He was glorious. His chest was sprinkled with the same black hair that hung over his forehead. It trickled down his stomach, covering his thighs and legs. He touched my face, his wet thumb gliding across my cheek. His other hand lay on my hip, gently pulling me closer. I couldn't speak, without permission my hands raised on their own, my fingers wrapped around his robust arm.

Time seemed to stop around us, and we stood together, inching closer and closer. His hand crept up my back; the other was gently touching my collar, his thumb tracing my jaw line. It passed under my chin and I gasped feeling the damp flesh of his stomach against mine. My eyes shut as another sound escaped. Tiny drops of water ran down my abdomen and his thumb passed over my lips. My lips parted and he ran over the bottom. I kissed his thumb, twice, three times. I felt his flesh on my teeth and without control my fangs showed themselves. He slid down its side smoothly, reaching its point he pressed lightly, and I felt it go in. His finger swept across my tongue and mouth formed around him. I opened my eyes to see him hunched over, fangs drawn, staring at his finger.

His blood was richer, and stronger than his scent. I tasted the earth, its vegetation, its decay. He pulled out slowly, dragging blood onto my lips. I could feel him pressing into my stomach, but not with his hands. They pulled the shirt off of my head and tossed it aside. Then moved down my sides, his thumbs digging into me. I shut my eyes and thrust myself into him.

His lips were soft and plump, just as they were all those years ago. For a moment he was stunned, then I felt his arm wrap around my waist and I was in the air. Our lips molding to those of the other, locking together and breaking apart only to come together again. I heard, or thought I heard, something crash and break but I was fully mesmerized by the body up against mine.

I had a fistful of his hair when I realized we were atop the massive bed provided by the King. Ondre was on top of me, one of his hands restraining mine above my head, the other undulating over my waist. He pulled away from me and I could see him, the water that covered him moments before had all vanished, his hair was the only part that remained wet and it hung daintily in his hypnotic eyes. He leaned in and we kissed; I felt my body jerk upwards towards him.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes as I felt his hand slip under my waistband. He held me with a light, sensual grip and I whined from the tension. He had my pants off before I could open my eyes, and he straddled me. Feeling my flesh to his almost made up for the decades of silence I had endured, and looking into his eyes as he leaned in I saw something I'd been missing for years. I saw love in his eyes.

Our lips met again, then he turned my head to the side in a powerful motion and I felt his breath on the side of my neck. First it was only his lips, they touched my neck, gradually opening I felt his teeth graze my flesh. I moaned and squirmed underneath him, my hands climbed up his body and dug into his back. He jerked upward hissing in pain and pleasure and I saw the blood pouring over his teeth and knew he had bitten me. I pushed myself to his level and wrapped my arms around his neck, our fangs meeting we pulled away for only a moment, then reconnected.

His hand gripped me wonderfully tightly and perfectly loosely, tugging, pulling, stroking. My head kicked back and my hips bucked against him.

"Lay back." He whispered softly in my ear. I kissed him and obeyed, slinking down to the mattress. He followed me down, kissing my neck, my chest, and then my stomach. His hands moved below and pushed my legs apart.

"Ondre..." I cried, barely able to speak as I felt his mouth kissing what he held so tenderly. He kissed its entire length before I felt his tongue against it, I felt myself resting on his fangs.

My eyes fluttered around in my skull and I could no longer control my breathing. I panted, sharp, gaspy inhales followed by long, breathy exhales. My fingers twisted in his hair, my fingertips stimulating and massaging his scalp. My legs lay open, his arm between them, his fingers prepping something else.

He stopped, only for a moment to flip me over and climb atop me. His lips molded to my neck, gnawing and chewing at my flesh. My hand reached up and gripped him at the base of his skull holding him to me. We pushed against each other in perfect timing; bumping, thrusting, and rattling together.

My neck jerked back and I felt he had entered me. Slow at first, his hand gripped around my shaft he pumped and knocked against me. My legs went weak and I slumped to the bed, totally lost in his momentum. He gasped for air like I did, and could feel him losing resolve. He got faster, much faster and much, much harder. I held my eyes shut and whined underneath him. His fist pumping with his hips I lost control and whimpered before I groaned, releasing 53 years of tension into the bedspread. All of my muscles tightened and I felt him fill my insides. He twitched and jerked inside of me for a moment, then slowly pulled out.

"Fuck..." He said falling to the bed beside me. I couldn't speak, I could barely think. I rolled over on top of him, laying a kiss on his lips before I gave into ecstasy and exhaustion, and fell asleep.


I woke up; fearing last morning had been nothing but a nightmare, only to find my barbarian beneath me. He was still asleep, and for a moment I closed my eyes and relived what happened before we fell asleep. It wasn't long before I felt him move, his hand lightly tracing circles in the flesh of my shoulder.

"Hello there." He said, my eyes still shut.

"Hello." I answered and looked up at him. He was looking at me with a smile on his face and in his eyes.

"You look awful. Rough night?" He joked, but he was right. I could feel the dried blood on my neck and face. I looked at the blanket covering us and saw the dark, starchy reminders of a night of fun.

I smiled looking back to him. "Something like that." Then I remembered where we were, and why we were here and I knew I wouldn't be with him all night. My hand gripped his side and I kissed his bare chest.

"Let's take a shower." He said after a moment of silence. I struggled with the decision, but got up anyway and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Sure, but ugh...What am I supposed to wear?" I motioned towards the destroyed pair of pants on the floor. Ondre laughed from the doorway and pointed towards the set of double doors opposite the bed.

"That's the closet, Annabelle had it stocked before we ever showed up last night."

"What?" Ondre raised an eyebrow and walked to the doors. Throwing them open he revealed an enormous assortment of clothes. I stepped away from the bed and into the closet; there were jackets, blazers, shirts, pants, slacks, jeans, shoes, sneakers, and boots. More clothes than I'd ever seen in one place.

"And all of this is mine?"

"Ours actually." He grabbed my hand and led me away from the clothes and into the bathroom. There I noticed a great dent in the marble of the wall. There were several pieces on the floor and I realized what I heard last night. The crash was us, slamming against the wall as we slammed into each other.

He adjusted a knob on the wall and walked towards the center of the bathroom. My eyes lingered on his body as he walked, and I felt myself heating up. Water began to pour from the shower head that hung from the center of the ceiling and Ondre held his hand out under it.

"Nice and warm..." He turned around, scooped me into his arms and walked me under the water.


There was a knock at the door, and Ondre popped up from the chair he was sitting in.

"That's for me, Love." He was in front of me, and pulled me in close to him. "I'll be back before dawn." He kissed the top of my head, then my lips. A kiss I tried to hold on to, but felt him pulling away. I stopped, and heard him say "Come in please."

A second later the door thrust open; standing in the doorway was the vampire I met the night prior, Annabelle.

"Good evening, all." She smiled, looking poised and sophisticated she was flanked by two of the nameless guards that seemed to be everywhere.

"Good evening, Annabelle." Ondre said, he spoke to her like a friend, someone he knew. He stepped towards her as she turned her attention to me. I stood in the doorway of the bathroom and the room with the door to the hallway; I had been looking through the closet when the knock came. I held my arms over my stomach in an act of modesty and purposefully avoided looking at the guards.

"Hello." I said cautiously.

"Ondre, The King has requested you, at once." He turned around and kissed me once more before thanking Annabelle and walking out, the guards walking on either side of him.

"I see you found the closet. Big isn't it?" She said in the doorway.

I laughed out of nerves and nodded my head.

"Do you need some help going through it all?" She stepped in and towards me.

"Actually, yes." I didn't need her help, but I wanted her company and her information. She smiled and stepped past me into the bathroom. She eyed the slab of marble missing from the wall and cut a sly smile at me. I felt embarrassed, but didn't say anything.

"I suspect the bed is in no better shape, am I right?" She said before stepping into the bedroom.

"Well, it's not ruined." I replied coyly. She laughed and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, this won't be our first broken wall." She continued into the bedroom where she better contained herself. She grabbed the far edge of the blanket and threw it over the bed, revealing clean sheets beneath. She continued into the closet, I followed close behind.

She had a way of walking, moving, that showed absolute confidence and poise. She reminded me of a princess, a princess with the sweetest southern accent I'd heard in decades, but a princess nonetheless. She kept her hands out to her sides, they moved gracefully through the air with each step. Her hair was pulled up in a bun atop her head without a single strand out of place. She stopped before the closet and held her hand up to me.

"Those pants look great." She said, her eyes running up and down my body. "How do you feel about heels?" She raised her eyebrow, and for a moment I was stunned by her intensity.

"Ugh, well. Ondre likes them." I said, biting my bottom lip thinking about how he looked at me at Jacqueline's club.

"So you can walk in them?" That's fantastic. Wait right here!" She squealed, her voice crackling with excitement. Then she took off, moving at vampire speed out of my room. A second later she was back holding two pair of high-heeled shoes. One was a bright crimson red all over. It was solid from the toes to the seven and half inch heel. The other was a loose, wide-mouthed boot; it was made of black leather with spikes embedded in the material. They ran down the heel which was much smaller than the other pair, only being around four inches long.

She laid them both on the bed and entered the closet. Confused, I picked one of the red pair up; it felt like it was made of velvet, but much too large to have fit on her foot. She stepped out of the closet and threw several articles on to the sheets. There were shirts, undershirts, jackets, and a coat. She seemed to be putting together two outfits for me to try, apparently with several options.

One piece caught my eye, it was a black military jacket made with silver detail running in three stripes across the front, each strip had a black button triangle detail of the end which acted in place of a zipper. Its sleeves came just past the elbows, and were slightly bunched. I picked it up and looked it over in my hands. It was absolutely incredible.

"Nice isn't it?" Annabelle said, snatching me from my fantasy.

"Nice? This is amazing." She giggled.

"It's yours." I looked up to see her grinning at me, her hands were cupped and she nodded her head once.

"Thank you, Ms.-"

"Oh, Lord. Please, call me Annabelle. And you're very welcome." She touched my arm in an act of familiarity. I loved it, and it was very kind of her to give it to me, she was clearly here to buy me on behalf of the side of The King.


I looked at myself in the mirror and I had to admit, Annabelle knew fashion. Under my new jacket she had me wearing a red snakeskin print shirt. It was longer than the jacket and draped asymmetrically over my hips. My pants were skin-tight and slate grey, they ran seamlessly down my legs tucking into the wide-mouthed opening of the black boots Annabelle brought from her room. I was more than enough to shame the most stylish of supermodels.

I played with my hair, sweeping it from one side to another. Then I grabbed my jacket, pulling at the up-turned collar.

"Very1990's." Annabelle said stepping behind me. She stood to the left, because even in her sky-high heels I was taller than her. "You look fantastic." She straightened out my shoulders and collar, then adjusted my shirt. It felt awkward, but I let her go on. After a second she felt I was acceptable and backed away.

"Well, now that you're dressed I was wondering if you'd like to see the house. The King insists you have the grand tour." She was smiling, and I knew I couldn't turn her down. I nodded and we walked out of the room, doors opening as she came to them. I knew then the rooms weren't as private as I assumed. We walked past the guards and down the long hallway she led me through the morning prior.

"Now. You and Ondre are staying in one of the guest suites, there are several more, but yours is the most luxurious and spacious." She stated, walking along a series of doors which I assumed to be more room for guests. "Every room is equipped with the latest light-blocking technology, even the rooms with windows, although those are few and far between."

After what felt like an entire night of walking, listening, and nodding we stopped in front of the grand staircase which led directly down to the front door of the house.

"Wasn't that bad was it?" Clearly I needed to work on the control I had over my face.

"Well, it's a big house..." She laughed, and then agreed. We walked down the stairs and into the great hall Ondre and I had waited for The King in the night before. Like the rest of the house, there were guards here; they stood motionless at symmetrical intervals around the room.

"Annabelle?"

"Yes?"

"Where did Ondre go?"

"I believe he's out following a lead. He should be back before dawn, is everything all right?" She looked concerned, and I did my best to assure her but it was obvious I was thinking of him. I missed him.

"Leon! I see Annabelle had her way with you." I heard The King's booming voice call out. He was coming in from the far side of the room alone, his imposing figure nearly filling out the doorway.

"I can't say it's all her fault, I picked the shoes." I crossed my legs and placed my hands on my hips, turning my face towards the ceiling, feigning my best pose. Annabelle giggled, covering her mouth and ducking her head slightly. The King held his stomach in laughter and I saw one of the guards snicker, and I couldn't help myself, I broke character and joined in.

"Annabelle, do you mind if I take Mr. Karston off your hands for a moment."

"Not at all." She curtseyed and looked up at me momentarily. "Goodbye Leon." She ducked out of the room and I was alone with The King, for the most part.

"So really, you picked out those shoes?" He leaned over, looking at them.

"Well, she brought me a few options, but these just felt the most vampire to me."

He nodded his head and grinned.

"I like you Mr. Karston. I'd like to proposition an agreement if you'd hear me out."

I was nervous; there was no way I could refuse him. I could at least hear him out, this had to be good.

"Please, I'd love to negotiate." I smiled and held my hand out for his arm. He returned my smile and scooped my hand up on his arm, leading me out of the room we walked for a moment and came to a large set of doors, guards on either side.

"Gentlemen." He said and they dipped their heads and opened the doors, revealing an incredible garden complete with paving marble and ornate French light posts.

"I need your help Mr. Karston. Ondre's bringing in a human we believe to be the killer working on behalf of Jacqueline."

"And you need me to give him a listen, try to make sense of the second of voice I heard and match it to his?"

"That's all." He sounded passive; I could hear he was desperate for help. "You've seen I treat my friends well Mr. Karston, very well. You help me with this small favor, and you could become my newest, most appreciated friend."

I thought for a moment.

"And if this man's not the one I heard on the phone?" The King was silent, and I could see the tiny winkling of a tear form in his eye.

"Then we hunt until we find the man you heard." We walked for a time, and I weighed my options. I didn't want to get mixed up in this, but I felt Jacqueline deserved justice for taking so much vampiric life. I thought of the car, and the limo Ondre had driven me in. The coat I was wearing, the room I had slept in. Then I thought of Ondre, and my mind was made up.

"Mr. Smith. I'd love to." I held my hand out; The King smiled a great smile and shook my hand with great vigor.

"Thank you, Leon." He said, and as he broke away from me I felt something in my hand. It was an incredible wad of cash, a roll of one hundred dollar bills. "Say nothing of it, my friend." I held it in my hand and tucked it into the inside pocket of my jacket, feeling no different than I had a moment before. Money made no matter to me, but if he had more clothes to give, I'd listen to any human he brought to me.

"Excuse me, I hate to break a moment like this but I'm parched. Could I get a Tr-"

The King held a finger up to silence me and pointed towards Annabelle walking down the paved walkway, holding a glistening platter, a bottle of TruBlood in the center.

"Mr. Smith, Mr. Karston." She said passing me after I took the bottle. "Mr. Smith, it would appear you have a visitor." He thanked her, and excused himself. "Mr. Karston, if you'd like to accompany me The King would like you to wait in the great hall while he and his guest get more acquainted." Her voice held a sinister bite, and I knew who The King's visitor was. Ondre had arrived, vampire-slayer in tow.