Vivienne wasn't sure how she ended up with Julian's hand up her shirt in the town car outside his apartment that night. In the back of her mind, she knew it was probably the worst idea of all time. First, she was engaged to Daniel. Second, it was Julian, a man that just about the entire world knew to be a scoundrel. The worst part of it all was that for the first time since the night of the masquerade, she was enjoying herself and felt truly understood.

"Do you want to come upstairs?" Julian finally asked as he sat up and ran his fingers through his bronze-brown hair. He smiled impishly at her and tried to straighten the collar of his blazer. He looked like a runway model imitating an artfully messy bed hair look. Julian, he was always so handsome, so alluring, such an affront to her better judgment.

"I shouldn't," Vivienne said as she struggled to tuck her t-shirt back into her pants. "I felt nothing for you, you know. We're just friends."

"That's all right," Julian answered as he tried to ease his arm around her waist. Vivienne marveled at how hard and muscular he was, especially when she was used to seeing Daniel's lanky form in her bed. "Come up; we'll have a drink and talk. Like friends."

"Like friends. Just to talk," Vivienne stressed as she allowed him to lead her out of the town car. It was late and getting dark. She reluctantly followed him into his glitzy midtown apartment complex. Like most new money city dwellers, he liked his buildings full of floor-to-ceiling windows with floating light fixtures and white leather. Vivienne didn't know what she was doing as she allowed him to lead her into the elevator and to head up to the ear-popping top floors steadily.

Julian's apartment was enormous, a penthouse in its own right. Unlike Blake, he didn't have any live-in servants. Vivienne guessed whatever happened in his American Psycho extracurricular activities was better off without witnesses. Julian eagerly threw off his Balmain jacket and ran into his modern kitchen.

"How do you like your whiskey, princess?"

"I don't want a drink," Vivienne said.

"Yes, you do. By entering my apartment, you consent to a drink." Julian brought her a cup of honey-colored liquid. Vivienne took a sip; it burned going down her throat. She put the cup down on the glass coffee table and sat down.

"So, tell me," Julian said as he took a seat on the couch next to her. "Why are you marrying this loser? Is it just rebound?"

Vivienne chuckled and took another sip of the strong liquor. She had withheld all her feelings for so long. Somehow, it felt good to be with a friend who truly understood her, that she could be honest with.

"I am just lonely," Vivienne said as she stared out his window into the lights of the city at dusk. She wondered how many of his victims looked out into that very view and breathed their last before he drained them of their blood. "I probably shouldn't go through with this. But if I don't, what will I do? I feel like I don't have any family or friends anymore. No one understands what I went through, least of all Allison. At least Daniel keeps me company."

"Why don't you wait for someone better to come along?" Julian asked. "I can keep you company, love." He slipped a hand on her knee, but Vivienne moved out of his grasp. She took another sip of the drink.

"You have been a comfort to me, that is true," Vivienne finally admitted. "In you, I have the last reminder of my time with Blake."

"I would never try to replace him," Julian said earnestly. "I would have never let you go. Neither heaven nor hell could stand between us."

Vivienne has to smile at that. He was handsome, that was true. He had the face of an angel and the body of a Greek god. Julian slowly slid an arm around her shoulders and gave her a warm squeeze.

"Aren't you afraid that if you get close to me, I'll turn you human?" Vivienne asked as she played with the rim of her glass with her fingertips.

"You never had that effect on me," Julian said. "As you said, I'm not him. You can't hurt me."

Vivienne turned to him and stared into his perfectly formed lips, like a pair of cupid's bows. She wanted so badly to kiss him, to finally rest in the arms of someone who understood her pain. Vivienne felt his silky lips brush hers, and she turned away reflexively.

"No, we shouldn't," Vivienne whispered. "You're his friend."

"He'll forgive us," Julian whispered back, hungrily. "If nothing else, he wanted you to be happy." Julian touched her chin with the tips of his fingers and led her lips back to his. He kissed her lightly, so lightly she barely felt it. "Doesn't this make you happy?" Julian asked as he kissed her again.

Vivienne nodded and laid back on the couch. Julian pulled himself over her, the solid weight of his body pressing against hers. Vivienne noticed the inviting scent of his body spray; sharp, crisp, and musky as he kissed his way down her neck. It occurred to Vivienne she didn't remember what Blake smelled like. Perhaps nothing at all. He wasn't a professional like Julian was.

Julian pulled her shirt over her head and cupped his hand around her breast. He smiled at her and drifted his hands to her jeans. "Yes?"

Well, Vivienne thought, he was much more straightforward about things than Blake was. She vaguely recalled sleeping with Daniel as well, but she couldn't remember any details. Vivienne wasn't sure why she kept thinking about Blake at that moment, but she pushed the thought out of her mind. She wanted this, needed this, to forget.

"Yes," Vivienne whispered. "This means nothing, though."

"Of course, absolutely nothing." Julian smiled at her as he unbuttoned her pants and pulled them off her. He kissed his way between her breasts as he squeezed her inner thigh. "You are so soft. Is this your first time?"

"Why? Do you only sleep with virgins?" Vivienne asked sarcastically.

"No, I would rather you weren't a virgin. I hate virgins," Julian said with a chuckle. He reached for her panties, which were a pair of rather plain and unsexy black briefs. Vivienne almost wished she dressed for the occasion. She vaguely recalled a lacy pair of lingerie somewhere in the back of her dresser. It was too late now. Julian was dragging them off her an inch at a time.

Julian stood up and slithered out of his designer pants. He eased her legs apart and crawled over her, wearing only a pair of plaid boxers. "Don't worry about anything, princess. I'm a demon down there too."

Vivienne rolled her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She wasn't sure why, but she was feeling less and less attracted to him as this went on. She wasn't sure why she believed this was going to make her feel better. The whole affair just felt cold and impersonal. As she felt Julian enter her, she just hoped she could feel something, anything at all.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you," Julian whispered as he thrust harder. Vivienne shook her head. She didn't have time to think about it too much. Just as soon as he started, he finished. With a look of satisfaction on his face, Julian pulled his boxers back on and laid back on the couch beside her. Vivienne rolled over and collected her underwear. She sat back down beside him and noticed he was smiling impishly at her.

"Did you enjoy it?" Julian asked smugly.

"You won't be offended if I said I had better?" Vivienne asked reluctantly.

"Who? With that loser, you're marrying?"

"Blake," Vivienne whispered softly.

Julian laughed and slapped his naked thigh. "Seriously? He actually slept with you? The way he talks about you, it's like you're the Virgin Mary. I can't believe he actually did the deed. I honestly don't know why he had your pussy on such a pedestal."

Vivienne rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop it. Not everyone just wants to go at it like a jackrabbit for two seconds. Or did you never invite a girl back enough times for her to give you an honest review?"

"Okay, sure, whatever." Julian jumped up and pulled his pants back on. "I'm going to go shower. Can I call you a car afterward?"

"Yeah, sure." Vivienne paused. It was almost midnight. She couldn't believe Julian was just kicking her out immediately afterward. She couldn't believe she almost mistook him for a gentleman. Julian must have noticed the look of disbelief on her face because he corrected himself.

"You can stay over if you want. I don't cuddle or anything like that. It's just sleeping."

"Okay," Vivienne said, still not quite believing her ears. For one thing, Vivienne couldn't believe he thought she would want to cuddle his sorry self. All her affection for him was quickly dissipating in a puff of fairy dust. "I want nothing from you. I just want to sleep and to catch my boat out of this island in the morning."

"Oh good," Julian said, visibly relieved. "I always knew you were a big girl, Vivienne. You don't need the love and romance garbage like those crazy girls I usually bang. Can you believe they actually expect me to make them breakfast? People like us, we're straightforward. Down to business. Sleeping together doesn't have to be tied to feelings. To be honest, I actually never said the word 'love' to anyone, well anyone except my sister." Julian laughed to himself as though he was getting a load off his chest. "That's why this bond works, maybe we're meant for each other."

Vivienne sighed as she gathered up her clothes. She wasn't terribly upset that the scoundrel she slept with turned out to be, well, a scoundrel. She was just hoping he could role-playing the caring friend a little longer. It appeared now that he got what he wanted; he was showing his true colors. She was getting more and more annoyed about the weight of the gold chain around her wrist. If she had some flint, she wished she could set fire to their bond right there and then. Then again, doing that would give him too much satisfaction that she cared.

"You're not Blake, and you never will be. The only bond I will ever acknowledge will be with him."

"You got that right, I'm not Blake," Julian said with a chuckle as he drank some water out of the sink. "Neither do I want to be. I just wanted to bed you, just once. I chased you longer than I chased any girl, Vivienne." Julian winked at her as though that fact should impress her. "And I finally got you. I finally got what he wanted more than anything. To see the look on his face, it would be worth more than all the money in the world."

Vivienne stood up with her fist clenched at her side. "Don't forget who I am, vampire," Vivienne snapped at him. "I can command you to walk through that window and throw yourself onto the concrete."

"You won't," Julian said. "You're not her. You have a kind heart. And you won't because to do that would mean I actually managed to hurt you." Julian threw his phone down on the kitchen counter. "If you want to go, I'll call you a cab once I get out of the shower. If you're not here by the time I get out, I'll understand too."

Julian hummed to himself as he closed the bathroom door behind him. Vivienne finished dressing and retrieved her bag. She wasn't mad at Julian. He was a womanizer; this was simply his nature. It was her fault she fell for his tricks. Now she and her sister really did have something in common.

Vivienne wondered momentarily if she should get on his phone while he was in the shower and text love messages to all the women in his contact list. That would surely make him eat his words. As she walked toward the door, it occurred to her leaving right away without so much as a whimper was precisely what he expected her to do.

Vivienne went back in and picked up his phone. It was password locked. There went her plan. She sighed and put it back down. Maybe she could throw it out a window or something. That would at least send a message. As Vivienne looked for a window to open, the phone rang. It was a blocked number from a contact labeled as Tercel Corp.

Vivienne allowed it to ring three times before she picked it up in annoyance. She angrily yelled into the receiver, "Julian Namura is terrible in bed, and he's in the shower. Can I take a message?" The person on the line didn't reply. Vivienne heard breathing. Whoever had called was just holding the phone in silence.

Vivienne wasn't sure how she knew, but the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and her sweat ran cold. Maybe she was going crazy. She suddenly had a completely insane thought. Perhaps it was the decade of time they had spent bond to one another, or maybe she was delusional as she had been at her engagement party, but she suddenly just knew.

"Blake," Vivienne said, slowly, carefully. "Is that you?"

There was a beep as the phone notified her the call had ended.