Chapter 15

Leandro

It had taken all my self control not to do all sorts to Anais in the last few hours of the flight, but I had forced myself to do nothing but keep teasing her. Each time I had fucked her pussy with my fingers she had begged me to make her cum, but I'd denied her. By the fourth time of teasing her it was clear she wouldn't be able to handle any more, especially not without making it obvious to everyone on the plane that I had been tormenting her.

I'd let her be after that and encouraged her to eat some breakfast before we got off the plane. She'd followed along demurely, coming with me without me having to keep an eye on her and with enough of a disheveled, wide-eyed look to her that she would pass for a completely addicted enthralled.

Not that I'd had her quite yet. Not fully. There was no way she should be addicted to me yet. But I knew that there was a good chance she would be. I had to avoid that as much as possible. When this mission was over it would be important that she had a clear head.

This was the only way to make her appear enthralled in the meantime.

Despite how well she seemed to be adjusting so far, her nature naturally more submissive than she probably realized, I was nervous about taking her on the cruise.

We still had to get there on time, however.

As soon as we cleared border control, found my luggage and made our way through customs, I looked for a taxi. We were arriving early enough that there were plenty to be had and I didn't need to wait long. It was also in a covered area so even though it was daylight, there was no direct light.

While some vampires couldn't go out in the day, it wasn't a hard and fast rule that all of us couldn't. Over the years several of the clans had made deals with magic users and those who understood our origin and it had led to various degrees of being able to tolerate daylight for a while.

I could be outside and even in full sunlight for a short while, but the higher the exposure the more it hurt and the more uncomfortable I got. There was no way I would want to be out in the sun for more than about half an hour, and I would feel it. Still, this short dash and then sitting in the covered car would do nothing.

Anais practically melted into the side of me in the back of the car, her breathing a little more rapid than it had been before. If I'd felt particularly vindictive I might have fingered her there too, but I knew that was a lot to ask of her when the biggest test and most important one was still to come. I knew I would toy with her like that in the future, however.

She still only had a small rucksack of belongings and barely any other clothes, but we didn't have time to buy any right now. We were going to arrive at the cruise ship with only about twenty minutes to spare before they cut off letting people board. Money could grease a lot of wheels but it could only do so much in this sort of situation.

And I couldn't pass as a true-blood and one of the clan who owned these very boats. I had to keep pretending I was a turned and not Leandro.

"You have to call me Drew from now on," I whispered to her, only now remembering that she didn't know. "Ludis knows me as Drew. If you call me Leo or Leandro it could get us both killed. Do you understand that?"

She nodded, her mouth pursing into a line before she relaxed again. I hoped it was something she could remember when I was biting down on her and fucking her at the same time.

All of this plan was built on her being able to pretend. If she couldn't act the way she was supposed to, she could get us both killed, or at least waste the last week or two of getting Ludis to trust me.

I still wasn't in his inner circle and it had been hard to really get there when he was so much more hedonistic than I was. Hopefully having Anais and appearing to be into her would make me look fussy and still very eager to enjoy life's pleasures. Especially when I had to explain missing Ludis leaving the casino because I was bonding with her.

A part of me wondered if I should have bonded with Anais. It really would make her addicted to me if I did, but it would be the safer approach.

She was trusting me, however. And there would be a chance it would make it too difficult for her to kill Ludis when the time came. I couldn't do that to her, even if it was easier for me.

By the time we reached the port, Anais was sleepy again and had dozed on my arm. She woke up when I reached for my cash to pay our cab driver. Thankfully he had sensed our desire to be quiet and not cause much of a stir and not really talked to us. I handed him a generous tip for his discretion and efficiency in getting us to our destination.

There was a section of sunlight between the car and the cruise building and there would almost certainly be another small area between the building and the ship. Most ports had some sort of tunnel or gangway to walk along, but they weren't always covered and we had to be careful which ports we chose to embark and disembark at.

Ludis was even more sensitive to the sun, the turned only getting part of the magical benefit that we had bargained for, but if he hurried, he would have made it as well. Most of us just wore hats and kept our faces turned away from the sunlight for a short while.

Of course, this was another way that I had to pretend I was more sensitive than I was. Younger true-bloods and the turned were far less protected than someone like me. It would give away my heritage to appear too comfortable in the sun.

Anais looked out of the car window at the sunlight and up at me as if she was going to ask, but I ushered her forward.

"It's fine, but we need to hurry," I said. "We're almost late for the cruise."

Although I added the last part for the sake of the taxi driver, it was true enough and I didn't want her to worry. Our driver was already getting out to get our luggage from the trunk as she got out and she hurried back there to begin taking hold of it and yanking the wheeled cases up onto the pavement.

I had to smile at her trying to make this as easy on me as possible. She was showing true care for me and this was exactly the sort of task enthralled were meant to do to help make sure that their vampires didn't struggle.

By the time I was outside, I could grab the handle of one of the bags, nod at the driver and hurry toward the shade and safety of the building. She followed me with the rest of the cases, letting me go ahead of her and seeming to sense that need as well.

It was perfect and would have fooled any vampire who was also arriving and saw us. I suspected there wouldn't be any cutting it this close, the day early enough that many would have wanted to arrive before now.

There weren't many cruise ships that sailed this early in the day naturally, but we deliberately ran a few that did simply to make this easier, especially in areas of the world near the equator where the seasons didn't create dark for leaving in the evening soon enough.

The check in desk was still open and a smiling and very perky human sat at the desk. She quickly waved them over, probably well aware that we didn't have long.

We handed over the passports and I informed her of our booking. As soon as she saw what room type and level of service I had paid for, her demeanor changed and she sat up a little straighter. If Anais picked up on the better treatment we suddenly gained she didn't comment.

"Welcome back, sir. Your welcome drinks will be served in the club area on deck twelve and your usual room is ready for your use as soon as you're ready. The captain has also invited you to dine with him tomorrow evening." She smiled at me especially, no doubt partially thralled by the vampire nature and also wowed by the amount of money that led to being invited to dine with the captain.

Anais glanced at me as well, picking up on it now, but we handed over our bags and let the woman put tags on them. Although Anais seemed reluctant to part with her rucksack, I slipped it off her shoulders.

"This one is especially important and contains a possession of high sentimental value, could you ensure it is delivered to the suite with the utmost care and respect." I said, hoping it would put her mind at ease.

"Of course, Sir."

"Thank you so much. It's always the way with these things. Seemingly insignificant possession to anyone else, but we each have our memories and important objects we find it hard to let out of our sights."

"I understand entirely, Sir. Do not fret, we'll take good care." As she spoke, she beamed at being spoken to politely and thanked. I had learned quickly that people really did take care if you made requests with a great deal of politeness and it almost always worked.

Anais added her own thanks, making the woman smile all the more and then I took her hand and led her to the small tunnel onto the ship. They had set up a small area to take photos of people behind a fake helm with a sandy beach behind and all other gimmicks but this close to departing, the photographer was gone.

I hurried Anais past, keeping her on the side of me where the sun shone through the windows and reached the carpet so I could be in the shade on the other side.

We made our way across the threshold and onto the ship and immediately I felt the relief. We now had the thick metal hull between us and the sunlight and it made a huge difference.

We had small cruise cards that we showed on the way in to make it easier to get on and off the boat and once again, as soon as the system made it clear who we were, the demeanor of everyone around us changed and we were treated with even more respect.

Eventually we were shown to a small club area at the front of the ship on deck twelve. It was where all the rich people were gathered. Some people had already come and gone, but the vampires had lingered, drinking and assessing each other.

Anais stayed close to me and looked around wide-eyed. I didn't know if she could tell that these were vampires, but some of the people from the casino were here as well. The butch vampire who had been in Vegas when we left walked in only a minute after us when we were still getting drinks from the bar as well.

I knew she would recognize him and when over half the room greeted me and him, calling me Drew, I hoped she would twig that this was meant to be more of a show off of her addiction.

Once our drinks were poured, there was a group of vampires around us. They were all other turned and curious about Anais. I had been in the group long enough that they hadn't seen an enthralled with me yet and they were also vampire who wanted to try and suck up to more powerful vampires.

Although I wasn't showing myself as a true-blood, I was still a wealthy turned and clearly powerful in my own way. I had very carefully cultivated a personality that allowed me to portray myself just the sort of in between that had me okay pretty much anywhere.

"Who is the extra?" one of the more vocal asked. He had been turned less than a year and had been a skinny, weaselly type of man even before he had been a vampire. The change hadn't improved him.

I looked at her, expecting her to introduce herself and be more flamboyant and almost flirtatiously drunk on the pheromones and high of being used, but she looked up at me as if she was terrified and didn't know how to respond.

"Not bonded her yet?" another asked.

"No, we're bonded. I think she's in a sort of shock from it. You know it can take some of them a little while to recover. It wasn't that long ago," I replied, trying to pass this off as normal, even if it wasn't.

I took a large gulp of my drink while some of the vampires chuckled like I'd made a great joke. If I had intended it to be funny I might have been more bothered that it fell flat, but I was more concerned that they weren't buying this.

"Drink up, little pet," I added. Then we can get you a little rest before I enjoy you again. Would you like that?"

"Oh, of course, sir," she replied, the words coming out as a little more of a purr. It helped and I tapped her gently on the nose.

One of the other vampires leaned in a little close, acting like he was putting his glass on the bar behind her and he looked down the top of her dress as he did, brushing up against her back.

She almost squealed and jumped forward toward me.

The vampires all laughed hard this time but I could have roared in anger.

"Doesn't seem very thralled," someone commented as soon as the noise died down.

Her eyes went wide and she took another gulp of her drink. I put my arm around her and pulled her in closer.

"Nonsense. She's just very new to our world, but I'm sure she'll get more comfortable and chatty once she's had a chance." Even as I spoke, I knew that I wouldn't even come close to buying anyone saying this sort of thing.

Almost as if to prove me wrong, one of the vampires beckoned another enthralled over and the young woman came striding over, long bare legs showing as she swayed her hips. She smiled and looked as seductive as she could.

Anais stared at her, watching her move and walk as she came up to her owner and practically draped herself over him. The vampire grabbed her ass and pulled her in even closer. She smiled and thrust herself up against him before running a hand up him. It was clear that she was up for being screwed or eaten.

As the vampire leaned in toward her neck, she tilted her head to one side and showed a neck that was marred with very fine silvery pock marks from all the times she had been feasted on and healed. He didn't bite her but went to and she immediately closed her eyes and moaned as if she wanted it as much as she wanted to be fucked.

It was an excellent display of how enthralled humans acted. Like they couldn't get enough of being fed on or used for sexual gratification. Many of them would let another vampire touch them if their owner was nearby and fine with it as well. No one fed on another's enthralled, however. That was seen as a huge disrespect to the original owner.

Anais drank more of her drink and leaned in closer to me, trying to adapt and I kissed her, hoping it would help remind her of everything I'd done to her on the plane. The arousal in her began to kick in and her scent shifted from one of fear to one of desire, finally helping sell the act a little.

I ran my hand lightly down one side of her body, brushing up against her breast, but I was deliberately a bit more subtle, hoping that being so would show these men that I preferred a more understated enthralled.

When I pulled away, the look on her face was still wrong, but it was still better than before. Her breathing was ragged and her mouth stayed slightly open. As I finished my drink, she did the same with hers.

Immediately I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the exit. "We'll see you all at dinner I'm sure. I'm going to take this one to find her energy."

The anger built in me as the vampires laughed and the butch vampire Ludis trusted watched us leave. Anais was going to get us both killed at this rate.

I dragged her to my suite as quickly as I could, hoping that another vampire or Ludis himself wouldn't see us before I got her out of the way and had a chance to ask her what the hell she was trying to do.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded in a hushed outburst as soon as we were alone in the suite.

"I... That was... I didn't think we'd be among so many vampires. Is this just a ship full of them?" She shivered, her body quaking and her skin covered in goose bumps. Fear came off her in waves again.

"Yes," I hissed the word at her and had to resist the urge to smack her. "And if you don't start acting like an enthralled, you are going to ruin everything."

She gulped. "Are they all like the other woman?"

"You don't know?" I asked, taking several deep breaths and turning away as she shook her head and confirmed my worst nightmare.

"I thought that it was just the woman in Vegas. Everyone in Vegas acts like they're just there to get laid it seems."

Although it was a good point, I wasn't sure that I wanted to hear it. I took several more breaths, counting them and forcing myself to take longer to exhale each one.

"When you're enthralled it's as if you're addicted to everything we do to you and it makes you high for hours and hours. You're constantly turned on and wanting to seduce your owner and you enjoy being fed on. She strode over the way she did cause she was practically begging to be fucked. And she'd let any vampire stick his cock in any hole she's got as roughly as he wanted and she'd think it was perfect. Sometimes an enthralled is gangbanged by whoever her owner lets. And sometimes for hours at a time.

Anais gulped and her eyes watered up.

"I won't let that last part happen to you. I'll be possessive of you. A lot of vampires are when they first take a thrall, so don't worry, that won't be a problem."

"But I need to act like my life isn't complete if your cock is anywhere but in me or on me."

"And you need to act like you know you're hot enough that I want to put that cock in you every five minutes as well."

She exhaled and studied me for a moment. I watched her breathe, unable to help my gaze wandering to her throat and neck as she did. While she was going through an array of emotions, she was still enticing and it had been a while now since I'd fed. My hunger for her was growing, but I knew it would be better for both of us if I waited.

With far more confidence than she'd displayed before, she walked over to me, a little more sway to her body. She reached her arms up and draped both over my shoulders, her gaze locked on my face.

As she kissed me again, she pressed her whole body full up against mine. Thanks to all my teasing earlier, she was very turned on and it was obvious as I wrapped my arms around her.

"How was that?" she asked, her voice almost husky as she broke off the kiss. Her eyes had the cloudy, turned on look that she needed and every aroma coming off her was one of desire and hunger for me.

"Better, but you need to be confident and comfortable when other vampires get this close to you and when I'm doing more." I slid my hand up her leg.

As her breath faltered and she bit her lip, I couldn't help but grin. She might not have done a good job of fooling anyone that she was enthralled, but she was very attracted to me and I didn't think it was all vampire charm.