Close Your Eyes || Closed

@ salander.
Vladimir looked over at her, he swallowed and closed his eyes again. "No, stay, please. Don't go." He murmured and pulled her on top of him, his arms around her tightly again. "Stay with me, forever my dear Calliope." He said softly and nestle his face into her neck as he let out a deep breath. One hand moved to her face and he held it gently. "Don't frown. It's okay, it's all okay." He told her and a large smile spread across his lips. "I just, I'm not used to this. Whatever it is. I'm also not used to whatever feeling I have right now. And it's weird to me." He lashed and looked down up at her shaking a laugh off. "It's so dangerous. I'm sure you know. The unknown is so dangerous in both of our lives. It can lead to death. But this unknown feels so good and so rest and so amazing. I want it. I want it all." He told her and bit his lip. His eyes sparkled as he looked into her eyes. "You are all I want." He said and took a deep breath before laying his head back and sighing happily. Vladimir felt a lot better after he got all of that off his chest. He hoped it didn't come back to bite him, but his gut feeling told him Calliope was in this with him.

Vladimir opened his eyes again and he looked up at her. He worried about this not only for the danger it presented to her. This could ruin her career or get her killed. But to him as well, any bad thing that were to happen to him from this would most certainly end in death, from his fellow vampires, or from another hunter sent to take them both out, he shook his head clear of those thought. But more soon deeper into his mind, she kept making jokes about her mortal life and he wasn't a fan of it. Of course he'd never turn someone who didn't want to be turned. But he also didn't want her to grow old without him. Vladimir's eyes shifted to Calliope's face as he thought. "I feel as though we should be doing something productive." He said with a teasing grin. "And instead here we are growing old as we just lay here." He said with a tease as his lips met hers for a brief moment. "If you have to go out, will you at least return tonight?" He asked, a part of him hoped she could stay, the other was instantaneously thinking of ways he could surprise her tonight.

(I'm so sorry it's so short I've gotta get my laptop back, please bare wth me)

@ BadStreetBoys
Calliope’s gaze darted over to Vlad as he spoke, brow furrowing even more. She was confused as to why she was feeling this way, why she was so concerned with what and how he was feeling. Any other person and she would only be concerned with herself, but Vlad, it turns out, was beginning to be much different than any other man she’d invited into her bed or had invited her into theirs. “Well,” she started softly, fingertips brushing through his hair once more, “I can’t promise forever…but I’ll try.” This was like her own mortality staring her in the face. The man beside her wouldn’t age, wouldn’t go grey, wouldn’t have gravity take it’s told on his muscles or skeleton. Where if she got to the point where she even started aging, she would be considered a lucky hunter. A heavy sigh left her, wondering where whatever they had would be heading and how long it could last. “Neither am I, Vlad,” she told him with a shake of her head, “it’s actually terrifying that anyone could make me feel this way, let alone a vampire.” Running her tongue over her lips, she propped her head up on her hand, eyes darting over him slowly as he continued to speak.

“I think half of the reason I feel this way about you is because it is so dangerous…but in some crazily controllable way,” she said, eyes darting between both of his. “I’m not saying that putting either of us in danger is necessarily a good thing. It’s just…different.” A heavy sigh left her and she pulled her lips between her teeth as he continued to speak. She honestly didn’t know what to say to that, having never been told by someone who genuinely seemed to mean it. Instead of speaking, she leaned over and pressed her lips softly to his for a moment before pulling away. She was literally putting her career at stake for him and, knowing what she did about certain world powers and their governments, no doubt she’d end up dead if they ever found out about this. Pushing the negative thoughts from her mind, a wily grin curled her lips at his next comment. “Well, I’m currently turning oxygen into carbon dioxide, my heart is currently pumping blood through my veins, my brain is firing off little electrical impulses…” Her eyes trailed over him. “My body is actually doing something productive, I’d say.”

“And no, you’re not growing old. I am. I will end up either dying early or getting all grey and wrinkly and you will still look like some sculpted perfection,” she added with a poignant look. She let out a soft laugh as she pushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, sighing softly as he pressed his lips to hers. When he questioned her, her eyes darting between both of his. “Yes, I’ll come back. I probably should go soon, check in with a few officials and let them know that…while I didn’t necessary kill her, there are probably still ashes of a dead vampire up in my suite,” she told him with a nod.

[That's alright. My last few replies have been on my phone too. It's all good.]

@ salander.
Vlad sighed softly as he stared up at Calliope. He bit his lip as his mind raced and he thought about the reality of what this was more and more. "What do you know about the, build, for lack of a better word, about vampires? Like do you know why we don't age, we can only die by certain means, and why we have such super human abilities?" He asked quietly, taking one of her hands in his own, lacing their fingers. Vlad paused a moment and pressed his lips to hers. "When a vampire bites someone, with the intent to turn, we release venom. The venom destroys a lot of your blood cells, the majority anyways. Then takes over the rents of them, removing all the oxygen from the cells, and replacing them with whatever chemical the venom is. That's one reason we're so pale, much less blood. That's also why we're cold and we don't bleed out, because we don't necessarily need our blood because the venom is in each cell, but the majority stays in the blood. So if we do bleed it's backed by the rest of it. But this venom also makes it so. We don't need oxygen, oxygen is what tires humans out, like it tires your muscle so out and such. That's one reason we can do so much more. It heightens our immune system ten fold, so disease won't kill us. And it has healing properties which also keeps us safe. No oxygen no aging either. But yea. I didn't know if you knew that. Oxygen kills." He said with a wink, taking a few deep breaths before looking at her again.

"I don't want you to die." He said quietly, his eyes locking with hers before he plunged his lips against hers. Vladimir wanted to hide his feelings, because he knew right now he'd start being over emotional and he thought this would be a way of hiding it. His lips moved slow and safely against hers, and his hands held her face against his own, though they were gentle against her skin. He broke the kiss and his eyes were almost sad and watery, but he shook it off and gave her a smile. "Okay, you can say it was you, they won't know how she died. You can take my car if you want, well one of them." He told her and let go of calliope as he started getting up. "I'm gonna have a surprise here for you when you come back." He said with a grin. Vladimir walked over to his dresser and pulled on a pair of boxers. He walked over to her and helped her up. When the couple wa standing he pulled her close to him again. "You're so fucking beautiful. Go kick ass tonight you fucking badass." He said and kissed her for a moment before taking her bottom lip between his teeth and then pulling away. "Do you want my cell number for the day?" He asked.

Vladimir walked away from her as he grabbed up her clothing before handing it to her and placing some on the bed. He wanted this to seem as normal as possible. So he acted like this was normal, like it was some kind of relationship. Vladimir then walked to his dresser, which he had left open, and began to get dressed. He wore simple clothes today. His attire included black jeans, a white button up, a black overtop, and a very large gold watch. "If you don't want my car I'll bring you back to the hotel." He offered with a soft smile. Vladimir felt as though he was rushing things but at the moment he wanted to ignore everything in his mind. He wanted to see how this would go, and to be alone to collect his thoughts. Vladimir, whenever he did get frustrated in his own mind, had to work to keep his mind off of things. He worked and worked to think, and to ignore. He was also quiet, and frantic when he was frustrated, which he was doing a terrible job at hiding. "Lets go dear." He said and headed downstairs, before sighing and realizing he had three stair wells and she would get lost in his house. And he returned upstairs to wait outside his bedroom for her. "I'll give you a tour later, I promise."

Calliope stared intently over at Vladimir as he questioned her, her brow furrowed slightly and her eyes flickered over him. “I know enough,” she replied quietly. Her knowledge of vampires seemed extensive. She knew about the different kind of bites, spare the love bite that Vlad had shed some light on for her. She knew they didn’t age and were impervious to a lot of stuff. As he threaded his fingers through hers, she offered him a slight smile, though it fell quickly as he began to speak. She hung on his every word, interested in hearing about what made vampires, vampires straight from one. The hunter knew well about venom and how that this was a bite she would never receive, at least not if she had any say about it. Calliope knew the turning process to be a painful one; the body for all intents and purposes dying and continuing on with this venom as blood. Her brows lifted slightly in surprise when he mentioned the bit about oxygen, lips curling into one of those smirks of hers. “Maybe that’s why I smoke as much as I do,” she told him jokingly, a soft laugh leaving her after she spoke.

The smirk fell at his next comment, not knowing what to tell him to make it seem okay. She was human. She would end up dying eventually. As his mouth fell back against hers, she kissed him back deeply, as if this was the only way she knew how to communicate with him, to let him know she didn’t intend on dying anytime soon. A soft sigh left her as she shifted closer to him, hands slipping up to rest on his chest before he broke the kiss. The look he wore had a frown pulling at her lips for a moment before her expression smoothed out to one of neutrality. Her eyes followed him as he got up, perking up a bit as he mentioned taking one of his cars. “You must really trust me, huh?” She quipped, a broad grin curling her lips as she stared up at him. Her cheery expression only furthered at his next comment. “Like a gift?” She asked, head tilting to the side curiously. Her eyes flickered over at him as he pulled on a pair of boxers, bottom lip tucked between her teeth. She allowed herself to be guided to her feet by him, arching into his body when he pulled her close. A broad smile lit up her features at his comment and she kissed him back as his lips met hers once more. At the feel of her bottom lip between his teeth, she let out a soft breathless noise, eyes fluttering open once he’d pulled away.

“Your number might actually be nice to have for more than a day, Vlad,” she told him with a shrug of her shoulders. “You know, in case I get any itches I need scratching or want to be your donor for some odd reason,” she added with a smirk. She immediately began to dress herself as he handed her some, knowing she’d have to change before going to meet with the few government officials she had contact with. Once she was done dressing, her eyes flickered over to him, taking in his apparel for a moment before a grin curled her lips. “No, I’ll borrow whatever car you feel comfortable with me driving,” she told him with a smirk. She wrapped her scarf back on and watched as Vlad led the room, knowing that she probably would take a while to figure out where to go to get out of his home. Especially since he’d rushed her through when they’d arrived. When he appeared in the doorway, she gave a soft laugh. “You better!” She commanded playfully as she walked over to him, stopping just beside him. “And you’d better introduce me to this cat of yours too. It’s honestly the only reason I wanted to come here anyways,” she jested, shooting him a wink as she stepped past him and started down the stairs.

@ BadStreetBoys

@ salander.
Vladimir rolled his eyes at her sarcastic comments. "Well you can keep the number for as long as you want." He teased. "Either of those situations would warrant an immediate response because they're very important." He said matter-of-factly. Vladimir wondered if she ever would let him feed off of her, not that he needed it, but he wanted to see what her reaction would be. It would not be a normal experience, though what experience for either of them was normal. He took her hand in his as they walked through his house. "Take the black one I think it matches your personality most out of all of the cars." He said and gave her a kiss on the head as they reached the bottom floor. He reached into his pocket and took the keys out, dropping them into her other hand. Vladimir rolled his eyes at her comments and gave her a smile. "I will I will, after your surprise. And that will happen in due time, she's. a nervous girl sometimes so once your scent has been in the house for a little while she will voluntarily come out of hiding. But I could drag her but out earlier." He said and stopped at the door to the garage p. "If you get pulled over don't go in the glove compartment because that hasn't my stuff in it, go in the little thing between the seats, that's the fake paperwork for the car. Yes I'm paranoid." He said with a chuckle and pulled Callioe back to him as he gave her one last deep kiss. "Message me when you're he coming back here, so I'll be ready. Have a good day babe." He said and grinned slightly, opening the door for her.

Vladimir watches Calliope off, before turning and heading back inside. He had a plan in his mind and he was set on achieving it. He went to his kitchen and got the keys for his red car before going out with it. He slipped into the drivers seat and put on some sunglasses, speeding towards the middle of the city. His first stop, was a flower shop. He got two dozen red roses, and a dozen black ones. Vlad stared at the flowers, weighing heather or not Calliope would enjoy them. He decided against it, paid, and left for the next store. One of his old friends owned a trade shop, wood, leather, metal, all the good stuff. He headed over and talked to his buddy about different gifts he could get for Calliope, running his tongue along his lips as he inspected each. He decided on a thick bracelet. It was a dark leather, and had adjustable strings, the Bracelet also had words engraved on the inside, but he would translate for her later. After he packed it in a just as nice leather box, Vladimir headed off to his last stop for the day. He stopped at the local grocery store, in which had all the finest ingredients, the freshest. Vladimir wandered the store looking for the perfect couples dinner tonight. He picked up two small steaks, a pound of scallops, baby carrots, a few pounds of potatoes, an array of spices, and a red wine that he hadn't spiked with blood because he was sure Calliope wouldn't enjoy that. Proud of himself Vladimir headed out to the car. He headed back to his mansion, about half way there he sighed as he began to truly feel hungry again, even having eaten the day before, he decided to stop juts outside of town and extinguish the feeling before he needed to. Vladimir always picked on those in the countryside, less people to worry about catching him. He took out someone else from the farmers family he had gone to a few days before, though he left the wife in the field of corn because he didn't need a reaction out of Calliope this time.

Vladimir arrived at his house and decided to get to work. He was making tonight the most romantic night he could think of for Calliope. He had had a few romantic nights before but this was different. He went to the closet in his kitchen and picked out an array of candles and littered them throughout the house, he also made a line of them from his first door, leading to the the back door, and out to his hot tub. Here he surrounded it with some more candles. Vladimir also took each petal off of the red roses he had, and made the same trail from door to hot tub, them sprinkled the rest on his bed. Vladimir spent about twenty minutes looking for the perfect vase for the black rose she he got for her. After the time he decided on a skinny and tall navy base, that had been handle blown in the early 1900's with painting on the vase, the scene of what appeared to be a vampire turning someone. He brought out a small black table and stood it besides his hot tub, and placed the roses in the middle. He also put her bracelet in front of the vase. Vladimir, proud with the set up so far, started cooking their dinner. He cooked his steak rare, and hers medium, rubbing them with every spice he had bought. He mashed the potatoes, making a garlic butter for them. He braised the carrots in a brown sugar glaze, and seared the scallops in a butter sauce, and played them to be perfectly even. His lips spread into a huge grin as he brought the two plates out, setting them on opposite sides of the table. Vladimir went though his house and lit each candle, smirking slightly. "This is so dangerous." He commented. He went upstairs and looked for the perfect outfit. He decide do on a simple white buttoned up, and his swimming shorts that perfectly fit his sculpted legs, thighs, and butt, and threw on his red bow tie. Vladimir thought that Calliope would appreciate all of this. He sent her a text Hey beautiful, when you get here you'll know exactly where to go, see you soon Vlad got two champagne glasses, but filled them with an aged whiskey, that fit the couple much more than champagne, he knew that. He headed outside and turned on the hot tub, jets and all, sitting outside of it, his feet dangling in. He held the two glasses as he waited for Calliope to get back and surprise her. He turned on the song Love me Like You Do Bye Ellie Goulding.

@ BadStreetBoys
Calliope weighed the keys of the vehicle in her palm, looking down at them for a moment before a wicked grin curled her lips. This was going to be fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she drove a car that had decent horsepower. With long strides, she carried herself to the garage and found the black car, slipping into the driver’s seat easily. Before she left the garage, she adjusted the seat and mirrors to her liking, not wanting to wreck Vlad’s vehicle. She didn’t think he’d forgive her for that one. Once she considered herself ready, she shoved the key into the ignition and turned over the engine. It roared to life and she let out a sigh, leaning back into the seat as her hands reached out to grip the wheel. Her foot found the pedal and she was soon speeding out of the garage and out into the open road. Thankfully, she’d been paying attention to the route that Vlad had taken from her hotel, so she figured that getting back to her penthouse wouldn’t be too difficult for her.

She pulled up to the valet and tossed him the keys, grinning broadly at the look of surprise on his features at the car she was driving. The hunter sauntered back into the hotel, still grinning at everyone she passed. On her way in, she passed by a gentleman in a black trench coat who seemed to be very occupied with what she was doing. Her grin fell slightly as she glanced over to him, eyes cutting into him for a brief moment as she tried to figure him out. Instead of worrying to much about him, she merely shook her head and continued to the elevators. She was lucky to snag one to herself and swiped her card for the top floor. The elevator carried her quickly to her floor and she soon found herself back into her penthouse suite. The thing her eyes immediately went to was the pile of ashes on the floor that still hadn’t been touched. She’d have to call her special room service for that. Walking over to the landline phone in the room, she picked it up and dialed a specific number she’d be given for instances like this. When the person on the other end picked up, she said, speaking in Russian, “I need to make a dinner reservation for one.” There was a slight pause on the other end before the phone clicked and went to the dial tone once more.

A sigh left her as she went back to her room and checked her phone for messages, since she hadn’t really had time to look at them with Vlad being around. She did trust him, but there was no telling what kind of messages she’d received. The less Vlad knew about her hunter business, the better. Not because she didn’t want him to know, she just knew that certain things were secret and it could be dangerous if he knew more than necessary. A few of the messages were from a few hunter pals just checking in. One was from a Russian official requesting that she be at a meeting as soon as she could pull herself away from work. With a heavy sigh, she grudgingly got herself dressed up in more business appropriate attire, restyling her ponytail, and throwing on a bit of makeup, but mainly focusing on covering up the bruising that colored her face.

The meeting lasted far too long for Calliope, but she knew there was nothing much she could do. She decided that she was going to drive straight from the meeting back to Vlad’s and just as she was walking back to the car he lent her, her phone vibrated with a text. She read over it a few times, mouth pulling up at the corners slightly as she unlocked the car and slipped into the driver’s seat. Hey there yourself. I’m heading that way now. She typed up the text and sent it before cranking over the engine once more and speeding off toward Vlad’s house. While she would have preferred her mind to have been on what surprise Vlad had for her, she was thinking of the subject matter of the meeting. The government had been expecting her to have killed more vampires by now. Now that they were having killings or bodies found out in the open, they seemed more desperate than ever to see results. The pressure was on and she was trying to figure out how she was going to still be able to get her job done while still being able to see Vlad.

When she cracked open the door, her brows lifted at the sight of rose petals and candles. It was apparent from the beginning that he’d gone through great lengths to make this surprise something special. Calliope remember the last time someone had done something like this for her; and she didn’t even know if there was more to this. She followed the trail of petals and candles through the house and to another outside door. Opening this once, she was met with the site of a hot tub, soft music playing, and Vlad in a button up and swim trunks with his feet in the water. She immediately burst into laughter, clearly amused by all of this. “You’re going to ruin that shirt if you get chlorine on it, you know,” she told him with a soft laugh, catching sight of the vase, black roses, and the bracelet. Her expression grew serious for a moment as she walked over to it, more curious than anything and turned the bracelet over in her hands. “Vlad…” She started softly before lifting her gaze to his, fingers holding onto the leather piece of jewelry tightly. “You’ve gone through a lot of work for this and…” Her voice trailed off again as she dragged her tongue across her lips, thinking of what she could say. A small smile curled her lips before she returned her gaze back to him. “Thank you,” she said softly, knowing that she wasn’t too good with words when it came to this sort of thing.

@ salander.
Vladimir was excited when Calliope said she was on her way, and he was patient, he did have forever to wait, but for this he just wanted to see her face. He heard his door open and bit his lip as he waited for her to see him. When she walked through the door he climbed out and made his way closer to her. "The shirt is just to look nice, I'm taking it off before don't worry." He murmured and handed her one of the glasses of whiskey. Vladimir smiled as she looked over the table he set up, biting his lip as he waited for a reaction from her. He was content with her response, knowing just how she felt, that this was different, but in a good kind of way. "You're welcome." He murmured again and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a kiss. "The inside is an older dialect of Russian, not very common anymore. So in case you can't translate, it reads, Till the End of All Times." He said and pulled away before taking a sip of his drink. "You look good, have a meeting or something?" He asked as Vladimir walked over to the table and pulled out calliope's chair. He proceeded to get both bottles of wine, and a bottle of whiskey to place on the table. "So don't drink the wine on the left. I got you your own bottle." He said with a small chuckle.

Vladimir sat at the table across from Calliope and smiled contently. "So it's braised baby carrots, garlic mashed potatoes, spice rubbed steak, and butter seared scallops." He said and grinned over at her. "I used to be a terrible cook. But over a hundred years of practice I was bound to get better damn it." He said as he began to cut into his steak. "I'm like Gordon Ramsay good now. If I do say so myself." He commented with a shrug of his shoulders, reaching out and grabbing his wine, pouring a glass, and setting it back down. Then he proceeded to take a sip. Vladimir ate a bit before his eyes shifted back up to Calliope. "Do you like it? I tried to get only the best ingredients so that it would be good." He said mad leaned back in his chair as he looked back inside. "I'm going to have to remember to get all those candles." He murmured to himself, his eyes shifting back to meet hers, and his lips spreading into a smile.

Vladimir truly hoped that calliope liked and appreciated his efforts. He had put work into it, he wasn't sure if this was the right move or not. He had felt like this before. Vladimir believed to himself that his lack of affection over the past half a century was leading to him clinging to this affection. He had built up his ice cold wall, and slept with people without making a true connection for years. But now he lost that, he'd slept with Calliope, but for some reason they connected and now here he wAs. He had let down his wall, and let down his guard. He was putting effort into whatever they were. His mind raced about the possibilities of how this would end. But it focused on all the bad. He didn't think it would end good for either of them, it only time would tell. His eyes shifted to Calliope again and he smiled to himself, looking down and beginning to eat again. He knew sooner or later she would have to spend the majority of her time hunting. Of all people he certainly knew that the Russian government was a cold and unforgiving one, if she wasn't producing they wouldn't need or want her. He didn't want her to go, but he also didn't want them to come after her. He had a thing for not killing powerful people but he wouldn't hesitate if they went after her.

@ BadStreetBoys
Calliope studied the script on the inside of the bracelet, eyes lifting to meet his as he translated it for her. A soft sigh left her as her bottom lip worried its way between her teeth. This gift was far different than the other gifts she’d been given by anyone else. It simple and probably not as expensive, but the saying on the inside meant more. She offered him a kind smile as she draped it over her wrist and tightened it into place. She took a hefty sip of the glass, brows lifting slightly at the taste of whiskey instead of the wine or champagne she had been expecting. A soft laugh left her as she shook her head; for only knowing her just a few days, Vlad seemed to know her well that most people she’d been friends with for the longest time. “I did have a meeting actually. It wasn’t necessarily fun, but…what meetings are?” She said with a shrug of her shoulder. She managed to mask the feeling of dread she felt creeping up on her at the reminder of the grim meeting she’d had.

Her thoughts were broke by his run down of the dinner he’d cooked for them and a bright grin curled her lips as she studied what was laid before them. “Even without practice, you’d probably be bounds better than I am,” she joked, a soft laugh leaving her at the comment about Gordon Ramsey. She took a seat at the one that he pulled out for her, taking another sip of her whiskey as she glanced over her plate. Setting her glass aside, she took a sip of the red wine instead, grinning to herself before tucking into her meal. He wasn’t lying, it had been expertly cooked and she found herself barely stopping to eat to take a sip of any drink she had before her. Her gaze lifted from the plate before her, brows lifted slightly at his question.”It’s better than the meal we had last night, if I’m honest, she told him with a crooked grin. She reached out to take another sip of her wine, sighing softly as she paced it aside. “Yes. I’m a hunter…not a firefighter,” she told him before a wry grin curled her lips. “Aren’t you vampires supposed to be terrified of open flames? Candles aside, of course.”

Once she’d cleared the majority of the food from her plate, she set her cutlery aside and leaned back in her chair. She’d finished her glass of wine and was working on finishing off her whiskey as well. “Thank you, Vlad,” she told him honestly. “This is probably one of the nicest things I can ever remember anyone doing for me, “ she added before taking a sip of her whiskey. She was halfway tempted to tell him about what her meeting had been about, but she decide that she didn’t want to ruin the moment they were having with something so serious. The bad news could wait until morning, she’d decided as she looked over what she could see of Vlad. Without a word, she placed her glass aside and began to slowly strip out of her clothes and toes out of her shoes until she was left in a black pair of bra and panties. She shot a glance over her shoulder as she grabbed her glass from the table. Tipping her head toward the hot tub in invitation, she shot him a smirk before stepping over to the hot tub and slipping into the warm, bubbling water. She sunk underneath the water up to her neck, letting out a heavy sigh as she relaxed completely, holding her glass of whiskey skillfully above the water.

@ salander.
Vladimir looked up at Calliope and grinned softly. "Well I'm sure you are better than I was before, trust me, I could burn water." He said with a small chuckle. His eyes stayed on her as she started to eat, and once he was satisfied that she seemed to enjoy it they left to look at his plate as he began to eat as well. Vladimir leaned back in his seat, taking his glass of wine and sipping it, giving his food time to settle before he began to eat again, clearing off the plate easily. "Really?" He asked softly, a broad smile coming to his features. "I didn't think it was that good, but thank you Calliope." He said and gently touched the back of her hand. When Calliope responded to his mumbling to himself he looked up and chuckled softly. "Vampires are also supposedly allergic to garlic yet I used it in three things on this plate. And here I am, still somewhat alive." He said shrugging. "There's a lot of things people say about vampires that aren't true. Garlic, fire, religion." He looked up as he thought. "I can't think of others at the moment. But yea, I think it's the stories people told of like staking a vampire with a cross and that stuck, like oh vampires fear religion. Bullshit, some of my great friends are very high up, bishops, cardinals, very good men." He said and shook his head.

Vladimir finished his food and pushed the plate away from him, refilling his wine glass. His eyes were caught by Calliope and widened just slightly. Before a grin spread on his lips, and he watched as she stripped. Vladimir licked his lips, taking off his shirt and tie before following her. He sunk into the hot tub besides her. He put his drink on the small table besides his hot tub. "You're welcome, my dear Calliope." He murmured and kissed her head. "I'm glad you liked it, " he said and put an arm around her shoulders and he leaned back in the water. "I fucking love this thing for so many reasons." He commented and looked down at her. Vlad tilted his head back and let out a sound of pleasure as he sunk deeper into the hot bu, just up to his neck. He sat back up and the water rose just to his chest. He glanced over at Calliope and grinned as he watched her in the hot tub.

Vladimir enjoyed the hot tub for a while before he slowly began to climb out. "You can stay here for a little bit if you want I'm gonna put out the candles and bring the dishes to the kitchen. But I'll be back after so we can go up to my room, beautiful." He murmured as he dried himself off, wrapping the towel around his waist, he grabbed their plates, and began to bring them inside. When he passed candles he would blow them out. Vlad stuck the dishes all into the sink and filled it with water, but he had no intent of doing the, tonight. Wandering back to the front of the house he finished blowing out the candles. When that was done Vladimir walked back to the door that lead outside. "Ready to go upstairs?" He asked and walked over to the hot tub, he grabbed the second towel and held it out for Calliope. "You know, for a human you have the best damn body." He teased and licked his lips as his eyes surveyed her body. When Calliope was ready, he took her hand and led Calliope up to the bedroom.

@ BadStreetBoys
“It’s better because you made it, instead of some man in some kitchen barking out orders to everyone,” Calliope explained with a small grin as she took another sip of her whiskey. She lifted a brow as he jested about what vampires were and weren’t susceptible to and she gave a small shrug of her shoulders. “You can pretty much kill anything with fire though, Vlad,” she told him before a wily grin curled her lips. “You mean to tell me there are some churches run by vampires? That’s kind of ironic, don’t you think?” Calliope mused with the tilt of her head. She shifted a bit so a few of the jets of the hot tub pressed a bit more directly onto a few sore spots on her back. Her eyes slipped shut for a moment as her head tipped back, body relaxing even more as it acclimated itself to the near scalding water of the hot tub. She cracked open an eye to glance over to Vlad as he slipped into the water beside her. A small smile pulled at the edges of her lips before her eyes slipped shut once more as she rested her head on his shoulder for a moment.

Calliope took a sip of her whiskey, careful not to spill any of it into the water, as he mind ran over what they were going to make of this…attachment that was growing between the two of them. She knew better, knowing that attachments made her vulnerable, slowed her down, and gave her reason to doubt or second guess herself during a hunt. Her thoughts were broken by the sound Vlad made as he slipped deeper into the water, cracking open her eye once more to shoot him a look with a raised brow. A low hum left her, clearly amused by the noise before she rested her head back against the side of the hot tub once more. When Vlad began to climb out, she sat up and watched him closely, nodding a bit when he mentioned she could stay a bit longer while he tidied up. “Oh, I won’t be going anywhere,” she murmured with a broad grin and a soft laugh.

Her eyes slipped over him as he draped a towel around his waist, taking in the pale expanse of back that faced her as her mind wandered back to what exactly they were going to do. By just how hard the government was pressing her for results, she knew that an option would be to push him away—to keep him safe and keep the powers that be happy. However, he knew who she was working with. There was always a chance he could understand and they could agree to see each other when she was given the opportunity. As Vlad left her in the hot tub to her thoughts, she knocked back the rest of her whiskey without a wince, setting the glass aside as she ran a damp hand over her had. A heavy sigh left her as she squeezed her eyes shut, whatever she decided, she’d give herself tonight. She deserved that much. When Vlad came back, she forced on a smile and forced herself to forget about the dark places her thoughts had gone. “Sure,” she answered, slipping out of the hot tub and over to the towel that Vlad held out for her. She wrapped it up under her armpits and tucked the end in to secure it. A smirk crossed her lips at his comment and she shrugged a bit. “I work hard on it. I fight vampires on a daily basis,” she said simply, allowing her hand to be taken and to be led up the stairs. “I have to be able to combat strength with strength. There’s no other way,” she continued, shaking her head a bit. She shot him a smile over her shoulder. “But the compliments are nice. Let’s me know my hard work isn’t just for survival’s sake.”

@ salander.
Hey I’m back if you want to continue this at some point? If you want an explanation I’ll give one too

@ salander.
“You are correct with that, dear Calliope. But I just meant in general we don’t quake with fear in front of fire. I’d be a bit disappointed if that’s how you chose to kill me. No fun in fire, for either party.” He said and flashed a grin at her before closing his eyes again and sighing softly to himself. He enjoyed the warmth of the hot tub, and the feel of her besides him. “Ironic? How so?” He pauses and glanced over again. “I mean, not all vampire kill humans. Some do kill animals, it’s just less sustaining. Some we’re religious befor they were turned and wanted to continue. Others found religion after the dark ages and wanted to make it better. And some use it to cope with being alive for the rest of time.” He explained and slid his hand onto her thigh. “I just can’t get past something meant for mortals. If there was a god, I wouldn’t exist. But then again, if a god does exist. I’m glad he let me meet you.” Vlad teaser and closed his eyes again.

Vlad looked at Calliope and could tell she was thinking, but he let it go. He was thinking too. He knew this was a dangerous pairing, whatever it was. It was like playing with fire. She should have been killing him, he should have been killing her. He knew she had a job, he knew the Russian government wouldn’t let her leave without accomplishing something, and he knew that his ‘kids’ were in danger. But maybe they could compromise. He had no idea how, but it was possible. Vlad grinned back and nodded at her comment as he trotted off to the kitchen.

Vlad cleaned the house up enough to not leave a mess, but also left much ot because he just wanted to spend some time again with Calliope. He wanted to forget the dreadful thoughts plaguing his mind and focus on the girl he was going to have in his bed. “Hard work does pay off, and pays off nicely on you.” He purred, grabbing her towel and pulling Calliope to him. Vladimir pressed his lips firmly to hers and kissed his way doen to her neck before pulled away and grinning. “Not too many people get me as lustful as you.” He teased as he led her upstairs. Once in his bedroom, Vlad shut the door behind them and dropped his towel, going to a dresser and finding a pair of boxers to slide on. “Did you bring anything or need something of mine to wear?” He asked turning around to look at her. Vlad strode across the room and stood close to Calliope. “Or you could wear nothing, no objections to that.” He said and licked his lips.

“You haven’t made enough progress, Ms. De Vries.”

“We are growing impatient.”

“We have you on camera leaving several establishments with an unknown man. This is not a vacation. You are here for work.”

“If we do not see a reduction in the vampires that plague St. Petersburg, our contract with you will come to an end…and you’ll be kicked out of the country for good.”

It was safe to say that Calliope’s last meeting with the Russian officials that had asked her to come exterminate the vampires of the city hadn’t gone well at all. Their disappointed looks toward her and harsh words were all that she could think about as she trekked the way back to her hotel. The sky was a dismal grey color and tiny flecks of snow were falling around her. It would be nightfall soon and the vampire hunter would have to double down on her efforts to rid the city of the leeches that were making a feast on the innocent people who lived there.

But then there was her feelings for Vlad to consider. He wasn’t terrible as far as vampires went. Sure, she hadn’t actually seen him feed in front of her(though she was 100% sure he’d left the body for her to find in the marketplace). Vlad made her realize that these vampires, some of them at least, were just trying to survive. They were the same as her, the same as the politicians who’d contacted her in the first place. Aside from the crazed few that killed for fun, what made them different?

Her footsteps had slowed to a stop as her thoughts and anxieties overwhelmed her and her gaze focused blankly on the pavement beneath her feet.

Calliope decided she couldn’t fail, not even for a vampire that she’d gotten more attached to than she should have. She’d have to break things off, maybe beg him to leave the city. Then the slaying would have to begin.

@ salander.
Vladimir had become quite attached to the woman he should have been fighting off, the woman he should have killed the moment he found out who she was. Though, if they were planning on going that route she should have killed him too. But the man didn’t think she would be able to overcome him, had he put his true effort into the fight. Truth be told the man was not planning on fighting his dear Calliope. If she decided he had to die, not only would he feel betrayed, but he would simply flee. The man couldn’t bring himself to hurt her due to their, well his, attachment.

Vladimir had almost gotten used to having Calliope around, something he hadn’t done in years. A routine involving another person was not on his list of things to do. Because routines got you killed and so did feelings. He had long stopped denying his feelings for the woman, though. He wasn’t actively admitting them to her, but he wasn’t denying them to himself anymore. If she asked, he would tell her. But they both knew neither was really a feelings type of person and so they avoided those conversations.

The couple ignored the soft intimacy, and would dive straight into the harder stuff every night. Vlad enjoyed taking Calliope to bed, or joining her in hers. It kept him on his toes. They were both able to dominate one another and it drove him wild.

Vlad knew calliope had her meeting with some of the city officials today, wondering how that had gone. She hadn’t gotten back to him yet, and even though they were not a couple and he didn’t need to worry. He did. Vladimir took it upon himself to go find her. They hadn’t planned a next date or next sex session, but he didn’t think she would mind if he stopped by. Vladimir didn’t feel like driving and drawing more attention to himself so he walked. He made his way towards her hotel. A smirk spread across the man’s face as he saw her walking, deciding on having a little fun.

Vlad made his way down the sidewalk, through alleyways and between buildings. Getting as close to Calliope as he could before he popped out, one hand moving to her shoulder. He stood behind her and was prepared to duck in case she decided to fight him. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous for young women to be out walking alone this time of day, my dead Calliope.” Vladimir teased with a smirk on his face.

The bitter wind that pressed against her, causing her to shove her hands deeper into the pockets of her woolen duster in an attempt to save what little warmth she felt. Calliope was growing colder by the minute, and it wasn’t just the weather than was chilling her. The uncharted territory of starting the closest thing she’s had to a relationship was daunting enough, but the fact that she’d just so happened to fall into it with a vampire made it far worse. What kind of twisted, fucked up Shakespearian story did she find herself in?

What would she do, if not hunt vampires? It was all she knew. She was too far deep into it to get out. It wasn’t just the government officials she had to worry about offing her if she stepped down from vampire-hunting, it was other vampires figuring out she’d grown “soft” and take advantage of her absence. A “normal” life wasn’t something that Calliope could have and she felt remarkably stupid and small for her lapse of judgement.

Bowing her head against the breeze, she knew she had just a few more blocks to go until she reached her hotel. The warmth of her suite sounded nice, but she knew she’d more than likely be back out into the elements as soon as night completely fell. She only hoped that her worry and anxiety toward this whole debacle didn’t distract her from any frays she may find herself in. The stake in the hidden breast pocket of her pressed poignantly against the side of her ribs as she shrugged her shoulders closer to her ears.

She heard footsteps approaching her above the whipping, whistling wind and was immediately put on edge. A hand fell heavy on her shoulder and she immediately spun, taking a step back to put some distance between her and whoever had touched her. With wide eyes, she took in Vlad with a set jaw and a hard sort of look in her eyes. Looks like she was going to have to have a talk with him sooner rather than later. She barely recognized what he’d said, but his words had caused her stomach to drop. Calliope should have killed him the first night they’d spent together. But she didn’t want to and the foreign feeling caused an uneasy tightness in her chest that couldn’t be explained by the cold.

Slowly, she shook her head, clearly not in the mood for banter as she stared up at him. “Vlad,” she breathed, her voice thin and trembling, vapors rising from mouth as she let out steady exhales. She suddenly was overcome by a feeling of cowardice and the words she wanted to say stuck somewhere in her throat. “I can’t do this,” she whispered, more to herself than him. “If you were smart, you’d get out of the city. Tonight.” She shot him a look heavy with unsaid words before turning, starting back toward the hotel.

@ salander.
I never got your reply, idk if you’re active or not but I’d love to continue, on here or on discord or somewhere else if you prefer!