Chapter 5. The stranger

Love had not sensed the vampire approach, the suddenness of which caused her body to jolt a little in shock, she almost reached for her hip where her holster would ordinarily sit. But then, remembering where she was, she vaguely registered that the strange vampire had just asked her a question. She glanced back towards Elora who had somehow managed to already have struck up a flirty conversation with a young man with tousled blonde hair and perfect white teeth. As such she had yet to notice the new arrival, and it was down to Love to answer on her own. 

Before doing so, she studied his appearance swiftly. Most notably, she realised that she was having to look up to see his face, he was very tall with broad shoulders and wavy black hair that had obviously been styled so that it intentionally fell softly into his striking green eyes. His skin was smooth and flawless, appearing paler against his dark hair and straight black brows. Every feature was singularly perfect, from the almond shape of his eyes to his square jaw and full lips. 

But his face, although painfully beautiful, was too still and oddly unsettling in its inhuman perfection, with eyes that seemed to shine with a cold, cruel light illuminated under the spotlights.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, the vampire suddenly broke into a blinding smile that caused her heart to stutter and gestured towards the barman.

"I said, what would you like to drink? It's on me." He repeated, a little louder this time.

Once again his deep voice cut cleanly through the sound of the music, and Love's eyes widened further. She opened her mouth to respond but felt as though she had been frozen inside a block of ice. 

The vampire's smile dropped slightly but a wide grin was still plastered across his pale face, and his green eyes seemed to twinkle with playful curiosity. 

Bizarrely, he then proceeded to lean his elbow against the side of the bar and gestured towards his ear and mouth with his other hand, mouthing the words, Can. You. Hear. Me? Slowly and deliberately as if he were shouting them over the music. 

Was he…mocking her?

Love thawed in an instant as his now smug looking expression tugged at a small thread of irritation at the back of her mind. 

She turned her head away from his too perfect face and her grey eyes cooled. 

"I can hear you just fine, and no thank you. We can buy our own drinks." She made little effort to raise her voice, knowing that the vampire would be able to hone in on the sound with little effort. 

His grin widened, but he respectfully held up his hands and turned his face back towards the bartender.

Seeming to suddenly notice the tall vampire with a jolt of barely concealed panic, the bartender rushed over to take his order. 

"I'm sorry Sir, I didn't see you there, what can I get you?" Love noticed that the vampire inclined his head towards the other as if he were giving a slight bow. 

Her eyebrows raised slightly at this strange display, but she also felt a little irked. She and her friend had been next in line and the tall stranger had only just appeared. 

Just as she was about to open her mouth to protest, the clear voice rang out again. 

"Ah, don't serve me yet Vincent, these two were next in line. Oh! And be sure not to charge them both." The stranger inclined his head towards Love and winked in her direction, the infuriating smirk still plastered on his face, and Love's face twitched in annoyance.

This seemed to have a very different effect on Elora however, who had at that moment turned back towards Love and caught the handsome vampire smiling and winking in their direction. 

Comically, her smile instantly dropped from her now crimson face, and she almost slid off from the barstool entirely. 

As Love reached out to steady her, Elora gripped her arm firmly and leaned in to hiss loudly into her ear. 

"Love, who the hell is that absolute God of a man, and why is he buying us drinks?" Elora exclaimed over the top of the music.

Love winced at the volume of her voice and peered to the side, where the man was now once again leaning against the bar, wearing a distinctly smug expression.

'Of course she had to compliment him like that, he looks so full of himself' Love thought.

"Tsk, just ignore him El, hopefully he'll leave soon." Love tutted and threw an icy glare at the vampire that would have turned a weaker man into stone, but instead he had one hand placed over his mouth as his shoulders shook in obvious mirth.

The bartender, whose name was supposedly Vincent, watched this exchange silently, visible shock was written across his handsome face. To be so dismissive and borderline rude to this particular vampire would be an unthinkable, and likely final, act for any other. So why was this plain human woman still standing there with her head attached?

Looking into her calm grey eyes, as if he would find the answer there, it took Vincent a moment to realise that she had given him her drink order. Clearing his throat he apologised and asked her to repeat it, and then proceeded to fill the order with the same inhuman celerity that Love had witnessed when they first approached.

He passed the drinks over the bar to the two women and bowed slightly, desperate to cover all bases in front of the other vampire's watchful gaze. 

However, in his haste to turn back and take the order from this man, Vincent had made a slight miscalculation and had placed Love's glass slightly on top of the towel that he had been draping over his shoulder between orders. Reaching for this towel now he pulled it towards him at that same inhuman speed, and Love's glass proceeded to topple over sharply, smashing onto the top of the bar. 

Shards of thin glass shot across the polished surface at the sharp impact and Love was just a moment too slow to react. As Elora jumped back from the scene, Love's hand still rested on the bartop. As she moved to pull it back a single shard struck its side, embedding itself slightly.

Love inhaled sharply but otherwise did not think much of the small glass shard. Without much thought, she nonchalantly plucked it out from the side of her hand where a tiny well of blood pooled beneath the surface.

A single drop fell from her hand.

**