“We should get a cat!” Rebecca tousled her golden hair as she strolled down the hallway. Swinging her hips from side to side, Rose couldn’t help but look at Rebecca’s rear as the vampire’s feet strutted along the carpet. Emergency lights flared, and an alarm sent a high pitched shrill every few seconds. It caused Rose’s ears to ring, and the hair on the back of her neck to stand.

      “No,” Rose had a hard time focusing. Her attention divided, she nearly walked into Rebecca when the vampire took a sudden pause. 

      It wasn’t that Rose was against the idea of acquiring a pet, she did spend her free time working at an animal shelter, but Rebecca’s allergies complicated things. There was also the fact that cats were vicious creatures. Dogs were eager to please, and quick to love. Cats, on the other hand, were picky. Journey knew from experience, they were just as likely to cuddle with you, as they were to swipe their claws. 

      “Or a puppy!” Rebecca waved a finger in the air before continuing down the passage. 

      Rose had been tempted numerous times to smuggle a little bundle of joy back from the shelter. The last time she brought anything back, only to watch them over a weekend, it resulted in Rebecca’s nose being so full of mucus she could barely speak. It took three days for her girlfriends eyes to stop itching, and her voice to return to normal. 

      Rose tightened the belt around her waist. They hadn’t enough time to get dressed following the alarms. Or at least, Rose wasn’t skilled enough to put on one of the complicated sets of lingerie she had packed, unlike her girlfriend. Rose had managed to rummage through her suitcase for a pair of jeans, followed by a pink designer tank top. For the life of her, Rose couldn’t find any of her braziers. Judging by the smug look on Rebecca’s face, the vampire had hidden them sometime earlier. 

      They had left the cult member behind in their room. He was still tied up, and fuming with anger. One threat from Rebecca, her fangs barred, was all it took for him to sit quietly. Rose would be lying if she said that she didn’t catch a look of hunger in Rebecca’s eyes. Obviously, there was a temptation there. A deep seated compulsion drove her vampiric instincts. Rose was glad Rebecca hadn’t acted on them. 

      “We should figure out what’s going on.” Rose knew something crazy had happened. According to the man they had tied up in their room, the entire hotel was now occupied by some kind of terrorist organization. Judging by the onion logo’s decorating his uniform, Rose didn’t need many attempts to guess which organization they belonged too.

      The duo had reached the elevator doors down the hall, and the red digits over the panel were blinking. No matter how many times the vampire tried pressing the call button, the numbers wouldn’t change. Rose couldn’t help but wonder why they hadn’t run into anyone else in the hall? It was hard for her to believe they left the party downstairs before everyone else. 

      “Well, I guess that’s not going to work.” Rebecca planted her hands on her hips in frustration. The red digits remained blinking, a clear sign the elevator was out of order.

      Rose was glad. In truth, neither of them had a plan on how to proceed. “Let’s just go back to our room.” 

      “We talked about this babe,” Rebecca kept pushing the button for the elevator, as if that would do anything.

      The emergency lights overhead flared, and then died abruptly. The cascading shriek of the alarms quickly followed. Darkness settled over them, like a warm blanket in the night. The sudden blackness disoriented Rose, and she quickly tripped on her own footing. Effortlessly, Rebecca caught her in midair.

      “Careful love,” She whispered sweetly.

      Rose could feel the warmth of her girlfriends bare shoulders, and couldn’t escape the pair of eyes glomming onto her. 

      “Um, Reby?” Rose’s cheeks warmed, “why the corset?” 

      It felt like a good question. Of all the things to grab from their shared luggage during a disaster, the padded lace corset seemed like an odd choice. The straps were razor thin, and even in the dark, Rose struggled to look away from her vampire’s soft cleavage. Half the buttons were unfastened, allowing more than a tasteful amount of bosom to spill out. The garter it came with clung to Rebecca’s waist tightly, and linked to a pair of see-through stockings running up her legs. To tie it all together, Rebecca went with a new pair of undergarments that Rose had gifted her only days ago. It was a cute pair of dainty lingerie with an adorable bow tie, and crimson stitching. 

      Rebecca just smirked as if Rose had asked her a dumb question, “cause I look damn fine in them!” The tone was very matter of fact. 

      Rose’s lip twitched, and she tongued her inner cheek in frustration. Now was not the time to get turned on. “Yes, but why?” She asked again.

      The overhead lights flared, and then slowly blossomed into a faint glow. Emergency generators struggled to restore them to their previous luster. Instead, the hallways cycled back and forth between pitched darkness, and eery shadow. 

      None of this seemed to concern Rebecca. “Hey, if we’re doing this, we’re doing it in style!” 

      “What are we doing?” Rose already knew the answer. 

      Rebecca was seething with rage, following the discovery of what was happening downstairs. Someone dared to interrupt their vacation, and she wasn’t going to let that slide. An ambience of raw power seemed to evaporate off the vampire’s pale skin, and her eyes glowed with a fierce potency. Rose’s blood fueled the vampire’s veins, and it made Rebecca’s skin feel warmer to the touch.

      Rose had only ever seen Rebecca like this once before, it was back on the cruise ship when Rose was in danger. There was something terrifying in Rebecca’s gaze, and something mesmerizing…even beautiful. 

      “Kicking ass!” Rebecca responded playfully. She flexed her right bicep as if to state her point. Her cheery disposition made Rose laugh, and briefly helped her forget about their current predicament.

      “But why are you wearing a corset?” Rose chuckled as she spoke again, while wiping away a tear from her eye. 

      Rebecca just sighed, brushed her bangs back, and chewed her lip. She then shot Rose a pleasant look. “You know it’s easier for me to mist out when I’m wearing less. Plus, I thought you’d like it.”

      “I do! But…” The sounds of muffled gun shots could be heard behind Rose’s voice. The noise was coming from several floors below, and suddenly, Rose felt very afraid.  

      Rebecca jerked to the side, and glanced down as well. For several seconds, the firefight seemed to go on, and on, before finally ending. 

      The duo stood there, half expecting the elevator to suddenly open behind them. Instead, there was only a thick layer of tension hidden in the shadows.

      Rebecca was the first to break the tension, “My corset…it gets you wet doesn’t it?”

      Rose just groaned, slumped forward, and leaned her head down. Her forehead found the base of Rebecca’s collarbone, and she could smell Rebecca’s natural musk mixed with orange perfume. Rebecca managed to hold her in place with both hands on her shoulders. 

      “We should get back to the room. What are we doing out here?” Rose grumbled.

      Just before Rebecca could answer, the door to the stairway opened.

      Rebecca twirled around quickly, “Hey Rosie, the corset does get you wet…doesn’t it?” Her voice yearned for an answer.

      Rose jumped behind her vampire. “Absolutely,” She whispered into Rebecca’s ear as they prepared to ambush whoever was about to emerge through the door.

      “And after this,” Rebecca chimed, “We’re definitely getting that puppy.”