Eric, unlike the first time he'd come here when curiosity had ruled, paid scant attention to the decor or clientele of Kitty Corner as he chose a table that left him a clear view of the stage. The waitress came over, smiled—she'd seen a lot of him over the last couple of weeks—and nodded acknowledgement of his request.
He liked living with Christian and Mark; the past month had, for the most part, been extremely pleasant, and the more he settled into his new home and school the more he liked this turn his life had taken.
There was only one problem.
Kitsune made enthusiastic, creative, and perpetually-willing lovers. Sex had been as readily available as food for as long as that had been relevant.
Which left him completely unprepared for sudden celibacy.
The only two in this city he knew at all well were both male and were clearly attached to one another, both excellent deterrents. He hoped very much he hadn't hurt them earlier, by excusing himself so quickly when Chris came home from work and pounced on Mark for a kiss—they were happy together, which was great, but it underscored the empty spot in his own life. He'd found a place to get decent fish and chips for supper, but eating by himself had only made the loneliness worse.
So, here he was again, to flirt with the dancers with all the charm he'd learned from Jade.
Most of the dancers were unexceptional, going through the motions with little enthusiasm or interest. One exuberant redhead caught his eye, and he toyed with the idea of offering to buy her a drink or asking her to dance for him.
The next dancer onstage had chosen wild dark music, Enigma he thought, and wore all black, the same midnight as her long hair, sharp contrast to her pale skin.
The one thing he was fairly sure no one else could see was that liminal aura. He’d never seen one like it, dark and rippling, and had no idea what she might be, since his experience with summoning and non-human allies was extremely limited. He knew there were liminals with the ability and inclination to pass for human, and thought they were generally the more intelligent and powerful ones, and it struck him as unlikely that there was anything strong in this city that Christian wasn’t aware of. There’d been no warnings to beware of predatory liminals passing for human, so probably there was no reason for concern and he could just accept her as what she appeared to be: sexy, graceful, exotic.
Before she'd finished her first song, she had Eric captivated utterly. He moved closer, to the edge of the stage, to watch her.
She saw him and smiled, turning more of her attention in his direction for the rest of her set.
Eric returned to his table when she finished. Lilith, the DJ had introduced her as. It fit.
He watched her emerge from the dressing room, and someone beckoned her over immediately for a table-dance. A long table-dance: she must’ve been there for half a dozen songs, not the more common one or two. As soon as he saw her dressed and moving around, he caught her eye and smiled at her.
Lilith sauntered over to him, hips swaying under her skin-hugging long black lace dress. The short sleeves left her white shoulders bare; the front was low enough to allow just a hint of cleavage. She was in spectacular condition, but not thin; those curves were enticing.
He hadn’t realized just how much sexier she could be up close, and wouldn’t have easily believed it.
“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked. Should he be worried that his thoughts wanted to drift towards her and stay there? Was he being manipulated by a mystery liminal? He weighed that quickly, but his generally-reliable hunches, instead of making him feel uneasy and restless, were currently quiescent. If there was any liminal influence at work, it was minimal—he was sure he could have walked away if he wanted to. He just couldn’t think of any reason why he’d want to.
“I'd like that. I'm Lilith.”
“Eric.” He waved the waitress over. “What would you like?”
“Wildberry cooler?” she requested, and the waitress left. “So. New to the city?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“You're about the right age to be at the university. I don't remember seeing you in here before.” She gazed at him through long dark lashes; her eyes were an odd light colour he couldn't quite identify here. She ran her tongue lightly along dark lips, holding his gaze, and he swallowed hard, heart beating fast. “I'd remember if I'd seen you.”
“Are... are you here often?”
“I live not far from here. I come in usually twice a week, to make a little money and have some fun. It's a good way to meet people.”
“You must hear this fifty times a night, but you're a fantastic dancer.”
“Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.”
The waitress brought the cooler, and Eric paid her, with a generous tip.
Lilith picked up the bottle and took a swallow, then licked scarlet drops from the rim with a quick flick of her tongue before setting it down.
“So Christian isn’t the only witch in the city anymore, hm?”
“You know Christian?”
She nodded, eyes never leaving his. “I wouldn’t be in the city without his knowledge and blessings. We’re on very good terms. I help him out with the occasional problem.”
She might be lying, but he didn’t think she was. That was reassuring: given Christian’s chosen calling of protecting vulnerable humans from unpleasant liminals, it was unlikely he’d be friendly with anything likely to harm or kill him. Besides, Jade had told him that one quirky aspect of his mostly-passive witchblood kept him safe from anything predatory.
Which meant it was okay to relax, to enjoy her company as it was, flirt with her around casual social chitchat. She left to take her turns onstage and to dance for others, which was fair enough—she was working, after all, and a liminal passing for human would need money—but she returned to him in between. At some point, he bought them each another drink.
Mostly what he knew was an absolute, instinctive certainty that she could satisfy his hunger in a way the two other dancers he’d charmed had been unable to do, and she was making it very clear that she intended to do so.
Eric, unlike the first time he'd come here when curiosity had ruled, paid scant attention to the decor or clientele of Kitty Corner as he chose a table that left him a clear view of the stage. The waitress came over, smiled—she'd seen a lot of him over the last couple of weeks—and nodded acknowledgement of his request.
He liked living with Christian and Mark; the past month had, for the most part, been extremely pleasant, and the more he settled into his new home and school the more he liked this turn his life had taken.
There was only one problem.
Kitsune made enthusiastic, creative, and perpetually-willing lovers. Sex had been as readily available as food for as long as that had been relevant.
Which left him completely unprepared for sudden celibacy.
The only two in this city he knew at all well were both male and were clearly attached to one another, both excellent deterrents. He hoped very much he hadn't hurt them earlier, by excusing himself so quickly when Chris came home from work and pounced on Mark for a kiss—they were happy together, which was great, but it underscored the empty spot in his own life. He'd found a place to get decent fish and chips for supper, but eating by himself had only made the loneliness worse.
So, here he was again, to flirt with the dancers with all the charm he'd learned from Jade.
Most of the dancers were unexceptional, going through the motions with little enthusiasm or interest. One exuberant redhead caught his eye, and he toyed with the idea of offering to buy her a drink or asking her to dance for him.
The next dancer onstage had chosen wild dark music, Enigma he thought, and wore all black, the same midnight as her long hair, sharp contrast to her pale skin.
The one thing he was fairly sure no one else could see was that liminal aura. He’d never seen one like it, dark and rippling, and had no idea what she might be, since his experience with summoning and non-human allies was extremely limited. He knew there were liminals with the ability and inclination to pass for human, and thought they were generally the more intelligent and powerful ones, and it struck him as unlikely that there was anything strong in this city that Christian wasn’t aware of. There’d been no warnings to beware of predatory liminals passing for human, so probably there was no reason for concern and he could just accept her as what she appeared to be: sexy, graceful, exotic.
Before she'd finished her first song, she had Eric captivated utterly. He moved closer, to the edge of the stage, to watch her.
She saw him and smiled, turning more of her attention in his direction for the rest of her set.
Eric returned to his table when she finished. Lilith, the DJ had introduced her as. It fit.
He watched her emerge from the dressing room, and someone beckoned her over immediately for a table-dance. A long table-dance: she must’ve been there for half a dozen songs, not the more common one or two. As soon as he saw her dressed and moving around, he caught her eye and smiled at her.
Lilith sauntered over to him, hips swaying under her skin-hugging long black lace dress. The short sleeves left her white shoulders bare; the front was low enough to allow just a hint of cleavage. She was in spectacular condition, but not thin; those curves were enticing.
He hadn’t realized just how much sexier she could be up close, and wouldn’t have easily believed it.
“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked. Should he be worried that his thoughts wanted to drift towards her and stay there? Was he being manipulated by a mystery liminal? He weighed that quickly, but his generally-reliable hunches, instead of making him feel uneasy and restless, were currently quiescent. If there was any liminal influence at work, it was minimal—he was sure he could have walked away if he wanted to. He just couldn’t think of any reason why he’d want to.
“I'd like that. I'm Lilith.”
“Eric.” He waved the waitress over. “What would you like?”
“Wildberry cooler?” she requested, and the waitress left. “So. New to the city?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“You're about the right age to be at the university. I don't remember seeing you in here before.” She gazed at him through long dark lashes; her eyes were an odd light colour he couldn't quite identify here. She ran her tongue lightly along dark lips, holding his gaze, and he swallowed hard, heart beating fast. “I'd remember if I'd seen you.”
“Are... are you here often?”
“I live not far from here. I come in usually twice a week, to make a little money and have some fun. It's a good way to meet people.”
“You must hear this fifty times a night, but you're a fantastic dancer.”
“Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.”
The waitress brought the cooler, and Eric paid her, with a generous tip.
Lilith picked up the bottle and took a swallow, then licked scarlet drops from the rim with a quick flick of her tongue before setting it down.
“So Christian isn’t the only witch in the city anymore, hm?”
“You know Christian?”
She nodded, eyes never leaving his. “I wouldn’t be in the city without his knowledge and blessings. We’re on very good terms. I help him out with the occasional problem.”
She might be lying, but he didn’t think she was. That was reassuring: given Christian’s chosen calling of protecting vulnerable humans from unpleasant liminals, it was unlikely he’d be friendly with anything likely to harm or kill him. Besides, Jade had told him that one quirky aspect of his mostly-passive witchblood kept him safe from anything predatory.
Which meant it was okay to relax, to enjoy her company as it was, flirt with her around casual social chitchat. She left to take her turns onstage and to dance for others, which was fair enough—she was working, after all, and a liminal passing for human would need money—but she returned to him in between. At some point, he bought them each another drink.
Mostly what he knew was an absolute, instinctive certainty that she could satisfy his hunger in a way the two other dancers he’d charmed had been unable to do, and she was making it very clear that she intended to do so.
