A Vamp About Town

by MICHELLE KELLY,

  Ruby kept her eyes open, watching their bodies, his face. Moving in a desperate rhythm, losing herself in her lust for him in an attempt to drive away the blood hunger. It was just her and Nick, no more and no less, and she allowed the sensations to wash over her as she rode them both towards release.

  Her orgasm hit her hard and she screamed, falling over him and burying her face in her neck, her heart hammering in her throat. She nuzzled into him, breathing in the scent of him as the afterglow of her climax washed over her. She could hear his pulse, feel it fluttering beneath her lips and smell the blood just under the surface of his skin, strong and metallic. Taste it bubbling up into her mouth …

  ‘No!’ Nick pushed her off him, the sound of panic in his voice and the horror in his eyes snapping Ruby back into reality. She sat up, pressing a hand to her mouth, which was filled with the salty tang of Nick’s blood. A thin trickle of it ran down his collarbone from the tiny puncture wounds in his neck. She instinctively reached for him, then drew her hand back, a wave of hurt hitting her as he recoiled.

  ‘What the hell are you doing?’ He sounded angry and worse than that, cold. Ruby felt hot tears sting her eyes, but stood her ground, refusing to drop her gaze in shame.

  ‘This is what I am, Nick. You know this, and I’ve gone too long without feeding. Way too long.’

  ‘Evidently.’ His composure was back now and his voice was controlled with a biting sarcasm that was worse than the anger.

  ‘I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.’ Even as she spoke she struggled to form the words properly around her over extended fangs and as she saw the flicker of disgust in Nick’s eyes she did drop her head and turn away, hugging herself. ‘You always make me feel like a freak.’

  Nick snorted.

  ‘Ruby, I’ve accepted what you are from day one. That doesn’t mean you can take a munch out of me whenever you feel like it. If you’ve been that hungry, you should have said.’

  ‘So you could sit there with that long-suffering expression on your face, holding your wrist out like a schoolkid who has to endure his vaccinations? Taking blood from a lover is more than just food, Nick. It’s a bond. Like sex.’

  Nick shook his head. ‘Not to me. And not to that poor girl we saw today either.’

  Ruby’s eyes widened in shock. ‘You would compare me to whatever monster killed that girl? That’s harsh.’

  She expected an apology, but none was forthcoming. Nick crossed his arms and glared at her, impatiently wiping the blood away from his neck. His cock, so impressive just minutes before, lay limp and soft against his thigh. The moment was well and truly over. Sighing, Ruby got out of bed and began to pull her clothes on.

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘Home.’ Ruby had her own apartment, though she was seldom there these days, spending most of her time at Nick’s or the office. As she slipped on her pumps and grabbed her bag, walking towards the door, she fully expected him to call her back and ask her stay, but his silence was louder than any words. As she let herself out, the night air hit her and raised goose bumps on her skin.

  Goose bumps. How long had it been since she had had those? Ruby raised her forearm in front of her eyes curiously, then shuddered with more than just the cold as she began to walk in the opposite direction to her apartment.

  She was going to Crimson Shade. If Nick found out he would hate her for it, but her actions tonight had shown her she needed blood even more desperately than she had thought. The goose bumps were confirmation. It wasn’t just her emotions that were affected by not feeding. Without regular blood her body became weaker, her physiological reactions more human. It was the first stage of blood starvation. Eventually, a vampire who was starved aged rapidly, becoming a dried out husk and crumbling to ashes in a matter of days. Although she was a long way from that stage, the fact that she had allowed herself to go without blood for so long that she had bit Nick had frightened her. Thank God super strength wasn’t one of her preternatural abilities, or she could have really hurt him. The man she loved.

  Ruby picked up pace, not pausing until she reached the doors of Crimson Shade, New York’s self-styled “vampire lifestyle” club. The club made the perfect cover for genuine vampires to feed.

  Those who just wanted to feed, that is, not kill. Although some vamps needed more blood than others to survive, Ruby had always been of the opinion that those of her kind who killed humans were intrinsically evil; that there was no physical need for such consumption. Now, having been just moments away from taking Nick’s blood without his consent, she had to wonder if that were true. She also had to think about her own protection; other vamps would smell her hunger, her weakness, and a vampire who couldn’t or wouldn’t control his or her bloodlust was not just dangerous but despised by their own kind. Not that there was any kind of hierarchy as such, vamps being too solitary for such organization, but if there was another vampire in New York, Ruby needed to be at the top of her game.

  As she walked into the club, the sight of its familiar red and black interior and the snarl of rock music in the background soothed her. She let her mind open up and sent out her powers. Anyone looking at her now would see her alter ego, the cool and glamorous Contessa, even though she was dressed in jeans and pumps rather than her preferred evening gowns. Her mind flashed back to her first meeting with Nick, when she had been in figure hugging red satin, playing the Contessa to the hilt, unaware that he suspected she was anything more than a human with a slightly off-the-wall hobby.

  Most of the inhabitants in the club tonight thought the same thing; only a few knew her real identity. The new owner, the previous barman Jake, and the willing donors and vamps who passed through. There were no other vampires here tonight; she would have sensed them straight away, but she did catch the eye of a young man with long black hair who looked at her adoringly. He was a donor; she had fed from him before. Ruby nodded to him, but made her way first to Jake’s office; she could at least pretend to herself that the murder investigation was her primary reason for coming here.

  Jake looked up and smiled nervously as she walked in. Jake was always nervous around her, and even more so now he knew she really was a supernatural, her real identity having been uncovered during that first case with Nick. It was just his personality; he was a bag of nerves around Nick too. Nevertheless, his business acumen was brilliant and he was doing a good job of running the club.

  ‘Contessa, hi.’ Jake blinked at her.

  ‘Ruby will do fine. Did you hear about the girl over at NYU?’

  Jake nodded.

  ‘Was she a visitor here?’ The girl hadn’t looked the type to be into the Goth scene, but you never knew what people got up to at weekends.

  ‘No, never heard of her. A woman – a cop – was round here asking questions earlier. Particularly about you. I told her you wouldn’t do something like that; I think she believed me.’

  Ruby smiled gratefully. At least someone wasn’t looking at her with suspicion. Not that she thought for one minute that Nick or even Lina suspected her for a killer, but it was obvious they both thought she knew more about the killer’s identity than she was letting on. Jake’s wide-eyed faith in her was touching. Of course, the specific details about the murder would have been kept under wraps; no doubt if Jake knew about the card left with the victim’s body then he would be looking at her in the same way.

  ‘Have there been any new vamps at the club since I’ve last been here?’ she asked. Jake shook his head, frowning.

  ‘Not in the last few weeks, and I haven’t heard anything from the donors either. Of course, they might just not be telling me.’

  ‘Maybe.’ That would be Nick’s job; getting the answers from people who didn’t want to give him. As a regular cop Nick’s use of telepathy would have been unethical – if anyone had believed in it – but it had been considered an asset to Preternatural Branch. Given that preternatural creatures or the Branch didn’t officially exist, there was a lot more room for grey areas.

&
nbsp; Ruby sighed. The truth was she felt so tired she could barely muster up any interest in the case right now, in spite of her earlier horror and compassion for the victim. Even thinking about the message left on the girl’s body and what it might mean was giving her a headache.

  ‘OK Jake. Nick will probably be in to talk to a few people tomorrow. I’m going to hang around for a bit; maybe chill out upstairs.’

  Jake’s eyes got a little wider. Upstairs were the ‘kissing booths’ where the human vampire lifestylers played at sharing blood, or just made out. It was also the perfect cover for real vamps to feed. Since getting into a relationship with Nick Ruby was rarely seen upstairs. She smiled at Jake tightly.

  ‘There will be no need to mention that part of my visit to Nick.’ She used her powers to put enough influence into her words that Jake would keep her secret – or simply just forget it, which would be more useful if Nick ever tried to scan his mind. She was near enough certain that Nick would never abuse his powers purely to check up on her, but nearly certain wasn’t the same as completely.

  Ruby left Jake looking a little confused and headed back out into the smoky atmosphere of the club. The black-haired guy – Adam, she remembered – was still there, his smile widening as she came towards him. Without speaking, she jerked her head towards the stairs, indicating her intent, and he got up at once and followed her like a puppy. She hadn’t even had to use her powers on him. He followed her upstairs into the nearest booth and smiled shyly.

  ‘Contessa,’ he murmured, reaching down to pick up her hand and laying a soft kiss on her palm, ‘it’s been a while.’

  ‘Indeed it has.’ She couldn’t help but be flattered by the way Adam looked at her with total adoration, as if she was a goddess. It sure beat the look of horror Nick had given her when she had nearly bit him. A rush of shame at her disloyalty hit her and she pushed thoughts of Nick aside. She had to feed, or she would be putting them both in danger. How much longer before Nick tried to embrace her and she mindlessly attacked him, becoming the monster she had always feared?

  Adam moved in closer to her, looking at her expectantly. His obvious eagerness let her know he was as hungry for this as she was, albeit with a totally different kind of hunger. Many donors got an erotic high from the feeding, she knew, and Ruby was able to use her powers to enhance that effect. She wanted anyone who gave blood to her to enjoy it, or at least be unharmed; perhaps to convince herself she was nothing like the vamp that made her. Again, she pushed unwelcome thoughts from her mind; coming closer to Adam she could smell his eagerness, feel her mouth grow moist and her fangs begin to protrude from her gums. Adam looked at her and swallowed, and she could smell the fear laced through his excitement. Ruby picked up his wrist, running a nail over the faint veins on the inside. Although vampire stories favoured the neck for its erotic appeal, the wrist was the easiest place to take blood.

  It was clearly the erotic appeal that Adam was after, however, as he removed his hand from hers and dipped his head away from her, exposing the line of his pale throat.

  ‘Please,’ he whispered. Ruby hesitated. This felt more intimate, more like cheating on Nick than a quick drink from the wrist, but the plea in Adam’s words and the rising hunger that keened through her was too strong a draw. She leaned into Adam and nuzzled into his neck like a lover, and he turned his head to bury his face in her long blanket of hair. Anyone observing them would see an embrace, nothing more.

  ‘Be still,’ Ruby crooned to him as the tips of her fangs grazed his throat and just for a second, he flinched. They always did; even the most besotted of donors gave in to that evolutionary impulse of prey to predator. At her words, Adam relaxed into her, and as Ruby sank her teeth into his neck, she used her powers to numb any pain and enhance the pleasure she knew he experienced from the act. He moaned softly into her ear as she drank, savouring the hot, metallic warmth that flooded her mouth. Usually a few drops were enough for her, but she had gone so long that she drank deeper than usual, struggling to pull away before she took too much and weakened him.

  Wiping her mouth, Ruby sat back and looked at Adam, who had his eyes closed, an expression of pure rapture on his face.

  ‘Thank you,’ she murmured. There was no doubt about it; the blood had reinvigorated her. Already she felt stronger, more powerful, and more in control. She stood up and held a hand out to Adam, who now watched her under half-closed lids. She meant only to help him up, but he pulled her towards him as if he meant to kiss her. Ruby pulled back.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she snapped. Even her voice sounded different; it had more depth to it, yet at the same time was colder, with less emotion. At her tone, Adam looked frightened and raised his hands to placate her.

  ‘I wanted a kiss, nothing more. Forgive me, Contessa.’

  Ruby glared at him. Did he think she was some kind of whore, giving favours for blood? The satisfaction vamp-addicts such as Adam received was payment enough for most of them. But then, Ruby didn’t frequent the club much any more. Perhaps things had changed. Seeing Adam’s erection protruding visibly under his too-tight jeans, Ruby felt suddenly sordid. Turning on her heel she walked away from Adam, down the stairs, and out of the club without even pausing to say goodbye to Jake. She wanted to get out and go home; no, that wasn’t true, what she wanted was to go and get back into bed with Nick and finish what they had started, but she couldn’t go to him now, with Adam’s blood surging fresh through her veins. It had been food for her, nothing more, despite what she had said to Nick, but Adam didn’t see it that way and neither, she knew, would her partner. And what did it say about her anyway, that she had just fed off a young man and then discarded him like an unwanted one-night stand?

  But I need to feed. If only I could make him understand that … Ruby whirled round as she sensed a presence behind her. She peered into the shadows, her night vision enhanced by the fresh blood, but there was no one there. At least, no one who could be seen. Casting out a mental net, Ruby felt the edges of another presence. A cold, quiet stillness. Vampire, her senses told her, and yet something felt different about this one; older, perhaps. Either way, it also felt hostile.

  ‘Show yourself,’ Ruby challenged, her voice loud in the empty street. There was no answer, but she felt the presence drawing away, retreating from her. Then it was gone.

  It had to be the vampire who had attacked the girl, the one who seemed to have left a message for her on the body. Ruby walked home quickly, all her senses alert in case of attack, but she didn’t sense the strange vampire again.

  Chapter Three

  Nick knew. The minute Ruby walked into the office the next morning, the sheer radiance of her took his breath away. Her ivory skin looked moonlit, her jewel-like green eyes, always dazzling, were so bright it hurt to look at her, and her hair shone.

  Just like the blood she had obviously ingested. He had guessed when she left last night that she would go to feed, and although he had told himself that he understood and wouldn’t be angry, he couldn’t stop the jealousy that hammered a thousand questions at him . Who was it? A man? Did he enjoy it? Did she? Did they do anything else other than feed? Then he felt instantly contrite. Ruby would never betray him, he was certain, yet he couldn’t help wanting to murder whoever she had laid her hands on last night.

  ‘You look beautiful,’ he told her instead, his large hands balling into fists under his desk, but he kept his voice level. Ruby looked surprised, obviously expecting him to be angry, but flattered.

  ‘Thank you. Nick, about last night …’

  He waved a hand at her. ‘Forget it; we’ll talk later. I just had a call from Lina, she’s on her way here; she didn’t say why, but it sounded bad.’

  Ruby tensed. ‘Another murder?’

  ‘That’s what I was thinking. We’ll see when she gets here. Are you OK?’ In spite of the vitality that practically oozed from her pores, she looked spooked.

  ‘I sensed the vamp last night; I think he was following me. I challenged him –
or her, I couldn’t tell – but then they left. Perhaps that’s why it was about – committing another murder.’

  Nick got up and walked around the desk towards her, concerned now.

  ‘You should have called me. Where was this; on the way back from my apartment?’

  Ruby’s gaze flickered, just briefly, and Nick knew instantly what she was about to say.

  ‘A few streets away from Crimson Shade.’

  Nick just nodded, struggling to keep his face impassive. He already knew that, after all, he knew that was where she would go to feed, and at least it was public, she wasn’t having some private meeting somewhere. Even so he felt a surge of possessiveness that he struggled to swallow down. Ruby was his woman, Goddamnit.

  ‘I went there to ask Jake about the girl. She wasn’t a lifestyler, and he had no new knowledge of any other vamps there.’

  ‘Right. You went to ask Jake about the murder. Sure.’ He kept his voice monotone, without inflection, but of course Ruby knew him well enough by now to know that meant he was being sarcastic or angry or both. She didn’t respond to it however, just met his gaze coolly, as if she was challenging him to question her, to make an issue of it. But why shouldn’t he? Nick gritted his teeth. She had sneaked off to feed on some stranger – if it even was a stranger – and then breezed in this morning looking like she had spent the week at a health spa. He had every right to be angry. Didn’t he?

  The fact that Ruby looked so damn hot this morning made him realise just how tired she had been looking lately. Hardly the worse for wear, but a shadow under the eye here, a crease in her brow there. Normal, really; human.

  Except Ruby wasn’t human. Nick felt a sharp twist of guilt in his gut at the realisation she must have been suffering these past few weeks, starving even, and he hadn’t noticed. Or at least, had made sure he hadn’t noticed, because of his own damn stubbornness. It wasn’t that he was squeamish, or even disliked the intimacy – he loved Ruby, heart and soul – but it just seemed so, well, emasculating.