by Laura Lee
Leo came in shortly after my arrival and sat in his booth. He kept to himself like normal which was really driving me crazy tonight! I wished I knew what was on his mind. I tried doing some inventory for an upcoming supplies order but I kept finding myself staring in his direction instead. He caught me every once in a while and smiled. I found myself doing it even more, wanting to get caught. Anything to see that sexy grin again.
A couple hours into my shift, Chad came in. He walked over to the bar and sat down right in front of me.
“Chad, would you like a drink?” I asked, totally irritated that he was blocking my view of Leo.
“Um, sure I’ll have a beer please. Thanks, Kar.” Okay, why is he being so polite? This is sooo not Chad.
“Any particular kind?” I asked. “We have quite a few.”
“No, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you think is best. I really didn’t come here for a drink Karli. I came here to see you.” Oh Lord, I don’t think I want to see where this is going. I grabbed a pint of Hefeweizen from the tap and set it in front of him.
“Chad, I’m working. This really isn’t an appropriate place to start an argument, okay?”
“No Karli, you don’t understand. I didn’t come here to be an ass. I came here to apologize for my behavior.”
“Huh?” It was the only word I could form. I don’t think Chad has ever apologized for anything.
“Look Karli, I know I’ve been a dick. Not just recently, but throughout our whole relationship. I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t stop thinking about you. I want you back Karli.”
“Excuse me?” I asked. This has to be a joke. Alright, where are the hidden cameras?
“I’m serious.” He said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to become the kind of man you need me to be.”
“Chad, you shouldn’t have to change for anyone. You are who you are.” Is this the night for weird conversations, or what?
“But I want to change for you Kar. I don’t want to be without you anymore. I’m miserable without you. I’ve slept with hundreds of women since we broke up trying to forget you but I can’t.”
Okay, that’s disgusting. “Look Chad. I appreciate the sentiment. Really, I do. But I’m just not looking for a relationship with anyone right now. I have a lot going on in my life that would get in the way of that.”
“Well, can we at least start fucking again? I mean, you still need to get off right?” Okay, there’s the Chad I know.
“That’s sweet of you to offer, but I’ll pass.” I replied.
He grabbed a cocktail napkin and a pen from the bar. He wrote something on it before handing it to me. “Here’s my number. Call me anytime if you change your mind. I mean it Kar. Anytime. I’ll drop whoever I’m doing and come over.” Ah, yes he’s back in full effect now ladies!
I took the napkin from him as he threw a twenty on the bar and left. I looked up and saw Leo staring at me. He looked perturbed at first but then he smiled, making my heart flutter a little bit. I tossed Chad’s number in the garbage.
Roxy came up to me afterwards and said, “What the hell did that asshole want? You okay girl?”
“Ugh, can you believe he actually asked me to get back together with him?”
“Are you kidding me? Wow, he has a shit load of nerve. What a slimeball!”
“No kidding” I agreed.
“Men!” She huffed. “Can’t live with em, can’t ride a cock without em, huh?”
*******************
After closing, everyone left but Leo which was the norm these days. “Hey Leo,” I called out from the bar. “Would you mind hanging out an extra hour or so? I need to place a supplies order and didn’t get a chance to finish my inventory.”
“Not at all.” He replied. “Just let me know when you’re ready.” I brought a scotch over to his table as a gesture of thanks. He placed his hand over mine as I was setting the glass down. His touch sent sparks of electricity through my skin as a wave of heat rushed to my core. “Karli, please sit.”
“Um, okay.” I sank into the booth trying to figure out where he was going with this.
“How’ve you been?” He asked.
“Fine, I guess.”
“You don’t seem fine.” He said. “I’m sensing sadness from you. I’ve been feeling it for weeks now. What’s going on with you?”
“That’s another vampire thing, right? The sensing stuff?”
Smiling he said, “Yes my love, it is a ‘vampire thing’.” Yay me! The pet names are back!
“What other psychic abilities do you have?” I asked. “Can you read minds?”
“I cannot read someone’s thoughts.” He said. “I can only sense their moods, and whether or not their emotions are directed towards me.”
“Like that morning in your penthouse. You said you could feel me projecting my anger towards you?”
“Exactly.” He replied.
“So what else can you do? I mean, as a vampire?”
“Didn’t you say something about inventory?” He smirked.
“This is more important.” I said, scooting closer. “So what other abilities do you have?”
Chuckling he replied, “You know if anyone else were this intrusive, I might take offense. Instead, I find myself actually looking forward to this little interrogation of yours. Either I’m a masochist, or I really miss spending time with you.”
“Quit trying to dodge the question.” I said as I began picturing myself kissing him. Shameless, I know.
He was obviously picking up on my train of thought because he gave me a lascivious grin before replying. “Give me a moment to think about what I’ve left out since we last spoke about this….. So far we’ve covered my maker, diet, sunlight, and now my ability to read emotions. That would leave my extraordinary strength, speed, and senses and my ability to charm others.”
“What do you mean, ‘charm others’?” I asked.
“I believe you referred to it as a Jedi mind trick.”
“How exactly does that work? How did you make me feel calm like that?”
“It’s in the eye contact.” He replied. “I must establish eye contact with the person that I am trying to influence.”
“So can you make someone do something against their will?”
“Like my evil bidding?” He teased.
“No, that’s not what I was implying. I just meant, can a vampire, in general, make someone compromise their values, or commit a crime?”
“A vampire can plant suggestions into someone’s mind, but they will not work if the person is morally against said action. For example, let’s say I suggested you rob a bank. Would you do it?”
“Of course not!”
“Well, then my influence would not work on you. If I made that same suggestion to a convicted bank robber, my influence would compel them to rob another one as soon as possible. Does that make sense?”
“I think so. What about the emotion part? How does that work? How did you make me feel so calm?”
“Are you opposed to feeling calm in my presence?” He asked.
“Well no. That’s a stupid question.”
“There’s your answer then. If you would not feel an emotion towards me naturally, then you would not feel it with my influence. Here, let me try something. Look at me.”
Against my better judgment, I did as he said. I stared into those amazing bluish gray pools and saw a tiny flash of sparkles in them. In the next moment, I felt a burning need to kiss him. Before I knew it, I was sitting right next to him, framing his face with my hands and pulling him into me. When our lips met, my desire grew to an impossible degree. Our tongues danced as my heart felt like it was drumming out of my chest. I pulled back for a moment to appreciate his beauty and saw that his fangs were slightly longer than before. Curious, I reached out and gingerly touched one with the tip of my finger. He responded by taking it into his mouth, momentarily turning my body into Jello.
I wanted more of him so I moved in closer, straddling hi
s hips while resuming our kiss. I could feel his growing erection beneath me. I spread my thighs further apart so I could feel his tip nudging against me through my soaking wet panties. I pressed the lower half of my body into his, soliciting a growl from the back of his throat. His hands avariciously roamed my thighs until they settled on my ass, holding me firmly in place.
“Oh my God, you feel so good!” I exclaimed.
All these damn clothes were getting annoying so I untied my halter and started unbuttoning his shirt, desperately wanting to feel his skin against mine. When I got half way down, he ripped the rest of the buttons away. He lifted my body and gently laid me on the table. It was soaked from the scotch we just knocked over but I couldn’t care less. I pulled his beautiful, bare chest into mine as I scratched my nails down his back. He left my lips to kiss a path down to the curve of my neck. I gasped when his fangs lightly scraped my skin.
“Leo, just do it!” I shouted. “Please just bite me before I change my mind!”
He pulled back and looked at me curiously. His gaze centered on my face, then to my neck, and back to my face again. His fangs retracted as he lifted me up and placed me back on the seat beside him, pulling my skirt back into place and retying my top.
“What the-----” I started to say.
“Wow, that was ah….a little more than I was expecting.” He said with a big grin.
“Uh, yeah that’s some influence you’ve got there Mister.” I replied, desperately trying to catch my breath.
With a low chuckle he said, “My dear, I’d hate to break this to you, but I released my hold on you the moment our lips touched. The rest was all you.” Say what?
“Oh, um…..well this is embarrassing. Sorry about that.” I hid my face with my hands. I can’t believe I just begged him to bite me! Fuck, I must be losing my mind!
He grabbed my hands away from my face, forcing me to look up at him. “There’s nothing to be sorry about my sweet. I quite enjoyed myself. I only stopped you because this is hardly the appropriate place for such actions. You deserve better than that. When we make love for the first time, we will have complete privacy and comfort. ” Did he just say when we..?
Blushing profusely I said, “But what about Kendra? Aren’t you two an item or something?”
“Kendra is a nice girl, but my interests lie elsewhere. She was simply a futile attempt to distract me from what I really want.”
“And what is that?” I asked.
“You.”
Chapter 16
*******************
“Oh…..uh, I don’t really know where to go with that Leo. You know I’m attracted to you. Hell, my little lap dance a few minutes ago should tell you that. I’m just really confused about a lot of things right now.”
“Relax, my pet.” He said. “I wasn’t asking you to define our interests in one another. I just wanted to be crystal clear about my intentions. Think of it as one less thing to be confused about if it helps.”
“Okay, I guess I can do that.”
After an awkward silence, there was a strangled noise coming from the back corner. It almost sounded as if someone had tripped over something, which was a problem since we were supposed to be alone. Instantly on alert, Leo shielded me with his body and looked around for the source. “Don’t move.” He commanded.
Terrified, I just sat there and stared while he zipped through the bar, leaving a trail of wind behind him.
“What the hell is going on Leo?” I whispered.
He was suddenly next to me again, scooping me up, and whisking me towards the front gate. “I don’t know, but I don’t intend to stick around and risk your safety. I couldn’t see anything and there are too many scents floating around from earlier tonight to pick anything up.” He lifted the gate and deposited me on the other side. “Let’s get out of here. I’ll call my men and have them check it out.”
He walked me to the garage, calling the fanged foursome along the way. I unlocked my car door and threw my purse inside. Turning around to face him I asked, “What do you think was back there?”
He looked behind him. “I don’t know. It’s probably nothing, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. If anything is in there, my men are fully capable of handling it.”
“Are you going back?”
“No.” He replied. “I’m taking you home so I know you get there safely. I’ll call the hotel on the way and have them send a car to pick me up.”
Okay, normally I would’ve insisted I could take care of myself but I didn’t. My gut was telling me something wasn’t right, and I didn’t want to say goodbye to Leo quite yet anyway. Not because I was lonely or scared, but because I wanted to be near him. He made me feel good for the first time in weeks tonight and I didn’t want to let that feeling go just yet.
We got to my apartment and he swept the inside before letting me come in behind him. I wanted him to stay because he gave me this amazing sense of security but I knew he couldn’t because my windows weren’t protected well enough. Maybe I was just being paranoid anyway. Whatever was in the bar, if anything was even there, was trapped inside when Leo closed the gate.
I took his hand into mine. “Thank you for looking out for me Leo.”
He held my chin in his other hand and softly stroked my cheek. “Anytime, my love.”
I leaned into his caress and suddenly felt this incredible wave of warmth. I felt beautiful, and I felt cherished above all others. Omigod, I was sensing his emotions! I knew it without any doubts, but how was it possible? Was this some kind of vampire mojo, or was it coming from me? Vance said fairies have psychic abilities. Didn’t he? What does this mean? I met Leo’s eyes and felt that wonderful sensation again which made me want to melt into him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his shoulder. My chest was pressed against his so I could feel his heartbeat increase as he held me. It made me smile that I made this supposedly big, scary vampire’s heart race.
He pulled back a little and said, “Are you okay my love? You look like you’re having a pretty serious debate in that head of yours.”
“No, I’m great.” I stepped back a little. “Hey Leo, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.” He replied.
“Why did you buy the bar?” I had to know if Vance was right.
“I own many businesses.” He replied.
“Yes, I know that. But why Pixie Dust? I know we turn a profit, but it’s not that big. I figured you’d be into something much more lucrative.”
He wrinkled his brow. “Why are you asking me this, my love?”
“Because somebody said something that concerned me.” I replied.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “And what exactly did they say?”
“That maybe you bought the bar……..for personal reasons.”
“Well, that tells me who is feeding these suspicions of yours.” He paused. “What exactly are you asking me, my dear?”
“Did you buy the bar for personal reasons?”
“Yes.” He replied matter-of-factly.
“Did they have anything to do with me?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Does that bother you?”
“I don’t know.” I replied. “I don’t think so. I think I may be….flattered actually.”
He smiled. “Well, then it seems that Mr. Alexander’s plan has been thwarted.”
I laughed. “Yeah, maybe.” I looked at the time. “I guess you need to get back to check in with your men now, huh?”
“I suppose so. I’m going to check with hotel security and see if they can find anything on video.” He replied. “Before I leave though, I wanted to return something that belongs to you. I think you accidentally left it behind.”
He held out his hand, imploring me to do the same. When I complied, he dropped the little black key fob into my palm. “Oh,” I said feeling a little embarrassed. “Thanks.”
He smiled as he bent down to capture my lips with his own. His kiss was very brief, but incredibly sweet. Des
pite the earlier scare, I went to bed feeling at peace for the first time in as long as I could remember.
*******************
I woke up after dreaming about my encounter with Leo. Not so much about our tryst in the bar, but about being able to read his emotions. I smiled to myself when I recalled his feelings towards me. I honestly thought his intentions with me only involved physical gratification, maybe even nourishment, but definitely not a deeply rooted affection. He surprised me, and not in an unpleasant way.