“Here,” she said pointing to the cushions piled on the floor, “sit, and I'll tell you about myself.”
She continued through the house turning off lights and locking doors. I watched, captivated, as her long colorful skirt swished across the bare floors. The sound of flesh slapping wood as she moved throughout the house. The melody of a popular group, The Beatles, And I Love Her, came to my ears. Finally, she returned to the room where again candles were the only light. The shadows thickened, and I imagined her spirits wandering in and out of her home, tracking her visitor, one with the creatures of the night. My hand reached out to her, and she sat down beside me.
She spoke with the quiet music in the background. “I could tell when you came into the room you were a nonbeliever, and if I was going to convince you, I'd have to show you some truths.” She smiled to take away any sting from her words.
She pulled my palm to her once more and gazed into its depths. “My family is strong in psychic ability, some call us witches.” She scrunched her freckle covered nose and laughed. “My perceptions are strong, I like bringing peace and understanding, even to the unbelieving.” She released my hand. “Now, tell me why you're curious?”
Since it was my turn to tell a little about myself, I started with recent history. “Your reading was on the mark, I have been governed by a force I hope is contained. But it's always there, waiting to take control, if I'm not cautious.”
Even saying the words brought my beast to attention and it rubbed itself against my flesh. My gaze traveled around the room until it found her face again. “My family has very long lives, so that's true too. When I was younger, I worked hard. Physical labor was a way of life. Time changes us, makes us into what it needs us to be.” My gaze lingered on her soft berry colored lips as I brushed a few stray strands of fragrant hair from them. Without ever knowing I was going to do it, I leaned in and captured her ripened lips with mine. “What else can you see about me?” I whispered against the warmth of her lips. Tension built between us as my mouth sealed hers. I leaned away to better see the stark beauty of her eyes.
“Hmmm.” She licked her lips and I watched her tongue swipe across them. “Let's see... I still sense an oldness, like an old soul.” She pulled back and inhaled deeply. “Antiquity clings to you.” She giggled and reached up to gently tug my head toward hers. She met my lips with her own and passion flamed. “I can't quite place you, Vlad Tepes, there's definitely something different about you.” Her sparkling eyes tried to see into the depths of mine. “I think you might be fun to figure out.”
For the vampire, lovers are easily found, but this woman was somehow different. It had been so long since I wanted to spend time with another person, to know them, so long since I trusted myself to spend more than a night in warm arms. Humans are fragile, easily broken. It was a bargain I'd made with myself, a promise, not become attached.
Quickly, she leaned in and stole another soft kiss. “Now, let me tell you something about yourself.” As I glanced down, she eased back into the cushions, her scented hair fanned around her. “You don't take chances, you like to remain in control, and most of all, you're cautious. Yet you're here with me.” She studied my face, her brow wrinkled.
My fingers brushed across the lines, smoothing them out then they drifted to cup her cheek. “You're different from any woman I've met, one of a kind. I think it might be fun to figure you out too.”
“Why, thank you, Mr. Tepes, what a sweet thing to say... I think.” She twisted her head to plant a kiss inside my palm. Then she turned to me. “Tell me, why the sunglasses even in the dark?”
“My eyes are sensitive to the light, as is my skin, a rare medical condition that plagues my family. Seldom do I see the sun, but I remember its amazing warmth and scent on a long summer's day.” I leaned away. “You remind me of that warmth, the scent of the sun clings to you.” She made me want to glory in the sun's presence once again. “Do the sunglasses bother you?”
“No, it adds to your mystery.” She made me feel as if I could share my secrets. But that couldn't happen, not unless I planned to keep her. There was more to consider than just my feelings, and to remove the memories of our time together had little appeal to me. I wanted to remember my time in her arms, and I wanted to believe she'd enjoy her memories too.
“So, Vlad, are you spending the night?” she asked as she fingered the buttons along the edge of my shirt and the first one popped open. Her fingers fluttered over my sensitive flesh and it rippled under her light touch.
Leaning in to taste her lips one more time, I whispered against them, “I'd love to.”
I gathered her in my arms and pulled her close, my nose buried in the perfume of her sun-kissed hair, the fragrance lingered around her, so long since I'd beheld it. My heart pounded as my beast scented her flesh, begging for release, and I forced its eagerness back.
She stood holding out her hand to me, and I laced my fingers with hers as she guided me to her bedroom. The lamps were draped in vibrant reds and blues creating shadows of varying colors, reflecting the soft light. In one corner sat a rocking chair chocked with stuffed animals, with a large well-worn teddy bear at its center. The music changed to something softer, indistinguishable.
She reached over to extinguish the light, and I trapped her lips with a kiss, letting my hands wander over her softening body. I didn't need lights to see her flesh, the glow of her body, the heat of her skin. She clung to me, letting her head fall back. My teeth raked the tender length of her neck, breathing in her sun-kissed scent, everything about her screamed of the sun. It was something I'd long missed and thought I'd buriedin my memory.
She turned her back to me and slipped her gypsy's blouse over her head, her long colorful skirt rasped my pant leg, but at that moment, I swore it was naked flesh. The golden highlights in her curly, brunette hair shimmered and danced in the moonlight, recreating the gleam of reflected sunlight, and I gloried in it. Reaching out, I tugged her back against my chest, letting my fingers run up and down her arms, over dainty shoulders, then down to cup her breasts, each touch a caress. My fingers peeked beneath the delicate lacy covering, and she moaned with renewed need.
“You're a wonder to behold, Serena,” I whispered, nibbling on her lobe. My hands moved down the length of her skirt, gathering it in silky folds, rubbing the soft fabric along the smooth flesh of her thighs. Each stroke of the fabric like a flare of electricity.
“You even speak with an oldness,” she whispered with a sigh.
I found the skirt's clasp and it slid down to form a colorful pool on the floor, only her lacy undergarments remaining. The beauty of humanity never ceased to amaze me, my gaze became eager. My lips worked their way lower, my nimble fingers moved aside the lace to stroke the warm flesh beneath with a whisper of a touch, gooseflesh bursting fresh. I was jealous of the vampire then, not knowing if this heat was for me or for the vampire essence drawing in prey as it screamed sexual desire.
With heat blazing in her eyes, she turned to me, pulling me into a fiery kiss as she worked the buttons of my shirt. I pulled my sunglasses away. Her bedroom was dim, there wasn't any need for my eyes to hide. She pushed the shirt from my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. I tugged the thong holding my hair in place, her fingers ran through its length. My jeans joined her skirt, revealing the nakedness of my pale body.
She ran her delicate hands over my muscles causing them to tighten. She stepped closer until the lace of her bra tickled my chest, my body hardening in response. “Touch me, Vlad. Let me know you.”
Hearing her words seared a flash of heat through my body. My heart hammered and my head spun, dizzied, lost to desire. I wanted nothing more than to claim her as my own, mark her. Mine.
My arms curled around her waist, bringing her closer. She sighed, running her fingers through my hair, drawing it to her face and inhaling. A shiver stole through me, Serena enticed me, and I wanted more.
“You're making me crazy. Come, finish undressing for me.�
� With my heart pounding and my pulse throbbing, I released her to ease back into the softness of her bed. She stood before me, rapid shaking breaths almost forcing her to spill over the fragile lace. My body grew harder with need, my breaths harsh in exquisite pain.
Tantalizing me, she slowly unfastened her bra, sliding it down her arms. Next, her agile fingers found the small vee of lace of the center of her thighs. It glided down the smooth length of her legs. Her every movement became a teasing caress. My heated eyes watched, drawing out the pleasant excruciating wait to take her.
She grew suddenly shy, covering her ample breasts with small hands. “I don't want you to think that I do this all the time. But, Vlad Tepes, I've wanted you since you stepped into my home.” In that moment, she was sweetly innocent, breathtakingly beautiful, and I held out my hand to her. She slowly reached out as our fingers entwined, revealing herself in her shyness. Her flesh had a peachy glow, ripe with the sun. She would be sweet to my lips, to my body, to my beast.
“You have no reason to hide your beauty,” whispering, I sat up not trusting myself. My beast wanted to grab ahold of her, ravish her, drink from her, feed all of its needs. “You're glorious.” Then I allowed myself to explore, fingers touching her soft skin, brushing the small mound of curls at the junction of her thighs. “Come.” I breathed. “Let me worship you.” She crawled up the bed and into my arms.
Our bodies slid together, she straddled my hips as she dipped her lips to drink from mine. She traced them with her eager tongue, probing and tasting like a fruit to be devoured. She rocked against my hips, and though I didn't think it was possible, my shaft grew harder still. With a sharp intake of breath, she moved back and forth quicker as I glided closer to her soft core. Her eyes closed as she bit her lower lip, and she shifted to allow my hardness to rest against the soft opening of her body. “I need you inside me.” She swayed over my length, brushing closer.
“By the Gods.” Lifting her up, I slid her beneath me. My limit was reached, endurance at its end. My hands traced the soft contours of her inner thighs, parting them to press into her opening. My lips found hers again and I drank my fill. Then my mouth slipped to her neck where her pulse throbbed through my body, making my beast sing, I sucked and nipped, eager to pierce the tenderness.
Dropping my head lower, I found the softness of her breasts, pulling the pink tips between my lips, marbleizing them to hard pulsing points. Her rosy nipples deepened to a ruby red as I lavished first one and then the other, until she was keening with need, hands fisted in the sheets. It was then I let the beast out.
Growling against her soft mounds, I couldn't wait any longer. Slowly I pushed my shaft into her soft core. She moaned, arched up to meet me, taking my whole length in her wetted slickness quickly and deeply. We rode each other, reaching a crescendo of crashing waves. As she screamed her pleasure, my beast pricked her tender flesh, gently drawing deep and swift, sealing the wound almost in the moment it was made. Her rich blood was sweet ambrosia, honey to my lips. Before the break of dawn, I slipped from her bed and back to my sun protected rooms, but now they felt like a prison.
Serena shared a few of my secrets, but not the most important one. Few people can understand the vampiric way of life. There can only be one true mate to share the vampire's existence, a life mate like Vanic and Sarah. Could Serena be my life mate? Could I steal her humanity?
I was unprepared for that commitment, the responsibility of her death and the decision that could not be unmade. Some might think vampires can't love, they'd be wrong. We love as strongly and deeply as others, heightened emotions taking their toll, with memories that never fail. Love's sweet embrace always as fresh as a newly bloomed rose, and love's harsh death untempered by distance or time. My secret remained mine, untold, waiting for the time to be shared.
Chapter Ten
We made our way to the eastern edge of the Midwest, Illinois. The Vampire Hierarchy not only approved of this latest move, but demanded our presence in the city of Chicago. We had little choice but to accommodate their wishes. To go against the Council meant certain death, but we couldn't reason what awaited us there.
As the midnight flight circled over the city, not even London compared to Chicago with its massive buildings, the instant press of humanity. Our family had moved from place to place, now here in Illinois, we hoped to stop our travels, to have a place to call home. With America's great vastness, surely three people who desired only to be anonymous could be lost. But our autonomy was not to be.
The explanation for the Council's request soon became apparent. For every move we made, the Council either approved the entrance into a city or halted it. Rerouting our travels if it caused a conflict with another vampiric family. It was the way of the Hierarchy, our governing body, and the Council themselves who had brought us to our final destination. When the other vampires within the city and areas surrounding it began to visit, we discovered the reason.
As a rule, our family stayed strictly out of politics, vampire and otherwise, but our freedom was at an end. On a stifling evening late in June as darkness fell, the Council of the Vampire Hierarchy sent their representatives, the Draugen, remorseless golden eyed guards to gather us... Only the worst of us were chosen for the honor to be one with the Draugen. The Hierarchal leader for Chicago, Magistrate Dumas, demanded a meeting. We were taken to his suite of rooms, forced to accommodate his wishes.
*****
The Magistrate, an ancient vampire devoid of hair and jagged points for fangs who favored old fashioned robes, slowly made his entrance. His flesh appeared paper thin. His exposed skin glowed with blue-black veins , including his pale bald head.
“Magistrate Dumas, may I present the Tepes family.” Vanic stood, bowing his head to the ancient vampire.
“Lord Tepes, you may be wondering about the Council's wishes? It has come to our attention that the city of Chicago is in need of leadership.” Unease filled Vanic's eyes and he glanced back at us. Chicago was in need of leadership because of Council justice, they had virtually wiped out the Sangreets. The Council itself was managing matters in Chicago, to the horror of those living there.
“Magistrate, it was not my intention to enter the city, invade another vampire's imminent domain. My apologies if this has been the case.” He bowed before the Magistrate, a show of respect.
“If the Council thought you were here to invade, it would not have been tolerated. By this time, you and your children would be no more. Now, Lord Tepes, do you wish to quarrel with the Council?” The Magistrate enquired, and again I felt Vanic's unease. What might wait for us, forced to do Council bidding?
“No, Magistrate, it was not my intention to offend either. What would the Council wish of us?”
“As I was saying,” the Magistrate's harsh voice continued, “the city of Chicago needs a strong show of force, a governing family to look after vampire affairs, as well as Council dealings. Your family has been chosen for this position. Do you or any members of your family wish to deny this request?” The Magistrate's eyes glowed, what had the Tepes family done? What was the sin committed? The Draugen took up a tighter stance and stepped closer, ready to act upon the Magistrate's signal.
“Of course not, Magistrate, the Tepes family would be greatly honored to serve the Council in any way needed.” We had spent years avoiding vampire politics, but that time was over, we were now embroiled in the belly of the Council and their dealings.
“You, Vanic Tepes, are to be the new Regent of the City. Chicago and the lands surrounding it are your domain.” The Magistrate waved his hand in Vanic's direction. “You'll be assigned guards, do with them as you wish, but know this, Council justice will be enforced as the Sangreet family discovered by their own actions. The Draculs suffered at their hands, the Sangreet suffered at ours.”
“Yes, Magistrate, we've heard of the killing spree. Has the reason for the Sangreet insurgence been discovered?” Vanic edged away from the old vampire, his distrust bled throughout the room.
“No, Magistrate, merely curious,” Vanic reassured.
“No need to concern yourselves with Council actions. You'll need a hostess for Council dealings. I assume that to be your wife.” His murky gaze fell upon Sarah even as his pale lip rose in a sneer. “Will she be able to fulfill these duties?”
Vanic glanced at Sarah, and she nodded her head. “Yes, Magistrate.”
“And an enforcer, I understand you have someone who can fulfill these duties? Or would you like me to assign someone with moral ambiguity to your group?” His eyes fell upon my face, taking in my blue-grey sunglasses. I could tell I wasn't going to be a Council favorite.
“No, Magistrate, my son Vlad is more than ready to help with the duties.” Vanic placed himself between the Magistrate and myself, the last thing any of us needed was a Magistrate's spy.
“Good, I can see we understand each other.” He eyed our small group, before he waved his hand again in dismissal. “I'm done here, release them.” His guards backed away from the door, but before we could leave, he spoke his final words of wisdom. “Vanic Tepes, do not disappoint the Council. We are fair, but we have limited tolerance.” Then he left the room.
Though the Tepes family was a small one, it was also a just one. With the approval of the Hierarchy, we gained control of the city. Where there had been tense anticipation, now relief flowed from those in and around Chicago. The city was once again in powerful hands that no longer belonged to the Hierarchy's command. Those who thought to rebel would be dealt with swiftly, the message had been sent to all quadrants. The city quieted, though there seemed to be an endless stream of visitors to our apartments and requests for intervention, countless meetings.
Vlad Tepes, the Vigilante Vampire Page 6
