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She gavein as my pet, you have to dress the part, and trust me, blood whores wear shit like this" The look on her face told e"

"I do not want to wear this" On my way to a whine fest, I pulled my best sad-kitty-eyes act, but even that didn’t sway her

"Tough What about boots? Do you have any high-heeled black boots? Stilettos, not h my closet, so I motioned her aside and pulled a box down from the upper shelf and shoved it into her hands

"Ca these They’re cute, but they’ll put me at six five You sure you want a pet that tall? You’re barely five one, you know"

"So what? You’re tall, and I’ them "These are really pretty We want you to stand out, Kitten, and ant you to fit a certain tabula caters to vao in there with you dressed in jeans and a wife-beater, people are going to question us right from the start, because they cater to clientele who look a littlesleazy I just hope nobody recognizes e"

"I don’t ife-beaters," I said, sliding out of my clothes "I wear muscle shirts, okay? Tank tops"

"Whatever the hell you want to call them" She motioned to my panties and bra "Those, too You don’t have Camille’s boobs, so you can do without a bra And you don’t want a visible panty line Doesn’tthat even hints of nor acquaintance with noret done withed my crotch The material was scratchy and made etting a free peep show under the flesh-hugging spandex You could see loss on

I tried to tug the crotch down a little, but the ave up, slipped the halter top over my head, and tied it around my neck The halter ended about six inches above , tasseled fringe that tickled Actually, it made me want to turn intoat it, but I squelched that thought

Menolly handedthe totally ludicrous

She nodded "Goodnow you need a collar Black lace scarf, tied with a bow If you don’t have one, Camille will"

"Oh for Pete’s sake, is there a dress code?" I asked, digging through my dresser until I came up with a chiffon scarf It was black, plain but sheer

Menolly gave it her stah it may be" She adjusted the scarf so the bow faced the back of my neck "There, that’s code for a switch-hitter If you had the bow in front, no vatabula--would approach you, because it would mean I own you and hands off To the left--I’ll let you play with girls only To the right--boys only If the bow’s facing the back, then anybody can ask per under? "How the hell do you know all this?"

"I get around," she said, arching her eyebrows and giving rin "Remember, this code only applies in the vamp subculture" Menolly"You’ll find ownership and doh each subcult"

She sorted through the pots of paint I had enough of Camille’s cast-off supplies to last me for years "Let’s see e have--oh! This will do nicely"

Withinbrilliant red lips and wild chartreuse eye shadow After outlining reen velvet, she dusted h powder to paleon you regularly" She stood back "I think we’re done"

I stared at"Uh, yeah, stick-a-fork-in- queen So, what’s our story?" I asked, following her downstairs

"We met in a lesbian club If anybody asks, say it was at Sapphic Blue I picked you up, took you home, made a meal off of you You liked it so much you cauess," I said "Just don’t expect me to French you one" As I let out a snort, Menolly whirled around and pushed ames are fine, but remember, this isn’t a joke, Kitten Don’t screw this up Chase’s life depends on finding Karvanak This little fiasco may well lead us to that demonic SOB So work the story and play it for real if you want to find your boyfriend"

She looked so fierce that I stumbled and slid down to sit on the steps "I’ht Okay, you want a story? Listen up We’re a couple You’re one of my pets--which means you’re a kept wo you, you hang out in the living room and watch TV and talk on the phone"

I sed "So I don’t have a job?"

"No job I take care of you, and I pay wherever we go So leave your purse and ency stash in your boot I’o to the bathroom, talk to people, but I make all the decisions When you address hed "Mistress? Oh boy, this is getting better and better every oal is to attract Fraale’s attention Chances are, if she’s new in town, she won’t have had tiet a bead on us, and we’ll be lucky If Karvanak has filled her in, and she’s working for hiears We may have to kill her Roz assures me she’ll be interested in you and want to try you out"