He chuckled, a low sound that sent a shiver through me. “Maybe now, yet I was quite the hoyden in my youth.”
“Who turned into a proper businessman.”
“I’ve come a shockingly far way,” his dry reply.
“How did you become a vampire?” I asked suddenly.
“By being seduced. Back in the day, I was a soldier for hire. I’d go from castle to castle offering my services. At my last employment, the lady of the house took a shine to me. A young and lusty young man at the time, I didn’t say no when the widow invited me to her bed.”
“This sounds like the start of a dirty romance,” I exclaimed with a laugh.
“It was.”
“And did you know she was a vampire?”
“Hard to ignore, seeing how she fed from me every time we trysted. But I didn’t mind. As a young, healthy, and lusty young man, I saw no issue since it left no lasting harm.”
“Let me guess. You fell in love and she decided to make you her prince of darkness.”
He snorted. “Not exactly. One day while protecting the lady’s carriage from brigands, an arrow took me in the chest. When the attack was over, the lady knelt by my side, but rather than tend my wound, she pulled the fletching from my flesh and suckled at the blood gushing. I felt myself getting weak and begged her to stop. She said, ‘Your pain will be over soon.’”
“She wanted you to die?”
“More like she didn’t care if I did or not. That realization led to me acting in a final ditch effort to save myself. Despite being lightheaded and on the verge of death, I stabbed her with my dagger, right between the shoulder blades. I must have pierced a lung, because blood spurted from her mouth as she reared over me. Droplets spattered my face and coated my lips. While I didn’t mean to taste and swallow, I couldn’t prevent it from happening.”
“That was all it took to change you?”
“Oh, it wasn’t, but it revived me and awakened a thirst. I lunged and kissed her lips for more. She pushed me away and tried to get clear of me to give her wound time to heal, but I still had my dagger and slashed at her leg, severing a tendon. When she crumpled, I latched onto that bloodied limb and sucked. Sucked until I could swallow no more.”
“Damn. You killed her to live.”
“Oh, she’s not dead,” he stated. “Once I finished feeding, she healed from her wounds.”
“Was she mad about what you did?”
“A little. She preferred me as human because she could fuck and suck on me at the same time.”
“And did you forgive her for trying to suck you dry rather than patching your wound?”
“I did, because, you see, once the change hit, I lost consciousness. Had she left me in those woods, I would have died the next dawn. Instead, I woke several days later in the castle, fully healed. After we fought over what happened, her being angry I’d stabbed her, me angry she would have let me die, we chose to forgive and forget and remained lovers for several decades before parting ways.”
“Decades? Wow. Did you keep in touch?”
“Yes, although we’ve not been intimate in centuries. Sophia has long since moved on, as have I.”
It took me only a second before I blurted, “Are you talking about Christmas party Sophia?” At his nod, I exclaimed, “You seemed like you barely tolerated each other.”
“Like most exes,” he pointed out.
True. I cocked my head. “You said you were with her for decades. Does that mean vampires date and get married and stuff?”
“Some do. Like humans, some enjoy monogamy. Others prefer fleeting affairs.”
“And where do you fall in that group?”
“Casual for the most part, although, I’ve had a few relationships over the years that lasted past a few encounters. And you?”
“Never been married. Only lived with one guy. Dated quite a few. Just never found one that was my soulmate.” I did finger quotes.
