EXCERPT PROLOGUE
He made love to her slowly, in the well practiced style she liked. After
twenty years, he knew this about her. She enjoyed her sex predictable and lazy.
He kissed her deeply, softly, skating his tongue across her teeth. His hands
moved down to gently cup her breasts, moving up to roll her large, dusky nipples
until they hardened.
As he released her mouth he trailed feathery kisses across her chin and down
her throat until he captured one of her tight buds, slowly suckling until he
heard her sigh while her fingers were combing through his long black hair. He
nipped the hard nub and she murmured her protest.
His hand journeyed lower until it reached the soft curls between her thighs.
It still amazed him how wet and ready she was. She quivered as he slowly parted
her nether-lips, running his long finger and spreading her juices down her
folds.
Everything gentle, non-rushed, with even her moans and responses almost kept
secret. The soft caresses eventually led to slow, deep thrusts as he entered
her. She stroked his back, feeling his tight muscles. Finally, wrapping his
thighs with her legs, she pulled him closer, deeper. The muscles of her channel
tightened like a fist around him and she issued her quiet moans and slight
shudders as she climaxed.
Curling up onto his broad tanned chest, she lightly twirled one of his dark
chest hairs around her finger, hesitantly scraping the skin at its base. She
looked up into his midnight blue eyes and smiled in gratitude, lightly brushing
his full lips with hers and fell back on his shoulder to sleep.
Lucien looked down at her and sighed. He was bored to death. If a vampire
could die.
But tonight was for her. He loved her, just as he had loved all the others
before her. Each of his companions had their own unique way of pleasure.
Although the vampire's curse had never been appeased with the calm and
comforting methods Lucien maintained with his many loves, he continued to keep
his true desires at bay, locked onto the promise that his next companion would
have the passion to satisfy him. This would be his last night with Heather. He
brought the passive woman and her friends to his settlement high in the
mountains two decades ago.
Lucien quietly rose, careful not to wake her. He dressed in his buckskins
and tied his hair back with a strip of leather. Glancing back at her once, he
left his house and went to the main hall.
Everyone was tense … because it was time.
Lucien looked down the length of the two long wooden tables noticing many of
the settlers were still awake, gossiping and busying themselves, making sure all
was set for the Clansmen's ride in the morning. Lucien flared his nostrils. He
could smell the excited anticipation of his people.
The other vampires had already arrived and were seated at the shorter table
at the front of the hall, chatting with some of the townsfolk. Lucien joined
them and sat in his worn, upholstered chair. It reminded him of the settlement.
A sadly, threadbare throne in a sadly, sagging village. The town desperately
needed younger men to fix the weather beaten structures and beat back the
encroaching woods. The vampires were anxious to bring back new companions for
their beds.
Lucien sat in the middle with Damon and Nathan seated on either side of him.
Justin and Nicholas, the youngest of the Clansmen, sat at the ends of the table.
The five vampires talked quietly, finalizing their plans for the trip the next
day.
Lucien stared into the flames burning in the stone fireplace letting his mind
wander. Lucien and five of his closest friends had escaped the turmoil Europe
was embroiled in centuries earlier. He was over seven hundred years old now. He
had carefully chosen the members who would make up his Clan, noting their
strengths and character. None had a fledgling to teach nor a mate to hinder
their escape to the New World.
Upon arriving in America, once again they found themselves in a country
trying to come to grips with the times. The Clan fled to the safety of the
mountains. At times they did try to assuage themselves onto the flatlands only
to find witch-hunts (so unbearably reminiscent of the Inquisition which had cost
Lucien his brother and several friends) or war, which they did not want to be a
part of.
For centuries they had gone down to where the mortals were only once every
twenty years. Lucien smiled, reminiscing. Ah, the earlier days of their
self-imposed banishment when it was so easy. People disappearing in the
wilderness of the mountains wasn't even noticed or reported for weeks, if at
all. Many were traveling to new homesteads, moving far away from their old
life. If they were missed, it caused but a brief attempt of a search party,
always ending unsuccessfully, with no clue, no idea what could have befallen the
missing. The disappearances were blamed on victims falling prey to wild
animals, Indian attacks, or groups getting lost and disoriented in the wild
overgrowth, not irregular occurrences.
The vampires still maintained a curious relationship with a band of Indians
they had helped hide in the seclusion of the valley. Lucien felt a certain
kinship with the proud people. They had been hunted and vanquished by the
people of the flatlands, just as his kind had been. People unjustly feared their
proud strength and differences. The Indians considered the Clan mysterious
protectors that had allowed them to co-exist in the peaceful valley safely
hidden high in the mountains.
The last time the Clan had traveled to the flatlands they found things had
changed dramatically. The searchers discovered the humans missing within days.
Men armed on horseback tracked the Clan and their new captives many days, losing
them only when the Clan split up over the higher rocky cliffs. All the Clansmen
were several centuries old and had built strength to withstand the diffused
sunlight under the wooded canopy of the dense forest. The cliffs out in the
open could only be crossed at night. Perfect for the enhanced vision of the
vampire, the searchers tracking them quickly lost their trail.
Lucien asked Nathan to discover and report on this new, dangerous
development. He discovered their capture area was now divided into "campsites",
areas where people had to "register" at a "ranger station" and describe the
number in their party, vehicles with tag numbers, and length of stay. Thus,
when the group did not pass back through the station on the agreed date, the
uniformed officials went to investigate and discovered the empty, stripped
campsite and abandoned vehicles.
The vampires, the slave-master and his apprentice, Ethan, spent long evenings
over the past two decades discussing methods of handling future abductions. It
was agreed the vampires would risk using their ability to give a strong mental
'push' of influence to the captives. The danger in this was that it would
steadily drain the vampires and the slave-master would have to assume greater
responsibility for discipline and control.
Lucien passed this information on to Patrick, the leader of the other Clan in
the valley, at the last Harvest Celebration. Patrick had been the only vampire
to find his mate in this New World. To ease the discomfort to the rest of the
Clan, Patrick established his own capture area on the other side of the valley
many miles away.
"Everything is set. We'll be ready to head out tomorrow." Nathan's blue
eyes shimmered with the red ring of desire and anticipation found in the eyes of
all the Clansmen tonight.
The settlers shared the excitement. They had come to love their life in the
peaceful valley and had no desire to return to the flatlands. The new captives
would be relieving them of the harder tasks and the women would become the new
companions.
To ease their loneliness, the captive men had been paired together on their
trip to the mountain twenty years ago. They had formed strong, loving bonds
with each other and were carefully deciding which of the vampires' released
companions would join their home. Over the past months, Lucien watched the men
shyly approach the women. He had seen Carl walking with Heather several times
and thought Carl's gentle nature would be good for her. Pleased with the
arrangements for the trip, Lucien went back to hold Heather through one last
night.
In the morning, she looked up at him and smiled. She traced a finger over
his full lips. "I hope you find her, Lucien. Thank you for your kindness to
me. I'll help your new companion get settled when you return." She held no
bitterness. Heather loved the settlement in the valley and was looking forward
to a peaceful life with Carl.
"Heather, you've kept me good company. If there is anything you or Carl
need, let me know. It warms me to see you so happy with him." Lucien brushed
the tears from her eyes. "I do love you."
"I have felt your love. I hope you find happiness." She kissed him quickly
and rose from his bed for the last time. She would come back to collect her
things after Lucien left, and move them to Carl's cabin by the corral.
Everyone from the settlement gathered to watch them leave. "Lucien," a
busty, blonde woman from the clothiers came running up to where he sat on his
huge brown horse. "Please, we really need some cloth. We'll be wearing leather
underwear soon."
Sarah was Nathan's former companion. Lucien knew she was making a sly plea
to join the men on the trip down to the flatlands. She didn't want to leave the
valley, but she didn't trust the men to realize the crisis she was in. She had
no cloth to make garments for the captives they brought back. She had stashed
dresses in several sizes in Ethan's pack for the new companions, but there were
no useful undergarments.
Two of the new elders, Paul and Zippo, would be heading toward the houses in
the foothills. They would have three days after the travelers split up to meet
with the vampires and their captives at the base of the cliffs with supplies
pilfered from the yards of the flatlanders. After twenty years in the
settlement, they knew what items held value for them. Tools, dry goods, metal,
and Sarah's precious cloth.
Nathan smiled at her and laughed. "Don't worry, Sarah, you'll get your
cloth. I'll have them find you a good strong burlap to keep your bottom warm."
Sarah realized not to push the issue or she would indeed find herself with
something just as uncomfortable to go under her tight buckskin skirt.
Lucien saw Heather standing by the dining hall with Carl. He knew from the
beginning she was not his mate. Her gentle nature rebelled against all his
attempts to make her feel the pleasure in the pain he needed to inflict for his
own sexual gratification. He was pleased she would have happiness and comfort
for her remaining years in exchange for the company she had been to him.
Heather felt the warmth of Lucien's dark blue eyes on her. She looked up,
smiled and mouthed, "Good luck."
The townsfolk were excited that outsiders would be coming to tell them what
was happening in a world they would never go back to. In truth, they had been
in the valley so long they didn't want to go back. Here, they were protected
and comfortable with the daily routines. There were few disagreements. They
were part of the family of the settlement and they would make the strangers feel
welcome.
No one had tried to leave the settlement for over ten years, and that had
been Sarah. She stayed away two days, during which time Nathan kept an eye on
her. She came back on her own saying she couldn't leave her family and friends.
Miserably, she declared she wouldn't know what to do if she went back. Her
punishment was to make herself a new pair of moccasins, using no thimble. Her
fingers were sore for a week and she still wore the patched moccasins as a
reminder.
Yes, Lucien smiled at the small crowd, they are content. He wasn't worried
about leaving them with the elder Slave-master, Charles, who had accompanied
them on their trip to the valley. The man, now in his early sixties, was still
a commanding person. He had trained his younger replacement, Ethan, who would
be going with Lucien down the mountain. In addition to the elder Slave-master,
Wind Seeker, a Tribe warrior and chief's son, along with three other of the
Indian's finest hunters, were remaining at the settlement to supervise until the
Clan returned. The Indians would receive one of the captured males as payment.
The Vampires and mortals were dressed in their usual buckskin shirts and
trousers. They had leather boots and cowboy hats to shield the little sun that
made it through the trees. Except for Justin, they all wore their hair tied
back with a piece of leather. Colored kerchiefs around their necks were raised
to their faces to block any unexpected glare from the rocks or water. To all
appearances, they looked like mountain men.
Paul was in charge of the raiding party. His unlikely partner was Zippo.
Zippo had been hitchhiking and was picked up, stoned on the marijuana that had
already shortened his thought processes, a few hours before Paul and his friends
decided to camp. Paul and Zippo had become lovers since their abduction. Like
their friends, they both liked their lives in the settlement and had no wish to
leave.
The two of them would ride double with the Vampires until the bottom of the
cliffs. There they would split up. Lucien would lead the Clansmen and
Slave-master in the abduction. Paul would lead Zippo on, as Zippo called it, 'a
panty raid' where they would strip the clothes lines and collect useful items
from the yards of the homes in the foothills.
The only person carrying weapons was Ethan, the Slave-master. Attached to
his belt was an arsenal of whips, canes and knives. He was an expert with
them.
With his back to the settlement, Lucien smiled and rode towards the
mountains.
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