Amaury's Hellion (Scanguards Vampires #2) E-Book

Tina Folsom

• Herausgeber: Tina Folsom
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: Scanguards Vampires
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 462

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

Vampire Amaury LeSang is cursed to feel everybody's emotions like a permanent migraine. The only way to alleviate the pain is through sex. When he meets the feisty human woman Nina, a cure for his ailment seems within reach: in her presence all pain vanishes. Unfortunately, Nina is out to kill him because she believes he's involved in her brother's death. And she would succeed if only Amaury's bad boy charm didn't play havoc with her hormones and catapulted her into his arms and his bed every time she was near him. As every kiss brings them physically closer, danger is lurking and threatens to destroy the little trust they have in each other. Scanguards Vampires (Vampire Series): Book 1: Samson's Lovely Mortal Book 2: Amaury's Hellion Book 3: Gabriel's Mate Book 4: Yvette's Haven Book 5: Zane's Redemption Book 6: Quinn's Undying Rose Book 7: Oliver's Hunger Book 8: Thomas's Choice Book 8 1/2: Silent Bite (A Scanguards Wedding Novella) Book 9: Cain's Identity Book 10: Luther's Return Novella: Mortal Wish Book 11: Blake's Pursuit (Spring 2016) ...and more to come... The Scanguards Vampires series is nothing like the Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy, Shades of Vampire, or Twilight. It's a vampire romance series for adults who like their vampires with a bit of bite--and a lot of hotness! This vampire series takes place in San Francisco. Out of Olympus Series (A romantic comedy series about Greek Gods): Book 1: A Touch of Greek Book 2: A Scent of Greek Book 3: A Taste of Greek Venice Vampyr Novella Series (A historical vampire romance series): Venice Vampyr (#1) Venice Vampyr (#2): Final Affair Venice Vampyr (#3): Sinful Treasure Venice Vampyr (#4): Sensual Danger Eternal Bachelors Club (Contemporary Erotic Romance Series): Lawful Escort Lawful Lover Lawful Wife One Foolish Night One Long Embrace One Sizzling Touch Stealth Guardians Series: Lover Uncloaked (#1)

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

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Also in this series

About the Author

Copyright

AMAURY’S HELLION

(Scanguards Vampires – Book 2)

BY

TINA FOLSOM

Book Description

Vampire Amaury LeSang is cursed to feel everybody’s emotions like a permanent migraine. The only way to alleviate the pain is through sex. When he meets the feisty human woman Nina, a cure for his ailment seems within reach: in her presence all pain vanishes.

Unfortunately, Nina is out to kill him because she believes he’s involved in her brother’s death. And she would succeed if only Amaury’s bad boy charm didn’t play havoc with her hormones and catapulted her into his arms and his bed every time she was near him.

As every kiss brings them physically closer, danger is lurking and threatens to destroy the little trust they have in each other.

The Scanguards Vampires series - over 1 Million copies sold worldwide!

Please sign up for Tina’s newsletterThe Scanguards Vampires series so far:Book 1: Samson's Lovely MortalBook 2: Amaury's HellionBook 3: Gabriel's MateBook 4: Yvette's HavenBook 5: Zane's RedemptionBook 6: Quinn's Undying RoseBook 7: Oliver's HungerBook 8: Thomas's ChoiceBook 8 1/2: Silent Bite (A Scanguards Wedding Novella)Book 9: Cain's IdentityBook 10: Luther's ReturnBook 11: Blake's PursuitNovella 11 1/2: Fateful ReunionBook 12: John's YearningBook 13: Ryder's Storm (Scanguards Hybrids #1)

“I’m addicted to Tina Folsom’s books! The Scanguards series is one of the hottest things to happen to vampire romance. If you love scorching, fast-paced reads, don’t miss this thrilling series!” --- Lara Adrian, New York Times Bestselling Author of the Midnight Breed series

* * * * *

Copyright © 2010 by Tina Folsom

Scanguards is a registered trademark.

* * * * *

1

From his vantage point on the gallery, Amaury LeSang gazed over the heads of the crowd in the Mezzanine, a trendy nightclub in the South of Market area of San Francisco. The sea of bodies swayed to the loud and monotonous techno rhythm. His skilled eye surveyed the clubbers writhing against each other, looking for a female in need of company.

Too many emotions slammed into his mind in this busy place—the reason he preferred his own company to that of the crowd.

A bolt of pain assailed him.

…should have never gone out with the jerk…

…ask her to dance, or maybe talk to her friend first…

…idiot. As if I cared. I’ll show him…

Blocking out the random feelings of the individuals on the dance floor became increasingly difficult and painful the longer he stayed. Less like words and more like thrusts with a sharp blade, they sliced into him—not one after another, but all at once. The impact would knock a lesser man on his ass.

But Amaury was stronger than others.

He focused on those females who appeared to be unaccompanied. All he needed was a lonely woman welcoming his attention. Somebody who was at the club to get laid. He was more than willing to oblige.

There, the unassuming brunette. Not only did she feel lonely, she was desperate for a man’s touch.

He strode down the stairs and waded across the dance floor, letting her feelings guide him straight to her. The woman rocked to the music and looked up at him when he stopped in front of her lithe body.

Amaury unleashed one of his most charming smiles. Combined with his handsome dark looks and blue eyes, most women couldn’t resist him, a fact he always used to his fullest advantage.

Dance with me.

He moved his lips and sent his thought into her mind. She would believe he’d spoken, when in reality she couldn’t have heard him over the din of the music.

She smiled and nodded. A little shy, yes, but welcoming nevertheless. Snaking one arm around her waist, the other around her shoulder, he drew her close. Her head only reached to his chest, making her at least a foot shorter than him.

Falling into the rhythm of the music, Amaury moved his body against hers. She molded to him, and he enjoyed the feel of her warm flesh through her skimpy clothes—thighs brushing, loins grinding.

Surrounded by the mob of people, the pressure in his head built, and the stabbing pain in his temples intensified. Like a migraine crippling a human, the pain dictated his actions. Nevertheless, he fought not to succumb to its demands for as long as he could, constantly pushing the boundaries of his mental prison.

“I want to be alone with you,” he whispered into her ear, inhaling the natural scent of her glistening skin. He could, of course, fuck her right here on the dance floor, but then he’d have to do more damage control, something he wasn’t in the mood for.

He underscored his words by slipping his hand onto her ass and stroking her round cheeks. When she looked up at him from under her lashes, he read the desire in her eyes as well as her mind. She wasn’t particularly pretty, except for her generous dick-sucking lips, but she was willing. Willing was all he needed. He had no other expectations.

His cock was already fully erect, tenting his cargo pants, which he wore commando. With his hand on her lower back, he led her through the crowd, picking up on random emotions around him.

A stranger’s envy sliced through him.

…did she catch that hunk? So not fair. What a hottie!

Amaury looked at the woman whose lusty and jealous feelings he’d captured. Clearly, she wanted to take the brunette’s place. He could always come back for seconds if necessary.

Only a few more minutes and he’d feel better. His chest rose in anticipation as he inhaled deeply and quickened his stride, steering the brunette through the side exit.

The alley was quiet and dark. Several pallets with crates stacked at various heights lined one side. Amaury’s gaze swept over the area to establish they were alone. A homeless man hung around the entrance to the alley, rummaging through trash containers.

Get lost.

Amaury verified that the man had obeyed his unspoken command and shuffled out of view, before he pulled the woman into the corner behind the boxes.

“What are you doing?” She giggled.

“Kissing you.” He lowered his head to hers. “You have the most gorgeous lips I’ve ever seen.”

The compliment worked. His lips met no resistance when he crushed hers, searing them in a demanding kiss. His tongue slid through her parted lips and dueled with its counterpart within seconds.

Without hesitation, he laid his hand onto her breast and kneaded her through the thin fabric, working her responsive nipple into a hard peak. He’d read her correctly: she craved his touch—so much so, she arched her breast into his palm and demanded more.

“Oh, baby,” he murmured against her lips. “So sweet.” From experience he knew women were more responsive when physical actions were interlaced with verbal endearments.

Her body welcomed him as his hand tunneled under her short skirt and found its way into her panties. His fingers slid through her curls and met her wet folds.

Amaury captured the moan she released. It wouldn’t take long. He realized how starved for sex she was and let his fingers do their magic. Caressing her, rolling her clit between his thumb and forefinger, he could feel her excitement rise. He would make it worthwhile for her.

The aroma of her arousal drifted into his nostrils, and he inhaled sharply. The scent helped him drown out the emotions bombarding him from inside and outside the club. But it wasn’t enough. His head continued throbbing with pain.

Without releasing her little nub of pleasure, he slipped a finger into her wet channel. Her muscles were deliciously tight. Nobody had visited her clenching sheath in a long time.

Moving his finger back and forth, aided by her plentiful juices, Amaury worked her into full-blown arousal. It was the least he could do in exchange for what she would do for him in a few minutes.

She gasped as he added a second finger, and he knew she was close. A few more skillful strokes and she came, raining more cream onto his hand while her muscles went through spasm after spasm.

“Mmm,” he hummed into her ear. “You all right, baby?” His male pride was satisfied, but the rest of him wasn’t, at least not yet.

“Oh, God, yes!” she answered, panting heavily.

“I bet you could make me feel good too. Let me feel your mouth on me, baby.”

Without waiting for her answer, he opened his pants and let his cock jut out. Despite its weight it stood erect. Slowly, he took her hand and guided it to wrap around his shaft. Soft hands which didn’t close around him completely—too much flesh, too much girth.

“You’re so big.”

Amaury shook his head. He was perfectly proportioned, but being the size of a linebacker also meant his dick was supersized. “I’m the perfect size for your beautiful mouth.”

Without any further objection, she dropped onto one of the crates and moved her mouth toward him. He felt her tentative tongue touch the tip of his erection a second later.

“Oh, yes, baby. I bet you can give me the best blow job I’ve ever had.” Encouragement never failed.

Her tongue licked all the way down his shaft before she finally wrapped her lips around the bulbous head and slid down on him, taking him in to the hilt.

Nothing felt better than the warmth and wetness of a woman around his cock. His breath rushed out of his lungs at the tantalizing sensation. He steadied himself by placing his hands onto her shoulders and began to move his rod back and forth.

“Oh, fuck, baby, you’re good.”

Finally, he was able to forget the din of emotions. Peace and quiet filled his mind. He relaxed as the pressure in his head eased and the invading feelings started withdrawing.

Amaury looked up, and for the first time tonight he noticed the canopy of stars in the night sky. Beautiful and peaceful, a mirror of what his mind could be like. Clear and unobstructed by any fog or clouds, the stars stood watch over his actions.

As temporary as this feeling of tranquility would be, he needed it to keep his sanity. Only sex could shut out the emotions that assailed him every minute of his life.

The brunette’s mouth worked him beautifully. With every stroke and every lap of her tongue he grew harder. She sucked him deeper into her mouth, and he moved faster, forgetting the pain in his head.

Instead, he concentrated on her wet heat engulfing him. The softness of a woman, the promise of a few moments of bliss. A few seconds of contentment was all he needed, knowing happiness was outside his reach, a state he could never attain.

“Baby, yeah. Almost there. Oh, yeah, suck harder.”

He could virtually sense his impending release. So close. So deliciously close.

Amaury’s jacket pocket vibrated. He ignored it. Gripping his shaft at the base with one hand and cupping the back of her head with the other, he fucked her mouth more frantically, desperate for release. He couldn’t stop now, not when he was only seconds from his goal.

Need it. Now.

His cock pulsated with desperate need.

“Squeeze my balls,” he demanded. Her hand took his testicles, the gentle touch sending a hot flame through his groin as her fingernails scraped against the tight sac.

His cell phone vibrated again. This time it wouldn’t stop. Releasing his rod, Amaury shoved his hand into his jacket pocket and wrenched out the phone.

“Ah, fuck,” he hissed when he checked caller ID.

The woman stilled instantly.

“Not you, baby, don’t stop,” he ordered and flipped the cell open.

“What?” he breathed into the phone, his voice hoarse. With his hand on her head he continued pumping his shaft into her, as she resumed sucking him deep into her mouth.

“Why don’t you answer your fucking phone?” Ricky bellowed.

“Asshole.” His colleague’s timing sucked. “What do you want?”

“Crisis meeting at Samson’s in fifteen minutes.”

He knew better than to blow off a meeting with his boss and best friend, Samson. And if it was a crisis meeting, some shit was going down.

“Fine.”

Amaury flipped the phone shut and shoved it back into his pocket. Fifteen minutes was barely enough time to get to Samson’s, but he had to finish this.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the feel of the woman’s tongue sliding along his shaft, the softness of her mouth, and the intensity of her sucking motion. Again, he gripped his erection and fed her more of himself, filling her mouth with so much cock, she almost choked on it.

But she kept going. Her wet mouth pulled on him tightly, while her warm tongue ran along the underside of his swollen flesh, just the way he liked it.

“Oh, yeah, baby. You like my big cock, don’t you?”

Her hummed response reverberated on his skin, teasing his senses. The peach scent of her shampoo drifted into his nose. He felt a thin coating of moisture build on his face and neck. Tiny rivulets of sweat formed and ran along the ridges of his muscled upper body, catching in the light dusting of chest hair.

Amaury’s heart beat faster. His lungs pumped more oxygen through his system as his blood charged through his veins, thundering in his ears in a violent crescendo akin to Beethoven’s Fifth.

And then he felt the rush of his semen shoot through his shaft and into the woman’s mouth in quick, pulsating explosions.

His orgasm was short, but powerful. It cleared his head, and for a few minutes he would be at peace. He wouldn’t be able to sense the feelings of people he came in contact with and could feel his own heart and the sense of stillness that spread within it.

Only for a few moments. Then he would be invaded again by everybody’s pain, hunger, anger, and other emotions people carried with them. And he would perceive their love for someone and be reminded of the things he couldn’t feel. But for now, he was at peace.

Reluctantly, he pulled himself out of the woman’s mouth and put his still half-erect cock back into his pants.

“You were spectacular,” he praised and drew her up into an embrace.

Her lips glistened with his semen, and she looked beautiful to him. Amaury brushed her hair aside and exposed her lovely neck, her pale skin calling to him like a beacon of light guiding a sailor home. His lips touched the tender skin, before his tongue darted out to lick her.

She moaned: a sound so soft and sweet, only a satisfied woman could release it. “Come home with me.”

Amaury appreciated her whispered invitation, but had no intention of accepting it. He wanted something else entirely. Her vein beat against his lips, the movement so subtle a human would barely notice it, but his senses were sharper than those of a mortal.

His fangs lengthened, pushing past his lips.

“Baby, let me take from you.”

The sharp tips of his fangs sank into her neck and broke through the delicate skin. For a split-second she struggled against him, but his arms imprisoned her. He hauled her body against his, crushing her breasts to his chest.

As her blood coated his dry throat, his cock sprang back to life, but he didn’t have time to indulge a second time, as much as he wanted to bury his shaft in her slick heat.

Amaury didn’t take much of her blood, only enough to sustain himself. When he felt his hunger subside, he released her neck and licked the puncture wounds. His saliva closed the two little holes instantly. In the morning, she would have no visible marks of his feeding, no side effects.

Then he looked into her eyes and sent his thoughts into her mind.

You never met me. You never saw me. Nothing happened. Go home now and sleep. And be careful. Don’t ever let a man take advantage of you. You’re beautiful. You deserve better.

Her eyes glazed over, and he knew it had worked. He’d wiped her memory of him. If she met him on the street tomorrow, she wouldn’t recognize him. Not even the ghost of déjà vu would remain.

2

Amaury rushed through the streets of downtown San Francisco before he reached a Cable Car stop and jumped onto the antique streetcar, which took him up the steep hill toward Samson’s house.

He liked the city’s collection of neighborhoods which masqueraded as a metropolis and where it wasn’t difficult to hide being a vampire. With a population as eclectic as the inside of a pawn shop, San Francisco was the perfect playground for modern-day vampires. Being eccentric or weird was nothing unusual in this city, where even the mayor was one of them.

The vampire population of San Francisco grew steadily, attracted by many of the same attributes humans liked about the foggy city: beautiful architecture, stunning views, and tolerant inhabitants.

Many vampire-run businesses had sprung up. There were several hip nightclubs, a newspaper—the SF Vampire Chronicle, which was discreetly distributed to vampire households—investment companies, and of course Samson’s nationwide security company, Scanguards. It provided bodyguards and security guards to individuals and corporations, foreign dignitaries, politicians, and celebrities.

By the time Amaury reached Samson’s Victorian home in the exclusive and rather expensive neighborhood of Nob Hill and let himself in with his key, everybody was assembled. Before he even heard their voices, he sensed the tumult of emotions in the house: anger, disbelief, confusion.

His relief hadn’t lasted long. The next wave of pain was already building like a tsunami approaching the Pacific Coast. He braced himself as he stalked along the wood-paneled corridor toward Samson’s private office in the back of the house.

Plastering his usual smile onto his face, he walked into the room, keeping his torment to himself like always. While his friends knew about his so-called gift, they had no idea about the pain it caused him daily and the things he had to do to keep his head from exploding. He didn’t want their pity.

They all thought he was a sex maniac out to screw every female he could get his hands on, just for the fun of it. In reality, without sex he would have gone on a crazed rampage long ago, killing everyone and everything in his path. Sex equaled survival—for him and those around him.

“Amaury, finally,” Samson greeted him, a pinch of displeasure in his voice. Being well over six feet tall, but with a slimmer build than Amaury’s broad frame, the same black hair, but piercing hazel eyes, his boss looked every inch the powerful man he was.

“Samson, guys,” he replied and looked at them. Everybody was there: Ricky, Thomas, Carl, all vampires like himself.

Even Oliver, Samson’s human assistant, a fresh-faced twenty-four year old, was present. And of course, Delilah, Samson’s human wife, his blood-bonded mate.

Amaury gave her a warm smile, which she returned as she swept her long dark hair over her shoulder, her petite body looking even tinier standing next to her man.

He noticed Samson putting his hand on hers, a gesture so instinctive Amaury doubted his friend had even noticed. The love radiating off the couple almost brought him to his knees. He pulled his shoulders back.

“What’s the crisis?” Amaury asked instead.

“Thomas, patch in Gabriel,” Samson ordered.

Thomas typed something on the keyboard and stepped back from the screen. As always, Scanguards’ resident IT genius was dressed in his favorite biker outfit: leather, leather, and more leather. “Gabriel, you’re on.”

A second later, Gabriel Giles, head of operations in Scanguards’ New York headquarters, appeared on the computer monitor, which was turned for all to see.

His commanding presence filled the screen. His long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and the scar which stretched from his chin to his ear seemed to pulsate. Nobody had ever dared ask him how he’d obtained it. And Gabriel wasn’t one to volunteer information that was nobody’s business. Amaury only knew that it stemmed from when Gabriel was human, since a vampire’s skin didn’t scar.

“Evening everybody,” Gabriel’s booming voice came through loud and clear. “We’ve just been alerted to a problem. There’s no easy way to say it, so here it goes. A second bodyguard has killed a client and then himself.”

The collective murmurs and gasps of disbelief were quickly subdued, while the emotions continued to simmer beneath the surface.

“As you all remember, over a month ago, one of Scanguards’ San Francisco bodyguards killed the millionaire he was protecting and then committed suicide. We thought it was an isolated incident. Unfortunately, with this second murder, which concerns another San Francisco employee, we don’t have the luxury of chalking this off as just an individual gone berserk. Somebody’s messing with us.”

Samson nodded. “Gabriel and I spoke earlier tonight. The late evening news will break the story. We have to be ready to do damage control. Tomorrow, the papers will be shredding us to bits. Nobody will shrug this off as a coincidence. And we’re pretty sure it isn’t.”

“Some vampires gone into bloodlust?” Thomas asked.

Amaury listened up. Bloodlust—they all feared it, the uncontrollable urge to take more blood than they needed, which ultimately led to murder and madness.

Gabriel shook his head. “No. Both bodyguards were humans.”

“Any connection between the two?” Amaury interjected.

“Negative,” Samson answered quickly, “at least nothing we could determine this quickly. Apart from the fact that they were both hired here in San Francisco, they have nothing obvious in common.”

“I knew Edmund Martens. I hired him,” Ricky said. While he fancied himself a California Beach Boy and had adopted many habits of his new country, he couldn’t really be mistaken for anything else but the lad he was: his red hair, freckled face, and decidedly Irish last name, O’Leary, gave him away. “God, Eddie showed such promise. But when he killed that client last month, I thought he’d gone off the deep end and reverted back to his old ways.”

“What ways?” Amaury asked.

“Bad childhood, ran away from his foster family, turned to crime—the usual. Never thought he’d go so far and kill someone. He didn’t seem the violent kind. But then, sometimes it doesn’t take much for somebody to slide deeper. I just thought he’d finally pulled himself out of all this.”

“Maybe he did.” Samson’s concerned look spoke volumes and told them he didn’t believe that the two human bodyguards were at fault.

“Who’s the second guy?” Ricky wanted to know.

“Kent Larkin.”

Ricky’s jaw slackened. “He was just a kid. He can’t have been working for us for longer than six months.”

“A little over five months,” Gabriel confirmed.

“What evidence do we have that Edmund and Kent actually killed their clients?” Amaury needed facts. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

“An eyewitness in Edmund’s case and the smoking gun in Kent’s.”

“Do we have anybody on the inside with the police?” Delilah suddenly asked. Everybody’s gaze settled on her. “Well, we’d better make sure we know what they know before it becomes public knowledge.”

Ever since Delilah had blood-bonded with Samson, she had started taking an active interest in the company. As a blood-bonded mate, she was entitled to everything Samson owned, and the fact that she’d started sharing in important decisions didn’t seem to disturb her man in the slightest. After all, she was his equal.

Amaury was surprised at the change he’d seen in his old friend. After two hundred years of solitude, Samson had had no problems adjusting to marriage to a strong woman. Amaury doubted that he himself would adjust as easily as Samson had, not that this question was anything else but academic. Amaury knew he would never bond, because he could never truly love anybody.

“I’ll talk to G,” Samson said, referring to the mayor. “I’ll make sure he’ll keep us in the loop.” He looked back at the screen. “What time are you landing?”

“Everybody’s on their way to the airport now. We’ll touch down about an hour before sunrise.”

“Don’t you think that’s cutting it a little close?” Ricky asked.

“It couldn’t be avoided. I had to mobilize the troops first and get ready myself.”

“You’re coming out here yourself?” Amaury asked in surprise. Gabriel rarely ever left New York for anything. If he was leaving the East Coast for this, he clearly expected these events to turn into a major problem. And if he was risking being out in the open so close to sunrise, Gabriel’s assessment of the situation had to border on catastrophic.

“We can’t trust anybody in the San Francisco branch. I’m bringing three of my best people with me: Quinn, Zane, and Yvette. We’ll conduct the investigation our way. Outside of this group, nobody can be trusted. Nobody.”

“Gabriel is right,” Samson confirmed. “If two of our human guards killed their clients, somebody has their hand in this. And until we know who and why, we have to be tight-lipped about it. The employees will want an explanation. Ricky, you’ll call a staff meeting once Gabriel and his people are here. Everybody at Scanguards is under suspicion—humans and vampires alike. Carl, pick them up from the airport.”

Carl, Samson’s devoted butler, driver, and man about the house, nodded instantly, his slightly heavy body as always neatly squeezed into a dark business suit.

“Amaury, you’ll go with Carl,” Samson ordered.

Amaury nodded. He hadn’t seen his friends from New York in ages, and catching up with them would distract him from his pain. Not that he was overly keen on seeing Yvette again. She was probably still pissed at him.

“Thomas,” Samson continued, “I want you to upload complete background checks for all employees and run them in a matrix against each other. Let’s see what Edmund and Kent had in common, and then let’s run those criteria against the rest of the employees. We need to see who else might be vulnerable to whatever is happening.”

“No problem,” Thomas accepted. “I’ll get right on it. I’ll be working downtown.”

“Oliver, you’re the only one here who can get around during the day. I’ll be relying on you heavily. You’ll be our liaison.”

Before Oliver could respond, Delilah interrupted. “Hold on; I can go out during the day too.”

Even though Delilah was a blood-bonded mate and drank blood from Samson, she remained entirely human, except for one thing: she didn’t age anymore as long as her man was alive.

“Out of the question,” Samson snapped. “You won’t get involved in the investigation.”

“It’s my company too.” She braced her hands at her hips.

“I don’t deny that. But you won’t put yourself in danger, not in your condition.”

“Condition?” Amaury heard himself ask and instantly sensed the answer to his question.

Everybody else in the room gave the couple a curious look.

Samson grinned proudly. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag.” He pulled Delilah into his arms. “Delilah is making me the luckiest guy on this earth. We’re going to have a baby.”

The man was a lucky bastard. Amaury shook his head. “Congratulations.”

As their friends threw in their best wishes and congratulated them on their happy news, Amaury watched Samson hold his wife tightly while whispering into her ear. He didn’t need to hear what he’d said, because the emotions emitted by the two hit him like a brick falling from a skyscraper.

The pressure in his temples increased. If he didn’t get out of their presence soon, his head would explode.

Love was the most devastating emotion screwing with Amaury’s head. He was by no means jealous of Samson, because he had no interest in his lovely mate, but he simply couldn’t stomach their company for too long. Whenever other people’s love bombarded his mind, the pain he felt was virtually unbearable. Being cursed never to feel love in his own heart again, his mind couldn’t handle this emotion and only reacted with pain and rejection.

Unfortunately, the meeting wasn’t over yet. He’d already arrived late. Leaving early would be out of the question. After all, he was an officer of the company and had an interest in it. This crisis had to be dealt with.

Amaury gripped the massive antique desk behind him for balance and tried to distract himself from the thunder pounding in his head. Letting his mouth curve into another fake half-smile to disguise his inner turmoil, he addressed Gabriel via the monitor, “Have any of the other branches reported problems?”

“I’m sending reinforcements to Houston, Seattle, Chicago, and Atlanta. We don’t know yet whether this is going to be confined to San Francisco or not. But we can’t be too careful. The faster we find out who or what’s behind this, the better for all involved. This mustn’t spread. We’ll be ruined if it does.”

Samson gave a grim smile, Delilah still tucked into his side. “You’re right. The company can’t survive this kind of publicity. And if the police or the press dig too deep, we’re in trouble. None of us can afford to be exposed for what we are. So, at the slightest breach of security by any human, wipe their memories. It’s crucial. No exceptions.”

“And we can’t have any more people dying,” Delilah added.

“Until this is over, we should all minimize our contacts with humans.”

Samson didn’t have to look his way, but Amaury knew the jab was aimed at him. Easy for his friend to say—he had his human wife by his side day and night.

He got the message, and it was loud and clear. Amaury was to stay away from human women. And what did this leave him with? Having sex with those female vampires who hadn’t kicked him out of their beds yet?

It wasn’t that he didn’t deliver when it came to sex, but many of the vamp ladies had started making emotional demands. Why they had all suddenly turned into needy, clingy creatures, he had no idea. For sure, mainstreaming was to blame. As if emulating humans was the goal.

He sure wasn’t going to turn into one of those blithering idiots, going all gooey eyed over some woman, not even if he were capable of loving, which, of course, he wasn’t.

3

Nina pulled the hood of her dark sweatshirt closer around her head. For the hundredth time this night she tucked an errant blond curl back behind her ear. If she let her hair grow longer, she would be able to pull the unruly locks back into a ponytail. But long hair was impractical, especially in a fight.

In any case, she wasn’t girly. At five foot eight, she certainly wasn’t petite, a fact she was grateful for, particularly since she was up against some big bad guys.

The fog had dissipated hours earlier, making this a gorgeous, starry, yet moonless night. Almost peaceful in its stillness, it guarded the sleeping city.

Nina continued watching the beautiful Victorian house from her hiding place across the street. Over an hour ago, she’d seen several of them enter, and none had come out yet.

Them. She knew what they were. A month earlier, she’d gone through her brother’s possessions and pieced together what at first she’d thought was impossible. She’d immediately dismissed her findings as ludicrous. But the more she went back, the more she dug, the clearer everything had become.

She’d found notes in Eddie’s datebook, drawings of weapons and weird symbols. And in the margins of a book about the paranormal he’d made more notes. Then under his mattress she’d found a list with names. Next to each name he’d written either Human or Vampire.

The moment Nina had read the word, she’d thought he’d gone crazy. And for a short while she’d believed that he was guilty of what he’d been accused of. Mental illness would explain it. But there had never been a sign of instability in him. Eddie wasn’t crazy—no way would she believe that.

So she’d dug deeper and followed those he’d classified as vampires on his list. Most worked for Scanguards.

Nina sniffled and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Her dark clothes made her frame melt into the doorway behind her. Nobody would be able to notice her even if they looked in her direction.

Several weeks of following those she suspected of being vampires had turned into a crash course in stealth. Until now, she’d stayed far enough away from them to be out of danger. Tonight, she would have to get close.

The sound of a door opening pulled Nina out of her thoughts. A quick glance at the person exiting the large Victorian home confirmed it was one of the vampires, the biggest of them, Amaury.

She’d followed him several times, figured out where he lived and tried to find his weak spot. She wasn’t particularly keen on him being the first she would take down, but maybe this was how it should be. Get rid of the biggest, baddest vampire first; the rest would be easy pickings by comparison.

Nina watched him stagger down the front steps, almost as if he were drunk. On the sidewalk, he stopped and braced himself against the gate to his right. The light from the streetlamp illuminated his face. Instead of the broad smile he so often sported in the company of others, his face was distorted, deep grooves around his mouth and eyes creating a mask of pain.

Pain? She frowned. From everything she knew about vampires, she was almost certain they didn’t feel much pain, if any at all. Yet Amaury looked as if he was in the throes of a migraine, the heels of his hands pressed tightly against his temples.

With bated breath she watched his chest rise and fall as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. There was something so human, so vulnerable about him, it made her own chest tighten in sympathy. She instantly shook the thought from her mind. A few seconds passed before his body finally straightened, his face normal again.

Nina remained at a safe distance behind him as she followed, the damp pavement absorbing the sound of her soft-soled shoes. From the direction he took, she realized he was heading home. Why he lived in the Tenderloin, one of the shabbiest neighborhoods of San Francisco, when he could surely afford a much better place, was a mystery to her. His clothes, while casual, looked expensive. And once she’d seen him in his car, a Porsche.

As she trailed him down the hill, slowly entering the less savory parts of the city where so many of the homeless and drug addicts congregated, she had already decided on a place to take him down. Patiently, she bided her time, each step bringing her closer to the spot that would give her a definite advantage.

Nina stepped around yet another homeless man passed out on the sidewalk. The scent of alcohol and urine assaulted her senses. Suddenly, the drunk twitched and grunted, startling her. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. She glanced down at the man, ready to defend herself if necessary, but he was out cold. When she looked back up, Amaury had just turned a corner. She only caught sight of a flap of his long coattail.

Immediately, she quickened her stride. She couldn’t afford to lose him when she was so close to her goal. Two blocks farther was the location she’d scouted out days ago.

The old obsolete stairway she’d discovered led over the roof of an abandoned one-story building. At the diagonal corner of it, it provided a clear viewpoint above a narrow alley—an alley Amaury liked to take. He would pass by it, and she would be able to jump onto him from above, staking him at the same time.

Nina slipped her hand into her pocket and touched the stake. The wood felt smooth in her hand as she caressed it like a lover, fitting it to her palm.

Amaury LeSang, you’ll be one dead vampire in a minute.

Such a big man, yet such a small object would bring about his death. It was almost poetic. For all their strength and power, vampires were surprisingly vulnerable to something as simple as a piece of wood. There was justice in this world after all. She would call on this justice tonight.

She rounded the corner he’d turned only seconds earlier. The narrow street was dark and—empty. Nina skidded to a halt. Had he noticed her after all and started running once he’d been out of her direct line of sight?

She scanned the sidewalk and doorways. Nothing, except for a couple of homeless men arguing and a teenager lurking in the shadows, probably waiting for his drug dealer, if he wasn’t one himself. No sound or sight of anybody else in the vicinity. A cold shiver traveled down her spine, spreading unease in her body.

A block farther was the turn-off to the alley. Maybe he’d already reached it and taken it. A few steps ahead to her right she ducked under the small arch which led to the old stairway. Taking two steps at a time, she climbed it. If she hurried, she could still be in place in time to strike.

Nina picked up speed and ran up the last few stairs before it made an abrupt turn. A short sprint across the roof and she reached the vantage point, which exposed the narrow alley beneath. She knew he liked taking this shortcut to his home. She’d seen him do so several times.

Only this time, he wasn’t in the alley. She’d missed him. All her work for the night was for nothing. A complete waste.

Damn!

Nina stomped her foot in frustration and pushed the air out of her lungs. A faint sound behind her made her spin on her heels. Only her quick reaction saved her from being grabbed from behind, but the large hand still caught her arm. Her breath hitched, and fear clamped around her throat at the unexpected contact. Without even looking up at his face, she knew whom she was dealing with.

Amaury was built like a tank: hard, unyielding, and unstoppable. She felt his raw power send electrical charges along her skin. Genuine worry hummed through her. Without the element of surprise on her side, she had no chance of winning a fight against him. He could easily steamroll her, and she’d be giving him as much resistance as a blade of grass in the wind.

Escape was her only option at this point. She wasn’t proud or stupid enough to stick around.

With a swift move she twisted her arm out and jerked it away, making him lose his grip on her. A firm kick to his shin, and she darted past him, muffled curses chasing her. When she felt his hand grab her sweatshirt, she kicked back with her leg, then spun on the other foot and used both her arms to twist his to force him to release her clothing. But she had underestimated his strength—or the strength of any vampire for that matter.

“Who the hell are you?” Amaury bit out. The deep rumble of his voice sent a tremor through her body and made her skin prickle. “And why were you following me?”

His imposing frame towered more than half a foot over her, crowding her senses. One hand still on her sweatshirt, he wrenched her hood off with the other, ignoring her flailing arms. Her curls tumbled out. Nina tried unsuccessfully to shake his hand off when he used it to tip her chin up, forcing her to look at him.

“You’re a woman!”

His eyes widened as he looked at her. She used his moment’s hesitation to twist out of his grip and make a run for it. She didn’t even make two steps before he snatched her again and held onto her. Tighter this time, hauling her against his hard frame. He turned her around. Pressing her lips together in a thin line, she glared up at him—and stared into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen.

Nina had always observed Amaury from afar, always from a safe distance. This was the first time she was within inches of his face and his massive body. He was tall and muscled, big-boned, and broad-shouldered. But there wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. His hair was as black as a raven, shoulder length, and curling slightly at its ends.

But it wasn’t his hair or his strong body that captured her, not even the hands that kept her imprisoned against her will. It was his eyes. As blue and as deep as an ocean they stared at her—hypnotized her.

Maybe she could have shaken off his hands somehow, but not his eyes. Nor the sensual curve of his mouth, the fullness of his lips, or the strong outline of his jaw. Even his nose was in perfect proportion to his size, long and straight, almost Greek.

Never in her life had she come face to face with a man so ruggedly handsome and sensual at the same time. Despite the precarious situation she found herself in—captured by a vampire—she didn’t struggle to get out of his arms and away from his body. Rather, she found herself inching forward, moving ever closer to him to savor the heat that radiated from him. Amaury smelled of earth and leather, purely male. Her belly clenched in response. Her body’s wanton reaction sent an alarm bell ringing in her head.

What in hell was she doing? She should be kicking his sorry ass from here to Alcatraz, not ogling him like a star-struck groupie. He was the enemy, one of the men responsible for the destruction of her little family. Why was her body not moving when she should have at least tried some of her karate kicks to escape his hold?

His narrowed eyes were sharp and assessing, watching her with suspicion, yet he said nothing. She didn’t think he could still be shocked by the fact that a woman had followed him, but something was restraining his tongue.

Nina lowered her lashes to gaze at his mouth and saw his lips part as if in invitation. Firm and sensual lips beckoned for a brush against them, if merely to confirm she wasn’t dreaming the perfection in front of her.

No. Still the enemy. Bad vampire.

She could resist this temptation. She was strong—until he exhaled, and she took in his breath—musky and earthy. His scent was intoxicating, drugging, as if it contained a secret substance designed to make her dizzy. Moistening her dry lips, unable to think clearly now, she stretched upwards and tilted her face toward him. Was he leaning toward her now, or was it an illusion?

Really bad vampire.

Yet, so enticing.

No!

She had to fight this, fight him.

Improvise!

Yes, she had to turn this around, make it her advantage. Find his weakness.

Think! You’re a smart woman, damn it, think!

That was it: a woman. She was a woman, and his weakness was women. She’d seen him in the company of many of them—yes, she could use that. It could work.

Or blow up in your face.

Nina didn’t listen to her doubting inner voice. Instead she inched forward once more, closer to his perfect face and pressed her lips to his.

He appeared startled, his lips remaining rigid for a moment. But then his hands released their deathlike grip on her arms, and he pulled her to him. One hand circled her waist, the other steadied her head, his strong fingers burying themselves in her curls the way a lover would. Her heart leapt with relief—it was working. She would be able to distract him and escape.

But the moment his lips responded to hers, and his tongue invaded her, her body took over. His kiss flipped the off switch to her brain and shut out every sane thought she’d ever had—wiping her brilliant plan from her mind as if it had never existed.

~ ~ ~

Amaury drew the human female closer to him, crushing her breasts with his chest. Her short blond curls felt soft under his hand, like silk.

As soon as he felt her lips part under light pressure, he responded with a guttural moan. And then he kissed her back. She welcomed his tongue dueling with hers, encouraging him to explore her. He wouldn’t disappoint her. Angling his head, he sought a deeper penetration and found her eagerly accepting his demand.

In her shapeless clothes he’d mistaken her for a juvenile delinquent, not the warm and willing woman she turned out to be. But what had really thrown him for a loop was the fact that he couldn’t pick up on any of her emotions, which was more than a little unnerving and—fascinating.

For once he could kiss a woman without focusing on his release. It felt like a gift from heaven to be able to enjoy a kiss like the one he now shared with her. A kiss full of fire, passion, and desire. He had no idea why she kissed him, who she was, or what she wanted, but her body pressed against his felt utterly right.

Of its own volition his hand dipped below her waist, splaying over her rounded derrière. With a groan, Amaury hauled her against his growing erection and took charge.

Her lips tasted of vanilla blossoms, of innocence. He inhaled her scent, taking it deep and letting it fill him. Waves of pleasure poured through his body, igniting the lust he kept barely checked within. Her taste was intoxicating, purely female, and indescribably sexy. Unwilling to hold back, he ravished the caverns of her mouth like an invading barbarian, wild and savage.

Instead of withdrawing from his assault, she flung her arms around his neck as if to ensure he wouldn’t stop. No chance of that happening, not as long as his cock throbbed with need and her tongue sent tiny shock waves through his body every time she stroked against him. The woman knew how to drive a man insane with her kiss.

Her sweet taste was like ambrosia to him, like a long-lost delight he had forgotten about. She reminded him of emotions long buried and stirred his flesh like no other woman had in four centuries.

Under his greedy hands, he captured the warmth and softness of a female overflowing with passion, a woman who could match his own needs. The sounds of pleasure coming from her were like bursts of little fireworks to him, stoking his desire even more. It made him want things he’d never dared acknowledge: closeness, affection, warmth.

Amaury caught her next moan and swallowed it down where it ricocheted in the cavities of his chest, bouncing off his lungs and against his cold heart. And for one instant, a spark ignited where his pounding heart lay almost frozen.

The next second, his heart beat faster than it ever had before. A moment later he heard a sound behind him.

Danger!

Out of reflex, he released her instantly and swiveled. Behind him was only darkness. Nobody else was on the roof but the two of them.

The moment he turned back to her, she’d already moved away from him and sprinted toward the edge of the building. A second later she was gone. He heard the loud thump and followed the sound. As he reached the edge, he looked down. Beneath him was the alley he so often took on his way home, and there, at the end of it was the woman, running away from him.

“Wait,” he called out to her. “Who are you?”

But she’d already rounded the corner and was out of sight. Amaury swallowed. He could still taste her on his tongue, still feel the ghost of her soft form pressed into his body. What the hell had just happened?

He shook his head. Generally he was the one doing the seducing. But this time, a woman had turned the tables on him. And he liked it. A lot. It was a shame she hadn’t gone any further. Why had she suddenly run when everything was going so well?

And why hadn’t he been able to sense her emotions, not a single one of them, when only minutes earlier his head had throbbed painfully?

The only reason he’d discovered her following him was because he’d heard her footsteps, but her mind had been completely and utterly silent. As if she had no emotions. Yet, her passionate kiss had said differently.

Maybe something was happening with him. Was it possible that the sessions with Drake, his shrink, had somehow helped? It could be a start, a sign his curse was waning.

As he turned and walked back toward the stairs, he stumbled over something, but caught himself instantly. He bent down and picked up the item. His breath caught, and his heart beat in his throat. The instant his fingers touched the wooden implement, he knew what it was. Its shape was known to him and any vampire and feared by all of them.

A wooden stake.

4

Despite his relentless efforts for the remainder of the night, Amaury could not find a trace of the mystery woman by the time he was due to meet Carl. The darn woman was screwing with his head, and he was getting increasingly testy about it.

That rotten little bitch had kissed him with full knowledge that he was a vampire. And why? So she could kill him. She had completely distracted him. With a kiss! She’d played him like he was some randy idiot! The gall the woman had.

She was in for a severe spanking once he found her. And then the gloves would come off, and he would give her what she deserved. She would be in for a lethal dose of Amaury.

Nobody made a fool of Amaury LeSang—least of all a human woman.

A honking horn alerted him to Carl who had pulled up with the car. Amaury opened the door to the black limousine and got in.

“The car looks dirty,” Amaury admonished.

Carl had an annoyed look on his face. Perfect. Two pissed-off vampires together in one car. The night couldn’t possibly get any better than that.

“I know. That useless construction crew blocked the entrance to the garage, so I had to keep the car parked outside. I wouldn’t be surprised to find scratches on the paint.”

“Yeah, sucks.” His comment wasn’t meant for Carl, but for himself. Where the hell was that woman hiding? Why kiss him like that, with such passion as if she meant it, when all she wanted was to kill him? Even hours after the kiss, he could still taste her, and it drove him insane.

“Did you preview any homes tonight?” Carl asked.

As Samson’s personal broker, Amaury took care of all of Scanguards’ real estate investments, as well as Samson’s properties.

Amaury shook his head. “Something came up.”

Yes, his dick.

Which, by the way, was still up. Just thinking about the little blond devil kept him in a permanent state of readiness.

“I didn’t get a chance. But there are a few houses that just came on the market. Some of them might work for Samson and Delilah. I’ll check them out tomorrow night. With the baby coming, they’ll definitely need more space.”

He reached into his jacket pocket. In anticipation of previewing homes he’d taken his lockbox key with him. It would give him access to vacant homes for sale without making it necessary for the listing agent to be present.

In silence, they rode to the private airport several miles south of San Francisco. Scanguards had its own planes, specially equipped to transport vampires during daytime hours.

Carl parked at the edge of the tarmac, killed the engine and looked at his watch. “They should land in a few minutes.”

Amaury drummed his fingers on his thighs. Minutes passed, until the roaring sound overhead announced the descent of the private jet. Soon it came to a complete stop at the other end of the landing strip. Carl drove the car up to the plane as the doors opened.

Gabriel was the first to step out. Always with a flair for the dramatic, he emerged clad in black jeans, dress shirt, and leather coat. Coupled with his large scar, he represented authority and confidence. And as New York’s number one, he wielded considerable power within the company. Only Samson was more powerful.

Amaury was on equal footing with Gabriel. In the past, their internal power struggles had caused some strife. However, ever since Amaury had moved to California, their fights had subsided, and their friendship had taken priority.

Amaury jumped out of the car to greet his old friend. They clasped each other’s right arms. “Good to see you.”

“It’s been a long time,” Gabriel replied.

“Not long enough,” a woman said from the steps.

Amaury looked into her direction. Yvette, as sexy and ravishing as ever, glided down the stairs. Leather pants and a tight pink top accentuated her alluring curves. Her short black hair was styled back, away from her flawless face. Women would kill for a face like hers.

“Still sore?” Amaury forced himself to grin. He wasn’t going to allow her to get to him.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Amaury.”

She stepped down with her long, sexy legs, the same ones he remembered all too well being wrapped around his waist a long time ago.

Yvette stopped next to her boss. “You’re not that memorable.”

He knew he was, but he’d gain no satisfaction from trying to prove it to her. It was better to let sleeping lions—or lionesses—sleep before their claws came out.

Gabriel turned to the jet’s door. “Quinn, Zane, what the hell is keeping you? We’ve gotta beat sunrise.”

“Coming!” A second later, Zane appeared in the opening, two bags in hand. “Luggage. Hey, Amaury, can you give me a hand?”

“Allow me,” Carl interrupted and reached for the bags Zane handed down.

“Thanks, Carl.”

Having rid himself of the luggage, Zane shook Amaury’s hand. His head was shorn bald, and despite the lack of hair, he was a handsome devil. Lean and tanned, dressed in faded blue jeans and a white long-sleeved polo shirt, he had a casual air about him. But Amaury knew better.

Zane was a mean fighting machine: fast, ruthless, and lethal. He would never want to get on his bad side, not that Zane had a good side.

“Good to see you. I feel better knowing you’re joining the fight.”