Love Immortal

Chapter One-4

THERON DEPRESSED THE button to his left, the window sliding down to let in the sounds and smells of Hollywood Boulevard. The scent of garlic and peanut oil drifted over him as he passed a Chinese restaurant. He liked this area. Not once was there an empty hunt since moving out here nearly five decades ago. If there was ever a place that attracted tourists and beckoned would-be starlets, it was this city.

Keeping his eagle-like vision attuned to the people milling about even at this late hour, Theron recalled how thinly populated the United States had been over two hundred years ago. He’d quickly gone back to roaming Europe and Asia, not venturing into the U.S. again until the early nineteen-hundreds.

With his next breath, instincts told him to take a right at the upcoming stoplight. While he waited for it to turn green, a heavily made-up prostitute rapped on the passenger side window.

“Hey, baby,” she spoke through the glass in a voice Theron imagined she thought was seductive. “I can take you around the world for a hundred bucks.”

Theron let the window slide down slightly. “No thank you,” he replied with a plastic smile.

“Come on.” She produced a very pouty bottom lip covered with a thick layer of gloss. “I’ll make it worth every penny.”

He shook his head and took off once the light had changed, leaving the hooker yelling a few choice expletives after him. Theron gave a soft snort of amusement.

Two blocks later the woman in the microscopic skirt and ample bosom was nearly forgotten. Theron frowned. He had lost the trail completely and was feeling edgy. For some reason his senses were off this evening. The woman should have been incredibly easy to locate, yet he found himself driving another three blocks before intuition told him to take a sharp right.

Turning the wheel quickly, the headlights bounced off a brick wall ahead of him and to each side. Theron cursed under his breath as he discovered he had turned down an alley. Stepping on the brake, he stopped and tried to clear his mind.

“Where are you?” he said aloud to the emptiness around him, his flat palm beating an impatient rhythm on his thigh.

Several overly filled garbage cans lined the wall to his left. He saw a cat standing on the edge of one of the beat-up containers, rummaging through its contents, searching for any morsel of food to calm its hunger. Theron knew how the poor feline felt as his own stomach twisted tight.

Shifting the car in reverse, he backed up, his yearning to feed clawing at him. In the next instant he heard a sickening thud as he struck something.

“Damn!” He rested his head against the leather-covered steering wheel. “What now?” This night was not going well.

He glanced up at the rearview mirror, hoping to see whatever he had hit get to its feet and walk away. All was quiet and dark.

Theron climbed out of his vehicle to check the damages. He rounded the back of his car, his blood running icy as his eyes took in the heap of blue cloth laying so still on the asphalt. He swore again, hating the fact that his hunt was put on hold. He was already feeling the strains of withdrawal as his body felt weaker. His nerves were nearing their breaking point.

Soon he had his emotions under control. Though what happened was unfortunate, he would take full responsibility. He would call for an ambulance, or take the wounded soul to the hospital himself, and pay for all medical bills. After all, he wasn’t a cold, unfeeling monster ... just a hungry vampire.

With the toe of his left shoe he nudged the body there at his feet. “Hello?”

As he fully expected, no answer came.

Theron looked around and saw that the street he was on was deserted. Thankfully, no one had seen this. He didn’t want to be detained longer by a police inquisition.

He sighed, crouching down next to the victim. “Hello?” he called out again. “Can you hear me?” Gently, he checked for any broken limbs. Finding none, he gave a slight push, causing the person to roll onto their back. Dim streetlight shined down, making the face visible to his concerned gaze. It was a woman, no more than thirty, he guessed.

Theron bent his head down to her chest, trying to detect a heartbeat. Yes, she was alive. Her heartbeat was faint, her breathing shallow, but she was alive. Relief swept over him. He’d never killed in his life and didn't want to stain his perfect record now.

Along with this relief, Theron also detected changes in his body as he felt her soft breasts beneath his cheek and breathed in her feminine scent. An erection stirred to life and he instantly admonished himself for such physical reactions. Not only was this woman not the one he was looking for, but she was also comatose!

He pushed away his odd response to her, checking the pockets of her jeans since she carried no purse. He found nothing, except for the fact that he was growing hard at her nearness. He counseled himself with the very real reason that he had not fed yet and wasn’t feeling like himself.

Concentrating, Theron tried probing her mind, seeking any bits of information as to who she was. His effort was useless. The only thing he had encountered in the dark recess of her psyche was a deep well of sadness and a sense of wandering.

Theron blinked the feeling away as he looked down at her with a frown between his brows. He refused to probe further. Her problems were none of his concern. So, she was a mystery. As was his strange reaction to her.

“Let’s get you to the hospital, shall we?” He debated on calling an ambulance, but didn’t want to be held up any longer than he already had been. If he took her there himself, it would be that much quicker. As soon as that was accomplished he would continue with his previous chore.

With very little effort, Theron lifted the unconscious woman into his arms and headed toward his vehicle. Her head lolled against him, quickly heating his chest where her cheek lay so softly. A small moan seeped through her lips. Theron’s steps faltered as the sound skimmed along his nerve endings. Yes, the sooner he got this woman to the hospital, the better.

Using a bit more energy than he could afford now, he had the back door open with only a thought. Theron leaned over, ready to lay her across the back seat, when she let out another low moan. He glanced down just as her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of emerald eyes. The glimpse was brief, less than a second before they closed again, but it had been enough.

Theron stood up straight and still. He had found her. Not a woman to satisfy his appetite for a few nights, but the woman of his dreams, his heated fantasies, his nightmares.

A ripple of terror raced up his spine and settled in his brain; his first taste of real fear in nearly three centuries.

Theron didn’t know how long he stood there within the yawning mouth of the dark alley carrying his very future in his arms. If he left her here she would surely die. Years of medical training in the Orient and his own mental probing told him her injuries weren't life-threatening.

Common sense told him to drive her to the nearest hospital and be done with her. Instincts told him to leave her here before it was too late. Before he ended up throwing away all he had fought to hold onto for so long. But a haunting voice in his empty soul called out with an alien need. A need only this beautiful stranger could fill. A need that, if satisfied, would ultimately lead to his ruin.

His decision was quick to come and not at all surprising: he would take her to his home. He could help her more quickly than any coven of doctors could. And, mostly, he would be given the opportunity to see why exactly this woman haunted him so, refusing to let him live in peace.

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