Tempted by a Vampire (Immortal Hearts of San Francisco Book 1)

by Susan Griscom

  The titanium shades on the windows would be rising just around the time that Magdalena arrived, shortly after the sun completed its descent below the horizon. I stood in front of what I now considered the bane of my existence and waited for the goddamn metallic barrier to rise, glancing at the time on my phone. 7:10 p.m. She’d be here soon.

  “What’s all this?” Lane asked, gesturing toward the small table set for two by the large picture window as he entered the spacious living room of our house.

  “I’ve invited Magdalena here for dinner.”

  He picked up the single red rose from its slim crystal vase and held it to his nose. “Nice. But there are only two settings here. What about the rest of us?”

  I laughed at his humorous attempt to ease my nerves. He knew I was anxious. I’d talked of nothing but Magdalena all week.

  “Right.” He smiled and put the rose back in the vase and came to stand beside me. We both stood, staring at the blinds. Waiting for them to open was an event we always looked forward to since we both knew the agony of being held prisoner in a world of darkness. The excitement of counting down the minutes to freedom and the outside world was something we’d always done together. Not that our home was anything resembling a prison. On the contrary, it was a mansion, sitting on the edge of the cliff, in a little town called Sea Cliff, one of San Francisco’s most affluent communities. With views of the city, the bay, as well as the Golden Gate Bridge, the luxurious neighborhood we lived in was also the home of a few famous musicians and movie stars.

  Lane and I had purchased the mansion in the year nineteen hundred and sixty. Though these days, the county of San Francisco believes it was our great-grandfather who secured the estate before he died; willing it and an extremely large sum of money—that had been well invested over the years—to both Lane and myself.

  Fame wasn’t something Lane or the others in our band had any desire for. Being vampires, we didn’t need the added attention. Fame required daylight appearances as well as questions regarding our ageless appearance. We’d turned down plenty of recording contracts over the years. We enjoyed playing in the club. It allowed us to be ourselves and play what we liked. We still lived and acted like goddamn rock stars, even without the fame.

  “Is she on her way?”

  “Yes.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be sure to make myself scarce the minute the shades go up.”

  “That would be appreciated. Feel free to stay away all night.”

  “How about I just stick to the lower levels. I’d hate to think that a human female could become the thorn that separates us, brother. I do have a life, too, such as it is.”

  I shrugged, smiling. No, there would never be a woman or anything else that could ever come between my brother and me. He was my one true constant in this hell we’d been forced into. “Suit yourself. Just don’t interrupt us unless the house is on fire.”

  Lane laughed. “Noted.” He walked over to the bar. “Drink?” he said and pulled down two tumblers, pouring a generous portion of scotch into each without waiting for me to answer. Which I didn’t. He brought them both when he came back to stand beside me in front of the fucking closed blinds. “Here.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re nervous.”

  “I am.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so anxious about having dinner with a woman before.”

  “Magdalena is…special. I can’t put my finger on just why, but I feel it.” The rumors of vampires discovering their soulmates came to my mind again just as the shades began to go up, letting in the night, the lights from the bridge glowing ever so beautifully.

  I opened the glass doors leading out to the patio. It overlooked the ocean and afforded a miraculous view of both the bridge and the city. Ari, our human friend and confidant, trusted with the knowledge of our curse, had already prepared the area for a night of romance and fine dining.

  “You set two tables?”

  I shrugged. I’d had Ari set two tables, one inside and the other outside. Unsure what Magdalena would prefer. Yes, I was nervous.

  “Too much?”

  “Depends. Do you want her to think you’re wishy-washy and unable to make a decision?”

  “No, I just want her to know I have her best interests in mind.”

  “That’s very touching.”

  “Boss.” Lane and I turned to find Ari standing in the doorway. “The young lady is waiting downstairs in the library. Do you want me to escort her up?”

  “No. I’ll go down. Thank you, Ari.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “Could you have dinner served in half an hour?”

  “Will do.” Ari turned to leave, his broad shoulders taking up most of the space in the doorway. Ari was a force to be reckoned with and not someone that I myself would ever want to go one-on-one with. Though my vampire strength outshined his human fervor, I was certain that he’d still manage some major damage to my face.

  “Wait, Ari.” Lane stepped toward the large man. “Would you mind setting up the game room? We’ll need four settings at the poker table.”

  “No problem. I’ll get right on it.”

  “You’re going to have a poker game tonight?”

  “Don’t worry. It’s just Gage, Elvis, and Ari. I promise, we’ll be quiet as mice and stay downstairs. You’ll never know we’re in the house. Now, you’d better go fetch your date before she begins to think you’ve brought her here just to stare at the books in the library.”

  Taking Lane’s cue, I hurried down the steps. My dead heart choking in my chest like it had a vice clamped around it. If I weren’t already dead, I’d think I was having a heart attack. I rounded the corner and stood at the door to the library and almost gasped at the beautiful vision that awaited me. Magdalena stood in the library, perusing some of the literary classics Lane and I had collected throughout the years. Most of them signed, first edition hard copies. Aside from our need for blood, Lane and I both had an insatiable hunger for books. Something our mother had instilled in us at a very young age. I stood, admiring her. The black dress she wore looked paper-thin, and the back was completely open down to the top of her very well defined derrière. Another inch and the top of her crack would be showing. My cock stiffened, and I had to close my eyes briefly to contain the lust.

  This woman was going to be my undoing.

  The idea of a life with a human female wasn’t something that I’d ever considered. I’d been with them before, but I’d never wanted to be exclusive with any of them. The sight of Magdalena in my library did crazy things to my soul, if I had one. She was one of a kind.

  She pulled one of the tomes down from the shelf, Bram Stoker’s Dracula of all books.

  “That’s my favorite,” I said, and she turned with a start, her hand splayed over her beautiful cleavage.

  “You startled me,” she said.

  “I’m sorry.” I strolled closer to her. “That is an original. Published in eighteen ninety-seven. If you look at the title page it’s signed by Bram Stoker.”

  She carefully opened the book and turned to the title page. “Wow. This is amazing, Cian. And it’s in such good condition. It must be worth a lot of money.”

  “$15,000.00 to be exact. Last I checked.”

  She glanced around the library at some of the other titles and tilted her head upward at the full shelves spanning the circular room all the way up to the twenty-foot-high ceiling. “This is all very impressive.”

  “It’s a hobby. Both Lane and I’ve been collecting for quite some time. Our mother insisted we learn to read at an early age and I guess it stuck.” She handed me the book, and I placed it back in its spot on the shelf.

  She smiled. “Um…thanks for sending the car.”

  “I would have come myself, but I knew I’d be stuck practicing with the band until just a bit ago. I thought it would be best to just send a car.” I didn’t like lying to her, but it was necessary if I didn’t want her screaming and running for th
e door.

  “You have a beautiful home,” she said.

  “Come.” I held out my hand, and she took it. “I’ll give you a semi-tour of the house.”

  “Only semi?”

  “Well, I’d never take another man’s woman into my bedroom, even just to show it to her.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Not what?”

  “Another man’s woman. Kellen and I…broke up.”

  “Good to know, but even more reason not to take you to my room. I don’t think I’d have the willpower not to rip that sexy dress from your body and glide my tongue over every inch of your skin.”

  She blushed a thousand shades of beautiful.

  I made the tour brief and only showed her the middle level as we made our way toward the living room where I’d had Ari set up the other table. “There are more rooms, but I must admit, I’m beginning to get a bit hungry and thought maybe you are, too.”

  “Yes, of course.” I still had her hand and led her into the room. Her eyes widened with delight, and her smile had me wanting to forget dinner and just rip her clothes off and taste the sweet essence I desperately wanted. “Wow, Cian, this is really beautiful. And this table is lovely,” Magdalena said as her fingers skimmed the back of the chair sitting at the small table.

  I picked up the rose. “For you.”

  She smiled and held it up to her nose. “Thank you. Wow,” she said as she headed toward the opened doors to the patio and walked out into the night-cool air. “I love the sound of the ocean. We don’t live nearly as close.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “By the way…how do you know that, Cian? How did you know where I lived?”

  “I put you in the taxi. Did you think I wouldn’t have the resources to figure it out?” Again, I hated lying, but it wasn’t as if I could simply say, “It was easy, I just traced my way along with the cab and followed you home.” But, of course, I couldn’t say that.

  “No. I guess not.” She smiled. “I was very surprised to get your note and the flowers. Thank you, by the way. They are beautiful.”

  “I’m glad you liked them. I wanted you to have something to remember me.”

  “You’re not that easily forgotten, Cian.”

  I smiled, but I knew I should slow down, not reveal so much of my emotions. I wanted her, but I knew I was wrong for her. She’ll hate me when she finds out what I am.

  “Would you like to eat out here or inside? I had both set up because I wasn’t sure if it would be warm enough out here, but we have the fire pit and the heater.”

  “Out here would be lovely, I think.”

  I nodded and mentally let Ari know we’d be eating outside, but a soft breeze flowed over Magdalena and the scent of her blood made my cock harden. I pulled her against me and trailed my finger along the side of her cheek and down her neck where her vein pulsed. Her breath hitched when I palmed her breast and backed her up against the wall. I couldn’t help myself; I covered her sweet, heart-shaped mouth with mine. My cock was so tight in my pants; I pressed it against her snugly, wanting her to know how much I desired her. She returned everything I offered, which only made me want more.

  “Ahem,” Ari’s rough, deep voice mingled with the frenzied rush pounding through my ears, and I pulled myself free from Magdalena. I turned around and he was gone, but on the table sat a plate covered with a dozen oysters on the half-shell.

  I grinned and looked at her. “Do you like oysters?”

  Chapter Ten

  Magdalena

  Soft classical music played in the background. Nothing like the type of music I heard Cian and his band play the other night. There was definitely more to Cian than the bad boy, rocker persona he portrayed at the club where they performed. He was dressed similarly to the way he’d been the first time I met him at the club—jeans and a t-shirt. Except tonight, he wore a dark purple, long-sleeved button-down shirt—a casual and sexy look on him. Particularly since he’d left several of the top buttons on his shirt open, giving me a glimpse of his tattoos. I itched to run my fingers down them and see where they would lead me.

  I ached to be in his arms again. I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t give in to him so easily, but it was so very difficult. When we’d kissed earlier, and he had me pinned to the wall, I’d thought for sure I would find myself completely naked and in his bed before we’d even had anything to eat. I was half relieved—but left wanting—when someone had cleared their throat, indicating that the oysters were there.

  So, we dined on oysters and champagne, listening to soft classical music and the surf pounding against the rocks below.

  “Do you like red wine, Magdalena?”

  “Yes. Very much.”

  “Ari,” Cian said to a man as he entered, carrying two dishes of something that smelled delicious. He was the same man who had driven me here, as well as the one who’d ushered Vanessa and me into the club last week. “Do we have another bottle of that 1865 Chateau Lafite?”

  “Two bottles.”

  “Bring one, please.”

  “Sure, boss.”

  Ari set one of the plates in front me and the other in front of Cian.

  “I hope you like lobster. This is lobster risotto, seasoned with leeks and other herbs,” Cian said. I picked up a small forkful, being careful not to drop any of the small risotto onto my lap and tasted. It was heavenly.

  About five minutes later, Ari came back with the wine and two glasses. He opened the bottle and poured a thimble-sized amount into Cian’s glass as if he were a waiter in a highfalutin restaurant, not the muscle-bound, bodyguard/limo driver I knew him to be. Cian sipped then nodded, and Ari poured some into my glass before pouring more into Cian’s.

  “That’s it, Ari. Thanks. Good luck in the poker game.”

  Cian lifted his glass and waited for me to lift mine. “To you, Magdalena. You are a rare beauty, just like your name.”

  I couldn’t eat much since I was extremely nervous for some reason. I’d never met anyone like Cian. He was the perfect gentleman throughout the meal, always making sure I was comfortable. Cian poured more wine into his glass and topped off mine. Then he picked up his glass and sipped, staring at me. It made me extremely uncomfortable and I stopped eating. “Is something wrong?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Not a thing.” Then he reached out and took my hand in his, turning it over, revealing my palm. He held my hand, gently tracing his finger over the top line.

  “You have a very warm heart, Magdalena.”

  “You’re reading my palm?”

  “This is known, not only from looking at your palm but also in here.” He placed his other hand over my left breast, and I couldn’t breathe. He left it there for a few seconds as he gazed into my eyes and then removed it, focusing his attention back to my palm. “You have had many periods of sadness and sorrow in love. I am sorry for that.”

  I gave him a timid smile, thinking of my parents, not to mention that I’d just broken up with Kellen and he knew it. “I don’t believe in fortune telling.”

  “You don’t?”

  “No.”

  He ignored my negativity on the subject and continued to softly skim the lines on my hand. I thought of the psychic reader, Tessa, who Vanessa and I had gone to see right before going to the club. She’d said I’d fall…”Oh, crap,” I said out loud.

  “Is everything okay?” Cian asked.

  “Yes. Everything is fine.” I didn’t want to tell Cian what Tessa had told me about falling under temptation, because I had a sneaky suspicion that he was the temptation I was about to fall into. I couldn’t help thinking about the “meeting someone dark” part of that reading, though. Cian was not dark. In fact, his skin was very fair.

  He continued to trace his finger very delicately down the center line of my palm, all the way to my wrist and slowly back up the middle, stopping at the point where my pulse beat. He drew tiny circles around my vein, sending shivers up my spine. I felt my heart thump in my chest, and he l
ooked up at me and smiled.

  “You’re nervous,” he said.

  I bit my bottom lip. God, yes, I was. But I didn’t say anything, only watched his finger circle around as my stomach fluttered with desire for him.

  I couldn’t take the titillating sensation of his finger any longer. “Could you excuse me, please? I need to use your facilities.”

  “Of course.”

  I stood, and he stood as well, pointing me in the direction of the bathroom. I stood at the sink and washed my hands, and when I glanced up to check my face in the mirror, all I saw was an abstract portrait of a naked woman lying on some sort of sofa, her hand resting down by her core as if she’d been touching herself there. I glanced around the small room for a mirror, but there was none. I thought that rather strange, but quickly dried my hands and went back out to join Cian.

  When I came back out onto the deck, Cian was standing by the clear plastic railing, staring out at the bridge. I came to stand next to him, and before I could utter a word, his mouth was on mine. My hands darted to his chest, exploring every inch of what was under his shirt. I’d been aching to touch him all night. All week for that matter. He slowly backed me up until my legs hit a cushioned lounge chair and laid me down, his one knee positioned between my thighs. His hand skated up my leg. We kissed, the heat soaring through my veins explosively. I undid the rest of the buttons of his shirt and he shrugged it off. His biceps and pecs were firm to my touch, chiseled to perfection and covered with the most fascinating tattoos I’d ever seen. A small, silver bar was pierced through each of his nipples, and I grew wet as I gently sucked on one of them. His expert fingers found their way to my core and he growled a little, I think, when he fingered the barely-there, slim triangle of panty I wore. I gasped when I heard the quick rip, and watched what was once my red lace thong hit the ground.