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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