Dark Thirst

by Angela Allen

  He checks his watch. “Wow, five-thirty.” He chuckles lightly. “I better go home. I have an early photo shoot.” He gets up from the couch. “Guess I’ll have to take a rain check on that massage.”

  “Whenever you’re ready.”

  “I never asked your name.”

  “Selena.”

  “Beautiful. It fits you. My name is Vincent.”

  “I hope to see you again, Vincent.”

  “You will. I promise.”

  Days pass but Vincent does not return. Selena finds herself unwillingly thinking of him and dares to go out haunting the street in search of him.

  Not since her early beginnings with Lucien has she felt so drawn to anyone or had a man treat her with such transparent kindness, asking nothing in return but her company. For the few hours that she’d spent with Vincent she’d felt an ease move through her. A sense of peace that had kept the urgent rage abated. The hunger was tempered in his presence.

  But now three weeks had passed with no sign of him. And the fire was building once again. Since that night, she had not had the desire for blood. Her lust had been once again temporarily filled through the art of massage, the touch returning to her like an old and beloved friend. She’d slowly begun to rebuild her clientele, relieving her hunger through the long deep strokes of warm human flesh. She entertained nightly, serving as many as eight to ten men per night, taking and giving pleasure in many ways, both carnal and platonic.

  Tonight, Selena finishes with the man who is her last customer for the evening, a nice young man—an athlete who truly enjoyed her ministrations.

  “I’ll see you next week,” he says, slipping on his jacket in preparation for leaving. “You’re like an addiction. I can’t seem to get enough.”

  Selena laughs. He’s young, handsome, in excellent physical health. Under other circumstances she might consider turning him. But she knows she could never endure eternity with him at her side. He simply does not have the power to stimulate her that way.

  “Well, as long as you keep visiting me, I’ll be sure to give you just what you need.” She walks him to the door. “Good night.”

  “Good night, Selena.” He pauses. “I was wondering, maybe one Sunday afternoon if you’re not busy, I thought perhaps I could take you to brunch.”

  “Thank you for asking, but it’s really against my policy to go out with my customers. I’m sure you understand.”

  He looks crestfallen. “Sure.”

  Selena opens the door for him and sees Vincent waiting on the other side, his hand poised to knock. She barely stops herself from leaping into his arms.

  The young man looks Vincent over. “Another customer,” he says with a hint of jealousy in his tone.

  “I’ll see you next week.”

  He walks out and Vincent steps inside.

  Selena smiles. “I thought you’d forgotten all about me,” she says, keeping her voice light even as her heart beats wildly in her chest.

  “I’ve been out of town on a photo shoot.” He takes off his hat and looks at her. “I don’t think I realized how much I missed seeing you until now.” He lowers his head. “I shouldn’t have said that. I bet you get that from your male customers all the time.”

  She looks into his eyes. “No, it’s alright, I feel the same way.” She takes his hand as they walk into the living room. “What can I get you?”

  “How about some of your fabulous red wine?”

  Selena laughs. “Make yourself comfortable.” She fixes his drink and joins him on the couch. “So tell me about your trip. Where did you go?”

  “I was in New Orleans,” he says before taking a sip of his wine.

  Selena’s breath catches in her chest. “Really? It’s been so long since I’ve been home.” She clasps his hands. “Tell me all about it. What did you see? What is the city like now?” she asks, excitement hitching her voice.

  Vincent leans back and tells her of his travels, the crew who accompanied him and the wild nights on the streets of the French Quarter.

  “Maybe one day I will return,” she says wistfully.

  “Is your family still there?”

  “No. There is no one left.” That much was true.

  “I’m sorry. I come from such a big family. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be alone in the world.”

  “You get used to it. Find ways to fill the holes in your life.”

  “Tell me how you’ve been. Are you feeling alright? No more of those headaches?”

  “I’ve been fine. Really.”

  Vincent reaches out and touches her cheek. “I thought of you while I was gone. I wanted to call but…”

  “But…?”

  “I wasn’t sure if I should.”

  “Let’s make a pact.”

  “Okay. What is it?”

  “You can call me anytime.”

  “I think I might like that.”

  They clink their glasses in a toast.

  “Ready for your long overdue massage?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I’ll prepare your shower.” She leaves him and goes into the bath, adjusts the water and sets out the towels and robe. “Whenever you’re ready,” she says upon returning to the front room.

  “Lead the way.”

  While Vincent is in the shower, Selena prepares her oils and changes her clothing. She feels a giddy excitement at the thought of touching him for the very first time. Her imagination runs wild at the thought of seeing his flesh, of pressing her fingertips into his muscles.

  Vincent is special. She feels it as surely as she draws a breath. She doesn’t want to hurt him and silently prays that the bloodlust will stay in abeyance while she is with him.

  “All done,” Vincent says, stepping back into the massage room.

  Selena turns and bites down on her lip at the sight of him. Her breathing escalates and her fingertips begin to tingle.

  Struggling for air in her lungs, she instructs him to lie down on the table. She carries the small tray with the oils and lotions and puts it on a stand next to the table.

  “I’ve really been looking forward to this,” he says, resting his head on his folded arms.

  “So have I,” she murmurs. She pours a combination of two of her special oils into her palms and rubs her hands together before applying pressure to his back.

  “Hmmm, that’s nice,” Vincent says as Selena’s strong, trained fingers find all of the tension in his back and release it with her touch.

  As she works on him, applying more pressure and exploring the rest of his body, a sensual wave of release passes through her. Her head feels light and her body weightless as she touches him, transferring their energies back and forth through her fingertips.

  Her sudden climax catches her unaware, the sweet throbbing just as satisfying as full penetration. And more amazing still, she has only touched him, not daring to take him inside her in case the hunger returned.

  “Are you okay?” Vincent asks, looking up into her eyes as she stills.

  Slowly Selena brings Vincent into focus. She feels joyful. A satiated smile creeps across her face. “Yes.” She rubs his chest tenderly. “I suppose you could say that I really get into my work.”

  “So I see. You’re quite incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone touch me the way you do. I felt…”

  “Yes?”

  He gazes into her eyes. “I felt like we were one person, like you were touching inside me somehow.”

  Selena caresses his cheek. “I know.” Reluctantly she moves away and turns her back. “You can get dressed now. I’ll pour some wine and put out a light snack. I’ll clean up here and meet you up front.”

  Vincent tosses his legs over the side of the table and sits up. “Please don’t hide it; something is happening between us, Selena. I felt it the moment we met.”

  She turns and looks at him. “What do you think it is?” she asks in a husky whisper.

  “I’m not sure, but I want to find out. I want to see whe
re things can go between us—outside of work.”

  “Like a real relationship—dates, dinner, and dancing?” She feels giddy with excitement.

  “Yeah, all that and more.” He stretches out his hand to her. She walks to him and gives him her hand. He pulls her between his bare thighs, the white towel rising up to his hips. He rakes his fingers through her mass of silky hair. “You’re beautiful,” he whispers, gazing at her as if seeing her for the very first time. “Is it against your policy to date your clients?”

  “I find it works better to keep the two worlds separate,” she says.

  “Then we have some decisions to make.”

  She grins. “Such as?”

  “Either you break your rules or I stop coming here to see you and we see each other at my place or yours.”

  She angles her head to the side. “Hmmm. Then at your place or mine, I could do with you as I choose—since you wouldn’t technically be a client anymore.”

  “Will I still get the pleasure of your touch?”

  “Yes, that and much more.”

  Vincent clasps the back of her head in his palm and pulls her to him. Tentatively he kisses her, slowly and with heartbreaking tenderness.

  Selena feels tears spring to her eyes as joy and a dreadful realization well within her. Vincent is the one. But in order for them to share eternity he must become like her; he must give up his human life.

  All in good time, she consoles herself. First she must bind him to her, turn his mind and his heart, before she turns his body.

  Selena is happier than she has been in a century. The time that she is able to spend in daylight is beginning to grow again. Spring brings with it new blooms in her garden and her spirit feels refreshed. Vincent, as promised, spends all his free time with her when he is not out of town on a photo shoot. They spend their days in her apartment or his and he readily accepts her explanation that too much sunlight brings on sudden headaches. Vincent is simply content to have Selena in his presence. Their evenings are spent wandering the streets of Manhattan, visiting the array of eclectic shops and cafés. Late into the midnight hour they curl up on the couch and watch old movies, drink red wine and nibble popcorn. Selena feels almost human.

  “Lena,” Vincent says, calling her by his pet name for her.

  She snuggles closer to him on the couch.

  “I want to be patient and give you time to get to know me, really see if being with me is what you want…”

  “Yes?”

  “I already know what I want.”

  She turns to look at him. “Do you?”

  “I want you. All of you. I want to know what it’s like to be a part of you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”

  Her eyes hold his for a moment. “Kiss me, Vincent.”

  “With pleasure.”

  This kiss is different. Selena succumbs to the soft seduction of his lips, pressing herself closer to the warmth of his body, needing to feel the beat of his heart next to hers.

  “Let me touch you, Selena,” he murmurs against her mouth even as he begins an erotic exploration of her body.

  Vincent eases her back onto the couch and one by one unfastens the buttons of her sheer black blouse, easing it to the sides to expose her warm, cinnamon-toned skin. As if hypnotized, he reaches out to touch the rise of her breasts and relishes the soft sigh that escapes her lips.

  He takes his time, paying homage to every inch of her as he discards her clothing one item at a time.

  Selena writhes beneath the touch of his fingertips, restraining herself from capturing him between her powerful thighs and sucking him dry.

  “You are exquisite,” he says in awe, rising to look down upon her nude body. He reaches out to take her hand. “Come, let’s do this right.” She takes his hand and he leads her into his bedroom.

  Like teenagers they tumble onto the bed, laughing and entwining their arms and legs, searching for tender flesh to nibble and kiss.

  But after weeks of waiting, teasing and taunting each other, the feel of her wet sex against his stiff erection is soon more than either can endure.

  For the briefest of moments, perhaps only a heartbeat of time, they focus solely on each other, allowing the world to recede into the background. Vincent lowers himself upon her and raises her legs around his waist.

  “This is how I feel,” he whispers the instant before his body joins hers.

  They both gasp with surprise and sublime pleasure at their union. The waves of pleasure transport them to a netherworld of images, sounds and feelings that are inexplicable, beyond the imaginations or experiences of mere earthly beings. Vincent is both frightened and compelled to continue the journey, his body no longer his or under his control.

  Selena draws him deeper, her wet walls gripping and releasing him, tormenting him with pleasure. This is what she has waited for. This man, this time, this now. Lucien was right, she realizes, through a haze of ecstasy. Vincent is the one. Against her will, but what came naturally to her kind, her fangs lengthen as the bloodlust boils like an overheated cauldron. Her nails extend as her fingers claw his back and her hips rise in wild abandon. For an instant her eyes flash an eerie yellow, then fiery red as her climax reaches its apex and she cries out in release. Vincent shudders, then empties the very essence of himself within her.

  For long hours they love each other, on the bed, on the floor, on the couch and lastly in a tub of hot water. They make love until the sun begins to peek above the horizon and slip through the slats of the thin blinds. But, today, Selena no longer fears the daylight. She has been reborn. Life is good once again.

  As she turns the soil in her garden, Selena realizes that she hasn’t added more “fertilizer” to the soil in months. Since she has been with Vincent her hunger has been held in check and the longing for liquid nourishment has been kept at bay. But lately the old desires have begun to resurface. She feels a trickle of the old heat stirring in her blood.

  She turns the soil more quickly as her mind races. Somehow, she will have to escape Vincent’s watchful eye in order to make her kill. He is scheduled to go out of town on a shoot, he’s told her. He will be gone for the week. The night before they’d had frenzied sex, as if they might never see each other again.

  “When I get back,” Vincent had said as he lay spooned against her, “I want us to talk about making this relationship permanent.”

  She turned to face him. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t want you to be the one that got away. I want to be the only man in your life—forever.”

  “Oh, Vincent. Do you understand what you’re saying?”

  “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life, Lena.” Tenderly he’d kissed her. “I’ve got to go on this assignment but we’ll talk when I get back.”

  He’d gotten up from the bed and she’d watched him as he moved around the room, collecting his clothes. The ripple of muscle in his arms and legs, the way his warm chocolate skin looked in the early morning light, filled her heart and soul. She wanted to say yes with all her heart, but Vincent had no idea what forever really meant. He didn’t know that her kind lived for eternity.

  Tonight will be the night, she decides now as she pats down a patch of damp, rich earth, ready for planting. She will quickly quench her thirst with some faceless man while Vincent is away and spare him a life of eternal darkness and hunger. But for how long can she keep her secret?

  She brushes dirt from her hands. As she rises from her knees, she’s stunned to see Lucien standing in front of her.

  “Lucien.”

  “Beautiful as always, my dear Selena.”

  “Why did you leave me like that?” She tosses the hoe onto the ground like a temperamental child.

  “So that you could find him. I sent him to you, you know.” He strolls casually among the rosebushes.

  “You?”

  He laughs. “I met Vincent while he was working
in Marseille. And I knew immediately that he was the one for you. I gave him ‘your card.’ ”

  “He never said anything about meeting you.”

  “He has no memory of meeting me.” He looks into her eyes. “Tell me, Selena, are you happy?”

  Briefly she lowers her head, suddenly ashamed to have to admit that Lucien was right, that it was not him she sought all these years—but Vincent. And if that were true, then what was it that she felt for Lucien?

  “Yes,” she says softly.

  He nods his head. “I’m happy for you, Selena.”

  “Are you?” she asks, needing to know his true feelings.

  “A part of me selfishly wished that you would be my queen. But I knew it was not to be and that I had to relinquish that foolish notion and allow you to find some form of happiness.” He paused. “He will eventually grow old, Selena. His hair will gray and his shoulders will stoop and he will wonder how it is that you do not age as well. The time will come, Selena, and you will have to make a decision. But he must agree. He must understand what it is that you will offer him.”

  “I know.” She sighs deeply. “But I don’t know if I can. What if he refuses, what if he is sickened by me and what I am? I don’t think I could bear that.”

  “That is the decision you will have to make. Tell him or let him go. But I believe that he will surprise you. Vincent is a unique human. It is why he was chosen.”

  He reaches out and touches her face. She clasps his hand against her cheek and closes her eyes, remembering. And when she opens her eyes, Lucien is gone.

  Selena prepares for her last customer of the night, a young, virile man whom she’d been working with for several weeks. Of all the potential prey, he was most suitable. He might be missed, but no one would ever connect him to her. They had never been seen together and he only came to her shop late at night.

  “Your bath is ready,” she says, entering the sitting room with an armful of clean towels. She smiles. The poor boy had absolutely no clue what lay in store for him. Too bad he’d made the fatal error of thinking that he could touch her inappropriately on his last visit, ignoring her subtle hints that she was seeing someone. She’d considered taking a bite then but held back. Tonight is a different story. She has no qualms. What she has is need.