Raymond now understood all the locks on the doors and the guard dogs.
“After that night I signed up at the gym, started working out, eating better. I even took a self–defense class so I wouldn’t be vulnerable again. I know I was so damn lucky. I know it. I couldn’t date a man after that for a while. I just couldn’t trust anyone. I guess in some ways I still don’t.”
Raymond listened to what she had said and tried to decipher the meaning of her words. She said she ‘couldn’t date a man after that for a while’, did she date women? Raymond thought probably not, at least he hoped she preferred men. Her sentence suggested that she may be dating men again, but he knew she didn’t currently have any lovers. Then it finally occurred to him why she was so scared earlier. “That’s why you were afraid of me. You didn’t want to be alone with me at all.”
“Yes.” She said as an awkward silence filled the room.
“I would never hurt you Alex.” He wasn’t sure what to say next, but finally added, “You do have a very athletic build thanks to all the workouts you do.” He did admire it.
Alex laughed and poured herself another glass of wine as she continued to eat her meal. Raymond wanted to put his arms around her. Wanted to protect her. Wanted to chase away all the bad things in her life. He also felt the need to feed again, but knew that wouldn’t be a good idea since he had wanted to touch her since he had entered her apartment.
Her eating was distracting and he relented to his surging passion and allowed his eyes to go black, and his fangs to extend as he watched her continue to eat her meal. He felt lost in the sensual way she ate. He watched as she lifted the fork to her mouth and engulfed the fork itself in her round luscious lips, consuming the contents that filled her mouth. He watched her swallow each bite, his body reacting with each swallow.
When she nearly finished her meal, she suddenly dropped the fork on the plate. “Your eyes are black!”
Raymond blinked and looked away. “Yes.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m straining not to give in to my hungers right now.”
She set her plate down on the side table. “Can I feed you?”
He wasn’t sure what this offer entailed, but his mind no longer wrestled with his heart. The decision was made. “Oh, God yes.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
He sounded too eager. Alex grabbed the cross at her neck as she put distance between them.
“I’m not going to bite you,” he assured her. “Perhaps I should go.”
He stood already half up before she stopped him. “No, no. Everything is fine.” In her mind, she wanted everything to be fine, but she wasn’t sure if it was. She felt like meat on a stick with how he had stared at her. She understood she would have to be comfortable around such things if she took the job though. She took a deep breath. She knew Raymond wouldn’t hurt her. On some level, she just knew that to be true.
“Please. Sit back down. I can handle a little eye color change.” She took a reassuring breath knowing that if he had wanted to hurt her, he had had plenty of opportunities by now, and still he had not attacked her.
He looked away as he sat back down.
“When did you last eat?”
“A while ago.”
“Oh.” She wiped her hands on her napkin and set it down next to her plate. “You don’t look too much older.”
Without looking at her, he pointed to his hair and eyes. “I have a few gray hairs now, the start of a few wrinkles here and there. Not much of a difference.”
Alex noticed his lack of eye contact. “Do you have difficulty looking at me when you are hungry?” She took a sip of her wine, mentally trying to normalize the weird conversation.
“No.” His head turned and his blacken eyes darted over to her. “I just thought it best not to look at you when I’m like this.”
“I’m not afraid of gray hair, Raymond.” she teased, lightening the mood.
He focused his eyes on hers. “My eyes turn black when a desire overcomes me.”
His eyes resembled deep pools; pools she wanted to swim in. The way he had said the word ‘desire’ sounded sexier than anything else she had heard in a long time, if ever. Her fingers played with the rim of her wineglass as she watched Raymond sitting on her couch. He didn’t just sit. He watched and studied her every move as if he wanted her in a physical, very passionate way. How many times had the last guy sat on this same couch playing video games to the early morning hours and had not even once glanced her way? But, she didn’t want anything else from that man. She looked at Raymond. Yes, she did want more from Raymond.
The scene seemed familiar, like deja vu. The two of them being in her apartment felt natural. Perhaps this sensation came from her comfort level with him. Maybe it was the way he looked at her, like he was looking through to her soul. Either way, it felt right. She knew he wasn’t looking at her to size her up as his next meal. No, there was more to it than that.
His gaze caressed her lonely body. His look sizzled with more passion than the heat she had experienced with any other man. But then, Raymond differed than her usual romantic interests. He exuded ruggedness. He wore a t–shirt tucked into a pair of what resembled spray–painted–on jeans. Ouch! The man sizzled in a suit but totally rocked the casual look as well.
What was the most attractive feature of all? He listened to her. For the first time, other than in confidence to her shrink, she shared the details of her attack with another person. He didn’t try to fix the situation, he didn’t dismiss her feelings, he didn’t criticize her for her poor judgment … he allowed her to tell him what happened, and he listened to her. She realized the term person seemed perhaps a stretch, but he was a living, breathing person, wasn’t he? Not human, but a person nonetheless. She thought of the old saying, “If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck … it's a duck,” and wondered if whoever originally said those words would have applied them to vampires. Probably not.
She glanced over at Raymond. The man had a family, a job, and a body that she would definitely not claim as dead or soulless. So, he had a longer life span than most. A very long lifespan, but you never know how long you have whether you’re human or vampire, his parents were a good example of that. Vampires weren’t truly immortal, and probably feared death just as much as any human would when the end came. His parents’ last thought were probably for their children … just like any parents would be.
Raymond sat quietly on the couch, allowing her this quiet moment with her thoughts. He was a father, he loved his dead wife … was being a vampire all that different from being a human? Sure, having black eyes seemed odd, but people wore colored eye contacts. It was a stretch, but she could live with a black eye color. Raymond was also a patriotic man, and a man who didn’t shirk responsibilities. Honestly, how many men would raise a teenaged sister and a newborn on their own, all while trying to hide what they were from the humans, who would probably judge them and try to kill them just for being what they were? Raymond was a real man in her opinion. The type of man she longed for.
He smiled at her. It was a beautiful smile, not fake or forced. You can always tell when a smile is real. His black colored eyes held the smile, not just his luscious, full lips. Alex noticed his hair remained a bit damp, probably due to a last minute shower on his way over. His hair parted on the side tonight, and a curl of bangs hung lopsided onto his forehead. It gave him a Superman appearance. She always did like Superman.
Alex knew her pulse sped up as she took in the visual striptease in her mind. She thought back to their earlier conversation. Humans and vampires could have sex together. Sex. She swallowed hard. She hadn’t thought of having sex with a man in a long time. Her heart rate sped up even faster. She wondered if he could hear the beats. If he did, he didn’t show any recognition. He just sat sipping his wine, looking sexy as hell.
Her hands still held her glass, so she took a gulp of wine hoping to squelch the heat she felt within her. Instead, it fueled the flame. Would se
x with a vampire be different from sex with a human? If it were, she was betting it would be better. The sexual relationships she had in the past, if she could remember that far back, were moderately satisfying. Definitely not romance novel, page turning, steamy … but satisfying.
Blinking a few times, she realized she was staring at his crotch. Could she be more obvious? She knew in her heart that she was going to take this promotion. She couldn’t start a romance with a team member, it wasn’t professional. She wasn’t that type of woman. Plus, there was no guarantee that he was interested in her that way. He had treated her with nothing but respect.
Then again, she couldn't deny her overwhelming attraction to him. His dark raven hair, soulful teal colored eyes, strong muscular jaw ... they beckoned her. She bit her lip imagining the vampire shirtless, or even better, nude.
His black eyes beheld hers, and her breath caught. The glass she held suddenly seemed slippery in her hands due to her now sweaty palms. He was clean shaven today. The last few days he had a scruffy, rogue look about him, which was a great look for him. Today, with not a whisker in sight, he looked downright sinful. Actually, the blackened eyes gave him a mysterious quality. Maybe she could be that type of woman? Perhaps an exception could be made this one time. She stared at his lips, wanting so desperately to taste them.
“Alex?” he asked.
Alex looked up, making eye contact. “What?”
“Are you okay? You’ve been quiet for several minutes.”
She shifted on the couch. “I’m fine. Just a lot to think about.” She sat down her wineglass next to her empty plate, a clink sounded as the two touched. “Seems like I’m always eating in front of you. Sorry about that.”
And there was his devilish smile again.
“You have to eat, Alex. I wouldn’t want you to go hungry on my account.”
Blood consumption. It was the only difference she could see between the two species. Well, he also had fangs, but that was so he could eat. She had only seen his fangs once. Were they always ready to strike a vein? Did they retract? She was supposed to ask questions, so she blurted out, “Do your fangs ever get in the way of talking?”
“Am I slurring my speech, Alex?” he asked, revealing his extended fangs.
They were already out. Oh God. How long had they been there? They were huge! “No. You sound just fine.”
“In truth, they’re always there. They don’t extend unless I have a hunger.”
She nervously shook her head agreeing. “A hunger for blood.”
“Sure. They do extend for blood.” He sat with his hands folded in his lap. Alex assumed he did so to look as nonthreatening as possible.
“Do they extend if you feed yourself from a syringe?”
He licked his lips, covering up his fangs. “They do.”
She mustered up her courage. The man was hungry, and he needed to eat. “Can you show me your fangs again?”
His mouth spread into a thin–lipped smile. “Probably not a good idea. Your heart rate is raised and you’re sweating. I don’t want to scare you.”
“I’m not scared,” she protested quickly.
“You’re projecting some strong emotions, Alex. Nervousness, anxiety, fear … it's all confusing to me.”
She pushed herself off the chair. Once standing, she held her chin high and strode over to sit right next to him. “I’m fine. Can I please see your fangs?” If it really was the only difference between the two, she wanted to see them up close. She wasn’t sure if it was what she needed to draw that line in the sand with a concrete wall, or even if she could step over it. But the answer to their differences lay right here, and she wanted answers.
He leaned his head toward her and gave her a big, fangy smile. “I give you my word that I will not bite you.”
*****
Raymond remembered how she had asked to touch his fangs a few days ago. Amazing how a few days could change your entire world. His voice sounded low and sexy, “I want you to touch me.” Realization set in with that confession. He wanted Alex to touch him, all over. He shifted his body to face her. Taking in a deep breath, he opened his mouth wide and never took his pitch–black eyes off her as she leaned over to be closer to him.
Her soft warm eyes lowered themselves onto his fangs as she studied them with fascination. She leaned over his chest with her face mere inches from his. Her right hand braced itself on his left shoulder as she lifted her left hand to inspect his fangs. Desire soared through him as she touched his right fang and ran her finger down the length of it. His breath panted in reaction. His fangs were long and fully extended, and it wasn’t the only body part of his in that condition. She ran her finger down the fang, letting out a soft breath that Raymond felt against his face. At the sharp tip of the fang she accidentally broke the skin on her finger and a drop of blood landed in Raymond’s parched mouth. As she pulled her hand away, he snared her wrist and the blood ran down her finger. His action caught her off balance and she landed in his lap.
A breathy, “Oh God,” escaped her mouth. Her reaction sounded as if it were fueled with passion, not fright. With his touch on her wrists, he could not only feel her thought patterns but could almost read her mind. His heart skipped a beat when he realized she was sexually aroused, and wanted him. Obviously she knew he was a vampire, and yet he not only listened to the quickened beating of her heart, but could smell her arousal. Taking in a deep breath, he realized how feminine she smelled.
He wasn’t sure how to continue. His eyes had blackened due to an appetite all right, but it wasn’t for blood. For the first time in a long while he wanted to make love to a woman. His tight jeans were now tighter with his erection straining against the zipper, and that was a sensation he had long been unfamiliar with. He said the first thing his mind came up with. “I swear I didn’t bite you, Alex.”
“You didn’t. I was just not aware of how sharp they’d be.”
He inspected the cut. Her blood ran down her fingertip. The small wound probably looked much worse than it was, but the cut seemed fairly deep. “Would you trust me to seal the wound?”
Her eyes widened, but she nodded her reply.
Raymond held her finger up to his mouth. “I will seal the cut, and it will be completely healed, but the process will require me to taste your blood. Are you all right with that?” After a moment of silence, he said, “I promise it won’t hurt.”
When she nodded once again, he wiped his tongue over the crimson elixir on her finger and never broke eye contact with her. The warmth of the blood caressed his dry parched mouth, oozing creamy delight over his tongue. The small wound sealed instantly, leaving no scar.
It was a mistake to have a taste. He needed more of her.
CHAPTER TWENTY
There was no pain involved. Alex thought the process would hurt, that his tongue would be rough, or at the very least she’d have a queasy feeling by what he had done. Instead, she wanted to melt into a puddle. She wasn’t sure if a kitten could have licked her as gently as he had just done. A kitten sure wouldn’t have excited her like this though. She felt his lick all the way to her very core. Liquid heat pulled between her thighs and she burned for his touch as she sat next to him.
“Are you all right, Alex?”
“Uh huh,” she barely whispered. She wanted him to lick her again, in various body parts, and all she could muster was not much more than a grunt at this man? Her mind was made up. She could be this type of woman. She wanted to jump him right here on this couch, career be damned.
He still held her hand. “Are you still hungry?” she asked.
“Always.”
A part of her wanted to know what his fangs are her neck would be like. She wanted to know, but then reality set in. That lick was probably the appetizer he needed to want her as a meal. It was stupid of her, but she’d do it again in a heartbeat. “You told me earlier that you always carry syringes with you. Maybe you should eat.”
“I think I’ll pass on dinner,” he said,
letting go of her hand.
She was already knee–deep in it, so she took another step. “I’d like to see how you eat.”
“By a syringe.”
“Yes. By a syringe.”
*****
Disappointment crept in, but Raymond understood her answer. He barely knew her. Of course she wouldn’t roll her head to the side and let him feast on her. He took out a syringe of blood from his pocket. The travel syringes differed from the ones they used while at home. These were encased in a thin metal covering. Alex took a deep breath and leaned in to inspect the syringe.
“The blood is cooled in this metal vial, by pressing this button the blood is warmed up in a minute.” He explained, pressing the button. He reached out with his right hand and caressed the side of her neck. “The vial warms the blood to human temperature, so the meal tastes the way it's meant to taste. As if I took the blood from the source right here.” He rubbed the veins on the side of her neck.
She leaned into him. “Sounds convenient.”
The syringe timer beeped and startled him back to reality. His dinner was ready.
“I release the lid and I can inject it right into my vein by pressing here.”
“Do you need an alcohol swab or something before you …?”
“No.” He cut her off. “I won’t catch anything. A few minutes after the injection, you’ll see me visibly get younger.” He hesitated while holding the syringe. Finally he said, “Perhaps this isn’t a good idea.”
She took the syringe from his hand. “Let me do it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY–ONE
“Slowly. … Please give the blood slowly. … I like it like that,” Raymond moaned.
Alex held his arm. Cold. It felt cold. She massaged his arm where the needle would go. She learned to prepare the skin and vein for injections from her vet, and she did the same for Raymond instinctively.
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