Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction and contains graphic sexual imagery.

I saw stars and blackness. The hot desert sun caressing my face brought me out of the black abyss. I felt the sharp vampire’s claws graze my face softly as I stirred in his powerful arms.

I opened my mouth to speak, and only a grunting noise came out. Alexi took his large hands and grazed my throat gently with his claws. I smiled as I felt his nails tickling my skin.

My date smiled back. His, long thick white fangs sparkled brightly in the desert sun. There was something very warm smile, despite the predatory appearance of his teeth. I felt safe. Cozy feelings enveloped my soul. I nestled my head into the nape of Alexi’s neck. The contents of my stomach began to swirl a sickly feeling came over me. But I didn’t want to date to end.

Alexi wrapped his arms around me in a  romantic embrace. My date moved my arms and place them tightly around his neck. I struggled to hold on. As he lifted me up higher and higher into the sky, the desert sun burned my eyes. I hissed reflexively.

He dug his claws deep into my back. I could feel small droplets of blood making the underside of my shirt wet and sticky. The fresh air rushing through the tears in my damp shirt sent a shiver down my back.

My belly dropped. I got a nostalgic feeling from when I was a little girl and I used to ride Space Mountain with my dad on our summer trips to Disneyland. My date wrapped me tighter in his arms again, before he swooped down into the window of an uptown apartment.

A beautiful brindle pitbull was lying on the couch. He popped his head up as if to greet us. My date set me gently on the sofa, the sofa felt plush and warm against my skin. I cringed a little bit as I felt Alexi’s nails slowly and carefully sliding out of the newly formed holes in the small of my back.

My date frowned at my obvious discomfort. Alexi sat down next to me, leaving one empty cushion separating us. Alexi slapped his hand repeatedly against the seat beside him; the wild, almost hollow noise echoed through my ears.

Alexi gently patted the side of my arm with the tips of his fingers. Until now, I had not realized how cold his fingertips felt against my warm mortal flesh. The dog gently laid his head on my shoulder. I scratched the top of the dog’s head and behind his ears, smiling at him lovingly.

I jumped out of my seat a little bit as the noise of heavy metal hitting a wooden table ended my puppy induced trance. My eyes were fixated on the cup. My stomach turned as I thought of the contents of the last one.

Alexi sat down beside me, filling the cup with the contents of a fancy glass bottle. The rim of the container was encrusted with diamonds. The sparkling beauty of the gems was marred with tiny red and brown blotches. I watched in horror as the red liquid spilled into the clear shot glass on the table. My date sipped from the shot glass, a satisfied smile creeping across his face as red liquid stained his lips.

My date snapped his massive fingers. The dog made a whimpering noise. Alexi snapped his fingers again, and then almost as quickly as the little furball had appeared, he was gone.

My stomach dropped again. We were all alone.

The vampire slowly leaned in for a kiss, I pulled away, but my fragile human frame was too weak to resist his advances as he slowly pushed my face into his, his lips caressing mine. My insides began to tingle, and I kissed him back. Alexi pulled away from me slowly, licking his lips as he did. I licked my lips, and the blood didn’t taste like death anymore. It tasted like coffee and sweet cream. I kissed him again, then backed away again. I could feel the heat rushing from my loins to my cheeks. He pulled me back in as I blushed. He kissed my cheek softly and rubbing his fingertips up the inner part of my thigh, caressing me gently with his claws.

He kissed me more aggressively this time. I felt warm, and before I could stop myself, I slid my pink shirt over my head, the fabric filling my hair with static. His cold hand was on my warm, soft thigh. He was no longer softly tickling my thighs; he was digging his razor-sharp claws into my milky white skin.

I watched as the vampire knelt on the floor and slid my underwear off from under my skirt. I watched with anticipation as crumpled pink lace fell to the floor. He slid his head between my thighs, and I shivered. His skin felt so cold against the warmth between my legs. I was shaking, but I didn’t want him to stop.

I moaned softly as the vampire’s wet tongue caressed my inner thigh. The vampire stood up, his lips covered in blood. I winced at the realization that my blood covered his lips.

The vampire slowly pushed my legs opened just a bit more and got on top of me, wrapping his legs around my waist. I could feel his erect penis through the fabric of his jeans.

My heart was beating out of my chest. I had never even seen a naked man before. He kissed me harder on the lips this time. I licked the blood from his lips, and for the first time I understood why he wanted me. The blood tasted better, somehow comforting like the first sip of hot coffee on a crisp winter morning.

I reached down and unfastened his pants. The sound of the button unsnapping made my heart skip a beat. My heart was pounding. I was terrified and excited all at once. But much like those roller coasters from my childhood: I really wanted to go for a ride.

I screamed as the vampire slid himself inside of me. I dug my nails into the back of his black t-shirt. It hurt but in a great way.

As we made love, I was transcended to another plane existence. No, it was almost like I was watching a movie. I could see my vampire and me holding hands, but we weren’t ourselves. My bleach blonde punk rock hairdo was replaced raven color locks. My eyes were the same electric blue they had always been. I recognized Alexi. His warm, cozy smile made me feel like I was home.

My thoughts were racing a mile a minute. I pinched myself. I could feel my pink acrylics digging into my skin. I was not dreaming. This was real.

The vampire kissed me on the lips again. The comforting feeling of the blood danced on my tongue as our bodies intertwined. I could see myself standing next to Alexi. We were standing by a fireplace in a medieval village. I could hear his voice; his beautiful Irish accent danced melodically into my ears.

He hugged me goodbye, and the warm, salty tears caressed my cheeks. I wanted to hold him forever and not let go. I could see the day that my life changed forever. It was cold and rainy, and a man on a black horse brought me a letter from the King. I didn’t need to read the message. The man on the black horse had a look on his face of sadness. I knew this meant that my love would not be returning. I rubbed my belly and cried. I knew Alexi was gone. And I knew that he had returned for me.

I could see Alexi sitting in a dungeon where his captors dipped bread into pools of fresh blood. They made slurping noises and laughed, taunting the prisoners. One night, while Alexi was sleeping, he was bitten by a monster. The next day, he was given a black horse to ride on, sitting right behind Vlad the Impaler. Without a word, he knew that being a soldier meant being a vampire. He knew he could not return to me in that life.