Midnight Sun, Inc. (Crimson Romance)

by Debbie Vaughan

  His short clipped hair was black, with a reddish hue. The soft green gold of his eyes reminded me of the leopard eyes on my shirt. His skin was the color of strong coffee with two creams, a soft, rich caramel. Both of his parents were black, I’d met them, but somewhere in the family tree was someone fair. The melding was wonderful in T’s case. A harrumph and nudge brought me back to this planet.

  “Oh Jesus, I’m sorry, where are my manners? Terrell this is my friend Raf. Raf, this is my friend Terrell Rose.” I watched the sparks ignite. Well, that explained a lot. I slugged T in the arm. “Thanks a lot. You could have told me.”

  “Sugar, what could I say?” Terrell asked quietly, his caramel complexion glowing red. “I was into sports, they’d have kicked me out.”

  “Well, I sure wasted a lot of time.” I linked my arm in his. “Walk with us. Catch me up.” I managed a glance at Raf and stifled a laugh. He was gone! Bianca better find out about Lilitu because this opportunity was too good to pass up.

  Willy got a very long walk, several laps with the three of us. A couple with me alone as Raf and Terrell sat on a bench and talked. He even made a lap with Terrell and Raf while I sat on the sidelines admiring the view. We discovered Mr. Rose, an attorney, passed away the year before from a massive coronary. A complete shock to his family, he had always kept active and in shape. He hadn’t handled Terrell’s being gay very well, but with him gone, T and his Mom had drawn closer. Dr. Rose was a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital and a friend of Nancy’s. I wondered if Jimmy knew Terrell’s secret.

  Terrell was trying his hand at modeling, and had a spread coming out in the next GQ. He was a natural. Raf invited him to the reopening. Imagine that. We were very late picking up Tom. He didn’t seem to mind, my excellent mood seemed to be contagious. Tom did get an odd look when Raf gave me a big French kiss — read tonsillectomy — complete with fangs, when we said our good nights.

  “Sweet dreams, Honey,” I called back to him from the landing. His smile about broke my heart.

  While there were no messages from Bianca on the answering machine, Nancy had left one: “Your test results are in, but I’m sure the lab screwed them up, they came back too fast. Come in tomorrow, we’ll draw some more blood and try again. And Connie, don’t bite anyone in the meantime.”

  “Damn! She’s spoiling my fun,” Tom said as he nibbled my shoulder. “And you’re wearing too many clothes.”

  I turned in his arms to find him naked, my red heels dangling from his finger. I raised an eyebrow?

  “I figured I better do something special before Raf stole you away.”

  “So, you’re gonna wear the heels?”

  • • •

  I felt guilty when I stepped out of the shower. Last night had been special on many levels. My walk was a bit off, even now. Vampires have a lot of stamina naturally, but when they don’t get any release, well, that’s a whole ’nother story. I tried to tell Tom it was okay and at one point I’m pretty sure I begged him to bite me, but he refused. Although Nancy only requested I not bite anyone, Tom decided the blood tests might not be accurate if he bit me. For him, no bite, no blood, no orgasm. I had so many, my bones melted!

  My goofy grin might need to be surgically removed. I promised myself I would pay him back tonight. Hopefully, I’d be able to keep my promise.

  I wore a sundress to the clinic. Pockets, no sleeves to deal with and no crotch seam. Yes!

  Nancy stepped in briefly to sign the paperwork for the nurse. She didn’t mention what the original blood tests indicated. She said they were all screwed up and she was sending these to a lab in California. Well, Julie, my former boss, wasn’t real fond of the state lab either, so I wasn’t really surprised to hear this from Nancy. It didn’t take the nurse long to get the three vials filled.

  I hadn’t eaten, so I called Bianca and asked if she could meet me for an early lunch. She didn’t have a reading until mid-afternoon so we met at Las Palmas for fajitas.

  “When did you eat last?” Bianca asked.

  “May I have a large order of cheese dip please?” I grabbed a waiter’s sleeve as I stuffed the last piece of chicken in my face. My plate was empty except for the Spanish rice. The remaining tortilla was used to dredge caramelized juices from the plate’s bottom. Bianca was still working on her second fajita. “Last night. I had blood work and couldn’t eat before.”

  “Okay. Did you taste any of that?”

  “The last part.” I shoveled a chip and dip into my mouth and washed it down with a gulp of tea.

  “Slow down.”

  “Sorry, I’m being a pig. So, did you come up with anything for Raf?”

  “Yeah, but you won’t like it.”

  “Oh?” I returned to the dip. She just shook her head.

  “Because she is what she is, she will know where the spell originates.”

  “Uh-huh.” More dip.

  “Well, she might follow the trail, so to speak.”

  I paused, chip poised at my mouth. “You mean she might come here?” I put the chip down.

  “Connie, for all I know she is here. There’s no way to tell for sure. She is a succubus, a thought could summon her. The spell certainly would. Y’all need to understand what you’re getting yourselves into.”

  She seemed scared. She was a shifter and a witch with a coven of other witches at her back, and she was frightened. That couldn’t be good.

  “How long has it been since you were with someone?” I asked.

  “A few months.”

  “How do you feel about that?”

  She made a face.

  “Okay, I went without for over five years, on purpose. I don’t think I could have held out much longer.”

  She nodded.

  “It’s been a couple thousand years for Raf, Bianca. Can you imagine? I think he met someone last night … ”

  She nodded. “Warn him.”

  “I will, but I know what he’ll say.”

  CHAPTER 30

  The grand reopening was a huge success. Raf outdid himself with decorations as well as wardrobe. Life-size cutouts of music icons stood in every nook and cranny. There was no telling whom you might meet when you rounded a corner or strolled to the restroom. Our official uniform for the evening: bell-bottoms, Peter Max tees, and beaded macramé belts. We all wore our peace symbol necklaces and/or earrings. Headbands were optional.

  The publicity for the event asked our clientele to dress for the occasion. I was pretty sure some of the clothing came from private stashes. There was lots of fringed leather, Afros, and hair flowers. In fear of the fire marshal, Raf placed speakers and a Jumbotron in the parking lot to handle overflow. Good thinking on his part because people packed the place. Police closed the road, block party style. The crowd circulated through the tanning rooms, came out to perform, then on to the parking lot to watch, listen, and dance. The area bar business boomed.

  Willy stayed home, his first time alone since his healing.

  I was a nervous wreck right up until my first performance when a sudden calm enveloped me. Raf was accused and denied being helpful. My James Taylor number didn’t require a costume change. In true ballad style I sat on a bar stool and held a large vintage microphone. When I got to the chorus, I thought the sprinklers might go off. Lighters flicked across the room. Had Raf issued them at the door? Apparently the song’s sentiments were not lost on the undead.

  Several “folks” tried their singing skills. I learned a lot. Supernatural powers did not impart supernatural talent. Some of the participants couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket and had no rhythm. I’m speaking of humans as well as Supes! They met with hoots and catcalls from the audience. But for the most part, the ones who stepped up to the mike had great form.

  The long fitted gown for my second number glowed like flame in gold, orange, and red sequins. It was cut high on the side and low in the front and back; gold four-inch heels and a black beehive completed the ensemble. Tom frowned, Raf smiled and the audience went wild
before I got the first words out. To a sea of fangs, animal and human eyes I sang about fiery kisses while managing to not break my neck strutting in high heels. Two hours later my costume was slinky silver with a high cowl neck in front, cut to my butt in back. At least I got to sit on the stool again for “Evergreen”. I hit every high note perfectly, doing Ms. Raymond, my high school choir director, proud.

  With so much audience participation, Raf and I only had time for one number together, but it brought down the house.

  We didn’t bother to change when our shift ended. Everyone was still rocking in the salon and the street when we left, making promises to have karaoke again soon. Randy strolled past with his arm around a stunning olive-skinned woman with hair as black as coal and a figure to die for. There was no sign of Terrell, but by that point I was too tired to care.

  Later, Tom enjoyed peeling the tight leather pants off me, insisting I keep the heels on. His expression made me forget how weary I was. Besides I owed him one, or two or — well you get the idea. So I helped him out of his clothes and shoved him onto the bed then strutted across the floor to crawl over him for a deep kiss. I slid my tongue from his mouth to his ear then in a trail down the center of his chest. I paid homage to the part of him that received no release the night before. I worked steadily with lips, tongue, and teeth until he was throbbing with need. I nestled my mouth into the softness of his inner thigh and bit as hard as I could. Tom jerked wildly, moaning. I sucked hard and the first wave of cool sweetness hit my tongue, followed by the irony aftertaste. Tom cried out, shuddered, and spilled across the bed.

  Yanking me up to meet his mouth, he licked the remainder of his blood from my lips. His fangs pierced my lower lip, mingling our blood. He groaned, sucking my lip into his mouth causing things to tighten in my lower body. Finally drawing away from my mouth, his lips brushed my ear sending shivers along my spine. His hands kneaded my breasts, his thumbs rubbing my nipples to harder nubs. He licked the hollow where neck meets shoulder and I pressed my body into his. He plunged into me, hard, and I gasped. His fangs pierced my flesh as he began to rock into me. With each draw of blood, he thrust. My heart beat with the rhythm, the building pressure. I pressed his head tighter to my throat, my other hand clutching his butt to pull him closer to me. I wrapped my legs tightly around him, wanting to make him part of me. He stroked hard, deep and slow. I was dying, burning up from the inside.

  “Please, more!” I begged. I urged. Tom’s tempo increased and I clung to him, lost. So close … His mouth withdrew from my throat to find my lips and the salty, coppery taste mingled with the sweet iron, as he thrust into me. The red swirling took me over the peak. I felt the spasms as his body released into mine. He held himself in place as I contracted around him in continuing aftershocks. Before the glow subsided, he moved again. With a moan I opened my eyes to see him staring down at me. His grin was lazy; his tongue moved to erase the blood from his lips. The movement mystified me. His slow, purposeful motion held me spellbound. I gazed into the depths of his eyes as my nerves bunched, back arched and I spun into another orgasm. He pushed himself to the hilt and held still while my body thrashed around his. We were even now.

  “You look like a cat with cream,” Tom whispered as my body stretched under his.

  “Mmm,” I purred running my hands over his bare flesh, finally closing my eyes.

  “Not yet,” he said into my mouth as he kissed me.

  I groaned, pressed my tongue against his fang and drew blood. Tom suckled and I felt him pulse inside me. “Insatiable,” I whispered as my hands cupped his tight butt. He chuckled. I think. The shoes didn’t stay on.

  • • •

  I slept the sleep of the dead. Well, not literally. When I finally did wake to incessant howling, the clock said it was almost noon. The howling was Willy of course and something else, a siren. Tom lay sprawled on his stomach. His sleep seemed more natural, more human the closer he got to waking. I knew Willy needed out but I had to brush my teeth first. Blood breath. Eww! I didn’t ponder that as I brushed — honestly. So we exchanged some extra bodily fluids during our lovemaking. So what?

  Tempting fate, I jumped into the shower.

  Willy did a doggie dance at the elevator and I snatched him up, clipping his harness in place as we rode down. We barely made it outside in time. This time the workmen across the street didn’t call and wave but scurried to and fro like ants on sugar. An ambulance and fire trucks lined the curb. EMT’s carried a man on a stretcher. Someone had been badly injured if the number of rescue personnel were any indication. Without a backward glance I hurried Willy back inside.

  I poured his food and went about getting my own, mulling things over. Instead of more, I seemed less knowledgeable about my housemates the longer I was around them. Tom had told me that for a vamp to reach climax he had to bite, but me biting him seemed equally effective in bringing about his release.

  As far as Raf was concerned … Oh boy! For the world’s oldest vamp he sure had a lot of unanswered questions. He’d missed a lot, hiding in the crypt for all those centuries. We hadn’t discussed it much, but he said he was aware of what had happened in the world in the same way coma victims were aware of what was said and done around them — except he said the input was broader and more subliminal, since he’d known what went on worldwide throughout history. Vampire shit! Thinking about it made my head hurt.

  Then there was our little … whatever the other night. Okay, I was admittedly totally stuck on Raf. He punched all my buttons except one. He was gay. We both knew and it was a non-issue. I loved him the way he was and perhaps because of it. I was closer to him than I had ever been to anyone. I understood that taking my blood soothed him. Perhaps the more upset he was, the stronger the experience? Hell, I didn’t know, nor apparently, did he. I need a manual. I need aspirin.

  I went upstairs to get the aspirin and realized my back hurt, too. On a whim I checked. Perfect timing, my extremely late period finally made an appearance. Yea? Boo? Shit. The Midol was right by the tampons. My world was perfect. Not. I bumped into Raf, literally, as he came out of his bathroom nice and brown. I didn’t comment on his towel or his fangs. He took the same tack, smart boy. I took the Midol with a coffee chaser to hurry it along and put a red circle on my purse calendar.

  “Raf, we need to call Bianca,” I said as soon as he came down the stairs.

  “We do?”

  “She told me her coven figured out how to break your curse, spell, hex, whammy — come on, help a girl out, will ya?”

  “I don’t know what it is!”

  “Well you should, you’re certainly old enough! She did issue a warning, though. If Lilitu doesn’t know where you are, them doing the — thing — could lead her right to you.”

  Raf’s eyes turned wistful. “Did you see Terrell last night?”

  I shook my head. “But there were tons of people, honey. We could have missed him.”

  “Call her.”

  CHAPTER 31

  Bianca said we must wait until the dark of the September moon. A witch thing I suppose. She would call with a time and a place. So we waited and worried.

  Tom spent a lot of time at the factory. The company was in the final process of getting approval to add human blood to the Razorback Red recipe. Yuk factor aside, there really wasn’t a reason for the government to object. The donors were all willing participants. Tom took very good care of them, from food and health care, to lodgings and paycheck. He offered the homeless a job with benefits and a roof over their heads. The government hadn’t been able to accomplish as much.

  As a bridge between the supernatural and human community the blood substitutes allowed humans to feel safe while they accustomed themselves to vampires living among them. The realization that vamps had always been here and for the most part, productive members of society, made their special needs easier to accept. The substitutes didn’t meet all nutritional requirements. Like putting a dog on a vegetarian diet, the food wasn’t conducive to good
health and overall wellbeing.

  Preservatives and flavorings were approved and patented. It’s amazing what can be accomplished in short order when money is no concern. So now Tom only needed FDA approval and Razorback Red would have exclusive rights to produce and distribute “Special Blend” worldwide.

  I wondered how human blood and porcine mixed. So I asked. At some point Dr. Sam discovered the “Raf Factor” solved the problem, hence his donations. Something in his blood allowed the human and pig to mix readily. I can’t explain. I’m not a scientist. Probably, as so much with Raf, it defied explanation anyway.

  Bianca called with the time, midnight of course, and the place, Dee’s. My buddy not only decided to participate in the “cleansing” but offered a patch of woods on her property for the ritual. Raf was excited and terrified. I planned to go along to hold his hand. Tom would hold down the fort. Hey, it was a work night for us. I called in a favor from Cindy who agreed to take a double shift and fill in for me. The Boss would be working up front for a change, filling in for Raf.

  I couldn’t sleep, so I spent the morning researching Ms. Lil. She had a lot of nicknames. Supposedly the mother of all succubae and incubi often referred to as a night hag. Not very flattering! Her name translated into “raptor” or bird of prey. Some legends said she could change form. So was she a shape shifter as well? That’s the trouble with legends; the sliver of truth is often entangled and shrouded in lies. Hard to say where one ends and the other begins. I wasn’t clear on what her curse entailed — something about multitudes of her “children dying daily.” Vampires dying during the day made the most sense to me. So her taking Raf had been foretold? My headache came back. I shut the PC down and took Willy for a walk to clear my mind.

  Eight o’clock came sooner than I wanted and yet not soon enough. Willy stayed home. Tom took the Honda, leaving Raf and me the Hummer. He thought the larger vehicle would hold up better in case we hit a deer, panther, or demoness. I hoped to avoid any collisions. I worried about Raf and for him, so after Tom departed I decided a snack was in order. Yeah, Tom knew I shared with Raf but I figured there was no point rubbing his nose in it.