A Week with a Vampire [Vampire Love and Lust 1] (Siren Publishing Menage and More)

by Dani April

  “I trust you spent a pleasant first day in my home.”

  “Yes. It was fine.” Rebecca agreed with him and wondered if she could bring herself to eat in front of him. The food did look appetizing, and after skipping lunch and all the activity of that afternoon, she was famished. “I had a chance to walk around the grounds and shoot some video. I sent it back to my producer, and he loved the shots of your land. It’s going to come as quite a surprise to everyone that you live in an authentic castle.”

  “That’s good. Feel free to go about the property and take pictures of whatever you like.”

  Rebecca picked up her knife and fork and carved out a piece of her cutlet. It was prepared very rare, but when she bit into it, she found it had a nice flavor. She kept her eyes down on her plate. She didn’t want to venture a glance in his direction for fear those deep eyes would grab her again.

  “What do you think of the three men who live here?”

  She had to look up at him with this question, the last one she was expecting. What did he mean? Did he know what had happened? Of course he couldn’t, but the question had caught her off guard.

  “I had a chance to speak with them,” she told him after the briefest of hesitation. “They provided me with some interesting background. I want to check some of the facts with you tonight.”

  Peter smiled, a knowing look on his face. “My friend Tex told you my home is built on land formerly used by the government to test nuclear weapons.”

  “Yes, he did.” Rebecca took a bite of the vegetables. They were a very good accompaniment to the meat. “But what he told me can’t be true. The government hasn’t sold land out here in over twenty years.”

  “Yet the evidence of the bomb craters out in the desert speaks to the truth of his words.”

  “So your family bought this land and you built the castle on it later?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Peter, I was disappointed we couldn’t spend more time with the interviews today. May I ask what business took you away for the entire day?”

  “Once again I apologize.” He smiled at her when she looked up at him from her food. “To make it up to you, I promise my undying attention all night. We can stay up and talk until the sun rises if you wish.”

  “I certainly appreciate that, but you must be tired from your trip.”

  “Not in the least.” He leaned forward in his chair. “I am invigorated to have the company of such a beautiful young woman in my home tonight. I don’t have many visitors out here, and never one as lovely as you before.”

  Perhaps she was finally getting somewhere with him, she thought. But damn it, why did he have to be so distractingly handsome? She was certain those deep eyes of his penetrated to her very soul. She was probably an open book to him, and yet she couldn’t seem to figure him out at all.

  “After dinner, I’d like to sit down for a couple of hours somewhere, perhaps your office. We can speak on camera or off for this first session. Whatever you feel more comfortable with.”

  “I thought we could speak over by the fire after dinner. By all means start filming me. You are a TV reporter. That’s what you do. That’s how you make your living. We can talk for two hours, or we can talk for ten hours. The choice is yours.”

  “Thank you, Peter.” She was going to add that she would not keep him up too late, but he had such unbound energy radiating off his gorgeous body she realized she could never tire him out. Now he, on the other hand, could most likely tire her out without even working up a sweat. The thought led to other naughty images that made her smile to herself, but that she had to quickly banish from her brain.

  He cleared his throat and showed something close to real emotion for the first time since she had met him. “I think we got off on the wrong foot last night. I want to apologize and hope to make it up to you tonight.”

  “There’s no need for that, Peter. I really don’t know what you’re referring to. Everything was fine last night, except that I was a little jet-lagged and fell asleep on the ride out here.”

  “I made you feel uncomfortable last night,” he told her. This was actually the truth, but she didn’t think she had showed him her lack of comfort. Again it was like he was seeing through her and reading her thoughts. “I’m sorry. I’m not good with people. I see so few of them. As you have probably already determined, I am a hermit. The three men living out here are the only human beings I ever see.”

  She smiled at him. She also smiled inwardly because for the first time he had let his guard down with her. “That’s why you’re such a valuable interview, Peter. Because of your ascetic lifestyle, my viewers will be interested to learn your story. That’s why I’m here.”

  “I promise to do my utmost to…entertain your viewers.”

  Rebecca decided to press her advantage with him and changed the subject. She was still not brave enough to look him directly in the eyes however. “I want to be frank with you, Peter. When I talked to your men today, I got the impression they were afraid of you.”

  He gave a noncommittal shrug.

  “What kind of boss are you, Peter? Do you have a temper? Is that why those men are scared of you?”

  “No.” His reply was simple and considered. “I don’t get angry. Anger is an emotion. I am not emotional. Mind you, I don’t consider this strength. It may even be a weakness. Nonetheless, it is a fact. I am an unemotional man.”

  “But you don’t deny that your men are afraid of you?”

  “My men love me. Sometimes we fear what we love.”

  * * * *

  They were sitting by the fire. Her little camera was set up on the table beside her, aimed directly at him. He had served her a very old and expensive French wine. They were already an hour into the first interview, and Rebecca felt she was making progress.

  “Peter, as you know, most of our viewers are private investors and business professionals. They are interested to know how your portfolio fared in this latest market downturn.”

  “Understandable.”

  “Most large investors such as you reported losses of up to a third of their assets during the bear market. On the other hand, you were reported to have actually made a substantial return on your investment during the same period. Is that true?”

  “I can’t speak for other investors. It is true that my personal wealth has continued to grow through the period you spoke of.”

  “Then of course the obvious question is, how did you do it?”

  He cocked his head to the side and steepled his long fingers beneath his chin, but did not answer.

  “Did you buy puts? Did you write covered calls against your equities? Did you go short the market? Tell us what your strategy was.”

  “I never invest in the stock market.” His reply was simple. She felt almost as if he was talking down to her like she was a child that he was showing great patience with. Feeling somewhat like a child herself when she was in his presence, she couldn’t really blame him.

  She cleared her throat and moved on. “Then tell us what you do invest in, Peter?”

  “I invest in the earth.” He smiled indulgently. “To be precise, I invest in the metals of the earth, precious metals.”

  “So you invest in commodities?”

  “No. I invest in the metals themselves.”

  Rebecca made a note of this reply in the steno note pad stretched out on her lap. “That’s very interesting. Can you explain more?”

  “I don’t invest so much as I hoard the metals. I save them for a rainy day as the saying goes.”

  “What kind of metals?”

  “Every earth element has value. I suppose my largest holding is in gold and diamonds. I also own large quantities of platinum, emeralds, rubies, sapphires. I have a beautiful collection of pearls.” He thought about it for a moment and then added. “The only metal I do not collect is silver. I have an antipathy for that metal.”

  “Are these metals you collect in the form of jewelry?”

 
“No. It is the raw extraction from the earth, although I had some quantity made into jewels for a woman once. That was a long time ago.”

  “So you are telling us that you, Peter von North, are sitting on a fortune in precious minerals?”

  “I suppose it is a fortune by the standards of man. However, as I have already told you, I care very little for material things.”

  Rebecca made another quick scribble in her note pad. Her head was spinning from the progress she was making, and she hardly knew where to take the interview next. One thing she was certain of, this was going to make great copy back in the newsroom.

  “How did you accumulate this hoard of minerals?”

  “Over many centuries.”

  She looked up from her notes. He had the oddest way of answering her questions. “This has been handed down through the generations in your family?”

  “Something like that,” he replied after a thoughtful pause.

  “Do you ever sell these on the open market?”

  “Yes at times my wealth does work to my advantage. I sold a small portion of my gold so I could have this castle transported to America and could buy this land from the government.”

  “You’re not originally from the United States?”

  “Originally, no. However, I have long since forgotten the land of my birth and prefer not to speak of it. I am a citizen of the United States now.”

  “Has your family always been involved in the collection of precious materials?”

  “No.” He shook his head sadly and seemed to be looking back on time as he spoke. “I come from a line of warriors.”

  “Your family was in the military?”

  “That’s what you would call it now.”

  “Are your parents still living?”

  He laughed at this, but without humor. This was the first time she had seen him laugh. She thought it a reasonable question to ask about his parents since he was a young man, but with his laughter, he seemed to be mocking her question. Again he made her feel like a child.

  “My parents have been dead for many years. My entire family is gone. I am the last one left.”

  She wondered if she would have the courage to ask him about his wife. But she thought that was a topic best saved for a later interview. She decided her inquires after his fortune were making progress and stayed on point.

  “So you inherited your fortune from your family?” she pressed him.

  He just smiled and gave the slightest nod of his head, the smile making his expression glow with something almost like animal hunger. She swore to herself that she saw lust behind those eyes. Suddenly she felt too warm seated next to the fire and the start of a sweat broke on her brow. She crossed her legs and readjusted the note pad on her lap. She felt warmth in her loins, between her legs and spreading up into her stomach.

  “Tell us, Peter,” she asked and coughed into her hand, “where do you physically keep your metals collection? Is it housed at a holding company? In a Swiss bank? Is it spread out in vaults around the globe? Your fortune is not just on paper, but something that can be physically touched. Where in the world do you keep it?”

  “In the dungeon beneath this castle.”

  His eyes reached out to her and caught her for the first time that night. She knew she was lost then. His power over her was even greater than it had been the night before.

  “Would you like me to show it to you, Rebecca?”

  She nodded that she would. Her eyes glazed over, and her mind was shrouded by a fog.

  He got up from his chair and reached out a hand to her. “Then come with me and I will show you everything. I will take you to my dungeon.”

  Chapter Seven

  The dungeon seemed to be on fire. Lit dimly by overhead fluorescents, the fiery glow didn’t come from electricity, but from the row after row of precious metals stacked to the top of the ceiling. The metals illuminated the huge enclosure as the overhead fluorescents shined and sparkled from off their flawless surfaces.

  The dungeon was an underground concrete vault. Rebecca had no concept of climbing down the steps that led here. She had blacked out much as she had on the prior evening and had only come to when he had led her to the center of the dark cavern.

  When she came fully awake, the fear of the place, the awesome size, and murky shadows flooded her senses. Peter moved to stand at her side. His warmth and tall frame gave her comfort. If she had been alone down in these catacombs, she knew she would have lost her mind in the first couple of minutes. As it was, her breathing had become ragged and she was still sweating. Although the closer Peter moved to her, the calmer she became.

  He put his hands on her shoulders, and she closed her eyes at his touch, luxuriating in the simple feel of his long fingers and soft stroking.

  “I promised to show you everything,” he told her from behind. “Here it is. In this room is the sum of my wealth.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Peter.” This was the truth. She was speechless. First the place had taken her breath away, and now his close proximity was taking her to new places. “I’ve never before seen anything like this. Is it all real?”

  “I assure you none of these gems are forged. Please walk among them. Examine them.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know very much about precious stones, but I take your word for it.”

  She turned around and looked up at him. He towered above her. In the dark, his face seemed to glow as much as the minerals did and was even more beautiful to behold.

  “Aren’t you afraid to keep so much wealth in one place?” she asked him. “I mean, what if you were robbed? This place would be a pretty big temptation for thieves.”

  “I am afraid of very few things. Thieves are not one of them.”

  “Do you carry insurance on this?”

  “I have no need for insurance. No one will ever enter this place uninvited.”

  She forced herself to turn away from him. She stepped down a row of glowing gems stacked thirty feet in the air to the dark reaches of the stone ceiling overhead. Just willing herself to leave his presence and walk a few feet away from him was causing her stomach to do flip-flops. The dark row of jewels allowed her some privacy and a chance to calm her nerves.

  She picked up one of the stones and turned it over in her palm. She didn’t know anything about rare gems such as these, but if she’d had to guess, she would have said it was a large uncut ruby she held in her hand. She had no idea what the exact value of this stone would have been on the open market, but what she now held would have probably paid her salary at the network for a couple of months. There were thousands of these stones stacked in front of her, and this was only a single row. The dungeon must have held hundreds of rows just like this one. She tried to do the math in her head, but the numbers got too big, and she wasn’t thinking her clearest right at the moment anyway.

  “Peter…” She called over her shoulder to him. Now that she had her back turned to him and didn’t have to face those beautiful soul searching eyes of his, she felt more like herself and like speaking to him. “I get the feeling that you are talking down to me at times, as if I’m a child.”

  She had wanted to tell him this ever since they first started talking last night. She didn’t know why, but somehow it had become important to her that she earn his respect.

  “If you were my father’s age, I could understand. But I think we’re about the same age, and I’ve got to tell you it bothers me when you talk like that.”

  She turned a corner and walked down another row of his wealth. She felt like a chicken for physically walking away from him when she was trying to confront him with her words. However, she was interested in seeing all the valuables of the dungeon. The row she was on now held what looked to be cases of ancient gold coins.

  “I don’t know if it’s just a sexist thing you’ve got going on. Perhaps you don’t feel female reporters are as competent as male reporters.” She continued her stroll down the row of boxes and crates, but kn
ew her voice carried back to him across the high reach of the ceiling. “But I have to tell you that I actually have a fairly decent IQ, and from now on I’d appreciate it if you could talk to me as an equal. If for no other reason than I think it will make you seem more human during our interviews.”

  She rounded a corner, and he was standing right in front of her. She let out a startled scream. How could he have made it all the way down here without her hearing the sound of his steps echo against the stone? Also, shouldn’t he be just a little out of breath? He had covered something like fifty feet in five seconds. He had to have run.

  “Peter, you have a knack for scaring me.” Although she immediately felt dumb for having screamed just when she had been telling him she refused to be treated like a child.

  “I do not mean to treat you as an inferior, Rebecca,” he told her. “I would not have asked you to spend this week with me or showed you the source of my wealth if I thought you anything other than my equal. Indeed, I believe you are superior to me in many ways.”

  She leaned back against one of the crates and ran her hand through her hair, trying to think why it was that his opinion mattered to her so much. She had interviewed plenty of people over the last couple of years who probably hated her, and she never gave it a second thought. Why was Peter so important to her?

  “I’m sorry, Peter,” she said. “I’m not feeling myself. Of course I realize you don’t mean anything by your words other than to be courteous. You said yourself you are somewhat of a hermit out here and probably just have lost touch with how to talk with people.”

  “Especially beautiful women.”

  This remark made her smile in spite of the way she felt. “I think I’m going to have to see a doctor when I get back home. I seem to have a black out every night now.”

  “Only when you’re around me.”

  “Yes, it would seem that way.” She had to smile again.