Blood Flame (Flame 1)

When she pulled away, he let her go. He could see she was overwhelmed again and why wouldn’t she be? Maybe she’d enthralled him, but something about their connection had allowed him to know the deepest part of her. If he was in her shoes, he’d be upset as well. Hell, he’d be pissed.

She began to pace, moving into the living area and out into the garden.

~ ~ ~

Of all the things that had happened between them over the past two nights, this one had upset her the most.

She was the witch. She had enthralled him. So, why had it turned out he could take a trip all the way into her soul? It should have been the other way around.

As she walked through the garden, she forced herself to calm down. She needed to think this through, to try to understand what it meant or what it could mean in terms of her abilities as a witch and Connor’s vampire connection to her.

She glanced up at the protective spell and discovered that a new swirl had entered the pattern, steel gray in color and very strong, very masculine.

She took a moment to analyze the spell. She closed her eyes and extended her hands palms up. She felt the full length of it and there it was, Connor’s signature. He was now part of the protective spell. What the hell was going on?

And when had his signature intruded?

She knew, however, exactly when it had happened, right in the middle of the lovemaking. He’d looked wild and full of power. Yes, that’s when he’d infused part of his strength into the spell. She was dumbstruck all over again. How could a vampire be part of a spell like this?

“Connor? Can you come here?”

She shifted in his direction and saw that he was standing in the dining area. Having turned the TV back on, he was staring at it. He also seemed distressed.

She began moving in his direction even before he called out. “Iris, you’ve got to see this. Now.”

When she crossed the threshold, she heard the female anchor say, “We’ll have more news about the massacre in Rotten Row, after this.”

Before the station cut to commercial, Iris saw the crime scene from the helicopter’s camera as it panned back. There were a dozen Crescent Border Patrol SUVs present with lights flashing, several ambulances, and black body bags lined up on the street.

She drew close to Connor. A discussion about his signature in her spell could wait. He muted the commercial.

“What happened?” she asked. “That was Big Nuts’s club, right?”

He nodded. “Yep. And apparently, they’re all dead. But I can’t help but think it’s no coincidence we were in Rotten Row the night before.”

Iris frowned. “Do you really think this vampire, the one who’s after us, did this?”

“My instincts are shouting at me that this is our guy. I just don’t know how he could have pulled it off by himself.”

“Maybe he wasn’t alone.”

“That’s my thought, too.” He pulled out his cell. “I’m going to call one of my fellow officers who works Rotten Row and get some facts.”

When he made the call, he put the phone on speaker then set it on the table between them.

“Crescent Border Patrol. How may I direct your call?”

“Lily Hansen.”

“One moment.”

A woman’s voice came on the line. “Dispatch. Lily Hansen.”

“Lily, Connor here.”

“Connor, thank God you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.”