Casimir slept the rest of the daylight away and woke at dusk. Beryl's blood was already thin in his system, and his veins were aching with the need for more. He tucked a stake into one pocket and his pistol into the other then headed down the stairs.
The centaur wasn't at the desk, but there was a brass bell set up with a pull cord sitting in the middle of it. Casimir couldn't imagine himself daring to pull it, even if the hotel was on fire.
A quick look outside the door didn't reveal any of the blob monsters, and he couldn't hear any, either, so Casimir set out walking back to the Jewel Box. This time, there were two people on the porch: one seemingly human woman in a shimmering white wrap sitting in a chair, and another woman lying on a lounge, three bushy black tails with white tips twitching behind her black robe.
Casimir bowed to the fox demon. He didn't know what type she was, but given that they all loved mischief, it was smarter for him to be polite to her. She yawned, her bright yellow followed him into the building.
Adeline was in the foyer again, this time wearing a deep purple dress. "Hello again," she said, only glancing up from the datapad she was working on. "If you will give me just one moment, I'll send for Beryl for you."
"No, not Beryl. She was wonderful, but it wouldn't be safe for me to take her blood again when I just did last night."
Adeline smiled and finally gave him her attention. "That was what I was hoping to hear. I'm finished with this bill. Now let me just see who's free. I assume you prefer human?"
"Human blood is the only kind I can drink," he replied. "No disrespect to your lovely monsters. Speaking of, I noticed the fox demon outside. I'm amazed you're able to keep her working for you."
She responded with a very unladylike snort. "She comes and goes as it amuses her. She doesn't even ask to be paid; I think she only decides to work when she has nothing better to do. But she's very popular, so I can't begrudge her anything, even though she's only been here a few weeks."
After few swipes across the surface of the datapad, she slipped it into her pocket. "Ah, there we are. Take the hallway to your left and enter the second door. He will be with you shortly."
Casimir bowed his head in thanks and went where he was directed. This room, unlike Beryl's, was done in dark, sultry reds. An overstuffed sofa stood against one wall, and he sat down on it, sinking into the cushions.
It wasn't long before the young man that he'd seen last night entered, wearing the same red robe. He was tall and lean, with dark hair and eyes. "Welcome," he said, voice quiet but pleasant. "I'm Garnet, and I'm here to take care of you."
Casimir frowned. "I don't think this is a good idea. Don't get me wrong, you're beautiful, but your mistress told me that you were attacked by a vampire. I can't imagine that you'd want another one drinking from you."
Garnet flinched, his hands slipping into his long sleeves. "Don't worry, I'm sure I can handle it."
"I'm sure you can." Casimir stood and walked closer to Garnet; as he expected, Garnet took an involuntary step back. "But I'm not here to make you miserable. If it's something you're just going to find incredibly unpleasant, I'll ask for someone else."
Garnet bit his lip then asked, "You're not going to take a lot of blood, are you?"
"No, just a small amount," Casimir promised, watching Garnet's expression. Something about his face was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I think I'll be okay."
The gesture made Casimir realize who he looked like. "Do you know Mikki? Apparently he's a part-time guardian angel of this place."
Garnet's expression closed. "Why do you ask?"
"I just thought you looked something like him."
"That's not a surprise, considering that we… I'm Mikki's brother," he said, untying the belt of his robe and letting it slip down his shoulders. "How do you want me for this?"
It was as clear a subject change as Casimir had ever heard, so he didn't push. That explained why Mikki wouldn't work here, even as a guard. He mused on the idea that it might get Mikki and Garnet to start speaking again, but Mikki would be more likely to set him on fire than to let him play mediator.
"Lie down on the bed. I'm not taking a lot of blood, but you still might feel woozy." He preferred to have his donors come before, or during, the feeding, but he had a feeling that he'd pushed Garnet into "not in the mood" territory. He'd just have to be more gentle than usual.
When Garnet settled back against the pillows, Casimir sat beside him, stroking the curve of his cheek with the back of his hand. He bent to kiss Garnet's jaw, trailing down to his neck. He could feel Garnet's pulse under his lips, and it made his own heart rate increase.
He ached to bury his fangs into Garnet's pale throat, but Casimir forced himself to sit up, sliding his palms along Garnet's chest instead, making a pattern around his heart. Garnet's hand was in his hair then, and he bent to kiss his chin, careful not to bite.
Garnet's other hand was on his side, stroking its way down towards his hip, the shift of fabric against his skin like a caress of its own. When the slender fingers drew closer to his groin, Casimir finally took the hand in his, slipping his fingers through it.
Arranging both of Garnet's hands on his chest, Casimir pulled himself on the bed completely, his stomach against Garnet's side, looking over his chest and the flat plains of his stomach. He traced the dip in Garnet's abdomen, smiling when he felt the muscles contract under his touch.
Casimir could feel that Garnet's heart was beating a little harder now, and he took his face in his hand. "Where would you like me to kiss you?" he asked, trying to soften the idea of violence in the act.
Garnet bit his lip, running his fingers through Casimir's wavy hair. "I'd… I'd rather you cut me, if that's okay with you."
"That's fine." Casimir took the hand that wasn't in his hair and turned it palm up. "Talk slow, deep breaths, and close your eyes."
Nodding, Garnet closed his eyes and let his hands fall, taking a calming breath.
Casimir wasn't going to open all of the veins in his wrist; Garnet was pale enough that he could see the map of them as they traveled up into his hand. He murmured wordless reassurances, drawing the sharp edge of his thumbnail across the selected vein and quickly pressing his open mouth to it before any precious blood could spill.
The hot rush on his tongue never ceased to make his own heart beat faster, a warmth that flooded his limbs. He forced himself not to suck at the vein, or to take too much, but to just let the blood flow.
Garnet cried out and sat up, hand tight in Casimir's hair. His dark eyes were wide, and he was drawing sharp breaths.
Casimir hastily drew back, pressing a finger against the wound. "Do you want me to stop?"
Wordlessly, Garnet nodded.
"I'm just going to clean this up and close it." He ground his teeth at the feeling of hunger that still burned in his veins but pushed it down, holding it in check as he licked away a few fat drops of blood to close the wound.
After inhaling a slow, shaky breath, Garnet said, "… I'm sorry."
"It's all right." What the hell was Adeline thinking, sending a vampire attack victim to service a vampire? How could the outcome have possibly been pleasant to either of them?
Regaining his composure, Garnet slipped off of the bed and picked up his robe from the floor. "Would you like me to ask Miss Adeline to send you someone else?" he asked, the professionalism in his voice undercut by a tremor.
"I'll talk to her myself," Casimir said, getting to his feet. He touched Garnet on the shoulder, making him flinch again. "Don't worry. I'm not angry, and I'm not planning on getting you into trouble with your mistress."
"Thank you," Garnet murmured.
Casimir licked away every hint of coppery taste from his mouth while Garnet turned and left, his body still aching with emptiness. It could wait until he spoke to Adeline. Closing the door behind himself, he made his way down to the lobby. And stopped still.
A statuesque woman was lounging on one of the plush chairs, absently running her fingers through her short, blonde hair. She finally glanced Casimir's way, and both of her eyebrows went up.
Casimir exhaled through his nose, then cleared his throat. "Hello, Lilin."