by T. F. Walsh
As I closed my bedroom door, I heard the soft hum of the elevator announcing Tom’s arrival. Waiting a few minutes after Tom’s door clicked — vamps don’t make a lot of noise — I put Willy in his fuzzy bed, got my P.Js and slipped into the bathroom. Bathwater started, I added the Raf’s wonderful rose scented oil. Barefoot, I slipped down the stairway. My destination was the bottle of red wine in the fridge. With a half filled bottle under my arm and a glass in my hand, I ascended the stairs.
The bathroom smelled like a rose garden, foam rose high over the tub rim. I reached to turn off the faucet, dampening my shirt, before turning to slide the dimmer until the antique chandelier glowed faintly. After pulling the t-shirt over my head, I unzipped my shorts and let them fall to the floor followed quickly by my bra and panties.
I poured a glass of wine then set the glass and the bottle on the little side table for easy access. The fragrance engulfed me as I sank chin deep into the warmth of the water. I reached for the glass and downed it in a couple of swallows, probably a bad idea. I had only eaten some peanut butter crackers from the vending machine with my Dr. Pepper on break. I poured another glass and sipped it more slowly as I tried to form my thoughts into a cohesive thread. Throughout my life I had only a few close friends like Dee and Jimmy. I’d known Jimmy since grade school, Dee since high school. They knew my rep and didn’t give a crap! They were true blue friends who’d stick up for you no matter what. I always thought of them as the family I was supposed to have. I felt the same about Raf. I wanted to tell him my troubles, my joys — when I had some — to share. It just felt right.
Now Randy, oh God! I submerged and thought about staying there. Gasping and sputtering to the surface, I wiped the foam from my face, tipped the wine bottle to my lips downing the remainder. What was I thinking?
I started to doze. Counting your sins must be like counting sheep.
The garden was lush with terraced stonewalls cascaded in roses of every color imaginable. Their incredible fragrance perfumed the air. A cool dark pool with a little waterfall graced the corner of the garden. I sat on its edge letting my hand drift in the water, watching as he approached, admiring his golden hair blowing in the slight breeze and the strong chin below the full lips smiling so sensually at me. I shivered. The need to run my hand down his broad chest and across the tight abdomen and — lower — was nearly overpowering.
He took my hand and pulled me to him and I found as our skin touched that I too was naked. His lips claimed mine in a blinding kiss. Thought ceased, replaced by want, as he laid me on the ground, murmuring into my ear words in a language I didn’t know. I arched against him with a yearning so strong I felt I might die from it and when he entered me — thought I had. I cried out …
I woke to a headache and cold bath water. Wine on an empty stomach, BAD! Blood dripped into the water when I stood. I drew the curtain and pulled the plug, before turning on the shower to rinse myself and the tub. Throwing a towel around me, I rummaged for tampons and the Tylenol.
Toweling my hair dry, I wondered if the noise of a blow dryer would disturb them. Who knew? Donning my pajamas I went to my room with the niggling feeling I had forgotten something. It bothered me, but not enough to keep me awake. I set the clock for noon and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
I woke to Toby Keith’s baritone. Flinging an arm in the general direction of the snooze button, I missed, but managed to knock the clock off the nightstand and frighten Willy half to death. Groggily I rose.
“Sorry baby!” I whispered. “You stay put while I visit Raf.” A quick glance in the mirror showed my hair dried badly. Hopefully Raf wouldn’t think less of me. I shrugged the silly notion off and quickly crossed the hall, opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind me.
Shit! I should have brought a flashlight. The room was pitch-black, like every light particle had been sucked out. I felt along the wall for a switch, a lamp, anything to keep from stumbling around in the dark. I moved my hand over the wall until it made contact. The switch had a tiny dimmer slide, on the side. Excellent! Sliding it down, so as not to blind him, I flicked the switch. Nothing was as expected.
The walls were painted navy — I would have sworn black a moment ago — and the furniture cherry with clean modern lines. The king-sized bed was dressed in a grey flannel comforter, very men’s wear. In the center of that humongous bed laid Raf. His paleness and the dimness of the room, made his hair appear blue-black. A pearl grey sheet was pulled to his waist, leaving his chest bare except where his arms crossed over his heart, the way Egyptian mummies are posed. He seemed very peaceful and very, very, dead. I brushed a stray tear from my cheek. I knew he was dead, but didn’t want him to be. Hormones.
I took a deep breath, reached out and stroked his arm. “Raf, honey, wake up.”
The scream hung in my throat as he seized my arm so tightly I thought it might break! Unseeing obsidian eyes popped open and fangs grazed his lower lip. I held perfectly still, waiting, teeth clenched to keep from crying out. Seconds, stretched into eternity.
His eyes returned to their normal brown and his fangs retracted some, though not fully. “Connie? What time is it?”
“After twelve, I think. Can I have my arm back?” I asked cautiously. He let go immediately. Rubbing my wrist to restore circulation proved a bad idea as blood flow brought sharp stinging. In the aftermath of a major adrenaline surge, suddenly I was so tired I could hardly stay on my feet.
“Fix your face and scooch over.” It sounded a little too harsh even to my ears. “Sorry, but your fangs are still out.”
“I can’t help it, hon. Your time of the month?”
I was going down in flames. “Oh God, will they all know?” I was mortified.
He patted my hand. “Uh huh, we all pick up on that.”
“Good segue. What else is out there?”
“Oh, there’re all manner of beasties! But for now we’re going to discuss only one.” He tossed the covers back.
I was relieved to see he wore black silk sleep pants. His fangy state was a little un-nerving but I crawled in next to him and lay my head on his arm.
“What beastie would that be?”
“A very sexy, tall, blond, incubus named Randy and I gather — a hungry one.”
Just when a girl thinks her face can’t get any hotter, she proves herself wrong again!
“I wanted to talk to you about him. But … ” I remembered the term from my senior theme on witchcraft. “An incubus is a demon that takes on the form of a human male in order to have sex with a woman. They feed off sexual energy?”
“You get a gold star!”
“At first I thought Randy was a vamp but he didn’t show fang, so I figured human. Guess I should have known no man could kiss like that! I’m confused on so many levels.”
“Technically an incubus or a succubus is a vampire, but instead of blood they need sexual energy to survive. Not that they don’t bite.” He waggled his eyebrows. “While I don’t blame you one itty bit — he’s SO hot — you need to be careful. He can suck the life right out of you.”
So that’s why I feel like shit. And I blamed the wine … “So, a demon means bad-ass right?”
“Demon, schemon! One man’s demon is another man’s god. It’s all relative. You want to date him, go for it. Boss will be supremely pissed.” Raf grinned wickedly, “You need to know what you’d be getting into. He doesn’t require an invitation like we do. An idle thought is enough to summon him. Think of him, and there he is!”
If he noticed my eyes getting very round, he never let on. Gold star for Raf!
“You can tell him to stay away. He has to mind. Honey, it’s all about sex with an incubus. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing!”
I tried to phrase the question tactfully to avoid embarrassing myself further. “So, if he visits in my dreams is it real? I
mean can I get a — well — a — shit! Can I get pregnant?”
“There’re a couple of different schools of thought on that. … So yes and no?”
“You’re a big help.”
“Well it is possible, but it wouldn’t really be by him. He would have to borrow the sperm. Remember what succubae are?”
“His female counterpart.” Mythology claimed they could steal not only a man’s soul but his seed as well. “So what if I don’t want to see him anymore?”
“You’re sure?”
“No — yes — I don’t normally dry hump strangers in public.” As soon as I said it aloud panic set in. “Something’s off. That’s so not me. Did Tom have any luck finding a witch to break the spell?”
“Yeah, but it was too late to do anything before dawn. Why?”
“Do you think she could take a look at me too?”
Raf sat up and stared at me, his nose rising slightly as he scented the air around me. He got a little toothier.
Oops!
He nodded slowly. “Couldn’t hurt.”
I took comfort in those two words. “Tell me how to discourage Randy. What else is out there?”
“Okay Doll, but first tell me what it was like! Dish!”
I giggled at his enthusiasm. Was he in a dry spell? The sordid details weren’t enough. He asked questions. I shocked myself by answering them. I was tingling all over by the time the tale was told. “He was amazing!”
“Therein lies the rub!” Raf quoted. “They’re addictive. You keep calling them back until all your energy is gone. Then they just move on to the next victim.”
“Drop dead sex? What should I do?”
“If he comes into the salon tonight tell him tell him you’ve lost interest. Do not look into his eyes when you say it. For the most part eye contact should be avoided with any supernatural being.”
I looked into his beautiful cow eyes and wondered why, but my growling stomach kept the questions at bay. “If you say so. Can we eat now? I’m starving!”
“Okay.” He flipped back the covers and yanked my hand. I popped out of the bed so fast I staggered.
“Oops! Don’t know my own strength.” Raf giggled.
“Raf? What were you?”
“What do you mean?” He smoothed the sheets.
“Well, you said Tom had been many things. What were you?”
He smiled brightly and tossed his hand,” Oh, honey! I was a god!”
“I just bet you were!”
“You don’t believe me? Honey, I’m telling you the truth! Wait, let me rephrase that. I was worshiped as a god. Remember what I said, one man’s demon, another man’s god?”
“Where? When?” He must be teasing, but after last night I had to be sure, what with the new learning curve and all.
“Babylon — way before Sodom and Gomorrah. I was a god of healing.”
“So what happened?”
Raf shrugged. “Times and beliefs change. One day you’re a god and adored by all, the next you’re a monster and everyone fears you and wants you dead.”
“Raf honey, no one’s trying to kill you.” Well, at least no one I was aware of. “And I for one worship the ground you walk on!” That brought the smile I had hoped for.
“Come on, Doll, let’s get Willy and have something to eat.”
“Raf, what’s your theory about Willy?”
I opened the bedroom door to find the aforementioned dog, waiting for me. I picked him up and we went down in the elevator. Raf waited in the shadows while Willy did his ablutions. I could have jumped for joy when my precious dog walked almost normally back to me.
“So what’s your theory?” I repeated as we got back into the elevator.
“Remember when he bit the boss?”
I nodded as the door opened onto the main floor.
“I think his blood is healing Willy.”
“You’re not serious.”
“Sure I am. How do you think I became the god of healing?” He shrugged. “Vampire blood has healing properties for humans. Why would it be different for animals?”
“Is that why the pharmaceutical companies are always after y’all to donate some blood?” Tom had mentioned something about that.
“Yeah, they think we might be a cure for cancer or AIDS or something. I don’t think most of us would have a problem with that, but turnabout is only fair, tit for tat.”
“Is that how it worked in Babylon? Tit for tat?”
“Yes.”
His expression grew sad so I dropped it and reached into the fridge for a bottle of Red. Flavor preference?”
“Got apple?”
I did and warmed it, before handing him the bottle and a glass. I poured some O.J., got out the eggs and bacon and turned on the coffee maker. So while we ate, he told me about fairies and werewolves and other forms of shifters, about goblins, gargoyles and ghouls.
A few things I read about in fairy tales never really existed, trolls for instance, and some that once had, did no longer. Both dragons and unicorns at one time walked the earth, or flew the skies above it. Sadly they were killed as so many other species have perished due to over hunting and greed. Only their legends remain. I wish I could have seen them.
He explained the danger of eye contact with non-humans. Some entities, like vampires, could hypnotize, some could read your thoughts, while still others revealed their true appearance in the mirror of their eyes. The mortal mind just wasn’t equipped to deal with such goings-on. Even with Raf’s Readers Digest version there was way too much to soak up, so mostly, I just listened. The few questions I did ask were geared to avoiding a repeat of the infamous garlic chicken episode!
Garlic wouldn’t kill a vampire, but was used as a repellent, as was wild rose — it had to be wild — and Hawthorne. I was thrilled onions held no power over them whatsoever, so other than bad breath, no worries!
Silver could be used to bind and weaken them to prevent escape. It would burn their flesh with direct contact. The deterrent was the material in a cross not the cross itself. My few pieces of silver jewelry would go home with Dee. Silver was fatal to Werewolves and most shifters but only if used while they were in animal form.
I had probably attended church and school with a number of supernatural beings and not realized.
The gist was: no sharp, pointy, wooden objects near the heart. Heads must remain on shoulders at all times. No fire or sunshine. These were fatal to all vampires regardless of their political affiliations.
“You promise to point shifters out to me if any come in the salon?”
“If you promise not to stare!” He finished his second bottle and went to the sink to rinse it. “You sure you want to say goodbye to Randy?”
“You think I could get him to wear a condom?”
“Highly doubtful, I suspect it’s against their union rules.”
I sighed wistfully, “What choice do I have?” The physical sensations of our tryst warred with my will to live. “Does he really look like that?”
“ … Every scrumptious muscle — when he chooses.”
I put my head in my hands. This shouldn’t be a hard decision — life or mind bending sex? Randy was a demon — a demon that made my mouth water. Yeah, okay, he had seduced me, but isn’t that what really happens in any relationship?
“Stop that!”
“What?”
“Thinking about him! Do you want him to show up when you’re trying to swear off?”
“All I have to do is think of him, and poof, he appears?” I was fascinated. Horrified, but fascinated. The idea of getting this over with while I had back up was too appealing.
“Connie!”
Raf’s mouth dropped open. Good thing too, or his fangs would have split his lip!
> Randy looked good enough to eat, making my decision harder. His smile said he was very pleased I called so soon. I don’t know what his eyes said because, as instructed, I didn’t look above those luscious lips.
“Hold it!” I held up a warning hand as he moved closer. “We need to talk.”
Raf came to stand at my back.
“What’s wrong my love?” Randy asked.
Was he worried? How can you tell when you can’t look in his eyes?
“I’m very sorry Randy, but I’m going to have to terminate our relationship.” You’ll never know how sorry!
“But why, my love, didn’t I please you?” The mouth pouted.
“You’re kidding right?” The mouth smiled seductively, and Raf clutched my shoulder. Courage girl! “You know you did, but it’s over.”
Is this where I asked if we could still be friends? Somehow, I didn’t think so.
The mouth frowned. “As you wish. But you will regret your decision.” And he was gone.
“Well that went well!” I exhaled shakily.
“Next time a little warning would be appreciated,” Raf scolded with a nod toward the staircase.
“It’s not every day I wake to find a nude incubus in my living room,” Tom remarked from the landing.
Oh Shit! Now what?
It pissed me off. He pissed me off! I’m not sure what I expected Tom’s reaction to be if he found out about Randy, but apparently, this wasn’t it! So, why did his lack of interest bother me so much?
“You said I could date customers. How was I to know he was an incubus? I got rid of him as soon as Raf explained what he was.” I was getting my mad on.
Tom shrugged. “Did Raf also explain that if you think of him again he could reappear? A thought is the same as a summons. Can you manage not to think of him?”
One problem at a time.
“No.” I glared at Tom. “How do you forget the best orgasm you ever had?” Put that in your pipe and smoke it, boss man!
He didn’t respond to my goading, but green sparks shot from the black depths of his eyes and the outlines of fangs pressed against his frown as he turned on his heel and re-climbed the stairs.