With Vasili back in his human form and fresh clothes, his next agenda was simple- brushing his teeth, applying deodorant, and finding a charger for his phone.
He caught up with Cassie, who was a step ahead, and asked, "Do you know where I can find a spot to brush my teeth and grab some 'anti-stank' spray?"
Cassie nodded and turned, apparently already heading there for his convenience. Turning once more, they stopped at a closet, which she quickly opened and showed to Vasili, "Take your pick, we've got all of it."
Surveying his options, he noticed a vast assortment of familiar brands along with a few exotic products labeled in Japanese and Korean.
Picking a safe choice, 'Secret Powder Antiperspirant', he grabbed a toothbrush, a random toothpaste that wasn't the gel kind, a bottle of mouthwash, and a small box of dental floss (not that he'd use it often).
After Cassie led him to another bathroom and he did his business, Vasili was feeling refreshed, saying, "No more bacon mouth," with a shudder as he thought about the sheer poundage of meat he had consumed.
Cassie couldn't help but giggle and asked, "What are your plans for the day?"
Vasili gestured toward his phone, replying, "I need to find a charger for this, but it's not urgent, it should last a few hours longer."
"We can grab one later then. Do you have any particular plans for today?"
He shook his head 'no', then he suggested, "Maybe we could fuck with Elias?" and chuckled softly to himself.
Cassie had an interesting expression on her face, "We could. Certainly..do that. But we could also find something to do ourselves."
Vasili sensed that Cassie had something up her sleeve and asked, "What do you have in mind?"
She leaned in, whispering, "This..." as she planted a kiss on his lips, leaving him in a daze.
He was caught off guard in a way that a man could only be, somehow failing to catch every glace or implication she was leaving for him. Even her obvious hints at attraction were being ignored.
Vasili pulled away, leaving a tingling sensation on his lips, his body unmistakably wanting more.
"Wait." He huffed, "I-I thought...damn it all." He asked himself if he was about to get angry at a pretty girl for kissing him.
Yes. Yes, he was.
Cassie, with a somewhat lost expression, seemed to be trying to make the best of the situation.
Vasili's thoughts were still stuck on the question of Cassie's free will, a topic he'd been thinking about since the previous night. He'd hoped to have more time to sort out these feelings, but it seemed he couldn't delay the issue any longer.
Taking a moment to reassure Cassie, he said, "Listen, Cassie, you don't have to worry about your position. You are safe. Your family is safe. You don't have to serve me to ensure that."
Confused, Cassie nodded as Vasili continued, "I want you to understand that I'm not comfortable with you 'like that' yet. I know it sounds strange, but...I can't do that to anyone, especially not a young girl like you."
Trying to comprehend his reservations, she asked, "So, you don't believe I'd willingly choose to do 'this'? That I could want to be intimate with you of my own free will, regardless of my family?"
Vasili wasn't fond of the phrasing but nodded while explaining, "The Blooding, it has effects I don't fully understand, obviously. But it's more than that. You are clearly motivated to keep our relationship healthy, which would be easier to do with sex, and I don't feel comfortable with that. So, until I get a handle on it, I wanted to 'chill out' on the morally grey part of 'us.'"
He continued, "You can still be my 'servant', even though I'm not thrilled about it because I can respect that you had a choice in becoming Blooded. But, as of right now, I am telling you, I can't have sex with you unless I am certain you would truly desire it."
Vasili wanted to slump to the floor but settled for leaning against the cold wall, letting it draw the heat from his body.
Cassie broke the silence, remarking, "You're quite the 'gentlemanly' Chimera, you know that?"
Approaching him, she planted a kiss on his cheek and continued, "I think I understand where you're coming from. You don't know how different my past self might have acted. It's fair, really. You view Blooding as a removal of free will, which it can be, but I assure you, the Dragos family doesn't mistreat its servants or workers."
Vasili nodded in agreement, and then Cassie dropped a bombshell, "Do you know how much we earn? Last year, I made $256,000 managing the support staff."
That number caught Vasili off guard, "Holy shit."
Cassie elaborated, "Yeah. Plus, health, dental, AND a family housing stipend." Vasili was in awe at her reveal, "The best part? All of us are salaried. We work hard because this is our family too."
She couldn't hide the sadness behind her smirk as she added, "But the Dragos family is unique among vampire families in that way. Most treat their workers like minimum-wage slaves. They Blood them, erase their memories of their service when they are fired, and leave them abandoned when they are done.
Staring into Vasili's eyes, Cassie laughed through her pain, saying, "Believe me, the Dragos are saints compared to those creatures. They're only interested in using us. But they've also shielded us from supernatural traffickers. It's a trade, I suppose."
She gestured around and declared, "The Dragos family is truly exceptional. They're the 'good guys' in this messed-up world, I'm sure of it."
Laughing, she added, "You'll see what I mean, your life is better now." She leaned closer to whisper, "In more ways than one."
Feeling the goosebumps run up his body, he was about to tell her to knock it off when she suddenly pulled back to a respectable distance, adding, "But, in the meantime, I suppose I will have to act as a regular servant."
With a smirk on her face, she began to walk away as though she'd just triumphed after being punished.
Vasili stood there, contemplating, 'Did...did she just 'win?' No. No. She couldn't have...how?'
He looked down the hall at her swaying hips, wondering, 'How did she do that?'
He chased after her, the Ram noting that this was also a power move that he had fallen for.
'Where were you when I needed some wisdom about 30 seconds ago?' Vasili thought.
The Ram, wise as ever, declined to get involved in 'matters of the heart,' or whatever that meant.
Vasili was almost certain that he was being toyed with by the "Oh-so Wise, Ram."