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Most humans bored her after a night, a week, a year, a decade. What was time to her? Sometimes she envied humans their ridiculously short life spans. To concentrate the sum total of one's existence into such a fleeting moment! Never to face the yawning emptiness of centuries alone.

For she was doomed to be alone. How could it be otherwise? The men, even those who managed to capture her attention for any length of time, would soon grow old and wither while she remained in the perennial bloom of youth. Sometimes she longed for one of her own kind to love. Another vampire with whom she could finally find peace-no longer seeking that next adventure of experience to stave off her despair.

Yet she had been totally unprepared for Daniel. Daniel O'Shay, his scent like the sweetest aphrodisiac. Even now she remembered that first encounter. She had smelled his scent before she saw him. Vampire! She knew even as she reveled in that alluring aroma she must shield herself-shut him out before he discovered her. One never knew where the Elders were hiding, or to whom they were connected. She couldn't risk it.

Yet something stayed her caution. Against all better judgment she left herself vulnerable to discovery as his presence drew her like a puppet on a string. She pushed her way through the throngs milling on the packed dirt, baskets over their arms, haggling over the price of fruits and vegetables. His scent pulled her past the stalls piled high with bundles of fresh carrots, turnips, lettuce, cabbage, radishes and onions, next to a table piled high with scones, cakes, biscuits, jam and farmhouse cheeses.

She'd come to Ireland on a whim, having tired of the continent with its pretensions and high society. She liked the hustle and bustle of this vibrant little market town, with ruddy-faced children in bare feet running and laughing between the crowded stalls and women haggling with the stall owners for the price of their wares. The noise and even the stink of horse manure seemed refreshing after the stilted manners and stylized finery of waning European court life.

It was unusual to find a vampire out and about on a sunny morning, but something in the fresh air that day had called to her, beckoning her like some ancient memory. Adrienne covered her head with a large scarf that also shielded her face though at that early hour the sun was still weak, just pushing itself up over the edge of the world.

If she hadn't ventured out that morning, would she have missed him altogether? Have never known the potential for love that was in his eyes the moment she first saw him? She certainly hadn't expected to encounter any of her own kind there. Vampires, with their vast wealth, tended to mingle on a higher level of society.

Following some primal urge, swiftly she moved toward the presence, all caution thrown to the wind. When she laid eyes on him, there was no mistaking his nature. The man was taller than those around him, his vampire essence whispering to her, though the humans were unaware of the siren's call. She could feel his vibrancy. No hat on his head, oblivious of the sun now bursting through pink clouds, he was scoping the market, looking for a new conquest, some sweet wench to slake his thirst.

When he turned toward her, she actually felt a clutch in her heart, as if someone had reached in, grabbed that vital organ and squeezed. That red-gold hair, those slanted green eyes, the white even teeth showing as he smiled toward her. He had caught her eye for just a moment when something extraordinary happened.

His scent evaporated and the allure of his charms suddenly seemed little more than a dream. The grip on her heart eased and now he looked like a merely handsome mortal man, tall and strong, if a trifle pale. With a start, she realized what had happened. The man had cloaked his vampire presence from her! She was so startled she actually approached him, her face questioning.

"Good day, lady," he said as she came near. His Irish brogue was charming. He was brave, braver than she-when she saw another vampire she melted away into shadows. But perhaps he had nothing to hide? Perhaps he had simply mastered the art of cloaking without the attendant desperation born from fear of discovery.

"Why, sir, you are not what you seem to be. Or should I say, you are what you don't seem to be. You practice an art I was foolish enough to think only I possessed."

"Indeed, yet you don't practice it now, I see. I sensed you a mile away and called you to me. What art is there in that?"

Piqued, she cloaked herself finally, causing the man to raise his eyebrow quizzically. His grin widened and he bowed low. "Allow me to introduce myself. Daniel O'Shay, at your service."

He'd taken her away from the little farmers' market in a horse-drawn carriage, traveling up into the hills to a secluded brick house with a thatched roof. They'd fallen in bed together and made love for two days, resting only when sheer fatigue made them collapse in each other's arms.

They became inseparable, feeding together, living together, soon sharing the sacred blood. It had been so long, this most intimate of sharing with another mature, strong vampire. Adrienne found herself famished for the man, insatiable.

That first vampire kiss-she touched her neck, remembering the sharp bite at her white throat, the throat she'd bared for him with a submission that was rare for her. She'd let him suckle first, feeling herself grow weak as he took his pleasure, filling himself with her ripe and perfect blood. Unlike humans rendered unconscious by the vampire's kiss, vampires remained awake and aware during the exchange, though in an altered state bordering on the sublime.

Each time they'd shared the sacred blood Adrienne had felt the power anew. The rapturous exchange seemed to send them together into a mystic trance where they hovered together at heaven's gates. Yet it was a dangerous rapture, as one could fall into a state beyond reason or self-control. That first time they had not discussed what was to transpire, not voiced their mutual desire, but they did not have to.

Instead, his green eyes locked on hers, Daniel had licked along the luscious line of her full breasts, slowly drawing his tongue up her collarbone to the jugular at her neck. She had felt his canines distend, the little points touching but not yet breaking her skin.

Adrienne had moaned as the sharp prick of his teeth punctured the delicate flesh. A vampire's bite didn't hurt the way a human's teeth would. When the vampire canines punctured the skin, a serum was released that numbed the area and the bite was so sharp there was no ragged tearing of flesh. With a scalpel's precision, Daniel had pierced his lover, feeling her perfect blood surge against his lips and tongue. Greedily he had sucked as her head fell back further, her eyes closed, her expression slack. When he had finally pulled away, the puncture wounds looked like little red dots drawn with a marker-the coagulative properties of the vampire's serum already at work.

Slowly she had lifted her head, her eyes opening. She saw her lover through a haze of delirium. His eyes were bright with lust and the power of her blood coursing through him. She felt his lust, his desire to take her then and there, without offering his blood in return to complete the circle.

Instead, he bent over her round breasts, biting each cherry nipple, licking along the smooth flesh, taking his pleasure as she lay weakened and entranced, truly at his mercy. He could have killed her then-another piercing, another long drink at her fountain of sacred blood might have been too much for the woman to bear. Yet he had not pressed his advantage.

Overcoming his own greed, he had lain next to her, baring his own throat for his lover. She was awake but weakened by the loss of blood. Gently Daniel had pressed her head toward his own throat, until her mouth touched his warm skin. Like a baby offered a milky teat, she hadn't needed further coaxing.

Even now she remembered that first gush, filling her mouth too quickly until she adjusted to the flow and began sucking in a slow, steady pulse. As she felt the elixir surge through her, Daniel had pulled her up and over onto him, sliding his large rock-hard cock into her heated wetness, forcing a muffled moan from her blood-filled mouth. He had pulled and pushed her against himself, increasing the lovely friction, using her like some kind of rag doll.

Soon though, she was moving of her own accord, her mouth still locked at his throat, her body riding his cock to almost unbearable pleasure. Just as he was about to orgasm, Daniel had done something dangerous. Even while she was still taking his blood, he had pulled her down so her neck was bared for him and bit.

Because they were both locked in a vampire's kiss, there was no one to exercise reason or restraint. The weaker of the two could have ended up dead, drained by a lover whose reason had vanished with passion. They were both skilled at the exchange, however, and their love had outweighed their greed.

The simultaneous sharing of the sacred blood, coupled with their fevered lovemaking, was enough to send them both over the edge, crying out their mutual passion as they orgasmed together, their mouths still against each other's throats, their bodies singing with the power of the blood exchange.

Just before he lost consciousness, Daniel had released his canine grip from his lover and forced her to do the same. Her head had fallen back, her eyes shut, her cheeks flushed with blood and passion. She had felt him wrap his strong arms around her, the vision of his handsome face following her into her dreams.

Adrienne sighed, remembering that perfect first union. Through the years they'd danced on the edge of death many a time, sharing the blood too often and too deeply. Neither seemed to have the balance of mind to pull the other back. They were like addicts, sharing the sacred blood even when they were weak, having stayed too long away from humans in their own passion for one another. For while sacred blood exalted, creating a euphoria much like a drug-high for humans, however, it did not sustain. Only human blood could ultimately keep a vampire alive.

Adrienne touched her mouth, feeling the bruise of memory. When they'd made love her entire body would become so sensitized, so plundered, she felt like an overripe plum, its juices spilling from rent flesh. Daniel had been the only man, mortal or vampire, who could vanquish Adrienne, leaving her spent and crushed on the pillows like some broken thing, her head lolling, her milky skin covered in a sheen of sweat, her sensuous red mouth slack.

She found herself changed when she was with Daniel, a change that frightened her and yet made her feel more alive than at any time in her long, long life. She was used to being the beloved, the one adored and longed for, dispensing her favors and eventually leaving her lovers with tattered hearts and bloody dreams. Yet now she found herself obsessed with a vampire. She wanted to cling to him-to somehow take him into herself and keep him always as her own.