The entire world was witnessed through a red glaze, yet somehow all of Rose’s attention was focused on her vampire. Rose was on her knees, her hands were planted on the carpeted floor. Her legs wouldn’t stop shaking. All her senses were murky, and her skin felt hypersensitive. She could smell lingering sweat and the mildew on the carpeting. Her auburn hair fell down her shoulders, weighing on her skin. She never felt so aroused in her life! Her loins were on fire, and juices dripped down her thighs. 

      Her vampire, the beautiful blonde devil, launched herself at Sophia. The lights of the hallway captured the scene, yet somehow the shadows around Rebecca never faded. Like a robe, the darkness caressed her body while spreading pitch black wings along her back. 

      To her credit, Sophia stood her ground. Together she, the scruffy captain, and the other lanky vampire answered the charge. The captain was brushed aside with a single stroke as Rebecca’s shadow somehow reached forward and swatted him. The second man dodged her first attack, then tried to lunge underneath her. Just as he threw an uppercut, Rebecca stopped herself midair and glided back. He seemed stunned at how quickly she maneuvered, it was as if she could guess his moves perfectly. Rebecca then held a finger to his face and with a smile flicked him on the forehead. The lanky saboteur was flown back like a rocket! He crashed into the crowd behind him like a bowling ball.

      And then there was only Sophia. The girl knew there was nothing she could do, and thus fell on her knees. It might have been Rose’s imagination, but it looked like she had soiled herself.

      Rebecca’s feet touched the floor, the shadows thinned to form a smaller robe. Her golden hair was glowing as she approached. “I warned you…”

      “Wait!” Rose called out. In truth she wasn’t sure what her vampire would do to Sophia. But she really didn’t like the look in her eye.

      “Hmmm?” Rebecca looked over and shot her a brimming smile, “Hey Rosie! Don’t worry I’ll take care of this.”

      “Wait Becca,” Rose got on her feet, “There’s no need, I don’t want to see everyone starve. I think I know a way to help everyone on the ship, or at least some of them.”

      Rebecca looked over to her quizzically, “What do you mean…” She then narrowed her eyes at Kyle and Maggie, both of which were nervous. “Oh I see…but no.”

      All three of them looked at her in surprise, “What do you mean no?”

      Rebecca slapped Sophia on the cheek, causing her to collapse, and then skipped into the theater. She brushed by Kyle, giving him the cold shoulder, and only returned a curtesy glance to Maggie. Once she was within arms reach she lunged at Rose, giving her a heavy hug. “They can’t have you…I won’t let anyone else touch you.”

      “But…”

      “If they knew how you’re blood tasted…I don’t think I could protect you. After all, they’ve never tried a human descendant from the Lucian dynasty before.” Rebecca spoke quietly in her ear with a concerned voice.

      Rose looked at her in confusion, “what are you talking about?”

      “Sssh, I’ll fill you in in a moment,” She couldn’t help but chuckle at her own words, “Just don’t worry, everything is going to be all right.”

      “We’re all starving…” Sophia whimpered.

      “Oh grow a pair,” Rebecca turned around and shot her a frightful glare, “you’re being pathetic, you can survive longer than a couple days without blood. Have none of you ever fasted before? Guys seriously, find a little discipline and you’ll be fine.”

      “So hungry,” Sophia just kept whimpering. She tried to get up on her feet.

      Rebecca exposed her teeth, “Take one more step, I dare you…” 

      Sophia squealed in fright then quickly got back down on her knees. Rose bit her lip, something about Rebecca’s dominance aroused her even more. 

      Rebecca sighed and then addressed the crowd, “I think it would be best if you all leave…I won’t ask twice.”

      Slowly the crowd dispersed. Even the captain teared up while scooting away. The lanky man looked at Rose for one last brief second before lowering his face in submission. He crawled away pathetically.

      It was only when the crowd left that Maggie sensed it was her turn to face Rebecca. “Hey Reby, look we were trying to protect her.”

      “Good for you, now leave.” Rebecca kept a straight face, “I need some alone time with Rosie.” 

      “Sure…no problem…” Maggie scratched the back of her head, she was trying hard to act normal, “We’ll be right outside if you need anything.” With a fake smile she grabbed Kyle by the arm and quickly rushed out of the room. They shut the door behind them without a second thought.

      Once they were alone a sense of peace settled in the theater. A few other emergency lights began to glow, creating the eerie blue light from before. The movie behind them was still playing, but the sound remained dead. Rose struggled to control her breathing, the venom in her bloodstream was still burning in her veins. Sweat ran down her soft cleavage, and along the base of her spine. She wanted more than anything for her vampire to kiss her neck again. Rose struggled to control her urges while she spoke, “So what do you mean, the Lucian whatever.”

      Rebecca brushed her blonde hair back, the shadows evaporated as if they never existed. She looked like a beautiful blonde angel, not a terrifying creature of the night. “After the first sip I knew there was something odd, other than you being delicious and positively nutritious,” She teased. Rebecca held her hands behind her back and took several steps forward. The vampire’s gorgeous face was mere inches from her own, “The second time however, on the deck, when I was able to mist so seamlessly I knew it for certain. You’re a descendant of one of the oldest and most famous vampire dynasties in history.”

      Rose had no idea what what Rebecca was talking about. Both her parents were from Florida, her grandparents on both sides were American. Rose was dumbfounded, “say what?”

      “Most human descendants are so diluted that it hardly matters, yet you somehow still harbor a dominant strain in your blood. I’ve tasted it only once before!” Rebecca could barely keep herself still.

      “Really?” Rose didn’t even know who the Lucian’s were or why that mattered. She found Rebecca’s explanation hard to believe.

      Rebecca continued, “The Seraphine clans still keep small samples of his families blood, and whenever a descendent is found their donations are practically priceless.” Rebecca embraced Rose again, her chin nuzzled along her shoulder, “We’re all allowed a single sip of it to spur our vampiric gifts, just so we can learn what we’re capable of. Most human blood only feeds us, some blood types contain lineages that can help stir our abilities, but the Lucian dynasty is like…cocaine.” She laughed at her own joke.

      Rose sighed, she thought the joke was kind of corny. “So you like me only because of my blood?”

      “No of course not!” Rebecca hugged her tighter, “You’re smart and beautiful, not to mention kind and thoughtful.” She paused a moment to look up at Rose and smile, “You’re also so fun to tease, ok maybe a little too fun to tease.”

      “Ok I get it,” Rose rolled her eyes.

      “No you don’t! Because what I’m trying to say…” Rebecca leaned in so that her cheek brushed up against Rose’s collarbone, one of the vampire’s hands rested along the side of Rose’s breast. “Is that I really, really like you! From the first moment I saw you! And I really want us to go on that date.”

      Rose laughed while hugging her back, “You know what Becky? I really like you too, once this is over lets do something. Not on a cruise ship though, in fact lets do something far away from the ocean.” A sad thought occurred to her, “I guess we’ll have to do something before you and Maggie go back home.” 

      “Oh, I’m moving in with you!” Rebecca grabbed hold of Rose’s shoulders and looked her in the eye with eager desperation.

      “Hold on, aren’t we going a little too fast?” Rose blushed.

      “It’ll be amazing!” Rebecca couldn’t stop talking about all the things they would do together, she was hopping on her feet and consumed with happiness. Rose couldn’t help but feel a little awkward, but only a little. Truthfully she couldn’t wait to bring her home. The lights continued to slowly grow around them, the war movie behind them began to stroll the credits.

…

      The following day seemed surreal. The power was fully restored, yet not many were enjoying it. The captain had isolated himself on the bridge, almost everyone else kept to their own rooms. No one dared go near the cabin with the only human on board. Together all four of them had been allowed to occupy the largest suite of the ship. Kyle took the leather sofa so that all three of the women could share a master bed in comfort. The room featured a balcony, and for the first time in days there was sunlight pouring through the clouds. 

      Rebecca leaned on the railing of the balcony, her hair blew in the wind. She wore a cream nightgown, her supple olive skin seemed to reflect the sunlight. Underneath the gown she wore nothing, allowing her soft tear drop shaped mounds to hang freely against the dainty fabric. The vampire hummed to herself silently until Maggie came to join her. Rose was fast asleep under the mattresses incredibly comfortable sheets. Rebecca could see her through the glass windows and enjoyed watching her dream.

      Maggie pulled her dark hair back as she approached. She was hungry, but after drinking Rose’s blood yesterday the suffering was tolerable. Rebecca did her best to loosen up as her best friend rested on the guard rail next to her. Maggie wore a loose tank top that she slept in, along with her underwear. Her breasts rested on the railing as she leaned forward.

      “So…you both tasted her,” Rebecca broke the silence. It was conversation long coming, she had waited until now to finally address the issue.

      Maggie tensed for a moment, she looked over to her before answering, “You weren’t there Reby, and she was in trouble.”

      “And all humans are trouble huh?” Rebecca mentioned. Her tone was hard to read, Maggie couldn’t tell if she was trying to tease or simply disappointed. 

      Maggie knew why her best friend was so concerned. Even now the aftertaste of Rose’s rich blood lingered in her mouth. It was hard to resist the urge to try another sip, “I’m sorry, had I known.”

      “Can you resist it?” Rebecca cut her short. 

      “Hmm?” Maggie leaned forward against the railing. The sea looked rather beautiful from this high up. The current had softened since they broke from the storm. Suddenly a seagull cawed and flew overhead. Seeing the bird made Maggie gasp for joy, it meant they were finally getting close to land.

      “Mags, can you resist the calling of her blood?” Rebecca asked her again, this time there was a layer of intensity in her voice. 

      Maggie swallowed, the only time she ever called her Mags was when she was completely serious. Maggie nodded, “Yes…I’ll do my best.”

      “And him?” Rebecca looked over to Kyle. He was resting on the couch with a controller in his hand. He was busy cycling through the channels on low volume. He was shirtless, just the way Maggie preferred. 

      “Don’t worry about him,” Maggie answered. “He’s not the type of guy that’ll take advantage of anyone.”

      Rebecca wasn’t sure if that was true, but would trust her best friend for now. The blonde vampire looked over to Rose. Her human was sleeping peacefully. “Thank you for…”

      “She really means a lot to you doesn’t she?” Maggie turned around to lean her back against the rail.

      Rebecca blushed, she couldn’t stop looking at her human. Rose began snoring ever so slightly. Rebecca chuckled at that, “Even her snoring is adorable.” She then looked over to Maggie, “And what about him? Does he mean anything to you?”

      Maggie scoffed, “He’s a fun ride, nothing more.”

      “If you say soooo….” 

      “Stop giving me that look,” Maggie bit her lip.

      Rebecca shot her a wink and found herself unable to stop laughing at Maggie’s expense. 

...

      Two more days passed before the HMS Sanguine was rescued. A pair of military vessels had finally answered the call. After skimming the hurricanes edges, the HMS Sanguine’s engines had been restored. It was ridiculously close, but the hungry seamen were able to steer the ship through the growing waves and break free from the storm. 

      Once freed, the Sanguine set course for the Keys and quickly made contact with elements of the Coast Guard. Together the Coast Guards cruisers surrounded the ship and boarded. They had to airlift an emergency supply of blood and plasma from the mainland to feed the crew and passengers. The lack of blood for over week caused just about all of them to become bedridden. 

      When the first rescue teams rushed aboard they were surprised to find a single human, and three vampires, awake and completely lucid. Rose had been lounging in her solid red bikini and basking in the sun. She was sharing her lounge chair with her blonde vampire, both of them seemed remarkably flustered compared to the other two sitting nearby. Kyle and Maggie were busy swapping jokes and sharing full bottles of alcohol, they leaned forward in their seats to watch the newcomers come aboard. When the paramedics approached, Rose raised her sunglasses and simply asked, “what took you so long?”