Hungry Cowboy

by Charlize Starr

  But of course, that didn't happen. His witch-physician could help diminish some of the traits his kind were cursed with, such as letting him walk outside in the sunlight, but she couldn't give him back a heartbeat. There were certain strains of magic that could allow a vampire to become human again, but if that happened to him, the whole kingdom would destabilize.

  Aaron slipped under the blankets, curling his body against his sleeping bride's. Well, fiancée for right now, but soon Sofia Velásquez would be his wife. She was beautiful, all curves. Her Colombian heritage showed through in her beige skin with its warm, earthy undertones. Her thick, shiny hair fell in a mess around her face, a few strands fluttering in the breeze created by her breathing.

  The vampire pulled her tightly against him, loving how soft and warm she was in his arms. A fierce grin lit his face as he nibbled at the back of her neck. His actions were rewarded with a moan. As usual, his woman turned her face to him, smiling sleepily as she welcomed his kiss.

  "Good morning, my love," Aaron whispered, moving his hands down her curvy body to grasp her hips. "How did you sleep?"

  "Good." Sofia smiled at him, her eyes still half-shut. "Now get out."

  Aaron chuckled and kissed her neck. "Why?"

  "You know darn well why. I'm not sleeping with you until after the wedding."

  "I think I might die if I have to wait that long to taste your blood. Just one a little sip?"

  Sofia pulled away from him, shaking her head. Though she tried to look stern, the corners of her mouth twitched. "I know what drinking my blood will lead to. I promised my mother when we started seeing each other that I wasn't going to let your vampire wiles convince me to surrender my virginity to you before we were properly married, and I am going to keep that promise. So get out, Aaron. You've lasted a year, you can wait a few more days."

  Aaron sighed, exaggerating his disappointment. He didn't expect her to change her mind… and honestly, after getting to know her like he did, if she did change her mind, he'd be suspicious that there was some sort of magic at play and she wasn't in control of her actions.

  "Okay, I can be patient," the king conceded. "But I need help to decide what charity I'm donating to today."

  Sofia pulled her blankets over her chest, even though literally nothing showed. She'd taken to wearing old flannels rather than any of the copious nighties that he had bought for her. It was her rebellion, she said. She also insisted that he donate as much to charity every day for a month before the wedding as he was spending on the wedding.

  By the time they were wed, he was going to be almost three billion dollars poorer. Even for him, it was a significant amount of money. But he wasn't just a king. He owned nearly fifty businesses, in everything from the development of renewable energy to electronic technologies. Depending on how stocks did, he would get the money back within a year. It wasn't like he really needed that much money, anyway.

  Sofia tilted her head as she studied him. "Have you given to the Food Bank Association yet?"

  "Just the normal monthly donation."

  "Well, give them something extra, then," his human fiancée said, nodding as though it was decided. "The food banks kept my brothers and sisters from starving when Papa broke his back and Mama went through chemotherapy. They deserve our support."

  Aaron nodded in agreement. "Food bank it is, then. Now, you were planning on visiting your family today, yes?"

  Sofia nodded. "And I can feel your hand on my thigh, don't even think about moving it higher."

  With a grin, the king spidered his fingers a little higher. Sofia shrieked and slapped his hand before jumping out of bed. She shook her head, wagging a finger at him with narrowed eyes.

  "Uh-uh. Not happening, vampire-boy. Don't you have a caterer to terrorize?"

  Aaron scowled. "I wouldn't have to if they didn't keep making terrible suggestions. Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I want blood sausages and blood oranges at my wedding feast."

  Sofia laughed and threw a pillow at him. "I'm serious. You need to get out of here. I'm going to have a dress fitting in an hour, and I don't want you to see it before the wedding. And I have to get ready, and I don't want you to see me until our wedding night."

  The king bowed at his future queen and jumped across the bed, crushing her to his lips one more time before he left. The longing sigh that escaped from Sofia as the door closed nearly made him change his mind, but he ignored his instincts and headed down to the kitchens. He'd hired the best chefs worldwide for this meal, and none of them were living up to their reputations at the moment…

  He was almost at the kitchens when a soft, strange scent made him stop. It was highly aromatic, but a little bitter. Like the smell of vanilla extract masked by the taste. Aaron whirled on his heel, striking out. His fist connected with a soft, warm human body. He was met with a grunt, and a woman flickered into view. She screamed as she thrust a knife towards him.

  Aaron winced as the knife bit through his ribs. He grasped the woman's wrist and drew the knife out. His frown turned into a glower as he saw the blackish stain on his shirt. "Well, that's ruined. Honestly. You're part of that radical witch group determined to drive out vampires, aren't you?"

  The woman stared at him with wide eyes. He could hear her heart pounding.

  "Let me guess," he continued, plucking the knife from her hand. He sniffed at the blade. "Wormwood? Said to be useful against demons. I'm not a demon, and there is no poison known to work against vampires. Your superiors would have known this."

  "Let go of me," the woman rasped, twisting her hands this way and that, trying to free herself.

  "This must have just been a trial run."

  Aaron's glare increased. These radicalized witches were becoming overly troublesome. He had been a king among the vampires since the American Revolution, and it was only through his actions that the horrendous events at Salem hadn't reoccurred in their community. But apparently, the fact that he required their magic usage to be regulated meant he was a tyrant to this small group. How long until the radicals ruined it for everybody?

  "So you sneak into my palace invisible with a useless poison… No, it doesn't make sense for your superiors to send you with wormwood, not when there was a chance that you might actually be successful. Were you working alone, girl?" Aaron tightened her grip on her wrist. She punched at his ribs, but he hardly felt it. Vampires were much, much stronger than the humans they used to be. "Well, we'll find out your story soon enough."

  "Let me go, you monster! You won't drink my blood, I have been drinking arsenic and cobra's venom for months, any taste of my blood will kill you!"

  Aaron resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he dragged her to that floor's security office. The two guards inside had their arms wrapped around one another, kissing passionately. They jumped apart when he dragged the little witch in, hastily trying to straighten their clothes.

  "Take this would-be assassin to the dungeons and send a physician to look at her. She's been poisoning herself for months. And when you are done that, report yourselves to your superiors for punishment and reassignment. I don't care what you do on your off time, but when you are on duty you are on duty."

  One of the guards ducked his head and nodded. "Yes, sir. At once, sir."

  "You can't keep me here!" the witch shrieked.

  "I can until your trial," Aaron replied coldly. "Take her away."

  After the two guards were gone, Aaron fished his cellphone from his pocket, ordering the head of his security to send new guards for the level. He sat down to wait for the replacements, frowning at the images being sent in from the security cameras. The radicalized witches were getting bolder, and not only was it putting his life in danger, as proven by this incident, but it was also causing political troubles for him.

  There had been several incidents of magic being used against the human population in the city. The call for more stringent regulations of magic was getting louder and more aggressive. Some people were demanding it be
banned outright.

  What they didn't seem to realize that for every one of the radical witches, there were thousands of other witches living as their friends and neighbors, using their magic for the good of others. Even Sofia had a little magic to her. Her grandmother had been a powerful healer and taught Sofia a few things before her death. Not much, but it was passable.

  The guards arrived and Aaron put the magic problems from his mind. He had delegated a special force, populated by vampires and witches alike, to deal with the problem, both in rooting out the radicals as well as presenting a better magic image to the public. There was nothing else he could do about it right now.

  And he had a wedding to prepare for.

  Chapter Two – Sofia

  "Sofia's home!"

  Sofia brushed her shiny black hair from her face, smiling as her youngest sister, Eva, jumped off the bike she had been riding up and down the street. The twelve-year-old ran to her, nearly knocking her down on impact. The front door of the big house burst open and her other sister and brother ran out, followed quickly by her mother, pushing her father's wheelchair. All of them beamed as they greeted her.

  Seeing the place that her family was living in now was always something that took her breath away. No longer crammed into a crappy little apartment that they could hardly afford, despite everybody old enough to work having full-time jobs. Now they lived in a mansion, with plenty of space for everybody. Better yet, her siblings could actually afford to go to university and college, and her parents weren't making themselves sick with stress.

  "Sofia, it's so good to see you!" Her father clasped her hand.

  "And you, Papa." Sofia hugged him tightly, then turned to the two vampire bodyguards that always accompanied her when she left the palace. "You remember Lucy and Vivian?"

  Her father nodded. "It's a pleasure to see you ladies again."

  Her mother tutted. "I remember these two. You both still look like you need a good, hot meal."

  "I had one last night," Vivian said with a smirk, but at Sofia's glare, she dropped her head. "I mean, given the vampire diet, it's very difficult for us to put on weight. But I assure you, we are perfectly healthy for our species."

  Sofia cleared her throat quickly before the discussion could continue. "Lucy, will you bring out some of the gifts I brought?"

  "Of course."

  Her mother pinched her arm lightly. "You always spoil us when you come. How many times do we have to say that you alone is good enough for a present? Why do you always have to bring cars and thousand dollar wines, or—"

  "Or that new electric wheelchair that you and Papa have been drooling over for months now?" Sofia put her hands on her hips and frowned at her mother. "I don't spoil you, I only give you what's best for you. Besides, Aaron is very rich, and he doesn't mind me spending all this money. Although he thinks I ought to buy myself more diamonds. I think I'll get a bikini encrusted with them, just to make him stop."

  "What did you get me?" Eva demanded, bouncing up and down. "Huh? What do I get?"

  "There are only presents for Papa and Mama today," Sofia said.

  Eva scowled. "That's mean!"

  Her mother pointed at the young teen. "This is exactly what I mean. You give her so much that she thinks that it's mean when she doesn't get something. I am not raising entitled children, you and your sister both need to learn the importance of a dollar."

  "Leave the girls alone," her father said, his voice mellow as usual. "Come inside, Sofia. You have to see us in the clothes you sent for the wedding."

  Sofia smiled, holding his hand as they went inside. It seemed impossible that just a year ago she was in such a desperate state that she was willing to do anything to improve her family's situation...

  Sofia stood at the gates of the palace, nerves churning in her stomach and the taste of bile in her throat. If her parents knew what she was doing, they never would let her leave the house again. They thought she was at a job interview… well, that was sort of why she was here, wasn't it? This was a job that would pay far more than the three she was holding down now combined.

  A vampire woman with impossibly long legs led her and the rest of the women inside the palace. The vampire king was looking for a new living blood donor since his current one was getting too old; it would be dangerous to her health to continue giving blood. Sofia had the king's favorite blood type, and so she had come. The promise of a million dollars a year plus all travel and living expenses was too big a draw.

  Anything to get her parents with their frail health into a better situation, and to allow her siblings the opportunity to improve their lives, so they weren't stuck working to death in dead-end jobs.

  It wasn't long until she was in a grand parlor, sitting on a velvet chaise lounge, a crystal goblet filled with expensive wine trembling in her hand as she gazed up at the king. He was everything she had imagined he would be. Tall, square-shouldered. Handsome face, with a strong jaw and two brilliant blue eyes that seemed to glow as he gazed down at her. Power and confidence radiated from his body. It was enough to make her feel faint.

  "I am Aaron, king of this vampire kingdom. What's your name?"

  "Sofia Velásquez."

  The king sat beside her, putting a hand on her knee. "Sofia. You are here because you want to be my next living blood donor?"

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  She told him everything. More than she anticipated. She had thought she would stick with just the basic truths, but instead, she blurted out her whole life story. She told him things she had told nobody before. He had sat and listened to her. When she was done, he went to the door and called the rest of the women in.

  "You may all return to your homes. I've found the one I want."

  "Eva, go put on your dress," her mother ordered. "Do you want anything to drink, Sofia?"

  Sofia pulled herself from her memories as her youngest sister scampered off. "No. I'm good, thank you, Mama."

  Aaron's announcement that she was going to be his had thoroughly shocked her, but after that, everything else was history. She hadn't told her parents right away, just saying that she had a job that would provide living quarters, and started sending them money every month.

  "So, your wedding is coming soon," her mother said, settling down on the rich brown couch beside her. "I hope that you have been a good girl and that your vampire hasn't been trying to pressure you into giving up your virtue before the wedding."

  Sofia frowned. Her mother hadn't liked Aaron from the start, convinced that the vampire was a lust-driven animal. Nothing Sofia said had deterred that idea; she was half-convinced her mother thought that Sofia was entangled in wild orgies every night, despite her assurances of chastity. But though Aaron had made his desire for her very clear, he never pressured her into sleeping with him. His teasing was almost enough to drive her crazy, but Sofia had the gut feeling that if she did suddenly change her mind, it would take a lot of convincing to actually get him to sleep with her.

  "Aaron is the perfect gentlemen," she told her mother. "He hasn't even ever drunk directly from me because he knows how it will affect me, and he supports me in my decision to wait. We even sleep on opposite sides of the palace."

  What she would never tell her mother was that the decision had only been made after she and Aaron had nearly made love … It was her first night at the palace, and he had come to her, telling her that his donors often performed other acts for him. When he asked if she was opposed to it, she had automatically told him that she would do whatever he wanted. At the time, she had convinced herself it was only because she was afraid to lose her job.

  From the first kiss he pressed to her lips, she wanted him to take her. She had clung to him as he laid her down on the bed, wrapped her legs around his hips as he slid a hand up her thigh…

  "Sofia, I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to be completely honest," he whispered in her ear. "Do you want me?"

  "Yes," she panted.

  "Do you r
eally?"

  Sofia stared into his eyes as he brushed her hair from her face. Her body cried out for his, but her mother's voice was in the back of her mind, telling her–screeching, more like–that she was worth more than one night with a handsome man. "It's not just tonight, right?"

  "No. It will be every night as long as you want."

  "Then… yes. I want you. But… but maybe not tonight. I didn't think you'd care if I wanted it or not. I thought it was just part of the job…"

  "I am buying your blood, Sofia. Not your body." He pulled away from her. "This is your choice. Goodnight."

  The door opened, making them all look round. Lucy and Vivian stepped to block the woman who stepped through, but Sofia grinned. She jumped to her feet, running to the woman. "Gloria! Oh, it's so good to see you! Lucy, Vivian, this is my friend, Gloria. You haven't met her, yet, but I've known her for ages."

  The two vampires scowled, but let her in.

  Her childhood friend hugged her, grinning. "I saw you pull up and I couldn't wait to see what you brought me."

  "I didn't bring you anything, you greedy hag," Sofia teased. "I haven't gotten an RSVP from you about the wedding, either. Are you coming?"

  "Yeah, I'm coming." Gloria stepped back and appraised her critically. "Goodness! You must have put on ten pounds since I last saw you. How do you plan on fitting in your wedding dress with those hips?"

  Heat rushed to Sofia's face. Her weight had always been a point of embarrassment for her. Her mother had insisted from the time she was young that she was too thin, but Sofia knew it wasn't true. Everything about her was round, and she had more than a few lumps in her body. And as Gloria was never embarrassed to call her out on, she wasn't exactly good at shedding the extra pounds.

  "I am going to look fabulous," Sofia told her friend. "Just wait until you see me! I wish you could be in the bridal party, though. It sucks that you have so much work that you can't get out of."