Where the Heart Is |Tag: Diana! and maybe Nikki?|

[Jessica Markova]

"I suppose," Diana said, sounding more thoughtful. "But there's a power in that. Being able to control the way that people think? The way that their thoughts go? The pattern that their minds set into? Of course there's power in that.  When you can control what people think then you can do all sorts of things."

Just look at her.

She glanced back over at him again and grinned a little. "I think you'd be good."

[Marius Grey]

He thought about what she said, really unable to refuse at least considering it, and he could see her point.  The dancers held the crowd's attention, used the music and the way they danced to affect what the audience felt about the performance.  On the nights that Eden called for something special, he'd heard the human heart rates shooting up at different points in the evening, and it was all because of what the dancers were doing. 

They DID have a large effect on people, but the largest part of that effect was making their watchers think of sex, and the different things they'd like to do.  He'd always looked just as he did now, so if she thought he 'had the right look', then he'd always had it.  That didn't mean he was used to that sort of attention all the time, though. 

There was also the fact that dancing wasn't nearly as easy as it looked.  How did he know this?  Because Ivi had been trying to teach him how to dance since she started working at the club, and it had been a long, difficult process.  Being a shifter and a vampire didn't automatically make it easy, though he had a bit of an advantage over humans in that respect.  He was getting pretty good, but he wasn't EVER letting Eden know that.  As far as Eden knew, he didn't want Marius within a few feet of that stage.

"You really think I'd be any good?" he asked, a little surprised at the show of confidence on her part.  Usually, he wouldn't have cared.  This made no sense.  "I still don't know.  Maybe it's just stage fright," he offered instead, smiling some.  That was a much easier excuse.

[Jessica Markova]

"Well," Diana said with a bit of a smile, "you seem like you'd be good - why on earth would I have said as much if I didn't mean it?" She would have, of course, if she'd wanted to get something out of him or get him to do something (she did, actually - let's see how far she could push this) but would he think that of her? No, of course not. Would he even suspect she was trying anything now? Of course not. He was a wolf and she... well, she was herself.

He might be a vampire, but that honestly didn't really change matters all that much, not when she was so much older and more powerful - she was a Silver, after all, and a bit arrogant about that fact. Well, she had a right to be.

"You... I could be wrong, of course, or I could be seeing things that aren't there, but you move in the right way. In addition to other advantages." She smiled a little, lightly, and ran the pad of her fingertip around the rim of her glass.

"Yes, I think you'd do well," she said, and then sighed with a touch of melancholy. "Which really is something of a pity, since I won't ever see you dance. I'd have liked to."

[Marius Grey]

Again, she had a point.  He couldn't see any reason why she'd say it if she didn't mean it, but he also wasn't so sure about doing it.  If she'd have dragged him off to some private space to get busy, that'd have been a different story, but there were a LOT of people around here.  He didn't want her upset, though.

No, he didn't suspect her of a thing, unfortunately, and definitely wouldn't accuse her of being wrong.  He wouldn't exactly say she was RIGHT, since he wasn't so sure about it, but she wasn't wrong.  She had a perfectly valid theory, and the only way to test theories out were to just do it.  The problem with that was that he really didn't think that dancing in a room with so many people, particularly people he knew, was a good idea.  She seemed to think it'd be a good idea, though.  She seemed to think he would be good at it, and he knew he'd gotten better because Ivi told him so.  That didn't mean he felt like parading that fact to the entire club.

It'd take more than a little sadness to get THAT.

Great, what was he supposed to tell her?  He didn't want her upset or disappointed, but how could he fix this one?  Preferably without losing his clothes in front of everyone?  "Could we go somewhere else?" he asked, and he actually wasn't trying to take advantage.  He was just trying to save his poor pride.  If she amped up her charm, he might not care, but for the moment, he did.

[Jessica Markova]

Diana tilted her head a little to the side, considering. First of all, there were certain benefits to the 'alone' mentioned. Lots of them. That, all by itself, made it tempting. But... there were also a few things going for the other argument.

One was that Diana really was something of a troublemaker. Nothing like some out there, and she wasn't often into anything like mindless destruction, but trouble could be interesting and when you were as old as she was... well, playing with people was one of the few things you had left. Technically not really, of course, but after living for over two thousand years you usually had exhausted just about every other possibility for entertainment, leaving you to fall back on tweaking things slightly and seeing what would happen; what you could change.

Let's tweak it.

Diana grinned, just a little, and let her grip on the power that she had over canines of all description loosen. That was how it worked, after all, the charm that affected dogs and wolves - as well as their shifter counterparts - it wasn't a passive power that she called on. It was always around her, surrounding her like the air that she usually breathed, though she didn't really need to - but it was uncomfortable, to stop breathing unless she had to. It wasn't a physical discomfort, of course not, but closer to a mental one - Diana had been a wolf shifter when she was alive, and now that she was a vampire her sense of smell was just that much stronger. She liked scents and liked using that which she smelled - which was difficult to do if you weren't breathing.

But the power.

It was always with her, and rather then calling on it when she wanted it, she loosened her grip. It was not something like turning on a light bulb, but more like uncovering it when it was already lit. The more she gave, the greater the power.

"Why?" she asked in reply to his question, tilting her head a little to the side and blinking at him with big, silvery eyes - she could always get a private performance later, she was sure of it. Right now... well, she'd push and watch what happened.

[Marius Grey]

Marius liked to think that he was an individual who had experienced many things in his lifetime, but this was new.  Even in those last moments of his mortality, he hadn't felt like this whole world had shrunk down to this one moment, this one person.  Here and now, it was all Diana.  Everything he was, everything he felt, everything he thought.

It all revolved around her.

He didn't even actually notice it, not consciously anyway, as he pulled his leather jacket off and let go of it over the stool behind him.  He wouldn't have known why he did it if he'd been asked, but he did, and then the coat was forgotten for the time being.  He had tunnel vision, and the light at the end of the tunnel was this beautiful, magnificent woman asking him why.

Why?

He turned amber eyes on her and tilted his head, obviously well beyond just 'caught up in her', and his expression remained entirely open and honest.  Why?  "Nevermind.  Here is fine."

If that was what she wanted, he was fine with it.

[Jessica Markova]

And here she was still holding back! Diana grinned a little - she loved being her. His eyes were turning golden, which she supposed made a kind of sense - it was because he was a wolf shifter that her power affected him, of course.

She watched him take off the jacket and drop it carelessly, casually, and it was almost as though he didn't even notice. Her eyes flicked from the coat to his face, and she smiled a little, very sweetly and very hesitantly and hopefully.

"Are you sure?" she asked, tone hesitant. "If you're not...." The vampire trailed off, then shrugged.

"I would like to see you dance, but...."

Of course he was.

[Marius Grey]

Sadly, he really didn't even notice his coat anymore.  Once he dropped it, it wasn't a part of his world anymore.  Nobody else in the room was, except her.  She looked so hopeful as she spoke to him that he couldn't dream of refusing her. 

Of course he was sure.  He was absolutely certain that she'd have it if she wanted it.

That was a pretty big change from a moment ago, when he was unsure even with her influence surrounding him.  Without her 'charm', he'd have politely refused, without the slightest doubt.  He'd taken to learning from Ivi because she was hot, and because she'd bugged him until he gave in.  The fact that they tended to fall into bed, figuratively speaking, afterwards only sweetened the deal.  That didn't mean he'd ever actually intended to dance for anyone, particularly in a public environment.  If he was lucky, nobody he knew would be paying much attention, and anyone else would just think it was normal.

He didn't seem to be all that lucky that evening, but he could hope somewhere in the back of his mind.

That kind of hoping would only be DONE in the back of his mind, since the rest was focused on her, and pleasing her.  She wanted to see him dance, and so she would.  First, though...

He took her by the hand to tug her towards a chair that was on a lower level than a barstool (only a few feet back from the bar).  Naturally, she could have refused, but if she was asking, there was no reason to refuse.  Fortunately, he wasn't overthinking this, and he managed to catch the beginning of a song.  One he knew, and liked, actually (Heaven's Lie, by Lacuna Coil, as suggested by Cody).  The lyrics made it ironic, but he wasn't thinking too much into those.  He was thinking more about getting her into that chair, then instituting the 'rules'. 

"Touch all you want," he whispered into her ear, and then it was begun.

Some of the dancers had different rules, sometimes even for different customers.  Some said, 'No touching', others offered up minimal touching, and then there were those that just allowed it.  With anyone else, he'd have probably said 'no touching' (or not been here at all), but not with her. 

He started slow, gyrating his hips to the song's start in front of her, instead of right in her space, and it was only as he began running his fingers down his chest, unbuttoning his shirt as he went, that he really entered into 'lap dance' territory.

Oh, God, Diana, what did you do?

[Jessica Markova]

Diana, meanwhile, was enjoying twin delights - first triumph (even if she knew that she always won over her wolves, she still loved the feeling of winning the little games she played) and second eye candy - because he was eye candy, and just like she'd guessed, he knew how to move. She wouldn't have been asking for this if she hadn't actually thought that he could dance; she liked winning, but that didn't mean that she'd lower herself to just anything. But there was a certain way that dancers moved, and he'd had some of it. Not as much as some others, of course, but he'd said that he wasn't a dancer.

He could just dance, that was all.

He'd told her that she could touch as much as she wanted, and she did - interacting, almost becoming as much a part of the dance as he was, if in a more passive role, rather than simply being a spectator.

Bare arms, bare chest - she trailed her hands across them, moving with him, watching him.

[Marius Grey]

'Eye candy' wasn't a term he'd have applied to himself if asked, but he wouldn't have argued with her.  He wouldn't have argued with her about anything, though.  That much should have been obvious by now, but if it wasn't, there it is.  He'd have done essentially anything she wanted.

Thus, the way his shirt dropped away from his shoulders to be forgotten on the floor. 

If he was getting any looks from anyone else, he didn't notice it, but it was likely that he was.  Lapdances usually did, and this wasn't exactly 'Ladies' Night'.  Marius usually avoided that night like the plague, so he wouldn't have been in there on his night off (not to mention, Eden made him work EVERY Wednesday night as bouncer, just because the snake thought he was good-looking enough to usher horny women into the club).  Now, he would have been hoping that most of those horny women were at home.

With his luck, some of them wouldn't be. 

She was trailing her hands over his arms and chest, a factor that helped exponentially in getting him truly interested instead of just 'charmed' into it.  She was beautiful, and she was touching him.  He didn't need much more than that.

He leaned forward, placing his hands on the back of her chair to steady himself so that he could practically drape his body over hers, demanding close contact while still moving to the rhythm of the song.  She was close enough to his chest that she could have pressed her cheek to it if she'd wanted, his hips much closer to her stomach, pressing close and suggesting things that were way more obscene than clothing would allow.

What was ironic about the whole situation were the lyrics being repeated in the song.  'Set me free, your Heaven's a lie...'

[Jessica Markova]

Of course she was beautiful, she was a vampire, they were always beautiful, and it must be admitted that Diana, with her long, lean build, looked more like a model then a good deal of the vampires out there, no matter how gorgeous they might be. Her eyes were another point in her favor - certainly exotic, with their silver blue color, and certainly unexpected with her golden skin and the dark hair snaking over her shoulders, but they were more naturally so almost than could be believed. Eyes like hers would have been usual on someone with blonde hair and very fair skin, making them... unexpected, to say the least, but still they worked for her.

And those silvery eyes were half-lidded now, watching him as he leaned over her, just far enough to give him room to move - gyrate - in tempo with the music. Her hands slid down to his hips, and she did press her cheek against his chest, arching her back so that most of the rest of her was pressed closer as well. And then she turned her head a little, pulling back just a little, and licked him.

Mmm.

[Marius Grey]

Her eyes were enough that he could get lost in them, if he weren't already so lost.  As it was, he didn't really have much else to lose right then.

Except clothing.

He had some more of that available, though he wasn't quite equipped to really strip for anyone.  It wasn't like he made it a habit of wearing anything that a woman might consider 'sexy' (nothing more than a pair of silk boxer shorts, which he liked for the texture, not the look) under that pair of jeans.  Yes, tonight it was jeans.  He wore black slacks when he was working, but tonight hadn't been a scheduled work night.

Based on the red-eyed glance he was completely oblivious of receiving, someone else was aware that he'd taken on some unexpected 'work'.  Eden would be pressing this issue later, but for the time being he'd just watch from afar.  Marius never noticed.  All he cared about was Diana.

Who had just licked his chest.  His head had been facing her, his hair falling around his face, but he tilted his head back with a small gasp as first her cheek and then her tongue trailed over the already warm, bare skin.  His back arched towards her almost involuntarily with the way his head had fallen backwards, and one hand finally left its place at the back of her chair to pull at the button on his pants.

[Jessica Markova]

Diana knew that there were people looking at them - but let them look, what cared she? All that was really important right now was the body above hers, moving to the background rhythm that was thrumming in the background, almost a heartbeat, in her ears and the back of her mind, almost in her eyes just because of the motion, electric guitar running through the melody like breathing. Voices singing words about lies and love, heaven and freedom.

As they did, Diana pulled him down closer to her while he reached down to pull with the button and zipper on his pants; she kissed his collarbone, his neck, pressed herself closer again. When his pants did come off, her hands glided back down again, fingering the silky material almost teasingly.

[Nikolas St. Pierre]

"So, should I tell Eden I need another bouncer, then?" Nikolas asked, arms folded across his chest as he leaned in an erect-but-slightly-amused position against the nearest piece of furniture that would support his form. Next to him stood a gorgeous brunette vampire, one who'd absolutely had all of his attention until she herself had turned to... watch the show.

"Well Marius, I never knew you could dance," Elke sang. She didn't seem amused, but rather pointed with her words. She recognized the feeling she had - the woman obviously had the same line of power she did, just not with cats. Must've been with wolves obviously, which meant there was little Elke could do to stop it. She inwardly was reminded of Sigried and her love of abuse, and narrowed her eyes a little.

Nikki draped a casual arm around the shorter Elke and smiled glibly. His Elke. Oh, he could smell other cats all over her, but right now, they weren't around, were they? "Don't stop," he said, holding a hand up to a no-doubt stunned Marius. "Shake your salt shaker. I've got my hands full," he laughed. Of course he did. He didn't want anyone else near Elke. If he found out she'd made Marius, he might get a little jealous.

[Jessica Markova]

And... and interruptions. Diana didn't quite glare over at the two vampires who had suddenly decided to interfere, but the quick glance that she cast over wasn't exactly grateful. Still....

Diana hadn't scaled her power back earlier, simply because why? Now, however, she did some - enough to allow Marius to reach a bit more normally - she could have kept him a bit more entranced and there was nothing that any of them could do about it, but.... At least the song was almost over. And at least they hadn't stepped in earlier.

Diana let her power slip down.