Vampire Sugar Daddy

Ariana POV

Under attack?

Ariana turned off the Jacuzzi immediately. "We're coming," she shouted.

Dimitri leapt out of the tub with supernatural grace. "Is it the Rostov Clan again?" he shouted.

Elina's voce sounded steady and strong. "Yes. Marauders! Killers! They only like sowing a heaping helping of chaos."

Who? Who would attack a city of vampires?

Ariana's eyes widened, and she shook her head at her own ignorance. Other vampires would attack a city of vampires. "Who are the Rostov Clan?" she asked. 

Dimitri scowled, pulling on black pants and a dark shirt, which only made him look more striking and beautiful. "They're scum. They live within this kingdom and all they do is terrorize us. Vampires fight all the time with other vampires. Unlike werewolves--"

Ariana's eyes widened. "Werewolves are real, too?"

"Yes, but we really don't have time to discuss it," Dimitri snapped., flinging open the door to see a solemn-looking Elina on the other side. "How many Rostovs?"

"At least twenty," Elina said immediately. 

"Twenty is plenty for them to completely terrorize the city--and they'll be grabbing all non-vampires." Dimitri shook his head, frustration in his eyes. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear---"

He didn't finish his thought.

"What?" Ariana prompted, picking up on something dark and unspoken.

"Nothing, sweetheart." Dimitri stormed into the bedroom, and she flew after him, dripping wet. She pulled on clothing quickly.

War. She'd never experienced anything like it in her life. Oh, she'd been burglarized at school. Her mom had been robbed, their house broken into. 

A disturbing thought nagged at her. Could those "break-ins" have been the Lyunovs trying to get at her? Or maybe their spies casing the place? No time to discuss it. This was an emergency situation.

"I have first aid training," she said proudly. "I can help."

Elina smiled at her gratefully. "Thank you. We do heal fast, but the Rostovs are ... well, let's just say they're vicious and ruthless even by vampire standards. Poison, torture, you name it. We're going to need your help."

Ariana's chin firmed, and her shoulders squared. "This city is protecting me. I'll protect the people here. Just lead the way, Dimitri."

"NO."

He whirled on her, his eyes blazing and his posture stiffer than an iron pole. Proud and commanding, he addressed her. "Did you not hear me? The Rostovs will seize all non-vampires. AND they're friendly with my family."

"Why am I not surprised?" she muttered, fighting the urge to vomit.

His eyes darkened. "Don't hate the player. hate the game. You stay put. Stay inside the villa. Elina, double our security and DO NOT let her out of your sight. The Rostovs would love nothing more than to curry favor with the crown by bringing their human sacrifice back as a trophy. Don't let that happen."

Elina bowed. "Of course not, Your Highness. Princess Ariana won't set foot outside the villa." She glowers at me, her eyes as red as rubies. "DON'T make me throw you in the dungeon or handcuff you to the bed."

Dimitri quips, "I wouldn't mind if you did that last one. I'll probably need stress relief after I clean up the city."

Ariana's cheeks burned. "DIMITRI."

Elina rolled her eyes, evidently used to Dimitri's humor and his kinks. "Just keep your mind on kicking those invaders out of our home, Your Highness."

Dimitri nodded, and went to get a leather case from the dresser. Opening it, he held up a long sharpened stake that smelled faintly of garlic. "It's been a while since I've had the chance to use it, and to test my skills in battle. I'm looking forward to that."

He fastened a long silver cloak around his neck. With a quick kiss on my cheek, he said, "I'm fighting for our home. For you."

"Just come back," Ariana said, clinging to his strong arm.

She couldn't shake the feeling of dread that consumed her.

Dimitri smirked. "Trust me, my pet, I plan on centuries of spoiling you until I've run out of ways to indulge you and have to have AI generate new ones. You won't be rid of your captor so easily."

"Promise?"

He was her best hope to stay alive.

He was also the first man she'd ever felt she could be herself around, strangely.

"I promise," he said simply, and marched out of the bedroom.

* * * * *

Dimitri POV

The Rostovs and the Lyunovs had feuded for centuries. Like most feuds, nobody remembered the reason why they started fighting. But sometimes, they cooperated, usually to attack other vampire clans ... or to kill humans.

His vampire sight scanning the hill below, Dimitri perched on the high wall surrounding his villa. No one would ever breach that. As high as the walls of his parents' palace, studded with sharp stones, and with a battalion of guards ready to crush any intruder, the outer walls had stood for centuries, and, with luck, would endure for a thousand more years. 

The path to the villa looked clear, but at the foot of the hill, the chaos raged. The stench of blood and some nauseating poison filled the air. The Rostovs were up to their old tricks. They wanted to slaughter anyone that opposed them. 

He turned to his second-in-command, Ervin, a beanpole of a vampire. "They're not approaching here. Looks like we'll have to take the fight to them."

Ervin nodded, squinting. "They're coming dangerously close, though, Your Highness. As if they're taunting you."

Baring his teeth, Dimitri said, "Well, if they think they can bait me, think again."

"It's not you they want, respectfully," Ervin muttered.

Other than Louis, Ervin ranked the highest among Dimitri's associates and staff. He could size up a situation in two seconds, and he tended to play it safe. Too safe, maybe, but Dimitri valued him nonetheless. Ervin's caution was a rare quality among royal staff, who often indulged their masters and mistresses.

"You think the same as I do," Dimitri said. "That this whole attack is a ploy by my family--"

"Not your whole family," Ervin replied, pointed. 

Dimitri smiled darkly. "Oh, my parents might turn up their nose at such tactics, but they know what Luc is like if left to his own devices, and they still give him the keys to the kingdom. Any blood shed today is on their hands, too. And it's all for nothing. I'm not going to leave our guest unattended."

Approval glittered in Ervin's dark eyes. "You better take care of them fast. The Rostovs have gotten to be experts at scaling walls lately, and rumor has it they created a rough computer map of your villa. They probably have staked out the place, excuse the expression."

Dimitri's blood ran cold. "Then someone in the villa has been leaking."

"Maybe not intentionally," Ervin mused, tapping his fingers on the white stone. "They can compel people, question them, and wipe their memory of the encounter just as well as you can. We'd never know who it was."

"Then when this is over, no one from the villa goes out alone, not even to smoke or walk in the country," Dimitri decided. 

Ervin grinned. "I've been waiting for you to say that for years."

"Well, no more waiting next time. You see something that needs done, do it."

Scowling, Dimitri decided to stop stalling. He descended the stairway to the ground. with Ervin beside him.

When he reached the gates, the guards waved him through. He strode down the hill, leading a small army of elite guards all wearing the latest and greatest in armor. The Rostovs didn't sense his approach or notice anything.

He hoped this would be easy. But the feeling of foreboding gripped him. 

At the bottom of the hill, he could smell the blood and see the spatter on the road to the villa. It was a winding, curvy road that would test the most skilled drivers, but fleet of foot vampires wouldn't even break a sweat. 

As he started toward the Rostovs, a familiar female figure blocked his path. Tall, pale, black-haired, wearing a ridiculous top hat, and regal-looking, she had a curvy figure and dressed in a dark red tunic with black silk pants and high-heeled boots. She exuded confidence, aristocratic power, and femininity.

She put up a hand. "Dimitri ... please. Can we talk?"

"Now is NOT the time, Irina," he growled.

His would-be fiancee's perfectly made up face drew taut with disapproval. "I wouldn't dismiss me so easily if I were you. My family are old friends of the Rostovs too."

His eyes narrowed. "Meaning?"

But he already knew what the manipulative little witch had in mind. She'd probably been on her way when she'd tried to contact him. And the rosters knew about his parents' wish to unite their two kingdoms.

He forced himself to call her bluff. "Never mind, I think I know. The answer is no. I'm not marrying you. I don't need you to call off your uncouth friends. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to kick the Rostovs out of my city."