It didn’t take me long to locate her in a city of more than one hundred and forty thousand souls.

I hadn’t asked for a forwarding address nor did I have any wish to remain in contact with her after our night of passion. That brief encounter had served its purpose and I had no further use for her now, but still I could not quell the overwhelming desire to have her one last time before she stepped out of my world and back into her own.

Mona Mayfair.

I had never been very adept at the use of these preternatural gifts, yet it was easy enough to scan the mortal minds around me and follow the thoughts of those who had caught sight of her that evening like a trail of breadcrumbs. She had been to the Musée du Ranquet and visited the crypt of the Black Virgin in the Romanesque basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Port, drinking down the rich history of this city to feed her insatiable thirst for knowledge. There was a clear image of her in the minds of those she had passed by... a pale faced goddess with emerald eyes and hair like flames. She had wandered through the Place de Jaude on her way back to the hotel, turning the heads of every man and woman who happened to be in the square at such a late hour.

Standing outside the door to her room, I couldn’t sense her presence within. Her mind was an impenetrable fortress, locked up tight to keep out those who might wish to steal her most intimate thoughts. No matter... with that powerful blood coursing through her veins she had probably sensed my presence well before I ever made it that close.

Like an invitation, the lock clicked and the door slowly opened before me. I stepped inside and watched in wonder as it swung closed once again and the lock slid into place... another trick of the mind that I could never hope to master myself. She emerged from the dimly lit bedroom wearing nothing but a green satin robe and a mischievous grin. Seductive to a fault... there was no question in my mind as to how she attracted so many suitors in her mortal life.

Without a moments hesitation I moved forward, crushing her against me with one arm around her slender waist. My cold lips met hers and I felt her body relax as she surrendered to me for a second time. Hearts pounded with a mutual desire as we tumbled onto the bed.... fingers tearing at fabric until there were no longer any barriers between us. As she lay breathless beneath me, I noticed that her skin was warm and plaint like that of a mortal woman and despite her immense power she felt so very fragile in my arms. Her moans as my fangs pierced the tender flesh just above her breast were like music to my ears.

Impossible to describe the taste of her blood. It was like sipping the sweet nectar of some forbidden fruit. Every drop scalded my tongue and made my entire body tingle as if electrified. Her pulse beat frantically beneath my lips and although I knew it wasn’t possible I wanted to hear it slow to that familiar rhythm. No matter how hard I drew the blood from her veins, I was denied the release I had come to expect with encounters of this nature.

She didn’t allow me to take much before the tables were turned and I found myself staring up at a pair of viridian eyes. Nails as sharp as daggers sliced through the flesh of my chest and a warm tongue lapped at the trails of blood that welled there. I was writhing in blissful torment by the time her teeth found my throat and I think I cried out her name when they finally broke the skin.

This was as close to heaven as an eternally damned soul would ever get. I was riding on a wave of elation and in that moment I would have given her anything she asked for, but I didn’t need to... she was taking exactly what she wanted. In fact, she was taking so much of my blood that I was beginning to feel light-headed and weak. I was lost in the moment, but somehow I found the strength to push her away. I felt her nestle close to me and the room spun around us as I slipped into oblivion.

When I woke the next evening the hotel room was empty and she was gone.

I left the building that night with a sense of diabolic triumph. I had accomplished what I set out to do and the upper hand was mine now. Round two was about to begin.