There were probably a million questions he should ask, but River had no interest in knowing the answers. He would be fine, just as soon as he got back to his normal day-to-day life. Before the man could answer, River heard the email notification on his phone. He grabbed it from next to the pillow and opened it. He glanced over the email from the blood clinic asking to reschedule his missed appointment.
River froze as he thought about it. He didn’t feel sick. His head wasn’t pounding, and nausea wasn’t making him puke in the toilet. He was utterly fine; if anything, he felt better than he ever had. He jumped down from the tall twin-size bed. He squatted down a few times, ignoring his half nudity as he did so. He twisted until there was resounding pop from his back.
“You drank my blood,” River said. It wasn’t a question but a statement, because there was no way River would have felt as good if the man hadn’t drunk from him.
“Most humans scream and cry once they figure out what I am, but yet you are acting as if this is normal.”
River shrugged, walking over to the small closet and grabbing a pair of pants. He slipped them on without any worry, completely disregarding his guest and the danger that surrounded the man.
It wasn’t that River couldn’t feel fear because there were plenty of times he had, but it was almost as if every time he was afraid, he was able to overcome the emotion.
“I’m still alive. Figured even if my guess is right, you aren’t going to kill me,” River said.
A deep laugh that did funny things to River came from the man. “You are a strange human.”
He’d been called worse in his lifetime. River went over to his desk on the other side of the room. Reaching for the chair, he took a seat and stared at the man, who’d all but confirmed his suspicions.
“Did you want something from me? Or do you visit all your past meals?” River asked.
The man sauntered further into the room, coming to a stop right in front of River. River had to tilt his head back into order to look the man in the eyes. Strong fingers gripped River’s chin, stretching his neck out even more in an almost uncomfortable manner.
“Past meals never live, especially with how starved I was,” the man said.
It wasn’t a threat, and River didn’t take it as one. The man sounded as if he was stating a fact.
“Yet you are alive, and blood rushes under this delicate skin.” A pink tongue darted out, licking against the man’s lower lip, and River couldn’t understand his body’s reaction to the stranger.
“Did you do something to me?”
There was a knowing smirk on the man’s face, but this time he showed his fangs, and River couldn’t help but stare at them.
“I pushed venom inside of you,” the man said.
River blinked a few times, trying to let his mind catch up to the words that had just come from the man. “What do you mean by venom?”
The man bent down, and there was no warmth from him as he pressed his lips against River’s throat right at the pulse point.
“I can always do it again so you can truly feel it.”
River couldn’t fight the full-body shudder as he remembered the pleasure that had taken over him and nearly made him go mad.
“No, thank you,” River said.
To his surprise, the man pulled back, licking his lips, but he didn’t bite into River.
“I’m full anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever felt full before,” the man said.
He let River’s chin go, and he took a step back, looking around the small room. There wasn’t a whole lot there, no posters or art. River kept his room as neat and plain as possible.
“Here.” The man passed River a sleek black card.
River took it. The card felt heavy in his hands, and instead of paper, it was made of metal. He realized it wasn’t a business card but a credit card. It was one of those cards people obsessed over that was only for the elite.
“What is this for?” River asked.
“When I call for you, I expect you to come. That is payment—buy whatever you want with it,” the man said.
River flipped the card over between his fingers, pushing the wire-rimmed glasses up on the bridge of his nose.
“You want to pay me to feed you?” River asked.
The vampire said nothing which was answer enough. River swirled his chair around and scooted back over to his desk. He grabbed his planner; it was always in the same spot. He opened it and grabbed a pen from the jar on the corner of the desk.
He clicked the pen and crossed his legs.
“I won’t be able to do on-call, but I can schedule you in,” River said.
River could tell the vampire wasn’t used to people saying no to him or making him work around their schedule. The disbelief that crossed his face would be funny if River wasn’t being serious. If there was an interruption to his daily life, the only way he was going to keep going was by grabbing it and controlling it.
“You don’t seem to know how this works. I am a predator, you are food—”
“I get it, you’re a vampire that can move faster than me and are stronger than me. I am nothing more than a cow to you,” River said, effectively interrupting him. “But this cow has also made you feel full—are you willing to kill me and let that feeling go?” River leveled a stare at the vampire.
The vampire moved in an instant, pinning River against the wall by his throat, restricting his airflow. He hissed, bringing his face close to River’s. If he had needed to breathe, River was sure he would have felt puffs of air against his face.
The vampire took a breath before he spoke. “You dare try to tell me what I can and can’t do. I won’t kill you, but I can lock you away and only bring you out of your cage when I’m hungry.”
The idea of going back to a life like that settled an eerie calm over River. He knew that life. He’d lived it most of his life until he was finally granted his freedom. Only through fire and death was he set free, and River didn’t plan on going back to that life—of his life never being in his control.
“I… can schedule you in,” River squeezed out.
A deep chuckle came from the vampire before River was abruptly put down on the ground. His throat was sore and probably bruised, but it was nothing he couldn’t get past.
“All right, schedule me in.”
River grabbed the planner that had dropped to the ground during the whole debacle. With a steady hand, he scratched out his next appointment with the blood clinic, then looked up at the vampire standing menacingly over him.
“Name,” River said.
“Caydem Humphrie.”
River’s hand paused as the shock of the man’s name settled in his mind.
“Caydem Humphrie, the sole heir to one of the largest tech companies in the world?” River asked.
Caydem crouched down to get to River’s eye level, muscles bunched in the tailored suit.
“Your heart skips a beat at the mention of my human status, but what I am doesn’t scare you.” Caydem cupped River’s jaw and stared at him as if he was a rare commodity.
“I can see you in two weeks on Wednesday. My classes are—”
“Not going to work for me,” Caydem said. His hand made its way to River’s hair, the curly strands clutched in a firm grip. The memory of Caydem doing the same in the alley flashed in River’s mind, and he swallowed back the involuntary moan.