by Eve Newton
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
The Power of One: The Forever Series, Book 2
Prologue
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Epilogue
Revelations: The Forever Series, Book 3
Prologue
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Epilogue
Choices: The Forever Series, Book 4
Prologue
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Epilogue
The Ties That Bind: The Forever Series, Book 5
Prologue
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Epilogue
Also by Eve Newton
About the Author
FOREVER SERIES BOX SET
BOOKS 1-5
EVE NEWTON
PROLOGUE
London, England, 1012 - Aefre
I loved him. I loved being with him. Somehow, he made the fear and dreariness of my life safer, exciting, and bearable.
I lived for those stolen moments with him in the barn, just the two of us. I always wanted it to be just the two of us. Always and forever.
I traced my finger down his long, lean body, and enjoyed his reaction to my touch.
“Ah, my sweet Aefre. I want to take you away with me. Show you the world. Show you my world. Say you will come with me. Say you will be mine,” he whispered softly.
“Yes, my love. Take me with you. I don't ever want to be without you. I–I love you.” I told him the last three words hesitantly.
He looked at me with those dark, amber-flecked eyes, full of wonder at my words and they filled with love.
He kissed me softly. “I love you, my sweet,” he whispered back.
His strong fingers felt their way down my neck to my small breasts, my nipples already erect. His lips followed shortly, pausing at my throat. He inhaled deeply and sighed. Licking me softly, he muttered words I didn't understand but sounded so perfect coming from his lips. His hands moved further down, across my flat stomach until he finally reached where I was aching for him to touch me.
I had known him such a few short weeks, but he already knew me, knew my body. He knew how to make me embrace my womanhood instead of shying away from it and being fearful. He had taught me that this act between man and woman could be pleasurable and not just endured or feared.
Encouraged, he moved above me and entered me slowly as if relishing every moment. His shoulder length black hair, undone of its tie, tickled my face as he bent down to deepen his kiss. He sucked on my lower lip, nipped me sharply with his teeth and I gasped in surprise. I turned us over and rose above him, placing my small hands on his muscular chest, the tips of my long blonde hair grazed him. My bright green eyes gazed adoringly into his, so dark they were almost black. I lowered myself further onto him, feeling him rock hard inside me and it aroused me more. I felt the rush between my legs as I got wetter. I started to move my hips back and forth as he had shown me. Finding a rhythm, he grabbed my hips, h
is fingers digging deep into my soft flesh. Pulling me onto him, deeper and deeper, he groaned. I was thrilled that I could please him and it in turn aroused me further.
“Oh, my sweet, I love being inside you,” he murmured, eyes narrowed in lust. His look of ardor turned into one of surprise. As he sat upright, with me still cradled in his lap, I realized that there was someone else in the barn with us.
He cursed in his own language. I whipped my head around just in time to see my abusive husband, with fury and hatred in his eyes and a spear in his hand.
Lunging towards us, he shouted, “You whore!” I felt a white-hot stab of pain go through my lower back as the spear entered me and pinned me to my lover.
He hissed in surprise.
The last thing I saw were his eyes going jet black and the flash of his fangs, before I passed out with his name on my lips: “Constantine.”
CHAPTER ONE
Los Angeles, USA, 2012 - Liv
A thousand years after that fateful day, on the other side of the world, a man turns towards me and our eyes lock. I gasp, catching myself in the silly act, but I couldn’t help it. He is gorgeous but that click, that spark? Oh yeah, I’ve had that before. I know right then that he is special. I’ve been around a long time. I know that this feeling doesn’t come around every day, every year or every century for that matter. I can’t ignore it and the fact that he is tall, dark haired, with a gorgeous body, and eyes a beautiful shade of blue gray, just makes it even better. He smiles at me and I instantly return it, giving him a slow, sexy smile back that makes him abandon his group and make his way over to me.
“Hi,” he says. He grasps my small hand in his large one as I hold it out to him. He brings it to his lips with a soft kiss. “Cole O'Dell,” he adds.
“Liv,” I say, purposefully not giving him my last name. His gorgeous eyes crinkle at the corners as he smiles at me, accepting the tease with ease.
“Don't you just hate these events?” he inquires jokingly, referring to the red-carpet party, we are both currently attending.
With a slight smile, I reply, “Doesn’t everyone? I’m only here to show my face.”
“And what a beautiful face it is to see,” he says smoothly.
I raise my eyebrow at him. He knows how to deliver a compliment.
“Quite the charmer,” I murmur. “And you are here because…” I trail off, staring at the slight pulse in his neck that has me momentarily mesmerized.
He peers curiously at me. His eyes have lit up at my British accent and he clears his throat. “I'm an actor,” he states as if it's obvious. “Have we met before?” he adds with a puzzled look.
I frown at him. He does look vaguely familiar, but I never forget a face. Especially one as gorgeous as the one gazing at me now. “No, I don’t think so…I don’t get to these events as much as I should. An actor, you say? What fun.”
He laughs then. “It can be,” he says, sounding surprised that I don’t know who he is. He drops his tone to a low, sultry one as he adds, “And what do you do for fun?”
“Oh, this and that,” I answer vaguely, taking a sip of my champagne to stop my Vampire fangs from dropping and showing him exactly what I do for fun.
Intrigued, his eyes focus on my charm bracelet as he leans forward. “Well, perhaps you could tell me more over dinner?” he asks, bringing his focus back to my eyes.
“Perhaps,” I say to his amusement. “My number.” I give him my business card, the one that I bring to these events, not my day job card. I suppress the giggle when his eyes widen as he takes it and he sees my full name and company title. I sashay away before he can say anything, knowing he will call anyway. They always do.
I locate my companion chatting to a pretty brunette. I approach them and loop my arm through his possessively.
“Devon, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” I inquire sweetly.
Clear blue eyes find my amused green ones with a matching look of humor. He knows I’m teasing him and he loves it. “Liv Nelson, this is…
“Uh-huh,” I interrupt my oldest, closest friend as I’m really not that interested. “Time to go,” I addd, pulling him away abruptly. He throws his latest in a long line of admirers, a half-hearted smile but as soon as he turns from her, she is forgotten. With Devon Savant, it’s out of sight, out of mind, especially if I’m in his sights.
Devon follows me out of the big hall. “Bored already?” he asks. “I know I am. It’s Dullsville in here.”
I take a few seconds to look him over appreciatively. He is tall, topping six feet, gorgeous, with the clearest blue eyes I ever did see, and I've seen plenty. His dark hair flopping over his forehead makes me smile and I brush it away. He is lean and muscular and fucking sexy.
He notices my look and his demeanor changes.
“I'm hungry,” I say.
“Here?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
I shake my head. “No, I want to go home,” I say.
He nods quickly in agreement. “Let’s go.”
So, here we are. Like me, Devon is also a Vampire. I am a thousand years old and I turned him five hundred and six years ago so that we could be together forever. It was that click that I couldn’t ignore. He is my only living charge and I love him as deeply as he loves me. He is a part of me and while all Vampires have special ties to those they are bound to, ours is unusually strong and powerful. I couldn’t imagine my life without him. I know he feels the same, even though we have long since decided to be friends with benefits.
But all those centuries ago, I turned him out of a deep love to save him after he was inflicted with a fatal wound, as my own sire, Constantine, did to me.
In my eyes, we were made for each other.
“Will you Shift for me?” Devon asks, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the nearest exit. I see Cole watching us as we leave, and I wonder if he thinks Devon is my date. He doesn’t look too pleased and that makes me smile. He will call tonight now without a doubt.
“If you ask me nicely,” I say with a wicked smile. Somehow, somewhere along the way, I picked up the ability to be able to Shape-Shift. I met Devon during one such Shift and the raven-haired, busty Elizabeth is his true sire.
As Devon and I wait for the limo, standing hand-in-hand, with no need for words between us, I think back to the day that I met him.
Helsby, England, 1506 - Elizabeth
I sullenly strolled around the marketplace, not looking at anything, too preoccupied with my thoughts to care about much else. I was depressed that day. I had really thought that Constantine and I would have made it that time. We had talked of committing and truly spending eternity together but in our never-ending dance of who-leaves-who, I had been the one left heartbroken by him…again. Fleeing Italy to England had made not the slightest difference. I still missed him every day and the not knowing why he left me only made it worse. I had ‘Shifted’ to change my appearance to the exact opposite of my natural look that Constantine loved. I had long, black locks curling to my waist instead of straight blonde. Blue eyes instead of green. Much taller than my short, original form and much bigger breasts.
I’d heard on the underground grapevine that there was a brothel on the outskirts of the village that housed a couple of women Feeders. I wanted nothing to do with men after my sire’s betrayal, but I was hungry and that made me grumpy. This village was too small for a grumpy Elizabeth, who was far more bloodthirsty than the mild-mannered Aefre. I did try to keep my killings to a minimum in small towns. Better to be left fairly unnoticed than hunted down.
It had been a while since I’d drained a human of all their blood and that thought made me sad. Constantine and I had shared a pretty young man that last time we had made love. He had tasted delicious, even better in the mouth of my sire.
What a fool I was to believe that he loved me.
Resolved, I headed to the brothel of a French Madame and hoped that a Feeder was available. I contemplated as I walked what made humans become Feeders: Th
ose willing to have Vampires feed from them, normally for monetary gain. A risky business if you asked me, as Vampires weren’t to be trusted. And if the humans ever told, they were killed, as were any other innocents who happened to overhear. I had bitten hundreds of humans who’d willingly asked for it, and even more who hadn’t. I knew it could give them great pleasure, under the right circumstances, but at what cost? Half a chance the Vampire would drain you and kill you or like you enough to keep you alive. It was rare for Vampires to swap blood and turn Feeders. They were seen as little else but food.
Fortunately for me, and the village, a young girl named Nell was available and after a discreet word and an exchange of coins with the Madame, I was being escorted to a bedchamber on the top floor. I told Nell all I wanted was to feed and she readily agreed with a look of anticipation. Easy money for her. Hm, yes, I supposed I did see why humans would do this. I grabbed her left wrist and sniffed her delicately. She was untainted. As a left-handed person in life, that had not changed and I always bit to the left, which was rare. Constantine was also like me. That thought entered my head, but I pushed it aside. I extended my fangs and bit down. Nell took a sharp intake of breath and I watched her face relax after a few seconds. Always intrigued by this reaction, as it wasn’t one you saw when you maimed, killed or took blood by force, I let my guard down and didn't register the noise outside until it was too late. A very handsome, but unkempt, young man barged into the bedchamber before I could retract my fangs.
He saw everything.
Horrified by my stupidity, I rose to make a hasty exit out of the windows before he could speak of it but was suddenly stopped by the look of awe on his face. His eyes, a beautiful clear blue, met mine in wonder as his lips parted. Oh, I had seen that look a thousand times before. He was aroused! He ran his hand through his dark hair and approached me cautiously at first. As he got closer the whole world fell away as he reached for me and spontaneously kissed me. It had been months since I had been kissed by a man and it awoke a need in me that I’d thought dead. I kissed him back. Running my hands through his hair, he grabbed my waist and lifted me onto the dresser. To my utmost surprise, took me there and then for Nell, the Madame, and half the brothel to see.
We've been together ever since... Well, mostly.
O nce in the car, I cuddle up to Devon. We are affectionate when we are alone together. Our relationship is kept just between the two of us and that’s the way I like it. To the outside world, we are just two close friends. I love him but I don’t want to commit in that way to him anymore, as I’m sure he doesn’t to me either. I like to have several lovers on the go at any one time. Vampires or humans, it makes no difference to me. I love sex, and I love to love. I would rather love too many, than none at all.