§§♥§§ Envy §§♥§§

[Anime_Girl_4216]

Gasping quietly as her hand reached up to brush her hair back from her face she quickly pulled a few items of make up out of her purse to fix the damages that the water had done, but sadly it seemed that it wouldn't be done as quickly as she had hoped for not a moment later Eden walked through the bathroom door, her eyes closing for a quick moment as she sent up a silent prayer hoping that it would not be a bad confrontation...though the confrontation would not be coming from Tanya, she learned quickly that it was better to keep her responses and conversations with Eden to the minimum. "Mrs. Scandenous." she responded loud enough for the woman to hear but she kept her eyes on the mirror as she reapplied her mascara. Just why was Eden in here in the first place? Was she that sadistic that she couldn’t let her alone just so she could watch her squirm? “How long did Arathorn have to nag you before you agreed to come to lunch with him? All night, perhaps? Using some means of persuasion that I more than likely don’t want to hear about but can’t help imagining?” she winced at the woman's tone but she kept her composure as calm as she could.

"He did nothing of the sort." she said quietly, "He only had to ask me once and I consented...." which was a small lie since he did have to coerce her into going but not by taking her to bed which was what Eden was probably thinking he had to do....She wasn't a slut, but in Eden's eyes she was probably just a skank who wanted nothing more than to take all of Thorn's money, "There was no kind of promiscuous behavior involved if that was what you were trying to imply... I don't need to be pleased in bed to agree to going or doing anything. I am more of a discussion person than that."

She spoke softly, her tone rather neutral than letting the comments dig at her, it was better if she were to remain rather uninterested that have her anger get the best of her, which was what Eden wanted more than anything. Pushing away from the counter as she started toward the door she sighed softly, she would be paying for what she said next but she felt as if someone needed to say something to the woman... Arathorn was getting more frustrated by the second and his own mother couldn't even see that she was making her child suffer. "Honestly Eden....How long is it going to take before you realize that all you are doing is pushing him farther away from you, if you continue like this you might just lose him all together."

~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

"Oh please...you get as much delight out of the whole situation as I do." she said with a small frown, "Besides, it better when those two are around it makes the club more lively, not to mention they have such a lovely gaggle of girls wandering around just to watch them it also brings in more business for us." She chuckled softly as he laughed... See? She was right he found it just as funny as she did, "It's not Cleo's fault that he is more of a metro sexual than anyone knows how to deal with.... Jareth only teases him because he is simply pinning after his own love.....and playing around with her best friend's mind is the second best thing he can do.... Though you are right about Aza, Jareth had better watch himself tonight, especially since a certain someone added Rene's name to the guest list."

Her eyes took in his look with a raised eyebrow but he quickly schooled his features...Just what was going on in that man's head and why did she have a feeling that he might be planning something? Sighing as Kyrekk stood from his seat, his hand dropping from hers to wrap his arm around her shoulder she grinned as her other arm wrapped around his waist, since there was no way she would be getting her arm around his shoulder since he towered over her so much, he would have to deal with her arm there. The ride on the elevator was short, though slightly cramped since there were others on the lift as well, which pushed her closer toward his frame than she would feel comfortable with but she remained silent, nothing she could really do about. Once they reached the ground floor and were out into the car which was waiting for them she scooted all the way toward the other side of the car, it was a tight squeeze for Kyrekk since he was so abnormally tall and the taxi would only accommodate him so much, thank goodness the ride was only so far to the club..

Not ten minutes later they were in front of Envy, popping out from the other side of the car as she moved toward the workers who were putting up the last minute outside decorations double checking with the man in charge as to what had been completed so far and also what still needed to be done. "Thank you so much for all your hard work, your dedication is greatly appreciated." she said quietly to him, he nodded with a small grin before returning to his work just as Kyrekk stepped toward the front doors, "Come on, it appears that Cleo has not shown up yet so unless they are making any kind of a major disaster inside we could probably disappear back to the offices for a little while, I wanted to call David quickly to see how long he was thinking they would be tonight...No use in trying to talk to Olive since she will be just as swamped as we are right now." she spoke as they walked through the front doors, not entirely sure of what to expect since Cleo had been the one to draw up the decoration blueprints... They were always a spectacle that was for sure.

[La LeClamour]

Lorcan had grown rather comfortable, cradling Brooklyn against his chest while he stroked her hair, whenever she finally chose to speak. The tear flow had stopped, though her cheeks were still stick, a few stray hands of hair sticking to them. He brushed the hair away, rubbing her damp cheeks dry. “We could stay here,” he suggested, a smile tugging the corners of his lips upward. “And when he comes to get you I can kindly inform him that you’re quite busy in my apartment and that we have no recollection of any date with him.”

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, pushing up into a less relaxed position. “I suppose you do need to change though,” he mused aloud. And in addition to that, she had said that she was wanting to pull the other two pictures out. He slid from behind her, ruffling her hair as he stood. It was then that he remembered that he had made breakfast - and promptly shrugged it off. He wasn’t particularly hungry anymore, and he doubted Brook was either. And if she decided she was, then they could go get something. He doubted what he’d made would taste very good after that detour back to the kitchen. The egg yolk would be hard and the bacon would be cold. Highly unappetizing.

“I do need to get dressed though,” he murmured, running a hand over the top of his head. He was still in the clothes he’d slept in - a white tee shirt and a pair of grey sweat pants. “Just a second.” He turned, striding to the bedroom for a moment to slip out of his rumpled nightclothes and into a pair of well fitted white jeans and a light sea foam green silk button-down with white stitching of some sort of design trailing down the back, stepping into a pair of white boots and tucking them beneath the hem of his pant legs before reemerging outside the room, running his fingers through his pale hair. “Alright - now let’s get back to your apartment before your stalker does. I intend on meeting him today.”

♣ ♠ ♣

There was, assuredly, not much more in the world that could irk Eden Scandenous more than someone taking her barbs so calmly. If there was anything Thorn’s mother was good at, it was making the people around her feel lower than the dust on the bottom of her pretty designer heels in such a way that they had no way of retaliating without coming across as outright rude. And Tatanya Fabian was one of her most susceptible subjects, and regularly got an extra dose of animosity, since she was fooling around with her son. And after the stunts the girl’s sister pulled, it was all but impossible for Eden not to be suspicious.

Tatanya’s quick tongue, however, caught Eden off guard. And in that brief lapse of thought, she could control her left arm as it pulled back of its own accord, sending the back of her hand to connect with the younger woman’s cheek. Tanya’s head turned to the side from the impact, Eden’s oversized twenty-four karat wedding ring with its princess cut white diamond scraping his son’s girlfriend’s soft skin, an involuntary dig. Eden’s lips parted in surprise - at herself, and at the thin stream of blood trickling down Tanya’s pretty jaw line. “Oh my God,” she breathed, taking a step back, heel clicking against the flagstone floor. No word of apology made it past her lips though, as Tatanya brought her hand up, eyes beginning to water as the door was pushed open and Emily stepped in - looking quite confusedly between the other two females as she drew her pale pink purse closer to her. Eden cleared her throat. “Ah, er, hello Emily, dear …”

Thorn, on the other hand, had been left at the table by himself with the waiter, who was busying himself with refilling the wine glasses and avoiding Arathorn’s eyes. He ran his fingers through his dark, slightly overlong hair, and chanced another look toward the hall that led to the restrooms that Emily had just disappeared down. He sighed, stood up, habitually pushing his chair in behind him as he walked down the hall. He could stop and pretend to admire a painting in the hall, fiddle with the mint bowl. There was no reason, other than his mother pestering Tatanya, that they should possible be taking so long.

[Exogent Remedy]

Brook shifted into an upright sitting position when Lorcan shifted himself. “Yes, I really do need to change. Though I think I might wait until after he shows up to pick me up.” Him seeing her in another guys shirt just might serve as the vital hint she was not, in anyway, interested in him. If it didn’t... well he had some sort of mental problem then. Actually... she didn’t doubt that there was something wrong with the man. She’d done everything she could think of so far, including bluntly telling him she had no desire to date him, and he was still convinced she was ‘in denial’. How much did a girl have to do to get the message across? Aparently more than she was capable, seeing as he had set up this ridiculous date even though she’d said she was busy three or four times.

She held back a sigh, getting to her feet as Lorcan stood himself. She thought she had smelled bacon cooking earlier. Maybe she should pop into the kitchen and find it. “Alright, you do that,” she said absently when the man said he needed to change. She had honestly barely even noticed what he had been wearing. She looked after him a moment, before she made her way back into the kitchen, scanning the counter for the bacon she thought might be there. She found it quickly enough. Grinning broadly she walked over to the plate, and plucked a few pieces off of it. She proceeded to munch on the cold bacon while she waited for Lorcan to come back out of his bedroom. Rather than stand around in his kitchen, she grabbed a few extra pieces of bacon, and went back out into the living room where she leaned against the wall and absently chewed on her bacon. She was just popping the last strip into her mouth when she heard his bedroom door open again, and looked towards it. Almost guiltily she finished the bacon, before she rubbed her hands on her sweat pants. “Just a sec,” she murmured, head to his room, and grabbing her sweater which had her phone and her keys in it. Then she returned to where he was waiting.“Alright then. Off we go around the corner.”

He was wearing white pants again. He must have a few pairs of white pants. She headed to the door, and quickly stepped out into the hall. She waited to the side for him to join her in the hall, and lock his door if he wanted to. Then she made her way around the corner, pulling out her own keys out of her sweater pocket she first gave the door a test turn. It was locked. So no one was there. She inserted her key and unlocked the door, stepping quickly inside. She dropped her sweater unceremoniously on the couch, and proceeded over to her bedroom. She opened it, and then headed right to her closet, not bothering with the light. She shifted her clothes to the side, and found the two paintings. Brook had to take them out of the closet and into the living room one at a time, where she leaned them up against the wall, still covered by the white fabric she had draped over both of them. She pulled the fabric off the two and took a step back just to look at them for awhile. “they look better as a set,” she mumbled to herself.

[Anime_Girl_4216]

She had been expecting some sort of a verbal retaliation, another sharp comment or a quick snap on her being the whore of Babylon but what she hadn't counted on was the stray chance Eden would respond physically. She had seen the woman start to move toward her but she couldn’t bring herself to move, it was as if the look on Eden's face had paralyzed Tanya's body, as if preparing for the impact which came only a few moments later. Her head snapped back sharply, her arms stretching out to steady her body as it recoiled, her right hand went straight to her cheek as the initial sting turned into painful throbbing.

As her eyes lifted to look toward Eden she could feel the tears as they started to build but she bit her bottom lip, preventing then traitorous tears from falling, if there was anything she had learned in her years of knowing Eden, it was never show that she'd rattled her. This really was more than she could possibly have imagined, she knew she shouldn't have agreed to come out with Arathorn, not just because of the potential of meeting with Eden like this, but she knew deep down this was probably more than simply a 'lunch meeting', why else had Eden brought along Emily? Knowing Eden she was probably trying to ensure that there might be an 'engagement' in the works soon...... It was only a matter of time before Eden would start pushing, she probably was already but Arathorn hadn't chosen to mention it in conversation since he was constantly making sure to steer away from talk of his mother.

"Oh my God."

Her mind was brought back to the present as the gasp from the other woman, pulling her hand away from her cheek her eyes widened at the red which covered her fingers, she had felt something run across her cheek but she hadn't expected for it to really make a mark, but from the look of her cheek in the mirror behind Eden's shoulder the damage was more than she had thought it was. Her hand returned to her cheek her eyes dropping from Eden's as she started to look around for something to stop the bleeding but she froze again as the door of the bathroom opened and who came through? Of course, it had to be Emily. She looked toward the young woman, as her eyes fell on the woman who was now staring at the wound on her cheek it was as if the 'spell' was broken, she murmured a quiet excuse before she slid right past Emily to go the door only to stop in her tracks as her eyes caught the pair of shoes which had stopped near the other side of the hall. Thorn hadn't seemed to have noticed her just yet but as she moved closer his head turned to catch her face, "I need to go." she murmured in a low voice her eyes straying to just below his gaze, she couldn't bring herself to look any higher, she could imagine just what his expression was at the moment, though she could simply blow it off as her being clumsy, he'd believe her if she were to press it enough, but right now all she wanted to do was escape to her room to gather her emotions enough to get through the rest of the night, there was the party after all and she needed to be in a better frame of mind if she were to be serving customers that night.

[La LeClamour]

Cleo inhaled deeply, running his fingers through his hair as he took in the scene before him. He had arrived a good twenty minutes ahead of Kyrekk and Daniela, dragging Rina with him and leaving his little Monkey in the capable hands of Leanelle and Jareth. Nothing had gone amiss just yet, but there was so much going on! The lighting specialists were running late in outfitting the entire building with an assortment of new fixtures, temporary walls were being erected for a labyrinth on the upper floor, the costumes were lying in wait in the back room, and decorating was heavily under way.

He turned his head as the doors were pulled open, admitting the owner and manager, Kyrekk holding the door for Dani to enter ahead of him before shutting it as he slipped inside. “Cleo – hey.” Kyrekk frowned. “We didn’t know you were already here.” He raised his head, pursing his lips as he scanned what was going on. If they were lucky plans would go without a hitch.

Cleo nodded absently to the two of them, his eyes focused on the stage where it was being backlit with bright orange beams around the foot and violet spotlights at the ceiling. “Think we should just leave him to it?” Kyrekk murmured, knowing the answer would most certainly be a ‘yes’. Cleodonis was best left alone whenever he was working – whether it was sewing sequins onto a cocktail dress or overseeing decorative construction for minor flaws. “I’m going to the office. Thirty minutes and I’ll be up again.” He just needed a catnap – and then he would have to make a couple of calls before his catering staff arrived. Drinks were Kyrekk’s specialty, so it went without saying that food was being provided by another associate. And he needed at least a bit of sleep before things really got going. Maybe his name would span into an hour – but he would have a little bit of rest to run on until the wee hours of the morning. It was going to be a lot to handle with Rene, Aearion, and Azrael there in addition to the mass of other guests.


Thorn was deliberating on how to loiter in front of the ladies’ room without looking like a p***k – whenever the door was pulled open, and the girl escaping the bathroom happened to be Tatanya. She froze in place, not even looking up at him – and he didn’t neglect to notice that she had one hand on her cheek while she stared down at his shoes, unmoving. “Tanya?” he asked softly, taking a step forward, immediately reaching for the hand she held to her face.

She answered him in a low voice, still refusing to look up at him – or allow him to get close enough to take her arm. “I need to go.”

Arathorn furrowed his eyebrows, but stepped back, unable to think of anything more to do. He had learned a long time ago that in some situations, it was better to lend Tatanya Fabian her space, rather than force oneself upon her. He was beginning to think though, that he needed to find a more gently persistent way to take action, if he could figure out how to balance the two things. In the meantime, however, he needed to find out what was wrong – and the next best thing to getting it out of Tanya was confronting his mother, who was undoubtedly the culprit. He was loathe to do it, but it was now or never. If he walked out of the restaurant and allowed the situation to simmer, then it would simply blow over and he wouldn’t get the truth out of either or them.

Taking in a breath, he clenched his jaw, then took his last few strides to the women’s restroom, pushing the door open. Only his mother was present, and Emily, her pretty face looking rather dumbfounded. His mother didn’t miss a beat, save for her short stutter. “A-Arathorn – what are you … Darling, this is the ladies room you know. You shouldn’t be-“

“Emily, I think you need to go wait for my mother back at the table. While you were gone your phone rang. I’m sure there’s someone who wants to talk to you.” Thorn managed to keep his voice even. It wasn’t Emily who was responsible, and shouldn’t have to hear anything that went on. His mother, though … He waited until Emily slipped past him, mumbling something in French that he didn’t bother taking the effort to make out, and left the two of them alone. Eden opened her mouth, but was silenced as Arathorn took a step into the room, allowing the door to fall shut behind him. “What did you do?”

“Thorn, I didn’t-“

“What did you do?”

Eden took a step back, bumping into the sink, obviously alarmed by her son’s reaction. Arathorn tolerated his mother at all times – true anger from him wasn’t something she was well acquainted with. Even in the times when Arathorn did confront her, he didn’t yell. He spoke calmly, and quietly, each word inflected with the slightest touch of malice. With his last question though, he raised his voice, piercing her with a glare. “Thorn, I – my hand … slipped! I didn’t realize, and my ring grazed her cheek, and-“

“You hit her?!!!?”

“I-I … I didn’t mean …” Eden shrank under his hard stare, biting her lower lip as tears glazed her eyes. She was cowering – and had Thorn not been so angry, he would have immediately regretted upsetting his mother.

But he was pissed. And not in the mood for her whimpering. “You don’t just accidentally hit someone! What the [********/] were you thinking?!”

“Sir, I think you need to leave. This is the ladies’ restroom, and-“

“And this is a private conversation that you weren’t asked into.” Thorn turned his scowl on the suited man who had silently opened the door behind him. The man was a whole head shorter than Scandenous, skinny and his blonde head was balding at the top. He looked torn between shock and fear at Thorn’s effrontery.

“I’m sorry,” he said, clearing his throat, “but you are going to have to leave the building. You are upsetting this poor woman and the guests seated near the-“

“Well then maybe guests shouldn’t sit so near the restrooms – or mind their own damn business and stop eavesdropping. I’m perfectly entitled to – what the hell are you doing?”

Arathorn’s question needn’t be answered in words however, because a moment later, I rather large man, almost comparable to Kyrekk in size, was at the door to the ladies’ restroom, and before the young CEO had a chance to object, he was being hauled out of the room, toward the front entrance. It didn’t take him long to regain his bearings though, predictably. “Get the hell off of me! I don’t need to be manhandled – I’m perfectly capable of – WALKING!” He snatched his arm from the larger man’s hold, scowling, and strode the rest of the way to the front door, ignoring the doorman as he was let out.


Lorcan allowed Brook out of the door ahead of him, pausing behind her to turn the key in his own lock before pocketing his keys and following her down to her door. It was locked, he saw as she tried it once before sticking the key in, the second movement allowing them entrance. He entered behind her and pushed the door shut behind him, leaning against it while he watched Brooklyn disappear into her bedroom. He wasn’t sure if she was going to bring the pictures out or not, but he wasn’t going to follow her in just yet. She very well may want a moment alone with the works of art.

Refraining from going in behind her, he let his eyes wander around the familiar living room and kitchen. He wasn’t finding anything of great consequence that he hadn’t seen before, but he wandered around anyhow, skimming the tips of his long fingers over the granite countertop, studying the coffee pot, the stove, looking over into the living room at the furniture. Brook reentered, carrying ne of the pictures, and disappeared back to her room to return with another before standing before the two of them, mumbling something to herself. He brushed up behind her, laying a hand on her shoulder.

[Anime_Girl_4216]

"Probably would be the best idea… You know how he gets when he has his plans all mapped out." she murmured with a small smile; leave it all to Cleo to over see everything, it was a blessing in disguise for Kyrekk that Cleo had more or less taken over since Kyrekk hadn't shown up until…..late. Nodding her head as she moved away from Kyrekk to tell one of the workers started to close off one of the entrances to the labyrinth she quickly called out his mistake with a slew of profuse apologies which she simply brushed off with a laugh. The worker looked at her like she had two horns over her head before running off for his next task. Turning her head as she heard Kyrekk speak she watched as he walked off toward the office with a small frown… So he WAS more tired than he had been letting on… Why hadn't he simply told her beforehand that she had been the one keeping him up? It wasn't like him to be so….conscientious of his manners towards her, he usually was the one complaining to the high heavens about how she was making him miserable, not keeping silent on whether she had bothered him the whole night long.

"Did something happen last night or are you simply turning a new leaf with Kyrekk?" Dani jumped nearly three feet in the air as she spun around to see Marina standing only a few feet behind her with the biggest smile on her face, "Damnit Rina…Let me KNOW when you're behind me!" The tall brunette let out a small laugh as she bent over to give the manager a big hug, "I'm sorry love, I won't do it again…..today." Dani growled at the singer as she returned the hug only to pull away with a brilliant huff, "NOTHING happened last night, and don't expect there to be any changes with the two of us…unlike with you are Cleo… Don't play coy I saw the hug right before I walked in the door." Rina's cheeks turned a small shade of pink before chuckling quietly choosing not to say anything before she simply returned to the 'topic' on hand, "Well we aren't talking about me right now…we are talking about YOU…since when did you start watching Kyrekk walk away? Normally you're the one chucking something at the back of his head telling him to get back here to work, not just letting him walk away." The manager huffed again before turning on her heels to walk toward the bar, grabbed a bottle of…something and then headed back toward the office area.

All Rina could do was laugh aloud, silly girl had it bad for the giant of a man and it was only a matter of time before things started falling into place, walking back to where Cleo stood, his attention on the state she silently moved behind him to wrap her arms around his waist, probably giving him a good spook but he was so enraptured in the stage setting he hadn't even heard her call his name twice, "So things moving to your satisfaction now? Or do you need a subject up on the stage for your viewing pleasure?"

How could Rina be so….UGH! Shaking her head as she went to bang the office door open with her foot she refrained, Kyrekk was exhausted and she wasn't going to be taking her frustrations out on the man since she wasn't angry with him but with someone else…or was she simply mad at herself since Rina had been able to see through her veil of 'hostility' towards Kyrekk? Nevertheless she took a deep breath in before opening the office door quietly, "Thought you might want something to drink." she murmured quietly before placing the bottle of water down on his desk and heading toward the rather large couch, "Come here." she murmured quietly her hands touching her lap as she sat down, "I don't think we are needed out there right now and you look like you are exhausted." If that wasn't a invitation for him to come and lay down she didn't know what was…though he might refuse simply because he might think she would smack him, "I'm not going to hit you or anything…. Actually I was thinking more along the lines of a relaxing massage, I don't know when the last time you let me do that… You'll fall asleep for sure."

~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

As he took a step toward her she quickly pulled back, she didn't want him coming any closer…if he would she might just break down and that was something she didn't want to risk, she was so close right now the only thread of sanity she was holding onto was the fact that he was right in front of her and if she were to start crying Eden would probably be able to hear her since she was still so VERY close to the woman's bathroom. It was at that moment when Arathorn took a small step back, letting out a sharp breath she quickly rushed past him, knowing his next steps would probably take him toward the bathroom she made her way back toward the table where the group had been sitting, the waiter standing there with a rather perplexed look on his face.

She told him to forget her order but still paid him the fee for the already made food, all she wanted to do at that point was return home, and after the man took the money and she had told him to keep the change she tore out of the restaurant. Her apartment was calling name and she knew that at that point there wouldn’t be anyone there…well she hoped no one would be there though she knew that Jess had been home last night… Even if she was home she would lock herself in her room, she didn't want anyone seeing her… Not until tonight when she would hopefully be completely composed enough to go to the club, she had a job and it wouldn’t hold itself even if she was close friends with the owner.

As she hit the front doors of the apartment building she took off toward the stairs, burning off the energy by running the….five flights of stairs toward her apartment would help, though she would probably need to grab water from the kitchen before locking herself in her room. She reached her floor in no time at all but as she touched the handle of the door she had to swallow back the sob which wanted to spill, her cheek was still bleeding, her hand which had been covering the wound was completely covered in blood by that point…curse facial wounds which bled more than they were supposed to, if she didn't get anything on the wound she would probably have a small scar, knowing how big the ring was on Eden's hand there was no doubt in her mind that a scar would form. She took two deep breaths before placing her key in the door and opened the door.

Her eyes scanned the room, it looked as if someone had been there…or was still there…probably Rhyan since Jess had been home alone but she blocked it all out, more people in the home meant she would have to be….hospitable, and that was something she was NOT feeling at that point. Grabbing a water bottle from the fridge as she then moved toward the bathroom she quickly grabbed tissues and then moved to her room, she would take care of her cheek there by herself, if Jess or anyone else would see her she might just break down… She couldn't have that, if she would then Eden would have won.

[Exogent Remedy]

Brook looked over her shoulder when she felt a hand being placed on it. Of course, it was Lorcan standing behind her. She didn’t say anything though, and turned back to examine the two paintings again. In both paintings they were dressed in the same night dresses. The mood of the one on the right was much brighter than the one that hung in Lorcan’s apartment, or the one sitting next to it. It was actually the last one of the three paintings. They were both laying on their sides in the grass by the edge of a forest. Her sister had her eyes open and was smiling softly, while she appeared to be sleeping. The each had outstretched one arm, and her hand lay in her sister’s hand. The painting on the left depicted them in a forest while it was raining, her arms around her sisters waist, and her sisters around her shoulders. They were both looking away from each other, almost looking afraid. It gave the impression of them being lost.

Letting out a sigh she covered both pictures again, though she left them leaning against the wall. Then she stepped back, and made her way towards the couch were she’d dumped her sweater in passing. Grabbing it she fished into her pocket. She figured she should check her cell phone for messages. “Do you see Montreal often?” she inquired, glancing back at Lorcan as she pulled her cell out of her pocket. “We lost contact with him when I was ten. It’d be nice to see him again.” She flipped open her phone then, falling completely silent as she looked at the screen. Two missed calls.... and three text messages. Frowning she went to her messages first. All were from the same person... her stalker colleague. Before she checked the contents of the messages she checked her missed calls, to find they were both from him as well. “I think I need to change my Cell number,” she stated in a huff. Then she navigated back to her messages, and clicked on the one he had sent first. Reading it she glanced quickly at the clock before letting out a groan. “b*****d is coming early,” she announced, quickly reading her other messages. “I’m going to....change.... You answer the door when he gets here. He should be here soon.”

She dropped her phone unceremoniously onto the couch, before she quickly made her way back to her room, closing the door behind her. She undid the not she’d had in the side of Lorcan’s shirt, before she quickly shimmied out of her sweats. She heard a knock on the door, and couldn’t help but grimace. Quickly she grabbed a pair of short shorts from the first drawer of her dresser, and slipped them on. That done she quietly opened her bedroom door and slipped back out into the living room. Okay... here goes. Hopefully Lorcan won’t be bothered by this... absently she press her hands over his shirt to try and press out some of the wrinkles, before she stepped into out into view from the door. She could see Lorcan standing by the door he’d just opened, and she could barely make out the guy beyond him.

“Who the hell are you?”

She heard the voice of the other guy. She had to suppress a grin at the sound of it. He wasn’t happy. “Lorcan?” she called in a tone she hopped sounded slightly suggestive. “Who’s there? Tell them to go away.”

[La LeClamour]

Every second he spent staring the damn crew down was another moment of painful torture – Cleodonis absolutely loathed watching something get done, rather than being able to do it himself. This, however, wasn’t just something he could climb up on the ladder and sort out himself, so he would have to cope with standing on the glassy black floor of the club and watch as the hired hands did it under his careful supervision. So engrossed in his overseeing, he didn’t even notice when Marina called his name not once, but two times, and only realized she was looking for his attention when she slid her arms around his waist from behind, causing him to jump. “Oh, hey …” He laid a hand on one of her arms, gently tugging to pull himself from her embrace and bring her into his. “I would love a subject up there,” he mused, leaning his head down to press his lips to her ear, “but I’d rather be holding my favorite view than let her on stage.”

Momentarily distracted from the movement of the decorators, he grazed his teeth over the shell of her ear, planting a soft kiss just beneath the lobe, and trailed his hands over her belly to loop his thumbs through her belt loops. Having even the tiniest taste of her was something he had been deprived of the night before, since Chelly had been in the bed when morning came and they had been utterly exhausted when they dropped to the mattress. “Mmm, maybe I’ll get you to myself tonight. It’s been more than a week.” He was only partly concerned with this though – where in the recent past, dragging her to bed would have probably been the first thing on his mind. Marina, however, was quite a different experience for him. Being close was more important than being intimate, holding her was just as appealing as tugging her clothes off. “I don’t think Rolex is going to be allowed in the room tonight. He cuddles with you more than I do.”


At the sound of the office door opening, Kyrekk jumped, slamming his personal phone book shut. He had been looking over his more favored florists and gift shops, puzzling out exactly how he was going to begin coaxing Daniela into a date with him – as he was quite sure she wasn’t going to say yes on his first attempt. Of course, she may take him more seriously if he wasn’t trying to win her over with baubles and flowers … He supposed he would debate it later.

He picked up the bottle of water and unscrewed the cap as he watched Daniela sit down on the couch, tipping the bottle back to drain more than half of its contents before turning the lid back on and setting it down again. When she patted her lap, inviting him over, he frowned slightly, suddenly suspicious, though he hadn’t much reason to be. He stood anyway, meandering over to drop down on the couch, resting his head on her thigh and sliding one long arm around her lower back. He wasn’t one to ever say ‘no’ to pampering. He adored her head scratches and back rubs, the way her tiny little hands could get into all the right places … “A massage is a long way off from a beating,” he mused, allowing his eyes to fall shut. “Thank you, Dani.”



It didn’t take long for Arathorn to decide where he was going next – only as long as he needed to deduce where it was he believed Tatanya was headed. He allowed his mother to make her miserable enough, but bodily harm was something completely different and uncalled for. He walked back to the apartments, weaving and shouldering his way through the afternoon crowd and taking the stairs to burn a bit of his excess energy before reaching Tanya’s door. Knocking lightly, he waited a moment, but there was no answer. Thorn frowned slightly, knocking again. She was here – he knew she was.

Turning the knob, he admitted himself into the living room and pressed it quietly shut behind him. He could hear Tanya’s voice from the kitchen, though she wasn’t speaking in complete sentences. Furrowing his brows, he moved silently to the archway leading to the apartment’s kitchen, where he could see his girlfriend, back turned to him and holding the phone to her ear. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against the wall. When she spoke, it was short, in broken half sentences, her voice rather …. Demeaned. He refrained from interrupting, and instead rested his head against the wall, studying her.



Standing behind her, Lorcan studied the pictures as Brook did, gently running the backs of his fingers against her neck. For some inexplicable reason, he wanted to pull her close again, thread his fingers through her hair and press his lips to her temple. Her time of need for gentle attention was over though, for now. Looking over the paintings, it occurred to him how the final piece would complete the set. Odd that it was just next door, hanging up on his wall … Perhaps he would surprise her with it one day soon. Yes, he decided, he would. If she grew accustomed to seeing herself set beside her sister, perhaps she would like to have the trio on her wall.

At the alert of her phone, she pulled away, voicing that her … suitor would be there sooner rather than later, and that she needed to change – and he should answer the door. A smirk curled Lorcan’s lips. He could certainly do that much. Just moments after she’d slipped into her room, a knock sounded on the door, and he chuckled, moving to go get it. He pulled the door open, revealing the man on the other side – a good bit shorter than Lorcan, of course, and thoroughly surprised to see him there.

”Who the hell are you?”

He raised an eyebrow in response, feigning ignorance. “Name’s Lorcan … Were you ah, looking for Dani? I believe she’s at the club.” He paused, hearing Brook’s voice behind him, and glanced over his shoulder. He couldn’t help his tongue as it traced out over his lips, taking in the sight of her with, what looked like, nothing beneath his overlong shirt … Though he was quite positive she must be wearing a pair of shorts. In any case, it was terribly convincing. He appearance, coupled with the lightly suggestive tone in her voice, was more than enough to make him want to shove the door closed in her pursuer’s face. Instead though, he turned his head back to the man. “Take a taxi and you can catch Adanessa before she gets too involved in something. I was actually a bit busy. Sory, but I’d like to get back to what it was I was doing …”

[Anime_Girl_4216]

She chuckled quietly as he pulled her from where she was standing behind him till she was sheltered in his arms, "Well that can be worked out very easily Cleodonis since you've already taken action on this particular notion." She buried her head into his chest for a brief moment before simply resting her head against his shoulder, her shoulders shivering once as his lips traveled over her ear. He always did that and it always garnered a response, the silly man couldn't keep his hands off her whenever she was close though today she didn't mind it… AS much as usual, though the looks from the workers were more annoying than his fingers twining through her belt hooks. Didn't they have anything better to do than to gawk at her and Cleo? Yes…with his hair as long as it was sometimes people thought he was gay but it was VERY apparent as to the attention he paid to herself that he wasn't just doing it for show, as one of the workers stopped just a few paces away her brows rose slightly as she narrowed her gaze on him, he quickly moved from his spot to continue with his work… The idiots should've had most of this completed, what in the world was taking them so long?

As he spoke in her ears her cheeks flushed slightly as she simply nodded her head slightly, "Think more like…two weeks. We've both been insanely busy as of late, not to mention I don't think I actually saw you once last week do to being in the studio again." Silly Ren for wanting her to record his demo for him…. Yes it wasn't like it was his vocal demo, more like his writing demo, his work was amazing and she was more than happy to be doing it for him, but when she was out of her apartment from noon till sometimes close to three in the morning than that is a bit much, "Thankfully Ren's recordings are finished so now I have some free time to spend with you." She breathed softly before lifting her head press her lips to his neck her teeth skimming over his skin before her lips curled upward into a smirk, "You're actually going to kick Rolex out of your room? Wow, I didn't know you were so hungry for my attention. I will just have to remedy that later tonight, you know…you could always have Chelly stay over with Dani since David and Olive's kids were going to be staying over as well… Make it a fun sleepover for them….and for us."

~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

Her lips curled upward into a small smile as he lay his head down on her thigh her fingers threading through his hair as she worked her fingers from the top of his scalp toward the base of his neck, "No need to thank me Kyrekk…. I Li……I don't mind giving you massages." His neck was so tight… How was he even able to move around with his muscles this tight, it had to be ages since she last gave him a massage, but it had only been what like a week or two? Not nearly long enough for his back to get this bad, what kind of stress was he going through to get this bad….It had to be something that he wasn't showing her, or maybe he just wasn't getting any sleep, it was apparent that he hadn't gotten any sleep last night. Reaching behind her to grab one of the throw pillows she unwrapped his arms from her waist as she moved his head from her leg as she placed his head on the pillow, "I know… I'll move back after I get this finished."

Moving behind him as she threw one of her legs over his back she rested only a small amount of her weight on her legs as she leaned over his back, the 'giant' shoulders should have been solid rock for as hard as they were, "Damnit Kyrekk…What are you doing or not doing?" She murmured quietly as she worked from his shoulders down his back, there were times she wished she would get paid for working on his back…The longest she'd ever spent on it was close to two hours, and even then she hadn't been able to work out all the kinks…her wrists were just screaming at her to stop, and he was just about jelly in her hands. Though, if she could tell rightly, Kyrekk was finally starting to fall asleep, lifting herself off of his back as she moved stood next to the couch looking down toward his closed eyes she smiled, waiting a half a moment before pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, her fingers brushing a few of his hairs away from his face before gently picking up the pillow as she sat back down with his head in her lap, "Sleep well Kyrekk."

~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

RING………………………RING…………….RING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking toward her now ringing phone she simply stared at the device before she stood up to grab the device. Unknown Number. Who in the world would that be? She rarely gave her phone number out to anyone so for it to come up as unknown was rather…rare. The ringing stopped as she sighed in relief, she really didn't feel like talking with anyone least of all someone who she probably had no clue who they were. At that moment her stomach started to rumble… That was true, she hadn't had anything to eat since last night and she was getting rather hungry, throwing her phone into her pocket as she moved toward her bedroom door again she moved through the doorway toward the kitchen as the phone began to ring again. It was that unknown number again…Maybe it was someone from work wondering how she was doing or if she was working over the weekend… She wasn't scheduled to but if someone needed to switch she was more than willing to work it out. Flipping the phone open she punched the button as she moved to open the fridge door, "Hello?"

"Well how about that……On the first try as well…. So, where have you slinked off to or are you living as some bed warmer for a politician?" Tanya's heart almost stopped at the sound of the voice coming from the other end of the telephone. "…Jana…" She breathed quietly as she stood up straight, "I'd hope that you'd remember the sound of your sister's voice you little b***h….So where did you disappear to and what the hell did you do with my money?" Money? What money was she even talking about "M…Money? J..Jana…what are you.." "Don't try that with me you brat!" she flinched as her sister shouted into the phone, she could hear screaming children in the background and the rather loud voice of a man…. .Wyatt was there…. Please God don't let her sister put him on the phone. "You know exactly what money I am talking about… You weren't the one who was supposed to get the inheritance from our grandparents, You OWE me that money, it wasn't YOURS to take." "B… You think that I had been planning to 'steal' that money? Our grandparents…"

"OUR grandparents only changed their will because you FORCED them to do so…..Don't try to play off as being all innocent Tatanya, I know that you as much of a cold-hearted b***h as you ever were… .Nothing has changed I can see that now… I should have beaten more sense into you while I had the chance." She flinched at that tone her eyes darkening at the memories that surfaced after so many years of trying to shove them into the dark, "…..J…" "Oh please don't try and play coy with me… I now know where it is you live, don't think I won't hesitate in coming there to get what is rightfully mine. I still own you Tatanya, whether you are living on your own or not….. I still control you." The phone clicked off as she closed the phone slowly her hand placing the phone on the counter as she leaned forward, she could feel her body shaking violently, never in a million years would she have thought that Jana would find her, the last time she'd seen her sister had been….years ago…and she'd left a lasting impression on her, one that Tanya wouldn't soon forget, nor would she forget her sister's husband…. Turning her head around as she caught the smallest movement close to the doorway she took in a sharp breath before she let it out in a slow hiss, "How much did you hear." She murmured quietly, not trusting as to how her voice would sound like, though she could still hear the tightness in her tone, there was no way she would be able to go to the party that night…. Not if Arathorn was going to be staying, she needed time to herself…. And if he was going to be asking questions there wouldn’t be any time for her to be able to recollect herself. "T…Thorn….please just….just go."

[Exogent Remedy]

The mans eyes left Lorcan’s much larger frame to trail in the direction of sultry voice that was somewhat familiar. He couldn’t see the owner of the voice at first, and was about to turn his eyes back onto Lorcan to demand he let him in, when a brunet woman with slightly tousled hair, wearing nothing but a very over sized t-shirt came into his line of sight. Every muscle in his body tensed, and his blue eyes first widened in shock, before they narrowed in anger. What the hell was going on here? Why was his girl wearing nothing but what must be this... creature’s shirt? She looked at him with a face that seemed surprised, yet her lower lip was poked out in what seemed like a pout. He opened his mouth, intent on addressing her and this situation, but the thin that had answered the door was speaking again. His eyes moved to the large man, flashing with his anger. Oh how he just wanted to bash the guys face in. “What the ******** are you doing here?!” he barked the question out, before addressing brook. “And what the ******** hell are you doing dressed like that?!”

“Your not my father, what I wear is none of your business,” she responded cooly, coming forward so she could place one hand on Loracan’s torso, her legs on either side of his, and her head leaning lightly against his side. “Now I was trying to give my man some attention. You should go.” She really hoped Lorcan wasn’t bothered by what she was doing right now... hoped he wouldn’t read too much into it. Well... actually.... she wasn’t sure if it would be a bad thing if he did read into it.... it might actually be a rather good thing.

The man seemed quite shocked, before his anger returned to his face doubled. “You have plans with me this afternoon,” he bit out. He wasn’t fool enough to think he’d fair well against this thing in a straight fight. That was probably it. This man was holding onto his poor brook through sheer intimidation. He wouldn’t be intimidated by the thug though. No, not at all. He’d achieve his goal, he just had to figure out a way to get this thing pinned for the abuse he was most definitely guilty off.

“I don’t remember any such plans. You should really leave before I call security,” she bit back at him, hugging her frame a little closer to Lorcan. “Lorcan would be more than happy to show you the exit.”

He glared at the two for a moment, before hissing out an ‘that won’t be necessary’ before he turned on his heel and headed back down the hall towards the elevator.

[La LeClamour]

Lorcan had quickly decided that he did not like this man – at all. He was bossy, self-important, and quite obviously delusional.“What I’m doing here,” he said as Brook made her appearance, “is really a bit of a private matter, and not at all any of your business.” He bit his tongue against a retort to his second question directed at Brooklyn, as she was ready with an answer herself – and he was quite distracted by the feel of her soft, small body pushing up against his, her palm reaching to rest on his chest. She was so tiny compared to him – but he didn’t mind it in the least. He found it rather endearing, actually.

He allowed his arm to move of its own accord, curling around her small frame and sliding his hand down her back to brush the back of his hand down her thigh. For appearance, he was convincing himself. But he was enjoying touching her – and the look of pure fury that was painted onto the features of the man before him. He laid his hand down, caressing the lowest curve of her back, coaxing her to arch into him, delighted when she complied, hugging herself closer.

As Brook saw to it that her stalker was sent off, Lorcan didn’t pause to make sure her got to the elevator to push the door shut, turn the padlock, and look down at the girl who was still quite close to him, though the need for such behavior was over. He parted his lips to speak, but only a breath managed to pass before he leaned down, using the hand he had been holding the door to cup the back of her head as their lips met. He turned his body, tempted to drop the hand on her back to scoop her up behind the knees so he could pick her up, but refrained in the case that she broke away. He didn’t want to make her any more uncomfortable if she disagreed with his forward acts. He pulled his head back, tracing his tongue over her soft lower lip before he broke away completely, sliding his hand from the back of her head to touch her neck, tracing his long index finger down over her collar bone. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, regarding her carefully. “I couldn’t help myself.”

[Exogent Remedy]

It was just for effect, she told herself when she felt his arm curl around her frame... his hand sliding down her back to her thigh. Just to make it all more convincing... so she shouldn’t punish him for his boldness once the door closed. But... she found this wasn’t what was bothering her. No... what was bothering her was that she didn’t want him to stop once her colleague did leave and the door was closed. It was hard to make her response, and she was annoyed she had to speak at all. But that added to the bite in her voice. Even as she told him to leave before she called security, she was surprised at how she’d reacted to his caress, arching into him like he seemed to want her too. Just for appearance, she began to run the words through her head like a mantra, but stopped the fourth time through, when she heard the light thunk of the lock sliding into place. Her eyes fixed on the lock for awhile, and realized she’d not even noticed Lorcan close the door in the first place. She knew there was no reason to still be lightly pressing her frame into his, but she just couldn’t make herself withdraw completely. Why did it have to feel so right to be near him like this? Now she was no longer leaning into him, but she still stood close enough that chest brushed against him when she breathed in.

She was just about to withdraw a little further away from him, her eyes trailing up to take in his expression. When his lips parted she braced herself for some sort of teasing remark from him, pausing in her retreat. She couldn’t keep looking him right in the eye, she’d be too embarrassed when the words came, so she turned her eyes away. But the expected teasing never did come. He was leaning down, and she simply expected him to whisper his teasing into her ear... but instead his hand cupped the back of her head just before his lips touched her own. Her eyes widened in shock, and her breath hitched. Before she had much time to react though, he began to pull back. His tongue running over her lower lip made her breath catch in her throat again, eyes following him as he withdrew further. He didn’t really go far, and his hand moved from the back of her head to trace over the skin of her neck and collarbone. She had to close her eyes so she could better concentrate on breathing for the moment.

His words made her open her two differently coloured eyes to look at him again however. Couldn’t help himself huh. She let out a slow breath. She really just wanted him to kiss her again but... but... as much as she wanted him to... she had no desire to let their blurred line be breached an further unless... she knew they would be firmly fixed on the other side.She just didn’t think she could take not knowing where they stood. It had been driving her crazy for weeks already, and they’d never even actually done anything aside from teasing really. It didn’t help that she had recently established, even just privately to herself, that she was at least a little attracted to him. Even with these thoughts running through her head, she realized she’d been acting before she actually decided how she should act. She’d taken a hold of the collar of his shirt and pulled him back down towards her while she stood on her toes. Her lips touched his again, and then her eyes which had slid shut once more opened with a start. She pulled away, blushing furiously, and turned from his frame, moving almost stiffly to the couch. She sat there, gazing absently ahead of her as she tried to figure out what the hell she was supposed to do now.

“C’mere,” she managed to get the request out, gesturing for him to come over to the couch and sit beside her as she took her own seat. She bit her lips, eyes still fixed ahead of her, her hands absently playing with the hem of the overly large shirt she wore. She noted that the shirt had rode up some when she sat, and the bottom hem of her shorts was visible on her right leg at the moment. She paid this no mind, for now. “We... need to talk,” she began nervously. Wait... why the hell did she choose to say it like that? It was probably so cliché... and probably made it seem like the conversation wouldn’t bode well for any prospective relationship. But how else was she supposed to say it. She let out a frustrated sigh, closing her eyes and covering them with her right hand as she leaned forward a little. How was she supposed to go about this? What was she supposed to say? How did he even feel about what had just happened between them? Why the hell did there have to be so many questions involved in this? She really still just wanted to kiss him again.

Brook bit her lip, and forced down the urge to shift herself into the man’s lap when he did sit down, kiss him once more. She didn’t want to let this get any further until she had some answers. What if it went further and then one of them had the false idea of them being together when the other didn’t feel that way? One of them could end up feeling used if that occurred. She had no desire to have a loose relationship that only involved satisfying each others physical needs, and had no form of emotional attachment. She wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to be in a serious relationship at this particular time either... but she did want to have a steady, serious relationship in her life at some point. She really did have every intention of settling down one day. He was one of her closes friends, and she didn’t want to ruin that... which would undoubtedly happen if they ended up physically involved before defining what they were. She let out another sigh... just... well.. early that morning when they’d been out for coffee she’s been thinking about how she wasn’t sure she if she wanted to establish a clear line that they just wouldn’t cross... now she just might have to.