That Time of the Month

She reeked of it. Heat, musk. Definitely ovulating. Nonsmoker. Cute, brunette, no ring. I made quick eye contact, then stalked on past, coming back to my seat at the end of the bar before long.

She glanced my way once. Good. I had to figure a way to cut her away from her herd.

I lurked in wait. If I read the signs right, any minute now, she'd... yes, there she went. Chugged the remains of her drink, headed for the bathroom. I'd smelled the fruit and sugar as I'd passed, so I ordered another margarita for her and got prepped for my approach.

Time to make space. I tapped the shoulder of the guy next to me, who was also scoping the women on offer, as well as drinking heavily. Probably a regular, but I wouldn't know; I couldn't afford to hit the same place too often. Might be recognized. "Would you mind moving over a seat? I'm meeting someone soon."

He didn't even look at me. "Nope. You move."

Most times, I wouldn't have bothered. But tonight, I was in no mood. "I won't ask again," I said, low and firm.

He focused more carefully upon me. I could watch it happen, smell it happen. The recognition of a superior rival. Evolution didn't favor getting in pointless fights. His face fell and I caught a sweet whiff of sour fear. If he'd a tail it would've been between his legs.

"Hey, man, s'cool, no harm done, right? I'm sorry, 'kay?" I just stared in his eyes, bristling. He slunk off, all the way to the other end of the bar. I settled myself down.

Just in time. My prey came out of the ladies room and I caught her eye. Not that it was hard to catch; she was intrigued. I put on my most sincere, earnest expression and gestured to the margarita at the empty seat beside me. "Can I buy you a drink?"

She looked me over, taking in the expensive suit, my unadorned ring finger, my direct, confident gaze. She spared a glance at her crew, then sat down in the offered space. "Thanks, but I'm gonna have to get back to my friends in a bit."

Making sure her line of retreat was open. I smiled my best charming smile, and said, "Worth it to have the pleasure of your company for a few minutes."

She smiled back. "Not very ambitious, then, are you?" Ah, the flirting had begun. I loved the chase.

"Oh, my sights are set somewhat higher than that." A tip of my whiskey. "I'm Marcus, by the way."

"Bianca," she volunteered, sipping.

She was a salesgirl, but naturally - she being pretty and this being Manhattan - was trying to be a model. And, of course, I told her she was certain to be a success. A few minutes more verbal teasing, and then we got out on the dance floor. It felt good to move, let off some steam. Grace and speed and stamina were hardly a problem. Not tonight.

I took a few risks as we danced, getting rather frisky with my hands and pelvis. But the way she responded confirmed my impressions. She was horny, and she wanted a wild man. She probably didn't even know why she found me so attractive. The pheromones didn't register with other people the way they did with me. I could smell who would have chemistry and who wouldn't.

Bad luck for her that her hormones were peaking when I came around. At least I'd try to help her get lucky first.

I cut the dancing a little short; I was on a deadline, after all. When I proposed changing the venue to my place, she hesitated. But I was on my best behavior, so she gave up caution and decided with her gut. Or if not her gut, at least something roughly waist level. She breezily introduced me to her friends, said her goodbyes, and we left the bar together. Outside, I hailed a taxi and checked my watch. It'd be a little tight, but there was time.

Her eyebrows went up when I gave the driver a tony Upper East Side address. We bantered a little on the way.

"My apartment's way out in the Bronx and it still costs a fortune. What do you do, anyway?"

Never hurt to impress the females with your resources. "I own several buildings in the city, actually. My family's been here almost since New York was founded." Plenty of time to establish safe territories. "Landlord's a decent gig. Good income, flexible hours." I refrained from adding the other perks. No boss to notice regularities in my time off. Space to make soundproof rooms to muffle screams and growls, even in a crowded city. Arrangements to discreetly handle gnawed remains...

"You're a landlord? I may have to hate you on principle." But she was smiling as she said it.

"Hey! Most of us aren't bloodsucking monsters, I'll have you know." That was true; only a handful of vampires went into real estate. She didn't notice how carefully I'd phrased my reply.

Soon we arrived. We got out of the taxi - I offered her my hand like a gentleman - and I led her into the foyer of the building. I called the elevator and kept silent as we waited. Sure, it was slightly awkward, but a little social tension could translate into erotic tension, if handled correctly...

The doors slid open, and we stepped into the elevator. I used my key and selected the fifth floor.

She noticed the nametags by the buttons. "What, all the floors are yours?"

"That's right. The other buildings I rent out, but this is my family home."

"So, we've got the whole place to ourselves?"

"Looks that way." Another precisely-phrased reply. My conscience gave me less trouble if I didn't actively lie - though I'd do it if I had to.

The bell chimed and the door opened. She didn't gasp. Some of them did. It was an impressive space, that screamed - tastefully - expensive elegance. Luxurious rugs on hardwood floors, antique furnishings heavy on the oak and marble, a few paintings and sculptures. I led her into the den and offered her a drink.

She prowled, exploring, as I poured. "Ooh, that's sick! How old is it?" she exclaimed, admiring the large antique telescope next to the French doors leading to the balcony.

"Over two hundred years." I came up behind her, close, rubbing against her back as I guided her hand to the focusing knob. She bent to the sight, pushing back into me a little. "It's been in my family for generations."

Before the Internet, my kind had needed ephemerides and astronomical competence, or the money for a reliable almanac. Minutes counted sometimes when arranging social obligations around rises and sets.

"Like to spy on your neighbors?" she teased.

I sniffed. "Don't force me to make a bad pun about heavenly bodies." She giggled a little, then stood up to take her drink.

I won't bore you with the minutiae of our conversation. Suffice it to say, not ten minutes later we were stumbling into the bedroom, all over each other.

She fell back on the bed and I hiked up her skirt. She helped me pull her panties down and away. The musk that'd been teasing me all this time was intense now.

I got in there, sniffing and licking. Every woman had her own scent, unique as snowflakes, as faces. Hers was... piquant. My tongue was longer than average, especially now, so in no time she was moaning happily. "Oh... oh God... Oh, fuck, you animal..."

My tongue probed everywhere, unleashed, fierce. I snuffled and huffed, covering my face in her juices. She screamed, long and high, and bucked like a bronco.

It took her a minute, afterward, to gather herself. Then we swiftly got the clothes out of the way. She ran her fingers through the hair on my chest as we kissed. She bent down and suckled at my cock - I was sporting a ramrod-stiff erection by now, of course - and only the fact that I was short on time gave me the strength to interrupt her.

I let her slip the condom on. I needed it anyway; as hyper as I always got by this point, I'd never last without it. Once it was in place, I sprang upon her and pinned her to the bed. She didn't show it in her face, but she got a little nervous then. I could smell it, feel it in her pulse. But I moved in for a passionate kiss and she relaxed somewhat.

I begrudged the time it took to make sure she got back into it. Patience was getting harder to muster by the minute. Soon enough, though, we were wriggling into position cooperatively.

In! I growled with lust and thrust with gusto, again and again. The time for subtlety was over. She cried out and wrenched her hips into me. I leaned forward to lick her breasts and neck, panting.

I fought not to come too soon. I needed this. All my senses on overdrive, the intense slippery friction, her moans, the scent of her sweat and lubrication and pheromones... I lost the fight. I bellowed in release and pumped violently, driving her to climax as well.

We panted in the afterglow. I never liked to pull out immediately. It was more instinctually satisfying to leave my dick in her for a while, as we gasped almost in unison. However, I sensed her restlessness after a minute. Not too hard to guess why - condoms lost effectiveness as pricks deflated. Oh, well.

I pulled out and she smiled.

I was ready again in just a couple minutes, clearly faster than she'd anticipated. My energy and endurance levels were spiking. Another condom was pressed into service.

We fondled each other briefly, then she let me flip her over. I waited for the endless seconds it took her to gather some pillows for support. Her rump was right there. Teasing little bitch. Pussy wet, pungent, a little sour from the spermicide but that couldn't overpower the raw appeal. Finally she was prepped and I mounted her, practically howling in release.

We kept fucking like beasts. She was screaming in passion. With the small part of my mind that was aware of anything but my need, I felt some sympathy for her. The fun would be ending soon.

At least it'd end on a high note. I drove into her, rocking the bed. The wild man she'd been craving. Roaring, almost, as I pounded in again and again. With a howl, I came, and it lasted for quite a while.

Eventually my higher faculties emerged through my gasps and grunts. Bianca was sloped down, resting on her arms, her back end held upright more by my hands on her hips and my stiff dick than any strength left in her legs.

As we panted, a clear voice surprised Bianca. "Bravo, dear." Of course I'd heard her sneak in, but Bianca had been occupied.

She usually did this. She claimed she liked to watch... but I of all people recognized 'claiming territory'. She didn't want to let me take care of the girls quietly. She wanted them to know.

I was freshly disappointed when Bianca pulled away, slipping me out of her. Another chance to linger, ruined. With impressive grace, she rolled some covers up over her waist and breasts. "What the fuck? Who the fuck is she?" Her furious embarrassment was cute.

I shrugged and waved to the midnight-haired beauty in the chair by the door. "Bianca, meet Serenie. My wife."

She snapped a surprised glare at me, then at Serenie. The condescension practically dripped from my spouse's smile.

"Your what?" she demanded, low and intense.

"Sorry... Bianca, was it?" Serenie said sweetly. "Did he forget to mention me?"

"I am so out of here." Bianca stormed out of bed. "Goddamn freaks," she muttered as she yanked her clothes on.

"Actually, you both seemed pretty freaky just then..." Serenie teased. I gave her a glare.

"Fuck you," Bianca spat with real venom.

"Marcus is more my type, I'm afraid." Serenie was as serene as her name.

I sat back on my haunches, watching Bianca try to get dressed while exposing as little flesh as possible. "For what it's worth, my apologies," I told her. "We do have an arrangement, Serenie and I..."

"Fuck your apologies, too, asshole." She marched out of the bedroom, still not fully dressed. We waited in silence, listening to her board the elevator. She didn't have a key to get anywhere but the lobby, so we weren't particularly worried. Had she but waited, I'd have called her a cab. She'd have to use her cell now.

"Classy choice, dear," Serenie said dryly.

I got up off the bed myself, full of nervous energy, and shrugged. "Had to be somebody. It's not like I was looking for a relationship."

"Darling, I know what you were looking for," she said sardonically. I just shrugged again. What was there to say?

"Oh, let's get you downstairs." She made her leisurely way from the chair. I paced over to the elevator, hit the button, and fidgeted until it arrived. We got on board and she used her key to take us to the sub-basement.

"Two more months, and we'll be out of sync again," she mused. Moonrise was very, very close; I could smell her menstrual blood in the confined space of the elevator, even though her flow was lightening up. I couldn't perform with her when she was on her period. That had nothing to do with any squick on my part; it was instinctive, autonomic. She simply wasn't mating material then.

Her cycle was totally regular, clockwork. Witches were like that. Fortunately it was a couple days longer than the lunar cycle, so we'd drift out of phase again soon enough. It'd be about two years before we lined up once more, requiring me to hit the bars for a little release. Right before a full moon, abstinence was a bad idea. It made me... extra cranky.

The bell chimed, the door opened. We made our way down the stone hallway to the special room my grandfather had built. Bianca might have thought the place was kinky, what with the chains and all. The bloodstains ingrained in the floor would likely have been a turnoff, though. And the goat in the cage, probably even more so. It bleated nervously when it got a whiff of me. Animals could sense the supernatural.

I took my place by the wall, hopping from foot to foot as Serenie followed. She got the heavy iron collar locked around my neck. Adrenalin making me twitchy, I yanked at the thick chain connecting it to the wall; it held, of course.

My grandfather had eaten the occasional human, but I didn't have much truck with the old ways. Goats were fine. Once, for my birthday, Serenie had procured a whole, live calf. What a feast that had been!

She gave me a quick kiss, stepped out, and bolted the solid iron door. We waited in silence. Any second now... I could feel it coming...

Moonrise. I cried out, twisting, changing... losing myself... or maybe just the veneer around my real self...

Sniff. Mate-scent. Pussy-scent. Wrong. Not-clean. Bad-smell. Neck. Tight. Yank. Pull. Escape! Bite! Pain. Fading. Trapped. Snarl. Growl! Trapped. Escape!

Noise. Scraping. Opening. There! Prey! Fear-scent!

Pounce. Bite. Fur. Bite! Blood! Squeal! Chomp. Tear. Meat! Swallow. Bite. Tear. Swallow. BloodMeatBiteBloodBiteSwallowBlood!

Mate-noises. "See you tomorrow, love. Enjoy the snack." Meaningless.

Chew. Blood. Meat. Swallow.

AARRROOOOOOO!!