“Fine.”
The piano fell silent as they moved into the room.
Dominic led her to a small table and she sat down, aware that many pairs of eyes were focused on her. She hadn’t been afraid before, but a sudden case of nerves sent a shiver down her spine. She folded her hands in her lap to still their trembling.
Murmurs and whispers filled her ears.
A pair of women dressed in sparkly black midriff tops, short black skirts, black fishnet stockings, and short black leather boots moved up on either side of Dominic.
The blonde put her hand on his shoulder and smiled up into his eyes. “Dom.” She trailed her long red fingernails down the length of his arm. “Long time, no see.”
The brunette took hold of his other arm. “Who’s this little mortal you’ve brought with you?” she asked in a sultry voice. “Have you brought us something sweet?”
With slow deliberation, Dominic lifted their hands from his arms. “This is Tracy.” His voice was low, yet it carried to every corner of the room. “She is my woman, under my protection.” His gaze rested meaningfully on the face of each person present. “She is not to be harmed, or toyed with in any way.”
The blonde and the brunette backed away from him, then turned and disappeared into the shadows at the far end of the bar.
Tension seemed to drain out of the room.
The piano player took up where he had left off.
Dominic sat down across from Tracy. He looked relaxed, but she noted the fine lines around his mouth, the wariness in his eyes.
She leaned forward. “Brought them something sweet?” she whispered. “Did they think you’d brought me here to . . . for . . . ?”
He nodded. “It is done, from time to time.”
Tracy glanced surreptitiously around the room. “Is everyone in here a vampire?”
“Just about.”
“Just about?”
“There are mortals who bind themselves to vampires. The girl in the red dress at the next table. Her name is Gina. She belongs to Marcus.”
“Like I belong to you?”
“In a way.”
“He drinks from her, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, but it is her choice.”
“What happens to mortals who wander in here?”
“That rarely happens.”
“Why’s that?”
“There are wards set about this place . . .”
“Wards?”
“Think of them as supernatural shields. Most mortals pass by the place without ever realizing it’s here.
“And those who innocently wander in? What happens to them?”
His gaze met hers. “Do you really want to know?”
Unable to speak past a throat gone suddenly dry, she nodded. She needed to know it all.
“The vampires feed on them, and then let them go.”
“How can you let that happen?”
“How can I stop it?”
“I don’t know. You said you were the oldest vampire around. Doesn’t that make you the king, or the boss, or something?”
He smiled faintly, then shrugged. “Vampires are not ruled by kings, nor do we adhere to a democracy. There is only one thing a vampire respects, and that is power. This is my domain and they will adhere to my rules so long as I can enforce them. I have forbidden them to hunt in the village, but I cannot keep them from following their instincts. Any mortal who comes in here is considered fair game. I ask only that there be no killing.”
“And those two . . .” She started to say
women,
then hesitated. “Female vampires?”
“What of them?”
“They seemed mighty chummy.”
Dominic smiled. “Are you jealous, my best beloved one?”
“Of course not,” she said quickly, but they both knew she was lying.
“Zarabeth and Petrina. Petrina brought Zarabeth across last year. Petrina has been vampire for five hundred years. Both have asked to be my concubines, you might say.”
“Oh? And what does that mean, exactly?”
“It means they would live in my house and be under my protection.”
“Both of them? At the same time?”
“Zarabeth is young in the life. It is not uncommon for new vampires to seek to align themselves with one who is strong until they gain power of their own.”
“And Petrina? I’d think that after five hundred years, she would be old enough to take care of herself,” Tracy remarked dryly.
Dominic laughed.
“I take it she finds you attractive.”
“So she says.”
“And do you find her attractive?”
“Yes, my best beloved one, but it is you, and only you, that I desire.”
“Did you make her a vampire?”
“No.”
Tracy glanced around the bar. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the dimness, she saw faces more clearly. There were perhaps a dozen men and women in the room, some sitting at tables, some standing at the bar. Most were clad in black. She noticed that they all seemed extraordinarily beautiful, with clear skin and lustrous hair, and they all moved with a kind of unconscious grace, almost as if they were floating above the floor.
A few weeks ago, she hadn’t believed in vampires; now she was in a room surrounded by them. She looked up at Dominic. “Who made them all? You?”
He gazed briefly at the pulse in her throat. “I have never brought another across.”
“But, there are so many.”
“There are hundreds of us,” he replied. “Perhaps thousands throughout the world. I doubt anyone knows for sure.”
Several couples moved onto the small dance area. Tracy stared at them. It seemed incongruous, somehow, to see vampires dancing together as if they were ordinary people.
She glanced at Dominic. He was watching her, a faint smile playing over his lips.
“Would you care to dance?” he asked.
She shook her head.
He regarded her for several moments, then asked, “What are you thinking?”
“It just seems weird, seeing them dance.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know, it just does.”
“Because they are vampires?”
“I guess so.”
“We are not, after all, that much different from you.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Ah, Tracy, we were human before we were vampires. Our lifestyle may have changed but in most of us, our humanity remains.”
“So, vampires are just people with a peculiar lifestyle—is that what you’re saying?”
“More or less.”
“Except for the blood part. And the fact that you can’t go out in the sun. And that you sleep all day.”
He shrugged. “You knew all this before we came here.”
She looked at the dancers again. They didn’t really look all that different from normal people. If she hadn’t known they were vampires, she would have thought them to be just ordinary people with a penchant for wearing black.
She turned her attention back to Dominic. At first glance, there was nothing about him to suggest that he was a vampire, at least not from a distance. But, close up, she was ever aware of the aura of power that clung to him, the deep inner stillness that sometimes came over him.
Rising, he held out his hand. “Come,” he said. “Dance with me.”
She hesitated only a moment before she put her hand in his. He pulled her gently into his arms, his dark gaze intent upon her face as he guided her around the floor.
They danced together as though they had done it hundreds of times. His hand was cool, firm against her back. She stared up at him, once again smitten by his bold good looks. For a time, she lost herself in the joy of being in his arms. He gazed down at her, his eyes warm with affection. His breath was whisper-soft against her face.
“This is a pretty song,” Tracy remarked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before.”
“It is called ‘Vampire’s Lament’. Marcus wrote it for his mortal woman.”
“Do you know the words?”
Dominic listened a moment, then began to say the words, his voice moving over her, soft and seductive as a sigh.
“Open for me, this creature of the night, let me ease my pain in the warmth of your light. Come, walk with me, share this moment in time, open your heart, your soul, now mine.
“My laugh is hollow as I walk these darkened halls, time is nothing but a tick upon the wall. I am life, eternity and forever, alone in my despair, reaching toward never.
“Shall I find the one? Is there one to find? Will I know the soft light that will flow from her soul into mine? Is it possible to feel? Is it possible to know? If her touch is the water, is my answer the flow?”
She found the words oddly touching. The lyrics could have been written for the two of them. She was sorry when the music ended.
Dominic was leading her off the floor when Petrina intercepted them. “My turn,” she purred. “Dance with me, Dom.”
Dominic glanced at Tracy, then shook his head.
Petrina also looked at Tracy, her cat-green eyes narrowing with disdain. Then, she smiled up at Dominic. “Surely your little mortal won’t mind if you dance one dance with an old friend.”
“I do mind,” Tracy said, surprising all of them. “Take your hands off of him.”
“Well, well, what do you know,” Petrina said with a malevolent grin, “the little mortal has . . . teeth.”
Dominic laughed, a deep, rich masculine sound. “Run along, Pet, before
she
takes a bite out of
you
.”
Tracy had no idea that vampires could blush, but a surge of red flooded Petrina’s cheeks. She glared at Tracy, then vanished from sight.
Taking her by the hand, Dominic led Tracy back to their table.
“I probably shouldn’t have said that, should I?” Tracy remarked, sitting down.
“Probably not. You have made an enemy of her now.”
“Well, she made me mad!”
“And a little jealous, perhaps?”
“Not a little. A lot.”
He smiled, pleased. “Do not worry about Petrina. She is harmless.”
“Oh, sure, a harmless vampire.”
“She will not harm you, my best beloved one.”
“As long as you’re around,” Tracy muttered. “But what if she finds me alone?”
“She knows I would destroy her if she dared lay a hand . . .” He grinned. “Or a fang, on you.”
Tracy smiled at him. “I’m not afraid, not really.”
But later, lying alone in her bed, she couldn’t help wondering what the outcome would be if Petrina caught her alone.
Chapter 15
Petrina stalked the dark city streets, her rage growing with every step. How dare he! How dare he talk to her like that, treat her like that, sending her away as if she were some troublesome child! She was not some fledgling vampire, to be lightly dismissed! He had embarrassed her, humiliated her, not only in front of that foolish mortal female, but in front of Sea Cliff’s other vampires, and that was something she could not forgive.
“Petrina?”
She turned to find Zarabeth hurrying after her.
“Go home, Bethy.”
Zarabeth didn’t argue. She had lived with Petrina long enough to know better.
Petrina watched her friend vanish into the darkness.
Dominic would be sorry for his lack of respect, she vowed, as she continued on her way. In five hundred years, she had never formed attachments to any place, or any one, save for Zarabeth. She had fully intended to drain the girl and cast her aside but something about Zarabeth had given her pause and she had brought her across instead. Zarabeth had become Petrina’s first friend since becoming a vampire. At first, it had been strange; now the two of them were very nearly inseparable.
Aside from Zarabeth, the only thing she wanted was Sea Cliff. Petrina had hoped Dominic would accept her in his house, that they could rule Sea Cliff together. She knew now that such a thing was impossible. Dominic had rejected her for that puny mortal.
She thought briefly of destroying the woman but knew such a thing would gain her nothing but Dominic’s hatred and perhaps cost her her own life.
Which left only one alternative.
She frowned as she contemplated it, and then she smiled. It was always better to rule alone.
Chapter 16
Tracy sat up, yawning. A glance at the clock showed that she had already slept most of the morning away. Dating a vampire certainly kept her up far later than she was accustomed to. By the time she showered and had breakfast, the day would be half gone! Not only that, but her laundry was piling up and she had bills to pay.
Rising, she went downstairs to put the coffee on, then hurried back upstairs for a quick shower. She pulled on a pair of cut-off shorts and a tank top, then went downstairs to fix breakfast. Opening the refrigerator, she grimaced at what she saw. Not surprisingly, all of the food she had left in the fridge when she ran away had soured, wilted, or turned blue with mold.
After dumping it all in the garbage and washing out the refrigerator, she grabbed her purse and her keys and headed for the village.
Driving down the main street, she noticed anew how deserted the place was. Funny, she had never paid much attention to that before. Many of the shops didn’t open until after sundown. She saw a few tourists peering into windows. An elderly couple sat at a table at the outdoor café, sipping lattes.
Tracy pulled into the parking lot of the market and got out of her car. Did the townspeople know that their town was a haven for vampires? Or were they as happily ignorant of the fact as she had been only days ago?
Grabbing a cart, she wandered up and down the aisles, filling her basket with whatever caught her fancy. It occurred to her that few of the items she bought would have even been in existence when Dominic was mortal—things like frozen dinners, ice cream, milk in cartons, meat in neat little packages, food in cans, sliced bread, dry cereal, candy bars. Did he ever wonder what modern-day food tasted like?
As she watched the clerk total up her purchases, Tracy decided that, judging by the amount of chocolate she had bought, she was definitely feeling anxious. Dark chocolate had ever been her comfort food of choice.
She was on her way to her car when she heard Bryan call her name. Pausing, she glanced over her shoulder to see him hurrying toward her.
“Hey, where’ve you been?” he asked. “I’ve been worried sick.”
“I was on a little . . . umm, holiday, I guess you could say.”
He frowned at her as he helped her put her groceries in the trunk. “Holiday? Where’d you go?”
“Maine.”
“Oh. Well, I wish you’d let me know. I thought maybe that madman had abducted you or something.”
Tracy grinned. That was exactly what had happened, but she couldn’t tell Bryan that. “Well, not to worry. I’m back now. How’ve you been, otherwise?”
“Fine.” He closed the trunk. “I was really worried about you. Have you read the paper lately? Three people were found dead last week, with no apparent cause of death except they’d all lost a lot of blood. There were no signs of violence, and no signs of a struggle. The police are stumped. One of the reporters said it sounded like some kind of vampire killing.” Bryan frowned at her. “Tracy? Hey, Trace, are you okay? You look as pale as a ghost.”
“I’m fine. I . . . it’s just hard to believe something like that could happen here.” Even as she said the words, she thought it was surprising that there hadn’t been more murders in the village, considering that the place was crawling with vampires. She recalled Dominic telling her that vampires didn’t hunt where they lived. Obviously, he had been wrong about that.
“Can you come down to the beach later?” Bryan asked. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ll try.”
“Great.” Leaning forward, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “See ya later.”
She watched him walk away, thinking how refreshing it was to be in his company. He was so open, so honest. There was nothing dark and mysterious about Bryan.
With a sigh, she slid behind the wheel and drove home.
The mailman had come in her absence. After putting the groceries away, she sat down at her desk to read the mail and pay her bills.
The first letter was from Mr. Petersen, who repeated that he was immensely pleased with her work and enclosed a nice check as a down payment for the remaining seascapes. He also mentioned that he would like her to do a portrait of him and his children as a Christmas gift for his wife and that he would send her a photograph to work from, if that was feasible. If not, he would arrange a date and time to be at her studio with his children.
Tracy smiled as she picked up the phone to call Mr. Petersen. This was exactly the kind of break she needed. Mrs. Petersen was a wealthy woman, influential in her community. If she were pleased with the portrait of her family, she would no doubt tell all her friends. You couldn’t beat word-of-mouth advertising!
Later, after the bills were paid, Tracy went upstairs to her studio. The seascape she had started in Maine had been set up near the window.
She painted for over an hour. Lost in the act of creation, she forgot everything else but the feel of the brush in her hand as she added shading and depth to the canvas. She loved the smell of the paint, the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that engulfed her as she transferred the image in her mind to the canvas.
Stepping back, she regarded her work through a critical eye, and then nodded. One sent. One more finished. Only another ten to go.
After cleaning her brushes, she prepared a new canvas and then, on the spur of the moment, decided to take a break.
Going downstairs, she grabbed an apple from the fridge and went down to the beach.
Bryan was sitting on his lifeguard tower.
“Hey, there,” she called. “Can I come up?”
He smiled down at her. “Sure.”
She climbed the ladder, then sat down beside him. “So, rescued anyone today?”
“Not yet. Pretty quiet.” He touched the tip of her nose with his finger. “I guess you’ve been painting.”
“Yeah. Guess I should have looked in the mirror before I left the house.”
“Well, it’s pink. People will just think you’re sunburned.”
“Right.”
“So, what did you do in Maine?”
“I was visiting a friend.”
“You left kind of suddenly, didn’t you?”
“Kind of.”
“School will be starting soon,” he remarked. “I sure hate to see summer end.”
“Me, too.” She gazed out at the ocean. There was something almost hypnotic about watching the waves. She had always loved the ocean. Endless and deep, sometimes calm, sometimes wild with energy, a vast, ever-changing sea that was home to thousands of creatures from tiny sea horses to gentle whales and man-eating sharks.
“Are you busy tonight?” Bryan asked.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
“Are you seeing him?” There was no mistaking the hard edge of jealousy in Bryan’s voice.
“Yes.”
“He’s no good for you. Why do you insist on going out with that man? There’s something about him. Something not right.”
“Oh, Bryan.”
“Don’t patronize me. Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re wiser.”
“I didn’t say that, but Dominic’s a good man.”
Bryan snorted derisively.
“Maybe I’d better go.”
“No!” He laid a restraining hand on her arm. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. But I really should go. I’ve got work to do.”
“You’re not mad, are you?”
“No, of course not. See ya later.”
Back home, she poured herself a glass of milk, then went upstairs. Glass in hand, she regarded the blank canvas, then, setting the glass aside, she mixed her colors and began to paint.
She had fully intended to start on another seascape; instead, her brush strokes sketched a tall man wandering through a moonlit garden. A man who stood beneath a lamp post and cast no shadow on the ground.
Intent upon her task, she paid no attention to the time as she carefully applied each brush stroke. His face, pale in a wash of silver moonlight, was harsh and yet beautiful. His eyes, dark and shadowed, were filled with the secrets of eternity. His mouth was well-shaped and sensual, with just a hint of a roguish grin. A long black cloak fell in graceful folds from broad shoulders. It was by far the best thing she had ever done. There was carefully leashed power in every line.
Stepping away from the canvas, she studied the portrait wrought by her hands and her heart. “Perfect,” she murmured, laying her brush aside. “Absolutely perfect.”
“You flatter me.”
She whirled around, startled by the sound of his voice.
“Forgive me, I did not mean to frighten you.”
She glanced at the window, surprised to see that the sun was setting. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”
He drew her into his arms, stared at the painting over the top of her head. Again, she had captured him on canvas and he studied the image intently.
“Do you like it?” she asked.
“Very much. Is this how you see me?”
“Yes.”
“And is this how I appear? Or merely an artist’s interpretation?”
She looked up at him. “Both, I guess,” she replied, and then frowned. “Is it true you can’t see yourself in a mirror?”
“Yes.”
“If I took your picture, would it come out?”
“No.”
“So you haven’t seen your face in over two thousand years.” She shook her head. “That’s incredible.”
He jerked his head toward the painting. “This is better than a mirror,” he said with a wry grin, “though I doubt I ever looked quite so handsome in mortality.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the canvas. “It’s how I see you.”
He cupped her cheek in his hand. “I believe love has colored your perception,” he murmured, and lowering his head, he kissed her.
She clung to him as he deepened the kiss, caught up in a maelstrom of emotion. Her eyes were closed, yet she saw colors brighter than ever before. She imagined she could feel each thread that made up the fabric of his clothing. It seemed as though she could feel each particle of air around her. She caught the scent of rain, and even as awareness crossed her mind, she heard the dull roar of thunder, the patter of drops against the window.
Overwhelmed, she drew back to stare up into Dominic’s eyes.
He answered her question before she could ask.
“You are feeling what I feel,” he said quietly. “Seeing things as I see them.”
“But why?”
“I have taken your blood. Not enough to bind us together, but enough that, if I open my senses, you can see and experience a part of my feelings.”
Well, that was a scary thought! “What would happen if I had taken
your
blood?”
“We would be forever bound. My thoughts would be yours, as yours would be mine.”
“You mean you’d be able to read my mind?”
“I can do that now.”
“But if we were bonded, I’d be your slave, wouldn’t I, like that woman is Marcus’s slave?”
“No, my best beloved one. It would be nothing like that.”
She took a step away from him, suddenly frightened. “I don’t believe you.”
“There are many ways a vampire can possess a mortal,” he said calmly, as if they were discussing nothing more important than the weather. “Ways to compel mortals to obey.”
“Is that what Marcus did to that girl?”
“No. She went to him of her own free will.”
“But he could have made her do it against her will?”
“Yes.”
“And you could do that to me?”
Watching her carefully, he nodded. He was on dangerous ground here. A wrong word now might frighten her away.
“Why haven’t you?”
“Because I do not want a slave.”
“Have you ever forced anyone else to do your bidding?”
“Of course. Each time I feed.”
She wrapped her arms over her breasts. “So you hypnotize them and force them to give you their blood?”
“I speak to their minds to take away their fear. It is not unpleasant for them, and when it is over, I wipe all memory of it from their minds.”
“That’s despicable!”
“Would you rather I took them by force and drained them of life?”
“Of course not, but . . .”
“I am what I am,
querida
. I cannot change my nature, not even for you, nor would I. I have been vampire far longer than I was human. I have survived thousands of years. I have learned patience. I have learned compassion. I have learned to take what I need without taking life. It has not been easy. Vampires are predatory by nature. The need to hunt is a part of me and will not be denied. There are those who hunt in the old way, who take a life each night. No longer human themselves, they have little regard for human life. I will not tolerate their kind here.”
“Is that right? Have you read the paper lately? Bryan told me that three people have been killed in the last couple of days. Drained of blood.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “You have seen that boy again?”
Tracy dismissed his question with a wave of her hand. “Did you hear what I said? Three people have been killed, Dominic. If you don’t allow any of the Sea Cliff vampires to hunt in your territory, then who’s doing it?”
Dominic shook his head. “I was not aware of any killings.” It troubled him to realize he had been unaware that someone was hunting in his territory. His only excuse was that he had been so preoccupied with Tracy he had been oblivious to everything else.
“Well,” Tracy remarked a trifle sharply, “maybe you should look into it before there’s a fourth.”
With a nod, he was gone.
Tracy stared at the place where he had been standing, wondering if she would ever grow accustomed to his ability to vanish in the blink of an eye, wondering if she truly wanted to.