Bright Blood

Chapter Two

I didn't kill him, by the way.
I indulged myself in a snack before getting the authorities involved. Between Ricky's testimony and the evidence from the previous murders adding up against him, the killer had been sentenced to life behind bars.

Okay, so he'd actually deserved far worse than that, but I didn't kill humans unless I absolutely had to. Most of the kills I made were of vampires who were either too sloppy to keep their prey alive or too stupid to clean up after themselves. I couldn't have them drawing attention to my area, so I made sure they didn't make the same mistake ever again.

"All done, honey," Ricky said, spinning me around so I could look at my reflection.

"Ooh, I like," I complimented both of us, admiring his work. It was pretty much exactly what I had pictured when I was in the change room. Smokey eyes, lush red lips, and just a hint of colour tinting my cheeks. "Can't I take you home with me?" I begged laughingly.

"Maybe next time," he promised with a wink.
We both knew it wasn't going to happen, just like we had an unspoken agreement never to give away the foundation of our relationship. He never mentioned how I hadn't aged a day since we'd met and I never mentioned that he'd been a prostitute.
It worked for both of us.

"How come you get special service?" Ri pouted.

I gave her a sultry grin that suggested all sorts of erotic things. "You know why."

She rolled her eyes and patted her hair. "Like it?"

"Love it and the highlights." Her dark curls had been given various shades of lighter brown, blond, and even a few reddish streaks throughout before being straightened and tamed into a very lovely, but simple hairstyle. Half of it was up, cute little buns scattered on top of her head, while the rest was down, flowing around her shoulders like a cape.

Ricky took the protective cape off me and I went to the front to pay for our new dos. I left a very generous tip for both him and the stylist who'd done Riley's hair before following Riley off to the nail salon.

"Mani-pedi? For you both?" the short dark-haired woman asked, looking us both over critically.

"Absolutely," I insisted, coming up before Ri could say something ridiculous, like that she didn't want anything fancy.

"Pick the polish you like and come to the chairs."

When we went to pick out the colours we wanted I elbowed Ri and hissed, "Splurging, remember?" in her ear, directing her to the fancier polish that would also last longer. We picked what we liked before following the lady to the massage chairs for our pedicures.

Ri chose her favorite shade of electric blue polish and I picked out a shade of emerald green that I thought would offset my dress and my eyes nicely.

Ri and I chatted while our feet and legs were pampered, then continued to laugh and talk while our hands received similar treatment.

By the time we were done, we needed to rush home to get ready. At least the majority of what we would normally have to do was already done, so I figured we'd make it.

I didn't kill us on the drive home, though you would think so with how much screaming Riley did. "Would you stop it?" I finally snapped. "People are going to either think I'm murdering you or giving you the best orgasm of your life."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "I'm starting to think you really are into me romantically. Are you sure you aren't bi?"

I pulled into my driveway and rolled my eyes at her. "I haven't had sex with a girl in years, don't worry."

Ri blinked at me, clearly uncertain whether to believe me or not.

I snickered. "You're safe. I love you as a sister, Ri. You don't need to worry about me having my wicked way with you. Unless it's something you want."