by Anthology
An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
www.ellorascave.com
Ellora’s Cavemen: Jewels of the Nile II
ISBN 9781419916540
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
After Dark Copyright © 2008 KyAnn Waters
From the Sea Copyright © 2008 Maxie Cooper
Lady’s Choice Copyright © 2008 Rebecca Airies
Sunrise Copyright © 2008 Natasha Moore
Surrender Dorothy Copyright © 2008 Anna J. Evans
The Debutante Copyright © 2008 Samantha Kane
Editorial Team: Raelene Gorlinsky, Nicholas Conrad, Kelli Kwiatkowski, Briana St. James , Denise Powers.
Cover design by Darrell King.
Electronic book Publication June 2008
Trade paperback Publication June 2008
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/)
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
Ellora’s Cavemen:
Jewels of the Nile II
After Dark
By KyAnn Waters
From the Sea
By Maxie Cooper
Lady’s Choice
By Rebecca Airies
Sunrise
By Natasha Moore
Surrender Dorothy
By Anna J. Evans
The Debutante
By Samantha Kane
After Dark
KyAnn Waters
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Michelin Man: Michelin North America, Inc.
Chapter One
“Haven’t you ever wanted to walk into a bar, pick out the hottest guy in the place, take him home and fuck his brains out?” Kayla March sat across from her best friend Nita at the local brewhouse, Coffee Grounds. She sipped a latte with an extra shot. Caffeine equated to energy and she needed a jolt.
“Absolutely not,” Nita said.
“Well, I have and tonight I intend to make it happen.”
Yesterday, the final divorce papers arrived in the mail. Kayla was single again after seven years of marriage.
“I’m glad my grandma isn’t around to see this day. She loved Tom.” Kayla fingered the bloodstone ankh pendant around her neck. She’d found it in her grandmother’s belongings next to a picture of her deceased mother. An ankh symbolized eternal life. Knowing that, wearing the pendant gave her comfort. She hadn’t taken it off since.
“She’s the reason you married him,” Nita said. “I loved your grandma, too. She was a sweet lady, but she controlled your life.”
“She wanted what she thought was best for me.” Kayla sighed, and then shrugged away the gloominess. When Grandma died Kayla had lost the only family she had left. “Maybe that’s why I stayed with Tom for so long. I knew the marriage was a mistake five minutes after the ceremony.” It hadn’t taken Kayla long to realize Tom saw marriage as a shortcut to financial independence with Grandma’s money. More than that, Grandma had ensured that even after her death, Tom controlled the money because Grandma had declared him executor of her will.
Oh, he’d been proud to have her on his arm in public, but once the door closed she existed in a private hell of indifference. Tom had never been abusive, but inflicted deep wounds nonetheless. And, although they’d had sex occasionally early in the marriage he’d never given her an orgasm. No one had given her an orgasm. Apparently, that was her fault as well. Determination swelled within to prove she wasn’t frigid, she wasn’t a cold-hearted bitch, and she was indeed sexy, intelligent and desirable.
Kayla wanted to experience passion, hot as hell, and without consequence. And she told Nita so. “Does that make me a slut?” She twirled a lock of her shoulder-length hair around her finger.
Nita snorted. “No, but maybe slightly desperate.”
“Desperate I can live with.” She pulled a napkin from the dispenser. “I heard about this new club called After Dark. I want to check it out. I have this feeling about the place.” She touched the pendant again. Whenever she thought of the club, the bloodstone in the center of the ankh warmed her skin. It had to be a sign.
Nita held up her hand and shook her head. “Not me, I’m comfortable with my sex life with Steve.”
“Perfectly boring sex life.”
Nita shrugged. “Maybe, but size makes up for lack of skill. It’s not a perfect world.” She pointed a finger at Kayla. “Tom was a jerk. I know you. Deep down, you believe there is someone special out there.” She leaned back. “He isn’t at some bar, and you won’t find him in a one-night romp.”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the pep talk. I feel great now.” But Nita was right. Kayla did believe in soul mates. She just didn’t think it likely she’d meet hers. Only a few lucky ones discovered everlasting love.
“Just don’t set yourself up for another hard fall. Sometimes you have to accept what is.”
“I’m in a rut, Nita. I’m divorced. Rumors are rampant at work. I might be out of a job because my department is about to downsize. And I need male attention. You know, Tom and I didn’t have sex the last year we were married and I haven’t been with anyone else since we separated.”
“What about the guy from your office you went out with a couple weeks ago?”
“Three months,” Kayla corrected.
“He was good looking.”
“Yeah, it should’ve been perfect. Reputed to be a ladies’ man, I thought we’d get along great. Supposedly, he fucks everyone he dates, and I wanted to get laid.”
Nita laughed. Then she took a sip of her drink. “So what was the problem?”
Kayla furrowed her brows. “Lance Perini, Mr. Good Looking. Not perfect, but doable.” Kayla preferred dark hair, and although Lance was blond, she only entertained the idea of a one-night stand. They’d had dinner and a glass of wine before she invited him to her place.
“He talked about himself in third person. Lance is a happy man with a couple glasses of wine. Lance knows how to please Kayla. Lance’s big buddy wants a kiss. And then he grabbed his crotch.”
“Oh no, he didn’t.”
Kayla nodded. “I’m not opposed to giving a blowjob, but I think it’s only polite to give before asking to receive. And his kisses were sloppy.” She put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm. “If I had known then he’d be my only offer, I wouldn’t have been so picky.”
“Hence the club and your lowered standards.”
“It will also explain the blonde highlights I’m having weaved into this mess.” Kayla flipped her auburn hair. Lately, she’d thought it looked mousy. Before she went to After Dark, she’d have a new look to go with her new lease on life.
“And what exactly is my involvement in getting you hooked up?”
“Just keep me company until I meet…him. I know he’ll be there.” She ran her finger around the rim of the cup. “I feel it.” Her eyes met Nita’s in a plea for her to understand. “Haven’t you ever felt like you had to do something? Y
ou don’t know why, only that you have to follow your instincts.”
“Like right now, when I know I have to go to this club so that you can get laid.”
Kayla stuffed her napkin into her empty cup. “I’ll pick you up at nine.”
Nita groaned. “Fine, but I’ll meet you there. I’ll keep you company while you break the ice with a hottie.” She pushed her cup away. “Be quick. I’m leaving at eleven.”
Kayla smiled. Two hours ought to be enough.
* * * * *
Alandro Blackwood paced outside the council chamber. Discussions were underway and he should be inside. She was alive. Anxiety raced through his veins. Pressure tightened his chest. His existence was about to change. With the discovery of the one woman who was his blood match he’d once again found his opportunity to breed.
He fingered the vampire ankh hanging around his neck. Two inches long and the dagger-shaped staff tapered to a sharp point. About an inch wide at the cross, the sides were shaped like fangs. The pendant was made of silver. Unblessed silver.
In the center of the necklace, beneath the oval head, was a tear-shaped bloodstone. He clutched the sacred pendant in his palm, allowing the psychic benefits of the stone to wash over him, the understanding of destiny and purpose. The link to the woman he’d believed dead.
The tip of the daggered end pierced his skin. He released the pendant. A droplet of blood was absorbed back into his skin and the puncture mark healed. Only a pinprick scar remained.
The door opened. Inside the large chamber Vasco sat at the head of the table. His council was seated around him. Vasco pointed to the seat to his right. Alandro’s footfalls echoed in the large windowless room. Wall sconces emitted the only source of illumination. Native American tapestries, woven by his tribe, hung on the wall. Some were hundreds of years old. For more than five hundred years his clan had survived in the area now known as Arizona.
Alandro kept an apartment in Phoenix as well as his family’s ancestral dwelling deep in the remote desert. A safe house.
Alandro took his place beside his father. “Where is she?”
“Just wait.” Vasco reseated himself. “She doesn’t know who she is or more importantly what she is.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “We must proceed cautiously.” He steepled his fingers beneath his pointed chin. “She was just a child. We don’t know how much she witnessed of her parents’ death.”
“Their murder.”
Vasco nodded. “And it appears she was raised by the slayer who killed them.”
Alandro leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. “Then you know who the slayer is?” He narrowed his gaze on his father. “Tell me.” He stood. “So that I can find him. After I drink every last drop of blood from his body, I’ll tear his heart from his chest.”
“Alandro, calm yourself and listen. You don’t understand. The slayer is dead.”
Then what was the problem? If he didn’t have to fight for his bloodmate’s safe return, why wasn’t she already with him? A part of his soul remained vacant without her. Until a few hours ago, he believed he’d spend eternity alone.
Alandro was a mated vampire. One of the few with the ability to breed. Whether a curse or gift from God, but only a woman born of a changed female could bear his offspring. Not all males born could breed. Only those who carried the active gene. However, all first-generation females were born human…until awakened.
Alandro would awaken the woman’s long-dormant vampire gene when he found her.
For a quarter of a century it had been believed his blood match was hunted and killed along with her parents. He’d waited two hundred years for her birth. Their blood had to match. And as a human child, she grew up naturally. Alandro couldn’t claim her until she’d reached maturity. Before that could happen, she disappeared.
“Will you listen, Alandro? She doesn’t know you exist.” Vasco pointed to the council seated around the table. “She knows nothing of us…of our kind. And there are some things you need to know before you contact her. The situation is…delicate.”
Alandro slowly sank to his chair. “Where is she?”
“After Dark.”
The feeding grounds? Unless her dormant vampire gene had already been awakened by a breeder, why would she go to After Dark? He’d soon find out.
* * * * *
Black leather miniskirt, a blouse with plenty of cleavage. If Kayla’s outfit didn’t scream come fuck me she’d come right out and ask. Her four-inch heels clicked across the parking lot. Since she’d never be considered petite, she figured she might as well work with her height. Five-nine barefoot, thirty-six D and hips she once thought gave her an hourglass figure, but Tom had called childbearing.
Muted music thumped from inside the club. Cigarette smoke drifted on the air from a few small groups lingering in front of the brick building. Kayla scanned the parking lot for Nita’s silver coupe. She didn’t see it. Damn, hopefully there would still be open tables.
Stepping inside, she saw the club was divided into two sections. The front area had a large bar and tall tables surrounded by high-backed barstools. The music was buffered by a wall, making it easier to have conversations.
Moving to the rear of the club, she scanned the crowd looking for an unoccupied table. “Perfect.” Kayla hurried to a vacant corner booth before someone else grabbed it. From there she could watch both the dance floor and the door. A cocktail waitress flitted amongst the patrons taking orders.
When the waitress approached, Kayla smiled. “I’ll have a Mojito.” She’d never had one before but it sounded like she felt. Unfamiliar and daring.
After Dark was an apt description of the club. Secluded corners offered intimacy, lighting kept a rhythm with the heavy bass coming from the sound system.
“Hi.” Nita slid into the booth beside Kayla. “Have you found the guy?”
“No, but it’s still early. Most clubs don’t pick up until after ten.” Kayla let her gaze travel over Nita. “I’m glad you dressed up,” she said in a sarcastic tone. Faded jeans and the clinging t-shirt weren’t the worst part. At least they clung to all the right places. But flip-flop sandals? They were horrible even with the sequined flowers on the toe strap.
“I didn’t want to give you any competition tonight.” She laughed as the waitress arrived with Kayla’s drink. “What is that?” Nita picked up the Mojito and sniffed. “Smells great.” She sipped. “Mmmm.”
“Rum, I think. I don’t ask. I just drink.”
“How do you make it?” Nita asked the waitress.
She shrugged. “Ask the bartender.” She pointed to the guy behind the bar. Bald, and even from twenty-five feet away his intense blue eyes sparkled. Muscles like the Michelin Man flexed as he upended bottles and twisted off beer caps.
“Oh my God, I feel a flush.” Nita shifted on the seat and adjusted her top to better accentuate her breasts.
“If you were interested in something besides boring, I’d say he’s all yours.” Kayla glanced around again. “I’m looking for dark and mysterious.”
And there he was. She gripped Nita’s thigh and squeezed.
“Ouch!” And then Nita saw him, too. “Oh my God.”
Damn! He was gorgeous, standing in the doorway. Partially cast in shadow, yet his features were still discernable. Thick brows arched high over hooded eyes glinting like polished obsidian and framed with heavy lashes. Strong square jaw, hollow cheeks and lips that hinted at a smile as if he thought of something pleasurable.
Molten heat flooded Kayla’s core. Fervid sexual images formed in her mind. How would it feel to run her hands over the broad shoulders hidden under a black, silk button-down shirt? Black jeans hugged his hips just tight enough to outline the bulging cock behind the fly. Straight dark hair, as black as night, flowed to the middle of his back like a liquid curtain.
“He’s sin personified.” Dark, decadent, and surely worth eternal damnation.
He glided across the room and went to the bar.
/> “He looks like the type to fuck.”
Nita nailed it. The man exuded raw masculinity. He wouldn’t make love, but instead make a woman scream through her orgasms. Kayla wished she knew what one felt like. Most women claimed they could find release in seconds with a high-powered vibrator. Kayla had tried. Maybe she just wasn’t capable of orgasms.
Somehow she knew this man wouldn’t leave her unsatisfied. Kayla couldn’t tear her eyes away from the stranger. Underlying strength radiated. No unnecessary movements. He was completely efficient.
Kayla imagined he wouldn’t waste time with pleasantries. A man like that knew what he wanted and would be tenacious in his pursuit. She was determined, too. Tall, dark and dangerous was the hottest guy in the bar and he’d just ordered a drink.
“Didn’t you want to talk to the bartender?” Kayla met Nita’s eyes and conveyed her intention with a single wink.
Chapter Two
Kayla positioned herself between dark and dangerous and Nita. Her arm brushed against his. Okay, so it was intentional, but she needed to make eye contact to give him the I’m interested look. Hopefully, he’d find her attractive too so she could move on to the sultry smile. He shifted his position, turning his body into hers.
“Sorry, love.” His rich baritone voice smoothed over her flesh like a forbidden caress.
Anxiety fluttered in her stomach and her knees weakened. She slid her right butt cheek onto the barstool to keep from becoming a puddle on the floor at his feet.
“No, it was my fault.” Kayla smiled and placed her hand momentarily on his sleeve. Heat from his body blazed into her palm.
He leaned closer. “Excuse me, I couldn’t hear you.”
His face was close. Their breaths mingled. The spicy masculine scent of his cologne fired her blood. It pounded with a steady rhythm through her veins. She brought her lips near the shell of his ear. “I crowded you.”