Aiden is a vampire, a Guardian for the Society, who spends his nights hunting down vampires who've turned rogue. He meets Elle, a human, the first woman to get his attention after losin...g his mate.Elle's a simple human who runs a bed and breakfast and ends up being dragged to a club with her friend. When she meets Aiden, he draws her to him like no other man ever has, but everything changes when she realizes he's a vampire. Just like the one who killed her family and nearly killed her.
As fate intervenes, Aiden ends up bringing Elle into his world to protect her from a rogue who hunts them and both woman and vampire must adjust. Aiden has to get over his fear of losing another mate and Elle has get over her fear of vampires.
Chapter One
Why did she agree
to this torment?
Ell regarded
herself in the mirror and would've gasped if it hadn't been the twentieth time
she’d looked in the past five minutes. The red dress barely covered her ass and
her red shoes were too high. Tonight she knew falling would be inevitable and
she just felt too old at twenty-eight to start clubbing and wearing dangerously
high shoes.
The makeover made
her feel like she was asking to be ravaged by men and truly, maybe she needed
to be. Brushing her hair once again to remove the tangles materializing every
minute, she realized she did look pretty damn good thanks to her friend, Anya.
If she could lose fifteen pounds and grow a few inches, her ego might boost up
a little more.
Nothing wrong with
dreaming.
“Isn’t it a little
cold to wear something so... slutty?” She glanced over her shoulder at Anya who
stood a foot taller with legs that never ended, legs men loved. Her sea green
eyes gleamed with excitement as she twirled strands of her short blond hair. No
man ever turned Anya down. Except if they pulled for a different team. Then
again, even some of them might change sides for a chance with her.
“First of all,
thanks for calling me a slut. Second, you look freaking fantastic. You’re
getting laid tonight.” Anya laughed as she inspected her perfectly manicured
hands.
“I don’t need to
get laid.” She so did, but that wasn't
really the point. Everything ended in sex with Anya and Elle liked having
her alone time. If Anya found a man early, Elle planned to sneak back home. It
was a likely situation.
Anya blew a
raspberry. “Don’t get pissed at me, Ellie. You’re the one who sits at home painting
and running your precious Bed and Breakfast. You need to have fun. And you need
a man to screw your brains out.”
Elle ignored the
hated nickname and the inappropriate comment.
“I had a date a
month ago and I have fun all the time.” Not
really. Maybe she should listen to Anya. Or not.
“You mean the
lawyer where you excused yourself before the food came then never went back.”
Anya grinned. “I would've at least eaten dinner on his dime. And, well… You
know what else I would've done.”
Oh yeah, she knew. “We were there for fifteen minutes and he stayed
on the phone for ten. The other five he spent getting the waitress's number.”
Of course Anya
would have stayed because she loved men and he would have never stayed on the
phone with Anya sitting in front of him.
Sea green eyes
narrowed. “Fine, forget him. What about the blind date I set you up with? He
was cute and a complete gentleman with me.”
Anya pursed her
lips in the mirror and applied what seemed like her third coat of lipstick.
Elle laughed then
stopped abruptly when Anya didn’t. “You’re kidding!”
Anya’s nose
scrunched up and her smile turned down into frown.
Not kidding. “He was gay! Hot, but gay.”
Sometimes Elle grew
close to pulling her hair out when Anya tried to weasel with her love life. Her
life was just that, hers. She didn't have time or the patience for Anya's
constant meddling. If meeting a man was meant to be then it would happen but
until that day came, Elle just wanted to be left alone. She definitely didn't
want to go clubbing.
“Okay, Okay. I
won’t hook you up with any more gay men.” Anya's hands stayed in the air as she
backed toward the door.
Elle threw a pillow
at Anya before she disappeared down the stairs way too fast in her six-inch
heels. Looking up at the ceiling, Elle prayed she survived the night in one
piece. Would it be too much to ask?
A cold nose nudged
her hand for attention and she smiled down at the shaggy haired dog that acted
more like her spoiled child than a beloved pet. “I know girl, that crazy lady
is mean. You should bite her.”
Elle laughed when
Princess gave a low growl. She grabbed a treat from the container on the night
stand and Princess took it quickly from her hand. “That's my girl.”
“I heard that! Now
hurry up!” Anya yelled up the stairs.
Elle kissed her
fingers then touched them to the picture of her parents and sister sitting on
her dresser. Afterward, she sauntered down the steps praying for the night to
end quickly and painlessly. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Don’t be so grumpy.
Live a little.”
She was living or
at least thought she had been. Grabbing her keys, Elle headed out the door with
Anya still complaining about her ‘boring’ life.
****
The line to the
club went around the building, and at the rate the people moved forward, Elle
doubted they’d get inside before closing. Fantastic.
“Oh man, I guess we
should go home.” Elle tried to sound upset but failed miserably.
“Ha! Like I’m
letting you off the hook that easy.” Anya grabbed Elle's hand to drag her
toward the bouncer standing at the door. “Hey sexy, I’ve missed you!”
“Anya, it's been
too long.” The large bouncer, with too many tattoos and piercings, wrapped his
arms around Anya.
The man actually has a real Mohawk. Elle didn’t miss the fact his hands grabbed
Anya’s ass during their hug, or the way Anya pressed her barely covered breast
into him. So much for going home.
“I’ve been away but
I’m back for a while. My friend here is in some serious need for sex and I
brought her out to have a little fun. Seems the club's pretty busy.” Anya’s lip
popped out and her lashes fluttered as she looked at the crowded line then back
at the bouncer.
Seriously. Did she
really sleep with every man she met?
“The club's been
busy since the new band started playing on Friday nights, but you know you
don’t have to flirt with me to get in.” The bouncer unclipped the red velvet
rope and waved them through.
Elle’s cheeks
warmed as the waiting throng of people made disappointing ahhs and offered a
few curses.
Great, now she’s one of ‘those’ girls.
Inside the music
blocked every word Anya screamed at Elle as they neared the bar. Every person
she passed brushed against her and she really regretted having so much skin on
display.
The music wasn't
something she normally listened to but the lead singer's voice sounded smooth
and hypnotic. He looked the part of the typical rocker wearing his jeans with
holes, black t-shirt with more holes and more than one piercing.
I really don't fit in here.
When they got to
the bar, a young man with short blonde hair, blue eyes and dimples came
straight to them, staring at Anya. “What can I get for you sexy ladies?”
Elle thought his
words might have sounded flattering if he didn't have to yell them over the
music. Bottles of booze lined up behind the bar and Elle had no clue what any
of them are. “I'll have a coke!”
The bartender’s
dimples disappeared with his smile. “What do you want in your coke?”
Elle leaned closer
since the man clearly didn't understand her. “I just want a coke!”
“She's not getting
a coke,” Anya yelled over the music to the bartender. “I want a sex in the
shower and she wants a ...” Anya paused as she studied Elle closely. “Screaming
Orgasm! Literally!”
At this rate, Elle
was sure everyone in the club would know she officially had no sex life.
“I don’t want a
screaming orgasm!” Elle attempted to scream over the music and damn her luck, she
picked the perfect time for the music to end. Unlike what she'd seen in the
movies, the whole club didn’t hear her but the people nearest her and the
bartenders heard her just fine. A few men winked at her and instead of being
flattered, she wanted to throw up.
Anya laughed so
hard she nearly fell in the floor. “I think they all know you do now.”
Elle grabbed her
unwanted drink and didn’t waste time swallowing the disgusting liquid. The
vodka burned and she coughed uncontrollably. Even her eyes burned. Why did people like this stuff?
“Woohoo! Let’s get
her another!” Anya paid the bartender then handed Elle another shot.
Elle shaking her
head didn’t stop Anya. “I don’t need another one.”
She needed to go
home and sleep.
“You’re going to
take this and drink with me. I can’t get plastered on my own.” Anya clinked
glasses with Elle and forced the overflowing glass against Elle’s lips.
The liquid seemed
worse the second time around. After sputtering and looking like a complete
idiot, Elle watched as Anya scanned the crowd until her lips lifted into a
devious smile.
“There’s the man
who'll make all your dreams come true, Ellie.” Anya nodded to two men strolling
their direction.
Elle looked at the
first man and immediately sensed he wasn’t her type. With his shaved head and
tattooed neck, Elle made him out to be more Anya’s type. The man behind him however…
Muscles. A whole
lot of ‘eat me up’ muscles. Dark hair hung around his strong jaw and swept his
broad shoulders. His brows pulled together in deep thought as his friend spoke
to Anya. Why did he look so angry?
Elle liked that his
attention stayed elsewhere. It gave her more time to ogle his cover model body.
He seemed to glide weightlessly across the floor. The perfect Scottish warrior
stood right in front of her, close enough to touch and Elle knew she had no
chance in the world to get with him.
Too bad. For once
she might’ve thrown her morals and shyness out the window for a shot with the
warrior.
“Alright, ladies
and gentlemen, it's time for you to find your partner for tonight. Be
adventurous. Grab a stranger. Kiss them head on. Who wants to go home alone?”
The crowd boo’ed.
Really? Did Anya put the band up to that?
She wouldn't mind
kissing him. He had her body reacting in a way she'd never felt before. Suddenly
her mouth became dry and her heart pounded. The strange reaction had to be the
shots of screaming orgasm working its magic on her body. He could give her a
screaming orgasm anytime.
Wow, Elle didn’t
need to drink ever again. She practically mind-raped the unsuspecting man. She
felt as out of control as if he had some kind of spell on her.
She gasped when his
silver gaze looked at her. She thought his body tempted her like no other but
those eyes seemed to lure her in some sort of trap. He would be the one who
could change her thoughts about having a one night stand.
She'd jump at the
chance if he were her option.
