Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4)
Chapter 22

"Where are we?"

“In the garage.”

“Bonnie just pulled into the garage and left us?”

“She knew we were busy,” he said.

“Do I have to get dressed to go through the house?”

“Probably. Mag will be checking on us. Unless you want to moon her.”

Natalia sat up.

“We're in no hurry to go in,” he said.

“I have to pee.”

“Time to go in.”

He sat up and handed over her dress.

“That is a nice dress. You do have good taste.”

“Thanks.”

She pulled it over her head.

“Do the zipper for me, please,”

She laughed.

“What?” he said.

“You're always putting my panties in your pocket.”

“You want to carry them?”

“No, that's fine. I'm just imagining the cleaners going through your pockets and always finding my panties.”

He chuckled.

“I remove everything from my pockets when I undress,” he said. “Although I'll toss these since I cut them off you.”

Natalia scooted out of the limo with Uri behind her. They carried their shoes and walked to the door of the house.

“I'm hungry, too,” she said when they headed up the stairs.

“There'll be cookies.”

In the bedroom, she had Uri unzip her. She hung the dress up with care. It was a nice dress.

Uri came up behind her, putting his arm around her and running a hand over her belly.

“I love my girls,” he said.

Natalia smiled.

“This girl wants a quick shower and cookies.”

Uri gently took her hand and led her to the shower.

When they came down the stairs, just wearing robes, there was sanguine tea and cookies on the coffee table. Mag was nowhere in sight. They settled on the sofa.

"Are you going to visit Lisa tomorrow?" he said while they chowed through cookies.

"Yes, if you don’t mind, but I won't be staying long. Tia said the online courses start on Monday, but I see I can start reading the books before that. I want to get a head start. What are you going to do?”

“Probably check on Mr. Sturt. I have a feeling Ravi will be doing the same.”

Natalia sighed.

“I'm full now.”

He nodded.

“Bed time.”

However, he continued to sit on the sofa a few more moments before he took her hand, pulling her up.

Natalia slept hard, hardly waking when Uri rolled out of bed. Still half asleep, she felt him get back into bed.

“You are so warm,” he said, cuddling up to her.

"Hum."

A phone rang.

“That's yours,” he said.

“Mine?”

He leaned over her to pick her phone up from the nightstand.

"Hello?" she said after Uri tapped to answer it.

"Good morning, Nattie. This is Sherri.”

“Morning, Sherri.”

“You sound like you're still in bed?”

"Just lazing a little.”

“I have a tea party I want you to attend. Can you fit it into your schedule?”

"Yes, I was just going to visit Lisa for a bit and then do some reading for school.”

“You'll have time for that this morning. The party isn't until two p.m. I sent over a few dresses. Mag or Zena should have them. Give them a try and see what you like.”

“Thank you.”

“I'll text you the address. Arrive a few minutes late. Don't be early.”

"Okay. I can do that. Who else will be there?”

“Ravi's wives. All of them will be there. Mag will have some garden information for you, too.” “Who is putting on the party?”

“The A'ppollo Ladies Garden Society. Very hard to get into. We actually have no one who is a member. We hadn't given them much thought until now. Now that you mentioned gardening and getting along with Nancy.”

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“It's by invitation only, so you will be crashing the party. However, with Nancy as a friend and the fact that you are upper crust, I think they will let that slide and, we hope, start the process of making you a member.”

“I think I can make this happen,” Natalia said.

"And please, don't wear any knives. Not even the necklace.”

Natalia wondered how she knew about the necklace.

“I won't,’ she said.

“I'll see you later this morning,” Sherri said and she ended the call.

Uri smiled.

“My important little wife.”

He kissed her cheek.

“How did Sherri know about the necklace? And the knife in it?”

"Viperian jeweler. Custom order. My order. Everything I do is watched. It was reported to Sherri.” "Doesn't that bother you?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “For what I give up in privacy, I gain in other ways.”

“Such as?"

“I got you.”

“That's it?”

He grinned.

“I have two houses. A good paying job. Access to the upper crust in two societies. But the best thing I have, is you.”

“You're getting sweet.”

“Because of you.”

He whipped the covers off of her.

“You have to things to do,” he said.

They both dressed in jeans and trotted down to the dining room.

On one end of the table were a pile of dresses. Beside the dresses was a manila envelope. Natalia opened the envelope just when Mag entered with tea.

“Those are for you,” Mag said.

"Yes, I know. Mag?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

"Who's the best person to ask about our gardens. What we grow and such?”

“You can ask me."

"What's growing in our gardens?”

“Carrots, tomatoes, chives, green onions, red and white onion, peas, but their long over with. All the onions are pulled up too. The tomatoes will keep going until we have a frost. Still plenty of carrots.” "Whoa. I need a pen, so I can write some of this down.”

“Let me bring in breakfast and I'll get you a pen,” Mag said.

Natalia looked through the papers in the envelope.

“What's in there?” Uri said.

“Diagrams of Nancy's gardens and what's planted in them. I feel like I'm always studying. Makes me wish I had paid more attention to the gardens at my parents.”

"You don't have to be an expert,” he said.

Mag brought in breakfast.

"Ooh, eggs and bacon,” Natalia said.

“Love bacon,” he said, snarfing down a piece.

They were almost done with breakfast when Mag stepped in.

“Here's a list of what we grow,” she said.

Natalia scanned the list.

“Wow. I didn’t know we had all these fruit trees. I need to walk around more.”

“I would prefer you didn't,” Mag said.

“What? Why?”

“Easier to keep you protected in the house than outside,” Uri said.

“It's dangerous out in the yard?”

“This is a high-class neighborhood. That means money. A'ppollo is one of the worst cities for kidnapping.”

Natalia sat back, staring at him.

“That's why cars are kept in the garage at all times to prevent them from being sabotaged. A sabotaged car can breakdown and this gives the kidnappers an opportunity.”

“I can't image anyone stupid enough to sabotage a car full of Viperians,” she said.

Uri laughed. Even Mag snickered.

“That is true, especially in our case, but the people out there doing the kidnapping don't know that.” “There are three Viperian households in this area,” Mag said. “We have a neighborhood watch that keeps the thugs at bay. We know they are out there.”

“We always have tinted windows, making it hard for someone to knows who is in the car. Harder to tell if there is only one person or if it's a woman.”

"So, if I ever start driving myself, if I ever learn how to drive, I need to be careful,” she said. “Exactly,” he said.

“That won't happen for a while until you can hear better,” Mag said. “If you're done with breakfast, we can go try on the dresses and see which fits better for your party.”

“Yeah, I better get that out of the way and go visit Lisa.”

Mag grabbed the dresses and a large bag that was under them. Natalia led the way upstairs. "What's in the bag?” Natalia said while Mag spread out the dresses on the bed.

“Shoes.”

“I'm getting to be spoiled with everyone knowing what size I wear. I can go shopping in my bedroom.”

Natalia picked up a blue dress.

“This one is nice.”

She stripped off her jeans and t-shirt before slipping on the dress.

“Well this one is out. Too tight in the waist.”

“Need a fuller cut,” Mag said, picking out a dress.

“Not my favorite colors. Yellow tends to make my skin look pale. Green is okay.”

“Your skin color has changed a little,” Mag said. “The yellow and green will work.”

Natalia slipped the dress on.

“It is a better fit. You have a good eye.”

“Simple pearls will look good with this,” Mag said.

“Not the black pearls.”

“No, white.”

"And I hope not yellow shoes.”

“Mag looked through the bag.

“No, here are some green ones that match.”

Natalia slipped them on and stepped in front of the mirror.

“Yellow and green. Those are good garden colors.”

“I wouldn't keep your hair down. I can french braid it back.”

Natalia's phone dinged.

“Sherri's text with the address. Why doesn't she just send it to Bonnie? I'm not driving.”

“She did,” Mag said. “But it's good for you to know where you are going.”

iliseels

"Ask Sherri to show you the city map when you go over there.”

"Okay. Thanks, Mag.”

Natalia changed back into her jeans and trotted down stairs. Uri was on the phone, pacing in his office.

“Never done this. Let's see how this works,” she said.

She used the push-to-talk.

“Bonnie. I'm ready to go to Sherri's.”

“I'm already out in the garage,” Bonnie said.

“I'll be right out.”

She waved a goodbye to Uri who waved back at her.

When she reached the garage, Bonnie opened the car door for her.

Natalia watched closely out the window to see the route that Bonnie took, almost wishing she was riding upfront.

“Il would be able to see the street names better,” she said under her breath.

Once they were past the gates and in Viperia, Natalia had to look for landmarks.

"Still can't see the signs during the day.”

The limo pulled up to Sherri's house. This morning, however, it was Anna who opened the door. “She's upstairs,” Anna said. “She wants to meet with you first. Go on up.”

Natalia trotted up the stairs.

Sherri looked swollen.

"Only a month left,” Sherri said while she rubbed her belly.

She seemed to have swelled since the last time Natalia had seen her.

“I didn't realize you were so far along.”

"Always seems to be a lull and then, boom, feels like my belly is going to explode. But, now, we're not here for that.”

“I assume we're going to discuss the party. Also, Mag suggested you show me a map of the city.” "Good idea.” Sherri pulled out a phone from a pocket. “Anna. The city map.”

The house was quiet. Natalia watched Sherri massage her belly while they waited for Anna which wasn't long. Anna arrived with a large rolled up sheet of paper.

“Thank you, Anna. I'll only have Nattie for a short time.”

Anna nodded and left.

"We've gotten Lisa enrolled in college, but she will be attending classes. We hope to integrate her back into the city when she makes new friends in college. She'll be eighteen in a few days now. Now for the party.”

She shifted in her seat.

“I don't think we really know who is going to be there for certain. The only wife you haven't met of Ravi's is Sittel. She's the oldest and the boss of the household.”

Natalia nodded.

“I can't really tell you what to do other than being pleasant and being very observant.”

“I can do that with no problem.”

"Making friends with any of the women will be beneficial. We usually target the men, but, perhaps, it's a good strategy to now target their wives.”

“Thank you for the garden information.”

“You're welcome.”

"Are you going to continue on the path with Francie?”

Sherri rolled her eyes.

“Francie can't stand him. Control is best when the man has a higher sexual need. Ravi doesn't meet that criterion. We'll probably have Francie leave the bank.”

“She's not really an employee there anyway, is she?”

Sherri chuckled

“No. I guess she told you she was a nurse. We would actually like her back at the hospital.”

Sherri unrolled the paper.

“This is a map of the city. Gives you a better idea where things are situated. This is Viperia. It used to be an abandoned area and we've cleaned it up quite a bit.”

She pointed to an area on the other side of the city.

“That is Hell. Old warehouse district with slum-housing. We don't control who goes in or out, but we make it a hellish place to live. We used to have our own drug dealers who dispensed their wares there to attract the no goods, but now that kite is around, we've stopped.”

Natalia also noted the location of the bank. There were small red V's all over the map. She spied Uri's house and knew the V's were designating Viperian households.

"We don't know who brought in kite, and we're actually trying to stop it. We've already put some big players out of business. Including the Church.”

“The Church?”

“Surprising, huh? They were selling it, making quite a profit. But...” She smiled. “All their dealers seemed to get addicted to it. They went through a lot of dealers.”

“It has an odd smell.”

“It makes a person smell like food.”

“Not good food.”

“No,” Sherri said, shaking her head, but she was in agreement. “But once you're on it, it's the most delicious smell in the world, so I'm told.”

Her phone rang.

She looked at it.

"Why don’t you go on down and see Lisa?"

Natalia took the hint and left. She was a few stairs down when she heard Sherri's voice even thought she was talking softly.

“Yes, Uri?"

Natalia wondered what was up, but she knew she would have to wait to find out. She changed gears when Lisa came out of the kitchen to greet her.

Two hours later, she said her goodbyes. She was pleased to see that Lisa was doing well, acting her normal self. When she stepped out of Sherri’s house, Bonnie opened the door for her.

Natalia paused before she got in.

"Why do you open the door for me, but not Uri?”

"Sign of respect,” Bonnie said, waving her into the car.

Natalia thought about this on the ride home, finally deciding it had to do with the fact women ruled in Viperian Society.

Bonnie pulled the limo into the garage, but came around the limo and opened the door for her. “We'll leave about a quarter to two,” Bonnie said. “That will get us there at the perfect time.”

“A little after?”

"Yes, about two-fifteen.”

“Thank you.”

Natalia glanced at her phone. It was twelve-thirty already.

"A little reading and then get dressed,” she said going into the house. When she shut the door, she realized Uri's car was gone.

Mag must have heard her and was setting out some lunch.

"Do you know where Uri is?"

“No,” Mag said.

"Yes, you do,” Natalia said.

"He's out,” Mag said, leaving the room.

Natalia ate only half her sandwich and chugged her sanguine tea before going up to her office. She sat with her tablet, looking over her books. There was a search function and she discovered the online library and ended up looking through gardening books for the next half-hour.

Mag came in.

“I can do your hair while you read.”

It didn’t take Mag long to french braid her hair.

“Time to dress.”

The dress and shoes looked nice, but the pearl necklace and pearl earrings put the whole outfit over the top.

"Quite elegant,” Natalia said. “Real pearls have this glow about them.

“You need to dress for your position,” Mag said. “Here. I found a small purse for you.”

It was encrusted with pearls. It was large enough to put her phone, a tissue and the wallet she had put together with her ID, cash and credit cards. She also put in the bottle of liquid skin.

“Your mark is totally hidden,” Mag said while Natalia put a touch of makeup on.

“Thank you. Well, let's see what this adventure is going to bring.”

“Bonnie is already waiting in the garage,” Mag said.

When she went out, Bonnie again opened the door for her.

Having seen the map, Natalia now had a better idea about the orientation of the city.

“I've lived here all my life and it feels like it's all new.”

She looked at the address and knew where they were heading. The tea party was being held at the botanical garden of the University. When her limo pulled into the lot, she spied the white one parked in the back. Bonnie pulled up close to the building and stopped. Natalia didn't get out right away since she noted Bonnie leave her seat. She knew Bonnie was coming around to open the door for her.

“Thanks, Bonnie.”

“I'll be waiting in the lot,” Bonnie said under her breath.

Natalia started up the steps while Bonnie pulled the limo around to the back by the other one. She wondered if Bonnie and that driver knew each other. Or were going to get to know each other. Inside the building, there was a desk with a welcome sign for the A'ppollo Ladies Garden Society. However, no one was there. She didn’t need any directions on where to go because she could see where the ladies were gathered in a room with large doors opened out to the gardens. The tea service was inside, but the tables were outside under a large awning.

An older woman with silver hair looked over at her when she approached the door. Natalia noted the jewelry and expensive outfit, but she ignored the woman, scanning the room.

“I'm sorry. This is a private party,” the woman said, blocking Natalia's way.

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