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  “I’m her boyfriend, so I suggest you treat this lady with respect.” Logan reached out with lightening quick speed, grasped the man by the neck and lifted him clean off the ground as if he weighed no more than a doll. “In fact, I recommend you treat all ladies with respect. No one wants to be looked at as if they were nothing but a piece of meat.”

  Logan toyed with the man, holding his throat close to his teeth, which had suddenly become razor-sharp fangs. Logan opened his mouth as if to take a bite of the man’s throat and said ominously, “Raw meat to be devoured by sharp teeth!”

  “No!” cried the man, openly sobbing now. “Don’t drink my blood! Don’t kill me!”

  Logan opened his hand and dropped the man, as if disgusted by him. “I won’t today, but next time I see you harassing a lady, I will.”

  He watched as all the members of gang ran off into the distance, completely terrified. Then he turned to Sophia and helped her to her feet. He held her gently in his arms. “Are you all right? I had to come after you to tell you why I behaved the way I did. I’m not ashamed to be with you. I want to have a real relationship with you, but I’ve been keeping a secret. Now you know what it is. I hope you can still love me, because I love you more than anything in the world. If you want me to leave you alone now that you know the truth, I will. I’m hoping, however, that you can still find a way to love me.”

  Sophia pulled away from his embrace and stared deeply into his face. She looked at him, with thoughtful eyes, examining his sharp fangs, ferocious eyes, and heaving muscles. He was beautiful. He didn’t look like monster to her, although she understood now that he truly was a vampire. To her, he still looked like Logan, the man she had fallen in love with.

  In answer to his questioning eyes, she simply wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, long and slow and deep. Logan’s heart swelled as he felt all the love she felt for him in her passionate kiss and knew that he hadn’t lost her.

  They walked arm-in-arm back to his castle then, and he answered all her questions about being a vampire. How had he become one, where did he get blood to survive? The questions went on and on, and as the evening came to an end, there was just one last thing she needed to know.

  “So, if vampires are drawn to drink the blood of virgins, will you really be able to resist drinking mine if we stay together?”

  “I have so far, although I must admit it can be difficult. There are times when I’ve really struggled to keep my composure, but I’ve always succeeded. I love you too much to lose control and bite you. My love for you overcomes my lust for virgin blood.”

  “That hardly seems fair to you,” Sophia said with compassion. “You’ll always be suffering, battling your natural instincts to drink my blood whenever we’re together.”

  Logan shrugged, trying to make light of the situation. “Being with you is worth it.”

  “Would it be less difficult for you if I wasn’t a virgin?” she asked with a coy smile.

  “Actually, it would ease my discomfort a lot. The blood of a virgin is what vampires crave the most, it’s like an addiction. I would never ask you sacrifice your purity for me though.”

  “What if it’s not a sacrifice? What if I give it freely to you, as a gift?”

  Logan smiled and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Just then, the clocked chimed, reminding them both that dawn was approaching.

  “Tomorrow night,” Sophia promised, kissing him goodbye and heading for the door. “I’ll meet you here right after the sun sets and give myself to you, not because I have to, but because I want to. Ever since we first kissed, I knew that you were the man I wanted to make love to for the first time. Tomorrow night will be that night.”

  Chapter Four

  Sophia’s heart was pounding as the sun slowly set below the horizon. She’d done miserably on her exams at school that morning, but she didn’t care. Tonight was the night she would give her virginity to the man she loved.

  In the end, she decided not to go to her last two classes of the day, so she could go home and prepare. She took a nice long nap, so she was refreshed and not tired. Then she took a bath, washed her hair, and got dressed in a special outfit she’d bought just for the occasion.

  Her roommate Michelle showed up just as she ready to leave, looking flustered and worried.

  “Here you are! I’ve been looking all over campus for you!” Michelle cried. Her expression of relief quickly turned into one of annoyance. “What’s going on with you? You’re never home at night any more, you sleep through most of your classes, and now today you didn’t even show up for two of them! You used to be so motivated to get your degree in Societal History so you could work at the Institute. Now it’s like you don’t even care about graduating! Are you hooked on drugs or something?”

  Sophia laughed gently, feeling touched by her roommate’s concern. She wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulder and said reassuringly, “No, I’m not addicted to drugs. I’ve met someone. I always thought I’d be alone all my life; but it’s finally happened to me. I’m in love!”

  Instead of sharing her happiness, Michelle looked more worried than before. “Who is this guy? Is he a student here? Do I know him?”

  “No, he’s an older man. I’m certain you’ve never met him, but trust me when I tell you he’s very nice. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a man; tender, caring, intelligent, funny.”

  “If he’s so great, why haven’t you brought him to introduce him to me? Why are you always gone, staying out until dawn every night?”

  “It’s complicated,” Sophia said, not knowing what to say to her friend that wouldn’t expose Logan’s secret. She needed to talk to him about it. She knew she could trust Michelle not to reveal anything she told her confidence, but she couldn’t just tell Logan’s secret to others without his permission first. Suddenly, she realized it was already dark outside, and she was late for the most important date of her life. “You’ll just have to believe me when I tell you that Logan Longfellow is a really good man. I’ll explain everything to you later. Right now, I’m late and I have to go.”

  “Wait!” Michelle said. “Isn’t Longfellow the name of that creepy castle you’ve been researching all semester? Don’t tell you’ve gotten into a relationship with someone who lives there! Rumors say those people are evil! Stay far away from him! I’m just telling you this for your own good!”

  Sophia brushed aside her friend’s impassioned plea with a light laugh. “Oh, Michelle, don’t tell me you buy into those rumors too. Logan Longfellow isn’t evil and nothing can stop me from meeting him.”

  “Well, he may not be evil, but he’s definitely hiding something or I’d have met him by now. Don’t go to him tonight. Tell him you’re staying here until he comes over and meets your friends first. If he has nothing to hide, he won’t have any objection.”

  Sophia shook her head. “It’s more complicated than that. I can’t explain right now, but I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. I promise. Now I have to go, I’m late!”

  Sophia ran out the door with her long coat wrapped tightly around her. She was so excited to meet with Logan; she didn’t even notice Michelle following behind her as she went.

  Sophia finally arrived at Logan’s castle an hour after the sun had set, and he opened the door for her with a relieved expression on his face.

  “I thought perhaps you had changed your mind,” Logan said as he let her inside.

  “No, I just wanted to make you wait a little bit for me,” Sophia teased, not wanting to ruin their evening by talking about Michelle’s suspicions yet.

  “I’ve been waiting for you for hundreds of years,” Logan said, kissing her passionately on the lips. “After I became a vampire, I never thought I’d be able to experience love with a woman, and now here you are, making all my dreams come true.”

  The heartfelt words brought tears of emotion to Sophia’s eyes, for she had thought she’d never find love either. It was as if they were made for each other.

 
Slowly, she removed her long coat, letting it slip from her shoulders and fall to the ground. Underneath the coat, she wore nothing but a pale pink teddy, which hugged her curves just right, accentuating her full breasts and narrow waist. She had on matching pink panties made of delicate lace and white thigh-high stockings held up by garters. Pink high heels completed the outfit, which was the perfect blend of innocence and lust.

  “Wow! You look delicious enough to eat!” Logan said, with his eyes wide and an obvious erection protruding within his slacks.

  He advanced upon her slowly and took her into his embrace and carried her to his bed, kissing her on the lips as he did so. He laid her softly onto the mattress and gently nibbled on her earlobe, making her sigh with delight. Then he kissed a trail down her long neck, to her chest and peeled the teddy from her body. She moaned and sighed with pleasure as he lavished all his attention upon her breasts; caressing, fondling, and suckling them with pure devotion. Her nipples puckered under his expert touch, and she ran her fingers through his hair, pressing him firmly to herself.

  It didn’t take long before she was panting and felt that moisture growing between her legs. Sensing the time was right, Logan kissed his way down to her panties and gently pulled them off her hips. She was nervous at first, but when his lips came in contact with her most delicate folds, her fears were quickly wiped away by the exquisite pleasure.

  Sophia had never felt anything so incredibly wonderful in her entire life. Waves of pleasure flooded through her body, and soon she felt the need to arch her pelvis, searching for him to enter her.

  When he knew she was ready, Logan stopped pleasuring her with his lips and moved up to lie beside her, so they were face to face. He kissed her then, tenderly and deeply, making her forget any traces of nervousness in his loving embrace. When he entered her, she was so wet and ready for him that it didn’t even hurt and they moved together as one. She clutched at his back and wrapped her legs around his waist as her first orgasm overtook her. It was a sensation unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and she knew that she loved him now more than ever.

  Logan felt the same way. Sophia was so sweet, so delicate, and so delicious. He’d never loved a woman as much as he loved her, and he knew that he could never hurt her or let anyone one else ever cause her any harm. He would devote the rest of his life to keeping her safe and happy, no matter what it took.

  He orgasmed deep inside her and then they lay together in the bed, cuddling until she fell asleep.

  Chapter Five

  Sophia awoke shortly before the dawn. She and Logan made love again, and then she took a quick shower and got dressed in the lovely new dress he’d purchased her as a surprise.

  “If you don’t like it, you can exchange it,” Logan said, looking concerned.

  “I absolutely love it!” Sophia said, twirling in the dress and making the skirt of the garment flair out like the petals of a flower. She twirled right into Logan, making him stumble back onto the bed, where he caught her in his arms.

  “And I love you,” Logan said in a gentle voice and kissed her softly on the lips. She was so sweet, he couldn’t get enough of the taste of her, although now that she was no longer a virgin, the conflicting desire he felt to bite her had ebbed and he could enjoy kissing her more easily without fearing his own instincts. He looked at the clock and knew that dawn would soon be upon them. With a disappointed sigh, he helped her up and guided her to the door. “Will I see you again tonight?”

  “That’s up to you,” Sophia said with a coy grin. “What I said the other night, still stands. If you want to have a real relationship with me, we can’t keep hiding here in your castle. My friends want to meet the man I’ve been dating, and it will help quell the rumors about you if you get out in the world and start meeting people. Once they see how kind and wonderful you are, they’ll know you’re not the evil monster the old stories have taught them to fear.”

  Logan looked hesitant. “I don’t know, my darling. The members of my family have attempted to make friends with the townspeople in the past, and it has always ended badly. Now I am the last Longfellow left. The others died horrible deaths, stabbed through the heart by wooden stakes or silver spikes.”

  “Don’t tell me a big, strong man like yourself is afraid. I’m just talking about meeting a couple of my closest friends down at the bar for a beer. I’m not talking about hosting a lynch mob.”

  “I’m not afraid for myself; after all, I’ve survived all these centuries up until now. I am afraid for you, however,” Logan said, caressing her cheek.

  “Why would you be afraid for me?” Sophia pulled back, confused.

  Logan hesitated, not sure how much he could tell her without scaring her. Total honesty seemed the best approach and the only way to truly protect her. With a somber expression, he said, “Human beings are easily frightened, and there’s no telling how they’ll react when things go wrong in their lives. Everything might seem fine now, but someday something might happen to change that, and when it does, they’ll look for someone to blame and some way to lash out to protect themselves and calm their fears. History has shown that the Longfellow family makes an easy target for their fears, but not just those related by blood.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that anyone associated with my family can become a target of blame of fear as well. Spouses, girlfriends, even mere acquaintances have been put to death by ignorant and terrified townspeople looking for justice. It’s why I’ve chosen to live alone all these years. I saw how painful it was for my family to watch the ones they loved stabbed through the heart for crimes they never committed.”

  “You can’t think my friends would ever do a thing like that. There hasn’t been any vigilante justice or mob mentalities for decades.” Sophia brushed aside his fears.

  “That may be true, but it doesn’t take much for that to change. Trust me. I’ve seen too much to be naïve about this, and you shouldn’t be either.”

  “Nonsense!” Sophia scoffed light-heartedly. “Meet me tonight at the bar down the street. I’ll bring a small group of my closest friends. Just my roommate Michelle, my best friend Mark, and Michelle’s boyfriend Clyde. Just three people. Once you’ve met them and had a beer, we’ll come back here to the castle. I’ll make it worth your while, if you know what I mean.”

  Sophia winked at him seductively as she caressed her hands over her body, and Logan felt an erection growing at just the thought of making love to her again.

  “All right,” Logan acquiesced.

  Sophia kissed him goodbye and walked home in light of the sunrise, admiring the deep pinks and oranges of the dawn. She’d never been so happy in her entire life and she smiled contentedly, not even paying attention to where she going. That’s why she didn’t see the object in the road until she had tripped over it and fell hard against the sidewalk, landing on her hands and knees and scraping them painfully on the asphalt.

  “What was that?” Sophia cried out. She turned around and gasped in horror to realize the object she had tripped over was a woman, lying prone in the street. “Oh my God!”

  The woman had two puncture wounds that went deep into her neck, but there was no blood pouring from the wound or on the ground around her, as if all the blood had already been drained from her body. Her skin was cold and deathly white. Sophia turned the woman onto her back so she could perform CPR. To her horror, she recognized the victim’s face. It was none other than her roommate Michelle!

  “No!” Sophia wailed into the early morning sky. She performed chest compressions on Michelle, trying to restart her lifeless heart, but it was useless.

  “Don’t die, Michelle! Come on! Please don’t die!” Sophia cried, and suddenly Michelle took a gasping breath of air into her lungs. Sophia pulled back and saw that her efforts had worked! Michelle’s heart was beating on its own again! She was going to live! Someone had heard her shouting out for help and called an ambulance, as a small crowd gathered to watch the scene. The emergenc
y workers arrived quickly and loaded Michelle into ambulance and drove away, but the immediate danger had passed and they told Sophia she was a hero.

  “I’m not the hero, Michelle is. I was so afraid she wouldn’t make it. I hope she’s going to be okay. Those wounds on her neck looked horrible.” Sophia shuddered.

  Her best friend Mark was there, drawn by the crowd. He took Sophia into his arms, holding her close while she trembled with excitement and cried with relief.

  “Michelle is tough. If anyone can pull through being stabbed in the neck like that, it’s her,” Mark comforted her.

  “Do you think so?” Sophia asked, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose softly into a handkerchief he’d handed her. Mark nodded and Sophia couldn’t help but smile. “You’re right. Michelle has great inner strength. It’s what I loved most about her, and found the most annoying. The last conversation I had with her was a quarrel.”

  “About what?” Mark asked casually, but as Sophia explained to him about her romance with Logan Longfellow and Michelle’s concerns about it, his expression changed. To Sophia’s surprise, Mark sided with Michelle and insisted that she stop seeing Logan.

  “How can you say that?” Sophia cried out, hurt by his words. “I never thought I’d love someone like I love Logan. Michelle was overreacting out of fear and ignorance. My boyfriend is not an evil vampire! You just don’t know him like I do!”

  “That’s my point exactly,” Mark said calmly, while tears ran down Sophia’s cheeks. “Why haven’t we met him yet? Why do you only meet with him at night? What’s he hiding in that castle of his?”

  “Well, you’re going to meet him tonight!” Sophia said, crossing her arms and jutting her chin. “He promised to join me at the bar by the university tonight right after sunset so he could meet all my friends. Of course, that was before I knew Michelle had been attacked.”