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The music boomed at a volume meant for a club twice the size of The Breakers. It rattled glasses on tables, the pictures on the walls and vibrated rhythmically through the chest of every person packed into the popular club.

Jason Morgan liked it. It reminded him of what it felt like to have a heartbeat.

The Breakers

He always imposed a limit based on the size and population of the city and when he reached it, he moved on. He never pressed his luck and he'd never come close to being caught.

As if they could catch him.

This club was much the same as every other one he'd been in. The décor and music was the only thing that varied. Here it was a brash industrial red and black design and mind numbingly loud neo-pop music.

Six feet of hard muscle wearing all black, Jason melted into the dark shadows in one corner of the club. There was little in the way of light but that didn't matter. He could see as easily in the pitch dark as he could in the middle of a sunlit afternoon. It was one of the perks of his condition.

His lip curled wryly as he snorted at that idea. Perks. As if there was anything positive about what he was.

Scowling, he scanned the crowd. It was always the same - a mass of heaving, churning bodies, all intent on attracting the attention of another human being. Little did one of them know what the consequences of those efforts would be this evening.

Jason could smell their blood, hot and metallic; hear it throb in their veins. His tongue ran along his teeth, pausing at his pointed canines as his gaze flicked from one person to the next.

He was thirsty.

Yet this hunt held no pleasure for him. It hadn't for a very long time. It had become monotonous. Routine. Over the years, across the centuries, it had become dull. The same smell, the same taste, only varying in nuances of flavor insignificant enough not to be noticed.

In the beginning, he nobly fed only on the criminal dregs of society, until it got to the point where it didn't really matter. Human life was short. What did it matter if he further shortened a few to sate his hunger? After all, he had seen thousands upon thousands of lives pass by, both powerful men and penniless beggars, all leaving the world much the same as it was when they entered it.

What did one human life mean in the grand scope of things?

The throbbing music died and there was in instant of silence before the next song started. The group of bodies crammed onto the dance floor barely paused during the change.

Jason sighed, his eyes hooded as he stared across the room. He chided himself. He was being too melancholy; he should just pick someone and get it over with.

Then he smelled something unusual.

It brought him upright and his arms, which had been lazily crossed over his chest, dropped to his side.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. This was something new. The scent filling his senses had hints of floral, sweetness, and spices that mingled and blended with the heavy metallic odor of blood, creating a tantalizing bouquet that drew him forward like a magnet drawing steel. It was as if a banquet had been presented to him; succulent roast, brazed potatoes with onions, fresh baked bread, and mouth-watering warm cinnamon apple pie served in a garden blooming with flowers.

He'd never smelled anything more delicious.

In all his years, of which there were many, he'd never experienced anything like this. He wanted, no, he needed to know who made that scent.

As he eased through the crowd, people unconsciously moved out of his way, unaware that they'd stepped aside to let someone pass. Jason's eyes roamed over men and women as he went. The scent teased him, leading him past dozens of people who by comparison smelled as insignificant as shadows.

Then as he stepped off the dancer floor he saw four women just sitting down at a table by the wall. Shrugging out of coats and laughing among themselves, Jason watched them curiously as he slowly closed the distance between them.

He could easily hear their conversation over the music even though they had to shout at each other to be heard.

He heard their names; Robin, Lainey, Kelly and… His eyes widened as they locked on the fourth woman.

She was the one.

Petite and slim, she had a cascade of mahogany curls spilling past her shoulders and ivory skin so smooth and flawless Jason wanted to trail his fingers over her cheek to see if it felt as soft as it looked. Her heart-shaped face framed brilliant royal blue eyes and lips that were full and plump and begged to be kissed.

Very human feelings churned through him - desire, lust, need. They shocked him. He couldn't remember when he'd felt any remnants of his long dead human emotions. It was as thrilling as it was unexpected.

Then one of the women said her name and Jason smiled a predatory smile.

"Elizabeth." He murmured her name.

There was no way she could have heard him across the distance and over the music and the crowd, but she turned and looked curiously in his direction as if she had.

And he knew.

She would be his.

~*~*~*~

Elizabeth didn't normally do the club scene, but tonight she and her friends had finished the last of their nursing exams and decided a celebration was in order.

Kelly was ordering them a round of tequila shooters before Elizabeth even settled into her chair. The club was loud, packed and she'd had to shout in Robin's ear to be heard.

She was already having a blast.

Then amid the noise and confusion she thought she heard someone whisper her name. The voice was rich, sensual, and masculine, and floated through her hearing like a feather brushing against her skin. She turned to see who might have said it but no one was close and with a shrug of her shoulders, she convinced herself she imagined it.

Turning back to her friends, she had a prickly, hair-standing-up-on-the-back-of-her-neck feeling that she was being watched. Which, she told herself as she dismissed the feeling offhand, was perfectly normal. She was in a bar after all; of course she was being watched.

Elizabeth didn't even try to keep up with her friends. After two tequila shooters, she began passing on the drinks. She knew her limits and wanted to stay well within them. The last thing she wanted was to meet a decent guy and wind up puking on his shoes. Or else meet a jerk and wind up taking him home for the night. The odds, she decided after scanning the crowd, were more in favor of the jerk.

A group of guys sauntered over to their table, and Kelly and Robin, who were both well on their way to drunk, immediately snapped up two of them and dragged them off to the dance floor. One guy, tall, short dark hair and broad shoulders, reached for her hand. With a smile and jerk of his head, he indicated to the dance floor and Elizabeth gamely followed along behind him.

He was cute enough, but as they began dancing Elizabeth found herself busy fending off his roving hands.

He leaned in close to speak directly into her ear.

"What's your name?"

"Elizabeth." She yelled.

"I'm Lucky."

Elizabeth's eyebrow rose. He saw it and gave her a suggestive return flick of his eyebrows. "Maybe you'd like to get Lucky tonight."

She groaned. Just what she didn't need - an obnoxious, arrogant, self-absorbed man trying to woo her into spending the night with him. She lifted his hand from where it was sneaking around to grab her butt and then tried unsuccessfully to put some space between them.

There were simply too many people crammed on the dance floor for her to easily get away. Then Lucky's attention was drawn to a raven-haired woman next to him who seemed to be shaking her well-displayed cleavage at him. The woman smiled brazenly at him and he winked at her, and Elizabeth had had enough.

Forcing herself between dancers, she made her way back to her table. She doubted Lucky even noticed she'd left now that Miss 'Check-Out-My-Assets' was vying for his attention. Let her have him.

Once back at the table she found herself alone. Even uptight Lainey was out on the dance floor. Elizabeth spied her practically pouring herself over some good-looking, dark haired, Cuban-looking man.

So she settled in at the table and determined to be more discerning about her dancing partners for the rest of the night. Being groped by a stranger was not what she'd had in mind for the evening.

A waiter stopped by and she ordered a glass of the house white wine. Then as she propped her chin in her hand to watch the crowd, that prickly feeling of being watched washed over her again.

Perking up she scanned the room, trying to peer into the dark recesses and corners.

Then suddenly she saw him.

A few tables away, standing in the shadows along the wall, a man was watching her.

Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat. He was handsome. Beyond handsome, he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. He was tall, broad shouldered and broad chested in a way that implied his black shirt hid finely toned muscles. His hair was sandy brown and fell loosely around a face that was pale but sculpted with high cheekbones and a chiseled jaw.

But it was his eyes that held her attention and wouldn't let go. The palest blue rimmed in black, they looked at her with such intensity she could almost feel their gaze like a physical touch. She felt naked under that stare, as if her very soul were laid bare for him to see.

Elizabeth's hands tightened on the edge of the table as some primal animalistic hunger flooded her senses. She wanted him, and she didn't know how she knew with such certainty, but she had no doubt that sex with him would be the best she'd ever had.

Then a group of women passed between them and once they'd moved away, he was gone.

Elizabeth blinked, breathless and uncertain of what had just happened. She'd never had such a visceral reaction to a man before and even now she was trying to convince herself that what she'd felt hadn't really happened, couldn't really have happened.

Robin returned to the table with the same man she'd left with earlier. They were wrapped in each other's arms and smiling broadly.

Elizabeth felt slightly nauseous. She'd agreed to a night of fun, but what had just happened was far too bizarre and cast an unhealthy pallor over the evening. Suddenly all she wanted was to be in the safety of her small studio apartment, settled in on the couch and watching old movies on the TCM channel.

It took several attempts to explain to Robin that she was leaving because she wasn't feeling well and with one last nervous look around the bar for the mysterious man, she left.

The chill air outside was a refreshing change from the heat of the club. It cleared her head and made her feel almost normal. Looking for a cab and not seeing one, Elizabeth decided to walk to the corner to check the side streets.

She was so caught up with what had happened in the bar she didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind her. So when the hand clamped over her mouth she didn't get a chance to scream before she was pulled into the alleyway.

~*~*~

Jason growled low in his throat. He'd been watching Elizabeth at the table drinking and laughing with her friends and had seen the group of guys approach them. Young and conceited, Jason recognized them as the type who fell prey upon every new face that entered their domain.

The one who targeted Elizabeth was particularly self-absorbed and as Jason watched them dance, his anger flared.

The Cretan couldn't keep his hands off her and although Jason knew the dangers of causing a scene in such a public place, his hands itched to beat the life out of the man. He clenched his teeth and rumbled fury deep in his chest, fighting to retain his self-control.

Then Elizabeth slipped away from him with a clear look of annoyance on her face and Jason's mouth quirked into a half-grin. She obviously was a smart woman.

Once she was alone at her table, Jason took advantage of the moment and murmured her name again.

"Elizabeth."

And this time when she looked, he let her see him.

Their eyes locked and that initial spark of awareness that shot between them immediately combusted.

Jason could smell her scent deepening, becoming thicker and richer as she responded to him. It was heady, intoxicating, and he wanted to drink deeply of her to see if she tasted as amazing as she smelled.

He watched her eyes dilate and heard her heart quicken, and strangely, felt himself relaxing as he gazed at her. A long lost, very human emotion struggled awake within him and he frowned as he tried to recognize it.

When he did, it shocked him thoroughly enough to make him break their connection and retreat back into the shadows.

He was attracted to her.

Human emotions, hard and brittle from disuse, breathed a dusty gasp of life. The faintest flicker of hope felt like a beacon shining a spotlight into the bleakness of his soul. Facets of feelings that he had only the barest memory of played their hues through his mind and he could do nothing but gape at the unrecognizable prisms they cast.

It was the most human he'd felt since…

Jason didn't get to complete the thought. Elizabeth had gathered her things and was leaving the club.

He followed, silent as a cat on the prowl. Once on the street he hung back in the doorway as she paused, then turned and headed down the sidewalk.

For the first time in ages Jason was unsure of himself. This woman was like nothing he had ever encountered before. Her scent alone drove him to distraction. It made him crave her, ache to taste her. Yet, she also made him feel like the man he had once been, and that man desired her as well.

Long ago he had forced himself to abandon his humanity as irretrievably lost, something gone forever. He had mourned its loss and then become hardened to it. Now with just a glance this woman had given him a taste of that gentler time, that innocence lost. It made him wonder how he would feel if he let her close.

The monster he was warred against the desires of the man he used to be. Take her. Suck her dry. Drain the life from her and relish her sweetness, as you may never find it again.

The muscles in Jason's jaw clenched as he fought to control his predator's instincts.

Then as Elizabeth was walking past an alleyway, a figure darted out, grabbed her and dragged her into its darkness.

Launching himself forward, Jason moved at a speed beyond human ability and in a heartbeat, he was flinging himself around the corner and into the alley. His gaze swung from one side of the alley to the other and he spotted the tops of their heads on the far side of a dumpster. In two steps he was close enough to grab the dumpster with one hand and with a screech of metal he yanked it aside.

A man, heavily tattooed across his neck and arms, was holding a blade to Elizabeth's throat as he held her pressed against the wall with his body, but the screech of metal and the disappearance of his cover made him jump.

With a snarl, Jason leapt forward and ripped him away from Elizabeth. The man tried to stab Jason with his knife but he didn't come close. Jason swung him around and smashed him headfirst into the unforgiving metal of the dumpster. Then with a flick of his wrists, he sent the limp body up and over its side and in with the rest of the trash.

It was over in less than ten seconds and Jason hadn't even broken a sweat. He did however, pause and force himself to still the blood lust aroused in him by the fight.

With his jaw clenched firmly shut, Jason turned to Elizabeth and the sight of her trembling hands, quivering chin, and the tears trailing down her cheeks sparked a glimmer of compassion in him. It was as if an explosion had gone off in his chest and sent ripples of emotion echoing through him.

She was focused on the dumpster, her hands moving up to cover her mouth as a strangled sob escaped her lips. Then she turned to him, her gaze meeting his, and he was jolted by the luminous blue of her eyes. Even wide with fear and shock, those eyes held him as surely as iron chains and he was unable to look away.

Elizabeth's chin wobbled and she seemed to struggle to say something. Then with another sob, she gave up and let herself fall forward into Jason. She wrapped her arms around him, buried her face in his chest and cried.

Jason stood arms tense at his sides, not ready for this test. Here in his arms her scent was nearly overpowering. He breathed her in and the smell of her blood surging beneath her skin broke him.

Teeth bared, he threw himself away from her and got a quick look at the startled expression on her face. Then he ran.

A moment later, he was crouched on the roof of a building across the street, watching Elizabeth as she stumbled out of the alley. Even here he could smell her and his need for her swirled through him like a drug. Tensing, he forced himself into absolute stillness.

A growl rumbled through his chest like a solid thing, the sound of a chained animal snarling its rage and frustration at being denied its heart's desire.

He watched her as she turned and ran back toward the club. He did not follow. He could not follow her now. She would not be safe if he did.

He'd thought his resurrected shreds of humanity could control the monster in him. He'd been wrong.

He was weak.

He should leave. Run to the other side of the world. But he knew it would be a futile gesture. The moment he'd scented Elizabeth their destinies had become irrevocably intertwined. As long as she was alive in this world, she would haunt him. How long would it be before he succumbed and came back to find her?

Elizabeth threw the door of the club open and flung herself inside. There was a twist in his chest almost as if his heart fluttered.

Could he contain the predator in him and be with her as his humanity desired? Or would he someday in a moment of weakness, end her life?

It was only a handful of minutes before he heard the sirens. Police arrived at the club and amid the flashing red and blue lights he saw them go inside and return flanking Elizabeth. Someone had thrown a jacket over her and several officers escorted her to the alley. She was pointing, explaining what had happened. The dumpster was searched, the body removed.

Elizabeth was shepherded back to a police car where another officer handed her a cup of coffee. Jason watched it all crouched unmoving on the roof.

Now she was alone, trying to pull the jacket tightly around her with one hand while holding the coffee with the other. Even half a block away he could catch a whiff of her scent. He sucked air in through his teeth and then murmured her name.

"Elizabeth."

She turned and lifted her head to look directly at him. His mouth curled upward at one corner in a grin as he ran his tongue over his teeth.

It seemed that he had made his choice.