“Slow things down,” Paul warned her. “You don’t know this guy. You don’t know if he genuinely likes you or if he is actually some creep with an agenda. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I know,” she said. “I know.” She picked up her mug of coffee and thought about what she was going to do.
————————————-∞————————————-
By the time Luke called her later in the day, she had decided not to see him again that weekend. As soon as she heard his voice, however, she invited him over.
This time, instead of cooking, they picked up a Chinese takeaway. Luke impressed her with his expertise with chopsticks while she stuck to using a fork. She had no intention of letting him stay the night, so the bottle of wine he brought remained in the fridge, unopened.
After the meal, she put on a film. They cuddled down together on the sofa, but soon neither of them were watching. Part way through, Luke pulled away from her.
“We need to slow down,” he said.
“I agree,” she replied. Then he kissed her again and all thought of taking things easy left their minds.
When the film finished, Anna switched off the TV, took Luke’s hand and led him to her bedroom.
The sex was fast, frantic and passionate. It was over far too soon, so the second time they took it slower, enjoying the feel of each other’s bodies.
“You must think me so easy,” Anna said as she lay in Luke’s arms.
“Actually I think you’re beautiful,” he said and kissed her. He moved his head so he could nuzzle her neck, then suddenly pulled away from her.
“Oh God,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked, concerned at his sudden change.
“I have to leave.”
“You have to what?”
“I’m sorry. There’s something I need to do. I won’t be gone long and I’ll come straight back.”
Anna lay back onto the pillows and covered her face with her arm. “I am such an idiot. I should have known this wasn’t what it seemed. You got what you wanted, now you’re going to leave. I bet you and Gabriel are going to have a great laugh about this.”
Luke moved her arm away so she was looking at him when he spoke. “It’s not like that, I promise. Gabriel does not know I am here. I was not planning on any of this happening, at least not so soon. I am not leaving you for long and I promise I will be back.”
Anger surged through Anna, along with a little shame. “Get out,” she shouted. “And don’t come back. Ever.”
“Anna, please. You have to listen to me.” He sounded genuinely hurt.
“No, I don’t. If you want to go, just go.”
He tried to take her hand but she pulled it away. “I don’t want to go, but I have to.”
“Why?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“You use me for sex then say you have to go and won’t even tell me why. I was told you were nothing like your cousin. I guess I was misled.”
“Anna, don’t do this, please. You have to trust me.”
“Then tell me why you have to go.”
“I can’t,” Luke said again. She could hear the anguish in his voice. She had no idea what was going on.
“Why the hell not?” she yelled at him.
“Because I’m a vampire,” he yelled back.
Anna stared at him. She had no idea how to react. He opened his mouth to reveal his fangs.
“I had no intention of staying here tonight,” he said quietly. “If I had, I would have fed first. I need blood Anna. If I don’t go out and get some soon, I’m worried that I’ll attack you. Please understand. I have to go. For your sake.”
Anna moved as far away from him as she could without actually getting off the bed. “You kill people?” she asked in a small voice. She couldn’t believe she was calmly sitting there asking questions. Nor could Luke. She should be running away screaming.
“No. I haven’t killed anyone in a long time. I take what I need to survive, but never so much that it will cause the human I feed off any harm.”
“Why has nobody ever reported this? Why hasn’t it been all over the news. I can’t believe vampire attacks are going on and nobody knows about it.”
Luke knew he should leave, but Anna was talking to him about this so there was no way he was not going to stay for as long as he could bear to.
“Vampires are venomous. If we inject a little bit of venom into a human, we can control them. We can make them not scream or resist as we take their blood. Then we make them forget that they have even seen us. The puncture marks we leave on their bodies are so small that most don’t notice. Those that do think they’re insect bites.”
“Is Gabriel a vampire too?” Anna asked. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Luke as she spoke.
“Yes. Everyone I live with is. Other than Gabriel, I’m not actually related to any of them, but I still class them all as my family.”
Anna lifted her head. She needed to see his face as he answered her next question. “I presume that nobody else knows about you both. So what happens now? Are you going to inject your venom into me then make me forget?”
Luke shook his head. “No. I couldn’t bear to do that. But I do have to go. I hope you understand why. Please, I beg you, let me come back.”
“No.” Luke almost cried out in despair when he heard the word. He had known that telling her about himself would be a mistake. After all, what woman in her right mind would want anything to do with him once they knew what he was? But what choice did he have? He had to tell her something and he couldn’t bring himself to lie to her.
“Stay,” she said. He wasn’t sure he heard her correctly.
“What?”
“Stay.” She moved her head to one side, offering her neck to him.
He could not hold back. He moved closer to her, took her in his arms and sank his fangs into her.
I won’t let anything happen to her
“I have a confession to make,” Luke said the next morning. They were still in bed, but had been awake for a while.
“Is it worse than the confession you made last night?’ Anna teased.
“You might think so.”
Anna rolled over to look at him. “What is it?” He was smiling at her and that told her it was nothing for her to worry about.
“Last night I claimed you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I pumped enough venom into you to make you mine. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you. Venom does different things to humans, depending on how much is in their system. Put in too much and it will turn them, make them into a vampire.”
Luke felt Anna try to pull away, so he held her tighter. “I have not done that to you. I would never dream of doing that to someone without their permission.”
“Go on,” she said.
“As I have already told you, put a little venom in someone and you can temporarily control them. Put in a little more and you can claim them. It means no other vampire can touch them. A vampire can sense when someone has been claimed. Something tells them that the human’s blood is poisonous to them. If they touch them in any way, they get a sensation, almost like a shock from static electricity, only worse. What I did means that I am the only vampire who can touch you, take your blood or control you.”
“Why?” Anna asked. “Why did you do this?”
“Because I want to take you to meet my family and this will guarantee none of them will harm you.”
“You want what?”
He released her and took hold of her hands. He was looking into her eyes when he said, “Please come with me to my home today. I want to introduce you to the people I live with.”
“Will it be safe?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t even dream of taking you there if I thought you were in any danger.”
“Alright,” Anna said. She didn’t mention that yet again they were moving too fast. She should have said it was too soon
for such a big step, but she wanted to know everything about Luke, including the people he classed as his family. She did have one concern though. “Will Gabriel be there? How is he going to react?”
Luke grinned. “I don’t know, but it’s going to be fun finding out.”
————————————-∞————————————-
“Are you sure about this?” Anna asked Luke as they drove to his house. He could understand why she was nervous. Meeting the boyfriend’s family was bad enough if they were human; meeting a group of vampires would be a lot worse.
“Yes. Relax. You’ll be fine and they are going to love you.”
He drove down a quiet country lane and Anna looked about her. She had been in the area a few times and always looked at the houses with envy. All were large, modern and surrounded by land. Most had gates at the start of their driveways and multiple garages.
“Are you rich?” she asked. He said his house wasn’t far away so she assumed it would look similar to those she was admiring.
“Not as rich as you’re thinking,” Luke replied when he saw where she was looking. “I couldn’t afford one of these on my own, but the family pooled their funds. I have, however, amassed a fair amount of capital over the century or so I have been alive.”
Anna turned to face him, her mouth hanging open.
Luke grinned. “I guess I forgot to mention that. I was born in 1900. I was turned when I was twenty-four and have not aged a day since.”
“What? How? Why?” Anna wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to ask.
“How did I get turned?” Luke guessed. Anna nodded her head. It was as good a place to start as any. “You won’t find this hard to believe, but it was all Gabriel’s fault.”
Luke then explained that he was staying with his cousin for the weekend. He wasn’t feeling well so went to bed early. He had no idea that Gabriel went out, nor that he brought a date back to the house with him.
Later that night, Luke was woken by Gabriel screaming. He ran into Gabriel’s bedroom and found him in bed with a young woman. Both were naked. The girl was sitting beside Gabriel, watching as he writhed in agony. He had blood all over his neck and the girl had some around her mouth.
Before he had chance to even wonder what was happening, the young lady launched herself off the bed, grabbed Luke’s head and sank her teeth into his neck. Then the pain began. His screams drowned out Gabriel’s and his mind went blank as agony flowed through his entire body. Eventually he could take no more and passed out.
Two days later he awoke to find his cousin drinking blood from his attacker’s wrist. Hearing movement behind her, she turned around and smiled, then held out her other arm to him.
He wanted nothing more than to run from the room, but was gripped by a hunger so intense that he jumped onto the bed, roughly grabbed the offered arm and sank his fangs into the pulsing vein in the wrist.
The blood flowing into his mouth tasted so exquisite that he didn’t wonder why he had fangs or think about how disgusting what he was doing was. Only when he had drunk his fill and pulled his head away from the soft flesh did he realise what he had done. He moved away from her in horror and fell off the bed.
He asked her what she was as he crawled across the floor, putting as much distance between himself and her as he could.
It was Gabriel who told him she was a vampire. He had been seeing her for a few weeks and willingly let her turn him.
“I ran away,” Luke said. “I shut myself in my house and refused to see anyone. Whenever the craving for blood became unbearable, I would go out at night and kill someone. A few weeks later, Gabriel and his vampire girlfriend came to see me. I didn’t want to let them in, but they didn’t give me a choice. They literally knocked down the door.”
Luke went on to explain how the two helped him come to terms with what he had become. They taught him to stop killing people, to only take enough blood to take away the craving without hurting his donor. He learned how to control people and life settled back down to being almost normal. He was stronger, faster and better in every way than he had been before he had been turned and he began to embrace what he was.
“So you like being a vampire?” Anna asked in surprise.
“Like it? I wouldn’t change it for anything. I am powerful. I don’t get sick. I’ll live forever. Blood gives me a thrill every time I taste it. I no longer kill people, so what is there not to like?”
Before Anna could ask more, Luke pulled into a driveway, clicked a button on the remote for the gate and waited for it to open.
Anna had been right; he did live in a mansion like those he had driven past. The building was big and modern and was surrounded by well-tended lawns.
“The garages are round the back,” he said as he pulled up in front of the house. “Currently it can house up to ten cars, but can be extended if we need to.”
“How many rooms does this place have?” Anna asked as she stared up at the three storey building.
“Ten bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, two lounges and a couple of offices. Also a gym, pool and tennis court. Come on, I’ll give you a tour.”
As they were getting out of the car, the front door opened to reveal a young man, who looked to be about eighteen. He stopped and stared at Anna and Luke.
“You’ve brought a human here?” he asked Luke. He did not sound happy. He suddenly tensed. “And you’ve claimed her?” His voice was filled with incredulity. “Did you have permission?”
“That will be a no,” Luke said as he took Anna’s hand and led her toward the house.
The young man grinned. “You are going to be in so much trouble. At least I only break minor rules. Gavin is going to be really pissed.”
“I know. That’s why I’m calling a family meeting. Is everyone in?”
“I think so. Except for Gabriel. He hasn’t made it home yet.” The sound of a car coming down the driveway caught the young man’s attention and he raised his head. “Speak of the devil.”
A bright red Porsche pulled up beside Luke’s car and Gabriel got out. His eyes immediately went to Anna. “What’s she doing here?” he asked. He did not sound pleased to see her. Then he noticed that Luke and Anna were holding hands. “You have got to be kidding me,” he groaned.
“You know I said I met this woman that I couldn’t get out of my head. Well, I guess I neglected to mention who it was,” Luke said.
“How does Gabriel know your girlfriend?” the young man asked.
Luke smiled. “She’s his boss.”
Laughter followed them as Luke and Anna went into the house. Gabriel ran after them.
“Just what the hell is going on?” he asked and grabbed hold of Anna’s arm. He immediately let go, pulling his arm back as if touching her had caused him pain. “Oh Luke. What have you done?”
“What I needed to,” Luke replied. “Now will you do me a favour and show Anna round while I face the fallout of my actions?”
“No way. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“Please Gabriel.”
Gabriel turned to Anna. “Come on. I’ll give you the guided tour while Luke gets murdered.”
Anna looked at Luke in alarm, but he didn’t appear concerned. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, Gabriel is exaggerating.” ‘I hope,’ he silently added.
He waited until his cousin had taken Anna into the kitchen, then walked over to a large bronze gong that hung in the entrance hall. He picked up the mallet and struck the gong. The sound echoing around the house told everyone that a family meeting had been requested.
————————————-∞————————————-
Anna couldn’t get over how clean the house was. It looked like it was a show home that had never been lived in. The furniture all looked brand new, the marble floor was devoid of any stains or scratches and the kitchen stove top looked like it had never been used.
“It hasn’t,” Gabriel said when Anna commented. “None of us eat h
ere.” Then he looked at her curiously. “Just how much has Luke told you about us?”
She told him everything she knew and when she had finished, Gabriel whistled. “He doesn’t do things by half, does he.” Anna raised a questioning eyebrow. “We have rules here. One is that we never tell a human about ourselves. Well he has definitely broken that one. Another is that we don’t take blood from someone and leave them with their memory. I guess he broke that one too.”
Anna nodded so Gabriel continued. “A third is that we do not claim someone without Gavin’s permission. Gavin is head of the household and enforcer of our rules. Luke has always obeyed them ever since we first moved in. Now he has broken at least three in one day. I find myself asking why.”
“I wish I knew,” Anna said.
Anna looked around the kitchen some more, trying not to be envious of its size, and noticed that there were a few signs that people did live in the house after all. An overturned glass was on the draining board and there were a few water marks down the stainless steel dishwasher. The occupants of the house obviously drank even if they didn’t eat.
“Can I offer you coffee or anything?” Gabriel asked, but Anna was too nervous to drink. She was worried what the punishment for breaking the rules was. She shook her head and Gabriel took her hand to lead her out of the kitchen, but quickly dropped it, shaking his own as if she had hurt him. Then Anna remembered what Luke had said about claimed humans giving vampires electric shocks. It looked like he had told her the truth.
While Gabriel showed Anna the rest of the house, Luke was being interrogated.
————————————-∞————————————-
“Why can I smell a human?’ Gavin asked as soon as he walked into the dining room, where Luke was waiting for him.
Before answering, he looked around at the people seated at the table. Young Martin was grinning widely. Having met Anna, he was looking forward to what was about to happen. He was usually the one facing the interrogation and he was going to enjoy being on the other side for once. Helen, his sister, was seated next to him. She was playing with her long blonde hair and looked bored. That would soon change.
Greater Vampires Page 5