Bloodstalker
Drawing Blood
Successful children's book illustrator Holly Seaton is no stranger to the paranormal. With her artist's hand, she creates magical beings of myth and fantasy. Little does she know some of these creatures actually exist and she just met one in the supermarket.
Stryker Cain is a vampire on a crucial mission to save his people from extinction. For years he's been settling small enclaves of vampires amidst human communities all over the world. Stryker has deadly enemies, people who will stop at nothing to destroy his dream. He doesn't have time to deal with the complex feelings Holly engenders within him, but some things can't be pushed aside. She's his bloodmate. The one person a vampire cannot deny.
When innocent people close to him are murdered, Stryker is forced to pull Holly into his world in order to keep her safe. But is Holly the one who will need saving?
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 88,265 words
DRAWING BLOOD
Bloodstalker
Mary Lou George
ROMANCE
www.BookStrand.com
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A SIREN-BOOKSTRAND TITLE
IMPRINT: Romance
DRAWING BLOOD
Copyright © 2009 by Mary Lou George
E-book ISBN: 1-60601-427-7
First E-book Publication: June 2009
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
Muskoka photo by Alex von Einsiedel
All cover art and logo copyright © 2009 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
For my cousin Terri who taught me the rules of romance.
DRAWING BLOOD
Bloodstalker
MARY LOU GEORGE
Copyright © 2009
Prologue
Their leader would bring a new era for his kind. It wouldn’t be easy. They had to take it slowly in the beginning or run the risk of being misunderstood, feared, hunted, and in the end destroyed. In the past under lesser leadership, they’d almost been wiped off the face of the earth, forced to scurry underground, forced to stay with their own kind. Now their numbers had grown and so had their hope. Evolution had been kind to them, their bloodlust tempered by science and deeper understanding. No longer creatures of fable at the mercy of their hunger, they would venture beyond their world to seek a place in a far bigger one. Could they make a difference, maybe even save humankind from their folly? Perhaps it would happen gradually, carefully with him as the first, selected for his strength, wisdom and commitment. The human world awaited. He was ready.
Chapter 1
Holly Seaton enjoyed shopping in Bracebridge. The people were so friendly. She’d lived in the community for over a year now and still marveled at how much fun she had coming to town. It didn’t matter what store she stepped into, she was greeted with genuine pleasure. Holly wondered if the people in Muskoka were just happier by nature. Again she said a silent word of thanks that she’d left Toronto and moved north to cottage country. For the first time in her life, she was accepted and loved for who she was and not what others wanted her to be. It hadn’t been easy though. Her overprotective father had resisted.
“Don’t you believe in me, Father?” Holly had asked. She needn’t have bothered. She knew the answer.
He scowled at her. “I think you’re being foolish. You have a secure job at the firm and a perfectly good home here in Toronto with family who can take care of you. Your condition…you need us. Why would you want to move away from your job, your home, and your loving family?”
Holly could answer that question for him, but decided not to. She had no desire to provoke his temper. It was supposed to be a happy occasion, a celebrated announcement. She was excited and longed to share that feeling with her family. This was what she’d always dreamed of. Holly had drawn the illustrations for a series of children’s books her best friend Avery had written. What started out as a lark, became a best selling series. Now Holly and Avery worked together doing something they loved. Since the work was so lucrative, she’d hoped her father would be happy for her. Alan G. Seaton understood success better than anyone. In the business world, the name Seaton was synonymous with success. Holly’s father walked with the world’s financial giants. Her brother and sister worked with him, two perfectly formed chips off a most impressive block. Holly had been his one disappointment. She had no interest in the economics of profit, so a high-powered career in one of her father’s companies had been out of the question.
She loved her family, but she didn’t fit in their fast-paced, urban world. Holly Seaton was a square peg sanded down and forced to squeeze in a round hole, but in the small town of Bracebridge, Holly fit—with room to grow.
She parked her car in the parking lot and strolled into the grocery store. She wasn’t in a hurry and glancing around noticed that neither was anyone else. She smiled at perfect strangers who smiled back. Everything moved at a more leisurely pace in the country. Cashiers actually chatted with their customers. Their good nature was valued above their ability to check out the maximum number of people in an hour. This particular grocery store wasn’t glamorous and didn’t carry fifteen different kinds of mustard, but it had an ample selection of prepared meals. Since Holly didn’t cook much, she made good use of what was offered.
Comfort food, arranged in an attractive display sat packaged and chilled, just waiting for her weekly visit. Looking for the best before-date, Holly bent and grabbed a sealed dish of chicken penne.
The fever hit with a swiftness that almost brought her to her knees and she swayed with vertigo. The package fell from her fingers to the floor. A bolt of electricity speared her spine. She clawed at the refrigerated shelf to keep from joining the dish on the floor. The shock eased off almost as quickly as it struck, but from the small of her back to the nape of her neck, Holly could still feel a strange residual tingling. One of her knees buckled. Unable to withstand the extra stress, the other one gave way as well. If he hadn’t caught her, she’d have bounced off the prepared foods shelf and slumped to the ground.
“Are you okay?” an urgent voice asked.
Holly looked up into the face of a stranger. But what a face!
Stun
ned, she stared blankly at him then cast her glance down the length of him. What a body!
He held her weight effortlessly and for a second it didn’t occur to her not to let him. Well over six feet tall, the stranger was hard muscled with boy-next-door kind of good looks. He was definitely not her usual type, but bewildered, she found herself smiling back at him, feeling almost compelled to do so, like he’d willed it. A buzzing sound started in her head. Charisma wafted off him like dust clouded Pig Pen in the Charlie Brown cartoons. When she narrowed her eyes, Holly could actually see it and shuddered with reaction.
This wasn’t the first time Holly had seen a person’s aura, but it was the first time she’d been so affected by one. Dazed, she realized she was staring at him in silence. He looked down at her with an expectant expression on his face as if waiting for her to speak.
When her voice finally obeyed her commands, it sounded hoarse and low pitched. “Thank you. I lost my balance I guess. Wow, you must have good reflexes. I could have sworn no one was near me when I started to rifle through these things.” She inclined her head toward the packages of prepared food. Belatedly, she realized he still had a firm hold on her. The skin he touched felt heated despite the cool air from the refrigerated section. Awkward, she stepped away.
He let her go, but the concerned look on his face didn’t waver.
“Are you okay now?”
She waved a hand and said, “Yes…yes, I’m perfectly fine.”
Under his steady scrutiny one of her knees started to tremble. Glancing down at the offending joint, she frowned and put a hand on his arm to regain her balance. At first touch she wanted more. The buzzing in her head got louder. She felt the fine hair on his forearm and the hard muscle beneath his skin and barely kept herself from running her fingers up his arm to his chest, down to his stomach then down…
“Sure you are.” He took hold of her elbow. “Come on, there’s a bench at the front. You should sit down.”
Her little spell and his lightning quick reaction to it garnered considerable attention, but the man silenced all expressions of concern and bystanders politely melted away. Abandoning both their shopping carts, he helped her to the bench, but didn’t sit beside her. Instead, he said, “I’ll get you some cold water.”
Before she could thank him, he melted away and the strange sound in her head eased off. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes and listened to her heart pound. He returned so quickly she’d barely had time to take a breath. Watching her closely, he opened the bottle of water and put it in her hand. Her fingers trembled and he frowned.
Holly gave him a steady look, took a long drink of water and sighed.
“Ah, the restorative effects of water.”
“Are you pregnant?” He asked the direct question without embarrassment, but the thought obviously brought him no pleasure. A frown darkened his face. Disarmed, Holly answered just as bluntly.
“Not unless it’s another immaculate conception.”
She actually felt warmth when he sighed. The artist in her always made note of how light reflected off faces, but this was something she’d never seen before. Wow, light sure loves him. Looking at him was like looking through a pair of clean spectacles after years of wearing dirty ones. He was sharp, crystal clear and bright. Holly resisted the urge to blink. Shading her eyes from his brilliance even for a second seemed such a waste.
“Maybe I should take you to the hospital,” he suggested.
She shook her head firmly, trying to control her wayward reactions to him. “No, I’m just fine.” She stood up. “See? Look, Mom, no hands.”
“If you think calling me Mom is going to reassure me that you don’t have to go to the hospital, you’re sadly mistaken.”
She appreciated his humor. It seemed so normal compared to how strange her body was behaving. Holly narrowed her eyes and said, “There is a very faint resemblance between you and Mom actually.” For some reason, she added flatly, “But she’s dead.”
That drained the look of humor on his face.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“It’s not your fault…or um, don’t be sorry.” She stared back at him. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she carry on a normal conversation? Why did she care so much about his reactions? But there was no denying it. She wanted to impress him. As if her happiness depended on his responses. The near faint must have messed with her brain chemistry a little. Silently, she berated herself. Shake it off, Holly and talk to the man or he’ll think you’re on a day pass from the mental institution.
“She died years ago. I never knew her. I was only joking about the resemblance. A lame attempt at humor, I guess.” She was babbling now. So much for proving she wasn’t mentally unstable.
He inclined his head. “I’m still not sure you’re okay. However, since you won’t let me take you to see a doctor, I’ll just shop with you for a while. If you don’t mind.” It wasn’t a question.
His gaze didn’t waver. Her stomach flipped at the thought of spending more time with him. Perhaps it was more prudent to put as much distance between them as possible, but she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him. The whole thing was so unusual for Holly, a woman who usually took the safe route. She surprised herself, stuck out her hand and said, “I’m Holly Seaton.”
He took her hand in his and firmly but gently squeezed. His touch felt wonderfully cool on her heated skin.
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Seaton. I’m Stryker Cain.”
Her hand in his, Holly had a hard time concentrating. Was he for real? She wondered if his use of the ‘Miss’ was an affectation, but he looked at her with such sincerity she decided it wasn’t.
“Please call me Holly.”
“Okay then. Holly. You can call me Stryker.”
She felt like she’d stepped back in time for a brief second. People didn’t stand on ceremony anymore these days. They didn’t wait to be invited to use first names. Hell, even the kid at the gas pump used her first name.
Did she detect a slight accent when he spoke? Curious, she asked, “Where are you from?”
“I live here in Muskoka.”
She shook her head. He sure as hell wasn’t from around here. He wasn’t Canadian. That much was obvious because Canadians understood that when someone asked where you were from it usually meant from what old country did your great-grandfather emigrate.
Holly said, “Before that?”
“The United States.”
“Ah, but you’re no Yankee. Southern states, right?” She smiled.
He frowned. “Is it that obvious? I thought my accent was gone.”
“It is almost.” She tilted her head. “There’s just something about you.” Visions of dark and mysterious bayous flashed in her fevered mind. One minute she basked in the light surrounding him and the next she vibrated with an expectation of danger. Maybe she was losing her mind after all.
He arched an eyebrow and looked down at her. He had symmetrical features, blue/black eyes, high cheek bones and a jaw line you could sharpen knives on. Where did that air of danger come from? She couldn’t decide. The ends of his dark blond hair were delightfully sun bleached. Instinctively, Holly knew his hair color didn’t come from chemicals in a salon and his even tan wasn’t artfully applied. She couldn’t imagine this man sitting still long enough to have anyone fuss over him. Primping wasn’t in his repertoire. He was the real deal.
Remembering what she’d come to town to do, Holly filled her cart with food, barely glancing at the contents of the packages she grabbed. She tried to rein in her wayward thoughts and the pounding of her heart as she made light-hearted conversation with the man who was responsible for all her internal chaos.
This guy was a feast for the female eye and she wasn’t the only one who noticed. For the first time since coming to Muskoka Holly felt invisible. Walking beside such a man she was definitely a supporting player. Stryker drew all eyes. Some women actually did a double take. When their eyes finally alighted upon Holl
y, they were filled with curiosity and envy.
“Okay, how about you, Holly? Where are you from?” he asked, interrupting her reverie.
“Oh, ah…I live here now, but I was born in Toronto. My family is Canadian from way back,” she said proudly.
He smiled for the first time and Holly thought she’d break into a sweat. “I’ve spent some time in Toronto. It’s a beautiful city.”
She nodded. “It is if you like cities.” How was she carrying on a normal conversation?
“I like the idea of having an international city like Toronto just a few hours drive away. It has so much to offer. Like dim sum.” He looked at her and only her.
She made a determined effort to concentrate on his words and with enthusiasm she replied, “Me too! That’s the one thing I can’t find around here. I drive to Toronto to visit friends and we often go for dim sum. Some of my friends are Chinese. Believe me it’s great to have a translator when you’re looking down at barbequed chicken feet in Dim Sum no man’s land.” Was she babbling again?
As she spoke, his smile never wavered. It pulled at her, drawing her closer to him. He could bring about world peace with that smile. The strange tingling along her spine and the buzzing in her head started again. Could her body be transmitting a warning of some sort? Heart pounding, she paused and took a deep, steadying breath. Stryker’s frown chased away all trace of the magical smile.
“You okay?”
The concern in his voice sounded so genuine and she missed the smile so much, Holly decided then and there that the tingling sensation was fleeting and the buzzing was not so unpleasant after all. Hoping to ease the tension and improve her chances of seeing the smile again, she replied lightly to his question.
Drawing Blood Page 1