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THE VAMPIRE NEXT DOOR
By
Stephanie Bedwell-Grime
© copyright February 2007 by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime
Cover Art by Jenny Dixon, Copyright February 2007
ISBN
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
CHAPTER ONE
FRIENDS and NEIGHBOURS
Lying in his bed he could hear them, violating the sanctity of his Lair. Heavy furniture scraped across the floor, jarring him awake.
With a deep sigh, he forced his frayed nerves to relax. And for a moment silence and darkness reigned in his private space. Rudi dozed, reaching after that elusive tendril of sleep. Then something heavy fell over in the house next door, startling him back to awareness.
His hands clenched in anger. He was Vampire, Lord of Darkness. He shouldn't have to put up with this. But even vampires had to contend with their neighbors in this modern world. Part of life in the new millennium and all that rubbish.
He'd never meant to sell the carriage house on his property. He loathed having neighbors in such close proximity. Originally built on the same estate, the foundations of the two buildings were connected. Sound carried like a drum in his basement bedroom. Leaving the estate in the care of his solicitor during an extended stay in Europe had been a huge mistake. But who could have foreseen how expensive things would get in the twenty-first century or how little his artist's salary would buy? His beleaguered solicitor had been forced to sell the carriage house to maintain the estate.
Since that misguided sale, the property had turned over several times, forcing him to deal with a constant stream of new neighbors. Another thud made him regret the situation even more.
Through a crack between the black velvet drapery on his four-poster bed, he could see the blinding glare of the sun still high in the sky. Nothing to be done about it, he was stuck there until dusk.
Curses! He needed his sleep. He had a review due this evening, one that had to be e-mailed before dawn to his editor.
The movers spent the rest of the afternoon thumping above his head, destroying the possibility of restful slumber. By the time the sun set in the western sky, he was ready to throttle his new neighbor.
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