Her Vampire Bad Boy

by Trim, Brenda

  Black dots swim over my vision as the hold around my neck tightens. Panic sets in and I start clawing at his face. I grab fists full of hair but can’t get a good hold.

  “You made a mistake attacking a vamp club, shifter. Release the human and face me,” James Dean orders.

  The one holding me makes an odd rumbly sound and his hot breath falls on my cheek as he responds. “Never, vampire. Our alpha has his sights on this city, and we won’t tolerate your kind like Garrett does.”

  My hands are now heavy, and I’m so damn tired. I just want to go to sleep. No doubt it’s from the lack of oxygen. If I don’t get free soon, he’s going to kill me while these two guys have a conversation. I expect my life to flash before my eyes in the face of death, but of course, that doesn’t happen.

  I don’t want to die, I try and scream, but nothing comes out when my lips move. When I try to renew my fight, my hands fall to my sides instead of poking out his eyes. There’s so much more I want to do. I ran from my parents and their machinations but haven’t managed to do anything with my life yet.

  I regret not going out with the girls earlier tonight. I am going to die without ever discovering what makes me, Harper Travanti, tick.

  My eyes slip closed and the next thing I know I’m falling. When the pressure lifts from my neck, I automatically start sucking in huge gulps of air. I’m so busy trying to get oxygen to my sluggish brain that I don’t register I’m falling. There’s no way to brace myself when I finally realize what’s happening and I land on my hip then hit my head again.

  Pain radiates across the left side of my skull making me sick to my stomach. The sound of scuffling is close to my face. With a groan, I roll away from the noise and try to see what’s happening.

  The James Dean lookalike is bleeding from a cut on his cheek and throwing his fist toward the guy that was just holding me. The blows echo in the stairwell, but to my continued shock no one comes outside.

  “This will never be your town. Your alpha will realize his mistake as soon as we pay him a visit with your heads in a bag. I’ll try to save some of the killing for my friends,” my savior snarls.

  All I can do is stare at my knight in shining armor in awe. His threat doesn’t frighten me. I’m relieved someone is helping me.

  These guys, he called them shifters, my brain adds. And the others called James Dean a vampire. That’s impossible. Vampires and shifters don’t exist. But my knowing tells me they are right.

  There’s no freakin’ way. For the first time in my life I question that extra sense. It’s impossible. A memory from earlier tonight makes me pause. When I try to grab hold of the details, they escape me.

  This guy saved me from being kidnapped and God only knows what else. A vampire wouldn’t do that. They’re undead creatures of the night that live only to kill as they consume blood and are incapable of emotions like love and concern.

  The stereotype is far from correct, my gut tells me. College taught me many things. One is to question everything. It’s why I listened to those long-suppressed questions I had about my parents’ religion and beliefs. They haven’t held up to my scrutiny thus far, and I don’t expect that to change.

  The scowl on my savior’s face does nothing to diminish his attractiveness. His blue eyes might burn with anger right now, but my mind conjures an image of him as he gazes down at me with affection and a hint of fang.

  Crap. It’s true. He’s a vampire and those men aren’t really men at all. They’re shifters. They turn into animals.

  I do a double take and watch them closer. Sure enough, I see a fang when one corner of James Dean’s mouth lifts in a snarl.

  Where’s my panic? I just discovered supernatural beings exist and I’m not freaking the hell out. What gets my heart racing and my feet itching to run is the fact that these shifters want to kidnap me for what I can only assume is a nefarious purpose.

  Concussion, my mind spits out. This has to be because I have a concussion. Maybe I’m lying on the stairs after falling down and hitting my head. My brain bounced around inside my skull a few minutes ago.

  “Let’s go, Tony,” one of the other guys calls out. “I doubt he came alone.” My kidnapper stops with that comment and heads to the other two guys.

  My savior turns to me and I see both fangs this time. My stomach does a funny little flip that’s part scared, part I don’t know what. His eyes follow the shifters. He’s going after them.

  “Don’t leave me,” I blurt when he turns away. The thought of being alone at that moment terrifies me as much as almost being kidnapped. I’m not safe and I know it. These shifters aren’t giving up that easy. This reprieve won’t last forever.

  “I have to catch them,” he barks. I should be terrified, yet I’m not. He’s an honest to God vampire. He’s killed people. That’s not even a question in my mind, it’s a certainty. Yet my knowing tells me he will not harm me.

  “What if there are more hiding and they take me?”

  “I won’t let that happen,” he promises as he runs to my side faster than my eyes can track. My head is pounding, and bile rises to the back of my throat, choking me. I knew something was wrong. That’s why I couldn’t sleep. It makes me wonder if my knowing is evolving into something more. Is that even possible?

  He bends and presses his shoulder into my stomach then wraps his arm around the backs of my thighs. Fear flashes and boils in my veins when my feet leave the ground.

  He’s done nothing but help me so far, but being hauled over his shoulder brings back the fear from my attempted kidnapping. “Um...thank you for helping me. My apartment is over there. What’s your name anyway? I’ve been calling you James Dean in my head and that seems awkward now.”

  He adjusts me so I’m cradled in his arms and when I settle there, I see a half smile ghost over his lips. It transforms him from handsome to stunning. “It’s Liam, and I’m not taking you to your apartment.”

  My heart skips a beat. “Stop. Please. Let me go. I just want to go home and lock my door,” I beg.

  “Locked doors won’t keep those assholes out,” he informs me right before he opens a car door then drops me into a soft seat. He’s behind the wheel before I can blink, and we’re peeling out of the parking lot.

  “Sleep,” he tells me. But there’s no way can I rest now. I have no idea where he’s taking me. I need to escape and call the police.

  I try to keep my eyes open as they are suddenly heavy and falling closed. Stay awake, I tell myself. Right before sleep claims me I swear I hear him mutter, “How are you fighting my commands and why do those shifters want you, kitten? Who are you?”

  Chapter 4

  Liam

  What the hell just happened? I wonder as I race down the street, checking my mirrors to make sure we aren’t being followed. She didn’t succumb to my thrall right away and her mind has that same fuzzy quality to it.

  This woman is more than meets the eye. There’s something about her that draws not only me, but shifters as well.

  Why did they go after Harper? I smell her scent to make sure I’m not missing something vital like her being one of them. No--she’s human. Her sultry scent drives me mad. When I inhale deeply and take it into my lungs it makes them tingle.

  That’s never happened before. I cock my head and get a closer look at her features. Her pouty mouth begs to be kissed, and her pert nose is slightly pointed. I wince inwardly at the bruises forming around her throat and the bump my keen eyesight detects on her head. Other than that, her face reveals nothing. Perhaps I’ll find a tail when I strip her bare.

  My body tingles and my cock stirs for the tenth time that evening. I’m surprised when it’s challenging for me to remain focused on deciphering the puzzle of Harper. There is nothing about her that makes me think she’s something different.

  And, nothing I’ve witnessed about her so far that hints there’s more to her, either. Sure, she draws me in like a moth to a flame, but that is her beauty and naiveté along with her strength. Har
per is a spectacular contradiction.

  My arousal unfurls at mach speed when I think about what happened. Watching her fight against the male shifter was incredible. I can still smell her fear. When I arrived, her terror kept me locked in place for several seconds. It was as if she had me in her thrall. Yet another new experience for me.

  When I snapped out of it and realized what was happening, I was struck by the fact that she hadn’t turned into a sobbing mess who went meekly with her kidnappers. It sealed her fate and made her irresistible to me.

  This obsession of mine needs to pass quickly, before I give it any more fuel. I have no desire to spend more time thinking about this fragile woman. The time isn’t wasted, a part of me insists. I have not fed tonight, being so busy with the attack at the club and then rescuing Harper. The decision to take what I want from Harper is an easy one.

  It’s impossible to fight the attraction. And with so few surprises left in life, why pass on experiencing and tasting this beautiful bundle before she disappears from my life?

  I wonder how she will blossom under my tutelage. I want her on her knees before me, ready for my command. I enjoy dominating females. Vampires are predators, after all. Sex for us always involves preying on our partners. It’s why Lucius’s BDSM dungeon at Club Toxic is so popular. Using floggers and paddles feeds my demon while sweetening the blood.

  I want to watch Harper’s ass turn pink under my hand. The mere thought gives me an idea. It’s been decades since I brought a female to my personal playroom. When the dungeon was built, I stopped bringing females home. Less mess that way.

  Wiping too many memories from a human is dangerous. Not that I care if I fry a woman’s brain, but it’s easier to avoid creating messes. Like most of my brethren, I have no desire to leave a trail of bodies that leads back to me, thus exposing the existence of vampires. We’ve gone to a lot of trouble to keep ourselves hidden.

  Not only would drawing human attention piss Lucius off, but it would put a target on my back. I don’t fear humans per se. They are no match for my strength, but when they band together, they become a problem. Even tiny fire ants can kill a man if they work together.

  With no one on my heels, I hit the highway and head toward the foothills and home. I have a couple hours before sunrise immobilizes me. Plenty of time to play with my little obsession. Eager to get home, I press the pedal to the floor.

  Seems Fate is having a grand time with her machinations, I think. Why has Harper fallen into my lap? I have no doubt that the powers of the Universe pulled several strings so that she and I crossed paths tonight. The question is why?

  When I sent Harper home in a cab, I never expected to see her again. Despite the regret playing through my head after she was gone, I was glad. She’s not only sexy as fuck, but full of light. Looking at her is like looking at the sun I haven’t seen for centuries. And I am filled with darkness from the pits of Hell.

  She’s so much better than I am. She deserves someone better. There’s a literal halo around her head when I look over at her. It doesn’t matter that it comes and goes with the lights lined up along the side of the highway. It reminds me she’s good and pure. One sniff and I can tell that much about her.

  It still makes me think about her inner illumination. It’s the one thing that separates her from the millions of other humans on the planet. Perhaps she’s from heaven. Part angel. An angel I want on her knees before me. Begging. Pleading me to bite her. Drink from her. Fuck her.

  Right, that’s going to happen, and I’m Santa Claus.

  A snort escapes me. “You’ve got me turning into a romantic sap,” I tell her with disgust. I’m not a romantic. Never have been.

  She is the closest thing a creature like me will get to an actual angel, and I will have her on her knees, I vow, then groan as my hard cock throbs.

  Needing a distraction before I pull over to the side of the road and take her right there, I recall what led me to her apartment in the first place. Finding her purse was a stroke of luck. She would be in the hands of shifters right now if I hadn’t come across it in my clean up. What exactly did they want with her? She means nothing to the vampires, so there is no way they want to use her to get to Lucius.

  What then? Nothing makes sense. Her life is ordinary. A quick internet search after I discovered her full name told me she teaches at the community college. Her social media posts show a typical if a little boring life of college, moving here and working. There were some posts about food that perked my interest.

  Other than leading me to her house, all I managed to discover from the contents of her purse was that she preferred shiny lip gloss to the vibrant lipstick most females I encounter wear. And why not? She’s perfect without anything on her face.

  Shaking my head at my continued fixation, I consider heading directly to my king’s house. Taking her to Lucius would be the smart thing for me to do. Not only would it show the loyalty I pledged to him not that long ago, but it would get her off my hands. Selene can help Harper discover what the shifters want.

  “Fuck that,” I curse under my breath. Not that there’s any danger of her waking up. She’s under my compulsion to sleep and won’t wake up until I give the order.

  I like the thought of her following my commands. Nothing sexier than a female naked on her knees as she sucks my dick. Wearing my collar is a close second, I decide.

  Exiting the freeway, I anticipate seeing her pert ass on her heels as she kneels before me. I slow marginally, giving the gate to my community barely enough time to open and allow my car to pass through.

  The upper-class neighborhood is occupied by more than one vampire. Thankfully, no shifters live in my little slice of paradise. I can’t rest with ease if the stench of animal fills my nose. I blame it on survival instincts. Shifters and vampires don’t mix.

  I honestly don’t know how Lucius sleeps next to his mate. She’s a female alpha wolf shifter. It’s clear she loves him, but I have no idea how the hell he trusts her not to betray him. Especially considering she initially got close to him in order to kill him.

  Pulling around to my garage, I push the button on my visor and the far panel lifts. Once I park my Jag next to my Hummer, I depress the button turning the engine off.

  “Wake up, kitten,” I command as my mind delves into hers once again.

  “Unh,” she groans and turns her head side to side. The bruising on her neck is deeper and the knot on her head is now a goose egg, but it doesn’t detract from my desire. In fact, it intensifies my need to experience her taste.

  Her mouth is slightly ajar, and the pulse at the base of her throat kicks up a notch, making my fangs descend for the hundredth time since meeting her.

  Climbing out of the vehicle, I cross to the passenger side and pull the door open. She blinks her stunning whiskey eyes at me and I nearly lose myself in their depths. I see the second she realizes where she is. Her body stiffens and her gaze goes wide.

  “Where did you take me?” She jumps from the car. Her hand flies to her head and she sways.

  “I’ve taken you to my house. Your apartment isn’t safe at the moment,” I inform her. “Follow me.” I turn, certain she will follow. Her fear is escalating, but she is not immobilized by it.

  “My purse,” she blurts. I turn my head and see her reaching for where I tossed it on the floorboard.

  “I found it at Club Toxic. Come in or you’re sleeping out here,” I advise her. The slap of bare feet echoes behind me, making a smirk lift one corner of my mouth. Her entering my home of her own accord is a promising start.

  “Why am I here? And, what do you do for a living that you can afford such a massive house?”

  I head to the bar in the corner of my kitchen and pick up a crystal goblet then pour myself two fingers of scotch and grab a towel and fill it with ice. “Let’s set a few rules straight first, kitten. I am the one who will be asking the questions. You will obey every single one of my commands.”

  Her mouth falls open on a gasp
moments before fire explodes behind her eyes. Her fear is titillating my senses along with her bravado. The combination is intoxicating. I hand her the ice pack for her head, barely maintaining my control.

  She presses the cold compress to her head and glares at me. “Look here mister. I don’t know who you think you are, but I didn’t leave my parents’ home and their dictating my life to have someone else tell me what to do. I have questions and I will ask them.”

  Adorable.

  She makes me laugh. Setting my drink down I use my vampire speed to stand in front of her before she takes another breath. Her shriek hurts my ears but the scent of terror coming off her is delicious.

  “Yo…you’re a vampire,” she stutters.

  I pin her in place with a look that halts her retreat. I know she’s angling for a way out of my house. Her gaze roves around wildly. Now that’s she’s my captive, her fear of me refuses to abate. It’s satisfying, but at the same time I find that I don’t care for it.

  I smile and flash a hint of fang, enjoying the way her pulse increases. Surprisingly, a new aroma mixes with the fear she’s exuding.

  “I am. It would be wise to do as I say,” I tell her.

  She swallows hard when I lean in and run my nose up the column of her bruised neck. Her rushing blood is a siren’s song. She makes my fangs throb. I grab her shoulders to steady myself. It’s a mistake. Now I battle the urge to sink my teeth into her supple flesh.

  “What do you want from me, sir?” Her voice warbles and hits a higher pitch when she talks this time, but she gives me a concession. I doubt she realizes the true danger she faces, or she would be running away from me as fast as she could.

  My dick gets hard when calls me sir. Eager to start her education in submission, I take her by the hand and lead her to the stairs. “There are many things I want from you, kitten. Because time is short before the sun rises, I will settle for a taste.”

  Her body shakes as I take the stairs slowly. She pulls her hand, trying to take it from mine. I don’t give her an inch. I push her in front of me and watch her ass sway back and forth as she continues climbing.