While my cat had been cautious but amenable to Naomi’s presence that very first night we spent in my bed, when I’d awoken out of my coffin after the skylight incident, I was surprised to see my girlfriend sprawled on the floor, a throw pillow from upstairs under her head and my Brammy-boy lying in the crook of her hip, kneading away on her leggings.
I had been moved, truly moved. I never imagined that Naomi would stay until I woke. I had assumed she would just lock meup and head home. It was in that moment, gazing down at her sweet face, that I recalled everything I could remember since I jolted awake.
I didn’t really want to think about all of that right before my date with Naomi. Something had shifted between us. We’d gone from a lighthearted romance to something so much deeper than that. Or at least that was how it was to me. And the fact that it was happening so fast was difficult for my ancient brain to wrap around, but it did feel right.
“Meerrrrrrr.”
“That’s what I thought. I promise you all of the pets and holds you want tomorrow. Okay?”
Gentleman that he was, Brahm acquiesced and bounded over to his favorite perch on the cat tree in the living room. And maybe I went and got him a little catnip as a reward for his capitulation, maybe I didn’t. The important thing was that he was happy when I left.
I was heading out quite early, just after sunset, but I wanted to walk. I was at the point where I really needed to feed, as it had been a while, so the vampiric part of me wanted to roam. To stalk. And while I would never give in to the temptation to actually feed from someone when I had such a great supply connection, I had learned it was prudent to let my inner predator do its thing every once in a while, even if it was only subconsciously.
Besides, it was nice to stretch my legs. It had been a long time since I needed to heal in my coffin, so it had me feeling a little itchy in my own skin.
Thankfully, we were starting to get to the other side of summer, where the days slowly grew shorter and the nights became cooler, as if they were yearning for the soft kiss of autumn’s respite. As a vampire, I definitely preferred it cooler over hotter, but both had their own complications. In thesummer, it was explaining the complete lack of sweat, while in the winter, it was hoping that people didn’t notice I had no steam cloud around me from breathing and speaking in the cold night air. So the walk to Naomi’s, while uneventful, was quite lovely, and I arrived eager to see what she’d cooked up for me.
“Knock, knock,” I said outside her door, even though she’d buzzed me in.
She opened the door, looking stunning in a simple tunic dress and cosmic leggings. It was quite different from the va-va-voom red pinup dress she’d worn the other night, but it was still alluring.
“Hey there!”
I didn’t think I would ever get over how she always sounded so happy to see me. Really, our relationship felt just a touch lopsided at the moment. Not only had she saved my life and guarded my interred body, but now she was cooking me dinner when I didn’t evenneedto eat. I should be the one cooking for her, but then again, I hadn’t touched an oven or a stove in at least fifty years, and I’d never used a microwave. Now that I had a mortal girlfriend, I wanted to learn, but I was under no illusion that it would come easily to me.
“Hey yourself,” I said, pulling her in for a kiss. Her lips were soft and warm, thrilling me and soothing me at the same time. I didn’t think I could ever get enough of kissing her, and she indulged me for several long minutes that somehow weren’t quite long enough.
When we parted, she was wonderfully flushed, and the beast within me salivated over her sheer vitality. Perhaps I needed to up my feeding schedule a bit now that I was dating a warm-blooded woman. I could more than afford it, and I’d curried enough favor with my supplier that I knew he’d have no problem adjusting our usual schedule. Benefits of detecting his wife’s cancer and intimidating the insurance adjuster who’d rejectedher treatment. Not that I’d done it for the blood twenty years ago, but it certainly had helped.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” Naomi said as she stepped back, making a broad gesture. I recognized it as her sweet and official way to invite me in. Touched, I wrapped one of my arms around her wonderfully solid waist and pulled her close enough to kiss each of her cheeks. I wanted to go for her lips again, but we’d only end up getting distracted, and I knew she was excited to show me what she’d cooked.
And judging by the delicious, nostalgic scent filling her apartment, I was excited to see it as well.
“Thank you. You’ve got a lovely place.”
“Well, it’s no house chock-full of priceless musical artifacts, but I get by.”
I chuckled. “I’m not so sure about priceless. Or even artifacts. But I do agree that my place is pretty musical. And, you know, full of cat trees.”
“I did notice you have one in every room but your bedroom. Your actual bedroom, that is, not the coffin one.”
“No, there’s usually one in the bedroom too, but that one finally succumbed after five years of scratching, and the custom one that’s being made for him is about three weeks late.”
Naomi paused mid-step to the kitchen, and I braced myself for her to tell me I was crazy. But instead, she affixed me with an amused expression.
“If you ever sire anyone, they’re going to be the most spoiled vamps to ever exist.”
A laugh burst out of me. Naomi’s wit always surprised me. “You forget that I like cats way more than I like other vampires.”
“I can’t imagine what’s not to like? Doesn’t everybody love Hot Topic rejects and wannabe Renaissance Faire LARPers with all the unearned confidence of theater kids and egos of tech bros?”
If I had been drinking something, I would have choked. “That isstartlingaccurate. Have you been hanging out with my coven?”
“No, but when you research how to be a good vampire partner, you read a lot of posts and blogs by vampires andphew,some of them are real illuminating.”
“You’re really looking all that up?” I asked softly. Although I trusted Naomi impossibly deeply for someone I hadn’t even known for two months, it was still so difficult for me to believe someone would want to spend so much energy and effort on me. I’d had my family when I was young, and then Ibrahim, but I hadn’t had anyone since.
Well, there was Iko, but our relationship was so mutually beneficial that it was a bit different.
