My heart beats wildly in my chest as I walk around the party inside the modern mansion. He has to be here. I know it. He never passes up on a good time.

I walk from room to room looking for Fane, the man - vampire - that I just had to have a one-night stand with three years ago. Just like every other girl in town. There's no way he remembers me. But I need his help. I'm desperate.

The party is filled with humans, vampires, wolf shifters and the like. A few acquaintances stop me to ask how I'm doing. I acknowledge them with a smile and "how are you," but I don't stop. I'm on a mission and I can't afford to be distracted.

Finally, I see him, in all his muscled glory with dirty blonde hair wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt. He's flirting up a beautiful redhead. And suddenly I feel nervous. Maybe there's another way...

Come on, Sonya, you can do this.

I summon the courage to approach, despite my sweaty palms and erratic heartbeat.

As I walk up, I open my mouth to reintroduce myself to him, but am interrupted when he beats me to it.

"Sonya! How are you doing, beautiful?"

He remembers me? It's been three years! He's no doubt slept with dozens of women since then.

I'm sure my face flushes as I answer, "Hey Fane, I'm surprised you remember me."

"I could never forget you, sweetheart."

Such a shameless womanizer, flirting with me in front of the girl he was no doubt hitting on. Still, it's hard not to swoon. Get a grip, Sonya.

"I'm sorry," Fane says to the redhead. "Would you mind excusing us, darling? Sonya and I have some catching up to do."

She pouts, but takes his subtle rejection well. I feel kind of bad. I'm sure she deserves better. So maybe it's actually a blessing in disguise for her now that I think about it.

Plus, I can't help but feel a little giddy that he chooses plain old me over that gorgeous woman. She must be a model or something.

He speaks again, "So, Sonya, how have you been?" His charming smile is to die for. God, no wonder he has no problem getting women in his bed. He's not called "Fane the Rake" for nothing.

"I've been okay... I was actually hoping we could talk...somewhere private..." I answer.

"Getting right to it. I like that. Come on," he says with a devilish smile.

He grabs my hand and leads me up two sets of stairs. Third story. Damn, to have this kind of money. I don't even know whose house this is, but they are obviously rolling in dough.

The third story is eerily quiet, a sharp contrast to the noise on the ground floor. We pass a dark living room that's decked with three large, comfortable sofas, and make our way into an empty bedroom.

He doesn't even hesitate to back me against the wall. My knees go weak as he starts to nibble at that sweet spot behind my ear. Heat shoots through my core. For a moment, all I can think about is how good his body feels against mine. How badly I want him in me. Biting me. Touching me.

It takes all of my strength to push my hands against his chest. It's not a shove, just a gentle resistance.

But instead of backing up, he leans in closer and wraps his hand around my throat. Fuck. I'm a sucker for choking. The action gets me insanely aroused.

"Fane," I whisper.

"Yes, bonita," he answers seductively.

I chuckle, remembering our little talk three years ago right before we had our tryst. Then I wonder if he uses terribly annunciated Spanish words to sweet-talk all of the Latina women he sleeps with.

Whatever. That's not important right now.

"Fane, I actually need to talk to you. Please," I plead.

He backs off, but only enough to face me. "What's up, sweetheart?"

"I... I..." as I look into his midnight blue eyes, my heart drops. Can I do this? No, I HAVE to do this. "I have to tell you something."

He furrows his brows. "Okay?"

I have to blurt it out, otherwise, I'll chicken out. "I have a son, and you're the father."

His eyes widen. Despite his many conquests, he has no doubt had this ever come up. Women can't just claim he's the father willy nilly because the moment a fully human baby comes out, they look stupid. But a half-human, half-vampire baby, that's a clincher.

We used a condom that day three years ago, but it obviously failed.

"What?" he husks out.

I nervously fumble in my pocket for my phone. "I have pictures. He's a dead ringer for you. He's beautiful. Has your eyes. Your everything really, except for his hair. He has my black hair." I'm rambling, I know.

I had never intended to tell him. But I underestimated how hard it is to raise a half-vampire toddler... the rumors about them being literal mini devils are true. That's why they say at least one vampire MUST be in a parental role for a vampire child. I just had to be stupid and get a big head, thinking I could handle it on my own.

He keeps one hand on my throat and roughly grabs my phone from me with his other hand. I continue to ramble on as he scrolls the photos. I explain what's going in each photo as I nervously play with my hands. He's scrolling backwards, seeing our son, Ben, getting younger and younger. When he gets to the photos of me breastfeeding him, he slows. He stops on a beautiful one of Ben as a newborn suckling at my breast with wide eyes.

Fane looks back up at me. His eyes have darkened. He's mad. No, furious.

His hand tightens around my throat as he says, "I have a son, and you didn't tell me?"

My eyes water, not from fear or the intense pressure with which he's holding my neck. I tear up because I can see behind the anger in his eyes - is despair. Vampires often feel emotions much more deeply than humans from what I've heard, and I see it written all over his face now.

"Yes... I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."

His hand tightens further, making it difficult to talk, but not to breathe. His other hand must've tightened also because my phone crumbled to bits in his hand.

He raises his voice, "You tried raising a vampire kid on your own?!"

I shake my head, "Yes, I know. It was stupid. But I didn't think you'd want to be involved because you like women and partying. And it was just a one-night stand."

With his free hand, he unzips my jacket and yanks it off, revealing the many, child-sized bites on my arm.

"This is from him?" he asks.

I nod my head in response.

"Where is he now?"

"He's with my mom. He's asleep," I answer. Thank God for my mom's help in raising little Ben. She was the one who convinced me to track down his father for help.

His grip tightens even more, making it near impossible for me to talk now. "You robbed me, Sonya. I didn't get to see any of his first moments. His first words. His first steps."

I rasp, "There's still plenty of first moments to come. Like his first bike ride. First day of school -"

I gasp as he punches the wall next to my head. He's looking at me like an angry predator.

"That's not the fucking point, woman!" he yells in my face.

I probably should be scared, but I'm not. I know he won't hurt me. No. I was the one who hurt him. So I'm filled with guilt. The tears come pouring down. Big, messy, guilt-filled tears.

"I know," I cry. "And I'm so, so sorry Fane. I should have told you. But he needs you now. He's getting too strong for me. He's such a sweet boy, but when he has a tantrum, I can't stop him anymore."

He lowers his voice, "Of course you can't, you idiot. That's why you should have told me way before now."

"I know... you're right. So will you be in his life now?"

"Of course I will," he says resolutely. I breathe out a sigh of relief. Then he grabs the hair at the back of my head and pulls, baring my neck to him. "But I'm going to need something from you first." 

Editor's note: Wow, what a great first chapter!  What do you think Fane wants from Sonya? Please vote, comment, and give feedback on this wonderful story by zelicowriting 💖💖

The next chapter is a hot and steamy one, five flames for sure!  🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥