As I waited for the blood to heat up in the microwave, I took a minute to try and clear my head. Having a wall between Eric (should I be calling him Mr. Northman? I had no idea) and I did wonders for that process. I no longer felt as though I needed to be in my fight or flight mode, so instead of adrenaline crowding my brain, I started forming questions. If the books and the TV show were to be believed, Eric lived in Louisiana; mostly unbeknownst to the human occupants. Only those involved in the supernatural world knew what was true and what wasn't. For example, bits and pieces of Charlaine Harris' and Anne Rice's work were true enough- just as Stephanie Meyer's work was clearly a load of crap. Either way, southern France was a long way from Louisiana and Eric's normal responsibilities. I peeked out of my kitchen window, hoping Eric wasn't looking back. What in the world was he doing here?

The beeping of the microwave brought me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I shook the bottle to make sure they were evenly heated and poured it into two wineglasses. I don't know what it was, but to me, there was just something a little bit crude about drinking blood from a bottle, especially when company was involved. As I made my way outside, it occurred to me that I could just ask Eric what he was doing here. I had answered his questions to the best of my ability, and from what I understood, vampires based most of their dealings around trades and favors. His eyes caught mine as I approached, handing him his glass and sitting in the chair next to him.

"So," I began, taking a sip of my drink, "what brings you to Cavaillon? I understand that you're currently residing in Louisiana." I waited while he drank, unsure as to whether or not he would answer. To my delight, he did.

"I'm just... passing through, at the moment. A friend of mine called in a favor, and I am here answering her call," he replied. I could tell he was choosing his words carefully, but I knew better than to push it. Some things are just not meant to be shared- especially with people (or species) you just encountered less than a half hour ago.

"I see. Well, I hope you have the time to enjoy France. It's beautiful here. There's nowhere else I would rather live," I said, looking out over fields that led up to my backyard. I couldn't help but gush a little. Living in France had been a dream of mine since I was a little girl, and the allure of it still took my breath away from time to time. When I glanced back, Eric was smiling at me over his wine glass, and I could feel his amusement at my enthusiasm. Without realizing it, I smiled back at him. Well, I'll be damned. A vampire with a contagious smile.

"No matter what my business, France always manages to enchant me. I have no reason to believe this time will be any different. However, I've been far less interested in the country side than I am by those who inhabit it." His smile melted into a smirk as his eyes swept up and down my body again, leaving me feeling a little warmer than usual. "Tell me about yourself."

To say I was taken aback by his request (command?) would be an understatement. I raised my eyebrow at him, mirroring his earlier expression of disbelief.

"Do you really want to know about me? Or my power?" I asked, letting him know I wasn't offended either way by keeping a small smile on my lips.

"Is there a difference?" My smile disappeared as I tried to understand what he meant. But before I could really process, he was already moving on.

"For example, how does a seemingly human woman acquire some of the purest blood I have tasted in a long time?" He underscored his point by taking a drink from his glass, which clinked against his fangs. I knew he could retract his fangs at any time, but he either enjoyed having them out or knew what kind of effect they had on me. I was leaning towards both.

"My job provides me with certain luxuries," I answered smoothly, keeping my eyes locked with his. It was not a lie, but I knew he would not be satisfied with my vague answer.

"Oh? Where do you work, Miss..." he paused, his brow furrowed. "What is your name?" I could feel his bewilderment that I had somehow ended up with the advantage in the name game, but I wasn't all that surprised. As important as names are to me, I don't often ask the name of my food; and I assumed that it wasn't a habit of Eric's either.

"Mr. Northman, you may call me Rae. All my friends do. And where I work is not any more of your business than your real reason for being in France is mine." I was probably happier than I should have been about the fact that I could shock and surprise him, but it wasn't often that I could be completely frank with someone- and for some reason, I felt I could be with Eric. I guess I was banking on the fact that Charlaine Harris had not only gotten his name and home state right, but his personality. So far, she seemed to be just about on mark.

"Understood. But if we are to be friends, then you must call me Eric," he said, his mouth twisting into a smirk as he met my eyes again. Oh, damn. When he looked at me like that, I forgot why people associated heat with the color red. Because the fire I was feeling wasn't red at all. It was pure blue.

Eric and I had been talking for hours. I had no idea how long, exactly, but I knew that I had refilled our glasses twice, and the remnants of our third drinks had long gone cold. We had talked about everything from annoyances of forensic science to our favorite past eras, and more. And we would have gone on talking longer, I was sure, but it seemed that time had run out on us.

"Dawn approaches. I must be going," he explained as he rose from the chair and stretched. I stood as well and averted my eyes, afraid I might just ask him to come back the next night if I caught sight of him stretching and flexing like that. Some things in life were just completely unfair. Eric's body definitely fell under that category. I felt his amusement wash over me as if he knew what I was thinking- and considering all the innuendos and smoldering glances that had been exchanged, he probably did.

"Well, thank you for not killing me and all that. You certainly made the first night of my break an interesting one," I said as I looked back toward him, an impish grin on my face. Before I could blink, he was inches from me instead of feet, his hand curling around the nape of my neck.

"The unexpected pleasure was all mine, Rae." The smile I had been wearing dropped from my face as I inhaled quickly. I closed my eyes as I shivered, hoping to shut out some of the intensity that was so clear in his eyes and in his voice. Whether he took that as an invitation or he was planning on doing it anyway, I don't know- all I know is that my knees nearly buckled at the feel of his cool lips on mine, at the brief slide of his tongue against the seam of my mouth- and before I could react, he was gone.

My hand gripped the side of the table as I adjusted to the sudden weakness of my body, now that he was no longer holding me in place.

"Jesus christ almighty," I breathed, falling back into a chair and pressing my palms to my eyes. "What a night." I hadn't used the name of the Christian deity in a long time, considering I didn't believe in that particular religion- despite the fact that I had been raised that way this lifetime. But this situation definitely called for a little something extra. I had never, EVER experienced chemistry like that- and just in case I might think I had been imagining it, my brain immediately recalled Eric pressing me up against the side of the wall, Eric drinking from the wineglass, Eric laughing, Eric smoldering... oh, CHRIST.

"Okay, time for one of Calix's magic pills," I muttered, finally regaining full control of my limbs and getting up from the chair. As I made my way inside my house, annoyance overtook any left over breathlessness- although it did nothing to help my currently dancing libido.

What is wrong with me? It was just a damn kiss! A kiss from a vampire that is good looking enough for ten vampires, but still just a kiss! Get it together, Rae, or you'll never enjoy your time off.

My thoughts continued to whirr in that general manner as I descended into my basement and towards my bedroom. Although sunlight wasn't actually dangerous to me, my eyes were highly sensitive, and having a light tight bedroom was the only way I could sleep past sunrise.

And after my long night, I was eager to do just that. It wasn't long before I was stripped down to my underwear and had taken care of the rest of my mundane night time needs. I never understood why people slept in clothes; I felt restricted in anything more than a pair of panties. As I climbed into my king sized bed, I took a small brown pill that my friend Calix had put together especially for me. I wasn't a huge fan of modern day medicine with all of its addictive properties and side effects, so having a friend that was really, really good with plants definitely came in handy. I knew that I was going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight, so I just decided to skip the struggle and go straight to the solution.

I double checked to make sure my door was tightly closed- a habit from childhood- and snuggled deep down under my silk sheets and comforter. Within minutes, I fell asleep.