5. Luke

Xander worried me with the way he talked about his sex life. I knew that vampires were probably kinky as most monsters were, but what exactly he defined as kinky was what had me concerned. Still, I was up for almost anything, and after the mishap at the beginning of the night, I planned on treading carefully with my reactions.

“I’m a simple man,” I told Xander. “As long as I have someone to fuck me, or who wants me to fuck him, I’ll be happy.”

Xander nodded, seemingly unimpressed.

“I’m pretty open, though,” I added quickly. “I dated a guy who was into BDSM – mostly the bondage part, which was pretty fun.”

“That’s a start,” Xander said slowly. “Anything else you’d care to tell me about?”

“Well, I had a threesome with another guy and his girlfriend once.”

“And how was that?”

“Fine, I guess, but it solidified to me that I’m completely, 100% gay.”

Xander nodded again, his eyes wandering over to the nearest bookshelf, and I began to worry that he was bored by my sexual history.

“I had a threesome once as well,” he said after a long pause. “It was with two other men in 1922, however, and we were nearly caught by the police. It’s fun to be a little cheeky, but not nearly as much fun to actually get caught in the act, especially when that particular behavior is still illegal.”

“No,” I said, shrinking back in my chair a little. “I can imagine it wouldn’t be.”

The fact that Xander had lived nearly eight times my years on Earth thus far gave him an advantage in his experience. It was intimidating, to say the least, but I couldn’t have him know that – not yet, anyway. Our relationship was tentative at best and I didn’t need any complications coming in and screwing the whole thing up.

“We haven’t had the best experiences in group sex,” Xander said, pulling me from my thoughts, “but don’t worry, I have no intention of bringing a third individual into the bedroom.”

“That’s good to hear.” I smiled and allowed myself to relax a little.

“No, you’ll have enough trouble getting used to the other aspects of our sex life without muddying it with another person.”

My smile faded. “You keep alluding to some dark, kinky side of you. Why don’t you just come out and say what you like? It can’t be that bad.”

Xander flashed a smile at me, showing the full length of his fangs for the first time that night. The mere sight sent a shiver down my spine, which I tried in vain to control. Xander saw it, though, and I could tell he wasn’t pleased by the way he quickly closed his mouth.

“I’m a vampire,” he reminded me. “I live by the taste of blood. I dream about it in my sleep – the rare occasion that I fall into it –and I fantasize about it when…” he trailed off, his eyes growing redder than they were before, and darker than I thought was possible.

“You want to suck my blood?” I asked, subconsciously running a hand over the side of my neck.

“Yes, but that’s not all. You mentioned a previous boyfriend who enjoyed BDSM, did you not?”

“I did.”

“I too find myself enjoying some of the more sadistic sides of that world. We vampires are dominant creatures – the act of domination during sex comes rather naturally to us.”

“I think I can handle that. The blood thing, that’s a little outside my comfort zone, but BDSM doesn’t sound too bad.”

“I intend to push you well outside your comfort zone, Luke,” Xander replied, leaning in so close, I could smell the iron on his breath. “I can give you all the pleasure in the world, but you must submit yourself to me –your body, your mind, and even your soul. You have to let me play with you and consume your very lifeblood if you want to stay with me.”

He stopped speaking and I realized I was breathing faster than before, my heart pounding away in my chest.

“I…I don’t know,” I stammered. “It’s a lot to consider.”

“I’m not finished,” Xander said, sitting back again. “How do you feel about participating in sex while you’re asleep?”

“I, well, I never thought about it before. Can’t you elaborate?”

“As I’m sure you are already aware, as a vampire, I have little need for sleep, but I am fascinated by humans in that state.”

“So, you want to fuck me when I’m asleep? Just clarifying.”

“That’s correct. With your consent over the act, of course.”

I took a deep breath, considering what Xander had just told me. “I don’t know if I can go that far. Maybe we could revisit that later on in the relationship.”

“Very well, I can manage that.”

I paused, leaning back in my chair. His sex life was high maintenance, that was for sure. But it was also intriguing and a little exciting. If I agreed to try a few things out with him, I was putting my life in my hands – literally, I feared. Then again, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I’d asked to be matched with a monster, and here was my monster, beckoning to me with open arms.

“And what if you accidentally kill me?” I blurted out.

The thought had been swimming in the back of my head since Xander first mentioned blood-sucking, but I hadn’t meant to actually voice it.

“I won’t.”

“Even accidentally?”

“I know how to play with my mates, Luke. I’ve never killed a human – or any other monster – before.”

My anxiety was alleviated for the time being, but there was still that nagging worry deep inside that asked what if this is the time he kills? I’d read books and watched movies about murderous vampires before. Xander would say that was stereotypical slander, but some of them were based on true stories. What if I was the next vampire victim, even if it was an accident?

Still, he seemed genuine, and with 250 years of life under his belt, I would be a fool to doubt his word.

“I’m okay with all that,” I finally said, much to Xander’s delight. “I think we should give this relationship a go.”

“Shall we return to my house, then?” he asked.

“R-right now? Uh, I guess so. You don’t think we’re jumping in a little too quickly?”

Xander’s face turned stony again. “I’m a vampire. I live my life one thrill at a time, as quickly as possible. Immortality gets boring and rather lonely if I don’t. Now, are you in or out?”

“I’m in,” I said with a sort of finality that I knew would be either the best decision I made in my life or the worst.

Only time and a continuation of this strange, vampiric date with Xander would tell.