Vampire Coalition - Complete Collection

by J. S. Scott

  Opening his eyes, his gaze landed possessively on the woman in his arms. He groaned as she began to stir, her bare thigh rubbing lightly against his engorged cock. His dick was fucking sensitive, but he pushed the sensations aside, his main concern the health of his woman.

  My woman. Mine. Fucking Mine.

  The woman squirmed, moaning as her eyelids fluttered. The quilt slipped, revealing a mark that Daric already knew existed somewhere on her creamy skin. He just hadn’t been sure exactly where it was positioned on her body. There, on her left upper arm, was the royal mark, his royal mark. It was small, no larger than the size of a half dollar, but it was vibrant against her ivory skin, a Celtic knot in a perfect circle that had the Carvillius royal sword over the top of the marking. He turned his arm, looking at the exact same marking on his right forearm. It was vibrant, just like hers, glowing with a brilliance he had never seen before.

  This woman belongs to me.

  Momentarily forgetting that he never wanted a mate, Daric was swamped with fierce possessiveness, an emotion he had never truly experienced, and it nailed him right in the gut.

  He froze as his gaze was compelled back to her face, finding her eyes open and looking at him in complete confusion. Green. Her eyes were the color of the sweeping pastures of the Emerald Isle, and just as stunning, keeping Daric prisoner, completely mesmerized.

  Finally, he blinked, only to open his eyes to the same beguiling face, the same ferocious need rolling over his massive body.

  Holy Shit!

  Like it or not, whether he wanted it or not, Daric Carvillius, Prince of the Vampire Healers, had just found his mate.

  Chapter 3

  Hannah stared at the formidable male face before her eyes in fascinated horror.

  What the hell?

  She shook her head slowly, blinking to try to clear her mind. The last thing she remembered was trying to plow her ancient truck through the snow-covered roads to get to Daric Carvillius’s place.

  I made it. I turned into his driveway.

  Barely. She remembered the turn. Her heart started to race as she remembered losing control of the truck on a slippery patch of ice, her panic as she realized there was nothing she could do to stop her truck from plunging down the incline on the right side of the driveway, and then…nothing.

  Until she had opened her eyes a few moments ago, seeing this dark-haired male, this dark-eyed savage face in front of her, a face that frankly scared the hell out of her.

  Realizing that she was in a bed that was definitely not her own, Hannah started moving backward, trying to scoot away from the man who had her clutched against his massive - really massive - chest. “Where am I?” She tried again to move away, but his enormous, muscular arms tightened around her, not allowing her to move away from him. “What happened?” She knew her voice sounded panicked, but hell, she was panicked, and working on hysterical. A rare occurrence for her, since she’d never been the hysterical type.

  I’m naked!

  Her bare body rubbed against his, skin to skin, one of his massive legs between hers.

  He’s naked!

  Struggling in earnest, Hannah pushed against his muscular chest, feeling like a fly swatting at an elephant. The man was pure muscle and strength, and she was no match for him, even if she wasn’t exactly petite. “Let go. What the hell happened? Why are we naked?” Why are you so aroused? Really, she was more interested in the answer to the last question, the one that she hadn’t spoken aloud.

  His rock hard member rubbed against her pelvis as she wriggled, trying to get out of his grip.

  “Stop!” His command was issued in a harsh voice that obviously expected to be obeyed. “You’ll hurt yourself. You were injured. I brought you here. I’m not trying to hurt you, woman.”

  Oh, God. It was him, the owner of the panty-melting baritone. “Mr. Carvillius?”

  “Daric,” he replied with a low grunt.

  Relief flooded her body and she stopped struggling. “Why are we in bed naked? You can let go of me now. I think I’m all right.” She didn’t know why in the hell she was here, but she felt fine. Maybe she had been hypothermic and he had needed to get her warm. Obviously he had rescued her. “What happened?”

  Hannah pulled away slowly, as the bunched muscles in Daric’s arms relaxed. He still looked fierce, and dangerous.

  The man behind the voice was just as sexy as his baritone. Daric Carvillius was huge, but he was all muscle, his bulk a mountain of raw power. Hannah nearly salivated as the quilt slipped away from his body, stopping at his hips, uncovering a set of ripped abs like she had never seen before. Her eyes devoured him, drank him in, as she moved slowly away from him on the massive bed.

  Definitely not an old man. And he looked anything but sweet.

  Mid thirties…maybe, and everything about him was menacing. His black hair was so short it nearly spiked and he had a serious five o’clock shadow, tantalizing dark whiskers that made her want to reach out to stroke his face just to feel the abrasive stubble against her palm.

  Clenching her fingers into a fist to overcome the temptation to touch him, Hannah backed away a little more, swearing she could almost feel a pulsating power coming from his body.

  “You had a head injury. I healed you.” His tone was husky, his eyes never leaving her as they wandered over her face.

  Lord, this man is intense. Really intense.

  Her nipples tightened painfully into tiny pebbles, a reaction that had nothing to do with being cold. In fact, she had the sudden compulsion to fan herself. “Are you a doctor?” she questioned, knowing enough from her training for ski patrol that healing a head injury wasn’t exactly simple.

  “No. I’m a healer.” His eyes grew liquid, heated.

  Hannah started to pull the sheet from the bed to cover her body. While Daric didn’t seem to have any modesty about revealing that hunky form of his, she wasn’t comfortable with flashing her body to a stranger. “What sort of healer?” Getting the sheet loose, she wiggled under the quilt, trying to wrap the cotton under her arms and around her body so she could stand.

  “I’m a vampire healer. Actually, the Prince of the Vampire Healers,” he answered, his tone slightly arrogant, as though he totally believed the insane statement that had popped out of his mouth.

  Holy crap!

  Hannah sprang out of the bed and turned to gape at him, the sheet completely covering her body. Seriously? Was the guy a little touched? Okay…maybe more than a little…obviously he was completely whacked. A vampire? Oh hell, it was just her luck to end up imprisoned with a lunatic. “Um…that’s…uh…nice.” Shit. She didn’t want to piss him off. He might come unglued. Humor him, Hannah.

  His eyes roamed her body, as though he could see beneath the heavy cotton of her hastily-fashioned covering.

  “I can. But I’ll stop if you want me to,” he remarked quietly.

  “Stop what?” She shifted uncomfortably, frantically wondering how to deal with an insane man of his incredible size.

  “I can see beneath the sheet. But I have to stop if you tell me to. I can’t invade your privacy if you ask me to stop. Not without paying the price for doing so. And I’m not crazy. Much.” Daric sat up, and the covers slid precariously lower, stopping just short of his groin. “I didn’t realize you still suffered from your previous accident. Your leg still pains you.” It was a statement rather than a question.

  Hannah gasped and turned her back to him.

  “That’s a nice view too.” His voice held a trace of laughter.

  Surreal thoughts ran around in her head, fantasy ideas that Mr. Massive really could see her naked body. “Stop. Stop it. You can’t convince me that you can actually see me. But if you can, stop it right now. I don’t like it. It’s intrusive.” Had she really just said that? For God’s sake, she was going to be losing her mind along with him in a moment.

  He took your clothes off. He saw your leg. He absolutely cannot see your body through this heavy cotton.

 
“Actually, I can. But I’ve stopped. You’re correct. It’s rude.”

  She turned, giving him the evil eye . “Are you trying to convince me that you can read my mind now?” Hannah wasn’t sure what other parlor tricks the man was capable of, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. This was all getting just a little too strange for her. “Where are my clothes?” I need to get the hell out of here!

  Hannah limped around the bed, her leg aching more than usual, probably from the stress of the accident. Damn it! Ignoring Daric, she looked under the bed, nearly groaning from the pain as she stretched the muscles in her thigh.

  Daric stood, his movement so fast that his form was momentarily blurred.

  “I’m a vampire prince. I can read the mind of any being with less power than I have, and since I have more power than any other life form on earth, I can read the thoughts of any living individual, mortal or immortal.” He spoke with such command, such confidence, that it made Hannah pause.

  Admittedly, the guy emanated power, an enormous amount of strength. She peered up at him, knowing she should be terrified, but she wasn’t. Her core flooded with heat as she sighed inwardly at his sharp features and implacable expression, a man so strong that he made her want to sink into his body, be safe in his embrace.

  He’s a lunatic. He could hurt you. Have some sense of self-preservation, Hannah. Run. Get away.

  “I would never harm you, Hannah. You’re my mate.” His voice was low, seductive, and gentle for a man who could crush her dead with very little effort. Daric cupped her cheek in one of his enormous hands, his dark eyes glowing with an almost eerie light.

  Hannah shivered as his hand ran down her neck and to her exposed left arm. She knew she should move, leave, but she couldn’t. Her body was momentarily paralyzed, hypnotized by the feel of his fiery hand on her skin.

  Caressing her rather large birthmark, he said in a graveled voice, “You wear my mark.” He ran his right index finger over her left upper arm, an area that she had always tried to hide because of the blotch marring her skin that had been present since her birth. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s a birthmark,” she whispered, her voice failing her because she was caught up in some sort of magic, some kind of enthrallment.

  “It is my marking. You belong to me.” He put his left arm around her hips, pulling back enough to hold his right arm out from his body.

  Hannah gasped, starring fixedly at his forearm. Dear God! He had the same birthmark. Exactly the same. Except his was sharper, and…glowing.

  “Yours looks exactly the same as mine now. It glows and shimmers, the image more pronounced.”

  She backed away from him, tugging to get free. Stumbling slightly, she escaped because he allowed it, moving until she hit the wall near the door, her face an expression of both horror and astonishment.

  This is not possible. He can’t be reading my mind. We can’t have the exact same mark. He isn’t a vampire. Vampires don’t exist. They don’t. They’re a damn myth. Dracula exists only in fiction, movies and books.

  Daric prowled after her, moving like a tiger stalking prey. For a large man, he was graceful, stealthy.

  “Gah…of course there’s no Dracula. Ridiculous legend, and the books and movies are an insult to all vampires. So much fucking drama that it’s nauseating. You’re in pain. Let me help you.”

  “Stay away from me.” She lifted a hand, trying to keep him at arm’s length as he moved closer.

  “I can’t,” he replied, moving close enough to take her extended hand in his and place it on his chest as he pinned her against the wall.

  Hannah was enveloped in his heat, surrounded by his strength. Involuntarily, her palm opened over his chest, stroking the hot skin that stretched over his massive chest. “I don’t understand what’s happening to me,” she whispered in a shaky voice, her whole world turned upside down by her reaction to this man, a man who should have had her running from the house screaming, even though they were in the middle of a blizzard.

  “You will. I know you’re confused right now.” His lips nuzzled her temple, and slowly moved lower, savoring the sensitive skin of her neck.

  Her neck arched, giving him access, letting him have anything that he wanted. It was as if her body had completely disconnected from her mind, from her common sense. What if he wants my blood? He thinks he’s a vampire.

  “I’ve already sampled, and although it’s a tempting thought, it’s too soon. And I am a vampire healer,” he rumbled against her skin, his voice amused.

  Kiss me. Touch me. Take me. Please. The simple contact of Daric’s warm lips against Hannah’s flesh heated her entire body. “How in the hell do you do that?” How is he getting into my thoughts?

  As he moved lower, his mouth sliding sensually over the swell of her breasts, she stopped really caring about anything except those roving lips and his pulsating heat surrounding her.

  She shivered as his left hand snaked into the sheet, searching for the opening. Quickly finding what he was seeking, his left hand slipped between the folds of fabric, moving possessively over her right hip. He dropped to one knee in front of her.

  Hannah looked down at him through a sensual fog, her body vibrating with need. Daric’s eyes were closed, his hand moving over her leg, causing heat to rush through every nerve, muscle and bone in her thigh and knee.

  It was over in seconds. Daric rose gracefully to his feet, leaned into her body and murmured into her ear in a husky voice, “I couldn’t decide whether to kiss you or heal you. My healing instinct, the compulsion to heal my mate was stronger. But now I can finally do this.”

  Hannah decided, as his mouth claimed hers, that no one would ever claim Daric Carvillius was timid. He seized exactly what he wanted, and, at that moment, he apparently wanted her. Desperately.

  He commanded…and she surrendered, unable to resist him, unable to deny him anything as he swooped down on her like a conquering hero, his kiss branding her, owning her. His tongue didn’t explore…it demanded she yield, sweeping through her mouth with so much surging power that he stole her breath along with her will.

  Hannah’s arms curled around his neck, trying to get closer, melting into his powerful body as he mastered her with his mouth. Again and again. Over and over. Until she was nearly as insane as he, her body shaking like a lone leaf fluttering in a strong breeze.

  Daric ended the scorching embrace abruptly, wrenching his mouth from hers as though the separation was painful. Hannah was panting, her breath sawing in and out of her lungs as she looked up at his face.

  Sweat coated his skin, and his chest was heaving. He speared her with a hot, possessive look that made her respond instantaneously, every atom in her body reaching out for him, needing him with an intensity that was tormenting.

  “I feel the same, Hannah. But you aren’t ready.” His voice was gruff, and filled with longing.

  She wanted to scream that she was ready, that she needed him. But was it the truth, or just her body’s reaction to him? She was so overwhelmed that she didn’t know. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I don’t understand any of this.” She sounded lost, and she felt the same way.

  Daric stepped back clothing them both in jeans and a t-shirt. Hannah jumped in fright as the apparel appeared magically on her body. “Cripes. Could you warn me before you do something like that?” Her body was trembling, a delayed reaction from the entire day.

  The accident. Clothes appearing out of nowhere. The matching marks. A man professing that he was a vampire. And worst of all, the sense that he really could read her thoughts, see through her clothing. Everything that was happening was all so…not normal.

  He grinned, a small smile that lit up his rugged face. “Sorry. It’s normal for me.”

  Hannah felt refreshed as she looked down on her casual attire. “I feel like I just showered and dressed.”

  His smile grew broader. “You did.”

  She pushed on his chest, needing to move away from his beckoning
heat, the temptation of that seductive smile. “Do you know how hard this is to believe? Vampires are myth. They aren’t real, Daric.” Frustrated, she started pacing the room.

  He shrugged his massive shoulders. “We are very real. Humans are on a need-to-know awareness of our existence. And almost all of them don’t need to know the truth. Could you imagine the reaction and outright hysteria that would occur if they did?” He emitted a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall, watching her.

  Hannah stopped abruptly, realizing that her leg had stopped aching. Gingerly, she tested the limb, stretching it more and more in the absence of pain. What the hell? Clenching her thigh, she couldn’t feel the ridges of her scars. Frantically, she moved her hand over her knee…feeling…absolutely nothing. She bent her leg up, kicked it back, and it reacted perfectly. “Oh, my God. You did heal me.” She hopped up and down in delight, cautiously at first, and then dancing in circles as her leg responded to her every command. “I can move. I can bend. I don’t limp.” This isn’t possible. Daric couldn’t have done this. But, he obviously had. There was no other explanation.

  “Don’t even think about going back to that asshole again,” he growled, coming toward her with purpose.

  “Who?” she asked, genuinely confused as she watched his approach. He was scowling at her, his fierce expression making him look like a barbarian in human clothing.

  “Your asshole of an ex-boyfriend, Mark,” he grumbled as he stopped in front of her.

  “How do you know about him?” Hannah looked up at him in startled surprise.

  “There’s nothing I don’t know about you, Hannah. Nothing I haven’t experienced. I accidentally absorbed your memories while I was trying to heal your head injury.”

  Hannah gawked at him. “How?” Her brain on overload, she added quickly, “Never mind. I don’t think I want to know right now.” Hell, she was still trying to absorb the fact the he had apparently healed an injury that wasn’t completely reversible by any human physician.