Eternal Service by Regina Morris Page A

You’re in the presence of a lady.”
    Raymond’s jaw slackened as he blinked a few times. “I apologize for offending …”
    “It’s a joke Raymond. You need to lighten up.” She smiled at him.
    Raymond smiled back. He wasn’t expecting her to make a joke. She had a softer side to her, he just knew it. Of course, there existed a tough exterior. She lived and breathed career military and now a top federal official. Putting vampirism on the table would cause anyone to be a bit edgy. But here she joked with him. Tit–for–tat. And wasn’t that sexy.
    Alex nodded as the information sunk in. “Can you have children?”
    “Yes. Of course we can. That’s how we get baby vampires.”
    “I thought vampires were all sterile.”
    He shook his head, “Only in the movies.” Raymond hated the way the movies portrayed vampires.
    She asked the next question in a hushed tone. “Can vampires and humans have sex?”
    Boy, she went straight for the hard questions. “Yes.” He uttered the word slowly and lingered on the ’s’ as he looked deep into her eyes and spoke in the same hushed tone. OK, now all he could think about was having sex with her. Damn. The breeze caught her scent and blew it towards Raymond. His nostrils flared instantly; she smelled so good. The sandwich smelled God–awful nasty, but she smelled great. His attraction grew, as well as an erection. He looked away and forced himself to concentrate on the smell of the sandwich.
    “So humans and vampires can have children together?”
    The intimate questions surprised him, but her curiosity in vampires as a people pleased him. He felt that she surely had no idea how attracted he was to her, or she wouldn’t be asking these questions. “Vampire males can father children with human females but not the other way around,” he answered, barely making eye contact with her. Before she could ask him why, he continued, “Human sperm, well, any human genes, can’t penetrate a female vampire’s egg.” The discussion centered itself on topics that were intimate in nature. He said the word ‘sperm’ to a woman he had recently met and instantly felt his age. The times had changed, and the world was more open with such topics. Or maybe it was just Alex being so open with him? He wasn’t sure, but Raymond could not remember a single male director of the colony ever asking such questions. He concentrated more on the foul smell of her sandwich so he could clear his head.
    “So a vampire man can father a child with a human woman?”
    Raymond knew from experience the answer. After all, he had fathered Sterling with his beloved Wilma. “Yes,” he answered looking back at her.
    Her face focused in concentration. “The half–breeds have the same vampire qualities? Or are they human?” she asked.
    Raymond’s stare intensified as he looked at her. “My son is a half–breed,” he said coldly. “I don’t like the term. Please rephrase the question.” His attraction to her took a step back, but then he had to remind himself that to her the term was not meant to be derogatory in any way. She simply asked a question and was genuinely interested in the answer.
    “I’m sorry. … Ah, I’m sorry for the offense, not sorry that your son is a ‘half … um. … OK. Let me start again.”
    Raymond had scowled at her half–breed remark, but as she tried to clarify her last sentence she looked horrified for the blunder. Many vampires used the term half–breed, but Raymond hated the term. The embarrassment made her look sweet, so he smiled back at her.
    “Do the children produced with one parent being a vampire and the other a human take on human characteristics or vampire ones?”
    “They’re vampires. They have both human and vampire genes. Depending on who they choose to have children with, they could have children that are purebred vampires, more half–breeds, or even human children.” He felt bad for snapping at her. “I apologize for my anger about the