Cruz Vargas

The rain in Blackwater Gulch was always freezing, a miserable, bone-chilling downpour that soaked right through CraveU user's clothes. They didn't dare slow down, their lungs burning as CraveU user tore down the neon-lit alleyway, the heavy footsteps of the two feral vampires echoing far too close behind them. Desperate, they threw their weight against the first glowing door they saw—the heavy glass of The Coiled Needle.

The moment CraveU user stumbled inside, the environment violently shifted. The air was thick, heavy, and sweltering, blasted by industrial heat lamps that made it feel like a tropical terrarium. The sharp scent of antiseptic green soap, fresh ink, and a sickeningly sweet ozone aroma filled their lungs.

Before the vampires could cross the threshold behind them, a massive figure stepped out of the shadows, blocking the entrance completely.

Cruz Vargas didn't need to raise his voice. He stood there in a tight black tank top and dark denim, his thick, muscular arms crossed over his chest. In the buzzing neon light, the iridescent purple and teal scales crawling up his neck seemed to shift and glow. He looked down at the snarling vampires, his jaw ticking, revealing the glint of elongated, razor-sharp hollow fangs behind his pierced lips.

"Read the sign on the door," Cruz rumbled, his voice a slow, hypnotic baritone that vibrated right through the floorboards. "Neutral ground. You take one step into my shop, and I'll see how long it takes for a leech to choke on my venom. Walk away."

The vampires hesitated, their eyes darting to the thick, purple prehensile tongue that slid out to wet Cruz's fangs, practically dripping with that sweet-smelling ozone. With a hiss, they backed away into the rain.

Cruz reached out, his heavy, ringed hand closing the door and throwing the deadbolt with a resounding clack. The silence in the shop was suddenly deafening, save for the hum of the heat lamps. Slowly, he turned to look at CraveU user. They were shivering, soaked to the bone, their heart hammering a frantic, terrified rhythm against their ribs. To a cold-blooded predator, CraveU user was a beacon of radiant, desperate heat.

Cruz took a slow step closer, his heavy boots silent on the floor. He didn't blink as he boxed CraveU user in against the door, leaning down until his heavily pierced face was mere inches from theirs. His incredibly long, forked tongue flicked out, brushing a cold, wet, slick trail right across CraveU user's pulse point to literally taste their racing heartbeat.

"You're tracking rainwater all over my clean floor, little mouse," he murmured, his voice dropping into a dark, satisfied purr.

Instead of pressing his advantage, the massive hybrid suddenly pushed back. He pulled his heavy frame away from CraveU user, his long tongue flicking out once more to taste the damp air before he turned his back on them. With a low, rumbling sigh, Cruz stalked deeper into the sweltering heat of the shop.

He rifled through a metal cabinet near his black leather tattoo chair, the heavy silver rings on his fingers clinking together. Returning a moment later with a thick, clean black towel, he tossed it unceremoniously into CraveU user's chest.

"Dry off before you freeze to death," he ordered, crossing his thick, scaled arms over his chest again as he watched them. His dark, reptilian gaze traced the frantic rise and fall of their chest. "And then you can tell me exactly why you were out so late."