The Man Behind the Vampire (The Silver Series) Read online

It didn’t take long before she demanded we leave Ms Lilly's, I agreed with her, she was scared other men would see her in the same way as my father had.

  Old Claude had offered me the stables to live in, as well as a percentage of any profit from the farm. I had already agreed but the incident with my father resulted in us moving a little quicker.

  Poor Darius, poor Emily. Mary put the book down; he was married, what happened to his wife? His father sounded like a bastard, she would have killed him. In fact his mother must have been devastated. Yawning Mary looked at the clock; she had been reading for two hours. She needed to sleep, the deliveries tomorrow would be a nightmare and she needed her strength. Closing her eyes she drifted off quickly, images of Darius floating through her mind.

  Darius in the 1300's dressed in the customary tunics, her walking into the yard, him seeing her, taking one look before moving to her. Pulling her into his arms and kissing her hard, she could feel the strength in him, his kiss swallowing her, his tongue probing and making love to her mouth.

  She pulled him closer; she could feel his erection through his leggings. Her body responded, as he pulled the front of her green velvet dress lower, exposing her round and luscious breasts, taking each one in turn, he kissed each nipple and then took them into his mouth. Her hands were in his long blonde hair, moving her hands down to his back and under his tunic. Darius lifted the hem of her dress, sliding his hands up her calf, stroking her sex with his fingers, all the while continuing to tend to her heavy breasts.

  Opening her legs a little wider, he entered her with one and then two fingers, Mary gasped. She was already wet and ready for him, pumping her harder she felt herself plant her feet more firmly on the ground. As her body convulsed and she tried to keep standing, he moved his hands up massaging her breasts, taking her mouth with his.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist prompting him to ground his erection against her, her body was still shaking so she dug her fingers into his back in an attempt to steady herself. He lifted her dress further and pulled at his leggings, then he entered her all while he was still kissing her. He groaned in her mouth as she tightened her hold on him he was pushing into her again, she was full with him, pulling out and then entering her again, she groaned at the feel of him inside her. As he pumped into her, she urged him deeper each time. Her body was reaching again, and this time they came together.

  Her heart was beating so fast she felt like she had spent hours running but Mary still sighed and then opened her eyes jumping at the darkness that greeted her. Hot damn she was in bed and had just had the most electrifying dream of her life. Gutted it was only a dream, she turned over and tried to settle again, but her body was still thrumming.

  Chapter 12

  The disturbed sleep had left Mary feeling tired and irritable, she knew that within the hour the boxes would arrive and she didn’t really think she had the energy. She thought of calling her father but knew that she wouldn’t. Wondering across the road for a large decaf, she was further depressed by the dark clouds and wet grounds. As the rain started to come she hurried over to the shop with her keys in hand, seeing a waiting customer she moved a little faster, missing the curb she almost lost her coffee, she would have had the customer not stepped out into the rain and helped her.

  "Thank you, if you give me a minute we can get in out of the rain" fumbling with the keys, the man waited patiently.

  Facially he could only have been in his late teens, physically he was huge. For some reason she didn’t feel threatened; in fact he seemed quite nice, sort of open and friendly. Shaking herself off, she turned on the lights to find the male waiting patiently.

  "Well take a look around, I have a delivery due but let me know if you need any help."

  He didn’t move but held out a hand with a note, taking the note Mary was slightly confused, maybe she should feel threatened.

  Good Morning gorgeous, I hope you slept better than me; unfortunately I kept getting images of a curvaceous brunette reading me bed time stories, naked. Meet Max one of the pups from Silvers, today he carries boxes for you. Don’t worry he is a good kid, more importantly he is strong. Make the most of it.

  Love D xxx

  She wasn’t sure what to say, this poor boy, surely he didn’t want to be here, but how sweet of Darius.

  Looking at Max she saw the strong arms, he would be able to carry more weight that she could, "um you must be Max, look if you want to leave I won't mind, I am sure you have better things to do than hoist boxes for me."

  Max smiled, "actually no I don’t, Theo is busting my ass about missing training, so at least this way I get to avoid him for another day. You have a cool collection here, I love reading" he did wander off, wandering through the aisles.

  She watched him walk, he had a slight lisp but as he smiled, she noticed a tongue piercing which in turn explained the lisp, he was staring at all of the books in wonder. Okay he could stay, "if you are going to stay, would you mind helping me rearrange things"

  "I am at your disposal, although Darius said I was not look at your butt or anywhere else sexual, so you might want to add a sweater" he laughed when she went bright pink.

  "I don’t think so young man, I am old enough to be your mother" she tried to add a stern tone but she couldn’t, he was of sweet.

  "I doubt it, my mother's 246 years old. Where do you want me?" now she stood in front of him open mouthed, why did people continue to shock her?

  Despite all of the chaos of moving things around and serving customers it was actually a good day. With Max's help they had moved the store around, the effect was great. The coffee machine and tables were now in the middle of the shop. You could see all of the sections from the centre point. Max had suggested adding a children's area and she was seriously thinking about it, it was a good idea. Max had even helped a couple of the customers find books.

  As the bell tinkled over the doorway she turned to find Shania stood just inside of the doorway, almost open mouthed. Thinking she was looking at the new layout of the shop, Mary felt a little jubilant at their progress, until she noticed Shania's gaze focussing on Max's butt, which was currently bent over a box. Mary watched in amusement as Shania continued watching as Max stood and turned towards them, it was his turn to be open mouthed. Shania may be unusual in her appearance and clothing with her short blue hair, yellow dress and combat boots as was her get up today, but she still a very attractive girl. Tall and thin, with piercing green eyes and amazing bone structure she was never without a date. As they smiled at each other Mary smiled inside, how sweet.

  Placing her things in the back and signalling Mary to follow, Shania was almost bursting at the seams,

  "OMG Mary, what are you doing? Who would have thought that your book shop would turn out to be a hot bed of sex on legs, where are you finding them? I could sit all day watching that...that fine specimen of man out there. Oh you are so clever, that’s why you had him moving the shop about, and you have spent the day looking at his butt." Mary started to protest but Shania had gone out to the front of the shop, still muttering to herself.

  Mary had just finished setting up the coffee machine in her new seating area when she was approached by a new customer. A couple of customers had already made their purchases and were making the most of the shelter from the rain.

  "Excuse me, can I get a coffee please" Mary turned to find a tall, well-built gentleman behind her; dressed all in black he looked ominous yet somehow familiar.

  "Of course, help yourself, I don’t mean to be intrusive but, do I know you?"

  "I doubt it; I am not from round these parts. This is a lovely neighbourhood, I am looking to buy a house, and realtors will tell you anything to make a sale. What is the area really like?"

  "I love it here, lived in this area over 10 years, not a huge amount of crime, neighbours lovely" she did like living here, some days she just liked to watch the people go by, often she wandered what peoples stories were?

  "What about Others?"

>   "Sorry, I missed that, what do you mean?"

  "Do you have any problems with any of those other species?" The man had altered his tone into a hush, stopping anyone over hearing. If she had been asked this a week ago she would have said no, but she would have added her own fears and perceptions to the conversation, not today.

  "Actually I haven’t had any problems with 'Others'. I have found that some are hardworking, charming, sweet and thoughtful. I suppose they have the same problems as humans, in that some are just plain rotten."

  There was no malice or fear in her voice, in fact she meant what she had said, which flummoxed her. Holding a coffee in her hands, she blew on it as she realised the effect Darius was having on her. Happy with this the man drifted off to sit down, she felt rather proud of herself.

  "Mmmm Mary can I have a quiet word please?" Max was waiting behind the Sci-fi shelves; she followed him through to the store room, "what did that man ask you?"

  Max seemed anxious, "nothing really, he was just asking about crime, he is thinking about moving into the area."

  "He mentioned others" she watched Max's brow crease in thought.

  "Well yes he was asking about crime from them, it’s actually a common misperception and I have to say people, myself included are still fearful around other species" she watched as he seemed to think this through.

  "Mary, I get that and understand people's fears, but that doesn’t make sense, the mans a vampire."

  Mary stood there looking at Max, what did she say to that? "Are you sure? Well it doesn’t really matter, probably nothing" it didn’t have to mean anything at all. But as she peered discreetly outside the door, she noted that the man was gone.

  Without giving it much thought she went through the rest of her day in complete happiness, the shop looked great, the customers seemed to like it, Shania was happy, mainly because she was drooling over Max, Darius had done something really sweet and tonight, well, as soon as the shop was closed, she would boil some instant noodles curl up in her armchair with a hot chocolate (she had already had too much alcohol already this week), and settle down to read some more of Darius' story. Normally the thought of spending yet another night alone made her feel empty, but today everything felt just right.

  Chapter 13

  Darius had popped into Haven to see Leila but she was asleep, he left her some chocolates before heading off to meet Imogen. Unsurprisingly he found Imogen in the hall practicing some self-defence techniques with the women. A couple of years ago Imogen had been attacked by vampires. The night before this she and Theo had argued and then made out, inadvertently their blood mixed. When Imogen's blood then mixed with the vampires who attacked her, Imogen had become a sort of vampire wolf mix.

  Totally unique this development had been kept completely quiet, everyone involved decided that this would cause some people to experiment with breeding and potentially create new species. With Imogen she had developed into an extremely strong and powerful being, stronger than even Darius and he was an old vampire. Imogen though had a good heart and used her new skills to do good things. Having been a victim of abuse she remembered the degradation too well and wanted to help others. Mated to Theo she was a member of Silver Wolf Pack, she managed their electronic security and ran a security consultancy business, on occasions she even helped out in the PTF, but being part vampire and a damn strong one, she was also one of Vlad's Elite Warrior team.

  Since opening the Haven, Darius had watched her turn it into an actual home, warm and caring, welcoming people into its fold. Darius had a huge amount of respect for not only Imogen but her mate Theo. Theo had also suffered his own trauma, his mother was abusive, his father exiled from the pack, his mother ran away after setting fire to Theo with the intention of killing him. He had remained strong despite all of this and now Darius could see how happy he was. Theo had never looked to having a family of his own, but when he met Imogen and her sister, a light sparked. When they got it together after too many years, everyone wished them well. But when Theo discovered that he had two half vampire siblings, everything just came together. Darius had never seen Theo happier or stronger.

  "Hey Darius, just in time, come partner me."

  Inwardly and outwardly he groaned, this meant she was going to fling him and he would have to be hurt, she was so strong she could hurt most vampires under well 7-800 years old. Taking off his jacket and slipping off his shoes (no one was scratching his Armani shoes) he waited for his instructions.

  "Come at me from behind, but make it quick. Now ladies remember what I said as soon as that first contact comes, take the offensive do not wait to see what the other person is planning.”

  It wasn’t that bad practicing this with Imogen, it wasn’t often he had the chance to test himself because Imogen was strong enough to stop him worrying about hurting her. He came at her fast, as he put his arm around her neck, she grabbed him and twisted, flinging him down onto the hard wooden floor (he didn’t get the mat treatment), she ended with her foot across his neck but also gave a partial demonstration of where else a foot could cause maximum impact. Darius moved before she made contact with his groin causing her to laugh.

  "I wouldn’t do that to you Darius."

  "I wasn’t willing to take the chance thank you very much; I quite like having everything in working order. However if you will allow me, I can show your friends some other moves. Some of which may be a little before your time, but still quite effective." Imogen nodded and took a place with the other women; the woman was intent to learn everything she could about the art of combat.

  When the other women left, he spent some time sparring with Imogen; she was a quick study and a very good fighter. Theo had been training her well, although the fact that Theo was one of the fiercest wolves Darius had met helped. They were interrupted by Liza and Lewis. Theo's half vampire siblings, Darius had been the only vampire in the pack when they had arrived. After leaving Theo, his mom had mated with a vampire and produced twins, Liza and Lewis.

  "Hey Darius, look what I can do."

  Liza had started a ballet class a few weeks ago and loved it; still wearing her pointe shoes she proceeded to show them her new moves. Darius clapped and Liza basked in the praise. They were both great kids, and Theo and Imogen were doing a marvellous job of caring for them. It certainly hadn’t been easy for them, their mother had also treated them horrendously and when she died none had been too upset. Theo and Imogen were determined to help them live normal lives in a good loving home.

  As he made his way home he was considering calling Mary, but he didn’t want to crowd her. Leaving the Haven he felt like someone was nearby watching him. Slowing down at the gates he couldn’t see anyone, but he could feel them. Focussing his gaze to the surrounding bushes and fence there was no real evidence but it didn’t feel right. As he left the feeling stayed with him, meaning it wasn’t the house that was being watch, but him. Again he couldn’t see anything he just felt like things were not quite right.

  Chapter 14

  He had been watching from the cover of the trees and bushes since leaving the bookstore. When he met the woman he was surprised at how kind and sweet she was, she seemed very genuine. The storm had allowed him to leave the apartment earlier than he had expected giving him more time.

  Talking with her, she didn’t seem harmed, no evidence she was blood addicted, quite a likeable woman. So what did Darius want with her? He had planned on staying longer until he smelled and then spotted the wolf. A stupid, stupid mistake, it never occurred to him to send out his senses looking for Other species. Hopefully he had left before he was noticed.

  Arriving here, he had seen the woman with the white hair arrive, his senses told him she was a vampire, but something was not quite right with her, he could feel her power radiating from her, even from a distance. He was still contemplating the meaning of this when Darius arrive.

  The temptation to sneak into the house was riding him high when Darius arrived, but he held off knowing stupid mista
kes got people killed. Then the disfigured man with the two children arrived and a short time later Darius left. Debating on whether to stay or follow Darius, he finally opted for Darius; he could return to the house soon, it was still early.

  He waited what seemed like hours but was only a couple of minutes, he didn’t worry about losing him, this close he could track him with ease. The black suburban was inconspicuous, following him toward what he guessed would be pack land, he trailed the windy roads, populated by dense forest on either side, and he could sense the wild wolves in the forest.

  Stopping a way off, he watched Darius enter into the secured gates, wanting to look for a way in. He stopped himself in time to see his car surrounded by at least 8 wild wolves, he tried to placate them and it worked a little but not enough. Maybe their loyalty to the pack hindered his ability to control them? Not good, they couldn’t kill him but they could cause some serious injuries and pain, spilled blood could also identify him to Darius, he would be able to smell him. Reversing the car he made his way back to the place called Haven, hoping to think of a solution to the wild wolves.