A Vampire's Saving Embrace

by Darlene Kuncytes

  © 2013 Darlene Kuncytes

  Chapter 1

  Abigail Montgomery blew a stray strand of hair away from her face as she glared across the crowded bar- her eyes narrowed in frustration.

  “I swear to God, Abs - you’re going to scare Mr. Hottie away with those looks you keep shooting his way. You look like you could peel the paint right off of the walls for crying out loud!” Kat, her co-worker yelled at her over the noise – gracing her with her best no nonsense scowl.

  Abby gave Kat a disgusted grunt as her eyes stayed on the disturbingly handsome man sitting alone at the table on the other side of the bar.

  He had been in Echo’s every night for the past three that Abby had worked. Sitting at the same damn table - nursing a bourbon, and watching her. He never approached or spoke to her - he just watched her work - his oh, so sensuous, full lips set in a grim line - and it was beginning to un-nerve her. This man was beyond model perfect, and it made Abby feel utterly intimidated and completely lacking.

  She took a deep, steadying breath and tore her eyes from him - trying to concentrate on something - anything other than his disturbing presence. She stooped down to grab a tray of clean glasses from beneath the bar, and unceremoniously dropped them with a resounding crash when she turned to find Mr. Gorgeous standing at the bar directly in front of her - his eyes locked on her face.

  “Easy there, pet,” he whispered -the smooth, silky timber of his voice causing her to shiver slightly. Damn, but the man was delicious, she thought sourly.

  He stood about six foot two and was unbelievably muscular – but not the steroid addled muscles of a body builder, she thought with a twinge – no… his muscles were real. Un-Godly real and painfully apparent beneath the very expensive shirt he wore. The man reeked class and money. Cripes!

  His hair was jet black and cut short to where it just touched the collar of said shirt in sexy, messy spikes. And his eyes - oh Lord, his eyes were sea blue and framed by unbelievably long, thick lashes. It should be illegal for a man to have such beautiful eyelashes she thought with a grunt. Yet, he was completely and irrevocably all man.

  Abby felt a sudden surge of heat run through her as his eyes traveled over her face as he thoroughly appraised her - and she bit her bottom lip to stop her wayward thoughts. “Can I get you something?” she croaked out - immediately wincing at the tremor in her voice. Crap.

  He smiled, his perfect white teeth glistening slightly - his eyes capturing and holding hers. “That depends, my pet - on just what it is that you are offering.” The wicked smile that came to his face caused Abby’s cheeks to burn, and an unwelcome heat to spread through her stomach as her entire body began to tingle. Her hackles rose at the unwanted onslaught of it all. Abby did not like the effect this man was having on her in the least.

  “Do you want another drink?” she ground out - her emerald eyes snapping fire as her cheeks blazed red – damn, was it getting warm in here? She silently wondered - hating how awkward and unsure she felt under his close scrutiny. He was holding her gaze as if he were looking into her very soul - and it was making her beyond uncomfortable in a completely embarrassing way. The guy had her entire body trembling.

  “Actually…”

  “Oh, Christ Abby,” Kat said, squatting down and starting to pick up the broken pieces of glass from the floor. “Are you all right?” Abby looked down at the fiery red-head and grimaced.

  “Damn, Charlie is going to have my hide,” she whispered before looking back up. She was startled to discover Mr. Gorgeous was gone, and quickly searched the pulsating crowd on the dance floor - then the table where he had been seated for the past three days – but he was nowhere to be seen.

  Abby felt a rush of something she wasn’t sure was relief or disappointment. She shook the thought off and bent down to help Kat with the mess she’d made, and cringed again when she noticed that her hands were shaking. Just what in the hell was wrong with her?

  Abby was what most would call classically beautiful. She was 27, curvy in all the right places - five foot four inches tall with golden hair that hung to her shoulder blades in luminous waves, and deep emerald green eyes that took everyone who met her back instantly with their beauty. She was sweet and funny and seemed to put the people she met at ease immediately. Even though she closed herself off from any outside activities. She always turned down the many dates she was asked on - preferring to keep her distance.

  Kat on the other hand was full bodied and boisterous. Her flaming red hair matched her flaming personality and wild ways. The two were complete opposites, but yet had quickly become best friends. Kat was Abby’s yin to her yang - the regulars at the bar calling them fire and ice.

  “I saw you talking to that gorgeous piece - please tell me he was hitting on you.” Kat said, laughing happily - her eyes gleaming mischievously as she waggled her eyebrows at her friend.

  Abby shook her head - not exactly sure what he had been doing. “No, he just wanted another drink,” she replied half-heartedly, and realized with a start that there was disappointment in her voice. She cursed herself again for her reaction to the man. Holy Hell!

  “Damn it, Abs.” Kat reprimanded, her eyes narrowing. “You really need to quit playing the nun and flirt a little. That gorgeous drink of water has been here watching you, and only you for the past three nights,” she bit out in a huff. “This self- imposed celibacy of yours is wearing thin. You are just too damn beautiful to let all that go to waste.” Kat placed her hands on her hips and glared at her.

  Abby shook her head and shrugged. She was doing just fine on her own. In fact, she liked her solitude. She always had. Even as a little girl, Abby was more comfortable strolling alone in the woods near whatever house they had been living in at the time - listening to the sounds of the forest, than spending time with others. Although, if she were to be honest, she never really had the time to make any real friends. She and her mother had moved around often, and making and losing friends had just become too much for her. It was so much easier to be on her own. No attachments meant - no hurt. “I’m fine.” She grumbled irritably – gracing her friend with her best scowl. “I am completely content with my life. Thank you very much!”

  “Oh, come on Abigail!” Kat bit out, glaring right back at her. “You are one of the best people I know, and you deserve to be happy. Yet, you just continue to hide yourself away and wallow in your loneliness.”

  “I am not lonely!” Abby snapped, her eyes blazing. “And I am not wallowing in anything!”

  “Really? Well, that is definitely not how I see it. Honey, you need to kick up your heels a bit - and that man was about the finest specimen of the male gender that I have probably ever seen,” she continued – her voice softening a bit. “And, Abs, he was so totally into you. You have to move on for God’s sake. He’s not Eric. Not all men are sadistic assholes.”

  Abby grimaced at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. She had worked extremely hard the past year to erase that abusive bastard from her life and her mind. Even though they had only been together for a little over four months, the damage he had done to her mentally and physically remained, and she caught herself touching the tiny scar under her chin with her finger. No! She silently reprimanded herself. She was not going there.

  She had purged him from her life and had accepted the fact that she was better off alone. Dating had never been her thing anyway, and she had accepted that. She was a complete jerk-off magnet – and she had discovered the hard way that it was best just to stay away from men in general. Love was all an illusion anyway - Abby thought with a grunt. Men said all the right things until they got what they wanted from you – then all bets were off. Eric had painfully proven that. Before she could say anything else
, Abby felt a hand on her arm and her body tensed -a creepy chill running up her spine.

  She turned her attention to the man standing at the bar and inwardly cringed as he blatantly looked her up and down with a hunger that did nothing to reduce Abby’s unease. He was a thin, scruffy guy with dirty brown hair and eyes that looked… almost black - and intense in a way that caused her to immediately stiffen. “Hello, my lovely,” he purred, his voice guttural and raspy.

  Abby pulled her arm from his grasp just as a blinding headache hit her full on – almost knocking her to her knee’s. Holy hell, she thought, bringing her fingers to her temples as she winced in pain. Just where in the hell had this come from? She looked at Kat, her face set in a grimace. “Kat, could you help this gentleman,” she choked out. “I think I might need to go home. I seem to be getting a migraine.”

  “Oh, sure,” Kat said, quickly glancing at the man standing there. Her smile faded as she watched him look at her - then back to Abby. He was looking her friend up and down as if she were on the damn menu, and it caused Kat to grow extremely uncomfortable. “Go on, get out of here,” she whispered, ushering Abby toward the back room. “I’ll take care of this jerk. You just go on home and get some rest.” She pushed her through the door and turned back to the bar, realizing with a deep feeling of dread that he was gone.

  Abby grabbed her purse and walked out of the back door and into the alley beside the bar. She took a deep calming breath and closed her eyes, inhaling the fresh air deeply. As soon as she got outside, her headache began to subside and she thought about going back in and finishing her shift, but the creepy guy at the bar convinced her that she should just go home, take a couple of aspirin and go to bed. Tonight had been one hell of a doozy! First, tall dark and gorgeous – then Freddy freaking Krueger!

  Abby shook her head and began walking toward the park that would take her home. Bed was definitely what she needed.

  As Abby entered the park she shivered with a sense of foreboding. The place was completely deserted – the cool winter air and late hour keeping even the most avid nature buffs from venturing out. She pulled her sweater tightly around herself and shivered – knowing that it was from more than just the night air. What had she been thinking! She should have just called a cab to take her home, just this once. It wasn’t that far of a walk - but after the night she had just had, walking alone at midnight was not the smartest thing she had ever done.

  She took a deep, steadying breath and walked on, “knock it off scardey-cat,” she whispered to herself – but the loud beating of her heart didn’t seem to listen. As she headed up the path that would take her to her tiny one bedroom apartment, she saw a shadow dart behind a tree and gasped.

  “Imagination Abby,” she murmured, desperately trying to slow down the rapid pounding in her chest- but a moment later another shadow darted across the path and the guy from the bar stepped out from seemingly nowhere and stood in front of her, his mouth set in a triumphant grin and his eyes gleaming with nothing less than pure malice.

  “There you are, my lovely,” he hissed, taking a step forward and blocking her path. “You left before we could get properly acquainted.”

  Abby swallowed the lump forming in her throat and the panic running through her entire body, and jutted out her chin - summoning up every ounce of courage that she possessed. “Get out of my way,” she said, with much more force than she actually felt. In fact, what she was actually feeling was extreme terror.

  There was just something so off with this guy, that it had Abby’s knee’s knocking together - and every single thing that she had learned from the few self-defense classes that she had taken to go flying out the window.

  He just laughed and took a step closer to her. She could smell his fetid breath, and the distinct aroma of rotten eggs. She bit back the bile that rose in her throat and took a deep breath through her mouth, her eyes watering from the stench. Holy Hell, didn’t this creep ever hear of taking a shower?

  “Oh, I don’t think so, my lovely,” he whispered, lifting his hand to show her the long knife he held, and Abby’s heart stopped. “You and I have some business to attend to.”

  Oh shit! Abby silently screamed. She was going to be raped! She felt the blood draining from her face as her legs began to shake uncontrollably, threatening to give out from under her and she fought desperately to calm herself.

  No! She silently screamed - she was not a victim anymore, and would not give in - well, not without a fight anyway, she decided defiantly. Summoning up every ounce of courage that she could muster, she took a deep, calming breath.

  She would sure as hell go out kicking and screaming. Abigail Montgomery was not one to back down without getting in at least one good kick! She had fought too long and too hard to survive, and was not about to let some half-witted scumbag change that now.

  With that thought urging her on - she kicked him between the legs with everything she had - smiling triumphantly when she heard his surprised grunt of pain.

  He let out a scream of rage, and Abby swore that she saw his features shift as the whites of his eyes disappeared to become completely black. But that was impossible – wasn’t it?

  Her entire body froze as she stared in horror at his face as it began to elongate and twist - his teeth lengthening to become sharp, jagged points in his mouth.

  “Holy shit,” she breathed, a moment before she saw him raise the knife. She willed her body to move, but the sight of his monstrous features held her firmly in place.

  “Bitch,” he growled as he brought the blade down toward her. “You just bought yourself a whole lot of pain!”

  It happened in an instant, and suddenly Abby was aware of the feeling of warm liquid running down the side of her neck, and she was finally able to take an instinctive, protective step back as her head began to swim and her vision began to blur – a wave of nausea washing over her. She fought desperately to keep her wits about her, and was suddenly, vaguely aware of another, familiar voice coming from behind her, the silky smoothness causing a blanket of comfort to embrace her as she swayed slightly.

  “You will die for that you son of a bitch,” he growled - right before the blackness began to overtake her and she felt herself beginning to slump towards the ground. The last thing she was aware of was the feeling of strong arms catching her before she could fall and a pair of sea blue eyes filled with concern gazing down into hers.

  Chapter 2

  Abby woke with a start – the blood that was rushing through her head causing her eyes to snap open. She looked around in confusion and fear as she realized that she was lying in a bed that was definitely not her own.

  First clue were the black satin sheets that covered her. She couldn’t afford something of this quality on her best day. The next was the mere size of the bed to which she was laying on. The thing was enormous – at least three times the size of her tiny twin, with an ornately carved wooden headboard and four large posters on each corner to match.

  She tried to sit up, but pain sliced through her neck and she gasped - squeezing her eyes shut once again. Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder - easing her gently back onto the pillows. She felt the bed dip with his weight as he sat down beside her.

  “Easy there, my pet,” he crooned, and Abby felt her heart jerk to a sudden and complete stop. It was him! She hadn’t imagined it! But just where in the hell was she?

  She tried to remember what had happened, and her brows furrowed in concentration. “Oh crap,” she groaned softly as the events of the night came flooding back. She cautiously opened her eyes – squinting at the sudden blare of light. “Where am I?” she asked - looking into those sea blue depths as they searched her face. “And just who in the hell are you?” He chuckled - his finger skimming across her cheek softly -causing a shiver to run up her spine. Holy Hell!

  “Desmond LaGrange,” He stated simply, his eyes studying her closely. “Abby, you need to rest,” he murmured, once again stroking his finger along her cheek. “We can talk l
ater.”

  “How do you know my name?” she demanded - her voice sounding small and meek and she inwardly cringed. Good God - how she hated feeling so helpless!

  A smile curved his lips and Abby swallowed with difficulty. Just when she thought he couldn’t get any better looking…BAM! He goes and curls her toes with the most heart stopping grin she had ever seen. Damn it, Abby! She silently berated herself - try for once in your miserable life to stay focused.

  There were more important things to worry about besides the fact that this man sitting in front of her could very possibly be the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. He was beyond perfect and it was throwing everything off-kilter.

  “I have a talent for things as names and such,” he offered, his eyes traveling down her face to her neck. His smile faded and his eyes snapped with anger - causing the vibrant blue to darken. Her hand reached up to touch where he was staring only to be stopped by his fingers circling her wrist. “Please, don’t touch the bandage,” he warned softly. “I don’t want you to re-open your wound.” She shuddered at the memory of that bastard’s knife slicing through her skin and the feeling of her blood pouring out of her, but what wouldn’t leave her was the image of his changing features. She shivered again, gooseflesh rising on her arms. “Are you cold?” he asked, his brows knitting together with concern.

  Abby shook her head and glanced down with a start. Her clothes were gone! She was wearing nothing but a black silk shirt that sure as hell didn’t belong to her! Her cheeks blazed red at the thought of this man seeing her naked. “Where are my clothes?” she questioned timidly - not really sure that she even wanted to know the answer. He cupped her chin in his hand and lifted her face to meet his gaze. There it was again, that damnable, heart-stopping grin and she gasped.

  “They were covered in,” he hesitated, as if the word were unpleasant, “blood. I fear that they couldn’t be saved.”

  “Did you…” Abby broke off, completely mortified at the thought of this perfect specimen of the male gender actually undressing and dressing her. Oh, Holy Hell, she inwardly groaned - feeling completely mortified. This man had seen her naked!