Chapter 1

The dark covered every surface, swallowing her in its obsidian coldness. Even her red cape seemed darker, like dried blood against her soft, pale curves. She hurried down the deserted streets, still able to feel the pounding beat of the music on her skin. The evening out hadn't been her idea but it had worked wonders on her slowly shattering nerves. She'd needed friends, and some normalcy to keep her from taking the step that would only lead to madness.

Her eyes searched the shadows as she walked, searching for the cause of the gooseflesh that ran up and down her spine. She spun, certain that he'd be there, reaching for her. When there was no one but a dumpster full of garbage, she forced her nerves down and let out a small chuckle at her idiocy.

But he was still in her mind, still sending off warning signals from her brain to the rest of her body. It kept saying... Run! Go now!

He'd come to her only one night before, an evil creature that seemed to step from the pages of some dark, dank novella or bad b-movie. Even evil he was handsome and charismatic, his voice soothing and rich. His eyes glowed in the dark of her bedroom, the blue looking like ice against his pale skin.

He wore a flowing white shirt, only the last four buttons fastened. She could see the creamy beauty of his skin, the hardness of his muscles. She'd scooted back on her bed, scared of his touch. When it came, it was icy and she cringed away, pushing his hand away from her.

"This will not do." The words were spoken softly, just a hint of an accent making her curious to where he was from. "You will come to need my touch. It will be as important to you as breathing, sweet Deidra."

"How do you know my name?" She gasped and felt his icy touch against the skin of her throat. "What are you?"

He laughed and cocked his head to the side, looking down at her. "My name, Deidra, will come when you crave the touch of my hand, and you already know what I am. Say the word."

Deidra pushed a hand through her golden tresses and heaved a sigh. "You speak in puzzles. I don't understand."

"You will." His smile was wide, showing off white teeth. "Say the word, Deidra. Tell me you know of my kind."

"V-vampire?" The word sent a shiver of fear through her and she knew now why the blue of his eyes seemed to glow. He was one of them, of the undead who thirsted for a taste of blood. The scent of it would drive a vampire crazy. She shied back once more, ducking her head so that she was looking down and not at his handsome face.

His fingers touched her chin, raising it so that she looked directly at him. "Don't hide, little one. I find your beauty beyond par and your spirit exquisite."

"What do you want of me, Vampire? M-my b-blood?"

"If that is all I wanted, I would have taken it and gone. I crave something more than your blood. I find myself wanting you, Deidra. But only when you want the same."

"Never," she had cried and then heard that same patronizing laughter. She turned away from him, walking toward the window.

But now, she walked into her home and flew into a frenzy trying to protect herself. But it didn't matter.

"Deidra." His voice was right at her ear and she twirled, startled. A shiver of terrified lust shook her and she crossed her arms, hugging herself. She'd barricaded her room, pushing a bookshelf in front of the window and locking and barricading the door with a chair. Looking around, she was shocked to see that she wasn't in her room but in a strange room. It looked almost gothic with the heavy stones in the walls and the cold cement floor that froze her feet. Heavy iron sconces were in the walls, thick white candles slowly dripping wax down to the floor.

"Go away." She closed her eyes, praying that when she opened them once more, she would be back in her home and not in this strange room.

A whisper of icy air caused her nipples to harden and goose flesh to rise upon her arms. "You don't mean that, Deidra. I can smell your arousal. I know you want me almost as much as I want you."

"I don't." Her voice was hesitant and she knew if someone had spoken to her that way, she would know the lie. "Really. I don't."

He chuckled softly, his blue eyes dancing. They were as icy as his touch and she wanted to back away from him, to escape the promise she could see deep in his eyes. "Why are you doing this?"

"I want you," he said with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

"So, just because you wish it, I'm to fall in line, be the good and dutiful pet that you want?"

"Is that so wrong for me to want?"

Deidra closed her eyes again and forced the scream that wanted out back down into her chest. She felt his touch once more, his icy fingers strumming over the thin white night gown she couldn't remember putting on.

His touch was cold but she still felt that thrill of desire, of wanting the forbidden taste of him no matter the consequences. It didn't seem to matter to her body that this creature was a killer, that he drained blood to survive. It knew the dangers and yet, she couldn't pull away from him, not when he held her so tenderly, his hands around her waist. "Don't hurt me."

"I'd rather cut off my hands, Deidra, then to hurt one single hair on your body." He lifted her chin with two fingers, his eyes studying hers before he dipped his head, his lips tenderly brushing across her own.

That tiny taste of his lips had set her heart to racing. His lips had been cold, but she couldn't deny the fire he'd started inside of her and she wanted more. She may be damned to hell for consorting with the king of the undead but she couldn't find it in her to care. "More," she whispered, rising up on her tiptoes to offer her lips to him.

"You are sure of this? If I take you now, you will never leave my side, Deidra. You will be mine for eternity."

It took Deidra very little time to make her decision. She was an orphan, her parents dying in a car crash when she was sixteen. From there she went into the foster care system and finally ran away from it when she was almost eighteen. She'd lived on the streets for a while before landing a job at a fast food place. From there, she'd gotten a better job, working at a store at the mall. It paid the bills but that was about it. There was little left from her check to do much of anything. But she'd been stashing that little away.

Now, he was asking her to give that all up, to move in with him, to take care of her. After the last five years of her life, that sounded pretty damn good. Not to mention, he was pretty tasty looking in the white shirt and black leather. "What does being yours mean?"

"Just like it sounds, Deidra. You will sleep at my side and live here, in my home. I won't let you go, so once you say yes, your word will be your bond. If you try to leave me," a hoarse growl sounded in his throat and it startled her enough to have her raising her head to look at him.

There was a red glow to his eyes and his face looked like stone. His hands grew rough and bruising and she cringed, trying to pull his fingers off her waist. She understood the look on his face, it was rage. "Okay, okay, ease up, please!"

He shook himself, pushing away the rage. "I am sorry, little one. It's the thought of you leaving me that makes me so insane. I've been searching for you for centuries."

"Centuries? How old are you?"

"I am one of the first of my kind, Deidra. I walked this earth before your Christ child was born. Truthfully, it has been so long, I have forgotten the year of my birth. I've seen many wonders and been privy to some of the worst of man as well as some of the best. Now that I've found you, you will join me in my travels. You shall be treated as a queen for that is what you will be among our people."

Deidra felt a sudden pang in her gut and she pulled away from his caressing fingers. "But ... I'm not one of you. I'm human, alive. I breathe."

He smiled gently, reaching out and pulling her back so that she was cradled by his chest and the ring of his immense arms. "When the time comes, I will make you one of us, my love. But that time is for later, for when you learn to trust me and to love me the way that I do you." He buried his face in her soft hair and pressed a gentle kiss to her head.

"H-how will you do it? B-by b-b-biting me?"

"You'll feel no pain. I've been told that my bite is very pleasing." He turned her in his arms. "I hate that I must push you for a decision, Deidra. I've lingered here longer than is safe. I must have your decision tonight."

Deidra opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by the feel of his two fingers against her lips. "Shush, not yet. I want you to feel a taste of what our life together will be like." He lifted her easily, taking her over to the huge canopied bed. It was hung with two different types of drapes, a sheer that barely hid a body, showing it off as mere shadows. Another, thick satin curtain would keep the bed darkened.

Her captor laid her down upon the bed, following after her. He sat up, pulling off his boots before tugging off the loose fitting white shirt. Deidra's eyes grew big just to see the complete size of him. He was muscled and hard, his skin pale. His hair hung down his back, ending just a few inches short of his waist.