It was the most amazing sex I had ever had. Well for one thing it was consensual, and the second thing I found out that I like women a hell of a lot more than I liked men. I guess I had my upbringing to thank for that. Or Pam. Whichever it was a great night for me. Even if I felt like a limp rag afterwards. Pam had bit me again. It seemed sex and biting went hand and hand for vampires.

We fell apart from each other, my chest was rising and falling rapidly as I slowly came down from the mountaintop. "Was this your first time with a woman?" she asked draping her arm across my stomach. This must be a favorite position for her. She kissed my back. I didn't know if I was up for another round. Pam had a limitless reserve of energy, I didn't.

I nodded. "It was the first time anyone asked," I confessed, and as soon as I said it I hated that I had. I didn't want to seem like a whiner. Because I wasn't. I had dealt with those demons a long time ago.

She moved my shoulder so that I was staring up at her. She looked at me for a long time and I squirmed under her intense gaze. "Is he dead?" she asked me.

"No." I told her.

"What is his name?"

"Carlise Jackson." Saying his name triggered memories I didn't want to have. I was over that part of my life. Pam nodded and laid down on the bed like someone had cut her strings. Her eyes closed and she grew still. "Pam," I rolled over and shook her. "Pam," I shook her again. What the hell? I shook her again, as hard as I could.

She opened a blurry eye, "Daylight," she groaned and went back to sleep. I looked up toward the window and could have fallen out of the bed. We were in a room with solid walls. No windows, nothing. So how did she know it was daytime? I collapsed next to her and mentally kicked myself for freaking out. I closed my eyes and let my breathing regulate itself. When I had finally relaxed I looked at Pam.

She was as still as the grave. Not moving at all. None of the tossing and turning I do when I sleep. It was a bit uncanny and I edged out of the bed and stumbled to the bathroom. She had bit me again during sex, that time in the thigh. And I was feeling, well a little drained. It was weird and almost claustrophobic being in a room with no windows, but I just needed to get to the bathroom.

The bathroom was huge with a sunken tub against the far wall. I longed for a soak, but I knew if I got in the tub I wouldn't get out. So it was off to the shower I went. I yelped like a wet cat when the hot water hit me. I was sore everywhere. "Damnit," I seethed as I made myself stand under the water till the pain was just a dull throb. I was usually a shower person who loved the long steaming showers, but today I took the quickest shower I've ever taken. I was utterly spent by the time I had toweled off and fell back into the bed. Pam hadn't moved an inch.

I fell asleep almost as fast as I pulled the covers up around us.

Someone was shaking me awake.

My eyes flew open and focused.

Pam was standing over me, already dressed and holding a cup of coffee. I could have kissed her. "You talk in your sleep." she said as a good morning. I sat up and took the coffee. Her eyes zeroed in on my exposed breasts and her fangs ran out. I took a long drink of my coffee as Pam started nuzzling my neck and massaging my breasts. "Felipe has requested your presence and I have to be with Eric," she explained as she pulled back and rearranged the pastel blue blouse she was wearing. I got out of bed feeling a little better than when I went in. "You can take some B-12 for the blood I took. Or you can take some of mine." I looked at her as I slipped into a matching bra and panty set.

"What?" I pulled on a pencil skirt and routed around in my suitcase for a top.

Pam sat down in a chair in the corner of the room with her legs crossed watching me. "Surely you have heard of people who drink vampire blood." I found the blouse I wanted to wear.

"I've also heard what happens to those people," I pointed out to her. And none of it was pretty or remotely appealing to me. "I'll be fine. Don't worry." I gave her a smile and stepped into the bathroom to brush my teeth and fix my face.

This was the actual "business" meeting and I had to look professional. Last night was fun this was work. So this was going to be a different Ember. I had never wore a tone of makeup, even on stage. The men liked their black women more "natural." So I wasn't going to paint myself up like Snotty. Simple was the way I was going to go. I lined my eyes carefully. I had poked myself enough times to know I didn't like the sensation. I dusted my eyelids with some pale yellow powder that sparkled and made my dark brown eyes pop. It was my favorite eyeshadow. Yellow looked good with my skin tone. I was reaching for my lipgloss when Pam walked into the bathroom.

"You will heal faster with my blood," she shoved her wrist under my nose. "Drink." I turned around and looked at her. Was she crazy?

"Pam," I started to say and I stopped when I saw the look in her eyes. This wasn't a request. I had never been cowed by a look. However there is a first time for everything and today I was cowed by a look. I looked at her bleeding wrist and tried to swallow. It seemed like I wasn't getting out of this. I finally got my lungs to start working and I took a tiny breath and closed my eyes and just pressed my lips to her wrist and sucked. Her blood hit my tongue and I felt my knees go week. Pam pulled me to her chest and held me while I sucked her blood. Her breathing was ragged and she was rubbing up and down my back. This was turning her on.

I couldn't take anymore and I let got of her wrist, blood was on my mouth. I ducked under her arm to wipe the blood off my mouth. My heart was racing like I had taken some speed. I felt like my blood on was fire and it was burning its way out of my skin. I look at her through the mirror. She winked at me and walked out of the bathroom. I waited for my heart to slow down, my forehead had broken out in a sweat and I dabbed at the beads of sweat with a towel.

It took me a minute to calm down and get my hands to stop shaking, but I hated to admit I felt great. I felt like I could have climbed out of the window and flew off into the sunset or something. Not that I was going to try to do that. I just felt like I could. My face looked like it was shinning and my hair looked fuller. Thick and glossy black. I had to stare at myself for a minute. I couldn't believe the change from just a little bit of Pam's blood.

I checked to make sure the makeup that I had done was still fresh and it was still intact. I dabbed on some sheer lipgloss and I was ready to go. Pam was ready with my purse and my jacket. "Thanks." This was the most thoughtful anyone had ever been to me. Well except for the blood drinking thing, but I didn't say anything. My mouth had gotten me into more trouble than it had gotten me out of. And I had a feeling this was just one of those time. Pam kissed me on the cheek and I just smiled at her and we left my room.

I finally got a look at the hotel we were staying in and coming from someone who lived around luxury hotels and this hotel was one star above a motel. But it was trying to hard not to be the hole in the wall in the middle of nowhere it was. The entire scheme was done in black and white. Black rooms and black hallways with white accents. However it looked sad, the white wasn't that Clorox white and the black was tinted with grey, like the whole hotel had been washed one too many times. The elevator was the most interesting thing in the whole place. It was one of those old time elevators with the gilded grates as the level that sent it up and down.

Pam looked mildly interested as she watched me play with the levers. Hey, what can I say I'm still a big kid. We arrived in the lobby to find I was the last to arrive. Felipe didn't seem upset, but Snotty did. I was really getting tired of her.

"Ahh Pam so glad you could enjoy our hospitality." Felipe told her as she bowed to him. He accepted her bow and moved on to speak with Snotty.

Pam turned to me and took my hand in hers. She kissed my hand, gave me a wink and was out the door like a bullet. I blinked and had to smooth down my hair from the gust of wind that blew back. "Watch out for her," I turned and nearly yelped as Luis was right at my elbow.

"I know she's Eric's second in command." Letting him know I wasn't as stupid as he was making me out to be. I did know a thing or two. Give me some credit. I inched away from him. He gave me the absolute creeps. The rest of the vampires looked to be bodyguards and various other people in Felipe's court.

"Ember," Felipe pulled me aside and everyone else headed toward the doors. "Tonight is extremely important." He said. I knew it was important he didn't need to say that. They all just thought I was a stripper without the brain God gave me. "This is a meeting with all the sheriffs in all of my territories and my entire court. Listen to everything and everyone." I nodded. He didn't have to tell me that. That was what he had hired me for. He fixed me with a vampire stare and I stared back. He seemed to see what he was looking for and inclined his head once to me and lead me out to the waiting cars.

I rocked back on my heels. It was a cherry red Mabach. My mouth hung open. It was just sitting there. I had only seen those in the music videos and on the cover of DUB magazine. "Impressive sir," I told him as he allowed me to get into the car first. Luis was already sitting next to the window across me and his father. I wondered if Felipe and Luis had been real father and son or if they meant father and son in the vampire way. I mean I knew that vampires had to be made. The car door closed and we were off. I felt like I was sitting in a tub of melted butter the leather seats were so soft. I ran my hands over the seat and the armrests. It was fun, and the vampires were doing their shut down thing and not moving and speaking. So it was something to pass the time while we drove through Shreveport.

I pulled a piece of gum out of my clutch and popped it in my mouth and closed my eyes. I didn't really like gum but it gave me something to focus on and let my guard down. I could feel the hum of the two vampires. It was like a pulsating darkness that was wrapping around my brain, but it was silent. So they really did just shut down. It was eerie and I physically shivered. The driver must have been a vampire too because I could feel the same sort of darkness from the the front of the car.

I felt snatches of the brains from the people in passing in cars. I couldn't get a read on anything, the cars were moving too fast. But at least I was picking things up. This was going to be harder than I thought. I hadn't done this in a long time and this was not a time to mess up.

We drove for about 45 minutes so we were further from the actual city then I thought we were. Well I did sort of pass out on the drive to the hotel. I was barely 100 pounds and not even 4 foot 10 so any blood lose was significant. I needed to pay more attention.

We pulled into a upscale business park with a group of five or six buildings that all faced a small grove of trees in the middle of the parking lot. It was a nice little set up. Especially for this city. Our car as the lead car pulled right up to the door and the driver got out to open our door. Once again I sat and waited for Felipe and Luis to get out first. The walkway up to the door was lined with waiting and armed vampires. It was hard to believe vampires needed weapons, but I saw some of the vampires were strapped with silver and wooden stakes.

I had no idea Felipe needed security like that. Well its not like the Queen of England just wandered around without protect and Felipe was a royal. Though I still wasn't sure how one originally got the job. I was sure with vampires it involved blood and violence. I smiled and nodded at everyone as I walked inside. There were humans there of course and some of them were milling around as I walked into the building. They looked at me and dismissed me as just a pretty blood donor. It upset me, but that was the part Felipe wanted me to play so I just threw them a smile and walked into the small auditorium where the meeting was being held.

Felipe and the rest of his court were sitting at the head table on the stage. Felipe was in the middle with his son, Luis off to his right. Patrice, a vampire who was turned during the French revolution was next to Luis with Duncan an Scottish vamp at the end of the table. He still wore his family's tartan. I think the movie Braveheart was based off his family or something. To Felipe's left was Carmen, a relatively young vampire, but she was fiercely loyal to Felipe and completely insane and beyond blood thirsty. I didn't like being alone with her. Next to her was Fatima who was maybe the oldest vampire in the room. Luis told me she was turned almost 1,000 years before Christ, and that she was an actual descendent of Abraham. She didn't look a day over 12. And for a vampire she was a rather chatty person. Fatima smiled and inclined her head to me, it looked like I had a new bff or something. I smiled back and looked for a seat.

Sitting in the audience were all the underlings of Felipe from all his territories. In the front few rows was all the vamps from Nevada. The 4 sheriffs and all of their minions. The next row was the Arkansas vampires. 5 sheriffs and their subjects, and the Louisiana vampires came last. 5 sheriffs and then there vampires, Eric stood out like a beacon. Pam was sitting next to him and she turned around to give me a very fangy smile. I dipped my head, and tried not to blush.

As I was circling around looking for somewhere to sit, Snotty cornered me, "I have saved a seat for you up front." she pointed to a chair with a reserved placard sitting atop it. I asked how the hell I was supposed to do my job sitting in the front, and we glared at each other for a bit. She was trying to assert her authority, but I was the wrong person to try that with. She wasn't over me, I actually ranked higher than she did on the Felipe food chain. I ignored her request and I found a seat in the back with the rest of the human lovers, day people and secretaries of the other vampires. Sookie was perched on the end of her chair with a tight smile on her face. I sat a few seats down from her. She turned and gave me a more genuine smile and I returned it.

There wasn't a whole lot of chatter going on but when Felipe stood it died instantly. His gaze swept the whole room, "First allow me to welcome Arkansas and Louisiana to our little family." Some of those vampires didn't look as though they wanted to be welcomed. Especially Eric, the only original Louisiana vamp there. I figured Eric was a good of place to start as any. I zeroed in on him as I flipped through the book I had brought as cover. I couldn't let on to anyone what I was doing and I figured this was a good cover.

His thoughts were in another language! Damnit. I had to keep myself from actually growling in frustration.

But I felt another presence in his thoughts, not someone else reading them, but someone else connected to him. It was the weirdest thing I had ever encountered. It was like Eric was physically attached to someone else. It was a mental string that connected to him to someone else in the room. I followed the thread and it lead straight back to Sookie. They were connected, but I didn't know how. It was weird and I would have to report it back to Felipe. Though I wasn't sure how valuable the information would be because Sookie and Eric were married, however that happened.

I had to read Eric through Sookie since his thoughts were in another damn language. I never thought I would have to learn other languages to read the vamps thoughts. And most of those languages were probably dead. That was going to be a thorn in my side. However Sookie was busy trying to get a read on everyone else in the room. Curiously she was staying well away from me. On Eric's orders I found. I filed that away and skipped around the room. The other humans in room were all nitwits and just thinking about mundane things.

"I have a few appointments to make and some rearranging to do," My attention was pulled back to Felipe as he continued to speak. "Victoria." The vampire stood when her name was called. She was a striking redhead with bosoms for days. She had what some called childbearing hips. She was a nice package all in all. "Is now sheriff of Area 3 in Arkansas." vampire heads bobbed and humans clapped. Victoria seemed pleased with the appointment. She bowed deeply to Felipe and sat back down. Felipe went on and on with a few more "appointments" as he called them. Vampires rose and sat, humans clapped, but no one was thinking anything out of the ordinary. Well there was the account for Area 3 in Nevada that was skimming money off the top. I would have to tell Felipe about that. He was crazy as hell to be doing that, but he was cleaver about it because he had been doing it for years without getting caught. The Sheriff of Area 4 in Arkansas was running a vampire brothel near the University of Arkansas and she hadn't told Felipe about it and she wasn't turning in any of the money to him. Oh lord, heads were going to roll tonight.

Some of the humans were starting to get antsy and I had to admit I was feeling drained from all the concentrated listening I was doing, and I glanced over at Sookie and she looked worse than I did.

"And finally my last appointment." The humans perked up, we were nearing the end. "Victor," Felipe motioned to a vampire sitting in the front row. If a vampire cold look smug this one did. The vampire stood. "I am naming you my regent in Louisiana." there was a smarting of applause. Victor turned around to the room to accept the applause and his thoughts slammed into me to hard I gasped and doubled over. I looked up at him through a haze of tears. He was going to kill Felipe.