She knew from the tone of my voice what I was saying. I didn’t date vampires. Hell, I didn’t date anyone. I didn’t have a single urge that couldn’t be satisfied with a good porno and a good vibrator. I spent more time masturbating than I cared to admit.
“So?” Clarissa ignored the fact that this conversation was going in a direction I didn’t want. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Have you met him?” I turned the conversation back toward her a little bit. Sexy? Yeah. Colin was sexy. That was putting it lightly. I already knew that I was going to be in trouble because when he’d grabbed me by the damn throat, I’d gotten wetter than I’d ever been in my life. He’d barely even touched me, yet I was practically gushing for his cock.
“Only in my dreams,” she sighed. Clarissa bit her bottom lip dreamily. I knew she was probably thinking about Colin right now, but I didn’t care. At least her attention was on something other than me. I didn’t want her to know I’d touched myself thinking about the way he’d grabbed me. I definitely didn’t want to share the fact that I’d imagined what it would be like to have him sink his teeth into me while we were fucking. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want to have sex with me, and yeah, I could respect that. A girl could dream, though.
Clarissa let out another little sigh. She was what I considered to be a vampire fangirl. She was always hanging out with this group of vampires she’d met working here. It was allowed, of course. You were allowed to hang out with whoever you wanted. Vampires in Darkvale didn’t kill humans. It was a requirement for being allowed to stay here.
When the city had been founded twenty-five years ago, a vampire had killed a human. The result had been that Colin brought that vampire to the center of town, tied him up, and let him burn as the sun rose. Everyone knew this story. I didn’t know if it was true or not, but it was legendary. I’d been eight at the time, and my brother swore up and down it was true. He’d been ten years older than me, and he’d raised me after our parents died. When Mom and Dad had been slaughtered by rogue vampires in our tiny little woodland town, Matt had taken me out of the house in the middle of the night, and he’d run with me.
He’d run straight to Darkvale, which was only just beginning. He’d taken a job as a guard for Elizabeth, and he’d served her until he’d died last year. My brother had been devoted and he’d been passionate about the mission of Darkvale. Although the city was brand new at the time, it was something that brought people hope. My brother found purpose and passion in being able to serve Elizabeth.
He hadn’t loved her. Elizabeth had only had eyes for Colin. My brother’s admiration was purely because he liked taking care of people, and he liked being one of the humans she trusted to guard her. He spent his days with me, making sure I studied and ate and got enough playtime. Then during the night, he’d go guard the vampire mistress.
Before his death, Matt had been strong enough to compete with any of the vampires. He’d been just as strong, just as deadly, and just as brave. I missed him. I missed him wildly. Sometimes it seemed like it was cruel that the sun kept right on shining even without Matt in the world.
“Why do you like vampires so much?” I asked Clarissa, trying to focus on her. If she kept talking, then I wouldn’t have to think too much about my own growing interest. Even though vampires in Darkvale weren’t allowed to kill humans, I always worried that someone would lose control. What if that happened? What if someone just decided they could no longer hold back? Maybe they’re be overwhelmed with desire or passion or something like that.
Then what happened?
On the other hand, what if humans started falling for vampires?
That could get very messy, very quickly. For the most part, humans kept to themselves, but there was always the chance that someone would go rogue or get wild and go for it. Clarissa loved the vampires. She’d had a taste of the forbidden, and she was obsessed now. What if that happened to me?
“What’s not to like?” Clarissa asked.
“They’re immortal douchebags,” I pointed out.
“Not all of them.”
“Yeah, all of them.”
“You’ve never met a single vampire you liked?”
Colin was good-looking, and he’d turned me on more than I cared to admit. He’d aroused me more than I would ever admit. To anyone. Including myself, probably.
“Nope,” I said. “Never.”
That was a lie.
“What about lady vampires?”
“Nope.”
“Hmm,” Clarissa tapped her chin, considering me. “Well, if you’re going to be staying at the Vampire Lord’s house and he’s going to be feeding from you, I think you might find them to be kind of nice to be around.”
“I doubt that.”
“Juliet,” Clarissa looked over her shoulder toward the door to my office, which was ajar. Then she turned back and lowered her voice. “Do you know what happens when a vampire feeds?”
“Everyone knows. They sink their fangs into you, suck what they want, and then seal you up.” It was all very clinical. The primary reason that humans donated blood, rather than just feeding, was hygienic. Some humans didn’t like the idea of being that close to a vampire. Donating blood also meant you could control how much you gave. There was no risk at all that a vampire might accidentally take too much.
“No,” Clarissa said.
“No?”