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Never had he tasted such passion from a woman. He enjoyed her kindness, humor, and intelligence in equal measure.

If it wasn’t for me, she probably never would have cheated on her husband
. He felt a twinge of guilt as he passed the threshold of his Victorian-style room.

This feeling intensified as he saw her hunched over in the depths of the lavender silk sheets that covered his four poster bed. Her arms and legs locked tight, she sat on the bed with her head bowed and her hands folded before her.

Fighting the urge to throw his arms around her and love away the hurt, Sebastian instead folded his arms before himself and stood beside the cherry wood draw set not too far away.

“
What is it babe?” he asked her.

“
What is it?” Rhonda repeated, her head shooting up in a fit of panic. “I’m betraying my husband and breaking my marriage vows for the sake of some nympho vampire.” She gestured broadly. “And for what?”

“
For this.” Sebastian whipped off his robe to reveal a sculpted, muscular body that could only be described by any woman as perfection.

“
I’m your slave Rhonda.” His voice was soft and hypnotic as he approached the bed. “I’ll do whatever it takes to please and satisfy you.”

Eager to prove himself, Sebastian held his lover’s gaze as he fell to his knees and crawled like an animal across the room.

“
Just relax,” he whispered, bowing before her to kiss his way up her long, sturdy legs. “Let me make you feel better.”

The act of cheating on her husband only added to the forbidden pleasure she was experiencing. Every kiss felt like a touch of heaven, and one that felt so wrong it was right.

As Sebastian knew would happen, they once again made wild animal like love. When
Rhonda hit the peak of her pleasure, her moans let her lover and anyone walking by outside know just that.

She took a minute to catch her breath, then suddenly went still beneath him. She stared up at him with wide, worried eyes. For a moment he met her gaze with one of curiosity and confusion. What was wrong?

He got up, only to realize that his fangs protruding from his face.
In that case my eyes must also be blood shot.

“
I’m afraid I feel a little red.” he attempted to joke. Yet in his newly rough and base filled voice, this provided no comfort for the woman he had not long ago pleased.

She scrambled out from underneath him and sprang to her feet, making fast distance between them.

“
Rhonda.” With some effort he gentled his voice, holding his hand out to her. “Please tell me I didn’t hurt you, my darling.”

“
No, not at all,” Rhonda said quickly, though her voice quivered as she continued to back away from him. “It’s just that…” she fumbled for the right words, “you’ve never looked like this before.”

Sitting up on the floor, Sebastian offered Rhonda a reassuring smile as he lowered the hand she’d rejected.

“
Sometimes, love, it is the way of the incubi to show animal passion in their sexual encounters. Both during and after their occurrence.” He shut his eyes tight, feeling his fangs recede in his mouth as his voice and breath both steadied and normalized. “Yet even in the throes of passion, my dear, we are not bloodsuckers. We are not killers.”

Standing to his feet, he gathered Rhonda into his arms and cradled her close; rubbing her arms in a gentle motion as he planted sweet kisses on her cheeks and forehead.

“
It’s all your fault, love. You bring out the beast in me.” He grinned, tilting his forehead against hers. “You also, I daresay, bring out the best in me. And I would never, ever hurt you.” His brow furrowed as he considered her tight lips and stormy eyes. “You believe me, don’t you?”

He deflated as she broke away from him, walking to collect the discarded clothes that had been thrown on the floor hours earlier.

“
At this point, Sebastian, I don’t know what to believe.” She slipped into her shirt and shorts, all the while averting her eyes to the floor. “A month ago I never thought I’d cheat on my husband. And I didn’t believe in vampires.”

“
Yeah well, this vampire sure does believe in you.” Sebastian gathered her up in his arms and buried his face in her shoulder-length fall of soft brown hair.

For a moment he allowed himself to cling to the softness and supple warmth of her full-figured body, before pulling back to bare his emotions.

“
Look, I know this whole thing started out as a physical affair,” he nodded, “but you can’t deny the fact that it’s gone far beyond that.”

“
I know, and that’s what frightens me.” Again his lover broke away from him, heading with swift steps in the direction of the door.

“
Why should something so beautiful frighten you?” Sebastian followed her, watching with helpless eyes as she opened his door and stepped through to the other side.

“
I don’t know baby. It's just, we have two rather major obstacles standing in our way.” She shook her head, turning on her heel to begin a long trek down the hallway that separated his home from hers. “My wedding ring. And your fangs.”

With that, she was gone.

Standing for a long moment just inside his doorway, Sebastian finally retreated into his apartment and heaved a deep sigh.

“
This is probably the first time in my life I regret being a vampire.” He folded his arms before him. “To use a downright pathetic cliché, it can indeed suck.”

Hathen Noble stood up high on the border of the fountain that marked his second home at Nightingale Park. Yet although he stood tall and proud on this platform, towering above the members of his den who surrounded him on the ground below him, he felt smaller and weaker than he ever had.

How can I stand here and accuse any member of my family of betraying me? He looked straight into the face of Clotilde; the wide-eyed, innocent looking blonde who gave him a sugar sweet smile in return. How can I even question the loyalty of people who would kill and die for me?

He realized, though, that during her time with his den, Scarlet may have hypnotized or entranced any or all of his members.

Whatever the case, I need to ask my people some tough questions tonight
. He took a deep breath and drew himself up, bracing his arms before him.
If anything it’s for their own good
.

“
I’d like to thank you all for coming together tonight for the purpose of this meeting.” His voice rang out loud and clear in the night; bringing every head upward and every gaze alert. “I have to warn you, though, that it will not be ‘pleasure as usual’ at Nightingale Park tonight.”

He paused, closing his eyes to inhale a deep gust of fortifying Florida air. “I have to say some tough things this evening, to pose questions I’d rather not ask.”

Sebastian had heard enough.

“
Spit it out Hathen!” He cried out from the back. “You have a strong group here. They can take it.”

“
Speak for yourself!” Clotilde looked over nervously.

Hathen laughed, more from nerves rather then amusement.

“
Brave up little one.” He reached forward to touch the shoulder of a cowering Clotilde. “You’re the biggest survivor of us all. You survived Scarlet’s attack, and helped to bring her to justice.”

Clotilde considered this for a moment, then smiled.

“
I did, didn’t I?” She stood up straight, squaring her shoulders. “I never knew I was so bad ass.”

Hathen pitched his head back, laughing outright.

“
You most definitely are. As are all of your friends here in my den.” His smile dissolved as he considered his next words. “Speaking of Scarlet, although I know we’d prefer to forget her, I’m afraid that she still poses a threat to our home. Perhaps to our very lives.” He cringed before he continued.

“
According to our good friend Jess Green, chief of the Clearview Police Department, Scarlet has made certain threats from within her jail cell. She remains determined to destroy our den, along with all other incubi vampires unlucky enough to cross her path.”

Hathen froze as his words were met with a body of laughter, one that came from the ever practical Verona, who stood firm in the center of the crowd.

“
And she plans to accomplish this how?” she challenged. “As powerful as she is, she is only one vampire.”

Hathen sighed.

“
Sadly, Verona, that doesn’t seem to be true.” He shook his head. “Scarlet seems to be a den leader, just like me. Only she seems to come from a family of bloodsuckers, all of whom are just as murderous as she is.”

“
Or so she claims,” Sebastian snorted, rolling his eyes heavenward. “If she has all of these powerful bloodsuckers backing her up, then why haven’t they shown their faces? Why haven’t they challenged us?”

“
They may be here now.” Hathen looked Sebastian straight in the eyes. “Scarlet has strongly hinted to Jess that she has placed a rogue vampire in our ranks.”

Sebastian met his words with a mocking smile.

“
Oh, so that was the true reason behind our little conversation this morning.” His smile was not kind. “You think I’m the rogue vamp, just another slave of Scarlet’s.”

“
No, actually I don’t.” Hathen said honestly. “That may have been why I visited you today, but by the time I left Sebastian, I had no doubt as to your loyalty.” He paused, making a sweeping gesture across the crowd.

“
I do not doubt any of your loyalties for one minute. What I need you to do, though, is place the same trust in me.” He stepped forward on the surface of his narrow platform, his gaze flowing from face to face in his crowd of observers. “I have to know if any of you have heard from Scarlet, or have received any telepathic messages from her. We all know vampires sometimes communicate in this way.”

Immediate silence met his queries, followed by a barrage of denials that brought a smile to his face.

“
No bloodsucker could sway me, Hathen.” Verona shook her fist in the air, her always deep voice booming louder than usual as she turned to face the gathered crowd. “Especially not some skinny little wuss like Scarlet.”

“
I second that sentiment!” Anthony stuck his muscular chest out and nodded in agreement to his lover’s every word.

“
I, third that sentiment!” The tiny Clotilde jumped atop the fountain, engaging a grinning Hathen in a sisterly hug. “Please don’t doubt our loyalty to you Hathen. We all love you so very much, and would follow you anywhere.”

“
I know that, little one.” He drew back to plant an affirming kiss on the forehead of the woman he loved like a daughter. “And I promise never to let another bloodsucker endanger our den. What happened was my fault, and I need to be stronger.”