Alaric controlled himself not to stare.
"I want to move us into a more stable situation sooner rather than later. Having an actual address of our own where you can use your magic is that last step we must take—that's all."
He tossed her a cellphone, which she caught.
"Here. My number is already in there. I also put our potential landlord in, as well as the gas station in case you need to get a hold of me while I'm at work—but don't abuse that. I don't want to get a reputation."
"As a man loyal to his true love?" she asked, her brow arched quizzically.
"I should think mortals would understand the appeal of that. The only ones who might protest would be—"
"Don't say it—"
"Temptresses," she spat out. "Disgusting whores—like that blonde bitch who smeared her tits into your back this morning."
He blinked at her, stunned. "You were watching me?"
"I was," she admitted, pouting. "You were good. I'm not angry at you—but that woman was out of line."
He closed his eyes for a moment and sat on the bed beside her. "Dira—this kind of jealousy—"
She sat up suddenly, her eyes glimmering with a rebuttal.
"But I was right! I said it would happen and it happened! Laric, please," she whined,
tackling him and bringing him down against the mattress.
Next thing he knew, she was straddling him again—a position he was growing more and more familiar with.
"I want you to fuck me tonight. When you get back from work, make love to me. I want you to cum inside me until I'm so full of your love that my womb reawakens and I get pregnant with your lovechild."
His eyes bulged at the insane words being levied against him. "Is that possible?"
"If we believe in our love, anything is possible," she said, her brows knitting as her hands squeezed his shoulders.
"Promise me tonight's the night."
"Will you feel more secure if I say yes?" he asked. He spoke with a low tone, feeling muscles spasm in his bicep as he yearned to pull her against him right that instant.
"Oh, for sure!" she squealed.
"I'll feel sooo much more secure and happy with our situation once you take my virginity. When I know I'm really yours, then I'm sure my jealousy will be far less pronounced. It makes sense, right?" she asked.
The revelation that she was a virgin was instantly shocking, but he nodded cautiously, giving nothing away on his face.
"Some measure of sense, at least. As much sense as you can make."
She bent down and pressed her lips against his as her groin ground against his. "Can you feel the heat down there, baby?" she whispered.
"I'm so wet already just thinking about it. If I don't get what I need tonight—" she started cackling for a moment, her eyes going wild,
"I don't fucking know what I'll do."
"I understand," he said, pulling her off of him and standing. Turning around, his erection knocked a lamp off the nightstand, but he managed to catch it in time.
"Very well. In the name of keeping the humans of Wapa Lake safe, and in pacifying the vile Countess—I will do my part."
"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Darling," she cooed and giggled.
"Just lie here with me. How much time do you have before you need to go to work?"
"An hour," he told her.
"Then lie back down with me—hold me. That's all I want right now, I swear. It'll help me sleep."
Alaric didn't budge for a moment as he processed the request, but eventually nodded.
He lay back down on the mattress on his side, slowly, awkwardly pulling the Countess against him, her body yielding immediately. She scooched closer to him, letting her head rest against his chest.
There was a silence that fell over the motel room then. Only the ticking clock on the wall made a sound.
He almost panicked when he noticed Dracula stopped breathing—but then remembered it was an elective activity for her anyway.
"Alaric?" she whispered after a few minutes of quiet.
He didn't say anything, just waiting for what she wanted to say, but she wouldn't let him off the hook that easily.
"Alaric, Darling?" she pressed again, squeezing him tighter in a hug.
"Yes, Dira?"
He could feel her lips smile against his chest. "You called me Dira."
"I did. What is it you wanted to say?"
She paused for a moment, then looked up at him, staring into his eyes.
"I'm sorry if I'm a little more intense than most girls."
"You definitely are," he murmured.
"I'm not a mortal—when you live forever, the rare things that make you feel something make you feel that much deeper," she explained.
"I'll…try to be a good lover for you. A good…girlfriend. That's what the people of this age like to say. I'll be a loyal, understanding, forgiving, patient girlfriend. I'll do my best."
Alaric couldn't stop himself from kissing the top of her head then. He tried to fight the urge but lost that battle within seconds.
"I hope you mean what you say."
"I do," she intoned breathily. "Will you treat me well, too?"
He nodded and stroked her hair, breathing out his last defenses with a sigh. "Yes, I will."
———
Deep in Transylvania, a network of winding labyrinths twisted like corkscrews beneath the earth. Their secret depths concealed a truth far more malevolent than any mortal would suspect.
In this age, the dreaded 2023, the era where the evils of humanity overpowered the evils of what few monsters remained since The Countess's disappearance, things were different.
Monsters had become less outwardly
monstrous with the passage of time, passing as human in broad daylight more often than not.
Without Vladira, the Sorceress of Sin, to rein them in and direct their wrath, they scattered to the wind.
Without her to conjure and direct monsters, however, the few aimless, existing ones that remained quickly grew cautious.