Pleasures Untold

by Lisa Sanchez

The hard bodied, sex-on-a-stick bartender from Fire and Ice stood towering above me, elongated fangs glistening in the dim light. Apparently still on a high from his kill, he stared down at me, eyes wild and chest heaving. He was a vamp?

  A cold sweat broke out over my skin, a deluge of uncertainty and doubt momentarily flooding my mind. How had I not sensed his supernatural presence? Pretty Boy was a conundrum, a red-flag situation. I gripped Chuck tightly in my hand, anticipating the need to send this new vamp packing straight to hell. If I hadn’t sensed this guy’s — this creature’s — “otherness,” then that meant only one thing — he was old, really old. And he probably possessed a great deal of power if he could mask his presence so easily.

  “Hey.” A low, gravelly voice grumbled from behind us. “Get me down from here. She’s all yours!” Taylor’s attacker remained pinned to the side of the building where I’d left him. It was obvious he thought the bartender vamp would set him free if he gave up any claim he thought he had on me as a snack. Tough Guy wasn’t so tough after all. I made a face and gave him the middle finger send-off. Douchebag!

  The bartender turned on his heel and sauntered toward his undead comrade like the entire situation was no big deal.

  Who the hell is this guy?

  As he neared Taylor’s attacker, he paused briefly, picking up a discarded piece of metal pipe. “Sorry, mi hermano. Didn’t mean to leave you hanging.” With a wicked sneer he rammed the metal pipe into the vampire’s chest, turning him to dust.

  Holy Mary, Mother of…As he turned and moved closer to me, I threw up my arm, placing an invisible barrier between us. He didn’t need to come any closer, and I…I needed to maneuver myself into a better fighting stance, or I was toast. I stood from my crouched position, and my jaw dropped in disbelief. The bartender vamp struggled momentarily, and then crossed through my barrier of magic. Not good. My mouth went dry, and I gripped Chuck tighter in my hand, widening my stance. If this guy wanted a fight, I was all for it. Bring it on, bad boy.

  His amber eyes bore down on me, setting my skin on fire. He didn’t look like he wanted to eat me, but that didn’t mean anything. Vampires were the douchebags of the underworld — consummate liars.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, carino. There’s no need to fear me.”

  His voice was like a lick of satin brushing against my flesh. My skin pebbled, my breath caught in my throat, and it wasn’t from fear. Disgusted with myself, I shook my head, drowning out the unwanted effects of his voice with something stronger: my voice of reason.

  No need to fear him? Is he for real? “You can mask your presence and you just walked through my barrier like it wasn’t even there. You’ll understand when I say that has me just a tad nervous? Not to mention, you just decapitated one of your own kind, and staked another. I have no idea what that’s all about. You’re a vampire. I’m a human. I think I’ll err on the side of caution and assume you want me dead.”

  Sexy bartender vamp shook his head and graced me with a panty-dropping smile. “Mi nina, hermosa…I’d sooner walk into the sun than harm a beautiful creature such as you.”

  My heart danced the cha-cha in my chest.

  Get a grip, Martha. It doesn’t matter one bit how sinfully hot this guy is. The fact that your knees feel weak when he looks at you holds no bearing on the situation at hand. You are not affected by this vamp. You’re not. Really!

  “Uh-huh…” Clearly this handsome creature thought I was an idiot. If this thing thought I’d let my guard down because it staked its own kind and wooed me with those come-sex-me-up eyes, it was seriously mistaken. Him telling me I was beautiful had no effect on me whatsoever. Well…maybe it had a little effect — but dammit, I wouldn’t give in.

  From my experience, vampires were greedy, malignant creatures that thought nothing of destroying their own kind if it led to obtaining what they desired. Lies and manipulation were second nature to them, and I’d be damned if I was going to fall prey to it. Besides, who’d ever heard of a good vampire? There simply was no such thing.

  “No,” I shouted, and stepped back. I needed to back away, to separate myself from the strange pull I still felt toward him. Vampires were vile, evil creatures hellbent on taking lives, not saving them. This one was no different. I was sure of it.

  Full of apprehension, my body hummed with unreleased adrenaline. Why I wasn’t attacking the pretty vampire, I had no idea. Something held me back. This creature, whoever he was, had come to my rescue. Why? It was clear he was old and extremely powerful, evidenced by the ease in which he broke through my magical barrier. He could have taken me out easily, but he hadn’t. Then of course, there was the pesky little fact I sensed no evil coming from him — quite the opposite, actually; I felt a magnetic pull toward him, a strange familiarity I couldn’t explain. I was completely disconcerted, and that was something that didn’t happen very often.

  His woodsy scent filled my senses as he stepped forward. He was so close I felt the warmth of his breath on my face. Reaching up, he brushed a stray lock of hair out of my eyes, his fingertip lingering on the side of my face, stealing my breath away. Part of my brain shut down. You know…the part that told me this guy was a demon, a monster who shouldn’t be trusted. My over-eager, sex-starved libido shut it down, locked it up and threw away the key.

  His penetrating stare was like a sensual caress. “You’ll learn to trust me, carino.”

  The smooth cadence of his voice enthralled me, and though I continued to grip Chuck in my palm, I made no effort to retreat as he moved closer still, his face mere centimeters from my own. Holy…Why am I just standing here? God, he smells so good.

  This man, this vampire had power, and a lot of it. Even more disconcerting was the fact he had power over me. He’d tapped into some strange new magic, harnessed the ability to make me forget myself, and all I stood for. I was so far gone, he could’ve pulled out a machete and hacked me to pieces, and I would have stood there smiling, a bumbling fool incapable of speech except that of short monosyllables. Bewitched by his very presence, the pounding of my heart was the only thing I heard until Taylor’s voice rang out into the night.

  “Martha?” Taylor’s voice sailed through the night, riddled with fear. “Is it over?”

  I can’t be sure, but I think there was a moment, a quick instant where his cool façade faded, and his glorious face fell. Most likely I’d imagined the whole thing. With the way my night was going, nothing would surprise me.

  Aware that we were no longer alone, the mysterious vamp took a step back and inclined his head toward me. “Another time, then,” he whispered. Awestruck, I watched as he levitated off the ground and disappeared from whence he came.

  I stood agape, staring up into the dark, feeling like a dimwitted, tongue-tied, hormonal mess. It was several moments before I regained my wits. “I seriously doubt that,” I shouted into the night air. I’d never before come across a vampire who was immune to my magic, let alone one that could levitate. This vamp, whoever he was, was something different altogether, and that made him someone to be wary of.

  The sound of frightened whimpering tore my focus from the sky. “Taylor.” I ran to where she crouched behind a nearby dumpster. “C’mon.” I helped her up, placing one of her arms around my shoulder, so I could support her while she walked.

  Her face was red and puffy from crying, a stream of black mascara trailing down her tear stained cheeks. “Let’s get Jess and go home,” I said and led her back into the club through the rear exit.

  Thankfully, Jess had listened to my hasty instructions and remained at the bar. Her hands shot up to her mouth as she saw Taylor, and I make our approach. “Oh, my God…what happened? That guy…he was…he was — ”

  “A vampire,” I said, cutting her off. I treated them both to a heated stare that clearly said, “listen, and listen good.” I positioned them both so that they sat on barstools facing me. “Do me a favor, bot
h of you? From now on, when we go out, please let me make sure any guys you meet aren’t a member of the undead before you get cozy with them.”

  Chagrined, Jessica nodded grimly, while Taylor burst into a new round of tears. “I’m so sorry,” she cried. “Please. Can we please just go home?”

  I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Between learning her boyfriend was pirating random booty on the side and then being attacked by vampires, Taylor had seen better days.

  I brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes and gave her arm a quick pat. Touchy feely wasn’t really my forte, but I wanted to comfort her in some way. “Sshhh. It’ll be okay, Taylor. I’m sorry if I came across harsh. I just don’t want to see you hurt, that’s all.”

  “There!” I heard a loud, whiny voice shout from behind me. “She’s the one.”

  Oh, for the love of…My stomach dropped at the sound of the familiar voice. You’ve got to be kidding me…

  I whirled around to see a wall of Betty replicas and a bouncer standing before me with Nasty Betty in the center, her arm extended, pointing at me.

  Betty cast me a haughty glare and focused on the bouncer. “She’s the one who assaulted me. I want her thrown out. Now.” She tossed her blond hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms, eyeing me with obvious hatred.

  Touché. Round one went to Betty.

  A familiar pair of eyes burned a hole into my back as I was escorted from the club by a beefy no-neck, with Jessica and Taylor in tow. I had no idea who the mysterious vamp was, but I was certain I’d find out, sooner rather than later.

  Chapter 2

  The rest of the week sucked major ass.

  I spent most of my time consoling a majorly freaked out Taylor who’d decided all men were evil and deserving of Chinese water torture. When I wasn’t comforting her, I was thinking about him: the sexy bartender vamp from the club.

  By the time Friday night rolled around, I felt like jumping out of my skin. I was exhausted but full of anxiety, so sleep didn’t come easy. I spent several hours tossing and turning, the handsome face of my mysterious vampire savior always at the forefront of my mind. Who the hell was this guy, and why had he helped me? Why hadn’t I sensed his presence? And dammit — why on God’s green earth was I attracted to him? He was an abomination. A vampire, the epitome of everything I hated. All it had taken was one slick smile and a few flowery words, and I’d gone all soft. What the hell was wrong with me?

  Exhaustion finally won out, and I slowly drifted to sleep. Vaguely aware that I was dreaming, I felt a deep tugging at my heart as my subconscious took over, pulling me back to my childhood when my mother still lived.

  “I like it here, Mama,” I said as I shoved my eight-year-old legs under the covers of my great-grandmother’s bed. Her sheets felt silky soft, and smelled like comfort. “Why do we only visit Great-Grandma once a year?”

  My mother sat with her back resting against the large headboard of the four-poster bed while she brushed my long, stubborn locks into submission. I’d just taken a bath and was getting ready for bed. I didn’t normally go to bed so early, and I wasn’t particularly happy about it.

  “Because, my sweet, it isn’t safe,” she said while working on a particularly nasty snarl.

  “Ouch!” I yelped and leaned forward in a vain attempt to escape my mother’s determined hands. “But why is it dangerous, Mama? You always say that, but I don’t understand.”

  “I’ve told you why, Ainsley.” She sighed and pulled me back so that I was once again sitting upright. Parting my damp locks down the center, she began the tedious process of French braiding my hair as she continued to speak. “There is a bad man who is very angry with your great-grandma. If he finds us here with her…well…I don’t even want to think about what he would do.”

  I wasn’t used to hearing my mother’s voice full of fear, and it frightened me. “Is the bad man the one who killed Grandma Antonia and Grandpa Connor?” I turned my head (making it difficult for my mother to carry out her work on my hair) so I could look at the picture frame sitting on the nightstand to the right of the large bed. I’d never met my grandparents. They looked so young and happy in the picture, and I felt sorry that I’d never get to meet them. By a simple twist of fate, my mother had been away at boarding school when they were murdered, a fact that had saved her life.

  Looking at my grandmother’s picture, I was once again stunned by how much she looked like my mother, or rather, how much my mother looked like her. As with all the Campbell women, my grandmother, Antonia, was beautiful with flaming red hair, blue eyes, and the face of an angel. She’d also possessed an incredible amount of magical ability.

  “Yes,” she said as she finished up with the first braid, curling the very ends around her finger into a corkscrew. “Lucian is very dangerous, and that’s why we must keep you hidden from him.”

  I swallowed hard, and my body shook. That answered my question as to why my mother had placed a glamour spell on me to change my hair from red to mahogany, and my blue eyes to brown. She’d changed her own appearance as well before we arrived for our visit. The thought of Lucian hurting my mother or stealing me away was more than I could take, so I tried not to think about it. Great-Grandma’s house was safe. It had to be.

  I closed my eyes and relished the feel of my mother’s hands as she began braiding the remainder of my hair, gently tugging at the small sectioned off pieces while she meticulously wrapped each strand into the braid.

  “Lucian,” I said, repeating the name aloud, committing it to memory. “Why didn’t Grandma use her magic to stop him?”

  My mother sighed as she finished braiding my hair, and turned me so that I faced her. “Baby, she did try to stop him,” she said and took hold of my hands. “Lucian is a vampire, Ainsley. He’s very old and possesses a great deal of dark power. Had he not taken her by surprise, she might have stood a chance against him.” My mother’s face held a mix of emotions that left me confused. She looked angry, yet there were tears in her eyes.

  Acknowledging the look of confusion on my face, my mother wiped at her tears, gave me a half-hearted smile, then pulled me in for a tight hug. “You’ll understand better when you are older. In the meantime, remember the rules: no using magic while we are here.”

  “But why?” I whined. I hated not being able to use my abilities and was more than a little upset by the rules that had been forced upon me for the past week. Barbies weren’t very fun to play with if you couldn’t charm them to dance on their own and dress themselves. I had a terrible time trying to shimmy those tiny pants onto their plastic legs. Boring!

  My mother gave me a stern look of warning. “Because, Ainsley. One of Lucian’s strengths is the ability to sense others’ power. He’s very attuned to our family’s magic. If you were to wield your abilities or do any kind of spell, it would be like standing outside with a megaphone announcing our location to him. We can’t take that chance. Do I need to do a binding spell like I did when you were younger to keep you from doing magic?”

  I pulled my knees into my chest so that I could rest my chin on them and frowned. “No! I understand, but I don’t like it,” I complained.

  “Why the frown, Peanut?” A warm familiar voice filled the room, and my frown instantly faded.

  “Grandma!” I leapt off the bed into the arms of my favorite person. My great-grandmother, Aileana, was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and the most powerful to boot. Her once flaming red hair was now a shining gray, and it flowed past her shoulders and down her back in long gentle waves. Her blue eyes were bright, her smile as warm as the sun, and I loved her deeply.

  She’d been baking and smelled of cookie dough and vanilla. Delicious. She slipped a warm cookie into my hand discreetly, as my mom had a thing about eating sugar at night, not to mention, I’d already brushed my teeth. Insisting she’d tuck me in for the night, she shooed my mother from the ro
om.

  “Fine, then,” my mother said, moving over to where I stood on the edge of the bed so she could kiss me goodnight. “Sleep well, baby girl. I love you. Make sure you finish that cookie before you lie down.” She flashed me a knowing smile and left the room.

  Great-Grandma sat down on the bed and reached out, patting the bedding, indicating it was time for me to lie down. “Want to talk about it?” she asked me as she turned the lights off with a slight flick of her wrist.

  I watched with wonder as she looked up to the ceiling and with a wave of her arm, created the illusion of a starry night, complete with crescent moon and scattered clouds. My great-grandma was awesome.

  “I just don’t understand why you get to use your magic, but I’m not allowed to,” I said while staring up at the magical ceiling, disappointment tainting my voice.

  “I know it’s hard for you to understand,” she said, running her fingertips across my forehead. “Lucian has made things rather…difficult, for all of us. He’s angry with me, and because of that, he wants to hurt your mother and you. I’m so very sorry about that, Peanut. You must remember, he’s always watching, and one little spell from you while you are here would be all that it takes to alert him to your presence.”

  My teeth clattered together as a cold chill shot up my spine. “Why is he angry with you?” I couldn’t imagine anyone being angry with my great-grandma. She was the most wonderful person in the world and, in my opinion, could do no wrong.

  “That, my dear, is a long story, and one better left for another night. It’s time for you to go to sleep.” She leaned down and kissed me on the cheek, giving one of my braids a tug as she moved to get off the bed. “Sweet dreams, Peanut,” she whispered and quietly exited the room, closing the door behind her.

  “Goodnight, Grandma,” I called out softly, and rolled over, fighting off the drowsiness that threatened to pull me under.

  ***

  Surrounded by the warm cocoon of my grandmother’s bedding, sleep held me under until my mother’s scream pierced the night. The sense of dread I felt as my bare feet touched the cool, wooden surface of the floor overwhelmed me. Why was my mother screaming?