One hour. Marina looked at her watch again to be sure of the time. She'd sat in her car, unmoving, for one hour.

Huge boulders covered both lanes of the narrow road. A highway crew worked with shovels and large machinery to move the boulders, but it had soon become apparent that it would take more than a few minutes to clear the road. She'd turned off her car's engine after ten minutes to conserve gas. Now cold, hungry, and in need of a bathroom, she cursed her sister for insisting Marina visit instead of the other way around. Marina and Ginger could be dining on fresh seafood on the San Francisco waterfront right now. No, Ginger had wanted Marina to come to her place north of Pollock Pines. "What's Christmas without snow?" Ginger had said Sunday when she'd called Marina.

Ginger could have the snow. Marina would be satisfied to never see the white stuff for the rest of her life.

She'd caved in to her older sister's request, as usual. So here she sat, five days before Christmas, waiting for the road to be cleared so she could continue up the mountain. A snowstorm was due before nightfall, a doozy according to the weather reports. Marina did not want to be stuck on this road when it started snowing. After living in San Francisco most of her adult life, she could navigate the rain-slick, hilly roads with no problem. Icy or snowy roads were another matter.

The dusting of snowflakes on her windshield made the decision for her. She had to leave. Now.

There were five cars between her and the rock slide. She couldn't tell how many were behind her, but she couldn't see an end to the line in her rearview mirror. She thought she saw a side road about six cars back. Where it led, she had no idea. But perhaps she could take it and come out on this road past the slide.

Marina always left plenty of room between her and the car in front of her when she stopped. She hated breathing the fumes from exhaust pipes. She cranked the steering wheel hard to the left, backed up, then cranked again. Once more and she headed the opposite direction from the line of cars.

A sports car and pickup parted, leaving her enough room to turn on the side road. She waved her thanks and started up the narrow, crooked road.

The snow fell harder, the flakes getting bigger the farther she climbed. Marina began to wonder if this was a good idea after all. She had no idea where this road went. There were no markings, no signs to indicate the name of the road or distances to towns. She could be driving toward a dead end, or toward the edge of a cliff.

Not exactly a pleasant thought.

She touched her brake pedal when she came to the fork. Marina blew out a breath as she contemplated left or right. Left would be logical since that would take her in the direction of the main road. At least, she thought it would. She'd taken so many twists and turns, she wasn't sure which way was which.

Left, definitely.

That decision made, Marina continued on her journey. The road became narrower, the trees thicker, the snow heavier. She couldn't see farther than a few feet in front of her car.

Okay, this is stupid. You have no idea where you are or where you're going. Call someone for help.

Calling someone would be easier if she had a signal on her cell phone. There wasn't even the tiniest bit of a bar on the display.

"Shit," Marina muttered.

She'd seen no signs of life, no cute winter cabins tucked into the snow-covered trees. Surely someone lived on this road who could help her. She couldn't imagine why there would be a road--even a narrow, unpaved one--unless someone lived nearby.

Turning around was out of the question on the one-lane road. She had no choice but to keep driving.

* * * * *

Tain raised his sword and easily blocked Deon's parry. "Ha! Thought you had me that time."

"I'm only playing with you."

"Playing, hell." Lowering his sword again, he stopped Deon's thrust. A hard push on Deon's sword with his own and his assistant stumbled back two steps. "How's that for playing?"

"Good move, Tain."

"Well, I've had a few more years of practice than you."

Another lunge, another parry. Tain spun and advanced on Deon. He welcomed the physical activity, the perspiration covering his body, the rapid beat of his heart. He felt alive when he held his sword, when he heard the clang of metal against metal.

Deon had always been a worthy opponent, one who never gave up despite losing most of the time. Today would be no exception. Tain lifted his sword with both hands, determined to win this round.

A fast turn of Deon's body, a quick twist of his wrists, and Tain's sword clattered to the floor.

Deon removed his mask. "You're off today, Tain."

Tain looked at his sword lying on the ceramic floor. He wasn't sure how his assistant had managed to flip it right out of his hands. "Apparently."

"You need to feed."

"I'm all right."

"Don't try to bullshit me." He gestured at Tain's sword. "I can't do that when you're one hundred percent. You haven't fed in almost two weeks. That's crazy."

Tain dropped his mask on the floor by his sword. He opened the refrigerator next to the bar and tossed Deon a bottle of water. "I can go weeks without feeding. You know that."

"But you don't have to. You can go into town and have a woman any time you want to. Why do you make yourself wait so long?"

Tain removed a bottle of water for himself. Twisting off the cap, he emptied half the bottle with one drink. "I get tired of it, Deon. The games, the coy looks, women pretending they don't want me when I can smell their desire from twenty feet away." Crossing to the sectional couch, he sank down in a corner of the soft leather. "I make her come and draw strength from her orgasm. But I wish there could be more."

Deon sat on the opposite end of the couch. "You've been looking for a mate for a long time with no luck."

Tain sighed heavily. "A woman with the Basharr gene is so rare. I've searched for centuries. I could search for another century and not find her."

"You aren't giving up."

"No, I will never give up, but I have to be realistic. I've been alone for eight hundred years. The odds are high that I'll continue to be alone."

"Hey, you have me," Deon said with a grin.

Tain chuckled. "I appreciate that, my friend, but you don't have the curves I enjoy so much. There are gay vampires in my family. I'm not one of them."

"Don't knock it until you try it, Tain."

"I have tried it. I prefer the curves." He drained the rest of his water. "So, shall we go again, or should we get back to work?"

A buzzer sounded. Deon frowned. "That's the front gate alarm. Someone's there."

"Who would be here in this snowstorm? Are you expecting a delivery?"

"Not today."

Deon rose and crossed to his desk. Tain followed and watched his assistant punch on a variety of keys on his computer to bring up the gate's camera. A small silver car came into view. Deon adjusted the angle of the camera, zooming in on the driver. A young woman wearing a burgundy stocking cap sat behind the wheel.

Tain's incisors began to ache.

"Well, this is convenient," Deon said. "There she is, ripe for the picking."

"She's obviously lost."

"Lucky for you."

"Deon, I will not take advantage of a woman in trouble."

"You won't be taking advantage of her. One look in your eyes and she'll be putty."

"I don't--"

"Tain, you need to feed. You know that as well as I do. It certainly won't hurt her to have four or five orgasms. She'll probably thank you."

"She won't remember. They never remember."

"Then there's no harm. We'll help her, of course, but she can help you while she's here."

* * * * *

Marina saw the camera shift, so knew someone watched her. She tried to keep her expression neutral. She didn't want anyone to know she was terrified. Alone, lost in a snowstorm, no telephone. She could almost hear the eerie music, the song that played right before the killer jumped out of the bushes with an ax. Or a chainsaw.

She shivered.

"May I help you?" a deep male voice asked.

Marina leaned out her window. Despite not knowing who that voice belonged to, she had no choice but to ask for help. "Yes, please. I took a wrong turn. There's no signal on my cell. May I use your phone?"

"Of course. Please follow the drive to the house."

The gate with the large "R" in the middle swung open. Tall pine trees lined the drive on both sides. Marina inched forward in the deepening snow. She assumed a house would appear eventually, although she saw no indication that anything existed beyond the gate.

Marina had always believed the majority of people were good, that they would help someone if they could. She hoped her belief held up and she wasn't heading toward a house of flesh-eating weirdoes.

The drive arced to the right. Marina took the curve, and gasped. A huge house came into her sight. Two stories and made of stone, the Victorian mansion looked like something from a Gothic novel. It was hard to tell through the falling snow and deepening dusk, but it appeared that the house was built into the side of the rock hillside.

Ancient architecture had always fascinated her. She'd promised herself someday she'd go to Europe so she could drool over all the centuries-old buildings.

Marina stopped her car at the bottom of the steps leading up to the double front doors. She turned off the motor and took a deep breath. Time to meet the flesh-eating weirdoes.

The door opened as she was about to press the doorbell. A man stood in the doorway.

Marina gulped.

An inch or two over six feet and dressed all in black. His long black hair touched his shoulders. Piercing blue eyes peered at her from beneath black eyebrows. A hint of stubble covered his cheeks and jaw. His shirt stretched over broad shoulders, tight pants cupped his penis.

Dayum. Nice package.

He opened the door wider. "Come in, please."

Marina jerked her attention back to his face when he spoke to her. Heat rushed to her cheeks when she realized she'd been staring at his fly as if she'd never seen what lay hidden behind the zipper.

Well, it had been a while...

She stepped into the foyer and he closed the door behind her. "I'm Tain Remington. How can I help you, Ms...."

"Black. Marina Black. I'd appreciate it if I could use your phone."

"Of course. Follow me."

He turned left and led her into a large room. An L-shaped mahogany desk dominated one corner. A leather sectional, tables and lamps made a comfortable seating area in another corner. A rock fireplace covered one wall, an entertainment center the other. Marina didn't know whether to call it an office or den.

"My assistant's hideout," Tain said, his eyes crinkling at the corner. "He spends a lot of time in here, so I want him to be comfortable." He gestured toward the desk. "Help yourself to the phone. Would you like coffee or perhaps hot tea?"

"I'd love a cup of tea."

"Hot tea it is." He smiled. "Take your time."

He closed the door behind him. Marina's knees grew weak. She flopped down in the chair behind the desk before they gave out on her. It'd been months since she and her boyfriend broke up, but that didn't explain the breathless feeling, the heavy thudding of her heart. Tain Remington was a handsome man. That shouldn't matter. Handsome men flitted in and out of her boss's office every day. None of them made her clit throb, her nipples peak.

She didn't think any man had ever affected her so strongly, so quickly.

Marina picked up the telephone receiver. Four rings later, her sister answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, it's me."

"Marina! Where are you? You should've been here by now. I've called your cell half a dozen times."

"There was a rock slide on the highway. I thought I'd be smart and take another road, only I got lost."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I finally found a house. The owner let me come in so I could call you." She looked around the room, noting the beamed ceilings and ceramic floor. "More like a mansion, actually. This place has to be five thousand square feet."

"Where are you?"

Marina slipped out of her coat and pulled off her stocking cap. She fluffed her short hair with her fingers. She could only imagine how mussed it must look. Making a fashion statement hadn't been on her list of priorities when she dressed this morning. "I have no idea, but I don't think I can leave." She looked out the window. The snow fell steadily in big fluffy flakes. "The snow is too heavy."

"What are you going to do?"

"Ask Tain if I can spend the night. I don't have another choice."

"Tain?"

"The owner. Tain Remington. He seems very nice."

"So do serial killers!"

"Ginger--"

"You can't stay there with a strange man!"

"I don't know what else I can do, sis. I can't snap my fingers and magically transport myself to your house. I can't call a cab. I doubt if a bus comes by Tain's house."

Ginger remained silent for several seconds. "Is anyone else there?"

"He said he has an assistant."

"Male or female?"

"Um, he said 'he', so I'm assuming male."

"Great. Two strange men you know nothing about."

"Look, he really does seem nice. I don't think I have anything to worry about." Other than my randy hormones.

"Promise me something," Ginger said.

"Sure."

"You find the biggest knife in the kitchen and take it to bed with you. All right?"

She'd promise her sister anything if it would put Ginger's fears to rest. "All right."

"Call me every hour."

Marina sighed. "Ginger."

"Okay, you don't have to call me every hour. But at least once more tonight and in the morning."

"That I can do. I'll talk to you later."

a