Plurk paste

“Ah, Clara, pet!”
The woman smiled at his greeting as she set down the tray with two bottles and three glasses. At his unspoken command, she took the seat Janine had just vacated. He lifted one of the bottles and uncorked it. After he poured a small amount in one of the glasses, he tasted it. Both his eyebrows raised in approval of the flavor.
“Not bad at all. A few Jamaican rums are just as rich, but this still has something unique in the flavor. It’s almost smoky. Is it local?”
“Yes, sir,” Clara answered. “My employer distills it himself. He keeps the source of his molasses a closely guarded secret.”
“I cannot fault him for that.” Viktor smirked and filled his glass then poured some into the other two glasses. “I doubt he lets you have any very often. You can have some, too, Belle.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Clara quickly grabbed the glass as if afraid someone would take it away from her. She began to drink it, obviously forcing herself to sip rather than downing it rapidly.
Belladonna sniffed experimentally at the rum. She drew back and looked at it sideways before sniffing it again. Viktor smiled wryly at her approach.
“What’s the matter, pet?”
“It smells like a cross between Jon-Jon and Sniff,” she stated. “And I’ve never had drink before.”
“Oh, this should be interesting.” He chuckled.
She took a small sip and swished the liquid around in her mouth. She swallowed it. Her pupils dilated and she gave the glass of rum a strange smile.
“That is good!” The siren quickly downed the rum and held out her glass for more.
Viktor chuckled and poured her a second glass. “Easy, pet. This tastes strong. It may hit you hard and fast.”
She giggled. “It burns, but it makes me feel tingly inside, too.”
The liquor had another effect on the siren, one that Viktor did not care for. As she drank the second glass, he could feel the bond between them grow fuzzy. It did not dissolve, but he sensed a partial barrier and lag to the connection.
“I think we should get back to the ship, pet,” he said as he corked the bottle. “Clara, join us. I need to ask you a few things, but this is no longer a safe place to do so.”
The serving wench stood and followed them out the door.
The tavern keeper didn’t see them leave, and had no idea what had happened to her. Janine didn’t even have a memory of Clara being there for work that day. She wouldn’t have remembered Viktor if it hadn’t been for the coins he’d given her. She carefully kept those a secret.
*
Back aboard the Incubus, Vik locked Clara in his cabin before escorting Belladonna to her own cabin. She started shedding clothes on the short distance between cabins.
“Pet, stop that.”
“But it is so hot, and these things are so binding,” she whined. As she dropped the last garment she stretched, sighed, and then laughed. “Much better!”
“Belle, are you well?” Her behavior reminded him of how she’d been when they first met.
In answer, she hopped up and wrapped herself around him. She then kissed him soundly. When she pulled back, she said, “You tell me, Vikkie.”
“Don’t call me that. I think you are drunk.” He then set about disengaging her from him.
Jon-Jon picked that moment to come looking for the captain. “Oh, sorry, Cap’n. Didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said as soon as he saw them. He turned to give them some privacy.
Belle unexpectedly released the vampire and pounced on the second mate, knocking him to the deck. Jon-Jon managed to at least get face up, only to find the naked siren straddling him.
“So tell me, Mr. Jon,” she purred as she rubbed herself against him, “why do they call you Big Jon?”
Before he could think clearly enough to respond, Vik grasped Belle around the waist and lifted her off of him.
“That is enough!” he bellowed. “Mr. Jon, I suggest you go topside… now!”
As Jon-Jon scrambled backward in his haste to escape his captain’s ire, Grimm emerged from his own cabin.
“Captain? Is something wrong?” he asked.
The siren locked on him immediately. “Grimmy!” she squealed and beamed at him. She wasn’t really trying to get away from Viktor, though.
“Keep your distance, Hezekiah. She’s a bit out of control,” Vik said. He hefted her from behind and moved her toward her cabin. Grimm took in the sight of his captain, who looked a little frazzled, holding onto the naked siren who behaved downright bubbly. His mouth quirked up in an amused smirk, but he avoided laughing.
Vik managed to get to her cabin door. As he tried to get her into the cabin, she extended her talons and dug into the door jamb. She left furrows in the wood as he forcibly pulled her in. He then turned her so she was facing him. On a gamble, he kissed her passionately.
The gamble paid off. The siren was distracted long enough for him to use his supernatural speed to push her away, get out the door and shut it, before she could grab him back.
“Vikkie, come back!” she whined through the door. The wooden door started to rattle. Before long, the sounds of scratching on wood could be heard.
Grimm wisely refrained from commenting on the pet name. She had called him “Grimmy” after all. Instead, he said, “If we don’t give her someone, she’s going to claw her way through the door or the bulkhead.”
“Aye, and heaven help the first man she catches.” Vik nodded. Silently, he summoned the one crew member he believed she wouldn’t kill. “Mr. Brumble should be here soon.”
“Can we afford to lose him?”
“Not really, but I don’t think he’ll be in any real danger. She seems to think of him as a pet.”
“Ah.” He tried to keep quiet about the situation, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Any idea why she is like this today?”
Viktor actually looked embarrassed. “I made the mistake of giving her rum.”
“Let’s not ever do that again.”
“Believe me, I won’t. Ah, good of you to join us, Mr. Brumble,” Vik said as Zach joined them.
“You sent for me, Captain?”
“Aye, Belladonna is not well and is in need of someone to tend to her.”
Zach noticed the banging and scratching at the cabin door, as well as a pleading, whining sound. “Why is she locked in?”
“Safety of the crew.”
Before he could ask anything else, Vik unlocked the door and pushed him toward it. Belladonna squealed and snatched him into the cabin so fast it was a wonder his neck didn’t snap.
“Right,” Grimm said after a minute. “Well, if I’m not needed for anything right now….”
“Go on, Hezekiah.” Vik shook his head. “I need to find Jon-Jon and let him know he is not in trouble. I can smell his fear from here.”