Touched By His Vampire Charm: A Nocturne Falls Universe story

by Kira Nyte

  Draven stepped in front of her and faced her. She would have walked right into him had he not grabbed her face between his hands and pressed a kiss to her lips.

  The world stopped. Everything around her ceased. The noise. The breeze. The chill in the fall air. She fell into his warm embrace as Draven’s lips teased hers. His hands were vampire cool, but almost produced more heat than she could bear. It filtered through her skin and into her veins, burning her up from the inside.

  Gods, she had never kissed a man like this. What if she did this wrong? What if she—

  His tongue swept through the seam of her lips and into her mouth, slow, gentle. What was hot before dunked her world upside-down into an inferno. She melted with each tender motion as he tested her response to his advance.

  She responded with a breathy moan and her arms twined around his neck. She followed his lead, learning this new dance from Draven and loving every moment. This kiss was nothing like the one she shared with Jackson. Nothing.

  Draven tasted like promise and security, two things she desperately wanted in her life. He had no heartbeat, but she could taste the potent strength in the blood beneath his skin. As his kiss grew deeper, so did a primitive hunger that made her gums tingle as her fangs—

  “Excuse us.”

  Vivian tore away from Draven and spun at the sound of the familiar voice pitched low in a feral growl. Sweetness teased her tongue, causing her vision to blur for a brief moment. She dared to glance at Draven. His finger went to his lip, were two small beads of blood glistened. His eyes narrowed on her before she looked away.

  Kalen’s glare could kill as he stared, unblinking, at Draven. Fawn placed a hand on Kalen’s arm in an attempt to calm him.

  “It’s okay,” Vivian said, stepping between Draven and her brother even as Draven moved to protect her. She waved him back and grabbed Kalen’s hands until her brother looked down at her. His bright eyes glowed with warning. Even now, months after he believed she was cured and he was engaged and planning to start a life with Fawn, his need to protect his sister ran strong. She cast Fawn a worried glance. “He was taking me for coffee.”

  “Love, this is the guy I told you about,” Fawn added in a tone Vivian knew soothed her brother. The fierce edge to Kalen’s face and the sharp cut in his eyes dulled slightly. “The one I suspected had an eye for Vivi.”

  Fawn took her eyes off Kalen long enough to cast a pointed look at Draven.

  “Taking you for coffee and kissing you in the middle of Main Street are two different things,” Kalen said. Despite the calm she was certain Fawn was forcing on him with waves of her magic, his voice remained deadly. He lifted his chin enough to ramp up his predatory regard. “Kissing on the first date isn’t acceptable.”

  “Are you her father?” Vivian winced at the challenge in Draven’s tone and the worry that crossed Fawn’s expression. Vivian saw her grip tighten on Kalen’s arm at the same time she stepped back into Draven’s chest, forcing him to stand down. “I’m sure she can make decisions for herself.”

  “Draven—”

  “What interest have you in her when you’ve known her for a matter of minutes?” Kalen took a threatening step forward. Fawn scrambled in front of him and shoved him back.

  “Kalen, enough. Your sister can—”

  “Kalen?” Draven asked.

  Oh no.

  Vivian didn’t like the heaviness that accompanied Draven’s inquiry. Realization threaded through that single question. When she shifted to the side enough to look back at Draven, his eyes had hardened, as had his expression—focused on her.

  Ice crested her veins and chilled her muscles. She had no idea what was going on, but the man who had taken her in a tender embrace and kissed her until the world disappeared was no longer staring at her.

  Instead, she felt like she was looking into the face of a Lab Coat in one of the examination rooms, waiting for the next injection to see if she would survive or die.

  Chapter Five

  The shock of feeling the prick in his lips left him reeling long enough to dismiss the threat from the man who interrupted their kiss. The last thing he expected was to taste his own blood on his lips, or to catch what he thought were the red, glistening tips of fangs before Vivian turned away.

  He couldn’t get in front of Vivian to protect her from the imbecile threatening him, but upon closer inspection, he caught the startling resemblance between the man and the goddess.

  Nothing could prepare him for the sucker punch that walloped him below the belt when the golden-haired elf named the other man.

  How many Kalens existed in the world? What were the chances of a Kalen coming down the sidewalk to rescue a sister who wasn’t in distress?

  His sister.

  Vivian.

  He realized as he glared at the woman who was stealing his common sense that he never caught her last name at the bar. She must know of him, who he was and why he was in Nocturne Falls. She must be aware that someone would come looking for the culprits responsible for Sal’s disappearance.

  “Don’t you dare look at her like that,” Kalen growled.

  Draven ripped his attention from Vivian—best to forget her now—and met the menacing male trying to move around the elf. He gave her credit. She kept step with him.

  “Why? Because you know as well as I do that the gig is up?” Draven spat. He pointed to Vivian. “What’s your last name?”

  The look of dread that came over her face confirmed his suspicions. She knew she was caught.

  “Vivi, don’t—”

  “Hawkins. Why?” Vivian’s brows creased. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

  Draven scowled. “I can’t believe I almost fell for you.”

  Her eyes widened, the light blue irises filling with shock and hurt. “But…” She turned to Kalen. “What’s going on? Do you know him? Is he someone from the lab?”

  “No,” Kalen said. “But I’m about to—”

  “Stop it, Kalen. Now.” Fawn threw a hand flat against Kalen’s chest. Draven watched in utter astonishment as the raging beast inside the man vanished and calm took him over. Fawn spun on a heel and poked Draven in the chest with one painfully sharp fingernail. “Who are you and why the hell do you think it’s okay to talk to her like that?”

  Draven swiped his tongue across his bottom lip. The lip Vivian’s fangs had pierced only moments earlier. He stole a quick glance at Vivian. Her ears. They were certainly pointy like the fae she claimed to be. But he wasn’t about to discount the fact he felt fangs.

  His brain twisted and spun.

  Something didn’t make sense.

  “Listen, I think we should go somewhere private and talk,” Fawn suggested. “There’s obviously something happening here, and it’s not going to correct itself with fists, cruel words, or accusations.”

  As hard as Draven tried to remain guarded, her voice calmed him. Calmed him enough to see a shimmer of tears in Vivian’s eyes when he looked toward her before she turned her back on him and fell into Kalen’s arms. Kalen never took his keen eyes off him, and Draven had to fight the sting of jealousy as he watched the hurt he caused and someone else provide the comfort he wanted to give.

  Instead, he turned to Fawn, keeping his face as stoic as possible. “Good idea. Where to?”

  * * *

  The coffee shop or even the smoothie shop would have been decent places to talk.

  Instead, Draven found himself sitting stiff-backed and alert in a cute little cottage deep in the forest away from the main part of town.

  Kalen clearly had a lead foot on the little sports car’s accelerator pedal and had them there in next to no time. Draven wondered whether the guy was intentionally trying to lose him, or even get him killed. Nothing like being immortal and dying in a motorcycle accident after being impaled by a tree branch and burned by the sun. The way his luck was running the last twenty-four hours, he wouldn’t want to chance it.

  Inside the cottage, Vivian wouldn’t s
o much as look at him. She helped Fawn gather up a tray of cookies and tea in the small kitchen. He was left in the living room sitting across from Kalen in a silence that could unravel a man’s nerves. Draven took the time to discreetly take in every nuance of his possible enemy, from the pointed ears to the intense blue and silver eyes. He looked very much like Vivian, except his hair wasn’t as pale and his eyes were a few hues darker.

  “Kalen, please.” Fawn placed a tray on the table between them and raised her brows. “Relax. We’ll figure all this out.”

  Draven tried to get Vivian’s attention, but she refused to make anything close to eye contact with him. She went as far as to sit at the opposite end of the sofa from his chair. Fawn sat beside Kalen on the narrow loveseat.

  No one touched the cookies or the tea.

  “I believe it’s safe to ask whether you have any affiliation with Gerald Hamstead, to start things off,” Fawn said.

  “Who?” Draven was genuinely confused.

  “Doctor Hamstead.”

  Draven shook his head once. “Should I know who that is?”

  Fawn exchanged a shuttered glance with Kalen. Vivian curled her legs beneath her on the sofa and rested her head on the arm. It didn’t escape him that their set-up was as close to an interrogation panel as one might get in a fairytale cottage. The burning spotlight was on him.

  He moistened his lips. Guilt bubbled up inside him the moment he realized back on Main Street that something wasn’t adding up. He barely knew Vivian, but he wanted to pull her into his arms and wipe the sadness away, even if she might be responsible for Salvatore’s demise. It made no sense. Either he was completely besotted or there were other forces at play.

  “He was a scientist who oversaw an illegal lab that has since been shut down,” Fawn provided. She was precise with her words, sharing enough information to clarify without giving away everything. She was good at the baiting game.

  Draven shrugged. “I’m sorry. You’ve lost me. I’m no scientist. I deal with real estate investments and stock trading. The coven I come from is pretty, um, old-fashioned.”

  Kalen’s brows lifted slowly.

  Draven answered the impending question before the guy had a chance to ask. “Levoire coven. Up in Maine. Sound familiar?”

  “Should it?”

  “Touché.”

  “Listen, I think it’s safe to say there is some sort of horrible misunderstanding going on,” Fawn said quickly, scooting to the edge of the loveseat. Draven saw her fingers tighten on Kalen’s knee. The woman had to have impressive power if she could subdue her lover with a simple touch. “You must have Kalen and Vivi confused with someone else.”

  Draven finally settled back in the chair and shook his head. “No. That’s not possible. I’m here to investigate financial activity that traces back to someone named Kalen Hawkins. Charges made in this very town.”

  He folded his hands under his chin, eyes narrowing on Kalen. In his peripheral vision, he caught the first sign Vivian was paying attention. She lifted her head, but looked at her brother.

  “I find it near impossible to believe my coven is searching for a brother-sister team with the last name Hawkins here in Nocturne Falls, and bam. Here you are.”

  Fawn shot to her feet and stepped in front of Kalen. She spread her arms dramatically. “Okay, hold on, because he’s about to lose it.” She hitched a thumb toward Kalen. “Lay it out on the table. All of it. Why are you here? What do Vivian and Kalen have to do with you? Why were you so volatile toward them the minute you learned their last name?”

  “I’m not the only one who needs to answer questions.” Draven jutted his chin toward Kalen. “You don’t need to stand between us. I’m sure we can be civil.”

  Fawn glanced at Kalen, who gave a slight nod.

  “You should thank her. She was protecting you, not me,” Kalen groused.

  Draven chuckled. “I don’t need protection from you.”

  Kalen remained quiet. His confident silence left Draven uneasy. He already knew there was more to the sibling team than met the eye. He’d best tread carefully until he learned more.

  To his surprise, it was Vivian who spoke next. “Brother, part of your anger is over the kiss. Let that go. It should not be your concern.”

  “If he has the gall to disrespect you so vehemently moments after such a kiss, I believe it is my concern.”

  “She’s a grown woman, Kalen. Let her be,” Draven interjected.

  Kalen scowled. “You know nothing of her, nor are you privy to that information.”

  Draven rolled his eyes and stood up.

  Kalen appeared in front of him, a ghost whose movement he didn’t catch. This time, when his upper lip pulled back in a sneer, Draven didn’t miss the pair of glistening fangs.

  “Stop it, brother.”

  Vivian pushed between them, which was a matter of a few inches, and her backside molded against Draven’s front. The battle not to react to her nearness was almost impossible to win. She gently pushed Kalen back a few steps.

  “Let him speak, and we will, too. I don’t believe he’s from the lab,” Vivian said, her voice soft and soothing. She cast Draven an empty glance before returning to the sofa, but not before Kalen took his seat again. “Neither do you.”

  “I’m not from a lab. I live in a house,” Draven confirmed, sitting down. “A mansion, actually. With the Levoire coven. A very important member of the family went missing a few decades ago without a trace. He was next in succession to take over the coven once the current leader steps down.”

  “Go on,” Fawn urged gently. “Who was this prospective leader?”

  “Have you heard of Salvatore Levoire?” Draven asked. The blank stares he received made his dead heart drop. Neither Kalen nor Vivian showed any sign of recognition, and he doubted the fair-haired beauty could lie outright. “Some called him Sal.”

  “Why would we know this man?” Vivian asked. A faint crease formed between her brows as she looked between Kalen and him.

  “His accounts hadn’t been touched since he went missing almost forty years ago. Suddenly, over the last two months, they’ve been active. Here, in Nocturne Falls. Under the name Kalen Hawkins.”

  The air in the room changed from electric and threatening to heavy and full of dread. Kalen’s shoulders grew stiff. If Draven heard correctly, the other man’s slow heartbeat ticked up a few beats. The crease between Vivian’s brows deepened and her lips separated. She looked more confused than she had a few moments ago.

  But Kalen…He knew something.

  Draven dug his wallet out of his pocket. He fingered through his credit cards and business cards until he found a folded up photograph of him with Sal shortly before the older vampire’s disappearance. He flattened it out and tossed it onto the table.

  Vivian leaned over and lifted the photo. She stared at it for a long time before shaking her head and handing it to Kalen. His gaze dropped for a brief moment before shooting up to meet Draven’s.

  “Who is that, Kalen?” Vivian asked.

  Draven arched a questioning brow, leaned his elbows on his knees and folded his hands between them. Kalen’s eyes darkened and his skin grew paler.

  “Do you know him?” Fawn asked.

  Kalen dropped the photo onto the table and cleared his throat. The feral beast of a man cracked, the fight draining from him before Draven’s eyes. A sense of shock and vulnerability flooded his expression before he wiped it away with a blink.

  “Yes.” He pressed his lips together, shot a glance at Vivian and once more met Draven’s gaze. “He was our father.”

  Chapter Six

  Vivian snatched the photo off the table and scrutinized the man standing with Draven. Tall, taller than Draven by a couple of inches. Dark hair, light eyes, pale skin. She compared the man’s sharp features with Kalen’s and with her new knowledge instantly saw the resemblance. The arch of their brows, the hollows of their cheeks. The man in the photo was smiling, fangs shamelessly on display.
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  Her father. This was the father she’d never met.

  “You said he ‘was’ your father,” Draven said. The accusatory edge was no longer there.

  “He was killed when I was three. We were…attacked and he protected us so we could escape. Our mother and I. She was pregnant with Vivi. Vivi never met him. I didn’t know his name. I only recently learned our mother’s name.”

  Vivian chewed her lower lip as sadness filled her brother’s voice. She felt it resonate in the pit of her chest with the ache she felt of never knowing her father. Hating the sacrifice he’d made. Her life was nothing but sacrifice after more sacrifice. Kalen, who almost lost Fawn to protect Vivian. Jackson, who might have been killed because of her. His uncle, who had died helping her and Kalen escape the lab. Her parents, to save their children.

  It occurred to her the man who stole a kiss that swept her into another world had known her father when she was never given the chance.

  Draven was observing her, sympathy in his expression. His eyes were soulful, yearning, calling to her as he took in her reaction. He no longer mentally picked her apart as he had when Kalen and Fawn first showed up on Main Street. The fierceness in his face had disappeared, and softness had taken its place. Regret.

  Vivian placed the photo on the table, pressing her lips together against the telltale ache in her jaw. She knew tears all too well. Not something she was proud of, but her life was anything but happy up until a couple of months ago. Even then, there was still despair and anxiety and worry. All of which intensified with the signs of the virus returning to her system.

  Fawn clasped one of Kalen’s hands and rubbed his knee with her other. Her brother had comfort and support in a way Vivian never experienced. She busied herself pouring a cup of hot tea and stirring in milk and honey. The brooding silence swelled in the room as seconds turned to minutes. It weighed on her shoulders and made her stomach churn. When she lifted the mug to take a sip of the tea, her stomach nearly heaved.