Toxic (Venom Series) Book Three

by Kristen Middleton

  Duncan frowned. “Nathan, she’s with them. Don’t fall for this shit.”

  Nathan ignored him, staring at her as if she was a buffet of food and he was dying of starvation. “So, Celeste, what are you doing with these jackasses?”

  “I rode over here with my dad,” she answered. “I’m friends with Ethan and wanted to find out what was happening.” She looked at Duncan and smiled. “You must be Duncan?”

  Duncan sighed. “Yeah.”

  “I’ve heard all about you,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Nikki’s quite fond of you.”

  He looked at me and I smiled.

  Celeste yawned. “Guys, I’m getting really tired and I think everyone should go home now, it’s very late. Isn’t that right, Duncan?”

  Duncan’s eyes dilated as their eyes met. “Yes, it’s getting late. We should all go home.”

  “Good thinking,” she said with an amused expression. She turned to Caleb who looked satisfied at the change of events. “Daddy, I’m starving. Can we stop somewhere for a late snack on the way home?”

  From the look in her eyes, I knew her snack wasn’t the type I’d enjoy. I quickly grabbed Duncan’s and Nathan’s hands. “We have to leave. Now.”

  “Goodbye, Nikki,” called Ethan. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you very soon.”

  Duncan somehow snapped out of his trance. He stared at Ethan with hate. “Stay the fuck away from her!”

  “Only if she wants me to,” he replied, his eyes still focused on me.

  That had nothing to do with what I wanted from him. In fact, I knew that if we didn’t get out of the house soon, I’d never be able to leave. “Let’s go,” I said, pulling them through the door.

  When we got into Nathan’s Mustang, his mind seemed to clear from whatever spell Celeste had put him under. “What in the hell just happened?”

  “I don’t know,” said Duncan, who was sitting in the backseat, tapping his fingers nervously on the door. “What I do know is that I should have had Ethan arrested for trying to kill me earlier.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay, Nikki?” asked my brother. “You weren’t bitten or anything, were you?”

  I shook my head.

  “So, is Ethan a vampire or what?” asked Duncan. “He certainly has some kind of super strength. He almost killed me on the beach. Then he took off with my girl. I feel like such a lame excuse for a boyfriend. ”

  I turned around to look at him. “There’s no way you could have done anything more. And look, I’m here, now, and I’m totally fine.”

  He sighed. “It’s my fault, you know. You warned me about walking on the beach. I’m just glad you’re okay. I was so worried that he might have killed you or something.”

  “No, he wouldn’t kill me.”

  “How can you be so sure? You can’t trust that maniac. Look what happened to Abigail.”

  “We don’t know if he did that,” I said, not wanting to believe it. I couldn’t imagine Ethan as a murderer. Not when he made me feel so safe and alive.

  “Did you actually ask him?” asked Nathan.

  “Um, no. Are you kidding?”

  He frowned. “What about those other girls. Did you ask him about those?”

  “No.”

  The truth was, I was terrified of his answer.

  “So, what were you doing all this time?” asked Duncan.

  I lied. “Just talked about other things.” I certainly couldn’t tell him the truth. It did neither of us any good, and until I figured out what had actually happened and whether or not I’d had any control, I’d keep it to myself. Besides, hurting Duncan was the last thing I wanted to do. “To tell you the truth, I talked to Celeste more than anyone.”

  “She is so freaken hot,” said Nathan, grinning. “I’m going to have to get her number from Caleb.”

  “No, Nathan. Just stay away from her,” I said.

  “Why?” asked Nathan. “Because you don’t like Caleb?”

  I sighed. “No, because she’s a vampire. So is he, by the way.”

  Nathan slammed on the brakes. “What?”

  Before I could continue, something landed on the top of Nathan’s car with a loud thud.

  “Shit!” hollered Duncan as Ethan jumped to the ground. “He’s come back for Nikki.”

  The doors were locked but it didn’t stop him. He ripped mine open and tossed it into the ditch.

  “Shit, no… he didn’t just do that to my Mustang!” hollered Nathan, getting out of the car.

  “Hi,” smiled Ethan, as he bent down on one knee. He held out his hand to me. “I just couldn’t stay away. Do you have a few minutes to talk in private?”

  “No,” I said, backing away. “I can’t go anywhere with you.”

  He actually looked hurt. He stood up. “Why?”

  “Leave her alone, you bastard!” snarled Duncan, getting out of the car. He walked around and stood next to Nathan, his fists clenched, ready to fight.

  “I think we can take him together, bro,” said Nathan, taking a step towards Ethan.

  Ethan smiled with a hint of fang. “I won’t hurt you because Nikki wants it that way. But if either of you touch me, your future holds no promises.”

  “Okay, fine, what do you want with me?” I asked, getting out of the car. I didn’t want anyone hurt but from the look on everyone’s faces, something was about to go down. Unfortunately, there was no doubt in my mind that it would be Duncan and Nathan.

  Ethan sighed and ran a hand through his black hair, which was still messy from rolling around in bed with me. “I’m leaving. Caleb has banished me and I’m going to New York.”

  “Good,” replied Duncan. “Then you’d better move quickly, daylight’s coming.”

  He smiled coldly. “Daylight doesn’t affect me. It’s just a little… uncomfortable.”

  “My sister isn’t going anywhere with you,” said Nathan. “And guess what? You’re going to pay for my door before you leave.”

  Ethan took out his wallet and threw several hundred dollar bills at his feet. “There you go, bro. Get it fixed.”

  “Asshole,” mumbled Nathan, picking up the bills.

  Ethan turned back to me. “Can we just have a little time alone, Nikki? There are some things I need to tell you.”

  Duncan moved in front of me. “You stay the fuck away from her.”

  “This doesn’t concern you,” replied Ethan, glaring at Duncan. “Move aside.”

  “You’re going to have to make me,” he growled.

  I groaned and stepped around him. “Fine, I’ll talk to you, Ethan.” If he actually was leaving, I wanted to find out what he had to say.

  “Bullshit,” said Nathan. “No way is that going to happen.”

  I turned to my brother and grabbed his arm, pulling him away. “Nathan,” I whispered. “Just, let me talk to him. He hasn’t hurt me. Not ever. Give us a few minutes alone, within eyesight of you two. Maybe he’ll give us information on those murders. I seriously don’t think he did it but maybe he knows who did.”

  “No! He might sweep you away like he did last time,” said Nathan. “Besides, what do you have to say to this… monster?”

  I stared into his eyes. “Nathan, nothing is going to happen, okay? Just, trust me. We won’t go far, and if I need your help, I’ll call you guys. Please?”

  “What’s going on?” asked Duncan, moving closer to us.

  He rubbed his forehead. “She really wants to talk to Ethan.”

  Duncan’s eyes widened in alarm. “Why?”

  “To see if he knows anything about those murders. Trust me, he won’t hurt me.”

  “It’s him I don’t trust,” grunted Duncan.

  “I could have taken her already,” volunteered Ethan loudly. Obviously, his ears were picking up on our conversation. “But I haven’t and won’t, if that’s her decision.”

  “What about the mind control thing? He might talk you into it,” said Nathan.

  I turned towards Ethan. “You won’t use that
. Right, Ethan?” I asked, raising my voice, although I didn’t know what the point was.

  “Of course not.”

  “I still don’t like it,” said Duncan, advancing towards Ethan. “She’s my girl, asshole. Why can’t you leave her alone?”

  Ethan ignored him. He held his hand out to me as I chased after Duncan, to stop him. “Nikki? Can we just have a few moments alone? Seriously, I don’t have much time.”

  “Yes,” I replied, ignoring his hand. I knew my brother and Duncan were still angry, but I wanted to hear what Ethan had to say.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her,” said Ethan right before he grabbed my hand and flew away.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Ethan!” I shouted as soon as we landed. I stepped away and pointed at him angrily. “What the hell? You weren’t supposed to actually fly off with me like that!”

  “I wanted to be alone with you. It might be our last time,” he pouted.

  I sighed. “That wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal.”

  “Sorry.”

  “So, what is this about?”

  He smiled. “I wanted you to come with me. To New York.”

  My eyes widened. “I’m still in school and you’re a… vampire. I can’t just go away with you.”

  He got down on his knees and stared up at me. “Would it help if I confessed my undead love for you?”

  This time I laughed out loud. “You’re crazy.”

  He stood up and pulled me back into his arms. “Hey, the only thing I’m crazy about, is you.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. I mean, you keep calling me Miranda. I’m not this person and I’ll never be her.”

  He tipped my chin up and stared into my eyes. “I know that. Look, Nikki, I’m drawn to you, and as far as I’m concerned, nothing else matters.”

  “Drawn to me?”

  “Yes. There’s this magnetic pull between us, can’t you feel it? It’s like, we were meant to be together.”

  “I don’t know about a magnetic pull… I mean, I like you. I like you, a lot. But…”

  “But what? Just throw caution to the wind. I’ll take care of you, Nikki. I swear I’ll keep you safe.”

  “I just can’t do what you’re asking. My mother needs me so much right now, and I can’t leave my brother. You have to understand that? You and I… we don’t even really know each other.”

  “I won’t force you to come with me, but I want you to understand that I can’t come back to this place.”

  I stared at his face, which was so incredibly handsome. I knew I’d miss him. Whether it was real or not, I felt something for Ethan and wished things were different.

  He bent forward and pressed his lips to mine.

  “Your skin, it’s so cool,” I whispered, touching his cheek.

  “I haven’t had time to… feed. I had other things on my mind.”

  I touched his forehead. “When your skin is cooler, does it mean you’re weaker?”

  “Yes, In fact, I’ll lose most of my strength if I don’t eat soon. That’s another reason I wanted to move quickly.”

  “So, what exactly do you need to… survive?”

  He smiled bitterly. “Do you really want to know?”

  “Not really, but I need to know one thing; do you kill innocent people?”

  He shook his head vehemently. “No. I feed off of willing victims. I only take what I need and they live to see another day. Swear to God.”

  I stared at him. I wasn’t sure where he found ‘willing victims’ and wasn’t about to ask.

  I sighed. “Where are you going to find a willing victim now?”

  “I don’t know yet,” he smiled grimly. “I guess I hadn’t thought about that when I was chasing after you. I just really wanted to see you before I left.”

  “How about me?”

  His eyes widened. “What do you are you saying?”

  I pulled my hair away from my neck. “Use my blood. Do it before I change my mind, though.”

  He stared at my neck and licked his lips. “I… there is some danger involved. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”

  “Then you’d better do it quickly, before I chicken out. I hate needles enough as it is.”

  He lips curled up. “It’s not quite the same thing.”

  I swallowed. “Okay, does it hurt?”

  He caressed my neck with his fingertip and I shivered. “I can make it enjoyable for you,” he whispered, huskily.

  I looked up into his blue eyes and the naked desire reflected there made me breathless. “Okay,” I whispered. “Just do it, quickly.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. Take my blood.”

  His eyes dilated. With a low growl in the back of his throat, his lips crushed mine and his tongue made its way into my mouth, stroking and demanding a response.

  And respond I did.

  I slid my hands around his neck, drawing him closer and I could feel his arousal pressing against me. I shivered in delight as a desire to wrap my legs around his waist and hold on forever washed over me.

  Instead, he let me go.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asked. He was breathing so heavily, it reminded me of a lion panting for water.

  I touched his lip with the pad of my thumb. It was so sensual and yet, something lurked behind it that both frightened and excited me. “Yes, just do it already.”

  Ethan stared into my eyes and a burning desire to do whatever he wanted, slammed through every nerve in my body. This time I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down to meet my lips, feeling like I just couldn’t get enough of his mouth.

  He groaned against my lips and cupped my rear, rubbing his hips against mine, causing a warm ache between my legs. Just when I didn’t think I could take it anymore, he raised his head.

  “Please,” I begged, not even sure of what I was asking for anymore.

  He moved his mouth to my neck and paused. I could feel the coolness of his breath against my skin; I could also feel him trembling. “I love you,” he whispered and then, his teeth broke through.

  I shuddered in ecstasy as my blood flowed into him with a rush of pleasure so great, that I could have died and it wouldn’t have mattered. “Ethan,” I breathed, clutching him tighter so that I wouldn’t fall.

  A gunshot echoed through the night and suddenly he was backing away from me, a look of horror and pain etched on his face. Before I could ask him what had happened, he was gone.

  “Did you get him?!” shouted my mother’s voice in the darkness.

  “Yeah,” said Caleb. “He’s bleeding. He won’t get far.”

  My mother was crying hysterically as she rushed towards me. “Nikki! Oh, my God, you’re bleeding everywhere. We have to get her to the hospital!” she screamed at Caleb.

  Caleb nodded. “I’ve already called an ambulance.”

  “Mom,” I whispered, staring at her in confusion. How did she get there? Where was Ethan?

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah… I’m… fine.”

  She shook her head and sobbed harder. “No, you’re not! You’re bleeding and you’re so pale. Dear Lord, what was that monster doing to my little girl?!”

  I couldn’t answer her, because at that moment, I lost consciousness.

  ***

  End Of Book One

  Next book is now available in the Kindle Unlimited Program!

  Author Note

  Thank you for taking the time to read the first installment of Night Roamers, which is always free. I really hope that you enjoyed it! If not, well it’s one of the reasons that I make it free. You can quit and not move on to the next book in the series. Everyone’s tastes are different and I respect that.

  Being an Indie author comes with many challenges, and the biggest one is advertising, which can be very expensive without the help of a big publisher. Because of this, we rely greatly on reviews and word of mouth, so if you’ve enjoyed this or any of my
other books, I would be very grateful if you could leave a small one. It means so much to a writer and gives them incentive to write more.

  Thanks again for taking the time to read this book. Your support means everything

  Kristen

  Unanswered Questions?

  There are some things that happened in Blur that I want to address, as many people have questioned the ‘instant’ romances that took place in the story.

  Normal?

  Eh, probably not. But that’s the beauty of writing fiction. Anything is possible. For example, the vampires in my story have a hypnotic (I use the term “Charm” in later books) quality about them. In other words, Nikki’s mother fell for Caleb quickly, because he’s a vampire. The Night Roamers have a special kind of… pheromone, I guess you could say. The same was the case for Nikki. When she met Ethan in the diner, the charming began and that’s why she became so enamored with him, and so fast. As far as Duncan goes… well that started out as an innocent crush, which happens all the time to teenaged girls. Would she have still jumped all over him in the truck if she hadn’t just been around Ethan?

  More than likely – No.

  She liked Duncan, but the pheromone or charm really messed with her hormones, thus, she just couldn’t help herself.

  Anyway, I hope this cleared a couple of things up. Thanks again for reading and taking the chance on an Indie Author.

  Kristen Middleton

  Book Two Now Available! Click Here

  Other links and books by author –

  Amazon Author Page

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  Other books by author –

  Zombie Games Series

  Origins (Book One)

  Running Wild (Book Two)

  Dead Endz (Book Three)

  Road Kill (Book Four)

  End Zone (Book Five)

  Night Roamers Series

  Blur (Book One)