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The lounge singer was really, truly lovely. Her voice had a little bit of smoke in it, and she had the power and emotion to really make the song her own. The jazz band backing her up was performing a cover of Seven Nation Army . The bassist plucked away at his instrument and the pianist nodded along with the music as the singer purred into the microphone, her long hair in golden curls framing her face.
Nelli enjoyed the music, though she wasn’t much of a jazz girl herself. Even still, she couldn't take her eyes off the singer, or the dress she was wearing. It was strapless, hugging the singer’s body like a second skin. Black and gold sequins glittered like mermaid scales in a retro art deco chic pattern of bold stripes that radiated out from her core. The outfit was finished off with elbow length black velvet gloves. On paper, it would have been a basic list of fashion notes, but there were no words that could perfectly describe the cut of the dress, or how it looked on the singer’s body. Nelli was entranced.
The singer’s last few notes hung in the air, sweet and clear. The piano finished with a flourish. The singer smiled at the crowd, who applauded their performance. She bowed once, thanking the audience, before stepping off the stage and walking away.
Nelli leaned over to murmur to Chaz as she clapped. “Well, she was certainly lovely, wasn’t she?”
Chaz didn’t reply, which confused Nelli. Chaz always wanted to have the last word, particularly when speaking to Nelli. She looked at her sire, and saw he was still staring in the direction the singer had gone.
“Chaz?” Nelli hesitated in touching him. The last time she had touched him without him touching her first, she had been hit. It had been a very long time since Nelli had been allowed out of her and Chaz’s Ivory Tower haven. Chaz had decided on a whim when he woke up that evening that he and Nelli were going to go out to his jazz lounge as a ‘special treat.’ This evening had been going so well, so… peacefully so far, Nelli didn’t want to ruin it.
“Mmm?” Chaz glanced at Nelli only briefly, clearly still distracted. “Did you happen to get the name of that singer?”
“Um, Donna… something? Donna Cambridge, I think.” Nelli frowned. She had seen this look on Chaz’s face only once before, and it was back when she and him had first met, when he had seduced her into joining Clan Toreador. She felt a flutter inside her chest, but it wasn’t her heart. It was her Beast, writhing anxiously. “Why do you ask?”
“Donna, hmm? I do hope she comes back on stage again. She was… exquisite. What a voice!”
Nelli nodded, agreeing. “Yes, her dress was also very-”
Chaz cut Nelli off with a dismissive and condescending wave of his hand. “Oh, yes, yes, her dress was all well and good, but you could take a woman like that and put her in a sackcloth and she would still sound amazing. You’re such a silly, little thing, Nelli.”
Nelli gave a short laugh, hiding the sting from his words. “I just… I can’t help but appreciate a beautiful outfit when I-”
“Shut up!” Chaz snapped. He perked up, eyes back on the stage as the singer, Donna, returned for an encore. He joined in with the crowd’s enthusiastic applause. “Shut up, she’s coming on again!”
Nelli swallowed back any other words she might have said. She tried to watch the singer perform her encore, but the music had soured for her. The vision of the dress no longer held the same magic for her either. Nelli watched Chaz staring at Donna, a possessive gleam in his eye.
“Exquisite,” he murmured again, mostly to himself. “I am going to have that woman.”
Nelli blinked, confused again and still worried. Have her? Did he mean just to feed from? Or… something else? Nelli’s thoughts drifted back to when she and Chaz first met. “I simply had to have you,” Chaz had said to her back then. That had not been long before he had embraced her.
No… Surely he didn’t mean it like that. Not this time… right?
“Chaz doesn't need anyone,” Nelli thought. Her Beast continued to writhe in her chest, making her feel almost queasy. “He has someone already! He has me!”
But Chaz didn’t spare a look, nor a word, for Nelli for the rest of the night. He did, however, make certain to charm his way into Donna’s dressing room. Nelli could do nothing but sit outside, seething. Eventually, Chaz’s limo driver was instructed to take Nelli home alone.