Claiming the Night Read online

  “What do you want to do, now?” asked Collette.

  Rebecca mulled over the question for a few minutes as Collette patiently waited. What she actually wanted was to go back in time. When they lived as Goddesses, her wrath and debauchery was legendary. When she was feared and respected. They had wilted and become shadows of the vampires they once were to evolve with the times.

  Now she was, what? A jilted woman whose perfect prize of a mate had left her because she was not his Goddess. She was not good enough for his perfect existence. He wanted an almost 40-year-old mom with a day job. Didn’t he realize who she was? She had lived for more than three hundred years. She was beautiful, powerful and men would grovel at her feet before she ground them to a pulp under her heel.

  She wanted her power back. She wanted her status within the community back. She wanted to live like the Goddess she knew she was. She didn’t want to pretend to live like a human anymore. She wanted to rule over a dominion who adored her. She wanted every trace of Adam erased and to bathe in the blood of his precious, Sara.

  “I want to enjoy this life again,” Rebecca said thoughtfully. “I want to revel in my immortality. I don’t want to feel this self-doubt or this pitiful insecurity Adam has forced upon me. It’s so cliché… so human. I’m a vampire.”

  Collette nodded and said, “I’ve been hearing whispers of discontent. We are not the only ones unhappy with being neutered by the Elders.”

  Neutered.

  Rebecca swirled the word around her head while she swirled her wine around her glass. That was what it felt like. The new rulers had decided they would evolve. To remain unknown by the human race, they did what they had to, to coexist peacefully. It had been decided that vampires who held human life in complete disregard were mentally ill. That being a “murderer” made one a psychopath. That vampires only became psychopaths from the trauma of taking human lives and the longer they had the more dangerously psychotic they were. Indiscriminate killers were a danger to the entire vampire community.

  Technology-driven forensic investigations into human deaths could uncover their secret society. Every human being carrying a personal video camera at all times had forced the hand of the Elders to make sweeping policy changes.

  “Fucking smartphones,” whispered Rebecca.

  Collette sipped her wine and hummed, “MmmHmm.”

  They remained silent a moment and contemplated, the crackling fire in the background.

  “Who else is on the mountain?” Collette asked.

  “Evette and Miguel have been at their chalet since Christmas. Caleb and Cameron joined them yesterday. I’m expecting Orion, Ester, and Rashida to arrive before morning to stay here,” Rebecca answered.

  Collette nodded. Her eyes were thoughtful. “I will steer conversations, find out if we have any potential allies. I will keep it very superficial, nothing serious to gain attention but… maybe a movement toward regaining our freedoms could be made if we had a stronghold on where everyone stood.”

  Rebecca considered this. With forever ahead of her, living with these latest laws and restrictions on vampire behavior made immortality seem like such a drag. Maybe there was a way to sway the pendulum back toward the good ole days.

  “Yes. If discontent is growing, how could the Elders continue on this path? There has to be a better way. Maybe they overestimated what was needed to maintain secrecy,” stated Rebecca.

  “It’s worth a shot,” Collette nodded.

  They finished the bottle, the wine warming their blood and dulling the disappointment. This idea of getting back a little of what was lost excited them. Who were the Elders to say what was psychotic? They were meant to feed off humans? They were the top of the food chain, how could what was biologically imperative be psychotic?

  Was a lion a psychopath?

  Was a shark mentally ill?

  What difference was a human from any other prey?

  Chapter Three

  Sara’s mind was a flutter. She screwed up checking in her patient for the night. She’d forgotten several key parts of the set-up process making herself look inept. Her patient asked, “How long have you worked here?”

  Only a decade, but my boyfriend’s a vampire and the sex is so epic, my brain doesn’t care about bringing the correct wire connections to your room right now.

  Was what she wanted to say, but spouting off about sex and vampires was frowned upon. Sara left the room for the second time to grab something, she would have normally brought with her.

  Sara plopped herself in front of her computer. She watched her patient scratch his balls under the covers through the monitor. She checked all his vital signs, input his check-in data and daydreamed about Adam. The accuracy of this dude’s file would be iffy.

  Not only was she filled with more questions to ask Adam about being a vampire, but she was also obsessed with the bombshell he had laid on her.

  ‘Bareback,’ he’d whispered. His deep voice heavy in her ear.

  The memory gave her a sweet shiver. The thought of unprotected sex with him ignited her lust to a degree she thought impossible. She was already hornier for him than any man she’d ever known, but now she was imagining skin to skin. His hard thick cock entering her with no thin membrane between them. She should have worn a panty liner because she was going to be wet all night.

  Focus! Sara shouted to herself.

  She needed to get all her data keyed in before her patient fell asleep.

  Kelly appeared beside her. The gal saddled up backward in the nearest rolling office chair and rolled herself in close to Sara. She propped her elbows on the back of the chair, placed her face in her hands and asked, “So… What you thinking bout?”

  Sara finished typing before slowly turning her head to see Kelly’s giddy smirk.

  “I’m diligently inputting my patient’s medical history, like a good employee. What else could I be contemplating?” Sara smiled and batted her long lashes in Kelly’s direction.

  Kelly leaned in closer and attempted to get a better look at Sara’s scarfed neck. “Oh, I don’t know….”

  Sara pulled her hair forward and blocked her view.

  Kelly continued, “Maybe you’re thinking about… big cocks.”

  Sara stifled a laughed. She looked about the room making sure no other technicians had heard her crass remark.

  “Shh. This is a professional work environment.” Sara mockingly scolded.

  Kelly snorted, “Fuck them. I need the juicy details. I saw him dropping you off girl! And might I say, Wow.”

  You wouldn’t believe how juicy. Sara thought as she sighed contentedly.

  “That good huh?” Kelly joked.

  “Yes, that good. He’s amazing. I’ve never been so horny in my life. I almost quit tonight to go have sex, but I have to be a responsible adult, like a chump.” Sara said disgruntled.

  “Stupid adulting.” Kelly concurred.

  “He asked me to be exclusive,” Sara said, a tinge of pride shined in her voice.

  “Oh really,” Kelly was impressed. She purred, “You must be quite the wild cat.”

  Kelly simulating a blow job moved her fist back and forth at her face with her tongue pushing out her cheek.

  “Stop it. You’re going to get us in trouble.” Sara laughed and pushed Kelly’s hand away. She glanced around the room and made sure no one was looking. Their colleagues were actually working and not paying them any attention. “But yeah, I feel pretty good about my performance.”

  “He returned the favor?” Kelly asked.

  “Oh, Mary Mother of Joseph, yes!” Sara said as she bit her lip.

  “Good boy. Nothing I hate more than a piece of shit who expects it, but won’t give it. Red flag right there.” Kelly said as she playfully spun in her chair.

  “Mmmhmm,” Sara agreed and grunted. “Deal breaker for sure.”

  Sara and Kelly’s chat was rudely interrupted by a loud throat-clearing cough from behind them. Their supervisor walked into the room and found th
em not working. The man’s name was Marcus and he loved being in charge. He was a sleep tech, just like them, but he earned a couple hundred more dollars a month and held up the mantle of Person-in-Charge. Sara and Kelly didn’t give two shits about being in charge and they’d been there years longer than Marcus.

  “Ladies, can this chat wait until break time. The night has just begun,” he said with a smile that eluded to his good-natured patience with the underlings.

  Kelly pulled the chair out from under herself as she stood up.

  “Sure thing, boss,” Kelly said with a wink at Sara.

  The man in a sharp suit said, “Visiting clients in this area is the best. The girls at this club are the hottest in the country.”

  Neon lights flashed and brightened the interior of the Durango. The businessman had been chatty on the ride from his hotel to the nearest strip joint.

  “Have a nice night,” Adam said as he put his SUV into park.

  “Thanks for the ride,” The man replied.

  The man tossed five bucks onto the passenger seat and climbed out.

  “Thank you,” Adam said before the door closed.

  He watched the man jog to the front door of the establishment.

  Adam checked the time, but it was too early yet for anyone to need a ride home from a strip club. He decided to head for the airport.

  He grabbed the fiver and added it to his wallet.

  What a slow way to make money.

  His savings account was not adding up fast enough. Before spending nights with Sara he Ubered every night of the week, but despite the hustle, he never made enough to put any respectable amount in his savings. He had blown his first decent lump sum of savings on a supply of blood and had been paycheck to paycheck ever since. He couldn’t continue, this way. He would never get ahead, even if he drove seven days a week. He obviously hadn’t been able to stay fed.

  He needed to call Raphael and ask for a stockpile. With the threat to Sara he needed to be strong. He didn’t completely trust Rebecca’s truce. He had to be diligent and stay fully blooded no matter what it took.

  Adam decided to pull into the nearest parking lot and get the call over with. He tapped unavailable on his Uber app and put the car in park.

  “FaceTime Raphael,” he said, taking his phone from the stand on the dash.

  “Brother!” Raphael’s immediate and jovial answer to his call made Adam smile.

  Raphael was bare-chested and sitting up between two naked and sleeping bodies.

  In response to Adam’s questioning look, Raphael said, “Just entertaining the ladies.”

  A woman asked ‘who’s that’ in a sleepy voice, Raphael told her to go back to sleep as he left the bed.

  “Well, it looks like you are done entertaining them for the night. Are you sure you have enough energy to chat?” Adam joked.

  “I’ll manage,” Raphael replied.

  Adam shook his head. Raphael was a sexually charged beast who seemed content to seduce a new woman nightly. As far as Adam knew Raphael had never found a mate in his two hundred plus years. He was a dark and dangerous looking man, eyes and hair as black as night, but his darkness was in appearance only. Even after two centuries he still lived his life with childlike excitement. The two polar opposite traits endeared him quickly to women. Adam heard talk that old Raphael was pretty impressive in bed.

  “Are you in New York?” Adam asked.

  “Yes. Do you want to get here? I can arrange it. There’s no better place to be New Year’s Eve.” Raphael seemed pumped about the prospect.

  “No, I already have plans. Sorry, I was just asking to see if it would be a possibility for you to make it out here after New Year’s? If you aren’t busy?”

  “What’s going on?” Raphael looked concerned.

  “I need your help. Something… happened. I can’t go into the specifics over the phone, but I need a supply. I haven’t been able to raise the money working night jobs. I can’t let myself starve like this anymore. I’ve come to the conclusion that I need your help.”

  “Anything, my friend. I’ll get you set up. Don’t worry,” Raphael reassured him quickly. “I don’t want you to wait. If you’re asking me for help, you’ve let it get too far and waiting several days for me to get there will prolong your suffering. I’ll have it delivered tonight.”

  “Thank you, buddy. I hate to ask. If it wasn’t so important that I stay strong now…” Adam trailed off not wanting to say too much.

  Raphael eyed him speculatively. “I’ll be there in a few days, we’ll talk then.”

  “I look forward to it,” Adam replied.

  “Until then, take care brother,” Raphael said sincerely.

  “Thank you.” Adam tapped end call.

  Adam breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure how much he would tell Raphael. He would admit to falling in love with a human, perhaps that would be enough for Raphael. Being properly fed for her protection was his main concern. Maybe he would allude to Rebecca’s anger about him dating again.

  That should probably be enough. Telling him Rebecca and Collette had tried to kill him would be pushing it. His reaction to that bombshell would be unpredictable.

  He needed to get home and wait for the delivery. Before putting the car into drive his phone chimed.

  “You got me all tingly,” texted Sara.

  Adam smiled and remembered her face when he whispered those infamous words. He quickly Google searched ‘bareback’ and found the first picture of a woman riding a horse without a saddle. He screenshot the picture, cropped it and texted it with the caption, “You tomorrow night.”

  Chuckling to himself he put the car in drive and headed home to await his precious blood supply.

  He reveled in the sweet anticipation, the butterflies of a new relationship had him giddy. He hadn’t felt this way since he was human. It reminded him of his first loves. Just thinking about Sara put a smile on his face. He couldn’t wait to see her again. Having something to look forward to brought back a vitality into his life that he had been sorely lacking for too many years.

  The beginning of his relationship with Rebecca had been shadowed by the grief he had felt at the loss of his parents. He hadn’t had this light walking on air feeling. Being with Rebecca was an escape from reality. He’d lost himself in the life she had to offer to avoid being alone. She was beautiful and her lifestyle so extravagant. The excitement of those once in a lifetime experiences kept him from thinking too much about the life he’d actually lost.

  This year alone had given him time to reflect on what his twenty-four-year-old self had done, taking Rebecca up on changing him. He’d lost the chance to have a life like his Father. Adam spent his entire life wanting to be more like the man. His chances at a family and having a home filled with joy and laughter was stripped away. He gave away his chance to connect with another human being, have children, and spend the rest of his life with the woman he loved.

  Adam’s father would talk about what he’d do with his grandkids someday. He prayed for granddaughters to spoil, since he never had a daughter of his own.

  Adam’s parents were forty-eight when they passed away. They were ready for the next chapter of their life. His Mom had several boxes of Adam’s old toys and clothes in a closet waiting to hand them down to her grandchildren. He had not understood the stage of life his folks were in when he was younger, but now at forty, he was beginning to understand. He gave it all up when his judgment was clouded by his grief and pain.

  He would never get that time back. The years in his life when he was supposed to create a family were gone. But he could have a woman that loved him the same way his Mom loved his Dad. The kind of woman that made every day fun and exciting. Sara could be the family he always wanted, perhaps they could be grandparents to Hazel’s children.

  Who am I kidding? Here’s my Mom’s weird permanently twenty-four-year-old boyfriend. Call him, Papa. Adam mocked himself. How the fuck is that going to work?

  He did not h
ave the answers, not yet anyway.

  Being twenty-four forever seemed like such an amazing opportunity at the time. Now a sense of regret was taking root and there was no way to go back. He spent the last fifteen years drifting through life as the arm candy to a powerful vampire.

  What kind of man does that make me?

  He shook his head.

  Not the kind of man I was raised to be.

  Adam couldn’t change the past, but he could spend the rest of his life being the man his parents would have expected him to become.

  Chapter Four

  Sara knocked on Hazel’s closed bedroom door and asked, “You ready baby?”

  Hazel swung it open seconds later looking vibrant in a form-fitted purple flannel button-up shirt and skinny jeans. Her hair in a high ponytail somehow managing to be artfully messy. Sara thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. There was nothing in Sara’s life she was prouder of, than her daughter.

  “Yup. How do I look?” asked Hazel.

  “You look fantastic,” Sara said. “Purple has always been your color.”

  Sara fondly remembered dressing Hazel in purple tutus when she was a toddler. Anytime there had been a choice between pink or purple, be it a toy or a dress, Hazel always went for purple.

  “You’re looking mighty fine yourself.” Hazel returned the compliment.

  “Thank you, dear.” Sara led the way out of the house.

  Sara was dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans. The legs rolled up at the ends to show off her cute little suede wedge booties. She wore a light gray, deep v-neck, long sleeve relaxed fit t-shirt, tucked in the front. A black silk scarf was tied around her neck. She walked with more hip sway than she had in years. Feeling sexy was a new sensation to her. It was more than nice to feel this good.

  “Your hard work at the gym is paying off. Look at that Mom-butt!” Hazel playfully smacked one of Sara’s cheeks.

  Sara shook her head and laughed. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  “I’m driving!” Hazel exclaimed and pushed past her getting to the car first.