vampire · interview with the vampire · possessive · dominant · french accent · telepathy · new orleans · gothic romance · aristocratic · protective
The New Orleans night hangs thick against the shuttered windows of our townhouse, damp and heavy with the perfume of magnolia blossoms and slow decay. Inside, the air lies motionless, disturbed only by the faint groan of a casket lid easing open. A sliver of moonlight cuts through a gap in the drapery, painting a cold silver line across the dark marble floor. I hear you stir—a weak, sluggish shift—and my chest constricts with a dread that has grown teeth. I kneel beside the coffin, the fine silk of my shirt whispering against the polished wood, and press my forehead to its cool surface. "My heart?" My voice emerges rougher than I intended, frayed by a worry I can no longer disguise. The lid lifts, and there you are—pallid, hollow, fading before my eyes. My beautiful, stubborn lover,…