The Darkest Pleasure by Jenika Snow Page A

alone terrified me. “A vampire?” He didn't answer me, but his look said it all. I got up and walked over to my fridge. I grabbed a bottle of wine, uncorked it and poured myself a healthy glass. “Want one?” He shook his head, but didn't look at me. I should have run out of there screaming, but I didn't. I downed the first glass while I stood behind the counter and poured myself another before making my way back to the chair.
    "You're serious, aren't you?"
    He braced his elbows on his knees as he stared at me.
    "Drinking isn't going to make what I'm saying easier to believe."
    "I know, but it makes me feel better.” I laughed out loud and took another big swallow. “So, you are serious aren't you?"
    "I am."
    I took another big gulp of my wine as I leant back against the cushions. “So, tell me about your past, Kerian.” I knew he could tell I still didn't believe him, even though he was completely serious. He believed what he was telling me, but that didn't mean it was true. I played it cool, because the last thing I wanted to do was anger an insane person.
    "Will you listen to everything I have to say?"
    I nodded and gestured for him to continue.
    "I was born in the year sixteen hundred, in a small village near the Serbian border. I was the eldest of six children. Times were hard back then, and my parents struggled to make sure we had food. More times than not, supper consisted of a slice of bread and a potato, but we were grateful nonetheless. Two of my siblings died from hunger and illness, but that was the way of it back then."
    I watched as he took a deep breath, and I could see him struggling to continue. I watched his face take on a sad expression, and it made me want to believe him.
    "Years later, I ended up training to become a healer for my village. My father had been one, and so when he grew old, I naturally took over, being his eldest son. I took to the trade right away and grew to love it. One night, I woke to strange noises outside our small home. My family slept all around me, so still and silent. I couldn't believe they hadn't woken to the weird noise. When I stepped outside, I saw a man and women embracing. I was about to turn around, thinking they were being intimate, when I noticed the woman was hanging limply in the man's arms. Abruptly, he dropped her lifeless body to the ground and turned around to stare at me.
    "I don't know how he knew I was there, since I was obscured by the shadows, but he sensed my presence. He had sharp teeth, fangs like a wolf, and blood dripping down his mouth. He moved so fast that one minute I was staring at him, and the next he was behind me. I had felt his sharp teeth go into my neck and try as I might, I couldn't get him off me. I wasn't a weak man. Back then, men needed to be strong to take care of their family—to provide properly for them. It didn't matter, though, because as strong as I was, he was stronger. I managed to tear his arm with my teeth, which brought me some measure of pleasure, but then I tasted his blood in my mouth. I thought I would die. I worried about who would provide for my family, and prayed the monster that had me wouldn't go after them. Just as I felt myself becoming weak and my sight going dim, I glanced up and saw the sun rising. The vampire, which I knew by then he was, hissed, dropped me and was gone so quickly, I fell to the ground. I crawled to the deepest, darkest part of the woods near my home, because I didn't want my family to find my dead body, as I thought I would end up before the sun rose."
    I watched in amazement as he got up and walked over to the window. He ran a hand over his hair a few times before clasping his hands behind his back. Either Kerian was the craziest person on the planet, or what he said was the absolute truth.
    "The following night, I woke to a thirst I had never felt before. It wasn't a human thirst. No, it was a hunger that went to the bones. I was so thirsty, so very thirsty. I returned home to search