Eighteen Summers (5 page)

This is not what I imagined vampires to be like...
I snigger to myself, inwardly.
What a stupid fucking thought... but hell, I need to think it
.

Here they are, warm blooded creatures, out in the light of day, driving around in cars, wearing smart clothing. Their language is cultured and refined and their nature is kind and caring. Well, apart from Severina, she seems to be less than fond of me so far, a touch resentful even, but still, it's early days. My preconception of wild, violent, neck ripping creatures crawling up walls by their fingernails, swathed in black robes, has disappeared from my head. I'm pretty damn sure these people don't sleep in coffins and take human babies from their cradles at night for a snack. I'm interested to know how and where they feed, because from my very limited but shocking experience, that is where their true colours will show. Blood sucking is a passionate, erotic, and very base experience.
I can't help but wonder what Nico is like when he feeds, and when he does other things...

I sleep for a while, gently lulled off by the soft classical music playing in the car and the hypnotising road rumble beneath us. I awake to find my face snuggled against Nico's chest, my arm around his waist and my long hair tumbling down him. His arm is around my shoulders, hugging me closely to him. I don't want to move, it's heavenly and so comfortable. I feel safe, warm and protected. I keep my eyes closed and lay quietly taking in the feel of him and savouring his scent.

I have to admit I really like him, even if he is a vampire. Not that that fact should make any difference to my feelings, as so am I, apparently.

We finally arrive at the house in Kensington and park in the designated residential bay outside. It is situated on a square opposite a beautiful fenced garden filled with trees around a perfectly manicured lawn. I don't know much about property in London, but I can see this is a highly expensive area. I look around as I am led up the grand entrance steps and into the neo classical hallway. It is white and so beautiful everywhere, I am stunned. Floor to ceiling, marble and alabaster columns line the walls and crystal chandeliers dangle virtually everywhere. Nico dismisses the other three, and I'm taken into a large sitting room he calls the salon, where he explains a few house rules to me. No humans are allowed inside the house, unless he arranges it and is present. This is for their safety and our privacy...

It's funny how I'm suddenly on the other side of the fence. Thinking of myself as a vampire, not a human...

I am never to answer the door or use a phone. I can go out whenever I feel like it, so long as it is convenient for him to accompany me. I am wondering why there is so much concern about my safety. I've managed okay without being 'guarded' and 'chaperoned' for the last eight years at least.

The next words I hear stun me for a moment.

“In a few hours, after your preparation, you will meet Lord Raffaele. He is your intended.”

“
What do you mean by 'intended'?”  I'm hoping this means something else in vampire terms.

“
Your intended mate. He is the head of our family. A distant cousin of yours. It is a very good match.”

I laugh with nervous tension. And then I'm suddenly angry.

“
What?
Well you've got a bloody cheek, arranging a husband for me already. No fucking way, Jose...!” I forget the naughty word ban for a moment.

“
Do not fret so, My Lord is both handsome and charming and you will have some time together to become familiar before the arrangement is made final.”

“
Well I'm telling you, I don't like the idea at all to be perfectly honest. What about you? Do you have a mate?”

“
No, only the head of the household is entitled to a mate. Our Lord has been waiting for you, patiently, for a long time. He often speaks of you.”

A strange coincidental thought passes through my mind, a chilling, disturbing one.

“Does he speak Latin?”

“
Yes he does, and what an odd question. Why do you ask?” Nico looks at me in surprise.

“
I think I know him, from a dream I had.”

“
Surely that is not possible? You must be joking My Lady...”

We both laugh but I'm not laughing inside. My intended was a sadistic lover in my dream. I hope in reality he is not the same. Not that he is my intended, not in any way, shape or form, not to my mind anyway, but I'll play along with it for now. I don't want to rock the boat too much the second I arrive.

“And what preparation do I have to go through before I meet my Mr Right, hmmm?”

“
Sofia will groom you, so that you look presentable and not so
dishevelled
.” He picks up a strand of my wildly tousled and flyaway hair in mild disgust.

“
I'm not dishevelled, I'm casual, as nature intended.”

“
When you feed properly and become fully turned, you will naturally become more perfect, and polished. Until then, you will need grooming.”

“
Grooming...? You make me sound like a shaggy dog.”

“
Not so, it simply means preparing and dressing you in a manner more befitting to your station My Lady.”

“
Look Nico, if you call me My Lady once more, I swear I'll thump you.”

“
Yes, My Lady.”

“
Oh funny ha ha...”

“
What does My Lady want me to call her, Mistress, Madam, Your Ladyship, Royal pain in the backside perhaps?” He smiles at me after the last suggestion.

“
Cali will do.”

“
I do not think so! That would be highly improper.”

“
Well don't tell anyone this, but I'm a highly improper girl. I say fuck all the time,” I giggle with my cheeky tone of conversation.

“
Mmmm, I'm beginning to understand you are quite a handful. But even so, I'm not sure I should call you a 'pet' name. Perhaps I could call you Miss Calista?”

“
No, call me Cali. It's an order. It's my name and I can do what I like with it.”

“
That is of course true, but it is most irregular.”

“
Nico, shut up with your rules and regulations.”

“
As you are insistent, I shall call you 'Cali', when we are alone. At other times, which term of address would you prefer?”

“
I really don't care.”

“
I see.”

“
Actually, yes I do. Call me Mistress.” 

“
As you wish.”

“
I like the term
mistress,
” I roll the last word off my tongue slowly. Then I blush wildly.

I can't believe it... I'm flirting with him... Shit!

“Is that supposed to be amusing in some way?” He is definitely finding it amusing based on his expression right now.

“
No, not at all, I was just trying it out...” I cover my sudden embarrassment by changing the subject. “Tell me something, are you my personal guard?”

“
Yes, I am honoured to guard, protect, and serve you until my death.”

“
I like the idea of that.”

“
Of my death?”

“
No, you looking after me.”

A little too much in fact.

“It's my duty and my pleasure, Cali.” 

God, I'm blushing again.

My stomach is churning, I realise that this is because I am actually hungry.

“
Suddenly I'm damn starving. How about rustling me up some food? I don't want to faint on my intended now, do I?”

“
That would be most unfortunate, but perhaps entertaining... ”

“
Strangely, I could murder a coke and a massive pepperoni pizza.”

“
That sounds vile and truly disgusting.” He grimaces at my suggestion. “Let us find the Royal Pain something more suitable for her consumption. Follow me, please.”

I follow him like an adoring lamb. I'm so very pleased with how our relationship has progressed in such a short space of time. Much less formal and far more 'friendly'.

Mmmm, this 'lady' finds her guard to be very, very acceptable.

* * *

I sit in the white and scrupulously clean kitchen at a central dining island looking at the glass of pale red liquid in front of me.

“What the fuck is it?”

I must stop this horrid swearing, I can see him flinch every time I say that word.

“Sorry, let me rephrase that. What the hell is it?”

“
It is a special plasma. A light blood cocktail. We drink it when we are thirsty, but not really hungry. It also controls hunger and cravings if feeding is not convenient.”

I pick it up and look at it against the light. “It looks like Ribena to me.”

“I am not familiar with Ribena. Come, drink it. We have things to do.”

I sip a little. It doesn't taste that bad. A little blood like, but mild and sweeter. I gulp it down in my usual unladylike fashion, wiping my hand across my mouth afterwards and then rubbing my hand on my jeans. He watches me with raised eyebrows, his eyes flickering yellow.

“Such wonderful manners... I see Sofia and I will have our work cut out with you.” He laughs a deep and rather sexy laugh and I squirm with embarrassment inside.

I follow him out of the kitchen and down the stairs in the hallway. We are going to the basement it would seem. We go down three long flights of stairs and along yet another white marbled corridor, coming to a stop at the end, next to a large pale oak planked door.  I'm amazed at how deeply underground we are.

“Nico, how many levels are there in this house?”

“
Nine, three above ground, six below.”

“
Really?” I'm amazed.

“
It is an iceberg house. The tip of the iceberg is all you can see from the surface.”

“
How long have you been here?”

“
Twenty years.”

“
And before?”

“
Another large house in Oxford. For eighty eight years. And before that, a palace in Italy, near Lake Garda.”

“
How old are you?”

“
A fair age, in vampire terms, over 500 years. Most of my family are younger than I. Sofia is the youngest in this house at 200. Apart from you Mistress, of course.” I can't believe he is that old. He looks so young. Of course he's a vampire and I know they always look young, but still...

“
How old is my intended?”

“
He is a much older being than I. I'm not sure of his exact age, but he is at least fifteen hundred years old.” I gasp out loud with this fact. “Your father was older still, born from the ancient original bloodline. The first vampires ever to roam this earth. That is why you are so important Calista Isadora. You are the last of their direct line. The last Princess of the great house of Gianni. It is essential you are kept safe. Sadly, and I don't wish to alarm you unduly, not all vampires will wish for you to remain 'safe', when they discover your presence here. A lot of power and money is at stake. And it is all yours now that you are of age.”  Although I am obviously concerned about my safety, my mind boggles wildly with his last comment.

I'm rich and powerful as well...? This simply cannot be true...

“Tell me about my mother.”

“
She was human when she met your father, and changed when she became his mate. It appeared she was with child, when this happened. It is an unprecedented event, for a vampire to carry a child full term. We did not expect you to survive. You are a half-breed, a biological vampire. A vampire father and a human, turned vampire mother. This is also a relatively rare occurrence. So you see, you are quite the little miracle, Cali.”

“
I don't understand why I didn't feel cravings for blood before, when I was a younger child.”

“
That is the way. Although I do not have many examples to draw on, it seems that a child born in such circumstances will begin to exhibit vampire tendencies during later adolescence. At eighteen summers you are ready to turn fully, you are an adult, in body and mind. The first real feed will complete the process. It will be a strange experience for you, when your body finally changes. Presently you are still more human than vampire.”

“
But I did suck human blood. A cut finger. And some of my own.”

I'm not mentioning the rabbit. I'm so ashamed of that.

“You need a full feed. A few mouthfuls are not enough. And please do not drink your own blood again, it will simply make you hungrier and fuel your craving.”

“
I'd like to know something else. How did my parents die?”

“
Too many questions. Later. It is a delicate and lengthy subject. Let us take things slowly. I don't want to overwhelm your pretty little head.”

“
My dishevelled, improper head, you mean?”

He studies me carefully running his eyes up and down me openly, but politely. “You already have such fair beauty, so much potential.”

Yeah right... I know I'm not that bad, but a beauty? No... I really don't think so.

“
From what I've seen so far, all you vamps seem to be pretty good looking.”

“
Vamps, as you so vulgarly refer to us, are the most beautiful creatures on this earth. I am not speaking with vanity. It is a fact that we are humanity perfected. It would be a challenge to find an ugly one amongst us.” He smiles at me, beautifully, of course. “Some are more beautiful than others, that is the way of nature and also, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is it not?” He takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tips my face up to his, looking directly into my eyes. I stare deeply into his in return glowing with warmth all over at his complimentary tone. His eyes flash with sudden sparks of heated yellow which vanish almost as soon as they appear. My insides clench up tight, everywhere. I hold my breath in anticipation.

Our faces are close. I want him to kiss me so badly I feel light headed with it. If my eyes get any hotter they'll catch fire. I look away in heated embarrassment and confusion. I've never felt this kind of attraction before. Not with a real living being. My only experience has been my pathetic teenage crushes on pop stars and actors, and it was nowhere near as intense as this is. I would certainly have remembered anything like it. My heart is pounding like mad, my mouth is dry, and my legs feel wobbly beneath me.