The Vampire's Assistant

Chapter Nine

My third date with Eric was in New Orleans. It was early September and he'd decided, rather ambitiously, that the new Fangtasia would have its Grand Opening on Halloween night. So we, along with Pam, were in the city making preparations, the biggest of which was the purchase of the building itself.

That had been finalized the night before and Eric was obviously thrilled at the progress we'd made. I could almost see cartoon dollar signs floating around his head. As for me, I was just happy to be home. I'd missed the city terribly, more than I'd allowed myself to realize. Eric sensed this, of course, and for our third date he'd handed me the reigns for the first time, telling me to pick wherever I wanted to go in the city.

I'd chosen one of my favorite, tucked away bistros and a visit to Cafe du Monde. He obliged me and afterwards we strolled through the French Quarter. I still couldn't decide what I found weirder, that I had been on three dates with a vampire, or that those three dates had been so normal. Eric, surprisingly, had been the consummate gentleman. The dates he'd planned for us were human-friendly, lovely evenings that ended with no more than a kiss on my hand or a light brush against my cheek. I couldn't remember ever being on a human date that ended so chastely. It was a new and not altogether unpleasant experience.

But I knew the game he was playing. I'd worked for Eric for nearly two years now and knew better than to mistake him for a gentleman. He might be on his best behavior now, but it was only to glean my trust. Which, when I thought about it, was actually a pretty decent thing to do. It was more than most human men had done for me and more than I'd ever have expected from Eric.

What was troubling about the whole thing was that I couldn't figure out why he'd gone out of his way for me of all people. I couldn't understand what sort of appeal I, an average mortal woman, could hold for a vampire like him. I looked where our hands intertwined as we walked, his so pale and large and mine so small in comparison, the skin only a little darker than his. Even in his hand, as relaxed as it was at the moment, his power was evident. It was in his shoulders, too, and his neck, his long legs, the sinewy muscles of his arms. Even if you couldn't see him it was palpable. His presence was pure energy; strong, compelling, old energy.

He'd lived lifetimes. He'd witnessed more history than I'd ever been taught and he would be around long after I was just a tombstone over a plot of earth. I hadn't the slightest idea what could have possessed him to take such an interest in me. I'd never heard of a vampire as old as Eric caring a fig for any human beyond blood and sex.

His patience and kindness towards me was baffling. Sure, I'd like to think of myself as a good employee and a fairly good person overall. But what significance did that have to him? In my experience, he appreciated tall, gorgeous women with big boobs and loose morals. I would hardly call myself gorgeous, pretty perhaps, in a common way, my boobs certainly weren't big, and while I wasn't qualifying for sainthood, I liked to think I had some standards, that my mother raised me right.

I felt Eric's eyes on me and when I looked, I found him staring down at me with a furrowed brow. He'd sensed my consternation. I smiled at him and squeezed his hand but he wasn't fooled. He was too tapped into my emotions to be.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied sweetly and diverted. "I really enjoyed tonight."

Eric's face said that he still didn't believe me, but he didn't push. "So have I. I'm glad you've gotten over your stubborn streak."

My eyes narrowed. "Who says I have?"

He chuckled and pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Here we are." I stopped, surprised that we'd had a destination at all. I'd thought we were just walking, enjoying the cool night air. But the recognition dawned on me as Eric turned a key in the lock of a familiar building.