His eyes seemed to sparkle in the low light of the office. She kept the lights down when she worked late so as to minimize the glare from the computer screens but now it was serving a double purpose. The low light made the atmosphere more intimate between them, causing her to shift in her seat. Her stomach fluttered, as did regions further down.

The computer beeped, requiring a few keystrokes from her, which she put in almost by rote. She noted his gaze following her fingers as they flew over the keyboard. Usually when people watched her work they made her nervous but this man had an entirely unexpected effect on her. This man fired her long-dormant libido. He made her want things she had never wanted this badly before. He made her want to throw caution to the wind.

She finished entering the last string of commands and turned back to him. He was such a disturbingly masculine presence at her side she needed to get him gone so she could think.

"I'll be at this a few more hours. It should probably finish the loading sequence somewhere around three in the morning."

"So late?" His voice warmed with concern. "I don't like the idea of you walking around campus alone at such a late hour."

She shrugged, trying not to show how much his concern warmed her inside. She had been alone so long. n.o.body had ever really worried about her keeping odd hours. No one since her foster parents, and they were long gone.

"It can't be helped. But I'll be careful. I can call campus security to escort me to my car if I feel the need."

"That will not do." He made a slight tsking sound as he shook his head gravely from side to side. "I'll tell you what. I need to mark a huge stack of essays. I can do that while you work here and when you're done, I'll walk you out myself."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble."

"No trouble at all." He stood with some finality, his body language making her realize he would not take no for an answer. And what a body! He was muscular and hard in all the right places.

"I insist," he continued. "Perhaps you will join me for a cup of coffee at the all-night diner in town? I suffer from insomnia and find it difficult to sleep at night."

His self-effacing little shrug touched her heart. For such a strong man to admit to any sort of weakness was somehow very endearing. How could she turn down such a simple request, especially when her more adventurous side was yelling at her to take him up on his offer. She took a steadying breath and nodded, liking the immediate light that came into his eyes.

"That would be nice. I could probably use a bit of time to unwind after this is done. It's always the most boring, but nerve-wracking part of the job." She chuckled and he followed suit, the slight upturn of his lips lighting up his whole face. She thought with an inward chuckle, a full out smile from him might very well kill her. He was that potent.

Dmitri surprised her by taking her hand. Bowing slightly, he kissed the back of it in an old-world gesture that would have seemed silly coming from any other man, but Dmitri Belakov had the dashing charm to carry it off. She nearly swooned when his lips parted and his tongue brushed ever so lightly against her knuckles, dipping into the crease between her ring and middle fingers for a sensuous lick.

Her breath caught and her eyes shot up to his. The amus.e.m.e.nt in his gaze lit a fire in her blood, daring her to laugh back and she did, surprising herself. The man was magic. He had to be. She had never responded to any man this intensely or this fast. Ever.

"Call me if you finish before three. Otherwise, I'll come check on you at that time."

She found she had no breath to answer him, merely nodding as he offered her a slight smile and left the room. She had been right, she realized. His smile was completely devastating.

At three in the morning, Dmitri checked on the small woman who was busily typing away. She was so intent on her work she didn't sense him at first, though that was hardly surprising. Most mortals would be unable to sense his presence at the best of times but he had come to realize this woman was much more sensitive than most mortals. She had sensed him in her dreams, pulled him into her phantom desires and was aware of him on a level most mortals would never plumb.

He liked that. Perhaps a bit too much.

She would, in all likelihood, die tonight at his hands, but he would give her a fair hearing at least, before deciding her fate.

"Carly."

She gasped and jumped up straight in her rolling chair. Her eyes turned to him unerringly in the darkened room. "You frightened me."

"I apologize. I came to see if you were almost ready for that coffee."

She bit her lip, turning back to the glowing screen. He found himself staring at her perfect, white teeth as they worried at a plump, pink lower lip. How he wanted to be the one biting her.

"Uh, I should be done here in about ten more minutes. The last module is being a bit stubborn." She turned back to her work, all too easily dismissing him from her mind as the computer problem took his place in her thoughts. He did not like being so summarily dismissed. The thought jarred him.

Usually, he was more than happy to leave his human prey with no recollection of his presence. In fact, it was important that he be able to exert his control over their weaker minds in order to contain the secret of his existence. It was imperative to his survival and one of the most important rules he had set when he had taken over this territory some three hundred years before. He was Master of this region now, as he would be well into the future barring some unfortunate circ.u.mstance. Only his death would cause him to relinquish his leadership of the vampires in this region. He loved this wide open country too much.

There were not many of his kind here, but enough that he had to exert his power and authority now and again. He led them with equanimity and a fairness about which none of them had ever complained. He ruled with absolute control and his word was law. Luckily for his people, he was a fair-minded man with more inclination to let them live as they would with only a few simple guidelines and laws they could not break. Breaking one of his laws, they all knew, would be cause for immediate and deadly punishment. Adhering to his few, well-reasoned laws, however, allowed them all to live harmoniously in the shadow of the mountains where so many werecreatures resided. There was an uneasy truce maintained between his kind and the weretribes and he wanted it kept that way.

Chief among his laws was secrecy. No mortal should ever be left with a memory of their kind. Vampires needed to feed from mortals, but he taught even the youngest of his people to cover their tracks. No memories remained with the mortals of their encounters with his kind, unless they were memories of exquisite s.e.xual pleasure with an unknown, faceless partner.

He would love to give Carly those kinds of memories, in truth. He would f.u.c.k her over and over while he feasted on her blood, but manipulating her memories might prove more difficult than with the average woman. Her mind was enticingly complex for a mortal with just hints of something...other...he could not identify. It was there and then it was gone. It intrigued him, as did the woman.

She was bright, brilliant in fact, and had a confidence in her intellect that was very attractive. At the same time, she seemed wholly unsure of her attractiveness as a female. She had a voluptuous body, though her manner indicated she was still untried in many ways, her eyes going shy whenever he looked at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with interest. That intrigued him as well.

More than that, she had a purity about her, a kindness that manifested itself in the small ways she interacted with those around her. She was thoughtful, respectful of her elders and those for whom she worked, and honest in her dealings. Those were rare traits, he knew, among mortals of this generation. She was unique and uniquely arousing.

She turned him on like no woman had done for centuries. All he had to do was look at her for his d.i.c.k to go hard and wanting. All he had to do was think about her for his fangs to drop, seeking her essence.

Before he realized the pa.s.sage of time, she was turning back to him, a brilliant smile on her face. She seemed genuinely happy about the victory she had just won over a stubborn computer program.

"All done."

He found himself smiling back and noted the hitch in her breathing. His eyes strayed to her pounding pulse then down to the swell of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She was so aware of him, he knew it would be easy to take her now, but he needed more information. He needed to know if she was a threat to him, and if so, he needed to decide her fate. Live or die? He did not want to rush to judgment on this one.

"Shall we see about that coffee?"

She nodded, collecting herself and stood. With a few economical moves, she shut down the computer system, then grabbed her coat. He took it from her before she could put it on and held it open. He wanted to get his arms around her, the sooner the better, but he was cautioning himself to slowness. He had to get her used to his touch first. Gentleness wasn't something he was used to giving but he instinctively knew it was what this particular female needed.

She turned her back to him and allowed him to help her into the coat. When he didn't let go, she started nervously, like a frightened doe, but he held her close, her back to his front, his arms wrapped around her over the bulky shearling coat.

"You are a beautiful woman, Carly."

His nose nuzzled through her soft hair, seeking the scent of her skin where her shoulder joined her neck. He felt her shiver and smelled her rapidly rising arousal. Good, he thought, she is as responsive in the flesh as she was in her dreams.

"Um, thank you." She seemed frozen in place, curious but frightened. He liked that she did not run from him. If she had run, he knew his predatory instincts would come to the fore and he would chase her down. This was so much better in the long run. He needed her to come to him willingly. Keeping that goal foremost in his mind, he let her go and stepped back, breaking the spell.

The all-night diner was surprisingly busy but they were able to snag a corner booth that was relatively quiet. Dmitri was the perfect gentleman, encouraging her to order whatever she liked though he stuck with plain black coffee. She noticed he didn't drink much of his coffee, just a few sips and when she questioned him on it, he said he didn't want the caffeine keeping him awake all night. She wondered why he hadn't just ordered decaf but let the question slide as he neatly changed the subject and started asking questions about the new software system she was installing.

Before she knew it, three in the morning was only a memory and it was getting closer to dawn. Dmitri drew her attention to the slight pinkening of the sky and she gasped. They had talked for more than two hours though it seemed like only minutes. She was that comfortable with him.

With a few parting words and a somewhat awkward-at least on her part -peck on the cheek, he let her go. She climbed into her car and set out for her little farm, about twenty minutes away by car. As she crested a hill, the sun greeted her and the beauty of the dawn stole her breath. It was a beautiful day to be alive.

Dmitri made it home from their rendez-vous with only moments to spare. He could fly quite fast when there was need but he had cut this just a little too close for comfort. Still, he reasoned, any time spent with the enchanting Carly was time well spent. She had thoroughly captivated him as they sat in the diner, talking about anything and everything.

His mental abilities allowed him to probe a little beneath her complex surface, learning just a hint of the thought processes that went into her answers to the many, many different questions he had posed to her. Though she hadn't realized it, she was being carefully studied, a.n.a.lyzed and judged. He had decided rather quickly to let her live at least a bit longer while he probed deeper into the amazing effect this surprising mortal woman was having on his mind and body.

All she had to do was smile and he was ready to f.u.c.k her. Hard.

He knew he could make her want it. He had read her attraction to him in the subtle shifts of her body, the alluring scent of her arousal. It was heady stuff. He hadn't wanted s.e.x with a mortal in a very long time, but this one woman was making him want s.e.x, and her blood, in the worst way.

He would have her, he decided. Both her luscious body and her sweet, life-giving blood. She would feed all his desires, his hungers and his needs. Then he would decide her fate. For now, he would invade her dreams once more and begin the process of seduction. While she slept in the farmhouse several stories above his own dwelling, he would seduce her senses and bring them both an echo of the pleasure they would find together.

He spread her out before him in their shared dream, her whimpering cries of pleasure music to his ears as he licked through her folds and delved his tongue within, mimicking the motion he wanted to make with his c.o.c.k. She writhed beneath him, her legs churning as pleasure threatened to overtake her.

"Come for me, little one. Come now." He whispered against her wet, silken flesh as his fangs came down, his own excitement growing. With a growl he nipped at her little c.l.i.t, fighting against his baser nature to treat her gently, his teeth teasing, not hurting. He never wanted to hurt this small woman, giving herself so freely to him in the realm of dreams. He vowed silently that she would give herself just as freely in the flesh.

He couldn't wait much longer to claim her in truth. The short time he had already spent studying her only made him want more of her.

She spasmed against his mouth, crying out her release as he rode her through the storm, licking softly. This time, the climax didn't startle her out of the dream.

He knew she was greedy for him now and the pleasure he could bring her. She stayed in the dream, wanting more. Wanting him. It made him feel like a king.

At length she quieted, and he knew it was only a matter of moments before she was once again writhing in his arms. He worked toward that goal, stretching out over her, his body suddenly naked in the way of dreams. He rubbed up and down, his body against hers, his hardness against her softness, his hunger against her welcoming warmth and wetness. She was almost there.

Lowering his head, he brushed his closed lips against hers, pulling back, making sure he held her eyes as he smiled, letting her see his fangs. The moment of truth. Or close to it, at least. If she thought about it at all, she would put his appearance up to her imagination in the harsh light of her day, but he knew he wanted her to think about what she had seen in the dream. For there was no question but that she would be remembering this dream when she woke up. He willed it so. He wanted her to think of him and wonder until he could see her again the next night.

Then he would challenge her. He would confront her perceptions of reality and dreams. He would claim her for his own. At least for one night. Maybe two. Maybe a decade. Time meant little to him, a master of his kind.

She gasped as she saw him fully in the dream, her hand coming up between them. He thought she meant to push him away, but she would find him impossible to move. Instead, she surprised him, her soft eyes turning curious as she traced delicately with one finger over the sharp point of one deadly fang.

The motion cut her and a drop of her precious blood seeped out onto her skin. She drew back but he grasped her hand and brought her little, b.l.o.o.d.y finger to his mouth, licking out to taste her, if only in a dream.

Her eyes darkened with desire, shaking him to his core as he sucked her finger in deep. He laved the little digit, coaxing more of her essence into his suddenly starved senses.

Too bad this was only a dream. He longed to know what she tasted like for real. Soon, he counseled himself, soon.

He pulled back, allowing her to pull her finger free with a slight suctioning pop. He parted his lips, letting her see what was coming as he lowered his mouth to her soft throat. She fired his blood as she made no move to stop him, uttered no words of fear. She wanted this. If only in her dreams.

As he moved down to her beautiful throat, he moved his c.o.c.k to the hot, wet opening that was so ready for him. As he plunged his teeth into her jugular, his c.o.c.k found its home in her p.u.s.s.y, pumping hard.

Her blood pulsed into his mouth as his c.o.c.k pumped into her hot p.u.s.s.y. In and out, harder and stronger, his desire flamed higher than it ever had before. He felt her contracting around him, her own cries speaking nothing of fear, only of ecstasy.

"Harder, Dmitri! Harder!" She gasped next to his ear, firing him higher.

He pushed her to her limits and then beyond, his mind intimately twined with hers in the realm of the dream. Her heart pulsed in time with his thrusts, hot and hard, fast and strong. He knew she was seconds away from exploding, as was he.

With a groan, he sucked deep, exploding hot within her tight depths, feeling her own release squeeze him with velvet gloves while he came and came, longer and stronger than he ever had before. Even in dreams.

Their coming together was magical and sublime. He found himself already thinking of when they could do this again. He wanted more of her body, more of her blood. More of her.

With a polite lick of his tongue, he closed the wounds on her neck, pulling back as both of them came back to earth in the dream. He made sure he had her full attention before speaking, not allowing his teeth to retract. She needed to see all of him, even if she would only think it was part of her imagination the next day. When he knew he had her focused on him, he dipped his head close, holding her gaze.

"You will remember this, Carly. You are mine now. Mine."

Carly awoke that afternoon, her mind a little bleary from more odd dreams, her body still humming from a completion the likes of which she had never known. She remembered every moment of the strange, hot, incredibly erotic dream. Suddenly her phantom lover from all the nights before had a face, and it was Dmitri Belakov's!

She scoffed at her own imagination. Why, she had even dreamed he was a vampire, of all things. How ridiculous.

The man was definitely s.e.xy and had gotten under her skin in a big way, but he was no vampire. Vampires didn't exist. It was just his s.e.xy foreign name and slight accent that put her in mind of those old horror movies she had loved as a kid.

Still, he certainly made one s.e.xy hunk of vampire in her dream. She couldn't remember ever achieving such complete s.e.xual satisfaction from a dream before. One thing she knew-Dmitri Belakov was potent if just the memory of him in her imagination could make her come like a freight train.

She had work to finish up on campus that night and as she showered and dressed, she couldn't get the memory of that incredible dream out of her mind. How on earth was she going to face the man when in her mind he had been making love to her half the day, and sucking her blood? Sure, there was no way he could know the content of her erotic dreams, but she knew, and the memory would claim her the moment she saw his handsome face.

"Well, this is going to be an interesting night at work," she said to her reflection as she made her way out the front door of her little farmhouse.

Down below in the secret dwelling, Dmitri laughed. She had no idea.

Carly sensed Dmitri's presence just an hour after she settled in for the night in front of the bank of computers. She had more loading to do, then just a bit of testing and it would be all done. She was always happy when a project completed successfully but she would miss the campus. If she were honest with herself, she would admit she'd definitely miss this intriguing man.

Carly yawned as she faced the screen, suddenly aware of Dmitri at her back. He moved so silently she hadn't heard him come into the room though the whole building was pretty much closed for the night.

"Didn't sleep well?" he asked, a s.e.xy smile on his lips.

She smiled and shook her head. "I had some odd dreams."

He fairly purred as he swiveled her chair around to face him.

"Some dreams," his eyes seemed lit from within, "are more than just dreams."

"What do you mean?"

"How did it feel when you came in my arms last night, Carly? Did you like the way I licked your p.u.s.s.y and f.u.c.ked you with my tongue? I can a.s.sure you, it will feel even better in the flesh."

Carly gasped as his fingertips traced down her arm, over her soft knit shirt. Even with the fabric between her skin and his, she could feel the electricity of his touch. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about when I f.u.c.ked you in our dream. I shared it with you, Carly. I've never come so hard or so good as I have these past nights in your arms. In your dreams."

"That's not possible!" She drew back from him in alarm but his strong hands on the arms of her chair held her in place.

"Oh, I a.s.sure you, it's more than just possible. It's real. As am I."

Dmitri felt his fangs aching...dropping...and he knew she would see everything. It was time. He smiled. She gasped.

"Oh my G.o.d. You're...you're..."

"Vampire." His voice vibrated through the room and he knew she was affected by the slight trembling of her lithe body.

"You're crazy! There's no such thing."

"I beg to differ." His smile widened as she brought her fingers up, as she had in the dream, to test the sharpness of his feeding teeth.

Like the dream, she felt the sharpness of his tooth but pulled back before she cut herself. He found himself disappointed. How he wanted to taste her!

"You're not kidding around, are you?"