Beautiful Monster(43)

              “Of course,” I nodded, and she leaned in, those exotic eyes glinting in the light.
              “I hope I can make you believe a few, tonight.”
              “I hope you can,” I replied with a smirk, my hand inching across the table to take hers again.
              “Your place or mine?”
              “Yours,” she replied, drawing closer to me. She didn’t have a bag or purse to pick up and I instantly liked that about her. Women could be so complicated, I wanted something simple. “It’d be better if you were to wake up there.”
              “Alright then,” I wrapped my arm around her waist, which was small and lean but compact with muscle. She leaned in and her lips teased the soft flesh behind my ear. It was all I could manage to not grab her and take her right there. But before we got to the door, I stopped her.  “Listen…I’m rather well known here. So it’s likely there’ll be a cloud of paparazzi outside.”
              “They’ll forget one night,” she said, huskily in my ear. “But you won’t.”
              Sure enough, the cameras began flashing as soon as we exited. I put my arm around her neck, pulling her head down a bit to protect her identity. She didn’t seem to mind or even notice as her hand slipped under my shirt, indicating things to come. I chalked up the oddness in her speech to the fact that English was clearly her second language.  She spoke slowly, and deliberately, looking at me for what I assumed was an indication that I understood her words. Still, there was no lack of confidence that usually came with speaking a second language … no pause of uncertainty or flicker of embarrassment. It was almost as if she was trying to imply a double meaning with everything she said. But whatever that meaning was, I was too lost in her eyes to get it.
I felt drunk on the limo ride back, my senses swimming. It didn’t make any sense, I had left my drink half untouched. But something about this woman, her accent in the setting sun, turned me into a stumbling teenager about to get his first kiss. We barely made it up to my apartment before the clothes began to come off.
              I locked the door and pushed her down on the bed. She ran her hands over my body as I struggled to unbutton her dress. I stood up as the sunlight disappeared, causing her to moan.
              “Just wait,” I said, heading towards the light switch. “You’re the most stunning creature I have ever seen and I want to see every inch of you.”
              I flicked the light switch on, and my heart almost stopped there and then.
              “Creature is right,” she said, with a sneer, showing fangs.  She was what I brought home, yet extremely different. Paler than before, with dark circles around her eyes, her mouth had stretched as fangs appeared. And those beautiful eyes were now black as night.
              I stumbled back against the wall, shocked. I felt my breath coming in gasps as I tried to make sense of what I saw in front of me. How much, exactly, had I had to drink?
              “What the…” I said, as she got up, approaching me with such slow deliberate movements that I knew I was finished. “What are you?”
              “Well, Liam, I’m what you are,” she replied. “Or…what you will be. You’ll be our ambassador now, and you can never hide. So you’ll keep us safe.”
              “What are you talking about?” I gasped, reaching behind me. Even though I knew it was there, my hand was trembling so badly I couldn’t open the door knob. “What are you?”
              “I'm a vampire, Liam. And so are you.”