BLOODBOUND II

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At Dracula's castle, every vampire in the ballroom turns as the doors at the top of the stairs open... revealing a tall, handsome man, who steps in with a hand raised in greeting.

Dracula: Welcome, all of you. My heart lifts to see your beautiful faces.

The vampires around the room bow and curtsy, Amy, Jax and Lily fumble to follow their example.

Dracula: Please, enjoy yourselves tonight. Unleash your inner desires and let them run rampant. After all, you are in my domain, and here, we do not shy away from desire.

The vampires cheer and clap, and Vlad lifts an imperial hand again, soaking in all the attention.

Amy: He seems...

Adrian: Pretentious?

Kamilah: Insufferable?

Amy: More like hot.

Adrian shoots her a strange look, and Kamilah scoffs.

Amy: What? He is!

Lily: I'm with Amy, this dude can get it.

The group watch as the music starts up again, and Vlad makes his way through the crowd.

He kisses hands, cheeks, and even a few mouths as he exchanges words with his guests.

Lily: I get the feeling he's always this handsy?

Kamilah: Unfortunately. He once tried to kiss me, and I stomped on his foot. Broke a couple of his toes.

Jax: Nice.

Kamilah: He doesn't try to kiss me anymore, on the lips, that is.

Amy turns to realize Dracula himself has joined their group.

Dracula: Kamilah, my love! It has been much too long.

He lifts the back of Kamilah's hand to his lips, and she raises an eyebrow at him.

Kamilah: It certainly has. How are you, Vlad?

Dracula: So long as I am surrounded by beautiful things, I cannot complain.

He seductively pets Kamilah's hand as he speaks, and she extracts it from his grasp.

Dracula: Ah! And Adrian is here as well!

He swoops in to kiss Adrian on both cheeks, lingering on each.

Adrian: Vlad.

Dracula: It's a rare treat to find you back in this part of the world, old friend.

Vlad traces a delicate fingertip across Adrian's jaw, and he doesn't blink.

Kamilah: Vlad, allow us to introduce our friends. This is Lily, Jax, and Amy.

He turns to Lily and bows, also kissing her hand. She returns the gesture with a large grin.

Lily: Hi, Drac--I mean uh, Vlad. Nice castle you got here.

He gives a husky laugh and pats Lily's hand fondly. He then eyes Jax with a smolder.

Dracula: This one seems a bit stiff.

Jax: Excuse me?

He takes Jax's hand and runs his fingertips over the underside of his wrist, making him shudder.

Dracula: But I'm sure I can fix that.

Jax: Uh...

Then Vlad turns to Amy, wearing a large, hungry smile.