She could do this. She could play Lisette. No violent threats necessary to get the information she wanted; Mila would find a way to pluck it from her lips, like she might from a human. Of course, no human was even remotely as dangerous as Lisette could be. They lacked her deadly gifts, her twisted morality, or her sharp wit to know when she was being manipulated. But Mila also knew that the other vampire [i]loved[/i] to play dangerous games. She was willing to bet that Lisette wouldn’t be able to resist playing this one… [i]“I wonder how Booker and Charlie are doing.”[/i] …and no doubt she would put up a formidable fight. Mila was careful to maintain the careless, confident look that her expression had taken ever since she’d finally eaten. Even as Lisette moved to walk beside her and to grip her hand with uncomfortable force, Mila remained poised. She could feel Lisette’s eyes rake over her features, trying to gauge her reaction. The older vampire pretended to be bored by her comment, as if it was [i]too obvious[/i] she was just trying to get a rise out of her, and really she was just being tiresome now. But inwardly, Mila was coming down from the high of finally getting her fill and her cocky, self-assured attitude was sobering just a little at the thought of her precarious situation - hand in hand with someone who wanted to possess her just as much as she wanted to torture her. [i]“I must say, I’m curious! I wonder if they are having as much fun as you and that shopkeep did.”[/i] “As [i]if[/i] he could perform as beautifully as I did just now,” she replied coolly, not looking at her. “And unfortunately for him, Charlie is not desperate, like that woman was.” As much fun as she and the shopkeep. She imagined, as Lisette probably intended, the roles replaced by Booker and Charlie and the girl gasping and moaning with pleasure for him as the woman had done for her. She suddenly felt sick, and disgusted with herself. Now Lisette’s bone-crushing grip on her hand was beginning to feel like just as much a measure of controlling her, of keeping her in place, as it was a gesture of feigned intimacy with her. Mila’s finger’s twitched unconsciously at the thought. Like a boa constrictor, Lisette’s grip only seemed to grow tighter whenever she tried to adjust their hands. Mila would have liked to withdraw it completely, but she knew it would have looked weak. So she endured, even when Lisette’s thumb began its teasing caresses on the back of her hand. Mila wasn’t completely immune to her tactics. Despite wanting to [i]wring[/i] the information she needed out of Lisette, she couldn’t deny the younger vampire’s frightening ability to charm and beguile to the point that Mila had to consciously suppress the shivers she could elicit. Even when they were unwanted. [i]I do not want you.[/i] She knew that the poor humans who had the misfortune of crossing paths with Lisette were certainly never able to resist her sinister allure. [i]You know exactly what you’re doing to me. And you know I know it too. And that I still can’t always stop myself from-..[/i] [i]“Quiant.”[/i] They had reached the hotel and now headed swiftly and quietly up to Mila’s room. There wasn’t a soul to see them, apart from a bored and tired looking teenager behind the desk who didn’t bother glancing up from his phone to look at them as they swept through the lobby. Very soon, Mila was pushing open the door to her room. Immediately Lisette skipped inside and flopped down on one of the beds like she owned the place. Mila closed the door softly behind her and locked it with a sharp [i]click[/i]. She needed to be very careful now if she wanted coax Lisette into a more …compliant mood. [i]“My, to sleep again.”[/i] Mila moved to stand in front of one of the mirrors and wipe the residual blood from her face and neck. She glanced casually at Lisette’s reflection as she spoke. [i]“That is mayhap the only thing about humanity I miss. To just be oblivious for a couple hours, unaware of the world. It’s a true gift, taken so for granted.”[/i] She watched her as she lay back on the bed, miming the posture humans took to fall unconscious for a while. Mila missed it too. She thought that she imagined it being more luxurious than it probably ever really was, but it still must have been wonderful indeed. She had probably taken it for granted when she’d been human, just like Lisette said. “Feeling nostaligic?” she teased, raising an eyebrow, still preening herself in the mirror. “You could always close your eyes and [i]pretend[/i] to sleep, if you miss it so much. I’ll try not to laugh at you.” [i]“But then again, I could never miss the weakness of it all. Human’s are so frail. It’s pitiful.”[/i] “But it’s also what makes them so appealing,” Mila pointed out, looking nonchalant as she swept her hand through her dark hair and admired herself in the mirror. [i]So tell me, darling, do you miss humanity?”[/i] The question caught her off-guard and she paused for a moment. She missed it alright. She ached for it sometimes, in a way she knew would make her peers sneer at her with amusement and disdain. It wasn’t a constant pressing desire – more like a dull throb in the back of her mind, giving her an unwanted and inconvenient feeling of guilt. Of course, there were plenty of times when she didn’t miss it at all. Not when she was about to sink her teeth into some poor soul’s veins. Nor when their blood touched her lips and satisfied her thirst. And she hadn’t been thinking about being human at all when she’d first laid eyes on Charlie and plotted how she would lure the girl into her cold embrace… But she thought about it now and she felt the melancholy ache swell up again. “There are some things, I suppose…” Mila drawled apathetically, her face a prefect mask, concealing her inner thoughts. “Sleeping, like you said. Eating certain foods, I guess.” She gave a shrug, as if it didn’t really matter. [i]Having a family. Being in love. Not killing people.[/i] She blinked and bent to adjust her dress…and to obscure her expression for just a moment. When she was composed and had straightened again, she spotted Lisette slip off the bed and pace around the room for a bit before turning her attention towards her. [i]“I’m assuming those aren’t the only clothes you own.”[/i] “I own quite a few clothes.” [i]“I’d like to change, it feels like I’ve been in this gown forever.”[/i] “You’re welcome to borrow some of mine, although I’m not sure you’ll fill them out quite as nicely as I do-..” Mila gradually cut herself short as Lisette turned and peered at her over her shoulder with a mischievous grin. [i]“Unzip me, love...”[/i] As if they had a will of their own, Mila’s eyes trailed down along her curves and back up again just in time to see her wink devilishly. The older vampire blinked. And then tightened her jaw. [i]Here we go...[/i] Lisette was taking the first swing and Mila was determined that it should be a miss. Without another beat of hesitation, she raised her eyebrows curiously at her and sauntered forward until she stood close behind Lisette, one hand finding the zipper, the other sliding sensuously onto her hip. “Hold still then,” she murmured in a low voice, pulling Lisette a little closer to her. She thought of something that she [i]didn’t[/i] miss about being human – having a telltale pulse. She was sure hers would have been giving her away at the moment. [i]Damn her coquettish little challenges.[/i] Mila slowly pulled the zipper down to revealing more and more of the smooth, supple skin underneath. She continued down in one smooth action until the zipper stopped at the base of her spine. She lingered for just a moment longer than she needed, staring down at where the skin met fabric again. She knew should have used the moment to do [i]something[/i], but instead she pulled away and turned toward the closet where she had hung most of her clothes. “You can pick something,” she said, with an air of granting her permission, though there was an edge in her voice. As Mila slid the closet door open to show her, she spotted something draped over one of the hangers. It was Charlie’s scarf, the one Mila had taken just before leaving her. She had completely forgotten she’d hung it there. The scent hit her suddenly and she snatched it without thinking and balled it up in her hands. “Here, have a look.” Mila moved away from the closet to giver her access and sat on the edge of one of the beds, keeping the scarf out of site as inconspicuously as possible behind her back. She could stash it in the bathroom when she had the chance, on the shower hook, under the sink, some place Lisette had no need to go poking around. “You’re a little [i]smaller[/i] than I am, aren’t you. Hopefully you can find something that works.” Of course both of them looked stunning in anything the draped over their bodies, and Mila was only talking to distract her. “Be a doll and toss me something too while you’re at it,” she said, more of a demand than a request. “Anything will do, I’d like to get out of these clothes too.” She crossed her legs, then uncrossed them, then glanced toward the bathroom door. She stood up, pretending to look interested in whatever Lisette was picking out. “I’ll be right back..” ----------------- [i]”No…”[/i] Every time Charlie murmured a weak sound of protest, Booker’s grin became more and more sinister. And each time she shrunk away from him, he inched closer. He was breaking her. He could see in her eyes that already she wanted to give in, despite the conflicted look that would flicker across her face only to disappear again. Her breathless moans when he had inflicted pain with just a twitch of his fingers on her stomach had him nearly salivating with bloodlust now. She was so weak and so tantalizing and best of all he had stolen her from someone else. [i]“I don’t want...”[/i] “You don’t have to deny it anymore, the game’s up isn’t it.” Her face was still warm from his earlier pitying look, which had made her turn a wonderful shade of crimson. Everything about her was overwhelmingly desirable, he was beginning to have to consciously hold himself back so that he could tease her just a little more before she gave in. He had no doubt she would now, very soon. “Ask me,” he repeated, his voice a low, soft growl, his eyes all alight with amusement and desire as she stared up at him with those wide, doe eyes of hers. He bent to kiss her neck, to remind her of the feel of his lips and teeth on that sweet spot below her jawline. Finally he heard the words he’d been waiting for. [i]“Just... do it.”[/i] Her admission sent a delicious thrill down his spine and he smirked wickedly against her skin. “Can you speak up a little, darling? Did I just hear you say you [i]do[/i] want it…?” he teased, letting his teeth scrap her skin a few times. But instead he moved away from her neck abruptly and began nibbling at her ear, the better for her to hear his low, mocking voice. “Is this how she did it too?” he whispered, snaking his hand lightly along her torso, all the way up to cup the side of her cheek. “She had you on your back, whimpering pathetically, [i]craving[/i] release?” His fingers began gently stroking the side of her face, a stark contrast the to rough way he was working his teeth against her skin. “You can imagine her if you like, I don’t mind. Say her name even. I’m sure she would [i]love[/i] that if she could see us now.” He could only imagine the older vampire’s expression if she really could have seen them now. It made him giddy and breathless, as if he’d just won first place in a race. And he wanted more than just to sink his teeth into her pet a few times. He wanted Charlie to look forward to it, despite herself. He would teach her [i]exactly[/i] how to behave in the presence of a vampire. Booker pulled away from her ear and sat up then, smirking at her closed eyes, her expectant expression. “You know I’m still a little full from earlier, now that I really think about it.” He studied her face as he spoke. “I can’t decide if I should save you for later…” It was all a bluff of course - she made him ravenous. But he wondered if he could get her to ask again. A little begging to stroke his ego. He sat back to let her think about it for a moment and to stew in the pain from her bruises. His tongue ran back and forth over one of his canines. Whether she begged him or not, he could only pull the act for so long before the bloodlust got the better of him. He was looming over her again with his trademark smirk and his wandering, caressing hand, finding her stomach and pressing the bruises ever so slightly as he kissed her neck. His teeth caught hold of her skin and he squeezed her side roughly just as his fangs sunk into the throbbing pulse of her throat. It was gloriously rewarding and made him shudder in his low, harsh tone. He experienced his own oblivion and savored it languorously. He barely took anything from her, just enough to let her sink into the blissful sensation of his bite. He wanted her to associate it with all the pleasure and none of the consequences, at least this first time. Booker knew she couldn’t ask for a better pain medication than the one he’d just given her and he knew she would realize it when the pleasure finally wore off. He licked the wound on her throat a few times and then pulled away, his own chest rising and falling rapidly as he came down from the high. He watched her lazily for a moment and then said, “I’ll come back again later.” He got up and moved to the door, closing it behind him. It wasn’t locked – he was confident it didn’t need to be.