Enchantments Beautiful and Seductive in Vampire Bite Blog Hop

Happy Valentine’s Day and welcome to the Vampire Bite Blog Hop!

I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day myself. I think it’s an over-commercialized holiday; it just makes tons of money for the greeting card companies, candymakers, florists, etc. Posting about vampires is much more to my liking, and to my darlings as well since they are getting the spotlight. Those that have a special someone celebrate their love whenever and wherever they can. *wink wink* And one vamp in particular has a “special someone” who doesn’t share the sentiment, so he doesn’t mind at all taking advantage of the passions of others in love or in lust.

Meet Ambrose, a millennium-old vampire originally from Northern Greece. A little more than 500 years ago, he found a man who intrigued him enough to turn into an immortal companion, but since that man did not want to be turned, Ambrose had to take him by force. Theirs was a rocky and abusive relationship ruled by lies and enchantment, and once his creation broke free of his enchantments, he rejected Ambrose and ran from him. The ancient creature has spent centuries following his creation, driven by the bond they still share, sometimes teasing him in a cat-and-mouse chase, sometimes feverishly pursuing him, but never letting him stray too far from reach. Now that his creation has a lover of his own, Ambrose is more determined than ever to reclaim what is his and acquire a third for their relationship as well.

Ambrose demanded this post be about him, and I didn’t dare refuse. He is one of the characters in Bound by Blood, my gay (sometimes erotic) paranormal romance series. Here is a little glimpse of how he might spend his Valentine’s Day (by the way, the “boy” is twenty-four years old, in case anyone might be confused…all the characters are well above legal age):

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A shadow glided through the alleyways of New York City, mysterious and dark in the late hour. Ambrose chuckled to himself, thinking about how the enchantments he cast about himself would make him look as though a ghost gliding above the filth of the alleys even though his feet did touch the ground with light steps. An elegant ghost and a beautiful one, seductive and deadly…

Valentine’s Day. He laughed at the thought of such foolishness. If one was lucky enough to have a mate, he should take care to keep him branded with the stripes of love at all times, lest he be stolen away by some other master. The idea of dedicating a single day to the idea of love and hearts, candy and flowers was such a mortal thing to do. Flowers die, candy consumed, hearts broken, but love…true love never dies.

Or so he had heard more times than he could count. But he counted love as a mortal concept as well. Passion and possession were much more to his liking, as it was to most of the others of his kind. Vampires simply didn’t spend precious coins on bouquets of flowers and shyly deliver them to their lovers, though he had seduced more than one hapless victim with a charming smile and a single red rose. Letting blood be taken was much easier for a mortal to do when charmed into virtual hypnosis and clutching a red rose, and once that initial resistance vanished, allowing the life to be drained slowly away was a breeze. That was how Ambrose liked to spend his holidays; it was the only way worth spending them.

By the gods above and the gods below, he better not have given his lover flowers, Ambrose thought with a snarl. It sounded like something his offspring would do. Curse him for falling in love with a mortal and giving in so easily to mortal ways! Fortunately, the boy his offspring fell in love with didn’t seem to be fond of that sort of thing. A romantic dinner at home followed by drinks seemed more to his liking, and Ambrose could only grin at the thought of the “dessert” the two would partake of later. At least that was one thing his offspring got right. As long as they were happily caught up in passion, Ambrose had no intentions of ruining their evening. When the time came to reclaim his wayward creation, the boy would already be so attached that he would be eager to submit to Ambrose as his master just to be with his lover.  The ancient vampire burned with longing for the blood of his delicious offspring; he had never tasted blood so sinfully sweet and tangy, and the blood of mortals just couldn’t quite satisfy him after drinking it. Yet just as strong was his desire to have his offspring’s lover, to claim the boy as his own and share in the indulgence of his body as his offspring worshiped him like old times before turning him and making their couple a trio.

Soon, he reminded himself. That time would come soon but not tonight. For now, he would have to find another vessel to pour his lust and longing into and from which to draw his satiation. Storms of repressed passion roiled in dusky violet-gray eyes as he searched the alleyways for tonight’s prey. The building where his offspring made his home was at the edge of a high-end neighborhood that was too dangerous for even Ambrose to risk killing in. Anyone he took from there would be missed. So he went for a walk, found his way to the Village, and began to stalk dark alleys behind the clubs and bars, waiting for an acceptable victim to silently call out to him with longing.

Turning a corner, he laid his dusky eyes on a beautiful sight. Not one man but two waited for him in the alley behind the bar where they had met for drinks. It was obvious they had exited the building and retreated to the assumed privacy and safety of the alley to take their passions further; one of them leaned against the wall with all of his buttons undone while the other, bare-chested, pressed their bodies together in anticipation of a drunken kiss. The storms in the vampire’s orbs swirled faster until violet-gray dripped with contained lust. Purple was a passionate color, after all. He reinforced his enchantments, concealing his fangs and claws from view by heightening the beauty of his eyes, his lips, his dirty blond hair that always moved as if by gentle breezes until not a soul, inebriated or not, could resist him. Then he moved in for a slow, delicious killing.

The men never stood a chance. No mortal ever did. He was irresistible, and none who he ever graced with his presence could deny it. By the time he had made his way slowly to where they groped each other against the wall, they were so deep in their drunken lust for each other that they could only beg for him to join them. To them he was a dark angel, cloaked in the veil of midnight and bearing nothing but the promise of an experience they would never forget. No thoughts were given to possible consequences, nor to the fact that they might not be granted the chance to forget or even to remember.

Silent as death did he approach them and allow them to look upon him as he bared his own chest in anticipation of warm bodies and the feast to come, and with pants and moans did they reach for him and pull him into their embrace. Eagerly they touched him, ran their warm hands over his torso, brushed hot lips across his cool skin. Graciously he tended to them, fingers ghosting over sensitive areas and wrapping around their manhoods to bring them higher in pleasure before delivering the pain. He then encouraged them to tend to each other’s needs but always directed their eyes toward himself. He was what they longed for, he was what they must work for…he was their reward.

And when they were nearly drowning in their lust, he dropped the enchantments and let them see his fangs, let them feel his claws. Mortal blood was at the very peak of excellence and exquisite taste when permeated by lust and charged with terror, and he was a master at coaxing excellence and ecstasy out of his mortal victims. Their response was sluggish, a result of the alcohol they had consumed, but like so many others before, they recognized the danger only too late. He had already sprung the trap without them ever realizing it; they were caught and they were his. Eyes bulging in horrified shock, screams falling soundlessly from frozen lips, they submitted to his will, offering up their throats even as they continued to pleasure each other.

Ambrose shuddered with indescribable pleasure as his fangs sank into the tender flesh of one offered throat, then the other, almost instantly piercing the vein just underneath the skin. Pure crimson ecstasy gushed over his tongue and down his throat, filling his belly with heat. For just a few moments while feeding, his cold body felt on fire from the hot blood he gulped greedily and he craved that feeling as much as the satiation. He compelled them to keep working toward each other’s releases as he fed, relishing as their lust spiced up their lifeblood more and more. He experienced a kind of release along with them, shuddering again when pure bliss crept through his lips and into his veins. They came down from lofty heights of pleasure into the depths of bodies drained dry of all life when he carelessly dropped their lifeless shells to the filthy ground of the alley.

He was not just a creature of the night. He ruled the night with fear and longing, pleasure and pain all rolled into power so absolute no mortal could ever hope to defy him and no other creature would dare to cross him. Aftershocks of his fulfillment and release rolled through him, and he couldn’t help but to think that it was good to be on top. His offspring would understand…or he would be forced to understand.

Soon, my dear. Soon you will be back where you belong. I’ll even let you keep your little pet. You won’t ever forget what a privilege it is to be with me.

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I hope you enjoyed this little Valentine’s Day treat. I know Ambrose did. *winks*

Make sure to visit the other stops on the Vampire Bite Blog Hop. You can find them all here.