No one could tell that Shalom’s guard dog was anything but stoic.

  Brows set in a permanent furrow down to eyes that bled silver, Rahu cut an impressive figure standing just off the side of her master, her frame considerably larger and much more imposing. Her fangs – locked away behind a mask for the benefit of the room, akin to a muzzled beast. Rahu didn’t particularly mind. She’d rather the Council perceive her as the main threat than the frail woman she called her master. It served them both just as well. However well they could see her through the hologram, that is.

  Today, though, Rahu felt close to… slipping.

  Shalom adjusted her legs to cross over the other. Rahu wrinkled her nose, glaring holes into the opposite wall.

  Her master glanced at her. Rahu gave a near imperceptible nod, relaying that she was fine. And she was. Completely fine, that is. Her fists were totally not clenched, her undead heart didn’t feel like it was lodged in her throat, it wasn’t like she just smelled something utterly divine, and couldn’t do anything about it like a hopeless little fledgling–

  Shalom shifted again. Rahu let out a low snarl, impossible for the humans to detect.

  Except for Shalom, of course. 

  She smiled serenely to the board as if nothing was amiss. “We shall reconvene then,” she said agreeably, and Rahu had to blink to focus. She didn’t catch a single word in the last five minutes. Fuck.  

  She stepped back to check the exits and allow Shalom to pass into the corridor beyond. Rahu held her breath in a vain attempt at refocusing her senses. All it did was allow her to zero in on the light touch of Shalom’s fingers brushing against her waist as she passed by, the touch a brand on her skin despite the heavy layers of her coat.

  Her claws descended almost immediately through the fabric of her gloves. She hissed, and Shalom tilted her head in that vague way of hers, the same placid smile never leaving her face.

  Rahu held herself tightly the whole walk back to her bedroom, Shalom humming softly all the while.

        Rahu shut the door behind them and assumed her usual stance by the entrance. She watched as her human paced the room, seemingly deliberating something.

  And then finally, she spoke.

  “Are you hungry, Rahu?” 

  Rahu expected there to be sharpness to the voice. She hadn’t expected amusement. It was hard to respond, amidst the haze of hunger and her master’s coy expression. She ripped off her mask, tossing it on the lush carpet of Shalom’s bedroom.

  “Starving,” she grounded out, fang skimming her bottom lip. 

  “Then drink,” Shalom offered her wrist. Rahu caught the flash of a dim fire in the depths of Shalom’s eyes. Anticipating, earnest. She was always all too eager for this part.

  The part where Rahu bats her wrist away and sinks her teeth into the soft juncture of her neck. The part where Shalom gives, and Rahu takes. Her master’s tinkling laughter dissolved into a long, drawn out moan. Where Shalom would surrender to her for a brief moment, wholly trusting as she did her.

  No, what Rahu wanted today was something different.

  Rahu shook her head, kissing the inside of Shalom’s wrist. She licked at the skin there and Shalom’s breath hitched, a sound that would’ve been imperceptible to anyone that wasn’t… well, a vampire. Rahu would’ve worn the most shit-eating grin if not for the hunger that was currently clawing its way hot through her throat.

  “Not here,” she murmured. Her voice was low, measured. “Not today.” She locked eyes with her master, who had suddenly gone boneless in her grasp. Rahu moved her hands to cup at Shalom’s jaw, nosing at the tender skin on its underside. 

  She kissed the skin there, too. “Not here either, master,” the gravelly quality of her voice seemed to do something to Shalom. Her human tensed, and then a waft of arousal clouded Rahu’s senses — her eyes near rolled to the back of her head and she had to grit her teeth to focus. Rahu counted the beats of her master’s heart going thump-thump-thump, mouthing at her neck in tandem to its score. Slightly insistent. Demanding.

  And then she was ripped from her neck in a violent motion. Shalom held her jaw in a loose grip, humming softly like she did when she was contemplating something. This close though, Rahu could feel her body trembling, belying the calm facade she wore on her face. The knowledge had the vampire smirking insufferably, emboldened by her desire and need.

  “Then where do you want it, Rahu?” Shalom’s voice betrayed nothing. Light and musical. Steady.

  Hm, that won’t do. Her soldier nipped at the web between her fingers, never breaking eye contact with her lover.

  “Your pussy.” She said bluntly. (She never did have much patience for foreplay.)

  And then Rahu grabbed her waist and guided her to sit by the edge of the bed, falling to her knees as Shalom let out a soft oh.

  “You and your way with words,” Shalom mused, voice straining slightly while her eyes gleamed in… wonder, perhaps? Rahu huffed, impatient, ripping her torn gloves off with her teeth. 

  “I didn’t realise it would… come today.” She seemed to want to say more, but closed her mouth again, thinking better of it. Shalom tightened her legs just so, shifting about yet again. 

  The movement had Rahu stilling, digging her fingers into her lap just so she wouldn’t be mindless and jump on her lady like a frantic beast. Perhaps she did need to learn to have patience for this…foreplay. She needed this to be pleasurable for her. Selfishly, she wanted Shalom to need it, to – want it. To want her. 

  Little did she know. 

  “I could smell you the whole day, my lady,” Rahu breathed, leaning over her to press a soft kiss against the corner of Shalom’s mouth. Even kneeling, Rahu was so much bigger than her. “The blood beneath your skin. The blood between your legs. Your life. So strong and sweet.” Rahu swiped her tongue across Shalom’s lips. “I swear I could almost taste you.”

  The latter chased her lips like she was drunk on her voice, humming when Rahu pulled away and tutted at her. 

  This was the tricky part. Shalom being denied something. Rahu could see the gears turning in her head as always, no matter how nonchalant her master tried to seem. It could fool hundreds, it could fool the Council, but never Rahu. She tapped at Shalom’s forehead in a rare show of – not defiance, but – 

  “You’re thinking too hard,” Rahu smiled a little. Assurance. She watched as her master, intelligent as she was, searched her eyes. “Will you grant me your pleasure, my lady?”

  Shalom seemed to have found what she was looking for. The smile returned to her face, in a way Rahu knew to be slightly dangerous and all too alluring. She nodded once, the tension leaving her body.

  Rahu decided to push it a bit. “Use your words, my lady.”

  The amused flash in Shalom’s eyes flew past Rahu entirely. “Yes. I trust you, Rahu.”

  It was all the vampire could do to pull Shalom’s legs to the edge of the bed, her upper body falling to her elbows. Rahu undid the zip of her skirt in one smooth motion, tossing the fabric aside as she nosed at her thighs, scent hitting her stronger now that it wasn’t dampened by layers.

  Rahu lifted Shalom’s right leg, trailing kisses up her calf, her nails lightly raking down the skin. Her lady was so slight, yet so full of life. She could feel it, lifeblood rushing through her veins, strong and defiant. Saliva filled her mouth as she followed the trail with her lips, kissing up to her knee, and up to her thighs, all to the warmest point, pulsing in its center. She lay hidden to her beneath her underwear, the darkened spot on the fabric an exquisite mix of her arousal and – Rahu lightly licked at her –

  Shalom’s breath heaves, stuttering at the motion, fingers curling into the inky tresses of Rahu’s scalp. The latter moaned as her head jerked, the sharp pain stirring deep in her gut, her hips grinding down against nothing as a heavy ache pulses between her legs. 

  She looked up at her lady, beseeching. Whatever Shalom saw had her breathe in sharply, and Rahu revels in the pretty flush tinting her ears and chest. It wasn’t often Rahu saw her lady so utterly flustered. In the future she’d wonder if something had changed that day, but for now all she really wanted to do was bury her face in her cunt and feast.

  Rahu dared to press another featherlight kiss against Shalom’s inner thigh. A little desperate. Perhaps even a little… angry. She felt close to a thread snapping, nerves alight with a feverish need to grant her lady complete satisfaction. Rahu could give it to her. Rahu was the only one who could. It was with this fierce need – a fierce want – that she inhaled her scent, musky and floral and heady, and breathed out over her sex as a final plea.

  “My knight. My ruin,” Shalom hummed quietly, running her fingers through Rahu’s hair softly this time. She said nothing else, letting her legs fall open in an unspoken invitation. Rahu pressed her lips into her skin again, a sign of gratitude. 

  “My lady,” she husked. And then she nipped at the skin of her inner thigh with teeth, a wicked smirk gracing her lips the moment Shalom tightened her grip on her strands again in warning.

  Rahu ripped apart her underwear and buried her face in her cunt before she could rebuke her. She thought she heard Shalom squeak as she pressed a reverent open-mouthed kiss against her folds, tongue dipping just slightly for a taste. She twitched violently beneath her, stubborn, and a low groan left Rahu before she could control herself. 

  But god, was this bliss. A thing of the divine. Shalom’s scent lay thick against her tongue, the sticky wetness clinging to her lips an intoxicating brew.

  The bitter tang of iron and the sweetness of her slick that flooded her palate was damn near overwhelming. So much. Too much. She couldn’t get enough. Really, she could die here and die fucking happy. Rahu licked a stripe up her sex, and another, Shalom mewling and writhing, the fluids an endless trickle of honey and wine on her tongue. 

  “My lady,” she rasped, nosing against her and languidly sucking at her flesh. “You taste so good. Soo so good, hmm,” 

  “Ra– nngh.” Had her lady ever been speechless before? Rahu would wonder about it later.

  More. A frenzied haze penetrated her very being. The vampire dug her hands into her lady’s hips and then soothed at the worried skin with the pads of her fingers. Dipped her tongue in her cavern impossibly deep, flicking upwards in its exploration. Shalom jerked at the intensity, stilled only by Rahu’s unyielding hold. She flicked her tongue again, insistent. Selfish. Greedy.

  Faster and faster still. Give me more, my lady. I need you— please —

  “Ha–ah. Mmh.” Shalom made cute noises when she was being absolutely ravished. She never cursed, said it was unbecoming. Soft little mmhs, ah-ahs that had Rahu rutting against the fabric of her shorts. Even more unbecoming was perhaps the way her cunt throbbed in her face, her blood and slick gushing even more now with the vampire’s coaxing, greedy tongue lapping and eating and spreading it over her labia. 

  Fingers moved from her hips to spread her lips open. She was positively drenched, skin shining with the blend of her juices, pulsing at her perusal. Smugly, she was sure— Rahu lifted her thoroughly pussy-drunk gaze to catch Shalom’s. It was almost a pity to look away, adorable as it was, puffy and messy – and all hers. She observed her human’s eyes widening. The accompanying flush and trickle of arousal made Rahu wonder at the sight she probably made. Face smeared with her lady’s fluids, staining her nose to the expanse of her jaw.

  Still, Rahu craved more.

  “Sit on my face, hmm?” 

  Shalom jerked as if snapping awake from a trance. Rahu licked her lips – whether deliberately provocative or not, Rahu couldn’t say – she was merely relishing in her flavour. What she didn’t expect was for Shalom to lean down and grab her jaw to steal a taste all for herself.

  It made the vampire’s blood run white-hot. She stiffened as Shalom bit at her lower lip, dragging it towards her as she parted, panting quietly in her face.

  She wore a thoughtful look. Tilting her head in her usual way again, she murmured, “You truly enjoy this taste?”

  Rahu didn’t think she knew how erotic she looked just then.

  “I could do this all day if you’d let me,” Rahu answered honestly, a bit bemused and insanely turned on at the sight of her human sampling her own essence.

  Shalom’s pretty lips quirked upwards. It was amusing how Rahu was the vampire, and yet she felt utterly enchanted by the human woman in front of her. The heavy-lidded gaze, the subtle arch of her back, warm flush down her neck. Her heavy breaths accentuating the curve of her chest in a way that kept Rahu up all night. She was so alive. So… real.

  Rahu returned her lips to the apex of her thighs again, pressing a brief, fond kiss to the muscle. “Master, please. Sit on my face?” 

  “You’re insatiable,” Shalom threaded her fingers through her vampire’s locks again, gently massaging at the scalp. The hitch in her voice was unmistakable. Rahu nearly purred.

  “Yes,” she agreed, leaning into the touch. “Need you. Need you to cum in my mouth. Need everything.” The affection clawed at something deep within her, and she growled lowly on instinct. Shalom noticed the anomaly in her behaviour and paused in her ministrations. 

  “Rahu..?” her voice came sweetly. Questioning. And then Rahu lunged for her, silver eyes flashing red.

  The vampire loomed over her in a sudden movement. It was a blink and ebony coated the depths of her vision, the curtain of her hair tickling at Shalom’s shoulders. Rahu’s huge frame hulked over her on the mattress, not pressing, just — hovering. For a heartbeat and then two. And then Rahu began suckling a bruise hot against her throat, the breath leaving her in a soft woosh.

  “Need you so bad, master,” She groaned, fisting the sheets beside Shalom’s head as if she was restricting herself from touching her. Like the slightest graze of her finger against Shalom’s soft skin would be her very undoing. Rahu kept her lips busy on her neck, shallow kisses that did nothing but display her internal strife. The thump-thump-thump of Shalom’s heart echoed loudly in her ears, reminding her that she was human. She was to guard and protect. Not devour. And yet…

  “You taste fucking amazing,” the vampire panted between tiny nips of skin. “Why do you…” Lick. “Taste…” Suck. “so fucking good?”

  Rahu had wondered once about soulmates. She’d entertained the thought recently, when all she could think about was flashes of deep mauve and melodic laughter. She had felt it before she had ever first tasted Shalom’s blood – something different about the human who had saved her. Who had allowed her to live. Who had allowed her to feel alive.

  Her sweetness was like salvation. Purpose renewed. 

  Now it was temptation, fraying at her sense of control. Shalom’s scent intensified even more and Rahu didn’t have to look to know that she was gushing.

“Bite me,” Shalom whispered almost frantically. “My darling, my pet. Bite me.”

  Rahu’s mind blanked. Her mouth hovered over her fragile neck, so small beside her hands. And then she was sinking her teeth into the skin, coaxing the sweet essence of her love to the surface once more.

  Shalom’s resounding moan was a symphony to her ears. The venom in her bite had her going lax, and when her blood bubbled to the surface – Rahu shuddered above her. Sheer ecstasy. This woman, made for her. This woman she would gladly die for.

  Hng, fuuuck. Rahu brought her palm to Shalom’s pussy, delighting in the jump of her hips and the frantic grinding for relief. 

  “Mmh, my love. Right there,” Shalom moaned cutely again, and it made Rahu want to pick her up and fuck her silly. Maybe one day she’d let her. Today, though –

  Shalom’s body tightened. Her back arched and her moans became erratic. The blood filling her mouth was hot and carried all the desire of its human, sending shockwaves of want to her very core. Rahu palmed her incessantly now, her clit rubbing against her palm, the constant pressure coaxing stuttered breaths from her pretty lips. Licked and sucked at the wound, knowing her human enjoyed the oversensitivity. She hummed hot into her skin, adding another playful bite. “Come for me, master, please.” 

  She came with a broken cry, twitching delightfully in her arms. Rahu combed her hair back with tender motions, her fingers a lull to the senses. She took the time to watch her human slowly come back to herself, eyelids fluttering, slack mouth slanting into a beautiful smile.

  Rahu was never one for poetry but in this moment she thought that maybe the Garden had a point after all.

  Overcome with a sudden swell of affection, Rahu kissed her hard. It was something of desperation, something unknown and secret she hoped for Shalom to know. Everything she’d wanted to say. Everything that… she couldn’t.

  One day, perhaps.

  And Shalom kissed back, blood, slick and all.

  “And what of you, my sweet?” Shalom murmured through kisses, hands fumbling for the lapels of her coat. Rahu merely grumbled in reply, kissing her more insistently now.

  “Can’t make a mess,” Rahu murmured, more to herself than anything. “Gotta clean you up, hmm? My lady?”

  Shalom blinked back into focus, gazing affectionately, albeit confusedly, at the dark-haired vampire before her. “Wha–”

  And then Rahu manoeuvred her upright in a motion so swift she barely had time to blink. She looked down, slightly befuddled, wondering how the vampire got there, lying snugly with her legs bracketing her head.

“Hold on to the headboard. Or my hair.” She rasped, the vibrations of her voice tingling at Shalom’s cunt. “Don’t really care.”

It was all the warning she got before she ate her out (again). 

Once more, (twice more) with feeling.

    It was a while later that the pieces would fall into place for the vampire. 

  “You knew I would attempt this.” Rahu paused, narrowing her eyes. “You wanted me to… ravish you this way.”

  Shalom’s laugh was musical. “Perhaps.” 

  “Hmph. Minx.” Rahu hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

  “Did you enjoy it?”

  They both looked down to her underthings, soiled as they were. 

  “…Perhaps.” Rahu echoed. She sighed as Shalom stroked at her head languidly.

  Contentedly.

It was a lovely thing to see her content.