
# Table of Contents

I Am The Night | Book 1 | A Vampire Night Series | By Rachel E Rice | Copyright 2018 by Rachel E Rice

Soul of A Vampire Box Set | Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Historical Romance

Contemporary Romance

Erotic Romance

Stand Alone New Adult Romance

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# I Am The Night

# Book 1

# A Vampire Night Series

# By Rachel E Rice

# Copyright 2018 by Rachel E Rice

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

If you haven't read the Soul of A Vampire books one two and three, they're on sale for a low price. The books should be read in order. Enjoy and sign up to my newsletter for coming attractions, cover reveals, and free giveaways. You can always contact me at rachelerice04@gmail.com and I promise you I will answer your emails. Please leave a review if you enjoyed the books and try the box set.

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# Soul of A Vampire Box Set

# Copyright

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COPYRIGHT (C) 2018 BY Rachel E Rice

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. No reproduction of this book part or whole is permitted. This book should not be scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the author's permission.

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# Chapter One

WHEN HANNAH ST. JOHN boarded the subway and arrived at Columbia College for her evening class, another young woman was being stalked by a predator.

"Where have you been, Hannah? I thought I would see you before today. You don't go out drinking like some of us freshmen who are fucking tired of listening to our parents saying, 'Don't do this and don't do that. Are you smoking that stuff?' For Christ sake, they can't even ask that question with a straight face as if they didn't drink and smoke when they were our age."

Bryan and Hannah turn the corner passing the admission's office heading for the lecture hall in room D.

Hannah trotted along with Bryan a tall thin guy who likes preppie from Hollister Abercrombie AE. She didn't answer him letting him talk and getting his frustrations out before they got to class, and picking up two friends along the way. "Where did you sneak off to? Been to Paris or Italy lately, I know you said you were planning on going there?" Gabriela said trailing behind her holding Chase's hand.

Hannah stops and sucks in a deep breath. "It was just wishful thinking on my part. I couldn't get out of Manhattan if I wanted to," Hannah said as she continued walking with her head down not looking anyone in the eyes. Her hands clutching tightly to the strap across her chest holding her heavy bag resting on her side.

"That's too bad," Gabriela said. "But you'll get there. You're focused." Hannah knew Gabriela meant well. She wasn't like some of the other rich girls she had met attending private schools around New York.

Her first choice wasn't Colombia University but she accepted the scholarship because she couldn't afford to go where she wanted--Princeton. Somewhere it was warm. California preferably.

Here she met and took up with a bunch of rich kids who would rather be close to home where they could milk their parents for cash and they didn't have to accept any responsibilities.

Unlike Hannah's parents, their parents could afford to pay for them to stay on campus, but they opted for apartments. Apartments she could never afford even if she graduated and got her dream job which she didn't know what that would be.

"I have to concentrate on my classes," she said half apologizing. "I can't afford to lose my scholarship. I got some bad grades and my parents don't have the funds to pay my tuition if I flunk these classes. I don't think you'll see me much except between classes."

"You can move in with me," Gabriela said. "I have a comfortable couch and it would be fun having someone with me," her smile as warm as her brown eyes. "Just think about it. You don't have to listen to your parents rag about drinking and pick up your clothes, don't sleep late and don't forget to go to class. How are you able to date living with your parents anyway?"

"She isn't," Chase said as they neared the door to the lecture hall. He opened it. "I've asked her over and over to go out with a friend of mine and she said no." Chase and Bryan could be twins if one was a little taller. Both had light brown hair and both had blue eyes and dressed almost the same except for the colors they chose. That might have been the only difference in the two of them.

"Maybe she's not into me," a voice said from behind them. "On the other hand, I haven't asked Hannah. I'll know when she's ready to take that step right, Hannah," Justin said.

Hannah walked slowly into the hall looking around for a seat. The lecture hadn't started. Students were milling about looking for a seat in the back. Normally Hannah would sit in front, but since she met these friends she changed her seating arrangement and lost focus on what she had to do to pass the class and hold on to her small scholarship.

"What about this evening. Come with us," Bryan said. "We'll see that you're home early."

"I'll even pay for your cab," Justin said as Hannah walked ahead of him. She glanced up at Justin who stood six feet. Light brown hair and steely gray eyes. He had not been a part of the group. Somehow he had inserted himself into a group of well to do kids unlike Hannah who they seem to like but tolerated Justin.

Hannah was without pretense and she never promoted herself. She never asked or expected to be a part of the group, but for some reason, Gabriela took her in and she enjoyed Gabriela's company even if they were as different as night and day. Gabriela came with her boyfriends', Bryan and Chase. They followed her around like two dogs in heat and when Hannah met Gabriela they were part of the package.

Knowing most of the students in her class, she was aware of their families and their statuses in the community. You could open any paper in New York and there were their names and pictures going to fundraisers for colleges, the Opera and contributing to the Arts.

When Hannah had enrolled in Colombia it was because she couldn't afford Princeton even with a scholarship she would never be able to pay the outer state tuition. And there was a matter of room and board.

Not even on a good day and with what was left of her inheritance from her grandmother, her part-time job would she be able to cover the cost of tuition and room and board. Especially now since there was little left that her mother and father hadn't used up.

She could hear her father, "We had to use some of your money put aside for your college. We had expenses keeping you in that private high school."

"That's fine dad but how much is left?"

"Maybe five thousand give or take a few. If you get that scholarship at Columbia you can stay in Manhattan and in your own room and commute." Oh yeah, that's just what she needed. To be forever a child in her father's house. But what choice did she have now?

Hannah got the scholarship but still, she didn't have enough for anything else and now that she had waited to the last minute to register at Columbia, she had to take some classes with professors who the other students knew were the hardest classes to pass. She should have known when she walked into class and there were nine students in her advanced classes, and they were all from China or India. And to make it worse, the professor was Chinese and English was his second language.

So she failed her two most important classes, getting two D's to bring her grade average down and putting her in jeopardy of losing the little scholarship she had.

The group of two girls and three boys walked down the aisle of the lecture hall looking for seating for four students. Hannah sped off to the right and the others went to their left. They knew Hannah didn't want to be bothered especially if she had to concentrate and she couldn't with them talking throughout the lecture.

This group of rich entitled Millennials could afford to stay in school forever. They had plans of taking over their fathers' businesses. Hannah had dreams of becoming an engineer and moving to the west coast.

Get out of New York and away from her parents who appeared to be sapping all the life from her and leaving her like a corpse. There was no way she could be herself. She had gone through high school with the same notion and there was no way she thought she could live through another year the way she felt.

Even separating herself from her friends did nothing for her concentration. She had used up the last money she had for books, and now she was without books. She couldn't even afford to purchase the EBooks and they were cheaper.

If she could manage to get through this semester, she could take off for the summer and work and then maybe have enough to pay for a semester in a local college that didn't charge such outrageous tuition. That was just a passing thought as she sat waiting for the professor.

"You never said you would have a drink with us," Justin said after tapping her on the shoulder.

Looking behind her, immersed in her thoughts, Hannah shuddered at Justin's voice. "You startled me. I thought you were sitting with the others."

"This isn't one of my classes. Come on. Are you going to hang out with us?"

"Yes. Yes," Hannah said just to get rid of him so she could concentrate. She didn't see him when he left and she never remembered him before. He just showed up one day and he was part of the group.

When class was over she walked out with the crowd of students. Because it was winter and dark outside, Hannah tried to get home after her last class which had dismissed at eight pm. Not wanting to see anyone she lowered her head and tried to blend in with the other students but that was of no use. She had reddish-brown hair that stood out in a crowd of blond or dark haired girls and guys. And she wore old jeans and a sweatshirt unlike the preppy dressed group of rich kids in the school.

Hannah had freckles with green eyes. She stood five feet five inches. She twirled her long curls as if she was nervous and she was nervous for more than one reason.

"There you are. I thought you had gotten away from me," Justin said. He grabbed Hannah's hand. "You said you were coming with us to the bar and I'm buying you a drink. I'm not taking no for an answer. You need to relax. I can feel your hands they're shaking," he said in a soft tone that made Hannah relax.

Justin stood six feet and extremely handsome. Hannah considered herself lucky that a guy that handsome and soft-spoken had found her attractive. She never saw herself as being a beauty not even close. But Hannah was and never knew it. She spent her years in high school with her head in her books. Never went to the prom because no one asked her. She was more of a loner trying to find out where she fits in this world.

She thought she never fit anywhere and therefore she never tried to cultivate any long-term relationships with classmates or guys she found attractive or even the fun guys she would have for friends.

"Sure. Why not?" she said. She dropped his hand Justin's hand and trotted off with him. When they reached the outside of the building, standing waiting for them were Bryan, Gabriela, and Chase."

"You're good," Gabriela said to Justin. "We've been trying to get Hannah out of that shell since I met her." Hannah gave a weak smile. She had never had a drink. If she was to fit in she had to act like she knew how to party.

The group walked a block heading in the direction of the bar. At a distant, the sign showed bright in the dark. It said The Maze out front all lit up above the door. The Maze set near a boutique on one side and a large apartment building on the other side. "That's it," Bryan said. "Great place, I've spent many lonely hours here until I met Gabriela." He smiled knowing that was a lie.

"Looks cool," Chase said leaning kissing Gabriela.

"I think you should kiss me, too," Bryan said pulling Gabriela from the arms of Chase. He didn't look surprised when Bryan wrapped Gabriela close to him. "You can't show favoritism like that. I might get my feeling hurt."

Gabriela glanced at Justin and Hannah, "He's just being a big baby. He knows I love him as much as Chase. Maybe more," she said casting a glance in Chase's direction. They continued walking as Justin tried to reach for Hannah's hand.

"I'm not ready for a relationship," Hannah said to Justin." Her voice soft but firm.

"Not even a friend?"

Surprised at the display of kissing and holding hands with the three, Hannah looked to Justin and he shrugged.

"Maybe a friend. That's all I have room for now," Hannah said walking slowly with Justin and behind the threesome who couldn't seem to part for a second.

"I'll take what I can get for now." He looked at her with a mysterious grin. One she couldn't quite understand.

Hannah had thought that the group wanted her to be a part of it because one of the guys didn't have a girl to hook up with, but she was wrong. She had been wrong about a great many things. She had been wrong about college and about her parents.

She didn't want to be wrong about her choice in a boyfriend just to have one. And she didn't need that added burden of dating just when she required that time for studying.

"We're here," Justin said as he held the door open. They entered the crowded bar. Loud voices blending over the sound of Sam Smith's song, "Leave Your Lover. Leave Him For Me." Chase leaning into Gabriela and singing along with the song.

The mingling of the song with the clinging of glasses and bottles and laughter made for a cheerful night. Maybe she had been missing something, after all, Hannah thought. Her face brightened and she eased closer to Justin.

Justin found a booth in the middle of the bar when a group of six college students exiting leaving their beer bottles neatly arranged on the tables in a circle. Before they could sit and get comfortable, two waitresses carrying trays and dressed in white blouse and black shorts quickly cleaned up the mess and scooped up their tips.

The booth faced a large flat screen television. There were several all over the bar. Some were tuned into a football game and others to basketball and then one was on the Fox channel and CNN. The sound was off but you could read what was being said.

Another young woman murdered.

"What do you want, Hannah? Justin asked as Hannah peered at the news. "I'll get our drinks at the bar. It's faster." Hannah looked at Gabriela confused.

"Get her a Tequila shot. Just one," Gabriela said to Justin. Hannah smiled because she had heard the name of that liquor before and she knew a shot came in a small glass. That she could handle.

As Justin strode away from the table, a young waitress walked up to them and took Bryan, Chase, and Gabriela's order.

"Two Heineken's and a shot of Tequila with lime," Gabriela said. Then Gabriela's attention focused on the news. "Look at that. There's a killer of young women running crazy in Manhattan. You would think they would have caught him by now."

"How do you know it's a man? It could very well be a woman," Bryan said kissing Gabriela. "Look how you're killing me." Gabriela pushed him away.

"Come on. Everyone knows it's a man. I read the statics in a newspaper and it said more men commit this kind of crime than women. Who drains a woman's body and then leaves it in the trash where everyone can see it. What woman is going to go off with another woman like that?"

"A woman who's into women," Chase said. "I'm glad you like men," and he whispered into Gabriela's ear.

"I heard that," Bryan said.

"How do you do it?" Hannah said looking over at Gabriela. "I've never even had one man and you have two."

"I heard that," Justin said sitting down with his two Tequila shots.

"I said just one for..." Justin placed one in front of Hannah and one for him.

"I know what you said. Stop trying to play mother to Hannah. She can take care of herself. This is how you do this shot. All at once and then you suck on the lime." He demonstrated to Hannah and she did as he directed. Her head felt light afterward and she smiled. A wide lazy closed smile.

"See. Not bad for your first drink," Justin said. Gabriela glanced up to watch the news.

"Exactly what I said. The detectives have a profile of the killer. He's a man, between twenty-seven and forty," Gabriela said. "The FBI had to adjust their profiles because they thought previously only white males committed serial killings."

"I bet they will have to make another adjustment when they discover that it may be a woman killing these women."

"Women don't do heinous murders like that. They just fuck you to death," Chase said. Gabriela gazed at him, shook her head and raised her hand. "I need another drink."

"Bring me one too," Hannah said.

"Are you sure?" Gabriela said.

"Don't be a mother hen. It's like Justin said. I can take care of myself."

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# Chapter Two

"I THINK I'VE HAD TOO much to drink," Hannah said raising her hand to her head. The room swirled and the voices became louder mixed with laughter and music. She tried to make a half attempt to stand but instead swaying and reaching for Justin's shoulder to prevent her from falling.

Holding her stomach and gasping for air, she said, "I need to get out of here." Hannah standing this time but not too successful slipped back down into the seat. Justin rose and extended his hand she took his hand standing facing him.

"I'm going to take Hannah out for air. We'll be back in a few. Order me another drink," Justin said.

"I'm alright. I don't want to ruin your night. Just get me to the door. I'll wait out front at one of the tables, and when I feel better then I'll come back in," she said trying to pretend she was ok.

Hannah turned and took a few uneven steps. Then she reached for Justin's arm. He walked her through a crowd of people coming into the bar and opened the door and they stepped out into the chilly night air. Hannah wore a heavy jean jacket yet she felt the wind and cold slice through it causing her to shudder.

Justin placed his arm around her shoulders to bring her close to his chest. She moved away not wanting his attention nor his help. She needed to be sick alone. And she didn't want him to see how graceless it would be to vomit on his nice leather jacket.

"I'm okay, Justin. Go in." She pushed at his chest and he didn't budge. Looking up at him she said her speech slurred, "Wow, that's impressive," she said referring to his hard muscles. "I want to be alone in my misery. I feel better really." That was furthest from the truth. She felt like shit and her face showed it. She was already a pale girl and sometimes she had rosy cheeks but not in the middle of winter and not now. She looked like hell and she knew it.

Justin reluctant to leave her alone turned away from Hannah and strolled back to the bar, after looking back several times to see if she needed him. He didn't want to come on too strong and drive her away from him.

Hannah felt Justin couldn't help her because by now he was as much inebriated as her.

Entering the bar, he found his seat near Chase with Gabriela sitting in the middle of Bryan and Chase. They didn't look up or notice when he sat. Their only focus was Gabriela and who she would choose to kiss next. They were taking turns kissing her as the other sat there waiting for his turn like a dog waiting for his snack.

No one noticed Hannah's absence but Justin.

****

HANNAH NEVER FELT THIS bad in her entire life. Even when she had the flu. Her head ached, her stomach hurt, and she knew she was on the verge of throwing up everything she had for breakfast.

Glancing to her left, there was an alley between two tall buildings. It was dim lit and she didn't see anyone at the time. Not even a moon to bring attention to her standing there. When she ambled to the dark corner facing the side of a building to bend over, her eyes caught the image of two men sitting on the bottom of a fire-escape.

By then it was too late for her to move. She felt the bile of the vomit entering her throat and she knew it wouldn't be long before she would have some relief. All she could do was lean over and wait for the release of food and liquor. She had a bad feeling about the two men and something told her to run but she didn't want the sour food and stench all over her. When she goes home her parents, especially her father, would know that she had been out drinking.

Still no relief, her head pounding and her stomach bubbling, she glanced to the side and the two men were headed in her direction.

Her head was down and before she could do anything, all she saw were their feet approaching her. They were wearing sneakers as they stood behind her. With her hands holding on to the building, she turned around looking for a way out and she vomited on their feet.

One of the men wearing white sneakers yelled, "The bitch threw up on my sneakers." Then he grabbed her long curly hair in his fist and jerked her head back and around to face him.

"What are you doing here alone?" The other man tall and with a gruff voice grabbed her and placed a large hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming.

The shorter one still angry about his sneakers looked around searching for her friends and said, "Bring her to the basement." When Hannah heard this, she knew that she was in serious trouble. Hannah gave out a muffled scream hoping someone going into the bar would hear her, but it was a quiet sound that had to compete with the noise of taxi horns, and music by Sam Smith playing in someone's apartment or the bar she didn't know which.

"No one will hear you, bitch," the short bald man said. Hannah tried to dig in her heels to keep from being taken. Her father had warned her against going willingly with an abductor. "Put up a fight," he said. "You know what will happen if someone gets you alone. You won't have a chance. And for God's sake stay off dark streets at night." She remembered his words during her struggle but it was too late.

The tall blond guy drugged her along as if she was a rag doll, but she was doing her best to drag her feet, scratch, and bite and fight while the other guy was watching out for anyone who came looking for her.

Where was Justin when she needed him, and why was she so stupid as to tell him that she didn't want his help?

As the two men managed to get her to the basement steps, she looked down at the open door. She had to do something before they got her behind that steel door. She opened her mouth wide and brought down her teeth on the soft skin between his thumb and finger. She bit him hard where he let her go and Hannah began screaming for help.

"That cunt bit me. I'll probably need a tetanus shot. I'm bleeding," the tall blond squealed.

When Hannah tried to run past the blond as she tried screaming over the sound of loud music and laughter from the bar, the short one still angry about his sneakers, came running and hit her with his fist and then backhand. Hannah crumpled and fell backward on an old soiled mattress.

"You didn't kill her did you?" He bent and placed his hand under her neck to check her pulse.

He stood looking at his friend. "She's not dead. Let's get her up and into the basement.

"We could fuck her here, and leave her body in that trash once we finish," the short one said as they stood over her trying to decide what to do, "they won't find her for months, maybe years buried under all that garbage in New Jersey."

****

"WHAT IF I TAKE HER with me, and you two go back to what it is you were doing before you saw her?" The voice hard with a high degree of coldness. A hardness that neither one had heard on the streets of New York. It was low and yet loud because of the deep timber in his voice. There was a threatening edge to it. Yet the two men thought nothing of it. They were predators of the worse kind and they didn't scare easy.

"She's ours. We saw her first," the tall blond said.

"I think you may have misunderstood me. I wasn't asking for your permission," the tall stranger stood six feet and he wore a black shirt, black pants, and a black duster over it. He had a day old growth of a dark beard on his face. His hair dark and full.

"Who are you? Do you think you're some kind of super-hero where you can take a bullet? The tall man the height of the stranger pulled from his pocket a chrome plated twenty-five and the short man a thirty-eight short barreled pistol and pointed it at the stranger."

"I'm your ultimate nightmare," the stranger said with a closed smile.

"My nightmares come at night, in my bed," the tall man said as he laughed loud turning to his friend and his friend laughing along with him.

"I am the night," the stranger said. "The first night, and the last night you will ever see." He stepped closer to the tall guy as his eyes changed color. "I don't want you to miss. Is this close enough?" The men weren't convinced yet. So they stood there with stupid grins on their faces.

A bullet rang out at close range and nothing happened to the stranger. On seeing this the short one took off down the alley and up a fire escape. Scurrying inside their seedy apartment, the window fell down with a bang. The tall one looked back watching his friend, unable to move. When he turned to the stranger, he saw him wrap his one hand around his throat.

He watched as the stranger's two large incisors slid down past his lips and he watched as the stranger leaned and plunged his teeth into his neck unable to move. He felt his life drain from his body.

With his legs flying and arms waving about and then going limp, he looked like a rag doll. His clothes falling from his shrunken body. A mere skeleton laying in the stranger's hand. All skull and large eyes looking back at the stranger. The stranger waved his hand and the garbage bin opened and he tossed the body inside and waved his hand and it closed.

The stranger looked down at Hannah lying on the soiled mattress.

The stranger stood over Hannah and reached for her. She still hadn't gained consciousness. He passed two fingers over her mouth to wipe her mouth of the man's blood. Bringing it to his lips he sucked his finger of the blood.

Looking down at her he thought how beautiful she was cradled in his arms and still, she wasn't cognizant of where she was and who was carrying her.

The stranger leaned into to her placing a strain of her reddish hair to the side, watching at her rosy mouth. He smelled her scent and became overwhelmed. It was her time of the month. He knew he shouldn't be around her because she was so tempting and aroused him like never before.

He had no will around this female. She was too beautiful and too alluring and would only be a distraction and the death of him sooner or later. But he needed to make sure she was ok before he released her.

He needed to savor her smell one last time, feel her warm skin, look into her youthful life-filled eyes before he could say goodbye.

As if he willed her to look at him, her eyelids opened and her green eyes stared up at him. He paused and looked at her. She was in his arms leaning her head against his chest. It had been many years and he couldn't remember when or if he ever felt this feeling for a human female. Maybe never until today.

It was a longing to be loved and to return that love. It was a longing to feel himself inside a warm body. Not any woman's body, her body.

Before he reached the sidewalk he said to her, "Do you remember anything?" His voice soft, soothing, and non-threatening." Hannah could see him in the faint window lights coming from the apartments and the sign from the bar. She stared at him unable to speak. His face magnificently handsome and pale with chiseled features and high cheekbones. His lips full over even teeth.

If she could wish for a man it would have been him. She could dream about him now. Her knight saved her. The man of her dreams who now would be only in her dreams.

Mesmerized at his gaze, her eyes followed up and she focused on his eyes. They were the bluest she had ever seen. Icy radiance, her first thought only had she seen that color once in new snow. His eyes glowed as he moved through the seamless darkness of the alley carrying Hannah.

For some reason, she wasn't afraid of him. She should have been, but because of what she remembered about the two men trying to rape her and kill her, she felt safe in the stranger's arms. So safe that she didn't want to leave him.

His presence affected her in ways she couldn't comprehend. She felt the power and charm he emitted. The power his body possessed over hers. To fight his power she knew she had to resist because she wanted to go with him and she didn't care where it was.

But where was she going with him, and where was he taking her?

Was she safe because she was still alive and hadn't been molested? "Please put me down. I can stand," she said with a tone of gratitude and strength. The stranger placed her on her feet. He raised his head as if taking in a breath. He was remembering how she smelled in his arms and how he would have to pull himself away from her before he forgot who he was and why he was out walking.

The stranger turned quickly sensing an approaching male.

Then Hannah heard Justin calling her name, "Hannah, where are you?" Hannah rushed in the direction of his voice emerging from the alley, she turned around to thank the stranger. He was gone. She looked up. He couldn't have vanished into the buildings. He wasn't dressed like he belonged in that neighborhood. The feel of his clothing, fine cloth, and expensive.

She stared into the darkness not believing her eyes. The alley behind her a dead end. "I'm here," she shouted when Justin didn't see her. He walked closer to the edge of the building and then peeped around it to see her eyes large with fright.

"What are you doing in that alley?"

"I felt sick and I didn't want anyone to see me throw up," she said her voice weak as she grabbed at Justin's arm.

"Why didn't you say that was the first time you drank liquor? You needed to eat first before you went out and drank Tequila. Stick with a beer if you must drink." He touched her hair and pulled it from her face.

"I don't think I'll be doing that again. I feel terrible and I'm sure I've looked better."

"Yeah you did," Justin tried patting her hair down, "before you walked into that alley. But you're still beautiful," He said sensing she needed a hug. He brought her to his chest and wrapped both arms around her. Looking down at her he kissed her forehead and said, "Don't you know better than to do something like that? Someone could have found you and raped you. There's a serial killer stalking women in this city. Let's get you home."

She didn't want to tell him just how close she had come to being raped if it hadn't been for that stranger but that would have completed the matter more than it was now. Because she began to wonder and question.

Why was he in the alley? Was he the serial killer? She dismissed that thought. He didn't need to kill women, he was too handsome. Now that was an ill thought. Maybe that's how he found his victims. But what was it about her if he was a killer? Why did he leave her alive if he was the one stalking and killing women?

Her thoughts were absurd and they made her smile but she shouldn't be smiling. She had more luck than sense.

Then Hannah stumbled along with Justin holding her, and into the light in front of the bar. "Sit down here." He gestured at a small oval table with two chairs. "I'm going in to tell the others that I'm taking you home. And don't go anywhere."

"What time is it?" Hannah asked. Justin reached into his pocket for his smartphone and glanced at it.

"It's eleven o'clock."

"Oh no." She let out a hard breath. "My father must have an Amber Alert out on me. And I have a test tomorrow in my English Lit class. I will have to stay up all night and read if I expect to pass. And I have to pass that class."

Hannah did as Justin said. She sat at one of the tables in front of the bar. It was a cold dark night and only one couple dared sit in the open patio. They must be in love and can't feel the cold, Hannah thought as she watching them kissing and looking lovingly at each other.

She turned away out of embarrassment and glanced the other way at the traffic and watched as the yellow cabs passing, and then she noticed that a black Lincoln SUV had stopped in front of the bar but no one exited.

It just set there in the no parking zone right in front of the dark windows up. She felt someone behind the window watching at her and when Justin came through the door it pulled off. She wondered if it was the stranger who had rescued her from the two men. She thought she should tell Justin about the two men trying to rape her and the tall stranger with a small clean shaven beard who came to her rescue. She decided against telling him.

Justin walked out holding her purse in his hands. He reached for Hannah and she stood weak legged and tried gathering a strong smile but she couldn't.

"Would you prefer to come to my apartment instead of facing your father?" Justin asked. He placed his hand on her hair. "You have puke in your hair and your white shirt is full of dirt. What were you doing in that alley?" He questioned brushing her jacket with the back of his hand.

"I don't remember," she said not meeting his eyes. "Maybe I could stop at your place and clean up first. Then go home."

"Stay here and don't go anywhere." He walked to the curb to hail a cab. The third cab stopped and he helped her in. He gave the address and it wasn't far from the bar.

When they stepped out of the cab in front of Justin's apartment, he saw the same limo. She knew it was the same because as the limo drove off she took notice of the license-plate and she remembered the number. Why was the car following her? She wondered.

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# Chapter Three

JOVANI THE PRODUCT of an aristocratic Italian family, lived the life of a playboy, drove fast cars and dated models. He lived in mansions only some can dream about. When he came to the United States he changed his last name to Nightingale. His Italian name too difficult to pronounce and too worrisome for anyone who wanted to forget everything associated with his name.

Looking for a new start, what better place than New York but with indescribable wealth, it became difficult for him to be inconspicuous, discreet, or unassuming.

In Manhattan as in all large cities, if you were looking to hide, you couldn't with your desire to live as you had before. Word spread fast like a racehorse out of the gate. He was the new blood in town. A blueblood prince who was maybe twenty-seven but no more than twenty-nine, and he wore no wedding rings, which meant that no woman had marked him yet.

When the local realtor contacted by his servant informed the woman that he could meet her only at night it didn't ring any bells. Playboys slept during the day and romped at night on one young willing woman after the next into the early mornings.

The only currency was money, not gossip, and he had more than enough to purchase a townhouse in the most affluent part of town and anything else the realtor could sell.

Seeking to bring this whale in, she made sure she checked his background where she discovered that he had old money. Money passed down from generation to generation. No fly by night make the money today and it's gone tomorrow kind of money. Therefore he became a prime candidate to pass off the deal of a lifetime. Sell him a townhouse, an apartment or anything else she could. By his reputation, he never looked at the price. A true aristocrat she thought.

Nina held his folder and IPad close to her chest when she agreed to meet him at seven pm.

Jovani Nightingale stepped out of his limo fifteen minutes late. Nina didn't care how long the wait, she would stay as long as possible even sleep on the couch if she had to. This would be a life-changing sale if she could pull this off and she would. She wouldn't take no. She wouldn't leave tonight without getting something for her time even if it was to stare into his gorgeous face and offer herself to him just for the bragging rights.

She watched at Jovani as he strutted in her direction as if walking on air. He wore an Italian suit made to fit his svelte body. Wide shoulders, small waist. His hair dark and his blue eyes lit up the approaching night sky.

"Mr. Nightingale it's a pleasure to meet you," Nina said holding out her hand and he glanced down at it and didn't shake her hand. It wasn't because he wanted to insult her it was because he didn't want her to ask questions or get too friendly. But one touch of his hand would reveal what he didn't want her to know--his body was cold as the temperature outside.

"I'm sorry but I have a thing about germs," he said with an arresting smile. His full mouth covered his white teeth so stunning and perfect that she had to catch herself. She stood gazing at him in awe.

He whispered, "Do you think we can see the rest of the place now? I don't think I can purchase it with just a look at the entrance."

"Sorry about that," she said after composing herself. They stepped off the elevator and entered the living quarters. This is a triplex. On each floor, you have living quarters and on the top floor, there is a pool. But first being a bachelor, you would want to see the bedroom." Nina smiled wide and seductive as she gazed into his eyes. He never averted his glance.

"Yes, of course," Jovani said. They opened the door to the bedroom it was enormous. He wouldn't need it. There was no woman to share his bed. The ones he thought he could share his life with, those of a vampire's life, had been forgotten in Italy. It was why he had moved to the US. He needed a fresh start and he hoped they were happy enough where they would never follow him. He wanted nothing of that dead life anymore.

But there was a part he couldn't ignore. The insatiable need for human blood and his quest to rid himself of its soul-numbing feelings. He thought if he could wean himself off of human blood he could feel again and love again.

There was also the realization that he couldn't run from being what he was and what he is. He needed to feed and he needed to feed regularly because of his youth and because he was turned as a young man. Being a hundred years old wasn't anything in the lifespan of a vampire. He had clothing that was a hundred years old.

"Mr. Nightingale. Mr. Nightingale." His thoughts were interrupted. "That's an interesting name to have. Nightingale. What does it mean?"

"A bird who sings at night," Jovani said looking out the closed glass terrace doors in his bedroom. "I'll take it."

"Did I hear you correctly?" Nina's voice breaking with excitement.

"Yes. And do you have any other properties I would be interested in?" Jovani questioned.

"Yes. An apartment."

"I'll take that as well."

"And a home in the Hamptons you will probably need one for summer months." He looked at her, "The Ocean. It's calm and quiet in the Hamptons if you have the right place."

Jovani turned and said, "I'll take that as well. My servant will transfer the money tonight. I expect the keys tomorrow."

"Of course."

"And can you recommend a decorator?"

"Yes of course. Anything else you would like?" She said with a suggestive warm smile.

"No Nina. I think that will be all," Jovani said. Nina didn't want to press her luck and she rushed to the elevator and then turned around placing the keys on the chest in the foyer. "I'm leaving the keys to the townhouse and the apartment. I'll send the keys to your Hampton home with a messenger tomorrow."

"Thank you. I will make use of them tonight." Nina didn't hear his last words.

After she left, Jovani called in Connor his man-servant. "We will stay here tonight. Then we'll move on to the apartment. I prefer an apartment. It's in the heart of Manhattan and where there are far more pedestrians and I can walk at night where it won't be obvious."

"What are you going to do about food?"

"In Manhattan, there's never a problem. There's always some unsavory killer roaming the streets looking for their next victim. I will kill them before they get a chance to harm anyone."

"That may be dangerous. Suppose you make a mistake?" Connor said.

"I never make mistakes. I'm a killer. I've killed in the war. I've killed when I was turned. I know how they think. I know what drives them to kill."

"You are driven to kill because of your need to feed."

"It is an addiction like all things that take over you." He raised an eyebrow, but I will conquer that addiction one day by drinking the blood of animals. Not men. I have no choice now and I'm satisfying my thirst with incurable killers.

"But how will you do that if you hunt killers and drink their blood? Won't that make your addiction worse?"

"I don't know how I will do it, I just know I must stay alive long enough to find an end to my cursed life. If I'm not successful, then I have to end this."

****

JOVANI BOUGHT THE PROPERTY but he had owned many properties in Manhattan before, and now they were worth millions if not billions. He bought his first property after the war. That was during year nineteen hundred and forty-five right after the end of World War II when he entered the US on a ship bound for Manhattan.

It was during the war Jovani was taken into service. It was then he became twenty-seven when a Captain ordered him to kill his countrymen and entire families that he refused and it was then he was turned into a vampire by the Captain and became the killer he never thought he could become. At the end of the war, with so much blood on his hands, he felt compelled to kill himself, but instead, he put a stake into the heart of the Vampire Captain.

After the war, Jovani traveled all over the Americas and Europe, from Italy to war-torn Germany to the US where he found himself in Manhattan alone, after creating his own family of Vampires throughout the world because of his need to feed on human blood.

Looking out at the Manhattan skyline and thinking about his life before and after his change, the servant Connor a young man in his thirties, a little older than Jovani, whom he met as a soldier when the US marched through Rome in May of nineteen forty-five, stood near the black grand piano looking down at Jovani playing Debussy's famous piece, Claire de Lune.

Jovani's hands and fingers moved effortlessly across the keys and he looked up and said, "Do you know who wrote this, Connor?"

"I know the music by not the composer. It sounds sad and lonely."

"Claude Debussy. It means in French, Moonlight. I will only be able to see moonlight. Never sunlight. That's why I play it to remind me that as long as I exist the only heavenly body I will ever see is the moon."

"This is your time, Jovani." Conner reached for his black cloak and held it for him. The car is ready and I thought tonight would be a fitting time for you. You do good work, Mr. Nightingale. You rid the world of scum who harms innocent people." Jovani placed his arms through the sleeves of the cloak.

"I have done awful things too."

"I know. But that was war and that was in the past. You helped me when I was close to death. I was wandering around lost from my platoon when you found me covered under snow."

"It wasn't my humanitarian nature that I saved you. I had no humanity left in me."

"You have more than you know. And you have a future even if you can't see it. A long one." Jovani looked at Connor with a small closed smile.

"What do we have tomorrow? I thought we could inspect my home in the Hamptons. It's near the ocean. I think I may like that."

"Friday night you have an event to attend." Jovani raised one eyebrow. His face turned sullen and he placed an open hand to his brow.

"Can't we not go? I'm tired of all those silly parties. The women who invite me are hoping I either marry their daughters or their friends. I'd like to stay in. Play my music and read."

"I didn't think you would tire of parties. There among the wealthy are frivolous and detestable people young and old who live to bring misery to the world. Those in their small circle know about them but would never say. If one of them disappears, no one misses them. They think they have gone off to their mountain chalets to ski maybe broke a leg, died in a snowstorm, unable to cause any more harm."

"Go over the guest list and make sure they don't have a family. I hate to take a man from his family," Jovani said to Connor. "If they are murders I can make an exception."

"Why haven't you turned a woman? Don't you get lonely, sir?"

"Sometimes. But I've never met a woman whom I've wanted and who would want to share the life of a vampire with me."

"Do you give them a choice? Can't you leave her mortal? You don't have to change her."

"I've thought about doing that but then I have to wipe her memory of me if she doesn't agree to be with me. But I've never met a woman with that kind of understanding. Imagine telling her that I'm a vampire but I think I'm a good vampire and if she falls in love with me, then she will always have me to herself but with one exception. She will have to be a night person because that's the only time she will get a chance to be with me."

"Strange things have happened. That's not a bad line. One could fall for it. It's like anything else. No one is what they seem and if she understanding she will see that as being weird. Women like weird men and they overlook that as eccentric behavior."

"Strange things do happen. You and I are almost the same age when we met, have you known of any vampires who have married a human without changing her first?"

"I can't say I have," Jovani said gliding in the direction of the door that leads to the garage. "You should try wearing a heavy coat, Mr. Nightingale. It looks very strange that you're walking around with that thin duster on when it's freezing outside."

"Nothing is thought of as strange in Manhattan. Just different."

Jovani button the cloak and turned, "People think I'm eccentric. In the US all foreigners are peculiar if they don't understand them. Especially if they don't eat the same foods."

"I'll take the elevator down to the garage and I'll meet you in front of the building with the car," Connor suggested.

"Very well, but I could get there in a second with you," Jovani said.

"Security never sees you, and it would do you good to speak to them every once and a while. I suspect we'll be riding around until dawn. I've been trailing this man. He has no family and he walks all hours during the day and night."

Connor disappeared into the elevator and retrieved the Lincoln SUV and parked it in front of the building. As he was pulled the SUV and angled it to the curb, Jovani stepped outside of the open door as the doorman tipped his cap to him.

It was the first time Conner saw a smile on Jovani's face. He knew him to be a brooding man and Connor thought if he had a companion, a mortal or an immortal, he wouldn't be so sullen. He would have someone to share his life with.

Jovani didn't desire a vampire female, he wanted a human and because Connor knew of that desire he felt that Jovani would forever be alone and forever unhappy.

A vampire such as Jovani who can't live with himself and live without love would very soon be asked to be put to death. And it would be Connor who would have to do the deed. Connor didn't want to think of that and that's why he tried to encourage him to consider revealing himself to the woman he would want to spend his life with.

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# Chapter Four

WHEN JOVANI STEPPED out of his black limousine, he glided behind a man he had been watching for two days. Jovani quiet, ordinary, except for his extraordinary good looks, wearing dark clothing went unnoticed.

It was late and the women's dorms were full with young women readying themselves for bed. Some walked around with only towels after a shower. Some were bare-breasted with nothing on but panties, not aware that they could be seen at a distance because of open curtains, open blinds, and binoculars clutched tightly in the hands of a vile predator.

Jovani stood firm and silent behind the man, looking down at him, then saying, "Why are you standing near the women's dorms looking in the window?" His voice like a knife.

The man became stiff with fear of his discovery as he turned with a jerk of his body. His eyes wide his mouth opened with no sound coming from it. His expression surprise and then intense as he glared at Jovani.

He was a short balding man in his late forties with a protruding belly but to Jovani he wasn't a man who appeared to have children or a wife. A wife would inquire about his whereabouts because Jovani had seen him on more than one occasion wandering through different neighborhoods after ten pm.

Conner had discovered that he was divorced, and he had regularly beaten his wife, at least that's what the police reports said.

Finally getting his courage, the man said, "What's it to you?" his voice shaky at first and then it grew bold, "If you must know, I'm checking on my daughter. She was supposed to be in the dorm room but she isn't there." He turned to walk away.

Jovani discovered in his drives through and walks through different areas good and bad that there was this kind all over the city. Opportunistic predators and he should know because he had been one of them.

"Would you care for a ride somewhere?" Jovani asked. His voice low and less threatening.

He glanced up at Jovani. "No. Just a ride to the subway."

Predators have a false sense of their abilities, Jovani thought. They are crafty and like to deceive others. They seem to think that they can spot their own.

But Jovani appeared to be one of the good guys. Not like him. Not cold and fearless. Not driven by a habit--a desire for killing.

After looking Jovani over from his head to his feet, the man determined that Jovani was harmless, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that there was a strangeness to him that he couldn't figure out.

Connor stepping out of the limo dressed in his dark suit and white shirt didn't meet the man's eyes. He opened the door to the limo, and the balding man entered. "You have some set up here," he said after he slid in next to the right window. He stared out at the building through the tinted window and let out a sigh.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Don't mind if I do," the man said as Jovani picked up the decanter containing the liquor and handing him the glass then poured him half a glass until the man waved that it was enough.

"Ice?"

"I don't take my liquor with ice." He drank all of the scotch and then he began talking. "I like little girls," he said.

"You have a daughter, I would think you would like little girls," Jovani added.

"I like to do things to them," he said reaching for another drink after Jovani conveniently poured it for him. The man looked up at Jovani with both raised eyebrows and shot a smile that was almost a wink. Did he sense the other about Jovani? The strangeness that made them more alike than before?

"I don't understand what you mean," Jovani said his voice low. And then Jovani's attention was drawn away from the conversation as they passed the Maze Bar. It was then he heard a faint muffled cry. Jovani hit a button and said, "Connor stop. I have to get out. Take this man to the subway and meet me back."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure." Connor stopped the limo. Jovani glanced over at the man. His head lay lolled to one side resting on the window. He had passed out from the liquor.

"Do you mind if I..." Jovani ignored Connor because something or someone was calling to him. He had to see if the woman was in distress and he didn't know why he did. He never thought of himself as an angel of mercy.

He was the night. A demon of the night, cold and heartless. He had never stopped being that. He just didn't want to be a slave to the blood of men. He had to find another form of feeding and he was determined to try. But because of his nature and the desire to hunt man for his food, he had to continue stalking men who prey on his own kind.

To Jovani's mind, that is what made them so despicable. He knew he had to kill to live, but he thought these predators had a choice. They weren't killing for food to live. They were killing for the pleasure of the kill.

These men weren't hunting women and men because they had to feed on their blood, they were hunting them because they enjoyed it. Jovani never enjoyed what he had to do to exist. And if he didn't find a way to extricate himself from drinking human blood, then he would walk into the sunlight and commit suicide because he couldn't do this any longer. He couldn't justify his existence.

He was unhappy and had nothing and no one to share his life with.

Jovani strolled into the alley near the Maze Bar. He saw a young woman being imprisoned by two men. He knew what they had on their minds. They were predators and they were going to rape the young woman and then do away with the body, and he knew where they would stash the body after they defiled her. It would be in the large garbage bin setting visibly in the alleyway.

They didn't hear him as he approached them. They didn't hear him until he asked them to give the woman to him. If they had recognized him for what he was and what he tried to hide for so many years, then he may have let them live, or maybe not.

When he killed one and the other disappeared, he wasn't worried. He would be back. Maybe not today but sometime in the future when the other man thought everything was over and done with.

All Jovani thought about was the woman in his arms. He was attracted to her like he had never been to another woman alive or dead. He took in her youthful fresh scent and he smelled her. The sour smell of liquor and food on her breath didn't mask the sweet smell of her youth and beauty. He couldn't smell anything but her warm tantalizing blood.

She was having her cycle and the smell of her blood was too intoxicating for him.

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# Chapter Five

JOVANI HAD TO GET AWAY from Hannah but first, he had to make sure she was safe.

He had to find someplace to bring her to revive her. He glanced up at the roof of the building but that would pose a problem. He couldn't explain to her why they were there and how he got her up there.

Needing her more than he ever experienced before with a female, he didn't want to leave her. So he thought about bringing her to his apartment. However, that wasn't a viable option. How could she be with him with the temptation of her sweet blood, without turning her into what he was? He questioned himself as he held her in his arms and glanced down at her sleeping.

He didn't want her to become what he was. He wanted a warm bloodied woman. There was no answer coming and he decided that someday he would have her. But not today. He had to leave her.

When she looked up at him and asked him to put her down, he happily gave in to her wish.

Before he could ask her name, some young man a few years younger than he, strode out of the bar calling for Hannah. That was her name. Hannah. He liked the sound of it. He liked her face and her hair and how small she felt curled up in his arms. But most of all it was how her heartfelt beating next to his chest.

A young strong steady heart. A heart he could never feel again in his chest beating for a woman he loved. He closed his eyes and imagined that heartbeat for him. He imagined that her heart was his and beat for Hannah.

He liked how she needed him that moment in time and how grateful she appeared to be when she looked into his eyes and saw only a protector and not a night demon and her heart never raced in fear of him.

He liked her eyes and her mouth. He liked everything about her. When she turned to thank him, he wasn't there. Jovani stood watching her and the young man from the top of the building. He glanced down to see the young man ask her to sit and wait for him and he saw his limo turning the corner and stop. He trod toward it and entered. Connor wasn't surprised to see Jovani. He would return quickly to the limo after he had fed.

"I thought you were weaning yourself off human blood?"

"I was, but it seems that some humans won't let me. I gave them a way out. I asked them to leave the girl and I would take care of her, but instead like all greedy monsters, they refused. He was just a necessary inconvenience."

"And the girl?"

"Pull over in front of the bar and stop. I want to see her one more time." Jovani's voice forlorn as if he thought he would never lay eyes on Hannah again. As if she wasn't real and his heart would stop beating if he couldn't get a look at her. But his heart had stopped beating many years before, but he had the desire of a young man in love, which hadn't stopped.

Abstaining from sex was another way to curb his desire for the blood of humans. He no longer engaged in sex because he thought the addiction to blood was in some way entwined with his desire for a woman and so he withdrew from relationships. It had been over fifty years since his last encounter with a woman and it didn't go well.

Jovani thought he loved the woman and he would be with her through her lifespan, but during heated passion, and with her permission, he began feeding on her blood, and when he opened his eyes, she lay under him naked a shrunken skeleton of skin and bones. The sight of what he had done made him vow to himself to never love or care for a human again. And because he was tortured by what he had done, either he would find something to free himself or he would free himself of his existence.

And now he found himself again in love. It was more intense than anything that had ever happened to him. It was more consuming of mind and body. He couldn't pinpoint when it happened. It just happened. Was it when he looked into the warmth of her green eyes or was it when he felt the warmth of her skin and took in the smell of her blood that he wanted to possess her? All of her and he never did he want to let her out of his sight. He wanted to stare at her, caress her and kiss her and make love to her which could prove deadly.

And that's why he had to stay away from her. But could he?

Where did that emotion come from; how can I not see her when I ache for her now, More than the desire to feed on blood?" he questioned.

The desire to hear and feel her heart against his empty cold body and to love to her and have her love him in return consumed his mind.

In the past when he turned a woman by tasting her blood during sexual intercourse, he thought that was love, where she would be devoted to him. But it's different now. He wanted to become Hannah's slave. He wanted to devote all of himself to her. Give her his kingdom. Or give up his kingdom of riches and vampires if that was what she asked of him. Live the life of a devoted husband who works at night and sleeps during the day.

He could do it. He could do it for Hannah. He could do it for love.

Jovani sat in the car and watched at Hannah as she fiddle with her long strawberry blond curls. She appeared to be a nervous sort. Maybe unhappy. He wanted to make her happy. What could he do to see a smile on her face, and created a yearning for him? It became clear to him that he had to have her at any cost?

Waiting in the car long enough, he could see the relationship between Hannah and the young man. He determined at a glance that she didn't love him. Not that it would stop him from wanting her or leaving her to that man if she loved him. He would find some way to convince her. After all, he had all the time in the world.

The young man stood with her purse on his shoulder and handed it to her. Her expression never changed from the painful look she had in her eyes. If he had meant anything to her, and she to him, he wouldn't have left her alone. He would have stayed to protect her and therefore those men wouldn't have approached her.

Jovani began to blame the guy for leaving Hannah to be taken. He didn't protect her enough from men like that or a man like him. The thought of how he felt about himself stirred him and he didn't want to think about it anymore.

"I've seen enough. You can take me home now. I think Hannah is safe." Connor steered the limo to the right and the car slid effortlessly into the traffic.

"That's a nice name. Hannah," Connor said to Jovani as he peered at him in the rear car mirror.

Jovani still apprehensive and unsure about it all paused and put his fist under his chin. "It appears I should prepare myself for Hannah. I would need to convince her that I'm the one for her." A smile crossed his face and he sat back at ease watching the people walking around and window shopping. He spotted a man and a woman about Hannah's age looking into Tiffany's and the woman pointing to a ring. Then she kissed him and jumped up and down.

He wanted to see that joy and love from Hannah. He wanted that life that the young man and woman had. At that moment he forgot who he was and what he was. He forgot everything and everybody except Hannah.

"What made you change your mind, Mr. Nightingale?" He didn't answer. "I mean about our talk. Are you sure you're ready? What about Sasha?" He hadn't thought about Sasha in years. She must have forgotten about him. When Jovani focused on the conversation Connor was still asking questions.

"Don't you think you should wean yourself off human blood before you start a relationship with the girl?"

"Her name is Hannah," Jovani said distractedly.

"Sorry, sir. But how do you know Hannah will like you? Do you plan to use your powers on her?"

"I would never make her fall in love with me. I want her to love me in her own time."

"What if she doesn't?" Jovani had no answer to that question nor was he prepared to live without her. She had to fall in love him and be willing to give up everything and everyone to be with him. His love was deep for Hannah, but was it or would it be that way for her, otherwise what good was it to even be in love, he thought.

"Sir, you never answered my questions about Sasha."

"I didn't answer you Connor because I don't want to be reminded of that unfortunate time in my life. I can never free myself of that and I'm happy as long as I don't think about her. Someday I will have to face her and I will have to tell her that she will have to find another master. She is free to do as she wishes. I can no longer reign over her and the others."

"Master, did you think about freeing Sasha now?"

"I thought of that. It's all I've been thinking about. But she has this notion that she's mine and belongs to me as if we were married. Vampires can't marry. We take mates but we can never marry each other."

He had practiced that speech over and over trying to convince himself of Sasha's intentions, but he knew she would never give him up. She had been searching for Jovani for a century. He thought if he gave her everything she needed, she would let him go and find another vampire she deemed worthy of her cruelty. And she did, but that wasn't enough for her. She still wanted and desire Jovani.

She needed to make him her slave as she had been to him.

Once Jovani freed her he would no longer be bound to protect her from the older vampires.

Jovani had turned her when she was eighteen and her thirst for blood became intense. He didn't realize then the consequences of that decision simply because he didn't want to be lonely in the world. He wanted companionship and he found it but he didn't know Sasha was a psychopath.

Because Jovani was handsome, charming and exceedingly rich, all manner of women would flock to his parties. The parties were notorious and would go on for days. At first, Sasha enjoyed the idea that she had the most desirable vampire and man as he was thought of, but the attention that they gave Jovani was too much for her to bare, and if women or men looked on him with desire, she would torture them in the most obscene ways.

The vampires Sasha turned she would command them to rape and drain the bodies of every ounce of blood and leave the corpses for the police to see and for Jovani to know that these were the women who she suspected had fucked him.

Young women were disappearing all over the globe, but Venice was awash in the blood and bodies of young women especially the ones who had been last seen at Jovani's parties, or at his many villas in Italy. Although he assured Sasha that he cared for her and she was special to him, it didn't matter. She would send the vampires out to drain them of blood after she had her turn with them first.

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# Chapter Six

"HANNAH, HOW DID IT go last night?" Gabriela all smiles caught Hannah by the arm as she headed for the lecture room door. Walking with her head down and clutching her book like she was in high school, Hannah glanced up and felt relieved it was Gabriela. She liked her. Gabriela wasn't the snooty rich girl who would never talk to her. Hannah found a kindred spirit with Gabriela.

They had the same interest in reading and movies. But it seems that's where it ended. Gabriela was more sexual than Hannah. And Hannah would be mortified if she had two men chasing her at the same time.

"Ok," Hannah said meeting Gabriela's indiscreet brown eyes.

"Just okay. I heard you were over at Justin's apartment after you walked outside. You never came back to say you were leaving."

"Didn't Justin tell you?"

"No, he didn't. That could be dangerous you know. Justin isn't one of us." Hannah didn't know what she meant and it was the first time she had included that in her conversation. It was different than what she had heard from Gabriela. But did she mean that she was one of them? Hannah was never one of them. She never had the money or the lineage to be one of them. Her family couldn't be traced back to the revolutionary war or the first migration from Ireland.

Hannah glanced at her and slanted her head to the side, and narrowed her gaze, a bit confused.

Gabriela felt the need to clarify what she meant. "I mean we just met him. One day he just showed up and started following us around and he became a part of the group. We still didn't know where he came from or if he's a student here."

"He appeared to be a nice person. Non-threatening. Concerned for my welfare," Hannah said. Have you talked to him and what did he say that you would ask me about this?" Hannah curious about what Justin would say about her.

"He didn't say anything, as a matter of fact, he was reserved, but I figured if you went to his apartment you must have been serious about him. I didn't know you to date much or even go somewhere alone."

"I don't. I have to get to my last class," Hannah said trying to get away from Gabriela before she asked her more questions. It's not that she was secretive but there just wasn't anything to tell. Except she met a stranger that prevented her from being raped and killed. A stranger that she felt so attracted to that she would have gone with him anywhere if Justin hadn't come along just in time.

When she left with Justin and cleaned up at his apartment, he was a perfect gentleman. He handed her a cloth to wash her face and even gave her a new toothbrush to wash the sour taste from her mouth. And then he offered to pay for a taxi home and she refused. She used her money for books to pay for the taxi.

Hannah and Gabriela walked in silence navigating through students on their way to class. Hannah stopped at the door leading to a classroom.

"I'm here, too. These Saturday classes are bummers. Why don't we skip and go window shopping and then we can go to my house. I promised my mother that I would stay in and not hang out because she's having a party tonight. The guest of honor is some billionaire who happens to be hot. I mean sizzling hot. I saw his picture in the New York Times. The kind guy you would want to lay down and let him have his way with you. Not once but over and over again. And from what I hear from my mother, he's a sex addict."

"Why would she think he's a sex addict?"

"How should I know," Gabriela said. "If my mother knew I had been having sex with two guys she would send me in for therapy. I guess I'm a sex addict because I like it a lot. You need to try it if you haven't. You can't go around being a virgin all your life. You're missing out on a lot. I mean a lot." Gabriela laughed and opened the door to the room.

They walked in the lecture hall and sat down and Gabriela was still talking. "Well, it's too late now to get out of this class." She sighed. "I guess we should at least stay we might learn something."

"I have to stay. Remember I have to bring my grade point average up or I can say goodbye to my scholarship."

"Then I hope you don't mind if I text my boyfriends." Hannah glanced over and shook her head.

"Go ahead." Hannah leaned over to Gabriela and whispered, "I didn't know you were dating both Chase and Bryan. How do you get away with it?"

"They don't mind. They know I like them for a different reason and neither one wants to see me with the other so we work it out somehow. As long as I can have both of them, it's great for my self-esteem and sex life. I have a terrific time with both of them."

"You don't do them both at the same time?"

Gabriela leaned to Hannah and said, "I wanted to, but they were just too chicken to go along with it. Didn't want the other to think that their dick was smaller than the others."

"Is that the only reason?"

"They never gave me a reason. I just came up with that on my own." Hannah stopped talking and looked up at the PowerPoint presentation and tried to follow along as the professor continued his lecture.

Gabriela lowered her head and checked Snapchat and Facebook. Then she posted a picture of her, Chase, and Bryan on Instagram eating and drinking at a cafe. When Gabriela glanced around the room students were gathering their backpacks and the hour class was over. She rose stretched and took a deep breath as if the class had been so demanding on her mind and body.

"Well that's over with," Gabriela said. "Come on, Hannah, let's get out of here." They walked outside with the few students left on campus who bravely and diligently gave up their Saturdays for a class in creative writing.

"Why are you taking this class, Gabriela? You were the best writer in high school. I need it to keep my grade point average up."

"I need to get out of my house and away from my parents. They still think I'm a little girl. That can be suffocating. And they don't go anywhere. They just have these parties and everyone who's anyone their age and younger comes. It's a real madhouse and boring as hell. If only they would go to their lodge in California. Then I could have a party myself. And now I'm stuck with them again, and I have to spend my Saturday night acting like a good little girl."

"That could be fun. At least your parents have parties. Mine complain about how they can't afford to go anywhere. Not even to the movies. They blame me for their golden years being a disaster. They seem to think it was those private schools that sucked up all their funds when in fact my grandmother left me money to go to college and they spent it all."

"That's a bummer."

Gabriela glanced over to Hannah. It was the first time Hannah had said something about her home life. "Why don't you come over and we can sneak the guys into the house. My parents will be busy and they won't know they're in there."

"Do you think we should?" Hannah questioned.

"We're crazy if we don't," Gabriela leaned into Hannah and whispered as if they were planning a robbery and she thought someone would hear.

"I have to ask my parents first."

"You are too old to have to ask your parents. Just text them and say you'll be staying the night with me. I'll have my mother call them and tell them you're with me. No one refuses my mother. She had been trying to get Mr. Nightingale to come to our party for a year. And when she finally talked to him, he said he would be there."

"I don't know. My father can be difficult."

"Grow up. What they don't know won't hurt them. All you do is go to school. I've watched you come to class and go home and do little else. It's going to be fun take my word for it. When was the last time you had fun?" Hannah glanced at Gabriela thinking about what she should do.

Turning around when Gabriela heard her name called, she saw Justin and waved at him. He strode over to them. "What are you doing tonight?" Gabriela said to Justin. He looked at a quiet Hannah into her own thoughts.

"Oh no. Not for me. For Hannah. She wanted to invite you over to a party. Well, the party is at my house." Hannah glared at Gabriela with wide eyes.

Hannah wished Gabriela had consulted her before she invited Justin. She likes him. He was good-looking in a cute way with classical features. He was tall and built with muscles in his chest and arms. She liked that he was taller than her and he had a nice body. But she wasn't hot for him. Not the way she should be. She wanted her temperature to rise when she saw him but it never did. She wanted her heart to beat faster and her face to blush but that never happened either. So she settled for what she felt now--nothing. Only friendship.

By the look on Justin's face flashed that he was more than happy to say yes and he did. "What time should I be there?"

"Come around ten."

"But I go to bed at ten," Hannah said.

"Not tonight," Gabriela said. And we have all the pizza we can eat. My mother's maid is bringing it down from Brooklyn. The best pizza in the world."

"That sounds great," Justin said and kissed Hannah on the cheek before she could move away, and then he waved and trotted out of the building.

"Looks like Justin has his eyes on you."

"I wouldn't say that and why did you invite him?"

"It would be awkward with me and my men and you all alone. Although I could loan you

Chase for the night."

"No thank you, and from now on, let me decide who I want to spend my time with."

"Don't get upset. I thought you would like some company. We can watch movies in my movie room and it could be like a date night at the movies. We have some advance copies of Academy Award-nominated movies. But they suck with all the old people. But I have other movies. They're rated R and then there are the X rated ones." She raises both eyebrows.

"The R rated ones will be okay. I have to stop at home first and get something to change into." Hannah lived on the lower west side in an apartment building. Her parents were teachers who were always one step from poverty and that had her nervous and upset most of the time. It seemed that colored her life.

Gabriela grabbed Hannah's hand and pulled her outside. "Look. I have all the clothes you will need. We're the same size. You are a size six, so don't worry I have tons of new stuff. When I say everything, I have it all. Being an only child of rich parents, they buy you whatever you want. If you need bras and panties I have boxes of them from Victoria Secret unopened."

"Do you want to take the subway?" Hannah asked as she stepped to the sidewalk.

"Fuck no. I wouldn't be caught dead on it, but then if I rode it, I could be caught dead. We're going by taxi. When my mother is out shopping she takes the limo and she adds extra money in my bank account for travel. They offered to buy me a car but I can't drive."

"I can drive and I can't afford a car."

"Good then maybe we can use my mother's old Porsche to tool around in. She got it for a present for graduation. It's old but it's in great shape not too much mileage. She's been trying to give it to me for years. You can teach me how to drive," Gabriela said holding on to Hannah's arm.

"That could be impossible in Manhattan."

"Not to worry. We've got a home in the Hamptons. You can come with me for the summer and teach me."

"I have to get a job to pay for next year's tuition."

"You'll pass your classes. You're smart. Do you think I can pass those classes? My mother and father give a big endowment to the school every year. If I don't get an A, someone will lose their job."

Gabriela raised her hand and a cab stopped. The two girls climbed into the car and the driver took off angling the car uptown to a large concrete and glass building on Park called Billionaire's Row between fifty-six and fifty-seven street. When they were in front of her building, Gabriela bounded out after paying. Hannah glanced up mystified. How many people live in this building?"

"Just us. I have the top three floors. And we have a pool. We can go for a swim when the party gets started on the first floor.

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# Chapter Seven

MALLORY MCCLOUD BLOND and attractive who loved to wear the latest fashions and by all measures could have been a model when she was in high school. She made the rounds to modeling agencies bringing her portfolio accompanied by her mother who had spent good money to pay for all the singing and dancing lessons.

She didn't want to disappoint her mother so she went along with her mother's dreams. Her mother had been a stage actress but never quite made it to Hollywood and had dreams of Mallory becoming what she had always dreamed of but couldn't attain.

She didn't have the heart to tell her mother that she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps and her brothers. So after high school, she went into criminal law and then became a detective.

She thought she should have gone to be an FBI agent but her father talked her out of it. He wanted her near the family so she stayed at home in New Jersey and commuted to a Manhattan precinct.

Every day she wondered why she didn't go into modeling especially when she has to be confronted with pictures of dead girls thrown across her desk. And pictures of some who have been missing for generations.

"We've got another one for you," Detective Bell said dropping a picture on her desk. One more heinous than before. "We're never going to catch this scum."

"Then what are we doing here? We can't stop these killings. We just go around and pick up the corpses. Did you get me a name of any recently purchased property in the area? Maybe as far back as a year or two."

"There only seem to be one name that comes up and he's been buying up all the buildings within a square mile radius. And he moved in about a year ago. That's when the killings began."

"Not quite." Mallory sat at the edge of her desk thumbing through the crime photos. "The killings of the young girls began before he's alleged to buy property in Manhattan. Maybe we're looking for two killers."

Detective Mallory leaned near her computer and retrieved a picture of the suspect. "Good looking guy isn't he, and he's got money to burn," Detective Bell said looking at her computer monitor. She thought the same but didn't want to appear unprofessional.

She hadn't got to become a detective on her good looks. Blond hair and blue eyes. Legs that went on for days as one detective referred to her as she promptly warned him not to make that remark again or any concerning her.

Mallory was cold and exact in her work. She didn't care who she had to arrest she would without hesitation.

"On my way home, I'll stop at Mr. Jovani Nightingale's apartment."

"Just be careful."

"I can take care of myself." Mallory placed her black leather jacket over her white shirt and pants and walked out of the station and into her car. She drove through this neighborhood of expensive townhomes and apartments every evening going back and forth over the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey.

Detective Mallory pulled up to a convenient parking space in the circular driveway and stepped out at the front of the building. The doorman opened the door and she showed him her badge and strode up to the security desk.

"I would like to see Mr. Nightingale. Tell him Detective Mallory would like to speak to him."

"I have to see if he's in." The guard a young man on the night shift spoke to someone. He turned and said, "He's in and he'll see you now. Just get into the elevator and it will take you up to his residence and the door will open and you'll be there."

The young man watched her as she strode to the elevator. She didn't have the walk of a beautiful woman who once modeled, but she was all of that and more. She walked in a manner that you knew she meant business even as she placed her hand on her gun as if it was a barbell you find in a gym.

Before she entered the elevator, she heard the younger guard say to the older more seasoned one sitting next to him, as he tapped his shoulder, and pointed to Mallory, "She's hot. I could go for her."

The older guy looking up from his screen remarked, "She's a cop for God's sake. She could arrest you for looking at her too long."

Mallory turned and smiled with a mouth full of beautiful white teeth. A present from her mother when she thought Mallory would be a model or actress. That had cost her a pretty penny. Before she stepped into the elevator she gave him a half salute acknowledging that she had heard every word said earlier. Then she entered the elevator and the door closed with her smiling.

It took only a second for the elevator to zoom up and then open. Stepping into a room of black and white Italian marble floors with expensive furnishing and a grand piano, and expecting to be greeted immediately, she looked around. The floor to ceiling windows provided a great view of the Manhattan skyline.

A sound came from an intercom, "Please have a seat, Miss McCloud. Would you like a drink or something to eat?"

"No, thank you. I'm on duty." That was a lie but she hadn't taken up the habit of drinking yet. Maybe one day when she couldn't stand to see any more pictures of dead bodies, then she might have to drink to make it through the day, but today wasn't that day.

Mallory glanced around the room with its eclectic furniture. It looked like a collection of antiques and modern furniture. She walked over to paintings on the wall. She leaned forward to see the artist. Once she saw the name, she whispered, "There must be a mistake. These paintings were lost during World War II.

"Do you enjoy looking at beautiful art, Miss McCloud?" Mallory jumped because she didn't hear him approaching. And when she turned she turned to see Jovani standing close behind her.

"It's Detective McCloud," she said with authority mixed in her voice with a softness that she didn't think she possessed anymore. Just gazing at Jovani awakened her female instinct.

"You haven't answered my question. Do you enjoy looking at beautiful art?" She smiled because she wanted to say not as much as looking at a beautiful man. But it wouldn't be professional and she didn't come here to admire how handsome Jovani looked dressed in his black tux."

"I'm sorry to intrude. I see that you're going out."

"Yes, I am. But I will be more than glad to answer your questions." Jovani extended his hand out pointing in the direction of the sofa. She sat and he sat across from her facing her. "I hope you don't mind a fire. I'm cold most of the time."

"No, not at all, I like a good fire. Do you live here alone?"

"I have a servant. And a cleaning lady. But then you didn't come here to ask me about my living arrangements or the number of people I employ."

"No, I didn't. I'm here following a tip. There have been killings in this area of men such as yourself. They are rich and alone. However, they are not as young as you and I suspect that you are never alone." Mallory smiled thinking that a man like him would have women coming and going. And then she caught herself and sat up straight in the professional manner she had polished for years.

She straightened up and this time she didn't smile. She didn't want to give the wrong impression. She had worked hard not to give the wrong impression, but he was so damned handsome that she didn't mind him thinking that she was attracted to him. Maybe this one time.

Jovani's good looks and charm had clouded many eyes, young and old male and female, and they were never able to see him for what he was, and that was a vampire. But then Mallory never would have thought about him being a vampire because there was no such thing as a vampire.

"I mean, Mr. Nightingale..." He cut her conversation off because he knew what she meant.

"Call me Jovani."

"That's an interesting name."

"It's Italian. My family came from Italy."

"How perfect. I'm Irish and my family came from Ireland." Why did she say that? Mallory thought. And why doesn't he respond to her the way most men do when they first meet her. They usually look at her as if they could undress her. Jovani did not. And she wondered why.

She had never reacted to a man so casually as if they were out on a date. She stood because he was making her nervous. Just being near him made her feel. Well she didn't know how it made her feel. It was the way he looked at her. His blue eyes staring at her and she staring back not knowing what to ask him and not remembering that she had a question to ask him.

"I have to go now. I just wanted to remind you that we have a killer around and for you to take precautions. Get a bodyguard if you have to until we catch him."

Jovani stood alongside her. "Do you have a suspect?"

"No. Not yet. We're questioning everyone and warning them. You don't get that many killings in this area, especially the cold bloodied way in which...she stopped and Jovani thought he saw a shiver come over her, "but lately it has spiked. We think it's a madman by the way he's been killing and disposing of the victims. He leaves them where they lay. It's a strange thing."

"What's a strange thing? You said man. It could be a woman." Both Jovani and Mallory had said too much. He too interested and she opened up to him. But she couldn't help herself. She couldn't remember the last time she saw an impeccably dressed man and one too beautiful to be called a human.

After a pause and silence filling the room, Jovani said, "Do you need a ride?"

"I have my car." And Jovani walked her to the elevator and she stepped in. When she turned to face him and get one last look at that beautiful man, he hit a button and it took her down to the first floor. She had forgotten why she had come to the apartment and suddenly she remembered when the fresh air hit her face.

All Mallory thought about was how attractive Jovani was and how much she enjoyed being near him. Never had she felt that before. That was a first for her and it would not be her last time seeing him even if she had to make up a lie to be in his company.

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# Chapter Eight

GABRIELA'S MOTHER HAD called Hannah's parents and made arrangement for her to stay for a movie night. Just as Hannah and Gabriela had dressed, Gabriela got a ping on her phone. "It's the boys," Gabriela said. "Not yours. He hasn't arrived yet. I hope he comes before the guest gets here. I don't want my mother nosing around up here."

"How are they going to get in if they don't come through the front?" Hannah asked.

"These old buildings have a back entrance. There is a staircase that takes them all around and up to my residence. Like that my mother thinks I'm in the room when I'm not. I can come and go when I want to and she's none the wiser."

"How is it that your parents don't know about this entrance?"

"It was my grandmother's mansion and she showed me all these keen places I could hide and how I could hide my boyfriends from my parents. My grandmother was very progressive. She didn't believe in a girl being a virgin until she married. She said a woman needed to be in love and have sex and an orgasm with the intended man before she married. Otherwise, a woman could spend her life unfulfilled."

"You talk as if sex and love are all there is to life."

"My grandmother would say that it is. How else are you to know what men to stay clear of or who to marry? You have to have good sex even if it's the kind you see in that movie about bondage. There are some strange men out there. A lot of Christian Greys lurking around waiting to tie a woman up, whip her ass and fuck her senseless. I wished I had one but all I get are these boys that I have to teach how to satisfy me."

"Why would you want a man like that?"

"Because being a virgin is stupid in this technology age. No men want virgins. And no woman wants a boy who doesn't know what his dick and tongue are for." Hannah sat glued to her seat leaning wide-eyed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. What had she been doing all this time that she didn't know these things?

She had your head in a book. Not all life is in a book. At least not the ones she had been reading. She had been reading the Jane Austin books and that was another century. Now, this was the twenty-first century and she had been left behind.

"You can't learn about life and sex in your father's house, Hannah." She heard Gabriela say interrupting her thoughts.

"But you live with your parents, Gabriela."

"And that's why I'm getting out. Do you want to come with me?"

"Where?"

"I've convinced my parents to buy me an apartment with the money my grandmother left me. When I graduate from college, I'll have access to some of it, but now I need some privacy, where I don't have to sneak my boys into the house. Not that my parents don't know what I doing, but I get tired of playing their games like I'm still innocent and a virgin."

"I wish I could. But I can't. I can't afford to pay rent."

"Does it look like I'm asking for rent? I just need your company and I don't want to be alone with all those murders going on out there. There have been three young women and three older men killed within a month. We are targets for that animal."

"Then why not stay with your parents until the police catch him."

"That could be forever. And I can't live my life being afraid. What do you say, are you coming with me?" Gabriela placed her hands together as she lay across the bed, "Please. Please. I'm begging you."

"I guess so. But how am I going to tell my parents? And I need to get a job first."

"Good. Now that's done." Gabriela glanced at her phone. She had a message and she looked around as Chase, Bryan, and Justin were walking up the back way.

"Let's go meet them. It seems that Justin got here just in time." Hannah wasn't as thrilled as she thought she should be. And Gabriela grabbed Hannah's hand and led her through a maze of stairs and down to the door that opened up to a dark courtyard.

When she opened the door all the guys stood there smiling, except for Justin. He wasn't one to smile all the time. He smiled with his eyes as he watched Hannah. "Come in," Gabriela said, but keep quiet until enough people come and muffle our voices.

"I thought you got it straight with your parents that you would be dating," Chase said none too happy about hiding.

"I guess I can take that you didn't tell your parents about me too?" Bryan said.

"Yes. But I said that you were a friend." Chase snickered at the admission. He felt that he had a chance since he was considered a boyfriend and not just a friend.

"I'm not a friend. I have as much right to you as Chase here." They were in Gabriela's room.

"Keep it quiet, Bryan you're a friend with benefits," Gabriela said moving into Bryan's chest and pressing her body into him giving him her tongue as he sucked it and then she turned away and met Chase standing waiting his turn. Pulling away with a smile on her face she announced, "I'm getting an apartment next week and there will be no need for anyone to act like the jilted lover. And," Gabriela took Hannah's hand and said, "Hannah's going to be my roommate."

"I thought we could be your roomies," Chase said looking at Bryan as Justin and Hannah sat on one of the small love seats in Gabriela room watching them.

"Come, let's go to the screening room," Gabriela said and they all walked across the large hall into the movie room.

"This is just like a movie theater but you don't have all the people talking and annoying you with their smartphones. "What shall we watch?"

"Something with action and adventure," Justin said.

"Typical male. Not tonight," Hannah said feeling a little more relaxed as she sat in one of the chairs next to Justin. He placed his hand on hers and she pulled it away. When Chase and Bryan took their perspective seats leaving one in the middle vacant for Gabriela, she called down for the pizza, popcorn, and sodas.

Then she came back and put in a DVD and they sat and watched Game of Thrones. That was something they all could relate to and discuss afterward. It had everything. Love, sex, death and White Walkers--the undead. They would binge watch until dawn. At least that was their intentions.

When season one finished and season two of Game of Thrones was beginning, Jovani Nightingale was ringing the doorbell to Gabriela's parents' home and the maid answered the door.

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# Chapter Nine

"WHOM SHALL I SAY IS calling?" The English maid asked, her eyes wandering nervously over the man's perfectly tailored and expensive black tuxedo. His shoulders wide, his waist small. His hair dark his eyes a smoldering blue flame. His height six feet or more, hers much less. She tried to remain composed but her eyes danced over him mesmerized by the handsome man standing before her.

"Jovani Nightingale," he said amused at the attention she showered on him. His voice deep and sensual his tone charming.

"Mr. Nightingale, you are the guest of honor tonight." His eyes smiled before he did and he raised an eyebrow. "Follow me please."

"I wasn't aware of my celebrity status," he said leveling his stride so as not to get ahead of her. "It's lovely that you would warn me."

The maid glanced up at him admiringly. A woman in her fifties who could still admire a young man. She felt anxious and happy to be walking alongside a man as breathtaking as Jovani Nightingale, and for him to engage her in a conversation made her feel important.

"The party is in the grand ballroom and they're waiting for you. When news of you accepting Mrs. Kellerman's invitation, all the fashionable people in Manhattan were angling for an invitation just to say they were in the same room as you. Now I can tell my friends you smiled at me and chatted with me."

Jovani unaware that a party had been planned in his honor, accepted the invitation because he thought it would prevent unnecessary gossip, where people assumed that he thought he had too much wealth to associate with them, and another reason he showed his face was because he knew that among the wealthy crowd, there were some who managed to get away with all kinds of misdeeds, murder being the vilest of all. He knew if he combed the crowd, he would find a predator lurking among the unsuspecting men and women who frequent these parties.

Unaware that the maid would announce him to the entire room filled with the upper society of New York, he because edgy when they circled him, and Mrs. Kellerman bounded through the crowd and took his arm. "Mr. Nightingale, how good of you to come," Gabriela's mother, Mrs. Kellerman said.

Her voice breaking from nervousness. "I didn't think you would come. I wasn't even sure you got the invitation but apparently you did." She stood looking into his eyes. "I met you last year at Mrs. Lubeck's party and she spoke so highly of you that I had to have you here and here you are and my, don't you look...beautiful, I mean handsome in your tux. You are a most fine-looking young man. If I were ten years..."

Jovani gazed at her with a closed smile amused not knowing what to say to her.

"You would have to be thirty years younger, my dear," Mr. Kellerman a man in his late sixties and overweight with grey hair said placing his arms around his wife and handing Jovani a drink.

"Now stop fawning over the young man and give the young women a chance to meet him." Jovani glanced around the room and eyes were on him and it appeared that all the young and older women were looking directly at him.

Those weren't glances of admiration or curiosity, but of seduction. One woman a tall blond caught his attention merely because she used her tongue to swipe her mouth several times, and posed before him, and conveniently bent over for him to see her large breasts that she obviously wasn't born with.

Jovani smiled back at them in acknowledgment. Although the women were desirable, they were not to his liking. It would take more than a pretty face and a great body to attract him. He couldn't stop thinking about Hannah. He wondered where she was.

Sensing that she was near he could never know her exact location until she became his concubine. And as long as this was the case, Hannah would remain out of his reach and at a distance from him.

He would go back to the place he first encountered her and then he could track her to where she lived. Listening to Mrs. Kellerman drone on about how long he had been in Manhattan, suddenly his mind focused on her. He guessed that the husband lost the war with getting her to relinquish her hold on him, and retreated across the room, leaving him to entertain his wife.

"Jovani, can I call you Jovani?"

"Yes of course." His voice low and accommodating.

"I have a daughter about your age and I know she would love to meet you. She has a friend with her and they're watching movies, I hate to impose on my special guest but could you do me a favor? Would you go up to her apartment and say hello? You don't have to stay long. I wanted them to see what a handsome billionaire looks like. And you're not married. It will give the girls something to aim for."

"I will be delighted." That was the last thing Jovani wanted was to meet young women. He had met too many in his life and they had fallen in love with him at first sight. It took years to get them to forget him. And still they would show up at his apartment and declare their love for him. They didn't know that they were at risk and he was being kind when he didn't return his affection for them.

There was no way for him to declare his love because he could never love them or be anything to them. He would only destroy them because at that time his love was tied to sex and sex was tethered to his need to feed on their warm blood.

"Just take those elevators up to the third floor and Gabriela should be in the movie room," she said pointing to the elevator.

Jovani considered that an act of mercy when Mrs. Kellerman sent him to her daughter's room. Maybe he could duck out on them before anyone noticed after he paid them a short visit.

"Gabriela did you say?" Jovani asked Mrs. Kellerman before he entered the elevator.

"Yes, and thank you. She's always complaining that there are no good-looking young men in Manhattan and that if they are good looking they are gay. You aren't gay are you, Mr. Nightingale?" Jovani smiled. He wished he was.

"If you mean happy or if you mean I love men in the carnal sense then I am neither." And he turned quickly away and strode into the elevator. He glanced around thinking he could take the easy route and disappear and reappear in the time it took to take an elevator up, but there were too many people and too many eyes on him. So he stepped into the elevator and within minutes he strode off on a floor he recognized as being that of a young woman's apartment.

It had all the colors of a girl who had never grown up. Everything in pink, and stuffed animals displayed like furniture in every corner. The only thing he didn't see was a miniature dog of some kind which pleased him. He didn't need the added attention of a dog sniffing around him.

Dogs seemed to act abnormally when in his presence, and he knew why, and the dogs knew as well, but these animals couldn't talk, but they would bark nonstop whenever they came in contact with him. Many humans thought this strange and began to raise questions about this weird behavior whenever he was around. And that was one of the reasons he never socialized. There were many others besides the obvious one--he was a vampire and he could never walk during the day.

When the elevator opened, Jovani heard the rumbling of the sound system and ventured slowly in its direction and then he opened the door. No one noticed him at first. His silent demeanor was part of what he was. No one would see or hear him until he appeared and when they saw him it would be their last night.

He gazed around the room. The door off to the right of the seating and the large television covering the entire wall. The room dark, but he could see through the dim light coming from the television.

His eyes first focused on Gabriela kissing one guy and then shifting to the next and kissing him as the other's hand crept up her skirt. She didn't appear to be what her parents thought she was. She didn't appear to be what he thought although he had seen much in his hundred years.

Jovani turning and ready to walk out of the room, with his keen eyes spotted a shock of red hair and the flash of her green eyes, and a whiff of her scent seized him to one spot.

In the back of the room sat Hannah and the young man he had seen her with at the bar. It was her. The one he didn't think he could forget. The one he knew he had fallen in love with and the one who would be his and no other. But she was with that male and that enraged him.

This time the young man had made progress. Jovani didn't think she liked him at first, but there he was with his arms around her shoulder. Jovani's eyes closed and he opened them again. He looked firmly at the male and then he knew. He wasn't what he appeared to be.

Jovani had to compose himself before fury would overtake him. He would never want Hannah to know what he was and what he was capable of doing. At least not now. Not before he claimed her as his.

When the group looked up and saw him standing there he said, "I'm looking for Gabriela." The lights brightened immediately and Hannah glanced up at him as if she had been a bad girl caught by a fiance with another man. She jumped and pulled away from Justin. He didn't see this as her acting any different than before, but she knew why she acted with surprise even if he didn't.

It was that beautiful man who had saved her life standing to the side asking for Gabriela.

"I'm Gabriela," she said her voice high and her tone eager. She rose with a wide smile and strutted in his direction with her hand extended out excited to meet him.

Everyone with the exception of Hannah wondered why he was there, and thinking he had just ruined their night. If anyone's night had been ruined, it would only be Justin. Whatever Justin thought he would accomplish with Hannah would not go down tonight especially with Jovani in the picture.

"Your mother said, first let me introduce myself. My name is Jovani Nightingale," he said his voice warm and his smile bright. "She said that you had a friend with you but I see you have some friends and that you wanted to see a billionaire and well I won't mention the rest."

"There's no need to say anymore in front of my guest." Gabriela's politeness contradicted her behavior. "I know the conversation. And you're everything they say you are. I'm impressed and it takes a lot to impress me," Gabriela said.

"Are we going to finish this movie, Gabriela, or are you going to talk with this person all night," Chase said rising from his seat.

Gabriela turned and rolled her eyes, and turning back said to Jovani, "He's just jealous."

"I assure you and please tell him he has nothing to be jealous of."

"Well I'm disappointed," Gabriela said lowering an eyebrow and appearing to straighten Jovani's bow tie.

"I didn't mean it that way. You're a lovely woman and if I wasn't in love with someone else, it would be you I would pursue. Now would you tell Hannah that I would like to speak to her outside?" Gabriela's smile grew wide.

"Hannah? I didn't know she knew you?" At first Jovani tried not to say anything but Gabriela gazed at him waiting for an answer.

"I saw her outside the Maze bar from my limo. And I thought she was an attractive woman."

"Sure. I'll tell her." Gabriela strutted to the back of the room where Hannah sat peering at them and wondering what they were saying.

Gabriela pulled Hannah from her chair with Justin watching and then whispered into Hannah's ear. "That good-looking, fucking smoking hot eye candy wants to talk to you." And she walked back and sat between her friends with benefits. And then Jovani walked outside the screening room and closed the door and waited for Hannah. He didn't know if she would come, but if she did, it would prove that he was right about her.

Hannah stood a minute wondering what she should do. Justin watching her, rose from his seat and walked over and when she turned to amble away, he pulled at her hand. She stopped and glanced at him. "Where are you going, Hannah? You don't know him."

She pulled her hand away and kept walking. "I don't know you either." Her voice wasn't harsh it was soft. She had just spoken what was true.

Closing the door behind her, Hannah looked long at him nervous and unable to breathe. She twisted a lock of her hair around her finger. His cold blue eyes stared into her warm green eyes. It was as if he was making love to her.

She could feel his hands move over her warm breasts, but his hands were at his side. She could feel her nipples tingle and rise to his touch. She felt his cool lingering kiss on his lips covering her nipples.

His body eased close to hers where he felt her heartbeat. He heard the rhythm of her young heart and it beat only for him.

She could feel him placing his hands on her naked flesh and his fingers massaging her.

Her head swung to the side and Hannah's eyes closed. Her breathing slow and but erratic where she appeared to be in a deep sleep but she wasn't.

In her dormant state Hannah felt all this and yet Jovani hadn't moved one inch in her direction but with one hand to her heart and the other on the pulse on her neck.

He smiled at her and she wanted to go with him. She didn't care where, she just wanted to be with him, and never come back from where ever it was he was going.

Jovani's hand touched her long curls and he brought them to his nose. He leaned in to smell her scent--fresh and new like rain on a spring day. He would control his urges for now. If he felt the need to turn her he would leave before he would endanger her.

He inched closer as much as he dared. Throughout Hannah's eyes remained closed. He sniffed the smell of her body she had just showered.

When he closed his eyes, he was there in the shower with her as she washed her hair and then her breasts and then her mound. He was there with her as she dried the water from her tantalizing firm body. And he was there when she stood in the mirror watching herself and wondering when she would find someone to love her.

His lips closed on hers and he whispered into her mouth, "I love you, Hannah. Come with me," he said quiet and loving. And he kissed her soft lips and she moaned because she couldn't tolerate being in limbo. Neither with him in his dark place, or without him in the light.

When she was all but his and he was ready to claim her, a door opened and Justin called out her name. "Hannah. Hannah. Where are you?"

Justin walked purposefully and quick when he saw the two of them embraced in a lover's kiss. He reached for Hannah's arm and pulled her away from Jovani.

Jovani didn't hear Justin invade his thoughts and his space. He and Hannah had traveled beyond time and all was left were their bodies in an embrace. Justin's warm touch brought Hannah back from wherever it was Jovani had taken her.

"I know what you are," Justin cried aloud. "And no amount of tricks will work as long as I'm here."

"Since you know what I am, it's in your best interest that you don't come between Hannah and me. I love her and I will never leave her to you," Jovani said with a hard ruthless voice.

"Hannah. Hannah speak to me. What have you done to her? Is that how you plan to get her to go with you? You use your tricks. Does she know what kind of life she will have with you?" Justin said.

"Does she know what you are and the life you will give her?" Jovani questioned.

The elevator opened and out stepped Mrs. Kellerman. "There you are, Mr. Nightingale."

"Is that what you call yourself now?" Justin asked his eyes narrowed and focused on Jovani and never wavering.

"Your problem is you've outlived your kind," Jovani said to Justin his voice deepening and his tone dark. He waved his hand and Mrs. Kellerman stilled, suspended in time, her mouth open, her eyes wide looking at them but not seeing or hearing anything.

"Your problem is you are too arrogant, Jovani Nightingale. You walk only at night," Justin added with a slight raise of his lips.

"I Am the Night," Jovani said. He straightened his shoulders and raised his head with a gesture of defiance. "I command all that walks day or night," he said impatient and final. "You are but a mortal."

Jovani's blue eyes changing to fiery red with anger, his silky dark eyelashes fluttering trying to hold back his transformation, and his dark eyebrows meeting downward into to a V. He had one hand on Hannah's chest, as she stood in limbo as the two verbally lashed out at each other, knowing this wasn't the time or the place for a confrontation.

"I am day and night and you are wrong. You are not my master," Justin said with a sly grin. "Your weakness is day and you need Hannah to continue your reign. To produce children those many vampire females you've turned under your control can't. She's human and I will prevail."

"Your weakness is that you talk too much," Jovani said meeting Justin's eyes as he raised his free hand and wrapped it around Justin's neck. Giving him a peek into the very nature of his being with his long deadly fangs extending ready to end the conversation for once and for all.

"Take a look at what I can give Hannah that you cannot. She loves me. And she's willing to follow me anywhere and bear my children," Jovani said.

Peering into Hannah's mind through Jovani, Justin felt and saw her overpowering desire for that nightwalker, that vampire.

Justin glared at Jovani, his eyes changing, his body shifting showing no fear. And ready to fight for the soul of Hannah. Now it was up to Justin whether he could meet Jovani's challenge.

--------

The End of Book One: I Am the Night

By Rachel E Rice

Book Two: I Am First Night

Book Three I Am Last Night

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

If you haven't read the Soul of A Vampire books one two and three, they're on sale for a low price. The books should be read in order. Enjoy and sign up to my newsletter for coming attractions, cover reveals, and free giveaways. You can always contact me at rachelerice04@gmail.com and I promise you I will answer your emails. Please leave a review if you enjoyed the books and try the box set. For more books by Rachel E Rice check below.

New Books by Rachel E Rice

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I Am the Night books 123

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The Captain and The Virgin #1

The Pirate and The Captain's Lady #2

The Captain's Revenge...#3

Seduced By An Earl #1

The Naked Countess #2

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# Contemporary Romance

Obsession: Warm Bodies, Cold Hearts #1

(Obsession Series) Naked Obsession # 2

Burning Obsession # 3

Science Fiction

The Well 1

The Well 2

The Well 3

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# Erotic Romance

Blackstone Series The Incredible Mr. Black #1

Blackstone Series Temptation In Black #2

Blackstone Series Submission To Black #3

Black Tie Affair (Blackstone #4

Mourning Becomes Black # 5

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# Stand Alone New Adult Romance

Finding Summer

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