Page 1 of The Virgin and the Vampire

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Carina’s carefully painted red lips are currently wrapped around her dom’s dick and I feel nothing. Except perhaps a mild longing for the old days, when a vamp could swoop in on someone unawares, feed, and be about his business in no time. It’s true there’s less screaming and flaming pitchforks these days, but I never thought I’d have to be this close to another man’s junk just to get dinner.

I sigh and sink my teeth into the side of Carina’s neck. Her wrist was an option, I suppose, but the neck will be faster. I can feel the tremor of excitement vibrate through her body. Her dom groans while I roll my eyes. I can’t remember the guy’s name, she changes doms like most women change handbags. I’m probably the most consistent part of her participation at The Sanctuary.

Having fed, I step back only to find Carina’s eyes on me, assessing. For what, I’m unsure. Her mouth is free once again, but I’m still surprised when she speaks.

“Kade? Can I talk to you? Privately?”

I frown. The subs and vamps don’t really have too much interaction here. Subs are free to request a particular vamp if they’re cleared for the inner sanctum, but it depends on who’s on the roster for that evening to feed. Beyond that, there aren’t too many things to talk about.

“Sure. I can meet you in the bar in, say, fifteen minutes?” I cast a glance towards her dom.

Carina smiles and shakes her head. “Don’t worry about Jimmy. He’s on a test run tonight. Although he did very well.” The cat-ate-the-cream smile she aims at her current lover is at odds with the roles they’re playing, but I try to stay out of those relationships. Asking will only pull me in. Jimmy frowns. “We’ll be talking about that attitude next time, missy.”

Carina gives a mock shiver and smiles even more brightly as she hops off the table where she was splayed. “Excellent.”

Fifteen minutes later she struts towards me in the bar area, her Sanctuary sub uniform of the short sheer white toga having been replaced by skin-tight jeans and a forest green sweater that slides off one shoulder.

“Thanks for meeting me, Kade. I know you’re a busy guy, so I appreciate it.”

I stay silent, waiting for the real topic of conversation. Carina casts her eyes down.

“It’s about my sister. Gianna. She’s eight years younger than me and, well, we’re total opposites. Gianna’s very shy and very smart. She’s spent her whole life buried in schoolbooks. And the lab. She’s been obsessed with vampires ever since she learned you guys are real and not only a legend.

Anyway, the one thing she wants most is to meet one. I think she’d be over the moon to be bitten, but I realize that’s asking a lot outside of the club. Her twenty-first birthday is this weekend and well…” She raises practiced, pleading green eyes.

“Why not just invite her to the club? She can watch several vamps from the window in the main playroom.” I shrug, like that answer was obvious.

Carina chokes on her astonishment. “Kade! You don’t understand. When I said she’s shy, I meant it. I’m fairly certain Gianna’s still a virgin. And she doesn’t want to even go out for drinks on her birthday. She said she’d rather stay in and study.” The bemusement on Carina’s face is almost comical.

“So you’re asking me to do what, exactly?”

“Could you stop by her place, maybe with a bottle of champagne I can give you and let her admire your fangs?”

I snort in disbelief. “Admirethem?”

Carina nods enthusiastically. “She still has Hollywood ideas mixed in with the academics. You fit her image of the ideal vamp to a T. Please, Kade?”

Her sister sounds innocent and naïve, which, while different, doesn’t exactly promise entertainment. But Carina has been a pliant and cooperative blood source for the last few years, and I feel like I owe her. “Fine. Give me her address and a time. After sunset,” I add dryly. It’s a myth that vamps can’t go out in daylight. It just makes our eyes water and our skin itch, so we generally try to avoid it. And if her sister is that into vamps, I’d hate to ruin her fantasy by showing up mid afternoon.

Carina practically radiates with excitement. “Oh! She’s going to be so excited! I can’t wait to hear about it.”

“I take it that means she doesn’t know you’ve been feeding me?”

She slowly shakes her head. “No. And please don’t tell her. She’ll feel like she’s missing out again. She’s really sweet and bubbly, Kade. But when she’s with strangers, she freezes up. Gianna missed out on a lot of social events growing up. When it’s just the family, she’s the life of the party.”

I nod, not sure what to say, and take the slip of paper Carina hands me. Gianna lives all the way out in Cedar Valley. I sigh, half wishing I hadn’t already committed. But it’s one evening that will bring me out of my routine, so how bad can it be?

I glance around my small cottage on the outskirts of Cedar Valley with pride. Earlier this week I washed all the leaves on my houseplants so now they’re gleaming with health and vitality. It’s my twenty-first birthday today and despite my older sister’s whining, I did things my way. I met some friends from grad school at a small bakery for coffee and cake earlier and now I’m going to have a long, soaky bath with a new vampire romance I’ve been saving for tonight. It’s going to be delicious.

Tightening the sash of the silky robe my mom got me as a present, I pick up my celebratory glass of white wine and pad towards the bathroom in my bare feet. The doorbell rings and I nearly jump out of my skin. I think I’ve heard it precisely twice in the three years that I’ve lived here.

I carefully check the peephole and am even more surprised to see it’s a man standing on the mat holding a bottle of champagne and a bouquet of baby pink roses. Despite the voice of caution in my head, I open the door partway and peer around it.

“Yes?”

“Gianna Coletti?”

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