Longest Days

by C. L. Quinn

  Racing up to him, Tamesine grabbed his arm and curled hers around his.

  “I’m ready, Alv. Let’s hit it. I told you, I’m in the mood for some cock tonight. How about we get a lovely couple and have a twofer on the beach?”

  “Splendid idea. Keep it all in the family. I’m in the mood for a blonde again.”

  “Lovely. Let’s see what we can find on the marina.”

  It took only twenty minutes to get to the boardwalk.

  Tamesine enjoyed walking linked arm and arm with Alvin, sort of like they were a normal couple. She’d spent most of the past centuries of her life alone except for her human blood meals. It was nice to have a partner. Alvin wasn’t supremely handsome, but she liked him a lot. She saw a nice future for them. Suddenly, she felt like humming a tune. Then Alvin looked at her funny, so she quieted down and just walked along the busy walkway, looking at the little shops full of souvenirs and various clothing items that usually tempted her. But tonight, she was satisfied to just smile at the other couples, and pretend she was just like them. Normal. Human. She muffled a laugh. Human. Like she’d ever been that. Like she had any idea what it would be like to be so fragile.

  Alvin saw a young couple dressed in bathing suits just ahead. The guy was built like a Mack, with strong legs shown off in short shorts. He was as bleached a blonde as the woman smiling up at him. She was pretty, in an offbeat sort of way. He looked up at Tamesine.

  “How about it?”

  Tamesine tilted her head in the juvenile way he had already come to expect.

  “Hm. Yeah. I like him. Really muscled thighs. I think I’ll drink from him there.”

  “I thought you might like him. Let’s do take-out. Down to the beach.”

  “How nice. Yes. I want some wine, too. I’ll grab some while you get them. Be right there.”

  Alvin walked up to the couple as Tamesine disappeared.

  “Excuse me, do you have the time?” he asked, and as soon as they looked at him, he compelled them to follow him. They walked down to the beach, around a large boulder, back beyond the crowds, and then he used his skills to move first the girl, then the guy down the beach so distant no one could see or hear them. Moments later, Tamesine arrived with a bottle of red wine and some candles.

  “Oh, Alv. This is wonderful. It’s such a lovely night for a picnic. Here, you open the bottle and I’m going to go lick my dinner. I can’t wait.”

  Alvin popped the top off the bottle as Tamesine compelled her young man to lie on the sand and leaned over him. She’d already had him remove his clothes. And her tongue was already licking him near his groin. Alvin looked away. He usually preferred women, himself.

  Although he’d drunk from men before, it was rare. He wasn’t as sexually cavalier as his companion. He’d been a vampire about fifty years, and was still as traditional as he’d been all those years ago when he was still human. The sex, it was the only part of being vampire he loved.

  He looked at the young woman who was sitting quietly on the beach watching Tamesine working near her man’s genitals. She was compelled to stay there, but he knew she could still feel the terror of watching him compromised and wondering what would happen to them in the end. He walked over to her.

  “You two will be alright. We just want to play a little, get a little blood, and we’ll send you back to the docks. What is your name?”

  She looked up at him with watery eyes. Ah, he hated when they cried.

  “Stop that. Don’t be afraid. What is your name?”

  “Pansy. Penelope, but everyone calls me Pansy.”

  “Okay, then, Pansy. Remove your clothing.”

  She stood up and began to drop each item until she stood naked in front of him. When she tried to cover herself, he clicked his tongue.

  “Stop that. Keep your hands down. I want to look. Turn around. Slowly.” He leaned back and watched her rotate, enjoying her excellent young body. He glanced at Tamesine, who was doing the same. Yeah. He actually did like this double teaming. It was very satisfying and he found he was quite the voyeur after all. He told the girl to sit down and turned to watch Tamesine mount the man on the beach. His own cock was fully engorged now, and he crawled closer to watch her ride the man until they both screamed in release. He found his own hand around himself and he brought himself to climax too. Turned out, he didn’t need the young girl at all.

  A little while later, with the couple sent safely back to the docks, completely unaware of their experience with the vampires, Alvin and Tamesine shared the bottle of wine. They lay on the sand and watched the nearly full moon reflecting on the glistening water.

  “When are you going to tell me what you are? Why you are so powerful?”

  She rolled up on her side and perched her head on her hand.

  “Now? Why not? Now is a good time. Have you ever thought about where vampire’s come from?”

  “Not really. Not much. Why? Do you know?”

  Tamesine laughed. It was a pretty laugh, not annoying like her giggle.

  “Yeah, I know.” She threw herself over on her back again and peeled off her halter top. “Do you think I could get a moon tan? I kind of miss that. Anyway, Alvin, I was not made vampire. I was born vampire. I’m an original vampire. All the rest of you made vampires…you come from my people.”

  Alvin was stunned. Born vampire? He stared into the darkness at her face lit by the brilliant moonlight.

  “The vampire virus that changes us. It comes from you. You’re the progenitors,” he whispered.

  “We are. We’re called first bloods, for obvious reasons, and while we have some of the same issues you do, we are much stronger, faster, smarter, and we have special talents that human-made vampires don’t. Compared to humans, vampires are special. Compared to vampires, first bloods are gods. You would do well not to forget that.”

  Alvin thought about what she said. And what he had hoped. That she could make him more powerful like her.

  “So, you can’t make me stronger, then. I would have to have been born vampire. Right?”

  Tamesine rolled onto her stomach and swung her legs up and down. “We-e-l-l-ll, mostly, yes. However…”

  She paused for effect. Alvin was deeply frustrated with her childishness now. But he had to keep his temper.

  “However…what?”

  “However I can help you become stronger than you are. If I decide to.”

  Alvin wanted to shove the wine bottle down her throat. Instead, he smiled and moved closer to her.

  “What could I do to convince you to decide to?”

  “Be nice to me. Do what I tell you to do. Promise me you’ll stay here with me until I don’t want you to anymore.”

  He would promise her anything at this point.

  “Well, of course, my dear. We had a lovely time tonight, didn’t we? I think we’re great together. Why would I want to leave?”

  “Then when we get home, I’ll let you feed. You’ll see. It’s amazing.”

  She giggled. Ugh, Alvin thought, fingernails on a blackboard. But he moved forward and gave her a brief kiss on her nose.

  “Let’s go home and see your puppies.”

  Tamesine squealed. It was worse than the giggling, thought Alvin. But all he could think of was how it would be to drink her powerful blood.

  Eillia had been hijacked again. With her prettiest smile, and playing on their friendship, Starla had persuaded her to come, one more time, to the Wooly Bully. God, she did not want to go.

  Yet in a moment of honesty, Eillia knew she could easily have controlled Starla’s request. She knew she could have compelled her to go alone to meet her new beau. But here she was, entering the mostly male bar, with no good reason to be there, and one very good reason not to.

  Eillia hoped like hell he wouldn’t be here tonight. Although she found herself looking for him from the first moment she arrived. She didn’t see him anywhere. Thank god. At the same moment, she found herself very disappointed that he wasn’t there. Yep. More sixteen
year old behavior from someone who knew better. Starla grabbed her hand and distracted her from her unwelcome obsession by pointing across the room. Eillia smiled. It was the young man who had walked her home. At least Starla’s guy was there. And she was beaming. Eillia gave her a little shove.

  “Go get him. Get some of the lovely man. Ah, he’s noticed you now, too. Go ahead, sweetie. I’ll be fine.”

  Starla gave her a little hug and bolted toward him. Eillia found she was smiling almost as widely. Starla deserved to be happy. Everyone did. But humans, they just had such short lives to make their dreams come true. She couldn’t imagine wasting a moment of it. As the thought crossed her mind, so did the fact that she herself had lost this past year. But that time had not been wasted. To heal from such a great loss required the time to make it through the pain and begin to understand that things would be alright again. Not today. Someday, though. Now, with the year behind her, the healing begun, she could see the future again.

  She’d come here to give Starla support, but now that she was left alone, she ordered up a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. With her vampire constitution, it took the entire bottle to get her buzz on. She intended to kill the entire thing and then some.

  Watching the men get drunk and rowdy, she enjoyed the ambience of this wonderfully ordinary meeting place. It had been a lot of centuries since she’d just sat and watched humans being humans. Several of the men approached her, but she gave them a soft compel that they did not find her attractive and left quickly. She motioned toward the bar.

  The bartender gave her an odd look, but he remembered her from the last time. He left another bottle at her request.

  “A little thing like you. You cannot possibly drink another bottle alone.”

  “I possibly can,” she said, smiled, and reached for it. She caught his eye and sent him back to the bar with no knowledge that he’d brought her another bottle. That’s when she saw him. Daniel.

  He’d just come in with two young Inupiat men and took a seat on the other side of the bar. If he looked up and scanned the room, he’d see her. Of course, he wouldn’t recognize her. It was alright that they were both here. He couldn’t know her, and if he were to approach her, she’d just send him away like the others. She chugged the shot and closed her eyes. He probably wouldn’t. The compulsion from before could easily keep him from noticing her.

  The whiskey had done its job and she was pleasantly drunk. Her head felt dizzy, but she wasn’t sure if it was the booze or him. Her eyes landed on his arm, the muscled shape obvious now that he’d slid off his coat and was just wearing a short sleeved black tee shirt. She remembered what he could do with those arms. And that tongue. Suddenly, she felt hot. The area between her legs began to twitch. She wanted him. Badly. Surprise.

  She could have him again and make him forget again.

  Another shot of whiskey later, her eyes went back to the other side of the room where he was laughing at something one of his friends said. Bad idea. It didn’t matter. She needed him. She could feel her heart race as she thought about pushing herself down over him. And she hadn’t gotten to taste him yet. More whiskey. She dropped the glass too sharply and it smacked the table top. Several men looked up at her. He was one of them. She raised her eyes and met his. He looked shocked.

  So was she. He shouldn’t remember her at all. Then it struck her. He wasn’t remembering her. He was remembering the woman he thought she looked like from his own past. Like he had done before.

  How could he be sexier than she remembered him? Was it her superhuman libido punishing her? She couldn’t stop thinking about how he felt inside her.

  He was staring at her openly now. One of his companions grabbed his arm as he started to stand up, and pulled him back down into his seat. He looked very upset. She could feel him. He wanted to come to her right now. Whoever that woman was who looked like her, he’d really loved her. Eillia almost felt a moment of jealousy, and that surprised her. He was sexy, she wanted his body, that was all. He wasn’t hers.

  Either way, she wanted him tonight. She let her eyes drift back to his and stared. Compulsion wouldn’t be necessary yet. Eillia knew if she stared at him he would come to her. He did. After only a few seconds he shook off his friend and bolted toward her.

  Daniel came up to the table in front of her and stared at her face for a few moments. No. He studied her, his eyes carefully mapping her features. Then he squatted down beside her to bring his face closer to hers. Even then, he was still higher than her.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  Eillia was too curious. Instead of answering him right away, she let her mind wander into his. She had limited ability to read people, their emotions, intentions. Not details, she couldn’t actually read thoughts like a telepath or empath, but close enough. His intensity shocked her. He wasn’t just interested in a woman who looked like someone he knew. There was shock and desperation she couldn’t believe.

  “My name is Lia. I cook at the Blue Star. I don’t remember seeing you in here before.”

  He was still staring, but mostly at her eyes. “I can say the same thing about you. I’m here a lot. You couldn’t be.”

  “Well, that’s true. I’m just here with a friend.” She indicated Starla, who was dancing with the blonde. She paused. “May I ask your name?”

  He shook his head. “I’m being rude. I apologize for staring. You look like someone I…” He hesitated. “You look like someone who died last year. It startled me. Um, Daniel. My name is Daniel.”

  Eillia put out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Daniel.”

  He took it gently, but as soon as their skin touched, a spark snapped between their fingers. It made him hold on tighter, but he smiled. “Sorry. Static.” Eillia knew it was more than static.

  “Would you dance with me?” she asked.

  He seemed surprised at the request, but he got up and pulled her with him.

  With few women in town, the dance floor was pretty sparse. Daniel folded Eillia against him, but kept back from her body respectfully. She didn’t want that. The song was an old favorite. The lyrics seemed as if they were guiding them together.

  Can I have this dance, for the rest of my life. Would you be my partner every night. I’ll always remember…

  Eillia looked up into his eyes, and they met, she held them, then dropped hers and held him close. She buried her hips against him, bringing his penis against her belly. She could feel him grow hard. The move excited him further, and he moaned against her ear so close to his chest. She felt his breath quicken. He would come with her without compulsion. That she knew. And she was past ready.

  As the music changed, she stepped back and caught his gaze again, the unspoken message clear. And although he was hesitant, he followed her as she pulled him from the dance floor into a storage room behind the restrooms. Eillia put a spell on the door to keep anyone from wanting to enter.

  Daniel turned to her. “Um…” he started to speak, but Eillia opened up her desire to him, and a wave of her intense need assaulted him. He stared, shocked, for a few seconds, and then scooped her up into his arms, her legs almost dangling, as he kissed her deeply. It wasn’t enough for either of them.

  He turned her around and sat her on a wooden crate. Eillia used a little vampire speed to loosen his pants and they dropped to the floor as she slid hers down. He was fully erect and she slid back on the crate and widened her legs, letting him know what she wanted. He moved in and buried himself inside her. They began the slow heat that would build to an orgasm neither of them had expected tonight. Eillia moved to match him, thrust by thrust, the heat and friction pushing them over the edge.

  He lifted her off the crate afterward and pulled her into his lap as he dropped down onto the concrete floor. They were breathing hard, pressed together, heartbeats matched. He turned his head to look at her.

  “God, you’re beautiful. I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life.”

  Eillia turned away. Neither had she
. Sex with Hamid had been wonderful. They had been bonded on an emotional and physical level that had endured for centuries. She had loved him deeply all that time. But being with him had never been this explosive. She looked at the large human male beneath her that could rocket her into space. He’d told her she was beautiful. So was he.

  Daniel leaned back to look at her face.

  “Are you okay? I know we don’t know each other, but you attacked me. God, I’m not complaining, but I want to make sure you’re okay with what we just did.”

  She buried her face against him. Because he was warm and she wanted to smell him again. She loved his scent. That alone could excite her.

  “I wanted you. I want you now. I’m very okay with what we did.” She pulled back and took his face in her hands.

  “Daniel, I can’t keep attacking you like this.”

  He shook his head, started to say something, but he looked confused and stopped. Keep?

  A few minutes later, he spoke quietly. “I knew someone. You look exactly like her. Exactly.” Eillia could feel the pain and regret in him.

  “When I saw you, I thought the gods had answered my prayers. And I know you can’t be her. I’m having a little trouble with that. Lia, you look like my dream woman. But I know I made love with you and not her. Somehow, I feel like I know you. How is that?”

  She could feel him pull away. That was okay. Each of them were rebounding from terrible losses. And that never worked.

  Eillia wiped his memory again.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Nightfall, and time for breakfast. Alvin truly enjoyed the breakfast buffet. This first blood vampire was very good at providing food for her guest. Everything he could have desired on a long counter, prepared by a blood bonded human who’d been with her for about two hundred years.

  He had tried to kill his only blood bond. A squirrely young man he’d thought would be helpful in his quest, so he’d turned him. Then the asshole had run. Alvin wanted to finish the job if he found him someday. Blood bonded humans were largely enslaved to their sire. They routinely ingested just enough vampire blood to stay under control. It had the fortunate effect of great health and extended life for the human involved. But they were not vampire. And he’d needed Shanks to have vampire strength.