"And you fill it with blood?"
"Yes, sir. She'll come packaged with a free funnel. Blood and batteries not included."
"They never are," Roman noted dryly.
"She's easy to use." Laszlo pointed at the doll's neck. "You remove the clamp, insert the small funnel, select two quarts of your favorite blood from Romatech Industries, and fill her up."
"I see. Does she light up when she's running low?"
Laszlo frowned. "I suppose I could put in an indicator light-"
"I was kidding." Roman sighed. "Please continue."
"Yes, sir." Laszlo cleared his throat. "The switch here turns on a small pump inserted inside her chest cavity. A false heart, so to speak. It will cause the blood to flow through the artery and simulate a real pulse."
Roman nodded. "And that's where the batteries come in."
"Mmm," Gregori's voice sounded muffled. "She keeps going and going."
Roman glanced at his vice president and found him raking his teeth over VANNA's big toe. The red glow in Gregori's eyes served as a different sort of indicator light. "Gregori! Back off."
With a low growl, Gregori dropped the doll's foot. "You're no fun anymore."
Roman took a deep breath and wished he could pray for patience. But no self-respecting God would want to hear the supplications of a demon with a mortal sex toy. "Has she been tested yet?"
"No, sir." Laszlo flipped on VANNA's switch. "We thought you should have the honor of being first."
First. Roman's gaze swept over the doll's perfect body, a body that now pulsed inside with life-giving blood. "So at last, a vampire can have his cake and bite it, too."
Gregori smiled as he smoothed out his black dinner jacket. "The taste test challenge. Enjoy."
Roman arched an eyebrow at his vice president of marketing. No doubt, this testing was Gregori's idea. He probably thought his boss needed a little excitement to feel alive. Unfortunately, he was right.
Roman extended a hand to touch VANNA's neck. The skin was cooler than a real human's, but still very soft. Beneath his fingertips, the artery throbbed, strong and constant. At first, he felt the pulse with only his fingers, but then the pounding sensation crept up his arm and into his shoulder. He swallowed hard. How long had it been? Eighteen years?
The pulse spread inside him, filling his empty heart and all his senses. His nostrils flared. He could smell the blood now. Type A Positive. His favorite. His entire body throbbed in sync with the female. His rational thought seeped away, overpowered by a driving sensation he hadn't experienced in years. Bloodlust.
A growl vibrated deep in his throat. His groin hardened. He curled his fingers around the doll's neck and dragged her toward him.
"I'll take her." With lightning speed, he tossed her onto a velvet reading chaise. She lay still, her legs still bent and now sagging open at the knees. The erotic sight was almost too much to bear. The small amount of blood in Roman's veins cried out for more. More woman. More blood.
He sat and brushed her blond hair away from her neck. Her dopey grin was a bit disconcerting, but easily ignored. As he leaned over, he caught sight of a reflection in her blank, glass eyes. Not him, for his form could not be mirrored. All he could see were the red, glowing lights of his own eyes. VANNA had turned him on. He turned her face away to expose her neck. The pulsing artery within her sang out, Take me. Take me.
With a low growl, he pressed against her body. His fangs sprang out, causing a ripple of pleasure to surge through his body. The scent of blood rushed through him, stripping away the last shreds of self-control. The beast within was unleashed.
He bit her. Too late, his frenzied mind realized an unusual fact. Her skin might feel soft on the surface like a human's, but the inner texture was totally different. Tough, thick, rubbery plastic. If this was relevant, it didn't register, for the smell of blood shattered his thoughts. His instincts claimed victory, howling in his brain like a starving animal. He sank his fangs in deeper and deeper, till at last he felt that sweet popping sensation as he broke through the arterial wall. Heaven. He was swimming in blood.
With a long suck, the blood gushed into his fangs and filled his mouth. He gulped it down and greedily drank more. She was delicious. She was his.
He smoothed a hand down to her breast and squeezed. What a fool he'd been, content to sip blood from a glass. How could that possibly replace the hot rush of blood flowing through one's fangs? By the devil, he'd forgotten how sweet this was. It was a total body experience. He was rock hard. All his senses were on fire. He'd never drink from a glass again.
With another tug on her neck, he realized he'd drained her dry. Good to the last drop. But then a touch of clarity broke through the sensual daze. Bloody hell, he'd lost control. If she were mortal, she'd be dead. And he would have murdered another child of God.
How could this possibly advance the cause of civilized vampire behavior? This doll would remind every vampire how intensely pleasurable it was to bite. No vampire, even the most evolved, modern-day Vamp, could partake of this experience without wanting the real thing. All he could think about now was biting the first live female he came across. VANNA was not the answer to human preservation.
She was the death knell to their existence.
With a groan, Roman ripped his mouth away from her neck. Blood splattered onto the doll's white skin, and at first, he thought she'd sprung a leak. But no, he was sure he'd drained her dry. Damn, the blood was coming from him. "What the hell?"