A Glimpse of the Dark Side: Adult Paranormal Erotic Romance Collection

by Eden Laroux

  "Not really," Bonn said. "She did her thing and threw me to the ground. But first, before she started feeding, she told me that her name was Lisette and that she was going to give me the gift of immortality."

  "Let me guess. She bit your neck and the next thing you knew, you woke up with a burning hunger, the likes of which you had never felt in your life. You might have even tried to eat food, but it only made you ill. Am I close?" Kane asked.

  "That's exactly what happened!" Bonn cried.

  "How do you know who I am? I can see that you recognize me."

  "All vampires know who you are, and most of them are afraid of you."

  "And you're not?" Kane asked.

  "Of course I am, but if you're gonna kill me there's not a lot I can do to stop you."

  "That's very true," Kane said softly. "But this is your lucky day. I've decided not to kill you. However, I do have some conditions attached to that decision. You're going to stop killing outright. Obviously, Lisette left you on your own with no training. I'll show you how to feed without killing, and without leaving the memory of your presence behind. Am I understood?"

  Bonn looked at Kane as if he didn't quite believe his good fortune.

  "You know, I don't really like to kill," he murmured. "I just get so hungry."

  "How old are you?" Kane asked him.

  "I was nineteen when I was turned."

  "And how long ago were you turned?"

  "Six months ago. I remember, because we were out celebrating my friend's twenty-first birthday. We stumbled out of the bar and into this crowd of people. My friends went one way and I kind of fell in another direction. Then this woman comes out of nowhere. Man, she was so hot! She's standing there smiling at me like she wants to eat me up, which is kind of what ended up happening."

  Kane was still puzzled as to why Lisette would single out this young man. At any rate, Bonn couldn't be allowed to roam around freely until he had been taught a few things, and it seemed as Kane was the only one around to do it. Of course, he could simply kill him, but even after all of these years as a vampire, he got no pleasure from killing. No, if he could save this new vampire; he would do so.

  He spent the rest of that night with Bonn, showing him the ropes, so to speak. They began by going back to his last victim and removing her from the dump spot. The police wouldn't find another body and would simply believe that the murderer had moved on. That didn't mean they would stop looking, though they would never find the murderer.

  Just before dawn, having made sure that Bonn was satiated for a while, Kane helped him locate a resting place that would keep him safe as he slept. Heading back to his own home, Kane made it just in time to sequester himself before the sun was completely up. Even though the sun didn't cause him to burst into flames, he found that it did drain him after too much exposure. So he preferred to not spend a lot of time in direct sunlight. Besides, his sleep was a healing one and replenished him in just those few hours.

  He was a bit sorry that he hadn't had a chance to check in on Secret that night. It was okay, though. He knew she wasn't going anywhere that he would be unable to find her. One lost night wasn't going to ruin anything.

  Reassured that all was well, Kane closed his eyes.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  "EVERYTHING IS GOING to be just fine, DeLisa," Secret said, as she tried to reassure her young client that she didn't have to marry someone she didn't love.

  "But what about my family?" the girl sobbed. "They adore Davis! They've practically had us married since we were in diapers!"

  Pointing to the Seven of Swords that lay on the table, Secret tapped it with her fingernail.

  "See this card right here?" she asked. "This shows that Davis hasn't been entirely honest with you about something. All you have to do is find out what he's been hiding and then go to your parents. They won't have their baby girl marrying a liar!"

  "But he'll never admit to me that he's lied about anything. How will I find out what he's doing?" DeLisa wailed.

  "Because I'm gonna tell you, DeLisa," Secret said to her in a quiet, calm voice.

  Then she pointed to The Empress card that was on the table.

  "Okay, this card shows us that he's gotten someone pregnant," Secret told her.

  "You mean he's been cheating on me?" DeLisa shrieked.

  "I'm afraid so, honey."

  "But who? And how could he keep a baby hidden?"

  "First of all, he doesn't know she's pregnant yet. I'm not quite sure that she even knows, but she will soon."

  "Do you know her name?" DeLisa asked.

  Secret had to pause with that one. She did know who the girl was, but she had to figure out a way to make DeLisa believe that she was seeing it in the cards, when, in fact, she hadn't seen any of these things in the cards alone. All of it had come from her special ability that she kept hidden for the most part.

  "Let me see if we can get a name for you," Secret said kindly, as she picked up her cards and re-shuffled them.

  She laid out a few new cards and pretended to study them intently.

  DeLisa was quite impatient and kept asking her if she was getting anything. Secret held up her hand to silence the girl. It was important to make it look good. Finally, she looked up at DeLisa and spoke to her.

  "I have a name," she said quietly. "Are you sure you want to know?"

  "Yes! I have to know, Secret! This might just give me my life back!"

  "Alright then, I'll tell you. I'm getting that her first name is Bethany and her last name seems to be DuMonde. Yes, I'm quite sure that's it. Bethany DuMonde."

  DeLisa had suddenly gone quiet and her eyes were wide.

  "Are you sure that's her name?"

  "Yes, honey, quite sure," Secret answered. "What's wrong? Do you know her?"

  "Actually, I do know her. I know her quite well. She's my best friend."

  Secret had also seen that, but she felt that it would be better for DeLisa to work that out on her own.

  "What will you do then?" she asked.

  "It all makes so much sense now," DeLisa said. "They always got along really well, and Davis wanted to invite her to come with us sometimes when we would go to a movie or out to eat. Not only that, but they would both be unavailable at the same time when I wanted to go out for the night. Now, I know why."

  "I'm very sorry, DeLisa," Secret said.

  "Well, I'm not sure that I am," DeLisa laughed. "I mean, sure, I'm kind of pissed that they went behind my back, but this actually works out for me. I'm going to confront them and then tell my parents. They definitely won't have me marrying a cheater, liar, and the father of someone else's baby. Yes, the more I think about it, this is perfect!"

  "So, you're not upset then?" Secret asked.

  "Not really. Funny, isn't it? Most girls would be destroyed over something like this, but I'm totally fine! Of course, Bethany will no longer be my friend because I can't have a best friend that would do something like this to me. But I'm actually fine. Thank you so much, Secret!"

  Reaching across the table, Secret took DeLisa's hands in hers and gently squeezed them.

  "You're going to be just fine, DeLisa," she said. "I promise. Your next relationship is going to be so much happier."

  "I'm already a lot happier! You've helped me regain my life. I can't thank you enough!"

  Releasing DeLisa's hands, Secret rose from the table.

  "Just continue to believe in yourself and you'll find that everything will be wonderful."

  DeLisa continued to thank Secret all the way to the front door. In fact, she even left a pretty hefty tip on top of Secret's usual fee.

  Smiling as she watched the girl go down her front walk, Secret felt happier than she had in a while. So far, she hadn't noticed any more of those feelings of being watched. That had gone a long way to relaxing her, even though she was still on the alert in case they returned.

  She was starting to think that maybe she had imagined it all. Then she would remember that empty booth in t
he bar and the abandoned glass of wine. She knew that someone had been watching her that particular night. Maybe it was just a fluke. At any rate, she wasn't going to let it consume her.

  DeLisa was her last client for the day and now the evening belonged to her. Just as she was headed into the kitchen to figure out dinner, her cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw that it was Adele Dubois.

  Bloody hell, she thought. That's the last thing I need tonight! She decided to let it go to voice mail. There was no way that she would be able to handle that woman at the end of the day. It was why she always scheduled Adele's appointments at the beginning of the day, or at least only one or two into the day. She had virtually no energy left after a reading with Adele.

  A mere few minutes later, as she stood surveying the contents of her refrigerator, her phone rang again. Adele. Once more, she let it go to voice mail.

  After another five calls, Secret gave up and set the phone to silent. She would never get anything to eat at this rate.

  Finally, deciding on a salad and some boiled shrimp, she set out what she needed to fix a light dinner. She just bought the shrimp, fresh the day before, and now was the perfect time to cook them. Starting the shrimp boiling, she made the salad while they cooked. In the middle of her preparations, her doorbell rang.

  She froze. Surely Adele wouldn't be so bold as to simply show up here uninvited or without an appointment. Moving silently to the front of the house, she ducked into her reading room briefly and glanced out the window so that she could see her driveway.

  Oh, thank god! It's only Marielle! What a relief, she thought.

  Secret hurried to the door and opened it for her friend.

  "Hey, I didn't expect to see you tonight!" she said to Marielle.

  "Well, I tried to call you a little earlier to see what you were doing tonight but no one answered. Since I was almost here anyway, I thought I would just stop by."

  "You're just in time for dinner! Come with me to the kitchen. I'm sorry about the phone. I had to turn it off because Adele kept calling."

  "Adele! What did she want?" Marielle asked.

  "I have no idea," she replied. "I didn't want to answer; at least not until I had eaten. But she kept calling and calling. I haven't even listened to her voice mails."

  "Hmm, well, do you mind if I listen to them?" Marielle laughed as she picked up Secret's phone.

  "Knock yourself out," she replied. "By the way, I'm having boiled shrimp and salad. Do you want to join me?"

  "Oh yum! Will you make your special homemade cocktail sauce?"

  "Of course! It wouldn't be right otherwise."

  Both women laughed, as Secret went back to her salad preparations and Marielle put in the code for Secret's voice mail. As she listened, her face went from smiling to outraged to concerned.

  "Hey, Secret," she said. "I think you need to listen to these. She sounds like she might actually be on her way over here."

  "Oh, God! Here, let me have the phone," Secret said as she reached for it.

  "Your first unheard message: 'Secret, you've got to be there! Oh, my God, I've got to see you! I need a reading! Sam's whore has finally done it! She's made him file a restraining order against me! I've got to find out what to do, please...'"

  "End of message. Your second unheard message: 'Secret, it's me again! I'm on my way to your house. You've got to do a reading for me! Don't say no. I'm almost there!'"

  "End of message. Your third unheard message: 'Don't you ever answer your damned phone? What kind of a psychic are you if you don't know when to answer you own phone? I'm almost there. You can't say no!'"

  Secret didn't bother listening to the rest of them. Deleting the messages, she set her phone on the breakfast bar.

  "Well, now what do I do?" she said almost to herself.

  "I'd call the cops if I were you," Marielle said. "She sounds unhinged, sweetie."

  "I can't call the cops," Secret said. "I don't have a great relationship with them. I'm not exactly their favorite person."

  "Oh, please! This is fucking New Orleans! Home of the Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. Surely, they can move past the fact that you're a Tarot reader."

  "If they knew the rest of it, they'd probably tar and feather me. But it seriously isn't the best idea to get them involved. If Adele is really headed here, I'll just have to handle her when she arrives."

  "Do you still have that handgun in your nightstand?"

  "Yes, but it's not going to come to that. We're not shooting anyone."

  "If you say so."

  Just as they were starting to settle back into preparing food, they heard the squeal of tires on the street. Exchanging looks, they set down their glasses of wine and headed to the front of the house. Sure enough, Adele had arrived and was flying up the sidewalk to the front door. Her car was parked across Secret's small, but carefully maintained yard at an odd angle.

  Adele looked like a mad woman.

  As they watched her approach through the window of the reading room, Marielle started shaking her head.

  "Now can I convince you to call the cops?" she asked.

  Secret was actually a bit unnerved by this new development, but she focused on this situation and knew that no one was going to get hurt by it.

  "No, Mari, we won't need them," she replied.

  At that moment, Secret's doorbell began to ring over and over again. "Secret! Secret! You've got to let me in! Please, Secret, I need to see you!" the woman screamed in between ringing the doorbell.

  Finally, Secret opened the wooden door, but not her glass storm door. Up close, Adele looked even more frightening than she had coming up the walk.

  "Adele, you know this is highly inappropriate. I'm not seeing clients tonight. Call me in the morning and we can set something up. You need to go home now."

  "Secret, you don't understand what that bitch has done!"

  "Yes, Adele, I do understand. I heard it on your message. But I simply cannot see you tonight. If you don't leave on your own, I'll have to call the police."

  "No!" she screamed. "You've got to let me in!"

  Suddenly, with almost superhuman strength, Adele lifted one of the medium size clay pots filled with plants that sat on either side of the front door. Before anyone knew what was happening, she threw that pot through the glass door, completely shattering it.

  After that, everything happened so quickly that neither Secret nor Marielle could totally recall the events. What they did know, is that Adele was quite suddenly yanked up and away from the door. In her place stood a rather tall man with jet black hair, aquamarine eyes, high cheekbones, and quite a sensual mouth.

  The man was facing Adele, speaking to her in low urgent tones. She seemed to be under some sort of spell as she nodded slowly and finally walked down the steps and back out to her car. As she drove, they all watched her brake lights disappear down the street.

  Only then, did the man turn to fully face them.

  "I don't believe that you'll be having any more trouble from that woman," he said in a deep, pleasantly modulated voice. There was a slight accent that Secret couldn't identify but, in the end, that was of little importance.

  "Wow," Marielle exclaimed. "What did you say to her?"

  "Nothing too complicated," he replied with a slight smile. "She needed to understand why her actions weren't acceptable. She'll most likely be calling you tomorrow in a highly apologetic frame of mind."

  "Where did you come from and how in the hell did you see her?" Marielle continued to interrogate him.

  "I just happened to be out taking a walk and heard her screaming. I followed the sound of her voice and here I am."

  "Well, we can't thank you enough, right Secret?"

  Secret hadn't uttered a word throughout the exchange. It was clear to her in a flash that this man was her watcher.

  "Hey, why don't you come in and have a glass of wine with us? It's the least we can do, right Secret?" Marielle continued to try to elicit some response from Secret.r />
  "I'm quite sure that he's got more important things to do than spend his evening with us, Mari. Will you please go check on the shrimp? I'm afraid it may boil over."

  "Um, sure, okay," Marielle said in a puzzled voice.

  As soon as Marielle was out of hearing, Secret turned back to face the man standing on her front porch.

  "What is your name?" she asked.

  "I apologize. I've neglected to introduce myself in all the excitement. My name is Kane Broussard. It is a pleasure to meet you."

  "Mr. Broussard, I do thank you for your help this evening. However, I won't be inviting you into my home. You see, I know what you are. Obviously, my friend does not. I also know that you've been tracking me for some time now. I'm not sure what I have that you could possibly want, but I do know that your kind doesn't stalk someone without a reason. Please go away and don't come back."

  Before he could reply, she had closed the door in his face. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he was angry or amused. In the end, he decided that he found her reaction to him very entertaining. He also found that he was quite excited by her lack of fear, even with the knowledge of what he was.

  Fine, he would leave for now. But this was not going to be their last meeting.

  He and Ms. Secret Lavalle had a lot to discuss; and discuss these things, they would. Her beauty notwithstanding, she had a spirit that attracted him like no other woman ever had. He knew that she was still watching him through the peephole in her door. That knowledge made him smile at her and incline his head in a slight nod.

  Then, just as she had demanded, he turned and left.

  ***

  Next Book in the IN THE BLOOD Series:

  KINSHIP TO THE BLOOD

  His skin tone slightly paler than most, with a firm build and impressive height, Kane's raven-black hair and cerulean eyes ignite women with heated desire. Secret senses their inevitable meeting with caution as he leads her on with his supernatural charm.

  The night after Kane and Secret's first meeting amid shattered glass and psychic fallout, he continues to eye her from afar. One question is on his mind as he waits for their next meeting: Will she know who I am?