Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Iwas stark naked as I stared at my crumple of clothes on the floor. My blouse was creased, and my tights were ripped. The thought of walking next to a gorgeous vampire through the crowded London streets seemed fascinating. But what was I going to wear?

Hans was smirking when I looked over at him.

“Don’t worry. Frederick collected your possessions and delivered them here this afternoon.”

I had to do a double take.

“From my room?!”

“Yes.”

It should have seemed weird, but it didn’t. I was already becoming accustomed to surprises from Hans.

I could have asked him for a dressing gown to conceal myself on the way downstairs to check out my things, but being naked around him already felt surprisingly comfortable. He followed me, happily naked himself, and I had to remind myself to keep an eye on where I was going, and not on him. His body would distract me from anything, damnit. I was already craving more of his teeth and touch, and… yes. Everything.

The constant sizzle between us was thrilling, enough to keep my nipples hard and my pussy wanting.

My clothes were in the drawing room, hanging neatly on a rail with cases packed up to one side. It was obvious that Frederick had made a thorough job of it. Hans took a seat as I scouted through them.

“Where will we be going?” I asked. “We could always stay in and eat more steak, don’t you think? It would save getting dressed.”

Hans smiled at me.

“I’ve spent a long time living in tombs. Taking you out to dine in the city tonight will be an honour that I have waited a very long time for.”

I put my hands on my hips, faced him with tits proud, confidence beginning to bloom.

“Sounds amazing, so long as we spend a long time in your bed after.”

He gave me another of his glorious smirks.

“There’s no doubt about that. We’ll be spending a long time in our bed for a long, long time to come. At least, I hope so.”

Our bed.

I could have grabbed hold of him right then and begged him to take me upstairs again, but the thought of dining out with a vampire while the world looked on oblivious was a major pull.

“Choose your outfit, little one,” he said.

There was only one obvious contender, so I picked out my finest. A dress in a beautiful dark blue, high enough at the neckline to cover my bite marks, and fitted nice and tightly down to my knees. I’d fallen in love with it but never had the confidence, or the occasion, to wear it before.

I’d need a bolero to cover yet more bite marks, so I picked one of those from a hanger too. Thank God I had a choker in a lovely black lace, just thick enough to cover my neck wounds. I chose my highest heels. A pair of stilettos with lovely black straps to match my choker. I just hoped I wouldn’t stumble over on the pavement.

“I wouldn’t let you fall,” Hans said. “We’ll take it steady tonight, how about that? No cobblestone sprints.”

Something about that disappointed me. I got a tingle of a shiver at the thought of being chased up Hyde Street again. The cobblestones. The bites with my back to the wall. The panting. The fear. His hand between my legs…

“I’ll need to get ready myself,” Hans told me, interrupting my thoughts. “You can come upstairs with me, or feel free to–”

I didn’t need him to finish his sentence. I was already grabbing my makeup and toiletries and following him up the stairs.

I brushed my teeth and combed my hair in the ensuite while he disappeared into a dressing room, and then I opted to push my confidence some more. I went for smoky eyes and deep, dusky pink lips – much more dramatic than I was used to, but my outfit deserved it. I was still checking myself out in the bathroom mirror when I heard Hans’ footsteps approaching.

I spun around in a daze, and there he was, in a perfectly tailored tuxedo with his hair slicked back. He could have stepped straight from a vintage movie. I was a hot mess as he joined me and ran his thumb across my cheek.

“You are absolutely beautiful,” he told me, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, well that makes two of us then, doesn’t it?”

“Just as well we’re a couple then, isn’t it?”

His words slammed home. A couple.

“That’s how I’d refer to us,” Hans said. “Would you agree?”

This was insane, surely? So soon, but so real. Yet, I couldn’t fight it, and couldn’t deny it. I didn’t want to…

Hans kept on talking.

“It’s a great relief, since I’ve spent a very long time waiting for you to be at my side. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Because I’ve been waiting your whole life– that was the sense of emotion I got from his words.

It came with another vision of the trapdoor in my subconscious. A thump of the mysteries underneath.

NO.

I didn’t want to face them, so pulled away from it, back to the present and hottest man on the planet.

“Steakhouse then, is it?” I guessed.

“Good guess. Steak will most certainly be on the menu where I’m taking you.”

I felt like a queen on the arm of a king when we descended the stairs together and reached the front door. My teeth marks were pulsing under my dress, and I was buzzing live with them, already feeling the desperation for more. So many more.

I needed his teeth in me. I needed his vampire fangs, and his touch, and the pain of taking his cock like I did last night.

“Steady,” he whispered as we stepped out onto the street. “We need to get you dinner first. It’s still only 8 p.m., we have plenty of time ahead.”

He already had a cab waiting for us on the street outside.

The Waterstone Restaurant, Westminster,he told the driver, and we set off on our way.

Hans had his hand on my knee in the back seat, and my skin responded with prickles. Needy.

I didn’t want dinner. I wanted him. Even though my stomach was rumbling.

“Relax,” he whispered. “You’ll get me just as soon as we’re done. Believe me, I’m as hungry for it as you are, I’ve just got more experience at managing it.”

Every mile felt like it took a year, but the destination was a shock of brilliance when we arrived in Westminster. The cab dropped us outside the grandeur of a stunning restaurant, lit up with striking white lights. I was staring up, awestruck when Hans opened the door for me and directed me inside.

“Reservation for two,” he told the girl at the entrance. “In the name of Mr Weyer.”

“Of course, sir,” she replied and led us to our table.

It was on the edge of the room, near to an orchestral quartet playing, out of earshot of everyone around. I was certain it must have been on purpose.

“You are correct, it’s the most private table in the restaurant,” he said once we’d taken our seats. “We vampires usually adhere to a code of silence about our affairs in public, as we’d prefer not to be sectioned or arrested, but I’m sure you must have a thousand questions brewing. For you, I’ll make an exception.”

I laughed. “You could say that I have a thousand questions brewing, yes.”

He tipped his head. “So, go ahead.”

I didn’t have a clue where to start, and my thoughts were rambling like crazy.

Who was Hans? Where had he come from? Who had made him a vampire and why? When? How? What did it feel like? Where had he been? What had he seen, and loved, and wanted?

And lost?

Surely a creature like Hans must have lost a lot, too.

But, as all the questions kept rolling through my mind, the sensations kept rolling through my body. My flesh was still craving teeth and tongue like an addict, so I was relieved when one of the waitresses came over and took our drinks order, just for the distraction.

I needed to get my body back in line, before I drove myself crazy. I needed blood-red kisses,so I was more than happy when Hans ordered a bottle of merlot.

My attention was on him when he picked up his menu, even though I knew I should be choosing my meal. The questions were still forming as I watched him.

How? Why? When? Where? How? Why? When? Where?

He grinned. “It’s all right. You can ask and choose at the same time.”

“I’m not much of a multitasker,” I admitted. “Menu choices and questions, wow, quite a task.”

And cravings. Cravings for his teeth and touch.

“So, how about you opt for a nice rare steak and get the questions rolling?” he suggested.

I laughed. “What is it with you and steak? Is that some kind of ritual?”

He didn’t laugh back, just smiled.

“It’s the recommended nutrition for new blood players, yes. It helps the system adjust.”

Sorry, what?

“Is that what I am now?” I asked him. “A blood player? Is that like a vampire addict?”

His gorgeous green eyes had the intensity I was coming to know, but it still gave me shivers.

“Oh, Katherine. You can already feel it, can’t you? The desperation for me to drink the blood from your veins? The desperation for a nice, hard fucking as I suck on your throat?”

My breath caught. My thighs clenched.

“Yes,” he continued, with a knowing smirk. “Then you are most certainly a blood player.”

I felt nervous because his words were so true. I really was a blood player, then. But I was also his partner, right? A couple… Did that make me… different?

“Yes, you are my partner,” he said. “Which is just as well, seeing as there is no way I’d want you to end up seeking your thrills purely through a blood house. As upmarket as they are, they are not nearly enough for a girl like you.”

My curiosity was piqued more than ever.

“Blood house? What’s a blood house?”

“Blood houses are places blood players go to surrender their blood. They are frequented by a regular clientele of people desperate for fangs, and quite often anything else that goes along with them. We have a few of them based around the world.”

Wow!

“Really?! There are people desperate for bites that go to blood houses to get them? Like whore houses, but with vampires instead?”

His eyebrows pitted. “No, no. I wouldn’t say they are like whore houses. These people and situations are most certainly consensual, no matter how intense the exchanges may be. They may well seek out consensual non-consent, but these people get what they need from us, and we get what we need from them in return.”

People.

“Yes, people,” he continued. “Your imagination won’t be far from the truth, I promise. Call it a selection of filthy vampire novels in the flesh. Men biting men, women biting women. Vampires sharing victims all at once.”

I was truly fascinated.

“Do you ever go to these blood houses?”

He looked me in the eyes, and I’m sure he was digging into my thoughts, ready to read me. Only this time I felt myself put a wall up.

“Never be embarrassed by your thoughts or fantasies,” he said.

“I’m not,” I replied, but he kept on staring at me.

“You’ve been very sheltered, but that doesn’t need to be the case anymore. The world is a big place, and there are fantasies galore to be enjoyed in it.”

He paused as the waitress delivered our merlot and took our orders. Steak and steak.

“In answer to your question, yes,” he said, once she’d gone. “I do visit blood houses. Or at least I did until you came along. Now, my cravings are all about you.”

“That’s quite a statement,” I said, with another flash of pride.

“Yes, it is,” he agreed. “Now, how about we get some of your real questions out of the way? Shall we start from the beginning? How did I become the creature I am today? That’s one of your most pressing curiosities, yes?”

He was right on that. The who, why, when questions had one clear place to start. That became a lot more clear as I downed a few decent gulps of merlot.

“Yes, please, let’s go from the beginning,” I said. “How did you become a vampire, Hans? And why?”