Using my beastly hypnotizing spell, I command it. “Rabbit.”
The dog settles to slumber, happily dreaming of chasing a rabbit. Such a simple joy.
I move swiftly to Stella’s room, so close I am already salivating. My pulse will not slow. The ache in my veins turns to an excruciating fire burning out of control.
I must have her. I must have a bite.
Yes, just one. One nibble and then I will be satisfied until I can have her in my bed and drink all of her.
Stella
I seriously shouldn’t have taken that ZzzQuil. Because I just had this insane dream of a shadow walking around the room. Next time, I’ll drink warm milk instead.
It’s just that with so much pressure to save Stellariva, I can’t seem to relax. Everything’s riding on me.
Eyes closed and half-dozing, I roll onto my back, willing my mind to find a happier place to dream. Beach. Sunshine. Coconut trees growing giant bags of money so I can save Stellariva.
“You are so lovely,” says a low, deep voice, causing me to jackknife upright.
Shit. “Who’s there?” I listen carefully over the quiet whirr of my white noise machine and open my eyes as wide as possible, but I don’t see anything in my room aside from the pale moonlight bathing the foot of the bed. “I’m losing my mind.”
“No, my sweet Stella, I am the one who’s losing his mind.”
I blink, wanting to run or scream or do something even though I’m aware it’s a dream. Yet, that voice… The way it fills my mind is hypnotic.
“Who are you? Who’s there?” I ask, but deep down inside, I know the answer. My brain just won’t let the name come out. It’s like there’s a wall inside my head.
A cool hand presses my chest, pushing me back down. “Rest now, my lovely Stella. You will forget I was here and fall into a deep sleep until the sun rises. Then you shall wake with an insatiable desire to spend every waking moment with your stunningly handsome and irresistible neighbor, Mr. Bozhidar. Also, you will not notice the small hickey on your neck and will tell everyone who asks that you were attacked by a very aggressive mosquito.”
What? I chuckle. What a freakin’ hilarious dream.
“What do you find amusing, woman?” the deep voice snaps.
“My neighbor? Irresistible? I’d sooner have sex with a toad or marry an old shoe.” Not that my neighbor is an ugly man. In fact, at first glance, he’s actually pretty beautiful. But then he opens his mouth, and it’s like a train wreck of rudeness. Thank God I never have to see him again and this is a dream. I sigh with relief. I know it’s not real, but maybe I needed this. Laughter is the best cure for stress.
“I am no toad or shoe.” The voice grows louder. “I am the night. The darkness. The sin you have desired your entire life.”
The raised volume in his voice jars me from my twilight state. Or am I still dreaming? Unsure, I sit upright again and see the shadow standing at the foot of my bed. It has a distinctive male form—broad shoulders, thick arms, and a narrow waist. Wait. “Mr. Bozhidar?”
He grumbles something in a language I do not understand, and then I hear, “Sleep, Stella. Sleep, I command.”
I lie back down, my body growing heavy and melting into another dream. I fall into the deepest, most relaxing slumber ever.
When I wake, I feel like a new me, only remembering tiny pieces of my bizarre night and all the images my mind dreamed up. Hilarious. Talking shadows that looked like my neighbor…
I hop from bed and go to the bathroom to get started for the day, but as I pass the mirror, I spot something on my neck.
What the hell? I lean forward over the pedestal sink, inspecting the two bumps and small red marks surrounding them. I must’ve had a very aggressive mosquito in my room last night.
Suddenly, a vision of Mr. Bozhidar pops in my head, and my stomach does a flip. Lower still, there’s an ache of desire.
WTF? I’m just being silly. I don’t want that man, and I never will. I’m simply excited about collaborating with him now that I’ve had time to cool off. It’s the perfect solution to Stellariva’s problems.
I’ll invite him over tonight. He can meet my family, and we can start working together.
CHAPTER NINE
Boz
Challenge accepted! After listening to Stella’s ludicrous nocturnal mumbles, comparing me to a wart-covered amphibian, I am now more determined than ever to seduce the virgin across the road. It will require every weapon at my disposal, but when I am done with her, she will be eating out of my cold hand, begging me to bed her.
The battle begins tonight! Neli has arranged for our collaboration, and we will meet Stella at her home this evening.
I have spent the early evening hours preparing, not wasting a moment. When I rose at sunset, a man with short dark brown hair with an unfortunate streak of yellow through the top (perhaps a sorcerer’s curse?) was waiting to give me a haircut. It is now cropped short in what Anton calls a “crew cut,” though I argued it should be called a “master cut,” a term he was forced to agree with in the end, because, as Anton rightly pointed out, the shorter cut draws attention to my supremely handsome features. Neli paid him richly for his time, and I used my power of suggestion to make him forget.
Next, a strange brassy woman with orange hair and a gold hoop through her nostrils invited me to her “mobile tanning station,” a large white box on wheels. She sprayed me with a liquid that instantly gave me the look of a man who has the means to spend leisure time outdoors. Joey and Ross have nothing on me. I am now every bit the virile modern man of means. Well, almost.
At present, I am preparing for the final step in my transformation. Neli is driving me to see the tailor whose shop is inside the marketplace. Very odd.
“I am enjoying the speed of this horseless wagon,” I say, exploring the levers on the door that lower and raise the window. There is also a device that plays any sort of music one wishes to hear. The marvels of the modern world.
“The horseless wagon is called a Beemer,” Neli replies, her eyes keenly focused on the well-groomed road.
“It is a definite improvement over traveling by carriage.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying some of the perks modern life has to offer. Maybe keep that in mind when we’re shopping for your clothes.”
“Why? What is it that I will find?”
“I don’t know how to break it to you, but…”
“Well? Out with it, girl.” I snap my fingers.
“Leather pants are no longer in fashion for men.”
“What? This is criminal! How are men supposed to protect their cocks while pillaging or plundering?” That used to be my favorite pastime when I was a young vampire. Obviously, we did not have TVs back then, so one had to have a hobby. Later, as I grew into a more sophisticated and kinder vampire warlord, I enjoyed reading and painting.
“Pillaging is illegal now. You can’t just burn down people’s homes and take things because you feel like it. Plundering is still in, though, but they call it income taxes, and it’s done by the government.”
“This era is no fun.” Perhaps I can improve things by bringing back leather trousers. I have been known to start a fashion trend or two in my day. For example, capes. That was all me. Those other vampires were copycats.