Royal Blood [Naomi, PG13]

For Chance, this was about as good as it ever got anymore. He used to spend his weekends flying off to Italy for a slice of real Italian pizza, or in the nightclubs of Paris, hooking up with whatever French girl (or guy, if Chance was intoxicated enough) said yes to him. Now he was in a two-bit mall coffee shop, sitting by himself sucking down the toxic sludge this place called a latte.

"How the arrogant have fallen," Chance mused, taking another sip of his bitter coffee. He hid his face behind a pair of large aviator sunglasses, his top adorned with a white and silver argyle windbreaker. Chance glanced down at the silver watch on his wrist, impressed by how long he'd been sitting there, trying to stomach his cup of chemical waste.

He'd done nothing but watch people walk by, living their exceedingly ordinary lives. It bored him to no end. In fact, he was sure he'd have more fun watching paint dry. He'd begun to get twitchy some time ago, as sitting around doing nothing was not really something Chance ever did. He always had to be up and moving, normally doing something exceptionally dangerous and stupid.

It would have been more bearable if any of the people in the god forsaken coffee shop were in the least bit attractive, but no one there measured up to Chance's standards. He let out a sigh of disgust and got up to throw his still half-full cup away. As he tossed the paper cup in the trashcan, he walked by a woman coming from the counter with a fresh cup.

"I wouldn't drink that," he warned, "I'm pretty sure they brew it with toilet water."

Naomi knew that coffee was bad for her, but she craved it. It was better than male souls! Okay, that was a slight exaggeration, but she really liked coffee. It didn't matter what it tasted like to her or how expensive it was. All coffee was great. It was warm and vaguely reminded her of home, if her home had trees.

As she was walking from the counter with her delicious coffee in her hand she heard a voice pop up.  "I wouldn't drink that, I'm pretty sure they brew it with toilet water."

Naomi started laughing out loud. Toilet water? Heck, they could make it with their own pee and she'd still drink it. Humans would always look at her weird when she first started saying that so she had to hold her tongue just to keep people from looking at her weird. Though sometimes it would slip out. Heck, it made for great conversations afterwards right?

"Ha. Toilet water. Funny. Did you come up with that one on your own?" Naomi couldn't hold it back. She'd heard the toilet water too many times. Most guys used it as an ice-breaker to initiate conversation with her, and then progress to flirting. She couldn't help but feel that this was just going to be the same routine. It got tiring after a while, and sometimes she just couldn't hold back the snappy remarks. "Sorry. That was rude. I've just heard that line way too many times." There. Redemption. Now she could flirt with this guy and keep him on the side-lines until she needed some power.

Chance glanced up at the girl over the top of his sunglasses. She'd heard a line about coffee being made with toilet water too man times? He doubted that. And if she had, the fact that she'd taken it as an attempt to flirt with her was kind of concerning. Who in their right mind used lines about toilet water to flirt?

Especially with a goddess like this. Once Chance got a good look at her, he couldn't help but marvel in her beauty. Part of him almost wished that he had flirted with her, because he wouldn't mind the opportunity to spend a night with such a gorgeous woman. But another part of him, something in the back of his mind warned him that maybe that wasn't a good idea. He knew her type. She was a man eater, a love-em-and-leave-em kind of girl. Chance had dated plenty of those sort in the past, and he wasn't really looking for a meaningless hook up right now.

In fact, he wasn't looking for much of anything romantic at the moment, but he wouldn't mind having such a perfect woman at his beck and call.

He let out a small chuckle, crossing his arms across his chest. "That wasn't a line. If I'd been trying to flirt with you, you'd know," Chance said, confident in his ability to pick up women. He'd had a bit of a reputation as a heart breaker before he'd been caught. But that was water under the bridge, and there was a good chance he'd never see those girls again. He got the sneaking suspicion that he'd be seeing a lot of this girl, and having her out for his blood was not something he wanted.

Women like this, Chance had learned, were a lot like wild cats: beautiful to look at, but dangerous to pet.

"If you want to brave that poison, by all means. Can I have your name so I know what to have them put on your gravestone?"

"That wasn't a line. If I'd been trying to flirt with you, you'd know.". Naomi couldn't believe this guy. He sure was persistent. Couldn't he tell she had coffee to drink? Despite his attitude, Naomi kind of liked this guy. He wasn't too bad to look at, and had a great taste in sunglasses. She had to set him right though. No one took a shit on her favorite liquid fire tree bark.

Just as she was about to say something, he made another comment. "If you want to brave that poison, by all means. Can I have your name so I know what to have them put on your gravestone?" Naomi about crushed her coffee cup. Even if this coffee was a little bit different looking or tasting than other coffees didn't mean it was poison. She had to admit though, this guy was kind of amusing. She'd seen his type every once and a while. He looked and sounded like one of those guys that had no problem getting the girls. Playing with guys like these was always fun with Naomi. Getting them all worked up was like stealing candy from a baby. Way too easy. She'd act like she was at their beck and call, and then when they night came that they went to bed together she'd kill them. It was an easy game.

"The name's Naomi. Also, thanks for the concern, but it's going to take a lot more than mall coffee to kill me." Naomi took a big swig of her coffee. It wasn't the best coffee she'd ever had, she had to admit, but it wasn't horrible. The worst coffee she ever had was when she tried making it herself. She didn't brew it long enough and instead of being liquid, it was more of a pudding consistency. She still drank it though. There were kids starving in Africa, right? They'd probably love to have black sludge in their stomachs rather than absolutely nothing...right? "It's not terrible. Maybe not the best, but not the worst coffee I've ever had."

Chance gave the girl another once over. Naomi. The name suited her. It was just as dark and exotic as she was. He was impressed with the way she downed the coffee. Anyone unafraid to drink the untreated sewage they served at this place was pretty damn courageous, and that was something Chance liked in a person. As an adrenaline addicted thrill seeker, he didn't like mild or timid people. They held him back from doing the things he really loved. To run with a wolf like Chance, you had to be able to keep up with the pack. He was definitely survival of the fittest in his choice of friends.

And this girl fit the bill. She looked like the kind of girl that wouldn't be afraid to stab you in the heart with the steel spike of her high heels. He felt himself drawn to her, and not just in a sexual way. He had an inkling that they could be very good friends, as long as he played his cards right. Naomi was someone he wanted in his corner, not working against him.

"If this shit isn't the worst thing you've ever had, I don't even want to know what was. But I'm impressed with your bravery, downing so much of it like that. Lesser mortals would be dead," Chance joked, a wolfish grin breaking out over his face. He fought to keep it small, not wanting to break out what he called the 'lady-killer' right away. Women were generally resistant when you made it clear that you were on the hunt from the very get go.

He could tell that Naomi was just as much a hunter as he was, so it was just a matter of allowing himself to play the prey. If only for a small while. Until she got comfortable with him.

"They call me Chance, among other things," he said, hinting at his identity as the White Wolf. He smiled slightly to himself. "So what brings a lady like you to a dive like this?"

Naomi noticed the guy giving her another look over. She noticed his eyes dilating, a sure sign that he was seeing something he liked. But also in his eyes, Naomi saw a fire. It was one of those fires that signaled that he was wild, the kind of guy who liked to take risks. There was something about him that she was liking.

Although, Naomi had to stop herself for a second. She needed to decide quickly what she was going to do with this guy. He would definitely give her a lot of power if she slept with him, and that was very tempting to her. On the other hand, he was really interesting in his own way. She was becoming interested in him in a purely non-sexual way. If they became friends, they'd make a powerful team. She made up her mind. They had to become friends, somehow.

"Chance, huh? Nice name. Really suits you." Naomi realized that was was kind of flirting with him, but she couldn't control it. She was a succubus after all, and creating a friendship was a foreign concept to her. Her only 'friends' were the guys that she had slept with...and then killed. "I was planning on going to buy a new outfit when I heard a rumor that this mall had a coffee shop. Oh hey, would you like to accompany me?" Okay, so inviting a guy to go shopping probably wasn't one of her best ideas ever. Guys and shopping were kind of like pickles and ice-cream. Things that don't really go together unless they need to for a reason. She had to find a way to make shopping appeal to him. "You could help me decide what looks best on me," Naomi gave him a little wink.

Chance almost scoffed. He took off his glasses, folding them up and unzipping the collar of his windbreaker. He hung the glasses from the collar of his tight v-neck. He was not about to play lap dog and bag holder to a girl he'd just met, even if she was as gorgeous as Naomi. When Chance went shopping, he shopped for himself. Fortunately, he'd brought his wallet with him, and that wallet housed his platinum credit card, wired directly to his parents' account.

Even being arrested wasn't enough for Chance Dunway Sr. to cut off his son. It had almost happened, but Chance had managed to sweet talk his father into allowing him to maintain access to the family money, on the condition that he didn't get kicked out of Masquerade. His expulsion from the school really did mean an absolute cut-off. Chance had to tread lightly while at Masquerade, because he was used to certain comforts in life, and he wasn't about to give those up.

"Tell you what, Naomi. It sounds like we could both do with a new set of threads, and there's an entire mall here, ripe for the picking. I'll admit, it's not as classy as what I'm used to, but it'll do." Chance had been feeling off lately, and some retail therapy was exactly what he needed. Plus, it was a chance to show off his muscles for Naomi. That was always a plus when it came to women, and once, a guy in Italy. That had been a fun weekend for Chance.

He grinned at the thought. "What do you say, hot stuff?"