I hadn’t killed a human in forty years. That record would end tonight. It wasn’t that I wanted to kill her. It was that I knew one taste of her would never satisfy me. Her blood sang to me across the space. Its intoxicating lullaby luring me closer. She was young. I didn’t care. She was talented. I didn’t care. One word with her, and I’d be able to easily compel her to leave with me. Losing control here could get messy.
The activities I planned for her were usually reserved for the after-parties. The ones that took place at private manors and villas, where the gates were tall and the guest list much more exclusive. I didn’t think I could wait long enough to find a new location. But the theater was filled with shadowy nooks and hidden places where I could sink my teeth into that alabaster neck.
She shifted in her seat as I approached, and her cello temporarily blocked my view of her. It had the effect of a talisman, warding her from evil long enough to stop me in my tracks.
I tore my attention from her and stalked out of the ballroom. With each step away from her, my head grew clearer. But in its place was a new, disconcerting desire. I wanted to protect her.
Protect her? How?
I had no idea how the fuck I hoped to do that when I was what she needed protection from.
A safe distance needed to be maintained. I would stay close enough to keep her from falling victim to any of my kind but far enough that I didn’t lose my mind with hunger. I’d had years to get control of my blood-lust. I could do this. So why did my resolve feel like sand slipping between my fingers?
The corridor outside the Green Room was mercifully empty. I wasn’t sure what might happen if a human stumbled into my path right now. There was one guaranteed way to sate my thirst. I started to slip off a glove when a petite form moved into view. Her scent hit me next. So much for my strategy.
It was a little harder to maintain distance when only one party knew the plan. I quickened my pace, stepping into a shadowy corner to let her pass. She only made it a few steps before a striking figure stepped into her path.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath when I caught sight of Giovanni Valente. The vampire was only a century younger than me, but he had a reputation as a ladies’ man. The trouble was that he had a tendency to kill it with the ladies–literally.
It was no surprise. In any era, he had the looks to get women behind closed doors. His black hair dusted his shoulders. It had been short the last time we met. We’d been fighting together in some war. After we lost, I hadn’t seen or heard from him. Time was a tricky thing. Minutes might last an eternity while years slipped away in the blink of an eye. Giovanni still had a warrior’s physique. His tailored tuxedo did little to hide it.
The girl fell back a step, her head tipping to take him in since he had to be a foot taller than her. I listened, waiting for some reaction, but she made no noise. I didn’t know her, but she was already driving me nuts.
“Forgive me,” Giovanni said, giving her a charming smile, “but I wanted to thank you for the lovely music.”
A human might not have picked up on her fingers tightening around the neck of her cello, especially in the dimly lit hall. But I spotted it instantly. There was the survival instinct she seemed to lack in the ballroom. Hopefully, that meant she had a brain. But she didn’t move farther away from him. Instead, she laughed nervously. “It’s my job,” she joked. “And there’s more coming soon, but for now I need to use the little girl’s room.”
“Little girl?” he repeated, clucking his tongue softly. “You shouldn’t underestimate yourself. You’re a very beautiful woman.”
“I am?” She sounded torn between more laughter and annoyance now.
“Come for a walk with me,” he said casually.
“But my cello…”
“Bring it. You can play for me,” he said.
I heard the musical rhythm of his voice as he spoke. So much for using compulsion only in extreme situations.
Giovanni led her away from the party toward the theater, establishing exactly what his intentions were. I just had to let him take her. Once she was out of my sight, this temporary fascination would lift. I would leave. And the girl? Maybe his restraint had improved in recent years. But I found myself moving swiftly to follow behind them. I still wasn’t sure why this was my fucking problem.
They vanished into the shadows, and I felt something snap inside me. I sped toward them, stopping so quickly that the girl startled, catching her heel in her long skirt in the process, and pitching forward into my arms. Her cello crashed to the floor beside us, and she screamed.
“There you are,” I said smoothly. “You disappeared.”
She spluttered with confusion and tried to twist free of my arms.
“Wh-”
“Giovanni,” I cut her off. “Excuse us for a moment. My lady is slightly accident-prone.”
I bent and freed her shoe from her dress. Then held it out for her. She slipped her foot into it and instantly turned to where her cello had fallen.
“Julian. I didn’t know you were back in San Francisco, or that this mortal was spoken for.” He took a step away from us. He’d lived long enough to know how attached vampires became to their pets.
“This wha–” the girl tried to interrupt again.
I turned and stared at her. “Stay quiet, pet.”
The girl froze, and despite the compulsion overpowering her free will, she glared at me. It was the first glimpse I’d had of her face. The end of her nose tipped up at the end, a smattering of freckles dusting it. In the dark, only a ring of green remained around her dilated pupils. A human wouldn’t be able to see it at all, but it was clear to my vampire eyes.
“Yes,” I said as though she hadn’t spoken. “It’s new.”
“Obviously,” he said with a dangerous current running through his words as he glanced in her direction. “I didn’t detect your scent on her. If I had…”
“An innocent mistake.” I angled myself between them, making my message clear.
“Perhaps. She’s pretty for a human,” he commented.
“Do you think so?” I shrugged my broad shoulders. “I’m more interested in her as a cellist.”
Giovanni laughed and smacked me on the back. “I forgot how romantic you are.” He began to walk away and paused. “Do let me know if you bore of her?”
I forced a tight smile, not moving from my protective position until he was entirely gone. The girl wasn’t safe here. The sooner she left the theater, the better. I’d have to compel her again. This time, I’d force her to leave and return home. Then, I needed to see if he had lost interest. If he had, she would be safe.
If not…
“My cello,” she shrieked, and I whirled around in surprise.
She picked it up and stared at its cracked body before lowering it to the ground solemnly. Then she did the last thing I expected. She stood up and poked me in my rib cage.
“What was that for?” I arched away before another jab could land.
“You scared the shit out of me, and I dropped it, and now…”
“That’s not really important right now,” I said. She glowered back at me, and I realized that Valente was wrong. She wasn’t pretty. She was stunning, even when she was mad.
Especially when she was mad.
“How can you–”
“Listen very carefully to me,” I stopped her. “That man is not what he seems to be. You need to run.”
I waited, but she didn’t move.
“Run,” I repeated, dialing up my compulsion.
She just stared at me like I was nuts.
“Why aren’t you running?”
“Why would I run?” she asked.
“Because I told you to.” My compulsion had failed. I didn’t know why. She’d stayed quiet before, but now it was like she was immune to me.
She planted a hand on her hip as if to prove my point. “So?”
“That’s usually enough.” I didn’t have time to explain compulsion to her. Or vampires. Or why she needed to leave. The longer she remained, the less likely I could clean up this mess.
“If that’s all…”
I only had one more trick I could try–a human trick. “Ok, will you please run?”
She laughed. “One more time since you appear to be hard of hearing. Why?”
“Fine.” I threw my hands up. I had tried to be gentle. I’d tried to warn her. I’d even tried to compel her. “Because that man is going to kill you and drain you of your blood.”
She hesitated, but before I could feel relieved, she hit me with another question. “Why would he do that?”
“Why the fuck would he do that?” I exploded. “Isn’t it enough that he might? A sane person would run.”
“Look, I don’t know how to tell you this,” she said slowly, “but I don’t think it’s my mental health that you should be questioning.”
“I’m not crazy,” I said through gritted teeth. I should leave her to her fate. Clearly, she couldn’t care less if she wound up as Giovanni’s evening snack. Why should I?
“That’s the spirit,” she said flatly. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”
I didn’t trust myself to touch her, but I had to stop her from returning to that room. If Giovanni saw her without me at her side, his interest would be renewed. So, I blurted out the only thing I could think to say, “Because he’s a vampire.”
“Vampire?” She said the word like it was a different language. There was a pause as she stopped to study me again. “Up until now, I thought you were just an asshole, but you are crazy sauce.”
I should have seen that coming, but I found myself trying again.
“You need to trust me.”
“Um, yeah, no.”
Charm. Compulsion. Even the truth. None of it was working. And I was getting more annoyed by the minute. So what if this tiny human wanted to endanger herself? Why was it my job to save her? I stared at her, realizing she wasn’t going to budge.
“I need to get back. They can’t start without me.” She looked over at her cracked cello. Pain flitted over her face. “On second thought, I can’t play at all with that. You can come with me and explain.”
Now we were going to fight over a bloody cello. I’d had enough. “No, you need to come with me. You can’t go back to that party.”
“Because you’re going to save me from a vampire?” she guessed, and I realized that not only was she ignoring my warning, she wasn’t a bit afraid of me. What the hell was going on? “How do I know you aren’t going to get me alone and murder me?”
“I’m starting to consider it,” I growled, feeling the tips of my fangs lengthen. “Are you always this stubborn?”
She crossed her arms, shrugging a single shoulder. “Are you always this weird?”
“I’m trying to save your life,” I reminded her. “Some people might call that chivalry.”
“Chivalry is dead,” she said without missing a beat.
Clearly, I wasn’t going to win this argument. “Well, let’s not join it in the afterlife. You’re not going to run, are you?”
She didn’t move. That only left me with one choice. I swept her off her feet, threw her over my shoulder, and carried her away before she could even blink.
