by Ivy Banks
It’s not working! How can it not be working?
He couldn’t understand why she was not waking. He had turned hundreds over the ages. He smothered a gasp of horror, realizing that he had killed her in the throes of passion.
There was no escaping the gravity of what he had done. He had murdered a woman in cold blood, one he had tried to protect. Now he must run away and start anew. Carlos’ death was justified, but this—this was horrific.
“I am so sorry,” he whispered, bending over her, smothering a sob. He had never been so devastated in his existence.
“I wanted to protect you,” he breathed. His arms cradled her lifeless body, his face buried in her thick hair.
“You did protect me.”
He whipped his head up and stared open-mouthed at Penelope who was now looking at him. Her dark eyes glimmered with the shimmer of eternal life and she ran her tongue sensually over her protruding incisors as she smiled at him.
“You’re alive!” he gasped, his typically stagnant pulse roaring in his ears. “I thought I killed you!”
“Well, I imagine you technically did,” she replied flippantly. “But it seems you’ve also given me new life.”
He swallowed and nodded.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, and she laughed playfully.
“Hungry,” she replied, a curious glint in her eye. “And what’s more, I know exactly where to go to eat.”
Chapter 5
“Lucas! It’s four o’clock in the morning!” screamed Steve, seemingly startled that his boss was at his front door.
Lucas and Penelope shoved past the man and into his apartment, their eyes an identical glow of malice.
“I do my best work at night,” Lucas replied, closing the door. He turned to Penelope who nodded in agreement.
“What are you doing here?” asked Steve nervously.
“I’m just wondering where you were tonight when everything was happening,” Lucas replied, flopping onto the worn loveseat. “I had just talked to you about getting a better handle on your security team.”
Penelope joined him, perching on the club owner’s lap. Steve stared at the scene, his brow furrowing.
Lucas could read the sudden panic in his face.
She was right. It was him. Steve and Carlos were the attackers.
“I was, uh, there…” Steve faltered, looking anxiously about as if seeking an escape.
There would be no escape, not this time. He had gotten away twice. It wouldn’t happen a third time.
“Yes, you were,” Penelope agreed. “You were holding a gun on the club while Carlos was about to attack me.”
The head of security’s face turned waxen at her matter-of-fact tone and he shook his head in denial.
“No!” he replied. “That’s simply not true.”
Penelope rose to her feet, stalking toward him slowly as if she was about to give him a lap dance and Lucas watched her, his eyes absorbing her every move.
“You should have tried to disguise your voice,” she purred, offering him a wry smile. “Did you think that the music was too loud for anyone to make it out?” she asked sweetly. “I recognized it. It just took me a while to place it, but I know it was you.”
Steve slapped away at her hand and stepped back, sheer desperation coloring his pudgy face. He looked at Lucas for help.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about and I don’t have to listen to this shit from a stripper,” Steve snarled. “How long have I worked for you, Lucas? You can’t believe I would do anything like this!”
Penelope glanced back at Lucas and they exchanged a long-amused look. Lucas smiled encouragingly at her.
“You got this?” he asked and she grinned.
“Oh yes,” she assured him. “I have never been so prepared for anything.”
Turning back to an extremely unnerved Steve, Penelope shrugged and nodded.
“I agree. You don’t have to listen to this shit. Especially from me.”
Without warning, Penelope swooped in, sinking her teeth into the bouncer’s neck, savoring the sweet taste of his blood as he tried to break free from her clutches, but there was no point in fighting.
In seconds, Penelope had rendered him unconscious, thirstily sucking at the plasma oozing from the puncture marks in his throat.
“Easy, easy!” Lucas called, laughing. He pulled her back gently and stared at her.
“What?” she demanded. “It’s delicious!”
“Yes,” he replied. “But if you take too much your first few times, you will make yourself sick. You must learn to pace yourself. You’ll learn over time.”
Penelope smiled at him, wiping the blood from the corners of her lips.
“Will you teach me all your tricks?” she asked excitedly.
Lucas looked at the smoldering brunette. It was obvious his attraction to her over the years was more than lust. She had been his mate all along, but he could never admit that to himself.
Will I teach her all my tricks? Lucas wondered. In all of his years, he had never once yearned for companionship. Lucas had always been a lone wolf, not trusting anyone.
Yet as he looked at the eager woman, staring at him with desire and excitement, he could not imagine traveling alone ever again. Unexpectedly, a mate had been thrust into his life and he was happy, despite the oddity of the circumstances.
“Yes,” he replied, smiling. “I will teach you everything I know.”
THE END
Did you enjoy Book 15 in the Vampire Kingdom Series?
+Follow me on Amazon
To stay up-to-date on my new releases.
Go to the Also By Ivy Banks page for a list of all the Royal Vampire Kingdom books.
What for to read next?
Take the new series by Chloe Vincent for a spin!
Get it now:
Secrets & Dark Magic
Sometimes it’s good to have a guardian angel in your corner…even if she’s a little bit bad.
Also By Ivy Banks
Vampire Kingdom Series
The Complete Royal Vampire Kingdom Collection (Books 1-15)
(Each is a stand-alone story)
The Hitman’s Weakness (Book 1)
Private Lesson (Book 2)
Taming The Billionaire (Book 3)
Billionaire Boss’ Obsession (Book 4)
Cowboy Crush (Book 5)
House Call (Book 6)
Double The Fun (Book 7)
Waves of Pleasure (Book 8)
Rock Hard (Book 9)
The Starlet’s Bodyguard (Book 10)
Billionaire Blackmail (Book 11)
Mountain Mayhem (Book 12)
Nurse On Duty (Book 13)
Trouble In Paradise (Book 14)
Dancer’s Delight (Book 15)
About the Author
Ivy Banks is a respectable lady by day…well, for the most part. But being a loving wife and upstanding citizen doesn’t mean you have to lose your racy side! Ivy writes hot contemporary romance stories. She likes to create a world and then play in it for awhile, letting her imagination run wild and her fingers type without inhibition.
Do you want to be first to know about new releases?
+Follow her on Amazon
&
Sign up for The Reader Club Mailing List!