1. The New Normal
Chapter 1
The New Normal
T he Canyon - Arizona
April 17, 2018
(4 Days Before Death)
Dolly opened her eyes. At first, she only saw colors. A vibrant array of drapery created a canopy of bands of silk over the bed. And again, the memory of the night of bliss she shared with Lucio went through her body.She had never felt so many pleasures with one man in her life.
“Dolly?” Her gaze drifted to the left. Startled, she shot up in bed and screamed. But even without looking, she knew Lucio lay next to her in his deep sleep.
“What the hell are you doing here, Charmaine?” Dolly asked.
Charmaine stood by the side of Dolly’s bed. She appeared in a desperate state to get Dolly’s attention. Her mouth moved as if she shouted at Dolly from a distance, though no sound reached her. Dolly blinked twice, confused. Charmaine kept with her urgent gestures toward the front of the tent, but her voice remained mute. To Dolly it felt as though someone had turned down the volume of the world.
“Am I dreaming?” Dolly asked aloud.
Charmaine nodded. She pointed again toward the tent’s entrance. Dolly reached for her friend, but her hand passed right through Charmaine’s form. She dissolved as if she were made of smoke. Dolly glanced over her shoulder at her lover. Lucio the master vampire, desired by many, enchanted by her only, lay still. His chest rose and fell in deep, undisturbed sleep. Did vampires sleep? Only his hand twitched faintly, as though he sensed her unease even in slumber.
Charmaine’s silent pleas pulled Dolly’s attention back. Her friend’s gestures became sharper, her mouth formulated words Dolly could not decipher. But there was no mistaking the panic in her eyes or the way she pointed at the front of the tent.
Dolly slipped out of bed, her bare feet brushing the cool floor. She stepped on Lucio’s linen shirt, pulling it over her naked body. The faint traces of blood from their earlier passion had dried on her skin, and she self-consciously touched the already healed mark on her neck. The thought that Charmaine might notice her disheveled state was ridiculous—this was just a dream, after all.
Charmaine moved toward the tent’s entrance, her figure beginning to flicker like a dimming with an eternal light. Compelled to follow, Dolly obeyed, though the confusion gnawed at her. Why was Charmaine appearing now, in her happiest moment, with such desperation?
Dolly stepped outside into the night. The humid air mixed with the cool breeze from the valley, wrapping her in a comforting warmth. Above her, stars stretched endlessly across the sky, the kind of beauty that made you pause and forget everything else. The igloo where she and Lucio had dined earlier shimmered under the moonlight, silver and otherworldly. Charmaine’s ghostly figure moved toward it; her body faded with every step until she was a wisp of herself.
When Charmaine reached the igloo, she stopped and pointed inside. Her lips moved soundlessly, but Dolly could read the shape of the words. “Dolly, help. Talk to her.”
Dolly turned back toward the tent, hoping Lucio might wake and call her back. But he hadn’t stirred, his silhouette still as stone in the faint light. When she looked back at Charmaine, her friend’s form had dissolved completely into a swirl of fireflies, twinkling as they were carried away by the canyon wind.
A chill settled over Dolly. The warmth of the night stripped away. She rubbed her arms to ward off the cold. Fear crept in where curiosity had been. For a moment, she longed to run back to Lucio, to bury herself in his embrace, to feel the intoxicating bliss of his bite with this dick inside of her. To let the world beyond them melt away.
But Charmaine’s plea wouldn’t let her go. Her heart pounded as she crossed the distance to the igloo and stepped inside.
At the table where she and Lucio had shared their meal, her sister, Darlene, sat and waited.
Dolly froze. The dream shifted, its edges sharpened into the unmistakable clarity of something more. This wasn’t a dream. Not anymore.
Darlene’s presence was both expected and utterly surreal. Dolly had always known they would face each other again—knew it in the marrow of her bones. But she hadn’t thought it would be like this.
“What do you want?” Dolly asked, her voice calm despite the anger that had built in her chest.
Darlene’s gaze dropped, not in submission but in barely contained rage. Her shoulders shook with the effort to hold herself together, and the pain radiating from her was palpable.
“He loves me, Darlene,” Dolly proclaimed. “He does. You must accept it. We’re soulmates.”
Darlene’s head snapped up. Though they shared the same face, the differences between them were stark—one bathed in light, the other shadowed in fury.
“Vampires don’t love,” Darlene said, her voice carried a mix of sorrow and fury. “Everything you feel. Everything he makes you believe—it’s all lies. I felt it too, Dolly. All of it. They drain you, not just of blood, but of everything—your hope, your magic, your life. That’s why I’m here. To kill them.”
Dolly shook her head, taking a step closer. “It won’t work. Whatever you’re trying to do, it won’t work on me. I’m not her anymore.”
Darlene stood; her fists clenched tight at her sides. “Not who? Not the girl who was so afraid of the world that I had to face the darkness alone. You think you know what’s out there? What he is? What he’ll let his father and brothers do to us?”
“He’s not our enemy, Darlene! You’re mad because he chose me! You don’t want to kill him—you want him back so you can punish him. But you’ll never let him go. And neither will I.”
Darlene’s body shuddered with suppressed rage, her voice a low, dangerous growl. “I feel it. You’re different now. I can’t break free. I don’t even know how I got here. But don’t mistake that for weakness.”
Her fists tightened; her voice rose like the wild winds surfacing a storm. “Understand this: I won’t rot in hell while you ride off into the sunset with your Vampire King. I chose him first, not for you—for me . And I’ll show you. I’ll show him . I’ll show him what pain is. He’ll make another choice next time he sees me.”
Smoke began to pour from Darlene, curling upward, dense and suffocating blackness. Dolly took a step back, but the igloo filled with it, the darkness closed in like a living thing.
Darlene’s voice became a scream, sharp and unrelenting, it burrowed into Dolly’s mind like invading parasites. The smoke swept up into Dolly’s nose, her mouth, her ears, it choked her, blinded her. She clawed at her face. She tried to cough it out. It was of no use.
Panic surged as she stumbled toward the exit, desperate for air, for escape. Darlene’s screams reverberated inside her skull, it split her thoughts apart. And then she realized—it wasn’t Darlene screaming. It was her.
If she didn’t fight, if she didn’t escape, Darlene would take her place.
“Dolly!”
Her eyes snapped open. Lucio stared down at her; his hands gripped her shoulders. His expression was wild with panic—a look she had never seen before, not even in their most dangerous moments. His eyes searched hers, for an explanation.
“Dolly? Is it you?” he asked. He stroked the side of her face.
“I... I…” she stammered. The words couldn’t form. Her thoughts clouded; memories swirled in fragments she couldn’t piece together.
“Safe word,” Lucio demanded, his tone was both sharp and urgent.
“Huh?” Dolly blinked up at him, confusion thick in her mind.
“Safe word!” he repeated.
“Glasses,” she finally managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper.
Lucio exhaled deeply; relief washed over him like a breaking tide. He pulled her into a kiss, then gently rolled her on top of him. Dolly went willingly. She let his touch ground her, his love chase away the remnants of the nightmare.
“I’m here. It’s okay,” Lucio murmured, and cradled her against his chest.
Tears spilled as she buried her face into him. “I saw Darlene,” she choked out, her voice breaking. “She’s back, Lucio. She’s trying to take control. She wants to kill everyone—even me…”
“It’s my fault,” he soothed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We knew this would happen.”
Dolly clung to him tighter, her body went cold with dread. She closed her eyes, desperate to shut out the memory of her sister, to escape the darkness that clawed at the edges of her mind. “I can’t keep fighting her, Lucio. I can’t fight her forever. Fighting to keep my body... my soul... it’s too much.”
“Then we don’t,” Lucio said softly, his voice steady with purpose. “You and Darlene have to unite.”
“What?” Dolly lifted her head from his chest, her tear-streaked face contorted in disbelief.
“Hear me out,” Lucio said, his gaze locked on hers. “Not like this—not one of you conquering the other. But there must be a way to bring you both together. To unite.”
Dolly pushed away from him. She sat upright. “No. You still don’t understand.”
Lucio caught her hand before she could pull too far away. “I understand more than you think. I understand that you are the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met. That you have something so many of us could never hope for.”
“What?” Dolly asked, she yanked her hand free.
“A chance,” Lucio said, his voice gentle but firm. “A chance to share a soul connection so pure, so naturally made, that you could have it all—the good and the bad. Dolly, you could have it all.”
“I don’t want it all, Lucio. If I take a chance, I want it to just be me. For once. Not the delusional version of me, not the complacent me, not the victim, not the shadow—just me. Why is that so hard for you to accept?” she asked.
“It’s not,” Lucio reasoned. “What we want and what we need are often two different things. That’s the way of the world. I want you, Dolly.”
“And her?” Dolly’s voice dropped, sharp and bitter. Her eyes locked onto his, searching for the truth. “Do you want her too?”
Lucio hesitated for a moment, his expression softening. “The truth?”
“Yes,” she demanded, her voice steely despite the quiver in it. “Do you want her?”
“I need you both,” Lucio admitted, his tone steady. “If that makes you angry, I’m sorry. But it’s the truth. I love you both, and I always will. Because if I don’t, if I can’t, I’ll never be worthy of you. That’s what your light is teaching me—what you’re healing in me.”
Dolly groaned in frustration. She turned away from him.
Lucio sat up, his lips brushed her shoulder. “I’m strong enough to love you, and only you. But I can also love the other part of you—the part that’s her. I will never leave you alone to bear that burden. I’ll help you carry it, fight it, face it. But what you must know, Dolly, is that you’re strong enough too.”
She turned back to him, her tears finally breaking free, and threw her arms around his neck. Lucio pulled her down with him. He whispered softly in her ear, his voice laced with a power she could feel but not name, coaxed her into a calm, peaceful sleep. His touch and presence wrapped around her like a protective shield, and for the first time in what felt like hours, she surrendered to the quiet.
Lucio stayed awake, his hand stroking her hair, his eyes fixed on the horizon. He waited for the sun, his resolve unshaken. Whatever was coming, he would face it—and he would protect her, no matter the cost.
Dolly woke again. This time she smiled out of the blissful sleep. Lucio kissed her and with a soft moan, she rolled him to his back, and he went willingly. She straddled his waist. The tent felt much warmer now. It was clear the early morning had arrived.
“Sleep well?” Lucio asked and put his hands behind his head. Dolly stared down at the handsome hard edges of his face and the magical gleam in his eyes. He was beautiful beyond comprehension. And his body seemed tailor-made for her.
“Sleep well?” Lucio asked again, this time with a hint of concern.
“Mmhmm,” she murmured. She put her hands flat on his chest and scooted down so that her sex was seated on his erection. That was another thing about her vampire lover. He was always hard and ready to go.
“Do vampires sleep?” Dolly asked as she stroked her hands up and over his chest to his shoulders.
“Yes, we sleep. You’ve seen me sleep. Not in the way you do. When we close our eyes, it’s more like a hibernation.”
“Do you sleep in coffins?” Dolly asked.
“No,” Lucio chuckled.“Well, some of us do, I think Sebastiano does, and father.”
“Where did that come from? Dracula, coffins?” Dolly asked.
“Well, Dracula is another name for the Draca.”
“Oooooh? Yeah, that makes sense.” Her eyes stretched.
“The rest came before… it’s a long story,” he yawned.
“Tell me! I want to know! This is so interesting. Like a scary story out in the woods, except we’re on a cliff all alone.” She kissed his chest.
Lucio chuckled.
“Before we vampires came out of the closet with the rest of the supernaturals and took our place at the top of the throne, we had to seek shelter and remain a secret. Walk amongst mortals and immortals unseen. In ancient times, graveyards were convenient hiding places. At one time, that’s where we hid,” said Lucio. “My father still practices some of the old traditions. He has never had any desire to see or be in the sun.”
“What does blood taste like?” she asked as she moved her hips to rub her pussy lips back and forth. The slow grind stirred more sexual heat than the fire of the beast within him. Lucio looked down at the lips of her sex and observed with keen interest. One of his diamond tip fangs biting down on the side of his lip.
“What does it taste like?” Dolly asked and rolled her neck in pleasure. The friction stimulated her clitoris nicely. Shockwaves of orgasmic spikes tingled and titillated her all at once. With her eyes closed she moved faster.
“Don’t ask me that, it’s not. It’s not something you want to know,” said Lucio.
“I want to know everything about you, Lucio. Everything that Darlene knows,” she moaned.He touched her hips and helped her rise several inches so his cock could reach her cunt. And slowly she went down on him.
“What does my pussy feel like? You're a vampire. It must feel different. Describe it to me, please,” Dolly said with a sexual groan raked over him as she moved up and down his cock, with her hands flat to his chest. Her ass bobbed with an increased throttle that pushed their sex harder and faster than he may have expected.
“The pleasure,” he groaned.
“What about it,” she asked.
“It’s so extreme it’s almost painful to resist. Like pouring a jar of salt over your favorite ice cream then letting temptation and greed force you to eat. To break through the bitterness to the sweetness,” Lucio wheezed.
“That’s weird,” Dolly panted.
“Your pussy is… it’s…”
“What? Say it,” she breathed. “Salty ice cream? Say it?”
“Perfect. Wet… liquid heat…. tight, flutters, then tight again…” Lucio panted.
“What else? Flutters?” Dolly giggled.
Lucio's emotions swam in a tide of sensations. Too many to verbalize. Too many to count. He pulled her up off his dick with a wet plop and a startled gasp. He turned her to her knees and positioned his cock from his sheer will to slide back into her from behind. Dolly choked out a laugh.
“You tell me! Tell me what this feels like,” Lucio grunted.
Lucio’s cock pulsed within her, strike after strike. She wondered if that’s what he meant about flutters. When he surged into her with increasing velocity, he grunted louder and louder. And then her power washed over him in a wave of singeing heat. It scorched through him with torturous pleasure. He didn’t hear her response. All he heard was the purr from his Draca, who dizzily fell back and gave him full control. His fangs retracted and the loving fragrant smell of her sex mixed in with her honey-sweet aura that enveloped him.
Dolly gripped the sheets. Her head was low, her hair so long now it lay across the bed. And her ass worked in constant swirls, driving him to go deeper. Despite her damp hair covering her face, she lifted it and could see through the strands. Darlene was back. How? Why? Darlene stood in the far-left corner of the tent. She watched them with tears on her face. Dolly closed her eyes and refused to believe she was there. She banished her from watching, but she knew if she opened them, Darlene would only re-appear.
Lucio’s fingers tweaked her clit, as his dick thrust in and out of her and drove spikes of pleasure mixed with pain through her pelvis. How the two could be so naughty and sweet confounded her. She didn’t care. It was what she wanted, and what he needed. When he fell on top of her, and peppered kisses to the back of her neck while loving her through his climax, she expected the bite to follow. She wanted it and was addicted to it by now. But he didn’t bite her. He loved her until her body quaked with aftershocks during his explosive release and drove her down, down into her own bliss.