From time to time

The clouds give rest

To the moon-beholders

- Matsuo Basho

Cast in visceral radiance, a red tear entombed in amber sparkled before her very eyes. The scarlet mote was a stain in the murky haze surrounding her. Somehow it fed her a gleeful appetite, carving a desire deep in her gut that she could never hope to escape from. Her thoughts were as clouded as the red fog, yet she desperately wanted to reach out and touch the smooth amber stone with her bare fingers.

To gaze into the scarlet mote was to peek into a deathless abyss, one of endless cravings and all-consuming pleasures. Much like her own bottomless hunger, the mote seemed to call out to her, demanding her attention. There was a promise of relief within that amber encasing, somewhere deep within that crimson abyss. Trying to focus on it was straining, causing the red mist to burn around her.

Her stomach growled as she tried to stand, the ground beneath her feet seemed to shift as if she were walking on sand. Each footstep was a slough, and seemed to only drag the beautiful stone away. It was escaping her reach, which only seemed to spurn her hunger ever further. Time dragged on like the sand sucking in her feet. A warm tear strolled down her cheeks as she felt a hunger blossom into a fever dream. An unending need to grasp the strange scarlet mote overwhelmed her thoughts. Her very sense of self deteriorated as she strived to get closer.

She never got within reach, for something disturbed the dream. Sleep struggled to hold its grasp on her fertile mind, and slowly the red haze slipped away along with the beautiful stone. Wakeful liberation ended the hunger, and the woman stirred slowly to awareness as shredded afterthoughts permeated her latent imagination. The dream dissolved into nothingness, and she would struggle to remember what the dream was in the first place. A shiver shot down her spine as she opened her eyes. Her eyelashes scratched into the pillow as two emerald iris’s peered into the dark. Night swept over Miami like a curtain of starlight, the moon burned through the clouds to emit an eerie glow. Even with the curtains drawn, the moonlight was visible, breaching through the edges of fabric. Just outside, the streets of Miami were alive and thriving. She could hear distant music bleeding through the walls as several nearby bars and clubs were in full swing.

A typical night in this southern sprawl consisted of late night clubbing, dancing, and falling in love with the rapture of music resounding through the streets. Despite this, Rose Sexton had no interest in participating in the nightly festivities. She was exhausted and desperately wanted to fall back to sleep. Curled underneath a plush comforter, the young woman hadn’t moved since she awoke. Alongside her, an eerie shadow slowly glided over her. Two ominous glowing blue eyes peered through the gloom, accompanied by a pair of sharp fangs.

The shade leaned in for the kill, inching ever so slowly towards her prey. Rose wasn’t aware of the sudden chill in the room for she was wrapped underneath several layers of blankets. Nor was she alerted by the foreboding silhouette arching over her shoulder. She was only made aware of the creature’s stirring when she heard the light humming coming from its lips. Rose narrowed her eyes on the red glow of the alarm clock on the nightstand. The alarm clock glowed eerily alongside the moonlight; its burning red tinge highlighted the creatures silhouette behind her, giving it an aura of maliciousness.

Rose felt a droplet of warm saliva drip onto her shoulder, the creatures humming grew louder to form a simple melody. She sighed, then reached out to turn on the light. Just as her fingers reached the switch, Rose felt a pair of lips press onto the back of her neck, and a tongue glom onto her sticky flesh. She turned on the light to expose the creature sucking on her neck, the vampire wasn’t biting down, but she was eagerly mounting a fresh hickey.

“Really…” Rose asked without moving.

Rebecca Seraphine, her girlfriend that just so happened to be the vampire, wrapped her arm around Rose’s chest and broke her lips from her neck only briefly to speak, “So delicious, need a sip.”

“Reby…” Rose looked at the alarm, it was 3:38 in the morning. “Go back to sleep, it’s too early for this.”

“But you’re so juicy, I want to lick you all over.” Rebecca cuddled up close, Rose could feel her lovers bountiful breasts pressing against her back. She could also feel the vampire’s icy cold feet brush up against her legs. Even under the covers, the vampire’s feet were always freezing cold.

It wasn't so long ago that vampires were merely a myth, not too dissimilar from ghost stories or werewolves. As far as Rose could tell, ghosts and werewolves were still not real…although Rebecca wasn’t in agreement about ghosts. When the first Vampire Clan introduced themselves to the world twelve years ago, it sent shockwaves across the globe. Soon hundreds of other clans followed suit, and it was realized that nearly a quarter of the population were vampires, or descendants of vampires. They had done a really good job of hiding themselves over the millennia, however they now realized that was no longer possible in the new ‘digital age’.

At first the idea of vampires being real frightened the hell out of Rose, but as the years went by the world moved on as usual. It probably made sense that it would, seeing that vampires have been around all this time.

Rose’s own prejudices, and irrational fears, were put to the test two years ago. It was a warm summer morning when she rushed to get on board a singles cruise, and in her haste she rushed onto the wrong cruise liner. The HMS Sanguine was featuring a ‘Vampires Only’ cruise at the time, and Rose had become the sole human on board.

She quickly learned that most of the stories about vampires were just that…stories. They did crave blood, especially hers, but they’re ways for them to control that urge. Also, vampires only needed the smallest samples of blood, or plasma, to survive. A simple donation could sustain them for days at a time. For some reason, vampires had evolved without the ability to process normal foods without the consumption of human blood, thus forcing them to prey on others until they had learned to be more civilized. For centuries, vampire clans had altered their customs to integrate with human society, and even help shape it for the better.

The truth was, Rose never met an admitted vampire until that cruise ship fiasco. It was there she met several who would change her life forever. Her girlfriend, Rebecca Seraphine, fell in love with her at first sight. With a mischievous grin, and gorgeous blonde hair, Rebecca pined over her like a lost puppy dog. When the HMS Sanguine lost power, and fell into complete disarray, the blonde vampire had single handedly defended Rose against the mobs of starving vampires on board.

There were others that Rose had come to know as friends. Maggie Read Nyx, now Maggie Read Nyxian Stryx, was Rebecca’s best friend and roommate onboard the cruise. To say she had a strong dislike for humans was an understatement. The dark haired, and well endowed, woman barely tolerated Rose’s presence at first, but deep down that bitterness was meant to for someone else. Maggie’s distrust of humans was spawned after a bad breakup, one that she rarely ever spoke of. While sharing a room with the two vampires onboard the HMS Sanguine, Maggie descended into a state of inebriation and recklessness.

Only a day passed on that cruise before Rose met Kyle Stryx. He was handsome, spontaneous, and quickly caught in Maggie’s web. Together, he and Maggie went wild. It wasn’t long before their shared pleasures resulted in an unexpected pregnancy.

Since the cruise, Rose and Rebecca had been happily together. Although sharing a one bedroom apartment had proven a challenge. That and their subtle differences. Rebecca was an early riser, and especially enjoyed a breakfast snack. It annoyed Rose to no end when her girlfriend tried to tease her awake before the crack of dawn, but damn did it feel good to have her around.

Rose looked over her shoulder to get a good look at Rebecca’s luscious blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. A gasp of pleasure escaped her lips as she felt the vampire’s hand slide underneath her nightgown, and then glide upward. Delicate fingers brushed the underside of her breast, then travelled the curvature of her mound before resting firmly on its softness. Emerald eyes peered into sapphire orbs as Rose spoke with a berated breathe, “You’re incorrigible aren’t you?”

“Always,” the vampire shot her a quirky grin. Her voice was full of mischief and yet sounded so tempting. “You know you love it,” Rebecca teased as she applied a light squeeze to Rose’s breast.

“F-ck yes,” Rose jerked as she felt her girlfriends fingers pinching her nipple.