Darkest Hours

by S. K. Yule

  “We shield ourselves when we hunt shadow drifters. It makes us invisible to all but other vampires. Shadow drifters cannot shield themselves or see us while we are shielded, giving us the advantage of ambush.” He then gave her a short explanation of how drifters were made.

  “Shadow drifters are known as such because they are a shadow or their former selves. Satan offers a deal open to all vampires. He will rid them of any emotion involving joy or love, essentially releasing them from the pain of losing loved ones over and over, in exchange for their soul. If a vampire accepts, he becomes wholly evil, and torture and destruction become his driving force. After a vampire turns drifter, each kill he makes forces a soul into entrapment, never to be free again until the day the drifter is destroyed. Only upon death, can the souls be released. Drifters can never be cured and must be exterminated to stop their torturous destruction.”

  “Shadow drifters have the same powers as vampires?”

  “Yes, except for the shielding ability as I mentioned before.”

  She shivered. The thought of a vampire controlling her mind was scary enough, but to think something consumed with evil could do the same. Well, she understood why humans would have a very difficult time accepting vampires into their world. She wasn’t for sure how well she would take it once she absorbed it all. It was fascinating, alluring, amazing . . . terrifying.

  Ashe stood abruptly, and she knew he was finished answering her questions. She had so much more she wanted to ask him—how many vampires existed, how old was the oldest vampire, would her town be safe from shadow drifters. But, there was one more thing she had to know.

  “Ashe, why did you bite me?” When it had first happened, she thought maybe it was just his nature, but after talking to him, she realized he would not bite her just for the simple fact that he was a vampire. Had he needed her blood? Was he using her to feed?

  His large shoulders shrugged, and he let out a long sigh. “I already told you, I got carried away.”

  “So do vampires always bite when they get, um, carried away, Ashe, or did you need to feed?” She didn’t know why, but the true reason as to why he bit her was important. She just needed to figure out why.

  “Ebony, I didn’t need to feed. Look, just forget it okay? I won’t do it again.”

  “But I thought—”

  “Ebony, we are throwing a ball next Saturday, and I was wondering if you would want to help plan it? Actually, Estril is throwing it, and you would be helping her. It might make your stay here a little less mundane.”

  Brow furrowed, she thought about it. She knew he was trying to sidetrack her from her questions, but this ball sounded interesting. She didn’t even realize people held balls any longer. She had never organized a party, much less a ball, and thought it might be fun. It would most assuredly keep her occupied better than sitting around wondering what was going on. Curiosity got the best of her.

  “What kind of ball?”

  “It’s a Midnight Ball, and is a tradition among our kind. Estril insists on us having one every year on Halloween. You can help her with all the arrangements. I’m sure she would welcome the help since she gets none from her brothers. Estril takes this task on every year by herself, and she will welcome input, especially from another female.”

  “Okay. I don’t mind helping Estril. It sounds interesting.”

  Ebony was excited about her new task. It would be fun and give her something to do. She stood and watched as he reached to brush a stray hair off her cheek. Somehow she managed to stop her body from swaying into his touch. The humiliation was still strong from earlier, but so was the desire. He had managed to turn her into a writhing, moaning wanton within a matter of minutes. He was very gifted in the area of seduction, and her traitorous body wanted to learn more.

  Before she could say another word, he left the room with a hasty, “I’ll tell Estril you’ll be helping with the arrangements.”

  Ebony was not so preoccupied with ideas about her new task that she missed it when Ashe’s eyes turned black with desire when he touched her hair. He looked as if he were a predator about to pounce. Her body flared hot in instant recognition and anticipation of his desire. She was like a bee, and he was nectar, enticing her, drawing her to his warmth. She watched him jerk back from her, and he hastily left with a mumble of something about Estril. Maybe he regretted the passionate encounters they had shared.

  She should have known that a ‘plain Jane’ like her could never hold the attention of a man like Ashe for long. She didn’t consider herself ugly, but she was short and had a few extra pounds she just couldn’t get rid of no matter what she did. The man probably preferred the stick-thin model type. She could never compete with that. Oh well, she was not going to dwell on this right now. She had more important things to do. Like planning a ball. It still sounded strange, but fascinating. No time like the present. She had a feeling this ball was more than just a fun get-together and was somehow tied to her situation. Muttering to herself she set out to find Estril.

  * * * *

  Later that night, Ebony lay in bed awake while thousands of thoughts fluttered in her mind. Thoughts about the plans she had started working on for the ball, thoughts of her illness and thoughts of home. It was strange how all of them were pushed to the back of her brain for one thing. Ashe. His turquoise eyes and beautiful face were vivid in her mind.

  Suddenly their conversation from earlier came rushing back. She was particularly interested in the life love subject. It had been daytime when she had seen Ashe. Didn’t he say that vampires shielded themselves while they were hunting? Had he been hunting, and was he shielded? He almost had to be on both counts, otherwise why else would he have been out during the day? He told her he could be out in the daytime but didn’t enjoy it as his eyes were overly sensitive to the sun.

  Did this mean she was his life love? She felt tension building in her. It was a terrifying yet pleasing thought. No it wasn’t possible. After all she was dying. Surely even turning her wouldn’t fix that, would it? There had to be some other explanation. Maybe he was on his way home from hunting and was no longer shielded. That must be it.

  Even though her mind had found a logical explanation, she did not feel relieved. Instead, a dull ache in her chest pleaded denial. She drifted into sleep, taking Ashe into her dreams. The next morning she woke up with a deep ache in her belly, remembering just how vivid those dreams had been. Ashe had been kissing and caressing, touching her everywhere with those big strong hands while she writhed and moaned in ecstasy. She awoke just as she was about to follow that fascinating trail of hair that trailed under his navel she had gotten a glimpse of that day in his bedroom. Feeling flushed, excited, and a little embarrassed, she flung the covers off her overheated body and got out of bed to shower and dress.

  * * * *

  He rested his head against Ebony’s door. He was in deep shit. When he knocked earlier and she told him to go away, Ashe knew she hadn’t realized that she had spoken the words to him minti conversatie. He never thought someone telling him to go away could sound so sweet. Those three words whispered through his mind like a lover’s caress. That fact alone sealed the viata amant deal. She was no doubt his life love. No other human but the one destined for him could speak to him telepathically. That combined with her seeing him that day in the alley while he was shielded was irrefutable proof.

  The facts still hadn’t changed though. He couldn’t claim her, and there was nothing written in stone that said he had to. He would only make her life miserable if he did so, although, his would be miserable without her. That he could handle. Hell, he had been miserable most of his life anyway. If it kept her happy he would do it, and he was certain she wouldn’t be happy spending her life with him. He was too scarred from Shara and didn’t have anything to offer her emotionally.

  When she had opened the door and let him in, the tear tracks leading from her red puffy eyes made him feel guilty as hell. He was such an ass for tasting her. Yet even through his
guilt, when she looked at him with those big eyes that reminded him of green pools, he swore they beckoned him to jump in. He recognized that if he wasn’t careful he’d lose his soul to her.

  He watched her carefully while he answered her assault of questions fully expecting her to become horrified at the information he gave her. Fully expecting her to think he was evil incarnate as Shara had. Yet, she stood there with her arms crossed over her beautiful breasts and watched him expectantly. Her determination was one of the things he liked best about her. Actually, he liked everything about her. Her determination, courage, strength, and he especially liked that luscious mouth.

  He hadn’t become uncomfortable until she started asking questions about viata amants. He wanted to avoid details about that one. He didn’t want her to figure out that she was his. It would probably scare the hell out of her if she knew it took every ounce of his control to keep his body’s relentless pursuit of her in check. If she even caught a glimpse of the predator in him screaming to claim her every second she was near, she would probably run screaming out the front door. Since he had no intention of claiming her, avoidance of the subject was definitely best. Thankfully she had steered the questions away from the subject. Yet he found himself growing uncomfortable for other reasons.

  The longer he was near her, the more his need for her grew. The rhythmic beat of her heart pushing the blood through her veins called to him with every pump. Each passing moment it became more difficult for him to keep his hands off her. He wanted to push her under him on the soft bed and possess her. He hadn’t wanted to upset her any more than he had already and used every ounce of his willpower to tamp down the growing desire raging in him.

  He knew his control was reaching its limits when she asked him why he had bitten her. Just the memory of it made his cock jump in demand. No way in hell was he going to admit to her that he had not bitten a woman for pleasure for over five hundred years, that at the same time he wanted to taste her and bury himself in her so far he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. The need had consumed him in such a rush he was as helpless to it as a beach to the ocean’s pounding waves.

  At that particular moment he had taken the opportunity to ask if she would help Estril with the Midnight Ball. He was hoping she’d take the bait since her involvement would serve two purposes. One, it would put an end to the questions, and, two, it would keep her preoccupied enough to forget about trying to help with the search for her attacker.

  He’d seen the excitement dancing in her eyes along with the sparkle. The sparkle which made him aware that she knew he was using the ball as an effective means to stop her from pestering him. After she told him she’d help, he started toward the door, planning to make his exit, only to get distracted once again as he watched her small white teeth bite her lower lip. He was envious of those teeth. She had the softest, sweetest tasting mouth, and he wanted to kiss her again.

  He couldn’t resist reaching for a soft strand of stray hair. He brushed it off her cheek, letting the silky strands slide against his fingers. He wanted to bury both his hands in its silkiness, bring it to his nose and inhale her sweet scent. His cock twitched again in anticipation, and he dropped the silky strands and backed away. He had to keep his hands off her. She was an innocent, and he hoped he was man enough to let her remain so even though the beast in him wanted to possess.

  Her essence beckoned him, called to him. Not touching her was beginning to be too much of a challenge. The fact that he was having trouble controlling his emotions was a warning in itself that he would claim her soon if he didn’t find her attacker and get her the hell away from him. He knew that he would be relentlessly drawn to her. That’s the way it was with viata amants. No! He wouldn’t get his heart ripped out again. You’re a coward, and you know she’s nothing like Shara.

  He pushed away from the door and went to his own room where he got undressed and stood under the pounding spray of the cold shower which did absolutely nothing to relieve his horniness. Images of Ebony’s luscious, curvy body kept him restless and hard. He imagined everything he wanted to do to her. Her soft pleas and moans as he caressed, kissed and licked every inch of her body were vivid in his mind. The need to be inside her, possess her, and taste her beat at him with unrelenting fists that were getting stronger as the storm built, trying to reach its full rage. Reaching down, he wrapped his hand around his erection, brought himself to quick release and hoped it would allow him a small reprieve from his rampant desire.

  After snapping the shower off, he dried himself and got dressed before he headed downstairs.

  Chapter Seven

  The next few days flew by in a flurry of activity. Ashe had let Ebony call Avril. She had been happy to hear her friend’s soothing voice and laughed when Avril filled her in on the weekend visit with her parents. Avril’s mother, Caren, tended to ramble on and on when it came to Avril’s single status, continuously tried to set her daughter up on dates, and reminded her constantly that her biological clock was tick, tick, ticking away. Her father, Aaron, usually stood quietly in the background, listening as his wife lovingly hounded their daughter. Avril told Ebony that her father didn’t mind if she never got married but did understand Caren’s wish to see her settled with a nice man and grandbabies.

  Ebony knew Avril’s mother had nothing but the best intentions at heart, and Aaron usually tried to make light of the situation by sticking out his tongue behind Caren’s rambling back. On occasion, Avril would bust out laughing at his antics, and Caren would give him a look that told him she knew exactly what he had been doing and that he’d pay for it later. Neither Ebony nor Avril thought Aaron minded paying the price to his beautiful wife.

  Ebony had briefly filled Avril in on the attack, leaving out all the vampire stuff. Avril was not impressed by Ashe and told Ebony he was just probably out to get in her pants. If Avril knew Ebony didn’t think that was such a horrible thing, she’d probably be shocked. Avril’s long line of not-so-happy relationships pushed her to be a little cynical where men were involved. Well, a lot cynical. Ebony had invited Avril to Ashe’s estate, with his permission of course, and she was supposed to show up Thursday and would stay to attend the ball. Ebony was looking forward to seeing her friend.

  Tomorrow would be Thursday already. She had lost track of time since she had begun helping Estril with the ball. There had been so much to do, and Ebony didn’t see how Estril did all of it by herself every year. Today had been a treat since Estril and she had the privilege of tasting dozens of food samples from the caterers they had been considering. The deal had been sealed on which they would pick when they tasted the mouth-watering lobster hor d’oeuvres from one of the smaller companies. Not to mention the bite-sized cakes with the rich, lemon icing.

  They had chosen a small orchestra of nine that played several genres of music, but would mostly cover classical pieces. Rich bold colors of gold, copper, and blue would be used for place settings and hang in long delicate folds of silk loosely wrapped around each column in the ballroom.

  It would be a grand black-tie affair with the ladies in flowing ball gowns and the gentlemen in tuxes. Estril had insisted on inviting a family friend, Tina, over on Tuesday, who just so happened to be a clothes designer, to fit Ebony for a gown. Ebony had insisted that she would not need a gown since she and Avril would help with the catering and make sure things ran smoothly. Estril’s persistence won out in the end, and Ebony soon found herself picking out a luscious velvet burgundy gown. After taking countless measurements, Tina assured Ebony it would fit perfectly and show her curves to perfection.

  Ebony wasn’t so sure about her curves being perfect in any way, but was stunned when she had tried the gown on Wednesday evening when Tina had returned with it for the fitting. The gown needed very little altering and flowed down her body like a fountain. The material was rich and enhanced by eggshell lace on the bodice and sleeves. It complimented her coloring and, did indeed, show off her curves stunningly. She was a little nervous a
bout the amount of cleavage it showed, but Tina assured her that all the ladies would be wearing similar designs. After taking the final measurements, Tina promised to deliver the dress along with the royal blue one she had picked for Avril Saturday morning of the ball with matching ribbon for their hair.

  Ebony smiled while she thought of her friend. Avril was just going to be ecstatic over getting dressed up in a ball gown. Not! Her friend leaned a little toward the goth side. She knew Avril would go through with it, but all the same, it would be fun to watch her fuss. Ebony had a feeling deep down Avril would end up enjoying the whole affair and would secretly delight in feeling so feminine in all the silk, velvet and lace. Nonetheless, she didn’t plan to tell Avril of the change in plans until the dresses were delivered Saturday, and there would be no excuse to back out.

  With all that business out of the way, Ebony decided to lay down for a quick nap. She had not been sleeping well because every time she closed her eyes, thoughts of Ashe crept through her mind, holding it prisoner, mesmerized. The last time she had seen him for any length of time was in her bedroom after her little seduction-gone-wrong scheme. Since then, they had briefly talked on a few occasions when they had bumped into each other on the stairway or kitchen. He didn’t stick around long and always found an excuse to leave. She knew he was avoiding her, but why? A small pain squeezed her heart at the thought.