Stealing Her Heart
A Kindred tales
novel
Evangeline Anderson
.
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Evangeline Anderson
Brides of the Kindred
Copyright © 2020 by Evangeline Anderson
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com or Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
*Cover content is for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted on the cover is a model*
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Author's Note: This New Years I took to Facebook to ask what you, my readers, would like me to write about. I invited you all to send me your ideas and promised I would dedicate a book to you if I used your idea. Well, I got so many good responses, I was overwhelmed! Some of you need to be writing your own books--that's for sure. : ) I kept the idea that my muse liked best in a file and several of them made their way into this book. So without further ado--the dedication!
Dedication: This book is dedicated to Terri Webb for her idea of a girl in bar wearing an expensive dress that got torn which she was going to return, stood up on Valentine's Day. Honorable mention to Melisa Tharrington Davis for her idea of Kindred overpopulation causing the Kindred to decide to build another Mother Ship (I just touched on this) and to Marie Whelen who asked for a Mature heroine whose kids are already away at college. Thank you all for your wonderful, creative ideas and for continuing to love the world of the Kindred as much as I do!
Love,
Evangeline
Also by Evangeline Anderson
Brides of the Kindred series (Sci-fi /Action-Adventure /Romance)
Claimed (Also available in Audio)
Hunted (Also available in Audio)
Sought (Also Available in Audio)
Found (Also Available in Audio )
Revealed (Also Available in Audio)
Pursued (Also Available in Audio)
Exiled (Also Available in Audio)
Shadowed (Also Available in Audio)
Chained (Also Available in Audio)
Divided (Also Available in Audio)
Devoured (Also Available in Audio)
Enhanced (Also Available in Audio)
Cursed (Also Available in Audio)
Enslaved (Also Available in Audio)
Targeted (Also Available in Audio)
Forgotten (coming soon to Audio)
Switched
Uncharted
Unbound
Surrendered
Vanished
Imprisoned
Twisted
Deceived
Kindred Tales series (side stories in the Brides of the Kindred which are outside the main story arc. These can be read as STAND ALONE novels.)
Mastering the Mistress (Also available in Audio)
Bonding with the Beast (Also available in Audio)
Seeing with the Heart (Also available in Audio)
Freeing the Prisoner (Also available in Audio)
Healing the Broken (a Kindred Christmas novel) (Also available in Audio)
Taming the Giant (Also available in Audio)
Bridging the Distance (Also available in Audio)
Loving a Stranger (Also available in Audio)
Finding the Jewel (Also available in Audio)
Bonded by Accident (Also Available in Audio)
Releasing the Dragon (Also Available in Audio)
Sharing a Mate (Also Available in Audio)
Instructing the Novice (Also Available in Audio)
Awakened by the Giant (Also Available in Audio)
Hitting the Target (Also Available in Audio)
Handling the Hybrid
Trapped in Time
Time to Heal
Pairing with the Protector
Falling for Kindred Claus (a Kindred Christmas novel)
Guarding the Goddess
Stealing Her Heart (a Kindred Valentines novel)
Born to Darkness series (Paranormal/Action-Adventure/Romance)
Crimson Debt (Also available in Audio)
Scarlet Heat (Also available in Audio)
Ruby Shadows (Also available in Audio)
Cardinal Sins (Coming Soon)
Dessert (short novella following Scarlet Heat) (Also in Audio)
Alien Mate Index series (Sci-fi /Action-Adventure /Romance)
Abducted (Also available in Print and Audio)
Protected (Also available in Print and Audio)
Descended (Also available in Print and Audio)
Severed (Also available in Print and Audio )
The Cougarville Series
(Paranormal/Action-Adventure/Romance/)
(Older woman/Younger Man)
Buck Naked (Also available in Audio)
Cougar Bait (Also available in Audio)
Stone Cold Fox (Also available in Audio)
Big Bad Wolf (coming soon)
The Institute series (Daddy-Dom/Age Play Romance)
The Institute: Daddy Issues(Also available in Audio)
The Institute: Mishka's Spanking
The CyBRG Files with Mina Carter
(Sci-fi /Action-Adventure /Romance)
Unit 77: Broken
Unit 78: Bred
The Swann Sisters Chronicles
(Contemporary Fairy/Funny/ Fantasy/Romance)
Wishful Thinking (Also available in Audio)
Be Careful What You Wish For (Also available in Audio)
Nocturne Academy
(Young Adult Paranormal/Action-Adventure/Romance)
Lock and Key (coming Jan 2020)
Fang and Claw
Stone and Secret
Compendiums and Box Sets
Brides of the Kindred Volume One
Contains Claimed, Hunted, Sought and Found
Brides of the Kindred Volume Two
Contains Revealed, Pursued, and Exiled
Brides of the Kindred Volume Three
Contains Shadowed, Chained, and Divided
Brides of the Kindred Volume Four
Contains Devoured, Enhanced, and Cursed
Brides of the Kindred Volume Five
Contains Enslaved, Targeted, and Forgotten
Brides of the Kindred Volume Six
Contains Switched, Uncharted, and Unbound
Brides of the Kindred Volume Seven
Contains Surrendered, Vanished, and Imprisoned
Kindred Tales Volume One
Contains Mastering the Mistress, Bonding with the Beast, Seeing with the Heart
Kindred Tales Volume Two
Contains Freeing the Prisoner, Healing the Broken, Taming the Giant
Kindred Tales Volume Three
Contains Bridging the Distance, Loving a Stranger, Finding the Jewel
Kindred Tales Volume Four
Contains Bonded by Accident, Releasing the Dragon, and Sharing a Mate
Alien Mate Index Volume One
Contains Abducted, Protected, Descended, and Severed
Born to Darkness Box Set
Contains Crimson Debt, Scarlet Heat, and Ruby Shadows
; *One Hot Halloween
Contains Red and the Wolf, Gypsy Moon, and Taming the Beast
*Have Yourself a Sexy Little Christmas
Contains Kidnapped for Christmas, Cougar Christmas, and Seasons's Spankings
*Bound and Determined
Contains The Punishment of Nicolett and His Ward
Stand Alone Novels
(Sci-fi OR Paranormal Action-Adventure/Romance)
Purity (Now available in Audio)
Stress Relief
The Last Man on Earth
Anyone U Want
Shadow Dreams
Hunger Moon Rising
Cougar Christmas
Planet X (Also available in Audio)
Deal with the Devil (Also available in Audio)
The Sacrifice (Also available in Audio)
Blood Kiss
The Pleasure Palace
The Last Man on Earth
Blind Date with a Vampire
Eyes Like a Wolf (Foster Brother romance)
*Defiled
*Ceremony of Three
*Str8te Boys (M/M romance)
* Forever Broken (M/M romance)
* Red and the Wolf
*Gypsy Moon
*The Last Bite (M/M romance)
*The Assignment (M/M romance)
*Sex with Strangers
*A Spanking for Valentine
*The Covenant
*Tandem Unit
* denotes books that are only available at Evangeline's Aliens and Alphas Bookstore
Naughty Tales (Short Reads to get you Hot and Bothered)
*Sin Eater
Confessions of a Lingerie Model
When Mr. Black Comes Home
Speeding Ticket
*Putting on a Show
YA Novels
The Academy(Now available in Audio)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Chapter Forty-five
Chapter Forty-six
Epilogue
Fang and Claw: Book 2 of the Nocturne Academy Series Sneak Peek
Bonus Content: Deleted Chapter from Guarding the Goddess
Give a Hot Kindred Warrior to a Friend!
Also by Evangeline Anderson
About the Author
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Chapter One
Victoria Erickson sat at the Last Call Bar nursing her third strawberry daiquiri and looking down at the rip in the skirt of her expensive Teri Jon dress. She had no idea how she had gotten it, but there it was, staring at her like a bad omen.
The Teri Jon was a sexy red wrap dress and Vicky had gotten it at Saks especially for tonight—for her Valentine’s date. It hadn’t been on sale, either. In fact, it had cost an ungodly amount—almost five hundred dollars—which she could ill afford on her high school teacher’s salary. But it had looked so good and made her feel so sexy, she’d decided to do something she normally wouldn’t—get the dress, wear it once, and then return it the next day.
No returning it now, whispered a little voice in the back of her head as she examined the rip. Nope, no way—absolutely not. You just blew your savings on something you couldn’t afford in the first place. Now what are you going to do the next time the Civic breaks down or the AC goes out?
Vicky didn’t have answers for those questions—all she knew was that she’d paid an awful lot to look nice and the effort had been completely wasted. Her date hadn’t even showed.
“Stupid app,” she muttered, staring resentfully down at her phone. “Should have known trying to start dating again at my age wouldn’t work.” Not after over twenty years of being with the same man, anyway.
It had been her older daughter Jodi’s idea to get her an account on Second Time Around, the premier dating app for divorced people in their forties and fifties.
“Dad’s moving on, Mom—you should too,” she’d said when Vicky had admitted to being lonely.
It had seemed like a good idea at the time. It had been almost a year since her youngest daughter, Melinda, had gone off to college and Vicky’s husband of twenty-six years had announced that he was leaving.
In fact, both events had happened on the very same day. Vicky had still had tears in her eyes from seeing her baby off to USF when Kevin had announced that he’d “had enough of this shit” and he was leaving immediately.
“He already had his bags packed,” Vicky murmured to herself, taking another sip of her daiquiri. “Couldn’t wait to get away.”
As it turned out, her ex had only been waiting until both kids were gone so he couldn’t be forced to pay any kind of child support. And it further turned out that he’d been having an affair with his secretary for the past three years. And to cap off the sad, stereotypical story of her husband’s infidelity, his secretary—who was now his new wife—was pregnant.
So Kevin was starting all over again while Vicky was just left there in the dust, middle aged and alone with no one to love her and no one left to love—at least, no one at home, since all her chicks had flown the nest.
Oh, stop being so maudlin, Vicky scolded herself mentally. You’re not usually like this—it must be the alcohol talking.
Well, that and the fact that she’d been stood up on Valentine’s Day. Which sucked—honestly, there was no way around it.
The worst thing was, Vicky was fairly certain she’d spotted Ted—the man she was supposed to meet—earlier in the crowded front of the bar. She’d seen a man who seemed to match his picture—well, sort of, since he was a lot shorter than the 6’2 he’d listed and had a beer belly and was balding. But all the same, he’d looked like the photo on the app.
Vicky had seen him looking—scanning the bar for the woman in the red dress. She’d felt so sexy earlier, messaging him with that little bit of information. “I’ll be the one with a silver streak in her hair and a low-cut red dress,” she’d typed and had felt a tingling between her thighs she hadn’t felt in years.
She and Kevin had been in a sexless marriage for the last five years together and tonight she’d imagined she might finally have a little fun for the first time in ages. So she had waved at Ted—or the man she thought was Ted—trying to catch his eye behind the thick glasses he wore.
Ted—if it had been Ted—had sized her up with a quick up and down glance, then turned and headed right back out of the bar. He hadn’t waved back, or come up to give any kind of explanation, or anything. He just left—as though what he saw when he looked at Vicky wasn’t enough to tempt him—wasn’t even enough to warrant any common courtesy.
&nbs
p; Vicky had tried to tell herself it was the wrong guy, that it hadn’t been her date at all that she’d seen looking at her and leaving. But the minutes had ticked by and Ted never showed. He never even messaged her on the app to let her know he wasn’t coming or answered the short message she’d sent, asking if she was at the right place. (She knew she was—she’d double checked twice.)
So that was her Valentine’s Day in a nutshell. The torn dress, the empty barstool beside her, and the two empty daiquiri glasses—soon to be three—said it all.
Why didn’t he stay? What did he see that made him just leave like that, with no explanation? Vicky wondered morosely. Yes, she was over forty—she was forty-six and a half to be exact—but she hadn’t hidden her age. And yes, she was on the curvy side, but she hadn’t hidden that either. She had marked the “more to love” box on her profile, indicating she was plus-sized.
Maybe Ted hadn’t liked the streak of pure silver that ran through her dark hair, highlighting her face. But that was in her profile picture too and Vicky refused to dye it. Likewise, she wasn’t going to get Botox or spend her meager teacher’s salary on expensive skin treatments to get rid of the faint crow’s feet around her eyes. She had earned every one of her wrinkles and she was proud of the fact that she had a lot more lines from laughing than from frowning.
Basically, she wasn’t going to pretend she was twenty because she wasn’t twenty, damn it! She had some life experience under her belt. She’d raised two daughters to be lovely human beings and she’d taught more kids than she could count at Woodrow Wilson High School to speak passable Spanish and French, as well as coaching the Drama Club.
Why didn’t anyone appreciate age and wisdom in a woman? Was the fact that she wasn’t a skinny young virgin really going to keep her single and alone for the rest of her life?
Stealing Her Heart: A Kindred Tales Novel (Brides of the Kindred) Page 1