Vampire Love

Irina decided on a course of action that might not only save Raylene but the others as well. With as much elan as possible she sashayed in front of Vince Patroni's table. She immediately got his attention as his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the sultry vision of beauty.

"Hey Shorty, ask that girl to come over here."

Irina was going to play it cool. She appeared before him but said nothing. Vince invited her to have a drink with him and while she accepted, she had no intention of drinking alcohol. He was trying his best to be smooth and was turned on by her exotic loveliness. He asked several probing questions and when he found out she was from Russia, with no family, he wanted to fuck her brains out, then drug her and sell to the highest bidder.

Irina was compliant with his plans and the low lighting in the club helped to keep her identity unknown.

"Listen sweetheart, I got the stretch outside. Why don't you and I get more comfortable."

Irina consented and once they were in the limo, he directed the driver to go to the far end of the parking lot that was deserted.

"Ted, take a powder. Come back in an hour, capiche?'

The driver left and they were alone. Vince poured two glasses of wine, but one contained a powerful sedative that would take effect in forty-five minutes. He handed her the drugged glass. Irina with her heightened senses, knew that the beverage was tainted.

"You're very beautiful."

Vince raised his champagne flute for a toast and emptied it in one gulp. Irina pretended that she drank some bubbly and smiled at the vile gangster. He motioned for her to come closer, she was coy, not too eager, and refrained from speaking. The less teeth he saw, the better.

As Irina straddled Vince, she playfully kissed his cheeks and neck. After a few minutes, his erection was hitting her mid-section and he was trying to take her dress off. When she found his neck again, she took a bite hard enough to draw blood.

"You bitch, you bit me."

Vince swiped his neck and blood covered his palm.

"I'll kill you, stupid cunt!' he yelled.

At that moment Irina revealed her true nature. Eyes blazing with fury, teeth bared in a deadly grimace.

"What the hell...what are you?" he quailed with fear.

"I'm your worst nightmare." Her voice filled with malevolence.

With every ounce of strength, Vince Patroni tried to push her off but to no avail as she held him in her iron grip.

"Help! Help! Help!" he screamed, as fear for his life told hold in his mind.

With lightning quick speed, she sank her razor-sharp fangs into his neck.

"What are you doing?!?!" He shrieked in agony!

His eyes flew open in disbelief. The crazy bitch had her mouth clamped over his throat and the sound of intense sucking resounded in his ears.

"Get off me! Get off me!"

Irina sucked with demonic intensity, gulping torrents of blood. Her intent, to drain him dry and take every drop. His struggles rapidly weakened as his fate was sealed.

"No...don't...don't hurt...me..." His voice a shaky whisper.

Vince Patroni's life slowly faded away. He tried to stay awake, but it was a losing battle as Irina furiously consumed his essence. Vince's breathing shallowed as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The end was near.

"You...killed...me..." were his feeble last words as he lapsed into a blood loss coma.

Quickly, his heart dimmed as there was very little fluid left to pump. It stopped beating and Irina heard his final exhalation, the last gasp. He lay dead under her. The monster was on his way or already in hell.

Irian carried his body to a small adjacent alley and dumped it there.

****

Captain Lewis Grunberg looked at the preliminary report stunned and in disbelief. A known 'Goodfella' had been murdered and his body found not far from The Riverside Gentlemen's Club. He read down to the coroner's report and was slack jawed, unable to comprehend what he'd just read. The cause of death was almost identical to Clinton Jennings and Stevi Nguyen.

'...complete loss of blood...no visible signs of trauma, two small puncture wounds on throat. Absence of blood at crime scene...victims' corpse had emaciated appearance...'

This time Lewis Grunberg wanted to see the body himself. After a trip to the morgue, the veteran officer paused on the stairway leading outside, feeling physically nauseous. The visual was worse than any report could relate.

When he was viewing the victim, he'd asked the Pathologist how much blood a typical human body holds,

"Oh...about ten pints, or five liters...give or take. Close to ten percent of total body weight."

As Grunberg drove back to his precinct, there was only one person he'd hand this off to.

Ed Giachetti left his bosses office looking none too happy. He had a conundrum on his hands, nothing made logical sense. Did vampires really exist? He asked himself.

****

Irina sensed that it was time for her to move on, but she was undecided on where to go and who with. Her search for a companion had led her by chance to Raylene but was she suitable. The girl was a university student, scholarly with a bright future and very pretty. Her work as a dancer to support herself and pay for her studies impressed Irina. The process of conversion would be simple, but Raylene would have to be positive that she wanted it. There was no reversal, once changed it was permanent.

Then there was the matter of the three deaths and the police. Irina took the lives of three low life scum, without any remorse or misgiving. But the establishments that she frequented were being watched, especially by one handsome officer. While the patrons were fixated on the dancers, he'd watch the crowd, looking from face to face. As much as she feared discovery, which was highly unlikely as she kept to the shadows, he fascinated her.

Irina gazed at the thick curtains blocking the sunlight, lost in thought. She'd remain in the Philadelphia area for one week, no more. With winter around the corner, she had a hankering to go to Florida and enjoy some southern hospitality, particularly their 'essence'. The social scene in South Beach was the stuff of legends and she wanted a 'taste' of it. Traveling at night was safe, especially with a newbie acolyte and finding suitable 'fare' at truck stops was satisfying.

****

When Detective Giachetti finally spotted her, almost totally hidden in shadow, she took his breath away. The word beautiful did not do her justice. She was everything that Raylene had described but much more. After countless hours of searching, he finally found the woman/vampire who dispatched three known felons to their hellish reward.

Her attention was focused on the stage as Raylene performed her set. But slowly she turned and fixed her searing gaze on him. He was busted, and foolishly turned to look elsewhere. In the brief tenth of a second when he tried to look back, she had disappeared. For the next hour, he searched in vain but not a glimpse. As fatigue took hold, he resigned himself to failure. He'd file the reports as is, there was nothing more to add. It was late and time to go home to his neglected wife.

Giachetti's car was parked along the rear wall of the building and as he turned to activate the key fob, she was right in front of him. He was so startled that he dropped the keys. With lightning speed, Irina grabbed them off the ground and twirled them on the end of her fingers.

She extended her hand, offering him what he wanted but as he reached out, Irina took his arms and forced him against the dewy bricks. Ed Giachetti struggled helplessly as she held him there effortlessly. Her strength was formidable.

"Why are you following me?" she said in her velvet smooth voice.

"I'm a cop, Philadelphia Police. I'm Investigating several murders and I was hoping you had information that would be useful."

Irina gazed at him with a blend of interest and curiosity. He was handsome and well-built but no match for her power.

"Why would you think that?"

"Raylene told me about you, said you might be able to help."

Giachetti gazed with wonder at the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. With streetlights overhead, up close her features were striking. Lean, sleek body, The glittery dark eyes, very pale almost translucent skin, Jet black shoulder length shimmering hair, and pointy teeth. His gaze settled on those impossibly long daggers or incisors and for the first time, he felt like his life was in danger. Involuntarily, he started shaking with fear.

Irina picked up on it right away.

"I won't harm or hurt you. I respect human life and you have done nothing to anger me."

The detective was still frightened but her mental efforts to calm him were succeeding.

"You're following me because you want answers to riddles that you can't logically explain."

As Ed Giachetti gained more self-control, he nodded.

"You must realize detective, that I'll never let you take me in for questioning. Even if you did, I could easily escape. But I get the feeling that you have no intention of doing so." Irina's voice had a velvet melodic quality that made him swoon.

Again, the detective nodded. Irina's gaze was predatory but soft, he was interesting, and it appealed to her in a very romantic way. Gently she let him down.

"Ask your questions but don't try to run away and call for help. I'll be long gone before anyone arrives. Then you may never get the answers that you seek."

The thought never entered his mind as Irina's luminous beauty held him transfixed.

"I need to know...you killed them or should I say...executed them. All three were absolute low life's, scum of the earth..."

Irina nodded.

"Why? Why them?"

"They were a threat to innocent people, people that I cared about. I acted the only way I knew how."

"Why not just snap their necks. Get it over with quickly. You're incredibly strong and it wouldn't have taken much effort."

Irina paused. The answer to her was obvious.

"I wanted them to suffer, to know what it was like to experience some of what they did to others. They destroyed in a cold-blooded way, without any regard for humanity. I wanted them to feel powerless to stop me from draining them, robbing them of their despicable existence. I respect human life. I rely on it for nourishment, and I will rarely except on occasions that call for it, take a life."

Detective Giachetti shook his head.

"You're an avenging angel..."

Irina chuckled.

"I'm hardly what you would call an 'angel' but if you want to label me that way..."

"I'm sure you've heard it many times, but you are extraordinarily beautiful. It's..."

The detective struggled to find the right word.

"...shall we say, unreal?"

"Yes, but you're so well spoken and while I can detect an accent...you must have

been highly educated."

Irina was fascinated by this human, relished the contact but not out in the open.

She gently but forcefully guided him to the back seat of his vehicle.

"Since you are interested, I was studying to be doctor but unfortunate events changed my life forever. It's a very long story. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time, and this is the last that you will ever see me."

The man looked disappointed.

"I can tell you're no longer afraid. If I wanted to take advantage of you, I could make you comply but...I sense that you do willingly."

Ed Giachetti blushed deep red. He was erect, tenting the front of his trousers.

"I find your shyness very appealing."

Irina straddled the excited detective, hiked her dress, and moved her panties to one side. The act was beyond anything he could have imagined. She exerted her will and dominated him, physically and mentally. Taking him to heights of unbridled, explosive pleasure. He was lost in world of carnal bliss as his orgasm built to a mind-numbing crescendo. Then the world grew hazy, and he lost consciousness.

Irina gazed fondly at the human but there was one more act she wanted him to experience. Usually, when she fed, her victims remembered nothing but her gift to the detective would be the opposite. He'd remember everything in detail. Her hunger while under control, was making itself known. She needed some nourishment, but she'd only take his essence if he was compliant.

When Ed Giachetti woke, Irina was still straddling him, gazing at him tenderly.

"I am thirsty, detective."

An awful look of fear spread across Giachetti's face.

"I don't need to ask. I can take what I want, and you would be powerless to stop me. But if you volunteer willingly, the experience can transcend mere mortal pleasure. You have nothing to fear. I only need a small amount to slack my thirst."

Ed Giachetti was terrified, but Irina telepathically quelled his rampant fear.

A simple nod was all the consent she needed.

"Relax detective, this is a rare treat."

Irina brought her blood red lips to within inches of the detective's throat. She smelled the rich fluid as it pulsed through the vein, his scent sweet, more like a much younger human. As she grazed the warm skin with her tongue, he shivered.

Irina made several passes over the hot tissue as her fangs dripped saliva in anticipation of the meal ahead. Tightening her grip, the points of her razor-sharp incisors touched just over the vein she'd puncture. She added a bit of pressure, and the very tips invaded the skin.

Ed Giachetti arched his back as the intrusion was very erotic. Her warm breath felt soothing as her fangs sank lower finding the source. Her lips formed a seal over the wounds and very gently she sucked. A thin stream of fluid jetted into her mouth, and she savored the rich taste before swallowing. Leisurely, she extracted his blood as tremors of ecstasy pulsed through his body.

"Oh, oh...Irina...oh..." he moaned.

The relaxed pace was intensely satisfying for the caring vampire. It was just as pleasurable for her as it was for her victim. As she drank, Irina was stuck by the thought that that he would make a superb companion with his youthful maturity, and handsome looks. But he would have to be certain of his irreversible choice.

Irina suckled very gently, purposely slowing the pace, thin rivulets spurted onto her tongue. Her feeding was nearing the end as the intense pleasure she derived from the act required self-control. It would be very easy to take too much but she was fond of this human and very protective.

Immediately Irina sensed that she was at the edge or limit for extraction. With a flourish, she sucked down two extra mouthfuls and stopped, leaving her bloody lips on his throat. Compared to the tainted essence of the men she killed, the detective's blood was rich and immensely satisfying.

Ed Giachetti was lost in a world of erotic bliss. Nothing could have prepared him for the powerful intimacy as her supple lips sealed over the small wounds on his throat and the soft sucking sounds resonated in his ears. Surges of raw passion thundered through his body, and he would gladly give his life to nourish her.

"Take as much as you want..." he whispered, lost in the carnality of the moment.

Irina heard the offer, but she'd never take the detective's life. Carefully she licked the oozing holes, her healing saliva stopped the flow and sealed the injury. Her tongue lapped up any blood residue from her lips.

Irina smiled at him as he slowly returned to the present and the detective gazed at her with loving eyes.

"Thank you..." he said, his voice dreamy.

Her hunger was temporarily sated but her interest in the detective as a companion or mate was not. Irina had hungered for a partner for a long time. Because her human characteristics had survived the conversion, she was capable of love. And love for a vampire was a truly formidable emotion.

"Will I become like you now?" he asked apprehensively.

Irina shook her head.

"Is that something you desire?"

Ed Giachetti thought very hard.

"If you do choose, it will change your life forever. There is no going back, no reversal. You will leave this life behind and start another existence, an existence that will reach far into the future."

It meant leaving his wife and, never seeing her again but the allure was so strong. Become a fierce force of nature, never aging with an unnatural thirst, subsisting wholly on the lifeblood of human beings. Did he really want that?

In just a very brief time, Ed Giachetti had fallen in love with the beautiful vampire. Would it remain so after the conversion?

"You have fallen in love with me." Irina said with her velvet voice. Her intuition spot on.

"Is it possible for you to love?"

"Yes, but just like human beings, there are many different types of the undead that run the full spectrum; some caring and loving like me and some so wanton and bloodthirsty that they are shunned by their own kind. There is no guarantee during conversion but more often the positive human traits remain intact.

One trait we all share is our quest for blood, we cannot exist without it. The need so overpowering that we seek it until we find it. I will only take what I need, and I never willingly end a human life, unless it is necessary. I value human life and have a deep respect for it."

Detective Giachetti was close to a decision. Could he accomplish more as a cop or a vigilante vampire? There were many times when he felt as though he was simply spinning his wheels as a police officer. Of all the criminals that he'd caught and brought to justice, there were far more unsolved crimes. There simply wasn't enough time or manpower to do the job he was capable of. His wife had suffered neglect from the long hours that a dedicated police officer brought to the job. The decision was made.

****

EPILOGUE:

Captain Lewis Grunberg reread the three reports and put them on the closed pile. There was nothing more to add and they would remain unsolved. Whoever killed the three lousy excuses for human beings would remain at large. As far as he was concerned, the killer did humanity a service, good riddance.

However, the disappearance of Detective Ed Giachetti baffled him. His temporary partner, Samuelson last reported that he was conducting surveillance at the Riverside Gentlemen's Club. They found his car there but no sign of Ed Giachetti. From Giachetti's notes, Samuelson interviewed a dancer there by the name of Raylene Styles. She confirmed that she initially spoke to him after she was attacked by Clinton Jennings but nothing more. That was over six weeks ago, and no amount of searching had turned up a clue as to whether he was alive or dead.

After thirty years on the force, Lewis Grunberg decided to retire and took a job with a private security firm that worked exclusively with the casinos in Atlantic City. The pay was good, the hours better. His only regret, the disappearance of Ed Giachetti. Had he gotten too close to the individual or individuals who eliminated the three men?

The night Ed Giachetti vanished, Raylene Styles was expecting a visit from her vampire lover, Irina but she never made an appearance. When Irina had offered her the choice of eternal youth, she'd thought long and hard, but she wanted to stay mortal. The thought of converting had little appeal for her, she was sure of that. Her future lay before her and she wanted to follow her dream and become a chemical engineer, fall in love, and have children.

Detective Ralph Samuelson resigned from the Philadelphia Police Department and found employment in the private sector. The coroners' reports had given him nightmares. Where or what happened to Ed Giachetti? No one had any logical answers.

When he visited Giachetti's wife, she was distraught but as time went on, he found that he was attracted to her. Maria Giachetti was a very pretty woman. It was a year after Detective Giachetti's disappearance that Ralph Samuelson found the courage to ask her for a date. And a year after that, he asked her to marry him, and she accepted.