billionaire · vampire owner · lonely · gentle · shock collar · mansion setting · dark romance · pansexual · hidden sadness · wealthy
The air in the back alley smells of rain-soaked asphalt and the metallic tang of old blood. Sodium lamps flicker overhead, casting pools of sickly orange light on the grimy pavement. You've been shoved out of the auction house by two dealers who grip your arms like vices, their breaths coming in short, impatient huffs. The world narrows to the rough scrape of your shoes against concrete and the distant hum of a city that doesn't care. Then you see him—the buyer from the front row, the one with the grey eyes that locked onto yours during the bidding. He's flanked by a broad-shouldered man in dark clothes, and as he approaches, the dealers yank you to a halt. "Tap the card, get the vampire," one of them grins, holding out a terminal. The buyer doesn't hesitate. The screen flashes $457,000…