Broken Heart 02 Don't Talk Back to Your Vampire (3 page)

But I did tonight.

I saw a sparkly gold rose appear on one of the black stones. Mesmerized, I pressed my palm against it.

Stones disappeared and left a rectangle of black. The shadowy creatures chasing me burst out of the thorny brambles, so I dashed inside the magical door. It sealed up behind me instantly, leaving the monsters to scrabble and howl outside.

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The tower was narrow. I stood before a twisting staircase. Blue sparkling orbs of light danced around the base. As my foot touched the first step, the orbs frolicked upward. Every time I advanced, they moved ahead, beckoning me. It seemed as though hours passed as I climbed and climbed and climbed.

My bare feet chafed against the rough stones and my legs ached terribly.

Finally, I reached a doorway. There was no door, just an empty black space. Heart pounding, I hesitated. What I wanted so much was beyond the inky darkness. The playful lights bounced and twirled at the entrance, waiting for me to decide.

I stepped through. The blue circles raced ahead, bubbles of excitement, and lit the circular room. The only object in it was a huge four-poster. Silver curtains cascaded around it like a shimmery waterfall, concealing whatever slept behind.

I hadn't expected
this
. Frowning, I looked around the bed. What I was looking for was
in
the bed? Yes, what I wanted, what I needed, was there. Yet, I hesitated, afraid.

"Fear not, princess," whispered an otherworldly voice. "Would you give up now? When you are so close?"

Clutching the edge of the fabric, I drew the curtain back. Wetting my dry lips, I heaved a breath and looked.

"You found me," said the big black wolf. Then he leapt off the bed and tore out my throat.

The prince longed to be loved by a maiden pure of heart and strong of spirit. He cared not for her
upbringing or for her lineage. He wanted only that soul-to-soul connection, that true and honest
knowing that love bound him to her and her to him.

For years he searched the world. He found beautiful women with quick minds and kind natures,
but not one stirred his heart. Oh, he found pleasure. Nothing compared to the sweet moments held
in a fair damsel's embrace, but those glorious touches never reached further than lips upon satin
skin.

In his despair, he sought the advice of his grandmother, a powerful witch.

"The one you seek has not yet been born," she said. "I can give you a potion that will give you
immortality, but there is a price. You will never again walk in the light or sup at your father's
table. To live, you must drink the blood of innocents. To find your maiden, you must embrace
darkness."

"My soul will surely shrivel without the light," said the prince.

"Your soul mate is your light. Life is about balance. For every sacrifice, there is a reward." The

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witch stared at him, her rheumy gray eyes narrowed. "Beware, dearest prince! If you allow your
new nature to overtake you, you will forget your quest. You will live only in darkness and you will
never find the one destined for you."

—From
The Prince and the Maiden
,

an unpublished work by

Lorcan O'Halloran

When I awoke, I found myself clutching Lorcan like a beloved teddy bear. He was awake, his fingers stroking my back. I scrambled to a sitting position and stared at him, embarrassed. With those silver eyes and his long black hair he reminded me of the wolf. My hand fluttered to my throat as anxiety prickled my skin.

"Bad dream?" he asked softly.

"Vampires don't dream," I said.

"You do." He looked at me, but his expression was unfathomable. "Thank you for helping me."

"No problem."
Big problem
. It seemed Lorcan's proximity affected me in unexpected ways. "What happened to you?"

"You need not concern yourself," he said, arrogance lacing his tone. " 'Tis done now."

What was done now
? I didn't ask because I knew he wouldn't tell me. The O'Hallorans were good at keeping secrets. I watched him get off the bed. My gaze roved over the muscled torso. His chest was completely healed. Could I help it if my fingers wished to dance through those dark curls and flit across those ridges? I looked away and swallowed hard. When I looked back, Lorcan was dressed—a black T-shirt tucked into black jeans.

"Don't you like color?"

"Black is a color," he said. He smiled—the small, sad one he had perfected as the guilt-stricken vampire monk. I missed the other smile, the curve of lips filled with mischief. It was like glimpsing a slice of heaven before the gates shut. Hmph. I probably wouldn't see him smile like that again.

"Good-bye, Eva."

Startled at the sudden good-bye, I managed a limp wave. Strangely, I didn't want him to go. He made me uncomfortable and he confused me, but at the same time, I wanted to be near him. A red flag if ever there was one—as if my body didn't care what he would do to my heart. Lust had its own rewards. Yet
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mere pleasure glittered and faded, leaving only pain, only emptiness.

As Lorcan sparkled out of sight, he waved his hand and something gold and shiny fell onto the bed. I looked at the object and gasped. Picking it up, I fingered the full bloom of a gold rose. Real gold, too.

The brooch was the size of a quarter. In the middle, very small, I saw a looped "L." For Lorcan? Huh.

Was it a thank-you gift? Or a mark of possession?

I laughed. He probably made these little roses and tossed them at the feet of any female who showed him kindness. It wasn't special. Besides, vampires who wanted to put others under their protection—or as a step toward binding—had to put their claiming mark on the neck. It was magic; any paranormal creature would see a claimed being. I had claimed Tamara as soon as Jessica taught me how. She was my child, forever under my protection, and anyone who messed with her, messed with me.

Our symbol was a red ruby.

My mother's name was Ruby. She died five years ago of cancer. Other than Tamara, my mother was the most important person in my life. Her death left a void in my world—one that had never been filled. I had learned to live with the hole. In fact, I guarded it fiercely.

The rose beckoned my attention again. It wasn't lost on me that a gold rose had opened the tower in my dream. Or that a wolf waited for me. I wasn't sure I wanted to think about that dream and try to figure out what it meant. Maybe it didn't mean anything.

I couldn't deny my attraction to Lorcan, but heaven help me, I
wanted
to deny it. I had a history of falling for men who were bad for me. Chances were good that if I was attracted to a man, he was shit in an expensive suit. Then again, Lorcan had already done the worst thing ever, hadn't he?
You are having
sexual feelings for your murderer, Miss LeRoy? Tsk, tsk
.

Hard to believe it had been nearly three months since Lorcan noshed on my neck. If you've ever read those romance novels where the soul-tortured vampire hero reluctantly brings his mortal woman to the Other Side—well, my experience was the exact opposite of that.

I had just returned from an ice cream run and had gotten out of my little VW bug. As I shut the door, I heard a shuffling noise behind me, followed by a hair-raising growl. There was
nothing
sexy about big furry paws grabbing my hips and sharp, icky teeth digging into my throat. The scariest thing about what happened was that I couldn't see my attacker.
I felt
him—he was huge, hairy, snarling. When he was finished, he tossed me in the driveway and loped away.

Then I died.

The worst part was that I never got to eat that pint of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey.

If the Consortium—a sorta vampire Peace Corps—hadn't rolled into town and brought several vampire Masters willing to Turn us, none of us would be alive. Well,
undead
. Y'see, Lorcan had been suffering from the taint, a terrible disease that affected only vampires. Everyone was scrambling for a cure, including the Consortium. They'd managed to rid Lorcan of it, but whatever they'd done seemed to work only for him.