To say that Louis had a bad history with women was a bit of an understatement. His peers in college had nothing kind to say about him, and he and Serena Sublime had met when he had tried to kill her. Serena was odd, to say the least. She had considered him beating her to be foreplay, had offered only a batting of her mink lashes and squeals of delight at his attempts to rape her, and had somehow survived being stabbed 50-something times. She had taken his attempted murder as an invitation to follow him home, sneak into his room, and seduce him. She was also the only drag queen he had ever even considered sleeping with. He'd tried to kill her again, of course, but once again, it hadn't stuck, and he'd allowed her to sleep beside him that night when she'd broken into his home.
She baffled him, and he was both intrigued and utterly infatuated. She kept him guessing, and he liked that. He'd heard from others, including her husband, that she was clingy and needy, but that hadn't been his experience with her. If anything, she kept him at a distance. She had even briefly taken a break from their relationship following her belated honeymoon. He had later learned she was the drag persona of the very lawyer he had hired to get him off for murder, Sebastian Morningstar.
The fact that Sebastian had made absolutely no fuss about representing him despite knowing beyond doubt he must be guilty was something that still surprised Louis whenever he thought about it. Sebastian was a talented lawyer who had gotten him off... and then promptly turned Louis over to the other Morningstar, to be punished.
"I'm sorry, but I did promise him," Sebastian had said. He had fixed Louis with such an intimate look that Louis was initially repulsed... but then he noticed those beautiful teal eyes with flecks of emerald green, eyes he'd gazed into countless times over the last few months, eyes that lit up in delight when he and Serena made love.
After Serena's husband had managed to instill a sense of guilt in him for the horrid thigs he'd done over the years, he had asked Louis what Louis wanted. The truth had been pulled unwittingly from him-- he wanted to get back together with Serena. Not to harm her, but to date her.
"She has two straight lovers already," her husband had said dismissively, "a vampire she's donor to, and a biker whose club Sebastian represents for free. The vampire had to be ordered to live with us and feed from her regularly after taking off for a month. The biker she had to bribe with drugs to get him to spend time with her and he's been in a stupor for weeks. Neither of them are particularly happy with the fact that she was born male, and it kills her a little more every day either of them neglects to spend time with her."
There it was, the secret to finally killing Serena, told to Louis as freely as anything. He was surprised, even now, that he hadn't wanted to use it. He had wanted-- he still wanted-- to protect her from it. He had expressed as much to her husband, who had welcomed him into the fold.
Now here he lay, with this peculiar, gorgeous, pampered creature in his arms. She wore a red silk negligee that disguised her utter lack of breasts and a pair of matching panties that didn't disguise anything. Unlike her vampire or her biker, Louis didn't require her to remain in chastity in order to be comfortable sleeping with her. He did like her cute little outfits, though, and she beamed contentedly at him as he ran his hands over the soft, smooth fabric of her lingerie.
"I'm glad we got back together," he said warmly.
"I am, too," she murmured, nestling closer to him. "Sigefrid's been tripped out so long, he doesn't even notice anymore when I cuddle him. At least it keeps the nightmares away, but sometimes it's like he's not even my... well, whatever he was. Point is, I quit hooking for him and I was about to get back into it when Luci summoned me for you."
There it was, the needy side her husband and boyfriends gossiped about. She didn't trick for the money; she did it because she was addicted to the validation from getting men off, and Lucifer thought she might as well get paid for it. She was good in bed and had the unique talent of making Louis feel loved. He believed it was because she herself deeply craved love-- and couldn't recognize it when she had it. She was so fragile, so feminine, so easy to mistake for a cis girl, that Louis couldn't comprehend why her other boyfriends left her alone for so long.
He had been shocked to discover he didn't like it when she cried, which she did easily when her feelings were hurt. Hers was a heart accustomed to breaking, and he found he wanted to piece it back together. Maybe it was because she didn't care that he was a killer. Maybe it was because trying to kill her didn't make her cry, but refusing to let her pamper him did. She wanted so badly to be useful. She believed with all her heart that it was her ticket to being loved, but she'd been let down and let go so many times that she'd settle for being used, just as long as it got someone to stay.
He hadn't seen her as needy when he'd first overheard it, but now that he thought about it, she definitely was. In a way, he was, too. He needed power, control, thrills. Those lusts, which repulsed most women, she was highly attracted to. She was happy to submit to him.
Her vampire, Xander, had made the mistake of trying to become a moral person after he and Serena got together, out of a misguided belief that love should redeem a monster. Xander had been upset to learn that Serena had no interest in redemption, and that she saw him defending his human friends from her as a personal attack. Even her own husband, Lucifer, didn't side with her 100% of the time and, while she had consented to renew her vows with him, she had lost some of her trust in him when he tried to rein her in. Xander thought it should mean something that he'd changed himself for her, but not only had she preferred the monster she fell in love with, Xander had made the mistake of reminding her he was straight and that she was not physically what he had been looking for. After a month of not taking her blood, no less. She claimed she'd forgiven him and was just happy to have him back, but Louis, at least, could tell it still bothered her, especially since Lucifer had had to force Xander to move in with her-- with them.
Sigefrid was an unrepentant killer, and it excited Serena when he had her help him torture people. She had designer drugs made for him, fed him, and doted on him, to the point where she cooked for his entire club because they needed to be strong to serve him. He was the most traditionally masculine of all her lovers, but the downside was that, if he felt any affection at all for her, he only expressed it during sex, and even then it was never in words. She obviously adored him, but was terrified to mention it because she thought he would leave her if she did.
Two of Serena's other lovers were dating each other, which she was okay with, but had married people she hated. She saw that as a betrayal, too, especially since the hatred was clearly mutual.
This meant that, by default, Louis was her current favorite. She loved and trusted him a surprising amount, considering. He didn't like hearing about her other men, but he also wasn't going to stop her from talking about them. It did feel good to be needed, and she needed him to stay with and comfort her.
He pulled her leg up over his hip. "I'm glad you quit," he replied. "I want you in bed with me, not-- what was it?-- ten random guys a night?"
"Eight." She tapped his nose. "On average."
She was so cute, even when talking about a profession Louis found disgusting, that he couldn't help but smile. He wondered, not for the first time, how any man could possibly neglect her. He kissed her, rolling over on top of her, and decided to show her just how glad he was to have her to himself tonight. And, if he was being honest, he also wanted her undivided attention, which she gladly gave him during sex.
Posted on Fanfiction.net as "Roulet's New Lover, chapter 3"
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