How to Discipline Your Vampire(22)

            I’d be memorizing the curves of her face, her natural scent mixed with the slightly rosy perfume she spritzes on, the individual cadence of her heartbeat and breaths. And she wouldn’t even know I was paying attention to her.

            The thought of taking a Domme into my place of work had never occurred to me before. But Cerise was different already. She had an openness about her personality that wasn’t frightening or off-putting, like many Dommes I had met. The residents would love her because she didn’t try to hijack the conversation at every opportunity to talk about herself.

            She listened, and that meant she was attentive. She asked me questions, which meant she was curious about me.

            These were good signs. Signs of possible success. And God knows I need a break from failure. I managed to get through today unscathed, so I should get points for that.

            Today was incredible. I barely touched her, and yet it was the most sexual experience I could imagine. I couldn’t even fathom what the days ahead could bring.

            The boys weren’t wrong—I hadn’t found the one yet. How could you, when you’d faced the kind of rejection I had encountered? Girls that were afraid of me, women who mocked me, others who shunned my attention because of my . . . peculiarities.

            But all Cerise wanted was some fantasy. She wanted a knight in shining armor one day, and something different the next.

            And if I was anything, I was thorough.

            I could be what she needed. And she seemed pretty pleased today.

            Addie nudged me in the ribs. “The boys are making some trouble.”

            I glanced over and Gus was making groping gestures. I whistled through my teeth and his head snapped around. I frowned at him and he put his hands in his lap and folded them politely.

            The music played on, changing from a jaunty tune to a more sultry one.

            And again, I pictured her.

            Her dimples when she smiled, making her look far more innocent than she was.

            The way she tucked her hair behind her ear when my stare became too intense.

            The way she licked her lips when I drove her over the edge.

            And her body. That body. I knew once I got home I had to paint. I needed to get my fixation out of my system before I scened with her again tomorrow.

            Tomorrow.

            The fact that I got to see her again made my body hum with excitement.

            I had to get this right, just like today. She was picky, so it had to be perfect. I wrung my hands, searching for answers. She wanted authenticity and fantasy.

            At this point, I had begun to lose interest in the show. While the performance wasn’t lacking, it simply couldn’t hold up to the fantasies that were scrolling through my mind.

            “Not up your alley today, William?” Beatrice asked as the show came to a close.

            “How’d you know?”

            “You stopped tapping your feet after the first song.”

            I bent down and gave her a pat on the shoulder. “You’ve got my number, Beatrice.”

            She chuckled. “All the girls here want your number.”

            “You know what I mean,” I said, and began saying my good-byes to the residents.

            The process typically took a half hour, no matter how short my visit was. I chuckled at their perpetual chattiness. I finished my visit, as I always did, in the medical wing with the terminal residents, a large box of IVs in my arms. Fifty, sixty bags. The temporary wing, where they never last more than a month, and they never remember my name when I visit.