Unnatural Appetites (18+) REVISING

Pleasure Never Comes at a Price

Cordelia kept her word too. For every human body they threw to one side once they'd emptied it of blood, Cordelia found Eve plentiful and fantastic food. Eve had never known hunger like it. She'd drink someone's blood and not long after, her stomach rumbled loudly.

Cordelia guided her to restaurants, cafes and food markets and looked on with pride as Eve grabbed hold of food. She never held back, and they attracted stares, the woman with the ferocious appetite who seldom bothered with a knife or fork, mouth opening as wide as possible so she could take huge bites. Her lover would dip a finger in the plate, scooping up bits of cream or sauce, and press it to Eve's mouth. Out darted her tongue, circling the finger until it was clean.

They shocked diners all over London.

The capital presented a wealth of opportunities. There were vagrants a plenty, men and women wandering the streets, forgotten about or ignored by their families and whose records in various social service systems were not up to date. Who noticed if they vanished one night as two female vampires emerged from the shadows? Mouths open, eyes bright and glittering, Cordelia and Eve pounced.

When Eve's conscience stirred, something that ebbed and flowed, noisier afterwards once those appetites had been satisfied, Cordelia said she chose the useless and unworthy, doing her bit for the human gene pool by removing those with nothing to add.

They took it in turns to bite first. As an older vampire, Cordelia had more will power around blood. She found it easy enough to stop herself before she drained a body dry. She would start to suck and then she would thrust the dying man or the woman at her partner. Attaching her lips to the spot Cordelia had just vacated turned every bit of her on. Eve kept her eyes on Cordelia as her mouth formed a suction cup on their victim's neck.

Cordelia's eyes sparkled. "Keep going, go on, don't stop..."

Afterwards, Eve pushed Cordelia up against the wall, usually a dingy brick wall in an alleyway overcrowded with bins. She saved up the last mouthful of blood for Cordelia, a gift of hot, salty loveliness. Fingers still bloody, she caressed Cordelia's breasts before sliding her hands downwards, easing her way between her lover's legs. Blood, it seemed, made the perfect lubricant. Cordelia shuddered as Eve's fingers alternately tickled her clitoris and thrust upwards into her vagina. It only ever took her seconds to come.

And then once they'd cleaned themselves up, it was off to a Michelin-starred restaurant. Cordelia would order her the entire taster menu and Eve would eat it all, her girlfriend gazing at her as she sipped on vintage champagne. To the outsider, it must look as if they were two women with eating disorders—the one a binge eater, stuffing down vast quantities of food in record time, and the other a border-line anorexic, watching her friend eat as she stared at her, huge-eyed.

Ha!

All good things must end. They'd stayed at the hotel in London doing the same thing, hunting every few days or so for months. A body's worth of blood lasted a vampire a long time. Restaurant trips and visits to markets always followed the hunt. Cordelia had left Eve in the room one morning, sleeping off two bodies and a five-course meal, when she returned, her expression serious.

"We need to get out of here," she announced, taking off her wide-brimmed hat and pulling a suitcase from the wardrobe. She pulled clothes from hangers and flung them in the suitcase.

"What's happened?" Eve struggled to wake up. She always slept deeply after a binge.

"The Argist Academy."

"The Argist Academy?" Eve heard the capitals and pronounced the name with gravitas.

Cordelia opened drawers, tipping out their contents. Out tumbled scarves, corsets, underwired bras, stockings and tights.