Chapter 3: Sleep Tight
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Content warnings: Non-explicit sexual content.
…
Sweet smells were all around him and his hands grasped something cold. It was a needle.
"You're not going to hurt me, are you?"
He looked into Anna's pouting face. He was most definitely going to hurt her… He reached out to touch her, but suddenly she was on her feet and twisting around him. When he faced her again she looked just like Therese. He shivered and felt himself shrink until he was sitting down in a chair. Now it was Anna holding the needle, but as soon as she bent towards him her hair escaped its bun and tumbled silken down her face. Vandal inhaled her scent and she pressed her lips to his with a triumphant smile.
He woke up with a start. For a moment he was disoriented. As soon as he realized what had happened he was downright pissed. He was used to dreams far more fucked up than this, but this was the second time he had dreamt about Anna. This had to stop now. He couldn't let that girl get under this skin like this. With an angry grunt he dragged himself out of bed. The last couple days had been a drag. The blood bank was still closed as per Therese's orders, but that didn't stop the bloodsuckers and ghouls from coming to his window. Usually he didn't even go out, but some of them made a ruckus and then he had to. Yesterday one of the damn Ventrue had Dominated him to force him to give them blood anyway. He hadn't been strong enough to resist them, but he had been aware of it. This was not a positive thing. It was better to be ignorant when someone decided to take your free will from you and it had left him in a foul mood. The fact that he couldn't get a decent day's sleep wasn't helping.
Vandal went to the hospital a couple hours early. Maybe during normal working hours Anna would be in her office working. During most of his working hours she seemed to be idly strolling about, snooping around the hospital and smiling at him like they were sharing a joke whenever he accidentally ran into her. Her supervisor must not pay really close attention to her. Did she even have a supervisor? He wouldn't put it past the morons that ran this hospital to just let her do whatever she wanted and wait patiently for the miracles she had promised to produce. Fucking idiots.
The lights in Anna's office were on and Vandal went in without knocking. Anna looked up, but she had hardly risen from her seat when Vandal was already at her desk.
"Look here, princess," he growled. "I don't know what you want from me, but I have the feeling that I'm getting played and I don't like it."
Anna looked at him, not at all intimidated, and smiled. "I'm sorry," she said. "Do you want to do the playing next time?"
Vandal snarled at her. He wanted to snap her neck, make her stop smiling, make her stop looking at him like that. Nobody looked at him like that. He could smell her. He could smell her everywhere. She smiled at him. Why was she always fucking smiling? Anna made the slightest movement towards him and something snapped in Vandal's mind. He grabbed Anna's face with both his hands and kissed her. Her mouth didn't need to be forced open and he tasted her hungrily. He felt her hands on his chest, against the back of his neck, in his hair. She was intoxicatingly warm and soft. She was- With a start Vandal let her go and stepped back in horror.
Anna gasped for breath and leaned against her desk. Her hair had come undone slightly. She touched her lips with her fingers and looked at him. "Well," she said breathlessly. "Does that make us even?"
He stared at her. His skin was on fire. The voices in his head were screaming and his body was furiously demanding more. This was awful. This was terrible.
He turned around and left without saying a world. Heart pounding, blood racing. He hadn't felt this alive in ages. Fucking hell she tasted amazing. No, that was just the deprivation talking. Ever since Hannah had disappeared he had had a bit of a dry spell. Finding a new escort was going to be a bother and he had put it off. Another mistake, it seemed. Vandal was furious with himself. All those demure little smiles and impeccable clothes. Anna was nothing but a little tease. She had been planning this from the start and she knew exactly what she was doing to him.
Vandal actively avoided Anna again after that. But he questioned people with even more intent than before. Not about her research this time. Everybody said the same anyway. That she was doing blood research. That she wouldn't let anyone help her. There was nothing new in that. This time he poked and prodded to hear the hospital gossip. Still, there didn't seem to be a lot of it about Anna. She was liked. She was friendly to everyone below her, polite to everyone else. But then there came a single piece of salacious news. Apparently, she had turned down the advances of two doctors. That was the last thing Vandal had expected to hear. He had finally decided that Anna was the kind of woman who kept up a wholesome image, but slept around to get a hold on people. Why else would she come on to him? There was nothing he could do for her. But if she wanted to better her position in the hospital, turning down doctors was hardly a clever move. He didn't understand it and he didn't trust it. She had something to hide and if she was only interested in him, that meant she wanted something from him. But knowing all that didn't change the fact that he now also wanted her. God how he wanted her.
It took him absolutely all his self-control to stay away from her, but he managed. Therese was back in Santa Monica for a few days and he immediately offered to bring her a new supply of blood. She told him to bring double the amount he usually did. Vandal was glad he had some fresh blue blood packs put by. Anything of lesser quality he wouldn't dare to offer to Therese.
The Asylum was even busier than normal and the music as loud and obnoxious to match. Therese was not in a good mood. She snapped at Vandal for being late and he stood silently listening to her fuming until she began to talk of the loneliness of superiority and the things she had to put up with for her city. Ever since her sister had left, she had been more and more like this. More volatile, less composed. Or maybe she had formerly unloaded these feelings on Jeanette and they were spilling out because she couldn't anymore. Vandal didn't know and he didn't care. As long as Therese talked he was deaf to any other sound in the world and he listened to her with his whole being.
His head was still full of her when he walked out of the elevator and back into the frantic noise and light of the club. He was already heading towards the exit when his legs promptly stopped moving. Anna was standing at the bar. She was talking cheerfully to a girl and admiring her afro. Vandal stared at her, not knowing what to do. Or rather not knowing how. He knew he had to get out before she saw him, but he didn't make the slightest effort to move. He had to go. Now. Get out. Now. He had to, he had to, he had to know what she was doing here. No, no, he shouldn't. Before he could make sense of his thoughts Anna looked past her companion, saw him and smiled. Vandal still didn't move. She slid off her barstool and came towards him. Even through the crowded smell of sweat and alcohol he could smell her.
"I thought you didn't like clubs," she teased. "And here I meet you in one a second time."
"Not here for the club," he answered, sounding more than a little strained.
"Ah…" she said. She was coming even closer. "Can I have a dance all the same?" she asked, laying a playful hand on his shoulder.
He shook her off. It was a reflex and he was damn thankful for it.
"Sorry," she said, retracting her hand and turning away. "I'll leave you alone."
Before she could walk away he reached out and grabbed her hand. He hadn't meant to, it just happened. "You shouldn't be here," he hissed. He could not have her here. She could not be in the Asylum. Not near Therese. This was his damn place of work. Even more so than the clinic.
Anna turned back to look at him. "Where should I be then?" she asked playfully.
"I mean it," he snarled. "You don't want to hang around looking pretty in a place like this." He abruptly let go of her.
A sarcastic smile passed across Anna's face. "What?" she said in a playfully lowered voice. "Is this the kind of place where girls get taken advantage of?"
He didn't answer.
"Don't worry about me, Vandal" she smiled. "I'll be fine."
How dare she speak his name like that. "I want you to leave," he said roughly.
Therese might see her. Might smell him on her. Might…
"Make me," Anna laughed and she moved away with a dancing step.
Vandal grabbed her again, this time by her wrist, and did a step towards her. He was vaguely aware of the girl at the bar turning her head to get a better view of him. He lowered his head a little to hide his menacing expression. "Don't think that I couldn't," he snarled at Anna.
He never showed his strength to anyone, but now he gave a little of it away, tightening his grip on her wrist. Anna stared at him, but he thought she looked fascinated rather than intimidated. And there was something besides fascination. Something that made Vandal very uncomfortable. Triumph?
"Are you going to let go of me or not?" she asked amusedly.
"Not until you promise to get out of here," he hissed.
He was afraid Therese might come downstairs and see him with her. If she did she would want to know who she was and what he was doing with her and he had no satisfactory answer to either question.
"Hm," Anna hummed.
She moved and Vandal thought she was going to fight him, but instead she just wrapped her free arm around his neck and kissed him. Before he knew what he was doing he kissed her back. He couldn't help it. She tasted like…like… With a shock he realized where he was and what he was doing. Furiously he pushed Anna away, stared at her and then dragged her out of the club. She almost had to run to keep up with him, but still took the time to flutter her free hand merrily at the girl at the bar. He even thought he heard laughter over the music.
When they were outside he stopped and turned her towards him with considerable force. "Don't fucking do that," he snapped.
"Why not?" she laughed. He was sure he must have hurt her, but she didn't show either fear or discomfort.
"Because it'll attract attention," he hissed.
"You're the one making a scene," she said teasingly.
He let out an annoyed growl and started walking again. He was still holding on to Anna's wrist and she was trailing behind him without the least resistance.
Vandal stopped and took a deep breath. His mind felt clouded. He had to do something. In an impulse he hailed a cab. It stopped in front of them and waited.
"Get in," he ordered.
"Fine," Anna said, unconcerned.
She moved towards the cab. Vandal let go of her, but she reached out and grabbed him playfully by his shirt. With one swift movement she sat down and pulled him into the cab with her. He was too surprised to struggle. Anna leaned forward and told the cabby an address. His address.
"How do you know where I live," Vandal said, staring at her with angry suspicion.
"I looked you up the first night I met you," she laughed softly.
Vandal stared at her with nothing but distrust. Well, almost nothing but distrust. She was sitting too close to him, it was making it hard to think. He tried to push the feeling of her kissing him out of his mind. He knew she was doing all of this on purpose, but that didn't make it any less effective.
"You don't have to look so angry," she pouted. "What was I supposed to do? Tell him my address and let you find out where I live?"
That was bullshit. She pulled him into the cab with her. Besides if there was one thing this crazy woman was not, it was afraid of him.
Anna laughed. "With all this effort you've put into intimidating me the least I can do is pretend to be scared," she teased.
"If this is you pretending to be scared you're a crap actress," he snarled, but he suspected she was an excellent one. That was the whole trouble.
"How do you know?" she said with twinkling eyes. "Maybe this is me being scared…" She leaned towards him and Vandal stared at her.
She was riling him up and it was working. He had never met someone so…so…infuriatingly frustrating. "Get off me," he growled.
Anna moved immediately, retreating to the otherside of the cab. Silently she leaned against the door, resting her head against the window. Her sudden compliance came completely unexpected for Vandal. Why would she be like that, purposefully pushing and pulling and coming on to him and then suddenly obeying him without a word? He tried to ignore the pang of dissatisfaction he felt when her body heat and smell moved out of his reach. Involuntarily he stared at Anna. She didn't look back at him. She was intently looking out of the window. Almost as if his rejection had actually hurt her. He could see her mirrored in the window and the dark outside, until her breath began to condense on the glass. She was breathing deeply enough for him to see her chest rise and fall as she did so.
"You're staring…" Anna informed him calmly, without looking at him.
Vandal blinked. He refused to stop looking at her though. She was just so…so goddamn alive. Yes, she made him angry, but it was a heated, interested anger. Not the dull grey glow of disgust and low-grade contempt he felt towards everything and everyone. This was a far better quality of anger and it was heating him up inside.
"Well," Anna said, a smile ghosting around her lips. "You did say I was pretty."
She wasn't expecting a response and Vandal gave her none. When had he said she was pretty? He didn't remember, it didn't fucking matter. Of course he thought she was pretty. He had eyes, didn't he? Of all the human impulses he had been able to stifle, attraction had never been one.
"Here we are," the cabby said loudly.
Anna looked up and turned her face towards Vandal. Her eyes suddenly seemed very large.
"Goodnight, Vandal," she said gently.
Something about the way she said his name made a shiver run down his back. He didn't move. Anna looked back at him silently. Without saying a word Vandal got out his wallet, pulled out a couple bills and handed them to the cabby. Anna was still looking at him. He could feel his heart thump in his ears.
"You want me to come with?" Anna asked softly. "All you have to do is ask…"
Something in Vandal snapped and his hand moved without further interference of his brain. The next moment he was out the cab and pulling Anna through his front door by her hand. Anna closed the door behind them with a thump and laughed at him.
"I thought you wanted me to get off you?" she said. "Would you like to change the order of that sentence?"
"Shut up," Vandal growled and he pulled her towards him. Right now slapping the smile off Anna's face and tearing her clothes off seemed equally satisfying to him and for a moment he convinced himself that he hadn't decided which to pick yet. And then Anna kissed him again and he gave up.
.
He woke up in the afternoon. For a moment he was disoriented and then he remembered.
"Fuck," he grunted and he sat up in bed. Aside from himself, it was empty. The bed still smelled like her, but Anna was definitely gone. Vandal was positive she had been right beside him when he fell asleep. Why the fuck did he fall asleep? He looked over at the clock on his nightstand and saw a neatly folded note lying beside it. With a frown he snatched it up and unfolded it.
"That was lovely. Sleep tight. X"
Vandal stared at the curly handwriting. Lovely. Sleep tight. He scowled at the elegantly crossed 'X'. A fucking kiss? What the ever-loving fuck what this? Was she trying to be cute? Vandal didn't even know why he was angry, but he was too pissed off to stop and think about it. He got up and got dressed as quickly as he could. Who the hell did that woman think she was? Pull that stunt at the Asylum, come home with him and then leaving him a damn note on his nightstand? Signed with a kiss? He slammed the door behind him and stomped to his car. There was a stupid mixer at the hospital today. Staff of different levels and departments mingling, that type of stuff. It was exactly the kind of gathering Vandal normally avoided like the plague, but he was certain Anna would be there and he needed to set some things straight.
The parking lot was full of expensive cars belonging to expensive people that hardly ever came here. Vandal hated the hospital during the day. It was too crowded. Some people were surprised to see him, but only the people that worked the night shift themselves and knew how unsociable he was, he had every right to be here. Technically this was supposed to be a great mingling of hierarchy. Or in other words, four hours of complete and utter bullshit. Vandal ignored everyone and everything around him, all he wanted was to find Anna.
As soon as he spotted her in the crowded conference room he fixed his eyes on her and waited. All she had to do now was ignore him. If she ignored him, he'd understand. Some girls were like that after all, couldn't turn down a challenge. He had been rude to her and that had made her want to see if she could get him. Now she had gotten what she wanted her interest in him would vanish. That would be logical, at least to a certain degree. He could deal with that.
Anna turned around and happened to look in his direction. Her eyes met his and Vandal glared at her. All he wanted from her at that moment was denial. If she would just look away and pretend he she did not see him, he would know her perverse interest in him was over and that the world was once again as it should be. Anna smiled and moved towards him. Vandal cursed inwardly. He didn't understand.
"Hi!" Anna said cheerfully. "I didn't know you'd be here."
Vandal grimaced and hissed: "What the fuck is your deal?"
Anna looked surprised, almost innocent, but Vandal was certain there was an amused gleam in her eye. "Sorry?" she said.
"Last night, what was that about?" he hissed. "And that fucking note."
"The note was after," Anna said with an arch smile.
Vandal scowled and Anna took a small step back with a pacifying, demure expression. "You were asleep," she explained. "I didn't want to wake you, but I didn't want to leave without a trace." She offered him another teasing smile. "I didn't want you to worry."
"Worry?" he growled.
Anna's mouth twitched. "Perhaps not, hm? She laughed. "Well, then I didn't want to be rude."
Vandal couldn't tell if she was lying or not. She seemed sincere though and that pissed him off even more. He crossed his arms and said snidely: "If you were worried about that why'd you sneak out in the middle of the night like a guilty little-"
Anna's eyes were fixed on him rather intently and he didn't finish his sentence.
She let the silence that fell carry on for a bit before she said airily: "I know, very unladylike of me. But I make a point of not sleeping with the people I sleep with."
Vandal raised an eyebrow. She met his gaze silently without any visible shame or shyness.
"Usually women need to be paid to leave," he snarked.
This time he had the satisfaction of seeing a flicker of displeasure on her face. It soon mingled with amusement, however, and she laughed softly: "Well, lucky you." She glanced past him and said: "I see some suits I should be talking to before I leave."
Vandal sullenly followed her gaze and saw some of the hospital directors standing with glasses in their hand. "Hm," he growled. "And I suppose you don't want anything from them either?"
Anna laughed. "Oh no," she said. "I want a whole lot of things from them."
She flashed him a conspiratory smile that he returned with a perplexed stare.
"Wish me luck!" she whispered. For a moment she seemed to be glancing around to see if anyone was looking at them and then suddenly, before Vandal could react, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and moved past him towards the directors.
Vandal felt his face burn, as much from anger as from anything else. Why?
"Nice, man!"
Vandal blinked. A young nurse was grinning at him, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere.
"What?" he snapped.
"That chick just now!" the nurse said in the same congratulatory tone. "You hitting that?"
"No," Vandal replied through clenched teeth. "That sounds like I'd be going back for seconds."
The nurse laughed. "That's savage, dude," he snorted. He sounded impressed.
Vandal watched him with thinly veiled disdain as the nurse looked at Anna, who was talking to the directors with a straightforward, professional air. The way she stood and the confident gestures of her hands reminded Vandal of Therese. The resemblance was only very slight, but Vandal's mind never needed much prompting to drift to Therese. She did look like Therese. She smelled nothing like Therese.
"They do say that the uptight chicks can be the freakiest," the nurse grinned, intruding on Vandal's unwelcome reflections.
Vandal thought back to last night and deigned not to reply.
"So, you think I have a shot with her?" the nurse asked.
Vandal grimaced. "Why not?" he said. "She obviously has bad taste."
The nurse roared with laughter and slapped him on the shoulder. Vandal resisted the urge to rip his arm off.
"Thanks man," the nurse grinned and walked in Anna's direction.
Vandal wanted to leave, he really did, but in spite of himself he sat down and watched how the nurse prepared his attack on Anna. Vandal was a little disappointed the young man seemed to be waiting for Anna to finish her conversation. It would have been funnier to him to see Anna react to his advances in front of the directors. Perhaps it would have annoyed her enough to actually make her angry. If she was even capable of expressing anger on that damn sweet face. Vandal didn't know why the hell she was attracted to him, but he was pretty sure she'd shoot down that nurse as fast as the propositions could leave his mouth.
Anna finished her conversation. The directors left, taking leave of her so cordially that Vandal was sure she had gotten what she wanted. It seemed to him that she always did. Spoiled little princess.
The nurse made his move as soon as Anna turned around and saw him. He greeted Anna like he already knew her and she drew back instantly. The distaste on her face almost made Vandal laugh out loud. The nurse didn't seem to pick up on it, however, and did his best to engage Anna in conversation. Vandal watched intently. He was very unwilling to ask himself why, but it was incredibly satisfying to him to see Anna blow off the nurse without hesitation. The young man retreated sulkily and Anna turned around and looked straight into Vandal's face. He smirked. She walked back over to him and tapped him accusingly on his chest.
"Why'd you do that?" she asked, clearly at least a little annoyed.
About time, Vandal thought. "Do what exactly?" he replied smoothly.
"Send that…pup my way," she clarified, sitting down in a chair beside him.
He snorted. "Dogs don't need encouragement to chase after a b-"
"Is it because you wanted to prove we weren't dating?" Anna interrupted. "Because if so that backfired on you."
Vandal shut his mouth abruptly.
Anna was almost laughing. "Because now…" she said. "He just thinks you get off on seeing other guys flirt with me."
"You told him that?" Vandal sneered.
"I didn't say a thing," Anna grinned. "I didn't deny anything either…" She scooted a little closer to him. "After all, he was almost right. You just get off on seeing me turn down other guys. Details…"
She turned to get up and move away but Vandal stopped her.
"Now what?" she laughed, sitting back down.
"What is it you want?" he demanded.
"What makes you think I want something?" she said. "I've already told you I don't want anything from you in particular."
"Why would a posh chick like you be interested in me? For my charming personality? Oh no, I won't make that mistake again."
"Don't sell yourself too short," she smiled.
"What is it?" Vandal insisted. "Do you want something with the blood bank?"
"If I wanted access to your blood bank I could have asked the management, they love me," Anna smirked. "Or rather, they love the illusion that I'm going to put this hospital on the map."
He scowled at her.
"No," she said lightheartedly. "I just like you, sorry."
She smiled sweetly at his frozen expression and gave his arm a playful squeeze. She was about to turn away when something sparked in her eyes. "Oh, before I forget," she said, putting her hand in the pocket of her blazer. She took out a business card and slipped it into his hand.
Vandal was too baffled to refuse it.
"This is a networking event after all," Anna winked and this time she really did walk away. "See you later…"
.
Later turned out to be that same week. Anna caught Vandal getting ready to go home after a night shift and instead of listening to her small talk he said bluntly:
"I'm going home. Were you planning on coming with?"
"If that's an invitation, sure," Anna smiled, not in the least indignant. "I'm up for seconds."
He grimaced. He ought to break that nurse's jaw. Anna was laughing at him. Vandal gave her a strange look. She didn't seem at all offended. Was she serious? Did she really want to come home with him again? She had been chatty, but now she was silently. Seemingly waiting patiently for him to make up his mind, an amused smile on her lips. He wavered. It had been a frustrating shift, he could use some relaxation…
"Why are you even here still?" he asked.
"I forget the time," she said dismissively.
Vandal regarded her silently for a moment. He wasn't trying to decide whether to trust her or not. He was trying to decide whether the fact that he didn't trust her in the slightest was enough to overrule how much he wanted to screw her.
Anna smiled and said: "I see how it is. Well, I'll leave you be. Good night, Mr Cleaver."
Her voice wasn't grave, it was playful, and she closed her sentence by leaning forward and pressing a kiss on the edge of his cheek and the corner of his mouth. Before she could pull away Vandal involuntarily raised his hand and grabbed her by the back of her neck. He kissed her hungrily and Anna closed the distance between their bodies, standing as close to him as she could without pressing up against him. Vandal let go and gave her a hooded look. If she was really into this, he was a fool for passing up the opportunity.
"Come on then," he growled and turned abruptly to the door.
Anna followed him in silence, with a self-satisfied smile on her face. She was quiet during the drive to his apartment. Vandal didn't say anything either, he focussed on driving. As much as he could focus at all. Half of his mind was cursing at him for letting this woman play him like this and the other was thinking of everything he wanted to do to her. Last time had been over too quickly…
As soon as the door of his apartment closed behind them Anna's arms were around him.
"Little too eager aren't we, princess?" he said, grinning into the kiss Anna pressed on his lips.
"Less talk, more fucking," she commanded.
Vandal grabbed her, turned her around and pinned her against the nearest wall. She let out a startled breath and stared at him.
"We'll get to that, princess," he smirked. "I'm going take my time this time around though."
Her eyes sparked. He let go of her and moved away, shrugging off his coat and kicking off his shoes.
"Loosen your hair," he ordered.
"Why, it'll get everywhere," Anna protested impatiently, throwing her coat and blazer onto a chair.
Vandal turned around. That damn tight bun still looked too much like Therese's. "You let me worry about that," he said.
Anna raised her eyebrows at him. He smirked and stood, just looking at her. She relented, with the minutest smile on her lips. Slowly she unravelled her bun, tucking hair ties and pins in the pockets of her jacket. Finally she lifted her hair with her hands and shook her head so it tumbled messily past her face.
"Better?" she asked.
"Perfect," Vandal grinned.
.
It was at least an hour before either of them spoke a proper sentence again.
"Well fuck, princess," Vandal chuckled. "You sure can scream." He let go of Anna's hair and released his grip on her hip. He was sure there would be bruises where his fingers had dug into her body.
Anna made an unintelligible noise and nearly fell forward into the mattress. Vandal savoured the sight of her, completely undone. She rolled onto her back, still short of breath.
"Always nice to have a woman who is vocal about what she likes, " he smirked, letting himself fall down beside her. He sprawled out lazily, relishing the complete relaxation that came after his entire body being tensed up. It was blissfully quiet in his head, he could hear only himself.
Anna made the occasional appreciative sound, but didn't speak until her breathing had gone back to normal. Then she lifted her legs off the mattress to stretch them and groaned softly. "You are terribly hard on my legs," she teased. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you'd want to prevent me from leaving."
Vandal didn't answer. He looked at her as she got up and looked around for her clothes. Silently he watched her getting dressed. She was as attractive now he was sated as when he had still been rearing to get at her. That was a little annoying, it was unusual.
"What's sexier," Anna asked, drawing on her stockings. "Getting dressed or getting undressed?"
"All the same to me," Vandal answered without thinking about it.
"Really?" she said, putting her hair up in a ponytail. "That surprises me. You're so particular about other things."
He was too sleepy and satisfied to even give her a scornful look.
"Good morning," she said with a smile. "Sleep tight." She blew him a kiss and padded out of the room. A minute later he heard the clicking of her short heels and the opening and closing of the door.
And with that, he thought, she was gone again. He glanced at the clock. They had been at it for a long time. He had not expected this to happen. No matter how Anna acted he had still thought all she really could have felt towards him was curiosity and that should have been sated after the first time. Well, whatever she needed or wanted, she was gone now. It was no use agonizing over it right this instant. He closed his eyes. He had never had a woman who came so close to keeping up with his ghoulish stamina. Anna must be fitter than she looked, or have a rather high pain threshold. He yawned. His whole body was absolutely humming with contentment. Vandal fell asleep before any new thoughts could come to plague him.
.
The streets of LA were bleak in the pale morning light, but Anna looked rosy and lovely. She walked to the nearest cab hail with a smile on her face. If all ghouls were like that in bed it seemed almost a waist to destroy the race. She had never known… As she got in the cab she couldn't repress a grin as she told herself that there was certainly more to Vandal than it had seemed the first time. He was a lot more talented than she'd given him credit for. So much the better, she loved combining business and pleasure. She gave the cabby her address downtown and sat back with a satisfied sigh. The driver glanced back at her and she looked back unabashed. She knew she looked mussed up and she didn't care. She was feeling triumphant. Some guys were impossible to get rid of, but other's took a lot of drawing in, those were the fun ones. Vandal was a fun one. Anna closed her eyes and remembered something the girls used to tell each other at college: once is a fling, twice is a thing, thrice and you've gotten under his skin.
…
A/N: I rarely write sexual content and I never write about casual sex at all so this is uncharted territory for me. This story won't be all fades to black but I figured this was a good starting point.