Prologue
by Luna
Detective Maza ducked under the yellow tape that was blocking off the murder
scene and took a few deep breaths of fresh air. The couple inside had been
murdered quickly and Maza suspected professionally. This looked like a contract
hit, and it was the second one like this she’d seen this month. "Matt," Elisa
stated wearily, "I never thought that we’d see so many murder cases after
we were reassigned to the garg task force."
These cases were very disturbing. Elisa had been called to quite a few murder
scenes in the past, but these were so controlled, so… clinical. Popular entertainment
to the contrary, murder for hire was relatively rare. The cold feeling in
Elisa's gut told her this was only the beginning. The victims had all been
PIT members. She'd met them briefly, at a People for Interspecies Tolerance
fund raiser. A young, idealistic couple who wanted to support the new lobby
for Gargoyle Protection laws. Elisa hadn't paid them much attention then,
they were just another set of faces in the crowd. She hadn't even known their
names until now. A slight flush of shame made her bite on her lower lip.
They needed to solve this quickly before anyone else wound up dead.
Once they got back to the precinct Captain Chavez called them into her office
right away. "Bluestone, Maza…" Maria moved to sit at her desk and the two
detectives sat down as well. "The Jackson’s case is going to be a high priority
case. Divert the rest of your case load to the other detectives, I want this
murder to have your full attention." Elisa was relieved that her and Matt
could focus on that case, because it was so troubling, but why did this couple
warrant the special treatment? Maria seemed to read that in her expression,
"Stanley Jackson was a city councilman." She added quietly.
Four nights later Elisa was dressed as a Denny’s waitress and walking through
the park to meet up with a detective that had gone undercover with the Quarrymen.
He seemed to think that he had something important enough to risk contacting
her. She sat down on a bench and sat a large grocery bag down on the ground
in front of her. She appeared to casually glance around as she searched for
any type of threat to her contact. They were doing this in broad daylight,
because he didn’t think he could wait.
Jose walked by appearing to pay no attention to Elisa and Elisa noticed him
dropping a large envelope into the grocery bag. She remained seated as he
left and watched the children playing Frisbee for a few minutes before getting
up and heading in the opposite direction of Jose. She hoped the young detective
was being careful.
Once she got back to the precinct she changed into her normal clothes and
took the file out to her desk to look at it. At least she was also able to
get some of her grocery shopping done while she was at it. Her eyes widened
as she read the words along the top of the first page. This was a page about
the first victim. She turned the page to find another page about Stanley
Jackson. Elisa turned the other pages and noticed another familiar name…
Dominique Destine on the last page. She realized that this case she was working
on was far larger than she’d originally thought. Demona’s human name being
in this file guaranteed that it wouldn’t go smoothly.
As soon as Matt walked into work, Elisa waved him over and let him glance
at the papers she’d been given. "We need to take this to Chavez… we’re going
to need help with this one." Matt muttered as he looked through it all.
"I know." Elisa said with a grimace. This was nightmare.
Chavez was pacing behind her desk after the detectives finished talking.
"We need to contact these people and warn them. I think we need to give them
some sort of protection as well." The captain looked angry, "I knew these
Quarrymen were trouble, but this is…" Elisa sat stiffly, but she was glad
that her captain hadn’t been pulled into the Quarrymen’s propaganda. Chavez
took a deep breath, and spoke more calmly, "I’ll handle contacting the people
on this list and you two need to work on finding out who the Quarrymen have
doing their dirty work. Let’s get this solved quickly people." Maria said
as she opened her office door to let Elisa and Matt out.
Chapter One
by Selene
Elisa looked at herself in the mirror and made a face. The spectacled woman
in the chic, tailored executive dress made a face back at her. Dark hair
pulled back in a tight chignon, and outfitted in a light cream blouse, dark
navy jacket, and matching navy skirt, a pair of low heeled dark pumps and
understated make-up, Elisa should have looked like a high level office administrative
assistant.
"What's wrong with this picture." She asked her partner, who was biting his
tongue in an effort not to wolf whistle as his eyes roved up the amazing
length of leg sheathed in black silk stockings that was revealed by the indecently
short skirt.
"I can see through your blouse?" Matt offered helpfully, staring at the sheer
cloth that offered a tantalizing glimpse of a lace edged demi cup bra.
"I look like a high priced call girl playing at office dress up." Detective
Maza's voice held a mix of disbelief and outrage as she took in the total
effect of the outfit, one of several that had been sent to the 23rd precinct,
each just as revealing. "I can't wear this undercover. How am I supposed
to blend in with the Nightstone employees when I look like... like... Like
_this_!"
"Maybe Demona makes all her human employees dress like soft core porn stars."
Matt's comment brought a withering glare from the dark haired police woman.
"I seriously doubt it." Elisa growled. "More likely, this is just her way
to let me know who's the boss on this assignment. Captain Chavez made it
very clear that Dominique Destine has only agreed to let a detective pose
as her personal assistant with great reluctance. Since we need the
willing cooperation of Nightstone's CEO on this case, she get's to call the
shots in how that detective looks and acts while undercover."
Elisa stared at her reflection again. She gone undercover in some pretty
racy outfits before, but none had ever been this expensive, or erotic.
A warm flush swept over her as she realized just how erotic she looked.
Like someone who would spend more time bent over an executive's desk with
the door locked, not sitting behind it "I was expecting she'd demand
some frumpy wool suit, or mousy looking disguise to get back at me. But this
is worse than I imagined. She's making sure I'm going to stand out at the
office."
"Just remember we need to find out how the Quarrymen are getting to their
targets. All the murder victims so far were professional hits, but all took
place in their private residences, with no signs of forced entry. Cause of
death is close range gunshot, with no signs of struggle or flight." Matt's
voice was sober, the previous humor bled out of his voice as he ran over
the facts of the case. "It's like the shooter was able to just walk up to
the target and take them out. Some of these places had high grade, private
security. There's a strong possibility the victims let the killer in personally.
They may have been familiar with the killer, somehow."
"And I'm supposed to find out how, from shadowing Dominique Destine? She's
the last person to let anyone get close to her in private." Elisa frowned,
"And even if the killer was able to get into her mansion, she's immortal.
This is a waste of our time and resources. I should be covering one of the
targets that are actually in danger of dying!"
"Hey, I'd have the Task Force skip Dominique as a potential victim if her
name hadn't been on the short list your contact got us. Chavez isn't
the only one whose seen that list, and wants to keep these high profile targets
under close watch." Matt ran a hand through his red hair, mussing the normally
neatly combed thatch. "Even if we know Dominique Destine isn't in danger,
we can't very well explain that to our Captain, or the rest of the interested
brass."
"And there's a chance we can bag the killer if he goes after Ms. Destine."
Elisa sighed, not liking the situation but resigned to it, "But I don't understand
why she actually asked for me to be her assigned officer. She hates all humans,
but me especially."
"But you know her secret." Matt's blue eyes caught the gleam of realization
in his partner's dark chocolate gaze.
"And any other undercover officer who might get to close to that secret...
" Elisa's voice trailed off as she considered the death sentence that knowledge
would probably earn any other cop. "Dominique can't afford to have anyone
but me assigned to her, can she? How ironic."
"Just keep that in mind when she's having you fetch coffee and pick up spilled
pencils." Matt grinned, "She needs you as much as we need her."
"Yeah? I wonder if she sees it that way." Elisa's dubious reply only made
Matt's grin wider. "I have a feeling she's setting me up. These clothes are
a good indication of how she feels about the situation.
"And how would she be feeling?" Matt asked curious, once again appreciating
the view provided by his irate partner.
"In control."
Chapter Two
by Luna
In the Destine Manor, Dominique Destine sat in front of her mirror; carefully
taming her wild red locks into submission so that she could go to work. She
smirked at her reflection as she thought about her new secretary. At first
she had been adamant that she was not going to be accepting police help against
this murderer. It was ridiculous to think that some human would be assigned
to protect her. When it became obvious that she wasn’t being given a choice
in the matter she’d been angry. She didn’t want some human butting into her
affairs… and the captain had mentioned having this detective around at night.
She couldn’t have that, she’d been forced to make a request… but that didn’t
mean she couldn’t turn this situation to her advantage. She now had Elisa
Maza at her beck and call at work. She was looking forward to the detective’s
response to her ‘uniforms’. Dominique’s smirk grew.
Dominique was sitting at her desk going over some invoices when her regular
secretary informed her that the new hire was here. "Well, bring Ms. Maza
in here." Dominique said disinterestedly while she set the invoices down
to greet the detective. Maza came in and Dominique studied her impassively,
the detective had worn one of those outfits that Dominique had so enjoyed
buying for her. She had almost expected the detective to break that part
of the bargain as soon as she saw the clothes. Maza looked like a very expensive
whore, and Dominique knew that it had to be humiliating, that’s why she’d
spent last afternoon shopping.
"I don’t expect to be bothered with trivial things. I will have you working
with Candace out in the front office, and she can show you what your job
here will be." Ms. Destine spoke coldly. "You will not interrupt the flow
of work here detective." She didn’t want the detective becoming more of a
hindrance than absolutely necessary. As is she had to cancel a few meetings
with some less than savory people so that Maza wouldn’t witness it and cause
trouble.
Dominique could see the detective’s eyes narrow for a moment, but all the
dark skinned woman said was, "I just need to be nearby, so don’t send me
off to some dark corner."
"Oh, no… I’ll keep you nearby and out in the open. Wouldn’t want anyone to
miss the chance to see you." Dominique goaded Elisa about her outfit. "I
do have a few confidentiality forms you need to sign." The executive pulled
out a file on her desk and motioned for the detective to come closer. She’d
made no invitation for Maza to sit, she preferred making her stand. Dominique’s
eyes widened a little as Elisa bent over her desk to sign the papers and
the nearly sheer shirt fell in such a way that it ended up exposing a generous
portion of the detective’s cleavage. She glanced into the detectives face
to see a questioning look on Elisa's face.
Dominique felt a flush rise to her cheeks, and cursed the fair skin of her
human form. One of Elisa's dark brows arched in surprise as she noted the
blush. On impulse, she returned the surprised emerald stare with smile and
a breathy sex kitten voice that fit her new look. "Will there be anything
else, Ms. Destine?"
Dominique frowned. Maza was actually playing into the image she'd created
to irritate the detective. It took some of the fun out of her plan. For now.
Summoning a coolly impersonal smile, Dominique dismissed her new executive
assistant. As Elisa made her exit, Dominique frowned again, and wondered
if she imagined the extra saucy swing in the detective's hips.
Dominique came out of her office an hour and a half after giving Elisa some
mindless filing job in the front office. Her eyes narrowed a little at the
sight that greeted her. Two men from the mailroom were chatting right outside
in the hall, while obviously watching Elisa trying to file things in the
lower drawers. Elisa’s very short skirt made the task more difficult for
her, and it looked like the detective was in a sexpot pose with her body
bending at the waist so she could file. At that angle, Dominique imagined
that the men might be getting a view of that cleavage, and she was shocked
to see Elisa's expression as she looked up at the ogling men. Even from this
angle she could see a vacuous, friendly smile on the detective’s lips as
Elisa slowly stood up. She grabbed her next file and went back to work. Dominque
wanted to take the time to torment Elisa over her menial position now, but
Nightstone's CEO had a meeting scheduled for right after lunch and she needed
to prepare. She tried to console herself with the thought of the detective
being forced to put up with those lecherous human males… but if those men
weren’t back to working in ten minutes she was going to say something about
it. She was a little disappointed that Elisa didn’t seem more upset, but
the detective was probably covering it.
Chapter Three
by Selene
Elisa watched Dominique re-enter her office, and promptly lost the smile
that had masked the irritation which had simmered over the last half hour
while she pretended to ignore the comments from the two men who watched.
It wasn't their open appreciation of her sexy attire that she minded. They
had been fairly polite and Elisa found herself actually flattered by some
of the compliments she'd overheard. No, what had her ire up was not over
what the men had said, but what the what the sharp tongued Candace had the
nerve to say before leaving for her 'coffee break'.
"I'm not sure how you landed this position at Nightstone, but don't think
a short skirt will compensate for actual work. Ms. Destine expects only excellence
from her employees. That's job performance not... " The hatchet faced woman
had paused, a small frown of disgust on her face, "... Not the 'personal'
assistance you probably are used to giving."
Elisa had listened, and pasted a pleasantly blank look on her face.
She'd decided the best way to ride out the inevitable conclusions her new
wardrobe would bring was to play it up and be the stereotypical office bimbo.
If Demona was hoping the role she was forcing on the police detective would
anger and humiliate, then Elisa was determined not to give the antagonistic
gargoyle the satisfaction. It still bugged her, but Elisa Maza, detective
2nd class, was determined not to let it show. This was an important
case, and she'd be damned if she let something this petty keep her from doing
her real job.
Besides, a real smile quirked her lip as the dark haired detective considered
something Demona had not. Speculation about an overly sexy secretary
spilled over onto her boss, and usually her lecherous male boss at that.
Only Elisa had her new position thanks to the company's owner and chief executive
officer. The powerful, the wealthy, the very beautiful and dangerously
eccentric Dominique Destine. Oh people would talk all right, but not
just about Elisa.
A slow, wicked smirk played over the detective's moist red lips caused one
of the mail room men to hurriedly excuse himself. The detective didn't
notice as he walked away awkwardly, but quickly towards the Men's Room.
She was too busy planning how to give Dominique Destine a taste of the same
medicine the woman was giving out.
"Um... Lisa?" The remaining guy from the mail room approached Elisa hesitantly.
"I was wondering if after work you'd like to get a cup of coffee with me."
"Oh! I'd love to." Elisa cooed, batting her eyes behind the glasses
that were only ornamental, "but I dont think I can. I'm going home
with Ms. Destine tonight."
The dropped jaw nearly made Elisa break up right then and there, but she
bit her cheek and tried to keep her sweet and vapid expression intact.
"With Ms. Destine? At night?" The disbelief in the mail room guy's
voice was obvious, "But no one sees Ms. Destine at night!"
Elisa made a little pout with her lips as she fed him the next line.
"She's a real slave driver. I think she intends to work me all hours!
So I'll be with her all the time, feeling up reports."
"You mean filling out reports, right?" His question came with a nervous laugh.
"Filling? Oh yes! I'll be doing lots of filling. Ms. Destine
was pretty clear on that when she hired me." Elisa laughed brightly, flashing
her perfect white teeth.
Chapter 4
By Luna
Dominique opened her office door shortly after finishing her lunch.
She found one of the accounting guys hanging around Maza, and that Maza was
smiling at him flirtatiously. “Ms. Maza! I need you in here now.”
She called out, and her eyebrow rose at the blush starting to cover the man’s
face, as he gave her a strange look.
“Yes, Ms. Destine.” Maza said in that sexy voice. Dominique had
never seen the detective working undercover before, and it was surprising
how much skill Maza appeared to have in doing so.
Maza’s hips swayed as she walked over to her, and when Dominique tore her
eyes away from her enemy’s uncharacteristic behavior she saw the guy watching
her. “You should get back to work!” she snapped at him, irritated with
his odd behavior. He took off immediately.
Once the detective was in the office and Dominique shut the door the executive
thought she saw a mischievous grin for a moment, but it was gone before she
could verify it to herself. “I have a meeting to go to right now."
Dominique stated matter of factly, "I'm assuming you want to come to that,
given what your captain told me." She narrowed her eyes at the detective.
"You will limit your interactions to serving coffee and handing out papers
as I need you to." Elisa just nodded to that so Dominique continued.
"Be ready to leave in a few minutes." She then ignored Elisa and started
to assemble the files that she'd need that afternoon. She hated these
stupid meetings, but perhaps having Maza there to torment would make it more
interesting.
Elisa opened the door and saw Candace and another female employee in the
reception area. She turned back to Dominique once she knew she had
an audience, "I'll be ready for you Ms. Destine." She put enough of
a sex kitten tone into that one sentence to make the redheaded executive
raise her eyebrows, and the two employees started to lean closer to each
other and gossip. She closed Dominique's office door and walked past
Candace's desk, ignoring the glare that woman sent her way. Elisa started
to put her filing project in her desk to finish it later, while she tried
to overhear the whispered conversation going on at the other desk.
"I've never heard of her dating any men." One sentence reached Elisa's
ears and she felt the grin tugging at her lips. It was starting.
Demona's plan to humiliate Elisa was backfiring on her within the first four
hours. Elisa's grin grew as she hid it with her hand, pretending to
try and read a file.
Elisa followed Ms. Destine to the conference room, while carrying the needed
files. She used this time to study how the people in the halls reacted
to the presence of their boss. Part of her expected them to all flee
into their offices to avoid the redhead, but that wasn't the case.
Dominique received a few friendly nods from some people, and a shy smile
from one young man. More amazingly was the reaction these people received,
Dominique seemed almost friendly to her employees, returning the acknowledgements
with her own nods or in some cases a small hint of a smile. This was
not at all how the detective expected the human hating gargoyle to act at
work. She did notice that everyone gave her sexy outfit more than a
passing glance, and she had to push back her irritation at Demona for forcing
these clothes on her once again so that she could give the people a stupid
smile that fell in character for the office slut she was playing.
The conference room had about half the chairs filled when they entered it.
These were the heads of the different departments at NightStone. Elisa
gave them all a vacant smile when she noticed that everyone's eyes had turned
to her. Dominique moved to sit at the head of the table and indicated
that Elisa should sit on her right. They still had a few minutes before
the meeting was supposed to start. Elisa sat down obediently and set
the files on the table, while she covertly studied the people here.
The gender split here seemed far more equal than the detective suspected
existed in other companies. Ten of the departments were accounted for,
and if the empty chairs were an indication of how many were supposed to be
here, they were waiting on ten more.
"Oh, Ms. Maza." Ms. Destine interrupted Elisa's thoughts. She
turned to look at the redhead with a slightly adoring look on her face.
Elisa managed to not smile when that seemed to startle Dominique a little.
"I take my coffee with two sugars. You'll find everything you need
over there." Dominique indicated a table in the corner. When
Elisa got up to get the coffee, she noticed that a few people had been interested
in that brief exchange.
Chapter five
by Selene
Dominique endured the drive back to her home in grim silence. Her back
was straight and stiff as she sat in the driver's seat of the car, and her
eye's never left the road ahead of her, even when her passenger yawned and
stretched in the other seat. She was ignoring Elisa Maza as best she
could after the finding out just how much trouble the detective could stir
up in just one afternoon. A flush crept up her face as the humiliation
of the day replayed in her mind.
All through the meeting, instead of paying attention to the quarterly reports
presented by the department heads, Dominique had been almost forcibly distracted
by various actions of her new personal assistant. First had been the
coffee, before the meeting had really even begun to start. Elisa had
brought the cup to Dominique, with a servile grace that had lulled the auburn
haired executive into a false sense of security. That had lasted right
until she had taken the first sip, and found out that the police detective's
idea of two sugars was measured in shovels full instead of spoons.
Choking on the overly sweet liquid, the Nightstone executive had spilled
half of it down the front of her blouse. Elisa was the exaggerated
picture of contrite helpfulness. Out of nowhere, the detective had
conjured up a handkerchief and immediately began to pat at the soaked material.
Pure shock had kept Dominique from rejecting the overly eager aid, as Elisa
pawed at her in front of half her department heads. Somehow the buttons
on the blouse had gotten undone, and Elisa's ministrations had gone from
the outside of the wet and now clinging blouse, to...
Dominique's teeth ground as she forced her mind away from the memory.
It was bad enough to be so handled by a human, but the following reaction
from her employee's had been the worst. She would have expected a little
consternation at the seeming accident, perhaps a little nervous humor to
cover the discomfort of the situation. What she had gotten was silence,
and looks of speculation that had raised the fine hair on the back of her
neck. There had been disapproval on many of the faces that stared so
strangely at their head executive, and smirks on the others. In a few
cases, it seemed there was a little envy as well, but it was difficult for
her to tell for sure as by that time she'd finally slapped away Elisa's busy
hands.
Dominique could sense a shift in attitude from her underlings. Before
there had been a slightly fearful respect, and admiration. Now there
was something else added to the mix, something she couldn't quite nail down,
but it worried her. She'd worked so hard to attain the authority she
held over these people. They were not merely bright and ambitious,
but experienced in sensing strength and weakness, and using it to the best
advantage. Young sharks, one and all, their fine disregard for conventional
morality made them as dangerous as they were useful. It had been a
point of pride with her that she'd brought them all to heel under her administration,
harnessed their potential for the greater benefit of Nightstone Unlimited.
Now, for the first time since taking on the human persona, Dominique had
felt her power over them somehow threatened. She'd spent precious
time and energy in re-establishing her dominance over them during the following
meeting. It should have been simple as letting some of her true nature
seep through the human facade she wore. Unfortunately Elisa Maza continued
to draw attention to herself with soft sighs as she shifted in her seat,
long legs crossing and re-crossing themselves. The short skirt the
police detective wore would ride up precariously during each shift of movement,
and Dominique had begun to worry the dark haired woman would end up flashing
the conference room. Despite her intent to pay no more attention to
Elisa, the unsettled CEO could not help but let her eyes stray back to the
fidgeting police woman. Each deep sigh pushed her chest out, showing
the detailed work of the lace undergarment beneath the sheer top that was
more a polite fiction than actual apparel.
She noticed some if not all her executives also study Elisa through out the
meeting. Eyebrows raised at the provocative attire, and more provocative
attitude the so called secretary had. And slowly it began to sink in...
Already she was regretting the wardrobe she'd procured for the detective.
Dominique had forgone any more coffee, hoping that Elisa would sit quietly
and fade from the gathered executives' awareness. Secretaries were
virtually invisible during these kinds of business functions. Seen
as little more than as a useful convenience in the course of an important
meeting. Maza was as inconvenient as ever. Dominique had not
considered how emphasizing the undercover detective's looks with a few sexy
clothes would prove to be such a disruptive influence. What she had
planned to as a subtle revenge was quickly becoming a personal aggravation.
The smooth flow of Dominique's business day had been irreparably disturbed.
She'd closed the meeting with a feeling of extreme irritation that was not
lost the troublesome human. The gleam of satisfaction in those deceptively
adoring doe eyes had sent a slow surge of frustrated rage through the on
edge executive. She wanted to rip something... no, someone apart.
But much as Dominique hated the fact, she knew that she couldn't harm so
much as a hair on the good detective's head. Not now. Not here.
Not yet...
Chapter 6
By Luna
Elisa could see Dominique’s irritation… no, downright anger, simmering as
they drove to the gargoyle’s home. She had played up her act throughout
the meeting, while keeping a close eye on the executive. She could
see the moment that her ‘boss’ realized what she was doing. Dominique
had turned her eyes to Elisa’s for a fraction of a moment, and a slight blush
covered her face.
The detective was sure that most, if not all, of Ms. Destine’s top executive’s
thought something was going on between the two of them. Dominique had
fallen into almost every trap Elisa set… and that was what the detective
had spent most of the drive thinking about. It really shouldn’t have
been that easy to distract the gargoyle in human form, hell, Elisa had met
inmates who were harder to affect than Dominique had been today. Even
though Elisa had started the rumors, and fanned the flames, she was beginning
to wonder herself if the outfits that Dominique had given her to wear… had
been for more than just the opportunity to humiliate her.
When they drove up to the mansion, Elisa sighed. She knew that Dominique
was going to be hard to live with, incredibly hard. She felt relatively
safe in the knowledge that if anything happened to her, another cop would
be assigned to watch over Ms. Destine, and that Dominique knew how disastrous
that would be for her. Still, she hadn’t told the clan about this particular
assignment, and she asked Matt to not say anything either. They were
trying to catch the… human… bad guy, and the clan would hover around if they
knew she was alone with Demona, scaring off the murderer Elisa was after.
Once the car stopped Elisa got out and grabbed her overnight bag without
saying anything. She knew she should be safe if Demona was thinking
about what she was doing, but if the gargoyle got mad, she didn’t tend to
think. She was just going to give the redhead a little time to decompress.
She could see from the way that Dominique was holding herself that she was
very tense and angry. Demona in her human form was exhibiting more
control and restraint than she usually showed in her true gargoyle form.
“These are the schematics for my security system.” Dominique set a
file down on the kitchen table. Elisa noticed the glare sent her way,
“I will be changing it once this little… investigation of yours is over.”
Dominique leaned onto the table and glared hard at Elisa, who was sitting
down. “If you ever pull a stunt like you did with that coffee… If you
ever dare to touch me again…” Elisa noticed that even in her human form,
Demona knew how to growl.
The detective’s eyes narrowed as she glared back. She then purposely
let her gaze fall to the stain on the executive’s shirt and smirked.
“You might want to go soak that shirt, or that stain might stay.” She
gave Dominique one of the looks of adoration that she’d been sending the
gargoyle’s way all day, “But if your… sure… you don’t want my help Ms. Destine.”
Elisa used her sex kitten voice to it’s fullest, “Are you sure?” Dominique’s
eyes widened, her face getting a red tinge that Elisa suspected had just
as much to do with embarrassment as it did with anger. The redhead
just turned to go upstairs and take her shower without saying anything.
Elisa grinned, this assignment might not be as bad as she first thought.
Chapter 7
By Selene
How dare she! That trampy, black haired... human bitch! Pushing
the shower door shut with enough force to rattle the fixtures, Dominique
turned the water on full blast, and then bit back a shriek as the first of
the deluge hit with a chill that made her already tension tight muscles scream
with protest. The coppery taste of blood in her mouth would have made
her curse if she wasn't trying so hard not to cry. Oh... blast that
Elisa Maza to whichever hell had spawned her. How long was she supposed
to suffer that woman's presence?
The water finally reached a warmth that helped ease, but not erase the physical
misery. It did nothing for the mental turmoil that had the still human
red head clenching her teeth. Her memory replayed the conversation
she had to have with the police woman's superior. Chavez had wanted
to know why Dominique Destine was the only name on their list of possible
targets who was _not_ a member of that insipid gargoyle loving club, the
P.I.T. Apparently the current case Elisa was working on was important
enough to warrant the direct involvement of a precinct commander, and was
bringing an unfortunate amount of official scrutiny. The head of Nightstone
Unlimited was not a known gargoyle supporter. It made her stand out
on a list that seemed a who's who of high profile PIT celebrities.
Dominique had to pretend that as CEO of Nightstone, she was about to give
a public announcement of support for the People for Interspecies Tolerance,
and was planning a fund raiser to gather donations for the group. It
galled her still to think about that. But the fact that the public
had not known about her fictitious plans had made it seem that someone in
the Quarrymen must already be inside Nightstone. Hence the non-negotiable
assignment of a police officer to give her full time protection. Hah!
As if a puny human could know the first thing about keeping her safe.
To add injury to insult, she had to pull strings to get the human she hated
most outside the Hunters to be that so called protector.
Goliath's little human pet. The black haired goody two shoes police
woman, who had been a constant source of trouble since the first second the
female gargoyle had the misfortune to lay eyes on the creature, was now to
be her constant shadow. At work was bad enough, but now she had to
deal with the fact the irritating human would be underfoot in her own home.
Just the thought made the tension headache she had been fighting off win
a little more ground.
What would it take to rid herself of Elisa Maza? As Dominique left
the shower cleaner, but even more wretched, she noticed the steady knocking
on her bedroom door. The master bath was attached to her bedroom suite,
but she had not heard the pounding over the running water. Now she
couldn't ignore the persistent banging even if she wanted to. Which,
given her mood, she did not. No, now was the time to finally face that
wretched human and make her aware of just what her position was while under
Dominique Destine's roof.
With a snarl, the still damp, and towel wrapped executive twisted the door
knob and swung the bedroom door open with a vengance. Green eyes ablaze,
she confronted the startled police woman whose hand was still poised to knock.
Chapter 8
By Luna and Selene
“WHAT?!” Dominique's voice was practically a scream as she glared balefully
at Elisa. “What is so important that you can’t give me a few moments
peace?!”
Elisa blinked, a bit stunned by the sheer volume of the red head's verbal
attack. The sudden, violent opening of the door had sent her heart
racing, and it was taking a moment to regain it's normal steady beat.
The unexpected sight of Dominique, wet, ranting, and practically naked wasn't
helping matters.
Strange. It had never occurred to Elisa that the female gargoyle would
do normal things like taking a shower . As far as she knew, Goliath
and his clan never showered or bathed. The stone skin they shed seemed
to take the place of more mundane ways of freshening up. If she had
known Dominique had been so... occupied, Elisa wouldn’t have been so insistent
in getting the woman's attention. Now, faced with the enraged female
wearing nothing but a towel, and dripping water onto the carpet, the police
detective found herself having to force herself to not stare.
“There was an attempt on one of the P.I.T. member’s life. I need you
to fully activate your security system.” Elisa's voice snapped the
request out with a crisp authority that she realized, a moment too late,
was probably a mistake.
Dominique narrowed her eyes. “I know that you are here to protect me,
but this is ridiculous!” Her voice dripped contempt, but she turned
around and marched over to a control panel by her bed. It was decoratively
concealed as a night table, but the table top lifted to reveal an access
to the security system from the bedroom. Elisa watched as Dominique
enabled the entire defense system to work at it's highest level of performance,
the panel lights glowing an alert red as defensive programs went active..
Elisa took a few steps into the bedroom after the stiff backed female.
The red head turned to glare at her, “Now you are invading my bedroom also?!”
Dominique’s voice was beginning to rise again. Elisa sighed.
She’d been expecting this. “You follow me around at work… causing me
all sorts of trouble. I will not have you following me around in my
own home!”
“Look, Demona… It was you that requested me. I didn’t want this assignment!”
Elisa met the rude accusations with her own dark glare. While her own
volume increased, Elisa managed to not yell. While she dearly wanted
to give female gargoyle the set down she deserved, the detective was aware
that their private war had to take a back seat to the on going murder case.
The raven haired police woman stood her ground as the towel clad form of
Dominique moved close enough to brush against her while the gargoyle continued
to glare at the detective. Dominique’s fair skinned face was stained
red with anger and her eyes seemed to be trying to burn a whole through Elisa.
“I don’t need your pathetic excuse for protection!”
Elisa spoke more quietly, “Well, it’s not like we can tell anyone that can
we?!” She was speaking through her own clenched teeth, trying not to
lose her patience.
She was not going to be here just to make it more convenient for the gargoyle
to insult her. Dominique glared at Elisa, but moved to step away.
Elisa could see the redhead was still moving stiffly. “So you need
to cooperate with me, or the NYPD just might try to set you up with a different
officer!” Elisa snapped back after her. They both knew that it
would be a disaster if another cop was here at night.
The older woman stiffened up as her muscles protested her stressed out nerves.
She recovered enough to once more press close to the dark haired police detective,
and deliver a scathing retort. “Well, at least another cop wouldn’t try to
undermine me at work!”
A sudden spasm of back pain made Dominique flinch away from the detective
and let out an unexpected hiss of distress. The redhead put a hand
out onto her dresser to steady herself.
Elisa’s eyes widened a little in concern and now she was the one who closed
the distance between them.
“Get Out!” Dominique managed to say through gritted teeth, trying to
dismiss the unwanted company before showing any further weakness.
Elisa stood there, uncertain about what she should do. Dominique looked
like she was really in pain… the stress of the day having gotten to her in
a physical way.
“Demona…” Elisa spoke hesitantly, suddenly feeling guilty about her own petty
play of vengence for the choice of clothing the gargoyle was forcing on her.
It was undercover work after all. She’d obviously upset Dominique more
than she thought she would with her acting. They were going to be stuck
in close quarters for who knew how long. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to
try mending some fences.
“I’m sorry.”
Dominique continued to glare. “Sorry?! I worked my ass off cultivating
my image at work… and in one day you've nearly destroyed it!”
Elisa watched Dominique’s face and could see the pain just standing straight
up caused her. “They are beginning to lose respect for me! I’ll
have to work twice as hard as before to gain any shred of that back… and
it will never be quite the same!” Dominique hissed out, “You had to
act like a complete slut… Of course, maybe you weren’t acting too much… you
do always hang all over Goliath like a bitch in heat!”
Elisa’s eyes widened and she ground her teeth. That bitch! She
was just trying to apologize, and Dominique lit into her like that!
The detective took a deep breath, and without thinking, played the card that
had been getting to Dominique all day. As she saw Dominique's breath
catch in pain once more, and her grip tighten on the dresser, the detective
purred out in her best sex kitten drawl, “Oh… Ms. Destine, do you need me
to take care of your pain?”
The police woman's stance took on a bit of a seductive air, as her voice
held velvety suggestion. “I could give you a... massage.”
She expected the executive to toss her out on her ear for even daring to
make the suggestion. The sudden, sharply assessing look Dominique gave
her was an unsettling surprise.
“Okay.” The redhead said quietly, and started moving slowly over to
the bed.
Elisa’s eyes widened. Dominique was supposed to get angry, to tell
her to leave again… She wasn’t supposed to accept Elisa’s offer!
The dark haired woman watched the now strangely subdued woman with a glimmer
of suspicion. Dominique _had_ to know it wasn’t a genuine offer.
The gargoyle is just trying to make me back down, Elisa thought to herself,
trying to shake off a curious sense of nervousness. Taking a deep,
calming breath, she moved to follow Dominique to the bed.
Well, she wasn’t going to back down now, since that was what Dominique expected.
When Dominique stood beside the bed and undid her towel, with her back facing
Elisa the detective couldn’t help but stare.
She’s really beautiful as a human. The odd realization struck Elisa
with an unexpected force as she watched the towel fall away. Elisa
wasn't able to tear her eyes away, even when Dominique climbed onto her bed
to lie down. It obviously hurt to do that, because Elisa could see
Dominique silently hissing in pain. The detective removed her shoes,
and then leaned over to pick up the towel. Dominique might be comfortable
with being completely naked, but Elisa wasn’t. She folded the towel
and hesitantly draped it over the rounded curves of the other woman's firm
bottom. She was very aware that the redhead had turned her head and
was watching the blush crept over the detective’s face. Elisa tried
to push aside her embarrassment as she moved to be able to start. She’d never
imagined that she would be touching Demona like this.
As Elisa worked at the knotted muscles that was causing the woman beneath
her discomfort, a dark red flush crept up her cheeks. The very quiet
sounds that Dominique was making… those soft moans… sounded almost... sexual.
Elisa licked her suddenly dry lips and continued to give a deep, penetrating
rub, not really aware she was staring at Dominique’s face. The redhead
had closed her eyes, and she looked so lost in her relief. When Elisa
rubbed a little harder the groan of pleasure that Dominique made was definatley…
sexy. A strange shiver went through the police woman at that sound.
Elisa's mind tried to deny the reaction she was having to the soft, hiccuping
gasps Demona made with each firm press of thumbs along her spine.
To prove that the wash of warmth building in her veins wasn't because of
Dominique's breathy sighs, Elisa found herself rubbing that area again, even
harder, coaxing a blissful outcry from the other woman's parted lips.
Chapter Nine
by Selene
The sweet relief that Elisa's unexpectedly skilled hands provided made it
very hard for Dominique to think straight. As a particularly nice bit
of pressure increased, she couldn't help but respond with shamefully obvious
pleasure. It felt so good. The sore, cramping of her back had
begun to fade as Maza continued to rub with a warm, penetrating firmness
that unlocked the tightness and replaced the aching misery with...
She shuddered and moaned as long dark fingers moved over her naked skin,
expertly applying force to where it was most needed by her aching flesh.
No human had ever touched her so familiarly before. How had this all
come to pass?
When the infuriating Elisa Maza had first offered her ridiculous apology,
it had only provoked the irate red head into further hostility. She
had thrown it back in the detective's face. Did the human think mere
words would make up for the damage she'd done? The affronted rush of
anger Dominique felt was only increasing her physical misery, so she had
lashed out with as much insult as she could manage through her growing discomfort.
She wanted the blasted human gone before she utterly disgraced herself by
breaking down into pained tears. The benefit of her hot shower had
disappeared completely, and it hurt to move even slightly.
Over a thousand years, she'd become familiar with pain in it's many form.
Immortality did not diminish agony, and even her unnaturally quick recovery
from wounds did not spare her their attending discomfort. If anything
the compression of time made the hurts that much worse. But at least
battle harm she took could be dismissed once the flesh and bone was whole
once more. Which was just as well, as there was no way to block out
the pain with drugs. She'd experimented over the centuries, and found
her gargoyle biology did not accept outside, artificial influences easily.
The few things that did work had consequences that made them last resorts.
And bad as this horrible stress cramping was, it was not worth becoming...
vulnerable.
Certainly not with a human in the house.
Knowing that her current pain would not relent easily, Dominique had mentally
resigned herself to hours of suffering. Then the human had made another
outrageous statement. She'd done it in that aggravatingly sexy voice,
and probably didn't mean a word of her offer. But... since she _was_
the cause of this physical misery, it would cost nothing to let her try and
mend it. All day the detective had been putting on an act of
fawning helpfulness, now was the time to see if she could deliver.
It was worth accepting just to see the stunned disbelief on Elisa's face.
Maybe, the thought dawned on Dominique as she dropped her towel and stretched
out on the bed, the detective would be less eager to act so indecently suggestive
if she had to make good on her propositions. When she felt the settling
of cloth over her hips, Dominique look back at Elisa. The darkening
red of the police woman's face was a gratifying change. Not so sure
of yourself now, Elisa? The thought slid with a silky malice through
the red head, and she wondered just how far the human was willing to go before
backing down.
Far enough.
Elisa worked first on the bared neck and shoulders. Dominique had flinched
at the first touch, nearly whimpering as the pain of her tight muscles was
challenged by the detective's probing fingers. For a moment, it hurt
even worse than before, and she damned the madness that had let her accept
the human's cursed touch... then miraculously the soreness began to
abate as Elisa pressed and rubbed in just the right spots. Slowly,
and with unrelenting firmness, the detective worked her way down the naked
back. Her touch felt hot, almost burning as her hands moved freely
over the pale, bare flesh. Dominique moaned as the warmth of those
hands began to provide not just relief, but a sensation that was perilously
close to...
Her eyes fluttered open in alarm just as the heel of Elisa's palm pressed
down where the edge of the towel had fallen, right where the base of a gargoyle's
tail would be, were she in her true form.
"N.. no! Stop!" The words slipped out before she could stop them, in
a soft panting panic that made her cringe inwardly.
Elisa froze, her hand still pressed firmly at a place that had Dominique
wide eyed with shock.
"Is something wrong?" Elisa asked, her voice curiously breathless, dark eyes
meeting emerald in a searching stare, "Doesn't it feel... nice?"
For a long moment the red haired woman was speechless. A deep, uncontrollable
warmth spread over her entire, fair skinned body as she blushed hotly, and
tried to ignore exactly how nice Elisa's hand felt. There.
The puzzlement in the detective's face seemed genuine.
"You haven't mated with Goliath." Dominique's voice was a soft mix of amazement
and accusation. "You have no clue ..."
Elisa's eyes narrowed at the unexpected, insulting comments. Her lips
parted to give an angry retort about it being no one's business who she did
or did not "mate" with... when her mind made a possible connection.
Without thinking, Elisa pressed more firmly at the spot she'd paused at,
right where the human tail bone would be. Pressed, and rubbed...
Chapter ten
By Luna
Dominique was unable to stop the wanton moan of desire as Elisa rubbed.
Her skin’s blush intensified, knowing it was obvious what she was feeling…
and at the hands of that human! She was shocked when the rubbing didn’t
stop once it had to be clear how sexual that touch was. Dominique spoke
urgently, “No!” and rolled away from Elisa to sit up on the opposite
edge of the bed. “NO…” The redhead’s voice was full of pained denial.
This couldn’t be happening to her! Her body was shaking slightly from
it’s need… it had betrayed her.
They both sat there in stunned silence for a while. “Demona… I’m sorry.”
Elisa’s soft remorseful voice propelled Dominique into action.
Dominique grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her body, suddenly
ashamed of being naked. “Sorry… of course, that’s what you always say
human!” Dominique was horrified to hear her voice sounding weak and
tearful. “Just get out… get out.”
She knew then with terrible certainty that she was going to cry, the tears
were already obscuring her vision. She didn’t want this human to see
her break down. She got up and ran into the bathroom before the tears
made it to her cheeks, her breath starting to come in sobs. She slammed
the door behind her and sunk down onto the floor. Had she become so
desperate, so lonely that she would accept a lover's caress from a human?
That she would accept Elisa’s touch like that? She had never, in over
a thousand years, let a human touch her like that.
Dominique started to sob as the loneliness of all those years hit her full
force. It was as if Elisa’s touch had broken an invisible dam, and
unleashed a torrent of pain. It wasn’t just the touch. Those
looks of fake adoration that Elisa had sent her way all day had also served
to underline how very alone Dominique was. She wanted to rage against
the detective, to believe that Elisa was doing this on purpose just to hurt
her, but it was so obvious that Elisa had no idea what she had just done.
Elisa sat on the bed staring at the bathroom door in shock. She’d made
Demona cry? The deep heart-wrenching sobs could be heard through the
door. What the hell happened?! Elisa started to blush in shame
once she realized the answer. Demona had tried to warn her, but for
some unknown reason Elisa had continued to press on the tailbone even after
she was told to stop. The wanton moan Demona made… It had been strangely
exciting. Something Elisa did not want to examine too closely
made her want to hear it again. She didn't know what was more disturbing,
her reaction to Demona's arousal, or that the red head ran away _after_ responding
so unmistakably to her touch.
No one had ever told her that the base of a tail was an erogenous zone for
a gargoyle. It apparently was for Demona even in her human form.
Elisa’s breath caught in her throat as she forced herself to face the truth.
Touching Demona like that had... aroused her. The feel of the female
gargoyle in human form under her hands, the soft moans… had turned Elisa
on more than she’d been in a long time, if ever. Elisa blinked away
tears of her own as she came to the cold realization that she had finally
pushed things too far. Listening to Demona's wrenching sobs... hurt.
The gargoyle always seemed so strong, so in control, like she didn’t need
anyone. Elisa never realized how fragile the gargoyle could be, but
she did know how proud she could be. She wouldn’t want Elisa to witness
her tears, so even though Elisa wanted to knock on the bathroom door and
try to offer comfort, she didn’t.
Elisa left Demona’s room and went to the one that was to be her temporary
home. She immediately changed out of the overly sexual outfit she’d
worn to the office and got into something more practical, less revealing.
She was still stunned at her own behavior. She’d touched Demona in
a sexual way… and once she realized that was what she was doing, she had
continued to do so. What the hell was wrong with her?! She felt
awkward and out of place. Fidgety and uncomfortable. She
needed to do something to get her mind off of this. She went downstairs
to see if there was something she could do about dinner.
Dominique dabbed at her eyes, trying to dry her tears. The sobs had
subsided, but she was still feeling the pain of embarrassment. She
still had to face that detective, had to work with her. This was going
to be hell. She opened her bathroom door hesitantly, because it wouldn’t
surprise her if Elisa hadn’t listened to her when she told her to leave.
She sighed in relief to find herself alone in the bedroom. The first
thing she did was get dressed in some comfortable lounging about clothes,
since there were still a few hours before sunset. She then sat down
at her dresser and tried to see if she could cover up her tear ravaged face,
because as much as she’d like to hide in her bedroom all night, this was
her home, and she wasn’t going to be confined to one room because of this.
What was this anyhow?! It was a momentary lapse in reason. She
could recover from this, and show that detective that she was in no way weak.
She dried her still damp hair. Despite her resolve, it was more than
an hour later when Dominique followed the sounds to the kitchen to find Elisa
pulling something out of the oven. She’d cooked.
Elisa gave her a tentative, almost shy smile and put the food down.
She tucked back a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. “Angela told
me you liked lasagna. I thought I’d try to cook some.”
Dominique wasn’t as interested in the fact that the detective had cooked
for her, as the fact that her heart had sped up a bit as soon as Elisa had
smiled at her. A genuine smile, as if nothing embarrassing had occurred
in her bedroom. Dominique's spirit rose with the hope they could just
ignore the whole incident like it never happened. It plummeted again
as she realized that the detective was very attractive… for a human.
She’d never really noticed it before, and it was very disturbing that she
did now.
Chapter 11
by Selene
Dinner was mostly quiet. Dominique hardly spoke to Elisa except to
ask for the salt. The detective was at a loss for what to fill the
silence with. How did you apologize to your host for accidently
molesting her? Or worse, continuing past the point of accident.
Dammit... Elisa was supposed to be here to protect Dominique, not become
a threat herself. If only Matt wasn't the head of the Gargoyle's task
force. He could be the one guarding Dominique instead of Elisa, if
he wasn't already over worked coordinating the entire investigation.
"The sooner we can catch the people behind the P.I.T. murders, the sooner
I can be out of your hair." Elisa finally spoke her thought aloud as the
meal ended and she began to clear away the used dishes. Trying for
conversational lightness, she added, "I'll do everything I can to make that
happen."
The look Dominique shot her was not pleased. In fact, it was quite
irritated. "Do you really think someone in the Quarrymen has targeted
me for assassination? Despite what I had to tell your captain, I had
no P.I.T. affiliations. The only reason the Quarrymen would have to
harm me is if they knew I was really a gargoyle. And if they knew that
secret, they could get at me without need for a hired hit man. They'd
only need to out me to the world. The scandal would ruin my business,
and my life as Dominique Destine would be effectively over."
"Ruining you isn't the same as killing you." Elisa commented, frowning.
The red haired woman was correct. The more the police detective thought
about it, the less sense it made for Dominique Destine's name to be on the
murderer's list of targets. "Maybe whoever is setting up these
murders doesn't know you are immortal. Simply exposing you might not
be enough."
"You're just guessing detective."
Elisa was uncomfortably aware of the measuring stare that was now focused
on her. The red head had avoided looking directly at the police woman
for most of the meal, staring instead at her plate as she ate. But
now she gave the full force of her emerald regard to her "bodyguard".
"Right now all we have to go with are guesses. Educated guesses." Elisa
shrugged, "But your name was among the ones we believe will be the murder's
future targets. Tonight's attempt on the other P.I.T. member seems
to back up our current theory."
"And so I'm to be a virtual prisoner in my own home while this so called
investigation continues? Once the sun sets, I fully intend to stretch
my wings a little." Dominique laid out her challenge boldly, waiting to see
what the police woman would do.
"Then I will go with you." Elisa stated with a assertive calm she did not
feel.
"What makes you think I'd take you with me?" Dominique laughed, the first
sign of genuine humor she'd shown Elisa all day. "If I decide to just
take off, there is nothing you can do to stop me."
"You will keep me close by at all times, Demona." Elisa's voice held the
same tone of authority she'd used earlier in the evening. The one she
knew now would goad the gargoyle in human form.
"And if I don't?" Dominique's voice held a child like, smug satisfaction
as her green eyes glittered with malicious glee, thinking there was little
Elisa could do to shadow her once the sun set.
"If you don't, then you are no longer useful in this police investigation,
and I might as well alert the entire clan to keep a constant eye on your
night time movements until our murderer is captured." Elisa's crisp reply
cut through the red head's short lived dream of being free of the detective's
company during the night time hours. The police woman added with studied
thoughtfullness, "_If_ our murderer is captured."
The red haired female glared with such intensity, Elisa wondered that she
wasn't screaming in rage. So she wasn't overly surprised when a banshee
howl erupted the soft red lips that had somehow caught her own dark brown
gaze. It took a moment for her to realize that Dominique wasn't voicing
her displeasure at the detective's latest upset. The rising scream
was as much pain as anger, and it was accompanied by the sound of tearing
cloth as Dominique's lounging robe gave way to sleek azure limbs that tore
through with savage ease. Razor sharp talons replace the slim, graceful
hands, and a pair of impressive wings unfurled from Dominique... no... from
Demona's back.
The gargoyle's crimson eyes blazed with the remaining pain of the transformation,
and focused on the startled, staring police detective. Elisa was suddenly
aware of how soft and fragile her human body was in comparison to the gargoyle's
deadly strength.
Chapter 12
By Luna
Demona’s eyes slowly lost their crimson glow as she watched the startled
detective. A slow smirk crossed the blue gargoyle’s lips at the hint
of… fear, in Elisa’s eyes. She could now see Elisa trying to cover
it up, but it was too late. It was nice to know that the human understood
her precarious position.
The gargoyle noticed that her clothes were in tatters at the same time she
noticed Elisa’s eyes wandering over her body. She stood still and watched
the detective’s face as the dark skinned human looked at her with a slight
flush in her cheeks. Did that human like what she saw? Is that
was what behind the endless flirting today? Is that why Elisa continued
to touch her after discovering the cause of her discomfort at being touched
in that manner?
Elisa managed to tear her eyes away from Demona’s almost exposed breasts
to see the gargoyle looking at her with a curious expression on her face.
Elisa blushed hotly, making it impossible to pretend she hadn’t been ogling
the almost naked gargoyle. Elisa swallowed and continued with the argument
as if nothing had happened, “So, if you leave, you need to take me
with you.”
Demona studied the detective quietly until Elisa started to fidget nervously.
“I’ll go change and we can leave.” Elisa looked slightly startled at
that. She probably hadn’t expected the change of mind, but… if Elisa
didn’t understand her position, once she was in the air and relying on Demona
to keep her from falling, she would. The blue female turned to walk
upstairs before letting the evil grin cross her lips, Elisa wouldn’t be so
eager to go gliding with her again after tonight.
Elisa sighed as she realized what she'd just committed to. Since being
roped into being Demona's bodyguard, she had been worried about how they
were going to work out the nights. She reddened as the memory of the
gargoyle's naked human body flashed through her mind. She'd been wondering
how Demona was going to take her ultimatum _before_... what happened.
Now she felt a thrill of fear that had nothing to do with their long history
of animosity. Tonight she was going to be in Demona's arms, cradled
to the female gargoyle's body as they soared high above the city. She
would have to cling close to that warm, hard muscled yet softly curved azure
form. Biting her lip, Elisa tried hard not to think about it too much.
She was starting to shiver a little... because the most scary thing about
this was how much she was looking forward to it.
Fifteen minutes later they were standing on Demona’s balcony. Elisa
was startled when Demona scooped her up effortlessly into her arms and jumped.
She didn’t release her breath until it was obvious that the gargoyle had
caught the air and they were gliding. “Tell me detective… when Goliath
takes you gliding, does he treat you like you’re made of glass?” Elisa’s
eyes quickly went to stare at the malicious humor on Demona’s face moments
before the female dove down towards the ground so steeply Elisa felt sure
they were actually falling. Her grip around Demona’s neck became iron
tight and she barely managed to restrain a scream. Demona was going
to kill her!
Demona pulled up at the last moment, and darted around the tree tops of her
neighborhood at top speed. Elisa still clung to her as if her life
depended on it, because it did. Demona wasn’t missing any opportunities
to scare her with close calls by barely swerving around trees. Elisa
didn’t even register that it was over for a few moments and held on tightly
to the gargoyle, with her heart pounding frantically. Quietly she hissed
once she realized the danger was over, “You are a complete bitch.”
She slid out of the hold Demona had on her and was relieved to feel her feet
hit the balcony. She was surprised when that insult only resulted in
a chuckle from the gargoyle.
”Didn’t you like our little glide?” Demona opened the balcony door
and smirked as she went inside, with the detective trailing her. She
was eager to see the detective’s face tomorrow at gliding time. She
usually went out like that almost every night, to keep her edge.
Elisa went to her bedroom later that night, after it was clear that they
had nothing they wanted to talk about. She stared up at the ceiling.
Demona was right, Goliath treated her like she was fragile… but he did that
all the time, not just in the air. It irritated her to no end.
Now, thinking back on her time with Demona in the air… it would have been
fun, if she hadn’t been worried about being dropped on purpose.
Demona sat in her surveillance room, watching the detective. She’d
installed hidden camera’s a long time ago, but hadn’t really used them before.
As soon as she realized she’d have a guest, she’d made sure that the entire
surveillance system was operating correctly. It was part of the security
system she wasn’t telling the detective about.
Chapter 13
by Luna and Selene
Elisa sighed and rolled onto her back again. Usually she fell asleep
quickly, her body eager to drink down the few precious hours of sleep she
managed on her hectic schedule. But tonight, no matter what she did,
from counting sheep to shifting positions, she just wasn't calm enough to
drift off like usual. Her heart was no longer hammering frantically
like it had while Demona tried to scare her senseless, but she still felt...
edgy. Even though she'd always loved roller coasters as a kid, no ride
had ever come close to the dangerous thrill from being carried in Demona's
arms, certain the blue gargoyle was going to drop her. It had been
scary as hell. So why could she still feel the rush of the night air
from the wild ride... and a bone deep ache to try it again?
Elisa shifted again and kicked off the light blanket on her bed. It
was too warm. and she was too restless. She needed something to sooth
herself enough to get a little sleep. If she didn't get some sleep,
she'd be in absolutely no condition to deal with Dominique during the day.
Almost of their own accord, her hands drifted down to the hem of her nightshirt.
It was just an oversized t-shirt, just enough to cover the essentials when
she crawled into bed at the end of the day, or night depending on when her
shift ended. Her fingers played with the edge of the cloth hesitantly.
If she were home in her own bed, she wouldn't think twice about indulging
in a little self pleasure to ensure an easy sleep and maybe a sweet dream
or two. Elisa bit her lip, squirming uncomfortably as she acknowledged
the fact that part of the reason she was having trouble sleeping was because
she was more than a little horny. Between the horribly embarrassing,
but arousing moment with Demona in her bedroom, and the adrenaline rush from
the "glide" with the gargoyle, Elisa's body was craving something more than
just a warm glass of milk.
Elisa lay quietly for a few moments, listening to her own breathing in the
dark. The problem was that she wasn't at home in her own bed.
And she felt guilty about even _thinking_ about masturbating after what had
happened with Demona. She hadn't meant to touch the Gargoyle sexually...
had she? Pure mortification coursed through the detective's veins as
she turned the possibility over in her head. She had spent the better
part of the day playing a tart, sparing no opportunity to be as suggestive
as possible with Dominique Destine. It had been meant as just a little
harmless revenge... She hadn't meant to really hurt Demona, just irritate
the hell out of the arrogant gargoyle. She hadn't meant for it to go
so far as it had.
The memory of pale, bare skin and soft breathy cries... Elisa shivered
and tried to think of something else. Anything else but... Damp red
hair curling carelessly over slowly relaxing shoulders, the round curve
of soft breasts flattening against the bed, warm flesh beneath her
palms and that moan of pure, sexual arousal as she pressed and rubbed...
and kept rubbing...
Elisa's breathing sounded harsh even in her own ears as she stared wide eyed
into the dark. She hadn't meant to do it on purpose. She knew
it now. It had been surprise and reflex. But... even though it
had been unintentional... even though it had been wrong and she felt
terrible for doing it even by accident... it had also felt so... good.
Frustrated tears welled up in dark eyes, to seep slowly down her face as
Elisa finally eased one hand beneath the waistband of her plain cotton underwear.
Tapered finger tips stroked through the trimmed thatch of springy dark curls
that guarded her intimate treasures. Slowly, she let her thighs fall
apart, drawing up her knees just enough that she lay open to her own gently
searching caress. She let her touch trail across the warm, moist pouting
mouth of her sex and stroked gently at the silky, lubricated folds.
She was so wet... just from thinking about Demona's erotic whimpers and that
deep red flush that covered her human skin as she cried out helplessly, wantonly...
Elisa moaned, her breath growing more ragged as the memory played through
again, and her fingers pressed against her own wetness, rubbing with increasing
urgency. Oh god... she wanted... needed...
"Demona... "
The name left her mouth in a heated, half choked groan that shamed her, and
made her writhe with greater need. Moaning, she pushed the waist band
of her panties past her hips with the hand not trying to satisfy her mounting
excitement. It didn't take a lot of effort to shimmy out of the restricting
underwear, allowing her the freedom to use both hands to try and appease
the wet, aching heat between her now wantonly spread legs. Looking
down at herself, Elisa blushed at the lewd display she made. The clouded
night skies outside had grown clear, allowing strong moonlight to filter
through the windows, illuminating the room in it's soft, shimmering glow.
Silver light kissed Elisa's taut, stretched out limbs, and spilled over the
softly shadowed valley between her thighs. The slick gleam of her arousal
coated her intimate opening, and the fingers stroking feverishly at the weeping
grotto.
With a whimpering moan, Elisa slid first one, then two fingers into her own
tightness. Closing her eyes tightly, she focused on the sensation of
movement and pressure in that most private place as she began to frig herself,
seeking an easy and familiar carnal release. She tried to imagine black
hair and a broad, muscular lavender body... but instead blue limbs
tangled through her thoughts, arrogant red lips and sweet, nearly naked azure
breasts half hidden by tatters and trailing locks of curling crimson...
***
Demona picked up a report that she’d brought home to work on as she sat in
the surveillance room. On the screen in front of her was a restless
detective kicking off her covers. The gargoyle looked up from the report,
and grabbed a highlighter off the desk in front of her. She smirked
at the detective’s inability to sleep, and then went back to working.
One blessing of the curse that Puck had inflicted on her was that she didn’t
need to sleep as much as a human. She could stay up later than Elisa
and wake up before her.
A deep throated moan coming from Elisa’s room had Demona looking up suddenly,
startled. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at the screen. The moonlight
illuminated the room enough for the gargoyle to see Elisa was uncovered,
and her legs were spread wide... She was... masturbating. Demona
blinked at the screen in shock for a moment. At the sound of another
ragged moan a deep blush rose in the gargoyle’s cheeks.
Demona gritted her teeth as she viewed the unexpected display.
So the detective was pleasuring herself… probably replaying a fantasy about
Goliath. She now knew that Goliath had never mated with the detective,
but that was only a matter of time. Even though she no longer wanted
him for herself, it still angered her that this human female had stolen her
mate after Demona had waited for a thousand years for his return. This
human warped the clan’s thoughts. Blue talons cut into the palm of
her hand, almost painfully, but without drawing blood.
The next noise to come from Elisa’s room stunned the gargoyle completely.
“Demona…” Elisa cried out her name.
“What...?!” Demona’s jaw dropped at the sound of her name on the police
woman's lips. She placed her hands on the desk, the reports she’d been
reading fell to the ground unnoticed.
She watched, unblinking as Elisa continued to move on the bed, writhing in
carnal need. Demona did not notice how her own breath grew labored
as she watched the detective remove her panties. As the human reached
down to touch herself with both hands, the moans coming from that room were
becoming louder... more desperate. A soft moan echoed from the gargoyle’s
throat as the image of Elisa seeking her sexual relief burned into her memory.
Demona trembled, trying to deny the effect the sight was having on her.
Over the centuries, the gargoyle had seen humans pleasure themselves before,
but it had never made her feel like... this. She shifted restlessly,
unhappily aware of the heated throbbing in her sex as she watched Elisa's
hips arch upwards as she achieved release...
“Demona..." Elisa sobbed out as she came
Demona stared unbelieving… Her name? Not Goliath's... She realized
her own breathing had become as harshly labored as Elisa’s had been.
The detective… wanted her? Impossible.
Demona was still staring at the screen when Elisa sighed and rolled over
to try and sleep. The gargoyle licked her lips, her mouth was dry.
She shook herself, as if waking from a trance, and flinched as she realized
how deeply the detective's unknowing exhibition had affected her. The
intense ache of her own sex drew her troubled attention.... No!
She was _not_ going to give in to this... perverse need! Elisa was
a human! Shaking, Demona reached down to pick up the report she dropped,
prepared to go on as if she had not just witnessed... as if she had seen
nothing.
After finishing one page of the report she realized that she couldn’t concentrate
enough to work. She set the report down absently and stared at the
desk. Despite her resolve, her mind began to replay the scene she’d
just witnessed. How could Elisa be fantasizing about _her_? Those
sounds the detective had made... the way she’d called out… "Demona..."
A whimper curled in the back of the gargoyle's throat, her body responding
to the memory of the detective's cry of release. Then her eyes blazed
red. “No...!” Demona grabbed her report and left the surveillance
room quickly, almost slamming the door behind her, but stopping herself,
because she didn’t want to draw Elisa’s attention.
Demona moved to lie on her bed and tried once again to concentrate on finishing
her report. She needed to have this done before she went to work in
the morning. After struggling through two more pages she growled.
“Dammit!” The throbbing ache of her sex was too insistent to continue
to ignore it. If she wanted to get her work done, she was going to
have to take care of it somehow. The gargoyle entertained the idea
of a cold shower... and dismissed it. She knew her own body well enough
to know a shower would do little good. She was too much in need.
She faced that truth with a reluctant sigh. It would take less time
and energy to take care of it the usual way, than to try and get rid of it
with a deluge of freezing water.
Demona tossed the report onto the night table and slowly lifted the loincloth
out of the way. Her breath released in a gasp of shock as she touched
her now naked sex. She was so wet... At the first experimental
stroke, pleasure jolted through her senses. She started to rub over
the sensitive nub of her clit with short rapid strokes, determined to have
a quick release so she could get back to her neglected work. That blasted
human had proven to be far too distracting. More than Demona
had ever anticipated.
“Ohhhh...” Demona groaned aloud as her body tensed in anticipation.
She was so close… Rubbing harder, the gargoyle tried to bring
herself to orgasm, only to growl out in pained frustration as she realized
it just wasn’t... enough. Something was missing... what?
In a haze of need, she remembered how Elisa had fingered herself, penetrating
her wetness with those long, thrusting human fingers... the way Elisa
had writhed in pleasure as she fucked herself on Demona's guest bed.
Demona moaned at the memory, knowing her talons made that form of release
impossible... unless… Thought became action, and Demona’s tail snaked
its way up her leg. Panting, she guided the tip to her entrance, and
pushed it inside her waiting sex. “Uhhh...” She moaned loudly.
It had been so long since anything had been inside of her. She'd forgotten
how good it felt. Quickly she started a thrusting rhythm with her tail.
Pushing in and pulling out. Her legs started to shake and her wings
fluttered helplessly as she remained on the edge of release she so desperately
needed.
“Yessss…” Demona moaned out as spasms of pleasure overtook her body.
Limp in the afterglow, she lay sprawled across her bed staring up at the
ceiling trying not to think... and failing. She wanted to deny it with
every fiber of her being, but the fact was unmistakable. It had been
the memory of Elisa breathlessly groaning out her name that finally sent
her over the edge.
"Shit.” She cursed softly to herself, as the realization of just who
she'd been thinking of the entire time finally sank past her disbelief.
***
Elisa shifted restlessly in her sleep, dreaming of red hair and wings.
The light perfume of sex kissed the air as the police detective moaned softly,
one hand still nestled between her bare thighs...
Chapter 14
by Selene
Elisa was not a happy camper. After a restless night, she'd woken early
so she could ride to work with De... Dominique, in the morning.
After the glide, the police woman thought the gargoyle had been prepared
to be cooperative with the investigation, and even if Dominique was reluctant,
that she'd keep her "body guard" close by. But when the dark haired
detective had gone downstairs, Dominique had already gone. At first
Elisa couldn't believe the red haired executive had simply ditched her, but
a hasty search of the mansion had confirmed that the police woman had been
left behind.
Then she'd found the note pinned on the outside of her bed room door.
She'd missed it when she gotten up, and might have overlooked it completely
if she hadn't gone back to her room to change into her regular working clothes.
If Dominique Destine wasn't going to work her on this case, Elisa was more
than willing to play bad cop and haul the red head into the station for obstruction
of justice! She knew she couldn't make a charge stick, and Captain
Chavez would tear her a new one for pulling a stunt like that with a civilian
who was "volunteering" to help on an investigation... But it would
have been worth it for the sweet satisfaction of Dominique's fury at being
treated like a common criminal. A common _human_ criminal, dragged
away from her precious facade of respectability, and more importantly her
busy work schedule.
Elisa felt her fingers twitch as she imagined slapping the cuffs on a set
of delicate wrists...
But the note dashed her pleasant fantasy, bringing her back to reality with
a thud.
"Detective Maza,
I have contacted your Captain and requested that Matt Bluestone replace you.
He's agreed to meet me at Nightstone to discuss this matter, and I am leaving
early to take care of this before my normal workday starts. We just
have too much unpleasant history together. This business with you being
with me constantly isn't going to work. I'm sure Detective Bluestone
will be a better choice for this arrangement.
Don't bother coming to the office today."
It was signed with a scrawled D that seemed to mock Elisa as she crumpled
the note into a ball and tossed it at the fare end of the hall. What
was that female thinking?! If Matt had been a possible substitute,
he'd already be in place as Dominique Destine's new assistant. Now,
even if Matt wasn't already tied up with overseeing the entire operation,
which included more likely targets than the oh so great Dominique Destine,
Elisa had already established her cover with Nightstone Unlimited, and the
change of personnel would be risky at best, potentially endangering the entire
operation.
Not show up at the office? Elisa smiled grimly. She'd be there
all right... With bells on.
Going back into her temporary bedroom, Elisa reached into the clothes closet.
Bypassing the red leather jacket and simple black t-shirt and jeans she'd
originally planned to change into, the detective pulled out and entirely
different ensemble. What she was wearing was practically the same kind
of office tart outfit as yesterday's, but it simply wouldn't do for what
Elisa had in mind. No. It was far too _tame_.
Dominique Destine was about to get a very rude wake up call on what it meant
to have Elisa Maza as her personal bodyguard.
***
"I'm sorry Miss Destine, but officer Maza is the only person who can take
this assignment. You can't risk another detective besides Elisa or
myself being with you during the night, and even if I were not in charge
of this investigation, my face is well known now that I'm the head of the
Gargoyle's task force." Matt's well reasoned argument was not going
over well with the red haired, green eyed woman glaring at him from behind
her mahogany desk.
"It's Elisa, or it's no one. " Matt stated again, putting the firmness of
his federal training into his voice, "And no one is _not _ an option.
Not unless you want the higher ups in the NYPD wondering why you are so against
cooperating with the investigation. You'd be inviting suspicion about
any hidden motive you might have for not wanting a police detective observing
you so closely. If you refuse to work with the NYPD, Miss Destine,
then officers might be assigned to investigate you instead of offering protection."
The last statement made those brilliant green eyes narrow dangerously.
"Are you threatening me, Detective Bluestone?" Dominique Destine's voice
held a glacial menace.
"I'm warning you, Miss Destine, of some of the consequences of your actions."
Matt's voice held an answering note of heated steel. Dominique Destine
wasn't the only red head in the room, and he was fast losing patience with
the temperamental female who'd summoned him to a meeting with an imperious
attitude and caustic tongue. "Listen, I know you and Elisa have...
problems... dealing with each other. But you are the one who asked
for her in the first place. You know, as uncomfortable as this is for
everyone, that it's the best of a bad lot of choices. I don't know
what it is that has caused you to try and change horses midstream, but is
it really worth the risks you will be taking? What could have been
so terrible that you are running scared after one night with Elisa?"
"Scared?!" The furious fire in Dominique's eyes made Matt reconsider his
ill chosen words, but the detective in him had caught the startled, guilty
flash in the piercing green gaze before the anger rushed to mask it.
Yeah. Red here was running scared about something. But what?
He knew his partner Elisa could be a handful to deal with sometimes, but
what had she done that warranted this woman... this gargoyle... to get all
worked up over?
Chapter 15
By Luna and Selene
Elisa was halfway to the NightStone building when she began to calm down,
and started to have second thoughts about her plan of attack. The cabbie
was a sun weathered man, old enough to be her father, but that didn't keep
him from leering at her in his mirror. She sighed and pulled the black
jacket of her suit shut over the whisper sheer red silk of her top.
This time she had dared to go bra less, knowing that even the sexy
black lace bra she had considered would be too concealing. Only the
velvety soft black jacket provided enough cover to keep her from being arrested.
Buttoned to the top, the neckline of the rich cloth plunged low enough that
the police woman still skirted the edge of pure exhibitionism. The
effect was as subtle as a brick. The dark v-neck drew the eye to the
sweet valley between the policewoman's breasts, clearly evident through the
transparent blouse. If she loosened even one button, letting the jacket
fall open even a fraction more... A heated blush rose in Elisa's cheeks.
Just beneath the dangerously low edge of the black velvet, she could feel
her the soft tips of her breasts tighten with embarrassment. Her flush
deepened as she realized her now hardened nipples jutted visibly even through
the jacket.
Oh god... What had she been thinking? Unbidden, her memory of the last
night pulled at her thoughts. Had she really masturbated while thinking
of... Demona? It was those damned sexy sounds the gargoyle had made
during that back rub. God, it would be enough to make anyone hot and
bothered. It didn't really mean anything. Besides, Elisa tried
to reason the night away, she'd been very stressed since starting this assignment.
Stress made you do crazy things sometimes. The police woman had always
been overly sensitive when Demona was involved with things. Hey,
hadn't the blue skinned female tried to kill Elisa more than once?
She probably be still at it if it weren't for Angela.
Since the incident with the Hunters, Demona hadn't pulled any more grand
plays at destroying all humanity. Elisa knew it was in part, because
the gargoyle was trying to establish a relationship with her daughter.
But mostly, as the entire clan had concluded, because there were only so
many spells and magic artifacts that could achieve Demona's blood thirsty
goal, and they were few and far between. So while ever suspicious,
no one was too surprised when Demona seemed to be focusing all her time and
energy on building up her Dominique Destine identity, and her company NightStone
Unlimited. The gargoyle was immortal. She could afford to wait.
Elisa envied her a little. Despite all the pain and misery Demona had
no doubt caused and suffered, she was now an extremely rich and powerful
woman. While she may claim to despise all humanity, the gargoyle had
not hesitated to exploit all opportunities that her daytime human form could
provide her. She almost had it all...wealth, power, immortality
and... beauty...
A shiver went through the police woman at that last thought. Yes, no
matter how much Elisa wanted to ignore it, there was no denying that Demona
was beautiful. As a human or as a gargoyle, she was all sleek flesh
and tender curves. The allure of both her forms was not lost on anyone
who saw her... even a certain New York cop who should bloody well know better.
So Demona was beautiful, the police woman could admit that... grudgingly.
Too bad she was a complete and utter bitch. No, even if Elisa had succumbed
to a moment of madness the night before, she wasn't going to blow it up into
a big deal. It was just one of those things. A little bit of
sexual fantasy that had gotten away from her. Nothing to worry about.
Not even worth thinking about.
When the cab pulled up to the imposing office building Elisa firmly pushed
the whole incident from her mind. She had a job to do. Elisa
got out quickly, before her nerve could break. She would not go cringing
away like a whipped dog, running home with it's tail between it's legs.
She _could_ do this. Slipping her hand into her jacket pocket, she
felt the crumpled paper of the note she'd taken with her. She had retrieved
it, and smoothed out the offending message before leaving Dominique's house.
Her eyes hardened. That arrogant, high handed red haired female had
this coming to her, every bit of it. Taking a deep breath, she went
towards the building with a deliberate, sexy sway in her walk.
More than one passerby did a double take when catching sight of the raven
haired woman. One man was so busy staring he walked into a hot pretzel
vendor's wagon, nearly knocking over the cart. Ordinarily this would
have earned the hapless pedestrian a major New York bawling out by the street
vendor, but the guy manning the fast food stand was too busy standing slack
jawed after Elisa as she disappeared into NightStone.
"Oh man... Did you see that?" the vendor breathed, turning to the guy
who'd crashed into his cart.
"Sometimes it good to be alive." Brendon agreed with a grateful sigh.
***
Elisa almost called it quits as she saw her full reflection in the mirror
gloss of the polished elevator doors. She'd forgotten how the short
black skirt that matched her jacket was slit up the sides. While it
gave her a greater range of movement than the skirt she'd worn yesterday,
despite being just as short, it also revealed more leg than her other skirt
had. A lot more. Or maybe it was just that her legs seemed to
go on forever because of the smoky fishnet stockings that ended in a set
of four inch spiked heels. The detective stared at her image, and felt
her mouth go bone dry. These clothes weren't a statement. They
were an order to commit carnal havoc.
In contrast to the clothes, she'd worn her hair pulled back in a tight, almost
severe bun, held in place with a pair of jet pins. But one tug, and
her waist length black hair would cascade down in a dark, silken waterfall.
She was hoping to do that at some properly staged moment. And while
she didn't usually use a lot of make-up, today she'd used every trick she
knew to enhance her natural, sultry beauty. Kohl added mystery to her
eyes, a touch of shimmering creme brought out the luster of her dark, golden
complexion, and rich, dark red gloss made her lips full and pouty.
Her dark eyes were wide as they studied her reflection over the black edged
frames of her unnecessary glasses. If yesterday's look had said, "look
at me!", today it screamed... Elisa dragged her thoughts away from
what her outfit was saying.
"I can still go home." she muttered to herself, then the elevator doors opened
and Elisa found herself blushing under the amazed stare of her partner.
Elisa had figured that Matt would be gone by now. She got out and walked
around him without a word. She knew he couldn't have agreed to Demona's
demands, so as far as she knew, she was still under cover. She clung
to that excuse as she refused to look back to see if he managed to pull his
jaw back off the floor.
Matt stared after his partner in disbelief. He hadn't thought it was
possible, but that outfit was far more revealing than the ones Demona had
purchased to embarrass her. What the hell was she doing?!
As he stood there dumb struck, a passing office worker joined him in watching
Elisa walk down the hall. “I hear that’s Ms. Destine’s… personal assistant…
if you know what I mean.” the innuendo in the man's voice was thick
enough to cut.
Matt dragged his attention from Elisa's retreating backside to turn to the
man who was still leering after Elisa. As the gossipy office worker's
words sank in, the police detective blinked in shock. Is that what
Elisa was up to? Letting the people at NightStone think she was the
boss's afternoon delight? Shaking his head, Matt got into the elevator.
He hadn't realized his partner had such a diabolic streak. No wonder Demona
wanted to get rid of her! He'd laugh, if it weren't obviously pushing
the temperamental gargoyle to the edge of her rope. He hoped Elisa
knew what she was doing. If she didn't, his partner might find this
dangerous game of hers backfiring in a big way. Matt groaned silently.
Might backfire? If he knew anything, it was that If you had to
play with fire, you'd better _expect_ getting burned.
***
Dominique was silently fuming in her office. Scared!? How dare
he! She was not scared by any human, much less that... that harlot
detective!
A sharp knock on the door drew the redhead’s attention to it, and the dark
haired woman leaning with a lazy, seductive grace against the door frame.
Fury nearly made her choke. She'd told the human to stay away!
It took a long moment for the enraged executive to calm down enough to finally
focus on what Elisa was wearing. Green eyes went wide with scandalized
shock. Did the human have _no_ shame?! Elisa could have come
to the office stripped naked and not have been as provocative. At that
thought, her mind abruptly flashed on the image of the same woman spread
out on the bed, exposed in the most intimate manner, and moaning out
_her_ name... Demona growled under her breath, trying to banish the
images from her head.
“So, I see you decided to come in anyhow.” She said flatly while staring
with cold anger into Elisa’s eyes.
Elisa stalked over to the imposing executive desk with a slow, suggestive
sway in her hips. The detective let the tip of her tongue wet her lips,
drawing attention to their moist pout. She was obviously playing up
her character, which was enough to make Dominique wary. But there was
also something... different in today's act. When Maza spoke,
the breathy, sex kitten voice had gotten smokier, heated.
“Oh, Ms. Destine I am so sorry that I'm late to work.” Elisa's pure
brass left the executive momentarily speechless.
When the dark haired detective leaned forward Dominique couldn't keep from
glancing through the sheer scarlet that did nothing to conceal the detective's
offered cleavage. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks at the
deliberate, blatant display. She pulled her eyes away and looked up
into Elisa's all too smug face. The detective's soft, pouting lips
pulled back into an unmistakable, taunting smirk. The red head’s green
eyes narrowed as the latest game the detective was playing became painfully
clear. Did the human think she had the upper hand? Elisa Maza
was forgetting something very important. She had made the mistake of
choosing NightStone as the field for battle. But when all was said
and done, Nightstone _belonged_ to Dominique Destine, right down to it's
foundation. This was _her_ home ground.
The detective was due to be reminded of this. Dominique allowed an
answering smirk to cross her own lips, and noted the flicker of uncertainty
on Elisa’s face. It would serve the wretched female right if she were
sent on errands all over the building, exposing her to the stares of her
fellow humans. Her indecent outfit would start to embarrass her, eventually.
But the detective would cause more trouble than such petty revenge was worth
if she did that. For the good of her own reputation, Dominique needed
to keep Elisa away from as many people as possible. Which meant the
good detective would spend the rest of the day where she could do the least
harm... right here. And if Dominique was stuck with this human, then
the very least she could do was find the most tedious and menial tasks possible
to keep the human busy. A little continuous boredom, and Elisa would
learn her place all the sooner.
***
Elisa took the latest, terminally boring report that Dominique assigned her
to go over and sat down at her desk. The burning glare that Candace
kept turning in her direction irritated the detective, but she just gave
that woman a sunny, if vacant smile in return. The police woman took
consolation in the fact that Candace had nearly fainted in apoplectic shock
when she'd come in and found Elisa dressed in her latest, most revealing
ensemble, and already elbow deep in reports. The hatchet faced
harridan obviously knew the reports Elisa was stuck with amounted to "busy
work" and had nothing to do with the real operation of the company.
The detective could almost see the wheels turning in the secretary's head.
Slut outfit plus fake work equaled... Elisa smoothed out the frown
that had crept up on her unawares. She didn't really care what the
scandalized secretary thought. But she was going out of her mind with
monotonous, meaningless "work". It was time to show Dominique Destine
that deliberately trying to bore her to death wasn't a good idea. In
fact, the more bored Elisa got, the more dangerous it made her.
***
As the detective knocked on her door for the third time in just the last
half hour, Dominique’s grip tightened on her pen to the point her fingers
went white. Elisa was working overtime at being disruptive. It
was clear last night's apology from the human was patently false. If
the black haired bitch was really sorry for the misery her mere presence
caused, why was she doing this? Dominique wanted to scream in frustration.
The morning was almost completely gone, and she hadn't managed to do half
the work she usually was able to . How long was Elisa planning to punish
her for trying to get the detective off this case? So she'd left the
house without her bodyguard. The very idea was laughable. Or
would be if she were not STUCK with the increasingly annoying Elisa Maza.
Was the police woman like this every time someone did something she didn't
like? Dammit!!! If Elisa couldn't sit quietly in the area outside
the office, there was no help for it, but to keep her _in_ the office.
“Elisa, I have some filing that needs to be done in here.” Dominique's
words were clipped, but she hid her anger as best she could, and she avoided
looking Candace, in the eye. Even without looking, she could feel the
old human woman's stare. Damn, even her own secretary thought...
It didn't matter. Even if she had to fire half the NightStone staff,
she wasn't going to let this petty farce ruin what had taken so much time
and energy for her to create. Maza owed her for this planned out affront
and Dominique _would_ collect.
The CEO's inner office was now littered with random files, scattered far
and wide, almost as if someone had simply grabbed a huge pile and thrown
them about. Well, not quite thrown. Dominique had actually placed
them with careful care. If detective Maza was going to act like a stereotypical
office tease, then Dominique was going to treat her accordingly. The
redhead had gone through her files and pulled out as many as she could afford
to let the police woman see, making sure that Elisa would have to bend down
and the reach up several times to get it them all taken care of.
Looking over the deliberately created chaos, the red haired woman pushed
aside the nagging doubt at the back of her mind. The police woman was
all but _forcing_ her to resort to this form of... discipline. It was...
necessary. This was the third time Elisa had found a lame excuse to
come in here and interrupt the executive's working rhythm. Each time,
the dark haired woman had managed to parade herself around the office in
a blatantly provocative manner that totally destroyed Dominique's concentration.
It wasn't even ten yet! Dominique was now willing to do whatever it
took to win this... end this odd battle of wills. If Elisa was forced
to keep up the act non-stop, it should get it out of the detective’s system
so that Dominique could actually get some work done today. At least,
that was the plan.
Dominique stepped aside and watched Elisa enter the office with that entirely
too suggestive sway, and let her eyes rove slowly over the detective.
By the time she got to Elisa's face, there was a definite red flush to the
police woman's complexion. Elisa wasn't the only who could play things
up. The red haired executive smiled, letting appreciative heat into
her green eyes.
"You are looking... very attractive today Elisa."
Elisa blinked at the throaty pleasure in the other woman's voice. The
usual annoyance was missing from Dominique's face. Instead, there was
something different. Something... interested?
"Please, begin your task. But there is no need to hurry, so take your
time." the red haired woman gestured to the scattered files. "I'll be watching
to... evaluate your performance."
Elisa's eyes narrowed at the last. Was Demona mocking her? Well
if it was a performance the gargoyle wanted. Then it was a performance
she'd get. With a low, deep sigh, the police detective answered the
smirking executive.
"Whatever you want, Miss Destine. I will do my very best to... please
you."
Dominique felt her fair skin flush at the affectionate warmth Elisa managed
to turn on like a light. How did she do that? Well she wasn't
going to let it get to her. Today, Elisa would be the uncomfortable
one.
"I have really high standards Elisa. But I'm sure you will rise to
the occasion and fully meet... my needs." Dominique agreed, enjoying the
widening of the detective's dark eyes at the purring suggestion in her voice,
"Shall we begin?"
Chapter 16
By Luna and Selene
As she moved towards the nearest pile of folders, Elisa couldn't help but
notice the way Dominique sat in her chair. The red haired executive
lounged casually in the padded leather, the seat tilting back as she studied
the undercover police woman with an air of indulgent superiority. If
she didn't know better, the detective could have sworn the gleam in those
emerald eyes that watched so closely held... lust? Was that how the
woman wanted to play this game? To try and turn the tables back upon
Elisa by being the stereotypical lecherous boss to her sexy secretary charade?
Did the Nightstone executive think Elisa would chicken out if Dominique played
along?
Before reaching for the folders, Elisa let out a soft, obviously staged cry
of dismay, then made a show of re-adjusting one of her stockings. Slowly
she ran her hands along the sheer, smokey fishnet, as if to straighten the
sexy material. The silk under her hands was an unexpected delight.
The sensuous texture sent a shiver of pleasure through the detective as her
palms skimmed up the surface, enjoying the seductive feel of the fabric.
As if not aware of the intent gaze fastened on her every move, Elisa pushed
the dangerously short skirt up just a fraction higher, enough to reveal the
edge of a black lace garter that held her stocking in place.
As she carefully fiddled with the lace and silk, Elisa couldn't help but
hold her breath. She couldn't let the skirt go up _too_ high, but she
flirted with the possibility just enough to fascinate anyone watching her.
If Dominique wanted a show Elisa was prepared to give her a doozy.
She glanced at her audience from half lowered eyelids, the thick, dark fringe
of her lashes veiling her gaze as she let the tip of her tongue travel over
her lips, wetting them to a moist, provocative pout. A wicked smile
curved those lips as she saw how Dominique's almost mesmerized gaze was focused
on her mouth. Pretending that she didn't notice how the red head was
staring, Elisa bent over to adjust the other stocking.
Dominique shifted in the leather seat, leaning further back while she watched
Elisa's show. The detective had obviously missed her calling.
Maza had a promising future in the field of soft core pornography.
The display would have shamed a burlesque dancer, with it's blatant seduction.
Who would have thought? The tee-shirts and jeans the policewoman normally
wore hadn't prepared the executive for the pure sensuality Elisa was able
to project when her wrappings changed.
Watching the human's dark, graceful fingers glide slowly up her long legs
sent a strange shiver through Dominique, and she bit her lower lip as she
concentrated on projecting a properly lascivious attitude. It seemed
the good detective was taking her role very seriously. The red head
could almost hear the suggestive music accompanying the police woman's
movements. Slow, smoky jazz, with just a bit of back beat to accentuate
the seduction. Dominique let a suggestive smirk cross her lips as Elisa
glanced towards her once more.
The smoulder in those dark brown eyes made promises that sent another shiver
through watching woman. Elisa was just a little too good at her act.
Dominique could almost believe the police woman _was_ trying to seduce her.
But Elisa didn't know how her show was nothing compared to the unknowing
exhibition she'd given just the night before when she... Dominique
hastily stopped that train of thought. The last thing she needed to
have on her mind was how the detective, wantonly spread across the bedsheets,
had moaned out her true name while in the throes of self pleasure.
Despite how it had seemed, she could not believe that Elisa really was interested
in her in _that_ way...
The police woman smiled at the rising flush on the executive's face.
She was glad to see some proof that her act was beginning to get to the other
woman. Elisa glanced around, as if trying to figure out where to place
the files that were so out of place. She moved slowly, picking up folders
and searching for a the right cabinet's to put them. She moved with practiced,
sultry leisure. Choosing the filing cabinate farthest from the first
stack, she walked to it with that blatant 'come hither' sway in her hips
that she’d used all morning.
The drawer she needed was the bottom most, so Elisa leaned down, knowing
how it would press her bottom out against the material of her skirt, molding
the dark velvet to the firm roundness as she bent. The hem rose enough
to make the detective just a bit nervous, but she continued to file her folders,
aware of the heated emerald stare that moved over her almost like a physical
touch. Despite herself, Elisa couldn't help a rising heat from creeping
up her neck and face. She was thankful her back was to Demona, and
the other female could not see her unexpected and uncontrollable blush.
Even though Elisa had it all planned out, actually following through on her
sexy secretary scenario was proving to be a little harder than she realized.
She felt flushed, and much too warm for her suit jacket. Elisa bit
her tongue and concentrated on filing until she could feel the red heat in
her face subside.
The CEO ran her eyes appreciatively over the rounded contours of the very
short skirt, and wondered if the hem barely concealing Elisa's private charms
could rise up anymore. The display was positively indecent as it was.
When Elisa glanced back at her, obviously trying to see what effect her show
was having, Dominique decided to show the detective two could play the game
as easily as one. She wet her lips, returning Elisa's seductive look
with a smile of deliberately lustful appreciation, and nodded for the dark
haired woman to continue. The startled look in those brown eyes was
quickly concealed, but it was enough to let Dominique know she had something
in choosing this form of counter attack. It was an unconventional form
of discipline, to play along with Elisa's seductive tease, but it would be
well worth the effort if it worked. She doubted that human could keep this
act up for much longer before the effort of performing continuously took
it's toll.
Elisa looked at the files in her arms briefly before walking over to another
set of file cabinets. She put a bit of strut in her sexy sway, and
saw that Dominique recognized the challenge in her movement. These
cabinets were closer to her audience of one, and as Elisa bent forward at
the hips, she was partly facing the watching executive. The jacket
over her indecent, almost invisible blouse, fell slightly, revealing more
of the detective’s cleavage. She turned slightly so the watching CEO
had a decent view down the valley of the her partially revealed breasts.
If the show had been for a man, Elisa knew this display would have been particularly
effective in getting his lustful attention. For her female audience,
the policewoman was hoping the obvious, over the top teasing would irritate
and annoy the red haired woman. How much could Demona put up with before
her temper broke through? The gargoyle would learn that Elisa had never
lost a game of chicken in her life.
Dominique was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable with this game, but she
steeled her nerve and continued to watch Elisa, putting both hunger
and heat into her eyes as she continued to observe with a slightly wicked
smile. Without a bra, each movement the detective made caused the soft
roundness of her breasts to swing gently, like tender fruit on the vine,
she seemed ripe for the picking. Demona bit her tongue behind her mock
smile. The policewoman was lucky she wasn't trying her wiles out on
a man. The blatant invitation she was making would have had much more
dire consequences if it were for one of the males of her own species.
Human men were half in rut all the time, a show like Elisa's would have her
quickly pressed against the wall with that mockery of a skirt rucked up high
enough so...
The red haired executive hastily pushed away the suddenly disturbing image
forming in her mind. She felt her breathing become unsteady.
The odd tingle playing through her body was distracting. She had to
concentrate on her ultimate goal in this strange charade. She could
tell Elisa was starting to feel like the high priced harlot that she was
playing. Dominique hadn't missed one single blush, one nervous twitch.
The detective might think she could hide her reaction to being continuously
stared at, but the subtle nuances of the police woman's body language gave
her away. But Dominique wanted more than a just blush or two.
For all the trouble the human detective had caused her? She wanted
to see Elisa _squirm_.
Elisa wondered if Dominique had adjusted the office's thermostat. Was
it really supposed to be this warm in here? She felt herself beginning
to perspire. Her jacket only made it even warmer, but she wasn’t sure
if she was feeling quite brave enough to remove it just yet. She actually
could… feel… Dominique’s eyes on her. She’d never had anyone stare
at her so intensely, for so long, the way the redhead was doing. Elisa
moved so that she was again giving the CEO a good view down her blouse as
she filed the next stack. The red head was apparently trying to up
the stakes, as she turned an expression of now blatant desire towards the
detective. It was a look Elisa had never seen on the gargoyle before,
in either of her forms. She felt another flush come to her face at
the lascivious scrutiny, and was embarrassed to find that her nipples were
hardening as they rubbed against the fabric of her whisper thin blouse.
She glanced up and caught the superior, knowing leer on the watching woman's
moist cherry red lips.
The flush of embarrassment gave way to a sudden anger. The arrogance
of that woman was unbelievable! Elisa could tell Dominique was actually
enjoying this now. It irritated Elisa that the executive seemed to
think she was in control of the situation. All that high handed female
had to do was simply sit, stare, and smile while Elisa performed. The
detective could tell it was going to take a lot more than a few cleavage
shots to truly unsettle the gargoyle's all too smug human form. For
a moment, the detective's anger momentarily overcame her natural inhibitions.
Not wanting to examine her motivations too closely, Elisa pushed the little
voice of cool reason in the back of her head into a closet, and shut the
door.
"It's so warm in here." Elisa let her voice go breathy and low, almost husky
as she looked directly into Dominique’s widening eyes, and slowly... began
to unbutton the jacket. It was gratifying to see a hint of alarm in
the emerald gaze as with each loosened fastening, more and more of Elisa's
sheer blouse was uncovered.
As she reached the last button, the police detective felt her mouth go dry.
Suddenly she wasn't as keen about this tactic as she had been at the beginning.
But it was too late to turn back now. She licked her lips nervously, hoping
it looked more suggestive than... shy. Her flash of anger had faded
during the slow, partial strip tease, and she wasn't sure if she could really
go through with actually taking off the jacket. Deciding at the last
moment that being only partially exposed would be more provocative, Elisa
let an evil smile play over her lips as she left the jacket on, but hanging
open.
Elisa was relieved to see her act hadn't been in vain. Now it was her
turn to watch Dominique, as the red head shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Her green eyes seemed drawn almost unwillingly to the revealing gap of the
unbuttoned black velvet jacket. Completely undone, there was nothing
between that incredibly sheer blouse and the watching eye. An unconscious
shrug of her shoulders, and the gap widened, revealing the darkness of Elisa's
hardened nipples, which could be clearly seen against the thin fabric.
An embarrassed shiver ran through the detective as she realized how much
she was actually showing, which only caused the peaks of her breasts to become
even more prominent. Despite her feeling of indecent exposure, the
slightly strangled gasp from the red head, though quickly covered, gave Elisa
a moment of sweet triumph as she turned away, returning to her filing.
The slightly gloating feeling lasted until Elisa became aware of a light,
heated throbbing between her thighs. All the sexy posturing she had
been doing all morning was beginning to get to her. The detective fought
not to squirm as the shocking realization sank in, followed by an unexpected
concern. She’d opted to not wear any underwear with this outfit, because
of the slit along the side running too high for any of the pairs she’d brought
with her to the mansion. Now she regretted the omission as she felt
the dampness of her unexpected arousal coating her sex and thighs.
Elisa was glad her face was turned away from Dominique, so the intently watching
woman could not see the detective's wince at this discovery. It wasn't
helping that she could almost feel Dominique’s eyes caressing her body, leaving
her skin to tingle. She had never noticed the redhead do so much as
blink while watching, the emerald gaze unwavering as it absorbed her every
move. She _had_ noticed the way Dominique would play with her pen,
the way it would dip between those red lips suggestively as she ran it across
her mouth slowly, as if in deep thought. Elisa had the feeling that
it wasn’t an act, Dominique was just naturally that seductive. Elisa's
stance shifted as she realized those kind of thoughts were only making matters
worse. Focus on the plan detective, she admonished herself silently,
focus on the plan.
***
The rest of the filing had been almost torturous as Elisa managed to keep
up the seductive performance, but had also become more and more aware of
her body's treacherous response to the play acting. There was just
the one pile left, and Elisa was relieved. This was far more...
charged... than she’d been prepared for. She slowly walked over to
Dominique’s desk, and felt her mouth going dry once more. Those emerald
eyes seemed to burn into her as she approached. During some point in
the two hours that Elisa had been working in the office, the redhead had
removed her own jacket, leaving the executive in her tasteful, short sleeved
blouse of crisp white linen.
As Elisa walked over to the side of the desk to pick up the final group of
files, she whispered as sexily and breathlessly as she could. “I hope
I’m meeting your expectations Ms. Destine.”
She could see from this close that Dominique had an almost glowing pink flush
to her fair skin, and her breathing was slightly labored for someone who'd
only been sitting and watching someone else work. Impulsively, Elisa
moved as closely as she could and ran her hand along Dominique’s bare arm
while she reached for the files. She could feel the redhead shiver
at her touch, and as much as she would like to, Elisa couldn’t deny that
she enjoyed knowing her touch affected Dominique like that.
“Is there anything else I can do to… please you?” Elisa leaned forward
as she whispered gently into the redhead’s ear, blowing on it ever so lightly.
Elisa had no idea what devil made her push it that far, but she could tell
she'd crossed an important, invisible line as Dominique shoved her chair
back with enough force to knock it against the back wall. Elisa's breath
caught in the back of her throat as she was caught by the furious blaze in
the other woman's emerald eyes. She knew that she'd finally broken
through Dominique's self control. She had pierced the other woman's
pretense first, and won their battle of nerve. What should have been
a moment of triumph became a sudden sinking feeling in the detective's stomach,
as she abruptly wondered if winning was worth the price she was about to
pay...
Chapter 17
by Selene
"You really have no shame, do you?" Dominique's word came out with a harsh
rasp, but she managed to keep her voice quiet through sheer force of will.
She didn't need enraged shouts coming from her office to add to the rumor
mill that Elisa had already fed so much with her careless tart act.
Green eyes narrowed dangerously as the police woman let her doe brown eyes
widen in false shock.
"Why, Miss Destine, I don't know what you mean..." The detective's lips remained
parted to say more, but the words died as the red haired executive stepped
forward with such an aura of menace that Elisa moved back without thinking,
until she could feel the edge of the desk press against the backs of her
thighs, and realized she couldn't back away anymore. There was no choice
then but to hold her ground against the furious woman who faced her.
She knew the red head was terribly upset with her, but expected Dominique
to stop advancing. There just wasn't much farther she could go without
bumping into Elisa.
She didn't stop.
Instead Elisa had to lean back as the red head continued to move forward,
until she was resting her hands flat on the desk on either side of the suddenly
breathless detective.
"You, Elisa Maza are determined to torment me, aren't you?" Dominique's words
held a hard, cold edge, but her eyes were fever bright as she deliberately
pressed her knee between Elisa's thighs and nudged them open, and leaned
her face dangerously close to the detective's.
"W.. what are you doing?" There was real shock in Elisa's voice now.
"Demona... I..."
"Did you think I'd simply sit back and take it?" These words came in an angry
whisper so close, Elisa could feel the warmth of the other woman's breath
against her ear. The red haired woman's voice was no longer cold, but
strangely heated, sending a quiver of alarm through the trapped detective.
"Did you think you could bait me, and not get bitten?"
Elisa tensed as she felt the sharp edge of teeth fasten on her earlobe and
tug with surprising gentleness. Her pulse began to pound as she felt
the knee between her thighs press up, forcing them even wider apart. "No...
" her protest was weak even to her own ears, "This is... we...
can't..." Surely this wasn't happening! Elisa felt her breath
quicken and she gasped in disbelief as she felt the other woman place a warm
hand on the inside of her thigh... and begin to slide upwards... A
soft moan of dismay escaped the detective as the slick evidence of her arousal
was discovered...
Dominique felt a profound shock travel through her entire body as her fingertips
found the erotic slickness. She'd only meant to give Elisa a small
scare, to show the undercover cop that she could only be pushed so far before
she started pushing back, hard. It had all been play acting... hadn't
it? Surely the policewoman's sexy come on hadn't been for real...
had it? Slowly she traced the damp trail to it's source, listening
to the panting breath of the detective grow harder, faster.
Mortified that the other woman had found her wet, Elisa bit her lip and closed
her eyes as she felt Dominique's hand continued to move under her skirt.
The pounding of her blood roared in her ears. No... this was...
She should stop this... do something... anything to... no...
no...
Yes....
Her eyes fluttered opened as Dominique's fingers slid home. Elisa gasped
as she felt them thrust into her tight, wet heat.
"Is this what you wanted, detective?" Dominique's voice was half a growl
as she stroked the dark haired woman in the most intimate way, "Do you like
me touching you? Like you touched me?"
"No... I didn't mean to... " Elisa was finding it hard to breath... hard
to think... "It was... an accident."
"An accident?" Dominique pressed harder... "Detective, I think you are lying
to to me." ... deeper... "That would be a mistake."
Elisa fought the urge to press hard against Dominique's hand, to reveal how
close she was to... She searched the room desperately for something
to focus on, to ground herself before she... Elisa blinked and stared
at the office doorway ... the opening doorway! Her startled bleat
alerted the red head who quickly stepped back from Elisa just as Candace
came in with their lunch from a nearby deli. The secretary stopped
and stared, until Elisa blushing furiously, remembered that her open jacket
left her all but naked from the waist up.
"Ms. Destine?" the question in Candace's voice spoke volumes.
"No lunch, thank you Candace. Miss Maza and I will be... eating out
today." Dominique Destine's voice was cool and unruffled as she dismissed
her secretary, "In fact, cancel all my afternoon appointments. We may
not be coming back to the office until tomorrow."
"Yes Ms. Destine." Candace left quickly, but not before shooting a
look at Elisa, who was buttoning her jacket closed again, that would peel
off paint.
"I believe we have some business to take care of... in a more private setting."
The false calm that Dominique had managed in front of her secretary was a
little ragged around the edges when she was left alone with the dark haired
police woman. Elisa was staring at her with wide, genuinely startled
eyes... still dark with unsatisfied need. The red haired woman said
nothing more as she quickly retrieved her own suit jacket, and avoided looking
directly at the human as she headed out of the office, sure the police woman
would follow, out of duty if nothing else.
Now that the moment was past, a great sense of unease settled over the red
haired executive. But the thing disturbing Dominique Destine was not
the dark haired detective's frustrated arousal... but her own.
Chapter 18
By Luna and Selene
Candace picked up her tray in the company cafeteria and followed her friend
to the table. The other woman had an absolutely scandalized expression
as they slid into their chairs. The secretary for the head of Nightstone's
accounting department leaned over her almost forgotten lunch to exclaim “I
can’t believe it!”
Aware she had the other secretary's full, fascinated attention, Candace took
a deep breath and continued to dish on her boss. “It’s true Sarah.
They were having sex right on Ms. Destine’s desk. I walked right in
and caught them.”
Glancing around the cafeteria, Candace’s voice lowered as she realized she’d
spoken a little too loudly. She moved closer to Sarah and continued.
“It’s bad enough she’s acting in such an unprofessional manner, having sex
in her office like that, she should have the decency to lock the damned door!"
"Are you sure you weren't mistaken?" the accounting secretary's voice was
skeptical, but her eyes were bright with interest. This was the juciest
thing she'd heard in months. Heck, probably ever. No one at Nightstone
knew anything about the private life of their company's owner and chief executive
officer. She was incredibly private, and now finally the reason why
was being revealed by her own personal secretary. There just couldn't
be a more reliable source than the woman giving out all the shocking details!
"Elisa was practically naked, and leaning back on the desk. It was
so obvious that she’d been busy... working." The insinuation in Candace's
tone was unmistakable, "I can’t believe Ms. Destine would have such bad taste!
Have you ever seen Elisa? She’s just a step above a street whore.
I swear, she dresses like she’s filming a porno. It's disgraceful!
And on top of that, she seems to be as stupid as a brick!”
“I can’t believe Ms. Destine is having sex with a woman!" Sarah picked
at her salad as she asked about another rumor she'd heard from a guy in the
mail room. "Is it true that she found this… Elisa… working at a strip
club? I can't believe Ms. Destine hired her for the personal assistant
job.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if that slut was a stripper.” Candace's
voice was tight with contempt, "And now that I think of it, this isn't the
first time Ms. Destine has hired someone with... dubious qualities.
Remember that other "personal assistant"? The blonde one with those
unbelievably short skirts? I checked out her resume after she disappeared,
and it was completely bogus. Now it's clear she was just another of
the boss's cheap tarts. Masters in Business Affairs from Sorbonne my
fanny, Mistress of Bedroom Affairs is more like it."
"Your kidding! She was sleeping with Robyn Correy too?" Sarah's mouth
hung open as Candace stood up, needing to get back to the office. She
had a lot of work to do, especially since the slut hadn't done any _real_
work before going off with Ms. Destine.
"And who knows who else?" the executive secretary sniffed in disapproval,
"I've always thought there was something off about Ms. Destine. Now
it's clear she's a as queer as they come. She's French you know.
Probably involved in one of those menageries."
"You mean Menage a' Trois?" Sarah corrected the other woman, and earned a
sharp look for her trouble, "But that would mean three people. You
think they are...?"
"Hmph... I wouldn't put it past them to be out there right now looking
for another play mate." Candace's lips thinned, "It's just positively indecent!"
As Candace left the cafeteria, the attractive blonde who'd been unnoticed
in the table behind them watched with a speculative gleam in her cornflower
blue eyes. She waited a few moments before moving to dump her tray
and leave as well. As she passed, Sarah was already talking to a small
knot of people who'd gathered around the table that the executive secretary
had vacated.
Her heart pounding like a child's on Christmas morning, Sarah was eager to
share her precious gossip....
*******
Owen Burnett replaced the phone on it's cradle with a thoughtful look on
his normally dead pan face. The information was a bit out of the ordinary.
Not the normal business intelligence that was most often passed on, but he
didn't doubt his employer, David Xanatos, would want to hear about this new
development as soon as possible. He found the billionaire industrialist
sitting in his private office working.
“Sir, I have just spoken with Ms. Bolton at Nightstone. Apparently
some rumors you may find... interesting... are racing through the entire
company” Owen spoke from the open doorway.
As Xanatos waved his right hand man into the office, a somewhat harried Fox
slipped in behind. She had come to discuss the latest P.I.T. event
she was hosting, and wanted to make absolutely sure that her husband would
be able to attend. Many of the people paying five hundred dollars a
plate were doing so not for the key speakers, but for the chance to run into
the wealthiest, most powerful man in New York, David Xanatos. Those
who weren't out to try and make a business connection with her husband, would
be there to glimpse the man notorious for his rumored connections to the
gargoyles.
She watched curiously as Owen leaned down to speak quietly in her husband's
ear. Her interest peaked when she saw his dark eyes widen in rare surprise,
and the sly, wicked grin slowly spread across his face.
"Care to share? I could use a smile right now." Fox asked as she sauntered
over to her husband, enjoying the way his eyes roved over her in obvious
appreciation. Even after a baby, Fox's figure had not lost even a fraction
of her battle ready sleekness. The benefit of a daily regime of training.
It kept the fire haired ex-mercenary as well honed as any weapon, one as
beautiful as she was deadly.
“Owen was just making me aware of a piece of intelligence on Nightstone Unlimited.
Or more precisely, on it's owner." David's lazy smile warmed her right to
the core, "You won’t believe what Demona is up to now.”
Fox arched an eyebrow in inquiry. David didn't usually draw out an
explanation like he was doing now, unless it was a particularly... intriguing.
"Another plan to wipe humanity from the face of the Earth?" she guessed,
"She's always been a bit one tracked in getting rid of humans."
"Quite the opposite. Apparently she's hired a new personal assistant."
David's grin grew even wider.
"And this is news because...?" Fox drew up beside her husband, and leaned
back so that she was half sitting on his desk as he finally revealed his
juicy tidbit.
"She was caught naked in her office having sex with this new… female… employee.”
David's laugh was a throaty sound as rich and dark as sin, "If rumor is to
be believed, it was practically an orgy."
Fox’s eyes widened as she stared at David. Then her lips curled into
a wicked smile. “Are you sure about this? She’s having sex with
a _human_ female? Do we know anything about this personal assistant?”
“No, no real information about her. Yet." The regret in David's voice
was genuine. "Owen?"
"There are a lot of rumors in place, but nothing solid, sir.” The blonde
man pushed his glasses back on his nose, and appeared to be in a moment of
thought. "But it seems this woman was hired about the same time Ms.
Destine released a press statement that her company will be giving sponsorship
to the People for Interspecies Tolerance. If there is some connection
between the two, it would be an explanation why should she should suddenly
support an organization she's previously shown considerable antagonism towards."
Inspiration lit up Fox's eyes, and mischief made them sparkle. “Maybe we
should invite Ms. Destine and her new lover to the P.I.T. luncheon.”
***
As Maria Chavez stepped out of her office her gaze swept over Elisa’s empty
desk before noticing Matt. He’d been pulling double shifts since taking
over the current special investigation, and was in the police station both
day and night coordinating information and manpower. Chavez blinked
at the blaze of color the sun made from his hair. She still wasn't
used to seeing the red haired detective during the day. She'd almost
forgotten what his partner, Maza, looked like in natural sunlight.
“Bluestone, I want to talk with you… in my office.”
Matt sighed softly. There wasn’t any progress in finding the killer,
and it looked like Chavez wanted another updated report. He hated to
come to her empty handed.. Detective Bluestone followed his captain
into the office and shut the door behind them. “Captain…”
“How did your meeting with Dominique Destine go?” Maria cut to the
chase, her jade green eyes bored into his blue ones as she took a sip of
her coffee.
Matt tried not to wince. He didn’t want to let the captain know about
Elisa’s private vendetta, or how the detective seemed to be trying to single
handedly ruin the Nightstone CEO’s reputation. He tried to answer with
simple, misleading truths, and hoped his captain wouldn't dig below the surface.
“Ms. Destine is just uncomfortable with the lack of privacy. She’s
not used to having people in her home. Once I explained how necessary
that was, and how the other victims were found in their own homes, she understood
why we couldn’t just let her continue to live alone right now.”
Maria’s lips twitched into a small smirk, “Oh, I thought it could have had
something to do with the rather creative cover that Elisa has chosen.
It is a brilliant way to explain why she stays at the Destine Manor.”
The captain’s voice dropped, as if they could be overheard even though the
door was closed. “Ms. Destine was a real bitch on the phone when I
told her we were assigning a detective to her full time. Although I
really can’t approve of Detective Maza’s… unique choice of covers, I hope
she’s enjoying putting that pompous CEO in her place.”
“How did you…?” Matt stared at his captain, shocked that she could
know about any of this.
Maria smiled, “I have a friend that who is an accountant at Nightstone.
I didn’t let her know about the case, but she had a very interesting story
to tell about her boss. Rumors really do fly around that building.”
Matt returned his captain's smile with a weak grin of his own. He hoped
Elisa's payback was worth what she was setting herself up for.
***
Elisa stared blindly out the car's side window. She didn't want to
look at the red haired woman driving. She was far too embarrassed to
glance over even to see what Demona was doing. Despite her effort to
keep her mind blank, flashes of memory made her stomach flutter, and something
lower ache... She could still feel the sweet invasion of the redhead’s
long, slender fingers pushing inside her. The dark haired woman closed
her eyes and bit back a gusty sigh. It had felt so good to be touched
like that... even by _her_.
It frightened Elisa. Her worst enemy had touched her intimately...
sexually. And heaven help her, Elisa had liked it. If that bitch
Candace hadn’t come in when she did, Elisa would have completely surrendered.
The undercover detective knew she could have stopped it at any time, but
instead she had passively allowed Demona run her hands up… Elisa squeezed
her eyes shut as the throbbing of her sex became more persistent. She
had to try to think of something else.
The awkward silence in the car was making Elisa even more tense, but she
didn’t know what to do or say. She felt completely out of control,
and she hated it. Demona now knew that Elisa wanted her. The
wetness the redhead had found while touching her was more than enough evidence.
Elisa couldn’t even deny it to herself anymore.
Dominique absently rubbed the tip of her nose, and was startled when she
realized that she could smell Elisa’s scent on her hand. She hadn’t
taken the time to wash the human’s scent off as she marched out of the office,
with Elisa in tow. It… wasn’t an unpleasant smell. Without thinking
she inhaled a little more deeply, then blinked in shock. What was she
doing? When she’d left the office, she had fully intended to take the
detective home and... ravish her? A sensual shudder ran through her
human body.
It was wrong, so wrong... But that sexy show that Elisa had put on...
the helpless, panting breath and telling gasp as Dominique had slipped her
fingers inside of the detectives slick, tight wet heat. Even
the memory of those throaty moans and how Elisa had called out _that_ name
while pleasuring herself only last night, all had Demona to the point where
she could hardly think about what she was doing. But now… now she realized
that she had been prepared to have sex with that HUMAN. It was an appalling
thought, yet her body still ached with frustrated need, because of the constant
teasing the detective had subjected her to.
Dominique pulled up to her main gate and keyed in the security code.
Elisa had been very quiet the entire trip from Nightstone to the the mansion.
She glanced over at her and could see a slightly dazed, and pained expression
on the detective’s face. Elisa’s eyes met hers for a moment, then quickly
turned away. A burn of color swept over her dark, high boned cheeks,
as the detective shut her eyes tightly, as if trying to block out some intense
emotion. Dominique dragged her attention away from the police woman
once the black, metal gate slid back. Dominique drove inside and realized
that she had no idea what she was going to do once they were behind closed
doors. She felt completely out of control, and she hated that.
But this situation couldn't continue unresolved. She had to deal with
the detective, and this strange physical attraction that was affecting them
both so strongly. They had to get this animal lust out of their systems.
Whatever it took...
Chapter 19
by Selene
As the front door clicked shut, Elisa gathered her resolve, and felt a familiar
sense of determination settle over her. She been far too passive when
Dominique had... touched her. That was a tactical mistake in so many
ways, the police detective couldn't begin to count them. Elisa was
there to catch a killer, and she couldn't do that if she allowed the person
she was supposed to "protect" to take... control.
"Elisa... " Dominique was the first to speak, but Elisa quickly cut her off.
"Call me Detective Maza." Her voice held a sharp, crisp tone of authority,
"It's best if we don't become too... familiar."
The pair of emerald green eyes watching the suddenly stiff and formal police
woman widened in shock. Familiar? What the hell did the human
think they had been that afternoon, if not "familiar". _Detective Maza_
couldn't possibly think they could pretend it hadn't happened. Could
she?
"I take full blame for the... regrettable encounter in your office, Ms. Destine."
Elisa kept going, forcing out the words and steadfastly ignoring the heated
blush that gave her dark skin the same hue as the fine red cedar furnishings
that graced the living room, "I let our personal differences push me into
acting in a totally unprofessional manner. I apologize for that."
Her color deepened, both in embarrassment and anger at herself for having
to make such an apology, "It won't happen again."
"Detective Maza?" The tense, irritated tone of the red haired woman's voice
forced Elisa to look up into a pair of equally annoyed green eyes.
Her breath caught as she realized how close Dominique had gotten while she'd
been talking.
"Ms. Destine?" Elisa clung to her new resolve to treat the other woman like
any other person she was supposed to be giving police protection to.
A resolve that faltered as the red haired woman casually reached out and
began to undo the buttons of Elisa's clothes.
"You talk to much. Humans would be much easier to tolerate if they
could simply keep their mouths shut." Dominique's voice held a cool, conversational
quality that put Elisa off guard as much as the fact the female executive
was quickly, and efficiently undressing her.
"What are you doing!?" Elisa's voice came out as a strangled squawk, and
she grabbed her jacket closed just as the last button came undone, "I said
I was sorry! Okay? I know I went too far today." She began to
back away, "We _both_ did. There's no reason to keep playing this game..."
"I'm not playing, Detective Maza." Dominique's voice held an iron determination.
"And this has gone far beyond childish games. Stop talking nonsense
and take those clothes off before I'm forced to strip them off of you."
"What?!" Elisa was sure she couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You can't
be serious! I... No... You win. Is that what you wanted
to hear? You WIN, game over!"
"I win?" Dominique's voice held a pleased note.
"... Yes." Elisa said it through gritted teeth, realizing that the other
woman had been putting on an act to get back at her all along. Her
emotions were a confusion of relief and... disappointment?
"Then I think I'll unwrap my prize now." the red head's voice dropped into
a dangerous purr as she closed the distance between them again and pushed
the jacket down from Elisa's shoulders, leaving the police woman exposed
in the transparent top. Only the detectives hand clutching the lower
part of the jacket kept it from falling to the floor.
Elisa took another step back, and felt the hard flat surface of the wall
press coldly behind her nearly naked back. The unexpected halt to her
retreat sent a strange shiver through her that had nothing to do with the
temperature. She was trapped. Her heart began to hammer madly
as Dominique pressed herself closer, her head leaning forward until their
lips were only a breath apart.
"Did you think mere words would work this time? Do you really want
them too?" the words came softly, the warmth of them caressing Elisa's mouth
and slipping between her lips. "I don't think you do. Am I right Detective
Maza?"
The unbelievable closeness of those soft, red lips made Elisa's senses swim.
This couldn't be happening. Dominique was just playing with her.
She'd wrung a concession of victory from her hated human foe, and was rubbing
the police woman's face in it. That was all. The red head knew
Elisa could kick her human form's butt in a straight, hand to hand fight,
so she was getting her licks in on a different battleground. Elisa
remembered that noon time combat not so long ago. Dark eyes fluttered
shut as the memory of the knock down, drag out battle with Demona in her
human form melted into the more recent, sensual memory of Dominique's fingers
stroking into her...
Elisa shivered again, torn between the threatening eroticism of the past
moment, and the present. After what had happened in the office at Nightstone,
Demona probably expected Elisa to push her away, to tuck tail and run scared...
She was just bluffing...
The kiss was sweet, soft and gentle... Definitely not a bluff.
Elisa moaned, her mouth opening under the unexpected tenderness, and felt
the kiss become possessive... harder... hungry... The jacket, forgotten,
fell to the ground as the police woman's hands reached out to push the other
woman away... Elisa found herself clinging to Demona, her arms wrapping
around the other woman to pull her closer. Gentleness faded into more
heated, demanding kisses that Elisa surrendered to with a whimper of confused
desire. The arousal she'd felt from the beginning burned through her
denials, leaving her feverish with want. She felt herself kissing back
with a fierceness that Demona accepted greedily. The red haired woman
had shrugged out of her own suit jacket and was on her way to disposing of
Elisa's whisper thin blouse and skimpy skirt when the persistent buzzing
for the main gate finally cut through the haze of need clouding Elisa's thoughts.
The red haired woman ignored the steady buzzing, too intent on baring Elisa
to the skin to bother with whoever was trying to gain entry. Elisa
wished she could do the same, but her deeply ingrained sense of duty kicked
in and she pulled away with a cry of frustration wrung from her very soul.
Chapter 20
By Luna and Selene
Owen buzzed from the gate yet again. They did not have Demona’s home
number, but since the luncheon was tomorrow, Mrs. Xanatos was very adamant
that this invitation be delivered today. He'd tried to get ahold of
her at Nightstone, and found, surprisingly, that Dominique Destine had already
left for the day. A fact he found curious, as Xanatos's man of business
knew that the gargoyle's in her human identity was practically-a-work a holic.
He began to wonder whether she was home or not, and if so _why_ she'd gone
there so early... when Demona’s strangely breathless voice came through the
intercom in a hostile growl.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT!”
One eyebrow rose in surprise at the unexpected volume, if not the tone, as
Owen addressed her via the intercom. “I am here to invite you, and
a guest, to the P.I.T. Luncheon that Mrs. Xanatos is hosting. She apologizes
for the short notice, but she is hoping for an immediate response.”
“You can tell that…” Demona started angrily, but then Owen could hear the
interruption of another voice in the background. Not loud enough for
him to catch what was being said, but it did confirm the fact that Ms. Destine
had a house guest. The intercom cut off for a moment, and Owen stood
stiffly, waiting for the reply. Demona finally spoke, her voice curiously
cold and flat, “Fine, I’ll…” another pause and a more irritated tone crept
into her voice, “WE’LL… be there. Leave the details with my secretary.
I’m sure you have THAT number.” The connection clicked shut with a
certain finality.
Once Owen got into the back of the limo he pulled out his cell phone, a small
smirk crossed his lips. “She accepted… for two.”
***
Elisa hurriedly pulled her barely there shirt back into place and picked
up her jacket as the irate business woman accepted the invitation.
She buttoned up the jacket with shaky hands. She had work to do, but
she could still the feel the heat of the other woman's lips on her own.
A small whimper curled in her throat as the memory of what had nearly happened
just a few minutes ago hit her. She couldn't remember ever being kissed
with such... passion. Hot and cold chills chased through her in the
aftermath of the encounter, but she forced her thoughts back to her assignment,
and her body straightened up perceptibly as she pulled out her cell phone.
She tried to ignore the very unprofessional impulse to just ignore the need
to call in this latest development so that she could continue… continue...
Elisa paled as she realized how badly she wanted to continue _kissing Demona_
When Dominique turned away from the intercom, she found the detective once
more completely dressed and on the phone. Her hands clenched.
She really should kill that damned Fey for interrupting! Xanatos couldn't
have sent his lackey at a more inopportune time. Scowling, she stood
there for a moment watching the policewoman’s stiff back. The heated,
precarious moment had been destroyed by the unexpected interruption, almost
as if it had never happened. But she hadn't imagined it. She'd
given into the temporary madness of her desires and kissed that...
that... human!
And Elisa had kissed back. Dominique's fingertips trailed softly over
her lips.
She hadn't been able to stop herself. Even before Elisa's ridiculously
formal little speech, Demona knew that she somehow had to regain control
of the situation. She'd finally come to the conclusion that there was
nothing else to be done but to fully satisfy the uncomfortable physical craving
she felt for her human nemesis. Demona consoled herself that Elisa
would be just as shaken by the consequences of her dangerous game of teasing.
She had every intention now of taking the human detective and satisfying
the burning heat that was driving her to madness. Satisfy it... and
be done with it's incessant distraction.
Elisa's wide eyed shock when Demona responded to her sexual teasing had shown
how much the police woman was out of her depth. But the
dark haired woman's arousal was... unmistakable. Demona felt her breathing
quicken again at the memory of finding the slick proof of the human's desire
in the office. No matter what kind of weak protests fell from her lips,
Elisa's body had made it clear that she wanted... wanted... Demona
had felt the dark haired woman surrendering her passion as they kissed only
moments ago. She'd even begun to undress the human... If Owen
hadn't interrupted, she would have... But now it was all ruined!
Demona grabbed her own jacket off the ground and stormed out of the room,
to change into something more comfortable. The detective would probably
be on the phone for a while. Damn Him!
***
It took Elisa a long time to get Matt to answer the phone. He must
have been really busy. She used that time to try and calm her desires
so that she could work. They then had to brainstorm for security at
the event. By the time she was able to hang up with her partner she
was extremely hungry. They’d… missed lunch. She blushed as she
remembered that Candace had brought them something to eat… at just the wrong
moment. Luckily she’d seen the door opening, or that bitch of a secretary
would have seen something more than… oh... Elisa cursed softly under her
breath. Candace had probably seen her breasts through that tissue thin
shirt. Biting her lip in embarrassment, she knew the secretary had
been scandalized yet again. This would make working at Nightstone even
more difficult.
Elisa was still blushing slightly at the memory of her exposure in Dominique's
office as she walked into the kitchen. When she saw the red haired
business woman looking up at her from her seat at the kitchen island her
blush intensified. With a deep breath she slipped back into her detective
persona and let her body stiffened up a little.
“Matt is going to make sure that the Luncheon has enough security, and he’s
going to attend as a guest.” She made her report with a crisp, impersonal
voice. A feeling of relief washed over her as the red haired woman
merely nodded, her face unreadable.
Elisa hesitated a moment, her voice wavered a little, as she continued to
look at the woman preparing lunch. “I… Demona…” She wanted to
ask about the kiss.
Had Demona been serious? Or had it been some sort of... trick?
But the words stuck in her throat. She just couldn’t do it. As
the red haired woman looked at her questioningly, Elisa chickened out.
“Do you need any help with lunch?”
Elisa wasn't used to losing her nerve. But the whole situation had
her off balance. Of course it had to be just a game to the gargoyle!
Demona had finally found a way to get back at Elisa for all the teasing and
taunting the police woman had indulged in since they had been roped into
being together. Elisa knew how much the human hating gargoyle despised
her. Those kisses... Those touches... Another hot blush
swept over her. They were just an act. A very bold and shocking...
act.
Weren't they? Elisa looked over at the red haired woman, a sudden,
weightless feeling fluttered through her as the other woman's green eyes
swept over her thoughtfully. Could it be that Demona did want her?
A helpless, sinking feeling made Elisa drop her eyes as she came to an uncomfortable
realization.
She wanted the gargoyle to want her.
***
Demona sat back in the kitchen chair and silently watched the dark haired
woman washing the dishes. Even though there was a perfectly good dishwasher,
the police detective was doing them by hand. The gargoyle knew some
people found the mindless labor, with it's quiet, repetitive motions soothing.
Perhaps Elisa felt she needed something to calm her nerves. Lunch had
been a tense and awkward affair. The few words they'd exchanged had
been about the investigation… even though so much else needed to be discussed.
As Elisa bent forward to reach for more soap, she seemed unaware how her
short skirt rode up indecently high, showing Demona a hint of bare nether
cheek.
Soft, caramel dark skin... like the skin that she had caressed in her office.
Silky skin, unprotected by any barrier of cloth. Skin she'd been able
to touch so... intimately. Demona shifted in her seat, eyes narrowing.
She had wanted to deal with this uncomfortable attraction earlier.
If it weren't for these blasted interruptions... She had to get it
out of her system, so that she attention wouldn't be so helplessly distracted
by Elisa’s teasing movements. The detective wasn’t even trying to be
seductive now, but that outfit had a mind of its own. Demona licked
her lips and watched as the skirt slowly slid up on its own, revealing more
of the gentle curves of Elisa’s ass... and the shadowed softness between
her legs.
The red head's breath caught in her throat as a whiff of the human's tantalizing
personal scent came to her. She'd waited long enough. Demona
quietly got up from her seat and walked up behind Elisa. What little
relief she’d managed to achieve with her own hands while the detective was
on the phone wasn’t enough. She leaned in very close to Elisa’s back,
and could feel the detective stiffen in surprise as she leaned her head down
and trailed a kiss along the dark haired woman’s neck. This… ache…
needed to be dealt with. Her hands sought out and found the buttons
to Elisa’s jacket. She needed relief... now. There were not going
to be any more distractions, she needed… a slight growl escaped her lips
as her teeth gently nipped at Elisa’s bared neck.
The last button came loose, and she pulled Elisa’s hips back into her and
started to rub against the detective.
“Demona, no.” Elisa said breathlessly. “Don’t, not like this.”
"No?" Demona's voice was a husky whisper, hot against Elisa's skin
as the red head tasted the caramel brown sweetness of the police woman's
flesh, "How then? How do you want me to take you, Elisa?"
"Take... me?" Elisa's voice rose in soft panic, as she realized exactly what
she was being asked, "I... wait... we can't... "
"No more waiting." Demona's voice was a seductive growl, "Spread your legs
for me, detective."
"What? no..." Elisa protested the lewd command, but her thighs parted
helplessly when the other woman's hand pressed between them, seeking the
warm, silky heat that lay there. Her words trailed off into a low moan
as long, slender fingers gently stroked and teased beneath the short skirt.
"Yes, just like I remembered, "The purring voice teased cruelly as Demona
slowly moved her attentions to the center of Elisa's excited flesh,"wet and
ready." Crying out wordlessly, the dark haired policewoman braced herself
against the sink as she felt her knees weaken as the fluttering touches became
an intimate intrusion. "And so very tight."
Elisa felt the intimate touch slip away, and bit back a groan of disappointment.
"Okay... you've had your... fun. Are you done now?" Her voice was unsteady,
but she turned to meet the watchful, green eyed stare of the woman still
pressed closely against her.
"Done?" Demona's laugh was an amused purr as she raised a damp finger tip
to her lips and delicately licked away the gleaming wetness.
Elisa's breathing quickened as she realized that the red haired woman was
tasting the clear dew of her arousal.
"My dear detective, we've hardly begun."
The words sent a confusing mix of emotions flooding through the policewoman.
Shock... apprehension... and absolutely maddening arousal. Elisa
was shamefully excited when Demona leaned forward and kissed her hard and
demandingly. She could taste herself on the other woman's lips.
A soft whimper escaped her throat, as the kiss softened just slightly, but
became much more possessive. A hot, honey sweet lassitude swept her
senses. Elisa knew she should push the other woman away. Even
if they weren't long time enemies, Elisa should have put a stop to Demona's
advances out of the simple fact that she was supposed to be on duty.
Somehow, her assignment didn't seem as important as the heated, passionate
kiss that seemed to go on forever. The hands that had touched her so
intimately were moving over her body, each exploring caress leaving a heated
trail of excitement that seemed to burn into Elisa. There was a rough
urgency in Demona's touch, and the policewoman responded to it explosively.
When Demona's searching hands moved to the darker woman's breasts, cupping
the roundness and teasing the hardening tips to erect, swollen nubs.
Elisa nearly collapsed. Gasping she pulled back from the hungry kisses,
and when their lips parted, Elisa tried to speak, only to lose her words
in a wanton moan as Demona's hot, wet mouth moved down to suck at her through
the thinness of the barely there blouse. Teeth grazed one of the detective's
tender, dark mocha nipple as fingers again sought the heated slickness between
the detective's parted thighs, and Elisa became dimly aware of a breathless
pleading as the mouth tormenting her breasts moved even farther down as her
skirt was pushed aside, exposing the soft springy curls of her sex.
"Please... please... oh god... please... "
Elisa's words dissolved into a soft wail as Demona kissed her most intimate
flesh. Kissed her hard, and deeply, as if to devour the detective in
a single swallow...
***
Officer Morgan buzzed the gate again, wondering why it was taking so long
for someone to answer. Captain Chavez had him out here in plain clothes
as Elisa's back up, and he was happy to have another chance to prove himself
since the Tony Dracon case. With the way things were going, he'd have
his permanent detective's badge and could kiss his work uniform a fond farewell.
He hoped Elisa would be happy to see him. Some detectives didn't like
their jurisdiction being stepped on, even at the insistence of the higher
ups. Fortunately he knew Elisa, and that she wasn't a grand stander
like some of the others. Elisa was a good egg. Even if this Dominique
Destine was the super bitch rumor reported she was, it was still worth being
on the case to work with Detective Maza.
Or it would be, If someone would just answer the gate. Morgan leaned
on the buzzer, and just kept his hand there, hoping that someone would notice
that there was a vistor waiting outside.
***
Elisa's breathing was an erotic sobbing as she felt Demona's tongue ease
into her, lapping strongly and deeply in the vulnerable sex, coaxing out
more of the policewoman's honeyed juices. The dark haired detective
felt like cotton candy, dissolving into the red head's hot, hungry mouth.
Only her white knuckled grip on the sink's edge kept her upright. She
could feel the hot soapy water behind her soaking through the transparent
top, plastering the material to her back. The jacket was already a
casualty on the floor, a black puddle of cloth that Demona's knees rested
on as the red head suckled urgently at Elisa's juicy, intimate flesh.
It was as if the other woman had been starved for the taste of her, and was
frantic to have her fill before something else interrupted them again...
As if the thought conjured the deed, the intruding sound of the gate buzzer
grated through Elisa's awareness like a saw raggedly cutting through her
sanity.
"No! No, no, no, no, NOOOOO!!!"
The howl of frustrated rage could have come from her own throat, but it was
the furious red head, green eyes blazing that was roaring her displeasure
at yet another disturbance to... Elisa's gasped in sudden realization
of just how far she'd let herself be compromised. Weakly, she dragged
her thighs together, pushing down the skirt that had provided no obstacle
to Demona's roving hands and hungry mouth. Covering her sex did not
stop the steady throb of want that Elisa felt with her every heart beat.
She felt dizzy, drunk with the need for Demona's touch... her fingers...
her mouth... The ache for completion made her want to scream.
"I'm going to rip the heart out of whoever that is." the red head's growl
was a portent of doom for whoever was on the other end of that relentless
buzzing.
The pure threat burning in Demona's emerald gaze abruptly sobered Elisa.
Though her flesh still trembled with want, she forced steel into her voice
and faced the other woman down.
"You will do no such thing. Get a grip on yourself Demona. If
I can, you can." The cold, almost ruthless speech surprised herself almost
as much as it did the red head who now stared at her, anger at the unknown
person at the gate momentarily forgotten.
Something in the green eyes watching her almost made Elisa waver. Could
that be... hurt? She wondered if she merely imagined the flash of vulnerability
as Demona stalked away her spine ramrod straight, and her face as calm and
cold as carved marble. "Don't worry Detective Maza. I won't kill
anyone. Yet. I'll see to whoever is at the gate.
You should go get some clothes on."
The red head's clipped, controlled voice did not fill Elisa with confidence,
but it was probably the best she could hope for. Reaching for her abandoned
jacket, Elisa winced as she realized she should have changed out of the all
too revealing outfit the moment they had returned to the mansion. Damn.
She hesitated at the kitchen entrance, looking back at Demona for a last
moment.
"You need to... wash your face." She managed to say evenly, before turning
and leaving the room.
Chapter 21
By Luna and Selene
Elisa sighed heavily as she looked out the kitchen window, her troubled gaze
swept over the trees on Demona’s property. The female gargoyle had
chosen a really beautiful area to live in. The sun would be going down
soon, Elisa could see the red and pink in the sky as it slowly sunk below
the horizon. Since the gargoyles had entered her life, sunset had become
the favorite part of the policewoman's day, but the usual pleasure she took
in the beauty was disturbed by an overwhelming concern. Officer Morgan
was still here.
The red haired business woman had spent the entire afternoon ranting loudly
and stubbornly into the phone at the Captain, Matt, anyone at the department
that answered when she called. She'd done that repeatedly, demanding
that Elisa's new and unexpected back up be reassigned somewhere else immediately.
Elisa had barely managed to make the redhead understand that she couldn't
just kick Morgan out of the house, that they needed to go through the proper
channels or it would be even more trouble for them. Demona, still furious,
had given in to Elisa's reasoning, but she hadn't liked it one bit.
The detective could still feel the burning glare in the other woman's green
eyes before she'd stalked off and left Elisa alone to deal with getting her
fellow officer removed.
If it had been any other person under police protection, she would have made
it clear that at least two officers on a protection detail was procedure,
and made them live with it. But this was Demona, and nobody was more
anxious than Elisa to get the other police officer off this case. She
pushed down the guilt and embarrassment she felt at Morgan's complete bafflement
at his less than stellar greeting. She couldn't even pretend to support
his being there, at the risk of setting off Demona and pushing her into some
drastic, and possibly dangerous move. She didn't want to take any chances
with her friend's safety, and had told Demona right in front of Morgan how
to get the officer reassigned. The stunned look in his dark, staring
eyes made her feel like she'd just kicked a puppy.
Elisa was grateful she was able to make the phone calls needed to get the
wheels rolling for Morgan's reassignment in the privacy of her room.
At least Morgan wouldn't have to know just how actively she was trying to
get him off the case. She knew the street cop looked up to her a little,
and didn't want to ruin their friendship... but he just _couldn’t_ stay here!
She'd practically pleaded for Captain Chavez to take him away. It took
all of her control to not sound desperate, to sound like it was a normal,
reasonable request. She used the unconventional nature of her cover
as an excuse, and combined it with the extreme reluctance of Ms. Destine
to let any strangers in her home. She'd painted Demona as almost irrationally
paranoid, and nearly ready to chuck both herself and Morgan off the property,
and pointed out how much they needed the business woman's cooperation.
Chavez was reluctant to let Dominique Destine call the shots, but there was
little the police captain could do if they pushed the executive too far.
Elisa had swallowed her pride, and offered her captain a face saving excuse
for giving in to an arrogant civilian's demands. She blushed an intense
red as she told Chavez she'd set herself up as Ms. Destine’s lover, and having
another person in the house would throw doubt on her own cover. Elisa
had stressed the common knowledge of how private Ms. Destine was about her
personal life. It was common gossip that the wealthy owner of Nightstone
didn't even allow servants to live on her estate. Elisa argued that
it would raise unnecessary suspicion if more than the eccentric CEO’s lover
would suddenly be staying in her private residence.
She'd bit back a huge sigh of relief when Maria Chavez had finally agreed
to pull Morgan out... then stifled a groan when the captain told her he wouldn't
be able to be taken off the case until morning. With personnel as tight
as it was for this operation, High Ups had pulled strings to get another
officer on protection detail for Ms. Destine. Perhaps they thought
they were doing her a favor, or maybe Dominique had just managed to tick
someone off who knew she didn't want _any_ police protection, but whatever
their motives, it would take until morning for Chavez to undo all the finagling
that had gotten Morgan assigned in the first place. The captain was
going to use maintaining the integrity of Elisa's cover as the official excuse.
Every time they spoke of her cover, the police woman's heated blushes grew
more and more intense. She had been just a moment away from becoming
that lover for real this afternoon. Elisa wasn't sure if what had already
happened could be considered sex. Did it count? She hadn't returned
the burning caresses that had made her so weak with arousal. She'd
only let Demona touch her... kiss her... taste her....
Elisa flushed harder in memory of those very intimate touches. But
could it be counted as sex if she didn't... come? Elisa bit her lip
as the question teased the back of her mind. She hadn't... but only
because they'd been interrupted bare moments before. Hanging up the
phone, the dark haired police woman had shivered, knowing just how close
she had been.
Now, as she tried to get some chores done while waiting for dinner to cook,
Elisa tried to understand how things had gotten so complicated. Originally
her act had just been to annoy the arrogant, human hating gargoyle.
She'd known how much Demona disliked her. The flirting had only been
a way to get some of her own back after seeing how the red haired female
had been setting her up for a humiliating cover. At first, the sexy,
enticing behavior she'd directed at the unsettled and increasingly furious
business woman had just been... harmless revenge. But after the events
of today? Elisa shook her head gently as she started to wash
the dishes that had been abandoned when...
Her breathing hitched as the memory washed over her in a wave of prickling
heat and unfinished need. She'd started the dishes to try and relax,
because it always used to work for her. It wasn't working now.
Standing here, where Demona had started to make love to her, was far from
relaxing. In fact, simply being here filled her with a needy ache.
Memory brought back the phantom soft touch of Demona’s lips on her neck,
the red haired woman's insistent touches as she pressed against Elisa so
intimately... caressing... suckling so hungrily on the policewoman's practically
bare breasts… and it was an effort not whimper her arousal out loud.
But they'd left things unfinished...
Elisa had been tense and needing ever since Morgan's arrival interrupted
them. She hadn't even have time to go take care of her sexual ache
herself, not while she and Demona had been so busy trying to get rid of him.
Now that he was going to be there until morning, and Elisa did no dare let
her body's carnal needs get in the way of her duty to not just to her job,
but to her friend. She had to keep that in mind. She had to!
She shivered despite the unrelenting warmth that still flooded her body.
Oh god...was she always going to become aroused while she did dishes now?
***
Morgan clicked off his cell phone, feeling a confused mixture of relief and
disappointment. He was going to stay the night, because the paperwork
for his reassignment wouldn't be finished until the morning. But he
was leaving tomorrow. He'd leave awhile after the others in the house
went to work. Anyone that might have the house under surveillance at
that point would be watching Ms. Destine, and hopefully wouldn't pay attention
to the night's odd visitor. He hadn't realized that the wealthy business
woman lived totally alone. Being in this big house with just her and
Elisa was... unsettling.
He didn't know what Dominique's Destine's problem was, but that woman was
more of a bitch than he'd really thought possible. She hadn't even
tried to be polite or civil, though it was clearly not his fault he was here.
He was only doing what the brass told him to do, yet the way the redhead
glared at him, it was like he, Leonard Morgan, was the bane of her existence.
He'd walked into something here, but he had no clue as to what. Almost
as soon as he come in the front door of this place he knew something was
off. Elisa hadn't looked him in the eye for the first half hour he
was here. But he had seen the detective blush twice when Ms. Destine
walked past her.
If Elisa had found it hard to look at him, Ms. Destine made up for it with
her furious glares. Her face was so red with anger Morgan had first
thought she might have been sunburned. But there was no mistaking the
hostility in those blazing green eyes. He had the feeling she'd gladly
rip his head off if she had the chance. He'd had to baby sit some hard
cases in his time, so as baffling as the red head's anger was, it wasn't
that which really disturbed Morgan though. It was how Red's temper
seemed to genuinely alarm Elisa. He'd caught the dark haired detective
sending intense, meaningful looks at the redhead. It was as if she
were trying to get a silent message across to Dominique Destine, a message
that Morgan wasn't meant to know about.
Well, one thing that was clear to the unwanted policeman, and that was Elisa
Maza hadn't just met the woman the other day. The way they looked at
each other, and tried to communicate without words, gave Morgan the impression
that Detective Maza and Ms. Destine had some history together. But
maybe he was mistaken? He'd never been on a case quite like this before.
Maybe, just maybe you did get to know the person you were protecting that
well in just two days.
Elisa had been polite to him, unlike Ms. Destine, who had snapped angrily
when he told them why he was there. He hadn't missed the looks on either
woman’s face as he'd explained his presence. He wasn't welcome.
Even Elisa didn't want him on this assignment. The detective never
said anything, but he could tell. He never pegged Elisa as being a
glory hound, one of the cops who'd try to monopolize a high profile case
just to further their personal career. Morgan stood in the kitchen
doorway watching Detective Maza do the dishes. He still didn't think
she was like that. Something was going on here, something... they didn't
want him to see.
Too bad for them Mama Morgan had raised herself such a curious boy.
***
Dominique changed into her night clothes, her anger still apparent in her
ridged back and stiff, movements . There were just minutes before her
change and that... that... that _human male_ was still in her house!
“I can't believe I'm a prisoner in my own bedroom..." She muttered darkly,
"... and these humans are practically invading my home!”
Growling, even though she was still in human form, she went to hang up her
office day clothes. With the new policeman camped in her home for the
night, she was confined to her bedroom until dawn. Much as she'd like
to end her present aggravation with a quick, snapped neck, Demona wasn't
about to harm Officer Morgan unless there was no other choice. Even
if Elisa wasn't hovering over him like a protective hen over her chick, Demona
wasn't stupid enough to kill a cop in her home unless circumstances were
truly desperate. No matter what Maza might think, the gargoyle was
well aware that she couldn't afford to call attention to herself with a policeman's
death or disappearance. Not without jeopardizing her human identity.
And though the detective might not understand it, being Dominique Destine
was important to Demona. More important than she had realized, until
Elisa's oversexed charade at Nightstone had begun to threaten her so carefully
constructed human identity's... reputation. Angrily, Demona pushed
away the memory of what had gone at the office. The damage Elisa had
done there was cosmetic. If Morgan wound up a corpse, or conveniently
missing, it would be more than her reputation on the line.
With mere seconds until the change she turned the volume on her bedroom's
stereo system up to it's maximum setting, planning to drown out any screams
her painful transformation caused. Even with the music going full blast,
she gritted her teeth and prepared to endure the agony as quietly as she
could. She didn't want the human trying to break down her doors in
some stupidly misguided attempt to aid her. Because with Elisa here
or not, she'd _have_ to kill Officer Morgan if he found out her secret.
*******
Elisa knew it was almost time. When the music suddenly blasted from
the upstairs, she _accidentally_ knocked the pots and pans she'd had sitting
on the edge of the counter onto the ground, creating a tremendous clatter
and loud banging clangs as pots crashed against the kitchen's tiled floor.
She'd gone out of her way to dirty that many pans while she cooked.
She'd even pulled out some that were obviously too small for the dishes she
made, dirtied them and then tossed them in the sink for extra effect.
Morgan would think she was a flake as a cook, but that was a small price
to pay for keeping him warm and breathing. Elisa still had no idea
how they were going to deal with this in the morning. Only this morning
Elisa had woken up when Demona changed at sunrise. The agonized cry
echoing through the mansion had the dark haired police woman wincing in sympathy,
but because she knew what it was, Elisa was able to go back to bed.
Dawn would came well before it was time to wake up. ... and Morgan
was a light sleeper.
She was going to have to talk to Demona about how to deal with that.
She wasn't going to suggest Demona just try to keep quiet, not with that
type of pain The fact that Demona went through that twice a day and
still managed to function earned her some grudging respect from the detective.
Morgan came further into the kitchen and started to help her pick up the
items she'd dropped, and Elisa gave the back of his head a slight smile as
she heard the music upstairs get turned off. She and Demona could work
well together if they had to. He never even heard the evening scream.
When dinner was ready Elisa dished up two plates. She was going to
have to serve Demona in her room tonight. Either that or let the gargoyle
go hungry. She decided with Morgan around it was best to keep the gargoyle
as appeased as possible, so that no one got hurt.
“Isn't she coming down to eat?” Morgan asked as Elisa pulled out a
serving tray to take the food upstairs.
Elisa sighed softly. She'd expected questions about Demona’s disappearance
during the night. “She has a lot of work to do tonight if she’s going
to go to the P.I.T. luncheon tomorrow. She prefers to work in her bedroom.”
She added with a bit of a warning in her voice. “She really hates being
disturbed. She can be a real bitch about it.”
"You mean what I've seen so far is her _good_ side?" Morgan asked wryly.
His attempt of humor drew a weak smile from the detective. He in turn
gave her a thoughtful look, “So, you know her well?”
“We met a few years ago. I see her around sometimes, but no… I haven't
really had a chance to get to know her until now. We aren't... friends.”
Elisa answered as she started to put the plates on the tray.
"You plan to eat with her? In her bedroom?" Morgan's questions
startled Elisa. She hadn't even thought about how things might look.
She'd automatically set the tray for two. She fought down a flush,
and hoped her fellow officer didn't see the guilty look in her eyes.
The brass frowned on cops being assigned to protect their own family or close
friends. They believed personal involvement could cloud a cop’s judgment
in a life or death situation, and Elisa agreed with that. Someone protecting
a loved one could get distracted, or trigger happy, and accidents could happen.
If the powers that be thought Detective Maza was too close to Dominique Destine,
that could be trouble down the line. She could get reprimanded for
not mentioning a close, previous relationship or worse... she could get re-assigned.
That would be a complete disaster. Demona wasn't likely to put up with
any other cop for long. Her temper was too volatile. It was too
dangerous... for Demona, for the cop who might find out her secret, and for
the rest of the gargoyles if that secret ever got out. But what really
troubled Elisa was that even if she didn't have such compelling reasons to
bend procedure...
"Yes. Maybe I can... get a lead on the case by talking with her over
dinner. You never know what can help an investigation." Elisa's excuse
sounded lame to herself, but Morgan seemed to accept it, or at least was
willing to pretend he did.
She flashed him a grateful smile before as she put the drinks on the tray
and started out of the kitchen. This strange… relationship… her and
Demona were developing was already affecting her judgment and her ability
to do her job. It was a shock to herself as she realized that she didn't
want to go.... and that some of the reasons she wanted to stay assigned were
entirely... selfish. As she climbed the stairs on her way to
Demona’s bedroom Elisa thought about what was happening between her and Demona.
It wasn't just a game anymore. Demona had started to make love to her.
She wouldn't have gone that far... been that... intimate... Hell, Elisa
forced herself to face the thought full on. Demona wouldn't have gone
down on her simply to annoy her.
The dark haired detective bit her lip, her heart hard and fast as the memory
of Demona on her knees hit her again. She could see the red head kneeling
in front of her, leaning forward and pressing that hungry, wonderful mouth
against Elisa's wet and wanting flesh. The scene had replayed in her
mind all afternoon, even while she had been trying so desperately to get
Morgan out of the way. If he hadn't interrupted them... Elisa
would have let Demona take her right there in the kitchen. She had
_wanted_ Demona to take her. While it was happening, she never once
thought about stopping it. She should have stopped it... but
she'd never even considered pulling away.
Elisa knew she was here to work. She hadn't forgotten the case that
had brought her under Demona's roof in the first place. And she was
still determined to do her job. It was just… becoming harder
to keep that in mind. She was becoming too focused on the strange sexual
attraction that existed between her and Demona now. She knew that she
wasn't paying proper attention to the case. Now, having to be focused
on keeping Demona’s gargoyle nature a secret took even more of her attention
away from where it needed to be. Elisa steeled her inner resolve once
more. She had to overcome these things and bring her mind back on the
case, and the murderer she was trying to catch. There wasn't any other
course of action.
Elisa carefully balanced the tray in one hand. Her waitress days in
college still came in handy once in a while. She knocked firmly and
called out, “It’s me. I brought food.”
The azure skinned gargoyle got up from her place behind her laptop computer
to go unlock the door. When she did, Elisa came in quickly so that
Demona could close it again. She stood by the closed door and watched
as Elisa took the tray of two plates to Demona's bedroom desk and began to
set them out. Elisa had changed into one of the black t-shirts she
seemed to have an endless supply of, and a pair of worn jeans. Apparently
the detective was going casual tonight, with her human cop friend in the
house. But that didn't interest the gargoyle as much as the fact that
the detective would be joining her for dinner. Good. A slightly
wicked smile came to the gargoyle’s lips as she watched Elisa playing waitress.
Elisa had taken that last interruption far too well. Was it that easy for
the detective to ignore her body’s desires? Demona was ready to put
the dark haired woman's self control to the test. The smile grew wider
as Demona remembered everything Elisa had pulled in her Nightstone office.
Elisa would only be getting a taste of her own medicine back. It wouldn't
be revenge exactly... it was... justice.
Demona's tail lashed lazily as she moved to sit across from Elisa and studied
her dinner companion’s light blush. It looked like Elisa wasn't as
composed as the police woman would like to pretend. Just being in the
same room together was giving the police detective a little trouble, and
that couldn't be more perfect. She had humbled herself today, kneeling
before this human, seeking Elisa’s relief, hoping that if she gave enough
Elisa would return the favor. But so far, she saw no attempt by the
detective to be... fair. No advances by the dark haired woman to sooth
the needs she'd so carelessly provoked in another. Elisa had casually
dismissed their near coupling to answer the damned door!
Demona’s eyes flashed red with annoyance. The detective didn't even
have the decency to seem upset about the interruption, and instead scolded
_her_ for showing justified anger. The detective had received rare
attention. Demona didn't hand her caresses out lightly. Elisa
had enjoyed the niceties of sensual fondling and tasted a measure of pleasures
that they should have spent the evening sharing. But without a second
thought she had selfishly left Demona waiting... and wanting. That
was not going to go unpunished.
*******
Elisa swallowed a sigh as she watched Demona do it again. The way the
gargoyle was eating her meal was an almost sinful display of raw sensuality.
No more than pure seduction… and it was working. Elisa couldn't seem
to take her eyes off of the lush, red softness of the female gargoyle's lips
as the tip of Demona’s tongue slid out to lick clean the edges of her mouth.
Elisa felt a strong urge to help Demona with that... She ached for just a
taste. But she ruthlessly pushed the impulse down, and picked up her
glass to sip at her drink, trying to pretend that it wasn't affecting her.
She realized from the sudden silence that she had left the conversation hanging.
It took her an embarrassing moment just to try and remember what she had
been about to say. Elisa beat down a swell of panic. It wasn't
a good sign when she was losing track of the conversation. It had something
to do with the investigation?
Demona licked her lips again.
The detective almost gasped as the soft, needing ache between her thighs
grew more insistent. Those were the lips, that had been kissing and
suckling on Elisa’s most sensitive, most private flesh only hours ago.
She could still remember how soft they had been, and how hot. Demanding...
Those lips became the center of the detective’s attention. She no longer
noticed the conversation had completely stopped, or the way they sat silence
for a while. Slowly, she looked up into Demona’s amused and knowing
eyes. Elisa couldn't help but blush hotly, but she was then able to
pull her eyes away, to stare down at her empty plate. She'd finished
eating and hadn't even noticed it.
“I'll just take the dishes downstairs.” Elisa said quietly, noticing
the slightly shakiness to her voice. She took a deep breath to try
and get rid of that. “You’re done, right?” Elisa didn't wait
for an answer as she stood up to walk over to the dresser and pick up the
tray. She felt the heat of the gargoyle’s nearness before she turned
to see her. Elisa gasped as Demona pushed her up against the wall roughly.
“No, I'm not done.” Demona’s eyes were glowing red, and Elisa couldn't
tell if it was out of anger or something else. “I'm surprised you thought
to ask though.”
Demona enjoyed the look of fear and uncertainty that flickered across Elisa’s
face as she raised the detective’s arms above her head and wrapped one set
of strong talons around the woman's dark, delicate wrists. This left
Demona's other hand free, even while Elisa’s pulling and tugging on her captive
wrists did nothing in helping the policewoman to escape. Humans were
so weak compared to gargoyles. The gargoyle smile was slow, and wicked
as she gently trailed her free talons down Elisa's raised arms.
“I won't hurt you.” She said in a slightly husky voice as she used
the back of her talon to caress the underside of Elisa’s breasts as she continued
to move her hand lower. Her voice growled out softly, a throaty, erotic
whisper. “Did you think pants would keep me from touching you?”
She hooked one razor sharp talon into the fly of Elisa’s jeans and ripped
downward, easily slicing through the denim crotch. The slash opened
a wide gap in the jeans, and left the detective open to much more intimate
explorations. Nearly purring, Demona rubbed the back of her fore talon
against the softer, thinner material that was the last barrier left between
her and the detective's naked sex. Sheer white cotton, and unmistakably
damp. The rich, intoxicating scent of Elisa's arousal perfumed the
air as Demona pushed up gently, molding the material to the moist valley
of Elisa’s sex.
“Tell me detective…” Demona asked in a conversational tone, “Are human
females always this wet? Or is it that you need me that badly?”
Elisa glared at her helplessly, and Demona liked that. “Dammit, Morgan’s
out there… I can't.”
Demona pressed more firmly on the seat of Elisa’s pleasure, and enjoyed the
twitch of Elisa’s body and the way the detective’s jaw tightened up to try
and prevent the moan of pleasure that Demona knew was just waiting to come
out. Oh, she'd get a moan out of Elisa. Demona ripped more of
the pants away from the flesh she intended to tease. She then slowly
pulled Elisa’s underwear away from her body and sliced it off of her.
Demona stared into the detective’s eyes. She didn't want to miss the
expression on Elisa’s face when she realized what she was going to do.
Elisa glared at her angrily, but Demona didn't believe it was anger that
was making that flush come to the detective’s cheeks.
Elisa was effectively pinned, no amount of pulling was going to release her.
Her own body betrayed her yet again, and the wetness between her legs seemed
to be a source of amusement for Demona. She caressed her repeatedly
and too lightly for it to do more than stoke Elisa’s growing desire.
When Demona’s pink delicate tongue snaked out of her mouth to yet again lick
her lips, Elisa groaned softly, then whimpered as the slow grin on the gargoyle’s
face grew smug and victorious.
“You seem wet enough now.” Demona’s voice was a rich, deep purr, and
detective didn't know the last time she'd heard anything so extremely sexy.
Her stare was so intense, like she was waiting for something...? She'd
stopped her teasing caresses, and lifted her talons up to stroke the side
of the Elisa's cheek. Elisa looked back into the gargoyle’s watchful,
glowing eyes in a moment of confusion... before she felt it. Elisa’s
mouth opened in a shocked gasp and her back arched, her whole body trembled
at the sudden, unexpected intrusion.
“Oh... God…” Elisa's head fell back as she cried out, moaning as Demona
pushed her tail inside of the detective with delicious force. It was
far from gentle, but it felt so very, very good. It rippled inside
her, stretching and filling her, maddening her senses. “Yessss... please....
Fuck me… fuck me Demona…” All thoughts of resistance melted away in
the heat of her need.
Demona leaned closer, and Elisa could feel the gargoyle’s breath on her cheek.
“You want me to fuck you human? Is that what you want?”
Elisa whimpered as the tail pulled out slowly and then pushed back inside
of her harder and more forceful than before, “Yes... please!” Elisa felt
tears in her eyes, because her need was too intense. “I want you…I need you!”
Some part of Elisa, the part that was still able to think of something beyond
the rough fucking her body craved so badly, was horrified that she was admitting
her helpless desires to Demona. The rest of her simply burned for the
savage, barbaric beauty of the blue skinned gargoyle's carnal conquest.
Demona’s face became arrogant as she stared down at the detective begging
for her. “Oh? But Officer Morgan’s here. You don't want
_him_ to hear you. You said you _couldn’t_, not with him here.”
Demona slowly withdrew her tail from of Elisa’s tightly clenching sex.
Casually releasing the detective's wrists, she stepped back and crossed her
arms. “We can’t…” She said mockingly.
Elisa blinked and stared at Demona in shock. The gargoyle had played
her... teased her... just to be cruel! Elisa’s face went crimson with
humiliated anger, “You Bitch…” Elisa took an angry step forward, and
another, until her body was nearly flush with the startled gargoyle.
“You fucking tease…”
Demona’s eyes widened at the burning fierceness and intense anger from Elisa.
This wasn't the response she had been expecting. She had thought the
dark haired woman would be too embarrassed to face her after being made to
beg for sex, and then... denied. Demona had thought the policewoman
would be so mortified, that she'd race off to hide herself in her room...
Demona stepped back as the furious detective pressed forward, the personification
of threat.
“You have no idea how hard it's been..." Elisa ground out between clenched
teeth, wanting to shout, but forcing herself to keep her voice down so her
angry yells wouldn't bring Morgan to investigate.
Demona felt a flutter of alarm at the pure fury in the human woman's eyes.
Even though it was ridiculous to be concerned, since the detective was no
match for her true form's gargoyle strength, Demona took another step backwards...
and toppled backwards onto her bed. Before the startled gargoyle could
recover, Elisa took swift advantage of the moment. The burning intensity
of the human's dark eyes startled the gargoyle almost as much as the sudden
feel of long, slender fingers on the smooth plump mound of her sex.
Elisa had brushed the loincloth away, leaving the gargoyle bared and open
to her touch. And touch she did, pressing aggressively against the
intimate softness that yielded without resistance to her possessive caress.
Demona’s surprise held her still, laying on her back while the detective
leaned over her, staring into her eyes with a feral mixture of anger and
animal hunger, and rubbed with ruthless, erotic expertise along the vulnerable
cleft of the gargoyle's sex. Without thinking, Demona responded to
Elisa’s touch, spreading her azure thighs with a deep, wanton moan that revealed
her intense sexual excitement, and desperate need for release. She
could feel her own betraying wetness slick against Elisa's hand, further
proof of her unmistakable arousal.
The detective's voice took on an unfamiliar derisive edge, “You’re wet for
me… for a human.”
The sudden, deep press of human fingers thrusting inside of her made Demona
groan in shock and need. Her sex clenched powerfully on the invasive
touch, and she trembled as Elisa penetrated her with repeatedly, slow and
deep strokes, causing the gargoyle's breath to escape her lungs in sharp,
strangled gasps. As Demona lay beneath her, dark gargoyle eyes wide
and staring, Elisa's fierce anger was distracted by just how very tight and
wet Demona was. Slowly, the importance of her actions dawned on the
police detective. An acute awareness of exactly what she was doing
washed the last of her fury away in a confusing wave of sexual excitement
and fluttering embarrassment. Elisa swallowed, her throat gone suddenly
dry... and continued to ease her fingers in and out of the gargoyle,
while her fascinated gaze drank in the flushed expression of arousal on Demona’s
face.
Oh God… the gargoyle really wanted this… wanted her...
"Elisa...?" Demona's voice made the detective's name both a question, and
an erotic plea as her hips thrust forward in powerful response to the dark
haired woman's ministrations, "... please...?"
Elisa leaned forward, her mouth hovered just over the gargoyle's parted lips...
The sudden, pounding knock on the door startled both of them. They
froze, eyes wide, as the pounding continued.
Elisa had forgotten Morgan was here.
“Are you two okay? I thought I heard something.” the policeman's voice
came through the door, heavy with concern.
"We're FINE!!!" Elisa's shout was laced with frustration, as she pulled away
from the gargoyle sprawled on the bed in wanton disarray, "Just peachy."
"I just wanted you to know I'll be right outside if you need anything." Morgan
continued, wondering why Maza's voice had such an odd hitch to it.
"Great." Elisa's called out to her fellow officer, "That's just great."
Morgan frowned, and wondered if he should go in, despite what Elisa had said
about Ms. Destine's need for privacy, earlier. The detective almost
sounded like she was trying not to laugh... or cry? His hand was on
the doorknob when it turned suddenly, and Elisa came out in a breathless
rush that nearly knocked Morgan off his feet.
"Opps... sorry." Maza apologized as the door slammed shut behind her, "Ms.
Destine is indisposed right now. She's requested we give her some privacy
tonight. Why don't I show you to your bedroom?"
"Well... if you're sure everything's okay?" Officer Morgan looked at the
dark haired detective oddly.
"Yes! Fine! Everything is just fine." Elisa's smile was bright,
and as false as they came.
Something was up, but Morgan was willing to let it go if Maza wanted him
to. "If you say so, Detective."
Elisa seemed relieved to hear his agreement, and some of the stiffness went
out of her spine as they walked away together. Morgan glanced at her
again, frowning. When had Elisa changed from her casual jeans?
It was a nice enough skirt. Kind of dressy though, and it wasn't her
usual style at all. Scratching his head, Morgan kept his mouth shut
about Elisa's taste in clothes. He knew better than to question a woman's
fashion sense. But fry him in butter if it didn't looked more like
something a corporate high roller like Ms. Destine would wear.
****
Demona glared at her bedroom door, holding onto the roar of frustration and
rage she so desperately wanted to unleash.
Chapter 22
By Luna and Selene
Elisa felt the lack of sleep drag at her even as the elevator rose slowly
through the Eyrie building, bringing her closer to the unavoidable moment
when she would have to face Fox Xanatos in her undercover persona. She knew
it showed in the slight pallor of her normal golden brown complexion, and
the sleepy, half lidded gaze that made her look like she'd just been pulled
away from the bedroom. It was bad enough Matt had seen his partner in that
"fuck me now" outfit she'd been insane enough to wear to the office yesterday,
now someone else she knew would not only see her dressed like a high priced
(though more discrete) call girl, but acting like a fawning servant to the
Wyvern clan's greatest enemy besides Xanatos himself.
The dark haired police woman suppressed a wince as she studied the back of
Dominique Destine's burgundy red cocktail dress. The rich, dark red cloth
set off the woman's pale skin, and brought out the fire in her loosely tumbled
auburn mane. Damn. Elisa was still reeling at the change from Dominique's
usual, "business only" attire to the potent seduction of a fitted, raw silk
sheath. They had spent the morning at Nightstone, each acutely aware that
the normal tension between them had gone beyond the familiar and adversarial
to something unexpected and... strange. The dark haired detective bit her
lip as she made herself face the truth. The air between them was so charged
with an electric sexuality that it made the fine hair on the nape of her
neck stand up and quiver.
Breakfast with Morgan had been an awkward affair. Dominique had not come
down until it was time to leave for the office, leaving Elisa to sit in uncomfortable
silence with her fellow officer. The small talk had been stiff and forced,
and they'd trailed off into unhappy silence. Morgan would leave sometime
after they were at Nightstone, and that would be that. She hoped. Both of
them were more than a little relieved when Dominique had finally shown up
and told Elisa to get ready to leave for the office. Ordinarily the dark
haired detective would have bristled at the curt arrogance in Dominique's
orders, but at that moment she was only happy to leave the kitchen and the
guilt that she felt weighing her more heavily with each passing moment over
Morgan's dismissal from the case. It wasn't fair to him in the slightest,
but it was necessary.
Then she was alone with Dominique on the drive to work, and Elisa wondered
if she'd gone from the frying pan and into the fire. The full force of what
had happened between them in the gargoyle's bedroom had left Elisa stunned
for the greater part of the night. Elisa had tossed and turned through the
little sleep she'd managed, unable to quell the restless yearning and screaming
sense of frustration that plagued her through the slow pace of hours leading
to the dawn. Every time she had closed her eyes, she kept seeing Demona as
she'd been right before Morgan had pounded on the bedroom door... sprawled
on her back, dark eyes staring up at Elisa while the detective's fingers
pressed into the gargoyle's tight, wet heat. Shock and need written so clearly
on Demona's face, Elisa had felt a hot, fierce rush of satisfaction as she
sank her fingers deeper and harder with each slow, deliberate stroke. The
gargoyle had panted and squirmed beneath the detective's hands, and despite
her superior strength, had not fought off Elisa's show of dominance.
But the part that was seared into her memory was how the gargoyle's lush,
red lips had parted in a breathy plea as she said Elisa's name... That mouth
which had hurled words as sharp as her gleaming fangs, and as formidable
as any weapon used during the many times Demona had fought against Goliath's
clan and the human policewoman that was their friend... that mouth which
had hours earlier been pressed to Elisa's flesh in the most intimate of caresses,
that mouth had been irresistible. Elisa wanted to kiss that mouth so badly
it was nearly pain.
The dark haired detective knew that if Morgan had not interrupted yet again,
she would have taken Demona. Taken her with kisses, and rough, demanding
caresses. Taken her with a savage desire whose echo still thundered beneath
her heart even now. The red haired woman driving had ignored her the entire
way to Nightstone. Feeling an odd, cold hollowness inside, Elisa had decided
to follow the other woman's lead and pretend the night before hadn't happened.
It had been madness. Momentary insanity. It wasn't going to happen again.
At the office, Elisa had seen how every employee that they passed stared
at both Dominique Destine and her "personal assistant", and another stab
of guilt threatened her reason. Apparently the past two days had been enough
for everyone in the company to hear about Madame Destine's new... employee.
Whispers and speculative looks had followed them through the halls, and in
the executive office Candace gave Elisa the cold fish eye while she typed
up a seemingly endless number of reports. All in all it had been shaping
into a miserable day from the beginning, and it looked like it was only going
to get worse before it got better. It had been a surprise for everyone at
the company when Nightstone's owner and chief executive announced she and
her personal assistant would be leaving early to attend a P.I.T. luncheon.
The smirk on most of the faces Elisa had seen had revealed exactly what people
thought was really going on. The detective's teeth had ground over what only
yesterday would have amused her. Everyone thought Dominique Destine was taking
off early to "get some" with her new girlfriend. Today, the rumors she'd
gone out of her way to foster only grated on Elisa's nerves.
The heated ache between Elisa's tightly pressed thighs wasn't helping her
state of mind.
Before leaving for the P.I.T. Luncheon the high powered female executive
had excused herself for a few minutes before returning from the private,
executive washroom looking... incredible. She certainly didn't look like
she'd missed a wink of sleep. Cool green eyes had trailed over Elisa's unchanged
attire. Not the devastatingly provocative outfit from yesterday, but still
unquestionably sexy.
"That will have to do for today." Dominique's pronouncement was clipped and
cold. "But we will have to go shopping later to get you something decent
to wear."
A thread of anger blossomed like a line of fire in Elisa's heart. The clothes
she was wearing had been what Demona had picked out. The gargoyle had brought
this all on herself. The dark haired detective snapped off a thought without
thinking. "This from the female whose wardrobe for a thousand years consisted
of a halter and loin cloth? Even now as a human you wear practically the
same thing every day."
There flash of green fire in Dominique's eyes told Elisa she'd struck a nerve.
"This is a new dress. As if such things as human fashion mattered to me."
"It's still red, like all your human suits, and like all your wardrobe, on
the conservative side." Elisa had pressed on, not willing to let the red
haired executive know just how good she really looked, "You seem stuck in
a rut."
Emerald eyes had narrowed dangerously, and Elisa felt her breath catch in
her throat.
"In a rut. What an appropriate phrase coming from someone who has been asking
to rut with every breath you've taken since darkening my doorway." The accusation
left Dominique's lips with caustic contempt, "I only dressed you like a slut.
Who knew you would play the role to such perfection?"
"It wasn't me who was left on my back last night, pleading for a little _human_
contact." Elisa's snapped a retort, then realized with a red hot flush that
their rising voices were bringing speculative looks from the few employees
in the vicinity. The executive had been at a temporary loss of words as they
reached an unspoken agreement to leave as quickly as possible. The growl
on Domique's lips was barely audible, but it made the policewoman nervous
until they were finally on their way to the Eyrie Building.
And now here they were, about to face the more illustrious members of the
P.I.T. as well as a few people Elisa would sooner eat nails than have them
see her in this undercover role.
***
Fox smiled as she surveyed the arrangement of tables set out in the Castle's
great hall. The vast expanse of space usually kept clear and empty of anything
but the tasteful medieval tapestries David had a fondness for, was now laid
out with an appetizing buffet, and lined with tables set up for the guests.
Placement cards of heavy, cream colored parchment sat on each bone china
plate, names embossed in silver gilt. As Fox's gaze swept over the slowly
filling tables, she nodded and smiled at the guests. It was one particular
place setting that her attention kept returning to. Owen's hand written calligraphy
matched the rest of the place cards perfectly, even though the two new settings
had been added at virtually the last moment. The soft light of candles that
illuminated each table brought out the silvery gleam of Dominique Destine's
name.
It was still early but she found herself waiting with an eager anticipation
for arrival of Nightstone Unlimited's owner and chief executive. She went
through the pleasantries of meeting the P.I.T. members while waiting near
the entrance. Fox hadn't been sure that Demona would accept the invitation,
especially since the luncheon was being held in Castle Wyvern. It was entirely
possible she wouldn't actually come, much less arrive with her... guest.
It was the acceptance of the second invitation that teased Fox's curiosity.
Demona's last known lover, Thailog, had been a gargoyle clone of Goliath.
The autumn haired ex-mercenary shivered as she thought about her husband's
failed project. Thailog had been both more and less than what he'd been intended
for. More ambitious, more cunning, more ruthless than expected, and less
loyal than hoped. Her husband's goal of creating his own obedient gargoyle
forces was unrealized, and now abandoned in the face of the monster his first
attempts had unleashed. A monster that had first seduced, then viciously
betrayed his genetic father's one time mate.
What kind of person could have won Demona's affections after that last disastrous
affair? Of all the possibilities, Fox would never have thought it would be
a human, much less a female one. Did this mystery woman know that Dominique
Destine was only a facade for the centuries old immortal gargoyle bent on
wiping humanity from the face of the Earth? Since the clan had come to live
at Castle Wyvern, Fox had developed an interest with them and their enemy,
her husband's one time ally. At first it had been little more than her natural
instinct to "know your enemy" after the events of Hunters Moon had shown
how far Demona was willing to go to do away with all humans. Then... almost
without her noticing it, Fox had developed a fascination with Demona's life
just because there was something about the complicated, crimson tressed female
that invited... speculation.
Maybe, Fox thought ruefully, she simply needed a hobby. Nonetheless, she
couldn't deny she was burning with curiosity. She noticed David's
arrival as soon as he stepped through into the main hall, and politely excused
herself from a conversation that she'd barely been paying attention to. As
soon as he got close enough he leaned in to peck her on her cheek, and whispered
into her ear. "Anyone ever tell you a watched pot never boils?"
Fox smiled and whispered into his ear, her voice deeper and seductive, "I
know for a fact that you are dying to see this woman that Demona is sleeping
with too, or you would have waited until lunch was served to show up, like
you normally do."
David smiled at her, "Caught."
Movement at the front door drew both of their attention. Fox's eyes widened
as she watched Dominique Destine step into the room, wearing an almost sinfully
seductive red dress instead of the expected business suit, and being trailed
by… No, it couldn't be… Elisa Maza? Elisa with her hair pulled up into a
sleek knot, wearing thin rimmed glasses, and a short skirt, shorter than
anything Fox had seen the detective in before. Fox wasn't used to to
seeing Elisa looking so... sexy. The dark haired detective was dressed
like she was ready for a good bedding.
Fox caught Elisa's eye as the detective's gaze swept the room, and could
see a slightly pained look in them. Well wasn't this just delicious? There
could only be one reason Elisa was with Demona. With a feral grin,
Fox advanced on the new arrivals to greet them. "I'm so glad you could
come, Dominique. Please, introduce me to your... companion. I've
been hearing so much about her, through the grape vine. She really
is _quite_ lovely."
"Fox Xanatos, this is my new executive assistant, Elisa Maza." the smile
on Dominique's face was as bright as it was false, matching the dangerous
gleam in her emerald green eyes. "I'm curious, just what have you heard
about my Elisa?"
"Your... Elisa?" The mirth in Fox's voice threatened to tumble out into a
peal of laughter, but she held it back by skin of her teeth, "Oh, just rumors
and the like. Office gossip just seems to take on a life of it's own,
doesn't it? I wasn't sure if the stories were true, but I hoped they
were."
"Stories?" Dominique's voice dropped to a dangerous purr, "I'm sure you can't
believe everything you've heard."
"You mean that you've found someone... special?" Fox's eyes gleamed as the
two women exchanged a slightly horrified glance, "Rest assured I am taking
the tales of wild orgies held in your private office with a grain of salt."
"Wild... orgies?" Elisa tried to cover the sick feeling in her gut with weak
smile, "I'm sure you are just having a little fun with us, Mrs. Xanatos."
"No need to be so formal, Elisa. May I call you Elisa? I hope
you and your... boss... will enjoy our P.I.T. Luncheon. We have a number
of distinguished speakers, including a few last minute additions. Oh!
There is one of our speakers now." Fox nodded towards the red haired man
who'd begun to speak with the key note speaker Victor Gray. "Matt Bluestone
is head of the Gargoyle's Task Force. We were just thrilled to have
him volunteer his time at the last moment."
"How nice for you." Dominique's green eyes flickered with dislike.
She had not forgotten her last encounter with Matt Bluestone. "Isn't having
him here rather like inviting a wolf to speak at a shepherd's convention?"
"Not at all. Mr. Bluestone and his task force are as much protectors
of our Gargoyle friends as they are of us."
The blonde girl who entered the conversation was the picture of youthful
eagerness. Her long, pale hair caught back by a pale blue ribbon, she
smiled brightly at the women who turned to face her.
"Dominique Destine, Elisa Maza, this is Kelly Preston." Fox made the introductions,
shielding a grin at the sour look the Nightstone executive gave the newcomer.
"Kelly is a P.I.T. volunteer, and helped organize this event.
She's worked on a number of P.I.T. fund raisers."
"I would be more than happy to help in any way, with your upcoming event,
Ms. Destine." Kelly offered with shining enthusiasm, "I was just thrilled
to hear you'd be hosting a fund raiser for P.I.T and offering corporate sponsorship
through Nightstone. Our cause so desperately needs the far reaching
vision of people like you, who can see we must have an open and peaceful
co-existence with our gargoyle friends."
Elisa broke into a fit of coughing, and excused herself with Fox, who also
seemed on the verge of coughing, to get a glass of water, leaving Dominique
with the wide eyed, earnest young woman who crowded closer. The red
haired executive sent a glare after the two women who were abandoning her
to the young human female with disturbing, puppy like adoration in her blue
eyes.
"And if you don't mind my saying so, I have the highest admiration for you
as one our city's most prominent business leaders. Nightstone took
seven National Medals of Technology last year. The only other company
to take as many in a single year was Xanatos Enterprises three years before."
"You've done your homework." Dominique's voice was cool, but her eyes showed
her interest had been piqued, "Not many would know that."
"I like to keep on top of people who are going to change the world." Kelly
beamed, all but wiggling in happiness that the rich, powerful, and beautiful
Dominique Destine's intense green gaze was focused on her. "My previous
employer also received a medal that year, for his work in cybernetic replacement
limbs. He was very impressed with Nightstone's advances in several
related fields of research and development."
"Eric Chase?" Dominique's eyes narrowed giving the girl the full force of
her regard. "He innovated smart memory cards with the use of prosthetics."
"Yes." A shadow seemed to fall over Kelly's face at the name. "He was
a wonderful man."
"Was... ?"
"He died last month. Killed by an intruder in his own home. It
was a terrible shock to so many people. I joined P.I.T. to help honor
his memory, he was very involved with the organization."
Dominique frowned, reminded the reason she was forced to attend this human,
bleeding heart affair was because someone was murdering the P.I.T.'s more
important members. Ordinarily she wouldn't care about humans slaughtering
other humans, but this series of killings was directly affecting her own
life to an unacceptable degree. The sooner the one responsible was
caught, the sooner police detective Elisa Maza would be gone from her home,
and her life... and that was what she wanted. Wasn't it?
She looked for the aggravating, dark haired human, and found that Elisa and
Fox were across the room, heads bent close in private conversation.
A flash of some unnamed emotion made the Dominique's lips draw back in a
silent snarl.
"Ms. Destine? Are you okay?"
Brought back to her conversation with the anxious to please P.I.T. member,
Dominique smiled at her and drew her off to a more quiet corner to... talk.
***
Fox noticed the Elisa's sudden glare, and turned to see the auburn haired
head of Nightstone in a rather intimate looking tete-a-tete with Kelly Preston.
Dominique reached out and smoothed a loose strand of Kelly's long blonde
hair away from her slightly blushing face.
"Oooh! Looks like you got competition Elisa. If you don't watch
out, Kelly might steal your girlfriend." Fox teased, and was rewarded with
Elisa's redirected glare.
"That's not funny Fox. I don't think it's a good idea for Demona to
get too close to someone as innocent and naive as that kid. Who knows
what she may be plotting? Demona has no use for the P.I.T.
I had to literally lay down the law to get her down here."
"Mmm... sounds kinky." Fox purred, earning another hard look from the dark
haired detective. The rising flush in the fine, caramel gold of her
face was very attractive.
"Listen Fox, I'm not sure how much Matt told you." Elisa hedged, trying to
move the conversations into less innuendo laden territory.
"Nothing, the cheeky devil. He's kept everything hush hush, except
that he needed to be here with a few of his undercover officers because of
the recent rash of deaths among the P.I.T. elite." Fox's tone sobered as
she brought up the loss of people she had been personally socializing with
since beginning her own active role in the P.I.T., "He never mentioned you
were undercover. But the moment you walked in on Demona's heels, it
was obvious... at least to anyone who knows who and what you both really
are. Is Demona connected to the killings?"
"Only in the same way you and your husband are, Fox." Elisa's voice went
quiet and grim, "As potential victims."
"And you are her what... bodyguard?" Fox's eyes gleamed with suppressed mirth,
her sense of humor reasserting itself. "Her protector? You wouldn't
believe the rumors I've been hearing about Dominique Destine's new... lover"
The last word came in a throaty purr as Fox peered at Elisa through half
lowered lashes,
"Where's Xanatos? I saw him with you when we came in." Elisa tried
to move the conversation away from herself and Dominique again.
"Don't try to throw me off the trail, detective." Fox scolded, but checked
around the room quickly. David had been with her when Dominique and
Elisa had entered the room. She spotted him with Owen... leaving?
He caught her look of question and mouthed a silent "Sorry" as he disappeared.
Damn. She'd been afraid this would happen, but she'd hoped he'd be
able to make it at least through the lunch itself.
"David will be sorry he missed this chance, Elisa." Fox shrugged off her
disappointment, and focused back on the policewoman who was back to watching
the Dominique's close conversation with Miss Preston. "Kelly is a lovely
girl, isn't she? People seem to warm up to her quickly, even humanity
hating genocidal gargoyles. Don't glare so Elisa, I don't think Demona
is going to eat the girl. At least not in public."
"Fox!" The strangled note in Elisa's voice only made the red haired woman
grin wider.
"I shouldn't be spreading gossip, but Kelly is really affectionate.
I'd swear she was coming on to _me_ earlier, but I think she has changed
her sights. I wonder if I should feel slighted." Fox's sly tone dropped
to a confidential whisper, "But Demona looks delectable today, and even I'd
be tempted to have a taste."
"You are a bad, bad woman Fox Xanatos." Elisa stated, trying not to sound
as mortified as she felt, "And a married one at that."
"I don't think David wouldn't kick her out of bed either." Fox's smile grew
sharper, "But the question inquiring minds want to know is, would you?"
"Fox... " Elisa's warning tone held an acid edge. "Back off."
"I'm just having a little fun with you Elisa." Fox gave the detective a puzzled,
concerned glance, "Relax a little. I've never seen you wound up so
tight. I'm sorry, I should have realized being undercover like this
has to be a real strain on you. How you wound up with this cover of
all things is a story you'll have to tell me sometime."
The billionaire industrialist's wife reached out and laid a hand on Elisa's
shoulder and squeezed apologetically. The detective sighed, glad
that Fox was going to drop it. She didn't know just how close her teasing
had come to uncomfortable truths. Elisa wasn't sure exactly what was
happening between herself and Demona, but whatever it was had to stay...
private.
***
Though the food was surprisingly decent, Dominique was tense, and was barely
able to keep the snarl off her lips. After sitting through a meal where
foolish, idiotic humans prattled on about co-existence and the problems that
gargoyles face, as if they had any idea what it was like, she was forced
to sit through two humans' speeches about the gargoyle's and the human's
responsibility to protect them. As if gargoyles were some sort of helpless
animals relying on the kindness of humans. It made her want to scream,
and her fingernails had carved several half crescent moons into her palms
as she fought that urge. This was why she avoided these humans.
They all claimed to want to help. They were a worse enemy than the
Quarrymen, because these humans would lull a gargoyle into feeling safe before
betraying the entire clan.
What little bit of the rich food she'd managed to eat suddenly felt like
lead in her stomach. She got up quickly, unable to take a moment more
of this. Detective Bluestone wasn't done with his speech, but she didn't
worry about interrupting. She was sitting very close to the door.
When Elisa looked up at her with a question in her eyes she leaned down to
speak in a curt whisper. "I need some air. Stay here."
Not waiting to see how the human would take the sharp command, Dominique
made as swift an exit as she could manage, slipping past the great halls
doors.
It had been a while, but even redone to suit Xanatos's taste, Dominque felt
the familiarity with the castle give her some strange measure of comfort.
She found herself at the doors of the library, which she knew led out to
the castle walls. She tested the doors and was relieved to find them
locked. At least Fox had done that much while she invited all of these
human's to dine so near to where the gargoyles rested during the day.
Still, these humans shouldn't even be this close to Angela. Her mood
changed suddenly, a melancholy rush that caught her off guard. She
hadn't seen the young, female gargoyle in... a very long time. Dominique
stared at the door for a long moment before deciding to try one of the castle's
secret passages.
She was relieved to find Xanatos hadn't meddled with the centuries old mechanisms
that allowed her to slide a section of the wall hidden behind a priceless
tapestry, and access the narrow corridor that led to the roof. The
day had turned grey, cold with a fine mist in the air. Shivering, she
was grateful that it wasn't raining outright. She tried to ignore the
dampness in the air even as it clung to her skin and made the chill breeze
that much colder. Dominique forgot her petty physical discomfort as
soon she noticed Angela's grey stone form, standing ready at her post.
"Angela." The red haired woman stepped forward and stared up into her
daughter's face. Her hand reached out to softly caress the damp stone
waves of her daughter's hair. "You look well." She couldn't help
but notice the girl seemed a little older, more mature. Small changes,
speaking of experience and times that she had not been there to share.
It made her heart ache. "I… I miss you." Tears started to gather
in Dominique's eyes, which she wiped away a bit angrily. "I know you
feel you have to protect them, that some of them are your friends, but please
don't fall for their lies. I've seen this before. The human's
claim to want to help. It never lasts, and then gargoyle's die."
Dominique wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, and just stared at
Angela, and the way her daughter was frozen while glancing over at Broadway.
She sighed heavily as she thought about the way Angela had argued so passionately
the last time they'd spoken. The young gargoyle was so sure that human's
weren't monsters, and that they could be trusted. Angela had held up
Princess Katherine and Elisa as proof of human nobility, friendship... love.
But her daughter couldn't understand that those were frighteningly rare qualities
for humans, the exceptions not the rule. Angela was going to learn
that cruel truth the hard way, and Dominique really wished she could spare
her daughter that pain.
Elisa Maza... she was clearly not a normal human. It vexed Demona
that her daughter could not see the danger of that familiarity with the human
detective posed. Even if Demona could no longer deny Elisa was... exceptional...
it only meant that the police detective could not be held up as an example
of her kind.. Not long ago, Demona would have argued that Elisa would
betray the clan's trust, as every other human she had dared to trust in the
past. With reluctance, she now dared to acknowledge that Elisa was
truly loyal to the clan. But one human, one out of millions… wasn't
a good sample of what that race was capable of. Demona had been alive
for a very long time, and she knew how humans acted. How they could
change from allies to enemies with no warning. Goliath was a fool not
to listen to her. While he was sleeping, she was awake, and actually
saw… saw so much.
"I wonder if anyone will tell you I was here?" Dominique spoke softly,
pushing her loneliness and pain away, like she did so many countless times
before. "There is so much we haven't talked about. There is so
much I'd like to know about you. Are you... happy? Are you and
Broadway still doing okay?"
***
When Dominique had slipped away during Matt's speech, ordering the dark haired
detective who was supposed to be protecting her to stay behind, Elisa hadn't
wasted a moment in following her. She wasn't surprised to find the
red haired business woman on the roof top, where the gargoyles rested in
their stone forms by day. But Elisa hadn't expected the wistful sadness
in the green eyes that focused only on Angela. It was as if the others
didn't exist for the woman who had lost her clan a thousand years ago.
Only the daughter she'd never known held Dominique's attention.
"He is very good to her." Elisa's voice startled Dominique, and she
spun around to see the detective studying her.
Dominique's voice grew harsh as she realized the human had spied her in a
moment of weakness. "I'm not out here wreaking havoc, you don't need
to follow me around."
Elisa's eyes hardened at the snarl in the other woman's voice, but after
a moment of searching Dominique's defensive, emerald stare, her expression
softened. She hadn't meant to overhear the gargoyle's halting, one
sided conversation. The tear laced questions that would be unanswered
by the deaf stone. Even after all the terrible things Demona had done
to the clan, to Elisa herself, the detective couldn't deny that the gargoyle
truly loved her daughter. As the obviously shaken, auburn haired woman
shivered in the cool, mist laden air, Elisa felt strangely drawn to her vulnerability.
Dominique wasn't sure she liked the soft look in the human's dark eyes.
She watched Elisa uneasily. What did she see, this detective, to make
her look so damned sympathetic?
"I'm supposed to be your protection. The other undercover officers
at the Luncheon would notice if I didn't follow you." Elisa stepped
further out of the castle and stood with Dominique looking at Angela.
"Broadway spoils her as much as he can. She gets flowers on a regular
basis, he makes them nice romantic dinners for two, and he never seems to
take her for granted." Dominique glanced over to see the slight grin
on Elisa's lips as the detective spoke. "She seems to love him just
as much."
"Well… that is good." Dominique spoke awkwardly. Her eyes turned
back to stare at Angela again. She didn't ask Elisa to leave.
All the time Elisa had spent with her lately, and she hadn't even thought
to ask Elisa about how Angela was doing. But now that she remembered
how often the detective saw her daughter, she wanted to hear more.
She bit her lip fretfully... How was she supposed to ask, without leaving
a part of her soul bared? The last thing she needed was for this human,
of all of them, to see her vulnerable. Yet... There was a quiet,
deep longing in her heart that dared her to swallow her pride and ask...
just this once...
But even as the questions hovered on her lips, she found she didn't need
to humble herself after all. When she looked into the detective's thoughtful
dark eyes, Elisa just started talking.
"Angela has been reading a lot. She reads just about anything, and
it seems that she plans to work her way through the entire library."
The red haired woman remained silent, drinking in each word, not noticing
the small smile that graced her own lips. It seemed her daughter had
inherited her own thirst for knowledge. Dominique wondered if Angela
might want to learn magic. Briefly, she allowed herself the fantasy
of teaching her daughter some of the vast store of arcane knowledge she'd
gathered over the centuries. But the warm glow of the daydream quickly
dimmed as she faced the simple fact that while Angela was part of Goliath's
clan, she would never have that kind of time with her daughter.
"Angela has very has a keen mind. She's smart, intuitive, quick to
grasp details and subtle nuances of a situation." Elisa's voice grew
thoughtful, and Dominique found her eyes traveling to the detective again,
"like you." Dominique blinked at the unexpected compliment. They
both went quiet for a moment, and Dominique just turned back to stroke Angela's
cold stone cheek one last time, before pulling her arms around herself tightly
to protect her from the cold again.
"Is she… happy?" Dominique asked softly, hating that she knew so little
of her own daughter's life that she had to ask for the details from
the clan's human friend.
"Most of the time." Elisa's voice was closer, and Dominique could feel
the heat off of the detective's body behind her. Her breath caught
in her throat as her heart began to pound strangely. She'd forgotten...
forgotten the way being near this human had begun to affect her. She
had the sudden, inexplicable need to feel the warmth of the human's embrace.
But when Elisa's arms wrapped around her, Dominique stiffened in surprise.
She stood still and startled as the human held her, and when she shivered
again, it wasn't just from the chilled air.
Elisa wasn't sure what prompted her impulse to hold Demona. The forlorn
yet defiant look in her emerald gaze or the way she stood so pale and determined
in the chill air. She felt the other woman tremble, and leaned in to
whisper in her ear. "I think she misses you. She looks so sad
when the clan talks about you."
A small sigh escaped Dominique's lips. She felt warmed by the knowledge
that her daughter still cared about her. Without thinking, she leaned
back slightly into Elisa, whose body temperature made standing outside a
little more tolerable. She wouldn't ordinarily allow any human such
liberties, but she wasn't ready to leave Angela... just yet. Only after
several moment did she realize that she was allowing Elisa to hold her too
long. Her growing awareness of the Elisa's body pressed to her own
made her mouth dry. The intimacy of the embrace was pleasant.
Too pleasant. "Thank you." Her voice was more breathless than
she liked as she moved out of Elisa's arms.
When she turned to look into the detective's eyes, she didn't see the pity
that she had been afraid might be there.
"Demona, if you ever have questions about Angela… just ask. She...
she would want you to know." Elisa's voice held such an honest sincerity
it startled the red head. Her eyes widened as she realized exactly
what Elisa offering her.
"Thank you." Dominique spoke more softly, unsure of what else to say.
To have even this distant tie to her daughter's life... it meant so much.
She didn't notice herself closing the small distance between them until she
saw Elisa's eyes widen. The dark haired woman didn't back away, lips
half parted as if to speak, yet she stood silently. Dominique hesitated
only a moment, just long enough to stare into the dark depths of Elisa's
searching gaze, before reaching out to pull her close. Elisa tilted
her head slightly, eyes fluttering shut as their lips met in a tentative
kiss.
It began as the softest, most tender meeting of lips and breath, a
kiss that lingered sweetly, until the growing heat of it overshadowed the
chill in her bones from the breeze. The detective tasted like mint,
sharp and clean, her scent was flowers and rain. A moment, an eternity,
she finally pulled back from the sweetness of Elisa's mouth, and watched
slightly dazed dark eyes open before releasing her hold on Elisa's hips.
"We should go back, make a last appearance, and then leave."
Elisa nodded slightly, knowing what the other woman was really saying.
They weren't going to go back to Nightstone today. Morgan was long
gone by now, and there would be no more interruptions. A warm, guilty
flush ran through her as she caught sight of the largest stone form, the
farthest one from where she'd let Dominique kiss her. A tremble ran
through the detective's body. Goliath... How could she be thinking
of going home with his ex-mate and enemy? Had she gone insane?
She turned and saw shadowed hurt in a pair of green eyes. They stared
at each other for a long moment, and Elisa realized she'd been silent a moment
too long when Dominique spun on her heel in anger, and left so quickly her
long hair trailed her like a banner of autumn fire.
"Dominique?!" Elisa called after the retreating woman as she suddenly realized
that the glitter in the other's gaze hadn't been scorned fury. "Dominique!"
