A/N: Thanks so much for all the positive response I'm receiving for this ficlet that has turned into a long story. I hope you are enjoying reading as much as I am writing. Things in the following chapter are a little more serious than the others, but don't worry, the fluff will continue in the next one. This chapter also takes a turn toward an "M" rating, for some heightened uh…sensuality. Hope you like it as much as Josef did, lol.

Chapter 6

JOSEF

"Bring your pretty little neck in here, Miss Smith; I'm hungry."

There was an uncharacteristic hesitation, then: "Yes sir," was the solemn reply.

So, the ballsy Miss Smith was a little squeamish when it came to her freshie duties. But I knew she would do her duty—she always did-and hopefully the recent flowers and chocolate had loosened her up a little, allow her to enjoy it. She knocked softly, and I surprised her by opening the door for her.

"Oh," was all she said, then went past me into my office. She moved to sit in a chair.

"No," I said seductively, "please stand."

I stood in front of her, inhaling her freshness, drinking in her loveliness before I drank in her blood. She was again in a skirt and form-fitting short-sleeved sweater, and her shoes made her only a few inches shorter than me. Perfect. She stared straight ahead, not meeting my eyes, apparently bracing herself for what was to come. Well, that wouldn't do.

I stepped back. "I didn't call you in to stand before a firing squad," I said gruffly.

"I'm just doing my job, sir. Sorry if I displease you."

"I thought you hadn't minded it during your interview. Having second thoughts about the requirements of this position?"

That made her look at me. "No. It's just that—"

"What?"

She sighed. "May I be perfectly frank, Mr. Kostan?"

"Aren't you always?"

"Usually…I just don't know quite how to say this without losing this job."

I grinned at her discomfort. "I promise you will not lose your job so long as you are being honest with me."

"Okay…well…I've spoken to other girls who are regular freshies in the building. They tell me that it is unusual for the vampire to bite their—bite them on the neck. The arm is apparently the most professional location."

"Hmmmm…What difference does it make? Blood is blood. It's all the same no matter what part of the body it comes from." I of course knew that biting a woman's neck was usually saved for the long-standing freshies, especially when the vamp is sleeping with them, and most often outside the workplace. It was somehow more intimate that way, and certainly was more arousing for both parties. Obviously, that was what I was hoping for with Penny Smith.

"I think you know the difference…sir," she said, eyeing me speculatively. Not falling for my bullshit was one of the reasons I wanted this woman so much. She met my eyes bravely, hers stubborn and self-righteous. I knew I could still make a woman come just by sucking on her arm; it was just a little more challenging. I decided I'd take pity on her, but first, I'd enjoy teasing her a little.

"You know," I whispered, moving in closer to her neck again, breathing in her sweet-smelling hair. My hands were at her shoulders like before. "There are other places I could bite you that would be as equally gratifying for you as it is for me. You probably wouldn't feel like I was taking advantage of you if I bit you…there." One of my hands slid down to rest at her hip, just a little ways from the artery I was implying.

She blushed, and her heartbeat accelerated. Miss Smith was embarrassed! How delightful.

"But this is business, Mr. Kostan, not pleasure," she said, trying to put more force into her voice.

"Why are they mutually exclusive?" I touched my tongue lightly on her jugular, and she shivered involuntarily. I myself wasn't immune to her proximity; she turned me on more than any woman had in a long time, and I realized that I was playing with fire here. I didn't want her to have that much control over me, so I shook my head a little to clear it, then led her gently to the red damask sofa against one wall of my office. I sat beside her, taking up her wrist, turning it over.

"Very well, then, Miss Smith, if this would make you feel more comfortable…"

"Yes, thank you sir," she said in relief, relaxing slightly. I smiled to myself. I'll relax you even more, baby.

As I looked at the milky whiteness of her exposed forearm, I felt a little tremble go through me. I spent a moment delicately sniffing up and down her arm, delighting in feeling the goose bumps and light shivers my near-touches evoked. Then, I licked and nibbled on the area with blunt teeth, preparing us both for what was to come. One hand held her arm, while my other rested casually on her knee, just below her skirt. As I willed myself to vamp out, I looked up at Penny, meeting her darkening, slightly dilated eyes with my vampire silver ones, then slid my hand slowly beneath her skirt, meeting her garter, then one bare inner thigh. She didn't protest, but her breathing quickened, and her blood pounded in her waiting veins.

The moment I closed my eyes and latched on to her arm, my hand found her panties and slipped inside. She gasped with a mixure of pleasure and pain, and I felt myself growing impossibly hard as her blood filled my mouth like warm honey. My fingers delighted in the sudden wetness I met within her panties, and while I continued to feast, I slipped one finger inside. She moaned softly, her eyes closed, head resting against the back of the sofa. It only took a few minutes, with the combined sensations of my mouth and my fingers, for her thighs to begin to tremble, her hips bucking against me as she found release.

"Oh, Mr. Kostan," she breathed. "Oh, God!"

I detached from her forearm, licking the wound as she came down, slowing the movement of my fingers in time with the slowing of her breathing. And, while her eyes were still closed, I licked my lips, and moved up to cover her mouth with mine, a sweet, tentative meeting that she returned with impossibly soft lips.

"Well," I whispered against her lips, "I guess if Mick is Jesus, it's alright to call me God."

In hindsight, that was probably one of the worst things I could say.

"What?" Her eyes flew open, taking in the picture we made in an instant. My hand was still resting against her crotch, her skirt pushed up to expose her thighs, her arm decorated with two perfect holes, slightly inflamed. And my still vamped face close to hers. She obviously didn't like what she was seeing.

She sat up, pushing my hands away, smoothing her skirt down as she got shakily to her feet.

"You bastard! I told you, no sex!"

I smirked. "Sweetheart, I believe we are both still fully dressed, and the only things of mine that went into you were my fangs and my fingers. That's not sex. That's just…fun."

"Ohhh! You are the most arrogant—"

"Yes?"

I could see her struggling for a word that wouldn't get her fired. I watched the conflicting emotions on her face before she decided to switch tracks. "You glamoured me, didn't you?"she accused, anger and satiation making her voice somewhat rougher than usual. "I've heard vampires can do that. Lull their victims into submitting to them, hypnotizing them with their…charm."

I laughed heartily. "I do so love that old wives' tale. If only it were true. Honey, while I am overwhelmingly charming, I can't make you feel something you don't want to feel, and I wouldn't make you do something you didn't want me to." I reverted back to human form. "What can I tell ya—I just know how to treat a woman right."

"By drinking her blood? Everything I've heard about you is true. You are a monster. A charming monster, but a monster nonetheless. This will not happen again! You can fire me right now, but I won't be another notch on your-" she was at a loss a moment, then: "your coffin!" She grabbed the doorknob, intending that to have been the last word.

With vampire speed, I was in front of her, banging the door shut, pushing her up against it so she could feel just what she was doing to me.

"First of all," I breathed, my eyes an inch away from her surprised, bespectacled ones, "I don't sleep in a coffin. And secondly, we both wanted it. You may think that I have power over you, but believe me, Miss Smith, you have more control over me than you know." I moved my pelvis forward, fully emphasizing my point, wanting her so much that my small admission of weakness seemed a small price to pay to be allowed to bury myself inside of her.

Her calm words belied the quickening of her heart. "You're my boss, Mr. Kostan. You hold my future in my hands. And I want to earn my place in this company through my work, not in your bed—or whatever."

"It wouldn't be like that," I murmured, my lips hovering over hers. "Come on, Miss Smith, let me show you how we could be together. I won't let it interfere with work, I promise."

I took her mouth, but it was just a fleeting taste before she surprised me by pushing on my chest hard enough that she could open the door wide enough to slip outside. "No!" she said in a frantic whisper, so unlike her that I let her go.

I leaned my forehead against the door, my thoughts dizzy with unfulfilled arousal, the blood that I could still taste in my mouth, and the scent of her desire that still lingered in my empty office.

MICK

It was a new week, which meant a new start in my wooing of Miss Smith. I didn't have to work late anymore, so I was hoping she'd take me up on her raincheck for a nightcap. I'd spent Saturday night at a freshie party at Josef's- all you can eat. I had drunk my fill and even allowed one of the more demonstrative freshies to relieve some of the sexual tension I'd been feeling with an expert hand job in Josef's bathroom. I felt a twinge of guilt about it, being both technically married and also pursuing another woman at the same time, but I comforted myself with the fact that I'd been fantasizing about Penny Smith the entire time. And when Josef raised an amused eyebrow when the freshie and I left the bathroom, I decided right then that if I were going to be a free agent, guilt couldn't be a part of that. Next time, I'd let her use her mouth.

I parked my car in the multileveled garage beneath Kostan Tower, and, as luck would have it, I noticed that Penny must have just arrived. I could walk her up to her desk. I smiled in pleasure at the thought. She was sitting in her car across the garage, talking earnestly with another woman. I leaned forward and saw that it was Linda, Josef's former secretary. Huh. That was weird. Penny had been very derisive in her description of Linda during her interview. I had had the feeling then that they were not friends. Watching them talk, I wondered if I should reevaluate that impression. Curiosity impelled me to quietly get out of my car, and move stealthily behind other cars, making my way closer to Penny's little MG convertible so I could eavesdrop.

"…I know he killed James; I just can't prove it." Linda was talking about James Martin, my predecessor, who was likely contributing to the fossil count in La Brea as they spoke.

"You've been working for Kostan long enough to realize how he abuses his power," she continued, venom dripping from every word. "He treated my like a feedbag, never giving me a raise or bonus, and I worked hard for that man. I can't go up there anymore, Penny; security won't admit me. But you can. Just lure him down here and I'll do the rest. Please. You owe me."

I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut. Was Penny in on a plot to kill Josef? I waited anxiously to hear her reply.

"Stay here," she told Linda, getting out of her car. She walked briskly to the elevator. I was torn. I could follow Penny and warn Josef, or go ahead and capture Linda. When the elevator closed behind Penny, I looked over at Penny's car and made my decision. What I didn't count on was the fact that Linda had a stake in her lap…and that she knew how to use it.

A/N: A cliffie, you say? Yes! You'll just have to pass the time waiting for the next chapter by leaving me a review .

This idea of Linda seeking revenge was my actual plan from the start; I just got sidetracked with the fun of Mick and Josef's competition over Penny Smith. But don't think that Josef has won yet. There are still more chapters on the way!