"...So yeah, you died," Sam finished as he recapped the events of the last three days.

Okay, he's a fruit loop, Callie thought. "And you saved my life by reviving me. Thank you by the way, but three days isn't long enough for the kind of wound you described to heal the way it has, and why didn't you call an ambulance?"

A breakfast bar separated the kitchen from living room, so he was able to see and hear her as he refilled her beaker from the bag of blood he had in the fridge. "Callie, I didn't save your life, not the way you think anyway. Nor did I revive you. You were dead and I made you un-dead, a vampire. You know, the living dead." He corrected her assumption and placed the refilled beaker in the microwave. "You'll have to drink human blood in order to survive. You can't go out in sunlight or you'll burn, like go up in flames and turn to ash. At least until I can get an amulet made for you anyway."

Smiling at her eagerness as she accepted the beaker, he watched her ruby-red lips close around the straw and gently draw its contents into her mouth. He was in big trouble. He could hardly think straight with her around. Glimpses of her creamy breasts tormented him when the too large robe gaped at the front with her every movement. When she sat down, the split at the front gave him flashes of a leg so long and flawless he had practically drooled. He had to use the excuse of refilling her juice to rearrange himself. Entranced, he watched as her tongue darted out to capture an escaping drop and he had to shake himself to carry on.

"Oh and by the way can you please ring Adie and tell her that you're fine? She's been ringing and texting your mobile constantly." He'd gone through her bag in order to turn off her mobile. While Florence and the Machine's Shake it Out was a great song, the never-ending repetition of it was driving him mad. He'd found her driver's licence too, and discovered that she was his new assistant, which explained the no show. "The office phone has been ringing every half hour for the last three days and Gill can't put her off any longer. Your sister is threatening to ring the police."

"Shit! She'll be frantic with worry." Callie snatched up her phone and pressed speed dial.

"Cal, where the hell are you and why didn't you text or call back?" Adie fumed, her anger clearly evident from the tone she used. "Your boss's office said you were on a case and couldn't call because it would jeopardize the story. Really Cal? I thought something had happened to you. Couldn't you have at least let me know before you just disappeared?"

Sam came to stand behind her. "You can't tell her about any of this," he whispered in her free ear.

A simple whiff of her clean flesh and it was almost his undoing. She smelled of his apple-scented shampoo combined with his shower gel, but there was something else too. He couldn't put his finger on what it was; all he knew was that the combination was intoxicating. It never smelled that good on him.

Callie's heart broke at the sound of anxiety in her sister's voice. "I'm sorry Adie, with all the excitement I guess I just didn't think."

Sam let them finish their conversation in private. He headed into the bathroom for a cold shower and continued to the bedroom to change into the clothes he kept in the flat for emergencies. Another visit to the blood bank would be needed tonight. There wasn't enough blood left in the fridge for him, never mind appease the appetite of a newly turned vampire.

"I'll call you back and fill you in when he's not around," Callie whispered when he left her.

She hung up a few minutes later and followed him to the other room where she found him shirtless. Her breath hitched at the sight of his naked back, the muscles of his shoulders bunched as he reached for a shirt from the wardrobe. It left her in a deep wanton sigh as he turned to expose his hairless chest. His sculptured abdominals bunched and rippled as he donned the shirt. Michelangelo's David would weep in jealousy at the sight of such perfection. Her gaze travelled down, pausing briefly at the undone top button of his jeans, then continued down the length of his legs to his sockless toes peeking out from under the faded denim.

My God even his toes are hot, she thought. Dragging her gaze back up the lean length of his body, she met his eyes staring right back. The cutest dimple appeared on his cheek with the smirk at having caught her gawking. Her cheeks flushed scarlet - hard to do given that the only blood in her system was the two beakers she had consumed.

She lowered her head. "I really need to go home, will you take me?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be around people at the moment. You can't control your thirst and it'll put your family at risk," he replied. And I don't want to let you go just yet.

"Please, I need clothes and stuff," she begged, playing along with his crazy vampire notion. "It's Thursday right? Adie should be working the afternoon shift anyway. I can pack a bag and be out before she gets home. Please take me home."

"You won't be able to get in without an invitation."

"What?" she asked in confusion. "But it's my house."

"A vampire must be invited in to be able to cross an occupied property's threshold," he explained. "It's one of the stupid rules." After a moment's thought, he took out his phone and made a call. "Gill, how are you at breaking and entering? ....No, I have a key you won't actually have to break in....Great come over to the office and I'll give you the address...Okay... yes I'll give you a bonus....and Monday off... Don't push it Gill." He snapped the phone shut and faced Callie. "Make a list of stuff you'll need and where to find it. Gill is going to stop by your house and pick it up for you. Try to keep it to a minimum, she has a small car."

He strode to the door and turned to drink in the sight of her, as if storing the vision for while he would be gone. "I need to head out for some supplies to keep us going for a few days. Don't go beyond this door. Oh, and stay away from the windows, the sun will be up soon. The glass is tinted but it's not enough to stop a newborn vampire from burning. There's more juice in the fridge if you get thirsty. I'll be back within the hour for your list."

He left her there.

Sam's first stop was Stephan's Antique Emporium. If anyone could locate a sun amulet, it was Stephan. The owner had been a true and loyal friend Sam's entire vampiric existence. He pushed through the heavy doors into a perpetual Aladdin's cave of treasures, glanced around, and spotted the golden head of his best friend.

"Stephan, I need your help," he stated as he approached.

Stephan spun on his heel, dismissing the young man he was speaking to, and embraced Sam in a fierce hug. "What is it you require this time Sam? Surely not another repulsion piece, the ladies can't find you so irresistible that you've gone through the half dozen in barely a month!" Stephan heartily laughed at his own joke, but sobered quickly when he studied Sam's reaction. "Something tells me this ones going to be a challenge. What is it my friend?"

"Well, I've been granted a new charge, a young girl who had the misfortune to fall victim to an accident of my making." Sam briefed him on the incident that had him turning his first human in over 400 years. "She needs a sun amulet. I don't suppose you have any lying around?"

"You know as well as I do that they have to be made to suit," Stephan half-heartedly chastised.

"Then do you know where I can get one?"

Stephan was not only an expert in antiques, but also a hive of information. "Let me check the files and see who can do that kind of charm," Stephan muttered, moving towards the back room office. He had to dodge around several boxes strewn along the narrow alleyways created by the overstocked showroom to get the computer sitting in the corner. "This won't take long now I've finally got all the old volumes stored on here. Only took me ten years too."

He tried several different word combinations in his database search. "Ah! Here we go. Irene McIlroy. You're in luck. She's a local girl, lives up in the Headlands with her grandmother and she's a strong witch for her age. I'll print off her details. Now, while we are waiting what say you tell about this girl, what made you change this one?"

Sam ran his hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know if I can explain it. She's just ...it's as if I've been waiting for her my whole life. Like I recognised her even though the first time I laid eyes on her was when I saw her lying in the street. Alarm bells rang in my head and I couldn't let her die...I couldn't walk away and not get to know her." He sighed. "I'm a journalist with umpteen degrees in literature and I'm stuck for words on how to describe the feeling."

Stephan chuckled, slapping Sam on the back in solace. "No need, no need old son. I felt the same way when I met Elizabeth. She must be your soul mate. Bring her round when you get her blood lust under control. I'm sure Liz would love to meet the woman who tamed you."

"That's the other thing. She doesn't seem to have the normal blood craving. No glowing eyes. No burning thirst. She's completely coherent too."

"Excellent, we can have a get-together sooner then. I'll look into the lack of blood lust and let you know what I find." He escorted him to the door, pulling his phone from his pocket as he waved Sam off. He couldn't wait to tell Liz.