Louise Ch. 12

"Good." Nathan said taking the empty glass from her. "Sweetheart, it's important that you feed when its time especially now because you're new. As you get older, you can miss feedings but not now. This could have been very dangerous not only for you, but any humans in the vicinity."

"I could have hurt someone?" Louise asked.

"Sweetheart, you could have killed someone." Nathan told her gently.

He knew that he was scaring her but he wanted her to remember. He used her fear of hurting someone to help him. He saw by the horrified expression on her face that he had hit home. He didn't see the need to press the point when he saw tears in her eyes.

"Nathan I'm sorry. I won't forget again."

"It's alright, and I know that you won't forget again." he said wiping away the tears and then kissing her. "Are you alright now? Any pain?"

"No, I'm good." Louise replied.

Nathan touched her face; she was still a little warm, but not hot as she had been before. Erring on the side of caution, he had her finish the blood that was left in the carafe.

"A little extra won't hurt anything." he told her as he handed her the glass.

Louise drained the glass and smiled at him.

"I really am better, but before we go, what did Leon say to you?"

"He just wanted to make sure that I was being good to you and that I loved you." Nathan replied. "I assured him that I would do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy, and that I love you... Lou, did you know that he's like you? I noticed it as soon as I saw him, and Celeste is like you as well. It explains a lot but I'll tell you later, we'd better get back."

The tension in the room was palpable when they returned. After a moment, Nathan realized that it was Kevyn, Leon and Celeste. They were worried about Louise.

"I'm fine." Louise said. "It was just a little stomach upset."

Kevyn relaxed first, then Celeste and finally Leon. What struck Nathan was the almost lack of concern that Gene and Barb showed. His dislike for them both increased ten-fold.

Louise took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Instead of going back to her seat, she went over to the table where Barb and Gene sat.

"Why are you sitting over here?" she asked. "This is supposed to be a reunion so why don't you join us? We need to talk about tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?" Gene asked.

"We're going shopping for the ..."

"Shopping?" Gene interrupted rudely. "I don't have money for shopping unlike some people."

"It is going to be all expenses paid." Nathan said his tone cool. "But you may stay here if you like."

Gene was going to make a smart comment but Barb kicked him. Gene realized that he had just screwed himself. He couldn't go with them without looking like a greedy fool unless he went, and spent his own money. However, he couldn't do that without Leon noticing.

"We'll be over." Barb said speaking for both her and Gene.

When Nathan and Louise left their table, Barb turned to Gene.

"A word to the wise, don't piss him off. I found that out the hard way. I'll tell you later but let's get over there."

Barb stood and walked over to the table where everyone else sat. Gene joined them a minute later.

"First," Kevyn said, "We're glad that you could all make it. As Sasha and Franklin said, if you need anything call them and you can call us as well. We're staying on the same floor as the rest of you. Louise and I thought that maybe the ladies, and that includes Wannie and sweet pea could meet late afternoon for facials and all of that-what do you think?"

"I vote yes!" Juliette said.

"Barb?" Kevyn asked.

"Fine." she replied watching her tone.

"Good. I think Patrick and Nathan have something planned for the guys." Kevyn said.

"There's a game on during the time that the ladies will be getting pampered." Patrick said. "We reserved the small conference room and had a big screen television put in there, and there will be refreshments as well. When the ladies are done, we'll have dinner at a restaurant that a friend of mine owns and then we'll go shopping."

"Love it!" Leon exclaimed.

Patrick nodded and smiled; he liked Leon and wondered when the "talk" was going to happen. He didn't have to wait long.

"Patrick, can we talk?"

A few minutes later, they were sitting in Han's office.

"I just wanted to tell you what I told Nathan about Louise," he said. "I know Kevyn is a grown woman but she's still my sister. I also know who you are, but if you hurt her in word or deed, it'll be you and me."

"Leon, your sister means more to me than anything that I own. You have my word that I won't hurt her and I'll keep her safe and happy."

"Do you love her?" Leon asked.

"Yes Leon, I love her." Patrick replied.

Patrick watched as Leon relaxed and smiled at him. He should have been the oldest male he thought to himself as he extended a hand to Leon.

Leon accepted the offered hand, and gave it a firm shake. He liked both Nathan and Patrick. His gut told him that they could be trusted with his sisters, and now he could totally relax and enjoy his week.

When they got back, he was surprised to see Celeste sitting in Nathan's lap as if she had known him for years instead of a couple of hours. In fact, her head was on his shoulder and she was almost asleep. That one event sealed it for Leon. Celeste didn't act like that with people that she didn't like or trust. As he watched, the last tiny seed of doubt that he didn't know that he had faded away.

It was then that he realized that Celeste had always refused to be held by Gene and Barb. He also realized that the older children were always somewhat reserved around them even though the initial reaction upon seeing them was always excitement.

"It looks like someone needs her bed." Leon said as he approached the table."

"It's way past her bedtime." Juliette said. "It's past all of their bedtimes." she added.

"I'll take baby girl." Leon said.

"I'm not tired." Wanda protested.

"Me either." Victor chimed in.

"Tired or not, it's time to get ready for bed." Juliette said in a tone that all three children knew well.

"We'll see you tomorrow afternoon." Kevyn assured them. "Go get some sleep."

"Hey," Victor said, "what do we call you?" he asked Patrick.

"Since Kevyn is your aunt that makes me your uncle. So if you like you can call me Uncle Patrick."

"Cool." Victor said and then looked at Nathan expectantly.

"Uncle Nathan works for me." Nathan said smiling.

"Cool." Victor repeated as he hugged Kevyn and then Louise.

"I'm going to my suite too." Barb said standing. "What time tomorrow?"

"Lou, what's good for you?" Kevyn asked.

"What time is the game?" Louise asked.

"Two." Patrick replied.

"That's perfect." Louise replied.

"Good, I'll let Hans know so that he can arrange things, and I'll call Juliette." Kevyn said.

Patrick turned to Gene.

"We'll see you tomorrow around two. If you like, I can show you where the conference room is that way you can bring Leon."

"I... sure." Gene replied remembering that he wanted their money, a fact that he had forgotten several times already.

"Kev, do you want to come with us or meet me in the suite?" Patrick asked.

"I'll meet you in the room." she replied. "I want to finalize a few things with Louise before we turn in "

"In that case, I'll accompany Patrick and Gene." Nathan said taking care not to call Patrick "uncle" which he had been doing less of lately anyway.

Gene looked from one man to the other both of whom outweighed him by a good eighty pounds and were at least eighteen inches taller than he was. However, it wasn't their size that alarmed him. The power that emanated from them set him on edge.

Patrick and Nathan kissed their respective mates, and left the room with Gene following them.

"Lou, what happened?" Kevyn asked as soon as they were alone.

"I missed a feeding." she replied. "But I'm fine and I won't make that mistake again."

"Alright. So what do you think?" Kevyn asked.

"I think that only one of them is going home." Louise replied.

"Gene."

"Yes Gene. I also think that Barb has a hard road ahead of her but she won't come to us for help."

"I thought as much... are you sure that you're alright?" Kevyn asked.

"Stop being such a mother hen." Louise teased. "I'm fine, you would know if I wasn't."

The sisters chatted on their way to their suites and parted ways once they got there.

"Have a good rest." Kevyn said as she opened the door to her and Patrick's suite.

"You too." Louise called back.

******

Contrary to what they said, both Victor and Wanda were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Leon stayed and talked with Juliette for a few minutes.

"Those are two cool dudes." he said as he sat down.

"I like them too." Juliette said." Who would have thought that our Louise would get so lucky? God only knows she deserves it."

"You aren't jealous?" Leon asked.

"Who wouldn't be?" Juliette asked. "But if you mean like Barb, the answer is no. I'm happy for both of them. What's the story with Gene?"

Leon hesitated not sure of how much he should say but then decided that Juliette could help keep an eye on things.

"He got suspended for thirty days."

"Do you know why?" Juliette asked.

"His attitude." Leon replied. "Haven't you noticed the way that he's been acting?"

"I suppose that it is worse than usual." Juliette conceded.

"He's planning to talk the Sinclaires' into investing with him." Leon said. "I saw the proposals."

Juliette was quiet for several minutes.

"He wants to use Kevyn and Louise and you want to stop him is that it?"

"Exactly." Leon replied.

Juliette blew out a breath and then spoke.

"I think that we should stay out of it. I don't think that the Sinclaires will invest with him if they don't want to. And besides, I'm here to have fun with Kevyn and Lou, and I don't plan to baby sit Gene and Barb."

After thinking about it for a minute, Leon agreed with her.

"I think that you're right."

Juliet walked Leon to the door, let him out and went to her bedroom anticipating a long hot soak in the Jacuzzi. She was almost undressed when the room phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Miss. Yancy? This is Hans, the hotel manager."

"Oh hi."

"I was calling to see if everything was to your satisfaction." Hans said.

"It's perfect." Juliette replied feeling a little warm.

"Good. I would like to give you my personal number in case you need anything."

Juliette frowned.

"Isn't that what Sasha and Franklin are for?"

"Yes they are, but I would also like to place myself at your disposal. Are you ready to take my number?"

Suddenly, Juliette was nervous. She reached for the pen and pad on the bedside table.

"Alright, I'm ready."

Hans gave her the number, wished her a good night and hung up.

Juliette hung up the phone with a trembling hand. The last man that made her this nervous was Angel. She called herself silly, finished undressing, put on a house robe and went to check on the kids. Satisfied that they were sound asleep, she ran the water into the Jacuzzi and added a few drops of the oil sitting on the side.

"I'm going to stay in here until I look like a prune." she murmured as she waited for the tub to fill.

******

Hans leaned back in his chair and thanked the fates. Juliette Yancy was definitely more his type. The fact that she had children didn't bother him, he liked children and it didn't matter whom they belonged to. He sensed that Juliette was a woman who liked nice things as much as any woman did, but they weren't a necessity.

As he thought about her, he wondered where the father of the children was, and why he left. It was a question for later he decided. It was more important that he claim her before she left California, but if he had to go to Pittsburgh, then so be it.

Suddenly, he stood up and did a little dance as his groin tingled. "This is how it's supposed to feel." he thought to himself. He couldn't wait to see Juliette Yancy and their children again.

*******

Leon made his way back to his suite and almost decided to stop in and talk to Gene again. "No," he muttered. "Juliette is right." he stepped inside to see a package lying on the table. Curious, he walked over to it and picked it up.

"Louise." he said with a smile as he sniffed the package. "Jalapeno bread." He added.

Although he had just eaten, he couldn't resist. He opened the package and then saw the note.

"Welcome to California, Lou, Nathan, Kevyn and Patrick."

He tore off a hunk of the bread and chewed it slowly relishing the burn of the peppers on his tongue. His mind wandered toward Gene again and he pushed the thought away. It was time for his older brother to sink or swim. He finished the hunk of bread, drank a glass of milk to ease the burn and decided to go outside to enjoy the warm southern California air.

When he stepped out of his room, he ran straight into Nadine who had just delivered a bottle of wine to Patrick and Kevyn's suite.

"I'm sorry!" she said looking up and then away from him.

"No harm done." Leon replied. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Nadine replied and hurried away.

Leon watched her as she sped toward the elevator, and called out to her.

"Hey! Hold that elevator!" he sprinted down the hall and jumped into the elevator. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Nadine said not looking at him.

"I'm Leon Yancy."

"I know." Nadine replied shyly. "Your room is one of the rooms that I'm responsible for... did you need something?"

"Nah... I'm just going out to enjoy this beautiful weather while I can. You didn't tell me your name."

"Nadine."

"Do you have a last name?" Leon asked liking the shy, soft-spoken black woman.

"Hicks." Nadine replied still not looking at him.

The elevator opened and Nadine took off before Leon could say anything more. He walked out of the elevator and headed toward the front entrance of the hotel when he heard his name being called.

"Mr. Yancy? Is everything alright?"

Leon turned toward the speaker and saw Hans at the desk.

"It's fine." Leon replied when he got to the desk. "I just wanted to enjoy the weather."

"It is lovely." Hans said. "How is your sister?" he asked.

"Which one?" Leon asked, "I have four of them."

"Juliette, the one with the children." Hans replied.

"She's good." Leon asked curious as to why Hans was asking about her.

"And the children are comfortable?"

"They're fine... why are you asking? Was there a problem?" Leon asked.

"No, I was just checking..."

"You like her." Leon said looking at Hans intently. "That's cool." he said and left it at that. It was too soon to give the brother speech, and for all he knew, nothing would happen. Hans could be one of those guys who just looked but never made a move.

"Enjoy your walk." Hans said not commenting on the statement.

********

Gene looked at the proposals and came to a decision. He was going to let the Sinclaires see the proposal. He wouldn't hand them to them, or even mention them. He would take them to the conference room where they were going to watch the game, and leave them there. If Leon objected, he could say that he didn't talk about it or approach them about it.

That decided he looked in the fridge for something to drink cursing when all he found was soda, juice and water. He was about to call room service, and changed his mind. He needed to be sharp in case the Sinclaires wanted to talk business with him. Instead, he looked over the proposals, and made changes that he thought made the proposals more attractive. He had just finished his third read through when he heard a tap on the door.

His first thought was that it was Leon and he tried to ignore it. The tapping continued until frustrated, he went to the door, looked through the peephole and saw Barb.

"About time." she snapped when he finally opened the door.

"Sorry, I thought that it was Leon." He said as he let her in. "He's been riding my ass for the past couple of weeks."

"About what?" Barb asked.

Gene filled her in on his job situation and Leon's reaction when he hadn't congratulated Kevyn and Louise.

"I just don't get it... she's only been here for a little more than a month and she's marrying into the same family as Kevyn."

"I don't get it either." Barb replied as she rubbed her queasy stomach. "I even asked Kevyn to explain it, but she said that she couldn't. But the reason that I stopped by was to give you a word of advice."

Gene rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted or needed was more advice.

"Stop rolling your eyes and listen." Barb snapped. "I just want to warn you not to screw with these guys. Especially where Kevyn and Louise are concerned."

She told him about the time that she insulted Louise in front of Nathan.

"I think that he would have killed me!"

Gene looked at her and laughed.

"Come on, you're exaggerating."

"I'm not, and I'll tell you something else, Louise is different. Don't let that sweet exterior fool you... she called me a stupid, selfish bitch!"

"Louise?" Gene asked shocked.

"Yes Louise." Barb confirmed. "Look, do what you want but don't say that I didn't warn you."

Barb left a few minutes later wondering if Gene would take her advice and then decided that she really didn't care.

*********

Louise came out of the bathroom in the tee shirt that Nathan hated. As of yet he hadn't mentioned it because he had been managing to get her into bed before she got it on. The little tour with Gene had given her the time to change and he wanted the shirt off. He debated on how to tell her and decided to be straightforward.

"Lou, sweetheart, can you do something for me?"

"Sure... what?"

"The shirt... can we burn it or use it as a dust cloth?" he asked.

"My tee shirt? Why? You don't like it?"

"Honestly, no." Nathan replied. "I like the feel of your skin against mine, and that shirt prevents it."

Louise looked at him with a hurt look on her face.

"Why didn't you say something before?" she asked.

"You're right, I should have, but I've been getting you into bed before you got it on." Nathan replied. "Can we rest nude? You can wear the shirt until bedtime."

"All you had to do was say so." Louise replied as she removed the shirt. "Better?"

"Oh yes." Nathan replied as he licked his lips. "Come here." he said his soft baritone now a bass that rumbled.

Louise blushed, but accepted the fact that she probably always would. She felt the now familiar tingling of her nipples, and throb between her legs begin as she walked toward him. She glanced down long enough to see that he was hard and that there was already a clear drop of clear fluid on the tip of his cock. It reminded her that she still had yet to find out what he tasted like.

When she reached him, she stopped, looked up at him, and took his cock into her hands.

"I want to explore." she said softly.

Nathan didn't argue or ask what she had in mind and he didn't peek. Louise's exploration of his body was one of his favorite parts of lovemaking.

"Front or back?" he asked.

"Back first." Louise replied.

As soon as he was lying on his stomach, Louise started at his feet instead of his head as she usually did and worked her way up his legs stopping at his ass. She kneaded and then nipped at a cheek with her teeth surprising Nathan so much that he jumped.

"I hurt you... I'm sorry." she said losing confidence in what she was planning to do.

"No, you didn't." Nathan assured her. "I was surprised, and it felt good... remember, you can't hurt me."

"Are you sure that I didn't hurt you?" Louise asked not convinced.

"Sweetheart, you didn't hurt me. I would tell you if you did." Nathan replied gently.

Somewhat relieved, Louise continued her exploration of Nathan's body with her hands and mouth. Sensing what she was working up to, Nathan encouraged her by speaking to her telepathically and verbally.