“Fine. Yes. I’m not going into the office today, so take care of it.” Iro hung up and turned back to her. “Sorry. It was work.”

  “Do you have to take care of something? I can go home. We didn’t exactly talk about spending the whole day together. I have work I can do at home if you–”

  “I don’t need to go, and neither do you unless you want to. I thought I could make us breakfast.” Iro walked over to her, looking so sexy and perfect, and motioned with her finger for Arwen to lie down. “We could eat breakfast first, sit by this fire as we talk about whatever it is that we want, have a late lunch, make love again, go out for dinner, and get some fresh air after, perhaps. Then, we’d come back here and watch something together, or you could tell me about your workday yesterday, if you’d like.”

  “You have it all planned out,” Arwen said.

  Iro moved back on top of her and settled her hips between Arwen’s thighs.

  “Only if you want. If not, I understand.”

  “I’d love to spend the day with you,” she replied. “We can talk about our hopes, dreams, and aspirations,” she joked and wrapped her arms around Iro’s neck.

  “Oh, there’s a topic,” Iro said. “Tell me all about that. While I make you come again,” she added.

  “Well, that could be a challenge. I’m not sure I could focus while you’re doing that.”

  “You can try,” Iro suggested. “Tell me.”

  She slipped her hand between Arwen’s legs and moved inside her.

  “Well, I’d like to become partner.”

  “Yes, I remember that one. I’d love to see your name on the sign outside your office.”

  “Me too,” Arwen said.

  “And?” Iro asked, pushing in deeper.

  “And I want a wife,” she said, looking into Iro’s eyes. “I want someone to spend my life with, who’d love me as much as I love them.”

  “That sounds amazing,” Iro replied.

  “Yes, it does.”

  “What about kids?” Iro asked as she curled her fingers.

  Arwen closed her eyes and said, “No.”

  “No?” Iro asked, sounding surprised.

  “The world is already… so… messed up. Oh, fuck.”

  “Keep going,” Iro told her in a playful voice.

  “I don’t… want to… bring… a kid… into it.”

  “Me neither,” Iro shared.

  Arwen opened her eyes and met Iro’s again.

  “You don’t?”

  Iro shook her head, and Arwen smiled.

  “A lot of women do.”

  “I know,” Iro replied.

  “Maybe we really are perfect for one another,” Arwen suggested.

  “Maybe. Now, tell me more after you come,” Iro said.

  Arwen came not long after that, and they lay in silence for several minutes before Iro picked up a book that she had by the fireplace.

  “Shall I read a bit before I get back to cooking breakfast?”

  “That sounds perfect,” she said, and as she listened to Iro read from a book of the classics, she thought about how she could do this every day.

  She could wake up next to her, go to work, come home, have dinner with her, make love, and fall asleep next to this woman who seemed to be made just for her.

  “I think that’s yours,” Iro noted as she poured orange juice for her later.

  Arwen heard her phone, too, so she hurried to the bedroom, where she’d left it to charge.

  “Hey. What’s up?” she said into it after she saw Zara’s name on the screen.

  “Hey. What are you doing?”

  “I’m with Iro. We’re about to have breakfast.”

  “At noon?”

  “Brunch, I guess.” She laughed a little. “We slept in because it’s the weekend.”

  “Oh. Want to maybe get together later? Late lunch or just coffee? I feel like we should talk.”

  “You want to talk now?”

  “I’m sorry about yesterday, okay?” Zara said defensively. “I’ve been going through some stuff, but I can tell you about it when I see you.”

  “Okay. Yeah. I’ll be there. Wherever.”

  “Coffee, then? We can go to our usual place.”

  “What time?” Arwen asked.

  “Two? Three?”

  “Three would be better. We still have to eat.”

  “Okay. Three, then,” Zara said. “I’ll see you there.”

  Arwen disconnected and returned to the kitchen.

  “That was Zara,” she said to Iro. “We’re going to grab coffee in a few hours, but I’ll be back right after that.”

  “Is everything okay?” Iro checked.

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Zara

  “How are you enjoying your new creation?”

  “Enjoying?” she asked as she looked up from her computer.

  “Yes. You made her, and now, she’s yours,” Cassia said and sat down next to Zara on the sofa.

  “She’s easier than Amy because she wanted this. Amy didn’t even know vampires existed, but I think she’s going to be okay now. She said she used to have crippling depression, and now, it appears to be gone.”

  “Yes, being immortal has a way of messing with brain chemistry a bit,” Cassia told her.

  “It does?”

  “It can. Sometimes, it’s more overt in one vampire over another. Just think of yourself, Zara. You never would have thought you could have the kind of sex you’ve been having recently. You never would have killed a woman.”

  “I didn’t–”

  Cassia chuckled and said, “Oh, I know; you gave them a gift. But to do that, they had to die first, end their human life to be born anew. You never would’ve done that before.”

  “I had no reason to.”

  “Perhaps. But humans have never really needed a reason for killing one another, have they? They’d claim religion or politics. They might say he or she did me wrong, so it was for revenge or maybe money. And yet, sometimes, it’s just because they feel like it.” Cassia shrugged a shoulder. “Now, you have not one but two new creations, and I noticed Amy staring at you this morning while you fed. I think she might be coming around. Give her a little more time, and you’ll be able to have your way with her.”

  Zara closed her laptop and said, “I don’t want to have my way with her. Not like that. It’s fine that everyone else wants it – Gigi and Miranda and all the others – but if Amy doesn’t, I’m not going to push her.”

  “Of course, not. And I’m not saying you’ll have to. I’m saying she will come to you herself. It’ll probably be at night in your room, and she’ll want to give you anything you want. That’s how you’ll know. Now, I have a few things to discuss with you.”

  “Okay,” Zara said, placing her computer on the table in front of them.

  “One, I’ve decided that I’m going to move Gigi and Miranda into the other house, which I procured with a lease this morning,” Cassia told her.

  “Oh. Why?”

  “Because I want you close,” Cassia replied with a smile. “They’ll take Sarah and Alexia with them. And while I’m sad to be parted from them, they’ll be a mere block away, busy with their two new creations. I thought you and Amy could stay here, along with your… other one.”

  “Her name is–”

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” Cassia interrupted her. “I suppose when we sleep together next, I might want to call out her name to make her feel good or something, so I will learn it by then.” She waved Zara off. “Is she good? Now that she’s a vampire, was it good?”

  Zara swallowed and said, “We haven’t done that since she turned.”

  “What? Not even this morning?”

  “No.”

  “Did you meet with Gigi or Miranda instead, or any of the others?”

  “No,” Zara said. “I did what you asked: I called Arwen and told her I wanted to talk so that we could reconnect and she wouldn’t pull away from me.”

  Cassia smiled at her and said, “Well, then, I think you need a reward.” She moved to stand. “Zara, we’re not meant to go without.”

  “I had sex last night,” she replied, “And I’ve lost count how many times since we met.”

  “Yes, but there are two reasons we do this. First is that it feels good. And you know my thoughts on that: we should always feel good,” Cassia said and reached for the belt on her shimmering silver robe, which was new to Zara. “I love making you feel good, and you have been without today.” She let the robe fall to the floor. “The other reason is that sex helps with the cravings. The last thing I need is you out there with Arwen, smelling her blood, how you did at work, and nearly killing the woman in public because you’re not sated in other ways.”

  “I didn’t almost–”

  “Make no mistake, Zara… Yes, you did. If your reaction was so strong that your fangs emerged and you had to go into a silly storage closet, you would have.” Cassia reached for her T-shirt and pulled it over Zara’s head. “It doesn’t matter how much you like or even love a person. They’re still food to us, and we’re not always capable of resisting that, no matter how much Iro tries to convince herself otherwise. I’m surprised she hasn’t bitten this Arwen yet. She put herself through hell trying to rewire her brain so she wouldn’t hurt humans, even though we don’t have to kill them. Did you know she doesn’t even drink human blood from blood bags? She wouldn’t be hurting anyone, but she insists on putrid pig and cow blood. Take your pants off, Zara.”

  “We don’t have–”

  “Sweetheart, we don’t have to do anything. Now, take off all your clothes and stand up. I want to reward you for all your hard work. I know it can’t be easy, what you have been through, and you have to watch Arwen and Iro in this ridiculous farce.”

  Zara didn’t know why, but her body hummed, and she stood up, listening to Cassia how she always seemed to.

  “Now, you wait right there. I have a surprise for you,” Cassia said and promptly left the room.

  Zara removed her clothes and saw one of the humans, whom Cassia seemingly always had hanging around, walk by the room.

  “Hello?” Zara said to her.

  The woman stopped, turned around, and walked in.

  “Yes, Ma’am?”

  “Answer me honestly. You really like this? You want to give us your blood?”

  “Yes,” the woman replied.

  “Why?”

  “It feels good. It’s a rush, like a drug, only it’s not that dangerous.”

  “Not dangerous? We could kill you.”

  “Why would you do that when I’m here willingly, giving you anything you want?” She then looked Zara up and down and added, “You are a beautiful woman.”

  Zara only then remembered that she was naked.

  “Thank you. So are you.”

  “Would you like a taste?”

  The woman held out her wrist for her, and Zara thought about what Cassia had told her about Iro: how she only drank animal blood and not from humans, even when there was no risk of hurting them. Then, Zara thought about the fact that she hadn’t eaten yet and she was about to go see Arwen, who smelled so amazing to her that she’d nearly bitten her in the kitchen of their office. Instead, she’d stolen the bloody paper towel, put it in a plastic bag, and taken it with her.

  “Yes,” she replied, putting her worries about unintentionally hurting Arwen over her jealousy about Iro.

  The woman took a few more steps toward her, and Zara took her wrist.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes,” the woman said. “Please.” She closed her eyes. “And you can touch me, if you want. I’m gay. I know the one you turned isn’t, but Cassia mentioned that you might want to touch me.”

  “She said that? When?”

  “A few days ago.” The woman opened her eyes to look at her. “She mentioned that we should offer ourselves to you whenever you ask because you’re important to her.”

  “But you want this, right?”

  “Yes.” She giggled. “Please, taste me. Then, take me. I want all of this. I want to be like you. I know I need to earn my place, but I also want it, Zara.”

  Zara realized then that this woman knew her name, but she didn’t know hers. She thought about asking for a second, but she was hungry, so she bit down into the woman’s wrist instead and heard her moan. Zara growled against her skin.

  “Yes, like that. That feels…”

  Zara grunted and bit down harder.

  “Fuck!”

  Worried that she was hurting her, Zara stopped to check.

  “No, don’t stop,” the woman said.

  Zara lowered her mouth back down but didn’t bite as hard this time, and her eyes landed on the woman’s body as her hand moved over her breasts and under her shirt to cup one and then the other breast. This human was getting turned on by this.

  “Well, I appear to be interrupting something.”

  Zara stopped.

  “No, don’t. Continue,” Cassia encouraged.

  Zara took her in and noticed that Cassia was wearing a strap-on.

  “I wore this for you,” Cassia said. “Would you like it?”

  “Yes,” she replied as she swallowed hot blood. “Yes.”

  “Good. Take care of her first. She seems to need you. I’ll be waiting.” Cassia sat on the sofa. “And watching.”

  The woman put her wrist back into Zara’s mouth, and Zara sucked while she kept her eyes on Cassia, who seemed to be very happy with this development. Seconds later, Zara moved swiftly and pinned the woman against the wall, dropping the wrist and sinking her teeth into the neck. The woman then took Zara’s hand and shoved it into her pants without a question, pushing her pants down as far as she could get them right after.

  “Yes, that’s beautiful,” Cassia encouraged. “You’re going to make me come just from watching you take what you want, Zara.”

  Zara pushed inside the woman at the same time she bit down into her flesh, eliciting a gasp. Not entirely sure which movement had driven that gasp, she pushed in even deeper and gave her a few hard thrusts. The woman seemed to enjoy that, so she kept it up and heard moans coming from behind her. Zara didn’t turn, though. She didn’t want to give Cassia the satisfaction. She just fucked this woman and drank from her until she thought she might take too much, and when the woman finally came hard, Zara stopped sucking and pulled out of her quickly, letting her sink to the floor.

  “That was…” the woman said softly. “So fucking good.”

  “Get over here,” Cassia said as Zara walked toward her and saw Cassia’s hand inside the harness she wore, stroking herself. “You get your reward. Then, I get mine.”

  Zara didn’t say anything. She just moved to Cassia’s lap and pushed the dildo deep inside her, feeling full, wanted, and free.

  “She’s delicious,” Cassia noted as she licked at Zara’s breast where some blood had dripped.

  “Yes, she is,” Zara agreed and lifted herself before she lowered back down.

  Cassia pulled her hand out of the harness and slipped her fingers into Zara’s mouth.

  “Am I as delicious?”

  “More,” Zara said, licking at the fingers. “I want you.”

  “Next, dear. You can have me after you come. I want you sated in all ways before you meet with your Arwen.”

  “Yes, she’s mine,” Zara said.

  “Would you like her now?” Cassia asked. “Maybe that should be your reward, her fucking you like this.”

  “She might see,” Zara replied, referring to the human in the room with them.

  “Do not worry about her. She’s passed out, but will be fine. So, do you want it?”

  “Yes,” Zara said and opened her eyes.

  “Very well.”

  Cassia transformed into Arwen, and Zara rose and fell faster on the dildo. As she continued to stare down into Arwen’s eyes, though, she knew that this wasn’t real. This wasn’t Arwen. Arwen was with Iro, happy and probably in love, and this wasn’t real.

  “Wait. Can you change back?” she asked and stopped moving.

  “Why?” Cassia asked in Arwen’s voice.

  “I want you to change back. I want you to fuck me, Cassia,” she replied, leaving out every other concern. “ I want to fuck you, not her.”

  “Zara, I belong to another, so I hope you’re not developing some silly crush.”

  “I’m not. Just now. I want you now.”

  Cassia nodded and said, “Whatever you’d like. It’s your reward.”

  She then returned to her own form, and Zara continued to take what she wanted.

  When Zara came, she climbed off Cassia, removed the strap-on, and sucked her into her mouth. Cassia was wetter than she’d ever seen her before, and when Cassia requested it, Zara bit down on her inner thigh, sucked, and returned her attention to Cassia’s never-fully-satisfied clit.

  “There. That’s better now, isn’t it?” Cassia asked when Zara stood up in front of her and wiped her mouth. “Now, you should go shower and get cleaned up. If you need another one, grab Gigi or Miranda. They’ll take care of you in the shower before you go. I want you nice and ready for your meeting with Arwen. I don’t want you sitting there looking like you want to eat her. Wear the clothes I placed on your bed. It will look good on you.”

  “You’re dressing me now?” she asked.

  “No, Zara. I bought them for you. It’s a nice suit that Arwen will love on you. That’s why I got it. It’s something like what Iro might wear, but not as expensive so as not to give you away. She should begin to see you how she currently sees Iro. It’ll help her realize her actual feelings for you, and then, those will replace her feelings for my love.”

  “Today is just about Arwen and I reconnecting, right? I’m supposed to tell her that I pulled away a little because I thought I might have cancer, but it turned out that the biopsy was negative.”

  “Yes, that is the lie. It’ll get you off the hook for all of your strange behavior recently, and she won’t press because it’s such a difficult topic. She’ll be happy that you’re all right.”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to her,” she said. “I’m going to shower now.”

  “And enjoy yourself,” Cassia suggested. “Gigi and Miranda are probably packing right now. I’m sure they could use a break.”