Sanguine Inclinations

HelaineI couldn’t help feeling nervous as I stood at the top of the steps leading down into his basement apartment.We had been friends for some time—maybe acquaintances was a better term—but the point is that we’d known each other for a while now, at least through moving in similar circles.He should have been my type. I had always had a problem with the pretentious wannabe rockstar types, but there was always something about him that put me ill at ease, and if I was honest, neither this street nor the hour was helping.His apartment sat below the corner of Cardinal and South Main, and the street signs stood ominously above me like a guillotine.Cardinal was a lovely little street, with its artist alley, street food, and live music . . . if you weren’t privy to the area’s reputation, and ignored the missing persons posters.Speaking of music, I could already hear the haunting melody emanating from the bottom of the stairs. If I could say nothing else for him, he was an excellent gui

HelaineOnce I was on my feet, his hand moved smoothly to the small of my back as he guided me around the room, pointing out all kinds of things I had mistaken for decor, but were apparently very much a part of his sex life.“I hope you’re not overwhelmed,” he mused, slipping his fingers somewhat obscenely through a puddle of hot wax that had formed beneath one of his many candles, and I watched transfixed as the wax hardened against his skin.“A little,” I confessed, and he eyed me with something akin to concern. “But not in a bad way, I’ve just never . . . ”“Never been tied up, at someone else’s mercy, while they drip hot wax onto your skin?” He grinned devilishly, most certainly aware of the way my heart raced as he spoke.The way he said the word mercy . . . on his tongue, it sounded like something between prayer and pornography.“I can’t say that I have,” I answered honestly. “I never had a partner that I—”“That you trusted enough?” He finished for me, and I nodded. “Helaine .

Helaine He held my jaw in his hand as he pulled me into a deep and hungry kiss that made me whine as he pulled away.His husky laughter resonated through my ears, and I could tell by the tension in his voice that he was every bit as turned on as I was in this moment.He stalked out of my line of sight, and I was left staring down at the coffin. From my vantage point, I could see all of the gorgeous details carved into the black stained wood—hundreds if not thousands of small skulls and bats were hidden among the intricate brambles of roses.Evan had said he worked in many different mediums, and I wondered if he’d carved it himself.My line of thinking was cut off by the sudden

Helaine“I don’t know, I think the villain’s motivations were a little passé.”“Passé? Come on, it was a vampire flick from the 80s. What motivation does he need beyond ‘Mmm lemme at that blood’?”“Helaine, you’re into gothic lit, right? Help me out here.”“Hmm, what?” I startled, looking dazed as my friends waited for an answer. “Sorry, I was . . . I was focused on the movie.”Lie.It was a total, complete, bald faced lie.Ever since my friends and I pooled our money together for a projector, movie night in the abandoned underpass had been my absolute favorite thing to do, especially in October, where we met once a week for a horror movie on Saturday as opposed to once a month like the rest of the year.It helped to make up for the fact that outdoor movie nights tended to be a no-go through most of winter.By all accounts, I should have been absolutely engrossed in this cheesy old vampire movie, but it was hard to focus when Evan spent the entire time sitting across the underpass sta

HelaineWhipping around to look behind me, my lips parted in surprise at the large wheel, padded with gorgeously detailed leather.My fingers ran over the intricate patterns embossed into it, skulls and roses similar to the details on Evan’s coffin rendered in detail that must have taken years to achieve on a scale this large. Deep in concentration, my tongue slid along the seam of my lips in appreciation.“Do you like it?” His hands trailed up my hips, his touch feather-light, as he pressed himself against me, telling me that he’s been just as eager for this day to come as I have. “I didn’t build the wheel, but the leatherwork is all mine.”“You made this?” Craning my neck to look back at him, I couldn’t hide how impressed I was. “It must have taken—”“Years, yeah.” He chuckled, his breath tickling the back of my neck. “Time isn’t an issue for me.”The chill of his hand grazing my skin as his fingers carded into the back of my hair made me gasp. He turned my head toward the center of