Excerpt
Jack and Quentin
This crazy fuck
wasn’t getting the hint. Jack could barely see him since he’d leaped off the
deck with that lighter-than-air shit that the vampires did. And now he was
standing off in the shadows. And who was he trying to impress with that smooth
jazz voice? Go join a damn poetry reading club and go away.
“If you even
think of coming up here, I’ll punch you right in the jaw, and you’ll be
drinking blood out of a sippy cup for the next month.” While speaking, Jack
gently rapped his knuckle on the door, a sign to Teddy inside the trailer to
get the gun and aim it squarely at the door. This wasn’t the first overeager
dumb fuck vampire who had to be shot a few times with rock salt before they got
the hint and left. Maddock had told him that as long as he didn’t kill anyone,
they were welcome to do as they needed, including calling for the female vamp
guards. But Jack hadn’t needed to do that yet and didn’t plan to.
Then, the guy
was in front of him. Jack had blinked his eyes, and bam, there he was, standing
less than a foot away and leering at Jack with those predatory blood-red eyes
of a vampire. He hadn’t been able to get a good look at him before, but now he
was in the porch light, and Jack’s stomach did a little fluttery kick.
Because this guy
was actually hot.
His skin was
buttery smooth like someone had spent hours sanding it to a perfect polish. And
his black hair was in tiny little spikes, which made Jack wonder how much hair
gel the guy had to use to get it to stay perfectly in place like it was. His
pointy nose had a perfect edge, and Jack had to remind himself to breathe.
This was the
kind of vampire that probably had humans throwing themselves at him and begging
him to drink their blood. Jack had never seen one that looked as alluring as
this one. Maddock was, of course, gross to anyone. Most men vampires were
unappealing creatures who either did nothing to try to improve their looks or
were just born ugly to the point of no hope of repair. It was like they’d
crossbred with bats at some point in their lineage, and they were deformed
fuckers thanks to their bestiality practicing grandpops. Now, the women
vampires were a completely different matter. Most of those were turned vampires
because the vampire men, being the assholes they were, only turned the hottest
women they could find. But the women vampires weren’t interested in Jack. They
were completely immune to his mojo. But the men, gah, he’d spent every night of
his life beating the fuckers away since he’d hit puberty.
“Did you change
your mind?” the vamp asked, his lip twisting in a slight smile. “I thought
there was an impending danger if I came up here?”
He knew. He knew
he was fucking hot, and that pissed Jack off.
“Right, yeah, I
did. Sorry about that.” Jack took a step back, and the floorboard squeaked,
giving
Teddy the sign
that he was clear. The vampire turned his head to look at the door as if at the
last second he’d heard something inside and knew he was fucked. The door
exploded, and a mix of shrapnel from the door and rock salt from the 12 gauge
shotgun slammed into the vampire’s chest. He was tossed off the deck and landed
on the ground, on his back, right about where he had originally stood.
“Did I get ‘em?”
Teddy asked. He pushed what remained of the door open. “Maddock’s gonna be
pissed we need a new door.”
“What the hell?”
Jeff shouted from inside. He shoved Teddy out of the way, wearing only his
boxers. “What is going on?” He kicked some of the door bits aside and surveyed
the situation.
“It’s another
vampire,” Jack said. He ambled past them and grabbed a three-foot metal pipe
from where it leaned against the steps as he descended. The pipe was coated in
silver, a substance that burned vampire flesh.
He walked up to
the vampire and stood over him, a leg on either side of the vampire’s hips. The
bastard was dressed in black—a fitted shirt and slacks—and even had one of
those capes on, not a long one, it was only halfway down his back. He saw a lot
of vampires wear them, some stupid style thing. Even Maddock wore it.
“You should stay
down,” Jack said. “Otherwise, I’ll use this pipe to knock some of those fangs
out, and it will really be a shame if I have to mess up that pretty face.”
The vampire gave
a few coughs and clutched at his shirt, which now had little holes in it. He
didn’t see any blood, though, but the impact should have hurt and knocked the
wind out of him, hopefully, the fight too.
“Jack, maybe you
shouldn’t get so close,” Teddy warned. Teddy was three times Jack’s age and
knew more about vampires than any other human Jack knew. The waver in his voice
as he spoke the words made Jack wonder why he was suddenly being cautious.
“I’ll just give
him one smack for good measure,” Jack said. He lifted the pipe over his
shoulder, and his world was suddenly turned upside down as the vampire grabbed
his calf and yanked him off his feet.
He heard Jeff
shout his name right as his head impacted the ground with a smack. He landed on
his back but managed to keep his grip on the pipe. He saw a flash of black
cloth and felt two hot pricks on his neck.
Fangs.
The fucker was biting
him!
Soddenfeld and
Leoquin
“I believe I owe
you an apology,” Lord Leoquin said. His finger trailed across Soddenfeld’s
forehead. He jerked awake, realizing he was lying on one of the cots inside the
medical tent. An IV ran in his arm, likely giving him nothing more than fluids.
He knew their supplies of nearly everything medicine-wise was low.
“Ah, it’s fine.
It was my mistake.” He tried to sit up, but his head throbbed a bit.
“You’ve been
asleep for two nights,” the vampire corrected. “I believe that is my fault.”
“I was the one
who tried to treat you when I knew the rules said not to, and then we missed
the call to retreat and—” The vampire put his fingers across Soddenfeld’s lips
to silence him.
“I drank from
you without consent. For that, I apologize and wish to compensate you. Name
your price.” He removed his finger, but Soddenfeld wished he hadn’t.
“It’s war. Things
happen. It's fine. Really.”
“A debt must be
repaid, Dr. Soddenfeld. If you refuse to tell me what you desire, then I shall
deposit funds into your—”
“No, I don’t
want your money.” He did manage to sit up this time and almost regretted it as
he saw a glimmer of angst on the vampire’s face. This vampire was in a class
above him, and he’d just interrupted him, and he was refusing his payment. Rude
on top of rude, good job, Soddenfeld.
“I nearly killed
you.” The vampire leered closer, putting his face dangerously close to his.
“The other facts involved are trivial.”
“Sex.” He spoke
the word and couldn’t believe he had. The vampire’s silence indicated he was as
surprised by the confession as he was. “I’m sorry, that was inappropriate. I’ve
been told by nearly every person I’ve tried to date that I’m a sex addict
masquerading as…I don’t know. I have excuses, but I shouldn’t have said that.
I—”
The vampire put
his fingers to his lips again. “Never be ashamed of what you are. Come to my
tent when you are feeling better, and I shall endeavor to repay you to your
satisfaction.”
The man pulled
his hand back and stepped away from Soddenfeld’s cot. “You’re serious? You’ll
have sex with me?”
“Am I the first
vampire to accept your proposal?” He continued to back away as Soddenfeld
nodded. “Intriguing.”
He left the
tent, and Soddenfeld still couldn’t believe what he’d asked, nor the response
he’d gotten.
Tessa and
D’eclat
Tessa walked up
the staircase, grateful that today was Klara’s turn to be with Azul. Someone
brushed her shoulder as they passed, and she stumbled. The same person who had
bumped her grabbed her shoulder to steady her.
“We seem to have
this problem,” D’eclat said. “At least you were not carrying anything this
time.”
“My apologizes.”
She took a step away from the vampire as he dropped his hand. “I shall try to
be more aware of my surroundings.”
“No need. We are
leaving today. We’ll not cross paths again until Lady Azul comes to the castle
for the wedding.” His tone didn’t sound thrilled by any of the news he
announced.
“I thought you
were staying for a week.”
“I found there
to be no point.”
“What of
Yuentin? He was looking forward to your mentoring.”
“I cannot stay.”
“Why?” It wasn’t
until he gave her a stern look that she realized she’d pried more than her
status allowed.
“I am a king. I
am accustomed to taking what I want. However, there are things within these
walls that do not belong to me. I fear if I stay here for any significant
amount of time, my ability to restrain myself will falter, and I will take that
which is not mine. I do not wish to be the kind of king who steals from other
lords.”
“I am certain
that whatever resides here, that you want, Lord Jaspar would give you. He wants
nothing more than to please you.”
“It is not Lord
Jaspar that I want to please.”
“Then Lady
Azul—”
He turned from
her, uttering an animalistic grunt of disgust. “Goodbye, Miss Tessa.”
She watched his
folded wings twitch in agitation as he went, and she knew Jaspar would have all
their heads if he saw the Vampire Potentate leave like this.
“Wait, please,
if someone has offended you.” She rushed to catch up with him, not expecting
him to stop. She collided with his wings, which were warmer than she expected.
He grabbed her wrist to stop her fall.
“I am beginning
to believe this is intentional,” he said, pushing her to the wall so if she
fell, she would have it to grab. “I must leave.” His voice wavered as he said
it, and his red eyes looked at her with something akin to hunger. He turned,
and she did not follow this time. She remained on the steps until she heard the
slam of the house’s main door and Jaspar’s angry shout. She walked into the
foyer mid-rant.
“—didn’t even get her to see him. What do I say?
Who insulted him? Why?” Jaspar slammed his foot to the ground, his chest
heaving. He looked around at those who were gathered. “He said something
happened in the kingdom that required his attention, but I don’t believe it. If
I find out which of you spurred him to leave.” His eyes fell upon Azul. “I know
I promised to take care of you like you’re my sister because we share the same
mother.” He shook his head. “Seriously, you couldn’t do this one thing?”
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