Page 4 of Rock Bottom
I was intrigued, and curious, but it was more than that. I felt the pull of recognition. A flicker of something that mirrored me. A creature out of step with the world yet stubbornly walking in it.
I wanted to get to know this human better. I’d felt the spark between us across the room. The moment our eyes locked, something primal in me stilled. Settled.
Not predator to predator, but soul to soul.
I wanted to get to know the real Silver, not the stage version. I wanted to see under that tough armor. See past the shield around her mind.
But asking deeply personal questions would’ve been poor form, so I asked, “What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t with your band members?”
“The truth is, I’m with them nearly all the time. I own a townhouse on the Tennessee River, but I also have a large bedroom at Lord Byron’s home, where I spend most of my time. I enjoy video games and swimming.I love to climb, and that’s primarily what I do to work out. Some of my bandmates work out a good part of every day, and I don’t take it to their extreme, but it’s still part of my daily schedule. I stay up on all the latest makeup trends, and I could pay someone to handle that for me, but I enjoy the process of seeing what others are doing and then coming up with my own ideas — and I manage it often enough, I’m considered a trendsetter.”
“Are you most often a woman or man when you aren’t on stage?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. I know people keep track of my stage appearances, and the last anyone told me the status, they had it at something like fifty-three percent male and forty-seven percent female this year, flipped from what it was a few years ago. People don’t see me when I’m not performing, so there’s no one to track it, and I certainly don’t. My bandmates get to see me being a girl without makeup sometimes, but since they see me as a boy without makeup, I don’t think that’s a big deal. Often, I come to breakfast with my hair in a ponytail wearing sweats and a t-shirt, meaning I don’t want to decide, and they’ve all gotten used to the fact it pisses me off to have to decide whether I’m one or the other some days.”
Some daysdidn’t come off as the truth, so I hazarded a guess. “Most days, probably, from the general energy I’m picking up.”
She nodded. “Yeah. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?”
“I was brought to this country to be personal assistant to Marco, and there isn’t a whole lot of free time, which is fine. I’m honored to work for…” I couldn’t call him a Master Vampire around humans, but Moira telepathed,Such an active businessman.
I’d figured someone was monitoring me, because I’m not supposed to be alone around humans, but I didn’t take the time to consider why it was Moira and not Adelaide.
“…such an active businessman. Marco owns many establishments, and it’s my job to take in information from all managers and put it into a concise report, so Marco is kept abreast of all issues. It’s also my job to know what he should know immediately, rather than waiting for the report, and to handle what I’m certain I know how he’d handle, so he isn’t bothered with it.”
“No free time?” she asked. “Surely that can’t be right?”
Right, because employees get time off, and slaves rarely do, but she couldn’t know that about me. I didn’t want to lie to this phenomenal human, so I found a way to say something truthful that made it sound as if I have more free time than I do. “I occasionally have a few hours, and I often watch Italian cinema when I do. I’m required to take martial arts classes twice a week. I came to Chattanooga with the understanding of the job responsibilities, and I was happy to be chosen for the position.”
Because it meant a kinder Master than the one this slave has been owned by for the past century, but I couldn’t tell this completely unique human any of that — much less the fact that my current Master feeds from sex and can make it more exciting than anything I’ve experienced before, or the fact he occasionally lets me fuck members of the flock so he can feed from the energy of our union.
Explain Adelaide,Moira telepathed, along with the gist of what she meant.
“Adelaide, whom you met, is something of a security guard for me, and she’s always with me when I’m away from Homewood.”
“Homewood?”
“It’s where I live, with Marco and his Cora, and Cora’s best friend Kirsten, and Kirsten’s poly group.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m familiar with what it’s like to have security dogging your every step. Thankfully, I’m pretty good at looking different when I go out and don’t want to be recognized, but with your height and distinct looks, I’m guessing that isn’t an option for you.”
I shook my head, and she asked, “If you were to go to my hotel room with me tonight, which of us would you prefer have need of a safeword?”
On this, her scent told me what she was hoping to hear, because I scented submission, clear as day, and that made me happy because it’s a special treat when I get to be in power during sex.
I smiled. “You, absolutely. Because we haven’t had a chance to discuss limits and boundaries, it’ll have to be a loose scene with no tools other than my hands, fingers, lips, tongue, and member. No bondage and no belt, even though I’m wearing one. What is your safeword, little Silver?”
“Nautilus.”
What an odd word for a safeword. “After the mollusk, the real-life submarine, the fictional one, or the original Greek?”
She smiled, and I scented happiness and pleasure. Her entire being warmed, brightened. “Not the cephalopod, and no one has ever known anything other than the fictional submarine and the workout equipment, and most only knew the latter.”
“I grew up in Italy, and Greek was a second language. I enjoy reading fiction, and with the internet, I find it interesting to read what I suppose would be behind-the-scenes information from and about authors I enjoy.”
Don’t act as if you grew up without the internet, Moira’s voice came in my head, a practical reminder with an underlying kindness. So different than Adelaide’s icy, razor-sharp orders.
I’ve rarely been allowed around humans who don’t knowThe Secret— that vampires, shapeshifters, and other monsters exist — so I wasn’t used to speaking with them. Marco has given me a path forward so I can eventually earn my freedom, but I need to be able to speak in normal society before that can happen.
