Free Fighting the Inevitable by J C Gordon

nature, and had brought a slow smile to his
face.
    It was a very considerate
thing to do. She wasn’t to know that no one within a hundred miles
would have dared to enter his mansion if the door had been
unlocked. Animals and humans alike could detect a dangerous
predator instantly. Even the mail carrier wouldn’t walk up his
drive, hence the reason for having a mailbox outside the main gates
as well as one in the actual door.
    What frustrated him so
much was that he didn’t even know her last name so he couldn’t look
her up to try to find her. He had gone back to Karpathia’s every
night hoping she would appear once more, but she hadn’t. It was as
if she had vanished completely.
    His restlessness was
starting to gnaw at him, and he was finding it increasingly
difficult to concentrate on everyday things like work. He knew he
was testing Demetri’s patience to the limits, but he couldn’t help
himself. He craved the little redhead so badly he hadn’t been with
another woman since their night together.
    Denying his physical
release also denied him the chance to feed from source. He was an
Ancient and the need to feed was not as essential for him. He could
go months without the hunger twisting his guts into knots, though
he didn’t usually leave it that long.
    There was no point in
deliberately torturing himself and, up until now, he had always had
a ready supply of willing women to enjoy. If his current dry spell
with women continued he would have no choice but to feed from his
private stock of chilled blood.
    Times had changed greatly
since the old days when the only way to satisfy his hunger was to
find a warm, lusty woman and drink from her as they indulged their
passion. Feeding from source was more recreational now than a
necessity for his kind. There were ample sources of blood available
from the blood banks run by his kind. Granted, chilled blood did
not taste nearly as intoxicating as the hot, sweet essence of a
woman in the throes of her passion but it satisfied the
hunger.
    He stifled down a sigh as
thoughts of feeding stirred his bloodlust, and drew his mind back
to the little redhead and how sweet she had tasted in his mouth. He
felt his body start to stir, and he smothered down a curse. He
couldn’t sit here any longer listening to the fat old man waffle
on. His annoyance was ratcheting up so quickly he might be tempted
to silence Belmont forever. “I’m sorry gentlemen, if you could
please excuse me. I’m not feeling too good.” His words were abrupt
as he rose quickly.
    He caught Demetri’s glare
as Arthur Belmont stuttered in surprise, but he ignored them both.
“Please, continue the meeting with Demetri. He has my complete
trust and is authorised to make all decisions on my
behalf.”
    He didn’t wait to see the
reaction. He strode determinedly out of the room and headed to his
office. He blocked Demetri from his head, not willing to listen to
his angry mutterings. It didn’t need both of them to attend the
meeting anyway. They’d already discussed and agreed on the proposal
prior to meeting with Belmont Industries. The finer points were
just a formality and his friend could deal with them.
    An hour later, a furious
Demetri crashed into his office, slamming the door hard behind him.
Caleb watched his friend with a slight smile tugging at his lips.
Demetri was impressive with his green eyes and midnight black hair,
but he was glorious when he was in a fury. He was like some
avenging angel spewing forth his wrath, and was he spewing right
now! Caleb tuned out most of his words letting him rant on until he
got his anger out of his system.
    “ Talk to me,
Caleb. Tell me what the fuck is going on with you right now because
I don’t have the first clue!”
    Demetri threw himself
into the chair in front of Caleb’s desk and yanked the leather
thong from his long hair so he could rake his hands through it. His
friend’s erratic behaviour was causing him serious concern. It was
so unlike