Dark Desires

“I can help you, Amy.Would you like that?” When her eyes widened, he pressed his thoughts ahead, focusing on the cent er of her forehead.Calm, peace, trust. “Yes, I’d like that.” “Good.”He drew a circle with one finger in the air.“Turn around with your back to me.” Amy obeyed, moving as if in a trance. He’d pull his thoughts back once he had her ensnared.No point in taking t he fun out of the whole experience—for both of them. The dark street was empty, and the shadow of an ancient oak was thick and heavy like a velvet cloak around them. Nathan reached forward and pulled Amy back to him until their bodies were a breath apart.He listened to her, focusing on the steady beat of her heart .The strength of it was more than just intoxicating—it was deliciously temp ting. “Just relax,” he said.He ran his palms slowly across her shoulders and down her arms.“I’ll tell you the secrets you want to know.I’ll be your tutor.Wou ld you like that?” She nodded.

Moving like a soft wave across wet sand, he eased his hands around her wai st and up to the sides of her breasts.As he’d suspected, the figure hidden under baggy clothes was quite pleasing.Very feminine.Releasing the top few buttons on her blouse from their holes, he gained access to her heated skin. “The first thing you must have is trust.”He nuzzled her hair, letting her sc ent fill his senses, consciously separating the musky smell of Billy from her heavenly aroma. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or vi a any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and pun ishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do n ot participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials . Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents eith er are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any rese mblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely co incidental.

Dark Desires Copyrightã2003Lydia Parks

ISBN: 1-894942-53-1 Cover art and design by Martine Jardin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or util ization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mech anical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books, a division of Zumaya Publications, 2003 Look for us online at: www.zumayapublications.com www.Extasybooks.com

      DARK DESIRES

by

Lydia Parks

For my very own Stud Muffin and the original Lydia.

Thank you both.

CHAPTER ONE

The darkness was complete.

Unbroken.

Undisturbed. Nathan lay perfectly still and let the sounds from above drift down to hi s cold bed.The wooden floor creaked as Frank came in from his job at the g reasy garage.The apartment door slammed.He dropped his lunch pail on the k itchen counter, opened the refrigerator, and groaned.Probably a lack of be er causing his dismay, and prompting his speedy exit moments later. Quiet again. The old mansion had been divided into apartments that were generally peace ful during the day, as they housed primarily the working-class.An elderly m an on the third floor was always home, but he didn’t snore quite loudly eno ugh to be annoying at that distance. On the second floor, a soft, sweet voice drew Nathan’s attention.“Billy, don’ t you want to eat first?” “No, Baby,”Billy answered,“I want to screw first.”

“Billy, please,”the young woman pleaded,“someone will hear you.” “Only if they’re listening.” Two sets of footsteps turned into one, and then the bedsprings screeched as Billy tossed his would-be mate onto the mattress. She laughed and whispered his name. Nathan focused to tune in the voices lowered in intimacy. “Come on, Amy, you know I love you.Spread those beautiful legs for me and let me look.I want to see all of you.” “No, Billy, turn off the light.” “Why?” “You know why.I can’t do it that way.” Discarded shoes thudded on the floor, and the couple joined in rushed, we t kisses.Billy moaned and grunted softly before speaking again.“Damn, girl , you make me feel good.” “Me, too,”she answered. “You, too, what?” “I feel good, too.” “How?Tell me.I like to hear you tell me.” “I…. . .you make me want more.” “More what?” “More of you.” “Umm.What part of me do you want?” Amy’s voice lowered to where Nathan could barely hear it.“Your…. . .dick

.” “Oh, baby, that’s good.” The kisses grew more passionate, sprinkled with grunts and groans as they s tarted fucking. Nathan closed his eyes and pictured their bodies, naked and glistening with sweat in the cool night as they embraced, screwing with the desperation tha t only young lovers felt. Human lovers. He longed for an ounce of their enthusiasm. Their steady humping aroused a memory that he hadn’t recalled for many y ears.A memory from when his world was still new and full of excitement... “Nathan, hurry.”Hannah reached back for his hand as she ran.Her footsteps f ell in rhythmic silence on the forest floor, too quiet to disturb even the g reat owl perched on a branch above them. Hannah glanced back at him.“Can you feel it yet?” Nathan shook his head as he followed.“No.” “Try again.Let your thoughts go where they will.”She spoke in a voice that was just louder than the beat of butterfly wings.Humans couldn’t hear them , nor could the nocturnal forest animals, so the world remained untouched a s they traveled through the night. Hannah stopped.Raising her face to the full moon, she closed her eyes.“N ow?Can you feel it now?” Nathan stood beside her and emulated her stance.There was nothing. “Stop trying,”she said. When he did as she ordered, the feeling washed over him like an ocean wav e, nearly knocking him to the ground.There was sorrow and longing and need , as heavy as liquid lead on his shoulders.

“Yes,”he said.“I feel it now.” Opening his eyes, he found Hannah smiling at him, her alabaster skin glow ing in the moonlight.Her luscious red lips curved into a smile.“I knew you would.”She started forward again.“Come, we must find her quickly.Dawn is not so distant now.” The sounds of the forest gave way to the more familiar sounds of a villag e--—people snoring, dogs barking, two men whispering over a bottle, and an old woman complaining as she rose from her bed. They stopped at the edge of the clearing, holding hands. Hannah pointed.“There.You see?” “Yes.” Less than thirty yards in front of them, a young woman cried quietly.She s tood on an overturned bucket, her hands and neck locked in one of the two w ooden pillories set on a head-high platform.She faced the village where tho se who punished her slept. “What do you think she’s done?”Nathan asked. “Who’s to say?Perhaps something as vile as missing church services.Altho ugh, to be sentenced to stand so at night suggests a crime much more seri ous.Maybe she stole from the offering plate.”She laughed.“Why don’t you a sk her?” “What if she screams?” Hannah shrugged.“We’ll leave.”She leaned closer.“Don’t you want a better l ook at her?She has slender ankles, at least.” Bent over as she was, the woman’s skirt drew up in back, and the lower par ts of her stocking-covered legs were revealed to indeed be slender.She shif ted her weight from one foot to the other and back again. Nathan walked slowly forward, marveling at the way his perception of her sorrow grew as he neared.The wooden steps to the platform squeaked under his weight, and the aura of sadness emanating from the woman suddenly di sappeared, to be replaced by apprehension.

“Who’s there?” Nathan hopped up the last few steps and rounded the end of the pillory. The woman turned her head awkwardly to look up at him.Her long, blond ha ir was stringy and wet with tears. He reached out and eased the hair away from her face.“I’m Nathan Cotton, dear lady.There’s no need to fear me.” “I…. . .don’t know you.You’re not from here.” “No.My sister and I were walking in the woods when we heard you crying. ” She strained to watch Hannah approach.“Weren’t you afraid of wild animal s?” He shook his head and smiled reassuringly. She glanced toward the village, then back at him. “What’s your name?”he asked. “Mary.Mary Randall.” Hannah moved to Nathan’s side and draped her hand over his shoulder.“My brother wants to know what you’ve done to deserve this harsh treatment.” “I’ve done nothing,”Mary said.“Old widow Prentice accused me of seducing h er son in order to steal her fortune.Stupid old bag.As if I wanted her redfaced barrel of a son.” Hannah laughed.“My, my.”She dropped her voice below Mary’s hearing.“Feisty and beautiful.It’s good the town’s judges didn’t mar her beauty with a nas ty brand, or by cutting off her ears.What a delicious little morsel she is. ” Nathan tensed as he considered Hannah’s words.“I don’t want to take her li fe.She’s too young.”

“There are ways to enjoy her youth without taking it.”Hannah stroked his c heek with one finger. “Are there?” “Oh, yes.I’ll show you.” He nodded. “Poor Mary,”Hannah said, her volume raised again.“We certainly can’t leav e her this way.” “No.”Nathan stepped forward, grabbed the iron lock, and tugged.It snapped.H e lifted the top timber and eased it all the way around until it hung from i ts hinge. Mary slowly raised her head, stepped back off the bucket, stumbled, and fell to the platform. Nathan knelt in front of her, admiring the fine features of her pretty face, ev en as it distorted with pain. As she sat before him, trying to stretch her arms, he could see that she ha d a narrow waist and full, round breasts.No wonder the widow worried about h er son.Mary Randall was a child of rare beauty, and a spirited fire burned i n her sky-blue eyes. “Oh,”she said,“I can’t move.” “Here, child, let us help.”Hannah knelt behind Mary and rubbed her arms.S he nodded at Nathan, and he began to rub her ankles. Even in the chill of autumn, her skin was warm beneath the wool stockings.H e felt a soft pulse under his palm and he heard the thub-dub of her heart.It beat strong and steady in the night, awakening the devil inside him. He moved his hands to her calves. “You must have been freezing out here, you poor thing,”Hannah said. Mary nodded.“Yes.”

“And all because an old woman resents your beauty.” Mary looked back.“Do you think so?” “Oh, I’m sure of it.Don’t you think she’s beautiful, Nathan?” Nathan nodded.“Yes.”He slid his hands up to her thighs and Mary’s eyes w idened. The warmth of her skin where it had not been exposed to the elements was i ntoxicating and he closed his eyes. “Don’t you think my brother is pleasing to look upon?”Hannah asked. After a moment’s hesitation, Mary answered,“Yes.” “As do I.” “But you don’t appear as brother and sister.I see no resemblance.Where he’s fair, you’re dark.And where he’s sturdy, you’re frail.” Hannah laughed.“How true.We are only brother and sister by choice, not by birth.” “Oh?” Nathan rubbed slow circles in the pliable flesh of her thighs, wishing to m ove higher, but not daring to.The devil’s desires mingled with those of the man, and Nathan’s cock hardened in response. “Would you like to take my brother as a lover?” Mary gasped.“I…. . .I couldn’t do that.It’s immoral.” “But haven’t you already been accused and convicted of being a harlot?” “Well, yes.” “And wouldn’t you like to know about the crime for which you’re being puni shed?It is quite enjoyable, with the right partner.” Mary didn’t answer.

“My brother’s a wonderful lover, be assured.He has talents unlike any man you’ll ever meet again.” “Well…. . .” Nathan felt the calm, soothing flow of Hannah’s will as she laid it over them like a blanket. “Yes,”Mary said. “Good.” The three rose to their feet in unison. Mary stood in front of him, her arms at her sides, staring into his eyes. He leaned forward and covered her mouth, tasting the warm saltiness of her pursed lips.Better than the sweetest wine. Mary’s hands seared through his shirt as she pressed them against his chest and ran them slowly up to circle his neck.Her heated mouth opened under his , and her tongue touched his tentatively, hot to his cold, soft to his hard. Her thigh pressed into the front of his breeches and the gnawing need of the devil grew. He must take care not to scrape her lips with his incisors, lest the sweet ta ste of her blood push him beyond control. Hannah stroked the side of his head.“We must find shelter now.Bring your morsel with you and we’ll pass the day with her.” Nathan released Mary’s mouth and pressed his lips to her ear, hiding his fan gs so as not to startle her.“Come with us.” She nodded. Holding Mary’s hand, Nathan followed Hannah into the woods.They ran unti l the village was far behind them. Hannah stopped at a small clearing and lifted a door that opened up from t he ground, disguised with leaves and twigs. The doorway hid a staircase lea

ding into the dark, damp earth. Mary’s hand trembled in his as she followed him down.Hannah ducked in be hind them and let the trapdoor slam…. . . Nathan jumped at the sudden noise and sat up in bed.Somehow, he’d managed to sleep the last half hour of sunset. Without windows in his basement apartment, he couldn’t see the darkness, but knew it was there nonetheless. One more night in an endless string of nights.How was he supposed to conti nue like this?Eternity stretched out in front of him like a stone weight ar ound his neck.If only he could find a glimmer of joy, something to simply h old his interest for a while.Perhaps then he wouldn’t spend so much time co nsidering walking into the sunrise. Loud footsteps thudded down the stairs--—two sets, man and woman. “Billy, please.Don’t leave like this.” Ah, the poor lovers were quarreling.Nathan tried to remember what it was like when his human heart ached for the love of a woman. The memory was too faint to recall.So much time--—so many memories sto len from their human hosts. Stretching the kinks from his limbs, Nathan crossed to the closet and remov ed his clothes from hangers.He pulled on jeans, slipped on the burgundy silk shirt, and stepped into black leather boots.After running a comb through hi s hair, he sighed and headed out into the hallway and up the stairs to the b ack door. At least he had new ground to explore.Maybe somewhere there’d be somethi ng to entertain him for a few hours. In the alley between two monstrous houses, he stopped and, one by one, op ened his senses to the world around him. Sounds bombarded his sensitive ears from every direction.His new home was a city of several million people, and they all seemed to be making noise at once.Car horns blew and brakes screeched.Dogs barked, cats howled, musi

c blared.Atlanta was definitely louder than Great Falls had been. Closing his eyes, he dampened his hearing until it reached a bearable level. It was autumn, and the stench of decaying leaves mixed with the sweet arom a of burning logs in fireplaces.Car exhaust hung thick, even in this somewh at secluded neighborhood.But the smells that interested him most were those of the living things, producing scents that awakened him to possibilities and longing. The devil grumbled irritably inside him, urging him toward his night’s goa l.He must locate his new source of sustenance, lest these enticing humans s uffer the consequences, and he’d be forced to leave once again. He was tired of traveling.He needed to find a place where he belonged, at least for a decade or two.A city the size of Atlanta held promise.No one wo uld notice one more stranger.Maybe he could rest here for a time. Opening his eyes and squinting against the assault of a streetlight, Nathan started down the alley.As he neared the street, a wave of grief and regret st ruck him, as strong as the smell of late-season roses in the manager’s garden. A woman sat in the shadows on a rock wall that lined the sidewalk, crying s oftly into her hands. Nathan stopped.“Are you all right?” Startled, the woman straightened suddenly.“YY…yes.” Ah, so this was Amy.He recognized her voice. He knew he should leave. He had business to take care of.He felt an inexpl icable pull toward her, however.Her jeans were slightly baggy, and the blou se she wore hid her figure.Her brown hair was just past shoulder length and straight.Nothing spectacular. Her eyes were another story.Even in the dim light, he saw the spark.Her bl ue eyes held a smoldering ember of what she could be--—of a lust for living yet dormant.What fun it would be to see that glimmer grow to the heated fl ame of passion. Nathan shook himself.Dangerous thoughts, under the circumstances.He sh ould go, and leave this young woman alone. So why was he walking toward

her? He leaned casually against the wall.“Are you sure?You aren’t hurt, are you ?” She shook her head. “Nathan.”He extended his hand.“Basement A.” After a moment’s hesitation, she slid her warm hand into his.“Amy,”she sa id.“2B.” “Amy.”He released her hand, enjoying the effect of contact.Her warmth rea ched into his chest, spreading like heated syrup.“I’m sorry you’re so unha ppy.Is there something I can do?” She shook her head again and wiped the tears from her cheeks.“I had a figh t with my boyfriend.” “Oh?”He recalled the session he’d overheard--—the passionate embraces, an d soft cries of surrender.His own desire flared and he fought it back.He d idn’t want to scarethe poor girl.“What could you possibly be fighting abou t?” She tensed.“It’s personal.” Nathan hopped up onto the wall beside her, sending calming thoughts.He saw her slump a little as the tranquility reached her mind. “Of course it’s personal,”he said softly.“He’s your lover.Everything betwe en you should be very personal.” “Yes,”she whispered back. “You can tell me.I’m quite good at keeping secrets.” She looked at him, her eyes now trusting.“He wants me to do things that I c an’t do.” “Like?” “Like, he wants me to let him look at me when I’m naked.”

Nathan leaned closer to inspect the soft lines of her face.“Why can’t you do that?” “I…. . .I’m too plain.He won’t like me.” “Plain?”He reached over and ran his fingers down the outside of her sleeve, teasing himself with her warmth.“I doubt that.” “It’s true.” “Hmm.Is there more?” She nodded.“He wants me to—”Shelooked away from him. “To be more bold in bed?” “Yes,”she said, turning back to focus on him again. He nearly gasped at the intensity of her gaze. “How did you know?” “Just a guess.”He slid his leg up and straddled the wall facing her.“You lo ve him, don’t you?” She nodded. “You want to please him?” “Yes, but—” He reached out and touched her lips.“Shh.A simple yes or no will do.”Smili ng, he let his fingers trail down her smooth jaw, across her shoulder, and down her arm again. She shivered in response.“Yes.” “I can help you, Amy.Would you like that?” When her eyes widened, he pressed his thoughts ahead, focusing on the cent er of her forehead.Calm, peace, trust.

“Yes, I’d like that.” “Good.”He drew a circle with one finger in the air.“Turn around with your back to me.” Amy obeyed, moving as if in a trance. He’d release her mind once he had her ensnared.No point in taking the fun out of the whole experience--—for both of them. The dark street was empty, and the shadow of an ancient oak was thick and heavy, enclosing them from view like a velvet cloak. Nathan reached forward and pulled Amy back to him until their bodies were a breath apart.He listened to the steady beating of her heart.Its strength was more than just intoxicating--—it was deliciously tempting. “Just relax,”he said.He ran his palms slowly across her shoulders and down her arms.“I’ll tell you the secrets you want to know.I’ll be your tutor.Woul d you like that?” She nodded. Moving like a soft wave across wet sand, he eased his hands around her wai st and up to the sides of her breasts.As he’d suspected, the figure hidden under baggy clothes was quite pleasing.Very feminine.Releasing the top few buttons on her blouse from their holes, he exposed her heated skin to the c ool night air. “The first thing you must have is trust.”He nuzzled her hair, letting her sc ent fill his nostrils, deliberately separating the musky smell of Billy from her own heavenly aroma. He reached into her bra and traced her areola with one finger, releasing his hold on her mind just a touch. She inhaled sharply and the nipple hardened. As he flicked the tender nub back and forth, the desires flowing through him were purely human.He shifted his position to accommodate his stiff coc k, then wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

Planting light kisses on her exposed shoulder, he moved his hand to the othe r breast and teased it’s nipple to attention.Her body responded with small je rks, and he released her mind a little more. “The second thing is focus.You must concentrate only on the places where our bodies touch.” “Someone…. . .will see us,”she whispered. “Close your eyes and concentrate.Feel my hand as it caresses your skin.”He enveloped her full breast, squeezing gently and lifting.He rubbed his thum b more roughly across the nipple, then twisted it between his thumb and for efinger. Her back arched and she leaned into him. “Are you focused?”he asked. She nodded. “Good.Follow my hand with your mind.Think of nothing but the sensations it produces in your beautiful body.”Closing his own eyes, Nathan withdrew his hand from the top of her blouse and reached under the hem.The night wind whispered around them as he circled her stomach, memorizing the hint of roundness.His palm absorbed her blessed heat. He pressed his lips to her shoulder again as the beat of her heart grew fas ter and louder, calling to him.The pleasant ache in his mouth reminded him t hat his fangs were descending.He must be careful not to go too far. But holding this woman in the night was magical.Her innocence was sugar o n pastry.How long had it been since he’d felt such a strong attraction to a human? He unsnapped and unzipped her jeans as he tightened his arm around her wai st again, pressing his skin against hersFeeling her heat against his hidden erection made him smile. “Focus,”he whispered.“Feel only my fingers.” She whimpered as he reached into her pants and raked his fingers slowly up

the front of her panties. When he eased his hand under the nylon, she reached back and gripped his thighs. “I want nothing more than to please you,”he said.“Focus and enjoy.” As his fingers slid across her coarse curls, her head fell back to his should er, exposing the tender flesh of her neck to his mouth.The devil inside scream ed, and he deliberately turned his gaze away from it. He pressed his lips to t he flesh of her shoulder again, thrilling to the pounding of her pulse near hi s ear.With the tip of his tongue, he tasted her saltiness.Ambrosia. He slid two fingers across her wet cunt and released all control from her t houghts.Her arousal washed over him, her scent filling his nostrils, her hea rtbeat thundering, her body writhing against his.Her breath came in sharp ga sps. This dangerous game he played was wonderfully agonizing, addicting, exhila rating.Over the centuries, he’d learned to keep the devil at bay, but there were times when he’d lost his hold.If the innocent woman in his arms knew the danger, would she be more aroused, or simply terrified? He rubbed her swollen clit slowly, careful not to push too far just yet.She w as close, and her juices coated his fingers. “Open yourself for me,”he whispered.“Feel the pleasure as I enter you.Surre nder to it.Surrender to dark desires.” She spread her legs for him. He slid his fingers into her and she murmured softly. She turned her head to expose both her cunt and throat to him.It was very nearly too much. Releasing her waist momentarily, he reached up and turned her head.He had no desire to stop her sweet sounds of joy, only to mute them against unwa nted attention. Covering her mouth with his own, he stroked her cunt, ente ring and withdrawing. With his fangs fully descended now, he must be caref ul not to nick her lips.One taste and he would most certainly sink his tee th into her warm neck. She undulated in his arms and raised herself against his hand as she approa ched the crest.Her cunt tightened around his fingers.

Knowing how sweet the erotic pleasure coursing through her veins would tas te as she came, he drew her over the top.She cried out and dug her fingers into his legs as her cunt pulsed hard and steady, drenching his hand with h er juices, flooding him with a need he could barely stand. It would be easy to pierce her skin and let his mouth fill with her ecstasy, r ise up over the crest with her and fall into the world of dark pleasure, fulfil led. Too easy. As her rhythmic movements slowed, he slowed his stroke and withdrew his fi ngers, waiting for the last of the sweet pulses before removing his hand co mpletely.She relaxed against him, her breath fast and shallow, her pulse ra cing wildly, and he held her with his lips pressed to her tortuously tender neck. The devil struggled inside him to be freed, to have just one moment of joy. He forced it back.Not this time, not this one.She was pure and young, on th e verge of blossoming.Perhaps later, he’d be able to taste her nectar, but a t the moment he was too hungry to play. “Feel the darkness around you now, holding you, caressing you.Enjoy it as you were meant to.”He pressed one last kiss to her cheek and then moved a way. She sat alone, straddling the wall, her eyes still closed.A soft breeze lifte d the ends of her hair and sent them dancing around her shoulders. Nathan watched her for a moment, then turned and hurried along the dark str eet.It was more urgent than ever that he feed before the devil took control. He inhaled the lingering scent of Amy on his fingers as he walked.

CHAPTER TWO

Amy sat on the wall, gripping the cold rocks in front of her.Every inch of h er skin tingled with life, and gentle waves of pleasure ran up her spine. As if emerging from a stupor, she roused and looked around.What on earth h ad just happened?She quickly zipped her pants and buttoned her blouse, then swung her leg over the wall and slid to her feet. She was surprised to fin d her legs shaking and barely able to support her. There wasn’t a soul on the sidewalk in either direction, and she fought a st range feeling that she’d just dreamt her encounter with Nathan. No, it hadn’t been a dream.The man was real, although, granted, a little o dd.He was tall and amazingly good-looking, withbrowndark blondhair and gree n eyes, but he was incredibly pale.And his skin was cold.The temperature of his hands hadn’t stopped them from arousing her.In fact, the coolness was thrilling, in a strange way. Amy swallowed hard.Her mind seemed foggy as she tried to recall how she’d gone from introducing herself to a stranger to having an orgasm in his ar ms. Just the thought produced a sinful twitch between her legs. And they’d been sitting out in public, no less.What if someone had seen them? She looked around again.Apparently, their actions had gone unobse rved. The wickedness of the whole thing made her smile to herself, and a n odd warmth spread over her entire body.Did Nathan--—her tutor--—have m ore in mind for her? Would she allow another strange encounter with the man? More importantly, did she have any choice in the matter? She turned toward the house and strolled up the driveway.Basement apartment A.That much she remembered for sure.

***

The mile-long walk to Piedmont Hospital would have been nothing, if not for his earlier rendezvous with Amy. The devil hungered, and Nathan now h eard every beating heart he passed. The door to the emergency room swished open and he tightened his failing g rip on the devil as the smell of blood hit him full force.Keeping his mouth firmly closed and his eyes averted, he crossed the waiting room and found his way to the charge nurse’s desk. A middle-aged woman looked up from her work, her eyes red and her face a little haggard.“May I help you?” “I’m the new technician,”he said.“Nathan Cotton.” “Cotton?”The woman consulted a clipboard and frowned.“I don’t see your… . . .name.” Nathan focused one distinct thought into her brain--—a beam of energy. She wrote his name on the bottom line of the list. He released her mind. “Oh, here it is,”she said.Then she looked up.“No one told me you were st arting tonight.You know what you’re supposed to do?” He smiled.“They said I’d be drawing blood and logging it in.I’m quite good at finding veins.My last job was at a blood bank.” “Here in town?” “No.I just moved here from Montana.” The woman nodded.“Well, it’s not like we don’t need the help.I’ll get s omeone to show you where everything is.”She waved at a young blonde woma n who was hurrying by.“Candy, over here.” The blonde looked at Nathan and practically skidded to a halt.“Yes?” “Please show Mr. Cotton where the locker room and lounge are, and then t ake him back to the lab.He’s our new vampire.”

Nathan arched one eyebrow at the older woman, surprised into immobility. She reached up and touched his arm with a laugh.“Sorry, hospital humor.You ’ll get used to it.” He nodded and smiled.“I’m sure I will.” As they followed the hall, the scent of spilled blood grew more distant, an d it was easier to keep the devil at bay.Still, he needed to feed very soon. The young woman in front of him looked considerably more attractive than she should, and her heartbeat pounded in his ears, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. Candy spoke non-stop.“The lounge is over there, and the locker rooms are behind this door.Men’s on the right, women’s on the left.You might want to leave a change of clothes in your locker.Everyone gets hit by something n asty in the emergency room sooner or later.Fresh gowns by the door, and gl oves in boxes all over the place.You ever work in a hospital?” “Once or twice.” She led the way through a swinging door into a long room filled with refrig eration units and a variety of microscopes, test tubes, syringes, and a cent rifuge--—everything a blood lab needed. The scent of blood was overwhelming here, and his fangs dropped quickly to their full length. The hot hand on his arm startled him and he looked down into Candy’s haze l eyes. “You’ll find we stay pretty busy around here.No time for much of anything .”She stepped closer.“Like foreplay.”Her hand slid up to encircle his neck and she raised her face to him.Her pounding heart drowned out all other s ound, and he covered her mouth with his. Yes, the kiss of need.He drank up the taste of her mouth as he dragged her to him, warming himself in the flame of her life, drawing her tongue into his mouth.He circled her waist and fell back against the wall, pulling her with him, as the devil took hold.Every ounce of him ached with need and hun ger, uncontrollable, demanding her blood.Her life force was strong and alre ady tinged with darkness.Her veins coursed with the promise of ecstasy and

satisfaction. At the first drop, his knees nearly collapsed.He drew hard, filling his mou th— “Ow!Son of a bitch!”Candy pushed away from him with a slap.She pinched her bottom lip between her forefinger and thumb.“You bit me.” He smiled a closed-mouth smile, hiding the fangs that ached for more. She backed toward the door, frowning.“I’m not into that shit.” Nathan gripped the handle of a refrigeration unit to keep himself from reac hing for her.“Then I suggest you leave.” “But I’m supposed to show you—” “I can find what I need.” She turned and hurried out. As soon as she was gone, Nathan swung around and jerked open the door.He gr abbed a bag, held it to his mouth, and sank his fangs into it.Plastic lacked the pleasing texture of flesh, but the nourishment was a relief as it fille d his mouth and flowed down his throat. He gulped the first bag and the seco nd, then drank the third more slowly, trying to find any hint of emotion. There was nothing.Cold, donated blood held no joy or sorrow, fear or elatio n, but it kept the devil under control.And that was all he needed for now. He cleaned up the empties, located a small cooler, and filled it with a doz en bags.He’d work a few hours, then sneak out with a week’s supply.It would be easy to slip back in and work a few night shifts until people got used to seeing him.No one would ever question his position at the hospital.And if b y chance someone did, he’d convince them that the blank page they studied wa s his certification or work record, or whatever it needed to be.He’d spent c enturies perfecting the art of persuasion, and he was very good at it. If nothing else, the hospital would provide his meals, and maybe a little div ersion.

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Amy tossed and turned until she finally gave up on getting any sleep.She glanced at the clock.Four-ten in the morning.How on earth was she going to work all day on no sleep? She rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen.Although she’d never suffe red from insomnia before, she remembered her mother insisting that warm mil k helped.Certainly a little chocolate mixed in wouldn’t hurt.She filled a m ug with milk, placed it in the microwave, and set the timer. The other remedy she’d heard about--—though definitely not from her moth er--—was sex.Somehow, she couldn’t imagine that it would put her to sleep .It never had in the past.After she and Billy spent an hour in bed, she w as always wide awake and restless.Billy was usually the one ready for a n ap.Maybe sex only cured insomnia in men. Amy sat on a kitchen chair and thought back to her encounter earlier tha t evening with Nathan.She knew she’d had an orgasm, even though it was so mething that had never happened to her before.The feelings--—the sensatio ns were amazingly intense.If only she could experience an orgasm with Bil ly.Maybe it would make them both happy. But she certainly couldn’t ask him to finger fuck her--—he’d ask how she e ven knew about such a thing.Of course, she could tell him she’d heard other teenagers talk about it back in high school, which was true, but he’d know it wasn’t an idea that would suddenly occur to her, just as he’d known she was a virgin the first time they’d gone to bed. Great.Now that she’d discovered something so wonderful, she’d never have it again. Unless there was another way. Amy rose and walked to the bedroom.She opened the top drawer to her dress er and withdrew the present Billy had given her several months ago--—a whi te, plastic vibrator.The gift had embarrassed her, but Billy insisted she keep it.

“One day,”he’d said,“you’ll be happy you have it.” “I doubt it,”she’d answered. Now she wondered.Could she figure out how to use it without any kind of in structions? She glanced around the room, half expecting her father to appea r with his belt in hand. But she was completely alone. She twisted the bottom of the mechanism and held the vibrating shaft, wond ering what it would feel like between her legs. An interesting twinge shot through her. “What the hell,”she whispered.Apparently, her jaunt into the realm of dark pleasures wasn’t over yet.A picture of Nathan’s sexy smile flashed in her mind and she swallowed hard. Amy stripped off her T-shirt and panties, and stretched out in the center of the bed with the vibrator in her hand.She twisted the bottom again and close d her eyes as she touched the cold plastic to her skin, starting at her neck. She remembered the way Nathan’s cold fingers felt caressing her breasts as she ran the vibrating plastic across her nipples, then she twisted her nippl e with her free hand as she moved the dildo slowly over her bare stomach. It was easy to imagine Nathan’s hand sliding into her panties, and she recall ed the surprise of his cool fingers teasing her.The touch on the lips of her s lit brought her hips into the air and Nathan’s fingers hinted at entering her. His mouth was on hers, his tongue sliding across her lips. She thrilled to the mounting tension as she eased the tip of the vibrator past the swollen lips of her vagina.

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It was after four when Nathan reached his new home.Tearing the orange-colo red notice from his door, he walked into his apartment as he read it aloud. “Halloween party, tomorrow night, all residents invited.Costumes suggested. Starts at seven in the manager’s apartment.”He turned the page over, then d

ropped it onto the table.“Could be interesting.” He deposited most of his stash in the refrigerator and carried one bag with him to the bedroom.Before this night, it had been several days since he’d f ed.The devil wasn’t quite ready to release its hold.He would consume the bag slowly, then read until dawn.Tomorrow he’d start the evening with a costume party.At least it would be something different. Nathan stripped off his clo thes and tossed the shirt into the clothes hamper.Then he sat on the edge of the bed, the bag of O-positive in his hand. An unfamiliar noise caught his attention, and he tilted his head to listen. It was a series of muffled groans accompanying a soft buzz.The groans increa sed in volume and frequency until he recognized the voice. “Amy,”he whispered. A picture formed in his head to accompany the noises and he smiled.She was alone tonight, giving herself pleasure.It was the first time he’d heard her doing so, but he’d only been in the apartment a few days. Nathan stretched out on his bed and closed his eyes.He saw a vision of her naked body, knees up as she lay on her back.Her hand gripped the mechanica l cock and slid it rhythmically over her clit and into her wet cunt, back a nd forth, in and out, as her body moved to match the rhythm.Her back arched as she neared the climax; her body grew desperate for release. He slid his fingers up and down his swollen cock, picturing her beside hi m now, then he gripped his cock tightly and pushed.He imagined her heat sw allowing him as she mounted him in his bed.He wanted her as a man would, a nd the desire woke the devil. As her groans quickened, he raised the bag to his mouth, letting his fang s trail over the edge of the plastic, remembering the warm skin on her nec k.He’d wait until the last moment to penetrate her flesh--—the moment when her blood would be the sweetest, most intoxicating, most demanding. “Oh, God, oh,”she gasped, as she buried the vibrating cock deep inside her so that the hum all but disappeared. He pierced the bag and let the cold blood fill his mouth.His cock pumped ag ainst his grasp, releasing cold semen to pool on his bare skin.

He sucked the bag dry, wishing for a more fulfilling climax, but knowing t hat would only happen with living flesh under his lips.And the flesh he wan ted was a mere two stories above him. Amy made soft mewing noises for several moments, then the buzz disappear ed, replaced by silence. It was at that very moment Nathan decided he must have her in his bed bef ore her lessons were complete.He would introduce her to depths of darkness few humans knew.If he was careful, he could keep the devil in check long enough to satisfy his growing need--—taste her without harming her. In fact, maybe he’d offer her the chance to enter his world.To live forever. Only the very special ones were given that opportunity. But he’d have to be certain.He’d made the mistake of bringing in some who couldn’t handle it, and the heartache had haunted him for decades afterwa rds. The empty plastic bag fell to the floor as Nathan dropped his arms to his sid es. He thought back to the day he’d spent in the underground shelter with Ha nnah and Mary Randall, remembering the smell of the damp earth around the m. “It’s like the grave,”Mary said.Her voice quivered with apprehension. “No,”Hannah answered,“this is much better than the grave.”She lit a lamp in the corner and illuminated their small hideout. Near the lamp was a crude bed, covered with a dusty quilt.Hannah swiped at it, sending a cloud of dust into the air, then removed her cloak and spread it over the quilt.She stretched out, propped herself up on one elbow, and sm iled. Mary swallowed hard as she looked from Hannah to Nathan.“Maybe I sho uld--—” Nathan stroked her cheek.“It’s all right,”he said.“We won’t hurt you.” He had really thought they wouldn’t. How could he have been so naive?Th

e twinkle in Hannah’s eyes should have been a warning, but he’d wanted M ary in a way he hadn’t wanted any woman since he’d lost his mortality.An d Hannah had promised. “Come, my dear,”Hannah said.She held out her smooth, pale hand, palm d own. Mary stepped forward and slid her hand into Hannah’s. Nathan followed.He sat at the foot of the bed. Hannah glanced over Mary’s shoulder at Nathan as she began to remove Mary’ s clothes.“She is tender, in spite of her fire, don’t you think?” Nathan watched as the clothing slid from Mary’s milky shoulders and down to her waist.Her back was smooth and white, and he reached out to touch her. She jumped.“Your hands are cold,”she said. Hannah’s blanket of calm descended once again, and Mary’s hunched shoul ders relaxed. “There,”Hannah said.“Much better.You may do as you wish now.I’ll release her when the time’s right.You don’t want to suppress the joy at the mome nt of surrender.You’ll see.” Nathan slipped out of his overcoat and traced lines across Mary’s slender shoulders.His cock hardened again as he dipped his mouth to her tender skin and kissed the back of her neck. Hannah ran her fingers though his hair.“Turn her around, dear,”she said.“I t’s much more fun that way.” The two of them lay Mary on the bed and drew off her clothing.The young woman watched with apparent disinterest as Nathan lowered his mouth to he r plump breasts to suckle. Hannah removed his shirt and ran her fingers down the muscles of his back , and he drew hard on the tender nipples, first one and then the other.A g roan rose from Mary as Hannah’s calm withdrew.Mary gripped Nathan by the h air to hold his mouth to her breast.

“Oh,”she whispered,“that feels wonderful.” “It’s only the beginning,”Hannah answered.“Here, my dear, draw your knees up around him.Yes, that’s it.” With the heat that radiated from between Mary’s thighs burning against his belly, he felt Hannah’s hands working to free his cock from the restraint of his breeches. The devil, too, strained against its bonds.Although Nathan and Hannah had s pent three years together, they’d never shared anything in the realm of sexu al pleasure with a mortal.Still, her actions didn’t surprise him.The beast w as too close to breaking free. Hannah drew off his boots and breeches as he savored Mary’s flesh. His body quivered in his struggle.He was anxious to mount her. “Not yet,”Hannah said. He groaned at having to wait, but obeyed.Hannah was his teacher, the one who had brought him into the darkness, and he could not go against her wis hes. Mary’s sweet scent mingled with the damp earth, dancing as a heavenly visi on in his brain.He drew his fangs across her belly, careful not to slice he r tender skin.The sensation made him shudder. “Now, Nathan, enter her slowly, but for just a taste.” The earthly pleasure of his cock pressing into her hot, tight cunt made hi m gasp, and he closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Mary. Halfway in, he stopped and raised himself up over her.“I’m her first,”he wh ispered. “Yes,”Hannah purred.She pressed her fangs against the side of his neck, pus hing the sharp points to his skin, hinting of vampire pleasures yet to come. Nathan growled as he thrust himself into Mary.

Mary gasped and clung to his shoulders. “Now, make her feel good, Nathan.I know you know how.” He kissed Mary’s mouth, tasting her lips until they softened under his and parted.He eased his cock nearly all the way out.She whimpered and he slid it back in, keeping his movements slow and gentle.Before long, her hips rose t o meet his tender thrusts, and her juices coated him, greasing his entry int o her virginal cunt.He pressed his mouth to her neck, listening to the stead y rush of life’s nectar under his lips.It sang to him, daring him to taste.H e drew back his lips--— “No,”Hannah said.“Not yet.” He groaned. “There’s so much more, my dear.And the day is long.” Above them, the sun burned through morning mist…. . . Nathan stirred as the sun began to set.He sat up in bed, struggling to rem ember where he was.The smell of damp earth had been replaced with dust and mold and old furniture. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he glared at the empty blood b ag.“Yes,”he said.“There’s so much more.” He stood and stretched, then started toward the shower.

CHAPTER THREE

Amy patted the sequins on her cheeks and studied her reflection in the mirr or.Her fairy costume seemed strange in light of her darkening desires of lat e. She wondered if Nathan would be at the party. Billy had claimed he had to work late, but something in his voice had told her he was making excuses.Since the fight, he hadn’t called once, nor had he bothered to apologize when she called to invite him to the party. Maybe it was over. Her heart ached at the thought, in spite of her excitement at possibly seei ng her odd neighbor.Billy had been her boyfriend for six months, and she’d e xpected to spend the rest of her life with him.Until now. “Great.” She straightened the white wings that hung from her shoulders and checked her skirt.The shear pink layer overlaying blue and green satin gave her a fuzzy look--—just what she’d been aiming for.The tight-fitting white knit top, however, showed more of her upper body than she would have liked, bu t she’d had to make do with what she had in the closet. Sighing, she slipped into the pink pumps on the way out, switched off the l ight and pulled the apartment door shut behind her. There were sixteen apartments in the old house, and it looked like everyon e had made it to the party.And they must have brought guests, because there were many faces she did not recognize. As she walked around, exchanging pleasantries over the loud music, she re alized that one person was missing: Nathan. Her luck had definitely taken a turn south. Mr. Olson of 1C asked her to dance, but she managed to convince him that s he needed to stock up on appetizers first.As she munched on caramel-coated

popcorn, he lost interest and turned his attention to Betty Kale, the woman in 2A whose male friends tended to look a little rough around the edges. Thirty minutes later, Amy had had enough.Mr. Olson wasn’t the only male making advances, and she was getting tired of fighting them off.Mrs. Nowi ki, the elderly apartment manager, kept trying to push Amy toward her gre asy nephew.The thought of having to dance with him made her stomach turn. She was pretending to study a painting over Mrs. Nowiki’s sofa when a stra nge warmth crept up her neck.She knew, before looking around, that the part y had just gotten more interesting.Shefelthis presence. “Amy,”he said softly from behind her,“wonderful to see you again.” She turned slowly to find him towering over her, his pale skin made more s o by the dark clothing he wore.The black cape draped over his broad shoulde rs appeared authentically European and was lined with blood-red satin that flashed as he reached up to touch her cheek.Hislight brownhair looked a lit tle wilder than it had the evening before. “Should I call you Count?” He grinned.“No, my dear, Nathan will do.” “The only thing you’re missing is the fangs.” “Oh, I have fangs.” She squinted against the dim light.“I don’t see them.” He raised his lips to expose the most realistic set of elongated incisors she’ d ever seen. “Not bad,”she said admiringly. He bowed his head in thanks.“Now,”he said, taking her hand,“dance with m e.” “I’m not really very good at--—” He paid no attention to her protest, led her to the middle of the living roo

m where several couples were dancing, and pulled her into his arms. She’d never danced with anyone this way, and was sure she’d make a fool of herself. She need not have worried, however. Nathan’s arms were strong and sure, and he led her in movements she didn’t even know existed.His e yes traveled over her face and then down to her cleavage, and his grin grew decidedly wicked. “You shouldn’t look at me like that,”she whispered.“Everyone’s watching u s.” “So?” “So.”She glanced around the room.“They’ll think we’re sleeping together.” “Sleeping?You mean, they’ll think we’re lovers.” ‘Lovers’had never been a word she’d been able to say aloud.It had been con sidered a curse word in her parents’strict Catholic household, and many of their uptight ways had followed her into adulthood.Now she stood in the arm s of a man who’d already done unspeakable things to her, fantasizing what i t would be like to be his lover. She nodded. “You’re wrong.”He arched one eyebrow.“They think I’m working on seducin g you at the moment.Later, they’ll think I succeeded.” “Why would they think that?” “Because I will have succeeded.Before your lessons are over, you will have a spectacular orgasm, the likes of which no one else in this room would be lieve.Maybe it’ll even happen tonight, maybe before we leave the party.” Amy’s eyes widened at his words.“Nathan--—” “Remember, I’m only doing this for you.”His green eyes twinkled.“You’re the one who asked for help.” “Did I?”

“More or less.”He drew her closer and his hand slid down to the small of h er back.“Now, relax and enjoy.” For the rest of the strange song--—something halfway between Celtic and Country--—Amy concentrated on the way her skin tingled under Nathan’s h and as it moved sensuously over her back.Everywhere it touched, she felt goose bumps rise. A low, quiet hunger started in her belly as she wondered what he had in mind.They couldn’t just have sex in the middle of the living room floor.W here would he decide to seduce her?And what made him think she’d consent? Assuming he’d wait for her consent. That he might not care if she consented or not sent a shiver down her spin e.There was something dangerous about Nathan, something that she instinctiv ely feared but couldn’t begin to identify.Maybe he was a serial killer who planned to have his way with her, then leave her bleeding to death in the a lley. She looked up into his green eyes. No, he wasn’t Ted Bundy.There was a different kind of danger--—a deeper evil. Maybe he really was Count Dracula. She smiled at the ridiculous thought. No, Nathan was the man who would introduce her to the world of dark lust, t hen leave her life.She must be careful to surrender only her body and not he r heart. Or her soul. When the music stopped, he led her across the room with one arm around he r waist.He poured her a glass of punch and stood against the wall, pulling her around in front of him.They watched the dancers as his hands traveled slowly up and down the sides of her hips. She relaxed back against him and felt the power of his erection. She stiffen ed and emitted a tiny gasp.

“See what you do to me?”he whispered. She gulped down the glass of punch, wondering how much alcohol she’d ju st ingested.Maybe it would boost her courage for what probablylayahead. Dear God, now she was making lame puns about having sex with a stranger . And he was a stranger.She didn’t even know Nathan’s last name.Was that the edge that made it somehow more exciting? Maybe. He pressed his mouth to her ear.“Let’s tour the apartment, shall we?” With his hand on her lower back, he guided her down the hall to where two people waited for the bathroom. He stopped her in the dark hallway.They took their places at the end of the line, and he pulled her back into him again.With his fingers lightly stroking her bare arms, he spoke directly into her ear.“The first thing we’ll do is r emove your underclothes.I want unobstructed access to that sweet cunt.” His words sent a warm tingle rushing through her belly.She closed her eyes t o the feel of his fingers on her skin as the two of them stood in silence. The bathroom door opened and the person in front disappeared inside. “Next, we’ll walk among the others, and I’ll touch you whenever and wherev er I want to.It will be up to you to hide your reactions or give us away.I don’t care which you do.” She swallowed hard. The bathroom door opened again, and the woman who’d been standing in fro nt of them went in for her turn. “But first,”he continued,“we’ll spend a few moments alone getting warmed up.” “In the bathroom?”she whispered.

“Yes, it’s perfect.”He inhaled deeply as he nuzzled her hair.“Do you want t o back out of your lessons?” She took a deep breath as the bathroom door opened.“No,”she answered. “Good.”He urged her into the small room in front of him and locked the door .Then he leaned back against the vanity counter, folded his arms, and nodded at the region of her hips.“First things first.” She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she’d lost her mind, then, starin g at the shower curtain, removed her panties.“What should I do with them?” He held out his hand.“I’ll keep them safe for you.” She surrendered her panties and he stuffed them into a pocket in his cape. “Now the bra,”he said. “But this shirt is so tight…,”she protested. “Yes.”He grinned. Amy’s face burned, but she turned her back to Nathan, lifted her blouse, and quickly removed her bra. It joined her panties inside his cape. She stood before him, arms at her sides, feeling incredibly underdressed. Nathan stepped around her, circling her as if she were his prey.Holding her waist, he eased her forward. She faced the mirror with him behind her and met his reflected gaze.His se xy smile sent her pulse racing.She reached forward and gripped the edge of the sink. Slowly, as if peeling fruit, he pulled her blouse up to expose her breasts. She closed her eyes, wondering if it were possible to die from embarrassment. “Open your eyes,”he said.“Watch how perfectly your nipples tighten at my touch.” He reached around her and teased her nipples.They darkened as they tighte

ned into little nubs, which he pinched and twisted.Pleasure flooded her, a nd she clenched her jaw to keep from making noise. Nathan wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, lifting her fe et completely off the floor.He raised her skirt until the flesh of her bare b ottom was pressed against the front of his pants.His erection felt very large as he rubbed it slowly down to the vicinity of her cunt. Amy’s breath escaped in stuttered gasps.She wondered if he’d take her now, here, and she wasn’t sure she’d object. “Hmm,”he said,“nice.” Holding her against him with one arm, he reached around and slid his finge rs between her legs. A surprised squeak escaped from her throat. Nathan just grinned at her in the mirror as he moved his fingers back and f orth across her heated flesh.They rubbed against her bud, and every muscle i n her body jerked. “Good,”he whispered.“That beautiful clit’s already swollen.”He slid his fi ngers inside her.“And you’re wonderfully wet.” Amy closed her eyes as his fingers dipped in and out of her the way they ha d the evening before, but the feeling was much more intense. It was as if la st night had been a dream and this was real. The pleasure made her want to c ry out. Nathan made a soft noise that sounded almost like a growl and Amy opened her eyes. She must have had more alcohol than she’d realized, because for a moment , he looked somewhat transparent.She would have sworn she could see the w allpaper pattern behind him. His eyes snapped open and the illusion vanished. He withdrew his hand and eased her feet to the ground.“Nice taste of what’ s to come,”he said. Her legs shook a bit.

He turned her around by the shoulders, raised her face, and kissed her mouth .His lips were oddly cool, but firm.The tip of his tongue slid into her mouth and ran across the cutting edges of her teeth, then he nipped her bottom lip . “Have I told you about the third part of all this?” She shook her head. “Part three is that if you want something from me, you must tell me--—in very precise terms--—what it is you want.Do you understand?” She nodded, certain that she wouldn’t have to say a word.He’d already sur passed anything her meager imagination could conjure up; she wouldn’t know what to ask for. He leaned forward and covered her mouth with his, drawing her lips apart an d circling her tongue, tasting her completely for the first time.A small noi se vibrated through her, but she wasn’t sure whether it camefrom her or from him. She reached out and grabbed his shirt to keep her knees from buckling at the intensity of his kiss.Under the cool silk, his stomach was flat and h ard as a rock. He withdrew his mouth and she nearly whimpered. “Don’t worry,”he said,“you’ll know what to ask for when the time’s right.” Amy opened her eyes and stared up at him.Could he even read her mind? He smiled as if in answer and nodded toward the door.“Time to rejoin the p arty.” She pulled her blouse down and straightened her hair quickly, then led th e way out of the bathroom and along the dark hallway.Her entire body tingl ed with sensation.She wondered where he would touch her, how he would touc h her. The anticipation only made the tingling worse and she felt giddy. “How’s it going this evening, Amy?” “Fine.”She answered her neighbor’s question numbly as she walked past h im, suddenly unable to remember his name.

Nathan drew her to his side as he stopped to greet Mrs. Nowiki.“Very nice party.” “I see ya’ll have met,”she said, eyeing them with thinly veiled suspicion. “Yes, we have,”he said. The older woman waited for more explanation, but her wait was in vain.Fina lly, she waved toward the table.“Help yourself to the snacks.” They sat in chairs against the wall to watch the dancers.Nathan circled Am y’s shoulders with his arm, enclosing her in his cape, his hand hidden from view.He rubbed his palm back and forth over her breast, then focused his a ttention on the nipple.“There’s only one snack here I’m interested in,”he w hispered. Amy tried not to let her eyes widen as she looked around to see if anyone watched. Nathan slid his hand inside her shirt. One intoxicated woman stopped to talk to them, and Nathan politely answe red questions without removing his hand.The woman left. Amy leaned forward to press her breast into his palm, and the muscles betw een her legs tightened. Instead of paying any attention to the music, or the costumes, or the gues ts as she pretended she was doing, Amy focused on each touch, and tried to hide her increasing excitement Without warning, he withdrew his hand and smiled.She was absolutely sure he understood the frustration he caused, and glared at him. “I believe there’s more to see.”He took her hand in his, drew her to her fee t, and led her through a swinging door. In the kitchen, he lifted her onto the counter, raised her blouse, and sucked mercilessly on her breasts. She watched the door, her mouth open to quiet her shallow gasps.When his f

ingers parted the lips of her vagina, she whimpered and held his shoulders in a death grip. He stroked her and trailed kisses up to her neck, nipping her flesh as he did. Her head thudded into the cabinet behind her. Suddenly, he stopped and straightened her clothes. He eased her down to the floor just as the kitchen door opened. “Is the beer cooler in here?” “Yes,”Nathan answered, pointing.“It’s there.” How on earth did he stay so calm? Twenty minutes later, just when she had regained most of her senses, Natha n led her into a small bedroom where coats were piled on the bed and closed the door.He brushed the pile aside, lifted her to the bed and pushed her o nto her back. “Spread your legs for me,”he said. She raised her knees, anxious for more of his attention, and he lifted her sk irt out of the way. He knelt in front of her and kissed the insides of her thi ghs, causing them to quiver. His kisses moved higher on her thighs as his hands slid underneath her bott om. “Sweet flesh,”he whispered, his breath brushing her curls. And then his tongue flicked across her clitoris. Amy grabbed the bedcover in her fists and clenched her jaw. His tongue slid down her lips and back up to her clit, then he covered her w ith his mouth. Her hips shot up as he sucked on her, drawing waves of erotic pleasure to ce nter in her clit.His tongue slid in and out of her as he sucked harder.

The orgasm neared and her body tensed.Amy pushed her head back into the mattress.The intensity was unbelievable.She felt as if her body would exp lode when she came.She wanted the release, needed it.So close. Suddenly his mouth was gone.Cold air rushed in to take its place. “Oh, God, no,”she said. He reached over, grabbed her hands, and pulled her quickly to her feet. She stared at him. “Is this yours?”He held up a white sweater. Realizing that someone else had entered the room, she shook her head. “Are you sure you wore a sweater?” She swallowed hard.“Uh, come to think of it, maybe I didn’t.” He nodded.“That would explain it.”He placed his hand on her lower back a nd urged her toward the door.“Shall we?” Back in the main room, he motioned toward two chairs. “I don’t want to sit,”she said. “No?” “No. I want to go where we can be alone.” “Really?Why?” She stood on her toes to speak directly into his ear.“I want that orgasm you promised.” He smiled and leaned over to whisper back.“How do you propose to get it? ” Amy glanced around the room.Was she really saying these things in front of a group of people without lightning striking her dead?

“I want you to finish what you started in the bedroom,”she said. “What was that?” “You know.”Then she remembered the third part of her lessons.“I want you to continue the oral sex.” “You like it when I lick your cunt?” She swallowed hard as her belly tumbled with desire.“Yes, I like when you lick my…. . .my cunt.” “Hmm.Very well.” That wasn’t so difficult.Amy took a deep breath and blew it out quietly as s he led the way to the door.

CHAPTERFOUR

Nathan followed Amy up the stairs to her apartment. The thought of spending more time with this young woman pleased him.Mor e than it should. The thought of tasting her innocent blood excited him. He needed to be more careful.Human lust and the vampire thirst were so int

ertwined; it was difficult to experience one without the other.They were th e two halves of him that made him whole, and the human lust could not be co mpletely fulfilled without the vampire’s thirst being quenched. He’d found out long ago how important it was to guard his secret. The pain of the wood en hayfork thrust into his chest by the father of one of his victims was as fresh a memory as if it had just happened.Could it really have been two-hu ndred years ago?That one had nearly done him in.If the fork had been two in ches to the left, the young maiden would have provided him his last bit of pleasure. Still, treats like Amy were rare and worth a little risk.As long as he was car eful to keep her safe, he could enjoy the distraction. If he hurt her, he’d pay for it with renewed guilt that would last for year s.Guilt seemed to be the one emotion he had no problem experiencing without the aid of human blood.Perhaps because it required no zest for life to susta in--—only self loathing. “Ignore the mess,”she said, opening her apartment door.“I wasn’t expectin g company.” The apartment was the same size as his with approximately the same layout. One room held a sofa and kitchen table, while another served as the bedroom .The only other spaces were a kitchen built into a corner of the living roo m, a small bathroom, and a closet. What made Amy’s apartment different from his own was that it looked cozy and lived in.She’d decorated the walls with an odd assortment of paintings and textiles, and a handmade quilt covered the sofa. Nathan removed his cloak and draped it over a chair as he walked to the b edroom. This room was also cozy, with a large brass bed and another handmade quilt . He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots.“Do you sew?” She shook her head.“My grandmother made the quilts.” “Very nice.”

Amy stood at attention in the middle of the bedroom, watching him.He heard her heartbeat, still rapid, but not as loud as it had been when she’d near ed an orgasm several moments earlier. This setting was much more intimate, and he felt her hesitation. Nathan held out his hand, palm up, and smiled.No persuasion this time--—j ust pure, human seduction. “You asked for me to continue licking your cunt.Is that still what you want ?” She nodded shyly and raised her hand to his, and he pulled her to stand in f ront of him. Her skin was warm.Now that he didn’t have to listen for intruders, he coul d focus on the pleasure of touching her.He drew her to him. Amy rested her trembling hands on his shoulders, her head bowed and her fa ce hidden by her hair... “Are you afraid?” She shrugged.“A little.” He gently placed his hand under her chin so she could look into his eyes.“Y ou needn’t fear me,”he said, hoping it was true. She didn’t answer, but studied his face. Holding her waist, he laid back on the bed and pulled her on top of him. .Li ght from the bedside lamp lit her face, accentuating the fullness of her lips .Those plump lips would feel good on his body, no doubt, leaving burning trai ls across his chest. Later.First things first.The woman had made a request that he would honor. He rolled her off of him to lay beside him, then hefted himself up to stra ddle her body. He took her hands and placed them on the brass bars of the h eadboard.“Hold on,”he said. She grasped the bars and watched him.

He pushed her skirt out of the way and tilted her hips up for better access.H er ass felt firm and full in his hands and he squeezed it gently, savoring the smooth flesh. She responded by drawing her knees up and spreading her legs. He kissed the insides of her thighs first.Here the skin was tender and sweete st, a temptation to the devil and the man. “You’re playing with fire,”he reminded himself, as he sucked the tender fle sh. Her legs opened wider. These lips were also full, still swollen from his earlier attention.He found h er clit with the tip of his tongue and lapped at it until she began to squirm. He could easily judge her level of excitement by the sounds of her heart ra te and breathing, and she was already well aroused. Her juices were thick and earthy, reminding him of days gone by when he’d amused himself with many women, testing his limits and theirs. He’d been young and foolish then, and trying to get over the loss of Hannah. This was no time to think about Hannah. Stretching out across the bed, Nathan concentrated on his sweet paramour. It was obvious she’d never been brought to a climax this way.Her reactions were too fast.He nearly took her over the top several times without meanin g to, and had to move well away from her clit. The third time he moved away, she groaned.“Please, Nathan.” He lifted his head.“Please, what?”He nipped her thigh. “Please make me come.” “As you wish.” He sucked on her cunt, flicking his tongue cruelly across her clit as it swell ed.

She yelled through gritted teeth as the orgasm started, and flooded his mout h. He held her down and lapped every drop as she writhed and cried out,“Oh, G od, yes, yes, oh, stop, ooh.” When he finally withdrew his mouth, she collapsed. Nathan crawled up over her and stretched out beside her, one arm folded be hind his head. Her eyes were closed and tiny drops of sweat had formed on her upper lip. She panted with her mouth open. When she finally turned her head to look at him, her blue eyes shone wit h satisfaction.The glimmer had brightened to a glowing ember.“That was am azing.You were right.” “About what?”He raised himself to his elbow. “About me having a spectacular orgasm.” He arched one eyebrow.“My dear, that wasn’t the spectacular orgasm I pro mised.That was just your run-of-the-mill orgasm.” Her eyes widened.“It was?” “Oh, yes.There’s much more to come.” “Really?” “Yes.” Her eyes wandered down to his hard-on, then snapped back to his face.She was curious.Good. Considering what the next step should be, he thought about stretching her ou t on her belly on the table and mounting her, or having her sit on his cock a s he lay on the sofa. He thought about drinking from her as she came.

The flesh on the side of her neck rose and fell in small waves tuned to the beat of her heart.He could hear the blood rushing through her veins. Warm, intoxicating blood.It held her essence--—her memories, and thoughts , and dreams, and desires. He swung around and hopped to his feet.“But not tonight.” “Why not?” He leaned forward with his hands on the bed and spoke softly in her ear.“An ticipation is at least half the fun.When I finally fuck you, you must be rea dy to surrender everything to me.No second thoughts, no regrets.” And I must be prepared to resist taking it all, he added silently.Another pin t from the refrigerator would probably help. He planted a quick kiss on her mouth and straightened. Her lips curved into a smile that held both innocence and promise of pleasur es. He stepped into his boots, snatched his cloak from the chair, and left quickl y. There was still plenty of time to enjoy the night. He was surprised to realize he might truly enjoy the remaining hours of d arkness.Maybe he’d even go to the hospital and watch Candy pretend not to notice him. No matter where he was, he’d think about Amy’s splendid body, rocking un der him with unguarded lust. Yes, anticipation was sweet.

#*

#*

#*

Amy lay on the bed and listened to Nathan’s footsteps fade. How had this strange man drawn her so quickly into the darkness he touted ? And what did he look like without clothes?She had yet to see any part of hi m uncovered.He’d certainly seen most of her, and he still said he thought sh e was beautiful. Would he eventually return to fulfill his promise? She was sinking into a quagmire of lust, and loving every second of it. Growing up, she’d never understood people her mother had referred to as s ex fiends.How could they enjoy something so vile, so crude? Now she knew. And she wanted more. Could there really be anything more fantastic that what she’d just experi enced?Her body tingled from her scalp to her toes as she lay with her arms out to her sides.The poor fairy wings were hopelessly crumpled beneath he r.Somehow, that seemed appropriate. She thought about Billy, and the overwhelming guilt that hit her was a surpr ising bucket of ice. “Oh, God.” She’d been unfaithful to Billy, and until this very moment, she hadn’t even noticed. Amy sat up and stared at the phone. Why hadn’t he called?Should she call him and confess? How could she even consider such a thing?He was the one who’d said he nee ded some time alone to think about their relationship. She walked to the bathroom to wash her face. Let him think.Maybe when he came back, she’d be in bed with Nathan, and

he’d bescrewingher brains out. She laughed out loud at her new vocabulary.

#*

#*

#*

Nathan considered letting the anticipation build a while longer, but by th e next night he needed to see Amy again.Why, he wasn’t sure. As a vampire, he’d long since given up the human notions of love and carin g, but he still felt some connection to this mortal woman--—something he ha dn’t felt in centuries.And it wasn’t just that he wanted to possess her bod y, although that desire was very real. It was more. The realization disturbed him. Maybe if he spent the night in her bed, he’d find the origin of the strange h old she had on him. If he didn’t get carried away and take her life. No, he wouldn’t do that.No matter what, he wouldn’t hurt her. As soon as the sun set, he started quietly up the stairs, well fortified and wit h a tight leash on the devil. Halfway between the first and second floor, he heard a knock and stopped. Amy answered the knock.“Oh, it’s you,”she said. “You don’t sound very happy to see me.” He knew that voice; it was Billy.The boyfriend was back. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“I don’t think so.” “Come on, Amy, I want to talk to you.” “Really?What do you want to say?” Nathan smiled.Amy was much more in control of this conversation than the last one with her human lover. “Look, I’ve thought a lot about us.”He hesitated.“You’re really going to ma ke me stand out here in the hall?” “Yes.” “Okay.Fine.I don’t care if you don’t, you know, enjoy sex as much as I do. I mean, I guess that’s normal.Girls aren’t supposed to like it as much as g uys anyway.It doesn’t matter.I want to marry you, Amy.I’ve got a ring and e verything.Here.” Nathan flattened himself against the wall.So the dear boy had come around. He’d realized what a gem he had after all. Frowning, Nathan wondered why he felt a pang of loss.She was nothing mor e than a bit of amusement to him. “I’m sorry, Billy.I can’t accept this.” “What?You mean you’re turning me down?” “Yes.” “But why?” She sighed.“I’ve met someone else.I care about him.” “How could you already have met someone else?” “Look, I do have a life, you know.I am capable of meeting people.He sho wed up when I needed someone to talk to, and he was nice to me.You’d lef t me crying, remember?” Nathan backed down the stairs.No, this couldn’t be.Amy was turning down

the man she loved because of him.She didn’t understand. Well, he hadn’t explained it, had he? “Damn.”With his gut curiously churning, he spun around and hurried from t he building. The sky still had a tinge of blue color.He ducked under the first large tree and stopped. Did it really matter that he’d just ruined one mortal woman’s life--—her chance at happiness?She was just an insignificant human who wouldn’t live more than eighty or so years.Who cared if she spent some of it alone?Wasn’ t his own happiness more important than that of a mortal? Hannah had always said so. Strange that it didn’t feel important at the moment.And he wasn’t the least bit happy. “Damn you, Hannah.You shouldn’t have left me alone.” Nathan mentally shook himself and started toward the hospital.His thought s were growing too maudlin, and there was nothing more pathetic than a fou r-hundred-year-old vampire who felt sorry for himself. As he walked slowly through the thickening darkness, he thought about Ma ry Randall. Unlike modern women, she’d been proud of her full curves and soft, milky flesh.And well she should have, because she was delicious from the end of her nose to her ankles. Their night together in the underground hideout had started out simply eno ugh, with Nathan bringing Mary to a slow, enjoyable climax.She closed her e yes, groaned, and bit her lower lip as she came. “Smell her, Nathan,”Hannah whispered.“The blood of a virgin mixed with the spice of a willing whore.Isn’t it wonderful?”She stroked his face.“Listen to the way her heart beats for you.Take her again.You’re the stallion she’s secretly craved.”

He’d pumped harder and faster the second time, driving his cock in as far as he could until she’d screamed with the intensity of the orgasm.Hannah covered Mary’s mouth to preserve their hiding place.Mary’s tight cunt musc les pulsing around him had taken him to the peak of human desire, and he’d craved release. But release hadn’t come. Hannah drew her fingernails down his back and encouraged him to continue .“Yes, dear Nathan, try again.She’s so sweet and ripe now.” He’d drawn Mary to her feet and had her kneel in front of him.With a little instruction, she understood what he wanted, willingly took his hard cock in to her mouth, and sucked it.His blood boiled with excitement, and his fangs extended to their full length.Mary continued her ministrations until her lip s were plump and bruised.Ready to fill her with his seed, he grabbed her by the waist and pushed her face down on the bed with her feet still on the dir t floor.She’d cried out as he entered her quickly, almost brutally.His frust ration was candy for the devil, which grew to full strength as Nathan fucked Mary, grunting with each thrust, searching for the final stroke. “Oh, God,”she cried.Her muscles tightened again and her body writhed ben eath him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her to get deeper.Just a bit more was all he needed. She screamed again as she came. Nathan growled with frustration as he pumped harder. “No, please,”she said.“No more.I can’t.”Her voice was soft and pathetic, and Nathan froze.He eased her back down to the bed and withdrew from her s wollen, dripping vulva. He looked up to find Hannah laughing behind her hand, her eyes glistening with merriment. Nathan glared at her.“What is this?” Hannah sat beside Mary, who hadn’t moved.“Poor, sweet, Nathan.Shall I te ll you the truth now?”

He didn’t answer. “What you want is impossible this way.” “What do you mean?He straightened and stepped back. “The way you used to take your pleasure with women doesn’t work anymore .Now you must join both vampire and man in order to be fulfilled.” “How?” “Here.Let me show you.”She took his hand and led him across their small dun geon to a chair beside a crate that held another lamp.He sat in the chair as she lit the lamp. Smiling, Hannah led Mary from the bed. “Please,”Mary said.“No more.” “Oh, just one more, my dear.I promise this will be unlike anything you’ve e ver imagined.The joy will lift you into the clouds.” It was obvious from the look in Mary’s blue eyes that she doubted Hannah ’s promise, but she complied anyway.She straddled Nathan’s bare legs with her back to him. “Now, it’s my turn,”Hannah said.Slowly, she stripped off her clothes as N athan and Mary watched.Her movements were sensual and liquid, and she smil ed at their attention.Then she stood in front of Mary. Hannah’s hands traveled slowly and lightly over Mary’s body, and she kis sed the mortal woman as a lover would.As she fondled Mary’s breasts, she leaned over and kissed Nathan.Hannah’s fangs brushed against his lips, an d his cock hardened again, pressing against Mary’s plump ass. Hannah knelt in front of Mary and sucked her breasts as she caressed Nath an’s cock with one hand and Mary’s cunt with the other.Slowly, luxuriously , she urged them together. Mary’s sweet cunt slid slowly down Nathan’s cock, and he was on fire again .He reached around and held her breasts, squeezing the supple nipples and l

ifting himself into her. Hannah took his hand and guided it to Mary’s clit where she showed him h ow to stroke slow and steady against the onslaught of Mary’s movements. Purring approval, Hannah moved around beside them where she could kiss Mary’s shoulders and then Nathan’s mouth. Mary’s movements grew more fervent, almost cruel as she ground herself ont o his rod, her cunt tightening again. Nathan closed his eyes. “Yes,”Hannah whispered.“She’s close now.Can you feel her?” “Yes.”He grabbed Mary’s waist and worked her back and forth as she cried out and grabbed his thighs. “Now,”Hannah said.“Drink from me, my love.Drink.” When Hannah leaned across his body, Nathan drew back his lips and sank his f angs into the soft, sweet flesh at the base of her neck.Her blood filled his mouth, assaulting his brain with unearthly sensations.The beast rose, full st rength, demanding the surrender of its prey, taking control of its host. Nathan held on as his body exploded with fiery pleasure.He drew hard on Hannah’s neck as he pumped his seed into Mary. From somewhere in the swirling fog of desire and fulfillment, he heard Mar y cry out with her own release. And then he tasted it, felt her orgasm as his own, knew her joy and her pain and her lust. Knew it, as it spread through him. And he came as he never had before. With the last of his strength, he withdrew his fangs from Hannah’s neck.His head fell back against the earthen wall. “Yes,”Hannah whispered,“that was wonderful.”She kissed him.

The nectar on her lips drew a growl from Nathan’s throat and he took her m outh greedily. As he realized what the nectar was, he opened his eyes.“You…. . .her blood .” Mary lay slumped over Nathan’s arm like a rag doll. Pushing Hannah away, he drew Mary to her feet and tried to make her stand, but she didn’t respond.He carried her to the bed and stretched her out. Two bright red holes in her neck bore witness to Hannah’s betrayal.As he’ d taken Hannah’s blood, she’d taken Mary’s. He snarled up at her.“You said we wouldn’t kill her.” Hannah nonchalantly picked up her clothes and slipped them on. “Hannah.” She sighed.“Oh, Nathan, please.She’s mortal.You’re a vampire.This is the way it works.”She sat beside him.“You weren’t complaining a moment ago.B esides, she isn’t dead yet.” Nathan stretched out beside Mary and listened.Her heart beat slowly, softly, as if each beat were the last.“But she’s dying.” “Probably.” Filled with sorrow, Nathan drew Mary into his arms.“Can’t we do anything ?” “Interesting question.”Hannah sat beside him and stroked his head.“You know her dreams now.Do you think she’d want to become one of us?” He closed his eyes and recalled the visions that had invaded him at the mo ment of release.He felt sunshine, warming her shoulders, and wet grass bene ath her bare feet as she ran through a summer field.She picked a flower and inhaled the scent, happy in the warmth of the sun. “No,”he said.

Hannah stretched out on the bed and curled up to Nathan’s body.Her hand ran lovingly over his bare skin.“I don’t think so either.” He hated Hannah at that moment.If there’d been some way to exact revenge on her, he would have. “Hey there, sweetie.You wanna party?” Nathan spun around and glared at the woman who’d grabbed his arm. “Jesus,”she said, backing away from him. His fangs were out, and no doubt his eyes glowed.He glanced around. The woman standing in front of him was dressed in a skin-tight leopard pri nt miniskirt that barely hid her crotch and wore six-inch spike heels.Altho ugh her hair was blond, brown roots covered her scalp.She was undoubtedly a prostitute. Would anyone miss her if she disappeared? Swirling in his thoughts was the memory of release--—glorious release wit h human elation and joy.There was only one way to achieve it. He stepped forward.“Perhaps I do.” “W…-what?” “Want to party.”He leaned toward her and inhaled her scent.Cheap perfume did nothing to hide the musk of men she’d already pleased. The woman backed another step away from him.“Look, maybe I’m not what you’re lookin’for.” “Are you not a working girl?” She shrugged and glanced around as if looking for help.“Yeah.” He towered over her, tempted to touch her warm skin.“You enjoy your wor k, don’t you?”

She shrugged.“Not really.” “Why do you do this if you don’t enjoy it?” “Hey, look, I gotta feed my kid, you know?It wasn’t my fault the rubber b roke and I got knocked up when I was sixteen.” Nathan stopped. “But I’m gonna make enough to get her out of here, you know?Give her a cha nce.She ain’t ever gonna end up workin’the street, not if I got anything to say about it.” As the ice around his heart melted, Nathan turned and continued on his w ay.He heard the woman sigh and mutter,“Jesus, I need a smoke.” Poor, sweet Mary Randall.So young and innocent. And now there was Amy.He couldn’t make the same mistake again, with her life or her happiness.

CHAPTER FIVE

Amy really thought Nathan would show up after Billy left.She’d gone so far as to sneak down to his door and knock on it, but he hadn’t answered.She’d fallen asleep wondering if he was just a dream, and had spent most of the day at work entertaining the same thought.

At five the next evening, she hurried home, changed into her nicest jeans a nd tightest pullover, and hurried down the stairs.She stopped at his door an d took several deep breaths to calm her nerves. There was still something about Nathan that kept her on edge, in spite of hi s actions in her apartment.He’d certainly made her feel fantastic, and then h e’d left with a promise of more. Billy had never left her bed without satisfying himself. She knocked on the door and waited. Nothing happened.Was he at work? She knocked one more time and listened.There was no hint of sound from in side. Her heart sank.Maybe he’d moved. Maybe she meant nothing to him at all, and he’d just left. As she started to turn away, the door latch clicked and the door opened a litt le. There was nothing on the other side but darkness. “Nathan?” “Yes?” “I, uh, wondered what happened to you.May I come in?” In the ensuing moments of silence, Amy felt like she’d stepped into a time warp. Finally, the door opened a little more.“Yes.” She stepped inside and was surprised to find absolutely no light in the r oom.Nathan guided her past the doorway with his hand on her arm, and she j umped when the door closed quickly behind her.He released her, and she ste pped back until she’d backed into the wall.

The weird thing was that the room was so dark, she wasn’t even sure if her eyes were open, and there was no sound to suggest that she was anything bu t alone. She jumped again at Nathan’s voice whispering in her ear.“Are you afraid? ” She gulped at the knot of fear in her throat. “Good,”he said.“You should be.” She wanted to tell him that she’d made a mistake and should leave, but her voice was gone, as was her ability to move. His cold fingers touched her cheek and he slid them slowly down the side of her jaw, then to her neck, and then to her shoulder. “Would you like to fuck in the dark, dear Amy?I promise it would be an expe rience you’d never forget.Not for the entire rest of your life.” She felt his presence directly in front of her now, as if he were a wall sh e was about to run into.She managed to get out one word.“No.” He disappeared. Amy reached out but felt only air.“Nathan?” A match flared, nearly blinding her. She blinked, and then made out Nathan’s silhouette.He lit a candle across t he room from her, and then another.As she watched, he lit a dozen more and t he room filled with light, then he lit some in the next room before returnin g. He stood across the living room and studied her.Candlelight danced across h is handsome face and glistened in his hair.He wore a black silk robe that re ached to mid-calf, and he looked like he’d just arisen from bed. With the light, her courage returned.“I’m sorry if I woke you.” He shrugged, then walked to a small table and sat beside it.

She glanced around the room.There were no pictures on the walls, and litt le furniture.What there was, however, looked very expensive.She’d only see n such furniture in the windows of the best downtown antique stores. Through the doorway to the bedroom she saw his bed, covered with black sa tin sheets.He had no bedspread or quilt. “Don’t you get cold?” He followed her gaze and grinned.“No.” She felt a little foolish standing against the wall, so she made herself wa lk toward him.“Look, if you don’t--—” “Why did you send him away?” She stopped.“What?” “Why did you send poor Billy away?” Amy’s face warmed as she considered how he knew this.Had he overheard h er tell Billy that she cared about someone else?Had he understood what s he was saying? “Well, I, um--—” “I thought you loved him.” She frowned.“I thought I did, too. “What changed your mind?” “I met you.”She answered truthfully before she thought. He rose quickly, but stayed across the room.“Me?You don’t know anything about me.” Surprised by his apparent anger, she swallowed hard.“I know enough.You could have hurt me, but--…” Her entire world turned upside down when he suddenly appeared directly in front of her, towering over her, his eyes glowing.“I still can.Get out.Go b

ack to Billy and beg him to take you back.Don’t ever come here again.” Shaking, Amy backed away from him until she hit the door.She couldn’t sto p her eyes from filling with tears.Not only did Nathan not care about her, he didn’t even like her.How could she have been so wrong?For a few moment s, she’d thought she might be falling in love with him. Tears blurred her vision as she spun around.She managed to find the doork nob, but when she turned it, nothing happened.She grabbed it with both han ds and pulled. “Wait.” The softness in his voice made her stop. “Not like this.” She turned slowly, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands, and looke d up into his eyes.They had faded to their usual green, and his expression had softened.Somehow, he looked sad, and her chest tightened with sympath y. He stroked her cheek again, then turned around, walked back to his chair, an d sat. With the fear subsiding, she wondered how he’d crossed the room so quickl y.It must have been her imagination. A strange smile flickered across his face, as if he’d heard her ask the quest ion, then the smile disappeared. “You don’t understand,”he said. “I guess I don’t.” “You’re a very special woman.You deserve every happiness life has to offer .” “Then, why--—” “Please.”He closed his eyes for a moment.When he opened them, they seem ed to be glowing again.“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Why not?” He stood and walked to the kitchen area.“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will .” “Why?” He leaned back against the counter, folded his arms across his chest, and stu died her intently. She glanced around, amazingly uncomfortable and, yet, not ready to leave. “If I tell you, it would be a difficult secret to keep.”He straightened and p aced the room, looking a lot like a caged tiger she’d once seen at the zoo.“An d if you didn’t keep my secret, you’d be in danger of losing your life.” She frowned.“What are you, a spy or something?”That would explain a lo t, like why he had such expensive furniture when he was living in a div e apartment.And why he knew so much about women.Certainly James Bond kn ew how to please women. “Somethingis closer.” Overcome by curiosity, Amy took a tentative step in his direction.“Look, you know a lot more about me than I know about you.What am I going to do , tell someone the guy who made me come in public is…. . .is whatever?” He smiled briefly.“No, I suppose you won’t.”He returned to the kitchen corn er.“I’ll tell you the truth if you do something for me.” “What?” “Wait for me in the bedroom.” Amy frowned again.“Why?” He sighed.“Please, just do as I ask.I’ll explain in a moment.” She considered her options.She could leave, but then she’d never know the b ig secret.And, for whatever reason, she felt like the moment of danger had p assed, if there’d ever really been one.

The thought of sharing Nathan’s bed wasn’t exactly unappealing, either.So far, the man had introduced her to two facets of pleasure she would never have known about otherwise. And there was that fantastic orgasm he’d promised.A sudden wave of heat r an through her at the thought. Amy walked across the living room and into his bedroom. Nathan closed the door behind her, leaving her alone. She heard noise, but couldn’t tell what he was doing.It almost sounded like he was opening and closing the refrigerator. That didn’t make sense, but,then, what did? She ran her hand over the edge of his bed.The sheets were definitely satin , and were cold and smooth.She gulped as she wondered what it would be like to lie on them. The bed frame was black, shiny wood, somewhat oriental looking.And it mus t be a queen-size mattress, because it took up most of the room. The door opened and Nathan stopped in the doorway. There was something different about him.His complexion looked a little les s pasty, and he smiled as if the whole scene in the living room had never h appened. “What do you think?”he asked. “About what?” “About my bed.” She shrugged.“Nice.” “Yes.” He walked around to the opposite side of it.Before this night, she’d never noticed how smooth his movements were, still like those of the tiger.

Was she the helpless calf he was about to pounce on? He leaned over and patted the bed.“Join me?” “I, uh, thought you had something to tell me.” “I do.”He crawled to the middle of the mattress and sat, leaning back on th e headboard.Watching her intently, he removed the silk tie from around his w aist. The robe fell open in front just enough to expose his chest and stomach. Amy couldn’t help but stare.His skin was pale, but he was muscular, as if h e didn’t have an ounce of body fat, reinforcing the vision of a large cat.He took a deep breath and let it out, and muscles bunched and relaxed. “I’d rather start the evening off with another lesson.Wouldn’t you?” She stared at the place where his robe came together and wondered what the rest of him looked like. He patted the bed again. Amy glanced back at the door one more time.Then she crawled into bed, sat facing him, drew one knee up and hugged it to her chest. “You’re wondering how my cock compares to Billy’s.” It wasn’t a question, but an amused observation, and an accurate one. She shrugged. “Trust me, it’ll be quite different.” “How?” He raised one eyebrow.“If you want to know, you’ll have to take off your c lothes.” “Why?”

He just smiled. Amy peeled off her shirt, then lay back and wriggled out of her jeans.She h esitated for a moment, then unsnapped her bra and pulled off her panties.She sat facing him, her legs under her. His gaze moved very slowly down her body and back up again.He sat forwar d and shed his robe as he crawled toward her. Even in the dim candlelight, she realized how his cock was different--—it wa s quite a bit larger than Billy’s. Muscles rippled in his shoulders as he made his way over to her. She leaned back as he crawled up beside her and pressed his forehead to her s. “Mine stays hard,”he said,“for as long as you want it.” Amy gulped.“Oh, yeah?” “Trust me, my dear, it isn’t a challenge, just a promise.” The thought of having sex with Nathan set her on fire as he kissed her chee k, then slowly, deliciously, took her mouth.He opened her mouth with his and explored with his tongue as if he had hours just to kiss her. She drew on his tongue as it swirled around hers. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her under him.The sheets we re sensually cool against her skin and she slid easily. Amy held onto his shoulders and let herself be guided to his body, enjoyin g the cool, smooth feel of him.He lifted her as if she weighed nothing, whi ch wasn’t quite true.She’d never been underweight. He rolled his mouth away from hers and pressed his lips to her cheek, then moved down her throat and to her right breast. Amy pushed her fingers into his hair, holding him in place as he licked and sucked.Waves of torturous pleasure started up the backs of her thighs and b uttocks.

Nathan sucked harder, and eased one leg between hers.She felt the velvety sk in of his hard penis against the inside of her thigh.She raised her leg to ru b it, and he started the same movement in the opposite direction. God, he sparked desires in her stronger than any she’d ever known.She spre ad her legs under him, wanting to feel him enter her. But he didn’t.He moved his mouth to her left breast and circled the nipple s lowly, then nipped it, as he pulled her up into him. “Tighter,”she whispered.“Hold me tighter.” He tightened his grip and sucked on her breast, and his chest vibrated with a deep, animal-like groan. Her entire body seemed to awaken at once, and she felt her vaginal lips swe lling and tightening. Amy wrapped one leg around his and lifted herself into him, but still he h eld back.She reached down and dug her fingers into the muscles of his lower back. “Nathan,”she breathed. He moved his mouth up her body, nipping and licking her skin as he went. When he reached her mouth, he held his lips against hers.“Yes, Amy?” “I want you.” “What is it you want?” “I want you to fuck me.” One hand slid up and down the outside of her thigh.“Are you sure?” She nodded and ran her tongue over his lips. He groaned and pushed her legs apart with his own.“How do you want it, Am y?Fast or slow?”He drew her thigh up and held it as he positioned himself to enter her.

“Slow,”she whispered. He nipped her tongue as he pressed the head of his cock against her. She opened her legs farther. When he started in, it was slow and steady.Her juices coated him, but he wa s large, thick.The erotic pressure of stretching around him sent her head ba ck, and he held his mouth against her neck. Slowly he filled her until she thought he had stopped.Then he pushed again and went deeper. “Oh, God.”She closed her fists against his back as every muscle in her body tightened. “Hold on to it,”he whispered.“Don’t let go just yet.Relax.” Amy closed her eyes and worked at relaxing.It wasn’t easy. When he began to withdraw, her body tightened again, unwilling to release him. “You feel good,”he whispered.“Perfect.” His words sent a shiver rushing through her, and she ran her hands up and down his solid back.“So do you.” Just as the emptiness of his withdrawal hit her, he started in again.The rhy thm was delicious torture, and he continued at the same pace for a long time. With each stroke, her juices coated more of him, and she fought the desire to grind against him.She whimpered at the pleasure. Nathan raised himself up over her and began to stroke faster. She opened her eyes and found him staring down at her, his smile replaced w ith a look of interest. “I plan to watch you come,”he said.

“I…. . .I can’t if you…. . .watch.” It was a lie.With a few more hard, steady strokes, a line of fire ran up her spine and her entire body erupted into liquid flames.She cried out and locke d her legs around his, thrusting herself into him in a rush to be impaled.Eve ry pulse was a ring of blue flames sweeping up her body. He held her in place and thrust against each pulse, timing perfectly her rh ythm and prolonging the orgasm almost to the point of pain. She pushed against his chest.“Stop, oh God, stop.It’s too much.” He did as she commanded, holding his body still with his cock still engorge d and buried in her cunt. Stray pulses ran through her vaginal muscles as the intensity died down. Amy dropped her hands to her sides.“That was--…”She opened her eyes to meet his gaze.“That was unbelievable.” “And only the beginning,”he said, grinning again. “What?” “Do you wish to rest, or continue on?” She raised herself up to her elbows.“Nathan, you’re telling me--—” “That I can do this all night.” “How?” His grin turned wicked as he lowered his mouth to hers.“Like this,”he said. He wrapped his arms around her and thrust his cock deeper, then pumped h ard and fast until the tension filled her body again.How could she possib ly experience another orgasm?She’d never--— Amy pushed up into him and he obliged her, thrusting deeper until there w as no more room for him inside her.

Too much, too hard. Still she needed more. She clung to him and dug her nails into his back as she screamed her relea se.Mercilessly he pumped, groaning softly in her ear.Her body exploded this time, drawing her world toward the ceiling. When the peak finally passed, she lay under him, gasping, collapsed. He was still hard inside her. Amy opened her eyes.“I don’t--—” Gently, slowly, he withdrew and sat up. His penis was swollen and slick with her juices. She looked into his eyes, her face burning.“It doesn’t feel good to you?” “Feel good?”He grunted.“Fucking you is fantastic.I almost think we were m ade for each other.” “Then, why--—” “Haven’t I come?” She nodded. He sighed as he slid to the side of the bed and stood.He slipped on his robe a nd tied it.His erection distorted the smooth line of the front. Amy rolled to her side and watched him pace the room again. “When I was twenty-eight,”he said,“I had a strange experience.I died.” She frowned.“You mean you were in an accident or something?” “No, it was no accident.”He sat on the edge of the bed, facing her.“I met a woman.Well, not a woman.Actually, she was a demon in the purest sense of the word.She seduced me with a promise that’s hard to resist.”

He stared at the sheets and seemed lost in thought. “What promise?” His green eyes snapped to hers.“Eternity.” “Eternity?”Amy shook herself.“I don’t understand.” He leaned forward and stared into her eyes.“I’ll tell you my secret becaus e I know I can trust you to keep it.We’ve shared intimacies that few humans share without knowing each other’s secrets, have we not?” She nodded. “I died in the year seventeen twenty-six.” Her stomach lurched at the absurdity of his words.She sat up.What was sh e doing in a madman’s bed?And how would she get out of it? She worked her way toward the far side of the mattress.“Look, I--—” “No, I’m not insane.I’m a vampire.” She froze.A vampire? “There’s no such thing as vampires.” He grinned now, and then raised his upper lip on one side to expose a glist ening white fang. Her breath caught in her throat as she grappled with his irrational claim.“ That’s your Halloween costume.” He shook his head.“No.” Amy took a deep breath.The only way out was with reason.“Nathan, if you s ay you’re a vampire, then I’m sure you think you are.But vampires don’t re ally exist.” He widened his eyes, and they seemed to glow again with a red tinge to the green.

Amy felt an odd sense of well-being wash over her and she heard him say, “Come to me.”But his lips didn’t move.Had he really said anything?No, his voice was in her head, drawing her toward him.“Come to me.” Unable to stop herself, and unwilling to even make the effort, she crawled across the bed and lay across his lap, gazing up into his expressionless, go rgeous face.She encircled his neck with one arm and pressed her mouth to the silk robe covering his chest. He released her, and she fell. Amy scrambled away on her hands and knees.“What the hell was that?” He rose and walked away from her.“Proof.” Her heart pounded against her ribs.She tried to swallow, but found her mouth so dry that her tongue stuck to the roof of it. “I do not intend to hurt you.”He stopped in the doorway to the living room and studied her. She wanted to run, or scream, or something.She shook from head to toe. He really was a vampire, or something. He turned and left her alone in the bedroom. She glanced around.Her clothes lay in a heap on the floor.She could grab th em and start for the apartment door, but there was no chance she’d get away if he didn’t want her to.She’d already seen how fast he could move, although at the time she’d thought it was a trick of the light. Did he really not intend to hurt her? He hadn’t lied to her yet.At least, not that she knew. A strange thing happened.In spite of the overwhelming fear, curiosity crept into her brain.If Nathan really was a vampire, were there more like him?Wha t kinds of powers did he have, besides the ability to incapacitate her? He returned with a glass and handed it to her as he sat on the edge of the be d.

“What is this?” “Wine.You looked like you could use it.” She sipped.It was wine, and the good stuff, too.She drank a large swallow. He sat quietly, studying her. “Can you fly?”she asked. He smiled, his eyes glistening with amusement.“No, not really.” “Not really?What does that mean?” He shrugged.“I have inhuman strength.I can usually reach the top of a three -story building by jumping, if I put my mind to it.” “Three stories?” He nodded. She took another long drink.It was impossible to be feeling the effects of the alcohol so soon, but an odd sense of courage replaced her fear.“What els e can you do?” He rested easily against the headboard as if he were telling a bedtime stor y.“I was once human, and I have the same abilities, only magnified.” “You can see in the dark?” “Basically.” “How good is your hearing?” He cocked his head.“The old man in 3C is washing his face.” Her eyes widened as she considered what he may have heard from her apar tment.“Have you…. . .listened to me?” He smiled, one eyebrow arched.“Yes.”

Oh, God, how embarrassing.Had he heard her trying out the vibrator?For tha t matter, had he heard her in bed with Billy? “That’s not fair,”she said, fighting the heat rising in her cheeks.“You know all my secrets.” “And now you know mine,”he whispered. She looked into his eyes.There truly was no sign of malice. The danger—-the evil she’d felt before--—this explained it.If he really was a vampire…. . . “Have you ever killed anyone?Like, drank their blood?” “Yes.” His answer made her lightheaded as the fear threatened to return.“You just go around draining people?” “No.Blood is my sustenance.It’s the price I pay for eternity.I tend to find it in places like blood banks these days, and in emergencies, I drink from animals.Blood isn’t always easy to find without taking life, but I’ve learne d a few things.”He sighed.“Needing blood is almost as high a price to pay as the ultimate--—the loss of my soul.” She folded her legs, surprised by the philosophical turn of the conversation .“Your soul?I’ve never really believed in a soul.” “No?”He raised one eyebrow, clearly amused.“Trust me, it’s very real.” “How do you know yours is gone?” Nathan raised his hand to his chest, his expression suddenly somber.“I have a great emptiness in here, one that can’t be filled.Ever.Every day I long to fi ll that void.” Amy focused on her wine as she spoke.“That sounds terribly sad.” “Yes.” “So, you don’t want to be a vampire?”

“I didn’t say that.” She looked at him again, unsure if he was teasing her or not. “If I weren’t a vampire, I’d be four-hundred years dead.” Four hundred years was a longer time than she could began to fathom.“That ’s very dead.” “Yes.I would have missed all the history I’ve seen unfold, all the experi ences I’ve had.”His voice softened with something that sounded like emotio n.“I would have missed sharing my bed with you.” That brought them back to where they’d started.Amy drained the rest of th e wine and put the glass on the bedside table.“And this explains why you d on’t, you know, come?” He grinned.“Yes, it does.For me, reaching an orgasm is the human side of ful fillment, but the human side can’t be fulfilled unless the vampire is, too.” “So, what, you have to drink blood?” He nodded. Her stomach knotted with revulsion and a touch of panic.“But, wouldn’t that kill your partner?” “It could, if I lost track of what I was doing.” “Have you ever lost track?” “When I was young.”He frowned, correcting himself.“Younger.” “What about more recently?” He shrugged.“I haven’t partaken in a long time.I’m not sure what would ha ppen.” “Oh.”She took a deep breath and blew it out.Why was she even asking these questions?It wasn’t as if she were going to offer him a drink.

Was she? “What happens to someone if you drink her blood?Does she become a vamp ire?” He chuckled.“No.Becoming a vampire is a conscious decision, and involves a rather painful and tedious ritual.You must, after all, die.” “What would happen if we, you know, did this together?” “You mean, if I drank your blood during sex?” She nodded. “We’d be joined completely, both mentally and physically.You’d experienc e an orgasm unlike any other, as would I.” “The super-orgasm you promised.” “Yes.” “So, you planned to drink my blood all along?”Anger flared at the realizati on. “Yes.I originally planned to take your blood when you were ready.Or, rath er, when I was ready.” “Originally?” He nodded. “But not now?” “No.” “Why not?” Something flashed in his eyes and he rose again.“Honestly, Amy, I don’t know.There’s something special about you.You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever k nown.” She ran her fingers through her hair.Confusion washed around her, muddling

the emotions she was feeling until she couldn’t sort them out.“I’m not so special, Nathan.I’m not beautiful, or a genius, or rich.What makes me diffe rent?” He spun around to face her.“I don’t know.All I know is that I want to prot ect you.I want to keep you safe from demons like me.” “Are you falling in love with me?” He paced again.“I can’t feel love as you define it.The only time I truly e xperience such deep emotions is when I take them from a human.When Ifeed.”H e practically spit out the last word. Feeling a little like Alice conversing with the caterpillar in Wonderland, Amy stretched out on the bed and propped her head on her hand.She barely c onsidered that she wasn’t wearing anything.It seemed unimportant. “Nathan, tell me how you became a vampire?”

CHAPTER SIX

Amy lay across his bed as a nymph, trusting him now. That wasn’t wise.Less than an hour ago, when she’d wakened him from his sleep, he’d been on the verge of taking her completely.He knew the experi ence would be a new one for him, too. But he didn’t want to hurt Amy.He’d do his best to earn her trust, no matter

what the devil whispered in his head. After their time in bed together, however, the pint he’d consumed earlier ha d almost worn off.The steady beat of her heart drew his attention, and his fa ngs ached for her flesh. “I’ll be back in a moment,”he said. In the kitchen, he punctured a bag of O-positive and emptied it into a dar k blue glass.Undoubtedly, watching him suck on a plastic bag of blood would unnerve his guest, and he wanted something to hold as he opened himself to her. He’d never told anyone the story of his entry into darkness.Would she be r epulsed? Glass in hand, he returned to his bedroom and sat in the leather chair near the dresser.This way he could watch her, and wouldn’t be tempted to stroke her warm skin. “So you want my story, huh?” She nodded.Bunching one of his pillows under her breasts, she lay on her s tomach and listened.He enjoyed the feel of her eyes on him and opened his r obe, freeing the remainder of his hard-on for her inspection.Her face redde ned just a shade as she studied his cock. He sipped a bit of the cold liquid before starting. “I grew up in Boston in the earliest part of the eighteenth century.My fa ther was a mason.In fact, he helped build what’s now called the Old State House.”He smiled as he remembered seeing his father high on the scaffoldin g, covered with mortar and waving down at him. “I was the youngest of four boys, and had two younger sisters.Even though my family wasn’t terribly large by eighteenth century standards, I guess yo u could say I was lost in the crowd.My two older brothers learned our fathe r’s trade, while Peter and I were left to fend for ourselves.Our mother die d when I was nine. “I went to work at a mill as an apprentice when I was eleven.I hated the w ork, but I couldn’t leave without disgracing my family, and there were too

many mouths to feed at home.The miller fulfilled his promise to my father a nd sent me to school, and I rarely got more than four or five lashes when I misbehaved.So I took my job seriously and learned everything there was to know about running a mill, and what I could of the shipping industry.I long ed to see the ocean, and even signed up for passage on one of the freighter s bound for England when I was eighteen. “But the ship sank the week before I was to leave.”He sipped, closing his eye s as the thick liquid slid down his throat, so benign that it made him want to spit it out.“Just as well, I suppose.” He stood, leaving the robe on the chair. “Boston was a bustling town then, with a population of eight or nine thousan d.There were plenty of young ladies looking for suitors, and I earned a decen t wage at the mill.Any night I wished to, I could find a dance, or a play, or a ball, and I had my pick of pretty girls to escort.” He’d almost forgotten how wonderful the lavender in Rebecca’s hair smelled as he waltzed her around the dance floors.The first time they danced, the sight of her bosom had aroused him to the point that he’d been afraid to re lease her when the music stopped.If her aunt saw, he’d be banned from socia l gatherings. Sweet Rebecca.She’d surrendered her maidenhead to him in the country one r ainy afternoon when they’d gotten separated from the picnic crowd and ducke d into an abandoned shack.In a fit of need, he’d lifted her skirts and take n her against the wall, standing.The embarrassment was that he hadn’t laste d more than a dozen pumps, but she was his first.At least, the first he had n’t paid.Her tight, wet cunt had been the focus of his fantasies for years afterward. “Was there a special girl?” He looked up at Amy’s question and smiled.“Yes.But the thought of settli ng down and making a family of my own held no appeal.I liked taking my pl easures on the side, risking social standing for a night of fucking when the husband or parents were away.I slipped into more than one woman’s bed room window after dark.” He laughed, remembering the morning that he’d had to dive from Rebecca’s window with the sting of salt burning his bare backside.

“What’s so funny?” He shrugged.“Just remembering how wonderfully dangerous it seemed back then.” Amy rolled to her side and drew one knee up in front of her, blocking his vi ew of her soft pubic hair. “Anyway, it went on that way until I was twenty-seven.That’s when Rebecc a married my brother, and I realized I was forever doomed to be with whor es and old maids.I’d missed my chance to marry the woman I could have spe nt my life with.And the fact that the whole thing was done behind my back made me bitter.I shunned my family’s attempts to reconcile. “One night, I was staggering back from the local tavern when a beautiful woman stopped me and asked for directions.I’d had too much ale, and could barely manage to stand up straight, much less tell her how to reach the st reet she wanted.She asked me to walk with her, and I did.She kept me uprig ht with her arm around my waist, and we walked along the edge of the harbo r with moonlight glistening on the water.Her name was Hannah.” He emptied his glass, letting the contents calm the agitation caused by the mention of her name. “At some point, we stopped and sat in a field of wet grass.My head was clea ring in the cold night air, and Hannah held my hand.She was the most beautif ul creature I’d ever seen, with silken hair and skin the color of alabaster. Her eyes were dark like the depths of the ocean. “She told me a story about her family, how they’d thrown her out and she w as searching for a friend.She said she’d seen me before in town and decided I could be that friend.Before I knew what was happening, I was on top of h er in the grass, fucking her for all I was worth.And she laughed a liquid, golden laugh when I came the third time just before I collapsed. “I woke the next morning alone under the trees, wondering if she was just a dream. “But she wasn’t a dream.We met every night for a week, and every night I f ucked her until I dropped.I thought I was in love.When she asked me if I wa nted to stay with her always, I readily agreed.

“And then she explained that always meant more than a single lifetime.The more she explained, the better it sounded.I could live forever, and we’d ma ke love under the stars every night.We’d travel the world, needing no one b ut each other, never wanting for anything.It sounded like heaven to me. “The night she brought me into the darkness, I’ll never forget.She came t o my room at the mill in silence, just after sunset.I lit a lamp, and turn ed around to find her already naked.She made me stand in the middle of the room as she removed my clothing, and she washed me with warm water.She kn elt in front of me and took my cock in her mouth.She sucked until I nearly exploded, then she stopped and pushed me back onto my bed. “She had control of my mind, I know now, and kept me from being able to move my arms or speak as she mounted me.Her flesh was cool and wonderful against my burning need.Then she rode me slowly, bringing me to the edge again and again until my balls ached and my heart felt like it would give out. “Suddenly, she released her hold on me and I was able to reach up for her w aist and pull her down on my cock as I started into the most unbelievable or gasm.She lay on me as I held her, filling her, and then her teeth pierced my throat and she drew my life force as I continued to pump everything I had i nto her. “I can’t begin to do the experience justice with words.” He glanced down at his fully erect cock, then sat in the chair and stroked it leisurely as he spoke. “She drained the blood from my body as she came.The last thing I felt as a mortal man was her cunt squeezing my cock like a vise.And then I died. “There was a time of nothingness that I remember.It terrified me like nothi ng else ever had.And then I was standing in front of Hannah naked, and she d rew me to her breast.As I suckled one side, she drew a knife across the othe r, just above the nipple.Blood flowed from the cut, adorning her breast like jewels. “‘If you want to join me forever, you must drink from me,”’she said. “I had a choice at that time, for just a moment.

“I drank.” He rose from the chair, stretched out across the foot of the bed, and leane d on one elbow facing Amy. “The transition was painful and lasted for hours.When I woke the next even ing, I was a vampire.Hannah and I left Boston together.” “Your family didn’t know what happened?” “No, they thought I’d drowned in a drunken stupor.My grave’s in Boston, al though, of course, there’s no body.”He smiled.“I’ve seen the marker.I guess my brother felt guilty for stealing my girl.” “So, what happened to Hannah?” “We spent a few years together.”He thought about Mary Randall.“They weren ’t the best years of my unnatural life.” “One night, we were assaulted by a hunting party just before dawn.Hannah had insisted on kidnapping two young maidens for amusement during the da y.The young women were neighbors, so their parents probably realized righ t away that they were both missing.It was stupid and dangerous, but Hanna h claimed we were indestructible.” “What happened to the women?” “Do you really want details?” Amy’s eyes widened.“Maybe not.” “To shorten the story, they both died after surrendering their virginity to me and their blood to Hannah.She tossed them into the river at sunset, and, s ince there was no need to feed again, we spent the rest of the night screwing in the woods. “The bodies were discovered more quickly than Hannah had expected, and m en showed up with dogs.Lots of men.We might have taken them on, but the s un was peaking over the horizon and we needed to find shelter.Hannah star ted running and I followed her.We were nearly to a cemetery with mausoleu ms when the first rays of the sun hit.We split up, running for all we wer

e worth.The sun burned into my back deep enough to reach all the way thro ugh my side before I finally found a place to hide.I was sure I’d die. “I listened to Hannah scream as the dogs dragged her into the light.I’ll nev er forget that sound.She was much older than I.It took at least an hour for h er to die.They staked her in full sunlight and she struggled, but she had no strength.Finally, she burst into flames and she was gone.” He remembered the smell of her burning flesh and the baying of the dogs, a nd he remembered curling into a ball and covering his ears.It didn’t help.H e heard every sound.He heard her pale flesh sizzling. That day was the longest he ever spent alone. “Are there others?Other vampires?” He nodded.“A few, here and there.” “But you don’t, like, hang around together?” He smiled and shook his head.“We’re not pack animals.It’s not easy getting blood without drawing unwanted attention, so we tend to be rather solitary .I know one couple that travels the world.They’ve been together for about a hundred years.” “Wow.”She rolled over to her stomach again.“That’s really amazing.” “Yes, I suppose it is.” “Nathan, what’s it like for you to drink someone’s blood?” Her scent hit him again, warming him from the inside.“Blood is the essence of life.It carries dreams from the heart to the head, and love and hate the other direction.One taste of blood from a living human, and I know everythin g there is to know.There are no secrets.I feel that person’s emotions as if they’re my own.” Her eyebrows rose at his words. He studied the lines of her body as they lay on the bed in pleasant silence .She wasn’t a raving beauty, but she was strong and young, and her body was sturdy enough to stand up to his passion, as long as it was under control.

“Why were you angry when I first came in?”she asked. “Amy, no matter what passes between us, we have no future together.You c an’t throw away your chance at happiness with Billy because of me.I won’t be here long.” “Why can’t you stick around?” He rolled over and lay on his back.“For one thing, I tend to get bored easi ly.After four hundred years, entertainment is tough to come by.” “I’ll entertain you.” He smiled and turned his head to look at her.“Of that I have no doubt.”His pleasant thoughts faded as he considered the future.“If I stay in one place too long, people around me age.Not only is it depressing to watch people fad e, it becomes obvious after a while that I’m not aging.I can’t afford the su spicion.” “That makes sense.But you could stay in one place for ten or twenty years.T hat’s a long time.” Not so long in the life of a vampire.“Yes.” She reached over and touched his bare arm with her warm fingers.“I want what you promised me.” He sat up.“After what I’ve told you--—” “Yes.I want you to make me feel things that no mortal lover can.” He sprang to his feet.“Amy, we can have sex, screw all night if you wish.Tha t’s fine.But if I drink from you, I run the risk of taking too much.I told yo u, I’m out of practice.”03   “It sounds like my risk to take, not yours.”She sat up. He shook his head slowly.“No, it’smyrisk.I’m the one who’d have to live w ith the consequences, not you.”

#*

#*

#*

Amy watched Nathan stalk out of the bedroom.She scrambled across the be d and followed him. “Nathan, isn’t there something you can do to make it less…. . .risky?” He jerked open the refrigerator, extracted something, and spun around to fac e her.“I can drink this.” Her stomach lurched at the sight of the bag of blood he held in his fist.Sh e swallowed hard.“Okay.” Holding her in his glowing gaze, he raised the bag to his mouth, snarled, an d bit into it.The bag shrank until it was flat.He threw it aside and dragged his arm across his mouth. The grin that grew on his face was pure evil.“Now I’m ready for you, dear Amy.” Once again, her body shook with fear.In an instant, he’d changed from a man she cared about to a beast, capable of God-only-knows-what.As he appr oached, she backed away, matching his step. Suddenly, he stood in front of her.His arm around her waist was the only thin g that kept her from falling to the floor as her legs gave out. “Yes,”he said, his voice a soft growl.“I’ll keep my promise.You’ll have th e most spectacular orgasm any human has ever experienced.Better than the la st one I had as a mortal, even.Is that what you want?” He didn’t wait for her answer, but carried her to the wall where he pinned h er with his weight. In spite of his brutal mannerism, he was gentle when he reached between he r legs.His eyes closed and he dropped his head to her shoulder.

“Damn you, Amy,”he whispered. His fingers slid back and forth across her clit, then slipped inside her vagina . “That glorious cunt.I smell it from here.It’s perfect.” She reached up to cling to his neck as the soft rolls of desire started, urge d on by his slow, tender strokes.His cock hardened against her belly. “Wrap your legs around me, Amy.” She did, locking her feet together at his lower back. “Yes.”He rested his mouth on her shoulder, sucking softly as he positioned himself to nudge against her vulva with the hard head of his cock. Amy turned her head and kissed his cheek, and then the side of his neck as s he rolled her hips up, waiting, anxious for him to start.She needed to feel h is glorious shaft inside her, seeking the depths of her.This time she’d have all of him. Her body quivered with anticipation. When she sucked on his neck, a low, steady growl rose from his chest, and he suddenly thrust up into her, sheathing his enormous cock with one cruel stroke. Amy cried out and dropped her head back to the wall. They stood there as if frozen for a long moment. He turned his face to hers and she stared at him. “Are you all right?”he asked. She nodded.Her body had adjusted to the intrusion and was starting to cra ve movement. “Be careful around my neck.If I lose control, this could get ugly.Do you un derstand?”

She nodded. “Good.”Holding her in his emerald gaze, he pulled back and pushed in again, starting the same stroke that had driven her wild earlier. His cock rubbed against her swollen clitoris with each thrust, and prickle s of rapture ran through the muscles of her legs and started up her backbon e.Her belly tumbled, drawing gasps of delight from her throat.Blood pumped in her ears as she neared release.Just one more--— He stopped and quickly withdrew. As she started to slide down the wall, he swept her into his arms, and carri ed her to the bedroom. She thought he’d take her to the bed, but he turned toward the chair instea d.He sat, placing her on her shaky feet in front of him.Then he pulled her f orward and kissed her stomach, drawing circles in her skin with his tongue, moving leisurely up her body.The feel of his fangs dragging across the tende r flesh at the sides of her breasts sent a shudder through her. He suckled and licked, teasing her taut nipples until her knees shook.Holdin g the backs of her thighs, he pulled her forward to straddle his legs. His stony cock rose in front of her, reaching into her abdomen, and she wond ered how she had fit it all inside before. He lifted her without effort and placed her over the head of it, her lips op en to receive him.She had no way to control his entry, and she quivered at th e sudden vulnerability. Slowly, he eased her down, filling her, stretching her vagina to hold him, a nd her juices ran down his shaft ahead of her. “You’re drenching me, Amy.”His eyes partly closed with pleasure and his h ead went back.The sight of his fangs excited her even more and she pulled on his shoulders to speed his entry. He ignored her efforts.By the time he was sheathed, she was on the edge ag ain. “Yes,”she said.“Now, Nathan.Fuck me now.”

His lips curled into a smile.“My promiscuous mistress.How far we’ve come already.” But he held her still. “And how far we have yet to go.” Aching need blossomed in the center of her gut.“Damn, Nathan, please.” “No.You must be ready.You mustneedthe release with every cell in your bo dy.” She rocked back and moved forward, enjoying the little bit of stimulation, and he let her move until she began to tighten around him.She did want him w ith every cell, every bit of her.She wanted to feel his cock explode inside her as she opened with wicked satisfaction to take it. He lifted her off of him, carried her to the bed, and flipped her over to her hands and knees. “Now, we’re ready.”Holding her hips, he entered her from behind.His cock wa s larger than it had yet been, and she felt him shake with restraint.“This t ime, we’ll reach the peak together.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up as he kissed the bac k of her shoulders. She struggled against his hold.“No, Nathan, no.” His disappointment was a hot taste in his mouth, but he understood her fea r. He stopped and fought for some kind of control. “I want to watch,”she said.“Not like this.” The breath he had been holding without his conscious knowledge whooshed f rom his lungs as relief filled him. He withdrew and allowed her to turn ov er. She lay on her back, her knees up, her legs spread for him.Even the sight o f his blood-red eyes did nothing to quench her need.

She reached up and grabbed his cock, surprised by how hard it was, and poi nted it toward her hungry cunt. He growled and entered her, mounting her like an animal with quick, desper ate thrusts. Her muscles tightened immediately and she arched her back to get more of him. Darkness swirled inside her now, dancing along nerve endings, and the waves started around her, threatening to pull her into the whirlpool of desire. She turned her head, exposing her neck to him. Nathan lowered his face to hers, snarling.The vampire had control--—she s aw the transformation in his expression--—and his fangs protruded from his drawn-back lips. He fucked in long, hard strokes as he dropped his stare to her neck. “Yes,”she said, ready for all of it. He opened his mouth and lowered it to her throat. She felt the sharp corners of his teeth, poised against her skin, and she tingl ed all over. His cock grew, probing deeper, urgent. The watery chasm opened under her and her buttocks quivered, then tighten ed, and her body exploded with the first wave. His teeth penetrated her flesh and she gasped at the searing pain, but the pain disappeared, replaced with sensuous sucking sensations as the second wa ve hit.He drew from her neck, pulling her under into the dark sea as his coc k erupted inside her, taking possession of her cunt. The orgasm pulsed through every muscle, strong enough to tear her apart. Deeper they went.She clung to him as waves of pure pleasure and desire start ed through her, paling all other pleasure.Hot, liquid waves, pulling her fles h from her bones and sliding it back on as she held him with all her strength

, gripping his flesh with claws. Down they went into the depths. Need ripped through her chest and made her gasp. His need, not hers. No, hers.No, theirs.Sweet craving. Deep, hungry yearning, reaching out and swallowing them both. Then, pure joy came in a maddening rush, flowing over and through them, t ying them together until their flesh fused.She was inside him now.They wer e one. Somewhere, someone screamed. Down they went until she felt the sandy depths with her toes.At the bottom of the dark ocean, she found his mouth and kissed it, drawing his breath. Unbelievable ecstasy. Up and down the waves ran over them, leaving her body in spasms she coul dn’t control--—didn’t want to control.Unending joy. “Hold me close,”he said, from somewhere inside her head.“Surrender all to me.” She released the last of her hold on the earth and together they floated thro ugh the darkness. Above them--—so far above--—was the world of light and life and air. She struggled now to find a way to breathe.Just one breath.The bliss rolle d down her legs and back up to her cunt where they were tethered. She needed air. Floating, his arms holding her, his weight keeping her under. “You’re mine now.” Was that his voice or hers?Maybe both.

Just one breath. Amy opened her mouth and dark fluid filled her lungs. The darkness invaded, permeating her body, taking away her sight and heari ng and feeling. Still it was bliss.Dark bliss.Eternal bliss. Like a candle flame sacrificed to a night breeze, she disappeared into darkn ess.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Nathan held Amy to his side with her head on his shoulder and her arm acros s his chest.He listened to her slow, steady heartbeat and the air moving in and out of her lungs. Her scents filled the room; he inhaled the smell of her skin, her cunt, her sw eat, the air she breathed. Her blood. Their shared release had terrified and thrilled him like no other before.He’ d nearly lost the ability to withdraw from her neck, but realized at the last moment that he was on the verge of taking too much.

He felt warmth for the first time in decades.Her life force pumped slowly through his veins, giving him joy, sadness, hope, and fear--—hisemotions fo r a few more hours. And then it would all be gone. He wanted to cry, but knew he couldn’t. When the cold started up from his feet and hands shortly before dawn, he’d feel sorrow strong enough to drive him into the sunlight, no doubt. Still, he couldn’t regret it. “Sweet Amy,”he whispered, stroking her silken hair. He lay perfectly still and listened to her for another hour before she stirred. She groaned at the effort of movement and opened her eyes a little.“Nathan ?” “Yes, Amy.”He kissed her forehead. “I’m alive?” “Yes, Amy.” She nodded. “You need rest to get your strength back.”He drew her face into his neck.“C lose your eyes and sleep.I’ll keep you safe, I promise.” She nodded again, and her breathing slowed as she relaxed against him. They lay in his bed together through the day, through his sorrow and loss, through sleep.When he woke again, he felt the sunset in his cold, dead heart . Nathan eased out from under Amy, slipped on his robe, and walked to the re frigerator. The bag that stared up at him from the metal shelve made him groan.The tho ught of the cold, lifeless liquid repulsed him, but he needed fortification

before she woke.It would be more than tempting to drink from her again, bu t she couldn’t possibly survive. He recalled what he could of her memories.Her parents were strict--—her f ather bordered on brutal at times.Never would she have risked bringing a b oy home. That explained her inexperience.A late bloomer. And a rare bloom indeed. Nathan lifted the bag from the shelf and drained it quickly.He tossed it into the trash, then picked up the bag that lay on the floor from the night before and threw it away. The candles had long since burned out, so he lit several lamps as he listen ed to Amy sleep.Then he sat on the edge of the bed and watched her. He knew her body now as well as she knew it.Better, even, for he also knew it from the outside.He admired the gentle curve of her lower back. She had no idea how beautiful she was. She loved Billy.He was her first.And he was, as Nathan had suspected, a decent man who really wanted to make her happy. Nathan also knew that she truly loved him.She’d been willing to risk everyt hing not only for her own sake, but also to make him happy.No one had ever r eached past the selfish side of the desire. And she loved the sunshine. Amy sighed as she rolled to her back.She opened her eyes, met his gaze, an d smiled. “Good morning.” She raised herself to her elbows.“How long have I been asleep?” “Since last night.” “Last night?”She sat up.“What time is it?”

“Six-thirty.” “Morning or evening?” “Evening.” “Damn.You mean I missed work?” “I suppose you did.” She started to her feet, but fell back to the bed. Nathan rushed to her side.“Hold on, you still have a ways to go before you ’ve recovered.” She nodded.“I feel so weak.” “You need food.”He sat beside her.“Unfortunately, I don’t have any here.” “You never eat?” He shook his head. She studied his face intently with her gorgeous blue eyes.“That was so stra nge, in an amazing sort of way.” He nodded and lightly touched her cheek. “I feel like…. . .like we were one person,”she said.“Like I knew how you f elt.Was it the same for you?” “Yes.” “That’s really intense.” He chuckled.“Yes.” “Is it always that way?” He dropped his hands to his lap.“Usually to a lesser extent.We seem to hav e a stronger connection than I’ve experienced before.I’m not sure why.”

“If I were a vampire, would it always be like that when we, you know, had sex?” He rose, terrified by her question.“Amy, don’t even think about it.” “What, becoming a vampire?” “Yes.” “Why not?” He stood with his back to her and closed his eyes against the desires he fe lt.He wanted to bring her to the darkness, to keep her always by his side.Bu t she had no idea what she was asking.“You should eat, then we’ll discuss it .” The bed creaked as she rose.She took a deep breath.“All right, but I think I need some help.” “I can get food for you.What would you like?” “A Quarter Pounder?” He frowned, unsure what she meant. She smiled.“I’ve got a better idea.I’ve got leftover stroganoff in my frid ge that’s sounding pretty good.Can you get me back to my apartment?” He brought her clothes to her and helped her dress, then put on his own.Wit h his arm around her waist, he walked her to the door. She was even weaker than he’d expected. In the empty hallway, he stopped and scooped her up.“Put your arms aroun d my neck.” She did as instructed.“Nathan, what if someone sees us?This’ll look a little strange.” “Close your eyes and rest your head on my shoulder.We won’t be seen.”

He moved quickly and deposited her into a chair in her apartment a second o r two later. She opened her eyes and shook her head.“Wow.” He crouched in front of her.“Will you be able to feed yourself?” “Yes.Why, are you leaving?” He nodded.“I need to restock.” She understood, he saw it.And she wasn’t shocked or repulsed. “Nathan, I’m serious.I love you.I want you to make me a vampire.” The temptation to have her always nagged at him like a biting winter wind. Nathan held her hand to his lips and enjoyed her warmth.Then he looked in to her eyes, hoping to make her understand.“Amy, you’ve seen the good side of this, but there’s much more.You’ll never see the light again.Never.And you’ll lose the humanity that makes you care.You’ll become cold and heart less, and you’ll want to kill.Need to kill.You’ll become the hunter in a w orld of prey.” “You don’t kill.” “I do, but not often.I’ve had four-hundred years to learn to control that urge .Still, I sometimes lose the battle.And the one thing I can feel completely is regret.” He rose and walked away from her, but stopped at the door and looked bac k.“Regret will consume you, Amy.The vampire’s a hideous devil that wants to control you.You spend every waking minute fighting it in order to live among humans.” “Nathan, I want to be with you always.” Her words tore through him as he realized they perfectly reflected his own feelings.And how was it he felt this when he hadn’t felt anything since the night Hannah took his life? “I have to go.Think about it tonight and tomorrow.Be careful, Amy.Don’t be

deceived by the lure of eternity.You’ll end up with a long time to regret your decision.” “What if I still want it tomorrow night?” “Come to my apartment and we’ll talk.” She smiled and nodded. The devil rose in his chest, urging him back to her neck--—the sweet nectar he craved. Nathan spun around, pulled the door open, and forced himself to walk thro ugh the doorway. He hurried outside and listened to the night as he traversed the empty sidew alk. The strange thing was the way his chest felt considerably less empty.It was a s if he’d found part of his soul. He should never have tasted her. If Amy asked, he would make her a vampire.He’d spend every day fucking he r and drinking from her and baring his neck to her hunger.It’d be the clos est he’d ever get to making love. He could only hope that she didn’t grow to hate him as he’d hated Hannah.

#*

#*

#*

The day had been unbearably long.At first, Mr. Hanson, her boss, hadn’t be lieved she’d been sick.Until he saw her. Amy was still pale, shaky and hungry.So hungry that she’d had two chicken sandwiches for lunch, and probably could have eaten a third. The two holes in her skin hidden by the collar of her shirt healed as the day

progressed. Customers in the store tended to avoid her.They probably thought she carr ied some nasty germs. What she really carried, though, was the memory of the most amazing experi ence anyone could have.It haunted her, terrifying, thrilling and indescriba ble. Not that she would ever want to describe it to anyone. What she’d shared with Nathan was more personal that her darkest secrets. Sex would certainly never be the same. “Miss, can you help me?” Amy looked up, surprised to find a customer watching her.“Oh, yes, I’m so rry.What can I do for you?” The man was tall and attractive, and he studied her with interest.“I’m looki ng for a tuner.My stereo just gave up the ghost this morning.But I don’t unde rstand all these options.” She smiled.“I’ll show you what we have.” As they walked, she felt his gaze.Normally, she would have been embarrasse d by it. She longed to shed her clothes and have Nathan look at her with the hunge r and longing that made her squirm. Three hours later she stood at the bus stop.She’d promised Mr. Hanson that she’d get some rest and be back in the morning, but she wasn’t sure she’d do either. She’d wait until after sunset this time.Then she’d go to Nathan.Maybe the y’d have sex once more before she made up her mind.She loved his strength. She’d ask him to fuck her against the wall.He’d promised that he’d do what ever she asked. The memory of her‘lessons’made her smile.

The bus was full of people, all tired from a day of work. Amy sat on one of the side seats, facing inward, and studied those sitting a round her. If she were a vampire, these people would be her prey.The baby in her mot her’s arms across the bus would mean no more to her than a possible meal. It was too strange to even try to imagine.Her stomach clenched in disgust. She watched a young couple toward the back of the bus kissing passionately. The girl’s eyes closed with desire as the boy obviously slid his hand inside her panties. People around them pretended not to notice. Amy closed her eyes and recalled the feel of Nathan’s hands on her at the Halloween party.No matter whatsheelse happened, she’d always have the dark desires he’d introduced her to.Wetness started between her legs at the memo ry of his tongue flicking back and forth on her swollen clit. She groaned softly as she thought back to the first release on the rock wall in the shadows. Amy’s eyes snapped open and she glanced around, wondering if anyone had heard.No one seemed to be paying any attention to her. She got off the bus when it stopped at her corner and hurried down the stre et.The setting sun colored everything orange, even the backs of her bare han ds. She stopped and looked around. You’ll never see the light again.Never. Could she live without seeing the sun, feeling its warmth on her skin?She cl osed her eyes and let the fading rays caress her chilled cheeks. She’d definitely miss it. Not yet.She didn’t have to decide now.

Ducking her head into the cool breeze, Amy ran the rest of the way to her apartment.She stopped in the empty hallway and glanced at the stairs leadin g down. “Hi, Nathan.I’m home.” If he was awake, she knew he’d hear her.Then she turned and ran up two flig hts of stairs. This was the night of her decision. Nathan had warned her off, but she remembered knowing that he wanted her always.When they’d joined, she’d felt his desire and understood it compl etely.Although the memories of the sensations were fading, she remembered the emotions. She remembered his longing and regret, too.Would that change if they were together? Amy shed her work clothes and took a shower.Then she stood in front of her closet, wrapped in a towel. What did one wear to become a vampire? “Nothing.” She jumped, surprised by the sound of Nathan’s voice, and spun around.Bu t the room was empty. Was he still inside her head? The question made her laugh. Letting the towel drop to the floor, she removed from the closet the one dre ss that she’d never worn.Three years ago, her sister had sent it to her on he r birthday, more as a joke than anything else.It was slinky, short, and red, and Dotty knew she’d never wear it. As teenagers, she and Dotty had exchanged whispered fantasies at night whe n their parents couldn’t hear.Both were terrified of getting caught with a boy.They’d speculated on what sex was like.

She had news for Dotty; they weren’t even close. The red dress was perfect.Amy dried her hair and brushed it back.She turned her head in the mirror and inspected the two small spots on her neck that w ere now little more than raised skin. Strangely, her appetite disappeared.Instead of eating dinner, she sat on th e sofa and studied her photo album.She considered the pictures of Dotty, and of Sam, their younger brother, and she ran her fingers over the photos of B illy.She’d miss them all, if she decided to step into Nathan’s world. She was a little surprised to realize she still held a measure of doubt. If she decided against it, she’d never see Nathan again.Somehow she knew t hat.This was the last night in her world as it was now, one way or the othe r. It was just before seven o’clock when she closed the photo album and rose.S he stood in the middle of the room and took long, deep breaths.Before leavin g her apartment, she slipped off her panties and stepped into the heels, fee ling deliciously sinful. The building was quiet as she walked down the stairs, as if the other tenan ts hid behind their doors, waiting to see what she chose.She stopped in fron t of Nathan’s door, enjoying the excitement that slithered up the backs of h er thighs.She raised her hand to knock. The sound of heavy feet pounding down the stairs behind her drew her aroun d, hand still raised. “Amy, wait.” She was shocked when Billy appeared in the hallway.He wore his usual T-shi rt and blue jeans, and his dark hair curled loosely around his face. “What are you doing?Is this where he lives?”His eyes widened as they ra n down her body and back up.“Jesus, Amy, what’s happened to you?” “Billy, why are you here?” “I’m looking for you.Listen, sweetie, I love you.You can’t do this.”

She tugged on the short skirt.“Go home, Billy.I don’t want to see you.” He stepped forward and grabbed her arm.“Don’t say that.You love me, reme mber?It’s okay if you don’t want to get married yet, but you can’t--—” “Let go of me.”She grabbed his wrist and tried to wrench her arm free.He he ld tight. Behind her, the door flew open.“I believe the lady asked you to let go of her .” Billy’s eyes widened further and he stumbled backwards as he released her arm. She turned to find Nathan towering over her in the doorway, snarling, his eyes glowing deep red.The black shirt he wore made him all the more intimid ating. “I’m sorry, Nathan.”She reached out and pressed her palm to his chest. He covered her hand with his, and drew her into the apartment.Then he look ed back at Billy, who slid down the wall, staring. “So,”he said,“this is Billy.Not a bad-looking young man.” “Will he be all right?” Nathan nodded.“He’ll get up in a few minutes and wander away.” “He won’t remember this?” “No.”Nathan closed the door and drew her into his arms, kissing her as a p assionate human lover would, pulling her off her feet and carrying her to t he bedroom. She locked her arms around his neck and enjoyed the way he wanted her.She pushed her fingers into his hair. They fell onto the bed together, still embracing, and kissed. As his fangs appeared, his cock hardened against her.The vampire and the

man--—one being. She reached down and rubbed the front of his pants as he groaned and held h er tighter.His hand ran up her thigh, slid under her dress, and found her ba re buttocks.He grinned against her lips. “Downright wicked,”he whispered. She smiled and tugged at the button on his pants. On top of her, he leaned back enough to reach around the front.His fingers slipped between her legs, touching her gently, but demanding entry. She raised her leg out of the way and pulled his zipper down to free his eno rmous cock.Gripping it, stroking, she watched his eyes close and the tips of his fangs appear over his bottom lip. His fingers dipped into her cunt, pulling out juices that he rubbed over her l ips. “Fuck me,”she whispered.“Make me come.” “Yes.”His eyes glowed bright red as he moved over the top of her. She held his cock to her, pressing her cunt against it.It continued to swell and enlarge, and nudged forward to enter her. Nathan raised his body over her and pushed his cock into her, groaning wit h each thrust.He was nearly buried in her when he lowered his mouth to her neck. She held the back of his head, pulling him to her, needing to feel all of h im again.Her cunt tightened, ready to explode.She wanted release, yearned to merge with him.She craved the darkness with her very soul. He pumped long and hard as he drew his fangs across her throat, teasing her tender flesh. Her hands curled into fists against his back as she thrust up into him. “Take me now, Nathan.I’m about to come.Drink from me.”

He buried his cock in her and froze. Amy tried to move under him, but he held her in place. “Hold…. . .still.”His command was deep and angry. She, too, froze, and the desire slowly waned, leaving her cold. Nathan rolled away and sat on the edge of the bed with his back to her.He didn’t move beyond slumping forward with his head in his hands. “Why did you stop?”She reached out, but stopped short of touching him. “I was about to drain you.” “Wasn’t that the plan?” He jumped up and whirled around.“We were supposed to talk about this.”He fastened his pants and strode into the living room. Amy sighed, rolled off the bed, and straightened her skirt as she followed. She found him leaning against the kitchen counter with a dark glass in his h and. “I’m ready to become a vampire,”she said.“I want to spend the rest of my li fe with you.” “It isn’t your life we’re talking about, Amy.It’s eternity.”He raised the glas s to his lips and drank, then closed his eyes for a minute before he continued. “I can feel your doubt.It’s still there.” “No, it’s not.” “Yes, it is.” She turned and strolled to the middle of the room.“Maybe there’s still some fear, but not doubt.I want to go with you.I want to spend eternity with you .” “Drinking human blood?” She swallowed hard.“Yes.”

“Killing children if need be?Hiding from the light like a rat?Burying your self in the wet dirt when we’re traveling and spending the day with worms s liding against your body?” She tried to hide the shudder and nodded. Leaving his glass on the counter, Nathan crossed the room in long, slow stri des until he stood in front of her.He held her shoulders.“I’ve never felt lik e this about anyone.If you’re--—” Fists pounded on the front door. Nathan frowned at it.“Go away.” The pounded stopped and he turned his attention back to her, but the poundi ng started again. “Get away from her,”Billy yelled through the door. “Strange,”Nathan said.“He’s amazingly persistent.”He released Amy’s sho ulders and walked to the door.“Maybe we should hear him out.” “Do we have to?”Amy folded her arms protectively around her stomach.For a reason she couldn’t define, she didn’t want Billy and Nathan in the sam e room. Holding the doorknob, Nathan glanced back and grinned.“It’s only fair.” When he drew the door open, Billy fell into the room, hitting the floor and then jumping up.He shook his head as if fighting off grogginess. “Welcome,”Nathan said. Billy turned to face him, fists raised.“You’re not getting her, you son of a bi tch.I love her.” Nathan closed the door, sighed and walked slowly back to face Billy.“I don ’t think you can stop me.” Billy swung at him, his fist flying so quickly through the air that Amy barel y saw it.

When he missed, he stumbled forward and landed on the floor again.He was a little slower to get up, and Amy stepped forward.“Billy, please, just go esaway.” He looked at her, his brown eyes wide.“I can’t leave you here, Amy.” Nathan moved around the room with ease and in silence, and he stood behin d her now, his hands on her shoulders and his mouth beside her ear.“He sen ses the evil.He’s here to protect you.I think it’ssweet.”He made the word sweet sound anything but. Fear gripped Amy at the thought of what could easily happen.“Billy, go aw ay.” Billy scrambled to his feet and charged the two of them. Nathan reached out and pushed him effortlessly with one hand, sending him sprawling backward all the way across the room.Billy’s head hit the wall wi th a sickening thud.He curled into a ball, holding his head. Nathan turned Amy’s face to meet his and kissed her, his tongue cruel as i t invaded her mouth.She tried to push him away, but couldn’t budge him. He moved his mouth to her jaw, then kissed the side of her neck, scraping his teeth across her neck where blood pounded through her veins. “We could have Billy watch while we fuck.Would you like that, my dear? We could show him how it’s supposed to be done.” “You bastard,”Billy said.He still lay on the floor, apparently unable to rise. Her stomach knotted to the point of nausea.“Nathan, stop, please.” He straightened and looked down at her, his green eyes sparkling with amu sement.“Not interested, huh?” When he released her, she started forward, but stopped when she realized N athan already stood over Billy.“There are several other options.”He reached down, lifted Billy by the collar, and held him out like a puppy. Billy’s arms swung wildly with no effect.Although Nathan was several inc

hes taller than Billy, Billy was sturdy.They would have been evenly match ed if they’d both been human. Nathan walked toward her, dangling Billy in front of him.He held her in hi s gaze and smiled.“We could have aménageàtrois.My young friend here is what we call a resister, but with a little effort I think I could calm him down .The two of us could take turns with you, or take you at the same time.I’m sure you’d enjoy it.I know I would.” The blood drained from her head and Amy fought to stay on her feet.The s cene unfolding in front of her was something from a nightmare.“Nathan, pl ease.” Nathan closed his eyes and Billy’s arms fell to his sides and his eyes glaz ed over.Nathan pulled him close, hooking Billy’s neck in the crook of his ar m. Nathan stared at Amy again as he held Billy’s head to one side and lowered his mouth to Billy’s neck.“Better yet, you can watch my technique, see how I feed.It’s something you’ll need to perfect if you’re to join me.” She stumbled forward a step, arms outstretched.“God, no!Don’t kill him.” “Why not?It’s what I do.And there’s nothing more amazing than experienci ng one person’s emotions filtered through someone you love.I’ll drain our dear friend, and tonight, when you drink from me--—” She charged forward, unable to think.“No!Leave him alone.”When she reach ed Nathan, she pounded her fists against his arms. Silently, slowly, he released Billy, and let him faell to the floor. Amy fell with him.“Billy, it’s me.”She pulled him into her lap and brushed back his hair.“Please, sweetheart, wake up.” Billy looked up at her, his eyes focusing as if he were waking from a dream . Tears burned as they fell from her eyes.She glared up at Nathan.“How coul d you do this?” He turned and walked slowly across the room.Folding his arms, he leaned

against the bedroom doorframe.“You needed to understand, Amy, and you w eren’t listening to me.” She shook as understanding washed over her.He’d given her a glimpse into h is world, and it was more horrible than she’d realized it could be. Billy groaned softly, and she held him.“Will he be all right?” “No permanent damage, I’m sure.The young man is hardheaded.”Nathan turn ed as though he were walking into his bedroom, but stopped.He looked bac k at her.“I’m sure the two of you will be very happy together.”Then he c ontinued, closing the door behind him. Amy struggled to her feet, helping Billy to his. He weaved and frowned at her.“Amy?” “Its okay, Billy.Let’s go up to my place.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Nathan lay on the bed with his hands behind his head and listened.They ma naged to make it upstairs, though not without struggling.Amy left Billy on the sofa while she changed clothes.Then she sat with him. He tried to ask questions, but she silenced him with kisses.At first the foo lish boy resisted, then gave in.Their breathing changed to groans and noises of arousal as their passion moved to more than kissing.

Unable to stand it, Nathan jumped to his feet.He started to leave his room, but stopped and sniffed.He could smell her still, and the memory of pleasur e in her arms filled him with sadness. Funny, her scent was stronger than it should have been.He followed it to w here his cape hung in the closet, and he smiled as he withdrew the panties and bra from his pockets.He placed them on his bed and closed his eyes as h e heard Billy’s voice. “Let’s get in bed.” A growl rose in Nathan’s throat. She should have been his.If only he cared less about her, she would be in h is bed now, sleeping the sleep of death.He’d offer her the choice just befor e sunrise, and watch her eyes glow as she drank from him. But he did care.As much as was possible for him, he loved Amy. His curse was that he always would. Longing for relief, he hurried outside into the night.There was country north , outside of the city.He could smell it.There were wild things in the woods, f ollowing their animal instincts to kill, feed, and survive. He needed to be among them, away from the world of people for a few nigh ts. Perched on the top of a nearby house, he plotted his course.With the moon n ot yet risen, the night was dark and cold. Perfect. He jumped to the ground and started running.

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Sunday evening, Amy woke for the second time.She yawned and stretched, e njoying the laziness. “Baby, what time is it?”Billy rolled over, rubbing his eyes. Amy turned and rested her chin on his chest.“Early.Five-fifteen.”She listene d to the steady beat of his heart. “Damn.”He brushed her hair back from her face.“You wear me out.” She grinned.“I don’t believe that.” “It’s true.” Amy threw the covers back and crawled over to straddle his thighs. Billy watched her, his hands behind his head. She held his cock against her pubic bone and raised and lowered her body. Billy’s eyes closed as he groaned.His cock hardened in response. “Touch me,”she whispered. He held his hand out. She placed it between her legs where his thumb could stroke her swelling cl it.“Here.” As he stroked, she took his cock into her slowly, tightening around him as s he slid down the length of it. He groaned again.“Oh, God, that’s good.” “Yes,”she said.Closing her eyes, she raised and lowered herself, slowly, de liberately stroking his cock with her entire body.They moved in a rhythm tha t suited both of them, their juices building together. “Amy, you’re driving me crazy.”He grabbed her thigh as he lifted himself u p into her. The waves crashed over her, sweet, pure pleasure pulsing up from her cunt.

His cock shot into her at the same time, releasing his seed as they both crie d out with blissful excitement. She held his shoulders and rode him hard until the waves lessened and stop ped, then smiled down at him as she panted. He opened his eyes and returned her smile.“Damn, girl, you better marry me before I die from this.” As she slid from his body, she kissed his heated lips.“Ask me again after di nner.” He nodded.“What do you want?” “Quarter Pounder?” “No mustard, no onions?” She grinned. As Amy slipped on a T-shirt and warm-ups, Billy pulled on his clothes and picked up his car keys.“Be right back.”He grabbed her around the waist an d kissed her once more before walking to the door. Amy started to work on two glasses of iced tea. “Hey, there’s a package for you out here in the hall.” She leaned around the refrigerator.“What is it?” “I dunno.I’ll leave it on the table.” “Okay.Hurry back.” After she poured the tea, she placed the pitcher in the refrigerator and walke d to the table. The small, flat box was wrapped in brown paper and had her name scrawled across it in a flowing hand.

She turned it over and studied it as she sat.There was no hint as to the conten ts, or the person who left it. “Okay,”she whispered.“You got me with this one.” Wondering if Billy was trying to be cute, she tore the paper from the box an d pulled it open. Inside, tucked between layers of tissue paper were black silk panties and a black silk bra.Very sexy, very chic, and very expensive. She held them up and studied them as the back of her neck tingled. There was a note in the box.She placed the panties and bra on the table, pic ked up the note, and read it aloud. “I think Billy will like these.I know I would have.I wish you both all the happiness possible, sweet Amy.My heart may be cold, but it’s forever yours .Nathan.” She ran to the door and looked out. The hallway was empty. Glancing out through the stairway window, she realized it was dark outsi de.Was Nathan here somewhere, watching her? She’d wanted to tell him how grateful she was, once she got over the terr or of their last encounter.He’d given her a wonderful gift by awakening he r sexuality, and also by sharing the knowledge of his existence with her.S he wanted him to know that she’d never forget him.She also wanted him to k now that she understood what he’d done.If he hadn’t driven her away, she’d have made a terrible mistake.One that couldn’t be corrected. Quietly, she ran down the stairs to the basement and stopped in front of hi s door.She raised her hand to knock and the door flew open. “Holy cow!”A large, middle-aged man who had been hurrying from the apar tment, jumped backwards, clutching his chest.“You nearly scared me to de ath.” “I’m sorry, I was looking for Nathan, the man who lives here.”

“Here?”He shrugged.“I live here.Moved in yesterday.” “Oh.” He offered his hand.“Name’s Frank.Frank Welsey.” “Hi, Frank.I’m Amy.Amy Randall.Welcome to the building.” “Thanks.”He smiled, showing off crooked teeth. “Well, I better get back to my place.”She turned and ran up the stairs. After tucking the note into the top drawer of her dresser, she stripped and slipped on the silk underwear.Then she pulled the T-shirt and warm-ups back on. Billy would enjoy discovering the black silk after he proposed and she acce pted.

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Nathan walked along the brick sidewalk with his hands in his pockets.Blos soming magnolias filled the air with wonderful ambrosia.Summer wasn’t far off.A dog barked once, but Nathan whistled at it in a pitch above human he aring and the beast fell silent. In the middle of the block ahead of him, car tires screeched as an overpri ced sports car tore away from the curb and roared down the road.When the de afening sound of its engine died away, he realized a young woman sat on the curb, her face in her hands, crying. He slowed as he approached. She was young, probably seventeen or eighteen, with yellow-white hair and nicely tanned skin.When he cleared his throat, she jumped and turned. He smiled.“Are you all right?”

She shrugged.“Yeah.” “Fight with the boyfriend?” She nodded. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” “Nah.He’s just a jerk, that’s all.” “Oh?”He crouched just out of reach and studied the way the tears on her chee ks reflected the streetlights. “Yeah.He says if I love him, I’ll, you know, do it.” “Have sex with him?” She frowned and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.“Yeah.But I’m not ready.” “Afraid?” “No.”She glanced around and swallowed hard.“Maybe a little.” Her scent filled his head then, very feminine and sweet.He heard her heart beating fast and strong.When she turned, he saw the outline of her nipples a gainst the cotton tank top. She looked up at him.“You just moved into the house at the end of the stree t, didn’t you?”Her sky blue eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Yes.” “Yeah, I thought I recognized you.My name’s Missy.” So this was Missy.He’d caught several of her late night‘conversations’with Jess.“Nathan.” She nodded.“You like parties?There’s usually at least one in the neighbor hood every weekend.”

He stood slowly, focusing on the sound of music from a nearby house.“Actua lly, I work nights and sleep during the days, so I’m afraid I’m not much fo r parties.” “Oh.”She drew one knee up in front of her.“Where do you work?” “At the hospital downtown.” “You a doctor or something?” “No.I’m the local vampire.” “Vampire?” He grinned.“Yeah, I draw blood from patients.” “Oh, that’s cool.” “Yes.”He shoved his hands back into his pockets.“Well, I should be going.” She nodded. He took two steps and stopped.“You know, Missy, if you’re not ready to have sex, don’t let Jess push you into it.You have plenty of time, and he’ll fig ure out that you’re worth waiting for.” She nodded again.“Thanks.” As he approached his house, he heard her whisper,“How’d he know Jess’s name?” He unlocked the door and slipped inside.As he crossed the dark kitchen, he tossed his keys on the counter. The house was fairly quiet with only the hum of the refrigerator and creaking of cooling timbers to disturb his silence.He pulled his dinner from the refri gerator.Carrying the plastic bag to the table, he sat and lit a candle. As he stared at the dancing flame, he wondered if sweet Amy was happy.H e hoped so.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lydia Parks grew up in New Orleans, the city of sin and vampires. Although she left her hometown years ago, she carries an appreciation of the dark sid e of life.

Lydia lives in the Southwest US where she works a regular day job, and s he spends the evenings and weekends writing erotica.Her husband sometimes reads over her shoulder; he has learned not to comment on the vampires.