Eternal Service

by Regina Morris

  She never liked the scary, ugly vampire stories. She preferred the sexier vampire stories. God, if Hollywood only knew how sexy and handsome real vampires were, they’d never be able to cast actors in those roles. No man could hold a candle to Raymond’s good looks.

  And he was good–looking. She had forbidden herself from falling for a coworker long ago. But that was before she met Raymond. Was it morally right to have the hots for someone she will be working with for decades?

  She realized that his beauty would still exist decades from now. In her opinion, her looks had already faded. Her bubble burst. He didn’t seem like the playboy type. He probably dated many women – and all at the same time. God. He probably has dated hundreds of women in his lifetime! She knew she’d pale in comparison.

  She remembered his comment about being widowed. Thinking back to their meal, she had noticed a ring on his finger. Engaged. Of course he was taken.

  Alex wished she had a girlfriend to talk to about all of this. Of course, she was close with her therapist, Micki. Alex sighed as she realized that she needed to schedule a session, and quick. She needed to talk things out and keep Raymond off–limits.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Raymond checked the Jag’s clock as he pulled up to Alex’s single story red brick house. The well manicured yard had a large shade tree in front. A white picket fence outlined the lush grass and gave the home a charming touch.

  He checked his pocket watch. Five o’clock sharp, right on time. The drive to the house was pleasant and she lived in a quiet neighborhood. Big trees lined the sidewalks and offered plenty of shade for taking walks. Shade was always good. He parked his Jag in the driveway, opened the white gate, and walked down the pathway circling the garden leading to her front door.

  Before reaching the door, Raymond noticed a red rose bush in her garden. It bloomed with red flowers which shined brilliantly in the fading sunlight. Raymond paused mid–stride. Roses. Not only that, but red roses. Identical with Wilma’s roses. He wasn’t one to read into signs, but if he were, what would this be telling him? Should he not knock on the door? Or, did the sign indicate potential happiness again for him? He knew he was attracted to Alex. He wanted to spend more time with her and reminded himself that his being here wasn’t a betrayal to Wilma. He forged ahead and continued up the walk.

  The doorbell chimed setting off a barrage of noise. Raymond heard dogs barking, an alarm unit being turned off, the sliding of a chain lock and the chamber of a doorknob being unlocked.

  “Hi, Raymond. I welcome you to my home.” Instantly, three little dogs greeted him and the door slammed in his face. Raymond heard her voice through the door. “Are dogs okay? Can you be around them without anyone getting hurt?”

  Too late. Pain already radiated from Raymond’s nose. Maybe he misread the sign of the roses. A bloody nose seemed to be another sign, a bad one, but he chose to ignore the potential omen. “Yeah, dogs are fine. I like dogs.” Pain shot through his face and blood dripped down to his lips.

  The door opened and she saw the mess that was now his face. “You’re bleeding! I’m so sorry. I give you permission to enter my home. Come in while I get you some ice.” She scurried the dogs from the door and back into the kitchen. She returned with an ice pack and towel to find him still standing in the entry way of her home.

  “Here you go.” She handed Raymond the ice pack and towel. “You can come in. I said it was okay.” As he put the ice pack up to his nose, his eyebrow rose inquisitively behind it. “Don’t you have to be invited in to enter someone’s home?” she asked.

  “No. We can go anywhere humans can go. I’m standing in your entryway because I don’t want to bleed on your carpet.”

  “Oh. That’s kind of you.” Raymond noticed a blush overtake her beautiful face. She became flushed with embarrassment. “Here, the bathroom is right down this hallway.” She led him past her bedroom and into the smallest room of the house. “I’ll be in the living room. Let me know if you need anything else. Again, I’m so sorry.” She closed the door and left.

  Raymond had chosen not to eat this morning. Hunger pains tugged at his stomach as he lost more blood. This minor nose bashing was not a huge ordeal since he knew he would heal, but he hadn’t expected to have to spend energy on healing himself right now. He appeared late twenties and knew he could fast much longer if needed. Feeding right now would bring on more urges, and his already aroused body didn’t need any help.

  He assumed her bedroom was the closed door they had passed when walking down the hall. He couldn’t ignore what he had on his mind. He used the towel to wash himself. His nose healed by the time he finished washing his face. He placed the towel on the sink and headed out to meet Alex.

  She eyed him from across the room, and before he realized what she was doing; she had crossed the room and stood mere inches from his face. She inspected his nose, amazed at the healing. “How fast do you heal?” she touched the bloodstains on his shirt.

  She felt too close, or maybe not close enough. She inspected his bloodstains, and her hand on his chest excited him in such a way that made him catch his breath. Her body heat radiated towards him, and he enjoyed the heat. “The more blood a vampire has in their body the faster they heal. My current alias has me feed several times a day, so minor injuries like this heal quickly.”

  She stood even closer to inspect the blood. “It's red, but just slightly darker than human blood.” Her body warmth radiated off her and her scent filled the air. Raymond became aware of her smooth skin only inches away. He wanted to draw her closer to him, but shed his impulsive thought and decided to explain to her the reason behind his slightly darkened blood color.

  “Yes. I feed often. The color would be red for me. Very similar to the color of human blood, but slightly darker.” She smelled so good, and a ringlet of her hair had fallen onto his chest. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but resisted. Temptation was not going to win this time. “My blood is close to human–red because I have fresh blood in my body. We don’t have the luxury of producing blood ourselves, so we consume human blood and have that coursing in our veins. The less often we drink, the more our bodies must recycle the blood using it over and over again. That’s why our cells age and we appear older. Eventually the blood turns to a dark purple, nearly black goo. When that happens the vampire is aged quite a lot. The blood stops circulating and the vampire will starve to death. My blood is just slightly darker than human, but still red, because I always have a fresh supply of blood in my system.”

  Being so close to her tortured him.

  He watched her as she studied his face. Her emerald eyes focused on his nose, her hair gently cascading down her face as she pushed a loose strand behind her ear. She wrinkled her nose as she touched his, perhaps in sympathy as to what she thought he was feeling. He forced himself to think of sports, something from the multiplication table, old nuns … anything that would soothe his arousal to the beautiful woman mere inches from him. “You’re looking older today Raymond. Do you feel different as you age?”

  He cleared his throat. He felt like a coward and could barely speak. He knew he should have taken a step back to give himself distance between them, but he basked in her body warmth. “I feel the same whether I am 22 or 72. The more blood I have in my system, the younger I appear. When I’ve eaten a good, let’s call it a meal, my body takes on the warmth and the blood courses through my veins. It feels better the more sated I am with blood. My body always aches for blood since I can’t produce it on my own. I can keep the cravings down easier when I appear my youngest because I’m staying well–fed.” Cravings? Hell, more like desperation right now.

  “I see.” She looked directly in his eyes. “You eat several times a day. How? I know you don’t attack humans, but …”

  He blinked his eyes and looked towards the ground. His eyes were going to be jet–black any minute with her looking into them like that. “We receive bagged human blood from the government. The bags are difficult and
messy to eat from. I feed myself with syringes. I usually carry a couple with me during the day; I keep some in my car for emergencies.” He looked up at her to see if her eyes were still focused directly on him. “You will probably have some emergency bags and syringes here when you accept the promotion. I know Dixon always had a supply for us.”

  Alex appeared a bit anxious on her next question. He thought it showed in the way she didn’t make eye contact with him. “When you feed from a human, do you kill them?”

  Raymond’s eyes nearly popped from his head. “Alex, feeding and killing are different. I have not personally fed from a human in some time, but I can assure you I have never killed anyone while feeding. Now if you are asking about vampires in general, we are civilized creatures. We don’t even feed ourselves on blood until our twenties, at which time we’ve adapted to living among humans.” He took a cleansing breath. “We don’t have to kill to eat. … But yes, if a vampire were dying, desperate for blood, they could drain a human dry. I’m sure it happens, but no one on my team has ever done so. … Even you humans have murderers, but humanity as a whole is deemed to be worthy.”

  Relief blew across Alex’s face. “I see.” She thought about her next question as she eyed Raymond from head to toe.”So, are you hungry now?”

  He closed his eyes slightly and looked away from her. His lips pursed and then he said, “I’m always hungry.”

  “But you can control your hunger? You can wait to feed if needed.”

  Christ, she looked nervous. “To a certain point, yes. I can ignore the hunger pains for a little while.” She visibly relaxed and he felt her ease reflected in her thought patterns.

  She studied him and finally asked, “Can I watch you feed yourself?”

  It shocked him to hear such a question. It wasn’t what he expected. Actually, he didn’t know what to expect. In his heart he knew what he wanted his answer to be. His mind wrestled with his heart’s decision. Ages had passed since he had been intimate with a woman, and having new blood in his system would be a catalyst into her bedroom. He pondered the question for a bit, and then asked, “Why do you want to watch me feed?”

  “I’m curious. If ever there is a situation in the field where I have to give you blood one day, it’d be good to know how to do it.”

  Raymond ran her explanation through his mind a few times, and still wasn’t sure what to make of it. Her thought patterns vibrated with curiosity. It wasn’t necessarily a bad sign, but was it a good one?

  Overall, what was the big deal? Dixon witnessed them feed in the past a few times. They normally tried not to feed in front of their food source, but Raymond didn’t dismiss the idea. Business–wise it made sense. Romantically speaking, he was playing with fire. “Maybe after you have a bite to eat first.”

  The answer wasn’t a yes, but also not a no. It left the door unlocked in case he wanted to open it or not. The temptation to change his mind and beg for her vein was great, until he smelled something foul emanating from the kitchen. Only one thing smelled that bad – human food. “You cooked? I thought we were going out.”

  She returned to the sitting area of the living room. “I figured there was no need since I was the only one eating. Plus, we’d have more privacy here to talk. I hope you don’t mind.” She sat down on the red chair next to the couch. Raymond took a seat on the couch a safe distance from her. He didn’t mind at all for a little more intimate setting but wanted to take it slow.

  As if on cue Alex’s three dogs approached and sat at her feet in a defensive position. They were perfect little watchdogs. Their presence reminded him that they weren’t alone. The smallest dog had scars on its body. “This is Luddy,” she said picking the dog up. “He engaged in a fight with a much bigger dog and lost. His owner wanted to put him down and I was at the right place at the right time to save him. The big one is Tory.” She placed Luddy down and now stroked the back of Tory’s ear. “She’s the youngest. Her owners no longer wanted her because they had a baby, so I took her in.” Looking at the sheltie she said, “This one is Gracie. She’s the oldest. She's a good girl.” She reached down and patted the little dog. “She has several health issues, but she’s still here with me. I enjoy their company. It's nice to have another heartbeat around the house, plus they’re great watchdogs for protection.” She smiled at the dogs as they settled down on the floor.

  Raymond was in awe. Alex held so much love in her heart for these little creatures. It reminded him of his youth when his mother would go to the hen-house to collect the eggs for breakfast. His mother would pat the heads of the hens as she took their eggs and she would talk to them. Alex was not only beautiful, but owned a heart to match. He enjoyed hearing her voice, seeing her beauty and learning more and more about her.

  “Raymond, do you want some wine? I know you can drink it. I have red and white.”

  “Red wine is fine. Thanks.” As she left, his eyes shifted down for a good look at her backside. Nice. She smelled sweet too, and not in any excessively perfumed way.

  Alex brought back a Cabernet and poured two glasses. While she opened the wine, Raymond looked about her home. He appreciated the decor; his sister would love it. Raymond wasn’t an expert on furniture, but would have guessed the pieces in her house were mostly antiques. He remembered furniture such as this from a few decades ago, perhaps the 1960s. The couch took up much of the living room. It was long enough even for him to be comfortable lying on. The coffee table and end tables matched, which added symmetry to the room. The red lounge chairs probably were a specific style, but they just looked like two comfortable chairs to relax in. The desk in the corner seemed sturdy. Pop art adorned the walls with bookshelves on either side of the room. Planters with thriving plant life sat atop the tables and in metal wire stands throughout the room. Very few knick knacks cluttered the room, which he preferred. It was beautiful. Simply elegant.

  “Here you go.” She handed him one of the glasses of wine.

  “You have a lovely home Alex. Beautiful belongings.”

  “This old stuff? My parents gave the furnishings to me when I moved out and went to college twenty years ago. Eventually, I want to update the entire look.”

  “Well, I like it. And my sister would love the decor. She enjoys antiques.” He sipped his wine, hoping it would quench his thirst, but it didn’t quite do the trick.

  “That would be your younger sister, the one who saved your life when the snake struck you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Any other family?

  “Just my son, of whom you already know.”

  A smile appeared on her face. “You talk very formally. Doesn’t that get you into trouble sometimes if you don’t want people to know how old you are?”

  She didn’t know the half of it. Colloquial English was ever changing. It horrified him to discover the word mcjob made it into the dictionary. “Sometimes it is hard to keep up.” He sipped his wine again. “This is very good wine, Alex. I like the taste.”

  They sat up talking for a while, and were on their second bottle of wine. She fixed herself a plate of some nasty looking and God–awful smelling pasta dish, but he supposed she found it savory enough as a human. He looked over her legs and was grateful that Alex preferred to wear dresses, although she did look good in the jeans earlier. Her legs were shapely, but what stood out was she had a scar on her right one. Her perfect legs were flawed. Assuming it was an athletic injury, he asked, “How did you get that scar on your leg?”

  He felt the thought patterns as they slammed into him. Insecurity, outrage, fears, and even guilt. She glanced away. Through her thought patterns, he sensed she was hiding within herself. He asked again. “Alex, how did you get that scar?”

  She pulled her legs up on the couch, and her hand covered the scar. Raymond noticed the hesitation in her voice as she slowly began, “It’s … it was a long time ago. … God. Well, I don’t talk about it.” She sat quietly for a moment, not making eye contact with him, and then added, “I was attacke
d three years ago this November.”

  Raymond’s relaxed, easy–going attitude was instantly replaced by a predator–like position on the couch. “What happened?”

  She shook her head as she now looked at him. “I was stupid. A stalker had been following me for weeks, and I wasn’t very careful. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, I’m fine. I had been on my way home. It had been a late night at work, like all my nights, really. I had stopped off at the commissary for some groceries. I never saw him coming.”

  She played with the cross necklace around her neck, took a deep breath, and continued, “He was an enlisted man that I had met briefly. He thought he was in love with me. That night he grabbed me from behind and forced me back into the bushes.” She paused and looked up while taking a deep breath.

  Raymond leaned over closing the space between them. He was close enough to touch her, but resisted the temptation. Her story would come out in her own words and her own time. Her thought patterns were strong, but her exact thoughts incomprehensible from a distance. He would not rush in to see what she may not want to share with him by touching her right now. … However, he did want to put his arms around her to comfort her. His hands balled into fists to prevent him from doing so.

  Alex’s body stiffened as she crossed her arms. “He was a big guy. He had me pinned under him. He tore my clothes and … well, I did get away. I escaped without being raped.” She bit her lip, “But it was scary. The man had been in my home several times. He had pictures of me all over a wall in his apartment. It was eerie.” She reached for her glass, and took a sip of her wine. “The police arrested him. He’s undergoing psychic evaluations and will be locked up for several years.” She tossed her hands out dismissively and said, “I don’t have to worry about him anymore, but the idea that others like him exist … well, that does scare me.”