Eternal Service (14 page)

“But you can control your hunger? You can wait to feed if needed.”

Christ, she looked nervous. “To a certain point, yes. I can ignore the hunger pains for a little while.” She visibly relaxed and he felt her ease reflected in her thought patterns.

She studied him and finally asked, “Can I watch you feed yourself?”

It shocked him to hear such a question. It wasn’t what he expected. Actually, he didn’t know what to expect. In his heart he knew what he wanted his answer to be. His mind wrestled with his heart’s decision. Ages had passed since he had been intimate with a woman, and having new blood in his system would be a catalyst into her bedroom. He pondered the question for a bit, and then asked, “Why do you want to watch me feed?”

“I’m curious. If ever there is a situation in the field where I have to give you blood one day, it’d be good to know how to do it.”

Raymond ran her explanation through his mind a few times, and still wasn’t sure what to make of it. Her thought patterns vibrated with curiosity. It wasn’t necessarily a bad sign, but was it a good one?

Overall, what was the big deal? Dixon witnessed them feed in the past a few times. They normally tried not to feed in front of their food source, but Raymond didn’t dismiss the idea. Business–wise it made sense. Romantically speaking, he was playing with fire. “Maybe after you have a bite to eat first.”

The answer wasn’t a yes, but also not a no. It left the door unlocked in case he wanted to open it or not. The temptation to change his mind and beg for her vein was great, until he smelled something foul emanating from the kitchen. Only one thing smelled that bad – human food. “You cooked? I thought we were going out.”

She returned to the sitting area of the living room. “I figured there was no need since I was the only one eating. Plus, we’d have more privacy here to talk. I hope you don’t mind.” She sat down on the red chair next to the couch. Raymond took a seat on the couch a safe distance from her. He didn’t mind at all for a little more intimate setting but wanted to take it slow.

As if on cue Alex’s three dogs approached and sat at her feet in a defensive position. They were perfect little watchdogs. Their presence reminded him that they weren’t alone. The smallest dog had scars on its body. “This is Luddy,” she said picking the dog up. “He engaged in a fight with a much bigger dog and lost. His owner wanted to put him down and I was at the right place at the right time to save him. The big one is Tory.” She placed Luddy down and now stroked the back of Tory’s ear. “She’s the youngest. Her owners no longer wanted her because they had a baby, so I took her in.” Looking at the sheltie she said, “This one is Gracie. She’s the oldest. She's a good girl.” She reached down and patted the little dog. “She has several health issues, but she’s still here with me. I enjoy their company. It's nice to have another heartbeat around the house, plus they’re great watchdogs for protection.” She smiled at the dogs as they settled down on the floor.

Raymond was in awe. Alex held so much love in her heart for these little creatures. It reminded him of his youth when his mother would go to the hen-house to collect the eggs for breakfast. His mother would pat the heads of the hens as she took their eggs and she would talk to them. Alex was not only beautiful, but owned a heart to match. He enjoyed hearing her voice, seeing her beauty and learning more and more about her.

“Raymond, do you want some wine? I know you can drink it. I have red and white.”

“Red wine is fine. Thanks.” As she left, his eyes shifted down for a good look at her backside. Nice. She smelled sweet too, and not in any excessively perfumed way.

Alex brought back a Cabernet and poured two glasses. While she opened the wine, Raymond looked about her home. He appreciated the decor; his sister would love it. Raymond wasn’t an expert on furniture, but would have guessed the pieces in her house were mostly antiques. He remembered furniture such as this from a few decades ago, perhaps the 1960s. The couch took up much of the living room. It was long enough even for him to be comfortable lying on. The coffee table and end tables matched, which added symmetry to the room. The red lounge chairs probably were a specific style, but they just looked like two comfortable chairs to relax in. The desk in the corner seemed sturdy. Pop art adorned the walls with bookshelves on either side of the room. Planters with thriving plant life sat atop the tables and in metal wire stands throughout the room. Very few knick knacks cluttered the room, which he preferred. It was beautiful. Simply elegant.

“Here you go.” She handed him one of the glasses of wine.

“You have a lovely home Alex. Beautiful belongings.”

“This old stuff? My parents gave the furnishings to me when I moved out and went to college twenty years ago. Eventually, I want to update the entire look.”

“Well, I like it. And my sister would love the decor. She enjoys antiques.” He sipped his wine, hoping it would quench his thirst, but it didn’t quite do the trick.

“That would be your younger sister, the one who saved your life when the snake struck you?”

“Yes.”

“Any other family?

“Just my son, of whom you already know.”

A smile appeared on her face. “You talk very formally. Doesn’t that get you into trouble sometimes if you don’t want people to know how old you are?”

She didn’t know the half of it. Colloquial English was ever changing. It horrified him to discover the word mcjob made it into the dictionary. “Sometimes it is hard to keep up.” He sipped his wine again. “This is very good wine, Alex. I like the taste.”

They sat up talking for a while, and were on their second bottle of wine. She fixed herself a plate of some nasty looking and God–awful smelling pasta dish, but he supposed she found it savory enough as a human. He looked over her legs and was grateful that Alex preferred to wear dresses, although she did look good in the jeans earlier. Her legs were shapely, but what stood out was she had a scar on her right one. Her perfect legs were flawed. Assuming it was an athletic injury, he asked, “How did you get that scar on your leg?”

He felt the thought patterns as they slammed into him. Insecurity, outrage, fears, and even guilt. She glanced away. Through her thought patterns, he sensed she was hiding within herself. He asked again. “Alex, how did you get that scar?”

She pulled her legs up on the couch, and her hand covered the scar. Raymond noticed the hesitation in her voice as she slowly began, “It’s … it was a long time ago. … God. Well, I don’t talk about it.” She sat quietly for a moment, not making eye contact with him, and then added, “I was attacked three years ago this November.”

Raymond’s relaxed, easy–going attitude was instantly replaced by a predator–like position on the couch. “What happened?”

She shook her head as she now looked at him. “I was stupid. A stalker had been following me for weeks, and I wasn’t very careful. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, I’m fine. I had been on my way home. It had been a late night at work, like all my nights, really. I had stopped off at the commissary for some groceries. I never saw him coming.”

She played with the cross necklace around her neck, took a deep breath, and continued, “He was an enlisted man that I had met briefly. He thought he was in love with me. That night he grabbed me from behind and forced me back into the bushes.” She paused and looked up while taking a deep breath.

Raymond leaned over closing the space between them. He was close enough to touch her, but resisted the temptation. Her story would come out in her own words and her own time. Her thought patterns were strong, but her exact thoughts incomprehensible from a distance. He would not rush in to see what she may not want to share with him by touching her right now. … However, he did want to put his arms around her to comfort her. His hands balled into fists to prevent him from doing so.

Alex’s body stiffened as she crossed her arms. “He was a big guy. He had me pinned under him. He tore my clothes and … well, I did get away. I escaped without being raped.” She bit her lip, “But it was scary. The man had been in my home several times. He had pictures of me all over a wall in his apartment. It was eerie.” She reached for her glass, and took a sip of her wine. “The police arrested him. He’s undergoing psychic evaluations and will be locked up for several years.” She tossed her hands out dismissively and said, “I don’t have to worry about him anymore, but the idea that others like him exist … well, that does scare me.”

Raymond now understood all the locks on the doors and the guard dogs.

“After that night I signed up at the gym, started working out, eating better. I even took a self–defense class so I wouldn’t be vulnerable again. I know I was so damn lucky. I know it. I couldn’t date a man after that for a while. I just couldn’t trust anyone. I guess in some ways I still don’t.”

Raymond listened to what she had said and tried to decipher the meaning of her words. She said she ‘couldn’t date a man after that for a while’, did she date women? Raymond thought probably not, at least he hoped she preferred men. Her sentence suggested that she may be dating men again, but he knew she didn’t currently have any lovers. Then it finally occurred to him why she was so scared earlier. “That’s why you were afraid of me. You didn’t want to be alone with me at all.”

“Yes.” She said as an awkward silence filled the room.

“I would never hurt you Alex.” He wasn’t sure what to say next, but finally added, “You do have a very athletic build thanks to all the workouts you do.” He did admire it.

Alex laughed and poured herself another glass of wine as she continued to eat her meal. Raymond wanted to put his arms around her. Wanted to protect her. Wanted to chase away all the bad things in her life. He also felt the need to feed again, but knew that wouldn’t be a good idea since he had wanted to touch her since he had entered her apartment.

Her eating was distracting and he relented to his surging passion and allowed his eyes to go black, and his fangs to extend as he watched her continue to eat her meal. He felt lost in the sensual way she ate. He watched as she lifted the fork to her mouth and engulfed the fork itself in her round luscious lips, consuming the contents that filled her mouth. He watched her swallow each bite, his body reacting with each swallow.

When she nearly finished her meal, she suddenly dropped the fork on the plate. “Your eyes are black!”

Raymond blinked and looked away. “Yes.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m straining not to give in to my hungers right now.”

She set her plate down on the side table. “Can I feed you?”

He wasn’t sure what this offer entailed, but his mind no longer wrestled with his heart. The decision was made. “Oh, God yes.”

He sounded too eager. Alex grabbed the cross at her neck as she put distance between them.

“I’m not going to bite you,” he assured her. “Perhaps I should go.”

He stood already half up before she stopped him. “No, no. Everything is fine.” In her mind, she wanted everything to be fine, but she wasn’t sure if it was. She felt like meat on a stick with how he had stared at her. She understood she would have to be comfortable around such things if she took the job though. She took a deep breath. She knew Raymond wouldn’t hurt her. On some level, she just knew that to be true.

“Please. Sit back down. I can handle a little eye color change.” She took a reassuring breath knowing that if he had wanted to hurt her, he had had plenty of opportunities by now, and still he had not attacked her.

He looked away as he sat back down.

“When did you last eat?”

“A while ago.”

“Oh.” She wiped her hands on her napkin and set it down next to her plate. “You don’t look too much older.”

Without looking at her, he pointed to his hair and eyes. “I have a few gray hairs now, the start of a few wrinkles here and there. Not much of a difference.”

Alex noticed his lack of eye contact. “Do you have difficulty looking at me when you are hungry?” She took a sip of her wine, mentally trying to normalize the weird conversation.

“No.” His head turned and his blacken eyes darted over to her. “I just thought it best not to look at you when I’m like this.”

“I’m not afraid of gray hair, Raymond.” she teased, lightening the mood.

He focused his eyes on hers. “My eyes turn black when a desire overcomes me.”

His eyes resembled deep pools; pools she wanted to swim in. The way he had said the word ‘desire’ sounded sexier than anything else she had heard in a long time, if ever. Her fingers played with the rim of her wineglass as she watched Raymond sitting on her couch. He didn’t just sit. He watched and studied her every move as if he wanted her in a physical, very passionate way. How many times had the last guy sat on this same couch playing video games to the early morning hours and had not even once glanced her way? But, she didn’t want anything else from that man. She looked at Raymond. Yes, she did want more from Raymond.

The scene seemed familiar, like deja vu. The two of them being in her apartment felt natural. Perhaps this sensation came from her comfort level with him. Maybe it was the way he looked at her, like he was looking through to her soul. Either way, it felt right. She knew he wasn’t looking at her to size her up as his next meal. No, there was more to it than that.