Filthy rich VAMPIRE

Chapter 4- Julian

I hadn't killed a human in forty years. That record would end tonight. It wasn't that I wanted to kill her. It was that I knew one taste of her would never satisfy me. Her blood sang to me across the space. Its intoxicating lullaby luring me closer. She was young. I didn't care. She was talented. I didn't care. One word with her, and I'd be able to easily compel her to leave with me. Losing control here could get messy.

The activities I planned for her were usually reserved for the after-parties. The ones that took place at private manors and villas, where the gates were tall and the guest list much more exclusive. I didn't think I could wait long enough to find a new location. But the theater was filled with shadowy nooks and hidden places where I could sink my teeth into that alabaster neck.

She shifted in her seat as I approached, and her cello temporarily blocked my view of her. It had the effect of a talisman, warding her from evil long enough to stop me in my tracks.

I tore my attention from her and stalked out of the ballroom. With each step away from her, my head grew clearer. But in its place was a new, disconcerting desire. I wanted to protect her.

Protect her? How?

I had no idea how the fuck I hoped to do that when I was what she needed protection from.

A safe distance needed to be maintained. I would stay close enough to keep her from falling victim to any of my kind but far enough that I didn't lose my mind with hunger. I'd had years to get control of my blood-lust. I could do this. So why did my resolve feel like sand slipping between my fingers?

The corridor outside the Green Room was mercifully empty. I wasn't sure what might happen if a human stumbled into my path right now. There was one guaranteed way to sate my thirst. I started to slip off a glove when a petite form moved into view. Her scent hit me next. So much for my strategy.

It was a little harder to maintain distance when only one party knew the plan. I quickened my pace, stepping into a shadowy corner to let her pass. She only made it a few steps before a striking figure stepped into her path.

"Fuck," I said under my breath when I caught sight of Giovanni Valente. The vampire was only a century younger than me, but he had a reputation as a ladies' man. The trouble was that he had a tendency to kill it with the ladies-literally.

It was no surprise. In any era, he had the looks to get women behind closed doors. His black hair dusted his shoulders. It had been short the last time we met. We'd been fighting together in some war. After we lost, I hadn't seen or heard from him. Time was a tricky thing. Minutes might last an eternity while years slipped away in the blink of an eye. Giovanni still had a warrior's physique. His tailored tuxedo did little to hide it.

The girl fell back a step, her head tipping to take him in since he had to be a foot taller than her. I listened, waiting for some reaction, but she made no noise. I didn't know her, but she was already driving me nuts.

"Forgive me," Giovanni said, giving her a charming smile, "but I wanted to thank you for the lovely music."

A human might not have picked up on her fingers tightening around the neck of her cello, especially in the dimly lit hall. But I spotted it instantly. There was the survival instinct she seemed to lack in the ballroom. Hopefully, that meant she had a brain. But she didn't move farther away from him. Instead, she laughed nervously. "It's my job," she joked. "And there's more coming soon, but for now I need to use the little girl's room."