Taken by the Vampire King (Vampire Warrior Kings Book 3)

by Laura Kaye

  Encountering the woman less than one week after my seclusion ended, before I’d had the chance to feed, made her a temptation of unimaginable proportions. It made her joy not just appealing, but vital to restoring any peace to my state of mind.

  For hours, I sat and watched and savored and imagined. When the rising sun turned the edge of the nighttime sky pink, I jumped down from the tree and headed back to Edmund Place, realizing as I did so how close I lived to this woman—no more than sixteen city blocks. Even at a human pace, it was no more than a half-hour walk. To think relief had been so close all this time.

  Now I just needed to make her mine.

  ****

  Langston called me to pick up blood two days after our reunion at the blood bank. Carrying a soft- sided cooler, I approached the entrance to the hospital for my evening meeting—and stopped short upon feeling and then seeing the woman sitting on a bench ahead of me. Unless I looped around to another entrance, I would have to walk right by her to get inside.

  How ironic that I’d been stalking her for days and now encountered her out in the open—though the comings and goings of patients, staff, and visitors continued to protect her. I swallowed thickly, acknowledging my rather dire undernourishment. Nearly six weeks had passed since I’d fed on a trio of wolves on the shores of Black Lake north of the city.

  I scoffed. I’d gone this long before without feeding, and now she had me doubting my control as if I were a neophyte. I was used to the clench of hunger in my gut, had forced myself to endure it for much of my existence. I usually didn’t tempt myself by intermingling with humans, let alone with one who was so appealing, but I was eager to taste and feel her happiness again.

  So I resumed walking. Her feelings intensified within me as I approached. Forty feet, then thirty. By the time I was within ten feet, my mouth was so alive with the rich sweetness of her joy, I was salivating and struggling to keep my fangs retracted.

  Her emotions provided such exquisite relief I couldn’t force myself to pass her by. Without a conscious decision, I stopped in front of her, her allure locking me into place as surely as if I were shackled. She looked up and smiled. Her teal eyes settled on me like a caress. In that instant, I needed to be in her presence. I hadn’t intended to, but I was going to have to talk to her now.

  “Would you mind if I asked you a question?” I finally asked, working hard to make my voice relaxed, casual—the exact opposite of the tense anticipation that shivered over my skin.

  Her brow dropped and her expression became a little guarded, but she smiled. “Sure.” Her eyes widened and her heart rate increased as she took me in.

  I walked over to the bench and hesitated as my nineteenth-century manners resurfaced. “May I?”

  She nodded uncertainly, her pose less relaxed. So close to her for the first time, it took

  everything I had not to reach out and cup my hand behind her neck and pull her into me, particularly as her pounding heart pumped blood into a blush that spread from her face down her throat.

  Touch her. Feel her. Taste her. I shook the urges away.

  “I’ve noticed you once before when I was here visiting a friend. Please feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but both times I’ve been struck by how incredibly happy you…look. Such happiness seems a rare quality.”

  Her blue-green eyes sparkled, reflecting the inner light I could feel. Her smile was reserved at first but more open as she spoke. “Uh, well, a lot of times working at a hospital can be emotionally draining. The hours, the pace, the stress, and especially losing patients can all take it out of you. But on occasion working here can be the best thing ever.” She paused in thought.

  I found myself having to concentrate to keep my breathing normal. The strong mixture of her joy and love was arousing—a sensation I hadn’t experienced in far too long. The tingling around my canines intensified.

  “Do you mind if I ask what happened to make it feel like the best thing recently?” I smiled and searched her eyes. With effort, I restrained myself from charming her.

  Her surprise at my interest rang through my gut as she shrugged. “Well, I’ve been doing a rotation in the pediatric oncology department, and one of my favorite patients found out recently she’s in remission. It’s been such a wondrous week, because her family has been through so much. She’s always reminded me of my daughter Olivia—I couldn’t imagine something threatening to take her away. So, I’ve just been riding on cloud nine ever since. I’ve never seen anyone more appreciative of life than this girl and her family. It’s just really been…great to know they won’t lose each other, you know?” For a brief second, a sharp torrent of loneliness underscored her words. I frowned and studied her thoughtful expression, but as quick as the bitter-tasting sadness came, it was gone. Her joyfulness returned, immersing me once more.

  I listened and nodded in the right places, but was overcome with the certainty her happiness was my irresistible siren song. Like the mariners of old, I would be wrecked in my pursuit of her.

  My devoted attention apparently made her feel self-conscious, because I tasted her self-doubt just as she said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go on forever—”

  “Not at all,” I began, forcing myself to relax as I considered her words. “Thank you for sharing that. It is certainly something to feel good about.”

  She nodded her head and smiled as she looked down. I took the moment to study her profile. She had a small scar that cut through the edge of her right eyebrow and ran into her temple. I fought the urge to run a soothing finger over it.

  At first appearance, she seemed so young and carefree. But the set of her shoulders, the pale purple beneath her eyes, and her obvious compassion for others spoke of a woman who knew a little something about hardship. Though her emotions at the moment well concealed whatever difficulties life had thrown at her.

  The soft evening breeze blew long tendrils of gold around her face and stirred up her intoxicating scent, at once luscious and fresh. I swallowed hard against the sensory assault. She was too appealing for her own good.

  More. I wanted, needed, to learn more so I could convince myself she was nothing special, no one to regret killing. “How long have you worked here?” I asked before the pause in the conversation turned awkward.

  She looked up at me and then shrugged. “Actually, I don’t formally work here. I’m a nursing student. I have one semester left at Wayne State and am finishing a clinical practicum. But hopefully I’ll get a job offer before the end of the fall semester.” She cut herself off and glanced over at me through the wisps that had fallen free of her braid.

  “Interesting,” I reassured before her self-consciousness returned. Inwardly I grimaced, because it was true. Before me sat a woman with ambition, purpose, compassion.

  She glanced at her watch. “I’m sorry, my break is about over. I have to be getting back.” She smiled and rose from the bench.

  I panicked. Stay.

  She hesitated and looked down at me a little dazed, as if she had gotten up too fast.

  I stood and offered a steadying hand under her elbow. “Are you okay?” The warmth of her skin and the rush of her quickened pulse in my palm thrilled my senses.

  “Yes, I…” She placed her other hand on her forehead. “I just got a little dizzy for a second.” Her embarrassment washed through me. “Um, thank you.”

  “Of course.” I soaked her in through all my senses. I stood a full head taller, but her presence was the one that filled the darkening courtyard.

  Free of my charm, she stepped back and smiled up at me. “It was nice talking to you.”

  “To you, too. I’m Lucien, by the way. Lucien Demarco.” I offered my hand, eager to assess her reaction.

  She reached out and shook with a firm grip. “Hi, Lucien. I’m Samantha Sutton.”

  She touched me voluntarily and with complete ease. Remarkable. “Glad to meet you, Samantha.” My voice sounded different, lower, as I met her eyes. Her body heat soaked into
me where our palms pressed together. Her hand was small and soft, but strong.

  She blinked lazily. “Sam. Everyone…calls me Sam.” She took an unconscious half step toward me.

  I relished the proximity. “All right, then, it’s nice to meet you, Sam.” A couple passed us on the sidewalk. I reluctantly released her hand and her will.

  She shook her head. “See you ’round,” she murmured as she turned away. “I hope your friend gets better.”

  I nodded and watched as she walked up the sidewalk toward the doors, so bewildered by the loss of her emotions I hadn’t thought to correct her assumption about my friend. Not that it mattered.

  “Samantha,” I whispered as I pressed the hand that had touched her to my mouth and tasted her there. I closed my eyes against the pleasure of her scent. Finally I glanced down, replaying the unexpected conversation in my head. The blue cooler bag was still in my hand.

  Cazzo! Fuck!

  Looking at the sky, I knew I was late for my appointment with Langston. I hurried through the hospital and ignored the pull of Samantha’s scent. When I pushed through the door to the blood bank, Langston called me back to the laboratory space in the rear. I followed his voice and found him standing near a large refrigeration unit.

  “Thought you were gonna stand me up,” he said without any particular annoyance as he held out his hand.

  We shook. “Sorry, Langston, got sidetracked.”

  “I figured. Just glad you made it. I held aside ten units for you. Hand your bag here.” He arranged them. “These should keep refrigerated for four to six weeks. You can freeze them for longer. Did you get the equipment I suggested for all this?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You should be set then. Just give me a shout a few days before you want more.” He zipped the packed cooler shut and handed it over to me. In exchange, I passed him an envelope, which he tucked inside his lab coat.

  I looked at him and debated whether I wanted the answer to the question in my head.

  “Yeah, Laumet knows,” he said, guessing what was on my mind.

  “And?”

  “He said he’s looking forward to catching up with you soon.”

  Damn. I was going to have to be careful to keep out of Laumet’s orbit. I didn’t have a particular interest in being caught up with. I nodded and slung the pack onto my shoulder.

  “Don’t worry about it, man,” he said. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  We spoke for a while longer, then I made my way back out of the hospital. I half hoped to see Samantha again but didn’t want to make her suspicious. I needed her to stay happy.

  A bright moon lit my way through Detroit’s urban decay back to Edmund Place, where I had recently refitted a basement closet to conceal a refrigeration unit for the contents of my cooler. I drank five of the pints immediately, grimacing at the coolness of the liquid as it flowed down my throat but feeling the relief and the power of it hum through me.

  With effort, I convinced myself to save the rest—though my body craved more. But I wasn’t sure how frequently Langston would be able to do this for me. I opened the refrigerator and stored the remainder, suddenly restless from a combination of the rejuvenating jolt of the blood and the earlier conversation with Samantha.

  Samantha. I had not planned to speak with her before having her. It was pleasurable to have done so, but it unnecessarily complicated the matter. She had proven interesting, selfless, and giving in the course of our brief conversation. She’d demonstrated the very specialness I’d hoped to disprove. But I couldn’t resist what I had to do.

  She was the light, and I had been drinking the dark for so very long.

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  About the Author

  Laura Kaye is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over forty books in contemporary and erotic romance and romantic suspense. Laura grew up amidst family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses, cementing her life-long fascination with storytelling and the supernatural. Laura lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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