Reckless Abandon Ch. 06

Hours later, after they were finally too exhausted to move and sated with each other's bodies (for now), Douglas and Alice began to talk.

"So, when did you..." she trailed on, looking up at the ceiling, curling up closer in his arms that were currently wrapped around her shoulders and with his legs propped up, acting as an arm rest. She could feel a burst of air against her hair and guessed he was laughing quietly.

"A long time ago. So long ago that I don't remember the date anymore."

"Do you remember how?"

There was another hot puff of air. "Yes. I was in battle and had been fatally wounded. I was on the ground, staring up at the sky and waiting for death when a woman appeared over my body. She was dressed in rich reds and blacks, her cloak whipping in the wind as if she were Death himself. She offered me immortality because she said she admired my battle skills."

"So you accepted?"

He laughed. "Nay lass. I rejected her offer because it seemed too good to be true."

Point for the man that had some intelligence to recognize things can be too good to be true. Especially when skewered to the ground.

"But, how-"

"I told her that she needed me more than I needed her, so unless she had something to offer me that I could understand, she could leave me to my new grave and go on her merry way."

Alice paused in her questions, playing with his large callused hand. There were many battle scars she hadn't noticed until now on them - some were shallow cuts, others were deep slashes that were sloppily burned or stitched together. While his nails were decently managed, though not manicured expertly like some of her male co-workers, his hands told of rough beginning and his body, while hard, must have come at the price of war and constant training.

"So," she began, kissing a particularly large and brutal-looking scar. He shivered. "What did she offer you?"

He paused and moved his other hand to stroke her belly absentmindedly.

"A kingdom."

"A-what?" she dropped the hand in shock, to which it stealthily sneaked a grope of a warm breast with a pebbled nipple that had been peeking out from the sheets wrapped around her. A girl had to have some modesty.

"A kingdom."

"Y-you're royalty?" she sputtered, shocked.

He laughed. "Not just. I am king of these vampires in this section of the country. I think there's," Douglas paused and mentally counted silently, only mouthing the words for various names and countries. "another five kings and queens about the country and countless more in Europe, Asia and Africa."

"I-I'm sleeping with a king? How-why, why me-"

He tightened his arms around her possessively. "Because there was no other in that club for me, because you felt the same loneliness that I did and because we both want to bring a child into the world and could find no one worthy. Because I took one look into your eyes and found the one for me. I won't let you go Alice - I meant that."

She stiffened in his arms, then, as his words began to sink in, like a fine wine that burned a warmth through her throat, her belly and her veins, she slowly settled and relaxed.

Several minutes of silence passed and it was almost as if the air around them held its breath in waiting. It was actively waiting, wanting desperately and hoping for the proper response, the response that would make it smile, make it sigh with happiness and dreams, and still eagerly ask for more.

It waited impatiently until-

"I felt that too," she whispered softly.

He smiled against her hair and kissed it adoringly.

The air settled with a collective sigh of relief, but not before rousing again when he next spoke.

"Now that that is settled, I just need to convince you to become my lady of the night and queen."

She groaned, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm human Douglas. I was born human and I'll die human. I love the sunlight, garlic, singing Church hymns and taking long baths. I don't want to give that up."

She didn't see it, but he has the most confused expression on his face as he glanced down at her.

"Garlic? Baths? Where did you learn all this nonsense?"

She turned to look at him. "But the myths-"

"-Are bullshit," he finished flatly. "We started those rumors centuries ago to make sure that nosy humans," he took her nose with a soft smile and wiggled it for good measure. "Do not stumble or looking for things or people they should know not of. However," he pretended to look mournful and victimized as he continued to hold her nose, much to her irritation. "We seem to be unable to keep away from the humans we so desperately should be hiding from," He let go then and dropped an apologetic kiss on the tip. "But I find myself unable to regret my decision. You're so much more than I could ever hope for in a woman. You're brilliant, smart, have enough wit to disarm an army, beautiful and hopelessly fertile. You taste delicious beneath my tongue and your blood is intoxicating. I can't imagine myself with another woman, because your passion has ruined me for any other lover when I know that I could have you beneath me, on top of me, against the wall or in the bathroom-"

He grinned a cocky grin at the deep flush on her face when she coughed delicately.

"So, how about that queen thing? Yes?"

She raised a brow. As much as the whole speech definitely found places of her insides melting, she couldn't give up so much after so little time - she couldn't, wouldn't, should, but she was so tempted. . . Forever with this handsome romantic? Forever having amazing sex? However, she just didn't think she should base her status in mortality on a good couple earth-shattering orgasms. So...

"No."

Douglas gave a dramatic sigh before whispering wickedly in her ear. "I suppose I'm going to have to convince you to become my queen then by courting and wooing you. Do you prefer dark chocolate or milk chocolate with your roses before your ravishing?"

* * *

If anyone back in the real world missed Alice, she didn't know as she began her new life in the Otherworld. As consort to Douglas, since she rejected the offer of queen, she was draped in soft silks and satins and cooed and awed over for her confirmed pregnancy. She still giggled at the idea of a vampire doctor.

The place in which Douglas ruled was interesting, to say the least. Many creatures she thought were only fairy-tales were alive and well as they moved, rolled, inched and walked their way through the village. There were also many other creatures that she had never seen before that Douglas that night explained were probably from another section of the world, where they had their own fairy-tales and mythologies, since myths, deep down had a grain of truth in every tale. These were the ones that Alice liked to talk to the best, because they were just so interesting and different from her old bedtime stories. One couple, a fox as tall as a man and dressed like a human, and a monster with the body of a man, but the head of a lantern he always had to prop up with a stick in his right hand, were the most interesting and had fast become Alice's friends (in addition to Heather, who visited everyday after confessing her misdeeds, which were easily forgiven), despite their rather low status in the demon world. One conversation eventually lead to Alice's lack of martial status, despite her slow growing pregnancy.

"I tell you," the fox shook her head as she clattered down the brick street in a complex kimono. "You should just accept him and get it over with."

"Over with?" Alice raised a brow. "This is something you have to think about!"

Lantern-head and fox exchanged a look, which was almost comical with the way Lantern-head's bobbed up and down with the effort to keep it up.

"My dear," he began politely. "Destiny isn't something you think about."

"D-destiny?" she sputtered. "Who said anything about destiny?"

They said nothing, only regarding her silently, almost with pity before hearing a sharp whistle. The fox turned around instantly and pawed at her face, almost as if she was trying the wipe the image before her away.

"Oh no," she groaned.

"What?" Lantern-head and Alice asked together.

"My leader is here."

Alice tilted her head to the side, contrasting with Lantern-head's look of horror.

"Why is he here?" he bellowed.

The fox shrugged, picking at an invisible thread from her long sleeves. "I'm sure he's here to discuss politics. . . Or something else equally important to him."

Lantern-head snorted.

"It's just not right - eyeing other mens' wo-"

"Kitsune! Kouki! I didn't expect to see you here."

The pair froze and slowly turned around before Alice did, expecting to find a hulking monster to match the booming voice. Instead, she met the soft amber eyes of a very tall man with dark hair smiling down at the threesome.

He was a woman's wet dream, with hard planes all over - his jaw hard angles, his nose long and aristocratic, his tan forehead, his hard body and to balance out all this hardness, only one thing balanced out the overwhelming masculinity of the so-called "leader."

His soft wavy hair.

Alice bit back a snort, finding herself preferring to stare up into bright green eyes rather than amber.

He smiled benignly at the two demons until he spotted Alice, then his grin almost turned. . . Wolfish.

"Ah, this must be our Vampire King's consort. You are a," he began, bowing elegantly. She frowned, noticing for the first time the sad darkness in his eyes. Perhaps all the cheerfulness was fake, but for what reason?

"Human," she returned shortly. The demons gasped and the leader's face froze with surprise until he barked out a laugh.

"Delightful! Absolutely delightful!" He took her arm, almost making her fall and began to guide her back to the palace. "I shall escort you back then to Douglas, right? No need for this riff-raff of course." And with that, the two demons were dismissed.

"B-But, I was wi-with," she sputtered with outrage.

"Go on dear," Kitsune began sadly.

"We were just about go to home anyway," Kouki finished with an equally forlorn tone. Alice glared up at the leader and yanked her arm away, stomping her foot down.

"See here damnit! I won't have you dragging me all about the Otherworld at your leisure and I especially won't have you dissing my good friends, who had the decency to look past my being human to become some of the best friends I've ever had! So, if you want to drag some floozy around who will agree with your mad schemes, by all means! Look elsewhere. But I won't be told where to go and who to go with and who isn't good enough to walk with me!" she shouted. The demons looked pale beneath weak smiles, awed that she would protect them, yet afraid that Kitsune's leader would be ripping apart their new friend in a matter of seconds with more than just claws and teeth.

He studied her for several moments, his face carefully blank before finally smiling a devilish grin, leaning down enough to be face to face to her. He extended a hand carefully to caress a cheek.

"Ah, I do believe I shall have to steal you now my dear, for such fire is so rare to find in my pack."

She glared at him and he straightened, barking a laugh before offering his arm.

"Shall we?"

She ignored him and walked back to the palace herself.

* * *

Douglas, in those past weeks of wooing, was starting to learn about the complexity that was his consort and found himself every evening when he woke up more and more besotted with her. The way her nose wrinkled when she was displeased, the way her eyes lit up when he entered the room, the way she rolled back her head with pleasure when his lips traveled to places further south than her belly button. One mannerism he had yet to see however, was her in a rage. At least, that was until she stormed into his study in a flood of silk and satin skirts, the glow of fury adding a becoming blush to her pale cheeks and flash to her silver eyes.

"The nerve! The absolute nerve!"

"I told you that you should stay away from the blacksmith Alice," he looked down, hoping to hide the smile on his face. As long as she was mad at someone else, she was adorable in her rage! "You know that he has a fondness for young women's asses and yours is just about the tightest he's seen in-"

"Not that!" she turned sharply on him and he quickly stifled his smile. Best not to have her ire directed at him, especially when she was carrying his bed. He had seen the terror pregnant woman could wreck and he would wish no such torture on his worst enemy's head.

"There was a man out there who was positively full of himself! He thought that my friends were nothing more than- than riff-raff!"

He raised a brow and motioned to her to sit at the chair in front of his desk, then nodded for her to continue. She gratefully sat and frowned down at the wood, apparently thinking to herself for several moments.

"He was arrogant, very arrogant and thought that my being human was some new novelty that was like a freak show attraction."

He leaned forward, a smile back on his lips. "Let me guess. Amber eyes. Tan. Very tall. Wavy hair that women would kill to have as their own?"

Alice frowned and regarded him queerly. "Why yes. That was-"

He stood up from his chair and walked around the desk leisurely, taking her hand in his and helping her up. Smiling to answer her quizzical look, he began to walk down the study and through the large double doors and down the marble hallway that showcased various aristocratic vampires from centuries before. She barely spared a glance at the painting however as she moved quickly to follow him, dragging her skirts up to better manage her balance.

"Douglas, where-"

"Shh. I'll tell you - ah. Here we are. You can't speak here you know," he began good-naturedly before stopping in front of a painting. To call it art would be very considering of the artist's feelings, for he had no talent whatsoever and seemed more into pop art then actual portraits. The man, who may have looked stern before, now looked comical with his overbearing frown, gray skin and dark hair that framed eyes that were nearly bug-like. His fangs were peeking over his lips like buckteeth and his hands were folded in his lap, holding a cliché red rose. At least, it looked vaguely like a rose. It could have been an overripe tomato.

Alice looked at the painting drolly, prepared to kill if this was the all important thing that he had dragged her for when Douglas pressed a finger to her lips, using his other hand to touch the side of the frame. The bug eyes popped out silently and beyond, there was another room that Alice had not been aware of. She looked at him questioningly before he gestured for her to take a peek, moving to take one of the other eye holes. She leaned in and nearly fell over from shock and arousal at the sight.

What will happen next?
What is it that Alice saw?
Tune in next time when the author remembers to update.
And oh yeah – comment damnit.