Disclaimer: The characters of Natalie and Lacroix don't belong to me but to
Sony/Tristar. I have given them some long overdue exercise and I have
returned them to their dusty shelf (to their dismay, I might add).
This little piece was kind of (though not totally) inspired by recent list
discussions. My thanks go to PJ and Shenandora for beta-reading and
inspiration. Please bear in mind that English is not my native tongue.

The following story contains explicit adult material (m/f). If you are too
young or offended by such matters, please don't read.
It may be archived on the FTP site, Fan Fic 2, Jadfe. All others, please let
me know first. It will also be archived at my own site
www.come-undone.net .

Manipulative vampire masters and useful comments and criticism can be send
to
cousinlucilla@freenet.de
Flames will be used to make tea.

Fleeting Images 1/2
By Luc, September 2004


Lacroix switched the microphone off and leaned back in his chair. A
satisfied smile flitted across his features as he surveyed the club from the
silence of his new broadcast booth. But only a second later the smile was
replaced by a scowl.
He had sensed a new arrival at the club. One whose heartbeat had become
annoyingly familiar. He rose and ventured out into the dark, pulsing room to
greet his visitor.
He silently slid behind the petite figure.

"Doctor Lambert, what an unusual pleasure to see you here."
The woman he had addressed, flinched and swirled around.
"Geez, I wish you guys wouldn't do that!"
Lacroix raised an eyebrow in a gesture conveying part amusement, part
annoyance.
The mortal blushed at her obvious slip of tongue.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."
"What brings you in, Doctor Lambert? If it's Nicholas you seek, he is not
here."
"I know. That's not why I am here..."
Her voice trailed off and her heartbeat rose as she became aware of the many
hungry stares she was receiving from certain patrons of the club.
"Might I suggest a more private environment for this little conversation?
You clearly have come to discuss something with me."
Natalie nodded mutely. She followed Lacroix to the back of the club, passing
the curtained door that led to the back room where she had once faced a
fully vamped Nick. Nick ...
She swallowed and her face darkened.

Lacroix opened the door to the office and offered her a seat on a wide,
obviously brand new couch. Natalie sat down and looked around, curiosity
getting the better of her. Large cardboard boxes were piled in the corners
of the room; there were darker rectangles on the walls, where there had once
been pictures.

"Excuse the disorder, Doctor Lambert. I haven't quite finished unpacking
yet."
"Unpacking? Are you moving in here?"
"Only some office supplies. I have taken over the club."
"Oh."
Natalie slumped back into the couch.
"Then maybe I should leave. I came to see Janette."
Another raised eyebrow.
"I'm afraid you are out of luck. Janette has left the city some time ago."
"Nick didn't tell me."
"Oh, Nicholas doesn't know. He hasn't been here in almost two months."
"The warehouse bomber ...," mumbled Nat, then she stood and straightened her
coat.
"Well, I'll better be gone then. Sorry to bother you."
"Wait."
It was not a command, nor was it sharp in tone, but Natalie turned and faced
the older vampire.
"Can I be of help? After all, you have come to talk about my son."
"How...?" Nat began but recognized the logic in his assumption. What else
would she want to talk about, coming to the Raven, than Nick?
"I don't know. It is really a private matter."
Again she blushed, her skin flushing in a very appealing way, Lacroix
thought.
"No one knows as much about our dear Nicholas than I do," he declared
firmly.
"Not even Janette."
Natalie looked at him for a long moment.
She remembered that not long ago the man standing only a few feet away from
her had tried to kill her, and it had only been by Nick's fervent denial of
his feelings for her that she had survived Valentine's Day.
Yes, they both believed she had forgotten everything, but she remembered
every painful detail. How Nick's words had stung, although she knew he had
done it to save her. She also remembered his hands moving roughly over her
body and his lips demandingly on hers.
There had been something else. Something that made her shiver now.
She inhaled deeply, then met Lacroix's eyes unflinching.
"Yes, I want to talk about Nick."
Lacroix smiled.
Annoying though this mortal was, her courage was admirable. A scientific
mind, set not to be derailed by superstition or fear. Qualities he
appreciated  in any person, vampire or mortal alike.
"I suggest you accompany me to my home, Doctor. There I can offer you real
hospitality and we will not have an unwanted audience."
"Your home? I thought..."
"That I lived here? Janette did. I prefer a more spacious environment. Shall
we?"
He offered her his arm and led her out the back door.
"Where is your car?"
"My...?"
"Yes, I usually don't require such a mode of transportation. But I doubt
that you would want to fly with me."
Natalie nodded and started rummaging in her purse for her car keys.
Actually, she had always dreamt that Nick would take her flying one day, but
Lacroix...
Images of her broken body floating on the surface of Lake Ontario appeared
before her inner eye.
With shaking hands she set to unlocking her car door. A cool hand covered
hers and steadied it, so she could slip the key inside.
"Thank you. I should have brought gloves."
Lacroix only smiled enigmatically.
She was not shivering because of the cold air.

+++
Their drive took them down to the lakefront, to a warehouse not unlike
Nick's.
"Does the liking for derelict buildings come with crossing over, or what?"
Natalie tried jokingly.
"Doctor, I would have thought you a little more intelligent," Lacroix
snapped.
"In such surroundings our unusual life-style draws the least suspicion. Not
many neighbours asking inappropriate questions."
Natalie knew that she'd better not criticise his taste again.

She parked her car and they rode the elevator together in silence. Unlike
Nick's, this elevator glided smoothly, noiselessly up the building. Natalie
expected to find an apartment very much like Nick's. Dark colours, sparsely
furnished. Leather, wood.
When the elevator doors opened, she let out a little squeak of surprise.
The predominant colour in the loft seemed to be a light cream. From the
fluffy carpeting to the soft sofas facing each other opposite a large
fireplace. But this one did not sport gothic dragons and gargoyles but was
made of white marble, nothing but a few fat candles on its mantle. The walls
seemed to consist of giant bookcases, stuffed to the brim with everything
from ancient volumes to the newest editions. There were pictures on the
little wall space left, and from what Natalie had learnt about Lacroix so
far, they were probably originals.  Bright red cushions on the sofas and a
rug of the same colour in front of the fireplace added a delightful accent.
Lacroix watched as she gazed around the room in amazement.

"Did you expect a dungeon, Doctor?"
Natalie turned and smiled at him sheepishly.
"I thought it would be like Nick's."
"Yes, I thought you did. You see, this is one of the clichés you mortals
have made up about us. Not all of us like it dark and gloomy."
"Why the black clothes?"
"Consider it camouflage."
He had gone and picked up a remote and the shutters on the windows closed
while the fire in the fireplace flared up.
"Ah, that you do have in common." Nat pointed to the remote.
"Why don't you make yourself at home, Doctor Lambert? Can I get you
something?"
Natalie was astonished at how perfectly he played the host.
"I don't suppose you have coffee?"
"Of course I do. As I said, I am not Nicholas. I do occasionally entertain
guests, mortal guests, and I like to be able to offer them something."
Again Natalie found herself blushing.
I have to stop doing that, she thought.

While her host busied himself preparing coffee, Natalie looked about his
home. She saw a door at the far end of the room slightly ajar and peeked
inside. Lacroix's bedroom obviously. Only that here the predominant colour
was a warm, deep burgundy red. The sheets of the large bed, the carpet, the
walls.

She turned quickly, hoping her host had not noticed her snooping around.
He returned to her, mug in hand. For himself he had brought a long-stemmed
glass filled with blood. Natalie shivered as this was most certainly not
bovine.

End of part 1


Fleeting Images 2/2
By Luc, September 2004

Disclaimers see part 1

She turned quickly, hoping her host had not noticed her snooping around.
He returned to her, mug in hand. For himself he had brought a long-stemmed
glass filled with blood. Natalie shivered as this was most certainly not
bovine.

"Why don't we sit down, hm?"
Natalie nodded and joined Lacroix in front of the fireplace. He was seated
on one sofa, she on the other, facing him.
She felt oddly comfortable in his presence. He was a lot less intimidating
in these surroundings, and he seemed a lot less tense, yes, even relaxed.
"So, Doctor, let's get to the point. What is it you want to know?"
"First of all, I'd like you to call me Natalie. You already did at Azure's."
He showed no visible sign of astonishment at her revelation that she
remembered the incident.
"Natalie then." He took a sip of his drink.
Suddenly she was tongue-tied again. She had been prepared to talk to
Janette, a vampire but also a woman. One who had at one point been very
close to Nick.
This was not at all what she had pictured this conversation to be.
"Uhm, it's because of Nick, because he ... I..."
Lacroix shot her an amused glance.
"I would not have pegged you a prude, Natalie."
"How do you know that I want to talk about that?"
"It is obvious. You keep blushing like a schoolgirl, and the vibrations I
keep getting from Nicholas... It IS obvious. You are both thinking of taking
this relationship a step further."
She nodded, then looked him straight in the eye.
"He says that it's impossible. He keeps pushing me away."
"He is probably wise to do so."
"Why?"
"There are two reasons. One, he is afraid I will kill you. Two, he is afraid
he will kill you."
"You have already tried to kill me, although I don't know why."
"An old bargain between Nicholas and myself. I might tell you about it later
on. But do go on."
"Would you try to kill me again?"
She stared at him and he met her gaze.
"I might, although I'm beginning to grow quite fond of you. You are
refreshing."
"Thanks, I guess. And why should he be afraid to kill me? He would never
hurt me intentionally."
"But unintentionally he might. Tell me, Natalie. Has Nicholas ever told you
about the vampire way of having sex?"
Again her cheeks grew hot.
"No, he is evasive at best."
"Essentially, vampire sex starts out as regular human sex, albeit a little
more passionate or violent for a human to be comfortable with. But to
achieve climax we have to bite, Natalie. We bite each other and by sharing
our blood we become each other. It is an experience that I cannot even
approach on describing adequately. It is possible to have sex with a mortal,
to take just the amount of blood to trigger orgasm, but it takes immense
control, I'm afraid, Nicholas is NOT very good at control."
"What do you mean by that?"
Lacroix knew by the way Natalie's voice quavered that she had a pretty good
idea what he meant. She just refused to believe it.
"He loses himself. He can't stop in time, especially with people he cares
about."
"How would you know?"
"Oh, we have a very special relationship, Nicholas and I."
Natalie's stomach knitted itself into a tight knot.
"How special?" She croaked.
Suddenly she found herself pinned to the couch. Lacroix, in a swift motion,
had crossed over to her and placed his hands on either side of her head, his
face looming above hers. The only way she could escape this was to slide to
the floor in a most undignified fashion. No way she was going to give him
the satisfaction of seeing her on the floor.
All of a sudden the amiability had vanished and sheer malice was sparkling
in his eyes. She had never noticed how blue they were.
The half-slanted grin was down-right devilish.
"Stop beating about the bush, Natalie. If you're asking if Nicholas and I
had sex, the answer is yes."
He snickered as she pressed herself harder into the soft upholstery of the
couch.
She swallowed hard, her throat dry.
"That's it, isn't it?"
"What?"
"Why you keep chasing him. You want him back."
"Oh, I've already got him back, Natalie. Whom do you think he will turn to
in his 'hour of need' now that Janette is gone?"
He brushed the back of his hand lightly over her cheek and throat.
Despite herself she leaned into the touch. He snickered again. She knew that
he was playing mind-games with her. Well, she could play, too.
"Tell me."
"What?"
Bingo! One for you, Lambert. Keep going.
"Tell me what it's like. Having him. Making love to him."
"Having sex with him."
"Yes."
He knelt before her now, her face still trapped between his hands. He leaned
closer, his face only inches from her own. She could feel his breath on her
skin.
"He is exhilarating, my dear. He struggles, of course, he always has. But
that just adds to the experience. It is always a challenge to overcome his
restraints, his sickening moral values that tell him it's wrong to give in
to his desires. But in the end, he submits."
"Have you ever forced him?"
"You mean 'raped' him? On occasion even that, my dear. But I usually don't
have to resort to those measures."
She tried to gauge this man before her. He had just admitted to having
brutalized Nick and hadn't even blinked.
"You see, Natalie, Nicholas is a very sensual creature. His upbringing and
his 'conscience' force him to deny himself the enjoyment of his own innate
sensuality. But once these barriers have been overcome, he is just ...
delicious."
She tried to keep her cool, but his voice and the topic were getting to her.
She felt her body react to the mental image of Nick writhing lustfully in
Lacroix's arms.
"You are getting aroused, Natalie."
Damn, Lambert, get a grip on yourself!
"Do you wish me to go on?"
"Yes."
"Usually, he responds extremely well to caresses to his neck."
Lacroix started to trail his fingers teasingly down her neck, leaving her
skin hot and flushed.
She closed her eyes. Oh my God, she thought. What am I doing?
But she made no gesture of stopping him.
"You know, if you want to see, to feel what it is like to have him, I could
give you that experience."
"How?" Was that hoarse whisper, tinged with lust, really her voice?
"You know, unlike Nicholas, I have the necessary control to 'make love' to a
mortal. The moment I bite you, you will share my memories of Nicholas."
"If you bite me? Who says you won't kill me?"
"No one. You have to trust me, I'm afraid."
She knew that he couldn't be trusted. But to hell with it!
"One condition."
"Whatever you say, my dear."
"I don't want to see you rape him. Only consensual things."
"Fine with me."
He sealed their pact with a deep kiss, his tongue invading her mouth like a
legion breaking through a wall. She responded eagerly, her starved body
clinging to him. She ripped the shirt off his back, letting her hands slide
over the skin. She was astonished how soft his skin felt under her hands.
She knew he would be cold; Nick was cold. But she had never really touched
Nick, not like this.
They had kissed on that ominous Valentine's Day, but nothing more. Their
beepers had gone off.
"So eager? I underestimated you."
"Shut up!"
His hands were on her thighs, pushing her skirt up. Then he tore her blouse
open, sending the buttons flying. He fondled her breasts roughly, pinching
her nipples which were already hard. She moaned as his hands slid beneath
her bra, cupping the soft mounds of flesh. Hot flashes rushing from her
breasts to her very core. She reached out and found the hard bulge in his
pants, rubbing her hand across the fabric enclosed erection. A low growl was
the forthcoming answer and she found herself staring into glowing golden
eyes. She fought the instinct to close hers and continued in her endeavour.
She undid the zipper, slipped her hand into his fly and found the rigid
shaft. Cool, hard under her fingers, and incredibly sensitive.
The feeling of control she had all of a sudden, added to her arousal. She
could see it in his eyes, as the gold gave way to amber and his fangs began
to show beneath his upper lip.
He responded by tearing her panties away from her body as if they were
nothing but a scrap of paper. His fingers delved between her legs and found
her slick and ready.
She gasped as his cool fingers parted her lips and probed her, rubbing the
sensitive nub and sending bolts of lightning through her system. She began
rubbing her hand across his flesh faster, declaring her need without words.
He tore her wrist away and at her astonished look smiled.
"Soon, sweet one. Patience."
 He heaved himself up onto the sofa next to her, sinking heavily into the
upholstery.
"Now, are you ready to finish what you've started?" He asked, his voice low
and rumbling.
She nodded and set out to prove it by straddling him. His large hands slid
over her buttocks as she sank down on him. He slid into her easily, the
coolness almost welcome on her heated flesh.
The only sound he made was a soft hiss, but his eyes fluttered shut for a
tiny moment. Natalie started to grind her hips slowly, gasping at the
sensation of his hardness within her.  At this moment it was only need, her
body wanted, needed this. It had just been too long since she had
experienced anything remotely like this without the help of some
battery-powered toy.
She increased speed, her nails clawing into the white shoulders under her.
He was getting closer too, telling from the way he growled and bucked his
hips upwards.
He reached up to her and tangled his hands in her hair, pulling her down to
him until she lay sprawled across his chest. She felt her head being bent to
the side and then the sharp pain of his bite. She gasped but the pain
dissolved into pleasure, as her climax shook her. As soon as the shivers
were subsiding, the images started to flood her brain.
Nick, fully vamped, sinking his fangs into Lacroix's neck. Nick, panting and
moaning in delight - God, he did look so desirable - as Lacroix pleasured
him. The feelings washed over her as he climaxed.
She shivered anew as she felt Nick's orgasm, even if it was second hand. The
images began to fade and she tried to hang on to them.
"No, enough, Natalie! This is us now!" Lacroix snarled and pounded into her
with renewed force. She was carried over the edge again just as Lacroix came
with a snarl.
She came back to reality as she felt him lick her neck.
She felt no need to cuddle with him and suddenly she wanted to get out of
there as soon as possible.
She scrambled away and picked up her clothing, suddenly embarrassed at the
way he let his eyes wander over her. As soon as she was presentable again,
she fled the loft.

***
He smiled as he watched her storm out of the room, then went to change into
fresh clothes. He already had an idea for a broadcast.

The End

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