Miss Austen's Vampire Read Online Free Page A

in the presence of a gentleman. Having a sister, he knew that young women were taught to hide their intelligence, to be demure and simple in front of men, so as to inflate the men’s self-worth and make themselves more attractive. Not so with Miss Austen. Her writing proved her to be one of the cleverest women in the nation, and as he had seen this evening, she was not afraid to show that intelligence in person.
    Her intelligence. And the way she bit her lower lip. Beguiling. Arousing.
    Flirting through the rest of the dinner brought Gabriel more human pleasure than he had enjoyed since his turning. By the time dessert was finished he was fully entranced by the lovely Miss Austen, and was fairly certain she felt something for him as well. That nothing could happen between him and the famous authoress was a given, though he found himself wishing fervently that he was still human. However, the hours of pleasant flirtations had left him with a growing appetite, for both blood and a willing, or unwilling in a pinch, sexual partner. Before he could unwittingly do anything to harm Miss Austen he needed to get out of the room. Then he could turn his attentions to finding what he required.
    Gabriel excused himself from the table, telling the ladies on either side of him that he would return shortly. His situation was turning desperate and he feared he could make a foolish error of judgment when so needy.
    As he ran through various scenarios in his mind he realized his options were limited. Quite limited. After leaving the dining room, he quickly headed below stairs, to the kitchens.
    The last of the dinner menu having been served, the men and women who worked the kitchen were busy cleaning and washing. Between the sounds of the clanking dishes and glassware and the boisterous conversations of people nearing the end of a long day of work, Gabriel didn’t need to be careful to stay quiet as he stepped into a far corner of the room. His eyes quickly took in his choices. Several of the young women were attractive, in a wholesome, below-stairs way. They wouldn’t do. Such women were accustomed to attention and would make a fuss should he suddenly show interest. In a corner near him two young women scraped plates into the bins. They were undoubtedly the lowest on the ladder of kitchen workers and by far the youngest. Neither could be more than eighteen years of age. And even better, they were exceptionally plain. Either would do nicely.
    Making sure no one saw or heard him, Gabriel sidled up to the one closest to him, grasped her hand, and tugged. “Come along with me, sweetheart.”
    The girl seemed to be stunned and thrilled to be singled out by someone of his rank. She happily followed him along until they came to a long-forgotten storage room.
    Gabriel led her into the dark room, closed the door behind him, undid his breeches, slid the girl’s skirts up, and thrust into her depths. His deep plunges elicited cries from the girl, more from pain than pleasure, but when his teeth sank into the soft flesh of her throat she went silent. Her warm, coppery blood flowed down his throat, spurring on his sexual activity all the more. Normally at this point whatever woman he was with began singing his praises as his bite released a special chemical that heightened her sexual response. But this poor girl wasn’t going to have a chance to enjoy that vampiric gift as he’d drained her too quickly.
    She went limp as unconsciousness overtook her, but Gabriel didn’t stop drinking or thrusting. Visions of Miss Austen danced through his imagination with each thrust, each swallow. To be able to make love to her, to taste her blood, that would be heaven. The thought brought him to a thunderous climax, and with the last orgasmic thrusts he swallowed the girl’s last drops of blood. Releasing her, he let her body fall to the floor. He stared at the lifeless body and uttered a curse. How had he allowed himself to do this? He hadn’t killed a woman in