Faint noises outside my subterranean chamber have brought me fully alert. I'm not concerned about the sunlight down here, but vigilance has kept me undead for four hundred years, and I hope to exist for a few more years, at least.

The door handle turns and a shape slips quietly into my darkened vault. Standing against the cold stone wall is the owner of the house, Natalie. She can't see me, but I can see her perfectly well. She waits, patiently, listening for movement, breathing, anything.

"Darios," she whispers. "Are you here?"

"I am," I whisper back. I say no more, leaving my beautiful friend to initiate the conversation.

The woman looks into the blackness, but remains pressed firmly against the wall. I see her chest rise and fall as she breathes; I hear her heart pumping her precious blood through her veins. I try to ignore the drumbeat, but it's impossible.

"Are you okay?"

I'm touched, as much as a heartless demon such as I can be. There's genuine concern in her voice, and I sense her heart rate increase in anticipation of my answer. To be honest, I was near expiration when she opened her door early this morning to find me collapsed in her shaded entryway.

One of the few mortals I have felt anything close to love for in decades, I swore I would never return to her abode lest I place her in danger. But it had been my desperation that led me here. Hunted by a team of Slayers, I've been forced to forgo nourishment for weeks in an attempt to throw them off my trail. When I realized how close to my sweet Natalie I was the instinct for survival outweighed all others.

"Yes, darling," I reply, hoping my voice sounds strong but knowing it doesn't.

"I've missed you so..." her soft voice trails off, the remainder of the sentence not leaving her warm lips.

Don't do this to me! Oh how I've missed my lovely Natalie! It's no use. I float silently towards her, feeling the floor beneath my feet just as my arms come around her slender form.

"You shouldn't have come here, my love," I say as I pull her against me. The thin night gown she wears does nothing to conceal her feminine curves. Our lips meet and my hands explore her body as hers explore mine. Intertwined in our embrace, I step back, bringing her with me, until I'm at the bed's edge. She feels it against her legs and we melt onto it together.

The strings of her gown fall aside and the thin fabric falls with it. She pulls me to her and I kiss her neck gently, and then her breasts, and down her stomach to her Venus mound.

Natalie gasps, "Take it!"

My fangs sink into the soft flesh near her crotch and I feel her essence bringing me back to life; a life I will now devote to her.