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Authors: Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
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policy, she carried in her skirt pocket a sharpened stake that she’d discovered in her 64
Vampire Lover
mother’s trunk. If Hayden Flynn came after her, she’d try to defend herself, yet she hoped it wouldn’t come down to kill or be killed. If Hayden Flynn wasn’t prone to violence, maybe it was possible for them to call a truce.
When Kelsie looked up again, it was to see that night had fallen with the quietness of fine snow, and that the walls and broken towers of the castle ruins opposite the cliffs had been lit by a single torch.
She hesitated. She wasn’t ready to see him again, might never be ready. But she was, in spite of everything, her mother’s daughter. She had set this date.
It took her only two more steps toward the castle to realize she was indeed in the presence of a vampire.
Vamp scent was everywhere.
But it was the wrong scent.
The wrong vampire.
Hayden saw the glint of light on the cliffs as he moved along the path after Connor, keeping her in view, as he had for the past few days. He sniffed the air, whispered
"No!" The reek of the undead filled his lungs. Without a Connor present to protect his land and hold the chaos at bay for all these years, Hayden’s worst nightmare had come to ground on his own damn soil.
Trespassers.
Rage filled him. Power surged through his muscles, fueled by the thought of losing Kelsie before he’d had the chance to know her. Before he’d had a chance to explain about himself.
Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
65
He ran for all he was worth toward the castle, utilizing a speed mortal eyes couldn’t have perceived.
The savageness of his anger crackled the air as he reached the keep. He heard her voice as he entered.
Not too late!
Relief flowed through him. But an extraneous thought nagged as his boots hit stone. The old dilemma resurfaced. Had Connor been faking her naivete?
Covering what she was? He could find the truth now, if he was careful. She would face another creature here, and he would know about her for sure—if he could hold off that long, when she was in danger.
He climbed the western tower wall quickly, hand over hand, until he stood on a decimated landing above what once had been the great hall. Looking down, he saw her and nearly shouted her name.
A big sucker had Connor cornered—an old thing, tall, gaunt to the point of emaciation, hungry as any depraved, ravenous beast. Against the threat, Connor stood rigidly upright, fear etched onto her features, her green eyes open wide.
Hayden’s heart pummeled him mercilessly. Every muscle in his body seized with the need to move, to help, but he waited, barely able to keep himself back.
"You don’t belong here," he heard Connor declare bravely.
The creature beside her didn’t respond. Hell, Hayden realized, maybe it couldn’t. Maybe it was so far beyond hungry as to be completely mindless.
Careful, Connor, my love!
Love. The emotion swirled around him as fiercely as the wind.
66
Vampire Lover
Three feet of distance separated the Slayer from her viable target. Hayden had been that close to her, once.
Closer. They’d been glued together, mouths and hips and everything in between. It had been sublime.
"I don’t want to hurt you," she told the beast. "God knows you’ve been through enough already. Still, I will defend myself."
The vampire lurched forward. Equally as quickly, Connor’s hand rose, with a speed her expression registered as a complete surprise. Then the monster blocked Hayden’s view.
Wait, Hayden told himself, his boots edging the gap in the floor above her, his muscles tense with strain.
Hold tight. Wait and see.
"Connor," he wanted to shout, "what are you doing to me?"
Kelsie’s senses reeled with input that was sudden and overwhelming. As if she’d jumped into a fire pit, feet first, her skin exploded with heat. Nerves blazed.
She knew this reaction, and also knew what it meant. Something that didn’t belong in this world faced her. A thing apart,
Vampire Lover
mother’s trunk. If Hayden Flynn came after her, she’d try to defend herself, yet she hoped it wouldn’t come down to kill or be killed. If Hayden Flynn wasn’t prone to violence, maybe it was possible for them to call a truce.
When Kelsie looked up again, it was to see that night had fallen with the quietness of fine snow, and that the walls and broken towers of the castle ruins opposite the cliffs had been lit by a single torch.
She hesitated. She wasn’t ready to see him again, might never be ready. But she was, in spite of everything, her mother’s daughter. She had set this date.
It took her only two more steps toward the castle to realize she was indeed in the presence of a vampire.
Vamp scent was everywhere.
But it was the wrong scent.
The wrong vampire.
Hayden saw the glint of light on the cliffs as he moved along the path after Connor, keeping her in view, as he had for the past few days. He sniffed the air, whispered
"No!" The reek of the undead filled his lungs. Without a Connor present to protect his land and hold the chaos at bay for all these years, Hayden’s worst nightmare had come to ground on his own damn soil.
Trespassers.
Rage filled him. Power surged through his muscles, fueled by the thought of losing Kelsie before he’d had the chance to know her. Before he’d had a chance to explain about himself.
Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
65
He ran for all he was worth toward the castle, utilizing a speed mortal eyes couldn’t have perceived.
The savageness of his anger crackled the air as he reached the keep. He heard her voice as he entered.
Not too late!
Relief flowed through him. But an extraneous thought nagged as his boots hit stone. The old dilemma resurfaced. Had Connor been faking her naivete?
Covering what she was? He could find the truth now, if he was careful. She would face another creature here, and he would know about her for sure—if he could hold off that long, when she was in danger.
He climbed the western tower wall quickly, hand over hand, until he stood on a decimated landing above what once had been the great hall. Looking down, he saw her and nearly shouted her name.
A big sucker had Connor cornered—an old thing, tall, gaunt to the point of emaciation, hungry as any depraved, ravenous beast. Against the threat, Connor stood rigidly upright, fear etched onto her features, her green eyes open wide.
Hayden’s heart pummeled him mercilessly. Every muscle in his body seized with the need to move, to help, but he waited, barely able to keep himself back.
"You don’t belong here," he heard Connor declare bravely.
The creature beside her didn’t respond. Hell, Hayden realized, maybe it couldn’t. Maybe it was so far beyond hungry as to be completely mindless.
Careful, Connor, my love!
Love. The emotion swirled around him as fiercely as the wind.
66
Vampire Lover
Three feet of distance separated the Slayer from her viable target. Hayden had been that close to her, once.
Closer. They’d been glued together, mouths and hips and everything in between. It had been sublime.
"I don’t want to hurt you," she told the beast. "God knows you’ve been through enough already. Still, I will defend myself."
The vampire lurched forward. Equally as quickly, Connor’s hand rose, with a speed her expression registered as a complete surprise. Then the monster blocked Hayden’s view.
Wait, Hayden told himself, his boots edging the gap in the floor above her, his muscles tense with strain.
Hold tight. Wait and see.
"Connor," he wanted to shout, "what are you doing to me?"
Kelsie’s senses reeled with input that was sudden and overwhelming. As if she’d jumped into a fire pit, feet first, her skin exploded with heat. Nerves blazed.
She knew this reaction, and also knew what it meant. Something that didn’t belong in this world faced her. A thing apart,
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