Chapter One
Through the haze of smoke, Nicole looked at the man that she had been sent to find. Beneath the red and blue lights of the stage, he appeared ethereal - almost dreamlike. His fingers played across the strings of the guitar so fast that her eyes could not detect movement.
The music vibrated through the room. To listen to it was to be pulled into a world of enchantment where reality blended with fantasy. Nicole felt her heart beating faster, as the notes he played filled the small nightclub.
Until that moment he had been looking down as he played, but abruptly he lifted his head to peer out at the crowd. His eyes came to rest on Nicole. His icy - blue eyes locked with hers. As he stared at her, he seemed to look right into her soul. His dark hair fell in waves around his shoulders - glistening beneath the glare of the lights.
His black clothing hugged his muscular frame, leaving little to the imagination. Not that Nicole would let her imagination get away with her. After all, she was here on business. Even as his gaze drew her in and she felt the first prickles of pain behind her eyes, she had to keep reminding herself what Ethan had told her.
Don’t look into his eyes!
Those were his exact words, and precisely what she’d made the mistake of doing.
He stepped up to the microphone, and his deep - smooth voice vibrated in her ears. He sang of passions, darkness and unfulfilled hunger.
Her mouth went dry and she began to shake. She lifted her drink to her lips. Nicole now knew why the infamous Alec Norwood could make women lose their minds.
She hadn’t believed it for a moment. Sure she’d heard of him. Who hadn’t? He was quickly turning the local rock scene on its head. His dark music was like nectar to the troubled soul, and his looks were enough to send a woman’s common sense right out the window.
But you’re not another one of his groupies. You’re here for a reason!
Nicole wouldn’t let herself be put under Alec Norwood’s spell. She struggled to focus on the task at hand.
The rest of the members of Necro were just as dark as he was. The music was perfect, not one of them missing a note or a beat. When the song ended, they went into a slow - haunting melody. Nicole felt the music come over her like a soothing warm blanket.
She suddenly felt tired, as if she’d been drugged. Getting up from the table, she wound her way through the crowd toward the ladies room. Maybe if she could splash some cold water on her face she’d feel better.
* * * *
Alec watched the woman rush away from her table near the stage. She had a strong mind that was able to withstand his probing. He had felt her scrutiny while she watched him, but he had been unable to read her thoughts.
There was something about the woman that pulled at him - stirring feelings that he had not felt in centuries. It was as if he knew her, or had known her in another form - another time.
She was attractive. Dark but innocent, and nothing like the women that followed him around every night. Those women were exotic and beautiful, but their spirits were tarnished. He felt darkness in this woman, but a different kind of darkness. It was the type of darkness that can grow out of despair.
Unlike the rest of the crowd, she was dressed plainly. She wore her dark hair in a simple - down to earth style. The casual jeans and white blouse she was wearing, looked great on her. The woman was dressed nice, but it was obvious that she hadn’t come to Dark Wind to impress anyone.
As simple as her appearance was, it was her eyes that drew him in. Her dark brown eyes were warm - like the sunshine. It was as if she’d captured the sun in her eyes and brought it with her wherever she went.
The warmth of the sun was something that he had not experienced for a long time. To look up and see the essence of that eternal light in her was as stimulating as the scent of the blood that ran through her veins.
She was here specifically to see him, but not for the same reason the rest of the women in the little nightclub.
What could a girl like her want with someone like him?
When the song ended, he glanced at the other members of the band. “I’m going to take a break,” he told them.
They stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. Why would someone with a vampire’s endurance need a break?
* * * *
Feeling better, Nicole left the women’s restroom. She did not notice the figure that lurked in the shadows until it was too late. A hand snaked out from the darkness to grab her. Startled, she let out a yelp.
“Let’s take a walk,” he told her as he led her through the crowd and toward the exit.
At first Nicole was too startled to object. By the time she recovered, she was already outside. It was dark - too dark for Nicole to feel comfortable with someone she didn’t know. The moon was not quite half full so there was not much light. There was a small blue neon sign above the door that depicted a bat with outspread wings, and a single light in the little parking lot.
“Who are you?” he asked, wasting no time getting to the point.
So he had noticed her watching him and wanted to know why.
“Someone sent me here to give you a message,” she told him, fighting the urge to look into his eyes.
She’d found out just how hypnotizing his eyes could be and she sure didn’t want to take the chance of coming under his spell. Not while they were alone and she was vulnerable.
“Now you have my undivided attention,” he told Nicole, stepping a little closer and taking her hand in his. “You’ve had my attention since I first set eyes on you.”
His sweet - spicy scent was distracting. Suddenly her head filled with images of tangled - slippery bodies, moving together in the most erotic of dances. Nicole shook the thought from her head, wondering where it had come from.
“Ethan Lamont said to tell you that it is urgent he sees you as soon as possible,” she explained, her voice cracking from nervousness.
Nicole was startled by the hard glint in Alec Norwood’s eyes. “I told him never to contact me again.” Though his voice was barely a whisper, he radiated danger.
She instinctively took a step back. “I’m just the messenger.”
Abruptly his demeanor changed and he smiled. “And a very attractive one.”
Nicole smiled but said nothing. Determined that she would not fall allover herself for him like so many other women did.
Alec stepped closer, backing her up against the white - cinderblock wall. He was less than an inch away, his lips close to her face. “Who are you?” he asked in low voice.
Nicole resented the intrusion into her personal space. He was too close. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it would burst from fear, and from the sheer exhilaration of being so near him.
“My name is Nicole. I work for Ethan,” she said. Her voice betrayed nothing that she was feeling.
Alec leaned in even closer - his lips almost touching hers. “Do you like being close to me Nicole?”
Nicole brought up her hands and pushed him away. “You’re too close,” she told him.
“But isn’t this what you want … what you have been thinking about since you sat down to watch me?”
The amusement in his voice was even more irritating than his boldness. “You flatter yourself.”
Alec cocked his head to one side. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Tell Ethan that I will meet him in our usual place … in two days.” He bowed mockingly to her and then turned to leave, but stopped and looked back at her. “Don’t hang around out here. It can be very dangerous after dark.”
Then he was gone.
Nicole continued to stare after him, long after he had gone inside. What did he mean by dangerous? Ethan had told her that the people Alec hung with were not the type that she’d want to get to know, but he didn’t exactly say they were dangerous. He’d only told her that it was not a good idea to be at the Dark Wind any longer than was necessary. When she’d tried to get more information out of him, he’d been very evasive.
Something just wasn’t right with all of this.
Something just wasn’t right with Alec Norwood. He was probably the most magnetic - alluring man that she’d ever met, but it was more than that. As soon as she found herself alone with him, she’d felt like a 12-year old that had just been left alone with her first crush. But the feel was far more powerful than that. You would have to times that feeling by a thousand to come close to what Alec Norwood had made her feel when he stepped close to her.
Through the haze of smoke, Nicole looked at the man that she had been sent to find. Beneath the red and blue lights of the stage, he appeared ethereal - almost dreamlike. His fingers played across the strings of the guitar so fast that her eyes could not detect movement.
The music vibrated through the room. To listen to it was to be pulled into a world of enchantment where reality blended with fantasy. Nicole felt her heart beating faster, as the notes he played filled the small nightclub.
Until that moment he had been looking down as he played, but abruptly he lifted his head to peer out at the crowd. His eyes came to rest on Nicole. His icy - blue eyes locked with hers. As he stared at her, he seemed to look right into her soul. His dark hair fell in waves around his shoulders - glistening beneath the glare of the lights.
His black clothing hugged his muscular frame, leaving little to the imagination. Not that Nicole would let her imagination get away with her. After all, she was here on business. Even as his gaze drew her in and she felt the first prickles of pain behind her eyes, she had to keep reminding herself what Ethan had told her.
Don’t look into his eyes!
Those were his exact words, and precisely what she’d made the mistake of doing.
He stepped up to the microphone, and his deep - smooth voice vibrated in her ears. He sang of passions, darkness and unfulfilled hunger.
Her mouth went dry and she began to shake. She lifted her drink to her lips. Nicole now knew why the infamous Alec Norwood could make women lose their minds.
She hadn’t believed it for a moment. Sure she’d heard of him. Who hadn’t? He was quickly turning the local rock scene on its head. His dark music was like nectar to the troubled soul, and his looks were enough to send a woman’s common sense right out the window.
But you’re not another one of his groupies. You’re here for a reason!
Nicole wouldn’t let herself be put under Alec Norwood’s spell. She struggled to focus on the task at hand.
The rest of the members of Necro were just as dark as he was. The music was perfect, not one of them missing a note or a beat. When the song ended, they went into a slow - haunting melody. Nicole felt the music come over her like a soothing warm blanket.
She suddenly felt tired, as if she’d been drugged. Getting up from the table, she wound her way through the crowd toward the ladies room. Maybe if she could splash some cold water on her face she’d feel better.
* * * *
Alec watched the woman rush away from her table near the stage. She had a strong mind that was able to withstand his probing. He had felt her scrutiny while she watched him, but he had been unable to read her thoughts.
There was something about the woman that pulled at him - stirring feelings that he had not felt in centuries. It was as if he knew her, or had known her in another form - another time.
She was attractive. Dark but innocent, and nothing like the women that followed him around every night. Those women were exotic and beautiful, but their spirits were tarnished. He felt darkness in this woman, but a different kind of darkness. It was the type of darkness that can grow out of despair.
Unlike the rest of the crowd, she was dressed plainly. She wore her dark hair in a simple - down to earth style. The casual jeans and white blouse she was wearing, looked great on her. The woman was dressed nice, but it was obvious that she hadn’t come to Dark Wind to impress anyone.
As simple as her appearance was, it was her eyes that drew him in. Her dark brown eyes were warm - like the sunshine. It was as if she’d captured the sun in her eyes and brought it with her wherever she went.
The warmth of the sun was something that he had not experienced for a long time. To look up and see the essence of that eternal light in her was as stimulating as the scent of the blood that ran through her veins.
She was here specifically to see him, but not for the same reason the rest of the women in the little nightclub.
What could a girl like her want with someone like him?
When the song ended, he glanced at the other members of the band. “I’m going to take a break,” he told them.
They stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. Why would someone with a vampire’s endurance need a break?
* * * *
Feeling better, Nicole left the women’s restroom. She did not notice the figure that lurked in the shadows until it was too late. A hand snaked out from the darkness to grab her. Startled, she let out a yelp.
“Let’s take a walk,” he told her as he led her through the crowd and toward the exit.
At first Nicole was too startled to object. By the time she recovered, she was already outside. It was dark - too dark for Nicole to feel comfortable with someone she didn’t know. The moon was not quite half full so there was not much light. There was a small blue neon sign above the door that depicted a bat with outspread wings, and a single light in the little parking lot.
“Who are you?” he asked, wasting no time getting to the point.
So he had noticed her watching him and wanted to know why.
“Someone sent me here to give you a message,” she told him, fighting the urge to look into his eyes.
She’d found out just how hypnotizing his eyes could be and she sure didn’t want to take the chance of coming under his spell. Not while they were alone and she was vulnerable.
“Now you have my undivided attention,” he told Nicole, stepping a little closer and taking her hand in his. “You’ve had my attention since I first set eyes on you.”
His sweet - spicy scent was distracting. Suddenly her head filled with images of tangled - slippery bodies, moving together in the most erotic of dances. Nicole shook the thought from her head, wondering where it had come from.
“Ethan Lamont said to tell you that it is urgent he sees you as soon as possible,” she explained, her voice cracking from nervousness.
Nicole was startled by the hard glint in Alec Norwood’s eyes. “I told him never to contact me again.” Though his voice was barely a whisper, he radiated danger.
She instinctively took a step back. “I’m just the messenger.”
Abruptly his demeanor changed and he smiled. “And a very attractive one.”
Nicole smiled but said nothing. Determined that she would not fall allover herself for him like so many other women did.
Alec stepped closer, backing her up against the white - cinderblock wall. He was less than an inch away, his lips close to her face. “Who are you?” he asked in low voice.
Nicole resented the intrusion into her personal space. He was too close. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it would burst from fear, and from the sheer exhilaration of being so near him.
“My name is Nicole. I work for Ethan,” she said. Her voice betrayed nothing that she was feeling.
Alec leaned in even closer - his lips almost touching hers. “Do you like being close to me Nicole?”
Nicole brought up her hands and pushed him away. “You’re too close,” she told him.
“But isn’t this what you want … what you have been thinking about since you sat down to watch me?”
The amusement in his voice was even more irritating than his boldness. “You flatter yourself.”
Alec cocked his head to one side. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Tell Ethan that I will meet him in our usual place … in two days.” He bowed mockingly to her and then turned to leave, but stopped and looked back at her. “Don’t hang around out here. It can be very dangerous after dark.”
Then he was gone.
Nicole continued to stare after him, long after he had gone inside. What did he mean by dangerous? Ethan had told her that the people Alec hung with were not the type that she’d want to get to know, but he didn’t exactly say they were dangerous. He’d only told her that it was not a good idea to be at the Dark Wind any longer than was necessary. When she’d tried to get more information out of him, he’d been very evasive.
Something just wasn’t right with all of this.
Something just wasn’t right with Alec Norwood. He was probably the most magnetic - alluring man that she’d ever met, but it was more than that. As soon as she found herself alone with him, she’d felt like a 12-year old that had just been left alone with her first crush. But the feel was far more powerful than that. You would have to times that feeling by a thousand to come close to what Alec Norwood had made her feel when he stepped close to her.
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