Tall, Dark, and Vampire

them and make them pay for their sins. The Shadow Man was dressed impeccably and reminded Olivia of English royalty she had heard about from her father. Though it was clear his intent was anything but regal.

“And what were you two doing out here, all alone?” The man’s voice was deep and so quiet that Olivia wasn’t quite sure if he’d said it out loud, or if she’d imagined it. His dark eyes flicked to Olivia. “A beauty like you should not be out in the woods at night.” His voice dropped lower still. “You never know what might happen.”

“Leave us, sir.” Douglas’s voice, strong and sure, cut between them. The stranger’s head turned immediately to Douglas, and she felt his body tense as she pressed herself closer to him. “We are expected back in town, and I must be getting Olivia home before her parents set to worry.”

The man moved toward them slowly, his attentions directed to Douglas, and though Olivia strained to make out his face, she could not. “You will do no such thing.” He was now a few inches away. “You will walk away and leave her here with me, is that clear?”

Olivia shook with pure terror and clutched Douglas tighter. His body hummed with tension beneath her fingers, and just when Olivia thought she would scream, Douglas defiantly stepped forward.

“I said, move aside, sir,” Douglas ground out.

“Fascinating.” Confusion and awe laced the Shadow Man’s voice. “I’ve never before encountered a human who was not influenced easily by my people, let alone immune to our powers of suggestion.”

“Human?” Douglas’s voice wavered, and he stepped back, keeping Olivia behind him. “We will be on our way, sir.”

As they attempted to leave, a claw-like hand grabbed Douglas by the throat and hoisted him into midair. Olivia stumbled backwards and fell as he held Douglas against the tree.

“Run,” Douglas gurgled as he clutched at the hands around his throat.

Olivia wanted to scream, but still, no sound came. The man leered over his shoulder and hissed, revealing a set of demon-like fangs. Horrified and paralyzed with fear, she watched as he growled and bit her lover’s neck.

She covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut, praying it was a horrid nightmare, but she could not shut out the noises the creature made as he drank Douglas’s blood.

The woods filled with a cry of triumph and then fell silent.

A gust of wind whipped around her as Douglas called to her weakly. Olivia opened her eyes, even though she was terrified by what she might see. The demon was gone, and Douglas lay on the ground at the base of the massive tree.

Crying, she scrambled across the rocky ground and cradled his head in her lap. His eyelids fluttered open, and his beautiful blue eyes stared up at her. She sniffled and wiped the blood from his cheek as he struggled to breathe.

“It will be alright,” she whimpered. “I’ll—I’ll find someone to help you.”

“Please don’t leave me.”

“Never,” she whispered. “I am yours for eternity.”

The life faded from his eyes as his last shuddering breath left his body. Sobbing, she held him in her lap and prayed for death herself. “I don’t want to live here without you.”

Tears fell onto his long blond hair while she quietly wept. A shadow flew overhead, blocking the light of the moon, and the Shadow Man landed silently next to Olivia, answering her prayers.

* * *

Olivia woke with a start. Still naked on the couch, covered by Doug’s long coat, she sat up in the safe house room and tried to regain her bearings. They had sex. Sex? That didn’t fucking cover it. Granted, she had only had sex once as a human, with Douglas all those years ago, but it was nothing compared to the combustible experience they shared last night.

Doug was fully dressed and sitting on the foot of the bed with his arms resting on his knees. Olivia pushed the mass of red curls off her face and held the coat over her nakedness as his brilliant blue eyes watched her with his trademark intensity. Hurt washed over her when she saw the way he was looking at her, and the dream from last night came roaring back in living color. She wondered, fleetingly, if that dream had been shared with him, like so many others.

“What’s going on?” His voice reverberated through the closed space. His brow furrowed as he stared her down and unknowingly answered her question. “Tell me, Olivia. Just cut the shit, and tell me. That dream I had last night was more like a memory, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say that’s exactly what it was.”

She rubbed her hands over her face and pulled her hair back, wishing like hell she had a hair elastic. She flicked her gaze to his before looking around the room for her clothing. She stood, tossed the coat aside, and strode in all her naked glory to claim her belongings. She could feel his eyes on her, and to his credit he said nothing, but watched silently as she quickly dressed.

“There’s something you aren’t telling me.” Doug swung his feet off the bed and stalked toward her as he watched her pull on her coat. He invaded her space, backing her against the wall, and placed both hands on either side of her head, caging her in. “What is it?”

Her body quivered with fear and anticipation as she studied his ruggedly handsome face. What would he do when he found out the truth? Would he be relieved? Angry? Her hands balled into fists at her side as she reached deep down for the courage to tell him and prepared herself for his inevitable rejection.

“You—” she whispered in far shakier voice than she’d hoped. “You are Doug Paxton, but three hundred years ago you were Douglas Threadgood, my lover and fiance. I take it that you shared the dreamscape with me last night after we…”

She trailed off, on the edge of losing all dignity and jumping his bones, or crumbling into a weeping heap and begging him to forgive her. Her throat tightened with unexpected emotion as she watched the stone cold expression in his eyes soften. Confusion washed over his face, and Olivia cleared her throat. She had to explain before she burst into tears like the sniveling, stupid girl she had been all those years ago.

“The dreamscape we were in last night wasn’t exactly a dream. It was a memory.” Her voice dropped low. “More specifically, it was our memory.”

“Our memory.” It came out as a statement, but he still looked at her beneath a furrowed brow. “Are you talking about reincarnation?”

“Yes.” Olivia nodded as he leaned closer, and she pressed her body harder against the wall. “You look almost exactly like you did all those years ago. If we had a chance to look at your family tree, I bet we’d discover that you’re a descendant of the Threadgood family.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Physical similarities aside,” she whispered, “your soul is unmistakable.”

“I saw a whole bunch of stuff when I drank your blood, but I didn’t know what to make of it, and it felt like a funky LSD trip. When we made love and I drank from you, there were more images and memories.” His mouth set in a tight line. “And if I didn’t know better, I’d tell you that for about a minute and a half… I had a heartbeat again.”

“I wasn’t sure if you felt that too,” Olivia breathed.

“Okay.” Doug nodded slowly, dropping his hands from the wall. Olivia relaxed as he waved for her to continue. “If I can accept that I’m a vampire, then wrapping my brain around reincarnation shouldn’t seem so outrageous. Keep going.”

“Vincent, or as I called him that night, the Shadow Man, happened upon us in the woods. We snuck off and made love while most of the village was at the social.” Her lips lifted at that part of the memory. “We were to be married that summer, but neither of us wanted to wait that long, and the only place we could get any semblance of privacy was out in the woods at night. Although, you didn’t want to go to the woods because of the social, but I convinced you.”

Doug folded his arms over his chest, and his face remained a mask of stone as he stared at her fiercely. She wasn’t sure if he was angry, frustrated, or thinking she was nuts, but at least he was letting her continue.

“Vincent tried to glamour you, and it didn’t work.” She let out a short laugh. “That still aggravates him to this