by Ivy Banks
“Do you hear that?”
The three strained into the blinding snow as they heard a strange whirring approach.
“It’s a helicopter!” Paul cried, waving his arms. “They finally came!”
“We should unhook our skis,” Veronica said. “We can’t get onto the craft with these.”
Instantly, the three reached forward, releasing the snaps and watched as they fell far down to the mountain below.
“We should have done that ages ago,” Paul sighed. “My legs are a thousand times lighter.”
As the helicopter approached the side door opened, revealing a dashing but concerned-looking man.
“Are you all right?” he cried. “I am throwing down the ladder for you but you must be careful! The ice and wind are making it very dangerous right now!”
“That’s Alejandro Hanover,” Todd said excitedly. “He came to save us himself!”
Heat sprung through Veronica as she managed to lock gazes with the handsome man, despite the distance between them.
The helicopter rose higher and a rope ladder fell toward the lift.
“I’ll go first,” Paul yelled over the sound of the chopper. “And then you, Veronica, and then Todd. That way you’ll have one of us helping you from each end.”
“I can manage!” Veronica called back and the two wriggled themselves from the lift chair. She remembered the hours she had spent rock climbing. She was not going to be the issue.
“Todd?” she asked, turning to him.
Her fiancé sat frozen as he suddenly realized what he was expected to do.
“No!” Todd cried suddenly as Veronica and Paul cautiously rose, careful not to teeter the device.
They paused to stare at him dubiously.
“What do you mean, no?” Paul demanded. “You have to do this. Who knows how much longer you’ll be trapped up here otherwise?”
“No!” Todd said again. “I’m not going!”
Veronica gritted her teeth, but Paul was not wasting another second arguing with the near-hysterical man.
“You go up first, Veronica,” Paul yelled. “I’ll be right behind you.”
She eyed Todd uncertainly but she knew she would be a fool to let the opportunity for rescue pass.
“Todd,” she implored. “You just have to—”
“No! You heard him! It’s too dangerous with the ice and the snow. Veronica, if you leave me, it’s over…” his last words were carried away by the wind but Veronica didn’t care. She was sick of hearing him speak.
Veronica checked herself from screaming at her fiancé and grabbed for the ladder, her fingers extended dangerously toward the rope. The helicopter was having a difficult time keeping its position in the wind but she willed herself to focus despite the poor visibility.
You can do this! Stop wasting time.
Instantly, she grabbed hold of the rungs and scrambled up the makeshift steps without looking back.
The resort owner yelled back down to Todd, trying to coax him up. Veronica heard him refuse. It was not until Paul had entered the chopper and the door was securely closed behind them, did Veronica look back and see Todd staring up at them, his mouth a shocked line.
Guilt flowed through her as they turned back toward the resort.
He is never going to forgive me for leaving him there, she realized, accepting a thick blanket from Alejandro Hanover. Yet as her dark brown eyes met his blue-grey ones, she suddenly knew that she did not care.
Veronica paced the cabin, a stiff scotch in her hand.
He will be okay, she assured herself. The seats are heated.
Yet she could not shake the image of her own ice laden hair only hours before and the storm had only grown worse.
She glanced at her cell again, willing the resort owner to call her with an update. It had been two hours since their rescue, and Veronica’s anxiety was growing.
I shouldn’t have left him there. I should have…should have what? Stayed with him and waited until someone carried us off the mountain? No, he was being a cowardly idiot. And, to be honest, I am glad it’s over between us.
Veronica picked up her phone and began to text her best friend.
There is still no word from him, she texted. It’s been two hours.
After a brief pause, Veronica’s phone chimed.
You must give it time.
Veronica looked at the phone for a long minute, debating whether to respond. Ever since her friend’s accident, there had been a distinctive difference in Lexie, something Veronica found difficult to understand.
It’s almost like she’s a different person, she thought. She sighed and put the cell back on the handcrafted coffee table, downing the remainder of her drink.
As she went to pour another, a knock sounded at the door.
Veronica flew across the room in three strides and pulled open the heavy door. Outside, the snow had painted the entire landscape white, but surprisingly, Alejandro Hanover did not seem to have a snowflake on him.
“What happened?” she demanded without preamble. “Is he okay?”
Alejandro offered her a half-smile and nodded, brushing past her to allow himself into the cottage.
“Yes,” he replied. “He is at the infirmary being treated for…well to be frank, I am not certain what it is he is being treated for. There is not a scratch on him.”
Veronica was filled with a combination of relief and exasperation.
“Is he making a scene?” she asked, embarrassed.
Alejandro chuckled.
“Well, I do not like to speak ill of my guests but…”
Veronica sighed and shook her head.
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done, Mr. Hanover. You went above and beyond for us. It was dangerous for you to have brought the helicopter to us in this weather.”
The breathtakingly handsome man smiled and studied her for a long moment.
“Perhaps you would like to share in your gratitude with a drink?” he asked coyly.
“Of course! How rude of me,” Veronica stuttered. “Please, come in and sit down.”
A voice in her mind was yelling prohibitive warnings at her, but Veronica did not care. There was something about the man which she could not—would no—resist.
It’s one drink. It’s just as way of expressing my gratitude.
Veronica wondered if that would be the end of her grateful expressions.
“You look like a man who drinks scotch, Mr. Hanover. Is that a fair assumption?” she asked demurely. Her brown eyes widened as he nodded, a beam washing over his bronze, gorgeous face.
“I drink many things,” he replied. “But scotch will suffice for this occasion.”
The words sent a shiver of apprehension and excitement through her. Slowly, she brought the drink to him, her body becoming disassociated with her mind.
Am I drunk? Veronica wondered, her heart hammering and yielding simultaneously.
But as she slipped onto the sofa at his side, she knew that it was not the alcohol that had overtaken her mind; it was him.
Come to me, he thought, his steel blue eyes fixated on the beautiful blonde. Only once a century did this desire become so strong, so irresistible that he would forsake the protocols of anonymity.
I could hear it in her voice, he thought. She belongs with me.
There was, of course, the small problem of her fiancé, but after visiting Todd in the infirmary, Alejandro doubted very much that there would be an issue.
“How could she leave me there?” Todd had whined. “I thought she loved me. But, it’s over. I told her as much. She left me on the mountain to die.”
“Women are fickle creatures, my friend,” Alejandro replied, sadly.
“You’re right! I will head home tomorrow. I have no reason to see her again.”
“Indeed. Please, stay in our presidential chalet while you recover,” Alex insisted, tossing the sniveling brat the key to the cabin. “And if you would prefer, I can see to it myself that your b
elongings are collected and delivered to the chalet. You won’t even need to go back to your cabin.”
Alejandro pushed the thought of the colorless Todd Cartwright from his mind as Veronica stared into his eyes.
He could read the hypnosis overcoming her.
I am going to possess you, he told her silently. His persuasions were effortless. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. Her eyes lit up with desire and while her lips continued to move in the way of speech, he heard nothing.
Their faces were inches apart and yet they sat suspended in time, neither one wishing to make the first move.
“Possess me,” Veronica breathed suddenly and it was all he needed.
Like a starving tiger, he pounced upon her, feeling her turn to liquid in his strong arms. Instantly, she threw her head back as if she had expected his teeth inside her neck all along, but Alejandro would not take her, not without a dance.
His way was slow and methodical, not rash and impulsive.
Her fingers wrapped around his shoulders as his lips pushed into hers. He tasted blood.
Dammit, slow down! Alejandro warned himself but he could not stop sucking at the cut in her luscious lips.
He closed his eyes and willed himself to stop, but Veronica began to moan beneath him, pressing herself against his hardness. She would not wait, and despite her fugue state, he could not resist giving her what she desired.
Her leggings were in shreds, torn to bits by his long fingers in rough movements. He pinned her down against the sofa, feeling his way against her fair, milky skin.
Sitting back, he ripped her thin, black blouse, the buttons popping in every direction. One hit the fire with a hiss and spark, but neither noticed.
Veronica’s hands found their way to each of their crotches, caressing them both at once. Harder, he grew, wanting to taste every inch of her body before owning her forever.
Inhaling the sweetness of her flesh, the taste of her plasma still taunting his lips, he began his tour of her long, lithe frame.
Each inch he nibbled, still drawing fresh cuts for him to sample. Veronica’s cries became more intense and her hands grew rougher. When his mouth finally met her moist fingers, he could stand no more. He knew what needed to be done and he could not be stopped.
Pushing her hand away, he brought her core to his blood-soaked lips and pressed his tongue against her pink bud, swirling around her most sensitive spot. With his erection at its peak, he felt Veronica tremble beneath him, he pulled his large throbbing member forth and pressed it into her, feeling her legs wrap hungrily around him.
“Possess me,” she mewled. “Please!”
He could take no more, his incisors becoming the gleaming fangs he had been fighting since the moment he had walked into the cozy cottage.
Her throat was throbbing, ripe and ready, and so was he.
As his razors contacted her jugular, he released, hot and streaming inside Veronica. She spasmed, screaming and gasping. Her hands became claws of frenzy as his grip tightened about her vein and his member filled her fully. He felt her body pulsate as her orgasm took hold of her body, sending waves of fire and ecstasy rippling out from between her legs.
He bit down on his lip, allowing his blood to enter her mouth, before returning his mouth to her neck, to suck the warm, metallic fluid that poured from her jugular. For a suspended moment, her blood filled him as his cum filled her and together, they joined for eternity.
Abruptly, it was over and Alejandro dropped her back onto the sofa, his eyes wide with shock.
What did I do? Why would I have been so reckless, so careless?
It had not seemed so important before, but as Veronica lay limp on the couch, he was filled with an unquestionable horror.
Veronica’s waxen face showed no sign of regaining color and Alejandro wondered if she was one whom wouldn’t take to the change.
My blood should have turned her.
It had happened in the past. Some simply could not handle the turn. They were too weak, or genetically opposed.
Have I killed this one unnecessarily? How could I have been so greedy?
The action was uncharacteristic of the structured and focussed man. A foreign, sick feeling of shame began to course through him and suddenly it was Alejandro pacing through the cabin, trying to formulate a plan for the body before anyone returned.
But his mind was far too clouded. He was distraught, wondering what else he could do to save her.
“Do you want to hear something odd?”
Her voice startled him back to reality and he jumped, whirling to stare at the tall blonde. She had sat on the couch and while she was still quite pale, a slight red hue had touched her lips.
“Yes, please,” he whispered, rushing to sit at her side. “Tell me anything.”
“My best friend Lexie was in a boating accident a few months ago in Miami Beach.”
Alejandro stared at her, uncomprehendingly.
“Was she killed?” he asked flatly. He did not mean to sound crass, but he could not reconcile why she would be telling him such information.
“No,” Veronica replied, rising.
To his surprise, she was steady despite his ready arm. She brushed him off with a small smile.
“No, she survived. She was very lucky. Everyone else was hospitalized and hurt severely. A few died.”
There was a peculiar sensation growing in the pit of Alejandro’s stomach.
There is no reason for this story. She is simply getting her bearing about her. She is rambling.
“That is very good news,” he told her, rising to join her. She quietly poured him a drink and he started to refuse, but he changed his mind.
“Yes,” Veronica replied, her eyebrow arching. “She was apparently saved by a doctor, whom I think you might know.”
“How fortunate,” he said again, still confused. “Would you like to call Lexie?”
“She will call me,” Veronica replied. “Do you know what the name of the doctor who saved her was?”
“How could I?” Alejandro asked, but he had an idea. A very good idea.
“His name was Dr. Weston Hanover.”
Alejandro pasted a smile on his face.
“What a remarkable coincidence, but I do not believe I have any relations in Miami Beach.”
Veronica smiled largely and genuinely, drawing closer to him.
Is she angry I turned her? Does she think she might be a part of a sinister plan? It’s is quite the coincidence that my brother saved her friend. How can I explain to her that her connection to me is not based on sheer lust, but something deeper, something I have never known for myself and only heard about from others? She is my mate.
“The expression on your face reads as if I am accusing you of something,” she told him, looking up into his face. “That cannot be further from the truth. Lexie changed after that accident. I did not understand at the time, but now I do.”
Her speech is changing. She is adapting into the Old Order, he realized.
“What are you suggesting?” he asked, trying to maintain an air of nonchalance.
Veronica leaned up to kiss him sweetly on the lips.
“Obviously I am suggesting that men named Hanover are guardian angels,” she replied as she drew back. “Put on this realm to save lives.”
“I have to admit, my intentions were a bit more selfish. I wanted you for myself.”
Veronica fingered her gums, as her incisors grew, revealing the transformation was complete.
“Now you have me,” she said with a sensuous smile, “and I can’t wait for you to have me again” she added as she pressed her nude body against his.
I have possessed her, he thought happily, exhaling in relief.
THE END
Did you enjoy Book 12 in the Royal Vampire Kingdom Series?
Jump into Book 13 now…
Nurse On Duty
Foreplay isn’t for everyone…
If you just can’t take the book-by-book suspense, s
ink your teeth into The Complete Royal Vampire Kingdom Collection (Books 1-15)
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.
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