Nikki swung her arms and slashed him with her steel nails. He jumped back, his shirt ripped and bloody. Swearing, he ran down the marina, where the boats swayed and creaked in the darkness.
The foghorn blew mournfully in the distance.
She ran down to the pier and sniffed the air. Suddenly, she felt his arms wrap around her; fangs sinking into her shoulder. The poison burned like molten lava. Her body grew stiff, legs buckling under her. She sank into a cognitive void of pain and arousal. La petite mort.
He held her for exactly two seconds, then let her go.
Stumbling forward, intoxicated with his venom. She fell on one knee and closed her eyes. Crystal lattices exploded beneath her lids.
"I don't want any trouble," he said.
She could smell his musky scent. So close. She licked her lips. "Then you've come to the wrong place."
Nikki ran towards him, and in a single leap, she scissor-kicked him on the side of the head.
Falling backwards, he shouted, "crazy bitch!"
"And I'm just getting started."
He stood up and jumped onto one of the luxury boats moored nearby.
She ran up to the edge of the pier and jumped on the deck.
"Come now, don't be shy," she said. "You know you shouldn't be here. Where is your master?"
For a moment, she could only hear the sound of the breeze swirling around the boat.
"You know what I am," he said. "Now beat it, sister."
She chuckled. "No man is an island unto himself. And no man is ever free."
She felt a force hit her from behind and throw her overboard. Turning in mid-air, she reached out flailing and managed to grab him. In a tangle of arms and legs, they fell on the water with a splash.
With her bare legs, she gripped him tightly and put his head in a lock. He struggled against her, rising up and down. He opened his mouth as if gasping for air then leaned forward and bit her thigh. She screamed. Darkness. Sweet darkness. Her body spasmed. She could just give in…
Instincts are hell of a thing, however. Survival! In a flash, she flung open her eyes and rose to meet him, holding him in a steely embrace.
He howled in pain and surprise. Kicking and thrusting in the heaving waves, bodies slippery with blood. She slashed and felt him struggle like a gutted fish. But he was stronger than she had imagined, and in the feverish sea of violence, he thrust himself forward and sank into every inch of her.
Then she dreamed of electric eels.