Page 13 of I Dated a Golden Vampire (Blind Date Corporation #21)

S he got away from the islands and then pounded music through her com, and she started to dance. The sunset made the water that she danced through look like liquid fire.

She laughed and just enjoyed what she could do. Dolphins jumped through the concentric circles she generated. Whales sounded, and lichen began to glow under the surface. She spun around, danced, and pulled the water over her in glowing arcs.

When she finished her playlist, she started the slow glide back the way she had come. She was at peace. The anger and betrayal had been worn down to the point where she understood the situation, and she could return to the ship.

She made a call on her way back to the ship as she let her water platform drag her along.

If she was going to lose her virginity, she was going to do it on her terms, with the entire focus being on her. Zera talked to her and got her talking to Tirra. Tirra had also suffered a catastrophic accident and recovered to find a match that suited her.

They talked for the hour that it took to return to the ship. The gangplank was down, and ship travellers were walking onto the dock and heading for the shore, where businesses were lit up and sparkling along the sand.

She went to the far side of the ship and elevated herself to the deck. She walked to the stateroom, realizing she had lost her shoes. She smiled.

In her room, she washed the salt off and put on a new dress. She was hungry.

A message popped up on her com. Cabree asked her to join them on the shoreline for dinner.

She responded. “I am not really up for company.”

Cabree sighed. “ Please? Everyone will be on their best behaviour .”

“Is there food visible?”

“ Five minutes .”

“Fine. I will be there in five minutes, and I will be hungry. I don’t want to be touched.”

“ Understood. I reiterate. Everyone is on their best behaviour. ”

“Oh, can I use your account to get a tablet? I have to start studying.”

“ Sure. Hit the gift shop on the way to the walkway. A woman with a blue wrap will meet you at the bottom of the pier .”

“Okay. Five minutes.”

“ We will be here. ”

She brushed her hair and glanced at the soft grey dress that would help her blend in with the crowd. It also covered her from neck to toes, but that was her working things out.

She walked to the gift shop and got the nicest tablet they had available and linked her com to it. The study materials and written tests were available to her instantly. She had reading material for dinner.

She held the tablet and walked down the walkway, scanning off the ship. She saw the woman in the blue dress, but the woman was looking past her.

“Hello, are you looking for me?”

The woman looked at her and was disappointed. “I was looking for a woman in a red dress.”

“The dress had an accident. I am Pria.”

The woman smiled. “I am Ysell. Come with me.”

Pria pulled the tablet to her chest and followed the other woman. They walked through the bright and cheerful layer of businesses and paced to a quiet district that had families and people who were not catering to the ship.

Her stomach was alerting her that it was not fooling around. She blinked rapidly as her gaze started to identify edible things around her. Her hands were shaking, and she said, “How much further?”

Ysell smiled. “Not much further.”

She tapped a message to Cabree and asked her where she was.

Cabree said, “I am coming out to find you.”

“Hurry. Bring meat.”

From ahead of them, she saw Cabree, and Cabree walked toward her, holding a tray on one hip. Pria ran to her and skidded to her knees, pushing food into her mouth and ignoring the sharp teeth that cut her hands.

The meat on the tray was gone, and Pria was crouched and crying. She sobbed dry sobs and covered her face.

Cabree crouched. “Pria, what happened?”

“Burned too much energy.” She looked at Cabree.

“What happened to your eyes?”

“I got hungry. Grandma said it was a demon. That’s why my teeth got sharp.”

Cabree said, “Can I see?”

“I won’t bite.”

Cabree lifted her lip carefully and blinked. “Shark teeth?”

She shrugged. “They match the black eyes, I guess.”

“Your eyes are going silver again. How do you feel?”

“Better; good call on the platter.”

“It was Riro’s idea. He’s seen this before?”

“Yeah. Once. He tossed me into the ocean, and I ate most of a school of fish.”

“Raw?”

“It’s hard to light a fire under the surface. Yes, I ate them raw. Freshest sushi you can get.” She let out a soft laugh. “Right. Now that I have wrecked dinner and appalled Ysell, I will head back to the ship and study.”

“You haven’t wrecked it. Please come in and sit. Why can I smell blood?”

“I had a fight with a swordfish. It got first blood. Oh, shoot. It will mess up Denog.”

“No. He’s full. My blood lasts a while.”

Pria nodded. “Okay, but if shit gets weird, I am going to go back to the ship.”

Cabree helped her up and walked her into the restaurant.

She saw the spot that was empty, and it didn’t have an occupied vibe, so she sat on the mat, clutching the tablet. Riro was looking at her with concern, and Denog looked at her. “You smell like blood.”

“Fish-related injury,” she muttered and washed her hands and face.

Riro asked, “Did you try to pet a lionfish again?”

“No.”

“Your hands are chewed up.” He frowned and looked at her.

“Oh, that was me. I said I was hungry.”

“Oh, hells. That kind of hungry.”

She nodded. “Black eyes. Pointy teeth. Everyone around me looked very edible. Yeah. That.”

He sat up and started to push all the plates and platters toward her. She smiled when it was all meat. “Ah. You remember.”

He blinked slowly. “I definitely do. You were particularly brutal.”

“Well, you did chuck me into a shoal of fish, and I just did what nature requested.”

“I am amazed that I didn’t make the shark correlation before.”

“Why? You thought it was funny.” She loaded a leaf up, sat eating, and started playing the educational videos on an internal com. “I scared the crap out of Ysell, but she was distinctly unimpressed. I think that is why we took the scenic route.”

“My mother knew it was important to get you here fast.” He frowned.

“How long did it take me to get here? I have the time stamp on my purchase. It was fifteen minutes ago.”

He frowned and got up, walking outside.

She listened to different varieties of foreplay and blinked. She hadn’t considered half of those things arousing, but if she was with a partner intent on pleasing her, it might not have been a bad thing.

Cabree smiled. “What are you learning?”

“BDC orientation. I may as well go looking for someone who actually wants me.” She smiled. “If I don’t find someone, I can at least learn how my own body works so I am no longer dependent on other people.”

Cabree blinked. “But you are... uh...”

“Apparently, there are bidding systems for virgins who are compatible with certain activations. I am blocked off for Hyreno or Sethir, and that takes out a lot of candidates.”

Denog looked at her with a cocked head. “I can think of at least seven candidates for you. Your figure is spectacular, you have power, energy, and a sense of self-possession that doesn’t extend to sexual matters, which is a huge draw for a lot of males.”

She grimaced. “That is what Salat and Khytten said.”

Riro returned and looked irritated. “She wanted to show you some of the charms of the island. Having witnessed you taking down half a pig, she now considers that she was wrong.”

Pria shrugged. “I got what I needed. I am realizing that I need to insist on that. If I don’t get what I need, I just walk away.” She chuckled. “And if someone wants to play with me, they will have to pay.”

Riro stared. “What?”

Cabree didn’t say anything, but Denog smiled. “She’s going to sell her virginity on the BDC to anyone who isn’t Sethir or Hyreno and who meets compatibility.”

Pria shrugged. “That’s a summation. Accurate though.”

Riro was staring at her. “Pria, we need to talk.”

Pria looked at him. “Why?”

“I made a mistake.”

“Oh. Yes. Well, no. You made a choice. You were bored, you heard another couple having sex, you played, and when you had something better to do, you left.”

His eyes went wide. “That’s not—it wasn’t like that.”

“All I know is that the first time I let someone touch me, they got bored and left. Do you know what that did to my sense of self? That puts contact with me in the pity or nothing better to do category.”

She continued eating and then looked at him. “The next time I am with a male, I want his attention fully on me with an end set to our time so that I know when things are over.” She smiled. “No dismissals.”

She felt a twinge in her side and looked down to see a drop of blood visible. She ate the contents of her leaf and looked down again as the wound was getting larger.

“Master Roil, is there a restroom nearby? And a med kit?” She looked at him calmly.

He was pouting but nodded. “Down the hall and to the left.”

She got up, and blood began to drip on the matting. “I will clean that up later.”

Cabree stared. “Oh my god, Pria.”

Pria swayed and shrugged. “I must have busted my stitches.”

Hands grabbed her carefully, and Master Roil lifted her off her feet and set her on the floor. He tore the dress around the wound and muttered, “Fuck, Pria.”

She looked, and her stitches had let go. “Dang.”

“So, it went...” He rolled her to her side. “Straight fucking through. This needs surgery.”

“So, city on the other side of the island?”

“We have an excellent medic here.” He left her alone.

She had a full belly, she wasn’t in danger of drowning, and the world felt fluffy. Cabree stroked her cheek. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I was hungry. That was important.” She chuckled. “Did you know you are ovulating right now? I bet Denog did.”

Cabree blinked. “How could you tell?”