{"id":312,"date":"2011-11-12T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-12T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/?p=312"},"modified":"2011-11-12T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-11-12T12:00:00","slug":"heart-of-darkness-vampire-romance-book-chapter-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/12\/heart-of-darkness-vampire-romance-book-chapter-four\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart of Darkness &#8211; Vampire romance book &#8211; chapter four"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for chapter four of <b>Heart of Darkness<\/b>,  my new vampire romance book. Elise&#8217;s will to resist Aleksandr&#8217;s advances is beginning to crumble a little but she&#8217;s still standing firm, determined not to let the powerful vampire prince capture her.<\/p>\n<p>Be  sure to keep following these weekly posts in order to read the first  six chapters of the book. You can find previous chapters under my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indieparanormalromancebooks.com\/search\/label\/Heart%20of%20Darkness\">Heart of Darkness label<\/a>. <b>Heart of Darkness<\/b> is currently available in ebook from Amazon  Kindle stores, my website, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBookstores, Smashwords and All Romance eBooks and in  paperback from Amazon.com. It will soon be available in ebook at Sony Reader Store and Kobo Books too.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/ebooks.php?title=Heart%20of%20Darkness\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/images\/uploads\/picDetailheartofdarkness.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #c27ba0; font-family: Georgia,\"Times New Roman\",serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/ebooks.php?title=Heart%20of%20Darkness\"><b>Heart of Darkness<\/b><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<p><b>Felicity Heaton<\/b><br \/>A vampire prince on a four hundred year old mission to avenge his murdered sister&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr   Nemov won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop until the last of the vampire hunter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s  progeny is   wiped from the Earth. Each kill has stolen a piece of his  humanity,   pushing him towards the black abyss all vampires hold within  their   hearts. Now he is teetering on the edge, close to devolving into a    beast, and time is running out as he tracks the last hunter to Prague.    There he finds a beautiful woman who could be his one chance for    salvation, but is it already too late for him?<\/p>\n<p>A vampire guard who will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Elise   is dedicated to her duty. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only thing she has left. All  that   changes when she meets Aleksandr in Prague and her master grants  him   permission to stay at her bloodline\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mansion. She knows all about    Aleksandr but none of it prepares her for how she feels when the    legendary prince\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hunt becomes one for her heart. Elise battles him    with all of her strength but can she stop herself from falling for the    handsome hunter? When he reveals the depth of the corruption in his    soul, will she have the strength to face the pain in her past and do    whatever it takes to save him?<\/p>\n<p>ebook price: $3.99<br \/>paperback price: $9.99 <br \/>genre: paranormal vampire romance<br \/>length: 130000 words<br \/>rating: sultry<br \/>released: October 2011<\/p>\n<p><strong>Available in e-book from:<\/strong><br \/><strong>Author&#8217;s website:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/ebooks.php?title=Heart%20of%20Darkness\">http:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/ebooks.php?title=Heart%20of%20Darkness<\/a><br \/><strong>Amazon Kindle:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/<\/a><br \/><strong>Amazon Kindle UK:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/<\/a><br \/><strong>Barnes and Noble:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/heart-of-darkness-felicity-heaton\/1106991833\">http:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/heart-of-darkness-felicity-heaton\/1106991833<\/a><br \/><strong>All Romance eBooks:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allromanceebooks.com\/product-heartofdarkness-620972-139.html\">http:\/\/www.allromanceebooks.com\/product-heartofdarkness-620972-139.html<\/a><br \/><strong>Smashwords:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/97624\">https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/97624<\/a><br \/><strong>Amazon Kindle Germany:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.de\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.de\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/<\/a><br \/><strong>Amazon Kindle France:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.fr\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.fr\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/<\/a><br \/><strong>Apple iBookstore USA:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/book\/isbn9781466173286\">http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/book\/isbn9781466173286<\/a><br \/><strong>Apple iBookstore UK:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/gb\/book\/isbn9781466173286\">http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/gb\/book\/isbn9781466173286<\/a><br \/><strong>Apple iBookstore Australia:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/au\/book\/isbn9781466173286\">http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/au\/book\/isbn9781466173286<\/a><br \/><strong>Apple iBookstore Canada:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/ca\/book\/isbn9781466173286\">http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/ca\/book\/isbn9781466173286<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Available in paperback from:<\/strong><br \/><strong>Amazon.com:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1466452897\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1466452897\/<\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><span style=\"color: #c27ba0; font-size: large;\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,\"Times New Roman\",serif;\">EXCERPT &#8211; CHAPTER FOUR<\/span><\/span><br \/><\/b><\/div>\n<p>Aleksandr sighed and watched Elise leave, loving the intent strut she had. She was beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>Their dance last night had fallen far short of his expectations. Her  refusal had vexed him but then he had seen it as a challenge. He had  never been one to back down from a challenge and the one Elise had  issued had only sweetened the fight to get her into his arms. The reward  for his persistence had been nowhere near satisfactory. While she  hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been afraid of him, she had hardly been compliant. She had stared  at her feet so much that he had wished he had chosen only to speak with  her instead so he could have seen her beautiful face. As he had  tonight. The moment he had awoken this evening, he had decided to ask  her commander to order her to show him the city. He was more satisfied  with the outcome this time but he still wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t content.<\/p>\n<p>And something told him it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t her refusal that had left the hollow feeling inside him.<\/p>\n<p>Elise had been polite, blushing at all the right times, her beauty  beguiling him and bringing out the full extent of his charm. It was a  skill and repertoire long forgotten to him, used centuries ago at court  on the women there and not since then.<\/p>\n<p>The way she had looked at him from time to time, the flash of desire  that had been in her blue eyes, had increased her beauty and his lust  for her.<\/p>\n<p>He had thought she would give in to him, but she had resisted again,  escaping his embrace and walking away. He wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a stranger to refusal.  Women had occasionally rejected his advances, and he had always moved on  with ease, unbothered by it.<\/p>\n<p>Not with Elise though.<\/p>\n<p>Her refusal only made his hunger for her burn hotter.<\/p>\n<p>She disappeared from view and he followed her. He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let her out  of his sight in the city, not when there were hunters present. She would  be in danger.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr frowned and studied the foreign feeling that had compelled him to go after Elise.<\/p>\n<p>He had felt this before, centuries ago, for his sister.<\/p>\n<p>He wanted to protect her.<\/p>\n<p>The desire was so strong that it controlled him, ordering him to go to  Elise and walk close beside her, not letting her out of arm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reach in  case someone attacked them. He had to see her safely back to the mansion  and her kin. It had been wrong of him to bring her out into the city  and expose her to danger.<\/p>\n<p>He kept his distance instead and considered his feelings.<\/p>\n<p>There was something about Elise and the way he yearned for her. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d  never wanted a woman like this, enough to chase her so doggedly and  definitely never enough to want to protect them from harm. He ran a hand  over his dark hair, fingers tangling in the longer lengths on top, and  settled it on the nape of his neck. Elise was different. She had awoken  something new in him\u00e2\u20ac\u201da fierce desire to protect her, and desperate need  to possess her.<\/p>\n<p>Since meeting her, he had thought only of her. She had stolen sleep  from him, replacing it with movies of her in his head that relived every  moment they had spent together. When sleep had eventually come, she had  been in his dreams, beautiful and pliant, satisfying his every whim.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr craved her.<\/p>\n<p>She led him through the streets and he was a slave to following her,  needing to be near so he knew she was safe. Whenever she turned a  corner, he quickened his pace so he could see her again, and then  dropped back and allowed her to move on ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get enough of her.<\/p>\n<p>It was everything about her. It was her stubbornness and how she  resisted him, it was the fact she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fear him, and the open way she  spoke to him when her guard slipped.<\/p>\n<p>It was how she looked at him with smouldering eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Elise was beautiful, sensual, alluring. He wanted her and he wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t  give in until he had won her. The hunt wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t over. It was only getting  more interesting.<\/p>\n<p>She would be in his arms soon enough.<\/p>\n<p>She passed through the gate of the mansion, storming along the gravel  drive towards the house. Aleksandr strode faster, until he was close  behind her again, knowing that if she was seen entering the house with  him trailing behind her that she would be in trouble for not protecting  him.<\/p>\n<p>Protecting him.<\/p>\n<p>He would protect her from anything. She didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to protect him.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr entered the house beside her. Ladislav was coming down the  broad mahogany staircase in the classical cream entrance hall. The  younger vampire paused and smiled. The three women behind him stopped  too, twittering and blushing on cue. They caressed Ladislav\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s slight  shoulders, smoothing the fine material of his black suit jacket.  Ladislav wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a large man, nowhere close to Aleksandr\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s build. He was  wiry and slender, and not handsome by anyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s standards, but power made  a man beautiful and alluring to the females of society hoping to gain a  new, higher rank.<\/p>\n<p>The women looked his way and then to his right, their charming smiles faltering as their eyes fell on Elise.<br \/><a name='more'><\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mission complete, Master. I will report to Commander Piotr,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said  and Aleksandr held his frown inside. He didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want her to leave. Not  yet.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Aleksandr, will you do me the honour of joining me?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladislav said, as though Elise hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even spoken.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr gritted his teeth against the desire to put Ladislav in his  place for ignoring Elise and nodded. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Of course. The night is still  young.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Elise, with us.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladislav waved his hand to her and continued down the  stairs. He didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even look at her. He beckoned her as though she was a  dog.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr glanced at her to see if Ladislav\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s treatment had bothered  her. She was still dutifully bowing to her master. She was a guard. How  often had his family treated their guards no differently? It was only  now that he knew one that he saw how wrong it was.<\/p>\n<p>He followed Ladislav down the gallery, gradually reining in his anger  and reasoning with himself. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t his place to interfere. Even if it  wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, it left him in a foul mood and with little desire to amuse a  male half his age.<\/p>\n<p>When they passed through the red-walled reception room, the vampires  there stood and bowed. Aleksandr ignored them and trudged on, weary of  the attention when he had grown used to being alone. Perhaps he should  have declined Ladislav\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s desire to entertain him. Elise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s refusal had  left him in a worse mood than he had realised. He looked at her out of  the corner of his eye. She was trailing behind him now, her gaze  downcast and expression solemn. Something was troubling her.<\/p>\n<p>It was probably him.<\/p>\n<p>Her refusal had seemed genuine. Perhaps she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like him. It was  another strange thing for him to come to terms with. Whenever he entered  society, all of the women clamoured for his attention. Elise shirked it  and tried to escape him. At first, he had put it down to shyness, and  then to her loyalty to her duty, but now he couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find an adequate  reason.<\/p>\n<p>Except she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like him.<\/p>\n<p>And he refused to believe that.<\/p>\n<p>The way she avoided his eyes, the way she blushed, it all said that she enjoyed his attention to some degree.<\/p>\n<p>They entered the dark green reception room and Elise dropped back.  Ladislav escorted his three young women and positioned two either side  of him on the green couch that stood with its back to the door, and  motioned for the remaining female to sit on the one opposite.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Join us.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladislav grinned. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They are most amiable.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr seated himself far from the woman on his couch.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Andrej, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realise you would be here too,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Elise said and Aleksandr\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attention was immediately with her.<\/p>\n<p>A fair-haired male guard smiled at her. He shut the double doors and  Elise moved closer to him. Aleksandr stared at him, his eyes slowly  narrowing with his increasing frown. Elise had been with him last night,  guarding the exit to the garden. A fellow officer, or more than that?<\/p>\n<p>The doors opened again and an older man entered, came over to Ladislav  and spoke to him in a low voice. Ladislav conversed with him, a scowl on  his face the whole time. From the looks of the man, Aleksandr guessed  that he was an aide to the master of the house, and had infinitely more  sense and breeding than his lord.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr busied himself with assessing his surroundings while he  waited. Oil paintings of the bloodline\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s previous rulers adorned the  green walls. He had seen similar paintings in the red reception room and  gallery.<\/p>\n<p>The fire crackled and popped, throwing sparks out onto the marble  surround. He stared at it for a moment and then his gaze wandered on to  the white sash windows on either side of the fireplace. Two windows with  a set of French doors between them lined the wall opposite and revealed  the horseshoe-shaped courtyard. He tried to make out the shape formed  by the neatly clipped low hedge in its centre but it was impossible to  discern from this angle and under the pale light from the lamps at each  corner.<\/p>\n<p>With nothing else to entertain his eye and distract him, Aleksandr\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s  gaze moved back to the one thing guaranteed to bring him pleasure. Elise  was deep in conversation with the guard she had called Andrej. What  were they talking about in such quiet voices? Aleksandr focused on the  pair, intent on blocking out every other sound in the room so he could  hear what they were saying to each other. His senses sharpened but  dulled again when the door closed, signalling the departure of  Ladislav\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s aide. Aleksandr reluctantly switched his focus to the young  master of the bloodline.<\/p>\n<p>Ladislav\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s smile was back in place, as though the interruption had  never occurred. How much responsibility did Ladislav place on his aides?  Judging by how focused on pleasure Ladislav was, the aides were  probably running the bloodline for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pour us some blood.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladislav didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even look at Elise. He merely  waved his hand again. Beckoned her. Aleksandr frowned, riled by her poor  treatment and the fact that Ladislav hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even used her name this  time. This man had no breeding. He treated a guard as though she was a  servant.<\/p>\n<p>The shock on Elise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face faded and she humbly walked over to the round  table beside the third, empty, couch facing the fire. She turned over  five of the crystal goblets on the silver tray so they were the right  way up, picked up a metal canister of blood, and then carefully poured  an amount into each glass.<\/p>\n<p>Ladislav and the females didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even acknowledge her when she handed  them their blood. The sight of her so degraded sickened Aleksandr,  twisting his stomach into knots that tightened with each second that he  had to watch her being humiliated by her master. A dark hunger to stand,  grasp Ladislav by his scrawny neck and throttle some sense into him  threatened to seize control. Aleksandr drew a slow steadying breath and  held the urge at bay. Barely.<\/p>\n<p>Elise picked up the last goblet and came to him.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr sat forwards and took it from her, slowly brushing her fingers with his as he did so and holding her gaze.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thank you, Elise,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said in a quiet voice destined only for her  ears. Her blue eyes brightened, as though his show of appreciation had  pleased her and given her task meaning.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Come, tell us your tales.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladislav leaned back into the green velvet  couch. He sipped his blood and then handed it to the woman on his right.  She placed it down on the round table for him. Ladislav settled his  arms around the shoulders of the two brunettes.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in the mood. He toyed with his glass of blood, looking  at it. He had no interest in stored blood, even if it was fresh. How  sweet would Elise taste? She smelled divine, intoxicating, and he would  give anything to have a sip of her blood.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What do you know of me?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said to the blonde woman beside him. She  giggled and blushed, and every simpering action she made increased his  desire to leave.<\/p>\n<p>Only Elise had him remaining.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I heard you killed five hunters at once&#8230; once.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The woman beamed at him.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr forced a smile. She couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even speak correctly. Ladislav  obviously wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t after these women for their intellect. He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t  judge the man for that though. Back at the palace, he had pursued women  purely for their beauty and their bodies. Things changed though, and  sometimes it happened without warning, altering your world and carrying  you along a path towards a future you hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t anticipated. He had  survived such a change and it had transformed him. He wanted more than  external beauty now. He wanted a woman who was intelligent, strong,  shared interests with him, and was the most beautiful he had ever seen  because of it.<\/p>\n<p>He wanted Elise.<\/p>\n<p>His gaze crept to her. She was still talking to that man.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I did, although it was a difficult battle and nowhere near as easy as  they painted it. The fight was long, tiring, and almost cost me my  life.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That night had been one of the most frightening of his life.  Society\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s papers had made it sound as though he had butchered the  hunters swiftly and survived without a scratch. Their media was as  twisted as the human one was.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And I heard that you have killed almost six hunters a month since you  began your crusade four centuries ago,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladislav said with a warm note  of amusement that reached his hazel eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Crusade? Aleksandr laughed and waved him away. His mission was a  vendetta, not a crusade. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nowhere near that. Perhaps one or two if I am  lucky. I spend most of my time tracking or travelling to find the  hunters who are most dangerous to our kind. Maybe in the beginning I  killed more, but there are less of them these days. We live in fortunate  times.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thanks to you and your family of course. The Nemov line rules us well and gives us this great time of peace.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am no part of that line or their cause. Any progression they make  with bringing our species rest and humanity is all of their own doing.  Do not associate my name with theirs. I wish it did not belong to me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d  Aleksandr swallowed and dropped his gaze to his lap, studying his knees  and struggling with his feelings.<\/p>\n<p>This was why he avoided society. No matter how often he asked, it  always called him a prince, and it always called him a Nemov. He had  nothing to do with his family now. Couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they see that? He had broken  with them to keep their name clean of the blood he spilled. If society  insisted on associating him with his family, the blood of his victims  would tarnish it and their cause would falter. He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t allow that to  happen.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr frowned when someone focused on him and raised his head to  find Elise looking his way. There was a touch of concern about her  expression, her dark eyebrows drawn together, narrowing her beautiful  blue eyes.<\/p>\n<p>He managed a brief smile and leaned back into the couch, shoving away  the pain that blazed within him whenever he thought of his family and  the things he had done.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You fight only the most dangerous hunters, which means you must be  very strong and very brave,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the woman to the right of Ladislav said,  her dark eyes wide and innocent.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr forced a short laugh. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Or very stupid.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>She giggled. Elise frowned and turned away, back to Andrej.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It must be grand to travel the world hunting for humans.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The female  on the other side of Ladislav smiled at him, fluttering her long dark  lashes.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Elise saw how grand it was when we first met. There is nothing good in  what I do.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He wished with all of his heart that they would stop  talking about him. Idle conversation he could handle, talk of bloodlines  and politics, anything other than this. It dragged the past up from the  black abyss, renewing the pain in his heart and the chill in his blood  that he suffered with each hunt.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Elise?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the women said, as though they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know the name.<\/p>\n<p>His gaze shifted back to Elise. Her eyes met his and warmth chased the  cold away, lightening his insides and relieving the ache there.<\/p>\n<p>He needed her. It went beyond a desire to have her to a deep need for  her. He wanted her to come to him, to nestle in his arms with her head  against his chest and soothe him.<\/p>\n<p>Her expression changed, revealing fragility that caused a fierce desire  to protect her to flash through him. In that moment, Aleksandr realised  that if he said the right words or did the right thing, she would find  shelter in his embrace just as he desired. But her look also told him  that if he did something wrong, he would break her.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to break her spirits in his attempts to win her.<\/p>\n<p>She nibbled her lip, glanced away and then back at him. Her eyes  darkened with desire, revealing that a passionate woman hid beneath her  strong exterior and her uniform. A promise of things to come if he  succeeded.<\/p>\n<p>It only strengthened his desire to win.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There is nothing glorious about hunting.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He held her gaze to see how she would react.<\/p>\n<p>She had seen the body of the hunter. How would she react if she saw him  fight and kill, not just stumbled upon the aftermath? Or if he told her  the number of hunters he had killed and that he feared he was losing  the remains of his humanity? Would she run from him again or would she  come to him and soothe him?<\/p>\n<p>He slid his gaze back to meet Ladislav\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your city is a meeting  point. A convergence of hunters will happen here, and one I am looking  for may be amongst them. I will have to impose on you a little longer,  and perhaps I could be granted larger quarters?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The young fair-haired vampire smiled and nodded. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Whatever you desire, you will receive.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr would have been a happy man had those words been true. What  he desired did not desire him and he was not going to get her without a  fight. He needed to think of a way to keep her around him. Given time,  he could break down her defences.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have not been very talkative this evening. Allow me to apologise and  make up for it. You are probably aware that I have not been heard of in  some time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It has likely been a year.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladislav pulled his two women closer. They  fawned over him, stroking the chest of his black suit jacket and  sliding their hands beneath to the black shirt. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Where have you been?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have not been in contact with society. I prefer not to involve you  all. I was hunting someone across Russia and into Europe, and have  strong reason to believe that he will come here.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is this hunter dangerous?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have almost killed each other many times over the past two  decades.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Aleksandr preferred not to remember those times too. No other  hunter had come so close to killing him so often. The man was strong and  skilled. The original hunter in their line, the first he had  eradicated, was nothing compared with this one.<\/p>\n<p>Ladislav looked uneasy.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You and your kin will be safe. I will not allow the hunter to  interfere with your bloodline and he is exclusive about his hunt. He  will only come for me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d His words didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to relieve Ladislav at  all. The shine of fear in his eyes increased, even when he smiled.  Aleksandr returned it, hoping to reassure him.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153How do you know he is coming to Prague?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladislav moved out from the  arms of the women, pushing them away, and leaned forwards.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Anyone can see it in our newspapers. The deaths of our top guards and  hunters, anywhere an incision was made on the throat and blood was  taken, all belong to the hunter. It is not another vampire searching for  food. It is this man leaving me a trail to follow.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Aleksandr scanned  the room for a copy of the paper but found none, not even on the dark  desk in the corner. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have been tracking him, and I am sure I can  defeat him this time. I will need quarters away from the others, at the  rear of the building if possible.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There is a reception room and bedroom in the guest quarters, over the  ballroom. They have not been used in some time but they will be your  private rooms now, for however long you may need them. If you need  anything else, any form of assistance, you may speak with myself or  Commander Piotr.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr nodded his appreciation and then looked at Elise. Could he request her presence in his bed each day?<\/p>\n<p>He frowned when she laughed with Andrej. She was terribly familiar with  him and Aleksandr didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like it. How could she smile and laugh with  Andrej but look at himself as though he was filth? What did this man  have that he did not?<\/p>\n<p>His social skills were tarnished but he could fix those. As soon as he  had caught up with the changes in society, she would see that he was a  man worthy of her attention.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike this man. Andrej.<\/p>\n<p>Vast darkness bled into Aleksandr\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s soul, tainting it and forcing out  any light that remained. The black emptiness consumed him, fed by the  twisting spears of emotion that stabbed his gut as he watched Elise with  Andrej. It awakened a desire to hurt the man, to tear him away and  demand to know his intentions towards the woman he had chosen to be his.  He wanted to butcher him for even looking at her.<\/p>\n<p>Jealousy was an ugly emotion.<\/p>\n<p>Andrej frowned at Aleksandr as though he had sensed his intent.<\/p>\n<p>A heartbeat later, Elise glanced over her shoulder at him.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr averted his eyes, fixing them on the garden, and fought for  control over his feelings. They were dangerous, whispering commands that  he was close to obeying. The darkness grew inside him, until he felt  cold and hungry. It gnawed at his insides, coaxing him into surrendering  to his instincts and putting Andrej in his place.<\/p>\n<p>He stood on the edge of the abyss, desperate to take a step back from  the endless black beneath his feet. He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t damage relations with  the bloodline or Elise by murdering the man. He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lose control.<\/p>\n<p>How could he have been so blind to the corruption in his soul?<\/p>\n<p>He had denied its existence too long, had allowed the damage to grow to  such an extent that he was now in danger of losing himself.<\/p>\n<p>Aleksandr\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes sought Elise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. He needed to look into them. He had  been fighting the darkness when he had first met her and it had  disappeared faster than usual. At the time, he hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been sure whether  it had been her or the danger of her attacking him that had driven it  away.<\/p>\n<p>She wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look at him.<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>If she did, he was certain this dreadful darkness would pass over,  allowing the light of humanity back into his soul. He needed her to look  at him. He needed her and it was about more than desire now.<\/p>\n<p>An urge to extend his fangs burst through him. Aleksandr stood and  walked swiftly towards the doors, struggling for control the whole time.<\/p>\n<p>He felt her gaze on him, the warm touch of it on his profile as he  passed her and then on his back. Why couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t she have looked at him  when he had needed her to?<\/p>\n<p>He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remain now.<\/p>\n<p>He had to leave.<\/p>\n<p>It was the only safe thing to do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Available in e-book from:<\/strong><br \/><strong>Author&#8217;s website:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/ebooks.php?title=Heart%20of%20Darkness\">http:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/ebooks.php?title=Heart%20of%20Darkness<\/a><br \/><strong>Amazon Kindle:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/<\/a><br \/><strong>Amazon Kindle UK:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/<\/a><br \/><strong>Barnes and Noble:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/heart-of-darkness-felicity-heaton\/1106991833\">http:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/heart-of-darkness-felicity-heaton\/1106991833<\/a><br \/><strong>All Romance eBooks:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allromanceebooks.com\/product-heartofdarkness-620972-139.html\">http:\/\/www.allromanceebooks.com\/product-heartofdarkness-620972-139.html<\/a><br \/><strong>Smashwords:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/97624\">https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/97624<\/a><br \/><strong>Amazon Kindle Germany:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.de\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.de\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/<\/a><br \/><strong>Amazon Kindle France:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.fr\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.fr\/dp\/B005WK6E58\/<\/a><br \/><strong>Apple iBookstore USA:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/book\/isbn9781466173286\">http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/book\/isbn9781466173286<\/a><br \/><strong>Apple iBookstore UK:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/gb\/book\/isbn9781466173286\">http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/gb\/book\/isbn9781466173286<\/a><br \/><strong>Apple iBookstore Australia:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/au\/book\/isbn9781466173286\">http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/au\/book\/isbn9781466173286<\/a><br \/><strong>Apple iBookstore Canada:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/ca\/book\/isbn9781466173286\">http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/ca\/book\/isbn9781466173286<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Available in paperback from:<\/strong><br \/><strong>Amazon.com:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1466452897\/\">http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1466452897\/<\/a><\/p>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" height=\"97\" src=\"http:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/images\/signature.gif\" style=\"background: none; border: 0px; padding: 0;\" width=\"225\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for chapter four of Heart of Darkness, my new vampire romance book. Elise&#8217;s will to resist Aleksandr&#8217;s advances is beginning to crumble a little but she&#8217;s still standing firm, determined not to let the powerful vampire prince capture &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/12\/heart-of-darkness-vampire-romance-book-chapter-four\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,9,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-heart-of-darkness","category-paranormal-romance","category-vampire-romance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.felicityheaton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}