A Vampire's Seduction (A Dark Hero Book 1)

by Fleur Camacho

  “I’m sure you will.”

  We left the room and Rowan’s nostrils flared as we walked out. As soon as we were alone, his fangs slid out. His tongue slid over them and I grinned. “Happy, Rowan?”

  He bowed towards me. “Always, master.”

  I pulled out the next contract and licked my lips in anticipation. “Looks like it’s the shifters next.”

  As soon as I dismounted from my horse, someone tackled me and we flew through the air. Then we hit the ground, rolling through clumps of dead leaves and rocks. When we stopped, she was on top of me, her skirts already up.

  “Hello, Salina.” My deep voice reverberated through the trees.

  Without answering, she yanked off her blouse. Knowing what I liked, she ripped my pants open, and we started fucking in the dark woods. I rolled so that I was on top of her, my fangs extended, and I bit into her neck. I took in her blood and then sealed it with my tongue, then bit just below that, moving up and down her neck as she moaned in delight. I rolled her blood through my tongue, and my strigoi growled in satisfaction.

  Her stomach was tight, lined with muscle, and my hands roamed her chest. Her breasts were small, the perfect size for her body and I flicked and pulled at her taught nipples, biting the tips to suck them as I slowly entered her, moving in and out deliberately. They were perfectly delicious.

  I released my senses for a moment, wanting to fill her cravings. Always willing to give them whatever they desired, I maneuvered her so that her back was towards me. I spread her legs and entered her from behind, then I pulled her arms tight behind her so that her chest was pressed out, her breasts open to the woods and her back arching, raking my teeth at the back of her neck. I moved in and out slowly, taking my time as she panted under my ministrations. Her moans grew louder as I hit her delicate spot over and over. I lingered to draw out the thing that she wanted the most.

  Feeling her desires through my senses, I turned her back to me. My teeth scraped her skin, sending nerve-wracking sensations as I licked the dirt and blood from her body. She was begging me now, the small sound of her pleas urging me on as my fingers moved through her blond hair, teasing her. I found her sensitive spot as my fangs clamped onto the large vein in her leg. She cried out, coming onto my fingers, and when I’d had my fill of her delectable blood, I licked her sweet syrup slowly, my tongue working so masterfully that her body tensed, ready to peak again. Then I was in her, pounding furiously, until I released myself into her as she exploded under me. I fell on top of her, breathless, and my hands fondled the side of her breast until her heart finally slowed and she looked up at me, the satisfaction on her face clear. “Welcome home, Detrand.”

  We advanced into the rambling mansion and Rowan was already partaking of the willing shifter they’d prepared. I clicked my tongue at him, reminding him that the daughter would be joining us later. He pulled harder, his eyes on mine rebelliously, and I moved away towards the table. My body hummed, my strigoi completely satisfied, as I sat down.

  Salina nodded to the corner of the room where the payment for services rendered was already gathered. I nodded, knowing that it would be. The shifters and the strigoi served each other well in this city. That was partly because when the Alpha of the pack died, Agosto made a pact with Salina, the Alpha’s mate. He was willing to be the leader of the pack while Salina covered most of the day-to-day duties. With no other Alpha to contend with, Agosto and Salina worked together seamlessly.

  “Are you staying?” She sat across from me. Leaves littered her bright red hair and she pulled them out, grinning. She put her feet on my lap.

  I looked around the room, my fingers stroking her ankles. She fumbled with a coin that was on the table. “Are you replacing Agosto?”

  I considered her, studying the lines on her face. We had a history that began long before she was mated to the Alpha, and it was one that we both enjoyed immensely. But shifters behaved differently, they were always tied to the pack and I was unwilling to be part of it. I had to be careful or she would become possessive.

  “Your pack is still strong.” I nodded to the readied payment.

  She nodded and her eyes wandered to the large pack who had gathered in the room. Theirs was an older pack, and they held a lot of strength and wisdom. But it lacked new blood and included only a small amount of children, considering how big the pack was. A battle with the fae several years ago killed off many of the younger shifters, who were hard to find among the living, and so the future of their pack was uncertain.

  Rowan sat in a chair, with them at his feet, like children. He told them the stories of Drakyele, a myth that we told outsiders. His words wove like magic over their heads and they leaned in to listen intently. We never told them the truth of our magic, purely for self preservation, even though many had learned the truth passed down from the vampire hunters. No matter how well we got along with other creatures, you never knew when one was ready to stab you in the heart with a wooden spike.

  Occasionally one of the male shifters glanced our way. My presence here was important.

  When an Alpha dies, he must be replaced immediately or the pack will fall apart. Agosto was strong enough to fill the Alpha’s role without joining the pack. But I was not Agosto. They wanted to know if I would be strong enough to control them. I wondered if one of the men known for their Alpha traits would challenge me.

  I sighed. Filling Agosto’s shoes was not my intention when I returned, but I knew that I had to decide if I would do it soon. If I dithered, the city would become overrun with the different creatures, ready to make a play for control of the city.

  I considered my options as I stroked Salina’s knee. If this was something that I decided to do, I would be tied to the city and unable to roam freely like before. I would probably also have to take a mate.

  My strigoi growled.

  I was happy with my freedom to partake in whomever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Being tied to a mate would only make her unhappy because I was no longer willing to tie myself to one woman. But holding the power over a large city usually required a mated strigoi.

  I sat forward, my hand sliding up Salina’s leg. “I need information.”

  She sat back, her arms crossed over her chest, but she let my hand wander higher, stroking her thigh. “I know what you need.”

  I raised my eyebrow. “How do you know?”

  “I can read your thoughts. I know that your primary objective is to discover Agosto’s killer. And that you’d rather be on a ship back to Italy, where your harem awaits.”

  I dropped my hand and frowned. “It’s not a harem.”

  She watched my body language carefully, so I licked my fingers slowly, tasting her on my fingers. I stared into her eyes as her heart rate picked up.

  She spoke quietly, as if in a trance, as her eyes followed my tongue. “You may not call it that, but there are whispers that travel across the sea and I hear them all.”

  Suddenly, I leaned forward menacingly, my fangs extended, and I could smell her fear. And her stupidity. “It’s not a harem.”

  Her lips trembled but she shrugged. “It is not up to me to judge.”

  “You cannot read my thoughts, but have only guessed at what is whispered in the streets, and at what is seen as plain as day on my face.” I leaned in closer and hooked my finger in her shirt, slowly pulling her closer. The room was suddenly quiet, and all eyes were on me. “You will not deceive me; I have eyes that see into the dark. And your motives call to me, like a siren on the rocks. You wish me to become your Alpha, but I will not. I am here to revenge my sire’s death, and then, and only then, will I make a decision. The city will have to wait.”

  She held her breath, undecided if she wanted to tear my throat out, or have me on the table. Even though I told her that I would not be her Alpha, I didn’t reveal if I would allow her to continue to rule, and the future of her pack was more important than her feelings for me. She lowered her eyes, as did the eyes of all in the room as they showed their a
cquiesce to me. I stood up. “You will send my payment and any information you have to my home tonight.” She nodded.

  Rowan stood up, and the pups played at his feet, pulling on his legs. They laughed as he brought his knees up high, swinging them forward. I grabbed one of the girls and threw her into the air. She screamed out, delighted, as I caught her.

  “Again, again.”

  Suddenly all of the little ones were at my feet, begging for their turn. Rowan and I left the house, taking the pups out into the field and throwing them into the air one by one until Salina called them in for bed. They gathered to the house begrudgingly, until we promised to do it the next time we visited. As I mounted my horse, the yellow eyes of one of the male shifters, his name unknown to me, stared at me from the window. I turned my back to him, but sent my senses tumbling towards him. They knocked him down and he gasped, surprised. For a second, he was open to me, and I knew his darkest desires. I rode off, intending to pay him a visit later.

  We visited the homes of landholders of the shops on main street, and of the proprietor who ran the ships at the docks. I didn’t need to visit all of contracts we held, just the ones necessary to make a statement. No one was protected from me, unless I was willing to offer it.

  Many of them despised Agosto, even though his generosity had been given in abundance. But power always draws the ambitious, who are resentful if they imagine any slight. Just as he had taught me, Agosto knew the hearts and minds of the living and the creatures that bound with him, even if they did not know the secrets that we held. They knew only enough to be afraid, as they whispered in the dark of our origins.

  If at any moment they opened themselves to me, I probed them softly with my senses, sending their hearts racing in their desire to please me. I watched their every move, but they were practiced in the art of deception and I knew that I would have to drive them out to discover the killer.

  Shortly before the payments would arrive, I determined to make one last stop. Only because it was necessary; I had received word that he was waiting.

  I entered his home like the others, without permission, even though he would’ve given it freely. But I didn’t need it like the other strigoi, so I did not ask. Rowan waited at the door, and I called him to enter.

  The man’s home was small, much smaller than the others, and in the darkness of the night, his sickness called to me. He sat on a worn chair, his fire low. I could smell his fear, like the others, but also could feel the warmness that he extended to me.

  “Come, come.” He waved his arm in my direction and to Rowan and gestured to the gin laid out on the table.

  I sat on the sofa across from him, and studied the way he leaned on his left side, his right side giving him pains.

  I cleared my throat, wanting to speak softly. “I heard you were waiting for me.”

  He nodded. “That I am.”

  “I have not come to collect from you.”

  Rowan poured his drink, and offered me one. When I declined, he poured another and gave it to the man. Bennett was his name, and his eyes were as soft as the hazy wheat blowing in the wind on a summer day. He took a glass from Rowan, not answering me until he had warmed his throat.

  “Aye, but I am a man of my word.” He looked at the ground, the fire reflected off his eyes as he studied the floor and grasped the glass loosely in his hands. “You’re aware of her death?”

  I nodded. “She was a good woman. I only wish I could’ve done more.”

  His hands tightened on the glass. “You did enough. But even your disease couldn’t save her in the end.”

  Rowan slammed his glass on the table. “She lived long enough, thanks to Detrand. She would’ve died much sooner if not for him.”

  I raised my hand to Rowan. “Calm, calm. It is acceptable.”

  Rowan rolled his eyes. “His grief has made him mad.”

  I jerked my head to Rowan, my eyes in slits. “Yes, it has.” It was a warning, this man was not to be touched. He was under my direct protection.

  Rowan bowed his head and I turned back to Bennett.

  “I have no need of payment from you, only your smile and good blessing on my damned soul, and for those under me.”

  Bennett shifted in his seat, the pain making him wince. “I will not give it.”

  My incisors extracted, my strigoi feeling threatened, but I forced them back. “Then what will you give?”

  “I am fortunate enough that I have payment, and then I may die a happy man and return to my sweet Colleen.”

  I studied his threadbare clothing, and although the house was scrubbed clean, the house had aged considerably since my last visit over twenty years ago. I scooted closer and his eyes slid to mine, the pain in them shining through. I held my hand out and, after hesitating, he gave me his and opened himself to me.

  The pain wracked me in that instant and I understood his need for payment. He was dying a slow and painful death and wanted to settle his accounts before he did, which would come soon. He felt that he could never be able to repay me, even after a lifetime of working, unless I took the one thing he cherished the most.

  He would never know, nor would I allow him, that the debt was all mine, and I owed him everything I owned and more. He would die a happy and wealthy man if I paid him my debt, but he did not desire it, so I disclosed nothing. Instead, I gave him what I could and flooded him with my senses, reminding him of the happiness he once felt. He remembered the smiles of his wife and the life he once lived, without pain. He relaxed, and I made to go as he began to drift off to a hearty sleep.

  We were silent as the night, as we turned from his home. He managed to mumble his apology that he could not see us out, and that he would send payment the next evening. When his snores reached our ears, we were down the street, and Rowan’s fangs were already extended in anticipation of the daughter he would soon regard.

  As Rowan and I traveled towards home, I studied him. He was eager to return. “You are not to drink from that girl tonight.”

  He stopped and my horse trailed ahead of his. “I will.”

  “You’ve had enough to drink. Your strigoi should be satisfied.”

  His horse began to move again. “I’ve not the luxury of time and power. Your control over your strigoi is admirable, and spoken of in the circles of the dead. They say you were born that way, that you never lost control of your blood lust.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “My bones are weary and my mind stale. I am a tired strigoi.”

  “You are an adolescent, and only must learn control over your lust.” I turned towards him. “You were not this way before, but you were a child then. Did not Agosto teach you as the time passed?”

  “Agosto was busy with other things.”

  I slowed my horse so that we were face-to-face. “And his final death has shaken you.”

  Rowan looked forward. “It has, but not for the reasons that you think.” He clicked his tongue and his horse began to move forward. He rode with his back straight, his hands tightly clasping the reins. As I watched the ass of his horse as he moved away, I considered using my senses to detect his needs, but determined against it. We rode in silence towards the house.

  As we approached the door, I grasped his arm. “You will not drink from the girl tonight. If Agosto was too busy to teach you, then the responsibility falls on me.”

  He hissed at me, his incisors already extended as the saliva dripped from his mouth. “You have no right to deny me.”

  I leaned in closer. “I have every right. You will not drink from her tonight.”

  He yanked his arm out of my grasp and moved inside. There were several men inside the door, patiently waiting for our return. The daughter stood among them, her back against the wall and her eyes wide, watching us as we entered. I ignored her, and ordered Rowan to begin counting the payments.

  She watched everything that we did, and the men slowly drifted out as we went through the accounts until only the mayor’s was left. I viewed the
small pile of gold coins on the table before me and eyed her wearily.

  “Where is the rest?”

  She stared at the floor in response, and my eyes trailed over her trembling rosy lips. “Hmm? Is this all he sent?” When she didn’t respond, I ordered the rest of his men away, and they scrambled towards the door. Only one turned to look at her, concerned, but Rowan led him away, until we were alone in the foyer.

  Several strigoi were in the dining room and I could hear the wispy voice of Lily. So she was back. Their laughter drifted down the hallway and I sensed that that was the reason for the girl’s sudden shyness. I tipped her chin higher to look at me in the eyes, which was very dangerous for her. “What’s your name, girl?”

  “Lula Belle.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Sir.”

  “How old are you, Lula Belle?”

  “I’m twenty-four.”

  I pretended to looked shocked. “And unmarried, what a pity. Are you still untouched?” She did not answer, but folded her arms about her chest, staring into my eyes boldly. Her blouse was thin, and it hugged her figure tight, the buttons fastened to her throat. I watched a blond curl from her hair as it clung to her neck. At my stare, her light green eyes dropped, but I shifted so that she was forced to look back into my eyes.

  “Do you love your father?”

  “I do.”

  “And do you realize that he does not love you?”

  Her eyes widened and her voice shook. “Sir?”

  “He has not sent me the coins he promised. Does he think me stupid?”

  She choked on her reply. “Of course not.”

  I reached for the nape of her neck and pulled her close, my lips next to her ear. She smelled of soap and innocence, and she trembled under my touch. “If he cannot keep his promises, how can he expect me to keep my word to keep you safe?”