Hannah ran for the mine. She came to a sliding stop as a lone figure emerged from within.
“Nicholas.” Relief flooded through her. He had deep gashes on his face and down his chest where his body had been torn by savage fingers. Her eyes searched him from head to toe, and she saw nothing that wouldn’t be completely healed in a few hours. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Christopher is dead. It’s done.”
She heard the agony in his voice. Her lips found his in an urgent kiss.
“Hannah, I’m so sorry,” he said, pulling away. “If I’d done my job as a Hunter, my brother would never have killed your family.”
She ran her hand down the wounds on his cheek, which had already started to close. “But he was your brother. He was your family. It’s not your fault.”
In that moment, she understood why Nicholas had let his brother go so long ago. She still desperately loved and mourned her own family.
He closed his eyes tight and shook his head.
“All these years, why did you watch over me, Nicholas?”
“I had to know you’d…survive. You were my responsibility. You grew into such a strong, independent woman. I owed you so much, Hannah. That’s why I had to change you, why I couldn’t let you die that night after your riding accident. I owed you a second life because I let my brother destroy those you loved.”
“No,” Hannah said, cutting him off. “He was all you had left, and I understand that. Did you really give up your humanity to save me?”
Nicholas shut his eyes and dropped his head.
“It was something I held onto because it connected me to Arena.” He gave a disgusted snort. “When I heard about your accident, I was furious with Thomas, your foster father. I couldn’t understand how he could stand by and watch you suffer. I would have done anything to save you. I’m afraid you’ve always carried a piece of my heart with you, Hannah.” He let out a hard breath. “Until now, that is.”
Nicholas brought his hand to her face, cupping her cheek gently.
“Now I’ve realized it wasn’t just a piece, but my entire heart, Hannah.”
“Oh my God, Nicholas.” Her heartbeat rang in her ears. She blinked as his words sank in. Then she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and closed her eyes. Had he meant what he’d just said? Time stood still as her heart banged against her ribs.
What could she say? He had been a constant in her life from the time she was a young girl. He had stolen her humanity, and she thought she hated him for it. But all along, deep down, she’d carried a much more profound emotion for the vampire that had saved her life twice. And now she had a wonderful freedom to explore what she felt for Nicholas.
He pulled her into his arms, his lips crushing hers. She met his kiss eagerly and hungrily as the moon broke through the overcast sky.
They were tied together, forever, by their love.
About Olivia Starke
Olivia is an editor, book hoarder, cat wrangler, horse whisperer, and professional storyteller. She lives in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks and can often be found outside, enjoying the country life.
She loves to hear from readers and invites them to email!
Olivia’s Website:
www.authoroliviastarke.com
Reader eMail:
[email protected]
More Beachwalk Press Titles by Olivia Starke
Project Terminal: Legacy
Project Terminal: Devil’s Virus
Project Terminal: End Game
Project Terminal Box Set
Vampire Masquerade
Too Hard to Resist
The Baby Contract
Heart’s Paradise
In It to Win It
Untamed Shifter Love
Project Terminal Box Set
Can six people stop a deadly virus threatening all of humanity?
Legacy:
When Laura Swift is attacked by a glassy-eyed human reeking of death she’s rescued by a tall, muscular stranger. But she hasn’t come out unscathed, and when her hero sees the bite mark on her hand he levels a gun on her.
Damian Gonsalves has one job—to stop the plague threatening to sweep through the US. An incurable virus that turns those afflicted into ravenous undead. He’s a super soldier, engineered to be stronger, faster, and deadlier, yet all of his training fails him once he lays eyes on the petite blonde he rescues in an alleyway. A woman who should’ve never survived beyond a few moments against an undead attack. But she has one more surprise in store for him, and he soon discovers that within her may be the last hope for humanity.
Devil’s Virus:
Dr. Maxwell Straight is in a race against time to develop a cure for a virus she helped create. While Max hoped to use it as a way to speed healing in injured soldiers, her twin sister had other plans. Project Terminal was turned into a weapon of mass destruction, and Max has to trust the man who broke her heart to help her stop the unleashed horror.
Super soldier Adam ‘Preacher’ Reed saw what was coming in Project Terminal long before anyone else. When his warnings fell on deaf ears he turned away from the project, and Max, for good. But now the woman Preacher once loved needs his help, and he’ll do anything to stop the spreading undead plague. What he doesn’t count on are the feelings that resurface when he’s with her. Can he keep Max alive long enough for her to develop the cure, or will his worst fears be realized—losing his heart to Max, and their lives to the project?
End Game:
Super soldiers Amelia St. James and Gabe Morris have been called in for their most important mission—to protect those trying to stop Project Terminal. While holding up in a tiny cabin in the Colorado Rockies with Max, Preacher, Laura, and Damian, Amelia does her best to remain focused even though Gabe is one huge distraction she could do without. He’s irritating, chauvinistic, and basically everything an independent woman would hate in a man, all wrapped up in an appealing package. Not that she’d admit to any attraction on her part.
Gabe has been infatuated with Amelia since the two of them met years before. She’s smart and headstrong, and he wants nothing more than to get past her defenses. His priorities are to the people he’s sworn to protect, but with Amelia so close he finds it hard to concentrate.
Those behind Project Terminal have a nasty surprise in store. Will six people alone in the mountains be able to stop them?
Content Warning: contains graphic sex, strong language, violence, and lots of creepy undead
Too Hard to Resist
Jamie knows Mark is all wrong for her, but he’s so damned hard to resist.
Jamie Shultzer’s life is in a tailspin. Her husband has left her for another man, and to top it off, she’s stranded on a desolate highway in the middle of Nebraska. The last thing she needs is another complication, especially when it shows up as the tall, sexy as hell, and much too young for her, Mark Adams. Though to be fair, he’s only ten years too young, and she has to find some way to repay him for rescuing her.
Mark wants to be the good guy and leave Jamie alone. After all, her son is his friend and Jamie is in the middle of a divorce. But he’s been smitten with her since the first time he laid eyes on her years ago. Now that she’s available, it’s hard to say no to her sweet tasting lips, and even harder to walk away from her willing body.
Is this the start of something wonderful, or a disaster in the making?
Content Warning: contains graphic sex and explicit language
The Baby Contract
The Billionaire Bachelor Series, Book 1
Having a baby is Abby’s dream. Will Liam’s enemies stop her happily ever after?
Liam Whitmore III is floored by the surprise stipulation in his father’s will—provide an heir within one year or he’ll lose the controlling portion of Whitmore Incorporated to his cousin Spencer. The corporation is Liam’s life. He’ll do anything to keep his cousin’s hands o
ff of it, including finding a woman who’ll bear his child. Though finding the right woman seems an impossible task since he doesn’t have room in his life for anything except running the company. He doesn’t want a wife, just an heir.
Abby Haden’s family is about to lose their ranch, the only life her ailing father and brother have ever known. She feels helpless and is desperate to help. When the most coveted bachelor in Austin, Liam Whitmore III, also known as the Takeover Tyrant, offers to pay her to have his child it seems too incredible to be true. She’s all but given up hope of ever having a baby. Not only will her dream of being a mother come true, but she can also save the family ranch.
It was just supposed to be a business deal, but Abby and Liam find it hard to keep their hearts out of what it takes to make a baby. Even as they sort out their feelings, others have their eye on Whitmore Incorporated. Liam and Abby will soon discover how far they’ll go to make sure Abby never produces that heir.
Content Warning: contains graphic sex, explicit language, mild violence, and a heroine with a history of domestic abuse
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Blood Heat
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Blood Desires
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Blood Mercy
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Blood Ties
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
About Olivia Starke
More Beachwalk Press Titles by Olivia Starke
Project Terminal Box Set
Too Hard to Resist
The Baby Contract
Order of Terminus Page 18