Love of A Dragon (Exalted Dragons Book 1)

by K. T. Stryker

  David looked like he was about to protest, but reluctantly got back into his car with the paper bag. Peter turned and sprinted towards the house, not stopping until his fists were banging against the front door. The wood started to splinter, but Peter didn’t care. Nothing would keep him from saving Ashe.

  “Landon, you bastard, open up!” he shouted through the wood.

  The door opened suddenly and Peter almost tumbled through, but the person standing there was not Landon but Penelope. She had a dark tinge of red along her lower lip and an evil glint in her eye. “So you came to the party after all.”

  Peter shoved his way past her. “Where’s Ashe?” he demanded.

  Vanessa came into the entryway, with Agatha behind her.

  “She’s upstairs with Landon,” Vanessa said. “He’s looking after her because this one couldn’t keep her hands to herself.” She shot a piercing glare at Penelope. “We’re not allowed up there anymore. It’s only the two of them.”

  Peter sensed a bit of jealousy in the way his sister spoke. He too felt a twinge of it in his gut. He knew Landon could be charming and tried not to imagine how Landon had lured Ashe here in the first place. It was torture, like a hot knife in his chest.

  But more importantly, the blood around Penelope’s mouth was no doubt Ashe’s, and Peter knew the taste of it would only make his sister hungrier. He pushed past his sisters, who hissed in protest as he mounted the stairs. He could see the light on in one of the rooms through the crack under the door. Peter wrenched the door open to find Landon leaning down over Ashe and holding a wad of gauze bandages to her slender neck. Scarlet blood was already flowering across their whiteness and Ashe’s face looked alarmingly pale. A window was open—to let the smell of blood out of the room— but it wasn’t doing much good. Landon looked as though he was drunk on Ashe’s scent and Peter wondered if he had taken a taste as well.

  “Good, you’re here,” Landon smiled. He placed a tender kiss on Ashe’s forehead before straightening up. Peter’s fists clenched at his sides. Ashe wavered but managed to remain upright in her chair. She had clearly lost too much blood already.

  “Get away from her,” Peter shouted. He crossed the room to get to Ashe, forcing Landon to back away from her. Landon made no protest, only smiling as if amused at Peter’s anger. Every second wasted was another that Ashe was in danger.

  “I’m not the one you should be angry at,” Landon said. “It was David’s fault for trying to weasel out of his obligation to our clan. And your sisters, I told you I’d take care of them. Maybe all this is really your fault. If David had never reconnected with his family, he wouldn’t have tried to cheat us of our blood. You’re the one who couldn’t keep things to yourself. You just had to get involved in the petty human drama around you. What does it matter if one more girl lives her life broken and unloved? She’ll be dead in what, fifty, sixty years? Human lives are so short they’re not worth trying to fix. You should know that by now.”

  Ashe was softly sobbing as she held the bandages to her neck. Peter wanted to put his arms around her, but feared the scent of her blood would drive him crazy. He was afraid to test which was stronger at the moment: his love or his hunger.

  Landon chuckled. “Though I have to admit I had my fun too. I toyed with her, got her to trust me, and it was all too easy to get her to my house once you two had your little argument. She tastes better than I imagined.”

  Before Landon could continue, Peter swung his fist. It landed square against Landon’s jaw with a satisfying crack. Landon reeled back, caught off-guard by Peter’s punch. Peter took the opportunity to shove him to the ground, following through with more fists to the face.

  Landon fought back, wrenching himself out from under Peter. The two grappled for the upper hand, smashing against furniture and walls as they fought. A table leg buckled and broke as Peter threw Landon against it. Peter matched Landon in strength, but Landon’s precognition gave him the advantage of speed.

  Peter swung at Landon and missed. Landon grabbed the broken-off table leg from the floor, brandishing it like a knife. Peter knew that if he made even one false step, he would die with that wood lodged through his heart. He tried to create some distance between himself and Landon, but it was the wrong move. The floor was strewn with the debris of their fight and Peter had to glance down to avoid tripping. Landon lunged at him and Peter knew it was the end. His only wish was that he could have saved Ashe from the horrors that were to come.

  Peter braced for the killing blow, but it never came. Landon stopped short, looking confused. He dropped the wooden table leg with a small gasp and looked down. Peter followed his gaze to see black blood oozing from a wound in his thigh. Ashe still had hold of the blunt end of the wooden shard, looking like she was about to pass out. She let go of the weapon as Landon stumbled backwards clutching his leg. Peter rushed over to catch her before she tumbled to the floor.

  “You bitch,” Landon spat. Landon pulled the wood from his leg with a grimace and stabbed at Peter, but this time Peter was ready. He knocked the wood from Landon’s hand with ease.

  “Ever since I moved here, you’ve been nothing but a nuisance,” Peter said in a low voice. “And now I finally have the chance to get rid of you.” His blood was boiling with fury and he would not hold back, not after what Landon had done to Ashe. Landon would pay for all of it.

  Peter took a step forward and Landon dashed for the open window. He heaved himself over the ledge before Peter could catch him. Peter heard a distant thud and rushed to the window to catch a glimpse of a dark shape disappearing out of view down the street. Peter wanted to track him down and finish him off, but Ashe’s weak moans reminded Peter of what was most important.

  He turned away from the window and knelt down to look at Ashe’s bite wound. He pulled back the gauze and immediately regretted it. The tang of blood filled the air and it was all Peter could do to keep the hunger at bay.

  “They said I had until midnight. They lied,” Ashe mumbled.

  Peter put his hand to her cheek. He could feel her warm tears under his fingers. “You don’t have to talk. You’ve lost a lot of blood, but you’ll be okay. Your dad’s here with the delivery. He’ll give it to the others and everything will be okay. We’ll let your family go. You owe us no debt.”

  “I’m sorry for everything I said and I’m sorry I was so angry at you. I didn’t understand any of it, of what being a vampire meant. You fought for me. You saved me.”

  “No, I’m the one who should be sorry,” Peter said. It was impossible to ignore the scent of Ashe’s blood. He swallowed hard and leaned down towards her neck, feeling an irresistible pull towards the still-fresh wound. He opened his mouth, then with incredible effort closed his lips and let them graze Ashe’s soft skin above the wound. He would not hurt her. He loved her.

  Ashe held him close as his mouth found hers. Through tears she kissed him with all of the passion they had both held back since the day on the roof. Peter found he had completely forgotten about his hunger. All he wanted was to hold Ashe in his arms knowing that she was his and he was hers. They wouldn’t have to say goodbye to each other, not today. Not ever. Relief flooded Peter as he let his desire for her free of its restraints.

  Peter finally broke the kiss, remembering his sisters were still downstairs and knowing that Ashe needed medical attention for the bite on her neck.

  “I have to call David,” he managed to say before forcing himself to stand. There was a smudge of Ashe’s blood on his finger as he dialed the phone and he hastily wiped it on his jeans. Though he knew he was stronger than temptation, he didn’t like being reminded of just how close he had come.

  Peter walked towards the door as the phone rang. He needed to know what had become of Penelope, Agatha, and Vanessa.

  “Don’t leave me,” Ashe whimpered, using the chair to prop herself up to standing.

  “I won’t leave you,” Peter replied. “Not ever.”

  The woman who had bitten Ashe was lying
on the floor of the kitchen as if drunk, empty pint bags of blood littering the floor around her. The other two women were sitting sullenly in the living room, having been thoroughly yelled at by Peter. They each nursed tall wine glasses full of blood, looking like they were sick of its taste. Ashe had no doubt it was the guilt that had put them off their dinner. Ashe had mixed feelings about knowing they were Peter’s sisters and was not feeling especially generous about giving them the benefit of the doubt.

  Ashe sucked in a breath as the needle pierced her vein. Her father was administering blood from one of the last remaining bags to replace what had been lost earlier. Peter sat by her side squeezing her hand, his brows furrowed under his dark bangs. She pushed them out of the way for him with a gentle hand.

  “I didn’t understand before, but now I do,” Ashe said. “It’s not your fault that you need to drink blood, just like it’s not my fault I need to eat food or breathe air.”

  “You don’t have to—” Peter started.

  Ashe waved away his protest. “No, just listen. You need my dad to get blood for you, right? I’ve seen what happens when your kind goes hungry and I don’t want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt.”

  David withdrew the needle from Ashe’s arm and put a bandage in its place. “I want to make an honest living for you and your mother. I’m done with this life.”

  “No, she’s right,” Peter agreed. “We can’t ignore what we are and hope it goes away. We need people like you to make sure we don’t hurt those around us. This stolen blood is the only insurance against us losing control like we did tonight.”

  “It’s okay, Dad. As long as you promise the blood is clean. No harming humans to get it,” Ashe said. She was already feeling stronger from the transfusion and the color was returning to her cheeks.

  David sighed and scratched his chin. He nodded. “Fine, but your mom’s not going to like us moving around all the time. In this line of work, we can’t afford to stay in one place for too long. I know you’re graduating this spring, but if I have to move to a new city before that will you be okay here on your own?”

  If her father had to move, that meant Peter would go with him too. Ashe didn’t like the idea of being apart from Peter, but then she remembered that she was mere weeks from getting kicked out of the school anyway. She was still short on tuition.

  “Of course, if that happens we’ll get you a place on campus,” her father continued. “Your mother already told me about the financial situation and I’ve got it taken care of with the dean’s office. I’ve been running a pretty lucrative business these past few years, believe it or not.”

  Peter snorted at this and Ashe couldn’t help but smile. She wondered just how much Peter’s clan was paying her father for the blood. Judging by his old grey coat and rumpled hat David didn’t seem to be wealthy, but looks could be deceiving.

  “I’d better check on the others,” David said.

  He packed up the blood transfusion kit and gave Ashe a small hug. “Your mom says she’s sorry too,” he muttered into her ear as his arm wrapped gently around her.

  Ashe felt a swell of warmth in her heart, the first steps towards healing that ache that had been in there for so long.

  As David left, there was a lightness to his step that hadn’t been there before. Things were finally starting to look up, for the both of them.

  Peter put his arm around Ashe. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere without you,” he said. “I’ve seen how much trouble you can get into when I leave you on your own.”

  Ashe wiggled out from under his arm and gave a look of mock-anger. “You’re already making jokes about this? I’ve still got bite marks in my neck.”

  “Well, at least you’re going to ace that final paper for Professor Sharp’s class. Vampires, right?”

  Ashe made a face. Sometimes Peter’s confident attitude could be infuriating.

  “But seriously,” Peter said, taking both of Ashe’s hands in his. “I’m never going to leave your side and I’m never going to let what happened tonight repeat itself. I know your lifespan and mine are on completely different scales, but I promise to protect you as long as you live. I love you Ashe and I want to be with you.”

  Ashe fell into his embrace, not caring about the lack of heartbeat or the coldness of his arms around her. She felt loved, and protected, and that feeling warmed her more than anything physical could. There was still so much she didn’t know about Peter and his kind, but her heart was open and she was ready to learn. For the first time in perhaps ever, Ashe found herself looking forward to what the future held.

  The End of Book 1

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  The Vampire’s Embrace

  The Touch of Night:

  Book 2

  Lucy Lyons

  © 2017

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  © Copyright 2017 by Persia Publishing - All rights reserved.

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  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 1

  It was just after dawn on a day that Ashe had thought would never come. The sun had finished its struggle over the horizon and was now battling the thick blanket of clouds that settled in over the city every November and stayed until March. The house was filled with a pale light as anemic as Ashe felt. She knew she would have to ask her father for more blood, but wanted to put it off as long as possible. After coming home, she had changed into new clothes and washed the blood from her skin, but she still felt the traces of the night before permeating her body and making her feel unclean. Only Peter’s presence by her side reassured her that she would survive this as she had survived everything else.

  Ashe’s mother was downstairs crying. Her father was talking in soothing tones that drifted up to the second floor, landing where Ashe sat with her head in her hands and Peter’s arm around her. Her mother had been crying since Ashe, David, and Peter had come to the house bloodied and exhausted from their en
counter with Landon’s clan. Ashe knew she would have to go downstairs and talk with her mother eventually, but she was waiting for her father to calm her down enough for the words to get through. It was going to take a lot of explaining to justify Ashe’s decision to let David continue working for the vampires. She decided to leave the talk about her and Peter’s relationship for another day.

  Peter cradled Ashe’s head to his chest and breathed in deeply, which helped to make up for his lack of a heartbeat. Ashe melted into him and slipped her arm around his back.

  “Maybe we should go back down there,” Peter whispered into her hair as the voices quieted downstairs.

  Ashe held him tighter. “Can’t we rest a little first?”

  “You know we can’t. But I promise you can sleep as long as you want when we’re done. I won’t even wake you to finish your homework for Sharp’s class on Monday.”

  School was the last thing on Ashe’s mind right now. It was almost silly that her biggest worry until all this happened had been failing to graduate.

  Peter helped her up from the step where they were sitting and walked with her downstairs. Her mother was at the kitchen table with a hot cup of tea cradled in her hands and her father was in the chair opposite, regarding his wife with concern. Ashe’s mother’s eyes were puffy from all the crying. Ashe wanted to give her a hug but felt like her mom would flinch away if she didn’t explain a few things first.

  “I told her what I could,” David said as he noticed Ashe standing there, wondering where to start. “She knows about Landon.”

  Stevie Linfield was not known for being a strong woman, though she had weathered being a single mother to Ashe far better than her daughter ever gave her credit for. One look at the bite wound on Ashe’s neck and she had nearly fainted from shock. Ashe knew her mother’s biggest worry would be infection; that Ashe was now a vampire and would no longer be able to live out a normal life. As if any of this was normal to begin with.