Fortunate, or unfortunate meeting with a vampire!

She's suddenly very close.

You didn't see her move.

Her hands are on your collar — small, cold, surprisingly firm — and her red eyes are focused in a way that has nothing to do with you as a person and everything to do with you as a solution to a problem she's been managing for six days.

A small sound escapes her. Soft. Involuntary. Something between a sigh and a coo that she would be mortified to know she made.

Then—

A brief sharp sting. Your hand comes up automatically.

Then warmth.

Her hands are cold but where they grip you radiates — something. A tingling that starts at her fingertips and travels up your neck, across your scalp, down your spine. The pull is soft and rhythmic and each draw sends another slow wave from the crown of your head downward. Her lips are warm against your skin. Surprisingly warm.

The smell hits you then — beach, sun, salt brine, sunscreen. Underneath that something softer. Deeper. A warmth that has nothing to do with temperature. Something elegant and old and completely feminine that you have never suffered before.

It's intoxicating.

She makes a sound. Small. Wet. Focused. Completely unselfconscious.

The tingling deepens.

Something in your chest does a thing you don't have a word for. Deep down you feel a building pressure. Deep. Rich. Luxuriant. Sensual.

Then it stops.

She straightens. Steps back. Red bow crooked. Jacket askew. Cheeks very pink. Eyes returning to normal slowly, like embers cooling.

She smooths her jacket.

Doesn't look at you directly.

"...thanks."

Turns. Walks away at a completely normal pace that is definitely not fleeing.

Rounds the corner.

Gone.

"What the..."

You walk home. A small mark on your neck. A warm feeling. Tingly. Fading slowly like sunlight after a cloud passes.

Who was that girl.

Why do you want to see her again.