Vamp Pt. 02

Copyright @ calibeachgirl
All rights reserved, 2012

Thanks to my copy editor estragon and my friend, Elliot...

Early summer, 1954
San Francisco...

Its propellers finally spinning to a stop, the plane rolled toward the terminal and halted. After the stairway had been brought out, the door opened and the passengers began to disembark. The quiet couple in First Class, both clad in black, were among the last to leave, he with a slight smile, she with the sunglasses she never seemed to remove.

The stewardess crushed herself against the bulkhead, giving their large... could it really be a dog? it looked more like a wolf... it had to be a German Shepherd, a wide berth so it could follow them. Who had they known, to have the dog travel with them? She was glad they were gone for every time she passed them, a strange coldness seeped into her psyche and made her wish she were off the plane, even if it meant opening the cabin door and jumping to her death.

As she looked back at the graceful Lockheed Constellation, she thought, 'It's so much safer than that British Comet that had just crashed. I wonder if we could survive a plane crash.' She shuddered; it wasn't something she wanted to test.

"San... Fran... cisco," he said, as if that answered everything. "Let us find a cab and find a home, shall we?" Everything he said, question or no, was always a declaration of fact. She had come to accept that, this time. It was futile to leave; he always found her, no matter how far she had gone, no matter how much time had passed.

As the cab drove through the city, Lorelei watched women walk by, long overcoats against the chill of the bay, white gloves symbolizing the status of San Francisco, queen of California.

..........

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Dracolya. Welcome to San Francisco." The real estate broker, Anthony Brown, 'Tony' to his friends, was unctuous, hoping for a big commission. "I have selected several homes for your inspection, following your directives in your letter. I have my car, right outside."

"We need a place to stay for the night, first. Perhaps..."

"You could stay with me. I have a guest room that should be satisfactory," Anthony volunteered, wondering how he was going to explain this to his wife.

"That is very gracious," Lorelei said, giving him a slight smile. "We appreciate your generosity."

"I know you'll like this neighborhood," said the broker, as he drove them toward Seacliff. "There's a great view of the Golden Gate and it's very private, hardly any traffic through there."

It was a long drive to the first house of three that they looked at that day. Lorelei wistfully gazed at the California Spanish manse overlooking the ocean and walking from one room the next, she watched the seabirds fly by through the large picture windows. It was so different from New York... from New Orleans... from the English countryside. At the thought of New Orleans, she grew morose for a moment, thinking back at the lost woman who would have been virtually her daughter.

Ambrose said nothing, letting her make the choice.

They went to see the two others but her heart returned to the first house, wondering if Ambrose knew that all along, guiding her choice, making it her own.

That evening, they signed the papers; Ambrose opened his valise and counted out the $87,000 to purchase the home. When the three arrived at the broker's house, he immediately told his wife of his good fortune, for the home had been on the market for over a year. Anthony informed Andrea their guests would stay the week, at least until the escrow closed. She was so surprised; she could only stand there with her mouth open until Ambrose thanked her for the hospitality. As he kissed her warm hand, her demeanor suddenly changed and she courteously welcomed them into her home.

**********

"You don't seem very hungry, Mr. Dracolya," she opined that evening at dinner.

"Man does not live by bread, alone, Mrs. Brown. Sometimes, there are other things to hunger for." Ambrose examined the woman, his deep, piercing eyes reaching into her soul and making her heart race. She put her napkin to her face, wiping her lips, leaving blood-red lipstick on the Irish linen.

'Uh, uh... yes, I see what you mean," Andrea stammered, wondering what had happened, looking down at the table rather than meet his gaze face to face. A faint sheen of perspiration appeared on her forehead, causing her to flush. "Excuse me," she said, getting up from the table. "I seem to have become... I must... I must..." She fled the room, to the amazement of her husband, who apologized for his wife's behavior.

"I don't know what happened," he said. "I'm sure she'll be feeling better in the morning."

"Yes..." Ambrose replied, "I believe she shall."

"Would you care for a brandy?" Anthony asked.

"Yes, I would," Ambrose responded.

Anthony looked around for Lorelei. "I thought your wife..." he started to say.

"She turned in... change of time, you know."

"Yes, I understand. That's too bad. She's very pretty. You are a lucky man."

"Thank you."

An hour later, Ambrose left the man sleeping on the sofa and went upstairs to his host's bedroom. The room was quiet and Andrea lay on the bed, not sleeping but waiting.

"I knew you'd come," she said, almost sobbing, and reached out her arms to him.

"I know," he said, gathering her into his arms. Her chemise slipped, baring her neck to him. "Your husband doesn't love you," Ambrose announced.

"My husband doesn't love me," she repeated, her voice barely audible.

"You are the victim... for a marriage to break up there has to be something dramatically wrong in the first place. No one can put the blame on you."

His hand, almost icy, came up to cover hers, trapping them there in the coolness of his touch. Ambrose pushed her head back and brought his lips to her neck, her long, inviting neck. He put his hand to her garment and shred it apart with one hand, the other holding her tightly to him. Her breasts exposed and beckoning... he moved his lips down and circled her taut nipples, his mouth feeling her rapid heartbeat accelerating even more.

"You want me," he said, continuing to lick her, brushing his cool tongue against her hot, flushed skin.

"I want you," she replied, shuddering under his ministrations. "Oh, God, I want you."

"God has nothing to do with us, tonight."

She rested her cheek against his shoulder, her hands spreading fingers through his snow-white hair and then cradled his head, once again, to her breasts.

After a while, he raised himself, gazing into her face. It was the warmth she sought, the attention that he gave her, the tenderness that melted her resolve and like someone coming home to her lover for the very first time, she put her arms around his neck and held him tightly, returning his kiss, clinging to him with an overpowering need, a hunger that was as much physical as emotional.

"Not here," he announced. He lifted her into his arms and, his lips still clinging closely, carried her out to the veranda and there, laying her down on the Spanish tiles, he began to remove the remnants of her chemise.

Her eyes still closed, she turned to him the way a flower seeks the sun, fitting her body to his, urging him on and he slipped inside her moist warmth, his body suddenly cold and then his lips closed upon her breast's nipple and he bit, drawing the first blood of many lettings that night.

**********

Andrea, awakening slowly, trailing the clinging cobwebs of deep sleep, gradually became aware of a physical satisfaction she hadn't known in a long time. Her fingers found her right nipple, still sore, with small bite marks now fading with the morning sun streaming through the bedroom window.

She was alone in the big bed and as she got up, she found reddish-clay stains on her back and legs. She thought of Ambrose. She wanted to reach out and touch him, to nestle against him and feel his arms tighten around her. She was lost, her husband a fading distant memory in her heart. She rolled over to see him standing there and went to the dressing table.

"Black?" Anthony asked his wife. "You're wearing black?"

"Yes," she said, looking at him as if he were a servant to be dismissed. She left her dressing table and went downstairs, meeting Lorelei, and the two women walked outside and down the street to the Italian grocery at the corner.

"Women..." Anthony said, coming downstairs himself, a while later. He didn't remember the night before except that he had made a huge commission on the sale. His wife seemed different, somehow... distant, listening to unheard music... and the black clothes. It was one thing, he thought, to wear black at a dinner party and for a second, his mind slipped back to their last New Year's Eve party when she had worn the same black dress... but, at eight o'clock in the morning?

Lorelei said nothing to Andrea as they walked to the grocery. Ambrose had called her, after, inviting her to suckle on the woman's blood, at the woman's breast. She remembered when it was just her, but could blame no one for her momentary pang of jealousy. After all, she reasoned, she ran from him, it was her choice, just as it was now her choice to stay.

The two women bought orange and lemon gelatos... rather, the man had given them orange and lemon gelatos, for no money had changed hands, just a look and a simple 'thank you' from Lorelei had been payment enough.

She thought about the previous night. Though she couldn't regret what had happened, in the light of day, she knew that allowing herself to become Ambrose's lover once again had been madness. She was leaving herself open to constant heartbreak, the reason she had left him time and time again.

Despite whatever he had said, he had left the decision to her. He'd also been unselfish enough to alleviate any physical needs she might have. Money, once they were together once more, had never been an issue. Still, there was only herself to blame, if even at the time, she doubted the wisdom of it. How does one measure wisdom against love? Against a centuries-old love?

Last night had awakened a need she had thought once buried... a need that had grown in the time of its abandonment. Now, she was older, mentally, at least, tempered by pain and loss, forced to appreciate how she'd mishandled and destroyed the most precious relationship in her life.

'What does he really want?' she wondered, forgetting for a moment he could hear her thoughts.

He answered, "Complete love... complete passion... complete control."

Last night, she'd closed her eyes to the fact that she had to admit: their past was what it was, their future was what it would be.

**********

Lorelei and Andrea kept walking toward Geary Boulevard, eventually catching a cab east to Chinatown.

"I've never been here," Lorelei said, her hand cool on Andrea's still warm arm. "It's all so different."

For once, her blasé attitude had slipped as they wandered the streets, glancing occasionally down the dark alleys that held wonders unknown. Whether to go down the alleys was of no import, for Lorelei knew no harm would come to them... no harm any more.

They stepped into a small shop, meeting a traditionally dressed man wearing a long dark-red shenyi and a soft cap, known as a jin.

Lorelei gave no attention to the jars of herbs and minerals lining the wall for they interested her, not.

"Why here?" Andrea asked, not a word spoken.

"I heard her cry out to me," responded Lorelei, "and so, I had to come."

Without a word, the man disappeared into the back of his small apothecary and eventually returned with a young girl, surely eighteen but no more than twenty years of age. She carried a small suitcase with her and followed them out onto the street and to the waiting cab. The driver immediately opened the trunk, put the girl's case into it and after helping the three into the cab, drove to the wharf.

Lorelei walked to the Italian fisherman standing in front of a steaming cauldron, a large tray of freshly caught and iced crabs to his side. Without a word and barely acknowledging her presence, he took six crabs, tossed them into the boiling water and began to scoop a large helping of red sauce into a paper jar which he then put into a small box along with the now-cooked crabs and then, after icing everything, carried it to the cab.

As the cab drove away, he had a feeling of contentment and relief, strangely finding himself aroused for what reason, he had no idea. If not for the heavy leather apron, he was sure he would have been embarrassed.

He returned to his crabs, wondering why there were several missing.

**********

The Chinese girl took her small suitcase and the box of crabs from the driver and followed the two women into the house.

Andrea showed her where the kitchen was and as the girl put the crabs into the refrigerator, the two women sat in the living room, seemingly quiet and reading.

"We'll be leaving on Friday," said Lorelei. "I'll expect to see you next week on Thursday."

"Yes, ma'am," said the other woman, anticipating the events of the day to come.

Lorelei put down the Bible she had been looking at. At one time, she had hoped for redemption and had read the Gospels, committing it to memory, word for word but then the excesses of the Church had driven even that away. She was lost.

"Bao Yu," she called out, silently.

The girl, 'Precious Jade', entered the living room and bowed. "Yes, ma'am?" she asked, not at all confused about her new role in life.

"We will eat, now," the unspoken order.

"Yes, ma'am." The girl returned to the kitchen and brought out the crabs, made a salad with the lettuce she found and squeezed enough oranges for juice.

While the two women ate in the dining room, she finished her food in the kitchen. The food was better than the daily bowls of rice and small amounts of fish she had received before.

Finished, she returned to the dining room to clear the table and after washing the dishes, went into the other guest room. Lying on the covers, she stared at the ceiling, unsure of what was truly desired but that thought quickly dissipated like the bay fog that covered the city each morning.

That night, Lorelei entered the room, a visit anticipated by Bao Yu, one that she had both dreaded and desired.

Bao Yu watched as the vamp entered her room and sat on the bed. She had no choice. She couldn't stop herself from kissing Lorelei and holding her tightly, from wishing a few moments of pleasure in the vamp's arms. Her head dropped and their lips met.

Lorelei felt the girl's resistance for an instant, but she felt the girl relax and melt into her arms. Bao Yu's mouth opened under the pressure of hers and she heard a small sigh of satisfaction deep within the Chinese girl's throat that thrilled her to the cold marrow of her bones.

Their kiss went on and on, her tongue plundering the honeyed sweetness of the girl's soft, warm mouth in a mindless foray of tasting and savoring. Her hands roamed up and down Bao Yu's sleek body, stroking her small but pert breasts through the thin fabric of her clothing and then moving to the bare skin at her neck.

Lorelei heard her groan with desire as their bodies pressed tightly together, coolness seeking warmth. She was ready to make love to her and kissed her deeply, bending the girl's head back as she nearly robbed the young woman of her breath. She held her tightly and slipping her hand between Bao Yu's smooth, lean thighs, she stroked the girl's most sensitive and intimate place and then sank her teeth into the girl's throat as the girl shuddered with pleasure in her arms.

The next morning, the girl, now known as 'Jade', accepted the change in her life without question, even as her heart slowed, her blood pressure dropped and her skin cooled to the touch.

**********

The last delivery truck left the house and Lorelei moved from room to room with Jade, who noted where everything was. The antique furniture reminded her of home in New Orleans and looked comfortable enough to use. There were several pieces dating to the Revolution, including some silver from Revere, himself. She smiled, running a finger across the shiny surface of the candlestick. Could it be the same one from her collection? She thought she had sold that one, so long ago. Maybe... either way, she was happy to see it, for it brought a memory of Isabel to the fore.

Even after all these years, the girl's death troubled her. She could have prevented it, if she had been willing to take that last step. Lorelei looked at Jade, proof that she would never make that mistake again. In response, Jade touched the vamp's shoulder and kissed her cheek. The two were emotionally linked at the soul. Lorelei wondered if, somehow, when she was condemned to hell, would Jade be there with her.

The new house was adequate, she thought, making up in its view of the vast Pacific what it lacked in history. She thought back to her house in New Orleans...

**********

Summer, 1921
New Orleans...

Isabel's bedroom was still empty. Lorelei couldn't bring herself to install another girl there, the memory of her death still too fresh in her mind. At times, she was despondent enough to slash her wrists, only to waken the following morning, no trace of the damage she had wrought on herself the night before. How was it possible for the girl to affect her so? She wished for death and called on God to take her but He had abandoned her, just as He had for the centuries gone by. Eventually, she gave up, but the girl's face still floated in her dreams.

**********

Late summer, 1954
San Francisco...

"Jade," she said to the girl, "I would like something light for lunch, please."

"Yes, ma'am," the Chinese girl replied, going into the kitchen and opening the cupboard to pull out a loaf of crusty Italian bread. Slicing off two thin pieces, she heated them in the toaster while she put assembled a mixed green salad with an avocado, two tomatoes and shrimp. Putting a simple vinaigrette on the salad, she placed everything on the table and waited for Lorelei to arrive.

For a moment, her hand went to the side of her neck, touching the tiny scars that even then were fading away beneath her high-collared dark-green dress.

Lorelei moved closer and gazed at the Asian girl's beautiful face. While one hand continued to caress the girl's lower body, the vamp's mouth covered the peak of one young, slight breast, her tongue swirling in lazy circles around Jade's hardening nipple beneath her now unbuttoned garment. Lorelei heard her moan and sigh, felt the girl's fingertips dig into her shoulder as she absorbed the tremors of excitement that rocked her slender body.

Lorelei longed to touch her, to love her completely and bring her to the very height of pleasure, to give her everything she had and more... to make love to her like no man ever could.

"Jade, Jade," she sighed, raining soft kisses on the girl's cheeks, her closed eyes and her soft, yielding lips. "I want you so much," she confessed, thinking back to another girl, another time, another place.

Jade turned in Lorelei's arms and buried her face in her shoulder; she lifted her head and stared deeply into Lorelei's eyes. "Mistress, I want you, too," she admitted in a silken whisper. Not a word had been said yet they heard one another, just the same, thoughts breaking the silence of the room.

Their impact was deep and Lorelei felt, for just a moment, fresh air and sunshine in the darkness of her soul.

**********

Ambrose came home late that night, carrying a veal roast under his arm. A touch of Lorelei's arm and he sat down, waiting for Jade to prepare dinner.