Read Online Hot Summer Bites: A Castle of Dark Dreams Novella (A Penguin Special from Berkley Sensation) by Nina Bangs - Free Book Online Page A

in the face. Dark, empty beach. Dark, dangerous vampire sitting beside her.
Feet, take me outta here.
Only her feet couldn’t take her anywhere until her behind decided it wanted to move away from his sexy presence. Her bottom was perfectly happy.
    He watched her from eyes that shone in the night. “Don’t be in such a hurry, Kristin. Enjoy the moment.”
    She made a big show of drawing in a deep breath of sea air, scooping up a handful of sand, and staring for a moment at the dark waves breaking on the shore. “Okay, enjoyed the moment. We can go now.” When had she morphed into a giant wuss?
    “In a big hurry to get away, aren’t you, sweetheart? We haven’t sealed the deal yet.” His smile was slow, hot, and
knowing.
    “Sealed the deal?” Her voice reached for a higher octave. She was trying for I’m-cool-with-creatures, but her voice wasn’t a good liar.
    His sensual smile slid into a frown. “You sound nervous. Guess I can understand that. I won’t lie to you, all the nonhumans in the castle have a potential for violence, but only when provoked.” His smile returned. “Thinking of provoking me, lady?”
    Oooh, yes.
“I don’t provoke vampires. So how are we going to seal the deal?” Did she really need to know this? Uh-uh. Did she
want
to know it? Definitely.
    He leaned toward her, blocking out the pale moonlight with his broad shoulders. Broad
bare
shoulders. She couldn’t help it; she ran her fingers across his chest, savoring the tactile sensation of smooth warm skin over hard muscle.
    And when he lowered his head to cover her mouth with his, she opened her lips to him without even once thinking about how she’d describe this scene in her article.
    His lips were warm on hers, and he tasted of gulf breezes and potent sensuality just too yummy to resist. But then, who was resisting?
    He nipped her lower lip before moving away from her. Rats. Kristin had just begun to involve all her senses. She’d explored the texture of him—the smoothness of his mouth, the softness of his lips, and when she’d wrapped her arms around him, the strong contours of his back. He hadn’t given her nearly enough time. The senses that had missed their turns were in the middle of a major bitch-fest.
    Kristin took the hand he offered and let him pull her to her feet. “Not much of a deal-sealing. We didn’t even get to the part where we cut our wrists and do the blood-brother thing.” She thought about that. “Yeah, maybe that wouldn’t be a good idea. Wouldn’t want you to get overexcited or anything.”
    Something primitive and hot moved in his eyes as he walked beside her to his car. “Trust me, I was excited.” He looked away from her. “A lot.”
    Well, that sounded promising. She was ridiculously pleased with herself. Which was really stupid, because an excited vampire would probably have the hots for her neck. Not a good thing for her neck—or connected body parts.
    Once in the car, she drowned out her mind’s early-warning system with her favorite thing—words. “So how old are you, and who made you vampire?”
    Silence.
    “How often do you have to feed, and do you prefer blood banks or the occasional tourist?”
    Silence.
    “How do you feel about the extended-life thing, and does it bother you to never see daylight?”
    Silence.
    Kristin leaned her head back against the seat’s headrest and sighed loudly. “Well, that was a productive little chat.”
    He drove in silence for a few more minutes before speaking. “Why should I tell you about myself? You might decide to use it.”
    She tried to sound outraged even as her conscience made a cameo appearance. “We have a deal. You can trust me.” Her conscience looked suspiciously like her long-departed grandma Hughes. Grandma shook her head sadly. Kristin felt guilty. Grandma did guilt well.
    Taurin seemed to consider her answer. “I was born in Italy six hundred years ago. My brother, Dacian, made me vampire.”
    Kristin felt righteous