Of course, when he'd been a new vampire, it had taken him a while to learn how to control his blood cravings, and he had taken blood directly from humans. Occasionally, he'd taken too much and had accidentally killed humans. Over the years he'd learned to control himself better. When blood had become more readily available on the commercial market, he'd switched to it.
As he slowly lifted Isabella's hand to lips, he hoped that he wouldn't loose control, as the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt her. He could sense that she was afraid from the look in her eyes, and he hated that he was the cause of that. But he had to do this.
Helplessly, Isabella watched as he removed the bandage and lifted his hand to his lips. Then she watched in silence and horror as his tongue licked gently over the cut, lapping up the blood. She felt a warm tingling feeling on her fingers and noticed that the remaining blood flow stopped instantly. When he closed hi
It wasn't an easy choice to make, as they had to leave their families and the people they loved in order to keep them safe. The last thing you wanted to when working on a job like this was an emotional attachment to anyone, as they could be used as a means to get to you. So being a vampire hunter meant leaving every thing you loved. It meant becoming a living ghost. Travis had left someone he loved, but the other hunters didn't know about that, and he intended to keep it that way.Three weeks ago, Jeremiah's son, Evan Desmond had been killed by a vampire in Greeneville. The police called it an animal attack, but they knew better, and Jeremiah was having none of it. He wanted to avenge his son's death so badly, and that desperation was going to be the death of all of them if care wasn't taken."Look, Jeremiah" Travis began, "I know that you are going through a lot right now, and I know that it's not easy to be in your shoes, but if we a
Samson. How had he gotten her clothes cleaned and dried so fast? Was Samson downstairs? Her heart fluttered excitedly and her hands suddenly felt clammy. Surely he wasn't downstairs or he would have come up. She had to stop over thinking and try to control her excitement."There is a card with the flowers.” Paul said, and he placed the vase with the flowers on the side table in the foyer before he left.“Thank you.” Isabella said breathlessly.After she shut the door and hung her clothes in the wardrobe, she looked for the card. Why would he send her two dozen red roses? The butterflies in her stomach started to dance. She had to sit down. He was going to ask her out on a date. She was very sure of that. That definitely had to be the reason for the flowers.He was asking her out on a date... In a note. How very old fashioned and romantic, she thought as she smiled
Samson heard a feminine laugh come from the right, and he recognized the voice immediately... Maddison, he thought. She usually spent a lot of time with Jacob.He turned around, and behold he was right. Maddison sat on a stool laughing at some silly shit the man beside her had just whispered in her ear. Samson's eyes settled on the man beside her. It was the man he had come to find, and he would be dammed if he didn't complete his mission.He headed straight for Jacob Saunders, who looked up and grinned mischievously when he saw Samson approaching."Hey man" Jacob said, "I seem to be seeing you almost every where I go lately. If I didn't know better, I would say you were stalking me. You're not developing feelings for me or anything like that right, are you?"He laughed and Maddison and some other of the vampires who heard him laughed too.The laughter ceased im
Samson didn't hesitate this time, and since he was very fast, Mark was unable to stop him. He charged at Jacob, pushing and slamming him against the wall. He pinned Jacob to the wall, throttling him with his left hand, and using his right, he drove the stake deep into his stomach, making Jacob scream in pain. Then he leaned forward and whispered in his ear."If you Hurt her in any way, the next stake will be driven into your heart. And I mean every word I just said"With that, he released him, turned around and headed for the exit, leaving everyone in the bar in shock at what had just happened.--------------"So..... Are you going to tell us what that was all about, or are we going to have to just act like nothing happened?" Mark asked Samson as they drove away from Joe's bar, while Raymond just giggled at the back seat like the situation was so funny to him.Samson ignored Mark's question, and focused on taking off his blo
"No I won't stop walking" she replied, "I have to get home. It's getting late"She had to stop walking when he suddenly took a step forward and came to stand in front of her, blocking her path and preventing her from moving any further. She tried to move past him but he wouldn't let her."Fine, let me drive you home then" he said.Isabella shook her head. "No thanks, I'm fine"He frowned slightly, and his brow lifted. "You are mad at me, ain't you?" he said simply.Isabella shrugged, trying to give the impression that he was wrong and that she didn't care one bit. "I'm not mad at you" she said, "Why on earth would I be? I don't even know you"Samson lifted a hand and rubbed his forehead, searching for the right words to say to her. She might deny it, but he wasn't stupid. She was definitely mad at him and he wanted to fix i
He suddenly lightened up, and then he was grinning at her again. "Great. It would be nice to spend some time with my new friend. I don't have a lot of friends, you know"Isabella smiled back at him. Friends—she wanted Samson to be much more than that, at least a friend she could have sex with. Lots of sex. Lots of good sex. If he was as good in bed as his kiss promised, there’d be lots of great sex.Was it getting warmer in the car?“Are you hot? I'm sorry, I should have turned on the AC” Samson Samson.“What?” Isabella lifted her gaze to meet Samson’s inquisitive stare.“Your cheeks are red.” he replied. "I thought maybe you were hot or something?"It was probably safer not to think of sex anymore while she was in the car with him, Isabella thought. Or in any other place for that matter."You can pick me up at six tomorrow" she said, before she opened the d
She gave him a ravishing smile. The man was definitely old fashioned, and the way he called her Belle made her feel like a princess. "I'm glad I agreed to." she replied."Shall we?" He offered her his left arm, and she hooked her hand in it. Wanting to feel more of her, he placed his right hand over her fingers, pressing down gently. She was soft and warm. Tonight those fingers would touch him in all the right places, just as his hands would learn every inch of her body. Just one night with her couldn't do any harm, right?"So, can I ask where we are going?" Isabella asked.Samson grinned and shook his head. "No you may not, It's a surprise." he replied."Oh, I love surprises." Isabella said and her face lit up like that of a little Child who had just been promised a treat.She would get plenty of surprises with him. All good ones, he hoped. He helped her into the car and addressed his driver."We're ready, Darr
He was in the right mood to give the tickets to the next passerby and take her back to his house immediately. But he was worried that his uncontrolled desire for her would scare her and make her retreat. He couldn't risk it. Not after he had screwed up that night."Sir, we're here," Darrell said as the car came to a stop.Isabella watched Samson intently as he helped her out of the car like the perfect gentleman, almost as if the few minutes of erotic play hadn't happened. He was deadly sexy, and the touch of his fingers on her lips had aroused her more than she would want anybody to know. If a simple touch did that to her, she'd be heading for the abyss shortly.She could barely believe how bold she'd been in the car. She wasn't normally the type to go after a man, but all her inhibitions had gone out the window as soon as he'd fed her the first piece of sushi.Potentially the whole situation could have been embarrassing, especially if he had withd
"You will always have me. That you can be sure of" Samson replied. His lips descended on hers until finally they locked together in a kiss of pure love. Capturing her lips with his, he poured his heart into her as he invaded the caverns of her mouth with his tongue. He wasn’t there to plunder, but to share. Her tongue met his, offering him what he knew he could never take: her trust. It was for her to give. Their mouths fused in a passionate surrender to each other, neither one being the conqueror nor the conquered. Partners, equals in love. Both with equal strength and equal weakness for each other, both powerful and powerless at the same time. Samson felt images invading his mind, images of lavender, the meadow, the sun. She opened up to him to take him to a place of utter happiness, a place without a care in the world, a place where he was just man, not beast. Never breaking their kiss, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bed, no, to t
Isabella's hand on his stopped him from speaking further. She knew how hard this must be for him as he was trying so hard not to Hurt Travis because of her. But she was done hiding. The man seated in front of him was not her father... Not anymore. He was different. Full of hate and showed no remorse for the wrong he had done. Looking at him now, she knew that she didn't want to be involved with him in any way. Their relationship was over, and there was need to try to bring it back. She just had to accept that fact. Besides she was sure that he would never see her the same way as soon as he found out that she was a vampire. And she was going to tell him... All consequences he damned. This was who she was now and she was tired of hiding."It's okay, Samson" she said softly. "This ends now. You were right. I shouldn't have agreed to this. We shouldn't have come here. It was silly to think that things could go back to the way it was. Dad, I think it will be best for everyon
Isabella gasped at the revelation. She wasn't sure what she had expected him to say, but this certainly wasn't it. Now even without him explaining further, she understood. She understood why he had left. Although a part of her still wished that he had stayed... At least been in by her life a little bit more, but she understood."She died in front of me, Izzy" Travis continued. "And I couldn't do anything to help her or save how. How could I? I was just a man. How could I stand a chance against a vampire? A creature I didn't even know existed until that very night"Isabella's voice shook. "I didn't... I had no idea. Why didn't you say anything to me?""Because I was trying to protect you and you were too Young to understand." replied Travis. "In my own way. That's all I was trying to do. I couldn't bear to let you go through what I going through and I wanted revenge. I got it. I killed the bastard and for a few minutes it felt good. I thought that just goin
"Samson stays, dad" Isabella said stubbornly. "What ever it is that you are going to say, you can say it in front of him. He's not leaving."She turned to Samson and said softly. "Please seat down. Remember you promised""I don't want him here" Travis persisted.This time, Samson didn't wait for Isabella to speak. "I'm staying for Belle" he said stiffly. "I don't care what you think or want. I don't trust you one bit and I'm sure as hell not going to leave her alone with you. No way that's going to happen""She is my daughter. I should be the one saying that. Do you really think that I would do anything to Hurt her?"Samson scoffed. "You already did.. And you have done enough"Isabella touched Samson on the arm. Silently urging him to do this for her. He stared at her for a second. He would want nothing more than to strangle the man in front of him, but he loved this woman and he wanted to do anything for
"Okay I get your point" Isabella said, trying to think positively even if she she knew that she had the same concerns. "But maybe we are just over thinking this. Maybe he doesn't know. Isn't it better for us to meet up and be sure about this instead of worrying that he's going to come after us one day? Maybe he won't. You can't deny the fact that you are concerned that something like that could happen. Let's find out once and for all"Samson gave her words some thought. "FineBut I'm coming with you" he said, then added quickly because he knew what she would say next, "And there's nothing you can do or say that will stop me so don't even bother to say anything. I'm not going to change my mind"Isabella shook her head. "That is not a good idea. He wants to see me alone. Your presence might make him unable to talk to me with ease. I will be fine... Don't worry about me..""Of course I'm going to worry. H
CHAPTER SIXTY NINE"Hey! We were watching that" Vivian said."Yes, I know that. You were paying all your attention to it and ignoring me so I decided to do things this way and look, it worked!" Isabella retorted. "Seriously guys. Why am I being treated this way?""You really have to ask?" said Emily, finally sitting up in her chair. "We should be asking you that question? You were the one who met some guy and ran off into a sunset with him. You abandoned us. You made such a big change without even looking our way. You moved out for goodness sake!""And we thought we could try to adapt but everything just got worse. You quit your job and you don't even come to school any more. So many changes have taken place, but it's all been because of you, and you don't even notice because you are so focused on yourself alone. Honestly I thought that I was okay with what you were doing, but you took it so far and I just can't anymore" added Vivian.Isabella
CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT“Where?” Travis asked, feigning ignorance. “You know damn well what I mean dad” Isabella replied. She was in no mood for games. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. “I want to know what you are doing here… In Greenville” “Would you believe me if I said that I came here for you…. To see you?” Travis asked. “Stop playing with me, dad. You know that’s not true because you didn’t even know that I was here. I made sure of that. So please just stop this and tell me what exactly is going on” There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “Look, baby. Yes, I didn’t come here to see you. We haven’t seen or spoken to each other in a very long time. What ever the reason is, I’m here and I’m sure that we should be able to figure out some place to sit and talk. You know, just the two of us. Catch up. You can tell me what has been going on in your life… “ “And you can tell me what you were doing in that house in
CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN“Oh good. I finally got your attention” he said.Vivian glared at him. “You didn’t get it. You pissed me off until I had to give it, and that’s not the way to start any kind of conversation with any one”“But at least it worked. I got your attention now and you are talking to me”“I’m not talking to you” replied Vivian. “What do you want from me? And you better say it fast because I’m tired and I want to go home. It’s been a long day”“I want to apologize to you” Raymond began, “I was such a jerk to you. I mean, when you talked to me after… After that night, I should have been more… I don’t know… Understanding… I guess I… I don’t even know how to put it. I’m not too great with words” 
CHAPTER SIXTY SIX“Well, my friend Vivian is one of the toughest people I know. She doesn’t like people easily and when she does, she gives her all and loves them genuinely. She’s loyal. She really did like you and I guess you weren’t ready for all that then, but she was a little hurt and upset about the whole thing. You know, no one likes to get rejected. It’s not a very nice position to be in. She might push you away at first, but I think all you have to do is be a little persistent and show her that you want something more this time. I’m sure that she will come around”“You really think so?” Raymond asked, with his hand on the door handle.“Yeah I do, besides you won’t know if you try” Isabella replied. “But I have to ask, why do you suddenly want to talk to her about this? According to what she told me, you were so sure that you didn’