I was a fool.

I could very well die tonight, just disappear and no one would know what had happened. This place truly is a portal to another dimension, another world. Again, this was my world, so the fact that this information actually shocked made me feel even more foolish and ignorant. Is this what you wanted? Is this the excitement you wanted in your life? Either way I was stuck in this situation now, and there was no escaping it.

He reached out and stroked his finger down the length of my cheek. “Yeah, I think I’d like to play with you.” He leaned in close to my face. “I haven’t had a human in a very long time. I think I should show you exactly what it feels like to be with my kind.” He grinned, but it was far from comforting. “You and I will have so much fun, little human, especially when you come with me of your own free will.”

A haze of arousal and fear surrounded me and clouded my better judgment. I should just turn around and leave right now. The scent of imminent death that had filled my brain slowly cleared and I blinked in rapid succession. I whispered, “Why would I do that?” I wished I could have sounded stronger, but I was thankful I had a voice to speak. With my throat closing in on me, and the adrenaline pumping through my veins, all I could keep thinking about was fight or run.

He slowly leaned toward me another inch, his breath tickling my skin, smelling sweetly of liquor and something else. But it was a tangy scent I recognized well enough… blood. We stared at each other for a moment, his mouth slowly widening in a vicious-looking grin to reveal long, sharp fangs.

“The only reason you’re still standing and not a blood donor is because I forbid it. I can easily take the command away and everyone in this room would be on you before you could inhale.” His smile faded and this determined look crossed his face. “You have no escape route, no chance of leaving until I deem it so. For your safety and because I want you…” He lowered his gaze to my breasts, and I swear my heart was about to burst through my chest. “Coming with me is your only option of surviving tonight.” He stared at me for several seconds, and then looked at the crowd. As if they waited for some kind of command from him, the buzz of conversation resumed.

I knew nothing of this man, this vampire, but he was clearly someone of power. I knew that for whatever reason, he was keeping me safe. I could feel the warmth from his body seep into mine and instantly my nipples throbbed, stiffened, and elongated. I inhaled deeply, his very essence slipping into my lungs and traveling through my bloodstream.

I saw his pupils dilate, watched as the blackness ate up the green of his irises as if they were as hungry as he was. His breathing changed from slow and steady to fast and shallow. Was I witnessing this man, this creature about to lose control? Maybe he was using compulsion on me, and that was why I wanted him the way I did, even if I did feel this pounding fear inside of me like an angry drum. No, I knew he wasn’t forcing me to do anything right now, and that heightened the fear inside of me. Without thinking and just reacting, I turned and started running from him, not knowing where I was going to go, but knowing I couldn’t just stand there. If I didn’t fight then I would be offering myself up to the very devil himself.

But as soon as I took that first step he was in front of me, his speed something that took my breath away.

He tsked, and then grinned. “I kind of like this fight in you. It makes the hunt even more enjoyable.” He grabbed my neck and pressed me to the wall. When his warm breath moved along my throat I closed my eyes, hating myself and feeling self-disgust for wanting something from him that was very sexual in nature. “You can lie if you want, because I’ll know the truth regardless, but tell me, you want my cock inside of you, don’t you?” He said the words dark and low. “You want my fangs in your neck, want to escape reality and experience something forbidden.” He didn’t state the last as a question.

I nodded, despite the twinge of uncertainty that flowed through me. I knew this could very well kill me, but I also knew that the reason I had ventured out alone was because I was looking for something different. This was most certainly something different.

He grinned and straightened, and before I knew what was happening he was leading me toward a small door off to the side. I couldn’t help but glance at the people—creatures—I passed. They all but ignored me. It was only when we stopped at the door that I saw their faces start to change once more, turning into gruesome creations of everything that screamed unholy. Horns and dark skin, fangs and claws emerged, and then the human skin peeled away from their bodies and demons from the night finally emerged. But this man that held onto my hand tightly pulled me forward and we walked through the door.

I was never more thankful at that moment than to walk into the darkness with a vampire than I was right then.