Kyle had enough of this drama. He addressed Michelle. “So, you live here in New York? How long have you been here?” Their conversation delved into the safe platonic zones of weather, traffic, and the rudeness of New York taxi drivers.

* * * *

Aaron made sure to stay busy in his room, away from all the stares and pointed thoughts. As he assessed his possessions and stuffed them into a couple trash bags he realized just how much his world had changed in the span of one week. He no longer felt any attachment to this place, these people, or his stuff. His meager clothing appeared drab and unsuited to his new personality and life style. His books and music no longer interested him. His friends in the other room, ensorcelled by his vampire master, no longer held any emotional significance for him. By comparison to the radiant Michelle, Delia was a self-absorbed, frumpy, awkward little girl, who was now uninteresting and frankly irritating. He couldn’t remember what it was about her that had appealed to him in the first place.

He recalled his life in this bedroom as it had revolved around Delia and Kyle. The memory in his mind’s eye seemed like a lifetime ago. A life lived by a different Aaron. He recalled passing his days between work, partying with Kyle, and the foolish pursuit of Delia’s paltry affections. His life had reached a significant fork in the road. The instant he aligned paths with Michelle there was no turning back. Every night traveled down this new path took him that much farther away from humanity.

He quickly finished gathering his junk and prepared to leave. He overheard Michelle dropping the “E” bomb as he walked out of his room.

“Aaron is working with me now in the Escort Service. Here is my card with my cellular. Aaron’s cards will be ready in a few days, you can reach him at my cell.”

Thoughts exploded left and right, front, side, and back. The mental shrapnel hit Aaron every which way. He took deep, calming breaths as he scrunched up his eyes in concentration to block out the pummeling assault focused on him: “She’s an Escort! She’s a prostitute! She’s pimping Aaron out! They must be junkies! She’s got him strung out on crack! He’s lost his mind! I knew she wasn’t with him for real. It’s a business transaction! God, I wonder how much she charges per hour? Could I afford a half-hour, catch a friendly discount? Maybe just a blow job?”

He did his best to get a grip, slowly and methodically shielding the waspish buzz of thoughts directed at him. Michelle grabbed his hand, lending him her calming influence and strength.

She setup a fast exit. “Ah … you are ready? Sorry to run, but we have things to do and people to see. Very nice to meet you all. Adieu!”

He took full advantage of the moment. “Bye guys. Talk to you later. I’ll see you around. Take care.” They were all staring, jaws agape from shock. None of them dared to say what they were thinking. Kyle couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like to get a half-hour freebie from Michelle. He kept picturing her going down on him, her blonde hair bobbing back and forth as she sucked him off.

Aaron jetted for the door. There was nothing to be gained by spending another second in the presence of these humans.

As he turned his back on his former life, Michelle couldn’t resist one last jab. “Your friends were so nice to me. I’m glad we met.” She snatched a handful of his ass and nailed all four of them with the silent message in a backward glance over her shoulder.

They closed the door behind them with Kyle yelling, “Don’t be a stranger.” But Aaron knew things would never be the same again, because he was already a stranger.

On the taxi ride back to Michelle’s apartment he pondered if Michelle’s show of possessiveness was simply an attempt to help navigate the situation with Kyle and Delia, or if there might be the slightest hint of real affection.

* * * *

CHAPTER 10

Aaron’s spirits soared, he had made his escape from Kyle and Delia relatively unscathed. He’d been nervous about the situation, but was pleasantly surprised at how easily Michelle handled the gang. She was quite charming, a nice change from her aggressive control freak persona.

After dropping off Aaron’s trash bags full of stuff at Michelle’s apartment they headed out again to another nightclub where Michelle knew the doorman personally. Her connection ushered them through the door immediately. They made a bee line for the dance floor and located a group of girls huddled together in a tightly-packed formation. Picking through the brains of the nearby girls, digging for those who were attracted to him, he found they all had one thing in common. Though each girl was different, each mind having its own particular flavor, a mutual desire was prevalent throughout the crowd. All these women really wanted was to meet a man––not just any man––a man who might be the one.

He thought it funny how these women went out with their friends hoping to be romanced off their feet as they dance the night away with that special man. The reality more often than not was ridiculous. The ladies stayed securely locked away in their safe zone with their girlfriends, brushing away the majority of the men who would chance to meet them. These girls discouraged and actively worked against the very thing they desired most, a meaningful romantic encounter. They wouldn’t find what they were looking for with Aaron, but they never stopped hoping. The women who noticed Aaron viewed him as a target for acquisition––a good candidate––never once seeing past the charming boyish exterior to the underlying truth. He was there to feed upon the cattle. Damn lucky a little nip was all he planned on taking. It would be too easy to take anything he wanted.

The vampires slid through the crush of swaying bodies like snakes in the tall grass. Their prey couldn’t see them coming until it was too late. The girls were no match for the animal magnetism radiated by the hunting vampires. As they selected targets one at a time, the unsuspecting girls thought themselves the chosen elite, excited to be singled out from the crowd by one of these sublimely beautiful creatures. Instead of fearing their proximity to a predator, they felt privileged to receive the attentions of either Aaron or Michelle.

He had begun to discern a pattern. It was always this way with the cattle. They were completely unaware of the danger. Was it his benign intentions putting them at ease? What excuse might there be for Michelle? She could never be categorized as benign. This was definitely a rapacious pursuit on her part. The only rationale that seemed to fit was ignorance. They honestly did not perceive the threat in their midst. The vampires were able to feed upon the women one at a time without a single member of the herd ever realizing they’d been singled out for attack. They didn’t know what was happening right before their eyes on the dance floor.

Each girl they encountered was enthralled, bitten, thoroughly dowsed with sexual ecstasy and then discarded as the vampires moved on to the next target. It seemed as though they lined up for it, eagerly awaiting their turn like children with the ice-cream man. The attraction they exuded was the ice-cream truck musical tune, signaling to come and get it, one and all. Enough to go around. He felt like he could do this all night long, feeding from one woman after another. His thirst was insatiable. The thirty-second nips they snagged here and there only took the edge off.

By the time Michelle finished, he had hit full swing, having fed from six different girls and ready to take on another dozen. She tried to reason with him.

“That is more than enough for now. We must go before we attract the attention of security. They are beginning to notice.” She gave him a mental nudge in the direction of a massive bald black guy with a black t-shirt that said SECURITY. She was right; the man eyed them suspiciously. When Aaron focused on the security guard’s thoughts, he realized the guy suspected they might be pickpockets from the way they worked the room.

Despite the obvious threat from security, Aaron’s bloodlust was kickin’. He wanted to feed more. Now. He didn’t give a shit what the big scary man thought of him. Three girls nearby had eyes for him, wishing he’d come talk to them. He had every intention of doing so. The new and improved Aaron Pilan was not easily intimidated by humans, even if they weighed three hundred plus pounds.

Michelle glared at him issuing a none-too-subtle command, “We Go Now!”

And that was that.

He followed Michelle out the exit, his movements jerky and mechanical like a marionette. Her marching orders went against every instinct in his body. What he really desired more than anything was to feed. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to set up camp in that nightclub, hang out all night long––till sunrise––tasting every single woman who walked in the door.

Maybe another nightclub? He opened his mouth to make the suggestion. She stopped him with her fingers on his lips and “the look.” The I-already-know-what-you’re-gonna-say-and-the-answer-is-NO, look.

He didn’t bother asking.

In the taxi ride home, Michelle surprised him by reaching down into the front of his designer DKNY black slacks. She freed his semi-hard cock from his pants and promptly went down on him. It only took her a few seconds to suck him to full-tilt rock hardness. She sucked and sucked and sucked until thoughts of feeding and bloodlust were replaced with another kind of desire.

“Oh shit. Damn!”

She grunted and slurped, making wet guttural sounds as she swallowed him whole over and over. She pulled and tugged, stroked and sucked, until he couldn’t think or move except to grip the armrest for dear life as he was rocked by the force of his release into her powerful warm suction.

The taxi driver tactfully looked the other way with a grin he couldn’t hide as Michelle slipped Aaron’s spent manhood back into his pants. She zipped him up and tucked his shirt back in like a mother primping her child to send him off to school. She patted his thigh affectionately, smiled as she wiped her mouth with a tissue, and licked her lips in a silent promise of good things to come. He wondered how hard he’d have to scrub to remove all that red lipstick from his groin.

He was struck with a lightning bolt realization––he loved her so much it hurt. She was everything to him: his mother, goddess, lover, caretaker, and the most gorgeous and sexiest woman he had ever known.