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"Oh, baby, what you've done to me."

"You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)" - Aretha Franklin

I'd gotten to where I could tolerate Vaira. Perhaps it was our shared concern for the boys, because she changed toward me, too. She didn't have a lot of girlfriends, and we got into the habit of occasional tea and babies on afternoons when Star was otherwise engaged. It was from Vaira that I heard the latest gossip about Suria. She had met someone, another off-worlder and, after a whirlwind courtship, actually gotten married to him. I can't confess to much curiosity on the subject, though I did hope that she would become so involved in her new life she would forget about her favorite test subjects. I should have known better.

Life went on, and I had no trouble filling my time. Dex became a close friend as well as a lover, and I made other friends in bars and coffee houses. Sometimes I sang for an audience for fun, and sometimes I got paid for it. All my "friends" included, I had plenty of sex partners, but that didn't stop me pining for Star - I couldn't seem to help myself. His brush-offs on that subject were always gentle, though I must have tried his patience with my whining. I knew I didn't deserve my heart's desire, but I wanted it, anyway. Since his wife and I had made peace, I had the occasional guilty thought for Vaira, but had almost convinced myself she wouldn't care if Star and I got it on.

I'll never forget that odd turning-point moment. It was a Thursday, 3:12 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, and Star and I were in his car, being driven around by Kareinon. I'd touched Star inappropriately again, making him push me back across the seat. Unreasonably, it pissed me off.

"It's fine for you," I said, raising my voice. "You've got a wife and kids, and I'll never have any of that. All I've ever wanted is a guy to love me - really love me - the way I love you…." I might have gone on, but I'd put my foot far enough down my throat as it was. It was then that Star looked over at me, a thoughtful expression on his face, and said the one word that was the beginning of a total change in my lifestyle. The word was "Eve."

Just as "Evan" means "alone," the word "Eve" has a meaning, too. In Lecurelan, "our" language, it means "happy." It was also obviously a feminine version of Evan.

I felt like I'd been struck by a lightning bolt. I had never even considered the idea of changing my body to better suit my nature. I'd never changed my body at all, though intellectually I knew I could.

But hey, I thought suddenly, why not become a woman? Then you can have as many men as you want and nobody will call you names - or at least not the same names they use when you're a guy.

So, since I could change, I did. And it was great! Guys loved my looks… straight guys who hadn't been interested before. I gloried in the pleasures of high heels and makeup. I was a brand new fish and the water was fine. Even the elusive Phillip Drackett couldn't resist the new me, though he'd done a great job of it when I was wearing a male body.

But… I'm getting ahead of myself.

As I've said, I first met him at the nightclub he owned, and he was introduced to me as Phillip Drackett, even though others later referred to him as the "Count," the "Boss," or even "Master." Fine, I thought then, no problem… whatever. He was just a tall guy with that "lean and hungry" look that Shakespeare was so fond of describing. But it didn't take even me long to realize there was more to this guy and his friends than the obvious. Star was a trusted friend of Mr. Drackett's and therefore knew everything about his unusual "lifestyle." Since I was associated with Star, I automatically became part of that elite group of non-vampire insiders, and everyone relaxed and acted "normal" - for them - around me, obviously taking it for granted that the whole thing had been explained to me - which it had not.

So, finally, Dex explained, and when confronted, Buddy was an asshole. My horizons were expanded - vampires were real. Even though I came to accept that now obvious fact, I still thought of Phillip Drackett as just another bloodsucker. "Count Dracula?" Come on now.

I had come on to Mr. D from the day we met. Truth to tell, I hadn't done a whole lot of intentional flirting in my life. Guys just seemed to fall in my lap, sometimes literally. I wound up in the sack with guys a lot, but the only ones I ever really pursued were the few I wanted and couldn't have… like Star and, for some reason, "the Count." I figured that if he really was the God-alone-knows-how-old vampire with the famous name, then he must have done a lot stranger things than sleeping with another man, whether he considered himself ultimately straight or not. So I let him know that I was willing - and he ignored me! Not that he was impolite - oh, no. One thing CD had in common with Star was an incurable case of good manners. He spoke to me, even shook my hand once, but then subtly let me know he wasn't interested. I had a vague feeling that I made him uncomfortable, though I couldn't figure out why. After a while, I only came on to him out of habit - by that time, we both expected it.

Anyway, he continued to resist my considerable charms until that fateful night I walked into his club a changed man. Changed, that is, into a woman.

It was strange, but the Count's own main lady was the one who had helped me complete the transition from female in body to well-dressed-woman in fact. Xintaie hadn't even blinked when I called and asked her to take me shopping. I'd adapted a pair of my jeans to fit the new me, but even I knew I needed more than jockey shorts underneath. It took some getting used to, walking down the street in my new form. Men now looked at me the way women had before, and I probably could have gotten laid in the first five minutes, but something in me said "wait."

As far as Phillip Drackett, the lovely Xintaie didn't seem to understand jealousy. I didn't come out and tell her I was going to her man's place that night, but she knew I wanted to dress up, in a classy sort of way, and she helped me pick out clothes and apply makeup, etc. So, the sensation I made that night was her doing… at least partly.

My new body seemed to think that low-cut cocktail dresses and four-inch heels were quite natural. I felt good, in a way. The mirror said I looked good, with my new long hair and generous cleavage. I hadn't constructed the body to order, just told myself to change to what I would have looked like had I been born female. In my opinion, the result was not bad. However, I was still nervous.

What if people stared?

Worse yet, what if they didn't?

What if I forgot and sat with my knees spread? What if I unthinkingly headed for the men's room?

But I couldn't let any of that stop me. I had to get out there and show off a little. I hadn't become a female in order to sit at home and watch I Love Lucy reruns.

The taxi dropped me off in front of "The Crystal Affair" when they opened - just after dark. Almost all the inner walls of the place are covered with mirrors - kind of an inside joke, I guess, because of that thing about vampires not being able to see themselves in glass. (True, for some vampires. And those vampires, eager to see their reflections, would sometimes pay a witch or sorcerer to enchant a mirror to show their faces by entrapping a minor demon inside it. Remember that superstition about breaking a mirror? You could have a lot more than seven years of bad luck if you let out a pissed-off demon!)

Yes, the "Affair" was mainly a vampire hangout - but that didn't mean that regular people weren't welcome. It did mean that the ordinary people who went there usually didn't know who they were drinking with - or that they could end up on the wine list.

The vampiric patrons were mostly so civilized that they didn't need a bouncer, but they had one anyway, in the form of the doorman, or whatever he was, called André. He was right there for me when I stepped out of the cab - all black ankle straps and knocking knees. His expression was as bland as every other time I'd seen him, but as he helped me out of the backseat I saw his nostrils flare. After that, I think he started to smile. Whether he did or not, I knew that Andre knew it was me. I found that kind of reassuring, somehow. For some reason André had always seemed to like me.

I guess lots of vampires are old enough to appreciate the finer things in life, and maybe to afford them too. Either way, this was not a gin joint. The mirrors were a regular maze, with reflections going everywhere. There were a lot of cut-glass chandeliers - doing their best to look like they held candles - combined with brass and red-plush furnishings. Sounds a little overdone, I guess, but the patrons seemed to enjoy it. The maître d' sat me at a small two-top in a corner after asking if my escort would be joining me soon and being told that I was alone this evening. I ordered a glass of wine - red, of course, to fit in with the crowd - though no one noticed or cared. I almost never drank alcohol. With my fancy body chemistry, if I got drunk it was purely psychological.

I looked around the room, wishing I could try the new "me" out on the Count, but willing to settle for someone else if I had to. I mean, I'd had sex with a lot of guys as a guy. How different could it be to do it as a woman? Or at least that's what I kept telling the butterflies that had taken up residence in my stomach.

I was not - repeat - NOT a virgin. So why did I feel like I'd never had sex before?

The idea of changing my body at all was still new to me. I'd never tried to look younger or older or any of the things I knew were possible, though I may have changed myself unconsciously, over the years, to blend with my current situation.

If I thought about it, I could "see" my own DNA. It was even more dense and complicated than that of Earth humans, due to the fact that my genetic architects had designed Star and me to be as durable as possible. I don't know where they got the shape-shifting genes, but we had them. Did I mention that the woman who gave birth to me was not my biological mother? The three scientists and their helpers just stirred up the bio-cocktail they wanted and popped it into a convenient incubator. No wonder she hadn't liked me much.

Those kinds of thoughts kept me too busy to notice my surroundings for a while until André, magically transformed from doorman to waiter, appeared with a chilled glass of champagne on a gleaming silver tray. When I looked up, he smiled politely and informed me that the gentleman from table fourteen, (he discreetly indicated a man with a white dinner jacket and even whiter hair seated not far from me), wished to provide me with his compliments and this refreshment.

Now, other than the ubiquitous and economical smile, Andre was pretty much expressionless, but somehow he managed to indicate disapproval. He didn't need to worry, though. I had hung around the Affair long enough to pick up a working knowledge of vampire politics. CD was like the local law in Los Angeles. Not really a king or a prince, or even a count, but somehow he held authority over the vampires in the area. The guy who wanted to buy me a drink and was currently leering at me from several tables' distance was not on the Count's good side. It was widely known that Mister Dinner-jacket wouldn't mind deposing the current regime, violently if necessary, and setting up his own. So, to Andre's way of thinking, accepting champagne from him would be disloyal to Mr. D. I didn't yet know the Count as intimately as I wanted to, but he and Star were friends, and that alone would have been enough for me.

I flashed the "gentleman" at table fourteen a smile as meaningless as Andre's, and gently shook my head. The man's eyes narrowed, just a bit, before his manners kicked in and he looked away with an expression of mild (and polite) regret. André nodded his approval to me, and he and the champagne vanished.

Well… damn. I'd been hoping for male attention, and the only taker was from the wrong side of the party… political party, that is. Still, the evening was young - and so was I. Compared to some of the vampires, anyway.

There was a live, all vampire band on stage. I hadn't shown my brand-new self to the "Grave Diggers" yet, and I thought that Dex, at least, was going to be disappointed.

Vampires may be called the "undead," but the term is misleading, in my opinion. Maybe they should have died at some time in their past, but they had really only changed to a different state of living. Dex was certainly lively, I mused. Idly, I wondered if the band would still be interested in me as a female lead vocalist.

I hadn't even finished my first glass of wine when the Count himself showed up, decked out in a dinner jacket of his own - black. I was used to being ignored by the him, and when he asked if he could join me I was so pleasantly surprised I'm sure I did everything but purr. I had no illusions that he wouldn't recognize me as the former Evan - vampires have other senses than just sight to rely on. Besides, the differences between my female and male selves were not that great. (Well, okay, two of them were major, and in that dress they couldn't have been padding… but still.)

Anyway his usual, almost formal politeness was very gentlemanly, and I thoroughly enjoyed the attention of being treated like a lady. He was kind enough to ask my name, nodded when I told him, and kissed my hand, which gave me major goose bumps. My body may have been different on the outside, but inside I was still me, and I had always had an attraction to the enigmatic Mr. D.

I invited him to sit, and we chatted about nonsense such as music and weather. I don't know about him, but I was nervous. By and by the band played a waltz, and he asked me to dance, which was a little awkward - not because I wanted to lead, I was quite fond of following, (ahem), but because my heels made me a couple of inches taller than him. He didn't seem to mind.

I hadn't noticed a lot of attention directed my way before (with the exception of Mister Dinner-jacket, who had left by now), but all of a sudden I felt like every eye in the place was on me. Most of the females seemed to be looking daggers, but even I knew that was a perverse sign of admiration. The men, on the other hand, were discreetly drooling. I wondered what had made the difference, finally deciding that I'd been too nervous to give out "attractive" vibes before, but that with CD's interested attention I was relaxing, and it showed. I smiled at the change, but I had little interest in anyone but the guy I was with. Right now, he was one of the sexiest guys I'd ever met. Maybe it was his undead charm, like in the movies, but I didn't care. I'd come here tonight determined to get laid in my new form, and I'd wanted him since the first time we met. Also, for some reason, he was the only man I knew that I really trusted enough to be my first.

(I know, not a virgin, yeah, yeah.)

And I was still struggling with that concept. I knew that, when he touched me, something happened below the waist that was most likely sexual, and it felt good, but it did feel very different from what happened to me as a man. Instead of getting larger, longer, and harder I just felt kind of swollen and wet. It was weird. Why hadn't I thought about such things before, maybe read a self-help book or asked Xintaie about it so I could get used to the idea? The strange but pleasurable sensations made me even more nervous. Sure, I knew that no guy, not even a vampire, could hurt me physically, but embarrassment hurts too, and I was not proof against that. What if I did something really stupid or, worse yet, just couldn't go through with things at the last minute?

Mr. D was too well bred to drool, but I knew he was more than interested. It didn't take feminine intuition to see the bulge in his well-cut trousers. I admit I was flattered to finally get a reaction from him. Hell, even his fangs were protruding more than usual.

One of the things that had helped convince me that "the Count" was indeed a vampire was that he had (for want of a better word) fangs. By fangs, I mean small, pointy, incisor-like teeth that came down from his upper gums, slightly in front of his ordinary incisors. I guess you could have used them for whatever you wanted, biting into a juice box, maybe, but they seemed particularly suited for puncturing the skin. Most vampires' fangs retracted completely, until they were invisible to anyone except maybe a dentist, and didn't come out until the vampire was "in the mood" and ready to bite. However (I'm told) some very old vampires (like Mr. Drackett) lose the ability to completely retract their blood teeth, so they just have to watch how they smile around the uninitiated.

The Count's smile or teeth didn't bother me. In fact, they were the last things on my mind when CD leaned closer, looked deeply into my eyes and kissed me.

I don't know what I expected, but his mouth tasted like wine - warm, spicy wine. My body virtually ignores alcohol, but I was intoxicated after one small taste of vampire.

Maybe I made a noise or something, because he didn't push me, in fact he backed off and just looked at me. I'd never seen eyes the color of emeralds until I met him. "Are you all right?" he asked, his voice so deep that it resonated in my bones. I shivered all over.

"I think so," I said. I really wasn't sure, but I knew I didn't want him to stop kissing me. I put one of my new, more slender hands behind his head. His hair was soft, his skin cool. Our lips came together again with just a touch of sharpness on his side. I licked my tongue across the points and let - consciously let - them draw two drops of my blood.

Vampires want sex… most of them, anyway. They also want blood… all of them. If I wanted to turn CD on, big time, I had done the right thing. Low in his throat, he growled. In all my experiences to date, it was the sexiest thing I'd ever heard. I shivered again, and the dampness between my legs became a flood. Whatever sex in this body would be like, I was more than ready to try it.

I was so focused on my charming escort, I'd forgotten that we were surrounded by music and lots of other people, but he must have remembered. He stood quickly, drawing me up with him, put an arm around my shoulders, and led me past a kaleidoscope of swirling reflections, through a door and down a deserted hallway, to his private apartment.