The Vampire's Throne (ON HOLD)

PROLOGUE

Ten minutes till midnight. Ten minutes until I was forced to come up with a decision that would change my life forever. I had left my old life in the States and forged a new one here in Great Britain. My plan was to live here for one year as a personal assistant to His Royal Highness Prince Alastair Darcey. But all of that changed within the first few months of my being here. I didn't expect it. It just sort of happened. And now he wants me. A real modern day fairytale romance with a dark side I didn't know existed until it was too late.

Five minutes now and the party is slowly drawing to an end. Time was running out. As I looked around the fabulous ballroom, watching the crowd of guests conceal their faces behind a parade of beautifully crafted masks. A male waiter carrying a tray of the finest champagne imaginable had offered us a glass. I took one to try and calm my nerves. The shiny gold-like solution went down my throat like silk and it tasted good too. Really good. I downed the drink in one gulp before catching the eye of a man standing over in the corner.

His suit was custom-made with a price tag worth over five thousand pounds. He wore a red tie and the Royal Family signet ring on his right hand. His mask was of high quality black with refined laser-cutting design work. He nodded in my direction, briefly raising his glass to me before taking a sip and excusing himself from the small crowd that had gathered around him. My cheeks ran warm from all the blood that had been sent to them. Nevertheless, I tugged along the edge of my shirt collar, the steam rising off my skin as I took a shallow breath.

Three minutes left and it was now or never. I excused myself and left the ballroom with my heart pounding in my ears. For each step felt longer than the last. Even the grand staircase seemed to stretch far and beyond, making it feel like I was climbing Mount Everest. At the top of the landing, three sets of corridors appeared and I was only familiar with two of them. To my left was the Blue Drawing Room and Picture Gallery. To my right was the Music Room, the Red Drawing room and the Kitchen and Staff Quarters.

While in front of me could only mean one thing; the Royal Family bedchambers. I waited a single beat, then took the plunge into the great unknown. Where an array of windows displayed on my right, showed breathtaking views of the city of London. But my thinking was interrupted when I heard an eerie creek two doors down. I swallowed hard, my lips parting, my breathing shallow. As I turned the corner and stood in the doorway, staring into the darkened room. I caught the faint familiar scent of cigar smoke.

I inhaled on an impulse and instantly I found myself utterly relaxed. I stepped forward slightly, watching the light from the corridor disappear behind me before swallowing me up in complete darkness. Then that's when the silence ensured and it was then that I could hear my own blood pumping. I couldn't see much about the room, but I had a feeling that it was bigger than all the rest. The scent grew stronger as I sniffed once more, catching the tail end of a cigar, it's embers igniting in a red-hot glow.

The man in question sat on an antique couch with a cigar in one hand and his red tie wrapped around the other. A closer look revealed that the first few buttons on his shirt had been undone and that the stiff lapels of his collar had popped up, exposing his neck. While his jacket was laid out nicely on the back of a chair nearby. His chest pumped hard as he took another puff and exhaled slowly releasing a cloud of smoke into the air. He always smoked just before we were about to have sex and sometimes after if the mood struck his fancy.

"So," said a familiar voice. "Have you made a decision yet?"

"I have."

"Good. Then we can get down to business. Take off your clothes. I want to see you."

"Wait. Please. I do have one request. If I may, sir."

He rolled his hips in his seat. His voice growing dark. "Which is?"

"When the time comes. We do it my way or not at all."

I could hear the smirk in his voice as he set the cigar down and placed his hand on his knee. "But of course. Anything for my Queen."

It doesn't take me long until I am standing naked in front of him. He reaches out with his hand for me to take as I step forward and straddle his lap. I can already feel the raw power radiating beneath his flesh. Feel the sexual awakening burning with resolve within those eyes of his. Soon his lips brush against my flat stomach leaving behind in their wake, a trail of soft, wet kisses that force me to forget our arrangement. Then he grabs my hands and ties my wrists together behind the small of my back so that I won't be able to touch him.

"There," he murmured. "Now you're all set."

I closed my eyes and felt the soft touch of his hand, graciously cup the back of my neck as he tilted my head to one side and delicately kissed the spot on my sink where the vein should be. A low growl sounded followed by a hiss as I took a deep breath then lost it once he sank his fangs into me and began to drink.

Author's Note: Good morning everyone! It's that time of year again for the NaNoWriMo. I did take part in this a few years back but I haven't done it since. So it'll be a challenge to see if I can write fifty thousand words in a month. lol. Wish me luck :D