Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4)

Uri cuddled against her.

"We get up early on Mondays,” he said, whispering in her ear.

“What time is it?"

She felt as if they had just gone to bed.

“Six am.”

"You've got to be kidding. That's hardly six hours of sleep.”

"You had a nap yesterday afternoon.”

Uri flipped off the covers.

“You'll be accompanying me to work today.”

He pulled her out of bed.

“Hey.”

He showered with her again but didn't wash her hair, but he did condition it again.

“Not the cold water. No. Brrr.”

Uri chuckled and handed her a towel.

When she came out of the bathroom, he handed her a black and red suit to put on. There was a pencil skirt with a short jacket. He already had an off-white blouse laying on the bed to go with it. While she dressed, she noticed his tattoos were gone. She figured he was covering them up after he shaved.

“I would like to see how you do that.”

"Do what?" he said as he straightened his tie.

“Cover the tattoos.”

“Liquid skin,” he said. “Let's go.”

He took her hand and led her downstairs. Breakfast was in the dining room. At her setting was the expected sanguine tea. She chugged it down. Mag immediately served her hot tea. Breakfast was another omelet.

When she finished her omelet, she found Uri staring at her.

“What?”

“You need some different jewelry before you go out. Mag.”

Mag entered at a fast pace. She was carrying a box.

“Besides, you shouldn't be wearing anything your parents can identify with you. Take out your earrings,” he said, opening the box.

It was full of jewelry. He handed her a pair of simple studs. The gems were black. Then, he rose to put a black pearl necklace around her neck. He took her old earrings and gave them to Mag, who then disappeared back into the kitchen.

“I'm not getting a tattoo, am 1?"

He chuckled.

“I don't think I can answer that question. The tattoos mark us as Viperian and also denotes our family lineage.”

“But you cover yours up.”

“No tattoo then I must not be a Viperian,” he said with a smile.

“That doesn't make sense.”

“It will. Let's go.”

He grabbed her hand, leading her out the door and into the limo.

“You will be an intern today. Do what I say and speak as little as possible to everyone,” he said when the limo turned onto the street.

"Okay."

"You're still illegal, so until we get you proper ID, you stay close.”

"Why can't I just stay in Viperia?”

“It's raining.”

Natalia rolled her eyes. It wasn't raining, or at least not yet.

“Do you not know what an umbrella is?"

He gave her a look, but it was serious.

“It has come to my attention that you are not popular in Viperia and, therefore, not safe.”

“Why?

“There is the belief that you are distracting me too much from my job.”

"Am 12"

“No, you are part of my job, but there are many who don't realize this or don't know this as it isn't public knowledge.”

"Oh."

"And if you are ever alone and find a Viperian woman coming toward you, run.”

"What? Why? How do I know she’s Viperian?”

"She's probably been sent to bite you.”

“What will that do? Make me want to become a lesbian?”

"No."

He almost broke a smile, but then remained serious.

"A Viperian woman's bite can make you abort the baby. You're not immune enough yet.”

"So, how can I tell? If I don't see a tattoo, how do I know?”

"On the right hand, middle finger, will be a ring. Any ring. Doesn't matter what it looks like. We are usually black haired and green eyed, but genetics have changed with the interbreeding of non- Viperians. We are seeing brunettes and hazel eyes. No blondes or blue eyes, yet.”

“You're scaring me.”

“Good. This is serious.”

The limo slowed, and then stopped. The doors unlocked and a woman entered the limo.

“Good morning, Uri. Nattie.”

Natalia found herself automatically nod in acknowledgment, speechless that she was even greeted. "Good morning, Sophie. How are you doing this fine morning?” Uri said.

“Excellent. Thanks for the ride.”

"Congratulations on your promotion.”

“So nice of Thomas to retire,” she said with a knowing smile.

Natalia took note of a ring on her right hand, just like Uri said. Sophie also had black hair and green eyes and looked to be in her thirties. She wore a dark gray suit in a similar style that Natalia wore. Her breasts were large and straining against her blouse. There was no evidence of a tattoo, however, considering how well Uri hid his, she wasn't surprised.

“Congrats to you as well.”

Sophie's eyes shifted to Natalia, then back to Uri.

“Thank you,” he said. “It's caused a stir.”

Sophie nodded.

“I've heard. Maybe you should put a guard dog on her.”

“First, I must find one that isn't tilted, so that's one of my jobs today: to be guard dog.”

“It's going to be a busy day,” Sophie said with a slight shake of her head.

"Yes, I know," he said with a wave of his hand in Natalia“s direction. “Meet my new intern.”

Sophie smiled.

“That will probably work. And with everyone so busy, she'll hardly be noticed.”

“I'll get her sorting files. No one wanted to spare anyone to do it, but it has to get done.”

“They are so backward.”

“Banks like paper,” he said.

The limo pulled up to the main bank. Natalia expected Sophie to get out, which she did, but she didn't expect to be pulled out by Uri.

“The bank? You work at the bank?"

He smiled, then released her hand.

"Stay close,” he said.

Sophie was already in the building. Everyone was walking fast as if they were late. Uri walked fast, as well, and she had to move quickly to keep up with him. They paused at the door for a security check.

“New intern. Nattie Osrisca,” Uri said to the guard after he showed his id. “I'll be getting her a badge today.”

“Cousin, niece...” the guard said with a grin.

“Wife,” Uri said.

“Then she’s not your intern. She's your boss.”

The guard laughed and waved them through.

Uri rolled his eyes.

“Wife?” Natalia said under her breath.

Uri ignored her while he led her to the row of elevators crowed with people. The elevators were busy, but there was so many of them that the flow of people in and out of them moved quickly. It wasn't long before they stuffed themselves into one. He made sure she was in first so that she didn't get left behind.

Natalia watched the floors. The elevator made frequent stops, but they remained on until it reached the twenty-fourth. It was the top floor of the building. They were now the only ones on the elevator. The elevator door opened.

"Good morning, Mr. Osrisca.”

The woman standing by the door was obviously waiting for him. She was not a Viperian. She had graying brown hair that she wore in a bun. Over her blue dress, she wore a black blazer. There was no jewelry on her, except for a plain gold wedding ring.

“Morning, Bailey.”

Bailey handed him a cup of tea.

"We have a meeting first thing this morning, however, not everyone has arrived,” Bailey said.

She carried a device that she was consulting. Natalia figured it had Uri's schedule.

“Bailey, this is Nattie. She's intern for the day. Take her over and show her the files that need to be sorted. Make everyone know that I had to pull strings to get her and to get this job done.”

"Yes, sir, right away.”

They reached the door to an office with a gold name plate.

"One last thing, Bailey...”

“Yes, sir?"

Natalia noted the gold name plate said Uri Osrisca, Vice President/Controller.

"Get Nattie a cup of tea.”

"Yes, sir. This way Nattie.”

Uri disappeared into his office. Natalia found herself following Bailey. Bailey walked faster than Uri, heading down the hall. She said nothing to the people they passed. No one said anything to them. They reached what looked to be a storage closet.

"All the boxes with the yellow notes on them need to be alphabetized. Not within each box, but across all boxes. So that box would contain A through C and that box would be D though F, like that.”

“I see,” Natalia said.

“Do you want cream and sugar in your tea?”

"Yes, please.”

Bailey was gone in an instant.

Natalia looked at the boxes and counted. There were over thirty boxes.

“No wonder no one wanted this job,” she said to herself. “There's no room to empty all the boxes. There's no room to even stage the boxes.”

She gazed around at the space she did have.

“Lovely. I guess this is what I would expect they would give an intern. The crappy work. The brainless work."

She pulled out the files in one box and began to methodically sort. A few minutes later, Bailey appeared with a mug of tea, and then, was gone, again.

Natalia sorted, aware of the steady stream of people that passed the door. A short time later, there was no traffic at all. She had no idea what the time was, but guessed that everyone was now settled in their office or a meeting. However, a short time later, a man and woman darted into the closet with a giggle.

“Oops. Sorry. This is occupied,” the woman said.

Natalia noted the black hair, green eyes, and the ring on her finger. The man, however, was white haired and probably old enough to be her father. Based on the fact that he had his hand on the woman's ass, they were acting more like lovers.

“So sorry,” the man said, and the pair left.

At one point, Natalia left to find a restroom. The people she did see in offices were all busy either working on a computer or engaged in phone calls. There was a clock she was able to see, and it was now well after ten am. She went back to her closet, wondering if Uri was to get her lunch or if she was on her own. She was starting to get hungry. If she was on her own for lunch that was going to pose a problem. She didn't know where to go and had no money.

A woman paused at the door to stare at her. She had all the traits of a Viperian. A long moment later, she walked on. Natalia realized with anxiety that the closet was a trap. There was no place to run. She stepped up, shut the door, and turned the lock. Someone on the outside would need a key to get in.

She returned to sorting when a short time later, there was a knock on the door.

"Who's there?” she said, feeling rather stupid.

"Uri."

She opened the door.

"Good idea,” he said, not questioning the locked door. “Let's get some lunch.”

He led her to the elevators. There was a short wait for one, but there was no one on it. However, on the way down, it filled up quickly since they almost hit every floor until the elevator was full. Natalia found she was paying more attention to those around her and was finding her ability to spot a Viperian was improving. She was rather surprised to find that all of them were women. In fact, Uri was the only Viperian male she had seen or at least identified.

There was another trait that Viperian women seemed to have that Uri hadn't mentioned. They were all well endowed with large breasts. She caught many a man giving them a sideways glance when they got on the elevator.

On the main floor, everyone spilled out of the elevator. She followed him out of the bank. The limo was waiting for them at the curb.

“Where's lunch today?” she said, sliding across the seat.

“Cooper's.”

“Nice. You won't get raw meat there.”

“Wanna bet,” he said with a chuckle. “Cooper is Viperian. There are many off the menu options, including sanguine tea.”

“You're kidding.”

He chuckled and shook his head.

The drive to Cooper's didn't take long. Natalia found there was a nice advantage in being chauffeured around. They didn't have to find a parking space. However, she saw that there was a line out of the door. Cooper's, she knew, was very popular.

Uri took her hand, pulling her out of the limo. He bypassed the line. A waiter seated them right away, then returned quickly and served them iced tea. Natalia wasn't surprised by the arrival of a glass of sanguine tea, even thought they hadn't ordered a thing yet.

“Perks of a Vice-president?” she said in a low voice.

He smiled, but didn’t answer.

“I didn’t think a...”

“That isn't to be discussed here,” he said, interrupting her.

Menus came.

Natalia had been here before. She knew the menu.

"What do you want?” he said.

“Cobb salad.”

"Extra meat?”

“Just the normal Cobb salad is fine.”

She took a few sips of the sanguine tea. This tea had a bit of a sweeter taste to it than she remembered. She liked it.

The waiter came. He took the menus but didn't take their order.

Natalia eyed Uri. He just smiled and sipped his tea. She hadn't felt any vibration, but she figured the steady stream of traffic on the road masked it.

"How is the sorting coming?” he said, finally breaking the silence between them

"Good considering there is no room to move in that closet.”

"Security risk if those files leave the room. We have auditors running around the building, so everyone is making sure they abide by all the rules.”

"Bit of a trap...”

"Someone passed the room that make you fret?”

Yes."

"Did she pause?”

ess

She noted that he used the word “she’, despite she gave no clue that it was a woman.

“Probably Tia. We will discuss that later.”

“Good or bad Tia?"

Uri chuckled.

"All depends.”

Natalia rolled her eyes.

“You're not making me feel any better.”

“I would rather have you on edge and watchful,” he said.

The waiter returned with their meal. She noted extra meat on her salad. Uri had a sandwich and soup. The waiter left.

“That looks like...”

“Eat your lunch,” he said.

She swore his soup was blood. It was a very dark red brown with brown blobs.

“Your meals ruin my appetite,” she said, but found herself digging into her salad.

He remained silent, focusing on his meal. He ate fast, and she felt she probably needed to as well. As soon as he finished his soup, the waiter took his bowl.

Natalia now felt stuffed. She had eaten all the meat and most of the salad. She didn't remember drinking all the sanguine tea, but it was empty and so was her glass of iced tea.

Uri smiled.

“What was that for?” she said.

“You drank that tea rather quickly as if you enjoyed it. Did it taste sweeter than usual?”

"Yes, why?"

"Good sign.”

"Of what?”

“Immunity.”

"Huh."

She put hands on her stomach.

“I ate too much.”

"You were hungry. Let's go.”

She followed him out to the limo.

"Why am I so hungry?” she said once they were seated in the limo.

“Your body is making changes. You're now immune from bites that will make you a teddy bear. That takes a lot of energy. To ramp up your immune system.”

“Wonderful,” she said deadpan. “Now what about Tia?"

“My sister. She'll be your watch dog at work. Whether she likes you or not, doesn’t matter. She can’t harm you. You're family.”

“Because you called me your wife?”

“Because of Uri Jr."

He reached over to pat her belly.

“You already know it's a boy?"

He laughed.

“No. I won't know until it's born, unless a Viperian woman says. They can tell by smell, but you have to be much further along.”

“If you have five venoms, how many does a Viperian woman have? I assume based on what I've heard from you that they have different ones.”

“That question you will have to ask a Viperian woman.”

"Why?"

“They keep that a secret from men.”

“Making me think that Viperian women rule.”

“Well,” Uri said with a chuckle, “I might have to agree with you. Five of the Council members are women. There's a law requiring that, but the Council head can be either. My father is the first male Council head in quite a few years. I don't envy his job.”

“Is that your aspiration? To take his place?”

“No. I'll be happy with Chief Financial Officer at the bank.”

“I didn't know that Viperians were allowed...”

The limo stopped.

“There are no Viperians working at the bank,” Uri said. “And that's not a word you should speak.” He pulled her out of the limo but released her hand as soon as they hit the sidewalk.

The elevator was less crowded, making the ride to the top floor much faster. Uri headed straight to his office. She headed to the restroom before returning to her closet and shutting the door.

She focused on the work, but her mind was also working on how better to defend herself. There were a few things she decided she would demand from Uri for her own protection.

There was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Security. We need to get you a security badge. I need you to go downstairs to the security area.” Natalia wondered why Uri hadn't mentioned this. With how controlling he seemed to be, she figured he would escort her there, not send anyone.

She took one step toward the door before she stopped to think.

Wouldn't security have a key to the door? She suddenly felt uneasy and trapped.

“I'll need Tia's or Uri's approval,” she said, wishing she could see beyond the door.

The door needed a peep hole.

Or a back door out of here, she thought.

“This is security. You need a badge.”

The person tried the handle, making her feel uncomfortable.

“I'm sorry. I have my orders. You need to go talk to Uri."

"Miss..."

There was a thud. She swore there was the sound of a key entering the lock. The handle turned. Natalia jumped and stepped back when the door opened. She was relieved to find it was Uri. He dragged in a man by the neck.

“Who are you?” Uri said to the man while he slid a key back into his pants pocket.

He tapped the door closed with a foot.

The man was barely breathing. Uri had his thumb pressed hard against the man's throat.

She could tell that this man wasn't a Viperian.

“You're not security. Security is coming. Who do you want to deal with? Me or security?”

Natalia didn’t know if this was an empty threat or not. She hoped Uri wasn't going to kill the man while in the bank.

[I

Uri released his thumb. The man took a deep breath.

“I was told to tell the girl to go downstairs.”

"Someone said to go to this floor and this closet to ask this girl? Who told you? Do you work here?” “No. No, I don't work here. Yes, yes, I was told which floor and which door.”

“Who?”

“I... 1... don't know.”

Natalia caught Uri sniffing the man’s neck. Had the man been drinking?

“What was the woman's name?"

The man's eyes twitched.

“I didn't say it was a woman.”

“But it was a woman. Who?"

The man was now shaking in terror.

Uri put his finger in his mouth, then wiped it on the man’s neck.

“I'll find you later. Security is here.”

Uri released the man and opened the door. For a split second it looked as if the man was going to bolt, but the next second, there were three security guards standing at the door blocking his way. “This man found his way into the bank. He doesn’t work here. He was threatening Nattie, my intern,” Uri said.

“I... I..." the man was shaking and having trouble speaking.

He managed to take one step before he collapsed.

Natalia gasped.

One guard stepped up.

"Go get a stretcher,” he said, directing the other two guards.

He watched them go before he turned back to Uri.

Natalia felt the subtle vibration. She could tell that this man was a Viperian. She also knew he and Uri were having a conversation.

“I'll take her down for an ID badge,” Uri said after a few moments.

The man nodded.

Uri took her hand, leading her out of the room. She had to step over the man, who she noted, wasn't breathing anymore.

She waited until they were alone in the elevator.

“Did you bite him?”