Lilith gave the man a quick once over. He had a lean muscular build, thick brown hair, green eyes, and a smile that made her weak in the knees.
“They don't make 'em like this very often,” she thought to herself.
She smiled at him and extended her free hand.
“I'm Lilith. Are you moving in?” she asked.
Lilith immediately felt stupid for asking such a question. Why in the hell would he be hauling boxes inside if he wasn't moving in?
“Lance,” he said and took her hand.
Instead of shaking it, he brought it gently to his lips and kissed it. Lilith had to bite the side of her jaw to keep from giggling like a school girl. Lance's lips felt warm against her skin and sent a wave of sexual tingles through her body.
“And yes, I'm moving in apartment 207,” he confirmed.
“Awesome!” she said grinning, “I live in 208.”
“Cool, so we're like right next door to one another, right?” He asked locking eyes with her.
Their conversation seemed light, but the looks passing between them were anything but. His intense gaze sent a chill down Lilith's spine, making her want to rub her thighs together, to soothe her throbbing clit. She had never been this attracted to anyone, but just talking to Lance was making her wet.
“Yea, we'll have to get together some time and hang out,” Lilith said with confidence that hadn't always come easily to her.
Even now, Lilith would usually go out of her way to avoid talking to men, because it always ended awkwardly at the point they asked about her career. She had never felt right about lying to a potential suitor; it was bad for a relationship. If she couldn't be honest with her lover, then she didn't need one.
“I'd like that,” Lance said as he bent down to pet Cinnamon.
“A man that likes dogs, this could be promising,” Lilith thought to herself.
The Yorkie wagged her tail and licked at his hand in a friendly gesture, but Lilith noticed she looked more intense than usual. Cinnamon didn't like strangers touching her, but she wasn't so wide-eyed.
“She's a friendly girl,” he smiled at Lilith.
“Yea, Cinnamon loves to meet new people,” Lilith said, thankful that Cinnamon was playing nice, even if she were uncomfortable.
Most of the time Cinnamon wasn't pleasant to anyone but her, unless it was work related. Maybe it was a sign from the gods. Maybe Mr. Green Eyes could be 'the one.' Lilith mentally scolded herself for even having the thought. When a girl was in the business of killing, she didn't have the luxury of finding 'the one.'
Cinnamon turned to Lilith and jumped up on her leg wagging her tail.
“My show is going to be on soon,” she whined.
Lilith laughed silently swearing that she had to have the only dog in the world that liked to watch television. If Cinnamon missed one of her shows she would be irritable for days.
“Well, I better finish getting this stuff up stairs,” Lance said and bent down to retrieve his box.
“Do you need any help?” Lilith offered, much to Cinnamon's annoyance.
“No, but thank you. I only have a few more boxes,” Lance said as he walked away into the building and pressed the button for the elevator.
Lilith and Cinnamon took the stairs as they always did. They were an active pair that enjoyed the exercise, and in their line of business they had to stay fit. More than once they had been forced to out-distance a vampire that they had wandered too close to, or even worse, a feeding vampire. Lilith hated when that happened. One had tried to bite off her arm when she happened upon him in the alley, feeding from a woman.
Once they were inside, Lilith turned on the television to the Animal Channel, which was the only channel Cinnamon watched.
“Yes!” Cinnamon exclaimed with a whine jumping onto the sofa. “No freezing our tails off at the lake this weekend! We can stay home and watch tv!”
“What? You think I'm going to cancel our business trip because Mr. Kissed My Hand is moving in next door? He'll be here when we get back,” Lilith said laughing, “and besides, he's cute, too cute. I bet he has a girlfriend, or is a major player.”
Lance was definitely attractive, but he wasn't worth losing money for. She and Cinnamon had grown accustomed to their life style, and keeping it depended on finding vampires for the Lingstons to slay. Lilith had accepted the fact that she turned over innocent vampires for money, but was any vampire really innocent?
“Lilith! Have you lost your mind? He's a cat! Lance is a cat! Are you blind, human?” Cinnamon barked.
“No!” she shook her head, “No way! That's impossible!”
Cat was their code word for vampire. It was impossible that she had overlooked a detail like that! Even if he made her panties wet, she would have noticed that he wasn't human. Cinnamon was just teasing her again. Lilith had encountered many vampires and had not been attracted to a single one of them.
Lilith sprinted to the window and looked out. Lance was carrying his last box inside the building. Lilith glanced at him and knew instantly that Cinnamon was correct. She sank down to the floor holding her stomach in fear she was going to throw-up.
“I must really be off my game,” Lilith sighed, “but that's just my luck. It always sucks.”
“See, he's a cat! We don't have to go anywhere! There's a special on giraffes on this weekend I want to watch, anyway,” Cinnamon said jumping into her lap, “It's easy money. All you have to do is call Hunter and we'll be having steak this weekend.”
“The vet said you were eating too much people food,” Lilith reminded her.
“And your vet said you were drinking too much coffee, but I don't nag you about it,” Cinnamon said and trotted off to the sofa as her show began.
Lilith sighed and headed towards the shower. She should have been thrilled. A vampire moving in next door was an incredible stroke of luck for her and Cinnamon! It was going to be the easiest commission she ever made. Lilith would be able to give the Lingstons his exact location at this very moment. Hunter could send people out to pick him up tonight. That's what would happen if she reported him anyway, but Lilith wasn't sure if she was going to.
“Big cat,” She said to herself as she turned on the shower, “Big cats are always beautiful, but they kill just as easily as they purr.”
Lilith allowed the hot water to ease her sore muscles and tried to relax, but the wetness between her legs made it difficult. Her nipples became erect under the water and she sighed in pleasure. It had been too long since she had been laid. Maybe she would head to the bar this weekend while Cinnamon watched her shows, or maybe she'd just slip next door.
“Stop it, Lilith!” she snapped at herself, “Stop it right now. Just masturbate and get it over with! You can call Hunter when you're done. The only way to beat temptation is to remove it from your sight.”
Lilith's hands trailed over her body and her thoughts returned to Lance, and she knew she wasn't going to report him to Hunter. She allowed the taboo of her attraction to stimulate her in ways she had never imagined, as her fingers worked over her hungry clit.
What would it be like to share a bed with such an unnatural beauty? To revel in the painful pleasure of his fangs piercing her skin, as his manhood penetrated deep into her body?
Chapter 2: Lance
“She doesn't remember anything,” Lance said into his cellphone.
“I told you,” his brother, Richard, said from the other end.
“I know!” Lance snapped and balled his free hand into a fist.
“Death is a fountain that washes away all memories, Lance, and that is the truth of human existence,” Richard said.
“But sometimes psychics are different,” Lance retorted.
“Maybe Lily doesn't want to remember. Or would have forgotten on purpose,” Richard laughed.
“Asshole!” Lance said and ended the call.
He threw the phone across the room and it landed on the sofa with a soft thud. Lance hadn't expected Lilith to remember everything, but it stung that she didn't remember him. It was obvious that she was still attracted to him, which was nice, but he would have liked it if she could have at least remembered him.
He wasn't angry at Lilith. No, he wasn't that selfish, but Lance was angry at those mangy mutts that had taken her from him so long ago. The Lingstons had not only murdered her, but spent the next century trying to track her down. To most people, that would sound insane. After all how hard can it be to track down a dead woman? Very, if you knew the person had been reincarnated.
Lance had to fight back his urge to punch the wall. It wouldn't do any good, and it would reveal too much about him. If the vampire had punched the wall he would find himself in the uncomfortable situation of having to explain to the authorities where he had hid the wrecking ball.
“Why didn't I search harder?” He yelled and balled both fists at his sides.
Lance knew that he and his family had put every resource at their disposal into finding Lilith, but it hadn't been enough. Somehow the Lingston hounds had still found her first. They might have never found her at all if Lilith hadn't stumbled upon Richard and his witch girlfriend, Ginger, in that alleyway. Ginger had returned the black sapphire ring to her, at least. Although, it was only a stroke of luck that Lance had loaned it to her for scrying purposes. At least the fates had been on his side that day.
Lance knew that he was risking his very existence if things didn't go well with Lilith. At this very moment she could be on the phone with Hunter, calling down the wrath of the Lingston Hounds, but Lance had family too. In fact, Lance Ragatti had a lot more than just family. He had a large extended family, many of whom had powerful friends.
Lance busied himself with unpacking his apartment. He didn't plan on staying long, but he had to make it look as if he was nothing more than another mortal trying to settle into a new home. He unpacked his belongings, which were all new and bought just for the mission. The only thing that was truly his was the painted portrait of Lilith from over a century ago. Even now her appearance hadn't changed much. Her long hair cascaded in loopy curls down her back, and her blue eyes shined bright with laughter and lust for life.