’t really know him. This is his first visit in a very long time so he is new to me as well, but he shows no signs of bloodlust around the girls and is always very gentle with those he feeds from. I would say your safe with him darling, but you must still be careful, he is still a vampire after all.”

She was a wreck by the time Rachel called her to head to the office. She had finished her set over an hour ago and had been sat
fidgeting, or nervously pacing the dressing rooms ever since. Beth, one of the other dances, had tried to ease her worries a little by talking about some of the regulars that she had privately danced for in the past, but her story about Al having to rip one of them off her when she had caught her heel and fell, cutting her knee had not helped.

“Lochlann is waiting in my office,” Rachel said walking into the room.  “Are you ok?”

“Fine,” Amber said forcing a smile.

*****

She had agreed, actually agreed to be his private dancer, his escort and companion for the duration of his stay. He hadn’t felt so much emotion in decades. Was it happiness he felt? He wasn’t sure, but it was certainly different from the emptiness that had filled him these last few years.

T
ristan was taking care of all the arrangements and would bring her to meet him later that night before sunrise. He didn’t know how he would react to being in such close proximity to something, someone that he desired so much, but it was best to be safe, so instead of sitting in his booth and watching her preform on the main stage one last time he went to see Marcy, an ‘Owned’ member of staff that worked during the day as a cleaner.

She was getting on in years now, in her early fifties he believed. They had
met a few times in her youth, back in the days when he had regularly visited the area. Over the years they had struck up a kind of friendship. He only ever fed from her when he was here. He liked to know where his blood came from, that it was pure, clean of substances and most importantly… freely given.

Marcy had fallen into the world of prostitution in her youth - well dragged into it by an abusive boyfriend. He had taken her to one of the clubs open nights thinking he could sell her to a few va
mpires for large sums of money. No one would take up his offer though, they had more respect. Tristan had been enraged at the man. He hated people being taken advantage of, forced to do things they did not want, so had taken her away from her pimp there and then. He ‘Owned’ her now, her life belonged to him, though she was not asked to do things like feed or entertain the way others in his service were. No, she had been through enough and had been forced into a hell that was not of her choosing. She was ‘Owned’ but she was free to live her life in the safety of the club. She did feed a few vampires, a select few she trusted and was glad to call friends, Lochlann being one of them.

“So I heard that you have purchased a new… being,” she said with a raised brow once he ha
d had his fill.

“Yes, a remarkable young woman named Amber I believe.”

“Amber? The dancer?” The shock evident on her face, “I'm guessing I will see you a lot more then as you will not be able to feed from her. Are you sure this is wise? I know you are in control of yourself but still.”

“Tristan has said the same, but there is just something about her, I want her in every way poss
ible and though I know that is not going to happen I will take whatever she is willing to give.”

He left Marcy and headed to his s
uite to check on the room that had been set up for Amber. They had been planning on putting her in the small guest room but he had told them to place her in the main room instead, he would take the small one. The room had been cleaned, bed freshly made, and her costumes and makeup from the dressing room back stage had been brought up, along with a few new items he had selected for her himself. Dresses with matching shoes, even underwear, though he didn’t know if she would dance for him in anything other than her outfits, but he hoped that she would. He was anxious to get this first meeting out of the way. He didn’t know how she would be in his company, nervous no doubt but he hoped to put her at ease soon enough. He and Tristan had had a little chat about the arrangement, about what she was comfortable with as a performer. She had done a few private dances before and even some lap dances during her employment, he definitely planned on having her do that, but not until she was ready of course. Now he sat waiting for Tristan to bring her into his office.

When they entered his eyes immediately went to hers. Hazel, finally an answer to one of the many things that had been rolling through his mind since he first saw her, her eyes were hazel. She glanced at him for
a second then quickly looked away and focusing on the floor. He could hear her heart picking up speed, the blood pumping through her veins, could taste it in the air, making his mouth water. Yes it was definitely a good thing he had been to see Marcy first.

Tristan invited her to sit on the small sofa opposite him alongside Rachel. No doubt Rachel wan
ted to check him out also. He didn’t think the young human was all that keen on leaving one of the girls alone with a vampire. She had not long met him herself so he couldn’t blame her, he was worried himself. Amber tested his control like no other. What was it about her?

“Amber, this is Lochlann. All the arrangements have been made; you will still be paid by the club but will perform only for Lochlann until f
urther notice. You will also receive an extra bonus pay to account for the tips you will miss out on during that time.” Her head nodding in thanks but she remained silent.

“Now we will leave you two alone for a moment to talk,” Tristan said getting a shar
p look from Rachel as they both rose to leave.

“I’ll be right outside,” she whispered to Amber as she followed Tristan through the door.

*****

She had almost lost herself in his crystal blue eyes; they were the first and only thing she had n
oticed about him. Only now that they were alone did she slowly move her eyes from the spot on the floor she had been staring at and take in the man before her.

Vampire
, she told herself.
I have to remember that
.

He was wearing a black tailored pinstripe suit trouser
, the material hugging the large thigh muscles beneath as he sat ankles crossed in the chair opposite her. His crisp white shirt was left open at the top allowing a small view of his hard smooth chest, the sleeves rolled up over his bulging muscles. She had never been fond of built men but somehow Lochlann had the balance just right. It was as if he was naturally built for the outdoors, not over worked like bodybuilders tended to be. She had never seen a vampire with a body like that before. All the ones at the club were normally quite slim. They were toned of course, vampires were incredibly strong, but never had she met one so healthy looking. She wondered how old he was, what he was before his turning to be gifted a body like that. Finally her gaze fell on his face, though she did not look him in the eyes again, afraid that she would be lost if she did so.

He was beautiful, the most handsome man she had ever seen. His short dark hair seemed win
dblown, perfectly messy, a style that humans seemed to spend hours trying to achieve. He was smiling softly with plump kissable lips. His nose had a slight kink to it as if it had been broken in the past. She was happy to see that little imperfection; it made him seem more real, less a thing of fantasy. Why did they have to be so good looking? And he seemed even more so than the others.

“You do not need to fear me Amber, though I understand why you do. I am much older than the majority of members here, have more control. All I want from you is your company and for you
to dance for me, that is all.” His voice was just as enticing as his face and body, smooth but masculine. There was a hint of an accent to it, something familiar but she couldn’t put her finger on it as it was so slight. She fidgeted with her fingers in her lap, not knowing what to say to him. “Would it make it any better to have someone else around for the first few nights? Put you more at ease?”

“I thought you wanted private dances,” she asked quietly, a little taken aback by the offer.

“Oh I do, and they still will be private to a degree. I was thinking about asking Tristan to have Tex or Al close by. I want you relaxed Amber, comfortable around me.”

He spoke so kindly to her that it confused her even more. Why was he being so nice? She could not refuse t
he offer though; having one of the guys around would be a relief. “That would be great.”

“Then I will arrange it. Is there anything you would like to ask me?”

There were a million questions racing round her head, she opened her mouth as if to ask one then another would present its self. Finally she settled for the one that she had asked herself a lot since the offer had been made, “Why me?”

He seemed to think over his answer before he spoke, “Honestly I don’t really know. You fascinate me, the way you danc
e, move, everything. No one has captured my attention like that in a very long time. I want to find out why you do and the only way to do that is to spend more time with you.”

She didn’t know how she felt about that.

There was a brief knock on the door before Rachel walked back in, Tristan following shortly behind. “You ok?” she asked.

“Fine.”

“Tristan, Amber would be more comfortable if Tex or Al could be present for the first few nights if that is possible?”

Rachel smiled broadly at this, clearly happy
with the idea. Tristan nodded in understanding, “I’ll see what I can do, the next few nights should not be a problem but I will need them back in the club full time by the weekend,” looking intently at Amber.

She understood, the weekends were the busiest
nights, the number of humans in town increased tremendously on those night and the younger vampires tended to be more trouble as the smell of blood and lust increased outside. When that happened she would be on her own.

Lochlann bade her goodnight and hea
ded out of the office with Tristan, while Rachel escorted her up to the suite she would be staying in.

She had never been up to the top level where elite visiting members sometimes stayed. The lift opened up onto a long wide corridor, broken only by sets o
f large doors leading to each suite. Lochlann’s was at the far end.

The doors opened up into a large open living space. It all looked very normal, comfortable looking sofas, a small sparkling kitchen with all the mod cons - though Amber suspected they had
never seen any use - a dining area, TV, sound system, everything you would expect to find in an expensive hotel. There was nothing unusual except for one thing, the stage and pole in the centre of the room. Her stage she reminded herself.

There were two s
ets of doors leading off the room. “Lochlann’s room is through there,” Rachel said indicating the door on the other side of the room. “You room is through here.”

Never had she stayed in a room so grand. It was massive though the large queen size bed did ta
ke up a huge amount of space where it sat in the very centre of the room there was still more space than she was used to.

Rachel left her to settle in and investigate, promising to send one of the guys up before the next night fall so she would not be alon
e with Lochlann for a moment. She spent the next hour checking and trying everything like a child in a candy shop. The bed, the TV which had a mountain of DVD’s sat in the cabinet next to it. Opening a door she found a huge bathroom with walk-in double shower and Jacuzzi bath. Through another door she found a walk-in wardrobe with a vanity table filled with all her makeup and products from the dressing room downstairs. All her costumes had been brought up as well and were now hanging on the rails with a collection of other clothes she did not recognise but were all in her size. They ranged from everyday casual to evening wear, a wide selection of shoes and even underwear.