I tugged the tails of my shirt from my trousers. “Is this a way of connecting to your forest nature?”

“Not really. It’s about getting high and horny. You’ve been downing that ewe’s blood cocktail and I wanted to catch up. Haven’t you heard about the aphrodisiacal powers of ganja?”

“I have. Aren’t you afraid of a drug test at the hospital?”

“I’m a dryad. I could drink vinegar and pee chardonnay if I wanted to.”

I glanced at my wine.

“Don’t worry. That came from the liquor store.” Wendy aimed the blue flame of the lighter into the bowl. She sucked on the barrel of the bong and gurgled the water. The burning weed glowed orange. She held her breath and passed the bong to me.

I took a big hit and immediately coughed.

She exhaled a puff of smoke and giggled. “What the hell was that? Weren’t you in the army?”

“I haven’t gotten toasted since I’ve been a vampire.” I tried again, taking shallow breaths.

Wendy took the bong and inhaled several more hits. Her aura took on a creamy haze. It changed from green to yellow, then orange and finally red, like a human’s.

I blinked to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “What was that?”

“Marijuana, like a lot of other drugs, causes your spiritual center to shift from chakra to chakra.”

My own aura darkened from orange to red. My center of gravity sank from my chest to my groin, as if it were an elevator, going down. My head became light and a warm sensation swelled into my crotch.

Wendy watched and nodded. “I like what’s happening to you.”

And so did I. “But the yellow aura. The only time I’ve seen that before was when I questioned the nymphos under hypnosis.”

Wendy closed her eyes. Tendrils of smoke drifted from the corners of her smile. “Perhaps the nymphomania is rooted in spiritual displacement.”

My center of gravity floated upward into my torso. I set my hand on the floor to steady myself. My aura turned orange again. “Maybe there’s a level of psychic awareness between the planes that vampires and dryads occupy. A different type of supernatural. Not with an orange or a green aura, but yellow.”

Wendy grinned, her eyes remaining closed. “Hmmm. What could that be?”

She blew smoke rings and relaxed against a big cushion. Her aura changed again, like a liquid jewel turning different hues. Tiny rosebuds in all colors sprouted among the curls of her hair.

Was there no limit to her surprises? A euphoric numbness muted my senses. My heart matched the tempo of the music seeping through me. The sexual tension grew into a thirst I had to quench with her body.

Her hooded eyes pulled with a magnetic power. I set my arms alongside her head and lowered my face to kiss her. My orange aura curled through the air, like a flame.

The scent of a thousand blossoms swirled around us. Her warm lips found mine. I pushed away to reposition my hands so I could unbutton her blouse. The roses in her hair had grown into a crown. Wendy plucked a red blossom and fed it to me.

The petals disintegrated between my teeth, leaving a taste I could only describe as a mood. Passion. “If this is what grew from your head, I’m wondering what’s waiting between your legs.”

She nipped my chin. “You’ll have to pluck that one yourself.”

Wendy peeled off her blouse and revealed small, enticing breasts. She wrapped her arms around me and whispered. “Did you bring protection?”

The question broke the mood as it always does. “You’re supernatural, why would you need protection?”

Wendy relaxed against the cushion and propped up on an elbow. “Because there’s lots of nasty bugs that even I can’t defend myself against. No offense to you. The only souvenirs I want from this afternoon are good memories.” She pointed to an end table. “There’s protection in there.”

Awkwardly, trying to act both nonchalant and romantic about looking for condoms, I opened the drawer, looked inside, and hesitated. “Don’t take this wrong, but there might be a problem.”

Wendy shimmied out of her jeans and red bikini panties. “Aren’t there any?”

I lifted a packet. “Oh, there’s plenty. Problem is, they’re all supermagnum triple-extra-large.”

Wendy raised an eyebrow. “And the problem?”

“There’s no problem for me but I don’t mean to disappoint…”

“Oh,” Wendy gasped, “I get what you mean. Those were from an old boyfriend. He was big down there, really big. Whew.” She held her hands apart as if she were describing a trophy catch. “The guy belonged in a zoo.”

“Thanks for sharing.” Nothing like the mention of an old flame and his humongous wanger to cool my ardor, even if I am a vampire. “Was he a supernatural, too?”

Wendy took the condom and dropped it back into the drawer. “No, human. He was an intern from the hospital. It was purely physical.”

Physical. Like that was supposed to make me feel better. I was a vampire, a notorious king of seduction. How the hell was I being upstaged by a mortal?

Wendy rummaged in the drawer and found a regular-sized condom. “After a while the novelty wore off, and we called it quits. No big deal. Except for that, I mean. A penis that size was quite a find. Made for some great visuals in the mirror.”

Oh, trample my ego some more. My orange aura sizzled with jealousy at the image of Wendy gleefully impaling herself on that meat missile.

Wendy sprawled her naked body across the cushions and hugged me. “Why don’t you direct some of that emotion in my direction and give me a good banging? Where’s this Latin machismo I’ve heard so much about? And you’re a vampire. My first. You should have me pinned to the floor already.”

She rubbed her neck against my face. The sensation of her blood surging through juicy veins only millimeters beneath her skin inflamed my desire. My fangs grew. I’d show her a vampire.

We rolled on the cushions to smooch and fumble until I was naked too.

“Fang me,” she groaned and arched her neck back.

I dragged the tips of my elongated incisors against the tender skin of her throat. I’d pierce her skin but not drink the blood.

Wendy’s aura flashed bright, like an alarm. Finally I had her libido on full burner. She would forget all about Moby Dick.

She pushed me off and sat up. The roses scattered from her hair. “Someone’s at the back door.”

Wooden steps creaked faintly. So it wasn’t my prowess that had set off her aura. Could it be vânätori de vampir?

Adrenaline pumped into my muscles and prepared me for a fight. I yanked my trousers on, stood, and went through the kitchen to the back door. Suddenly modest, Wendy pulled on her blouse and crept behind me.

The silhouette of a man darkened the curtain on the door. He raised an arm.

I pushed Wendy back. Our feet tangled, and we toppled over.

The window glass exploded. A clay jar on a kitchen shelf shattered and sprayed us with flour.

A gloved hand reached through the broken window and fumbled with the doorknob.

I rolled away from Wendy. She placed her hands and feet against the wall and climbed up. I sprang to the ceiling, attempting to cling and haul my body upward where I could surprise the attacker from above.

But my fingertips couldn’t hold and I dropped to the floor. This vampire power failed me again. Instead I crouched, my legs flexed and readied to propel me forward. My fangs jutted out. I’d strike at his face, blind him, and then rip open his throat. Gun or no gun, our attacker was about to die.

The door lock released. The door swung open.