“Come on, Madison, you’re a teacher, so tell me what a slut is.” Joshua demanded in a louder voice. That was the normal progression of events when he would ask an embarrassing or difficult question. The longer she took the higher his voice became.

“I believe, young man, that name is given to a woman who gives her affections too freely to men,” a deep voice said.

“Oh my,” Jill gasped in a sultry voice, a little too sensually for Madison’s sanity. That could not be a good sign.

“Who are you and why do you have a gun?” Joshua demanded.

“What?” Madison startled by the question jumped back, catching her wrist on something. “Ow!” Damn it, she cut herself. Thankfully the area was clean, well was before. Now it was covered in blood.

********

The scene that met him when he walked up the long driveway was amusing. A little boy ran around a piece of shit car, bouncing his ball and asking someone named Madison about sluts. He had to stop himself from chuckling. This Madison person was in a tight spot.

The next thing that caught his eye was a little girl dressed like a whore that reminded him of the light skirts that used to work the docks when he was a child. She wore too much make-up, too little clothing and had an air of experience around her. She wasn’t aware of him yet.

The last thing and the most important thing that hit him was the smell of a pure blood, virgin blood. He knew it wasn’t the little boy. Men, even little boys, never gave off that scent. That particular scent was saved for women. It was enticing and mouthwatering.

It had to be this little girl. She couldn’t be more than fifteen, maybe fourteen. He eyed the girl. Nope, this little girl was not a virgin. He wasn’t surprised. Things changed dramatically over the past century. According to the media it wasn’t popular or normal for teens to remain chaste until marriage or even adulthood.

Even if this young girl had been a virgin she would have been off limits. He didn’t eat where he lived and these children were clearly the grandchildren of his landlady. He remembered they were to arrive today, which is why he stopped off on the way home and picked up some more air fresheners for the bathroom. He also never fed off a child before. Never had and never would. Children were innocents in his eyes no matter their sexual experience.

That left this Madison, probably another child. She would be safe as well under his rules. He couldn’t remember the last time he fed off a virgin. Was it sixty years? Probably. He had one rule when it came to virgin woman, and that rule had not been needed in all these sixty years. He only took blood not her innocence. There were plenty of willing women for what his body needed. Christ how long had it been since he had a woman? December back in 1880 or the 1890's he thought. Sex became boring and useless. He never escaped his nightmares and never felt close to the woman. It always felt like he was f**king air.

“Come on, Madison, you’re a teacher so tell me what a slut is,” the little boy said impatiently.

He couldn’t help himself. He had to answer. “I believe young man that name is given to a woman who gives her affections too freely to men.”

“Oh my,” The little girl turned to look at him. She licked her lips invitingly. He was going to have to lock the connecting door at night to the main house. This was all he needed, he thought dryly.

“What?....Ow!” a woman’s voice said.

The smell of that virgin blood hit him hard. He stopped himself from stumbling back. That wasn’t the worse part. Hunger ripped through him viciously. That was odd since he just finished two bags of blood on the way home. He wasn’t hungry, but the smell of her blood was intoxicating.

At the moment he wanted her blood more than anything on this earth. Her blood screamed for him. His hands clenched tightly, stopping himself from attacking her in front of these two children. Get it under control! It didn’t matter what this girl looked like, he wanted her blood. He’d never felt this intense need before not even those twenty years he spent in Nichols’ dungeon.

His fangs descended. He learned long ago how to control his eyes, but it was a losing battle. He needed to get away from this woman whoever the hell she was.

He stepped back the same time a young woman, he guessed since he certainly couldn’t tell by the way she was dressed, stepped out from behind the front of the car and looked first at the little girl than at him while she was holding her wrist tightly. The sight of the “Ow,” Ephraim guessed.

She rolled her eyes in the direction of the little girl. “Jill, go on inside please and help Grandma with dinner.”

“But-“

“Go,” the woman said firmly. Ephraim studied the woman. He couldn’t discern her age, but he was sure that she was not a child. She wore an old baseball cap backwards and her face was smudged and dirty. He couldn’t really make out any features. The only thing he could make out on her face was her eyes. They were brown, but not normal brown. They were rather bright.

His eyes roamed down her body. She was figureless. She was probably also flat-chested by the looks of it and fat. He confirmed his opinion by her baggy pants. In his experience women wore large clothes to cover extra weight. The only thing attractive about this woman was her blood. If he didn’t get out of here soon he would find out if her blood tasted as good as it smelled.

“Are you a policeman?” the boy asked.

“Joshua, you’re being rude,” she chastised the boy. She turned to look at him and smiled. “I’m sorry. This is Joshua and I’m Madison.”

He nodded. His fangs were throbbing painfully in his mouth for a taste of her. “We just arrived today,” she said when he didn’t make any attempt to introduce himself.

Again he nodded.

“Well, who are you?” Joshua asked.

He only turned and walked away. If he didn’t go into the house now he would regret it.

“What’s your name?” Joshua yelled.

“Ephraim,” he answered without looking back.

He made his way to the back of the house and up the backstairs. It wasn’t until he dropped the small bag on his desk that he remembered that he was supposed to have a new neighbor.

“Shit.”

It was Madison. She would be close by to tempt him day and night.

He ran his hands through his short black hair. He could do this. He could live here with this woman. They only shared a bathroom. She would keep both doors locked. Any woman with sense would lock the door when she lived in a boarding house even if it was run by her grandmother.

Not that a locked door would stop him. He could push the door down with a pinky finger, but it would serve as a useful reminder to him that she was off limits. He didn’t want to leave. He was happy here. No one bothered him. He liked his job. He liked living in the boarding house. He didn’t want to have his own place. He liked the idea of being alone, but not alone.

No, he would suck it up and wait. She had a new job according to Mrs. Buckman. She would save up and move out. Most young woman wanted to be on their own. Yes, that was it. He just had to wait her out.

He shook his head and grabbed the air fresheners and headed for the bathroom. He opened the door and froze. What the hell happened to the bathroom? Did Mrs. Buckman have it remolded for her granddaughter? He knew she was anxious to have the young woman here but he didn’t know that she would go to this extent.