Hot Vampire Seduction (Vampire Wardens 2)

He turned to face her, “Right about what?”

“They were all drugged and they were all anemic. Actually it was more than anemic. Their bodies had 50% lower blood ratios than is normal and that’s not even the weirdest part. There were no open wounds and I don’t see how anyone loses that much blood without an open wound. It makes no logical sense that a drug would cause such a thing.”

Aiden was sure this was a case of Vampire attacks, but Vampires that were infected with bloodlust didn’t bother to seal the wounds. They just ripped the person’s neck out and moved on to the next victim.

Normally, that was. A vampire, or a group of vampires, who not only had bloodlust, but had somehow organized would be dangerous. That didn’t seem possible. Something didn’t add up. “What can you tell me about the drug?”

“There were only trace amounts of a substance in the women’s systems,” she said. “But it’s not anything I’ve ever seen before.” She hesitated, like she was uncomfortable with what she had to say.

He narrowed his gaze. “Tell me.”

She leaned an elbow on the table, her lab coat gaping open to show a slim cut black dress accenting delicate feminine curves. “You’ll think I’m crazy.”

“There isn’t much I think is crazy,” he assured her, resting his own elbow on the high lab table, and turning to face her. “Try me.”

“It’s not just that this substance is nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s not anything even remotely familiar, not documented as something known to man. Almost... alien in nature.” She shook her head and laughed nervously. “Maybe my lab equipment is acting up. Or maybe the trace amounts of the substance I’ve got to work with might be the issue. Please tell me you and your people have a lead on what this drug is and where to get it. More importantly, you have a plan to get it off the streets. The women were all at the same part of the downtown party scene when they died. Lock down the bars. Just shut them down until this is over. Clearly people aren’t smart enough to stay away by themselves.”

“That won’t do anything but create more panic.”

“We all need to be panicked,” she argued, rounding the desk, as if she felt the need to be closer, to make her case more urgent. “We have a serial killer on the loose. Something has to be done.” He studied her a moment, thinking of the research he’d done on her, of her reputation of dogmatically taking on cases until they were solved. She’d gone so far as to dive into what would be police work, risking any danger to herself for her personal involvement. He didn’t want her outside of this lab, in the sights of a hungry monster who’d make this her last investigation.

He grabbed one of her business cards and a pen, then scribbled his number on it, and took her hand in his.

It was small and soft, but he knew that while her body might be feminine and delicate, her spirit was not.

“Call me before you act on any lead you might discover,” he said softly, sending her a mental compulsion. “I’ll make sure it gets followed up on, for you.”

“Yes,” she said, blinking up at him, those gorgeous hazel eyes melting into his. “Yes, okay.” He released her mind and she blinked again, her gaze lowering to their joined hands, then lifting to his.

Electricity sparked between them, wicked hot, and unexpected when really, it shouldn’t have been. His attraction to this woman was red hot, instant and unwelcomed.

Aiden let go of her hand and took a step backwards, feeling the burn of the past in his undeniable connection he shared with this woman. A connection that reached far beyond his body humming with desire to strip her naked and have his way with her. No, the desire was a product of chemistry, of interest, of that intrigue he’d felt with her

He wasn’t a hard learner. He wasn’t a man to relive mistakes, repeating bad history. That’s exactly why he never, ever, allowed himself a personal connection to a human. He’d done it once thirty years before and Darla had ended up dead, just like his parents and younger sister. It was enough to watch out for his Warden brothers and now his eldest brother’s newly turned wife, Marissa, who’d all but died after a werewolf attack.

“I’ll get this monster, Kelly,” he vowed. “You have my word.” He didn’t wait for a reply. He turned and headed for the doorway, putting as much distance between himself and the temptation of Kelly as he could find.

Chapter Two

Two days after meeting Aiden Brooks, Kelly sat at her desk, her files open, her hand on the card he’d scribbled his name and number on. Again. She kept radiating to that card and she didn’t know why. She wasn’t one to get distracted by a man – well – not since college when she’d almost flunked a semester of school over the hot older boy in her biology class, and then found him in bed with her “best” friend.

Distraction and slipping grades had come next, followed by the wrath of her parents. The joy of being an only child was that you got all the love of your parents, but in turn, all the wrath as well.

A decade later, Kelly sometimes wondered if that experience had scarred her for life, because she sure hadn’t found a man to

distract her beyond a few dates when work always became more important. Until now, until Mr. Tall, Dark, and Dangerously Sexy had walked into her lab, and left her in a warm puddle of lust, she’d yet to shake.

She picked up the card, trying to figure out why this man, verses others, affected her so. Why she had him on her mind when she was at work at eight o’clock at night. Maybe, because he’d seemed as passionate about catching this ‘monster’ as he’d called the killer, as she was. Her mind, however, gladly supplied the image of a hard body and a strong face, as if that explained it all. It didn’t. It was his eyes, she thought -

those mysterious black eyes, so unlike any she’d ever seen. When he’d looked at her, she’d felt something stark and raw in him. Something dark and dangerous, but not frightening. He was too beautiful to be frightening, despite his massive size. She almost laughed at herself for such a silly thought. Wasn’t Jack the Ripper suppose to have been a gorgeous man? Or maybe that was Jeffrey Dahmer.

A sound in the lab, just outside her office, snapped her attention to the doorway. Her body tensing, nerves pricking with unease. The timing was really crummy, considering her serial killer thoughts, no doubt, and she told herself to calm down, but no such luck when her mind was racing with possibilities, all more monster ridden than not. She’d locked up hours ago, so there was no one but Jed, the aging, but effective, security guard who could be here and she’d known him for years. He’d call her, or knock, before entering.

“Hello?” she shouted, her hand sliding to her cell phone a moment before she realized she’d not only dialed Aiden’s number, but somehow had it memorized. She knew that was odd, but she didn’t care. Not right now. She was about to hit ‘send’ and call him when the newest member of the Austin Homicide division, Detective Derek Wright, appeared in her doorway.

“You really should lock up when you work late,” he said, leaning a broad shoulder on the frame and looking like Mr. American with his neatly trimmed blond hair and blue eyes, rather than someone she should fear. So why did the hot looking crime fighter make her uneasy and not just right now, but every single one of the half dozen times she’d met the man?

“I did lock up,” she said. “So I’m guessing you flashed your badge at poor Jed and intimidated him into letting you walk right in without calling me first.”