In the 150 years that I have wandered and searched for a companion, someone to know me and bring me out of the darkness that consumes me, never have I set eyes on anything so beautiful, so alluring, yet unapproachable because she is human. Yet I feel something different about this fragile creature. She’s not like any other.

As temptation grows, hunger stirs, and the longing begins.

Chapter 1

The tapping of her sneakers repeatedly hitting pavement and the accelerated thud of her heartbeat were the only sounds reaching Kayci’s ears as she ran through the dark, cool night, past the thick wooded swampland she called home. She loved to run on nights like this, when everyone was comfortably nestled on their couches or in their beds, when the moon was bright, and the choir of crickets echoed around her. She found peace in the calm of the night and freedom from the buzzing chaos of the day. It was the only time she truly felt relaxed and centered.

She had become accustomed to the sounds of the creatures of the night. Even when she did see the glimmering eyes of the coyote or alligator, it wasn’t for long. They often disappeared into the darkness before any concerns reached her own mind. Besides, it wasn’t wild animals that Kayci feared. She felt more at home with them than she did people. Connecting with others wasn’t her best quality. She knew from experience not to let anyone get close. The closer they got, the more equipped they were to hurt you, and she had been hurt a lot.

But this night seemed different. She couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched like a predator watches its prey, silently awaiting the perfect moment to attack. She realized she had quickened her pace and suddenly felt foolish for letting herself get spooked so easily. Her mind was likely playing tricks on her. Just in case, she checked that her pocketknife was still attached to the backside of her shorts.

When Kayci heard the rustling through the leaves, she was relieved that her knife was indeed still attached. She steadied her pace and continued to watch her surroundings closely. She calculated that it was probably less than a mile to her house and an even shorter distance to a neighbor’s house if she had to get to a safe place sooner. When the rustling came nearer, Kayci slowed her running to a brisk walk in case it was a wild animal. She didn’t want it to confuse her running for a game of chase, plus she would be better prepared to stand her ground if she encountered a pervert looking for his next victim.

Kayci stopped in her tracks when she heard the rustling turn to full-out tearing of branches. Whatever lurked in the trees was undoubtedly headed right toward her. She reached for her pocketknife, extracted it, and held it firmly in her hand. She didn’t have a chance to comprehend what exactly was coming for her before a figure slammed right into her, knocking her to the ground and nearly causing her head to crack on the pavement. She knew she had only grazed her head, for the pain was minor. She didn’t waste time thinking about her near fatal head blow for the reason that 160 pounds of man pressed down on her in addition to sharp white fangs repeatedly trying to clamp down on her throat. Kayci tried to manage the rising panic and keep her logical mind working. She thrashed and swayed her body in an effort to avoid being bitten. As she blocked with her left arm, she remembered the pocketknife in her right hand. She committed to her thought and plunged the knife into his side. She immediately felt the warm blood ooze over her fingers and hand.

The man howled from the pain but refused to retreat, obviously determined to sink his teeth into her neck. He lunged toward her with more vigor and rage than before. The smell of blood along with her adrenaline pumping wildly provoked the vomit rising from her stomach to her throat. She held back the need to retch and forced her mind to cooperate with her will to survive. She pulled the knife back further and with more force shoved the knife into his side once more.

The man let out an awful screeching sound that rung Kayci’s ears. She thought she had finally wounded him enough to end his attack. He pulled back from her, giving her a glimmer of hope that the attack was over, only to have her chest ache from fear and a lump grow in her throat as the man reached out and grabbed a chunk of her hair and locked it in his fist. She tried passionately to loosen his grasp. It only made him pull tighter. She screamed for him to let go and even dug her nails into his skin to the point of drawing blood. The man used his grip on her hair as leverage and slammed her head against the pavement. The world went dark.

Kayci’s eyes opened slightly. It took several moments to register her surroundings and the hard, cold road under her back. An excruciating pain rushed through her nerves, alerting her mind to the fact that her head had been slammed into pavement. She undoubtedly had a concussion, but she was alive, and that was a major relief. Things were still blurry, but she could definitely see that there was a second man holding her attacker in his grasp. The second man hit her attacker with enough force that he fell back several feet.

Her attacker was all too determined to fight back, as she had just experienced, but the second man was prepared and crushed her assailant’s jaw with his fist. She heard an awful crunching sound as bone hit bone. Her attacker moaned in pain. Clearly realizing he wasn’t going to win this battle, he fled into the woods.

Kayci wasn’t sure if she was in better hands or worse. She saw the same pearly white teeth on this man and grimaced as she tried to stand up and flee.

“I won’t hurt you,” he announced quickly amid her struggle to get to her feet.

Kayci wasn’t counting on his honesty. “Stay back.”

“You’re hurt. Let me help you.”

The man reached his hand out for her to take. Kayci evaluated the proposition and then ultimately accepted based on the fact that he had just fought off her attacker and his own hand bore swollen red slashes from where it made contact with her attacker’s face. She took his hand and even let him put his arm around her and help her off the ground. As soon as she had her balance, she quickly backed away from him. Her head throbbed. The need to vomit was much worse than before, yet she forced herself to stay focused.

“I think its best that I help you home.”

Kayci smirked between the head throbs. “Not a chance.”

She gave her protector a look-over. He was tall and abundantly handsome. He had a toned physique below a chiseled jaw, black messy hair, a shadow of a recently trimmed beard, and beautiful eyes that were too difficult to make out the exact color in the dark of the night. Even with his handsome exterior, she wasn’t distracted from the fangs she had seen moments ago.

“What are you? Why did you help me?”

Kayci bent over as a wave of nausea churned in her stomach. The man moved closer in a seemingly concerned fashion.

Kayci put up her hand. “Don’t. I truly cannot put into words how appreciative I am that you saved my life, but I’m not ready to get close. I saw the fangs on both of you. I’d rather you keep your distance.”

The man stepped back. His body went rigid. “You were lucky I was in the area. I heard the sounds of a struggle and decided to interfere.”

“Why?”

“Are you always this tough on people that help you?”

Kayci felt a pang of guilt from his comment. She was being too harsh.

“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to figure out why you helped me if you and him are the same.”

“What you just encountered and what I am are not exactly the same, but you can say it. I think you know what we are.”

“I was trying not to say it so that it wouldn’t be real. It can’t be real.” Kayci brought her hand to her stomach as if to stop the pain. This time the vomit came to her throat, burning her esophagus the whole way up and then back down.

“You may need medical attention. You’re bleeding.”

Kayci stared at him inquisitively and then touched the back of her head. She felt the wet stickiness before bringing her hand in front of her and seeing the red covering her fingers. Thankfully, she didn’t get woozy at the sight of it.

“If I let you help me home, what’s to stop you from coming back and finishing me off later?”

“That’s a risk you would have to decide on, but I will tell you I’m being honest—I don’t kill humans. It’s against our principles. The vampire you just encountered would have violated our laws if he’d killed you.”

“So you saved his ass and mine?”

“No, he’ll be dealt with later. Aren’t you glad I thought your ass was worth saving though?”

She heard a joking tone. The vampire had a sense of humor.

“Okay, what should I call my
hero
?”

“Adrian.”

“Well, Adrian, I live about a mile up the road. That’d be great if you could help get me closer to home, and then I’ll take it from there.”

Adrian smiled. “I admire your lack of trust. It’s charming.”

Kayci let Adrian slip his arm around her waist. She put her arm around his back and leaned against him as much as she could comfortably allow herself.

“This would go faster if you let me carry you.”

“What? Are you serious? Carry me for a mile?”

His comment shocked her because of his confidence in his strength and endurance. It also made her feel appreciative that he was so concerned with helping her. As the waves of nausea increased and the pounding in her head knocked at her staggering self-control, she decided to take him up on his offer, for her own safety.

“All right, Adrian, how do you want to do this?”

Just as she finished her sentence, Adrian scooped his left arm behind her back and his right arm under her legs, bringing her close to his body. She was startled by the speed of his movements and the fact that he felt rock solid against her weak and exhausted body. It gave her a sudden feeling of trepidation.

“Does the damsel in distress have a name?”

Kayci chuckled. His sense of humor amused her.

“Kayci.”

“So, Kayci, when you went out for your evening run, did you expect to be carried home by a vampire?”

Kayci laughed until the pain in her head stopped her.

“I think I’m going to wake up in the morning and think what a strange dream I had last night.”

Adrian let out his own deep canorous laugh, which Kayci found quite appealing.

“Kayci, I want you to do me a favor.”

“Maybe.”

Adrian smiled at her unfailing reservation.

“Tell me which house is yours and then close your eyes for me.”

Kayci contemplated his request. She tried to read his expression for any telltale signs of mischievousness. She found none. Her concussion was draining her energy anyway. Her limbs were going numb, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

“All right. It’s the yellow one with maroon shutters and trimming—1205.”

She closed her eyes and then quickly opened one, unable to completely shut them without having one last glance to study Adrian. He gave her a look that said
trust me
. She succumbed and closed both eyes. She could feel the cool air blowing against her skin as if she were riding a bike. What she didn’t feel was Adrian bouncing her body, which would happen when someone was running with an extra 130 pounds. She wanted to open her eyes and see what she thought might be happening, but she kept them closed. It was probably for the best.

“You can open your eyes, Kayci.”

Surprise swept over her. Adrian had brought her nearly a mile within moments. She stared at him with what she was sure was a shocked expression.

“How did you…”

“Vampire secret.”

Adrian let Kayci down and held her side until she stood sturdily on her own. Kayci noted what she felt when Adrian took his hand away. Disappointment. She actually felt disappointment that this strange man, this vampire, no longer held her affectionately. She was sure she was losing her mind. Maybe this
was
just a weird dream.

Now that they both stood within the rays of the streetlight, Kayci could finally see that Adrian had bright-green eyes. They glistened under the light. She found herself staring at them, studying them and studying him. He was pleasant to look at, in addition to the magnitude of charisma he exuded. If she didn’t know he was a vampire, she would’ve wanted him to ask her out. Her trivial thoughts were quickly wiped away as another wave of nausea and head throbbing reminded her that she needed to crawl into her bed.

Adrian was clearly concerned for her. His own expression showed the same fascination that she was sure hers had until it changed to a burrowed brow and tight lips.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Kayci glanced at the few steps up to her front door and then back at Adrian.

“Yes, I will be. A shower, lots of water, a couple aspirins, and a good night’s sleep, and I’ll be good as new tomorrow…
maybe
.”

As Adrian smiled at her, an odd tender sensation developed in the pit of her stomach.

“Take care then, Kayci.”

As Adrian turned to walk away, Kayci felt another flutter of disappointment.

“Adrian.”