Eli rose and flicked on the lights. For a moment he surveyed the chaos that was her apartment. His eyes flicked from the cracked TV - a product of his last visit - to the multiple smashed wine bottles and the overturned lounge chair. His expression gave nothing away, but after a moment he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Soph watched him write a text, then he turned to her and held out his hand to help her up.

"Why don't you have a shower?" he suggested. She nodded mutely and headed for the bathroom. She flicked the light on briefly, taking note of the soap scum building in the shower and her beauty products lazily discarded around the sink before turning the lights off again. In the dark, with only the light of the window to guide her, she stripped off her filthy, sweaty clothes and turned on the shower.

As she waited for the water to warm, she felt sharp bursts of heat flashing under her skin, followed by shivering tendrils of cold. It was the last of the vampire blood fighting for control of her body. She got into the shower and let the hot water crash over her face and chest. She managed to shampoo her hair, but that was about it. Once the suds had washed away, she pressed her forehead to the cool tiles of the shower wall and let the water fall over her back. Eventually the bathroom door clicked open.

"Soph?" Eli asked hesitantly. "Are you okay? You've been in here for half an hour."

She gave a halfhearted grunt in response and turned her head to look at him, but made no move to get out of the shower. He watched her for a long moment, then stepped into the room and closed the door.

"What are you doing?" She straightened in horror as he stripped off his clothes.

"Joining you," he responded, then smiled wryly at her shocked expression. "What's the problem? We've seen each other naked before."

She couldn't think of a witty retort, so she turned back to rest her head against the tiles once more. Eli got into the shower behind her. He picked up the soap and began rubbing it over her back and arms.

"Thank you," she said eventually, "for coming to find me tonight."

"We'll see if you still think that way when the withdrawals kick in." she could almost feel the smile behind his words. His arms circled her to soap her front and when his hand brushed against her breast, she couldn't deny the tug of desire behind her navel. It's just the blood talking, she told herself.

"How did you even know?" she asked, trying to distract herself as his hands rose and rubbed over her shoulders and neck.

"I went to a design meeting today and discovered that you'd resigned. Your boss was lying through his teeth, of course, but it's nice that he wanted to protect you. He said you'd been having some personal difficulties. I put two and two together."

"Wait." Soph lifted her head to look over her shoulder at him. "You went to a design meeting? Why?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "It's my company. Do I have to justify going to a meeting?"

"You've never been to one before."

He gently nudged her so she had to turn away again. He set the soap aside and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I'd noticed the quality of what Vanessa my Marketing Director was bringing back from the meetings had dropped. Sinister is only a month out from opening. We can't afford for it to flop after the hype of the last two clubs. I wanted to know what was happening."

It seemed like a fair enough reason. Soph unfortunately was no longer paying attention. Eli was pressed against her and the hot water of the shower beat down over them. Why she was so fucking turned on by him, she didn't know. She was a wreck, about to go through a drug withdrawal, and her life was in utter shambles, but whenever he got close, all she wanted to do was fuck him. She took one of his hands with hers and pushed it down between her legs.

He responded slowly, his fingers rubbing small circles against her while his other hand rose to cup one of her breasts. His head turned, and he kissed her neck. Soph braced her hands against the wall. It felt so good that it had to be wrong.

"Why can't we keep our hands off each other?" she whispered as his hand left her breast to guide her legs apart.

"I don't know," he whispered back and eased inside her.

***

Soph's phone rang, the noise piercing the quiet of the morning and sending darts of pain through her tender mind. She cracked one eye open, thankful that she'd had the foresight to close the blinds before going to bed. Her migraine was closing in, but wasn't yet unbearable, and she was curled under the doona as if it were winter. Her phone buzzed again, and she scrabbled for it.

"What?" she grunted.

"Er, Soph?" it was Harvey the doorman. "There's a man here who's insisting he be let up."

Soph was quiet for a moment. Was Harvey really choosing today of all days not to do his job?

"Soph?" he asked.

"Who is it?"

"He says his name is Cole."

"Cole who, Harvey?" If she hung up, the doorman would just have to deal with this guy. The line became muffled as Harvey covered the receiver with his hand.

"He says his name is Mr Cole. He's here for Mr Damiani."

What? How could anyone know he's here? Was Cole with the media? Or was he an enemy vampire?

"Eli!" she hissed, smacking the sleeping man beside her. "Someone knows you're here!"

"Is it Cole?" Eli grumbled into his pillow. "Let him up."

With no idea what was happening, Soph gave Harvey leave to let Cole come upstairs. She then rolled out of bed and rummaged through her drawers for some clothes. She found clean underwear towards the back, then pulled on a shirt she'd gotten at a rock concert she'd attended with an old boyfriend.

Eli was slow to stir and when she glanced at him, she noticed that his side was mottled with purple bruises and the gash on his cheek hadn't properly closed up. Why wasn't he healing like a normal vampire? She shivered involuntarily, then turned back to her closet to look for a jumper. By the time she found one, the door to the apartment had clicked open. She froze. The man hadn't even knocked. She went to the bedroom door to confront him.

Cole was a tall man, well built and well dressed. His black hair was meticulously combed, and he wore a black suit with a yellow tie. Looking at him, she couldn't easily pick his age. His face held lines of maturity, and his eyes were sharp and full of wisdom, but he stood proudly and with the strength of a younger man. In one hand he held a briefcase and in the other was a tray with two coffees.

"Ah, Miss Sophia, I presume," he said with a polite incline of his head when he saw her. He didn't even seem to notice that she was only in her underwear. Either that or he was far too well mannered.

"What is going on," she said under her breath.

"Cole," Eli said from behind her, having finally risen from the bed. "Thanks for coming." he moved past her in only his briefs to take one of the coffees. Cole frowned at the bruising on Eli's body, but said nothing.

"Master Eli. The situation does not seem as dire as you made it to be."

Eli grimaced at the title and took a sip of the coffee. "It isn't yet. But it will be."

"Master?" Soph interjected. She knew she was the situation they spoke of and she was keen to move the spotlight away from her.

"He's merely being a traditionalist. He's not talking about some sort of slavery arrangement."

Soph wrapped her arms around herself and looked between the two men, unconvinced. Eli took the second coffee and offered it to her.

"Soph," he said, making proper introductions. "This is Cole. He's my companion."

"Companion," she tried the word out. It was a strange one. Then something struck her. Her jaw dropped open. "You're gay."

Cole smiled, seeming genuinely amused. Eli frowned at her and she realised how stupid she sounded. Had they not just fucked - again - the night before?

"A companion," Eli explained dryly, "is the singular term used for a Possessive's collection."

"Oh," Soph looked at Cole again, reassessing him. He wasn't what she'd expect Eli Damiani to collect. "So no basement full of models?"

"No models," Eli smiled. "And Cole doesn't live in the basement either. He's quite free to come and go as he wishes."

"Is he a good master?" Soph asked Cole, quietly delighting in seeing Eli grimace again. Cole bowed his head.

"Master Eli is a very generous man indeed."

"Are you going to drink that?" Eli asked, nodding towards her coffee. It was his turn to deflect attention. She lifted the cup to her mouth, sipped and gagged. Coffee wasn't what her body wanted. She was rejecting it.

Both Eli and Cole watched somberly as she, with trembling hands, set the cup aside. In the sudden stillness of the room, her headache pushed at her temples and a chill passed down her spine.

"I think I'll go back to bed," she said quietly and withdrew into the bedroom. She fell into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. Eli was right. The situation would get worse. She was going to get worse. The withdrawals were just beginning, and she was going to go to hell.