This is my first FanFic, so feedback and suggestions are welcomed. Please no Flames!
I do not own Moonlight or it's characters, especially Josef, too bad! My Character,Conor, is very loosely based on Gerard Butler's character Dracula ( just appearance, and the fact he's a vampire) I make no money off of this, just for pleasure only.
Chapter One: You Found Me Rated PG-13
Marie slowly attempted to reach up to the door knob, her dislocated shoulder was screaming out in pain. She was lying on the floor with her other arm tucked underneath her body where she had lain for close to 3 hours. It was numb, asleep and useless. She had dared not moved until David had fallen asleep, or passed out in a drunken stupor. Her right eye was also throbbing and partially closed from where David's closed fist had connected with her face only hours ago. She could still feel the blood trickling down her cheek. It was time to get out. Despite the threats to kill her if she left, which she knew he would make good on, it was time to take her friend Ariel up on her offer.
Marie had finally gotten out of the bedroom, her good arm coming back to life. She quietly grabbed her purse, cell phone, and the hidden business card taped to the underside of the bathroom sink. She quietly walked out the door to the hallway of the condo, slowly closing the door so as not to wake the sleeping monster. It had all started out nice enough, and when the verbal abuse started, she tried to leave. She was not one for putting up with that kind of bullshit, but bad things started to happen, the stalking, her brother's fatal "accident". She stayed, then came the psychological and physical abuse, but before now, he made sure the bruises and injuries could be covered. She tried again to leave...another death occurred. "You ought to know by now darlin', you are never getting away from me, EVER! The more you try, the worse the punishment, now get down!" Marie had assumed the position on the floor, her shirt ripped from her back, the whip singing through the air followed by searing pain and blood. Anyone who could see her naked would see the full extent of the evil that was David.
Ariel hung up the phone and looked at her "friend" Josef. She was visibly shaken. Josef trained his brown eyes on Ariel and walked over to her, taking a finger and tipping her chin up. " What's wrong babe, tell Daddy Josef." Josef pulled Ariel into his arms and stroked her forearm up and down in a motion meant to comfort her, while placing his face in the crook of her neck, sniffing appreciatively, her warm A+ blood thrumming under the surface. Josef was a vampire.
"It's my friend, Marie, her psycho boyfriend has managed to really beat her good this time. He dislocated her shoulder and blackened and bloodied her eye!"
Josef's eyes flashed silver and he could feel his fangs descend. Passion or anger did this to him, the latter being the cause this time. No one should ever touch a woman like that, he thought to himself.
"Sweetheart, what do you expect me to do? You know I don't get involved with human affairs, that's what the police are for. You could always give her Mick's number."
"She won't tell the police, he has ties to the police. She won't go to the hospital, he knows too many people there as well. He has too many ties to too many people, and he's killed before. Her Brother, another friend. And I didn't know how bad it was until now Josef, he's been doing awful, awful things to her, and she's finally gotten the courage up to get away, finally!" Ariel paused for a moment, not knowing how Josef was going to react to her next bit of news. " And Josef...she knows all about us, Vampires, Freshies, all of it."
Josef was a 400 plus year old vampire, one who believed in keeping what he and others of his kind were, a secret from the humans. He remembered all to well, and not so fondly, crazy villagers with their pitchforks and stakes. Now, he was a multi-billionaire hedge fund trader, the owner of Kosten Industries. A shrewd, cut throat businessman/vampire who took his food in the form of Freshies. Young, beautiful, smart and sophisticated ladies, some models, some actresses, who fed him his meals and kept him sated and alive. In return, his bite gave them pleasure, and he treated them well, unlike most vampires. He showered them with beautiful clothes, jewels and for a select few, exclusivity, having them live with him, one of them was even closer than he could ever want, and he was still struggling with THAT relationship. His heart belonged to Sarah, a young woman he met over 50 years ago, a human woman, who he had unsuccessfully tried to turn, and had now lain in a coma still.
Ariel was new to exclusivity, but this news had him slightly angered, and slightly sad. " Why my princess? Why would you tell an uninvited outsider about this? Let the explanations begin my dear, and tread softly."
"Marie is a smart, stunning and shrewd girl, she needs protection Josef, needs it bad. She has Nowhere to turn, no one to help, he's seen to that. And now that she has finally left him, she's in more danger Josef. I told her a while back about this option, told her it would be safe, that the vampire who owned her would protect her and I told her that if the vampire was not you or Mick, that you would be sure it would be someone who would be trustworthy. Please Josef! She did not tell, she never would, ever." Ariel was sobbing onto Josef's silk cotton Armani blue pin stripe shirt. Josef sighed, though he really had no need to, since he did not breathe anymore, it was just a comforting habit to him. He stroked Ariel's long, black curly hair, which hung in waves down to her waist. He had a thought, a brilliant thought. Weren't they all though?
" Babe, I just don't have room for any more girls." Ariel looked up at him in panic, her green eyes widened. Josef chuckled, he always liked to be a little snarky. " I do, however, know someone perfect to fill the position." Josef smirked, and pulled out his cell phone. " Babe, I need to take this in private, get me a whiskey would you? You know, the way I like it. And then take your friend over to Guillermo, he'll fix her shoulder and her eye for her. Then, I want you to bring her over tomorrow night, lend her one of your dresses, the pink one I think, It will look good with her blonde hair and hazel eyes, and accents her curves just right."
"Ok Josef, but Guillermo, the coroner?" asked Ariel. "You said no hospital right? He'll keep his mouth shut. Then bring her over to Mick's, he'll be expecting her." Ariel walked out of the room with a quiet swish of her dress, the strapless emerald green one with the high skirt and slit up the side which showed off her shapely legs. He was glad he'd bought it. But on to more pressing business, time to call Conor, an old, old friend. Older than his 400 years, Conor was over 700, 742 to be exact. Conor was from Scotland, had fought with the legendary William Wallace and died at the Battle of Falkirk, fighting alongside Wallace. Then Reborn to a sire impressed with his passion and fighting skills. Conor was over 6 feet tall with piercing green/blue eyes whose stillness could unnerve the oldest of vampires. He had known Conor for years, 375 of them to be exact. And he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Conor would be the Vampire for Marie.
"Hello Conor...It's Josef. I have a situation..."
Conor Graham had just stepped out of his spacious walk-in shower, loathe to leave the pounding pulse of the built in rain and shower jets coming from the ceiling and sides of the dark, grey marble tiles. He ran his fingers through his wavy, shoulder length dark, brown hair, and was getting ready to wrap his naked, muscular form in a towel, when he heard the phone ringing. He put the towel on around his waist and padded out to the library to answer the phone. He saw on the caller ID that it was his friend Josef. " This should be interesting." Conor thought aloud. "What's up Mate? Looking to divest me of more stock?" Conor had a soft voice with a scottish accent. He listened to Josef intently, cutting him off " No Josef, I've told you time and time again, while I appreciate the human female form and it's many, many pleasures I do not do personally owned Freshies mate, it's the bag or girls from Valis, or on rare occasions, from your parties that's it Josef...ok you git I'm listening." Conor poured himself a glass of whiskey, Balvenie Cask 191, one of the best,and most expensive scotch whiskeys. He pulled out a small crystal bottle of blood and added some into the glass. After listening to Josef for another 5 minutes, Conor spoke softly into the phone. He felt the tick in his jaw. "Ok mate, I'll do it, what time do you want me there?"
Marie stood nervously with Ariel, smoothing down the skirt of her pink satin dress. " I don't know if this was such a good idea Ari, what if he comes looking for me? What will happen then? He'll kill me, you, all of these guys, what if Josef can't protect me?' Marie's voice was getting louder, more full of fear, it caught the attention of all of the freshies and vampires in the room. Josef rushed over to the pair along with someone new that had walked into the room. Josef went to comfort Marie, like he had earlier in the evening, twice. Marie had just met Josef, and she did not know why, but he made her feel comfortable, even made her laugh. But the new man with him, no, correction, the new vampire with him, stopped Josef. "No Josef, let me." Marie looked up into the most mesmerizing pair of blue/green eyes she had ever seen. The Vampire was over six feet at least, with wavy brown hair, kissable, full lips and a chiseled jaw and cheekbones. His voice was soft, with a scottish brogue that would melt butter, it certainly was making her melt. The vampire reached up to caress Marie's cheek, the injured one which she had carefully placed tattoo cover to attempt to hide the purple bruise, she flinched, as was her natural reaction to a man's hand these days. Despite what he did to her feelings, she was still terrified. Conor rubbed his thumb softly over the bruise. " It's okay love, he's never going to hurt you again, of that fact, I can promise you."
Ariel stepped into Josef's arms, watching with him in interest the interaction between the other Vampire and her friend. " Wow! Where did you find him Josef?" Josef turned Ariel around to face him as he chuckled. " Don't make me have to kill him babe, I'm your Vampire, not Kilt boy over there."
Josef smiled and gently grabbed Ariel's bare arm, his eyes turning that familiar silver that made her shiver and he bit her wrist, his teeth sliding in like a hot knife through warm butter, making Ariel moan and toss her head back.
Marie watched the feeding between Josef and Ariel with interest. She took a shuddering breath and held her arm up to the vampire, as Ariel did to Josef, figuring it was now or never. Conor smiled. "I don't expect you to do that right now, we don't even know each others names yet, well, I do know that your name is Marie, right love? My name is Conor." He picked up Marie's hand and kissed it, then ran his thumb over the top in lazy circles. " If you don't bite me, then someone else can claim me, isn't that true Conor? Do you not want me? I don't know a lot about this Freshie stuff." Marie nervously swallowed. Conor put an arm around Marie's back, noting that she flinched, and winced in discomfort. He slowly and carefully walked her over to Josef's leather sofa, handling her like a fragile china doll. He patted the seat cushion. "Sit down love, let's talk – let's get to know one another and have some questions answered, I know you have them, I know you are are untasted by others of my kind. But first, I want to assure you that the man who did this..." Conor ran his thumb gently over Marie's eye and cheek, so softly, she could barely feel it. "And this..." He ran his large, but gentle hand over her shoulder, slowly moving down her arm and back up in a soothing motion. Then Conor lightly touched her back, not causing the pain she expected, but a small shiver through her body. What was he doing to her? She thought. "And this... Will be found, will be punished, and will regret the day that he dared lay a hand on you, on this, you can trust." And for the first time in as long as she remembered, she trusted that this was the truth.