Nostalgia

One early evening, Vlad was sitting on Ana's couch, a cup of hot chocolate in his hand. He was quiet and harmonious, his hair slumping around himself. Ana was beside him with her own cup. They were watching a series on Netflix. It was an okay show.

At the end of one episode, Vlad put his cup on the coffee table, turned to Ana, and gently said her name.

"Hm? What is it?" Ana put her cup down too.

His warm hands enveloped hers. He smiled at her. "Should we tell your parents what we've been doing?"

Ana almost laughed. "The more innocent stuff, maybe."

"Mihai wants us to watch him shoot targets at the country club." His eyes were so spirited. He was clearly hoping for something. "I want to hold your hand in view of the locals."

"Well ... " Ana took her hands away from his grasp, but she reached up to tap her fingernails onto his cheek. "I might be more fond of the idea if you told me why you've been so interested in me."

Vlad's eyes shut as he retreated and hid his laughter into his curled fingers. Then he found his composure, and he said with the utmost severity, "The lust is quite intense."

"Oh, give us both some more credit, God damn!" Ana shook her head and crossed her legs. "I know I can be an insufferable, overly political bitch sometimes. So, what good qualities do I have?" Like a silly diva, she held her fingernails up to her face and studied them.

"Hmmm ... " He didn't seem as thoughtful as that sort of vocalization usually implied. "I like that you're happy to spend time with your parents. I like that you're honest even when you're complaining. And ... you're relaxing."

"Relaxing?" Ana's face warmed and her throat tingled. She met his gaze, but it was a little difficult to do. She didn't know why.

Was it her imagination ... or was his hair longer?

With soft eyes, he said, "When I'm near you, I feel as if the world has more potential."

"Hm?" Ana didn't know what to think of that. She looked at her knees, but she wasn't thinking about her knees. "That's really weird ... but I guess I like it?" A sigh, a great sigh that kind of hurt. "When I'm with you, I feel," and here, she folded her arms and swallowed a little of her own saliva, "I ... I feel like people are nicer. I know that doesn't make any sense, but that's how my brain reacts."

Arms around her.

They embraced and it was lovely.

Ana was limp against him. "I think ... before Valentine's Day. I'll tell my parents then."

He was stroking her back as if he was trying to console her ... as if something devastating had happened. "I want to have dinner on Valentine's Day, a nice dinner."

"You want to go to a place with a dress code, hm?"

Vlad kissed her ear, which made her giggle. Then he patted her hair. "Possibly. Will you wear the bracelet I gave you?"

"I promise." Ana was already thinking of what else to wear.

***

Ana told her father the news over the phone.

He blew up at first.

"What's wrong with you?! How could you?! He just wants sex! He doesn't love you! He can't even relate to you! Are you screwing around with Mihai behind the scenes?! I raised you better than that! Did you even think this through?!"

Ana felt pretty awful about it. She let her dad go on and on until his voice was hoarse. Then, when all Ana could hear was his coughing and wheezing, she quietly said, "I love you."

"Damn it! I love you too, but why?! Why are you doing this?!"

"Well, I'm not doing it to piss you off or anything. I genuinely like Vlad. Is that really so bad?"

She heard a rough, beaten exhale. "Ana ... think about it. What's going to happen in thirty years?"

Automatically, Ana replied, "Vlad will probably be wrinkly and sick and will need me to look after him, assuming we'll be together that long."

Her father turned even more acidic. "Oh you think you know everything, don't you?!"

"I know I love you."

"God fucking damn it!!"

Ana shrugged. "I need to go. I'm sorry. Love you."

She hung up.

But she wasn't worried. Everything would be fine. Her dad would cool off and after a long bout of thinking he'd be more understanding. Ana had her own place to stay, paid her own bills, and was old enough to drink alcohol and die for her country in the military. There wasn't anything to do except wait and see how this turned out.

The Dalcas might not be invited to dinner for a while, though.

***

Vlad always looked good in a black suit. But then again, suits made almost everyone look good. Ana was happy to hold his arm as they walked into the cozy little restaurant on this refreshing night. It was Valentine's Day; the place was pretty full. Fortunately, they had a reservation.

The most telling, most exciting fact concerning this date was how Ana got there. She didn't drive. Vlad picked her up in a black limousine. Luxury aside, he was the one in charge of taking her home ... if she wanted to go home ... and Ana had given him several hints implying that she didn't want to go home that night. Kisses, aggressive whispers, a gentle nibble on his fingers, she couldn't have been anymore obvious if she'd put a condom in his hand.

Dinner was lovely. Candlelight and secret kisses. Hand holding and needy eyes. Ana's expensive bracelet was heavy on her wrist. Her body was toasty.

Once the food was paid for, they left for the limousine, and they kissed each other as if they hadn't done so in at least a year.

And then ... the vehicle was parked at the Dalcas' mansion. Mihai was out. It didn't seem to have mattered to him that the building had plenty of space. He wanted out.

They were still kissing after the door was locked and their shoes were kicked away. Ana moaned at every touch on her body, relieved that he was holding her but also aching for more and more attention. He led her up the red steps in the pretty foyer.

Eventually, Ana was taken to a grand bedroom. The walls were a tan color, and everything else ranged from that color, to medium brown, to dark brown, and even occasional blacks, with only a few white things.

A few amorous touches at the door, and then they turned out all the nearby lights except for a lamp on a nightstand.

There was a traditional canopy bed with bedclothes that reminded Ana of chocolate and peanut butter. The silly thought evaporated soon, because the couple fell onto that bed, nearly damaging their clothing as they yanked it all away.

Ana's breath felt heavier as she ran her fingers through his body hair. He really was a beast, a great, muscular beast. She loved how the hair felt against her smooth legs.

Whispering the sweetest words in her ear, Vlad laid down close to her side, his fingers opening against her breast. Ana bit her lip as her nipple puckered. She wanted him to pinch her there, roughly, tightly. As her eyes closed, she puled out the word please.

An odd growl ... rumbling over her ... it was so quick that she barely recognized its presence. It didn't sound human.

She opened her eyes and asked, "What was that?"

All she got was another hot kiss, tongue and all. Her worries floated away. She put her hands in his hair, loving how clean and spicy he smelled.

There was a slap between her thighs!

Ana yelped and bounced a little.

It was a jolt of life!

His palm was on her mons, his fingers teasing her opening. Ana suckled his tongue, trying to tell him that she wanted more.

And ... yes ... yes!

He was reaching into her, lovingly caressing the tender flesh inside, pressing up and into her G-Spot.

"Mmmph!" Ana had to be careful. She didn't want to bite the man's tongue.

Her feet dug into the bed. Her heart went crazy. Her fingernails scratched on his scalp.

Vlad forced his tongue away from her teeth. And his own teeth lightly bit her earlobe.

Ana squirmed at that.

Faster, he was pushing faster! Ana's back curled as her cunt squeezed a good bit of liquid out. She knew his fingers were soaked.

His voice was raspy. "How do you taste? Hm?" He removed his hand, dragging his touch as he pulled out his fingers. Ana saw him put those fingers right in his mouth. Her eyes grew, but her lips shrunk, and her body was flashing heat. How did she taste? How?

Vlad looked down at her with that ... that cruel smile ... that perceptive smile ... that smile that seemed to know everything about her. It nearly broke her senses. He didn't need to tell her how she tasted. She knew.

He bent over her, kissed her, and then he put kisses down her throat, crawled down to kiss the space between her breasts, then her belly, and lower ...

He held one of her bent legs down. Her other leg naturally turned the other way.

Ana's fingers bit into the bedclothes.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!" Her throat was dry and she coughed.

Vlad lapped at her with no gentleness whatsoever. It felt like each lick was cloaking her in heat and softness. She could almost hear his taste buds scrape against her pubic hair. Then abruptly, he quit the lapping. He put those mean lips of his around her bulging clitoris, hummed, and sucked with just enough care not to harm her, but plenty of force to turn her delirious.

"Ah! Yes! Please!" Her voice was weak, but that didn't matter. She was crying out, trembling.

A very, very careful, light nip.

She jerked and hollered.

Oh. God. Teeth?! Teeth?! Was that even safe?!

Ana howled out every curse word she could think of in the English language. Then a few Romanian ones. Then a few Japanese ones.

Her body was tense, but writhing. Her toes fanned out. Pleasure was stabbing at every nerve ending. She couldn't stand it for long. She had to cum, and she did it so hard that she couldn't breathe very well, gasping, desperate for good air.

She wasn't even finished with her orgasm when Vlad pushed himself back up, grabbed one of her buttocks, and crammed his erection right into her.

If her cunt had a voice, it would have yowled and hissed like a pissed off animal.

But Ana couldn't make a sound. She was almost like a program that stopped responding, resulting in a seemingly never ending loop of frustration.

It ... kind of ... hurt ... but ...

Please.

Don't.

Stop.

Rocking ... a creaking in the bed ...

A howl, then a nasty, spit-filled noise.

But ... a very, very lovely kind of burning where that big dick of his sawed in and out, rubbing and kissing deep inside her body.

She heard Vlad barking out, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" She looked up at him. The veins in his throat were sticking out. His eyes were closed. His teeth were feral. But his tone lowered to something softer, and he cooed out, "I need you. I need you, please!"

Ana wrapped her arms about his form, her breath in his hair, her flesh chafed all over. The slick pounding was so intense, but all she could do was hold onto him and wait for the ride to stop.

And it did stop for a moment.

Then his face went to her throat. A kiss. A lick. A few, uneven thrusts into her cunt.

A bite.

"Ow! What? Wait!"

That fucking hurt! What the hell?!

But ... her eyes closed ... and her pussy sang to her blood.

It hurt, but it felt so nice too.

Like something was being injected into her, something dangerously addictive.

She wasn't exactly sure why, but she was cumming again, begging, nearly destroying her vocal cords.

The way Vlad howled into her jugular, and the way his force practically bent her back, had her thinking he might be cumming too.

Except for their panting, it was quiet. Vlad's softening penis easily came out. He rolled over and off of her, resting on his back.

Ana was sore, dumbstruck, but sore. For around fifteen seconds, she looked up at the bed's canopy and wondered about completely unrelated topics. Her legs felt like they were vibrating.

She sat up and put her legs over the mattress' edge. It was very moist between her thighs. She looked down and saw a combination of blood and semen. Good thing she'd recently started taking certain pills.

Oh ... wait! Was she staining the bedclothes? Crap, she was!

Ana ran to the ensuite bathroom. She cleaned herself up. Then she grabbed a rag and a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide and went to the bed. As she furiously sprayed and dabbed at the stain, she heard and felt the mattress dip and bounce. Vlad's voice seemed amused. "I'm not bothered by that spot."

"Well I am." Ana hated letting stains settle into fabric.

She felt Vlad's body heat. Then the top of her head was being patted.

***

For the next few days, Ana had a nasty, angry hickey on her neck. She had to wear a scarf in public. She didn't think it was a nice thing to show off, but she did sort of enjoy knowing it was there. Sometimes, when she was out and about with Vlad, the man would tap her neck through her scarf, or even put a kiss there, as if he wanted to remind her how the mark came to be.

On the day called Dragobete, they went to the hiking trail again, and they admired and picked springtime flowers. Ana sang little songs to him. Vlad didn't do any singing. He said he had a terrible singing voice and he'd rather not make her ears bleed. But that was fine.

After that little slice of exercise, they exchanged gifts of roses and candy. Then they watched stupid cartoons at his place, made out, and made a bit of love.

Vlad showed her a few old looking photographs of people he said were his parents and other family members. Then he showed her a few pictures of a little boy and said that was Mihai. Ana thought that was cute. She especially loved one picture of a small Mihai playing with building blocks. She then asked for any pictures of Vlad's first wife, Mihai's mother.

Vlad voice buzzed as he flipped through the photographs. "Ah ... Sorina. Here she is." He put it in her fingers. It was a picture of a pretty woman with long black hair and a pair of dark green jeans.

"Oh, she was beautiful." Ana smiled as she handed the photo back to him.

Her life was perfectly fine before she started dating Vlad, but now it was even better. No regrets so far.

Ana's parents still hadn't quite forgiven her for her unapproved choice, but she still tried to text them every once in a while. Mihai was the opposite. He liked to socialize with the new couple, sometimes in the mansion, and sometimes out in public.

One day, Mihai asked them to come to Fair Orchard with them for a day of fun. He had to use a guest pass to have Ana there, but Mihai didn't really care about that. Vlad and Ana watched him shoot at paper targets with a pistol. He was a decent shot, really. Then, they ran on treadmills in the gym. Ana had to work at a much slower pace than the men. They were amazing.

The trio relaxed at the spa after that. They put on modest bathing suits and sat in a hot tub, chatting in Romanian about food, the weather, sports drinks, music, and even international politics.

After the soaking was done, they got dressed and went to the club's restaurant. It was a nice little place with somewhat fancy food. Ana happened to notice Henry Williamson and Brook a few tables away. She waved at them. Brook looked at her once, rolled her blue eyes, and tapped on her phone's screen. Mr. Williamson had the most surprised look on his face, as if seeing Ana hold Vlad's hand was too taboo to even speak of, but he did nothing impolite.

He actually looked a little sad.

Ana didn't worry about it, though.

No regrets.

Vlad already learned a way to annoy the crap out of her. He liked to randomly poke her with his index finger. Not enough to hurt. It was closer to a quick swipe than anything else. It still bothered her, though, because he'd always do it when she was busy watching something, or reading, or even daydreaming. Then she'd be jolted into mild irritation.

Ana knew she'd have to think of a way to annoy him too.

Hanging out in a mansion with a maid and a butler was a bit unnerving at times. Ana could understand the need for the maid, but why a butler? What did he do that the Dalcas couldn't do on their own?

Ana didn't express these opinions, though. She thought it might be rude.

On a cool day at the Dalcas' place, she happened to notice a small stack of newspapers. The maid used them to wipe windows. There was an article about a recent unsolved murder. Ana picked up the newspaper and read it, leaning against a wall. Vlad asked her what was so interesting.

"This guy was found out in the woods with almost no blood left in him, like he'd been drained." She gave him the newspaper. "There weren't any wounds on him, though. Well, they didn't say so in the article. Maybe a weird anemia?"

Vlad's eyes drew lines over and over on the paper. Then he put it back on its stack, smiling in a very tight way. His eyes didn't crinkle at all. "That's very sad." He took her hand and lured her away so they could watch a documentary on the colonial history of U.S.A.

Some time passed. Ana's birthday would arrive in a few days. On a rainy afternoon, she shared an umbrella with Vlad as they walked around the mansion, wearing their squeaky raincoats and boots. A rather dirty looking jeep drove up. Ana asked Vlad, "Who's that?"

"That's a friend. She doesn't visit often."

A burst of jealousy went off in Ana's heart, but she ignored it. There was no reason to be jealous.

But Vlad asked her to go inside the house, handing her the umbrella.

Ana looked back several times as she went to the closest entrance to the house. The woman that exited the jeep was very tall. Her hair was curly and deep red. Her face was a little bit dark and doll-like. The hood of her bleach-stained black coat was flopping back. She didn't seem to care that the rain was dripping over her head.

Inside the mansion, Ana hung her coat up and kicked off her boots. Then she peeked through a set of blinds hanging over a window. Vlad spoke to the woman for a good while. They had tense postures and bitter countenances. When it was over, the woman smacked Vlad's shoulder and grinned like a blissful idiot. Then she got back to her jeep and drove off.

Vlad started a walk back to the house. Ana quickly went to one of the living rooms, sat in an armchair, and picked up a random magazine. She was looking at an article about diabetes when Vlad entered the room.

Ana smiled up at him. "Is everything okay?"

His eyes were as harsh as broken glass in a solution of acid, which nearly had Ana's heart falling and splattering into her belly, but the man still made an attempt at a grin, and his voice was very mild. "Everything's wonderful." He held his hand out towards her. "Come, Micuţa Mea. Let's have a slice of cake." Ana had recently baked a strawberry cake.

She put the magazine on a coffee table and went to him. She was thinking of the warm, pink cake as she took his hand.

Yet ...

His hand was strangely cold.

***

The women were all in a large hotel's foyer. A man with thick black hair, a thin face, and a business suit was addressing them.

"I must apologize to all of you. You've been wronged. You've been abused. I should have recognized this much sooner. I've been negligent. There's no excuse for what I've done." He didn't bow to them while standing. He got down on his knees and bowed in that position.

He was known as Hisakawa Takehiko, and he had just rescued all these women from their landlady. Some of the women had bruises and cuts on their bodies, which they'd desperately tried to hide with caked on foundation.

Ichigo-chan was the in the worst shape, however, because she'd recently had a true fight with the landlady. Most of her skin was blue or purple. What little skin that wasn't discolored had scratch marks, as if some wild creature had dug at her body. One of her arms was broken and in a cast. One of her eyes was swollen and downright unpleasant to look at. There were also a few occasional canid-like bite marks hidden under bandages.

Hisakawa-san got to his feet. Then he passed out room keys to all the women. Before Ichigo-chan could leave, however, he gently called out to her. He told her with his kind voice, "You're brave. You dealt with her better than I would've assumed, and you're in a surprisingly fine condition." His next words were a whisper. "I'll send a recommendation to Brun." He smelled like cigarettes and strong tea, which wasn't odd.