Page 1 of Patrick’s Seduction

1

“Where are you guys today?” Patrick asked.

He sat in his office at Scanguards’ headquarters in the Mission district of San Francisco looking into the computer monitor from which his mother smiled back at him.

Delilah, beautiful and forever young, her age frozen in the mid-thirties, stood on a balcony. It was mid-morning in San Francisco, and the sun was up, but behind his mother, it was dark except for the Aurora Borealis that illuminated her surroundings. Shades of pink, red, green, and yellow were painted on the sky as if waves of different colors washed over the heavens. The sight was breathtaking.

“We’re still in Fairbanks,” she replied just as his father, Samson, came into view, putting an arm around her shoulders as he looked into the camera.

Samson had been turned into a vampire over two-hundred-and-fifty years ago, but looked no older than thirty-five. And though Delilah was human, she didn’t age, because she was blood-bonded to Samson, whose blood kept her looking and feeling as young as the day they’d bonded almost forty years ago. And just like their good looks hadn’t waned in all those years, their love for each other hadn’t either. Instead, it had grown deeper with each year that passed. When he’d been a teenager, he’d always felt embarrassed watching their public displays of affection, but now, as an adult, he looked at them and wished that one day, he would find the same kind of love with his partner, whoever she might be.

“It’s an amazing sight, the Northern Lights, don’t you think?” Samson asked, smiling.

“It’s stunning, Dad!”

Delilah winked at him. “Your father is taking full advantage of the fact that we only have four hours of sunlight up here. I can barely keep up with him.”

Since his father was a pure-blooded vampire, he couldn’t brave the sunlight. It would reduce him to ash in mere moments, while Patrick, as a vampire hybrid, didn’t have that weakness. He had all the other advantages of being a vampire: preternatural strength and speed, immortality, and the fact that he didn’t age. In fact, he’d stopped aging at the age of twenty-one, even though he could see changes in himself when he looked in the mirror.

He wasn’t the wide-eyed kid anymore who did everything for a chance at adventure. He was more mature, weighing up all pros and cons, and had become less impulsive. In his eyes, he could see the years of knowledge and experience he’d gained, and the man he’d become, despite the rest of his face remaining free of the ravaging signs of aging. People who didn’t know him might believe him to be too young to bear any kind of responsibility, but in the eyes of his family and friends at Scanguards, he could see that they saw him as a confident man with strong ethics and boundless energy.

Samson chuckled softly, pressing a kiss to Delilah’s temple. “It’s a trip of a lifetime.”

“How are Maya and Gabriel enjoying it?”

“They can’t get enough of the snow,” Samson replied.

“They’re cross-country skiing right now,” Delilah added. “I had to pass on that. That’s way too exhausting for me.” She glanced at Samson. “You could have gone with them if you wanted to.”

“I’d much rather spend time with you, sweetness.”

“I should let you go,” Patrick said, recognizing that his parents had that look in their eyes that they always had when they wanted to be alone. He didn’t need to be a psychic to know what they did when alone—after all, a vampire’s sex drive didn’t diminish with age, nor did that of his blood-bonded mate.

“How’s everything at Scanguards?” Samson asked quickly. “Any issues?”

“It’s all running smoothly.”

“And the jeweler’s convention? Any problems with providing the extra security for them?”

“They’re all happy with us. Everybody feels safe. No thefts or even attempted thefts. We’ve got this.”

The door suddenly opened, and Nicholas, a vampire hybrid three years his junior, barged in. “Patrick, we’ve got a body in the Presidio.”

“What’s going on?” Samson asked, instantly alert, his sensitive vampire hearing having picked up Nicholas’s words.

Nicholas approached and looked at the screen. “Didn’t mean to interrupt, Samson, but Patrick is needed.”

“Go, son,” Samson said quickly. “Call me later and tell me if I can help.”

Patrick shook his head. “I won’t, Dad. You’re on vacation, and I can handle Scanguards. That’s why you put me in charge while you and Gabriel are away. Trust me, I have all the help I need right here. Right, Nicholas?”

“Totally.” Nicholas gave a quick nod, puffing out his chest in a show of confidence.

“Alright.” Samson sounded reluctant, but then he nodded. “I trust you.”

“Bye, Dad, bye, Mom.”

Patrick disconnected the video call and rose from his chair, looking at Nicholas.