Albert Manlii has walked this earth for more than two thousand years, but survival on his own was never easy. Now he leads a faction of highly organized vampires who carefully guard the secret of their existence. Unlike the old days, potential recruits are carefully selected and presented with an offer.<br><br>Phillip Brewer has weeks to live -- if he lets his disease run its course. He doesn’t want to die, but given a choice, will his desire to live outweigh his concerns about the vampires’ ethics?<br><br>When the new recruit’s missteps are cause for concern, can Albert control the fallout, or will Phillip’s life once again be torn apart?

The Recruit

Albert was feeding papers into the shredder when Neil walked in. He straightened and opened his arms. “I was hoping you’d come home on your lunch hour.”


“You were?” Neil melted into Albert’s embrace and wrapped his arms around the man’s waist. This was just what he needed after the nerve-wracking start to his day.


“Of course, dilectus meus. I miss you when you’re gone.”


Neil tilted his head to look into Albert’s eyes, who stared back with that intensity…that unfathomable strength of passion that took his breath away. Neil gasped when he consciously remembered to breathe. Which didn’t help, because that scent


He was lost, drowning in the spell those beautiful eyes cast over him, and floating on the tide of that intoxicating aroma. It was a sexual connection, but it was also so much more. Albert was Neil’s world. His everything.


And part of what was so beguiling was that Albert gave every impression of feeling the same.


Chapter 22