Read Online The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo (Love at Stake) by Kerrelyn Sparks - Free Book Online Page A

to relieve the itch. Why was it bothering him after all this time? The last time he’d felt it had been after the battle of Culloden when he had crawled beneath a bush to die. As his lifeblood had seeped from his wound, he’d imagined Li Lei sitting next to him, promising him that someday they would be together again. He had murmured yes as comforting heat had spread along his tattoo, lulling him into the deep sleep of the dead.
    He knew now that it was Connor who had sat beside him and his “yes” had been interpreted as an agreement to join the ranks of the Undead. He’d awakened a vampire, and for centuries the tattoo had remained as cold as his Undead heart.
    Had Leah awakened the dragon? Could she bring his half-dead soul back to life? Unfortunately, after waiting close to three hundred years, he was in danger of losing her before he could even talk to her. If she demanded to leave, they would teleport her back home and erase her memory.
    He had to see her tonight. Before he lost his chance.
    L eah stiffened when Gregori walked into the room carrying a woman in his arms like a sack of potatoes.
    “Don’t worry.” Abby perched beside her on the bed. “I asked him to bring her here so you could see she’s not real. This is VANNA Black, the sister to the doll you saw with Dougal.”
    Leah watched as Gregori set the lifelike woman in an easy chair. “Why is she dressed like a cheerleader?”
    Abby gave her husband a wry look. “Good question.”
    “I didn’t do it,” Gregori mumbled. “Phineas must have dressed her like this before he got married.”
    Leah shook her head. A few minutes earlier, Abby had explained that VANNA was a failed experiment the guys kept around as a joke, but it all sounded a bit crazy to her. “And this doll is supposed to keep vampires from attacking us?”
    “You don’t need to worry about being attacked.” Emma sat in the other easy chair, facing the bed. “The Vamps are morally opposed to it.”
    Leah scoffed. “They’re vampires. How moral can they be?”
    Emma smiled slightly. “Well, I can speak on the matter with some knowledge, since I’ve become a Vamp myself.”
    “Oh.” Leah winced. “I . . . didn’t mean to offend.”
    Emma’s smile widened. “You haven’t. There was a time when I hated vampires. But then I got to know them better. You see, the Malcontents imprisoned me with Angus and let him go hungry so he’d have no choice but to bite me. For several nights he restrained himself. He was starving to death, biting himself, and I even caught him climbing on a table where the sunlight would hit him.”
    Abby gasped. “He was going to commit suicide?”
    Emma nodded. “Yes. He was ready to die rather than harm me. I had to beg him to bite me so he could survive.”
    “So vampires retain a sense of right and wrong?” Leah asked.
    “Death cannot change a person’s character,” Emma explained. “Bad people become evil vampires, and good guys like Angus—well, he’s my hero.”
    Leah hated to admit it, but Emma’s story sounded a bit romantic. “And you’re married to him now?”
    “Yes. We’re very happy.” Emma’s smile grew wistful. “He reminds me of a historical hero—Braveheart or Rob Roy. And the way he talks—it still melts my heart.”
    Abby nodded in agreement. “There’s something about a guy in a kilt. I’ve been trying to talk Gregori into getting one.”
    He snorted. “I’m not wearing a damned skirt.”
    A vision of Dougal flitted through Leah’s mind. She’d thought he was wonderfully attractive until she’d caught him assaulting a woman. Or a doll. “I still don’t understand why Dougal was attacking a rubber doll.” She shuddered, remembering the shock of seeing the arm rip off and the blood squirt out.
    The room grew silent. Emma and Gregori exchanged a worried look.
    “I-I’m sure he had a reason,” Abby mumbled.
    “Like he’s a violent pervert?” Leah asked.
    Abby winced. “He never struck me that way.