Part 8 (1/2)

Valentino twisted my body to face him and did his best intimidating face. He didn't scare me. He could be ruthless, but so could I.

”You forget that I am the one who made you. You are mine, and you share my weakness for s.e.x. If you would just give in, we could satisfy both our needs. I am not an unattractive man, so why do you continue to push me away?”

I let out a laugh. ”Oh, it's not your looks that I have a problem with, Valentino, it's your meal choices.”

He rolled his eyes and let his tongue slide over his lips. ”Not this again, Linnea. I am tired of your quest to save innocents and only feed from evil doers.”

It was Kerr who spoke next. ”You knew what she was when you made her, you could not of have thought that she'd give up her ways of tryin' to do good. It's her nature.”

I waved my hands in the air and walked towards the door. ”Enough with boring talk of days I have no memories of. I live for the moment, and right now the moment is telling me that I want to find a man. I have a burning between my legs that needs to be satisfied.” I opened the door and started out.

”You claim that you have feelings for her, yet you let her wh.o.r.e around with any human she chooses,” Valentino said to Kerr as I stepped out into the hallway.

I heard Kerr's deep voice and knew that he was close to striking Valentino. ”It keeps her grounded-making love to the humans.

If she sees them as something to be taken care of, caressed, and loved, then she does not fully turn into what we've become.”

I left the two of them arguing and headed down to find my next snack. I didn't need blood. Kerr and I had found a group of men trying to rob a local merchant and they'd made a fine meal for the three of us. I did need s.e.x-I always needed s.e.x. I'd had so many human lovers back in Europe who kept me satisfied, but none that I wanted to keep. I was never really attracted to them to start with. I normally selected a man who I found to be handsome and used him for s.e.x-most were only good for that, so it worked well.

I made my way to the crowded street. I had no worries about walking the streets alone in a big city at night. No, if anyone tried anything foolish it would be the last thing they ever did. The streets had been crowded since we'd arrived and now the ma.s.ses were gathering around men who were shouting about the death of Benjamin Franklin. I tried to walk past a group. The men backed up and two slammed into me. They fell to the ground, I didn't. I had to fake stumbling just to keep their suspicions down.

It wasn't everyday that a five foot seven woman knocks two burly men on their backsides just standing still.I dropped down onto the cool brick and regretted it the minute I felt the water from the earlier rains soaking through my dress.

Neither one of the men seemed interested in my well-being-they were more interested in what one of the local loons was going on about. I pushed myself up and started to wipe my soiled dress off.

Strong arms grabbed me and ripped me off my feet. I was halfway down an alley before I was able to get my wits about me enough to fight back. I twisted and my body dropped to the ground. I looked up into my attacker's pale face and knew that he was like me-a vampire. His thin oval face and beady black eyes made me uncomfortable. I knew this brown-haired man from somewhere, but I couldn't place him. I knew that I didn't like him, but I didn't know why.

”Linnea, you're too late again,” he said dryly.

”Too late for what?” I asked, unsure if he was mad or simply stupid. I leaned towards the latter of two.

”Come now my dear, let us not play games, it is I, Captain Corbin, as if you didn't know. You have been a worthy opponent all these years, but you will not be taking the wizard back with you, he belongs to my side now.” His fangs flashed and his face twisted.

I smiled and let my fangs show. He stopped his show of power and stood very still. ”And what, may I ask, side is it you are referring to, Captain Corbin?”

”No!” he shouted as he lunged at me. I sidestepped him and he fell flat on his face. ”This cannot be. I bit you, my master gave me some of his power, he said that it would allow us to track you, not turn you.”

I let out a loud laugh. ”Oh, little man, I have no clue what you're talking about, but I can a.s.sure you that you had nothing to do with me being here today.”

He rose quickly to his feet and tried to lunge at me again. He caught the side of my arm with his nails and ripped it open. I cried out, and pushed his body away from mine.

The air around us grew cold. Corbin tackled me to the ground and I brought my leg up fast to deflect him from me. I turned to get to my feet and he was suddenly on my back. I screamed out and felt like someone poked thousands of tiny icicles in me at one time. Corbin screamed out too, and rolled off of me. I turned and looked at him, he was covered in blood. I looked at my arms, expecting to see the same-I was fine. I touched my face to be sure, but nothing was hurt on me. Another blast of icy wind blew past me and Corbin screamed out again.

I turned around and saw a man standing at the end of the alley. His brown eyes found me and he smiled. I drew in a deep breath when I saw his white teeth s.h.i.+ning at me through his rose-colored lips. His creamy olive skin and long black curls told me that he was most likely Italian, and I liked Italians. He took a step towards me and I heard Corbin get to his feet and run away.

The tall muscular man came running towards me. He extended his hand out to me. ”Are you alright?” He asked, his voice thick with an Italian accent. I was right about him. I nodded and took his hand. He pulled me to my feet and looked in the direction in which Corbin had run. ”I am sorry for you. He has been following me since I arrived here. I would have stopped him earlier if I had known that he was such a threat. I just thought that he was another crazy vamp.... ”He stopped before he finished his sentence.

I took a deep breath in, this man was full of power and magic, but he was mortal. He reached out and touched my lip. He wiped it off and came away with blood on his hand. ”We should get you cleaned up.”

”What are you?” I asked.

”Do not worry, I would never hurt you.” He pulled a piece of debris out of my hair and let it fall to the ground. ”Mi chiamo Lucha,” he said, and then shook his head. ”Sorry, my name is Lucha. And you are?”

”Linnea.” He touched my hand and then looked down at me. ”You are cold, like....”

”A vampire,” I finished his thought for him, and smiled. ”Don't worry I would never hurt you.” I said smiling at up at him as I spun his promise back at him.

Chapter 23.

”This is lovely,” I said looking around the large house. Lucha didn't seem that impressed with it. He shrugged and smiled.

”It is small compared to my home in Italy.”

”Why are you here then?”

He nodded. ”My father asked that I come to the new country to set up his business here as well. I have been here for close to a year now and am scheduled to return home within the next year.”

I looked around at all the gold and fine silks and wondered what exactly Lucha's family business was. He led me into the dining area and I immediately noticed that he had no chairs around his large richly colored table. There was a vase full of flowers on it, and several books, but no chairs. I looked up at him. He watched me, grinning from ear to ear.

”I live alone, and never do I entertain. Come,” he said, motioning me towards the large staircase.

As much as my body needed s.e.x, I couldn't take it from him, it didn't feel right. He had been kind and he had a way about him that put him a step above the mortal men that I used to satisfy my needs with. No, Lucha did not fit that particular mold, problem was, I didn't know exactly what I felt for him. Intrigued maybe?

I climbed the staircase behind him, watching how his pants fit snugly around his lovely backside. The more I looked at his six foot tall frame, the more I was able to see beneath the richly dressed exterior to the muscular man that hid below. Lucha's strong body told me that he wasn't just a rich man's son, no, he was physically active as well, and that combination was hard to find. More often than not, I'd find myself sleeping with men who were thin and void of any real definition, only because they were rich and didn't bother with manual labor or working their muscles. After spending years with Kerr by my side, I craved a man who was toned and powerful. I craved Kerr, but he was untouchable. He'd made it very clear that he would not sleep with me.

Lucha opened the first door on the right for me and stood back. He lifted his arm and motioned for me to go in. I peeked around the corner and the room took my breath away. Its walls were a peach color, like none I'd ever seen before and the wall opposite the large bed was strikingly beautiful. Someone had painted a scene with a woman lying on a fainting sofa. Her naked backside showed, and every bit of her looked soft, and exotic. Her arms reached upward and there was a ray of light coming from somewhere that the artist didn't show, but made you feel was heaven. I tried to see the woman's face. I wanted her to turn her head, as if she were truly there. Her long, wavy, dark brown hair that bordered on black was swept up, but just enough of it had fallen to avoid being able to see her facial features. It looked so vivid that I had to touch it to make sure that she really wasn't standing there. I looked at Lucha with my hand out and he nodded. I let my fingers slide gently over the masterpiece and could feel the love that had gone into it.

I turned to Lucha. ”Did you do this?”

He smiled and nodded his head. ”Yes, do you like it?”

”It's exquisite, it reminds me of Michelangelo.”

”Yes,” he said moving closer to me. ”I was greatly inspired by him among others. I do not care so much for the way artists are painting now. I prefer this style.” His hand moved over mine and I felt a rush of excitement go through my body. I wanted him and I could smell his desire for me, yet still I did not want to use him for my needs. I turned to leave him. I needed to feed the s.e.xual beast within me, then, and only then, could I concentrate on Lucha.”I have to leave now. Thank you for trusting me enough to show me this,” I said, keeping my hand on his painting.

His fingers laced in mine and his body pressed against my back. I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes. His large arms wrapped around me, and I wanted to stay in them forever. He was so warm, and there was something so amazing about him that I hated the thought that I had to leave him.

”Stay here with me.”

I let out a small laugh. ”Lucha, you know what I am.”

”Yes, but why should that matter?” he asked moving his head down towards my neck. ”If you wanted me dead, I would not be standing here now, right?”

I leaned forward and found that my body was now pinned between Lucha and his painting. ”Lucha, please understand that I have to leave you. I need to feed before the sun rises.”