"Wow, no wonder Jason doesn't mind. If you can do that from just a drop of blood, I'm surprised they don't line up and say please bite me."
Jean-Claude laughed at the picture she drew in his mind. "Non, mon petit cadeau laws prevent us from biting anyone without permission. I'll tell you about them later. If it's what you want then I'll feed here." He felt conflicted at the possibility it would cause her to turn from him. The thought of losing her tortured his soul.
Jason crept forward after Jean-Claude moved to a chair, where he could feed comfortably. The young wolf bared his neck to the Master of the City, who sank his fangs into to take the offered blood, causing both men's eyes to close in pleasure. Buffy watched them while she continued to pet Nathaniel. They looked beautiful to her and she couldn't take her eyes off them. The erotic scene did wonderful things to her. Jean-Claude opened his eyes to look straight at her. He removed his fangs, and Jason melted to the floor with a happy satisfied smile. The blonde wolf crawled onto the bed to lie beside Nathaniel, who pulled him close enough for Buffy to reach. She scratched Jason's scalp as he let out a happy puppy whine.
Buffy laughed at him, but stopped short when Jean-Claude approached the bed. Leaning forward to put a hand behind her head, he pulled her to him for a kiss. She opened her mouth to his demanding tongue; Buffy could taste Jason's blood. Her whole body began to glow a soft green, which continued to brighten the longer they kissed. The glow encompassed them, expanding out until it included the others. Their bodies arched in pleasure as it traveled over them. When Buffy pulled away from Jean-Claude, she looked around in wonder. The bright green light illuminated everyone making them seem even more otherworldly. Buffy shook her head closing her eyes tight when she opened them the glow was gone. Jean-Claude pulled Buffy onto his lap cradling her against him. He pulled the covers over her and simply rocked her like a child. Buffy didn't mind, in fact, it seemed as if he knew exactly what she needed.
Buffy looked at him, smoothing back his hair. "Do you think you could find your gift some clothes? I don't mind being this way with you but whoever I am, I don't think I was into flashing everyone."
He laughed at her. "Oui, but I must say I prefer you like this." He moved his hips slightly so she could feel how much. Her eyes widened before closing part way as she gave him a siren's smile. Jean-Claude inhaled deeply at having his seductive ways turned back on him. He wanted nothing more than to lie her on the bed and slide into her warm body.
The phone rang and Jean-Claude picked it up. "Bon jour...Let them in...Damian will escort them to my office...Oui." Hanging up the phone, he turned back to explain. "Anita and Richard are here. Nathaniel, go find Buffy some clothes, one of the dancers should have something that should fit her. Jason, stall them until we're ready." Everyone jumped to do as he ordered.
"Who are Anita and Richard?" Buffy noticed the tension in his shoulders, which only heightened her curiosity.
"She's the one I have, had, feelings for. Richard's the alpha wolf that she chose over me. I decided to win her back, but now I don't know what to do."
"I didn't mean to cause so much trouble, Jean-Claude. Maybe after I get some clothes, I should leave."
"NON," he shouted, pulling her to lay on top of him, with her face mere inches from his.
She searched his face for answers. Buffy smiled at what she saw, then nipped his lip with her teeth. Jean-Claude reassured her with his mouth before turning her over to lie beneath him. Buffy's hands roamed over his back, as she felt the velvet covered muscles. She moaned low in the back of her throat as Jean-Claude rubbed against her. They heard a knock at the door stopping their love play.
Buffy touched his face smiling. "Maybe we can see where this leads after your guests leave."
He nodded, shouting when a knock sounded at the door, "Enter."
Nathaniel walked in to see Jean-Claude move off Buffy to lay beside her. He smiled at Buffy, holding up clothes. He carried a short black leather skirt and a green silk halter. "I hope these fit because everything else looked too big."
Buffy smiled, putting her hands out for the clothes. Nathaniel left her to dress as Jean-Claude leaned back on the bed to watch. She wiggled into the short skirt, which only reached a few inches below her bottom. She tied the halter around her neck then walked over, turning her back for Jean-Claude to tie the other one.
His hands skimmed over her back then stopped. There at the base of her spine were two intertwined tattoos. He leaned forward to see them more clearly. One was an Egyptian ankh and the other a body with three heads each facing outward. "Mon Dieu, Buffy what do these tattoos mean?" His voice held a note of fear.
"I don't have any tattoos. I've never had a tattoo I just know it. What are they? What do they look like?" Buffy asked in a panicked voice.
"Lets ask Anita, and then I'll tell you what I think. Now, I guess you must go barefoot, ah, I'll carry you." He picked her up in his arms, causing her to giggle. "What's so funny, ma chére?"
"I just thought maybe I won't ever get shoes. You can just carry me everywhere. I like this mode of transportation very much."
"You're a vixen." He playfully nipped her shoulder.
Damian opened the door for them and Buffy smiled at him brightly "Thank you, Red." The nickname caused a brief echo to ring in her head, but was gone before she could even grasp it.
He returned her smile, with an elegant nod. "You are welcome, Buffy."
Jean-Claude held her closer to him, as if he thought Damian would steal her from him. "I'm not leaving you, okay. I promise to stay until you ask me to go." She told him in a husky whisper, as they stared at each other.
"That will be a very long time, mon petit cadeau."
When they walked in the room's occupants stopped talking and stared at them. Jean-Claude's eyes immediately went to Anita. There she stood dressed in her usual black jeans, t-shirt and tennis shoes, wearing a jacket to hide the weapons she carried. Anita stood 5'3'' with pale skin, large dark brown eyes and dark curly hair that she tried to tame. She was a beautiful woman with an amazing body, for one so small. Richard moved closer to Anita, making his claim clear to the Master of the City. He was a tall man, with warm whisky-colored eyes, long chestnut brown hair, wide shoulders that led to a trim waist, on the right side of muscular.
Buffy smiled at them before looking up at Jean-Claude. "You can put me down now." Jean-Claude reluctantly set her on her feet. She touched his hand, causing him to look down at her. "Remember, it's up to you. I'll leave whenever you want. I don't want to cause problems."
"I told you, mon petite amour. You're mine." Jean-Claude pulled her close while turning to address Anita and Richard. "Pardon us. We are still working things out. Sorry to keep you waiting, what brings you here, Anita?"
Anita's head jerked slightly hearing him call her by her name. He had always called her ma petite. She stared at the young woman he held close by his side. At first, Anita thought he was using the other woman to make her jealous, now she wasn't so sure. He had pursued her relentlessly, and Anita had expected him to put up some resistance to her choice of Richard. She glanced at Richard; he was so handsome, warm and alive. She loved him she really did, but found herself still attracted to the man who now held another in his arms. A wave of jealousy ran through her body.
"Who's that Jean-Claude? I have some official business to discuss, if you can't vouch for her then she needs to leave."
Buffy looked at Anita, seeing the jealousy in her eyes. She walked over to put out her hand. "I'm Buffy Summers. It's nice to meet you. You're Anita, so this must be Richard."
The blonde woman's friendliness took Anita off guard. She grudgingly shook her hand. "I'm Anita Blake and this is Richard Zeeman, my fiancé." Richard turned to stare at her, trying to hide his shock.
"Oh congratulations."
It was when Buffy turned to shake Richard's hand that Anita saw the tattoos on her back. "What the hell!"
Anita's gun was in her hand before she even knew it, since being marked previously by Jean-Claude her reflexes were much faster. They just weren't fast enough. Before she could even aim properly, Buffy had spun back around to lash down on the gun, scooping it up with her other hand. "Uh, is this how you greet everyone you meet? Must really cut down on your list of friends. I don't like guns, never have. If I give this back are you still going to shoot me?"
"What are you?" Anita glared at the blonde that had disarmed her in mere seconds.
"Female," Buffy told her. "I don't know anything, but my name and whatever pops into my head, like the fact that I can understand French and don't like guns. You want to tell me why you went Rambo on me?" Buffy didn't seem affected that someone just tried to shoot her.
"Where'd you get those tattoos done?"
"What's the deal with the tattoos? Jean-Claude asked the same thing, all I know is that I never had any before. I'm sure of it. What are they? What do they mean? He wouldn't tell me." Buffy tried to look over her shoulder to see the tattoos they kept talking about, which caused her skirt to ride up.
Jean-Claude moved forward when he saw Jason and Richard admiring her body. "Come chére, sit with me and we'll explain." He moved to the large chair behind his desk, sitting down he pulled her onto his lap. Buffy went willingly; as she sat across his lap, his body immediately responded. Buffy wiggled around trying to get comfortable, then she gave him a sly smile. Jean-Claude promised revenge for her teasing. "Anita, her tattoos what do they represent?" he asked, as he played with Buffy's hair.
The brunette couldn't take her eyes off Jean-Claude showing someone else all the attention he normally showed her. "One's an Ankh. It's Osiris', the Egyptian god of the dead, symbol. The other is Hecate. She's the one who guards the crossroads of life and death. She can see the path each person's supposed to take. She's also the goddess of magic, and protects midwives, healers and witches. With their symbols so closely intertwined, it's looks almost like a mark of ownership, would be my best guess. So, are you a witch? You don't feel like one."
"What does a witch feel like? I don't know what I am, do you?"
Anita lowered her shields trying to get a better read on Buffy. Looking closely at her aura, her eyes widened then narrowed. A green glow surrounded her, hovering like a cloud. What in the hell is she? I've never seen anything like this before. "Has anything unusual happened since you arrived?" Anita asked Jean-Claude.
"Has anything unusual happened since you arrived?" Anita asked, as she looked at Jean-Claude.
"Oui, look." He pulled his shirt open, showing a smooth unmarred chest. "She healed the mark created long ago."
"How, the hell, did she do that?" Anita had always thought the scar added to his allure.
"I don't know the scar pulsed, I glowed, touched it then presto chango, no more scars," Buffy explained with a casual shrug.
"Can you show me, here?" Anita pulled off her jacket exposing the blades attached to her wrists.
"Cool, can I see one?" Buffy put her hand out expectantly.
Anita handed Buffy one of her precious knives, which she normally fought tooth and nail to keep. Buffy tilted the knife in her hand, clearly knowing what she was doing. Balancing the end between her thumb and forefinger, she threw it across the room where it embedded itself to the hilt. Anita looked from the knife to a tiny woman, who looked like she wouldn't know what to do with a chipped nail, let alone a weapon. Richard silently retrieved it from the wall.
"What'd you want me to try?"
Anita showed her the scars on her forearm. "Can you heal this?"
Buffy looked at the arm . "Vamp, huh? You let him chew on your left arm, guess that means your right-handed."
"Why do you say that?"
"You gave them the arm you don't fight with. I'm supposed to try to heal this, I guess? This should be interesting since I'm not sure how it works."
Buffy stared at Anita's arm before laying a warm hand on the marred flesh. The glow started again, but this time Buffy seemed more in control. She let the room fall away focusing only on the scar. Anita watched Buffy as a rush of power soaked into her arm. It felt hot, but didn't hurt. She watched in amazement as the scar simply shrank until nothing remained but smooth skin. Crawling back onto Jean-Claude's lap, Buffy snuggled up to him and closed her eyes. Jean-Claude smoothed her hair back, absentmindedly playing with the long blond locks. Everyone watched the Master of the City being so uncharacteristically gentle with the small blonde he held.
"Anita, what did you need? Are you not here for official business?"
"Yes, but I think I just got my answer. There was a huge magic reading at the Circus about an hour ago. Do you want to tell me how she arrived?"
"Non, I do not. You only need to know she's here now and will be staying. She's mine to protect Anita, she was sent to me." Jean-Claude's voice left no room for argument.
"You can't just keep someone against their will, Jean-Claude."
"Look at her; does it look to you as if she doesn't want to be here?"
"No." Her voice came out sharper than she meant.
"Then I don't see that there's any need for your concern. Something tells me, ma tendre aimée, wouldn't allow me to do anything she doesn't want."
Buffy eyes remained closed as she responded, "Damn straight, I may not know much about my past, but I know I don't like people telling me what to do." Buffy's hand played with Jean-Claude's long black hair while she talked.
"Now, if there's nothing else?" Jean-Claude started to pick up his prize.
"Wait!" Anita knew she didn't want them to leave yet.
"Yes?"
The word held such impatience that Anita felt it from across the desk. "Uh, RPIT expects me to report something about this. What should I say about her?"
"Her has a name, its Buffy Summers. Why do you have to tell an armpit about me, whatever that is? I haven't done anything wrong, and it isn't anyone's business that I'm here." She sat up, looking Anita straight in the eye with her chin set at a hard angle, daring anyone to disagree with her.
Jean-Claude laughed, sending a tickle down both women's back. Buffy glared at him, pulling his ear close to her mouth. "If you do that again, I won't be held responsible for what I do in front of your friends." She whispered, then nipped his ear. He shivered as her husky whisper and teasing bite flowed over him.
Richard put an arm around Anita, pulling her close. "Anita, I think we should leave and continue our date," he whispered in her ear. He overheard Buffy's words, and quickly tried to get his girlfriend out of the room. Knowing that Anita still had unresolved feelings for the Master of the City, Richard decided to do whatever he needed to keep the woman he wanted as his mate. He ran a hand down her back, leaking power into his touch.
Buffy gasped, turning to stare at him. "You shouldn't do that without a warning."
"You could feel his power, chére."
"Duh, he leaked it out all over the place."
"I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional." Richard had the grace to blush.
"Okay, just don't do it again."
"Why? What's the big deal? You can't handle it?" Anita couldn't stop the sarcastic remark from slipping out.
Buffy felt her tight guards fall away as her body automatically responded to the challenge from the other woman. Jason and Nathaniel rolled on the floor as the power started their change.
"Jean-Claude, stop her." Anita gasped, feeling her control over her necromancy slipping. Too late, it broke free to fight against Buffy's power.
Jean-Claude and Richard helplessly watched as their own shields weakened. The Weres in the Circus shifted and raced straight for the office. Buffy's power brought everyone except Jean-Claude into submission before snapping close. She slumped into Jean-Claude's arms as the door swung open, and the Weres bounded into the room. They headed for Buffy, pushing to reach her, surrounding her and Jean-Claude until only their heads showed. Richard attempted to dominate the wolves to no avail. Buffy roused when a tongue licked her hand. She looked up from Jean-Claude's lap to see the waiting faces moving close, crawling inches to get to her.
She stood shakily before sitting on the ground. The Weres surrounded her, brushing against her and licking her hands or face. One large leopard licked her bare back causing Buffy to giggle. Jean-Claude, Anita and Richard stared in amazement as she petted, scratched or hugged each one.
"Aren't they beautiful, Jean-Claude? They're so sweet, look how they gentle they are." Buffy laughed like a little girl playing with kittens and puppies, rather than large pony-sized wolves and leopards.
Jean-Claude knew he was lost in that very moment. He had never seen anyone who accepted people no matter what they were, just as they were, with no restrictions, misgivings or fear.
Anita watched her former lover, and knew that she had lost him to this little woman-child. Looking at Buffy sitting on the floor as she pet and tickled the Weres, Anita admitted she couldn't blame him. Buffy was warm and giving, regardless of the power she held. Maybe if she got to know Buffy, she could learn her secret about how she had accomplished that.
"Jean-Claude, we're going to go. Tell Buffy if she'd like someone to talk to, I'm available."
"Merci, Anita, have a nice night." He smiled at her, but his eyes kept returning to the tiny blonde.
Anita and Richard left, quietly closing the door. Richard turned to Anita. "Do you regret us, Anita? If you want him, leave before I give you so much of myself there isn't anything left."
"No, Richard, I love you. He has who he needs. Somehow, I think even if we had been together, I'd have lost him to her. Let's go home, I think it's time we lay our cards on the table." Anita took his hand as they left the Circus.