Valentin Devereux (ex_playmygam650) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-08-27 22:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | #flashback |
When everything's made to be broken
Who: Mina and Val
Where: The Hotel Essence, Las Vegas, Nevada
When: 1959
Warning: NSFW at the end
Mina straightened her shoulders, straightened her dress, and walked from the elevator into the ladies bathroom of the Hotel Essence. It was a busy night, the sort of night that took Mina’s mind off of things and lined her pockets. She smiled to herself as she looked in the mirror briefly to make sure that she had righted herself properly after her last client.
Her black hair was tussled, but not overly so. Her body was encased in a red dress that screamed “take me” and her makeup remained flawless. Yet, underneath the pale immortal beauty, lay pure and utter desolation. She hated herself for doing this, knowing that her ex-fiance was cringing somewhere at the thought of her lying with another man... or rather many other men. It was like a craving that she couldn’t control. Ever since she came to this new existence, her body ached to be touched constantly. She learned to deal with the craving, as it was a convenient way to make a living. One of the strange things about her condition was the ability to bring pleasure from her bite. Most mortal men never even knew she bit them during sex, making it a wonderful way to feed with out committing murder.
With a sigh, she stashed the cash her last patron had given her in the small purse at her side. Then, she exited the bathroom and sauntered over to the bar, making sure to sway her hips rhythmically to attract more customers as she went.
When she got to the bar she ordered a martini. One of the few lessons she had learned on her own was that it would look suspicious if she sat at a bar all night and didn’t attempt to drink anything. She shook her head in misery as she stared at the clear liquid. What she wouldn’t give to be able to drink again, to feel the sun on her skin, to wear her silver wedding ring, or hell even to eat a piece of garlic-- things that were taken from her long ago. She would always remember that fateful night. The pain of near death, the confusion upon waking in her immortal body, the loss of her child and fiance. All of it still burned behind her eyes, waiting to spring at her as soon as she saw fit to close them. Mina wiped away a blood red tear before anyone could see it and then went back to staring at the crowd.
The woman caught Val’s eye the moment she stepped out onto the floor. He could never resist a woman in a red dress, especially one with such a perfect figure. It was almost scandalous how tightly her dress hugged her curves, or was that acceptable in this day in age? He hardly cared, since it meant more candy for his eyes to behold. He watched her move over to the bar, waiting to see if she was joining someone else before he rose from his seat. Work could wait for now. His casino was running perfectly fine and the meeting he’d been there to attend had come to an end. This was not an opportunity he was able to pass up.
“I was going to buy you a drink, but it seems I’ve missed my chance,” Val said with a smile as he saddled up beside her. Up close he got the chance to drink in her features, beautiful ruby red lips and pale skin... too pale. Not for him, but in general. “You’re not really going to drink that, are you, sugar?” he asked, leaning in to speak softly, a hint of his french accent coming out. He was right. No heartbeat. Well, she might not be dinner, but that didn’t sway him one bit. In fact, she was even more appealing company now that they had something in common.
Mina smiled as she heard a man slide along side her. Business really was booming today. A small shiver ran up her spine as he spoke to her. I’m going to have fun with this one, even his voice is sexy. She thought. When she turned around to answer his question, she found that she was undoubtedly right. He was beyond gorgeous. Easily the most hansom man she had seen that night.
“Sorry, Honey. Maybe you can buy me the next one,” she purred subtly before going back to perusing him. He looked sort of dated, as if he wasn’t from the area. It was then that she noticed something odd. The distinct lack of a heartbeat. He was a vampire too! If she had a heart it would have kicked into overdrive as she smiled widely at him. Then she calmed herself down, thinking that she didn’t want to scare this one away and would do just about anything to keep him entertained. Especially if that meant she would get the answers she so desperately wanted. The off chance that she might have been mistaken was proved wrong when her asked her about her drink.
“No. I just figured that it was a good cover story. Besides, I’m working,” she said casually, putting a little emphasis on the last sentence. “I’d ask you if you want a drink, but seeing as you’re in the same boat as me, well, it would just be silly.” She said smoothly, a little of the accent she picked up in Louisiana coming in.
Val raised one brow as his lips turned up. Working? She could do so much better with those looks, though he suspected she made a pretty penny if she was hustling in the Essence. The call girls here weren’t only discreet; they were expensive. And from the looks of it, totally worth their price. At least this one was. Val wasn’t deterred, though, as one who believed Vegas was a place of indulgence and pleasure as well as his place of business. Work was done for him, so he might as well pursue tonight’s entertainment.
“I’m not really thirsty, but I would still like to partake in your company, if that’s all right with you.” He could not tell by looking at her if she was in need of feeding, and knew that he would drive away that chance by staying with her. If she had fed and was only looking to make a profit, then he’d make sure she was well paid for her time just as well. What he wouldn’t do was walk away without working for it. He was always intrigued when he met other vampires, especially over in the states. It seemed they were slowly making their way over, but he never ran into them as frequently as he did in Europe.
“I’d be delighted Darlin! That is why I am here after all!” She said with light laughter. “You know only being able to go out at night really limits the amount of jobs to choose from. I figured that mixing business with pleasure wouldn’t be too bad of a thing.” she said winking. She wouldn’t mind going a round with this man at all. He looked good enough that it didn’t matter if he had money or not to Mina. Besides, she had worked her fill tonight and could use a little fun.
Mina was in a much better mood now. Her night was looking considerably brighter with the good looking vampire in front of her. She hoped that they would have enough time for her to ask him some cultural questions, but if she didn’t that was okay too. She wanted to find out about herself more than anything in the world. She was all alone now, and no matter how many men she slept with, no matter how desirable she got, that would remain the same. In the morning she would still wake up alone and she would have to start all over again. That was why she liked Vegas, she could do things that most people did during the day because the city never slept.
Her comment was the sort that Val heard from humans, and while it seemed like a joke, Val wondered if she believed it. What did it say about her if she thought that was the truth? There was always a chance that her family was unable to handle any sunlight at all, but if that was the case then Val hadn’t heard of them. For someone who made a point of knowing all the different families out there, it seemed like a rare chance and one worth asking about. “Is that your line in particular, have you bought in to the human illusion that we’ll turn to dust in the waking hours?” he asked.
“You mean we really can walk out in the sunlight?” she asked shocked. When she had become a vampire, her wedding ring had nearly taken off her finger. After that, she decided to check out the other myths about what could and couldn’t kill vampires. She had come up with some silly ones, but there were the basics that she had no reason to doubt. Silver and sunlight being the top contenders. She leaned in closer to her companion so that they would not be overheard by the bar flies around them.
“Forgive me. I know I must seem awful naive, but the one who made me this way abandoned me after I turned. I have very little knowledge of our culture. I know only what I have discerned for myself.” She admitted deeply ashamed. She ran a hand through her hair in frustration at her stupidity. She couldn’t believe she had been so stupid. She hoped that her naivety did not scare the stranger away.
Val felt a surge of fury at her maker for leaving her so helpless. No sire should do that to their childe, even if they didn’t care for them enough to stay long after. Leaving them with no information was equal to leaving them for dead. It showed great strength on her part to survive this long, and that was something he admired. A beautiful woman alone in the world sounded horribly difficult, which further explained her chosen profession. At least she was classy about it.
“The sunlight weakens us, and drains us over time, but it does not kill us,” Val said, keeping his voice low. “There are even blood types that allow us to step into the sun without those symptoms, but that means finding the right kind of person to drink from. You’ve noticed that some people make you feel different than others, yes?” Even without knowledge of what they were, this was something she would have picked up.
Mina felt like leaping up in joy as she heard the news that she could walk in the sun without fear of death...at least not from a few minutes. When he explained the blood type thing to her, Mina widened her eyes. She had noticed that some of her clients tasted better than others. “Yes, I thought it was just because everyone has a different taste. Once, the person I was drinking tasted like cool water. It was an amazing change.” she said nodding. She was excited to finally get the information she had desperately craved. She was so grateful to this stranger for telling her these things.
“There is so much I don’t understand. Does your bite have any odd qualities? Mine seems to induce...well...it acts as sort of an aphrodisiac.” she said her face lighting up. “What can kill us, if not the sun? What...” She almost continued but then she put a hand over her mouth to stop herself. “I’m sorry. You don’t want to sit hear playing twenty questions with me do you? Please forgive me.” She said reining herself in. As much as she wanted answers, she knew that he probably didn’t want to give them and so she had to remember her place in the order of life.
“That person most likely had some sort of power over water. I don’t know what they call themselves. Water witch or something like that,” Val explained with an easy smile. He would have never figured out such a thing on his own and didn’t expect her to either. People tasted different, yes, but these were powers of a sort. She deserved to know what was out there before she drank from something unexpected. At least if she was drinking from her Johns she wouldn’t accidentally drink from a siren. His first run in with one had been an experience to say the least.
“My bite does nothing special, so that’s more likely a power that comes with your bloodline. While there are some things that are consistent in our kind, we have families of a sort, and that allows different abilities.” His mind was already running over what she might be, but it was hard to tell without any sort of mental branding done on her. She’d formed her own persona separate from whatever house made her, which might be a plus. ”I don’t mind the questions, but why don’t we take this some place a bit more private,” Val said. “This isn’t the sort of thing we want to discuss in public.” It also allowed him to get alone with her, something he very much wanted to take advantage of. Americans were so set on morality these days that Vegas was a refreshing treat compared to the rest of the US. He could enjoy himself there without earning a reputation within minutes.
Mina contemplated the things that were said with a large amount of thought. She briefly went over her various encounters with powerful beings and understood why it had seemed to odd at the time. His comment about family had Mina thinking about finding the one who made her. Her sire would have more than enough answers to satisfy her. She made a mental note to start the search as soon as she was done here in Vegas. Vegas was a wonderful place to take in cash.
She was happy to hear that he would answer her questions and even happier that he still wanted to be alone with her. She promised herself that she would show him how very appreciative she could be, the minute they were done.
“That my dear, is the best idea I have heard all night.” She said throwing a few dollars on the bar to cover her drink and sliding gracefully off of her barstool. She sauntered casually to the elevator and stepped in, figuring that he would follow. and then she turned to smile brightly behind her to the man who had saved her evening. She didn’t even feel the need to be false with him, the fact that he was a vampire and would easily see through that lifted a large amount of work off of her shoulders.
He would have covered her drink, but she didn’t give him the chance to do so. An independent woman, he supposed, was used to being so, and perhaps didn’t expect what he was so accustomed to offering. With a little smirk, he followed her to the elevator as he wondered if this woman would even let him open the door for her when they got to her room. “How long have you been in Vegas?” he asked, making casual talk in the confined space of the elevator. So long as her reply wasn’t something like the last hundred years, it wouldn’t set anyone off. He doubted that was the case. She seemed too young to have been here long.
Mina pressed the button for her floor and then leaned back against the elevator wall. “Oh I’ve been here for about....8 months? I never stay in one place for too long. For one thing, it makes me feel safer, and two I always wanted to travel. I felt trapped and restless.” She explained with a small shrug. The elevator was quick and soon they were on her floor. She stepped out of the elevator and pulled the key out from where it rested between her breasts and unlocked the door, gesturing with a broad smile for her new companion to follow her in.
She liked the finer things in life and her room was no exception. It was one of the hotel’s best villas and it was in the center of the hotel. The first was a request, the second was a demand. Until very recently, she had been terrified of waking up and feeling a ray of sunshine burning her alive. Now she would request a room with a view every time she came to a hotel. She threw her purse down on the dresser, slid her shoes off next to the door, and lounged comfortably on the large bed in the center of the room.
“Sit wherever you like, make yourself at home darlin.” She said with a smile that she couldn’t seem to erase.
Eight months wasn’t long if she was living there, though he couldn’t imagine what it might cost to stay in a hotel the entire time. Then again, this was Las Vegas, and if she was spending money and keeping men happy then it was likely they found a way to make it work financially. He followed her down to her room, his eyes focused on the way she moved in that dress, and as she pulled the key out from between her breasts he realized he had to have that key. He had to. The real question was when to take it, since nabbing it out of her hand right this moment would not be the proper thing to do. He would get it later, and he would not forget.
As they entered the room, Val took a moment to look around and slide off his coat. She was staying in one of the nicer rooms, the sort that was very fitting for the woman she appeared to be. “I believe you were asking about what can kill us,” Val said as he crawled onto the bed with her. “First, silver. It burns us, eats through to the burn. Avoid it at all costs. After that it’s just decapitation and fire. Everything else pretty much heals. I’d avoid losing limbs, though. They don’t grow back and it can take years to re-attach properly.”
Mina nodded thoughtfully at his answers and locked them in her memory. She would make sure she stayed away from fire for sure.
“I’m no stranger to silver. My wedding band was silver. It was on the night I turned. Nearly took my damn finger off,” she said, pulling her hand up to show him the faint scar on her ring finger. It was fading with time, but the constant reminder of what she lost would always remain. She brushed her hand gently one time, as if the ring were still there, burning her skin, before turning her full attention to her companion.
“What about hunting? I’m proud to say I’ve pretty much mastered that. In my roughly ten years of being a vampire, I have killed only one human. My first time out I couldn’t control myself. I was so upset with myself that I broke every mirror in my home. How much blood can you truly take without killing someone? And before you mentioned bloodlines... Is there any way to figure out which one you belong to?” she asked, her brow furrowed. Then as an afterthought she added, “I also have one last question. How do you turn someone? I don’t want to do it myself; I just need to know how I came to be this way.” She finished trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.
Val wondered how someone could get turned into a vampire without knowing how it happened to them. In his case, he drank the blood from his sire, but this woman didn’t know who her sire was. It was all very odd and nothing like anything he’d come across in his time as a vampire. He was already beginning to form ideas on what house she might be from, but knew he would have to ask a few more questions before he could be sure. There were many different houses and he thought more than one had a pleasurable bite.
“I don’t know the exact amount of blood you can take, but I’ve found the best measure it to listen to their heartbeat. Feel their pulse. So long as it’s strong, they’ll survive, but when it begins to slow and quiet you’d best stop,” Val said. She had quite the conscience if she’d only killed one human, something he could not admit to himself. He’d killed plenty of humans in his time, and a few vampires, but he found that if that wasn’t the inclination of another vampire then there was no reason to push them that direction. “You could figure out your bloodline based on your abilities, but then you’d have to know what’s out there as well. Is there anything else that seems extraordinary to you? Or unexpected?” She might not have stumbled across some of the things she could do if she didn’t know about them. He would have never figured out he could turn into a bat if his sire hadn’t told him from the start. “There must be a blood exchange in order to turn someone. The human would have to be drained of blood, almost to the point of death, and then they would have to take in some of the vampire’s blood. May I ask... how do you think this happened if you did not know?”
Mina hesitated before answering the question that was asked of her. It was still painful to remember. He would be the first person she ever spoke of this to and probably the last.
“Well, it’s all sort of hazy. You see, I was working in a caberet as a lounge singer. I had to walk home because Lucas and I couldn’t afford a car. We were saving all our money for the baby,” she murmured almost more to herself than her companion. At this point she sat up a little and rested her head against the headboard of the bed and wrapped her arms around her midsection. “I was pregnant, and Lucas didn’t even want me working anymore. I was going to quit the next day. I walked home that night as usual and I took the shortcut through the warehouses by the harbor like I always did. Suddenly, someone came up behind me and grabbed my throat. It was terrifying. Then came the bite. It was horrible and wonderful at the same time! I felt the ecstasy that came with the bite, but at the same time I could slowly feel my baby slipping away from me. I guess I must have retreated into myself because when I awoke I was as I am now,” she said gesturing lazily to her body. “And I was alone.”
“I panicked at first. My teeth hurt and my body itched and burned for someones touch. Every pore felt like it was on fire, even my clothing irritated my skin. So I found the first unfortunate sap along the road and...” Mina trailed off assuming he could fill in the blanks. She shook off the memories and decided to answer his second part of the question. “As far as unusual abilities go, I'm not sure. I don’t think there is anything else besides the bite,” she said with a sigh, then waited to hear what he had to say about everything that she had poured out.
While he hadn’t needed her life’s story, it did put things in perspective. She’d lost more than her life that night-- a baby, most definitely, and probably a husband. Perhaps she tried to return home, though if she killed someone along the way then he was guessing not. The odd part was that she hadn’t imbibed any of her sire’s blood, but he supposed there could have been a transfer of some sort after she blacked out. It didn’t take much, so long as a vampire’s blood got into her veins somehow. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said when she had finished. “That is a hard way to make the change. You’ve done well for yourself to make it this far.”
With only a pleasurable bite to go off, Val couldn’t draw a solid conclusion as to what she might be. He needed more than that, and suspected there should be, but if she didn’t know about them then it made them harder to use and notice. “I’m sorry to say I don’t know what house you’re from based solely on your bite. There’s a number of families that have that particular perk. I do wish I could feel it, though,” he said, lazily running a finger up her exposed bit of leg. He loved the hosiery women wore these days. It gave him just enough of a peek to be enthralled.
Mina’s spine tingled as he ran a finger up her leg. The sensation felt marvelous. She shrugged nonchalantly and turned to her side to fully face her partner. Mina was not going to sit around and mope for eternity, especially with this delicious looking man laying in her bed and caressing her skin like that. “The past is the past. I don’t need to know what family I belong to. It would be nice, of course, but I’ve gone this long without it, and I can certainly go longer. You’ve given me so much already. Because of you, well...because of your information, I can now walk outside in the sunshine for the first time in ten years. Thank you,” she murmured. Then, Mina gently cupped his cheeks in her hands and pressed her lips softly against his, taking his lower lip between hers.
She had talked enough for one night. Now she wanted to just live in the moment for a few hours, not worried about her future or her past.
As her lips met his, Val’s arms slid around her waist, pulling her against his body. Other men might have to pay top dollar to be with her, but they hadn’t settled on a price, leaving him to wonder if she considered his information equal to payment. Right then he decided he would leave her money anyways, as she seemed hard on her luck and he was hardly in need. Rolling her onto her back, Val’s hand slid up her thigh, pushing her dress up till he could feel the nylon of her stockings. It was so much easier to get women out of their clothes these days, but he still loved the little challenge that garter belts and braziers had to offer. It made he wait just a teensie bit longer, unless he resorted to ripping them off her, something he didn’t think she’d appreciate.
Mina’s body seemed extremely aware as she pressed herself closer to her companion, every nerve a live wire. When his hand ran its way up her thigh, she realized that they were both way too overdressed for the occasion. She snaked a hand in between them, and slowly unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing. As she ran a hand over the expanse of his chest, her body hummed with pleasure at the feel of his skin under her fingertips. Some girls were about the eyes, some the ass; Mina was a skin girl. She loved the feel of her skin against another person’s. That touch made her long for much more contact, but she resisted the urge to rip his clothes to shreds, figuring that waiting would be half the fun.
Val liked a woman with a little initiative in the bedroom, so long as she didn’t try to take control of the situation. As she unbuttoned his shirt, he slid her dress down, exposing her perfectly pale breasts, trapped inside a black lace brazier. He hummed in approval, breaking the kiss to slide his lips down to her neck, his hands torn between her thighs and her breasts. They wanted to be everywhere at once, eventually deciding that the zipper on the back of the dress would have to come down so he could solve the problem altogether. As soon as he’d unzipped her dress, he pulled the dress over her head, then took a moment to shed his own shirt. She was beautiful laying under him like that, and not near as fragile as a human woman would be. All the better, in his opinion. It meant they could enjoy themselves without worry, which tended to be absent from his mind anyways.
Mina let out a whimper of approval as she felt his lips on her neck. She was happy to be rid of the dress, it was constricting and it was in the way. Now, the only barrier between her chest and his was her bra. She tried to think past the wonder of his hands long enough to decide on whether she should take her bra off herself. Ultimately she failed in forming a coherent thought and left it alone. Her hands moved over his chest and she arched into him, brushing his skin lightly with the tops of her breasts. She moved seductively under him, almost unconscious of her own movements in her state of mind. Obviously she was no stranger to sex, but this feeling was all new. She could let herself go completely without worrying about bruising or crushing her customers with her arms. It was liberating and it made the experience that much better for her.
Val tugged her bra down, his mouth following to suck on her breast while one hand dropped to unfasten his belt. He’d intended to take things slow, but once he got started that desire faded quickly. Rarely was he with another vampire other than Verena, and even then every woman was new and different, and exciting experience to behold. He wanted to see how far he could push her, wanted her writhing beneath him, and the sooner the better. With his zipper down, he pushed his pants over his hips, then reached back to remove his shoes before focusing all of his attention on her again. Deft fingers searched around back to find her bra clasp, and as he freed her breasts he bit one gently, teeth barely breaking the skin near her nipple. As the taste of blood touched his tongue, he smiled and moved up to kiss her. It would heal within seconds, another plus to sharing a bed with someone like him.
Mina was grateful when he picked up the pace. She had never been a girl that took things slow and she didn’t intend to start then. She gasped as his mouth found its way to her breast and she arched herself into his touch. Her leg wrapped itself around his and she cursed herself for daring to wear underwear that day. His teeth on her skin made her moan in anticipation. When he moved up to kiss her, she pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him roughly and passionately. She had never had the opportunity to be with a vampire and now she wasn’t sure she would be able to go back. He was assertive and he knew what he wanted, something that a lot of her partners did not. He didn’t treat her like she would snap in half under his touch, another benefit.
It was good that she was responding with such excitement, as Val had no intention of slowing down. He kissed her with equal fervor as he reached down between them to pull her panties away. The hosiery could stay on-- in fact, he liked it on-- as could the heels, so long as he had access to fuck her like he wanted to. It only took a second more to free himself from his undergarments, and then he was sliding into her without warning, a growl escaping his lips. Vampire women might not be hot, but they were nowhere near as delicate as a human, something he relished. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him as he began to pound into her, lost in the moment and the beauty of her body. She was exactly what he’d been looking for.
Mina couldn’t form a coherent thought as his lips met hers. She was in heaven...if such a place existed for their kind. His hands on her skin, the weight of his body on hers, even his taste. It had her on edge, lost in the moment and the feel of him. She cried out when he entered her so suddenly, surprised, but not disappointed. It seemed that her companion had a passion that equaled hers. He was just as avid and insistent as she was, and that was fine with her. She met him thrust for thrust, and every one seemed to shake her to her core. Her hands somehow found their way to his back and she raked her fingernails along the skin, creating scratches that would heal in a few moments. The beauty of being in bed with an immortal.
There was nothing slowing Val down, certainly not the removal of any clothing that was left between them. Somehow it was shed so that he could freely move without restriction, his hips thrusting against hers as his hands explored her body completely. Women always felt so soft and fragile that he never expected them to be rough in response, but he always enjoyed it. The sharp raking of her nails down his back pulled a low moan from him and he hitched her leg up higher on his hip, forcing himself deeper inside her. He wanted to hear her cry out, to know that he was driving her as wild as she was making him. It was then that Val realized he’d never gotten her name, but now wasn’t the time to ask it.
Mina was biting on her lip so hard she tasted blood. She was losing it quickly. Never before had she felt so much intensity, so much focus all centered on her. She had never had her focus solely on her partner. Most of the time she was lucky if she could spare a few moments of attention on her partner before her mind wandered. Now, she was completely focused, not at all falling apart. She was failing miserably. As he lifted her leg up higher she cried out, unable to hold it back. She wrapped her legs around his waist and let go as he pounded into her. Sex with a vampire was definitely better than with a mortal.
As she vocalized her desire Val grinned, pleased with himself for pushing her there. He could be a selfish lover at times, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to leave a partner without equal enjoyment, and listening to her he knew she had to be as close as he was. Val groaned, feeling his body tighten, a feeling of ecstasy rolling from his core outwards. He cursed as he came, his hands gripping her hips hard enough to bruise a human as his hips jerked against her. That was one thing he loved about being with another vampire-- there were no complaints when things got a little rough. He gasped for breath even though he didn’t need it, then finally leaned down to press his lips to hers. Damn, she was good.
Ecstasy enveloped Mina, taking her past all thoughts of anything other than what she was feeling. When his hands dug into her hips she welcomed the pain, it brought intense clarity to the pleasure she was feeling, something to compare it too. When Mina finally came down form her high, she was breathing hard and she felt better than she had in years. She leaned back on the bed and tried to collect herself to form a coherent sentence that wasn’t just a string of syllables.
“Wow... That was amazing,” she finally came up with. It wasn’t eloquent or classy but it got the point across, something she could settle for.
“Yes,” Val said quietly in agreement, smiling as he rolled off of her to collapse on the other side of the bed. Right now he just wanted to bask in the glow of really good sex, well aware that eventually he’d have to get up and find his clothes. They couldn’t be far, considering they’d all been removed on the bed, but it was still a task he wished to put off for a minute more. After a minute, he leaned up on one elbow, looking down at her, gorgeous even after she’d been taken. He hadn’t gotten dinner out of the arrangement, but he’d gotten something far better, and he’d make sure she knew that. He’d leave her something nice... especially since he planned on stealing her key.
Mina was slipping into the amazing sleep that came after great sex. She had never been one for pillow talk, but she did want to express her thanks to him. Then she thought about it and realized that she had quite effectively shown him how much she appreciated what he had done for her. Her eyelids started to droop and she smiled under half lids at her companion. He was gorgeous and probably one of the best one night stands she’d ever had. She didn’t even care that she hadn’t asked him to pay her. He had done plenty. As she slowly drifted off to sleep, she realized with a small sense of sadness, that she hadn’t even asked what his name was.
Val didn’t stir until he was positive she was asleep, only then carefully climbing out of bed and dressing himself. He didn’t want to wake her, preferring the silence that came after these things when it wasn’t with a woman whom he intended to see again. Then again, she was a vampire, so there was always a chance. As he buttoned his shirt, his eyes searched the room, eventually landing on her purse. Quietly as ever, he slipped the key out and into his own pocket, unable to leave it behind. Then, stepping over to the dresser, he pulled out his wallet, pausing only briefly before pulling out five one hundred dollar bills. That would easily cover her for a few months, and this was one of the few cases where he wanted to help just because he could. She had no sire to look out for her, and she was still so young. With a glance back at the bed, he headed towards the door, his hand slipping into his pocket and wrapping around her room key. Maybe he’d leave her something else as well. After all, he could easily return in a few minutes. He had the key.
When Mina awoke the next afternoon she was alone on her bed. That was perfectly natural. What wasn’t natural was the fact that there was something on the pillow beside her. She propped herself up on her elbow and saw that her partner had left her five hundred dollars! He had paid her even though she hadn’t asked. If she wanted to, she could stop working for months! Not that she wanted to... No, what she would do with this was invest it so she could start the search for her sire. She picked up the rose that was left along with the money. It was exquisite and it smelled divine. She hopped out of bed hurriedly and threw on the first clothes that came to her fingertips, put the rose bud in her hair, and rushed down to the pool deck. As Mina stepped out in the sun for the first time in ten years, she smiled and thanked whatever gods that listened to the prayers of a vampire that the stranger had come into her life. She laid in the sun for a little while, until she felt too drained to stay any longer. Then, when she got into the elevator, she wondered where she had put her key...