PS01 - Tall, Dark & Lonely (8 page)

wore too much make-up. She flirted with every boy in class, in
her
class. It was like watching a horror flick. Madison of

course gave her detention for a week. She hid her smile. That felt good. Jill scowled at her for the remainder of the class, but

didn’t say another word, smart girl.

She decided to run home and change before looking at cars. Halfway there her car started to sputter. It seemed like she was

getting a break when her car died in front of Earl’s Garage. That had been a tease she was sure of it now. Someone was

laughing at her no doubt about it.

“So, there’s no hope?”

Earl twirled a toothpick in his mouth. “Not a one. I’m surprised it lasted this long.”

She sighed, “Me too.”

Earl walked around the car muttering to himself. “Earl?”

“Yes?”

“Do you want the car? You can take it apart and sell it for parts or whatever.”

He nodded slowly. “How much?”

She shook her head. “Just take it. It’s yours.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He gave her a tobacco stained grin.

Madison grabbed a few items and stuffed them into her backpack. After signing over the title and saying goodbye to the car she

decided a walk for the last three miles was in order. She needed to clear her head.

She took her heels off and walked along the road. It didn’t matter that it was cold out. The only things that mattered were the

sound of the birds, the feel of grass beneath her feet and fresh air in her lungs. She loved to walk. She spent hours at home

walking. It cleared her head and relaxed her.

*******

of true silence where birds, children's laughter and the sounds of horses filled the air.

That's why three years ago he moved to New Hampshire. He needed peace and quiet. He was sick of the loud noises in the

city. He wanted to spend his days quietly so he took this job. He was on duty five days a week with the two days off. It was

perfect.

With the radio shut off he could think. This weekend would be perfect for some fishing. He could rent his usual cabin and

relax. There would be no tomboy to tempt him. What was it about her blood? Was it because she was a virgin? He didn’t think

so. The virgins he used to feed off didn’t make him insane with hunger. There was something off about this Madison woman

and finding out what that was, was not an option.

She was too tempting. She was plain as far as he could tell, but that was just the package. What lay inside was driving him

insane. All night he tossed and turned, trying to fight the urge to go back to her room and have a taste. Finally in the morning he

couldn’t take anymore and took a long cold shower, trying to wake up.

Now he just had to go home and avoid the woman. It shouldn’t be too hard. He never ate meals and didn’t go into the main

house. He would relax in his room and file his reports for the day online. Then he could catch up on some sleep.

His eyes narrowed on something two miles down the road, a woman. His eyesight was perfect. He smiled. That was a good

thing in this case. This woman was perfection. “Holy shit,” he mumbled softly as he slowed down so that he could take his time

appreciating this beauty.

Her hair shimmered in the sun. It was beautiful and black. Generous hips swayed gently beneath a short skirt. Her backside

was perfectly curved as well as her legs. She had a beautiful golden tan. Damn, this woman was hot. He was willing to bet the

front would be just as inviting.

He shifted in his seat and laughed. It looked like his body was interested. Perhaps this beauty would like to help end over a

hundred years of celibacy. It seemed he no longer thought sex was boring. He checked his breath and hair and sped up.

Ephraim didn’t look at her as he drove past. He pulled his car onto the shoulder twenty yards ahead and watched her approach.

His groin hardened painfully. She was even more beautiful than he imagined. Her face was raised to the sun while her eyes

were closed. She looked like she was enjoying the sun, well that was fine because it allowed him to enjoy the view freely.

Her face was stunning. She was so beautiful it hurt. Her black hair and tan complexion meshed together perfectly. She was

shorter than him, but he liked his women shorter. Her breasts were good size, but not too big. They looked like they would fill

his hands perfectly with no waste. Her waist was narrow while her hips were wide. He was imagining her legs wrapped

around him as she walked past his car.

It had been a very long time since he wooed a woman. He was sure it hadn’t changed that much, flirt, keep eye contact and

make a suggestion. No wait, they went on a date first nowadays. Okay, so he had to get her to agree to a date, dinner and a

movie. That was the new mating ritual. He bought her some entertainment and then she would provide him with some. That’s

how they did it in the movies at least.

First he had to talk to her. He stepped out of the car and adjusted his gun and tie. “Excuse me, miss?” He used his most

charming smile.

The woman stopped and turned around. Beautiful brown eyes met his. They reminded him of someone. He couldn’t think past

how beautiful she was. It left him speechless until she spoke of course.

“Ephraim?” She looked worried. “Are you okay?”

She knew him? Impossible. He would never forget meeting someone like her. He didn’t want to let her know that he didn’t

remember her. He seemed to remember that women hated it when he forgot their names.

“What are you doing out here walking?” He gestured to the long stretch of road.

She bit her lip. “My car finally died. I left it with Earl. He promised me a proper burial.” She smiled. It was contagious, he

couldn’t help smiling back.

He gestured to his car. “Do you want a ride?”

She looked up at the sun and then back at him. “No, thank you. It’s too beautiful a day to waste.” His thoughts exactly. “It’s only

another mile. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” She sounded like she was saying goodbye. He didn’t want her to say goodbye that

meant he wouldn’t be able to look at her for much longer.

A mile? She gave him a clue. His brain raced to figure it out. He needed something else to talk about before she walked away.

The only thing a mile down the road was Mrs. Buckman’s boarding house and a few other houses, and a convenient store. He

knew she didn’t live near him. Was she visiting?

Ephraim gave her a lopsided smile. “I don’t feel right leaving you to walk by yourself, but if you insist I would feel better if

you allowed me to check on you later to make sure you arrived safely.”

She gave him a weird smile. “Sure….that’s fine,” she said slowly as if she was a little confused.

He cocked his head to the side and studied her. There was something very familiar about her. Even fifteen feet away he felt like

he was missing something. He decided to push for more answers. Maybe something would remind him of her identity.

“I’m afraid I’ve forgotten your address, perhaps you could take pity on me and remind me so I can do the gentlemanly thing

later.”

She laughed.

At him!

He wasn’t being foolish, he was sure of that. Sure he was out of practice, but he felt that he was being charming. Her eyes were

shimmering with humor as she shook her head. “I’ll see you later, Ephraim.” She turned, still laughing and began walking away

from him.

He was about to ask her what was so funny when a gust of wind swept her beautiful black hair up. The wind carried her

fragrance to his nose. He stumbled backwards and landed his ass on the hood of his car. It couldn’t be.

She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. Those damn brown eyes. It was her. Madison laughed again as she turned her

head around. He could only sit on the hood of his car, watching her go.

He dropped his head in his hands. “This is not happening.” This woman was supposed to be a tomboy. She was supposed to be

unattractive to keep them both safe. It was bad enough that he craved her blood, but now he desired her body. This was not

good. This was a test. This was a test to see if he could resist temptation. That’s what this was.

No woman should be this tempting. It was too much. And what the hell was she doing still being a virgin? When he thought she

was a tomboy he understood her predicament, but now…..hell. A virgin? It made it worse. The package was too damn

tempting. A surprising beauty with blood that sang to him that was untouched by another man. She might as well place a target

on her neck.

He pushed himself away from the car. No, no this was fine. As long as they both remained at the boardinghouse she was safe.

He had rules after all and he never broke them, ever. He did not feed where he lived. He just had to get the rest of his body in

line and he would be fine because feeding from the virginal Madison was not an option. She was the only woman he would not

be content with just a feeding, he would take her body and life as well. That would wreck everything.

Things were different these days. Back in his day he could feed off as many whores and criminals as he wanted. If he took their

lives it was no big deal. No one would miss them. Occasionally he over fed in one area and had to flee but as he learned to

control his feeding by using more than one victim so that he could feed without taking a life. Today, they could track him down.

Her body wouldn’t be seen as a feeding. It would be seen as a depraved lunatic and they would hunt him down using his

fingerprints, hair and anything else they could find. He didn’t want to be forced into hiding, but that was exactly what would

happen if he touched her. No, Madison was safe from him.

Chapter 4

Madison shook her head, laughing softly as she walked inside the house ten minutes later. That was really weird. She couldn't

deny that she found the little episode endearing. He’d been so cute when he was trying to flirt. There was no doubt in her mind

that he was trying to flirt. She bit her lip trying to stop herself from laughing.

His attempts at flirting were obvious, awkward and unpracticed and unbelievably adorable. There was really no other way to

describe it. The big brooding man was utterly adorable. She recalled the expression on his face the last time she turned around

and sighed.

He looked completely stunned. She ran the conversation through her head, worried that she might have said something to upset

him. She couldn’t recall anything. Perhaps he was overly sensitive and wasn’t happy that she hadn't played along? Whatever it

was she didn’t have time to play around.

She spotted the reason as she passed the living room. Jill was sitting on the couch painting her nails while she talked on her

cell phone. Madison took a deep breath and stalked forward unable to hide the menacing grin. Jill looked up. Her eyebrows

drew together in confusion.

Madison snatched the phone from Jill’s hands. “Whoever this is you’ll have to call back in a month.” Jill’s mouth dropped.

“Jill will be enjoying a month long groundation and I’m afraid her phone will be going bye-bye for a very long time.”

Jill shot to her feet as she held her hand out in a silent demand for the phone.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Madison dropped the phone in the backpack she still carried. “When you earn this I will
think
about

giving it back to you.” With that, Madison turned and walked towards the door. “Oh, by the way you’re grounded for a month in

case you didn’t catch that little tidbit.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Jill shrieked.

Madison didn’t bother looking over her shoulder. “Found your alcohol and cigarettes. Incidentally, be prepared in an hour

we’re going drug testing.” This time she did look over her shoulder and grinned mockingly. “Should be loads of fun.”

Jill’s face paled. “You c-can’t do that,” she muttered.

“No, but I can,” Grandma’s stern voice said from the doorway. “You be prepared
now,
young lady. The two of us are taking

you for a drug test. God help you if it comes back positive.”

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Madison jogged up the stairs. “Let me go change. I’ll be right back.”

Five minutes later Madison was downstairs in a pair of hip hugging jeans and a tight tee shirt. In this weather she would have

preferred wearing several layers and possibly a blanket or two but she needed to be able to move freely for the fight that she

knew was coming.

She found Jill huddled in a corner, refusing Grandma and begging Candy, who looked nervous, to help her. This wasn’t the

time for games. Out of fear that Jill would somehow get out of this, and she definitely was not getting out of this, she moved in

and grabbed Jill’s arm and tugged her forward.

Just as she expected, Jill tried to fight back. She yanked her arm back trying to get free. Madison tightened her grip and

quickened her pace. They were out the door and heading towards Grandma’s Volvo when Jill moved to her second assault, girl

punches. There were wild and weaker than a slap, but annoying as hell.

“Let me go!” Jill demanded yet again.