Vampire Fears

He stopped her hand as she reached for the bedside lamp, fingers biting into her wrist. “Leave it on.” She shrugged, though she preferred cloaking darkness. The relief in his eyes morphed into inky hunger. She gathered her long hennaed hair off her neck and turned her head away. His fingers smoothed the last tendrils from her scarred skin, sending a tremor of fear and desire down her spine. She closed her eyes; she could have that much privacy. After, he lay sated next to her, as relaxed as he ever got, and she dared to ask. “No, of course I’m not afraid of the dark. That would be foolish. It’s the monster under the bed.” Her friends would laugh when she told them that. She dozed then, lethargic from blood loss. She didn’t notice when he left, turning out the light, didn’t notice until cold clammy fingers gripped her ankle.