Though her gaze remained fixed ahead, he could feel the focus of the blond's attention as she assessed him. His every instinct had been sharply honed in life, but it seemed that undeath had intensified that quality tenfold. Every fiber of his broad, massive being seemed to be in tune to his surroundings, every muscle coiled and ready to spring should the need arise. He was unaccustomed to new power, the new capability of his body...and the complete awareness that seemed to go along with it. He could practically feel the touch of her gaze on his flesh as she let it travel down his body. It had been quite a long time since he'd noticed the attentions of the fairer species. His build and genetics had always drawn the female eye, but he'd stopped taking notice of it early on when he was alive. His country had been his love, his wife. Of course, he'd taken other mistresses for the mere pleasures of the flesh...but he'd never been able to offer more than that. He'd pledged his very soul to Russia long ago...and he had been indisputably faithful. Death had stripped him of that entity in his life; had in fact taken all he'd known and loved and left him with an empty existence that included more questions than answers.
He was mildly surprised that the woman had caused him to become intrigued by her interest. Perhaps it was because she was different. Or maybe, it was because he had not enjoyed a female body is nearly a decade. Whatever the reason, she shifted something within him from across the distance. Outwardly, he gave not a single indication of the direction his thoughts were headed, save for the drop of his gaze as he allowed himself to survey her.
She was a curvy thing, ample at the breast and hip with a desirable, slender dip at the waist. He thought that the American term for her figure might be 'bombshell', though he'd never completely understood the slang of this culture. Whatever the term, Erich could not deny that the woman stirred some of his more primal instincts. Her features were angled and her flesh like porcelain...much like Cammie's had been. Except this stranger had long, tumbling blond locks, while Cammie's had been short. Interestingly, she had a sufficient amount of decoration adorning the bare flesh of her arms. He let his oddly hued gaze slip over the designs slowly, wondering briefly if each one in specific had a a meaning.
His attention shifted to Angelina as she set water down before him. Her scent hit him like a wrecking ball, and if not for his extraordinary ability to conceal his emotions behind the vacant exterior of his chiseled features, he would likely have terrified her. It had been a while since he'd been within such a close proximity of a human, and even longer since he'd been around a female human. They always had smelled somehow sweeter to him..and had always proved to be hard to resist. For a horrible moment, he thought he'd lose control; lunge across the bar and sink his fangs into the soft flesh of her neck and feed. To quell the sudden burning thirst she'd invoked. Even though the turmoil raged within him, the only indication he gave was a slight hardening of his oddly pale gaze. He managed to withstand the urge by reminding himself he'd once known this woman in life. She had a family...a child even, if his memory served him. He couldn't allow the monster within him loose.
"Much appreciated, Angelina." His smooth, husky voice was heavy with his Russian ancestry. As usual, his featured remained stoic, though the cold blue of his eyes warmed just a bit. "Time has been kind to you." And it had, in human terms. Though she'd aged a little, she was still the beauty he remembered from years ago. Her shock was so great it was nearly a tangible thing. "Surprised to have...a guest?" His cold stare didn't stray from her, though his head inclined ever so slightly in piqued curiosity.
The slide of the blond's glass as she pushed it forward drew his attention, though he did not look her way, even as her mind touched his answer. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he processed the information, faintly aware that he was unsurprised. This world was far deeper than humans knew. They so often went about their daily lives with no knowledge of the creatures that ran amongst them. Cascade had drawn the attention of his government because of the supposedly high concentration of the supernatural. Proof was all they needed, and Erich had been so close. After he'd been bitten, it felt as if someone had taken a blindfold off of him. His government had never even close to realizing just how much else was out there. That folklore such as vampires and werewolves should exist was crazy enough----but to find even mythology was truth as well? His superior would have never believed it. Yet here in this bar sat living proof.
"Hers is on me." He slid some bills across the bar, before finally leveling his gaze at the blond. He did so in time to catch the golden glow of her eyes begin to fade back to violet. His stare was hard and cold for a long moment before he picked up his water, the glass looking oddly small in his large hand. He rose and moved to settle his bulk near the woman, never taking his lethal gaze off of her. After setting his glass down, he rested his elbow on the surface of the bar. "It's more than that." He finally told her, unable to place exactly what it was about her that enticed him so thoroughly. "It is like a...how do you say? Live-wire?" He made a motion between them with a raised finger as if to indicate some invisible connection. Even though his English was far from perfect, drenched in his accent it still came out sounding dangerously appealing. "Why, do you think?"
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The scars inside don't heal
The pain no more can I feel
I'm callous, alone, but unafraid
For better or worse I've changed
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