I watched Marley leave. Standing in my room, peering out of the window like a creepy old man, my stomach churned with sickness as the blacked-out SUV left the mansion grounds and turned toward the airport, the feeling I would never see my human lover again, building with every mile further she was away form me.The knock at my door was light, but I knew exactly who it’d be. There was only one idiot who would come to see me, while I was in this kind of mood. Most of the other vamps in the coven had given me a wide berth, when I had been stomping through the mansion. They knew better than to try to stop me to ask what was wrong. I would have lost my shit and snapped at anyone.
With the use of Absinthe’s private jet, the trip from Miami to Vegas had been relatively short. Now, sitting in the car, watching the scenery fly past, my mind couldn’t help but go back to the mansion and where I’d left my heart.Being in the middle of a love triangle with two undead beings was never my intention and the fact they were brothers… made it almost impossible to choose one of them.“Marley...”I turned to the vampire by my side. Maddison was a pretty woman. With golden curls and bright blue eyes, she would have been no older than eighteen when she had been turned and she had kept that beauty. I vowed to myself to one day, ask her how she and Tony met.“We’re almost there. This is the last turn before we arrive at Korin's Coven.”I nodded, looking out the window again at the bright lights twinkling in the distance, they called me, wanting me to come and blow the ten-million dollars i
“I have promised my cousin I will not hurt you, Miss Brennan and I will hold myself to the promise I made him, as to cross Absinthe would see my head roll; but my fledglings are only just old enough to have hunted for themselves.” He leaned back and stared down at me, as if contemplating if I was worth the effort, he was having to put into all of this. “And you would be a good triumph for them. So close. So fresh. So, you staying here, will be interesting.”A growl from behind me and I turned my head, not to Tony, but to his fledgling.Maddison’s figure had stiffened, and she had stepped closer to me, her bright blue gaze coppering in anger and I knew she would have me in the car in seconds, while Tony fought Korin; if it came to it.I turned my attention back to the vampire Lord in front of me, seeing his own eyes fading to copper and the tension in the air became electrifying.Tony’s gruff deep voice came from behind
“Are you all right Marley?”I didn’t want to have the phone on speaker, but Rhayden refused to let me answer Marlene’s call, without him hearing her voice.“I'm fine Abe, just tired.”I frowned and looked at my brother, as he mouthed bullshit. I nodded and leaned in closer to the phone. “You sound a little shaken? Did something happen? Was Korin welcoming?”There was a pause and then a whispered reply. “More than…”Rhayden vacated his chair in two seconds and left the room and my own anger kicked into overdrive and I gripped the edge of the table. But my anger wasn’t aimed at the woman on the end of the phone. I knew what my cousin was like. “What?”“Nothing Abe. I am fine, I am tired. You told me to ring when I got in. I have…”“Marley…” I warned, hearing her inhaling quickly. She knew what I was like when she played games with me. I didn’t want her there with Korin in the first place and if my
My alarm blared and I groaned, rolling to the side to silence it. My hand touched the empty space on the bedside table, and I blinked, lifting myself to my elbow and looked around with gritty eyes. The sound came from the floor, and I leaned over the side of the bed and scooped the device off the shag carpet, where I’d dropped it the night before.Silencing it, I stared at the time.Six-pm.Maddison and Tony would be at least another half hour, until the sun was low enough for them to wake, then I would have to wait for them to be ready. Sighing, I lay back on the bed and opened my phone, reading emails quickly, before scrolling through my non-existent messages.Absinthe hadn’t left any messages and I frowned. Usually when he and I argued, there were at least a dozen messages or voicemails, with vague threats and empty promises.There was nothing.After twenty minutes of doom scrolling through various social media platforms, I go
A voice wafted over me like stale smoke, and I turned my gaze to the pale man. In this light, Korin James looked almost albino and I wondered how he got away with looking remotely human. Could no-one in the hotel tell there was something wrong with this man?“Lord James. What are you doing here?” I hissed and was met with a cold stare.“I am here to meet with you over the problem we have with the Mated.” Korin replied, his eyes regarding me with unnatural calm. “That is why you are here? Is it not Miss Brennan?”I glared at the vampire, before turning back toward the elevators. I’d go back up to my room and wait for Tony and Maddison, maybe even call Absinthe, but Korin caught me just above the elbow, stopping me, and leaned in close to my ear. His breath was stale with blood, and I gagged, pulling away a little, but the vampire held me steady. “There must be a reason for you to have been sent by Absinthe. My cousi
Fuck, I forgot how much I hated Vegas. The lights, the smells, the sin. I think I counted at least a dozen prostitutes standing out the front of the hotel where Marley, Maddison and Tony were staying. One of them sauntered up to me and I rolled my eyes, shoving her away, as she tried to wrap her arm around my waist. “Hey, you prissy little wanker!”I turned on her, grabbing her arm and dragged her toward me, baring my fangs, letting my eyes fade. “I suggest you go home, get off the drugs and stop selling your ass.”The woman all but yelped, wrenching her arm away from me and turned on her heels, running off and I smirked to myself. I knew I shouldn’t have shown my true nature, but I was not in the mood to play nice to a creature who didn’t give a fuck about themselves. Plus, who was she going to tell? More importantly, who would believe her? Her eyes had been so glazed over; I could see my own reflection.Pushing my hand through my hair, I turned and walked into the hotel and went t
Ten minutes after leaving the hotel, I had a hot box of noodles in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other. I ate hungrily, ignoring the lights of the city twinkling at me in the distance, as Tony drove us back toward Korin’s mansion.“I am sorry I did not protect you from Korin earlier Miss Brennan. It will not happen again.”I looked up to Tony, the chopsticks hanging between the carton and my mouth and blinked at him. “It's alright Tony. I should have waited. But I was hungry.”The vampire didn't reply, and I shoved food into my mouth, savoring the tang of the lemon sauce. Soon finished, I shoved the carton beside me and looked out to the skyline. “How far out does Korin actually live from the city?”“About a half hour drive Miss Brennan.”“Please Tony, call me Marley, everyone else does.”“Very well Miss Brennan.” He replied, and I smiled. Professional as always. I’d always liked Tony. He was one of Absinthe’s most loyal coven members. He’d do anything for his Keeper.The l
“Thought I might find you here.”Looking up, I rolled my eyes as my brother walked over to me and sat beside me. I turned my head and looked back out over the twinkling lights of Vegas. “What do you want?” Abe didn’t answer. I turned and looked at him and saw a flash of fear come over him. “What is with you and heights?”Oh yeah, that’s right, my perfect brother wasn’t overly keen on heights. Probably had something to do with me pushing him o
Absinthe gripped my hips, allowing me to rock against him. The pleasure built, his hands tightening on my hips and my orgasm peaked. Throwing back my head back, I cried out. “Abe!”He sat up, bringing me closer to him. I tipped forward, allowing him to grip my ass and lift me a little, ramming into me. Fangs nipped at my throat, heightening the pleasure, before he sealed them with a stroke of his tongue. Then he bit down, drawing a mouthful of blood, before raking his tongue over the marks again, his voice thick with lust as he moaned my name. “Marley.”My orgasm built again, my clit rubbing against hard, cool abs. “Abe…”He flipped us, rising above me, slamming his hips against mine, the bed shuddering with every inhuman thrust. My arms lifted and I reached out not for him, but for the headboard, holding it hard, as Abe’s thrusts became wild.His mouth lowered, biting the edge of my breast. Tender flesh yi
It had taken everything in me not to have sprayed Marley’s hotel room with Korin’s thick, putrid blood. How fucking dare he be in her room without permission. I didn't give a fuck that he owned the hotel, or half the buildings in the street. He had been told my hunter was off limits.I could have handled the snide remarks, as I had warned him away from her the night before, or the mentions of his sleazy antics towards Marley… but to find her one swipe of his claws away from death… to have him to close to her, that he could have leaned in and kissed her... that had been one step too far. When I had asked Rhayden to leave Vegas, the only other option was to be there myself
Fuck… there it was.Rhayden had warned me about snooping into Korin’s archives, of what might happen. I had just hoped it would have taken him a bit longer before he realized we’d been in there. Enough time to find something. Anything. But we hadn't been able to even peek... “We needed information.”“What kind of information?”“The kind you wouldn't give willingly.” I replied and his eyes paled back to brown, mouth closing over his fangs. He sat back against the chair, adjusting his jacket as he stared at me, as if waiting for me to continue… so I did. “We needed to know what you were doing. See if there was any link between you and Vince. With you and the Mated being slaughtered.”“And why would there be a link?”“There are too many factors which are similar. Same brand of extinguisher, same method of death, even the same flites in the arrows. What would yo
As I pushed open the door, stepping inside the hotel room, the scent of rotting blood assaulted my nose and my gun was in my hand, before the light switch even came on. As the room was flooded with harsh light, my gaze moved to the figure standing in the middle of my hotel room.“Well, hello Miss Brennan.”Korin James stood in the middle of the room, his grin alarming, in the light. The pistol in my hand rose and I levelled it at him, as he took a step toward me, as if I wasn’t a threat. “What the fuck are you doing in my room?”The vampire’s gaze lowered to my body, and I felt it travel over my figure, as if covering me in a thick layer of ooze. The thought to run to Tony and Maddison, or to scream, coming to mind, but I knew it would be easier and quicker to shoot this asshole in the head and deal with the aftermath later.Why the fuck had I sent Rhayden away so quickly? If he were here, then this would be a whole lot
I shouldn’t be so pissed with her… but fucking hell. What the hell was she thinking? If Korin knew Maddison had hacked into his archives, no one would be able to stop the asshole from taking his revenge. Not with who his father was…I stomped through the desert, away from the human woman who had my heart, and into the night. If I stayed near her, I’d say… or do something which I would regret. Like drain her dry… I was itching to taste her blood. To feel her fire, to drown in the ambrosia, which was her life force, it was making my nature a little feral.Somewhere in the night, a phone rang and I sighed, stopping and sat on a giant boulder, pulling the device from my pocket and looked at the flashing screen.Great.Abe.Shutting off the phone I knew I was playing with fire, when it came to my brother. While time had calmed him a little… I knew it wouldn’t take much for him to lose his shit complet
It had been one thing I had tried not to do in front of these practically immortal beings—show my human side, especially crying. But there, on the edge of the desert in Vegas, I stood in the arms of a vampire; hundreds of years old; and cried… like the weak human woman I was.“Mars… I’m sorry.” Rhayden held me to him, his hand smoothing over my back, as I lay my head against his chest. “I’m not just angry with you… I’m angry Abe still sent you here, knowing what Korin was like. I saw the way he looked at you, the way he wants you and I’m pissed off Abe can’t understand how much danger he’s put you in.”There he was. The creature which worried for me, not the one who constantly riled me up, because he liked my spunk.Rhayden let me go and pushed me back a little, looking down at me. “And then you go and do something so stupid as to hack into Korin’s archive
Sitting in the comfort of the car on the way back from the motel, Rhayden turned to me from the front seat and raised an eyebrow, “So are you going to tell me why you stirred up someone like Korin?”I smiled, feeling like a queen with what had happened, and I looked at Maddison by my side, who smiled and nodded. Turning my attention back to Rhayden, I lifted my chin, and answered him. “While I was stirring up Korin, Maddi was hacking into his databases.”Rhayden looked from me, to the female vamp by my side and back, his eyebrows furrowing together, an incredulous look coming over his features. “What?”Maddison nodded, “Marley thinks there is something connecting Lord Korin and the Mated killings, to Vince. And she wanted me to snoop into his files.”I watched as Rhayden looked at Tony, his eyes wide. “Did you know they were planning this?Tony looked at him, pursing his lips. “Yes sir.”Thinking he would approve of my actions, I sat there, like the cat who ate the canary…Boy was I w
We walked into the huge conference room, and Marley sat in a chair, offered by my cousin. While Korin walked to the other side of the room, to another, larger chair, I helped Mars with hers, before taking up position, just to the side and back of her.As Korin sat, his eyebrow rose. Yeah, he’d be wondering why I was standing behind a human. He licked his lips, “Please cousin, sit.”“I’m fine from here.” I replied, my hands going behind my back and I took up th