How uncomfortable.
She shifted and opened her eyes, then jumped up and called his name. The apartment remained quiet, so she stood up and stretched. The DVD was long done and, and the morning sun shone on the remote control. Amaya was about go to the bathroom when she peered down again at the table and spotted the sketchbook. She picked it up and smiled, running her hands across his words.
Wait, his dog? How very odd.
Amaya put the sketchbook back down and, bathroom forgotten, quickly opened her front door, and just as the note said, a black dog turned around from its sentinel stance and wagged his tail at her. She smiled, and while the dog had not looked friendly a second earlier, now she felt it was ok to pet him.
"Come on inside boy, I think I have the perfect breakfast for you."
The dog barked and licked her hand, then followed after her. She led him into the kitchen, where she opened the refrigerator and from a covered bowl gingerly pulled out a raw piece of meat and put it on a plate. The blood pooled on the bottom and she set it down before the animal.
"This should settle your appetite."
He took one look at her and pounced on the bloody thing.
Amaya took a step back, but smiled nonetheless.
Definitely a good protector. No wonder he left him here. But to walk all the way to his apartment, and then probably drive all the way back with his dog? That'd admirable.
A minute later, the plate was clean; he'd even licked up the blood. When Amaya looked into his face, the dog seemed to be almost smiling, a smile way too familiar for her.
Well, dogs are supposed to look like their masters. She chucked to herself as she picked up the plate.
"Now you stay here, I'm going to dress quickly and then we'll leave."
The dog bowed to her on one leg and promptly lay down on the kitchen rug. Amaya stepped away and peeled off her top as she stepped into the bedroom. The dog's eye followed her movements, but otherwise it did not move. She did think the dog's behavior was a little strange though.
Inside the bedroom, Amaya sighed and looked up at the dress she'd wear at dinner.
God bless The Little Black Dress.
She picked up the business card with the appointment time to her salon and looked at it briefly before putting it in her purse. But instead of gathering her clothes for the day, she sat down on the edge of her bed.
You still don't know his last name. What is he asking of you? He asked if I wanted to know everything. I said yes. What is everything? That tent was real, and so are all of the things in it. Those fairies, that song, dancing with him, it was all real. I even picked off a little leaf from my clothes that had been in the fairies' enclosure after I got home. And what about those eyes? I understand purple ones even, but red? But wow is he a fine dresser. And he's so kind. And strong.
Amaya spied the unicorn that now sat on her dresses and smiled.
Oh what the hell, I'm up for it. It's the most exciting thing that's happened since I got here.
Out flew a pair of jeans and t-shirt from her closet, followed by sandals, and Amaya quickly jumped into the shower. Still almost dripping, she donned them on. She'd never been in such a hurry in her life. The quicker she got to work, the quicker she could leave to the salon.
Not bothering to put on any makeup, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door before turning 180 degrees and locking eyes with the dog still lying down on her kitchen rug.
"Well come on, you", she said giggling. The dog jumped up and ran after her. Amaya hurried to the elevator, and as she stepped in, the dog followed suit. One of the other tenants, an old woman, stepped in too and looked at the dog.
"Dear, I didn't know you'd gotten a dog", she remarked kindly.
Amaya blushed and said, "Oh, it's not mine, it's my boyf—, it's my friend's."
The lady smiled at her and winked. The dog looked between them very focused. The elevator dinged then, and they were out in the lobby. She opened the door to the street, stepped out and right as she was about to say something to the dog, a horn honked and her attention was drawn. When she looked back down, the dog bowed once again quickly and ran in the other direction.
"Curiouser and curiouser, huh Alice?" She murmured to herself.
oooo
"Amaya, be careful! What are you doing?", exclaimed Henry as her pulled her hand away from the paper. Her other was coming quite close to cutting it with the Exacto blade it held.
"Huh?" Amaya looked at his face and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Just sit and work with the color. Let me handle that cutting. I swear, this guy better be worth it if he has you in such a trance."
"Trance? Why, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Excuse me, but is a Ms. Amaya Guerra in this office?"
Amaya and Henry both looked up and she said, "I am her."
"Ah, very well, then these are for you." The carrier brought around a bouquet of red roses and sat it down in front of Amaya. She tried a quick guesstimate, and she could not come up with a number less than 20 for the rose count.
The carrier walked away after receiving her signature. "You were saying?" Henry crossed his arms and plucked the petite envelope from the bouquet. "Here you go, you horrible liar."
Amaya snatched the envelope and opened it frantically.
You did say you liked roses. I hope you like these. My driver will pick you up at 8:00 P.M. sharp.
Until then,
Alucard
"Oh my." She looked at her watch and saw it was nearly 4:00.
"Well, what did it say? Let me see!"
"Henry, I need to leave to the salon now." Amaya grabbed her bag, and without another word, stepped out of her office.
Henry looked at her retreating back and whistled at the roof. "Never have I seen that woman leave early."
oooo
7:30.
Amaya looked at the clock on the wall once again, before looking at her nails, once again. They were long and bright red. She'd told the manicurist to file them down at little as possible.
The dress fit beautifully. It was simple, but Amaya felt it'd do the job. The halter made her neck look long, graceful, and the plunge in the front accentuated her breasts. She'd decided on a very simple black necklace. Her back was just enough exposed, and the dress ended 3 inches above her knees. Never satisfied with her height, her heels were as tall as she could find them. She'd told her stylist to iron her hair as straight as possible, and now it reached almost the bottom of her back.
At 7:55 she put her shawl on, and at 8:00, right as she stepped out and the building door closed behind her, she turned and saw a black car heading her way. Amaya gasped. It was a Phantom, A Rolls Royce Phantom. The driver stepped out of the car and asked, "Ms. Guerra?"
Amaya nodded and he took her hand and helped her step into the car.
This is not happening. This is too good to be happening.
Amaya looked around her and slid her hand over the leather seat. She smiled in the dark. She noticed the car was moving at very high speeds, but she did not feel at all unsafe. The entire ride seemed so smooth. And she noticed how strange it was that the streets of London were so empty on a Friday evening.
"Miss? Miss? We're here."
"Oh I'm sorry, I must have spaced off."
"It's quite alright Miss," he said as he extended his hand to her. She stepped out of the car and took in the building before her. The restaurant did not have a name, only the numbers of the address in red neon above the door in Gothic lettering. The walls were covered in ivy, and the windows were quite large, she could not see through them though, curtains shielded everything inside from view. She was so wrapped up in the building that she didn't notice the car leaving until it sped up and she saw it disappearing in the darkness. She looked around, and noticed that she was all alone at the door of the place. Not one single person walked on the street, and no car passed by her.
But at that moment the restaurant's doors opened and what she guessed must have been the host, stepped out and greeted her.
"This way mademoiselle, he has been waiting for you."
The second he uttered those words, her heart began to pound in her chest. She took a deep breath and followed. She stopped breathing though, when she saw that there was only one table in the entire restaurant. It was placed in the center of the room. He sat there, with his back to her, and it looked like his hands were laced together and under his chin, waiting.
Amaya hardly took notice of the candle lit surroundings, the paintings on the walls, or the live band playing the song that had brought them together on that first night. She walked as if in a fantasy. The host pulled out her chair for her, and helped her sit, but by that time, her eyes were glued to his.
He was beautiful. She had no other words for it. Simply beautiful. His hair lay on his shoulders perfectly, his red eyes enchanted her, his pale skin tonight looked exquisite, and the mouth that curved up into a small smile, mesmerizing.
"I trust you find this place suitable, my dear."
Amaya smiled through her full, red, glossy lips and said, "Yes, it's breathtaking. You've made everything perfect."
"I'm glad you like it." Alucard then reached across the table and lightly took her hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed it. "You look beautiful tonight, Amaya. That dress looks divine on you. You didn't have to wait long for my driver I hope?"
"No, not at all. He was there as I stepped out of my building." She looked down at her hand, it was on the table, but he did not stop caressing it with his thumb.
"Perfect. Tell me, would you like something to eat now? I did say this would be a dinner."
"Yes, dinner would be perfect now. Is there a menu?"
He chuckled. "Actually, no, there is not," he gestured to the three waiters that she now noticed were standing off to one side of the room, "they are here to cook whatever you would like."
"Alucard, how is that possible?" She said, turning to the three men who waited patiently before her.
"Do not worry about it miss, trust in us, we will not disappoint."
Amaya looked at the three men and began, "Alright then, since you insist. And please, do not make fun. When I was a little girl, my parents took me to a restaurant in Cuba, and there I had the most fabulous pasta with shrimp..."
When the men left, Alucard began laughing.
"Did I say something wrong?" Asked Amaya anxiously.
"No nothing at all. It's just that you were so timid at first, and then you made up your mind and you had so much confidence in describing your food. I'm sorry, maybe it sounds silly, but I thought it was rather funny."
Amaya shifted in her seat and said, "You know, I certainly don't believe for a moment now that you work in security."
He flashed another smile at her and shook his head, "I do, sort of work in security. I'm quitting though, I've decided that I no longer find that job... stimulating."
"You said I could ask you personal questions tonight Alucard, can I ask now?"
"No, not yet, talk to me about your day first."
oooo
Dinner was a dream for Amaya; she'd never been charmed so much in her life, and the food reminded her of the restaurant in her country, but the curiosity began to get to her.
"Would you care to dance?"
"I would love to."
He stood and took her hand, leading her to the empty floor. The room dimmed, until only a soft spotlight on the floor remained. The classical music being played sped up lightly, and Alucard twirled her in his arms. He looked at her completely then; at her dark makeup and black hair, at her lovely eyes and curvaceous body, at the hand that was in his, and at the nails that lightly grazed his palm. She looked up at him expectantly, and bit her lower lip. His eyes widened an almost imperceptible amount, but she caught it. She looked at his mouth, and he licked his lips. Amaya moved the hand that rested on his back and gently ran her nails along his scalp. Alucard shut his eyes momentarily before opening them up again quickly grabbing her waist and closing the distance between them.
"No more stalling," he said as he touched his forehead to hers.
"No more stalling," she repeated. She felt his breath on hers, mingling, and it was driving her crazy. She wanted him to kiss her so badly, she needed him to.
"You want to know who I am?" He whispered, still with his forehead against hers.
"Yes," she whispered back.
He closed his eyes then, and began to speak, "People have called me many things, they have called me a monster, they have called me their savior, the have cowered before me, offered me their children, and thrown celebrations in my honor. My mother named me Sorin, but you might recognize me better under the name...Dracula."
He opened his eyes and moved his face away until she could see it completely. She saw him as he really was. Amaya saw the wild, passionate eyes, the infectious grin, and the fangs, shining under the light. She saw his need to have her with him, but when she remained quiet, she felt some sort of nervousness coming from him as well. She was fascinated. Her heart raced in her chest and she took a long time looking at him. She knew her answer, she knew it as soon as she stepped foot in the Phantom earlier that night. Amaya looked into his eyes and did the most direct thing she could think of. She leaned up and kissed him, throwing her arms around his neck in the process. He kissed her back, tasting her soft lips, running his tongue along the bottom one until he opened her mouth and met her tongue. Amaya ran her nails along his scalp and then pulled him even closer, at the same time feeling his arms encircle her body. She'd never felt the need to be this close to someone, not even Marcos. He didn't need to breath, but she pulled away soon and panted for air. Amaya then leaned her head on his chest and smiled into the darkness.
"I take it you don't mind my past?" She giggled and looked up at him.
"As long as you don't have those three brides everyone's talking about."
He scoffed and smiled, "Please, that was centuries ago, and besides, concubines is more like it."
She hit his chest playfully. "Hey! Respect for the mortal here."
"Has the night been perfect, my love?" He tilted up her chin to meet his eyes with one strong hand. Amaya nodded and smiled. "Good, then I have something else I need to discuss with you."
"I am a man of tradition. If I have allowed you into my world, it is because I think of you as more than a passing fancy. The respect I have for you I have not given to anyone in centuries, and I will never give it again," he took both of her hands in his and kissed them, "so I want to do things right if I'm going to do them. Amaya, do I have your permission to court you, my lady?"
Amaya looked down for a moment, and he feared the worst, but when her eyes met his again there was joy in them. "I just hope this is not a dream. Yes, yes, yes a million times!"
Alucard grinned and spun her in his arms; her feet clear off the floor. She giggled and screamed. He put her down gently, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "You know, I still don't know your last name."
He smirked and leaned in closely, whispering in her ear.
"Wow, that's a beautiful last name."
"Yes, I love it. Now three people in this world know my last name."
"Who were the first two?" She asked as she took his hand in hers.
"My parents," he said before pulling her in for a quick kiss. She gasped, and was silenced when his mouth met hers.
"Now, would you like to see a castle fit for a queen?" Her eyes widened.
"You mean it actually exists? You have a castle?"
"Well of course, where did you think I lived all this time?"
"But that's impossible; you come see me every night! Wherever your castle is, you can't afford to make such a long journey."
"I haven't lived in my castle for the last 20 years, but before that, yes I did. And distance is not a concern of mine, little one."
"I'm not little you know."
"No", he said grinning, but today you are three inches taller. Anyway, enough small talk, want to see the place I call home?" Amaya nodded and soon found herself wrapped in strong arms and darkness.