Love with Fangs (The Witching Hour Series Book 1)

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  He noticed me and nodded to the police officer who was holding the pass to let me through.

  “Julia, what are you doing here?” He seemed anxious.

  “I just finished work; someone gave me a lift. What happened?” I asked, instantly curious. He walked me to the side, looking annoyed with himself. More officers were coming in and out from the upper apartment above the shop. I smelled blood and the air was thick with spells. Despite the early hours of the morning, many people came to stare.

  “Someone reported that two more elves were kidnapped.” Dad looked around; his bright blue eyes pierced me with worry. A cold chill blazed down my spine.

  “What? Another kidnapping?” I gasped.

  “Julia, darling, you know I shouldn’t tell you any of this, but you don’t live far from here and this is worrying because this neighbourhood is usually quiet,” he added softly. “We also found a body. I will send an officer with you; I don’t want you to walk alone from here.”

  “A body?” I nearly choked, feeling the blood drain from my face.

  “Yes. Please let Stewart take you home. I can’t talk about it. This place is a mess.”

  He fetched another police officer within seconds and told him to escort me home. I thought that I remembered him; his name was Stewart and he was a wizard. He was part of the Paranormal Squad.

  “I’ll give you a call tomorrow, just make sure you stay in the apartment,” Dad said firmly, then nodded to Stewart.

  I agreed. Plus, I couldn’t disturb him while he was working. Stewart smiled, and we started walking off, leaving the crime scene behind. It was after five o’clock in the morning, but many people were gathered around the street, probably hoping to see the corpse.

  ‘Busy night, huh?’ I asked him, trying to make this less awkward. We were close to my house, but I was still uneasy. I wanted to know who was killed, and why, but I knew Stewart wasn’t going to tell me anything. I could only wonder if that murder had anything to do with Claudia’s kidnapping.

  “You can’t even imagine. Earlier on, we had a call about a rape; vampire and fairy are never a good combination.” He sounded tired.

  I swallowed a giant lump in my throat, thinking about Nathaniel once again. I hated that everyone around me suddenly had to voice their opinions about vampires.

  “Okay, I’m here. Thank you for walking with me.” I patted his arm once we were outside my apartment.

  He nodded. “Take care of yourself, Julia, and stay away from vamps.” He shrugged and walked away.

  “I know that I have to stay away from vampires, but this one is still in my head. So, how can I get rid of him?” I muttered to myself, walking through the door.

  The next day, I woke up at three o’clock in the afternoon. I didn’t have to get back to work until the third of January. It could be a little tricky getting used to the normal hours of the day. In the past few weeks, I’d worked a lot of late shifts and gone through a tonne of drama, but with a bit of magic, I assumed my body clock would adjust back to normal.

  As soon as I was wrapped up in my favourite dressing robe, I switched on the news. Dad was right: there was something bad going on in London.

  “Young male has been identified as an employee of La Caz Pharmaceutical. He was found dead last night when the neighbours reported loud screams and arguments. Jason Stone was twenty-five and he lived alone. He never had any trouble with the police. The investigation is still pending.”

  I didn’t breathe for several seconds. I looked at the screen where the presenter showed a picture of the man who died last night. I already knew he was a vampire: pale skin with large dark circles under his eyes. My heart was racing. He wasn’t one of our workers, but he’d worked for Nathaniel. I sank back into my seat, trying to make out what was going on. Why would someone kill a vampire and kidnap fairies and elves? Was it the same person? None of this made any sense. Maybe Nathaniel knows who was involved and he’s not telling me to keep me safe. That would explain why he hasn’t tried to call if he’s investigating his own company. I was aiming to check into that later. This was all too confusing.

  It was time to see him again whether he liked it or not. Jason Stone was his former employee and now, he was dead.

  Was it just a coincidence that he lived near me? Something was going on and I needed to get to bottom of it soon. I knew Nathaniel would have the answers.

  I checked my phone, and I dialled my dad’s number. He couldn’t tell me any more than I already knew. I found out the Paranormal Unit had interviewed a few witnesses, but there was no news about Claudia. He assured me that sooner or later someone would start talking.

  In the afternoon, I went out to have my hair done; after all, employees from Paranormal Personnel were getting together for our annual Christmas celebration. After my appointment at the hairdresser, I chose my outfit.

  Jennifer lived on the way, so we ended up sharing a taxi to the party.

  When she saw me, she said, “Girl, you look stunning!”

  “Thank you. I'm so glad that I don’t have to work Monday,” I said, thinking about a fine glass of wine. I thought it was nice that Rufus had paid for me to attend. I did work hard all year and I deserved to have a good time tonight.

  “Bitch,” she muttered, and I laughed. It was her turn to work this Christmas and she wasn’t happy about it. Jennifer, as usual, looked great, wearing a signature stretch long-length dress with lace insert panels.

  “Do you think everyone will show up?” I asked her when we were moving slowly over the London Bridge.

  “I hope so, but I’m not going to hold back. I want to party tonight—hard.”

  “Yes, we should all have a good time; we deserve it.”

  Our party was at Grand Central, so we waited eagerly for the evening to start. We paid the taxi driver and walked inside, following everyone else who looked stylish and glamorous. The venue was stunning, dominated by a classy mix of red and black drapes, ornate columns, and funky decorations. We found our table and Rufus, Adele, Monica, Kate, and Alexandra were already there. I said hello to a few paranormal creatures from the Bristol branch.

  “Ladies, you both look beautiful,” my regional manager said. I sat between Jennifer and Mark, a vampire. I wasn’t surprised that Adele was sitting by Rufus, chatting him up with a big smile on her face. I had a quick chat with Mark who worked the night shift while drinking some wine. He didn’t look anything like Nathaniel, but he kept glancing back and forth at my neck.

  I quickly stopped paying attention to him when the food was being served. By the time we had dessert, I could only manage to eat two mouthfuls of Black Forest gâteau. Everything was delicious.

  The live band started playing on the stage. I had some wine, but not too much. After that, Jennifer dragged me onto the dance floor; Adele and Kate were already there. I never knew whether vampires could get drunk, but Adele looked flushed, whereas Mark was dancing with a human, staring at her neck. The atmosphere was fantastic; everyone was having a good time, and the music was loud.

  A few hours later, I wasn’t feeling too good. I didn’t drink anymore, but I felt dizzy and generally unwell. I had no idea what was wrong with me. Jennifer was holding me, but she could barely stand up herself.

  In the past hour, she’d been drinking shots of tequila. For a split second, I wondered if someone had slipped something into my drink because the world around me started spinning. Something wasn’t right, and I needed to locate Rufus.

  Moments later, Jennifer whispered that she was going to the rest room. I shouted after her, but she just left me alone. I couldn’t believe it; I thought that I might faint. My magic was buzzing in my ears; my limbs were numb. My fingertips were tingling as the alcohol rushed through my veins.

  “I’ve got you, Julia. I think you should come with me now.”

  The low, sexy voice folded over my shoulder, and I stumbled backwards, trying to regain my balance. Before I knew what was going on, I was held by someone. My mind was spinning.
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  “Oh, Mr. La Caz, this is a private party—you shouldn’t be here,” I mumbled, lifting myself away from his body.

  “Julia, how much did you have to drink?”

  “Only a glass of wine, but there is something wrong with me. I don’t feel well…”

  My stomach was hurting now. I was going to vomit right there in front of him. Suddenly, my body was drenched with a cold flush of sweat.

  “Let’s get you to the lou, or maybe you just need some fresh air.”

  I don’t remember how I made it to the toilet, but I vomited all my dinner and cried a little. I must have lost consciousness for several minutes because when I stirred back to reality, I wasn’t in a loud room anymore; I was in a car. I felt so drunk, but how was that even possible if I only had one glass of wine?

  “Kiss me, Nathaniel.”

  “Julia, you seem drunk, so please just lie down until we get home.”

  “But I want you to kiss me. I'm agreeing to your proposition.”

  “You won’t remember any of it tomorrow. Please, stop tempting me.”

  “I'm not feeling too well… I…”

  “You and alcohol just don’t go well together. It’s like me and your blood...we lose control too quickly.”

  Several hours later, I opened my eyes and had to shut them again. A pain shot through my forehead and I moaned. My body was numb, and bright light was pouring into the room, increasing the throbbing pain in my skull. I rubbed my eyes and looked around.

  This isn’t my room. What the hell?

  The bedding was soft and smelled of lavender and jasmine. I closed my eyes, wanting to drift back to sleep, but then I realised that I had nothing on apart from my knickers. I started to panic, but I was so hungover that I couldn’t even remember what I was doing in this stylish place. The room was spacious, with large windows and bare white walls. A large wardrobe was opposite the mirror and dressing table. Everything looked immaculate. I tried to bring back memories from the night before.

  What was the last thing that I remembered?

  Party, food, and then I danced. That was it. Nothing else.

  I didn’t even drink that much, so what the hell happened? I only had a glass of red wine with my meal. Jennifer tempted me with shots, but I declined. My mind seemed blank after that, but I was certain that someone must have added something to my wine glass when I wasn’t looking. I had no proof. I was sure that most likely no one saw anything, then my memory flashed back to the point when I was in the car with Nathaniel. He’d shown up on the dance floor. He thought that I was drunk, so he helped me out. God, that was embarrassing. I must have vomited in the toilet. In a panic, I checked for any bite marks; there were none. I walked to the mirror and checked my neck. Still nothing.

  I looked at my phone. It was twelve o’clock and I wondered whether La Caz had done anything else to me, but deep down, I knew that I would remember whether or not we had sex last night. I looked in the wardrobe, trying to see whether there were any other clothes that I could wear. I couldn’t walk around this strange room naked.

  Men’s shirt, huh? That will have to do.

  The shirts were fresh and smelled of him. I was glad that it would at least cover my bum. My nerves were eating me away. I was probably in his room, waking up half naked with the biggest hangover of the century.

  Someone knocked, then Nathaniel entered. He closed the door and gave me a lazy smile. When I looked into his eyes, I felt ashamed of myself, exposed and vulnerable, stripped apart from all the dignity that was left in me. In broad daylight, he looked like any other human; his sandy hair was damp, and he was dressed in a grey jumper and jeans.

  Chapter fifteen

  The attraction.

  “Miss Taylor, you’re up.” His voice was still alluring. He smiled again and shoved his hands into his pockets. Heat rushed to my cheeks and I felt so ashamed that I’d lost control of myself last night. I wasn’t even going to try to cover my nipples, because they were just there in his face, but he was still staring at my eyes.

  Waking up in his house, not knowing what I did or said last night, was mortifying. I wanted to disappear.

  “Hi, Nathaniel. I’m confused about why I’m here.” I straightened my back and placed my hands on my hips. Slowly, his eyes moved from my eyes to my neck, then to my breasts and wandered off to my face again. My heartbeat quickened, but I was going to hold myself together. After all, he was a man and if my nipples were staring him in the face, he couldn’t not look.

  “I brought you home. You were throwing up everywhere and I couldn’t leave you with your work colleagues, so I decided to take you to my apartment.” He smiled mischievously.

  “How did you even know where I was? Have you been stalking me again with your dark magic?”

  “Can you believe in such a coincidence? I decided to take senior members of my staff to a Christmas party—we had a good year—and Lucinda suggested Grand Central,” he replied, playing with his gold ring.

  “And you want me to believe that Lucinda chose the same venue where Paranormal Personnel decided to go?”

  “Yes, that’s what happened.” He shrugged, looking annoyed. “So, is this the end of your interrogation?”

  “No, I have a lot more to ask you.”

  “Well, I’m afraid that will have to wait. If you’re going to stand here half naked, I might stop being such a gentleman. I’ll rip your clothes off and have sex with you right here, right now.” When he licked his upper lips, my heart lurched, and energy charged my skin.

  “We both know that’s not going to happen.” I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly. “Can I have my dress back? I haven’t got any other clothes.”

  He stepped towards me, and I was afraid he was going to touch me, but instead, he passed me and opened the wardrobe.

  “Here, put this on for now. After lunch, we will figure something out.” He inhaled, closing his eyes for several seconds. “You need to cover your scent because I can’t take it for another minute or I’m going to lose control and bite you.”

  His voice was so low and husky; it sent an icy shiver down my spine. I concentrated for a few seconds and whispered the spell, feeling the energy spreading over my skin, producing the shield that was supposed to protect me from him.

  “I’ll wait for you in the kitchen. Just turn right and walk straight through.” He passed me a pair of trousers, then left the room. I took a long deep breath just to make sure that I wasn’t going to pass out.

  He only touched me once, but his presence was driving me insane. I went back to the bed, found my bra, and put his trousers on. If I heard him right, he’d restrained himself from sleeping with me.

  I left the room and found myself in a long corridor; I noticed large paintings showing Paris and London at night. The immaculate carpets were cream-coloured and when I walked into the dining-kitchen area, I was swept away by the stunning view overlooking central London. The kitchen was set in black colours, with a spotless granite surface and the latest brand-new cooker. Nathaniel was sitting in a chair, reading the paper. He looked even more gorgeous in the morning sun, and yes, London wasn’t cloudy today.

  “Come on, sit down.” He gestured toward the empty chair. I sat next to him, mesmerised by the stunning view. I wasn’t even thinking about the money. No one could afford this kind of luxury working from nine ‘til five. I shouldn’t have been surprised at all. Most vampires were usually rich; nobody knew a poor vampire—but Nathaniel La Caz didn’t have years to accumulate this kind of fortune. He was only twenty-seven and he was ageing like a normal human being. “I prepared poached eggs on toast. I hope you like eggs?”

  “Yes,” I said, staring at him and, after a moment, I realised that my mouth was open.

  He smiled, folded his paper and within a minute, brought two plates to the table.

  “Come on, eat up, Julia. You were sick last night, so you need to regain your strength,” he said, looking at me. “Let’s think of this as our second date. I enjoyed our
spicy dinner a few weeks ago, although it was a shame that we didn’t end up enjoying each other’s company for a while longer.”

  The truth was that I was starving, so I began eating my prepared eggs. Nathaniel La Caz had surprised me, yet again.

  “I thought that you didn’t date,” I pointed out.

  He took a bite of his toast and lifted his hazel eyes to look at me. “No, you’re right, I don’t, but I can make an exception for you.”

  He needed to stop looking at me like that; otherwise, I would never be comfortable in his company.

  “You didn’t have to rescue me yesterday, Nathaniel. I would have been fine. Something happened. I didn’t even drink that much, but Jennifer was—”

  “Your work colleague vanished with a fairy an hour before you were sick, so I was there at just the right time.”

  “All right then, thank you. I appreciate it. So, you brought me here to your apartment and then undressed me?” I continued to look at my plate, unable to meet his eyes.

  “If it makes you feel any better, it was dark, and I wasn’t looking.” I recognised the amusement in his tone. I had to change the subject right away. He was trying to intimidate me. I was doing well up to this point.

  “Normal food; do you enjoy it as much as blood?”

  His eyes darkened and I swallowed the last piece of toast.

  “Yes, food and blood are equally tasty.” He placed his knife and fork on the plate and steepled his hands together. I was still astonished that he wasn’t pale; he had an olive-coloured skin tone with a slight tan. “However, after smelling you, I don’t want to taste anything else.”

  “Stop smelling me, then. Vampires and elves aren’t supposed to mix; it’s too dangerous.” He was driving me insane. How was I supposed to remain composed when he continued to—oh, he just needed to stop, or I was going to lose it.