I rise and step back several paces. He’s so large that to look him in the eye and not crane my neck, I need the space. “Right now?” The shock in my voice and the way it rises at the end isn’t at all like me.
“Unless you have other obligations, Mari. I can come by another day. Tell me what’s best for you.” His voice is soft, as if he’s speaking to a scared kitten that he wants to reassure of its safety.
Am I safe? He’s not a threat. I mean, not many creatures are a threat to me unless there’s a mob with torches marching down the street. I calm myself. “Now is fine.”
His smile nearly topples me as the effect goes right to my clit. My senses go into overload, and I hear the sound of his blood rushing through his veins. It’s like the sweetest music. His scent floods my nostrils, and I have to close my eyes. When I open them, he’s staring.
“I’ll just grab my notebook and a tape measure.” Still focused on me, he doesn’t move for a long moment.
My heart pounds two, then three times. It’s hard to look away from his handsome face and the way his Adam’s apple bounces in his throat. My lust for blood rises, and I force my gaze to the grass.
Sam clears his throat and walks to the giant-sized door that leads into the house.
Glad for the moment to get myself under control, I step to the garden gate. This kind of attraction to someone I’ve just met has never happened to me before. I’ve longed for blood, both human and monster, but this is something else, something more. I close my eyes and push aside the sounds of the bustling town. I can hear everything from the cars streaking down the highway in the distance to the conversation between two ladies in the street two blocks away. I smell their perfume, their blood, and the diaper of the baby with one of them. Even the dog that’s running through the park chasing a squirrel assaults my senses.
“Are you alright, Mari?” Sam whispers.
Opening my eyes, I find him waiting in the open doorway at the other end of the garden. He has the notebook and tape measure in his hand and his gaze fixed on me.
It takes me a moment to push away the cacophony invading my senses. “I’m fine. Part of being a vampire is learning to push aside the things that assault my senses.”
Crossing to me, he cocks his head. “I don’t think I understand.”
As we walk down Main Street toward my house, I do something I never do. I talk about myself. “Vampires have extremely heightened senses.”
“Can you give me an example?” He keeps his gait slow so that I don’t have to run to keep up with his long strides. It’s thoughtful and more telling than he probably realizes.
“At the other end of Main, a Sasquatch is telling an Orc about his date last night. It didn’t go that well.” I point to a tree near the center of town. “There’s a calico cat in that tree, and she’s tormenting a squirrel. I hear the blood charging through your veins, and whenever you look at me, your pulse speeds up.” Why did I say that?
On a low chuckle, he says, “Because you’re very beautiful, Mari. I’m sure every male you encounter has a similar reaction.”
“Most people are a little afraid of me. Fear has a scent, and I don’t sense that from you.” We turn left on Verdant, which runs to the cemetery, where it turns and skirts the park.
His lips curl in the sweetest smile. “I’m not afraid of you. Giants can’t be turned into vampires. At least that’s what I’ve always been led to believe. In fact, no magic or curses work on giants. People fear vampires because they don’t want to become like them. I don’t have to worry about that. Besides, you hardly seem the type to force your gifts on others.”
“Gifts…” It puffs out with all the sarcasm of the ages. “What makes you think I wouldn’t turn all the people into vampires? I could start my own family right here in Harmony Glen.”
At my front walk, we stop and he waits for me to lead the way. I go to the side of the house and walk him into the backyard where the cemetery is in full view.
He scans the large yard and the land beyond. “You hunt in the park and fields beyond at night. I’ve seen you. You’re not hunting humans. You need blood to survive, but you don’t take it from the people of Harmony Glen; you find it in rabbits and other small game. That hardly sounds like someone planning on creating an army of vampires.”
When did I become so transparent? Why don’t I mind that Sam sees me?
Chapter Two
Sam
Ifirst saw Mari walking through the park at night. It was her singing that drew me in. Nothing could compare to the beauty of her voice. She sounded like an angel. Of course, she’s a vampire and not an angel, but I was lured in by the sound, and watched and listened from a distance.
Not in a stalkerish way. I was there first after all. I often visit the wooded park at night to gather mushrooms and other wild ingredients.
When she moved off, as tempted as I was to follow, I stayed put.
The next day, I asked around town and learned her name.
I’ve been half hard since the moment she stepped up to my garden. I love the sound of her voice with an accent that is both familiar and distant. I want her to say my name again and again.
Her yard backs to the cemetery. I study the ground and think about her drawing. “You want to block the view? Why did you buy a house next to the cemetery if you don’t want to see it?”
