The Unknown Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novella by Dorian Mayfair

woman’s expression surprised her: she looked at once compassionate, smug, and eager.
    “I enjoyed that,” the baroness said contentedly behind Jany. “Much more than I anticipated, and I had high expectations. I always do. You, my dear Jany, will be an extraordinary addition to my court.” She slowly ran her hands over Jany’s buttocks as she spoke. The maid gently pushed Jany over so that she lay on her side, and Jany looked up at the vampire.
    Sitting naked at the end of the bed, the baroness was a goddess of Nordic beauty and devilish charm, radiating authority and self-possession. Her fair hair was spilling down her back and her blue eyes were alight with an eerie fire that rivalled that that across the room. Visible against the baroness’s lower lip were the tips of pointed fangs. They did nothing to lessen the woman’s outlandish beauty. If anything, the sight only made Jany breathe faster in marvel rather than fear.
    Not even the thin trail of blood that ran down one side of the baroness’s chin made the vampire look appalling. She was the most magnetic creature Jany had ever met. The baroness’s smile was faint but predatory, and to Jany’s complete surprise and growing horror, her body responded with a warmth that spread through her abdomen and farther down, stirring her again. Only her weakness stopped her from reaching out to the baroness.
    Jany wanted to cry and laugh at the same time; she was doomed, having perhaps only minutes to live, and she was craving her murderer. Moving sluggishly, she touched her fingers to her neck. Trying to stop the blood flow was pointless; she was so exhausted she could barely more her arms. Still, she would try. She would not meet death without a struggle. Her fingers found the wounds on her neck, and she winced, imagining her ruined flesh, her –
    Gaping in surprise, she prodded the place where the baroness had bitten her. There were no large wounds or shredded flesh. Her skin was intact. She looked at her fingers. Almost no blood. That was impossible; the bed was still stained with red from when she had been bitten. No injury healed this fast.
    The vampire saw Jany’s confusion and made an annoyed grimace. “Oh dear,” she said. “Did you think I would let you die? A woman as irresistible as you?” She shook her head. “I could barely contain myself until now. Had I not risked causing a scene, I would have taken you in the stairwell where we first met.” Reaching down, she ran a sharp nail along Jany’s thigh. “No, my dear. No sweet oblivion yet. You have a much greater destiny to fulfil.”
    As soon as the baroness touched her, Jany moaned from both fright and pleasure. She wanted to flee, but at the same time, she wanted the vampire to take her. Her gaze fell at the vampire’s neck.
    “But you,” Jany said, her voice trembling. “You have no – there are no – ”
     “I have no scars on my neck?” The vampire’s laugh was almost inaudible over the rain. “You silly, adorable being. If my brethren were to walk around with hideous marks on our throats, how could we possible ever be safe?”
    The baroness laugh slowed to a wide smile. “Only those under our spell, our lovers and our pets, are marked. And those scars heal fast, too. Come next week and there will be no trace on your body.” She tilted her head. “Not from my kisses, that is. We’ll find out what desires that hide in that clever, rational mind of yours. Some of them might leave other marks on your body.”
    “Please,” Jany begged weakly. “Don’t torture me. I’d rather die.”
    The vampire made a disgusted face. “What kind of lady do you take me for?” she demanded. She reached out, placed a finger under Jany’s chin, and forced Jany to meet her eyes. “You are mine now,” the baroness said, “and I will do with you as I please, but there will be no suffering. As long as you do as you are obedient.”
    “Why?” Jany asked. “Why this charade, this game?”
    The