Romance at Heart: free romance reads, Chapter One of Queen of Hearts by L. H. Young

Chapter I

When it rained in Atlanta, it poured. Lucius loved the rain most of the time, however tonight it bothered him. He waited under the awning of an adult video rental store on Peachtree Boulevard, across from the Lennox Dinner Club, where he intended to find his nourishment for the night. The man who ran the video store was oblivious to his presence as he flipped through the pages of a girlie magazine. The show at the dinner club had already begun when he arrived just after sundown; then it had started to rain. The water soon ran in deep rivulets down the wide street, slowing traffic to a crawl. Lucius usually enjoyed the rain from inside a very nice house or apartment that was warm and dry. Tonight, that wasn’t the case, and no matter how far he backed under the awning, he got wet, and it made him cold. Since he hadn’t fed yet, he was nearly freezing. He rubbed his hands together and let his mind wander into the past.

****

Five hundred years ago he had been born to the immortal life. His mother had been a common whore in a brothel in southern France. For a woman alone, there was little choice and she had been spoiled very early in her life. She was uncommonly beautiful with long, curly black hair, blue eyes and a lush figure every man wanted—and every woman envied. To say she was popular was an understatement. When she became pregnant, his father could have been any one of thirty regular customers. Lucius spent his first eight years at the brothel fetching and carrying for the other whores for his room and board. Thankfully, his mother cared enough about him to work extra taking on more customers, even though it tired her and sometimes made her ill, to keep him safe from child predators. One day a gentleman from “the other side of the tracks” visited the brothel, and was completely smitten with his mother. After five months, the gentleman paid for her freedom and married Lucius’s mother, a rare event for someone of her profession. Lucius’s stepfather, Ramon, refused to adopt Lucius but allowed him to stay at the pleading of his mother. Four years later, Lucius had two half sisters who were doted on. By now, Lucius had become a very nice looking young man and received a lot of attention from girls. Afraid of being embarrassed by his stepson, Ramon sent him away to be educated. The school that he attended was harsh on him due to his bastard standing.

Three years later he ran away from the abuse of his instructor and peers. Lucius grew into a formidable foe—working the docks during the day—participating in fights at night just for a hot meal. At the age of one and twenty, he was seriously injured in a fall from a stack of shipping crates. Lucius broke his left leg in two places and seriously tore something in his back. The doctors told him that he would never fully recover. Lucius sent a letter to his mother, but never received a reply. He had no one. Eight painful months later, he caught a ride in the back of a wagon heading north along the cliffs. He limped to the edge and stared down at the roiling water as it broke against the rocks so far below sending sprays of seawater six feet into the air.

Lucius intended to jump, when something heavy hit him hard—knocking him to the ground. When he could catch his breath, he found he was looking into the black eyes of a strange man. The stranger had long hair that was wild and unkempt and he dressed in what had once been gentlemen’s garb, but was now not much more than rags. His long nails dug into Lucius’s shoulders. Even though the man was small and wiry, he had an enormous amount of strength that he used to keep Lucius pinned to the hard, cold ground.

The stranger stared at him with what Lucius could only call madness—but he was beyond caring.

“Your name,” demanded the stranger, his voice raspy.

Lucius tried to move because the rocks on the ground dug painfully into his back, but he was pinned down. He gave the stranger his name.

“You want to die. I can give you immortality free of pain. I am going to take your blood, anyway. It’s your decision.”

Lucius didn’t think long on the offer. It sounded good to him. He had no life since his accident. “I will take what you offer.”

The stranger opened his mouth then, revealing long, sharp canines. For a moment Lucius knew fear then he felt a sharp sting as the creature sank his teeth into the side of his neck. The pain had been nothing compared to what he had suffered already, and he gave himself over to the darkness. The next thing he knew was pain of a different type as his innards twisted up on him causing him to draw into himself.

When the pain stopped, he looked up at the stranger, who stood over him.

“My name is Bestral. I will stay with you and instruct you for a while. You are now called vampire, Lucius Palieri. Come now and let me show you how to live.”

Lucius had spent five years with Bestral learning how to survive — and the little tricks to throw the mortals off his trail. He had gone home to see his mother and sisters, but was not well received. His sisters had grown into lovely young ladies but had little chance of finding good marriages due to their mother’s background. It was then that Lucius had begun his quest to manipulate good marriages for the women in his family. He was enormously successful at this, and spent the next three hundred years at it. Then came the fateful night he had met a young man in love with Suzanne, a woman in his line. He had arranged a marriage for her with a well-respected Welsh prince. To keep the young man from Suzanne, Lucius was forced to take the suitor’s life, offering him immortality because Suzanne loved him so much. It was a mistake. Suzanne retaliated by cursing all her descendants to loveless lives unless they found their true loves. Fortunately fate intervened, and he was able to finally bring an end to that, swearing to himself — never to interfere again.

****

Lucius had no idea how long he had been standing there drawn back in time reliving memories best forgotten. The rain had slowed to little more than sprinkles, and the doors were opening to the club across the street. He was so cold, but that was about to end as he watched the people pour out the exit. Traffic on the Boulevard had picked up again. He moved faster than the human eye could detect and crossed the busy street without incident. Watching the different people as they exited the building—laughing and talking—made him long for companionship. That feeling only lasted a few, brief seconds having been alone for just over four hundred years. He prepared to entice a victim to willingness, and picked out a woman as she exited the building alone. She was very beautiful—with long red hair that hung in a straight curtain to her hips, her skin was pale ivory like fine china. She moved quickly through the throng of people that had left earlier. Lucius fell into step behind her, matching her pace. He reached out with his mind trying to compel this woman to do as he wished, and he felt confused when she didn’t even miss so much as a step continuing on her determined path. Lucius tried to touch her mind again but came up against a barrier he had never encountered before. Again, she did not respond to him. Intrigued, he kept up with her and followed her to her car.

Debra felt the push against the barrier in her mind and knew that a vampire was behind her, somewhere. She didn’t dare turn around. It was getting late and she needed to get to work. She reached into the outside pocket of her purse and pulled out her keys as she reached her baby blue BMW. She stopped at the door and turned around to face the creature still with her.

“What do you want?” she asked, taking a defensive stance.

Lucius looked into the woman’s face and his jaw nearly dropped open. She wasn’t just beautiful—this woman was incredible. There was no word yet invented to describe just how remarkable this woman appeared. Her face was oval, with high cheekbones and a gently sloping forehead. Her eyebrows were thin and highly arched over almond shaped eyes of steel gray that were fringed with long, dark red eyelashes. She had full lips that pouted slightly, begging for a man’s kisses. An aquiline nose and a deep cleft in her chin completed her facial features. She wore a long, black leather coat that did nothing to hide her curvy figure. It was a long moment before Lucius remembered she had spoken to him. He mentally shook himself.

“I just saw you, and had to meet you,” was all he could think of to say. Lucius felt incredibly stupid, since he had never had any trouble speaking to a woman before.

“Give me a break. I know what you are, and felt you pushing at my mind. You will not succeed in enticing me to do your bidding, vampire.” Her voice was low and sultry as if her looks weren’t enough to drive a man mad.

Lucius was caught off guard for the second time in as many minutes. “Okay, you have me there. How come I can’t get in to your head?”

“I don’t have time to stand here talking to the likes of you. I have to get to work.”

Lucius really didn’t want her to leave. He felt as though he could bask in her presence for the rest of his eternity. “Please, my curiosity is at an all time high. May I at least have your name?” he asked in his politest voice.

Debra thought about it a moment, and didn’t think it would hurt to tell him. She probably wouldn’t see him again. Aside from being a little drenched from the rain, he looked like a handsome man. Who was she kidding? She really didn’t have time for this nonsense. “My name is Debra, and I have certain psychic abilities that keep you—and others like you— from entering my mind.” She turned and opened her car door. “Now, if you would excuse me, I really must be going.” She slid into the smooth tan leather seat and closed the door.

Lucius was helpless to stop her as she drove off leaving him standing there looking after her. All he had was her first name—ah—and her license plate number. He was still cold and needed to feed. He would think about Debra later, and hoped he would be able to find her again. No one had ever caught his attention like that woman.

Sighing, he turned and walked up the Boulevard until he caught sight of a couple of hookers standing on a corner. Double delight—and it would warm him until the next night.

He wrapped an arm around the young women and pulled them back against the dark brick wall of a corner drug store. All they would remember was a good time but he would be set for the evening.