Her Vampire Temptation (Midnight Doms Book 8) Read online

“Tell her she can come too,” Mani calls.

  But I don’t want to intrude. Bri is just getting to know her girlfriend’s family.

  “Actually, I think I’ll go out by myself,” I tell her.

  Suddenly, an image of the man from the parking lot fills my mind, and I almost blink. It’s so vivid, I can nearly touch him. In my imagination, he’s talking to me. Commanding me to—the vision flickers and fades.

  An idea occurs to me. “You know what? I want to try Club Toxic.”

  “Oooh la la. Fancy.” K. whistles. “That’s for the super sexy. Of course, that’s you.”

  If I can get in. It’s supposed to be so hot.”

  “Oh my God, you’ll get in. With all that sexy red hair and your tiny waist and perfect ass? They’ll be begging to chew your tampon, Bri.”

  She starts laughing so hard she coughs.

  I shake my head, but I’m laughing too. “Send me yours, and I’ll make them a mix pack.”

  After I end the call, I pull on my long-sleeve UV turtleneck and put on the cloth facemask. The special UV glasses. And the gloves. It’s still early evening, so there will be a few rays of sun left to avoid. But damned if I’m going to sit here like an outcast. If I put in a good five hard miles, it will calm me down. Running is the one thing that helps reduce my anxiety.

  My Nikes pound the pavement. As I pump my arms and work on my form, I let my mind wander. To tonight.

  I’ll wear high heels and a tight dress. Do my hair and makeup. Choose a handsome man to pull me close and whisper sexy things into my ear, secrets that will make me forget all about blood work and skin diseases with potential neurological side effects.

  I want a night of passion. Maybe even some kinky sex, if I get a good vibe from him and all the signs line up. Because in addition to running, a good night of hot sex is also excellent for stress relief.

  The thing is: the man in my daydream, the one who’s putting his lips to my neck, is the man I met Monday night, the one in the parking lot. The one who didn’t ask my name or want my number and whom I just can’t seem to forget.

  I know chances are slim I’ll ever see him again, especially at the club tonight. But for some reason, I keep thinking of him as I get ready. Just in case.

  Chapter 4

  Alain

  “Sire.” Martin bows his head briefly and reaches for my hand. “It’s been a sick fire while, dude. Yo.”

  I snort. “No.”

  It’s Friday night, and he’s right on time.

  “No? Blast it all.” He rolls his eyes. “How does one keep up with the language?” He smiles and glances around my entryway, eyes sharp. Assessing.

  “Well, it’s been a hundred years or so for you. Give yourself time.” I slap his back and then pull him in for a one-armed hug.

  He blinks at my house and shudders. “Good gracious, the architecture is hideous.” He glances around.

  “You’ll get used to it.” I scan the area, too. We’re always on alert. Being responsible for your own immortality, every second of every day, means a vampire can’t relax. “Come in.” I usher him into my house.

  We’re in the foothills outside the boundaries of Tucson, in my isolated multimillion-dollar home with a fantastic view of a deep, rugged wash that leads south/southwest and is full of cacti, creosote bushes, and views of the Santa Catalinas. I know it’s magnificent during the day because I routinely watch the footage from my security cams. But with my exquisite eyesight, I can see every detail just as well at night.

  My territory, the area I own as a vampire, extends out North-West from here towards the outskirts of Phoenix. But I like living here, in the desert close to the Catalina wilderness. My home bumps right up into Lucius Frangelico’s territory, and that’s fine by me. He’s one of the most powerful vampires in the world—living near him gives me extra security, as long as we’re on good terms. Which we are, at the moment.

  “Martin, did you try out the iPhone I gave you?” I know he didn’t.

  “I admired the package it came in. I admit I have not yet used the item itself.” He gives me a guilty look.

  I pause and look at him head-on. “Martin.” I tsk and shake my head, partly as a joke but also in genuine frustration. “You need to do this.”

  He puts up his hands. “All in good time.” His brows go up as he passes a wall of priceless art. “After all,” he murmurs, “we have so much of it.”

  “You can only be a historical anachronism if you also stay employed as a period reenactor or a museum curator. Which, as far as I’m aware, you have not accomplished.”

  I lead him to the back patio, so we can enjoy the night view and the privacy. I’ve been to every continent, every corner of every country on this spinning ball, and the desert of Tucson fits me best. There’s something about the lonely austerity of the desert coupled with the extreme efficiency these plants and animals have developed that soothes my ragged edges. I fit here.

  “Well, ahem.” He clears his throat and adjusts himself on the patio chair.

  I can’t tell if his clothes look so ill-fitting because he slept for the past hundred years, but he looks so awkward in his brand jeans and U of A sweatshirt that I want to laugh.

  When the patio chair spins, he gives a startled yelp, then shoots me a sheepish grin. “It appears that I don’t quite yet understand the 2000’s.”

  “You don’t say.” I laugh. “I’ve missed you.” He’s not just a reminder that I chose a good subject to become immortal; he’s also a friend. The polar opposite of Karl.

  “Did you, then?” He seems charmed by this. “I suppose I would have missed you as well, had I been aware of the passage of time.”

  “Ah, I knew you’d emerge eventually. It kept some mystery alive. When will Martin show up?”

  “And there is so little novelty now.” He sounds melancholy. His profile lit up by the moon, his patrician features sharp and pronounced, he looks every inch the nobleman I found dying in a ditch ages ago, who looked at me, saw my true nature, and begged for my help. I chose to save him based on a sudden instinct that he would be a good and loyal friend.

  “Thank you for watching over me.” He nods.

  I nod. “Any time.” The question rises in my chest. “Did it help?”

  He doesn’t answer for a time. A full minute goes by, but I don’t press him because—after all—he’s right. We have all the time in the world.

  Then he looks right at me, and the expression on his face makes me cold. “No.” His voice is low and flat. He coughs. “I almost wished you hadn’t watched over me quite so well.” He doesn’t look at me. “Waking up was a disappointment. And yet I don’t have the courage to do anything else.”

  His words chill me to the core. “You need a hobby. More than a hobby—a passion. Then it will ease.” I speak cajolingly, trying not to let the anxiety color my tone. “It works for me.”

  “I know.” He sighs. “I haven’t given up, Alain. I’ll find my way again.”

  I turn back to the view. Today the closest cholla has dropped three ears, and the owls are uneasy: There’s a coyote nearby, which doesn’t scare them per se, but changes the behavior of the rodents. The animals please me. Always on alert, like I am, they are laser focused on their survival. I feel more of a kinship with them than most other beings on any given day.

  Yet Martin means more to me than even they do. I don’t want to lose him. I have few true friends, and even with the new goals I have in life, I need kinship, companionship, to stay sane. Even though having his friendship and my work sometimes seems like it’s not enough —

  “One must carry on.” He raises his voice and injects a note of cheer. “Shall we have a diversion, then, later this good eve? My body does urge me to find a lady of the night for some enjoyment.”

  “First, let us talk. I need to update you.”

  “But my dear Alain. Your voice, as you well know, always brings me cheer. Do tell me the latest.”

  “It’s Karl.”

 
“What has the miscreant done?” He puts his leg down and leans forward, face electrified into interest. A little pleasure, too, I think, to hear ill of Karl.

  Martin and Karl never got along, even though I sired them both. And as I came to realize that Karl was and is a weak and selfish vampire, I turned away from Karl, too. The fact that I support Martin and have turned against Karl only makes Karl angrier, but at the same time it strengthens my bond with Martin.

  I frown. “He’s murdering innocents with no attempt at discretion. In addition, he hinted about some new blood supply. And he’s clearly full of an exotic variety.” I frown. “I had to ask myself if he was behind the recent disappearances of young women.”

  “The ones you mentioned the other night?”

  “Yes. Three women missing from Tucson. No bodies, no evidence. Just…gone.”

  “That’s not Karl’s style, is it? He’s not stealthy.” Martin raises his brows. “From what I remember.” He tilts his head. “He’s more of a brute.” He snorts. “Violent with no finesse.”

  I nod. “That’s what bothers me. If he’s taking the women in Tucson, he must have help. And then there’s the business with the break in at the blood bank.”

  “A what, is that?”

  “Ah.” I hesitate, trying to figure out how to describe it. “When doctors take blood samples–”

  “They do what?” His eyebrows go up into his forehead.

  I laugh. “Oh, Martin. We’re going to have to do a crash course on what you missed. Yes. There is a safe way to take samples of blood, and new machines can test them for diseases and components. They’re stored in little vials.”

  “Sounds like a lovely way to store a morsel for later.” He licks his lips.

  “Well, no. Old blood, mixed with the collection medium and preservatives?” I wrinkle my nose. “I suppose one could survive on it in an emergency, but it does have a marked unpleasant flavor.”

  “It also seems risky, since these buildings, as you explained to me, are heavily guarded?” Martin knows, like every vampire, the importance of staying under the radar. Invisible. Even if he’s only catching up to the modern times.

  “Yes. So, I don’t think he would have taken that blood to drink. But something about it makes me uneasy. Like it’s all connected—I just can’t figure it out.”

  “Give it time. You’ll figure it out. You always do. I’ll help where I can, of course.”

  “Fuck.” I stare off into the distance, tracing the outlines of the mountains against the black of the sky. No human could see the details. I can count every spine on every cactus. Every hair on the desert cottontail below. But I can’t read Karl’s mind or see even one of the plans brewing in his mind. Linked as we are in certain ways, he’s still figured out how to block me from his closest thoughts.

  I look at Martin. “He’s about to cause trouble. And I’m going to have to deal with it.”

  “Well, you’re no pauper, and neither are you a social outcast. I daresay you can amass your own army, if you need to. You don’t have many offspring, but you do have allies.”

  In fact, I have only two offspring: Karl and Martin. After Karl turned out to be such a disaster, I withheld myself from creating more vampires. I can protect myself with alliances and don’t need my own progeny.

  “I never wanted to need foot soldiers. Especially not now. In this place.” I gesture around the area.

  “You’re at peace here?” Martin seems genuinely curious. Maybe jealous.

  “Well.” I breathe out, smell the air. “Closer than I’ve been in a while. I have purpose, which makes it all easier. Although I guess I’m lonely.” I laugh, trying to turn it into a joke. “Not every vampire is lucky enough to find a life-long mate like Lucius Frangelico.”

  “You want a mate?” He leans forward. “Do tell. Who is she? A shifter? A female vampire?”

  I shake my head, sorry I said anything. “I’m exaggerating. There’s no one in particular. I just need a one-night stand with a pretty human. My specialty.”

  “Hmmm.” Martin gives me a look. He knows me better than that, but at least he doesn’t push. Every vampire who feels the loneliness can sense it in others.

  I change the topic back. “There’s a fragile balance here with the vampire community and the shifters. Better not to rock the boat.”

  “Rock the boat?”

  “Don’t stir the pot.”

  At his blank look, I append it, “Make trouble. I don’t want to anger some of the more established vamps who live in the vicinity. Especially Lucius, the king. He runs the club I like. Toxic. And more than that. He’s powerful, a leader of sorts.” I pause. “I like him.”

  “Aha. I see now, my good fellow.” He reaches out and slaps my shoulder. His expression, one of mixed sympathy and concern, lets me know that despite his chipper tone, he recognizes the gravity of the situation.

  “Perhaps we should leave the discussion of Karl to another time and avail ourselves of the lovely females who await?” His face lights up. “That is, if you feel safe enough to embark on a journey into the physical pleasures.”

  Karl can wait. My senses tell me that it’s important to deal with him, but there is time. I will learn more about his plans, think on it, and determine the appropriate strategy.

  One thing you learn over the centuries—if you survive—is that your continued survival hinges predominantly on your intellectual acumen and your ability to think and plan.

  Acting rashly can lead to a quick demise.

  We’re all good at chess, us vampires. Even the stupid ones.

  I speak decisively. “We’ll go to the club and find women who are acceptable to bring to the lower level of Toxic.”

  He quirks a brow, so I add: “The main floor is a regular club. We only bring the select chosen below, to the secret BDSM club where the real fun occurs.”

  “I see.” He nods appreciatively. I’ve already explained to him that the modern word, BDSM, is exactly what he likes in regard to sex, and that he can have both at Club Toxic. Martin and I have much in common. He was definitely a good choice to turn into my offspring.

  His smile fades at my next words. “But first, I’m going to show you how to use that iPhone.”

  Martin groans but acquiesces. He takes the thing out of his pocket, holding it with two fingers, like it’s a rotting carcass he pulled from beneath a rock.

  I roll my eyes. “You know the importance of fitting into your times, even if it means learning new technology every few decades.”

  “My dear sir.” His voice is haughty. “I daresay I deserve a few days at least to acquaint myself with the trappings of the 2020’s.” He tosses the phone up, and it glints silver in the moonlight, spinning like an oblong meteorite, before he catches it. Deft, flawless—you have to love vampire reflexes.

  I laugh. “True.”

  But my mind flashes back to the girl. The one I had to mind-bend into leaving, so Karl wouldn’t see her.

  I want to know what sounds she makes when she comes. I want to stick my tongue into her pussy and taste her juices, her fresh, vital human scent. I want to fuck her so good and hard that she trembles with pleasure and loses all control and begs me for release.

  And then I want to nick her neck, at the height of her ecstasy, with my canines, and lick off the rubies of blood that well out, and find my own ecstasy. Find that moment when time stops and my brain shuts off and the only thing that exists is pure pleasure.

  I want it so badly that I nearly roar, and my cock goes hard with want.

  But she’s gone.

  And even if she were in front of me, there’s something about her that’s almost too much. I can’t afford to get attached. That never ends well. And I have a feeling that this woman would be difficult to forget after one night.

  I adjust myself and shake my head. I’ll find another woman, and then another, and another. I’ll bury myself in their willing flesh, and before I know it, I’ll have forgotten all about the feisty red-head.
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br />   She’s not for me.

  Yet I send out a wish into the atmosphere. An invitation.

  Join me. Tonight.

  As we approach the club, I slow way down to roll with traffic. There’s a line of hopefuls down the block, the young and the beautiful, the rich and the powerful, all praying the bouncers will give them the nod.

  “My goodness.” Martin peers over. “What a visual feast.”

  Chatter and perfume and pheromones fill the air, and I scan the line, looking for the one that I’ll select. The one I’ll bring downstairs and strip and use to my desires.

  “Oh, that blond reminds me of a duchess I knew.” Martin’s voice is eager. “The hair and the haughty eyes. She was a vixen in the sheets.” He sounds fond. Then sour. “But these modern women are scary. What does one even do with them?”

  “You treat them with respect, Martin, and go from there. You ask first, never take what isn’t offered. Except a little blood, now and then.” I wink at him. “Not too much, of course. Never damage them.”

  But I’m distracted.

  I keep thinking about the girl from earlier. None of the lovelies in line, even the shiniest, freshest ones, look the slightest bit appealing. It’s almost as if I can smell her in the air —

  Suddenly, there she is. The human from earlier. Her hair down and glorious, with curls cascading all down her bare back. Her lips are candy cherry red, the color that makes a man want to bite hard, and suck, and never let go.

  “What the…”

  I slam on the brakes. She’s dressed in a barely-there mini-dress that fits her body so well that I can see every luscious curve. Her legs are long and gleam in the street lights. How does she walk in those fuck-me heels? My dick gets hard immediately.

  Did I sense her all the way back in the foothills?

  “Well, she is a delight.” Martin cranes his neck. Then looks at me, eyes sharp. “You’ve met her already, yes?” He knows me well.

  I idle the car slowly, stopping for a red. “What’s she doing here, of all places?”

  “Here in Tucson, where she apparently lives? What an astronomical coincidence.”