"Angela, where shall I set up?" a young man asked her. "Jeremy, must I do everything?" she asked, heading through the penthouse to a back room, expecting everyone to follow. We walked past the bathroom where Lance was showering, past the bedroom, and into a series of rooms. We stopped in another small room, resembling a beauty salon. On the left wall was a hairdresser's station, and on the right was a shampoo bowl. It was amazing and to think that Lance had this right here in his suite. It made me wonder how many women frequented his apartment."Jeremy, set up here," Angela said, then she took my hand. "My dear, please, sit down." She smiled as she motioned toward the chair. "Let us take care of you, ma chérie." A motherly smile lit her lips, despite her young appearance. I couldn't help but do as she asked. "My dear," Jeremy began, gathering my hair into his hands as he started running a brush through it. "This just won't do, but your hair color is lovely! Who does it for you?

Suddenly, a vampire sitting a few seats away from us diverted our attention, telling jokes and talking loudly as everyone laughed. He was very handsome, and when I looked at him, he looked familiar. I wondered if maybe he had been a famous comedian long ago and had left the lime light before people started noticing that he wasn't aging. I looked down the table and everyone was enjoying themselves, as human waiters served the food, treating everyone like royalty. Soon, the meal ended, and the waiters took our plates away. "Now, for dessert!" the jovial, joke-telling vampire announced, and, as if on cue, all of the waiters stepped up to the table between the vampires and held out their wrists to the guests on either side of them, their eyes glazed. To my horror, Charlotte clasped the wrist of the waiter standing next to her with both hands, bared her glistening white fangs, and bit down into it. Her eyes flared a brilliant green as she drank his blood. The other vampires at the table d

I shook my head, amazed at his old world charm, wondering again who he had been in his human life before he had become a vampire. I knew that he had been a knight, but I wanted to know more. I quickly pushed the thought aside as I looked through the clothing rack and settled for a pair of designer jeans from Paris and a silky red tank top with thin spaghetti straps that hung down low on my breasts, exposing just the right amount of cleavage. I found my red high heels that I had worn when Lance had first picked me up and slipped them on, feeling very feminine and sexy-something that I hadn't felt in a while. I left the rest of the clothes hanging on the rack, unable to bring myself to take more. I walked into the mini salon, found a brush, and then sat down at the vanity across from the salon styling station. I looked in the mirror and my eyes glowed, shining brightly with happiness. Not wanting to take too much time but eyeing the makeup on the counter, I quickly threw on some blush,

"Come, Leila," Charlotte said, matter of fact, slipping her arm through mine as we walked away, as if we were old friends. "Are you all right?"I nodded, as my heart steadied, wondering if I could trust her. "What are you doing here, Charlotte?""Believe it or not, I just so happened to be in the neighborhood," she said with a sly smile. The sounds of the two men screaming in the alley behind us rushed to my ears, but Charlotte paid no attention.I nodded as we walked around another corner, headed toward my house. "Thank you for that," I said, relieved. At least if Charlotte killed me, I wouldn't have to endure everything that the creeps had in store for me."Oh, it's my pleasure," Charlotte said, her voice syrupy sweet. "Us girls have to stick together, don't we?"I nodded, suddenly eager to get home."Tell me, how did you come to be in that alley with those men?"I bit my lower lip, wondering how much to tell her. "I was following a scent.""A scent?""When I turned the corn

Hours later, I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, not having moved from the chair that Rosa had led me to. The chair shifted beside me. I opened my eyes and Rosa was still sitting beside me. I closed my eyes again and leaned back. The tears had stopped, but I was at a loss for what to do next."You look like shit," she said, trying to force a smile."Thank you very much," I said, without opening my eyes. I smiled without humor. "That's the best compliment I've had all day." Then, I opened my eyes and looked at her. "You don't look so good yourself."She placed a hand gently on mine. "Leila, I'm so sorry."I nodded, unable to speak as tears sprang to my eyes again. I took a deep breath as the magnitude of what had happened came to the forefront of my consciousness and the denial fell away. "Where is he?"Rosa stood and held out her hand. "Come on. I'll walk with you."I nodded, unable to believe what was happening.It just seemed too surreal. This just couldn'