Chapter 105: Red Wine*
The steakhouse was tucked into a narrow side street near the Colosseum.
Clara slid into the booth across from Lucian, her eyes scanning the menu with genuine interest. Since turning into a vampire, normal food had become mostly tasteless — except meat. Steak still worked. Everything else was like chewing cardboard.
"I’m getting the ribeye," she said.
"Same."
They ordered. Two rare ribeyes.
When the steaks arrived, Clara cut into hers with almost vicious enthusiasm. Pink juice ran across the plate. She took a bite and her eyes closed.
"God, I missed real food."
"You eat meat every day at the house."
"It hits different when someone else cooks it."
Lucian ate slowly, savoring what little flavor his dulled tastebuds could pick up. The steak was good. Not that he could fully appreciate it anymore.
When they’d finished, Lucian reached into his jacket and set a dark glass bottle on the table.
Clara looked at it. "What’s that?"
"Try it."
He pulled the cork and poured two glasses. The liquid was deep red — darker than normal wine, almost black at the center, with a faint crimson glow when the light hit it right.
Clara picked up her glass. The moment it was near her nose, her eyes changed. Her pupils dilated. Her nostrils flared.
"Lucian." Her voice dropped. "There’s blood in this."
"Just a hint. Take a sip."
She raised an eyebrow but brought the glass to her lips. The wine touched her tongue and something shifted in her expression — a softening, a relief, like a thirst she hadn’t fully acknowledged was suddenly being quieted.
"What is this?"
Lucian leaned back, a faint smirk on his face. "After watching my master brew tea for three months, I had an idea. I took midnight rose petals, crushed shadowberries, fermented date palm extract, a pinch of iron salt, and mixed it with blood."
Clara stared at him.
"It’s wine," Lucian said. "For vampires. The fermented base masks the blood taste enough that it feels like drinking wine, but the blood content satisfies the thirst. Not fully — you’d still need direct feeding for that — but it takes the edge off."
Clara took another sip. She closed her eyes.
"Lucian."
"Hm?"
"You have to make more of this for me."
"I figured."
She drank half the glass in one go. A faint flush crept up her pale neck — the closest thing a vampire could get to looking tipsy.
"The shadowberries give it that slight bitterness," she murmured, swirling the glass. "And the date palm adds sweetness. It’s actually good."
"It’s better than good. It’s the only thing besides meat that I can actually taste."
Clara finished her glass and poured another. Lucian watched her with quiet amusement.
They stayed at the steakhouse for another hour. Clara drank most of the bottle. By the time they left, she was leaning into Lucian’s side, her steps slightly unsteady, a lazy smile on her face.
"You’re lightweight," Lucian said.
"Shut up. Vampire wine hits different."
"You got drunk even to the wine Ryan made."
They walked through the Roman streets.
Clara tugged Lucian’s arm toward a hotel.
"Book a room."
"We have rooms at our hotel."
"I don’t want to go back yet." She looked up at him, her blue eyes half-lidded. "I want you. Now."
Lucian sighed. "You’re drunk on vampire wine."
"I’m horny. There’s a difference."
She pulled him through the hotel doors.
The room was simple. A bed. A bathroom. Dim warm lighting.
The door barely closed behind them before Clara grabbed the front of Lucian’s shirt and pulled him down.
Their lips met.
Mwah.
The kiss was immediate and hungry. Clara’s mouth opened against his, her tongue finding his, tasting the lingering shadowberry wine on his lips. Lucian’s hands found her waist, pulling her closer until her body pressed flush against his.
Mwah. Smack. Mwah.
Clara’s fingers worked at the buttons of his shirt — tearing two of them off. Lucian pulled her top over her head in one smooth motion as he quickly removed her bra underneath. Her breasts were full and pale, nipples already hard in the cool air.
Lucian’s mouth went to her neck. Kisses turned to bites — gentle, careful, his fangs grazing her skin without breaking it. Clara tilted her head back, a soft ahhh escaping her lips.
"Kael..."
His hands found her breasts. Cupped them. His thumbs brushed over her nipples, and Clara gasped.
"Aaahnn—"
She pushed his shirt off his shoulders. Her hands ran down his chest, his abs, her fingers tracing the lines of muscle. She found his belt and yanked it open. His trousers dropped. Her hand wrapped around his dick through his underwear — already hard, straining against the fabric.
"Fuck, you’re so hard already," she breathed.
Lucian unzipped her skirt and let it fall. She wore nothing underneath. Her pussy was already glistening — pink and wet.
Clara pushed him onto the bed and climbed on top of him. She kissed him again — deep, desperate — then started kissing down his jaw, his neck, his chest, his stomach. Lower.
She pulled his underwear down. His dick sprang free — thick, long, throbbing, the tip already slick with precum.
Clara wrapped her fingers around the base and stroked slowly. Up. Down. Up. Down.
"Aahhn..." Lucian groaned.
She leaned down and ran her tongue along the underside of his shaft from base to tip. Lucian’s hips twitched.
"You like that?"
"Clara—"
She took the tip into her mouth. Her tongue swirled around the head — slow, deliberate circles — then she took more of him, her lips stretching around his girth.
Schlop. Schlop. Schlop.
The wet sounds filled the room. Clara’s head bobbed up and down, taking him deeper with each stroke. Her hand worked the base in rhythm with her mouth. Lucian’s fingers tangled in her blonde hair.
"Aah— fuck— Clara— nngh—"
She pulled off with a wet pop, strings of saliva connecting her lips to his dick. She looked up at him with hazy blue eyes.
"My turn."
She swung her body around, positioning herself above his face, her pussy hovering inches from his mouth. She leaned forward and took his dick back into her mouth.
Lucian grabbed her hips and pulled her down. His tongue found her clit as he licked.
"Aaaahhhh—" Clara moaned around his dick, the vibration sending shivers up his spine.
He licked again. Faster. Then he sucked her clit into his mouth and flicked his tongue across it rapidly.
"*Aahhn— nngh— Kael— ahhh—"
Clara’s mouth moved faster on his dick. Schlop. Schlop. Schlop. She took him deep, her throat tightening around the head, then pulled back to gasp for air before taking him again.
Lucian pushed his tongue inside her. Her walls clenched around it — hot, wet, tight. He fucked her with his tongue while his thumb rubbed her clit in circles.
"AAAHHHN— I’m— I’m cumming— aaahhh—"
Clara’s whole body shuddered. Her thighs clamped around Lucian’s head. Her moans became muffled screams around his dick as she came — hard. Her pussy flooded his mouth with warm, sweet fluid.
Lucian didn’t stop. He kept licking, kept sucking, drawing out her orgasm until she was trembling.
"Ah... ah... ah..." Clara panted, her mouth still wrapped around his dick. Then she sucked harder — deeper — her hand pumping the base furiously.
Lucian groaned into her pussy. His hips bucked. His dick throbbed.
"AAAHHN—"
He came. Thick ropes of cum shot into Clara’s mouth. She sucked through it, her throat working, swallowing every drop as he filled her mouth again and again.
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
When he finally stopped, Clara pulled her mouth off his dick with a wet smack. She swallowed one last time and licked her lips.
She rolled off him and collapsed onto the pillow beside him, both of them breathing hard.
Clara turned her head and looked at him with a satisfied, lazy smile.
"That was just the warm-up."