The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires

spent the night together, I take it that none of his various and sundry parts were harmed.'

I looked past her, out the window. It was sunny and fairly warm. An hour earlier, Theo had stepped outside the pub to greet the Dark One who had come to see him, only to end up with a nasty burn on his arms and face. It seemed that about one thing, legend was correct—vampires and sunlight didn't mix. 'No, nothing was harmed in the way you mean…unless you call having your soul ripped from your being and a curse damning you to eternal vampire-hood harm. Which, it need not be said, I do.'

Sarah did her googly-eyed impression of a pug. 'You're kidding!'

I lifted an eyebrow at her.

'Oh dear god, you're not kidding! Theo is a vampire?'

'Could you speak a little louder, Sarah? I don't think everyone in the village heard you.'

'He's a vampire?' Her voice dropped until it was a husky whisper. 'He can't be a vampire—he's an angel.'

'No, he's the son of a fallen angel, and evidently there is no rule that says nephilims can't also be vampires. I am told the correct terminology is Dark One. That's why the Christian person is here—Theo's hoping to get some information from him about how to go about changing back to his normal self. Or as normal as an immortal person can be.'

'This is absolutely astounding,' Sarah said, her eyes distant as she poked a scone with her butter knife. 'I can't believe this is really happening, but you're the last person on earth who would ever try to pull my leg about something like this. A vampire! You know, Portia…' She looked up at me. 'There are some drawbacks to having a boyfriend who is a Dark One.'

Theo found me five minutes later, wiping my eyes and hiccupping with the aftereffects of laughter that was only slightly tinged with hysteria.

'I'm delighted to see you're so amused about the situation,' he said, handing me the napkin that had fallen from my lap.

'It's better to laugh than go outright insane. Did you get all the information you needed?'

Theo turned and gestured to the man in the doorway. 'Yes, thanks to Christian.'

'We did not have the opportunity to be introduced earlier,' Christian said, coming forward and taking my hand. He made an old-fashioned bow over it that should have seemed hokey, but was quite the opposite. 'I am delighted to make your acquaintance. It is not often I meet a Beloved who is also a member of the Court of Divine Blood.'

'Beloved?' I sent Theo a quick, embarrassed glance. 'We've only just…that is, we're not really…we're not… oh, crap.' I glared at Theo. 'Would you like to tell the man that we only just met, and have not yet established if there is a relationship waiting to happen?'

The two men exchanged looks. Sarah looked uncomfortable. The silence in the room was thick with some unspoken comment.

'What?' I asked them all.

'There are a few things I need to explain to you,' Theo said, taking my hand and pulling me toward the hall.

'You have my mobile number if you have any other questions,' Christian said as I reluctantly followed my personal champion.

Theo tossed a thank you over his shoulder. As I closed the door, Sarah was pouncing on Christian with an explanation of who she was, and how they were related by publisher.

'I'm not sure it's the wisest thing in the world to leave them alone,' I said as we went upstairs to my room. 'She can be horribly fangirl about some authors.'

'He'll survive. There are a few things you should know that I felt you'd prefer hearing privately.'

'Uh-oh.' I entered my room, sitting primly on a chair. 'That doesn't sound good. Is it about you being a Dark One?'

'Yes.' Theo paced to the window, spun around, and paced back to the door, one hand ruffling his hair.

'I have an awful feeling you're going to say you can't get your soul back, but I refuse to accept that. If someone can take something away, someone else must be able to put it back. I was quite serious when I said I would do whatever it takes to get your soul back, you know. I am aware such a thing won't be easy, but I am fully dedicated to doing whatever is required.'

'It's not quite that easy.' Theo paced past me.

'But it can be done? You can get your soul back?'

'In a manner of speaking.' Theo made three more passes before he sat on the end of the bed and fixed me with a grey-eyed look. 'Christian was very informative about Dark Ones. It turns out there are two types—those born of an unredeemed father, and those cursed by a demon lord.'

'Unredeemed? There's redemption possible?'

'Yes.' He took a deep breath. 'Each Dark One has a female counterpart, a woman who is, for lack of a better word, his soul mate. This woman is called a Beloved, and she has the ability to restore to the Dark One his soul.'

'Beloved. That's what Christian called me. You think I'm your soul mate?'

'Yes. I don't know. Possibly.' Theo jumped up and resumed pacing. 'The relationship between a Beloved and a Dark One is a complicated thing. He can take blood only from her. Their lives are linked together—if for some reason she is destroyed, he dies as well.'

'That seems a bit extreme,' I said slowly, watching him as I thought about the ramifications of what he was saying. 'There's a flaw in that reasoning. Christian called me a Beloved, but you don't have your soul back.'

'No, there are seven steps we would have to go through before you would be considered a bona fide Beloved.' He walked to the window, pulling the curtain back to look out. Sunlight spilled into the room, causing him to yelp when it splashed across his bare wrist. 'I gather Christian referred to you in that manner as a courtesy, rather than as a description.'

'Seven steps, seven trials…is that the only number you people know?'

'It's a good number,' he said, stalking past me. 'It's a prime number. Those are always good.'

I was unable to keep from smiling. 'Words to warm the heart of anyone who's spent the time I did in math classes. What are the seven steps?'

'Christian gave me a list.' He stopped in front of me, pulling out a small card. 'First is marking.'

'Marking? Like a cat marking its territory?' My nose scrunched at the thought.

'No. Evidently the fact that we can communicate without speaking is a form of marking.'

'Ah.' I mentally cleared my throat. It is pretty different, I'll give you that.

'Yes. Second is protection from afar.'

I thought. 'Well, you did save Sarah and me from those whatever-they-weres.'

'Hashmallim.'

'Yeah. Is that considered from afar?'

Theo shrugged. 'Third is an exchange of body fluids.'

'Body…oh. Well, we've done that.'

To my secret delight, Theo smiled. I felt a warm little glow at the sight of it. 'Actually, Christian said a French kiss would qualify in that situation.'

'I see. Well, I'm happy to revisit that step as often as you like.'

His eyes darkened to charcoal. 'The fourth step requires me to entrust my life to you by giving you the means to destroy me.'

I looked away. 'Well, I've failed that one already. I've destroyed your soul—I don't know what can ever wipe clear that sin.'

His hands were warm on my knees as he knelt before me. 'I've told you that you are not to blame for what happened. If you continue to be obstinate, I will be forced to take action.'

'What sort of action?'

His smile grew wicked. 'Trust me, you will find my gratitude far more to your liking.'

Images grew in my mind, erotic images that I knew were Theo's fantasies. My nipples tightened. My breath grew short. And I had the most overwhelming urge to push him backward and do all the things to him that he