The Dark Secret of the CEO by Sofia de Orellana

“We’re going to a different place?” I ask as he walks away from the bar, towards the main street.

“Even if you’re hot, Baby Vamp, it’s going to look suspicious if you keep picking up boys that don’t come back, no?”

Fair point. I sped up behind him, trying to rearrange my hair, pull down my dress… anything to make me feel like I didn’t just almost eat a random guy. I almost feel like there’s still blood dripping down my lip, but no, he wiped it all off perfectly. Bart chuckles at my nervousness, and puts an arm around my waist again.

“Relax, little sister, you’ve got this, I promise.”

“It’s not anything like I imagined,” I mutter. “I was thinking of something a bit more… action-packed.”

“You mean jumpin on the roofs, running in a forest? Yeah, no, this is the wrong century for that. We’d be on some stupid Social Media within an hour. A smart hunter is a hunter that makes the job quick and clean, Hera. We’re not savages… Although, some of us do like a messy job. But they don’t get to live long.”

“…Why?”

He glances around. We’re now immersed in the crowd again, looking like any other pair of young people, perhaps a bit more gothic with our pale hair and dark clothes. Nothing unusual for the ever eclectic London… Can any of these humans imagine that we are not like them? That we could… jump and kill them right now? A young girl walks by. She’s laughing with her friends, but all I can see is the fair skin of her throat, exposed, and that vein that pulsates vividly… Gosh, snap out of it. I’m getting mildly obsessed with exposed flesh now.

“The thirst is the first thing you need to learn to tame,” Bart drags me out of my pitfall thinking. “How well you can control yourself is what makes you less of a beast. If you try to resist it, it gets gradually worse. You have to resist the pull so you won’t kill your prey, but you cannot ignore it. It’s a thin line. You’ll lose control a couple of times while feeding, we all do. Accidents happen, we’re doing our best to avoid it. But it’s better than really turning into a beast. If you start to feel thirsty, go out and feed yourself long enough to hold back.”

“It’s like an addiction,” I sigh, my eyes on another neck. “If I feed too often, I’ll get addicted, but if I don’t, I’ll want it even more, did I get it right?”

“Yes. It’s our curse, there’s no end to it, you’ll have to find your own way to tame it.”

“…What happens if we make a… an accident?”

I feel him stiffen. He glances around.

“We… don’t like exposure. Risks. Some people got cocky and thought they could just go around emptying humans like blood bags. The problem is, if you get too addicted, you don’t stop. And if you don’t stop, you turn into a monster, and somebody else has to stop you. We will even attack our own kind, just like you hissed at me before. If you’re lucky, it’s your own family that intervenes. If not… outsiders get involved, and it gets messy. Trust me, our kind will take care of the problems before humans notice.”

“So other vamp-… Others could get involved?”

“Not often,” Bart shrugs. “Truth is, probably won’t, at least if you stay around with us. We usually keep the babies like you around until we’re sure they can manage on their own. Richard hates to get involved with others.”

“Are there a lot? Of others?”

“It’s hard to keep track. During some periods, it was easy to be what we are. Nowadays? It’s gotten complicated, to say the least. I’m guessing there will be fewer and fewer of us. Those who can adapt will be fine, but we’re already seeing some of… the older generations having trouble coping. They move to more remote areas, or just disappear. I can’t really blame them. Well, you’ll have a nice sample tomorrow.”

gasp. “Richard called them all so

who want to come will make it. Come on, enough chit-chat, you’re still

senses are heightened, and I can hear hundreds of voices at once, close and far, and the various tones in them. I feel the

get into this. It’s crowded as hell, but we head to the bar first to get at the center of the action, two new glasses of whiskey in our hands. It still doesn’t taste like anything stronger than diluted honey, but

ask, seeing as

Vamp,” he laughs. “Come on, let’s dance

I’ve never felt so confident with my body. I feel taller, stronger… sexier. Bart starts moving, and I just let myself move along to the music. The Caribbean rhythms are starting to get to me. I can’t remember the last time I danced, or felt so free… I’m aware of all the eyes on me, and they can keep staring. I’m fearless. I’m the predator, and they are innocent creatures with no

vivid sensations of my body, on following Bart’s lead. I laugh when he strikes impromptu poses, but I do notice he’s still scanning the crowd. He’s having

you checking for?”

had smelled trouble,

“Trouble?”

next dish, Baby? It’s getting late and Richard should be up soon. Last one for today, so choose

“What about you?”

point. Maybe I’ll pick

glances around, but as I suspected, he’s already found a target. I see him gratify a dark-skinned, muscular

that’s your type?”

nothing but quality alcohol all evening,

an eye around and close to the bar… Does the taste change with their drinks? Good to know. Perhaps I’ll learn a thing or two. I can’t say I’ve been paying much attention until now.

“Another emergency exit?”

there will be another street

letting me do this alone?”

them, we need to charm them anyway. You can try, but I’ll need to do

a quick kiss on my

you’re a natural. I’ll be right

acting gig. I pretend to be a bit annoyed, as if I’d just been abandoned by my partner, and turn around, heading in the opposite direction. I don’t forget one last glance towards the duo of idiots. Will they both follow? Who knows. I fight the crowd a bit

couple pairs of feet, following me, flat and heavy enough to be male. I smile, but I’m a bit nervous without Bart around. What if I do make an “accident”? It was pretty hard to stop

you

I’ve played the damsel in distress so often that I can slide back in the act like it’s a second skin. I flutter my eyelashes a couple of times and open my lips slightly, an innocent look that’s enough to trigger a couple of vile thoughts in bastards like them.

for us, let’s have a little chat, shall

to me, and one just grabs my wrist. It’s probably meant to be forceful,

little spitfire earlier, Hun. Care to dance a

“Shut up.”