Page 5 of Midnight Enchantment

But times had changed. Villages had turned into towns, and towns into cities. Kings and queens had come and gone. The old ways and the old beliefs had been swept away until the world of his youth was gone.

He, too, had changed through the centuries. He had mellowed as he aged, his lust for blood and battle lessening with the passage of time. He had put up his sword, but it had left him with an emptiness inside, a lack of purpose. These days, he rarely killed except in self-defense. Gradually, he had regained the respect for life he had known before being turned, He had learned again to appreciate the world around him—snow-covered mountains, the vastness of the oceans, raging rivers and gentle streams, the stark beauty of the desert, the fragile beauty of a single flower.

He had traveled the earth, seen all there was to see. And yet, the emptiness of his existence remained. Lately, there had been little that amused or excited him or held his interest for more than a fleeting moment. Until he met the witch-woman, Liliana. She was a prize worth fighting for. He wondered if she would show up at the club again. There was no denying the unexpected attraction that had sizzled between them. He knew she had felt it, too. How could she not?

His thoughts turned briefly to the vampire he had met the other night. Feisty little thing. And pretty, too, with a wealth of red hair and a figure that went in and out in all the right places.

But it was the dark-haired female—Liliana—who fired his imagination, who aroused his hunger. And his desire.

Sooner or later, he would find her again.

Lily spent the next day trying to come up with a good excuse for going out that night. But it was no use. Ava was never going to believe any of them. And after Claret’s visit, Ava was never going to let her go out alone. In the end, she suggested they go out to dinner.

Ava was in the mood for Creole. Lily wanted Chinese.

They settled on Italian.

“The baby is growing so fast,” Lily remarked after they ordered. “The pictures Maddy sent are adorable. I can’t believe J.D. is already four months old.”

Ava nodded. “He looks just like your brother. No doubt he’ll be just as devilishly handsome and charming as Dominic, as well.”

“Maddy and Dom are so happy together,” Lily remarked with a sigh. “I don’t even have a boyfriend.”

“You’ll find someone,” Ava said.

“Before they met, you saw Maddy and Dominic in a vision. Do you see a man in my future?”

Ava started to say no, when an image of Lily in the grasp of a tall, dark-haired man with midnight-blue eyes flashed through her mind. She had never seen the man before but she knew without doubt that it was the vampire Lily had met at the nightclub. And that he would bring her nothing but trouble—a feeling that was re-enforced when Lily talked her into going to a night club on Bourbon Street after dinner.

And the vampire was there, sitting on the dais, strumming a guitar. Clad in black jeans and a long-sleeved, black silk shirt, Ava had to admit he was stunning. Even though he was sitting down, she could tell he was well over six feet tall. Hair as black as Lily’s brushed his broad shoulders. Eyes the color of a midnight sky. Foreign, she thought. Even at a distance, she could feel his power. He was one of the old ones. Older than Quill, even older than Quill’s father, Andras.

Ava glared at Lily. “You knew he would be here, didn’t you?”

“I’d hoped,” Lily admitted, her cheeks heating under her great-grandmother’s accusing stare.

“One drink and we’re out of here,” Ava said.

Their drinks had just arrived when the vampire sauntered toward them.

“Hello, Liliana. It is nice to see you again.”

His voice moved over her like dark velvet, warm and soft and seductive.

He acknowledged Ava with a glance. “Mind if I sit down?”

“Yes, I do,” Ava said, her voice as cold as the grave. “And I advise you not to seek trouble with me.”

He nodded curtly, his dark eyes narrowed with barely suppressed anger. “Good evening, Liliana.”

Those were the words he spoke aloud. But in her mind, Lily heard him say, I will see you again.

“Are you completely out of your mind?” Ava exclaimed when the vampire returned to the dais. “That man is more dangerous than any vampire I’ve ever met. And that includes your grandfather. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay as far away from him as you can. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you,” Lily replied. She watched the vampire out of the corner of her eye, felt a quiver of excitement in the pit of her stomach when he winked at her.

And she heard his words in her mind once more, vowing to see her again.

Chapter Four

---