Viktor came back the next night, as he said he would. But I didn’t see him right away, as I stepped out into the lobby. I scanned the tables, booths, bar stools, and even the small groups of dancing strangers, but found no sight of the vampire. There were other vampires here that I could smell, but they weren’t Viktor.

I tried not to feel disappointed as I stepped onto my stage and began to dance. The night was still young, and if this city truly was his responsibility, he likely had much to do. Some random werewolf slut wasn’t something to come rushing towards the moment he woke.

I focused on the thrum of the heavy music, and slipped into the sensual feeling of working my body to the pleasure of dozens of watchers. Tonight I wore purple panties with black fishnets, and a ripped up sleeveless purple crop top with black fishnet material knitted into the gaps of the fabric. It only reached down to the bottom of my pecs, so every time I stretched my hands above my head, the shirt would rise up and expose my nipples, a play at teasing that many patrons enjoyed. I had plans to pierce them one day, in hopes of gathering further attraction.

For about two hours I danced on my stage, accumulating cash, until I began to grow tired and desired a refreshment. I collected my earnings and tucked them into my panties, same as usual, and headed over to a section of the bar.

There were already small clumps of patrons staggered around the bar, with two bartenders pouring drinks. Katya, a fellow stripper, was busy with two women, giggling indulgently as she taste-tested their drinks and swapped moments of groping each other’s breasts.

I slipped in between two men who seemed mostly by themselves, leaning my forearms on the counter and purposefully relaxing my back so my butt stuck out. I propped my weight on one leg and brushed my ankle with my lax foot. “A water, please,” I told the bartender, who obliged and filled a tall glass.

“Just a water?” the man to my left asked. I turned my head and smiled at him.

“You could say I’m very, very thirsty,” I replied, my voice sultry and suggestive. I made a point to rake my gaze down his chest and to his groin. He was decent-looking enough, nothing to drool over. He had thick scruff on his face, with a somewhat muscular chest but fat growing around his stomach.

“How thirsty are we talking? Maybe I can help you out,” he said, helping himself to the small of my back with his hand. It was slightly clammy and warm, but everyone in this club was sweaty to some degree.

I hummed indecisively, feigning uncertainty as I took my glass of water and drank down a few gulps. His hand dragged up under my crop top and back down, where he shoved his hand under my panties and fishnets and slid his middle finger into the crack of my ass.

“Oh,” I responded, arching my back. I drank a few more swigs of water as the man continued to grope my rear. His hand disappeared for a moment, then returned. I felt the scrape of something more rough than a hand between my cheeks, similar to paper. I gasped.

“Here’s forty,” the man said. “Give me a lap dance, you thirsty whore.”

I bit my lip in his line of sight. “Sir yes sir,” I obliged. I downed the last of my water and settled my ass up against the man’s spread legs. The bar stools were all waist height, so rubbing on him was easy. Since he gave me forty, I made sure to take my time, using slow, hypnotic movements, rolling my hips in figure eights against his thighs, and twerking at a much slower pace than some of the other dancers here. With each roll of my lower back, I made sure to grind my ass against his groin. His erection arrived almost immediately, and I made sure to press back on it as much as I could. Soon enough he was grabbing my hips and jerking me back into him, and I let him take the reins as he humped me. His movements became slightly erratic as he neared his peak, and he groaned as he came in his pants.

“Fuck yeah,” he said, and gave my ass a hard slap. I gasped, tensing at the sting. He decided to land a few more hard slaps, and I whimpered each time. “What a little slut you are. Might keep you in my lap all night.”

“Apologies,” came a familiar voice. I looked up to see Viktor step up to me, his vampire scent filling my nose as he almost let my face press to his chest. Only a little tangy from blood; he’d drunken some already, but not a lot. He also wore a misty-smelling cologne. He produced a card tucked between two fingers and flashed it at the man. “I have him booked for the rest of the evening.”

The man seemed to hesitate, his hands still gripping my hips. Viktor paid his faltering little mind as he caressed my cheek. “Hello, sweet treat,” he greeted. I straightened so that we were more eye-to-eye.

“Hello, handsome,” I replied, smiling too widely despite myself. “Shall we order drinks?”

The man behind me seemed to get the cue that he was forgotten, and he huffed loudly and made a show of shoving me off his lap, into Viktor’s chest. Viktor caught me, steady and unmoving, and sent him an expression that was a mix of unimpressed and annoyed.

“Rich motherfucker…” the man grumbled as he stalked away, probably in search of some other stripper he could grapple.

“Don’t mind him,” I said before Viktor could get his ego too hurt; I had seen one too many brawls already over patrons wanting to keep strippers to themselves. I dragged a hand up his chest, noting how he wore a thin black long-sleeve shirt, and a pair of loose-fitted grey jeans. Not as fancy as yesterday, but I kind of liked this casual look on him. “What can we start with?”

My distraction seemed to work, because Viktor turned his gaze to me, and a smile chased away his discontentment. He settled his chilly hands on my exposed sides. “You strike me as a cocktail drinker,” he mused.

I shrugged a shoulder. “Surprise me?”

Viktor turned to the bartender and order two drinks: a blood-laced martini for himself, and a blender called ‘Lunar Eclipse' which was a frozen mix of cherries, black berries, oranges, and vodka. Viktor took the now-vacant stool beside us and pulled me down onto his lap. I shifted around to straddle him, letting my legs dangle over his thighs and leaning back against the bar. I brushed my feet along Viktor’s calves. “I’m guessing you have plans for me, if you booked me for the night,” I inquired, verbally nudging him to reveal said plans.

Viktor placed a hand on the small of my back and leaned close, inhaling soundly, his nose brushing over my throat. “Oh yes,” he confirmed. “Your sweet scent and sweet blood have been calling to me since I woke.”

“What can I say? I’m everyone’s guilty-pleasure dessert,” I said.

“You certainly are my guilty pleasure,” Viktor agreed. “I want time to have you all to myself before I bring my partners to meet you.”

“Oh? Have I been the topic of gossip?” I questioned. I brushed a finger along the underside of his chin, the faintest hint of stubble rasping over my skin. “All good things, I hope, otherwise I’d be worried I have a lot more to learn.”

“Not to worry darling, I can already tell you have plenty of talents,” Viktor replied. He didn’t allude to whether or not he spoke about me at all to his partners, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. The idea of me being considered a trespasser still left a nervous pit in my stomach.

The drinks arrived. Viktor took a sip of his martini, blood swirling in the small glass, and I tasted my cocktail. “Mm,” I hummed in approval.

Viktor dragged his hand down my thigh, his palm and fingers gliding over the strings of the fishnets. “I quite like the fishnets,” he remarked. “Something about the look of strings on your skin… It makes me wonder how you’d look in rope.”

I smiled, brushing my lips over his jaw. “Are we talking regular bondage or something more?”

“Mmh…” he moaned softly in my ear. “The image of you wrapped up in shibari paints a beautiful picture… add some flowers in the mix, and you’d look like a work of art.”

A small blush heated my cheeks. “Now you truly flatter me,” I murmured. I kissed his jaw, and then the side of his neck. Viktor’s hand squeezed my thigh as his lips grazed the shell of my ear.

“I’d like to tie you up tonight,” he proposed. “If that is something you can trust me with.”

It was almost as if he’d read my mind, because my first train of thought immediately went to trust. I’d only known him one night, and it was hardly enough to know if he was someone I could consider as safe hands. Just by his demeanor alone, he gave off the vibes of a rigger, potentially patient enough to do it right. But he was still a vampire, and that was an entire can of worms I had only begun to open.

I settled back slightly, letting the counter take my weight. “Perhaps if you answer some questions of my own.”

Viktor gave a soft smile, full of understanding, and the nervous pit unraveled slightly. “Ask away, darling.”

I thought for a moment, absentmindedly slipping my fingers under the hem of his shirt and tracing the cool skin I found underneath. “How big is your clan?” I decided to ask first.

“Are you familiar with the Duchess neighborhood, near the river?” Viktor preluded.

“The comfy-cozy mansion-filled neighborhood where all the richest citizens of the city live?” I said.

“That is where we live. The entire neighborhood. Does that help shed some light on our numbers?” he replied.

“Sort of,” I said. “I’m guessing… at least a hundred?”

“Just shy. But that is only my clan. There are other independent vampires and smaller clans scattered throughout the rest of the city,” Viktor explained.

“I see. Are any of the vampires here yours?” I asked.

“A couple,” he said. “But I think they’re too busy having their own fun to notice me.”

“How long have you all lived here?” I asked next. I reached behind me and took a few sips of my drink.

“About eighty years. This city started off much smaller back then, but it’s grown quite a bit over the decades,” Viktor said. He accepted the martini glass I handed him, and I watched him drain the remaining amount.

“Ever had any problems? Outside or inside?” I asked.

“Hmm,” he pondered, clearing his throat and setting the empty glass down on the counter behind me. The bartender made him a fresh one. “A few gangs here and there, some drug problems, but nothing that can’t be dealt with in a vampire fashion," he said. “As for outside threats… just the one time when Inkas’ Sire hunted him down and tried to wreak havoc amongst us. It was a trying time, but we pulled through. Luckily my dear Inkas is safe and sound now.”

“Inkas?” I echoed, raising a brow as I drank down more of my cocktail. The rush of warmth that followed signaled that I might grow the slightest bit tipsy when I was finished. But I wasn’t afraid of loose muscles, if anything, it would make the coming events more fun.

Viktor’s smile came smooth and warm and easy, and I knew it was genuine, because the same warmth filled his wine-red eyes. “One of my partners,” he elaborated. “I think you two might like each other.”

I raised both brows this time, indulgent. “Oh, well, you’ll have to bring him around sometime. The more the merrier.”

“Indeed,” Viktor agreed, and he leaned in to kiss me. It was almost unexpected, an unforeseen turn of action, but maybe he was growing past the foreplay of conversation and was wishing for more physical play instead. I wasn’t complaining, and I had no other questions at the moment, none that couldn’t be answered some other night. I kissed him back, sliding a hand around his neck and up through his long hair. Tonight it was left down, no braid, free to cascade down his back. I raked my fingers through and snagged on only one tangle. I gently worked it through as Viktor slid his tongue into my mouth.

“Mm,” I moaned softly. The taste of gin and iron remained on his tongue, and I suckled on it. Viktor pressed forward, pinning me between his torso and the bar. His tongue retracted and he switched to biting at my bottom lip. I breathed soundly, keeping my jaw lax as Viktor kissed and kissed and kissed again. One fang nicked my lip; I gasped, flinching slightly from the sharp sting. He licked away the dribble of blood that followed.

I tugged gently at his hair, rocking my hips over his groin. “You mentioned tying me up?” I reminded him breathlessly.