It was in that moment, he realized the implications of what it meant to be immortal. And the revelation terrified him. He’d live forever and stay as young, vibrant and beautiful as he’d been when he was a 24 year old human male. But he’d be
alone
.
Even with the vampires at e.Vampire, he felt unbearably lonely and it had been getting worse as the years went by. There was nothing more depressing than feeling lost and alone in a room full of others.
There’d been no-one with whom he wanted to fully share his life with; until he’d met her. Somehow, he knew he’d never, ever tire of her. He was also well aware that keeping her would be difficult. Just by being with her, he was placing her in danger.
The others, especially Malachi wouldn’t understand or accept his love for a human female.
“You’re very quiet,” she said as they walked into his garage.
He was going to drive her home and then head into Taylor and Van Ness.
“Sorry. I’m a little pre-occupied. I didn’t mean to ignore you.” He glanced at her, pressing the unlock button on his car fob.
The garage housed three cars; a metallic silver colored Mercedes, a black Porsche and his baby, a bright red Ferrari.
He saw her eyes widen at the sight of them.
“Which one do you like best? That’s the one I’ll take you home in.” He hoped she’d choose the Ferrari.
She did.
“Good choice. She’s my pride and joy.” He opened the passenger side door for her.
“Thank you. You really can be a gentleman at times, Mr. Taylor.”
Once inside he watched her examine the gadgets on the dashboard, put her hands into the plush leather seating.
“Impressed?” he asked.
“Hell
, yes! This is one sweet car.”
He leaned over, kissed her cheek and winked at her.
The garage door rose up quietly. He started the engine and the car roared forward, flew down the driveway and turned left with amazing precision.
With the top down it was hard to talk. He put on a CD, turning it up loud. The amazing guitar melody of
Guns n’ Roses’
swept through the car.
She turned to him
, smiling.
Her hair billowed all around her face, and as they passed each street light, he noticed how it shimmered, like a glossy mane. What he wouldn’t give to see the sunlight shine down on those long, silken strands. He felt a stab of pain in his heart, knowing that such a thing would never be possible.
He parked and walked her to the front door. An extremely bright florescent security light illuminated the area. The light shone down so intensely on her head he could almost imagine it was the sun itself. His vampire eyes filled in the rest of the illusion, making her hair absolutely stunning to behold.
“I’ll wait until you get in.”
She turned the key and opened the door. He looked in; made sure she was secure for the night. He gave her a short peck of a kiss. “Goodnight Jennifer. Sleep well my sweet girl.”
She didn’t move to go inside, nor did she speak.
“What?” He asked, confused.
“You call that a kiss goodnight Dorian?”
She leaned against him and put her arms around his neck.
She’d caught him off guard. Where was the shy, blushing girl he’d first met? There was so much more depth to this girl. And she thought
he
was the mysterious one.
“God, Jennifer you’re killing me! If I kiss you the way I want to right now, I’ll end up sweeping you off your feet, taking you into that bedroom and fucking your brains out and then spend the rest of the night holding you. Actually, I want to do that anyway. But I really do need to go. And you need to get some sleep.”
“Okay.” She blushed, as if embarrassed that she’d been so aggressive toward him. He liked the complexity of her emotions, the flush of her cheek and her want for him.
“I’ll text you tomorrow night at exactly 8:00 pm. Make sure you answer,” he said sternly, his eyes hard on her.
“I see the control freak has returned. Yes, sir.” She closed the door.
He watched her move around through the window, not wanting to leave, knowing what this meeting was about and dreading it. He was already a half-hour late. Malachi was not going to be pleased.
***
When he got to his office, Malachi was sitting behind his desk, twirling a pen in his long, white fingers. He didn’t look up when he entered the room.
“It’s about time, Dorian,” he said softly.
Dorian detected the cold tone in his words. His voice was too quiet for any mortal to detect, but vampires had not only the ability to hear words barely spoken but the meaning which lay beneath them as well.
“You know I didn’t want this meeting at all. I don’t see how it’s relevant to the business.”
“You know damn well why we’re here. Your human whore. You cannot continue this way and you know it. The rules forbid it.”
Dorian pounded his fist on the desk, “Don’t you
dare
preach the bloody rules to me Malachi! I
wrote
them, remember?”
Malachi didn’t even flinch. It took a lot to get a reaction from him. And that was part of Dorian’s problem with all of them at e.Vampire.com. They lacked emotion.
He, on the other hand was beginning a new journey. His emotions were emerging, coming back after so many years and he relished it. Even though he knew full well those emotions would include some very nasty ones. Guilt, remorse, horror and regret for all the things he’d done since he’d turned into this unnatural being. Perhaps he was truly capable of a deep and meaningful relationship with Jennifer. Malachi had called her a whore! How
dare
he? Anger overwhelmed him. He felt his eyes burning with it.
“Get control of your emotions
, Dorian. They will be the ruin of you.”
Dorian took a deep breath. He had to calm down and stay focused if he hoped to cloak his thoughts from Malachi. What if he decided to play his hand differently? What if he could get Malachi and the others to believe Jennifer was no more than a plaything, one he’d discard when he’d had enough? It might buy them both some time. He took the seat directly across from Malachi and shut down his feelings.
“What exactly is your beef with me, Malachi? Is it the Blood Feast?” He asked, keeping his voice steady and cool.
“That’s part of it. She was the chosen one. She has virtually no family and very few friends. The others feel deprived. You know we all look forward to these occasions. Vampires require the ecstasy and peace of the sweetest blood, that which flows from a living human being. They grow weary of being fed. You know it to be so. You have the same dark urges we do. You’re just like the rest of us.”
Dorian was silent. He knew Malachi spoke the truth. He hadn’t lied when he’d told Jennifer he was a bad guy. Couldn’t he change? The answer hit him like a splash of ice water in the face. No he couldn’t, not physically anyway. He’d be a vampire for all eternity, unless he chose to end it as many of the eldest around the world had. Although they were isolated as a family here, word of other vampire’s deaths came to them through the grapevine.
What about his heart? Maybe he could change that. He was beginning to feel as if he was able to experience real love. The vampires here were incapable of understanding the way he wanted to love and be loved by her. They wouldn’t allow it.
“Look Malachi. I rejected Jennifer as a member and for the Blood Feast because she has a friend, Julie, who was with her the night of the masked ball. And she has a cousin in Maine. One of them would go to the police if anything happened to her. Suspicion would fall on us.”
“You tell me half-truths
, Dorian. I demand to know exactly what your intentions are toward this woman. It’s important to the family as a whole. This is a very serious matter. You know e.Vampire.com is exclusive to Miami for good reason. You cannot share anything about us with this . . . girl.”
“My intentions are just what you’d expect from me. I like fucking her and when I’m done, I’ll take care of it.” He looked Malachi directly in the eye, thankful he’d shut down his emotions and was able to shield his thoughts.
They stared at one another for a long time before Malachi finally turned away. Dorian did not.
Malachi sighed. “I’ve been your friend for eons and I’m putting my trust in you. The others are not happy, but I’ll deal with them for now. I’ll find another to give to them for the blood feast when the time comes. That should appease them for a bit. But your desire for this woman also disturbs them.”
“I said I’ll take care of it and I will.” Dorian’s demeanor was detached and icy.
Malachi was very old and as cold and unfeeling as a statue. To think, he was his best friend, a creature incapable of love, who killed without regret. It was no wonder Dorian felt so lonely. It had taken Jennifer to show him just how emotionally void and empty his life really was.
He didn’t ask who they’d chosen for their feast, but he knew he wouldn’t take part in it, not this time. He didn’t try to fool himself into thinking he was any better than them. He’d fed from the chosen one during Blood Feast many times. Now, he didn’t feel the need to. He was changing, evolving. His feelings for Jennifer were continuously overpowering his lust for blood from the flesh.
The Blood Feast was a rarity and much anticipated amongst them. The act carefully planned and carried out. The victims had none or very few ties or were prostitutes known to engage in risky behaviors. When they went missing
, it was no great surprise. After the feast was over, the body was dumped in the Everglades. The alligators were sure to make a fast meal of it, obliterating any evidence that could tie the victim to them.
“Dorian, even if you could bring her into our family, you know the rules here. We share everything, including sex. She’d
belong to all of us, just as the others do. And you know how brutal those couplings can be. Are you willing to share her like that?”
Malachi’s question caught him completely off guard. Male and female vampires had sex with each other in every way imaginable. Couplings between them were far more depraved than those they had with any human.
They controlled their darkest desires with mortals, but not with each other. He was no stranger to Bondage, Discipline, Sadism and Masochistic behavior, after all his first sexual experience had been with the beautiful young girl bound in chains at the dark island. He’d fucked her while drinking her blood.
On his worst days, that memory still haunted him. The girl’s innocent eyes on his, the sweetness of her flesh, the warmth of the blood flowing into his mouth. He’d taken her passion and almost her life. Although, it was Malachi who’d killed her, he knew he was partly responsible for that girl’s death.
Dorian would never expose Jennifer to that. He didn’t want to share her, nor did he want to do those things with her.
“There’s no use asking me such a thing. I told you I’ll take care of her when I’ve had enough.”
“Does she know about your sexual preferences, Dorian? Because no matter what you do with her, eventually you won’t be able to control those dark urges. There’s no escaping it. And you know it. Do not disappoint me Dorian. I expect you’ll treat her like any other woman. Ah, but you won’t want her for long anyway. Not you who continuously seeks new thrills. You’ll tire of her quickly.” His laughter was soft and scornful. The sound of it sent shivers down Dorian’s spine. He couldn’t control his disdain for Malachi any longer.
“My
sexual
preferences
? Is that what you call them? It was you who schooled me in that sort of sex. You
made
me what I am. I don’t know anything else. It’s as simple as that!”
Dorian focused intensely on Malachi's face and realized what he’d always known. He was truly evil.
And what does that make me? Did I not willingly embrace this life in death? I’m just as evil as he. Maybe it would be best for everyone if I let Jennifer go. But, I cannot! I need her.
He thought.
With each passing minute she was becoming more important to him. He couldn’t help it and he knew she felt the same about him. She was able to feel so deeply and he was just beginning to scratch the surface of his own feelings. He wasn’t willing to give that up. Not for Malachi, not for Taylor and Van Ness or e.Vampire.com, not for anyone or anything.
Malachi moved quickly. At once his lips were at Dorian’s ear. “Hear me and hear me well, my friend. Do not make an enemy of me over this mortal girl.”
Dorian stood still. He refused to show Malachi any fear or weakness. “Are you threatening me? Has it come to such a thing?”
“I hope it won’t come down to a choice between her and me. If it does, then yes, I’m threatening you. And you know me, Dorian. I dispose of my enemies without mercy or remorse.”
“Leave my office. This meeting is over. I’ve work to do.” Dorian narrowed his eyes in disgust and turned away from him.
“Fine. I shall leave you to it. I’ll see you at the pre-dawn meeting.” Malachi closed the door quietly, which was more frightening than if he’d slammed it.