Her Darkest Fantasies

David looked around the club, taking in the teeming, half-naked bodies on the dance floor. Screwers was packed tonight, full of women wearing leather and men who looked like they had advanced degrees in violent crime.

David and his companion fit right in.

Except they actually were killers.

"So you're really going to do this?" Terry asked him.

David glanced across the shallow table. The other vampire's eyes met his own. "Yeah. I am."

Terry nursed his Scotch and smiled grimly. Only the very tips of his fangs showed. "You're crazy, D."

"You should know."

Terry tilted his glass in deference. "But you're raising the bar. You want to take an innocent girl, who has no idea what the hell she's getting into, and put her transition in the hands of someone like Wreck. That's whacked."

"He isn't evil. Forget about how he looks." David finished his beer. "And also, show a little respect."

"I respect him a lot. But it's a bad idea."

"I need him."

"You sure about that?"

A woman wearing a thigh-high boots, and a bustier made of chains trolled by their table. Her eyes glittered from behind two pounds of mascara, and she worked her walk as if her hips were doubled.

David gave her a pass. Sex was not on his mind tonight.

"She's my daughter, Terry."

"She's a half-breed, D. And you know how he feels about humans." Terry shook his head. "My great-great-grandmother was one, and you don't see me yakking that up around him."

David lifted his hand to catch their waitress's eye and pointed at his empty bottle and Terry's nearly dry glass. "I'm not going to let another one of my children die. Not if there's a possibility I can save her. And anyway, there's no telling whether she'll even go through the change. She could end up living a happy life, never knowing about my side. It's happened before."

And he really hoped his daughter would survive. Giving the fact that, if she went through her change process, and she came out alive on the other side as a vampire, she was going to be hunted as they all were.

"David, if that happens, he'll only do it because he owes you. Not because he wants to."

"I'll challenge him any way I can get him."

"But what will you give her? He's about as nurturing as a sawed-off, and that first time can be rough, even if you've been prepared. Which she hasn't."

"I'm going to talk to her."

"And how will that go? You're just going to walk up to her and say, 'Hey, I know you've never seen me before, but I'm your dad. Oh, and guess what? You've won the evolutionary prize: You're a vampire. Isn't that amazing? "

"I hate you right now."

Terry leaned forward, his thick shoulders shifting under black leather. "You know I got your back. I'm just thinking you should reconsider." There was a heavy pause. "Maybe I could do it."

David shot him a dry look. "You want to try and get back into your house after the fact? Wellsie will stake you through the heart and leave you for the sun, my friend."

Terry winced. "Good point."

"And then she'll come looking for me."

"By the way..." David leaned back as the waitress put their drinks down. He waited until she left, even though loud music was pumping all around them. "Besides, we're living in dangerous times. If something happens to me - "

"I'll take care of her."

David clapped his friend on the shoulder. "I know you will."

"But Wreck is better." There was no jealousy in the remark. It was a statement of fact."

"There's no one like him."

"And thank God for that," Terry said with a half smile.

Their band of brothers, a tight circle of strong-backed warriors who traded information and fought together, were of the same opinion. Wreck was off the chain when it came to the business of vengeance, and he hunted their enemies with a single-minded purpose that bordered on the insane. He was the last of his line, the only purebred vampire left on the planet, and though his race revered him as its king, he despised his status.

It was almost tragic that he was the best bet David's half-breed daughter had of surviving. Wreck's blood, so strong, so untainted, would increase the chances of her getting through the transition if it hit her. But Terry wasn't off the mark. It was like turning a virgin over to a thug.

With a sudden rush, the crowd shifted, people backing into each other. They were making way for someone. Or something.

"Shit. Here he comes," Terry muttered. He tossed back his Scotch, swallowing it whole. "No offense, but I'm out. This is not a conversation I need to be a part of."

David watched the sea of humans split as they steered clear of an imposing, dark shadow that towered over them. The flight response was a good survival reflex.

Wreck was six feet, six inches of pure terror dressed in leather. His hair was long and black, falling straight from a widow's peak. Wraparound sunglasses hid eyes that no one had ever seen revealed. Shoulders were twice the size of most males'. With a face that was both aristocratic and brutal, he looked like the king he was by birthright and the soldier he'd become by destiny.

And that wave of menace rolling ahead of him was one hell of a calling card.

As the cool air hit David, he tilted his fresh beer back and drank deeply.

He hoped to God he was doing the right thing.