On the Trail of Darkness

by Ann Jacobs

  “I’m glad.”

  “It bothered me, seeking out a mortal to destroy him. In the end, though, I didn’t have to commit cold-blooded murder. The bastard emptied a gun into me when I asked to buy some stuff and said Raul had sent me.” Claude shrugged. “Hard to believe a mortal would dare go head-to-head with a vampire, but he did.”

  “The patron thought himself above the law . . . above retribution. I’m glad he’s dead, but gladder that you killed him in a fair fight.”

  “Not particularly fair. Still, it eases my conscience, knowing he’d have killed me first if he’d been able to.” Claude sat beside her on the bed, lifted her hand and intertwined their fingers. “Let’s forget the patron, may he rot forever in mortals’ hell.”

  “Yes, let’s.” Marisa glanced around the room, saw nothing familiar. “This can’t be a hotel room. Where are we?”

  “My home. Paris.” He shrugged, his expression suddenly sheepish. “Maman scolded me for turning you without her having met you first, but she says you make me a lovely dhampir bride. I love you”

  Marisa looked at him, saw not only the lover who had given her incredible pleasure but also a good man she could count on for a lifetime. A mate for more than mating, more than protection. Claude d’Argent was a mate meant for loving.

  And she did. “I love you too, my darling. Why are you sitting there, fully clothed, while I lie naked on your bed, awaiting your pleasure?”

  His wide mouth breaking into the same toothy grin that had intimidated her when they’d first met, Claude began stripping off his clothes. She loved his body—so pale, so muscular, the skin as soft as the velvet hangings on their bed.

  Her sex grew wet and swollen. Her nipples hardened. She sensed her fangs growing with her arousal and wondered how she’d ever manage now to suck her love’s huge, pale cock. Eager to have him, she spread her legs and held out her arms in blatant invitation.

  He sank inside her, filling her beyond full and baring his throat. “Bite me, my hot-blooded vampire bride. Don’t be afraid, you won’t hurt me. I want you to drink my blood, the way I fed on yours to make you mine.”

  When she sank her fangs into him, he groaned, a sound that spoke more of ecstasy than agony. The salty, slightly metallic taste of him fed her arousal, turned her cool body warm. It felt good, so good. Euphoria set in as he thrust harder and faster into her welcoming sheath, when he turned them where she was on top and directed her movement with big, powerful hands on her buttocks.

  “Oh, yes, don’t stop,” he rasped out, and she felt him swell and harden even more inside her. She sank down on him once, twice, three times more, mindless as delicious sensations washed over her. “Squeeze me. God, yes, I’m coming.” He bathed her womb in hot, hard bursts. Bursts that claimed her yet again. Made her know she belonged to him.

  Long into the night under a new Paris moon they made love, two vampires dancing in the dark, sucking and fucking and sipping of the nectar of the life they’d share together—for an eternity.

  Epilogue

  One month later

  Alina lifted her glass and sipped daintily at the fine vintage A negative that was her favorite, laced with a mere thimbleful of anisette. Then she met Claude’s gaze across his mother’s dining table. “I hate to disturb your honeymoon, Uncle, but we’ve traced Reynard to Chicago. I sense that Stefan will need your help.”

  Claude clasped Marisa’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Of course. We’ll leave at once.”

  “Not we, love. You. I’ve just learned we’re going to have a child, and that it’s somewhat of a miracle we’ve managed to conceive. Your mama would visit me with some awful vampire curse if I did anything to risk this baby.”

  When she laid his hand over her still-flat belly, Claude imagined he felt movement there. “A baby? So soon?” The idea thrilled him. It terrified him too, if he were to be completely honest about the feelings rumbling around his brain following his mate’s announcement.

  “Congratulations, Claude. It seems you must have inherited your father’s potency.” Alina beamed with obvious joy. “Of course, Marisa’s right. She must stay here, take care of herself and my cousin.” When she frowned, her brow wrinkled momentarily. “It is a cousin, is it not?”

  “I guess.” When one’s niece and nephews were centuries older than oneself, relationships tended to get confusing. Claude figured “cousin” sounded as good a title as any for an uncle’s offspring. Suddenly aware there must be some danger in being pregnant, he turned to Marisa. “I don’t want to leave you. Not now. Still, this is the best chance we’ve had so far to corner the Fox.”

  “I understand. The world won’t be safe for any of us until he’s been destroyed. Go. I’ll be fine, getting to see all the attractions in Paris with Alina and your mama as guides.” Marisa smiled, her dainty fangs showing, reminding Claude she’d given him the gift of a lifetime by turning her back on her mortal life and choosing to join him in the shadow world.

  A world where no vampire would be safe unless they destroyed Reynard soon. Unless they put an end to his senseless killing spree before he brought the wrath of all mortals down on every vampire on earth. Claude stood, ready to do his duty as his father had done nearly seventy-five years ago, even if duty meant destruction.

  “Au revoir, my love,” he said, giving Marisa a quick squeeze before taking to the air once more. “We’ll get the bastard this time. And make a safe world for our child.”

  The Oil Barons Series

  Be sure to check out all the books

  in the Oil Barons series

  by Ann Jacobs!

  Capture Me

  For Shana Green it’s true that everything really is bigger in Texas, including her erotic fantasies. Shana has always fantasized about being taken by a wealthy sheikh as his harem love slave, something she never imagined could come true. Then she meets Dahoud “Bear” el Rashid. Instantly, she knows the ruggedly handsome Arab is a dream come true—until she realizes that following her dream may mean giving up the Texas home she loves so much.

  Bear is entranced by the strikingly beautiful Shana, and when she reveals the fun private yearning that only he can satisfy, he’s thrilled to indulge in one hot final fling before he settles in Kuwait permanently to run his family’s oil business. But when desire turns to devotion, Bear has to choose between the woman he loves and a family that is sure to disown him.

  As their passion burns and parting becomes impossible, Shana and Bear must struggle to bridge the gap between their two cultures and build a love that truly knows no borders.

  The Closer We Get

  Erin Winters has struggled ever since the accident that took her husband’s life and left her young son seriously injured. Desperate to get her son the surgery he needs, she agrees to become a surrogate mother. But when the wife dies unexpectedly, Erin is suddenly faced with the demands of the grieving husband and carrying a child she has come to think of as her own.

  Blake Tanner had it all—marriage to a woman he adored, a successful career as a lawyer, and a child on the way. Now, tormented by his loss and overwhelmed by the prospect of single fatherhood, Blake comes up with a solution that might be his final undoing.

  In the hopes that he can give his child the life he deserves, he asks Erin and her son to live with him. In exchange, he will provide them both with all the advantages a wealthy Texan has to offer. It’s a simple financial arrangement that makes perfect sense to Blake, until the grief that marks his days is slowly replaced by the glimmer of hope, and desire, the beautiful woman stirs in him.

  As Erin and Blake surrender to the powerful sensual force that neither can ignore, the two must help each other overcome their anguish and dare to build a new life, and love, together.

  Promises Lost

  When Shana Green first revealed her deepest fantasy to “Bear” Dahoud, he not only indulged her sensual yearnings but fulfilled her every desire, and the two fell madly in love. But once they were married and settled into his
villa on the Persian Gulf, Bear grew progressively more distant and left Shana hungry for more. Deciding she could no longer tolerate his prolonged absences and emotional distance, Shana took her broken heart and returned to her Texas home.

  Bear, still desperately in love with Shana, is stunned by her departure and desperate to end the growing emptiness in his heart. Realizing that the only true love he has ever had is in jeopardy, he decides the only way to win her back is to recreate the magic of their first passionate days together.

  Surprising Shana in Texas, he sweeps her away and vows to hold her captive as long as necessary until she is his once again. And even as the damage of their separation threatens to break them apart for good, he indulges Shana and himself in every imaginable pleasure, waging a sensual battle to reclaim the love of the one woman who once and always captured his heart.

  Rescuing an Angel

  One fateful misstep for Gayla Levine was all it took for her once-adoring fiancé to walk away and her demanding father to disown her. Determined to finally turn her life around and embrace her newfound independence, she wants nothing to do with men or relationships—until she meets Dan Newman, a sexy surgeon who sends a shock of electricity through her every time they touch.

  Dan Newman has spent his life struggling to overcome his own crippling past by devoting himself to healing others who have suffered. Now a world-class surgeon, he’s confident in his ability to face anything life throws at him—until he meets a headstrong Texas beauty who has his pulse racing and fills his dreams with impossibly sensual visions.

  As they fall into a passionate romance that takes them both to the burning edges of pleasure, these two damaged souls must both confront their darkest demons. Because Gayla is haunted by the echoes of being called a failure and torn by the fear that she’ll be rejected once again, and Dan, who has proved his worth to so many others, now must convince himself and Gayla that they deserve the powerful love they’ve found.

  Texas Fire

  When Kate Black walked away from a passionless relationship to tend to her ailing father, she was happy to return to the land that had been in her family for generations and lead a simple life. Too young and innocent to know better, she had no idea that agreeing to lease her acreage to an oil company would turn her life upside down. And even more unsettling is the ruggedly handsome man running the operation, who makes her breath hitch and awakens a sensual need in Kate she never even knew existed.

  Jake Green has oil in his blood, along with a chip on his should as big as the Texas sky. Following his ex-wife’s betrayal, he swore off women and dedicated his life to growing his family’s business. But when his job leads him to Kate, he can’t deny the fiery attraction that burns between them and indulges his powerful yearning, even as he fights to protect his tortured heart.

  As the two surrender to an unquenchable passion and discover undeniable pleasures in each other’s arms, Kate must find a way to heal Jake’s heart—and Jake must admit to himself that a love like none he’s ever known is about to consume them completely.

  Breaking Free

  Leila al Sinan bears the scars of a war that took her husband and left her desolate and alone. Taking refuge at a prisoner-of-war camp, she finds herself looking to an enemy prisoner to get what pleasure she still can from life. Expecting nothing more than a few stolen moments of sensual comfort, she soon finds herself discovering passion beyond her most wild imaginings, and as the man ignites her body and stirs her heart to new life, Leila is forced to make a decision that may change her life forever.

  For eleven years Jamil al Hassan has suffered at the hands of the brutal prison warden and thinks only of survival and eventual escape. When a mysterious cloaked figure enters his cell and straddles his prone figure, whispering a shocking request, he instantly responds to her soft beauty and a pleasure he’s been denied since his captivity began. As their desire and fulfillment grow more intense, Jamil hatches a plan that may save his life—but also force him to betray his honor, and his heart.

  Daring to risk all, the two escape into the night for a long and perilous trek that will lead to salvation or certain death. As trust grows between the former enemies, the two discover that true love knows no borders, and they must fight to stay alive to find a happiness forged by fire and sealed by passion.

  Hearts Unleashed

  Alina el Rashid is a sexy and independent firebrand whose wild ways have created one scandal too many for her conservative family. Exiled to her brother’s remote villa as punishment, Alina is starved for the touch of a man and aching to rebel—when she meets Brian Shearer, the stunningly handsome American pilot who’s being hailed as a hero. And as his quiet sensuality excites her in ways even the untamed Alina never imagined, she vows to find a way to overcome his stubborn refusal to open his heart to her.

  After enduring years of hell as an enemy prisoner, Brian was crushed into further despair when he returned home to find that his wife had left him for dead and married another man. With nothing left to live for, he moves halfway around the word to escape his pain—and meets Alina, a tempting beauty whose dark eyes flash with a passion that promises endless sensuality. Overwhelmed by this intensely alluring woman and his own inhibitions, Brian struggles to resist her openly erotic intentions while yearning for her love.

  As these two vulnerable hearts discover an undeniable desire growing between them, Alina must convince Brian of her newfound devotion, while Brian must free himself from all the forces holding him back to fill both their lives with exquisite pleasure and eternal love.

  About the Author

  Before settling down to raise a family and write stories about to-die-for Alpha heroes and the women who tame them, Ann Jacobs spent several years on staff of a national CPA firm and a few more as financial manager of hospitals and a health maintenance organization in west-central Florida. She began writing while her children were babies, making her first sale to the Berkley Publishing Group in 1996.

  Almost twenty years and more than a hundred books and novellas later, she still lives in Tampa, Florida, with her own personal hero, her youngest son, a sometimes neglected orchid collection, and four very spoiled and much-loved furbabies, including regal Mr. Blue (a Russian Blue), LoverDog (her son's twenty-three-pound Chartreux), and the latest addition, Molly Meow, a senior tuxedo girl saved in the nick of time last December from the county's high-kill shelter.

  Ann loves hearing from readers and tries to meet as many fans as possible at one or more conferences each year. You can learn more about Ann by visiting her website at annjacobs.net.