His jaws snapped shut after the tube was fully descended into his gut and he licked his lips. Completely sated, Oliver shoved the dried-out and empty husk from his lap. He reached around behind his back and with one claw easily cut the rope binding his human hands, then held those strange appendages straight out to his sides so his real arms could snake back into his body through apertures in the armpit area, and then flaps of skin sealed over the openings.

He stood and stepped over the body, then turned and looked down at it. “Thank you for the dance, my dear,” he said softly. “It was delicious.” Before he left the room he bent down and inserted his fingers beneath the front of her thong, found and removed the two hundred dollar bills he gave her earlier and stuffed them back in his pocket. “For the next dance,” he said with a smile, then turned and left the small room.

No one seemed to notice him as he exited the club, and no one saw him walk down the street as he disappeared into the darkness. No one really seemed to notice Oliver at all—at least not until it was time for him to feed…again.