Eternal Love
By Ladybug
Disclaimer: This story is fictional. All characters in this story are fictional and were created by and are owned by the author.
This story is rated R
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Prologue
Tamara ran through the thick woods, her heart thumping hard in her chest. She could hardly see her way through the dark wooded forest, but she dare not slow down. Low hanging tree limbs scratched at her face as she tried to push them out of the way. One caught the sleeve of her dress and tore the satin material. Oh why had she come here? Why hadn’t she listened to her sister? Tamara stopped and listened resting against a tree stump. She held her breath to quiet her heavy breathing. She could hear nothing, not even forest sounds. She knew he was there though toying with her.
Tamara pushed away from the tree stump and continued on. Her dress was being torn to shreds by bushes and low hanging tree limbs, but she didn’t care. She had to get away from that evil demon. Suddenly the very one she feared stood before her. He was a hideous monster; his brown hair was long and wild looking. The handsome man who had so enchanted Tamara not an hour before, was now the thing of nightmares. His eyes glowed and his face was terror itself.
Tamara screamed. “No, please.” She begged as she turned to run in another direction, but his hand shot out and caught her by the arm, yanking her roughly back. She looked up into unholy glowing red eyes and bared fangs and she screamed again.
The creature laughed mercilessly at the woman before him. “Did you really think you could escape me, Tamara? I will have you, and then I will have your sister.”
“No!” Tamara cried out. “Leave my sister alone, you bastard!” She swung her fists at him, but he easily caught them and pinned them to her sides.
Laughing, he pulled her closer, “Oh yes, Tamara. Thanks to you, Megan will be mine. Your death will bring her to me.”
He reached up and grabbed a handful of her thick brown hair and yanked it back exposing her neck to him. Tamara no longer had the strength to fight him not that it would do any good if she did. He pinned her body against his as he bent his head over her and sank his fangs deep into her neck. Searing pain shot through Tamara’s body as a single tear escaped her eye leaving a trail down her cheek.
I’m sorry, Meggie! Please forgive me! Tamara’s silent plea to her sister was her last thoughts as her eyes closed.
Mikhail Rovenski dropped Tamara’s lifeless body to the forest floor and smiled a demon smile. “And I always get what I want.” His evil laugh echoed throughout the forest.
Chapter One
Megan Taylor sat in her editor’s office listening to him lecture her about her up coming deadline. He’d been going on and on for the last 15 minutes and she was starting to get annoyed. Her latest book, titled “Dark Angel” was almost complete. In fact as far as she was concerned she was a head of schedule. Megan was a writer of horror/romance novels, specifically vampires. She had done some other things, but she was most famous for her vampire romance stories.
“Now Meg, you just can’t go traipsing off to another country when you’ve got a deadline in a few weeks. I’m sorry but I just can’t let you do it.” Richard Tate complained as he tapped the end of his pencil on his desk.
“What are you going to do, Rich? Fire me?” Megan asked. “I’m sorry, but my sister is missing. I haven’t heard from her in over 3 weeks and that is not like her. The last time I received a letter from her, she was in Romania.” Megan’s sister Tamara was a reporter for a local magazine called, “After Midnight.” Their articles bordered on the strange and unusual, which fit right in with the Taylor sisters. Tamara had left a month ago after a story about reports of vampires in Romania. Megan had taken Tamara to the airport and her last words before she boarded the plane were, ‘Hey Meg, maybe I’ll find some real vampires for you to write your stories on, huh?’
Megan had laughed then at Tam’s little joke, but now she was worried. Three weeks ago she had received a short, mysterious letter from Tamara. She said that she’d found what she was looking for and was meeting with him that night. Megan hadn’t heard a word from her since.
“Besides, I am almost finished with the book. I shouldn’t be gone that long. Please understand, Rich, I am really worried about Tamara.” Megan replied.
Rich dropped the pencil he’d been playing with on the desk and sighed. “Alright. But only on one condition.”
Megan raised a dark eyebrow, “And what might that be?”
“You take someone with you.” Rich answered. He pushed a way from his desk and opened the desk drawer. He rummaged through it until he found what he was looking for. “Ah, here it is.” He pulled out a business card and handed it to Megan.
Megan turned it over and read the card. “’Kristof Investigations – Nicolae Kristof – Private Investigator.” Megan glanced back up at Rich. “You want me to take a P.I. with me?”
Rich nodded, “Sure, why not. He’s good, Meg, a little on the eccentric side, but good. Besides, he’s from Romania, so he’ll know his way around.”
“I don’t know, Rich.” Megan started frowning at the thought of traveling with a total stranger to a country she’d never been to.
“Please, Megan, do this small thing for me. If your sister is really missing, then the last thing I need is for you to start nosing around over there and turn up missing yourself. Call him, meet with him.” Richard pleaded as he brushed a sandy lock off his forehead with a brush of his hand. “At the very least, he can help you deal with the authorities over there.”
“Oh alright. Is he expensive?” Megan asked as she stood up.
“He’s worth it, Meg.” Richard answered with a smile.
“Great.” Megan turned and walked towards the door.
“Oh, hey, listen. He only meets his clients at night, so don’t freak out over it, okay? Some kind of medical condition, apparently he’s allergic to the sun or something like that, so he does all his business at night.” Richard called after her.
Megan stopped at the door and turned back to look at Richard over her shoulder. “I hope I don’t regret this, Richard. If this guy turns out of be a real flake, I’ll never forgive you. And I’ll foot you for the bill.”
Two days later, Megan entered a small office building in downtown San Francisco. It was almost 8:00 p.m. On the front of the door in black block writing it said “Kristof Investigations.” Looking around the small waiting room it was empty except for a few chairs and a receptionist desk. Beyond the desk she saw an office with a light on.
“Mr. Kristof?” Megan called out. “I’m Megan Taylor, I spoke with your secretary earlier today?”
When Megan received no answer, she moved forward until she was standing in the office doorway. Looking inside she saw no one. It wasn’t a very big office and it was very plain with little furniture. A simple desk and a couple of chairs sat in the center of the room. A large bookcase, lined with books, sat against the wall just behind the desk.
“Mr. Kristof?” Megan called again. She had spoke with Sylvia, his secretary, earlier that day and Sylvia had assured her that Mr. Kristof would be expecting her at 8:00 p.m.
Megan moved into the office and over to the large window, that was opposite of the bookcase. She peered through the heavy curtain, but saw no one on the empty street.
“May I help you?” Came a deep, accented voice that reminded Megan of soft satin sheets.
Megan jumped and gave a small yelp. She turned to face the man behind the voice and her heart nearly stopped beating. He was the most incredible man she’d ever seen. He was the stuff all her vampire hero’s were made of. He was tall and lean; his raven colored hair fell in thick curls past his shoulders. His eyes were dark and intense making Megan feel as if he could see right down to her soul. He had full sensuous lips that were framed by a, what appeared to be just a neatly trimmed goatee, but on closer inspection, Megan noticed that it trailed along his jaw back to his sideburns. He was dressed in all black. A black turtleneck sweater showed off the expanse of his broad shoulders, his tight black jeans showed off narrow hips and Megan guessed a great derrière and black boots. All that black against his olive complexion was enough to make a woman swoon. But even as he made her insides quiver with desire, his hard cold look made her afraid. This guy has an allergy to the sun? This guy looked fierce enough to scare off a common cold, let a lone a little allergy. This man reeked power; surely he wasn’t just a private investigator.
Megan took a deep breath and released it, suddenly feeling nervous. “Hi, I’m Megan Taylor. Are you Nicolae Kristof?” She hoped she didn’t sound as nervous as she felt.
Nicolae nodded, his gaze never leaving Megan. Something stirred within him as his eyes traveled over her body. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had caught his attention like this. She had long thick chestnut colored hair that hung in a single braid down the middle of her back; her eyes were hazel with tiny flecks of green and gold in them. She was wearing black slacks and a dark green sweater that hugged her body and showed off full breasts. The first tendrils of desire stirred deep within him. His nostrils flared as he breathed in the scent of her. Even from across the room, he could smell the lavender soap she’d used to bath with that morning. The beast within him roared to life demanding that he take her. He could feel the prick of his fangs against his tongue. Using his iron clad control that he’d fine tuned over the last 1500-years, he quickly brought the beast under control.
“I am Nicolae Kristof.” He replied and stepped forward to shake her hand.
The moment he took her hand in his, Megan knew this was going to be the biggest mistake of her life. A nameless energy zipped through her causing her whole body to come alive. His face remained expressionless. If he’d felt it too, he gave no indication. Nicolae held her hand for a brief moment then released it and moved past her to sit behind his desk. Actually, Megan thought to herself, he seemed to glide to his desk.
“Please, have a seat, Ms. Taylor.” He instructed as he sat behind the large desk. Megan was beginning to think this man had no emotion. Didn’t he ever smile?
Megan moved around the desk and sat in one of the chairs placed there for the clients. She tried to gather her scattered thoughts as Nicolae brought out a pen and pad of paper. Her eyes focused in on his long tapered fingers. He had such large hands. Megan imagined what he could do with her body with those large hands. She blushed at the direction her thoughts were taking her. She looked up and Nicolae and found him watching her with a bit of amusement dancing in his dark eyes. Surely he couldn’t read her thoughts, Megan thought to herself as she blushed an even darker shade of red. Well at least she got something other than the emotionless stare he’d been giving her.
“Sylvia told me that your sister is missing and you wish to find her.” His satiny voice washed over her. Megan mentally kicked herself. ‘Get over it, Meg. Your acting like a teenager here.’
“Yes. The last time I heard from her was 3 weeks ago.” Megan answered in what she hoped was a normal sounding voice.
“Why haven’t you just called the police, Ms. Taylor?” Nicolae looked up at her with those intense dark eyes.
“Well, it’s a bit more complicated that that, Mr. Kristof. You see, Tamara was in Romania when she disappeared.” Megan answered.
Nicolae raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. He stared at her for a long moment before he finally said, “I’m sorry Ms. Taylor, but I can’t help you.”
Megan blinked, not sure if she understood him correctly. “Why not?”
“Because I can’t.” He answered simply as he started to put the pad of paper away.
“Can’t or won’t?” Megan suddenly felt angry. Her sister was in trouble and this jerk was refusing to help her.
Nicolae stopped what he was doing and turned his dark cold eyes on Megan. “It would be best if you dropped this whole thing, Ms. Taylor.”
Megan felt a shiver run up her spine as fear slammed her heart against her chest. There was something very dangerous about this man, but Megan was determined to make him see that she had no choice but to find her sister.
“Mr. Kristof, my sister is all the family I have left. She is a reporter for a magazine called, “After Midnight.” Have you heard of it?” Megan asked. Nicolae nodded. “She went to Romania to do a story about the legend of vampires that began there. The letter that she sent me just before she disappeared said that she’d found one and that she was meeting with him that night. That was the last anyone heard from her.”
Nicolae’s eyes flashed a warning, “So are you trying to tell me that your sister found a vampire and that he kidnapped your sister?” Damn, Nicolae thought to himself. That was all he needed, some out of control vampire.
“No. I am not trying to tell you that a vampire kidnapped my sister. I don’t even believe in vampires, Mr. Kristof, but I do believe that there are people who think they are vampires.” Megan answered annoyed.
Nicolae allowed a tiny grin, that did not reach his eyes and gave him a rather evil look, as he raised his eyebrow, “It seems strange to me that someone who makes their living writing stories about vampires doesn’t believe in them.”
Megan blushed, “Oh. You know who I am?” Somehow that didn’t surprise her, but it made her nervous to think that this man knew anything about her.
“I make it a point to know who I am meeting with, Ms. Taylor.” He answered coldly. Of course, he didn’t bother to tell her how close she was to the truth about Vampires with her made up stories, nor did he bother to mention that he’d read every single one of her novels and even liked them. Nicolae leaned back in his chair and studied Megan for a few minutes. He didn’t need this. Besides, her sister was already dead, that he was sure of. His best course of action would be to get this woman out of his office and to let the authorities deal with it.
“Richard told me that you are from Romania. If I have any hope of finding my sister, I need someone who knows the country. Please.” Megan hated herself for sounding so desperate, but she had to find her sister.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Taylor, but I can’t help you.” Nicolae stood to escort Megan to the door clearly dismissing her and her problems.
Megan sighed frustrated as she stood, “I should have known better than to come here. I’ll just have to go by myself then.”
Nicolae came to a stop before her. He towered over her and she had to crane her neck to look up at him. The cold, hard look she saw in his eyes was enough to make her heart slam in her chest. The fear returned and her knees almost buckled. “That would not be a very wise idea, Ms. Taylor. Let the authorities deal with it.”
Megan’s breath caught in her throat at his nearness. His voice had been more of a low rumble causing her heart to pound so hard in her chest that she was sure he could hear it. She shivered at the brutal look in his face and the coldness of his eyes. It took a moment before she found her voice, “I really don’t have much of a choice, Mr. Kristof. She is my sister.”
Nicolae watch as Megan left his office. He knew that she was heading for the same death as her sisters. And Nicolae was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that Tamara Taylor was dead or even now a vampire herself.
“If you’re so worried about her, amico mio, you could have stopped her, ya know.” A friendly familiar voice came from behind him.
“If I wanted your opinion, Valerian, I would have asked.” Nicolae answered without turning around.
Valerian laughed. He stepped from the dark corner he’d been hiding in and sat in the chair that Megan had just vacated, propping his feet up on the desk. “It’s no wonder the woman is scared to death of you, Nick, you really should lighten up.”
Nicolae turned and scowled at his old friend. Valerian was the only vampire that Nicolae considered a friend. They were totally opposite of each other and sometimes Nicolae wondered what drew them together. Nicolae was dark and brooding, where Valerian was light hearted and always the prankster. Even in coloring they differed. Nicolae was dark, dark hair; dark eyes and olive complexion and Valerian had hair the color of honey, green eyes and fair skin. You couldn’t find two people more different than Nicolae and Valerian, but yet their friendship had lasted a thousand years.
“What do you want, Valerian? Surely you didn’t come here just to harass me?” Nicolae asked as he rounded the desk and sat down in his chair.
“Ah-ah-ah, no fair changing the subject.” Valerian dropped his feet down and leaned forward in his chair. “So when do we go to Romania?”
Nicolae’s scowl deepened. “We are not going anywhere and I am not taking the case.” He rifled through some papers on his desk looking for a letter he’d set there earlier.
“So you’re just going to let that poor innocent girl go off to Romania by herself and meet a certain death.” Valerian asked ignoring the dirty looks Nicolae sent his way.
“What Ms. Taylor does is her own business. I told you, Valerian, I didn’t take the case. Now drop it.” Nicolae was frustrated that he couldn’t find the damn letter that Sylvia had typed for him earlier.
Valerian leaned forward and placed his hand in the middle of the pile that Nicolae was sifting through. Nicolae looked up at Valerian with one dark raised eyebrow in question.
“Rovenski has returned, Nick. That is why I am here. That is why you must stop Megan Taylor from going to Romania.”
Nicolae’s eyes darkened in anger at the thought of his old enemy. “Son of a . . .” Nicolae let the curse die on his lips. He pushed his hand through his thick hair in frustration. “Alright.” He sighed, “We leave tomorrow night.”
“And the girl?” Valerian asked with a smile as he sat back in his chair.
Nicolae glared at his old friend, “I’ll take care of Ms. Taylor. Now leave before I drive a stake through your black heart.”
Valerian threw back his head and laughed heartily, his tawny mane of hair hanging past his shoulders. Green eyes sparkling, he threw Nicolae a wink and disappeared just as a heavy paperweight thwacked against the chair his large body had just vacated.
You missed; Nicolae could still hear Valerian’s deep laughter in his head.
Nicolae growled and stood up. Grabbing his black leather jacket off the coat rack, he stormed out of the office into the cool night.
Eternal Love - Chapters 2 - 3