Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.

Author's Note:I like vampire fics, they're a little kinky and lots of fun but there aren't many of them out there. So I decided to write up a series of short fics exploring the idea of vampire ism in the Castle universe. This is just the first one and they won't all be the same storyline. This is purely for fun, no brooding themes or deeper meaning here (For that check out my other fic, "Connection", hint, hint). If anyone has an idea for this series, feel free to suggest it! I'm open to dumb ideas here ;)

In all seriousness, please hit the review button. Even if you just say you liked/hated it, it will still mean the world to me. I'll even try to review you back! (Yes, I will stoop to bribery to get more reviews, why do you ask?)

I hope you guys have as much fun reading this as I did writing it.

Richard Castle had a whole list of things he wanted to experience in his life. Bleeding to death in an alley wasn't one of them. At least the girl who pressed her jacket firmly into his abdomen, trying to keep his lifeblood from seeping out, and cursing him for a fool and worse, was pretty. Very pretty.

What a shame.

It was the fourth of July.

He'd been increasingly restless these past few months. He still didn't regret killing Storm, yet as the days stretched into months since the release of Storm Fall, his frustration with writers block had grown to nearly unbearable levels. All he needed was that spark, that sudden inspiration and the knew the words would flow. He could feel them crowding his mind, a turbulent reservoir of language pressing on the inside of his skull. Never before had his boundless imagination failed him.

There was a first time for everything he supposed.

So he'd taken to walking. A bit cliché perhaps but he had been growing desperate. The heat wave of the last few days had kept him indoors. and he had driven his Mother and Daughter out of the loft with his fretting. By midnight, he truly understood the term "climbing the walls". He had to get out.

The air had cooled marginally but the humidity was unrelenting. The air hit his face like a warm wet blanket. Clouds hung low and heavy overhead, seemingly a breath away from bursting, so he grabbed an umbrella from the lobby and set out.

He'd only gone a few blocks before he heard it, the unmistakable sounds of unarmed combat. After a brief hesitation, his curiosity got the better of him. He'd barely turned the corner when the male combatant, whom he could have sworn had been at the other end of the alley, appeared in front of him. That's when he felt the pain.

It certainly hadn't been the first time his natural inquisitiveness had gotten him into trouble but always before he'd been able to charm, bribe, or wheedle his way out of it relatively unscathed. Apparently, you couldn't charm your way out of a knife.

Once again, his eyes couldn't follow the woman as she moved to catch him. His blood shone wetly on the knife as the man spoke.

"You'd better hurry kiddo, I got him pretty good. I doubt even an ambulance could get here in time." He looked thoughtful.

"There's always the second option, but you don't do that do you Kate? Sorry I can't stay and catch up," He hadn't looked sorry. "You know how it is."

The man had disappeared into the night.

The woman had propped him against the wall before turning to glare, which had lead to the cursing, and the bleeding. and the...Castle's eyes slipped closed.

"Stay awake goddamn it!" the woman snarled, bloody hands desperately pounding 911 into her cell phone. He could hear the mechanical voice come out of the speaker.

"We're sorry, all circuits are busy now, please try again later."

"Fuck," the woman swore. The woman's beautiful green eyes turned on his. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"Walking," he croaked. "I'm..."

"I know who you are Mr. Castle," she snapped, hitting the redial and getting the same automated response.

"A fan I take it?" he said.

Her only response was to roll her eyes. She drew a groan from him as she pressed harder on his wound. He wondered what other kinds of groans this woman could elicit from him. Assuming he survived the night that is.

Footsteps preceded two out-of-breath men down the alley. Rick couldn't see them very well but he thought one of them might have been Hispanic.

That one spoke first. "Which way?"

The woman shook her head, the motion conveying large amounts of information he was sure he was not privy to. "Let him go Espo," she said. "He'd kill you".

Espo snorted. "Well if you would just..."

"NO Espo. I've told you already. We're done talking about this."

"I hate to interrupt," Rick said, "but you know, bleeding here?" Not his most eloquent speech perhaps, but it got the point across.

"You two keep trying to call Emergency Services," the woman ordered. "I'm going to take a look at this."

She pulled her jacket away. The fibers were thick with his blood. He bit back a cry as she peeled his shirt back, revealing the ugly gash. Rick nearly passed out again when he saw the bleeding pulse along with his heart. He didn't need to be a best-selling author to know what that meant.

Never taking her eye off of his wound, she licked her lips before catching the lower one with her sharp little teeth. In less dire circumstances, it might have been adorable.

"Renal artery?" he asked, quietly.

She nodded. "Probably." She put her jacket back and turned to her companions. "Where's my bus?" she demanded.

The blond one shook his head. "Sorry boss, I think the cell tower's down. Some sort of holiday prank."

"Fuck," she repeated. She raised her eyes to Rick's. They were full of pity. In a voice that sounded entirely too resigned for his taste she breathed, "I'm so sorry."

Was she giving up? No. no. There had to be some way. "Didn't that other guy say something about another 'option' or something?" He asked, desperation tingeing his voice.

She looked away. "You don't want that."

"Well if the alternative is dying, I'm pretty sure I do." His vision blurred for a sec. Was he really having this conversation?

"You can't know what you're asking. I'm sorry, I really am, but No."

"So you're just going to let me die?" he said, angry.

She looked down again. "You have no idea. I know this isn't fair..."

"Fair?" he yelled. "You're damn right this isn't fair! I can't die now." The fight in him faded as swiftly as it had arrived. "Please," he begged, "I have a daughter..."

Her head snapped up. "How old?"

"Fifteen," he said, blinking through the tears. When had he started crying? "Her mother's in California. I'm all she has."

She winced as if he had struck her. Then she seemed to come to a decision. "Espo, Ryan, watch the street. I don't want any more curious onlookers." She obviously had directed the last statement at him. She knelt close to him, her hands working the few buttons at his throat.

He should have figured it out then, he really should have, but with the pain and blood loss the only thought that went through his head was to wonder why her hands were so cold. Her slim fingers brushed against the short hairs at the back of his neck and he shivered. "Just try to relax," she whispered, drawing him in towards her chest. His eyes showed only confusion.

Her mouth was only a breath away from his skin when he saw the teeth.

Everything clicked in that one moment. oh. Oh. OH! Her lips brushed his neck as his thoughts swirled with realization. He felt a sharp pain...

And then he didn't think of anything at all.

Later, when asked to describe the feeling, the best he could come up with was a full-body orgasm, exquisitely drawn out over a seeming eternity, and even that fell far short of the reality. He was awash with sensation; the rough jacket sliding over the slick blood on his belly the fast, deep flutter of his heart, the cool kiss of her lips as she drank his life...

Holy Shit.

It lasted a moment, it lasted a lifetime. She held him tightly as she withdrew, otherwise he would have fallen. He was so weak he barely noticed her biting into her own wrist. "Castle!" she shook him and his eyes shot open. "I need to know. Is this what you want?"

With the last of his strength, he nodded.

"Okay then." she said, and pressed her wrist to his lips...