I could smell the instant he figured out what I was though I have no idea how he did. Fear rolled off him in waves as he released my hand and hesitantly moved back.
With a sigh, I gripped the bridge of my nose. That must have been an unusual sight for him as it made him pause. The fear was still there but it had lessened.
"You know, don't you?" I asked though I knew the answer.
"I don't … don't know … any…anything," he stammered.
"Don't lie," I growled. "I don't know how you know, but I can smell your fear."
I looked at my hand, which had touched his only moments ago.
"Was it when we touched skin to skin? You didn't react like this when I touched your leg over your trousers. Was it the coldness of my skin?" I mused out loud.
"No!" he blurted. "I mean … it was …"
I moved to my desk and pressed the intercom and told Luca to come inside. He smiled warmly until he smelt Sorin's fear.
"What happened? What did you do to him now you big brute?" he chastised me as he went to protectively wrap his arms around Sorin's stiff shoulders.
For some reason, I didn't like that image but I knew I couldn't say anything.
"Don't worry Sorin, I'll save you from the mean old CEO," he teased with a playful glare at me.
With a deep sigh, I moved to pull Sorin from his embrace.
"And who will save him from you when he realises what you are?" I asked and Luca frowned so I explained. "He knows what I am."
Luca stared from me to him then back again before a huge smirk broke out on his face. He then doubled over in laughter which, I won't admit out loud, helped to ease the tension.
"Sit down Sorin, we have much to discuss," I ordered.
Sorin did as he was told and my inner beast was pleased he was so obedient. Though it was probably more from the shock of it all than anything else.
I took the seat opposite him as I had before, and Luca sat beside me. Sorin was nervously twitching his hands and his head was down. I had no idea what to say.
"So … does anyone want to tell me what happened?" Luca asked after the silence went on too long.
"When Sorin touched my hand he suddenly became scared of me. I asked if he knew and his reaction said it all," I explained.
"So he knew after one touch?" Luca clarified.
Sorin nodded slowly, as if afraid to move.
"It's ok Sorin, we're not the big bad scary monsters in the night that books and movies make us out to be. Most of the stories have a ring of truth to them, the aversion to sunlight and thirst for blood but silver and holy water do nothing to us, we have a reflection and though we crave blood we don't hunt and kill innocent victims," Luca explained.
"You don't?" he asked shyly.
"No of course not!" Luca pretended to be appalled. "If we did then there would be no humans left for us to feed on. No, Sorin, we get our blood from willing donors. The bite can be very orgasmic if done the right way."
I could tell Sorin's interest peaked. Though it was true, many of my kind were very mainstream. Like us, they only fed on willing donors and merged into society. However, there were a few bad seeds that wanted to go back to their basic instincts which almost wiped our kind out centuries ago.
"Yeah, the bite is best when having sex, it heightens the passion for the bitee … and the biter."
Sorin's face was flushed as his eyes flickered to me before adverting away. I was sure he was imagining me biting him whilst my cock was deep inside his body. I must admit I liked that image too.
"How did you figure it out?" I asked, diverting the topic to a less stimulating path.
"Well … I … I," he stammered before taking a deep breath. "I have this ability to read people and I don't mean face or body language. I stand near them and I know what type of person they are. Can almost tell what they are thinking."
I nodded trying to follow what he was saying.
"For instance, that receptionist, on my first day, though she was all smiles, I could feel she was fake. She wasn't interested in me until I said the name of this company."
"When I was younger, I was always the first to know if someone was upset even if they didn't look it. I could tell if someone was prone to lying or cheating, or if they really wanted to know you. It was worse when I touched someone's skin."
He rubbed his hands together as if to wipe away any residual feel of my skin on his.
"Over the years, I learned to block it out, to avoid contact. At first, it was because of the nuns that raised me. They were good god fearing women that didn't need a witch like me to make them worry about their faith," he chuckled humorously.
"Afterwards, I did it because the other kids had started to avoid me. They thought I was weird. I could feel how they felt about me and it hurt. I grew up in care and had no real family, the other kids were meant to be my family. That was how the nuns always raised us, but they were scared of me."
My cold heart broke a little, you could see his loneliness written plainly on his face before masking it.
"Anyway, when I started work here I put up the block. That way I could get to know people without making them think I was too strange to work with. When I first met you I could feel something about you but, because of the block, I couldn't grasp what it was, not until we touched."
That all made sense.
"When did you discover you were a witch? And what do you know about where you come from?" I asked.
"A witch? I'm not a witch, at least I don't think I am. I just have this one thing I can do. I only called myself a witch earlier because I went to the library and found out that's what people who were different were called and persecuted for, right?"
"Yes you are right, though many that were accused were innocent there were still many that were actual witches. Many of them were acquaintances of mine," I explained.
Sorin's eyes widened again.
"Acquaintances? Do you mean you were around during the trials? Witches are real? Are you saying that I'm one?" he rambled.
Luca laughed as he patted me on the shoulder. I was annoyed at how funny he was finding all this.
"This guy is over three hundred years old," Sorin's eyes widened. "I on the other hand am only a few decades away from hitting triple digits. When I do I will be having a huge party that goes on until dawn. I'll have my pick of men, well after this one leaves anyway."
"Shut up Luca," I growled.
"To answer your questions, yes I was around during the trials. I tried to rescue as many of them as I could but I could only do so much. Yes, witches are real, at one point witches and vampires were mortal enemies. Though some still believe we are. Finally, yes I do believe you are a witch, or at least come from a witch family."