From bestselling author Emily Goodwin comes the epic start to a sexy and exciting paranormal romance series... Never trust a vampire. I might have learned that lesson the hard way. But when I find myself in a vampire-owned bar, I don’t have much of a choice. With vampires still trying to assimilate into mainstream society, I’ve done Lucas King a favor by stopping one of his patrons from draining a human dry in the basement of his bar. A favor he'd prefer to repay in bed than in kind. Vampires and witches have had more than a jaded history, and when witches start showing up dead in surrounding covens, all signs point to something old and powerful. Something that knows the ways of the witches.Something--or someone--like Lucas. What's worse than trusting a vampire? Falling in love with one.Dead of Night a vampire/witch romance and is book one in the Thorne Hill series.
View MoreI wake up coughing, having rolled over in my sleep and am facing the window. The sun is creeping up, casting a muted glow throughout my room. Lucas’s hand lands on my back, startling me. I roll over, eyes locking with his. “You’re still here.”“I didn’t want to leave you.”“But it’s almost dawn.”“I know.”“The spell from the other day might not work.” I snuggle closer to him and he pulls the blanket up over my shoulder.“That’s okay.” He slides his hand under the blanket and runs his fingertips up and down my arm.“You’ll burn.”“I’ll leave before that happens. Your basement is dark. It’s not the worst place I’ve waited out the sun.” He kisses my forehead. “Go back to sleep. You need to rest.”“I need a drink first.” I slowly sit up, coughing again, and reach for the glass of water on my nightstand.“Do you feel any better?” Lucas pushes himself up, looking at me with concern. We’re both naked, having gone right into bed after taking a shower. Lucas brushed the tangles out of my hair
Lucas holds me tight against him and goes in for a kiss. I turn my head at the last second, coughing.“Sorry,” I say between coughs.“Don’t be. Are you…are you all right?” Lucas takes my hands in his and carefully pulls me to my feet. “You don’t sound very good.”“I inhaled a lot of smoke.” I sway on my feet, grasping Lucas’s hands for support. He steps in and scoops me up. I don’t like to be coddled, but I’m not about to protest. Mostly because I’m not sure I can keep from falling to the ground.I’m lightheaded and dizzy, both from inhaling so much smoke and because whatever the hell spell I just performed was the most draining magical act I’ve ever done.Lucas makes sure I’m steady on my feet before moving away, going over the pile of ash. He nudges it with his foot, moving the remains of the demon’s robe.“There’s hardly anything left. How did you put out the fire?”Pressing my hand to my chest, I cough again before I can answer. “I don’t know. It was hellfire…maybe it just goes aw
“Humans?” I echo. “The woods are enchanted to keep them away. Of course, tonight of all nights they—”I’m interrupted by a high-pitched scream. My blood runs cold and Lucas and I both take off, sprinting to the door. The group from my house is at the door, and it looks like they just performed the ritual to open it. But no one is going through. They’re huddled around it, hands raised as they cast a defensive circle.The humans Lucas caught the scent of surround them, and I can tell by their inky eyes that they are possessed. The door is open, and if one of the demons get witch blood on their hands, they might be able to pass right through. They press in, testing the strength of the circle. Brooke and her brother are hiding behind the adults, kept safe by their familiar who’s barking and growling at the demons. They need to go through and seek shelter at the Covenstead.“Hey!” I shout, conjuring an energy ball. Lucas speeds forward, sinking his fangs into the neck of one demon. He bite
“What does that mean?” Abby asks.I blink and the world spins around me. “It means he’s coming for us. For me. It means I need to go back and fight.”“Callie, no!” Lucas zooms down the stairs and puts his hands on my shoulders. “You know how powerful he is, and we don’t know how to stop him. If you go back, he’ll kill you.”“He can try.” I slowly shake my head. “I’m not hiding. I’m not going to let him tear through every single one of my friends in an attempt to get to me.”“What’s going on?” Abby’s voice breaks. “Who’s trying to kill you?”“Go home,” I tell her. “I’ll call you later, well, if I’m alive.”“You’re not going to die,” Lucas says, and his fingers press a little harder into my shoulder. “I’m not losing you.”“Then come with me,” I whisper, looking into his eyes, and the fear I see reflected back at me sends a chill right through me. He’s just as scared as I am, but not of the demon. He’s scared of something happening to me. Because for some reason I fill the emptiness insi
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Scott demands through gritted teeth. I stand there, stunned, as pain radiates through my head. Scott hit me right in the temple, and his fingers lashed the corner of my eye. If it swells up, I wouldn’t be surprised. Ella gasps and Scott turns on me, eyes full of rage.“You’re nothing but the Devil’s whore,” he says, grabbing my wrist and twisting my arm up. The magic has left my fingers, and his grip on my wrist hurts.“Scott!” Ella exclaims, jumping back. “What are you doing?” And then Lucas appears, seemingly out of nowhere, and grabs Scott by the throat. He draws his fangs and lifts Scott into the air several feet off the ground. Ella screams and the others in the room scatter. “You’re lucky your sister has more mercy in her little finger than most do in their whole body. If my own flesh and blood treated me this way, I would not be so kind.” Lucas raises Scott a little higher in the air and looks at me. “What should I do with him, lover?
I stretch my legs out in front of me and lean back, closing my eyes and tipping my head up to the sun. I’m on the rooftop patio, soaking up the warmth of the day. Pandora is walking along the railing and Binx is stretched out on the chair next to me, enjoying sunbathing as much as I am.I’m waiting for my lunch to arrive, and then will probably go back inside and take a nap. Lucas looked through the Book of the Beast and didn’t see anything about how to kill demons. There was, however, a chapter that alluded to sending a demon back to Hell. Which would be great if I were able to summon up enough power to crack open the earth and shove the fucker inside.Pandora softly meows, letting me know the delivery guy is here. I go back inside, hurrying through the large house and meeting the delivery guy at the gate. Opening the front door and revealing that the house is blacked out is a dead giveaway that a vampire lives here. I take my food and go back to the rooftop, watching people walk up
“What are you going to do with him?” I watch Lucas carry the vampire from my shed to the trunk of his car. The vampire, who’s still bound and gagged, struggles against Lucas to no avail.“For now,” he starts and drops the vampire down, “I’ll let Eliza have some fun.”The vampire protests, knowing that Eliza isn’t going to place nice after what he put her through.“Oh, okay,” I say, well aware the only reason he’s not going to question that vampire is because he’s preoccupied with keeping me alive. “Want me to conjure an energy ball to knock him out?”Lucas turns to me, grinning. “You know I love watching you inflict pain on my enemies.” He slips his fingers in the belt loops on my pants, pulling me toward him. “Go for it, babe.”I hold out my hand, conjure a bright blue ball of energy and hit the vampire with it. He goes limp right away.“That should hold him for an hour at least.”Lucas closes the trunk. “Got everything you need?”“Yeah. I’m ready.”We’re driving straight to the bar
I freeze, too horrified to look around the room. I don’t want to see Lucas’s remains charred and oozing all over the floor.“Callie,” It’s his voice. He’s not dead. But…but…how? I look in and see him standing by the window.“Lucas?” I whisper. “What…what….”He turns away from the window. “The smoke went away, but whatever you did…you made it so the sun doesn’t hurt me.” He turns back around, putting his hand on the glass. “I haven’t felt the sun in centuries.”“Holy shit,” I breathe, still rooted to the spot. The door swings open and light from the hall spills in. Lucas winces, dodging out of the way. Shaking myself, I go into the room and shut the door. “You’re not dead?”“Technically, I’ve been dead for a long time.”Suddenly, tears fill my eyes. “When I saw the sunlight, I thought…I thought…” I can’t finish the sentence. I inhale and shake my head. Lucas rushes over, taking me in his arms.“I’m fine. Better than fine.” Holding me against his chest, he turns back to the window. “You
“About time,” I mutter and lay back down. “I was wondering what was taking Evander so long. But not really. I forgot I asked for info on the witches.”“That’s what fell through your fireplace?” He gets up and goes to the hearth, pulling back the cast iron door. “It’s a file folder. And a book.”“Oh, good. Alice got the Book of the Beast to him too.”“This is a witch thing…teleporting objects.”“Yeah. It has to be set up in advance, and it doesn’t always work. But Evander is powerful.”“He called you sister.” Lucas comes back to the couch, setting the folder and the book on the coffee table. I’m too tired to go through everything right now. “But you are not related.”“No, we’re not. His mother is the High Priestess of our coven and was the headmistress of Grim Gate Academy when I first started. You know my real family isn’t magical. Tabatha had me stay with them for a while to help me get acquainted.”And because I wasn’t sure I’d survive if I went back home, but that’s a tale for anot
“You know,” I say as I turn my dagger over in my hands, looking out into the dark woods in front of me. “I’m starting to take this personally.” I wait, closing my eyes to get a better read on the energy around me. Something dark and demonic is lurking about, but they haven’t made their move yet.“It’s not like I smell.” I pick up a strand of my wavy brown hair. “I showered and everything. My socks even match.” The clouds that were covering the moon roll away, bathing the earth in a pale silver light. I cast my eyes up, feeling the power of the full moon. “Come on, I just want to talk.” I stand, needing to stretch my legs. I’ve been sitting on the cold stone steps of this historical farmhouse for an hour, waiting to make a kill. Shadows move across the porch and my heart skips a beat. There’s more than one demon out here and I’m all by myself.Hell yes.A small smile plays across my lips. Closing my eyes, I inhale and pull in energy from all around me. I’ve been tracking this demon for
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