Vampire! The word rang like thunder in her mind. I’m
dead.
She was trying to accept the fact that her life was over
when, suddenly, the vampire was no longer holding her,
but sprawled face down at her feet, a thick wooden stake
protruding from its back.
Tessa slumped against the wall, one hand at her throat,
unable to take her gaze from the dead vampire.
“Are you all right?”
Her rescuer’s voice, low and oddly compelling, reminded
her that she wasn’t alone.
Tessa looked up slowly, a shiver skating down her spine.
Like the vampire, this man was dressed all in black. Was
he here to help, she wondered morbidly, or was he another
vampire, come to finish what the dead one had started?
“Are you all right?” he asked again.
When she didn’t answer, he took a step toward her,
stopped when she cringed against the wall.
“I mean you no harm.” His voice moved over her like dark
velvet, warm and comforting. “You’re safe now.”
Safe? She felt a hysterical bubble of laughter rise in
her throat. Safe, with a dead vampire at her feet and a
stranger blocking the stairway?
He lifted one brow. “Can you speak?”
She blinked at him, and then she did laugh. Laughed until
tears ran down her cheeks.
The stranger muttered something in a language Tessa
didn’t understand and then, between one breath and the
next, he drew her into his arms. She struggled at first
but then, realizing he truly didn’t intend to hurt her,
she sagged against him, her whole body trembling in the
aftermath of the attack.
Gradually, she grew aware of him, of the strength of his
arms around her, of the odd scent that clung to him. She
spent a moment trying to determine what it was, but other
sensations flooded her senses. The cloth of his jacket
was soft beneath her cheek, probably expensive. He was
tall, his chest solid as granite, yet his hand was gentle
-- almost a caress -- as he stroked her back.
He held her until her trembling ceased. When her tears
subsided, he offered her his handkerchief – fine linen
embroidered with the initials A.D. It seemed a shame to
use it, she thought as she dried her eyes and blew her
nose.
“Who are you?” she asked.
