A Vampire's Paramour

~ 14 ~

He lets me eat as slow as I want. I take my time picking through the crust and nibbling on the ends. He can see the tear-streaked cheeks across from him. I'm painfully aware that he can tell I'm upset, but in one of my weakest moments, I'm thankful he chooses to let me be. There's no point in discussing emotion with him. How would he understand? Do vampires even feel like humans do?

"We feel more than you know. Monsters tend to have higher emotional complexes than a human can comprehend." He responds. I pull my head up to look at him. He's wearing a daring blue suit, no tie. He's unbuttoned the top to let me peer over the dark etchings in his skin—a scar peaks over from his heart. I have an urge to reach out and touch it, but I stop myself. I'm not in the mood to die just yet. He interrupts my distracted thoughts, "You, Evelyn, are always welcome to touch me. I'm careful to keep myself from being harmful towards you, call it second nature."

"But why?" I drop the crust of the slice I was eating, "Why are you so... attentive towards me?"

"Would you like to take a half-day tomorrow? I can take you into the village. There are several markets I'm sure you would like. And Bella could join us if she's good in crowds." Totally ignores my question, which only makes me more curious.

"Blatantly changing the conversation doesn't take away from my conversation. Is there some reason you've chosen me, a stupid human, to sit in that office with you and buy dresses for?" I push the plate away from me. Victor catches the motion and does the same with his barely touched plate. He moves to standing, eyes turning towards the door to avoid the sight of my anger.

"I've been summoned for something. Irene will get you back to your chamber safely." He walks to the doorway, a fantastic butt flexing. I'm almost entranced, his voice the only thing to call me back. A smirk is well hidden, but noticeable. "Once Irene closes your door this evening, do not leave your room. If you need anything, call me directly. You'll have a house line available in your room when you get back."

"Wait, what?"

"And Evelyn Sapphire, you are anything but a stupid human. Call yourself that again, and I'll bend you over my knee." And he was gone. The wind of his speed brushes my hair back. Bella whines for him, the handler hushing her while I sit stunned on my side of the table.

Want to play a game, then your grace? Game on.

~

I didn't leave that evening, and we didn't take a half day. Six days go by with the same vibe. I work on documentation and catch up on backlogged finance work. We eat lunch together, part for a few hours, then eat dinner together. The courage to finally return to his infuriating nature has built up. Bella lays at my feet while I sort through some minor finance requests—blood bags, IVs, amongst other things. After my first week, I learned that only the ranked vampires get live humans. The term sickens me to say so casually, but everything has become a number. I'm numb to it. The un-ranked buy blood bags from the humans. From my backdoor research, it's the backbone of the human economy, and I had no idea. They've never told us of the thousands of bags we're shipping to the vampires, and the more I work by his side, the more I learn about the humans' lies.

Sadly, Victor has objective evidence against the humans. I can't deny the truths he speaks so calmly when he lays another signed document or receipt at my desk. It's becoming increasingly evident that our work is grey—a horribly mixed grey with no clear distinction between good and evil. The only bad a thin black streak from the monsters, the vampires maintain.

He's spent some time sitting with me. Victor goes through common knowledge, all of it like a soul-crushing bomb for me. The human leaders know all about the vampire monsters. They have contract upon contract protecting the humans from them. We're like rats to them, just there as a convenience instead of true people. "Evie, can I get some help with something?" My new nickname. He wanted something that no one would call me.

"What do you need?"

"These absolute mutants can't get this through their hollow skulls. I need your touch." Need my touch. It's not what you might think. Mutant is a word for a half-blood. Yes, half-blood. A being born of both human and vampire. Before the blood moon, some beloveds can conceive, leading to a mutant. The human realm isn't privy to this information, but on this side of the walls, it's almost too common. After learning about this, I rushed to tell Irene and rant. She snorted and gave me a look, confirming something I hadn't thought to ask: a half-blood. A half-blood grows and changes like a human and doesn't have a change in eye color. However, they can use blood to heal, for strength, and even for pleasure. For my 'touch', he means my ability to put things into a dumber tone. Victor is a brilliant man and sometimes needs my brain to translate his thoughts into understandable speech. I can't believe I complimented him.

"And what are you talking through? Is this the merger agreement you've been working on all week?"

"Yes, but they are far below my level of intellect. One dumber question and this tablet is shattered." I snatch the device from him before he has the chance—one dumber question. I won't comment on it, but he gets the idea well enough when I stomp back off to my desk to look at the emails. I've noticed that electronics in the dukedom are very limited in their use and the amount of time they can be used. This is particularly for the mutants who travel to the human side for business, where technology is much more advanced.

He's not wrong. They are some of the worst questions I've ever seen. I do believe there are some dumb questions, and this is one of them. Instead of playing into it, I send an email with step-by-step instructions and a due date. The sooner we merge, the sooner we will be rid of them. One of them responded with a thank-you, and another email pinged back with a signature. Such men.

"We merge? Finally taking claim in your work?" Victor muses from his corner of the room. I dig my teeth into my bottom lip, my eyes tracing back up to his. My hair tumbles down my front, falling around my breasts that rise from the top of the corset, hands tightly wrapped around the tablet. Victor takes in a breath, his blood red eyes going dark, "Stop that, Evie."