All Chapters of SWEET BLOOD: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Totally unfazed, James pounced fast and hard on the Hunter he held on the floor, ripping one of his blades across the suckhead's throat. It roared and sputtered under the swift poison of the dagger's titanium edge, oozing gore as its body began a rapid meltdown. It's magic fading."Your turn," James told the other one as it attempted to scramble out of the way.The hunter threw its arm out, swiping at James with its blade. His magic buzzed on his sword, but it was a careless move, even for a hunter. When it had the chance to come at him, it hesitated, started itching to the side, drawing things out. Distracting him, James realized in the next instant when he heard the sudden crash of breaking glass coming from Grace's apartment."Son of a bitch," he growled as the woman's scream shot through the walls.The Hunter chose that second to fly at him, but James was ready for the attack. He leaped out of the suckhead's path, landing in a low crouch behind it and coming up fast with his blade

As James paused in the open doorway of the library, Lander looked up from an array of color photographs that his wife Ella had spread out before him on the squat table in the center of the room. She had a gift that extended beyond her artist’s eye for beauty: Ella’s camera lens was often drawn to vampire locations, both the brotherhood and hunter. It was in part how she and Lander met the past summer; now it wasn’t unusual for the mate to return from occasional daytime outings to the city and suburbs with pictures that proved useful to the Brotherhood’s recon efforts topside. But this particular collection was something different. Even from a distance, James’s eye was drawn to vibrant, sunlit images of the mansion's winter grounds and gardens. The ice glistened on branches like diamonds, and in one of the shots, a red cardinal was captured in close-up, a blast of shocking color amid a field of fresh white snow. A few of the pictures were taken in the city, some showing children in on

Grace looked down at the healed wound on her left arm, then over at Tara, whose gifted hands had erased all traces of the bleeding cut and mended the torn flesh with just a touch. "This is incredible. How long have you had this talent?""Pretty much all my life, I suppose." Tara pushed a curling lock of honey-blond hair behind her ear and gave a small shrug. "For a long time, I didn’t use it. I just wished it would go away, you know? So I could be... normal."Grace nodded, understanding completely. "You"re lucky, though, Tara. Your ability is one of strength. It works for the good."Shadows seemed to crowd the woman's aqua eyes. "Now it does, yes. Thanks mostly to Danny, that is. Before I met him, I had no idea why I was so different from other women. I treated my talent like a curse. Now I wish it went deeper. There is so much more I wish I could do.""Nice to hear that.""I can't take away old wounds and scars," Tara said. "And some of the worst ones a person bears are on the inside

"‘I work alone, that’s why," James replied with annoyance."I may not remember anything, James, but trust me, I can help you. Or are you just embarrassed? That maybe going there without me is like... well... it means banging your head against a wall?" Now she laughed, stunning him with her open mockery. "I would have thought you were smarter than that, James."Anger pricked at him, but he held it back, refusing to let her bait him. With a shake of her head, Grace pivoted around and headed back for the shallow end, swimming with determined strokes. "I should leave," she murmured.James kept time with her, strolling along the edge of the pool. "Don’t let me interrupt your swim. I was just on my way out anyway.""I mean, I should leave the compound. It’s obvious I don’t belong here.""You can’t go back to your apartment now,’ he informed her curtly. ‘The Rogues will have turned the place inside out. Marlon will have his spies embedded all over the neighborhood, looking for you.""I know

“Please,” she gasped. “James, please. Will you … leave them on?”He didn’t reply, but he slowly pulled the denim back together and dragged the zipper up. She couldn’t help noticing that the button at the top stayed undone, baring a small vee of his smooth tawny skin.“That’s the only request you get tonight,” he said in a deep rasp. “You still have time to reconsider. But not much. Now disrobe, or ask me nicely to let you leave.”He was testing her. She knew he was deliberately pushing her now, probably so sure that he could make her change her mind with a few menacing words.Really, she should be afraid. Not just of being alone with a warrior like James, but also of the intimate, sacred act she was about to defile by drinking from a male she had no intention of taking as her mate. Truly, she degraded them both by asking James to service her like this, and if he was disgusted by the thought – or by her – she could hardly blame him.“What’s it going to be, Grace?”She stood up, too awa