Blood Ties

The room stood deathly still. There was a handful of scratches as a key was fumbled into a lock and the door swung violently open. Cold, clear fluorescent light spilled into the room cutting an angular swatch of light across the floor. Dancing silhouettes snaked across the patch of light and swept into the room with a chorus of raucous, drunken laughter. The couple embraced in the center of the room with exploring hands and hurried breaths. She pulled away as he tried to kiss her.

The woman lazily swung the door shut. The room was again dark as she wandered into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, and a halo of stale yellow light attached to her. Her voice echoed off the pristine white walls of the appliance.

“Sabastien? Do you want a beer, or some wine?”

“No Tina,” he replied in a thick accent. “I don’t drink much…alcohol.” She grabbed a bottle of wine. It was near empty, and it’s rich red contents sloshed around as she tried to pour it in a slender wineglass. The glass tumbled and shattered on the kitchen floor. She stooped to pick up the wet, red shards and one slipped into the tip of her finger.

“Ouch! Shit!”

“Here let me help.” Sabastien’s slippery voice startled her and she spun around. He was standing right behind her. She didn’t hear him follow her into the kitchen. She started to shiver, but when he looked into her eyes, she lost herself. They were positively stygian, but in a sensual way. They penetrated her defenses. His eyes had intrigued her the moment she saw him.

Her best friend Celia’s annual Halloween party had become quite infamous for lack of potential men, but she went anyway. Who could resist the temptation to get all dressed up and act like someone else for a night. She decided to go all out this year. There may not be many men there, but there was no reason she couldn’t dress to impress. She wore a long, black, flowing skirt, a black, leather corset, and black lace up boots. Her porcelain shoulders and cleavage stood out in sharp contrast to the corset. She added a healthy dose of deep crimson lipstick, and darkened her eyes. Fiery locks framed her face. She eyed herself in the mirror and whistled. Celia’s boring insurance agent friends would be blown away for sure. Tina threw on a long black hooded coat and cursed herself for nearly forgetting the final touch. A pair of white plastic fangs.

She was the life of the party just as she expected…until Sabastien walked in. He wore a tailored, double-breasted black suit with a read silk shirt beneath it. The man was wearing sunglasses inside and way after dark. He was bald and his smooth head and angular jaw line gave him a mysterious quality. It was not until he removed his sunglasses, though, did Tina become drawn to him.

His eyes seemed to penetrate her to her very soul. She was sure he could read her mind, and if he could, she should be ashamed. He was the most stunning man she had ever seen. She was not the type to approach a man out of the blue, but she had to talk to him. When she stood before him she smiled, and felt immediately embarrassed when she remembered the fake fangs. Then he smiled back, and to her amazement, revealed his own set of wickedly curved fangs. They spent all night talking at the party and then shared a cab afterwards. When they got to her place, she invited him up.

Now, he stood next to her in the kitchen, carefully inspecting the small shard of glass protruding from her trembling finger. His graceful fingers closed around the shard. She recoiled slightly at his cool touch, but his hands were surprisingly strong.

“Be still Tina. This won’t hurt.” His voice was so soothing, and warm. Her heartbeat slowed and she just stared into his piercing eyes. In a flash, the shard was plucked from her finger, and discarded into the sink. A trickle of blood ran from the wound and he gently took her finger into his mouth. Protest died on her lips as he gently sucked at her stinging finger. Within seconds the pain was gone. She pulled her hand away. There was no more blood. No more pain. She couldn’t even see where the glass had been. She looked suspiciously at him. He smiled widely at her.

“It was a small wound, Tina. Maybe you’re a quick healer, huh?” His smile drew her in and she looked away embarrassed.

“I think I drank too much,” she laughed.

Soon they were sitting on the couch. Tina was sipping on a steamy cup of coffee, lost in the subtle voice and hypnotic eyes of Sabastien. Throughout the conversation, they had been drawing ever closer. Now their faces were just inches apart. His eyes spoke to her. She wanted to kiss him, to feel the brush of his lips against hers. What did he taste like? She was entranced by the beauty of this man. She could her heartbeat, steady and quick, but it almost sounded as if she was hearing it in slow motion. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she resisted her urges, but his gripping voice and his arresting eyes forced reason from her mind.

They kissed, lips softly brushing together. His hands had been cool but his lips were warm. They tasted of exotic spices with the tiniest coppery hint. The kiss grew in intensity. Their bodies pressed closer together. She could feel his muscles coiled beneath his suit. She felt intensely warm then. Her porcelain skin was flushed. Her blood felt like liquid magma in her veins. Her tongue parted his lips and began to explore his mouth. It ran over the tips of his fangs and then she realized…they were real.

She pulled back suddenly and tried to concentrate through her fervent haze. He watched her calmly as she stumbled for words.

“What are you Sabastein? Is that even your name?” A sinking feeling tugged at her even as she tried to look away from his viselike eyes.

“No Tina. That is not my real name, though it is what I call myself. My real name is much older and probably unpronounceable to you, and you know what I am. You have from the beginning on some level. I made it no secret. I do not try and hide my nature.”

“Your nature?” she questioned. “Sebastien, do you kill people?”

His laughter boomed throughout the dark room. He smiled wickedly, curved fangs catching the moonlight from the window.

“Tina, I am no killer. I feed…on blood…and passion, but I do not kill. Life is precious for one such as me. Warmth is precious. I can show you.” Her eyes narrowed to slits as she eyed him suspiciously. His arms encircled her then and his lips were at her neck. She tried half-heartedly to pull away, but she could not deny her passion for him, even now. His lips trailed fire up and down her neck. She was bathed in desire. His touch inflamed her.

“Tina…?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

“This will hurt…And you will love it.” She felt the tips of his fangs slide over the pliant flesh of her neck till they were positioned above her jugular. They broke her skin. She drew in a sharp breath as an agonizing surge wracked her body. She could feel her heart stop and then seem to beat in reverse. Her perception blurred and time became fluid, swirling about her. She could sense her lifeblood flooding out, Sabastein hungrily lapping up every drop. A wave of orgasmic pleasure washed over her. Her body convulsed in his embrace and she cried out, her skin ablaze with wanton desire. The blackness took her and she went limp in his embrace.

Tina forced her eyes open. She drew in a stale breath. Her mouth was dry and coppery tasting. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the half-light. She was in her bedroom, sprawled across her bed. Her drapes were closed tight, but a dull, fading light snaked its way around their corners. The crimson display on her clock read six seventeen. Dawn? No, the light was not right. Sunset. Suddenly the events of the previous night invaded her thoughts. She couldn’t remember when she had passed out, and she had no idea how she slept an entire day away. All she could remember was Sabastien. She sighed as his face seeped into her memory. She was filled with a sudden longing for him. His voice resonated in her mind. She could almost feel his hands moving slowly across her body, trailing sparks of passion across her skin.

She was growing flushed and she began to sweat. She fumbled at the corset now wanting it off her body. Her skirt soon followed. Now naked, she still could not forestall her rising temperature. Her skin was tingling everyplace he had touched her, like a carnal memory. She began to run her hands over her body, but they only fueled the fire inside her. She breathed heavily, his memory and her own touch awakening a wanton hunger inside her.

She arched her back and moaned loudly as her fingers pinched at her insistent nipples, inflaming them with the same red-hot passion that was consuming her body. Her hand slid along her stomach and over her smooth pubis, sending fiery currents of lust through her veins. Her sex pulsed with raw desire as her fingers worked in and out, her breaths coming quick and between moans.

The room seemed to swirl around her in a red haze. She remembered Sabastien, his fangs at her throat, the intense, near orgasmic pain when he bit her and his soothing voice and intense eyes. Always the voice and eyes. Her body was wrecked with pleasure now as she came, pumping like the molten blood in her veins.

“Oh Sabastien,” she cried, a heaving mass of primal need. She lay there gasping, her skin a sheen of sweat, the beads trembling in the small tremors of her orgasmic aftershocks. Still, she was aflame with an indescribable hunger. Her insatiable desire burst from her unchecked now.

“Damn you Sabastein! What did you do to me? Come back. Do it again. God, I’m begging you. I need you to do it again.” Her cries broke down into heaving sobs as she writhed on the bed, a creature of pure want.

When again she had some semblance of control, she rose and went to the window. She was still burning up, worse than any fever she could recall. She ripped at the curtains and the rod came away from the wall, bringing little bits of plaster with it. The sun was just peaking below the horizon now, and the mercurial sliver of daylight fire pierced her eyes. It blinded, yet she could not help but watch it go. She stood at the window, naked, observing the street below. It was rather deserted for this time of night. Never much traffic here. A couple moved slowly, across the street, all longing eyes and clutching hands.

She heard a rhythmic throbbing in her head, at first nearly imperceptible. Perhaps the stereo in a distant car. The lovers play became more heated. They kissed unabashed at the night’s eyes. The throbbing became more urgent, closer somehow. She realized with a start what it was. She could hear their heartbeats.

She sped from the window and into the bathroom down the hall, her own heart racing. The harsh fluorescent flooded the room, and warily, she looked in the mirror. Almost convinced that she would not see her reflection, she gave a half-hearted laugh when she did. Her skin was completely flushed, her hair sweat soaked and matted. Suddenly, her hand went to her neck, and hastily she angled the mirror, hands shaking. She let out a deep sigh of relief, when she saw her neck was unmarred.

“God Damn it. Did I dream everything?”

She splashed herself with cold water. The clear liquid chipped away at the crimson fog playing on her sanity. She returned to her bedroom and clicked on the bedside lamp. She gathered her skirt and corset from the floor and tossed them on the bed. She still could not wrap her mind completely around Sabastien and last night’s happenings. Her eye caught the phone on the bedside table, and she sprang to it, fingers hastily fumbling over the buttons. She breathed heavily, waiting the eternity between rings.

“Hello?”

“Celia?”

“Hey Sweetie! How are you? Where did you run of to last night?

“We came back to my place.”

“We?”

“Yeah Celia. Sebastien and I”

“Who Sweetie?” Tina felt her head begin to swirl again. She rubbed at the redness in her eyes.

“You know Celia…Sabastien. Tall, dark and gorgeous. I met him last night, at your party.”

“You did? I don’t recall anyone matching that description. I would remember that. I didn’t invite him that’s for sure. Maybe somebody brought him. You know, I was wondering where…”

“Sorry Celia…Gotta go.” Tina clicked the button and absentmindedly threw the phone aside. She was seriously starting to doubt her sanity.

“Jesus. Somebody slipped something in my drink. I dreamed the whole thing. No wonder I feel so wired today.” She reached for her phone again when a tiny drop of dried blood on her corset caught her attention.

“Hello Tina.” Her heart nearly seized in her chest. Sebastien stood at the foot of her bed. Immediately her scalding desire rose. She sat, unashamed of her nudity before him on the bed, unrelenting passion welling inside her.

He was dressed the same as the evening before. The suit was wrinkle free, and the red silk shirt shone like ruby hued beacon in the weak lamplight. His eyes bore down on her, taking in her bare form yet never leaving her eyes.

“Are you a dream?” She asked.

“No.”

“Celia doesn’t know you does she?”

“No Tina. She doesn’t. No one from the party does. Nor will they remember me. It’s the way I want it. It makes things…easier.”

He was closer now, yet she was sure he hadn’t moved. His face was inches from hers. She surrendered herself to his eyes and let her need take over.

“Whatever you did to me, you have to do it again. Please…I’m begging you. I’m dying here.”

“No Tina. You won’t die tonight. Maybe ever.” His graceful hand cradled her head as he spoke, her crimson locks spilling through his fingers. His voice reverberated though her head.

“Please,” she begged.

“No Tina. Tonight is different.” He held out a slender hand and she accepted. His touch reignited the insistent fire in her. Sebastien led her to the closet door and turned her so her back was against it. He produced a long, red silk scarf from his pocket and tied one end in a bulky knot. He reached behind her and turned the doorknob. He slid the knot over the top of the door and then closed it, pulling on the scarf to make sure it was secure. He was inches in front of her, dark eyes bearing down on her.

Without a word, he grasped her hands and raised her arms above her head. Soon the silk of the scarf was secure around her wrists. As he was tying her, his head moved close. She bared her neck for him, but he just smiled wickedly at her. Her entire body was practically on fire, burning with his closeness. He placed a gentle kiss on her neck, his lips like a brand on her flesh. She whimpered at his touch.

He turned away from her and removed his jacket. He folded it neatly and placed it on the chair in the corner. She watched as his shoulders stretched taut beneath the silk fabric of his shirt. Her passion was evident in her moist inner thighs. She moaned softly as he began to unbutton his shirt. The shirt slid from his shoulders, revealing a perfectly sculpted back and he placed it atop the folded jacket. His back still towards her, he unbuttoned his pants and slid them off. He was now completely naked. He was built like a cheetah. His muscles were corded and lean. When he bent to place his hands on the chair, she could see the muscles in his thigh contract and harden. He turned and faced her. His beauty intoxicated her. His penis stood erect and he began to stroke himself as he watched her reaction. She sighed loudly. The indescribable hunger that had been haunting her all night now had a face and a name. Sebastien.

“Please,” she breathed. “Take me. Feed on me. Oh God please!”

“I said no, Tina. Not tonight. Tonight you feed on me.” He ran a sharp fingernail over his wrist and a trail of blood welled up in its wake. At the sight of his blood her whole body tensed. She could smell it. See the microfine particles that scattered in the air when his skin broke. She wanted nothing more than to taste his essence. He walked close and brought his wrist close to her mouth.

“It’s quite potent, my blood. But I think you know that already. There are many souls in there. There is even some of you.” She strained at the scarf, but to no avail. His wrist was just out of reach. He touched the crimson flow with a fingertip and offered it to her.

“Just a touch at first.”

She took his bloodied fingertip into her moth and tasted his coppery essence. It lit her tongue on fire. The taste was like a thousand sweet kisses at once. She sucked his finger clean and whined when he withdrew it.

“Now Tina, I think you will enjoy this.”

He slid his tongue along his wrist. She gazed longingly as the blood and the wound disappeared. He moved close, his body pressing against hers. She could feel his member, that exquisite blood flowing to it, as it pressed against her thigh. His tongue touched her lower lip and she quivered as the fire shot through her once again. Then his lips pressed against hers and she could feel the surge of his essence in her mouth, as his tongue explored. Her nipples rubbed along his chest and his manhood pressed more urgently against her. He pulled his lips from hers and began a fiery trail of kisses down her neck and shoulders. He ran his tongue along the length of her collarbone. She cried out as his molten essence traced along her willing flesh.

His tongue was on her nipples then, and tiny shockwaves of crimson pleasure echoed through her body. His warm fingers began to rub her inner thighs. She moaned as the came ever closer to her impatient sex. Slick with her own juices, he slid a long finger inside her and pressed his the palm of his hand over her clitoris. She moaned loudly then as she ground her hips into his probing hand. The room was filled with the sounds of her pleasure now. She whimpered in anticipation as his tongue continued down across her stomach towards her wanting sex.

Kneeling before her, he pulled her leg over his shoulder and slowly began to run his flaming tongue over her inner thighs, tasting of her pleasure. She cried out when he licked along the length of her sex sending red-hot carnal surges through her entire body. She ground her pelvis into his face and burrowed her head in the crook of her arm. He lifter her other leg now and held her effortlessly, suspended between his burrowing mouth and the scarf stretched tight above her head. Her moans intensified. She was dripping with sweat, the molten passion inside her taking its toll. Her back arched driving her wetness into his hungry mouth as she came, loosing a flood of desire. She was spent, trembling with orgasmic abandon, kneeling in front of the closet door, the scarf pulling at her weakened arms. Sebastien stood before her, his member rigid with anticipation. He quickly untied Tina’s wrists and gathered her limp form up in his arms.

“Oh my god. So good. Feels so good…” Her voice trailed of as her head rested on Sebastien’s shoulder. He laid her gently on the bed, his eyes trailing over her naked form. She was sweat-soaked and trembling. Nearly passed out. Once again he slit his wrist and a rivulet of his crimson essence seeped down his arm. He held his arm above her, his blood slowly welling and forming droplets. They fell almost as if in slow motion, landing with a patter on her lips. His blood was sweet fire on her lips. Her tongue flicked at her lips to catch every last drop. She clutched wantonly at his arm and began to drink from his opened wrist. His ruby life pumped into her. She could feel it in her stomach, then soaking into her veins and arteries. She could feel the blood liven every single capillary in her body, infusing her with fiery passion.

“Tina, you must stop now.” He tried to pull his arm away and she griped it ferociously. Finally he wrestled his arm away from her, and stood by the bedside, as she lay there, whimpering.

“I want more,” she sobbed. “I need it.”