Fangs of Desire (Book II) (Completed)

Chapter XXVII

The floor she was on looked like an extension of the lobby on the ground floor, except there were slightly more kindred enjoying a social meeting. Emma looked around to see Marius, and for sure, he was sitting at the side of one of the pool tables with a drink in his hand. Could vampires even drink...? She saw Jean do it before, although she herself never tried. Marius's eyes caught hers as he looked over, showing a big smile with his long canines.

"Emma, so nice to see you here."

He jumped down from the table, swishing his drink in the glass as he waited for Emma to approach. He had black pants on with a deep red shirt that was unbuttoned down to his chest. His expression was charming, his demeanor relax yet not slouchy. Emma walked closer to the table, the kindred around giving her a look before going back to minding their own business.

"What do you think about the place?"

Emma stopped and looked around,

"It's not too grand but I really like the cozy aura. A lot better than the mansion right now..."

He chuckled,

"Camille probably isn't giving you an easy time. She hasn't changed much from the time I met her."

"When you met- you mean you guys know each other?"

"Could say that. She has always been on the nose and sorta snobby," Rolls his eyes and takes a sip from his drink. It looks like plain whiskey on ice. "The whole 'I'm better than you' complex never sat right with me. It's been centuries so you'd expect her to at least get adjusted to modern life a bit. Although, I'm surprised she seems to respect your presence, so maybe her head isn't as dusty as before."

Emma felt pretty surprised to see him talk about Camille like that. It wasn't that Emma hated her, it was just that Marius's words made her feel more understood. It's hard to stand your ground against someone so authotorian and elite. Marius realized her surprised expression, raising his glass to point at her.

"I like you; I said it before."

Emma got caught off guard with the word 'like', which made Marius laugh.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna get all flirty on you. I meant your mindset," he tapped on his head with a finger, "I like what's in there."

He turned and headed towards another table near the window side. The building was pretty tall with little to no streetlights for miles to see. Emma realized the amount of stars in the sky when she looked up, they were so much clearer with her enhanced vision and the darkness of the street.

"The sky-view is pretty nice from this angle. I'm glad it's not a castle or a mansion."

"Of course." Marius took a seat, pointing at the chair at the opposite side for Emma to sit down, "A whole grand castle wouldn't be so in line with my political opinions, don't you think?"

"Yeah, makes sense..."

Emma sighed and sat down on the chair, crossing her legs under the table.

"Everything is happening so fast around me, it's hard to keep up with things."

"Ooh... A therapy session I see."

"No, I-" Emma sat up straight in her seat defensively, but Marius shushed her.

"I asked you to join my forces, didn't I? It's only natural we get to know each other."

Emma looked unsure, her brows still creased in a slightly alarmed way, but she leaned back after a while and let her shoulders relax.

"That's better." Marius smiled contently, taking a long sip from his drink before putting it on the table, "So, let's hear what your experience with the kindred world has been so far."