by Celia Jade
Lydia couldn’t believe that Adrian Court would be her trainer. She wanted nothing to do with this vampire that never took a permanent mate yet made her blood pulse with wicked desire.
Lydia Dumais was furious. How could her mentor arrange to have her train with Adrian Court? A sexy vampire with a ruthless streak and a reputation of a womanizer. A vampire whose charcoal eyes had branded her with blatant desire at a gala not long ago. Dislike and lust for him invaded her at once. She’d suffered wicked fantasies about him for days afterward. She had no intention of getting involved with a vampire, let alone Adrian. He was trouble and his dark, primal essence tempted something primitive in her, turned her trepidation into dangerous curiosity.
With a jolt of panic, she realized that she didn’t trust herself around him. But for goodness’ sake, she could withstand his dark charm for a couple of hours, couldn’t she? All she had to do was focus on her task and get through the training as fast as possible.
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Adrian
Copyright © 2013 Celia Jade
ISBN: 978-1-77111-480-6
Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books
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Adrian
By
Celia Jade
Chapter One
Lydia Dumais parked her car outside the training facility operated by the Vampire Federal Investigation Unit, located in Deer Park, Long Island, on the northern end of a wooded conservation area. She closed the door and inhaled clean oxygen and the predominant smell of pine. It was a gorgeous day, first week of April. She took in her surroundings, noting that trees and bushes had been cleared to an extent to accommodate the massive warehouse-type building.
She walked toward it with clear instructions from her mentor. There would be a security box by the entrance on the right side of the building. She punched in the five-digit code, turning the red light on the panel green. Lydia pushed open the metal door and stepped inside. It closed with a soft click. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light, provided only by a short row of windows near the ceiling. The place looked like a plain movie studio set with various props.
Her body stirred with sharp awareness. A vampire was present. Like humans, vampires each had a distinct smell, but the main note was always iron because of the blood they consumed. The average person couldn’t detect this. It was this unusual ability and her friend’s death that had compelled her toward her career choice. She’d earned a black belt while attending the vampire hunter program. It was her second field training—sort of a pre-test actually—aimed to prepare her for the final exam.
“Lydia. Welcome,” her mentor’s voice rang out across the wide area as he and another man appeared in the main corridor and walked toward her.
Daniel’s shock of cropped, white hair almost glowed in the dimness. He was in his late-thirties, lean and agile as a cobra—just as lethal, if necessary. He was a good man. An excellent teacher and mentor.
Involuntarily, her eyes narrowed when they shifted to the vampire beside him. A wave of apprehension pushed through her body. Vampires, even the good ones, made just about everyone nervous. They were physically powerful, immortal beings. This one was tall, a formidable package of hard, compact muscles pushing against a t-shirt and dark cargo pants. The closer he got, the more she sensed his essence. Remarkably strong. Dangerous. Primal. A warm knot formed low in her belly as her eyes met his. The charcoal depths flickered with dark amusement. His full, sensual mouth evoked images of wicked, lustful sex and a hint of cruelty.
Then she recognized him and her body froze, her breathing ceasing for a moment. Despite this, the tension in her body liquefied and pooled in her nipples, her stomach, and her pussy.
Shit. Lydia tore her eyes from the vampire and gave Daniel a hard gaze. How could he do this to me? Of all the trainers, he’d chosen Adrian Court. A steadfast bachelor with a ruthless streak and a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Still, women, both vampire and human flocked to him. He had irresistible looks. Thick, midnight hair. Eyes that smoldered with dark intensity. A square jaw offset by a mouth most women would envy.
They’d met only once, at a charity gala hosted by the chief of the Vampire Human Protection Unit. Even before the introduction by one of her teachers, she’d known of him—every hunter and vampire in New York City knew who he was. An elite agent and trainer in the unit. Adrian Court had tasted her with his eyes, igniting her skin that instant and the rest of the evening. She’d disliked him and lusted after him at once. Discreetly, she’d put distance between them. Though many young, pretty women flirted with him, he’d watched her over the rim of his glass like a predator, branding her from across the room.
He was damn tempting, but she wouldn’t become one of his trophies. Plus, she wasn’t into vampires. A regular guy was what she needed. When Adrian had left with a curvy redhead clinging to his arm that night, jealousy ripped through her. Her reaction angered her. It was no business of hers who or how many women he slept with. Regardless, she’d suffered steamy fantasies about him the following three nights and now disliked him even more. Making sense of her contradicting feelings left her with two honest conclusions. One—she didn’t like him because he was a womanizer. Two—she was sexually drawn to him not solely because of his looks, but because he frightened her. Not too much. She was a tough girl. But enough to tempt the dark part of her female essence.
Lydia didn’t want Adrian to train her. It’s not that she didn’t trust herself. She could withstand his wicked charm for a couple of hours, for goodness’ sake. He was just way too distracting. He was watching her, probably sizing her up, and she stole another glance at him. Long enough to catch the amused quirk of his mouth. Her pulse spiked. Damn him.
She cleared her throat. “Daniel, can I speak to you in private?”
Before Daniel answered, Adrian said, “I’ll get the sticks.” He went off in the direction of a large cabinet.
She turned to Daniel and spoke in a low voice. “Look, I can’t train with him and I’m a tad pissed you chose him.” She injected enough insinuation in her voice to get her meaning across.
A muscle flexed in her mentor’s jaw. “You don’t have a choice, Lydia.” He silenced her with a raised hand. “He’s one of the best trainers, regardless of any opinion you have of him.”
“My opinion isn’t unfounded,” she muttered.
His brown eyes remained resolute. “It has no place here. You’re a professional and so is he.”
It was a lost cause. Her lip trembled with suppressed annoyance.
Adrian returned and stood a few feet away, holding a tin can which contained several slim sticks with red tips. He gave it a little shake. “Shall we get started?”
“Yes. She’s one of my best students,” he told Adrian. To Lydia, he said, “Focus.” Wi
th a nod, he turned and exited the building.
Once the door closed, her awareness of the sexy vampire tripled. Have a nice fucking afternoon, Daniel. Avoiding Adrian’s gaze, she approached him.
“What are those?”
“Chop sticks, actually. There are five hidden spots with material taken from vampires. Use your skill to locate them and insert a stick in each spot.” He paused. “They’re not all in here.”
Lydia reached out and grasped the bunch of sticks, then took a quick step back.
His eyebrow arched and the corner of his mouth twitched again as he gave her an assessing onceover, not exactly sexual, yet it managed to leave a delicious burn on her skin.
“Why so nervous?”
It was a remark meant to goad.
She turned and walked ahead of him, taking in her surroundings. “I’m not nervous. I don’t like you.” She felt the pause in his stride, pleased to have surprised him.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” came the dry reply that suggested otherwise. “I don’t care why. My job is to prepare you for your exam.” His reaction was calm, yet there was an underlying edge present.
Lydia looked over her shoulder. “Your scent masks the scent of the hidden material, so you might want to keep some distance.” It wasn’t completely true. She just wanted him as far away as possible.
His low chuckle bounced off the walls. “I hadn’t planned on following you about. Let me know when you’re done, then we go outside.” His gaze dropped to her mouth, its heat a scorching kiss that sent an electric ripple through her body. She pressed her teeth into her lip and marched toward a row of glass bowls on a metal table.
She closed her eyes for a few seconds, drawing deep breaths and exhaling slowly. Forget him. Focus. Her lids lifted and she gazed down at the first bowl. Like the others, it was without a lid. It contained strips of fabric. Nothing here. She moved to the next bowl, sniffed the musty contents and picked up the pungent iron notes. Hardly a challenge. She stuck a stick into the bowl. The remaining four bowls required more skill. The general scent of the contents had been obscured, possibly by natural substances or chemicals. But Lydia’s skill went beyond her sense of smell. She’d been born with an inherent vampire antenna. She didn’t know why she’d been given this gift, a gift that had taken years for her to accept. She’d wanted nothing to do with the blood-sucking race. Then three years ago, her best friend went missing. Her body was found by a riverbank, her throat punctured by vampire fangs.
Something inside Lydia had snapped. She could no longer sit idly while the rogue monsters continued to take human lives. With vengeance, she’d joined the hunter program, but her private rage turned to pride and her natural skill was honed to professional control under Daniel’s tutelage. As far as vampires went, she simply felt their energy.
She moved past a few bowls and stopped in front of one. Cupping it with her hands, her pulse instantly jolted, anxious blood surging through her veins. With confidence, she identified one more bowl.
She continued and turned down a corridor lined by shelves laden with diverse objects. Cardboard and wooden boxes, books, ceramic pots, containers filled with debris, a box of condoms. This last one incited a chuckle. But no presence of vampire. She was positive. Lydia walked down a side corridor near the wall, hoping to locate any remaining spots and get this over with. Adrian’s presence drummed through her veins like an alluring potion.
She absorbed the different smells in the air as she quickened her pace. Nothing around here. Except Adrian’s seductive scent, which reached her from a distance. Her mouth turned downward with displeasure. Lydia was about to turn into another corridor when she halted mid-stride and took a few steps back. Shit, she’d nearly missed it. She tilted her face upward and her nose flared as it caught the scent. To her right was a solid wall. Where the heck was it coming from?
She stepped further away from the wall as her gaze swung up. Then she saw the second level about fifteen feet above. In the dim light, it wasn’t apparent. There had to be a way up there. Her gaze assessed the woven rope that she’d noticed earlier. It hung from a solid beam not far from the level above. She hadn’t paid it much attention. Advancing, she gave it an experimental tug and heard the clank of metal. It was attached to something. Another firm tug and the twin feet of a ladder appeared at the edge of the second level.
“A-ha.” The rope functioned as a pulley.
Lydia slipped the sticks into the back pocket of her jeans and brought the ladder down. Swiftly, she climbed until she reached the hollow space. Her gaze fell on the three, stuffed linen bags on the floor. They were the only objects up here. The vampire smell was stronger now. It fired her senses with a distasteful sharpness. In little time, she located the source of the stench and jabbed the bag with the pointy end of the third stick, freeing several grains. Stinky bastard.
On her way down the ladder, Adrian’s voice froze her movement.
“Many hunters don’t get that one,” he drawled. “Good work.”
She turned her head to look down at him. His eyes lifted from her buttocks to meet hers. Blatant male interest flared in the charcoal depths. Heat rushed to her face as she became uncomfortably aware of her derriere in the tight jeans. Grinding her teeth together, she hurried down the rest of the ladder.
“Are we done here?” she quipped.
Amusement danced about his mouth. “The last two are out there.” He tilted his head toward a back door.
Lydia followed him outside, forcing her gaze past the solid expanse of his shoulders. The late afternoon sun was bright, its glow illuminating a canopy of healthy spring pitch pine and berry bushes just beyond a short clearing. Only vampires that were at least two hundred years old could withstand the sun. She filled her lungs with air, however there was no trace of vampire other than Adrian.
Raising an eyebrow, she turned her gaze to him. “I’m not picking up anything.”
He inclined his dark head. “Not yet. As you know, human hunters can detect a vampire within roughly eighty feet. A vampire on the run will hide anywhere and wooded areas are a common place.”
“The natural scent of flora masks theirs to an extent, makes them harder to track,” she said.
They’d been walking side by side toward a worn path that cut through the trees. Awareness of him hummed through her, welcome and disturbing at the same time.
“Correct, and that’s where your skill comes in. You’re now knowledgeable of the typical smells of the wilderness. Evergreens, bushes, lakes, rivers, animals…” He gave a brief pause.
Lydia found herself listening intently, despite her dislike of the man. Found her gaze fixed too easily on the rugged lines of his face. The shadow of stubble on his hard jaw made her fingers itch to touch it. With a mental scolding, Lydia dragged her gaze from his profile.
“Anything that alters these natural smells is the primary indication that something unnatural is lurking in the region.”
She nodded. Daniel had already taught her this fundamental fact.
“It’s this unnatural scent that you’ll follow. The closer you get to the vampire, the more you’ll pick up his or her scent.”
They were on the trail now. Lydia ran her gaze across the woods. Everything was still. Only soft birdsong rang out. Eager to get away from him, she said, “I know all this. I’d like to find the remaining places.”
He made a noise in his throat, like gravel against velvet.
“What if a vampire doesn’t brush against any vegetation in the woods? Uses only a trail. How would you track him?” he challenged.
Now this was something Daniel hadn’t brought up. She lifted her shoulders. “I guess I’d hope to sense him…maybe from the change in the air.”
Adrian gave a negative headshake. “It would be too faint if he were far.” He pointed downward. “Touch the ground.”
With her curiosity piqued, she placed her palm on the worn, rough surface and felt nothing. She gave him a questioning look.
“Noth
ing, right?” he asked.
“Right.”
“Okay.” He walked about ten feet on the trail and turned around to face her. “Now touch it.”
This time, when her hand touched the ground, the familiar jolt of anxiety went through her. She met his eyes. “Wow.”
He grinned, showing white teeth. “That would really come in handy at a fork in a road or a trail.”
“Got it, thanks.”
He lifted his watch. “You have ninety seconds to find the next hidden place.”
Caught off guard, she was immobile for a moment, then she strode past him and absorbed the scents of the area, let her internal radar fan out. She kept a brisk pace, monitoring the time as she searched for the unnatural scent. She picked it up about twenty yards into the woods, a variation from the sharp freshness of pine, about two notes lower. It didn’t belong and it came from the left side of the trail. Lydia walked faster, her gaze skirting over bushes and trees. She was close. The smell of iron now clashed with everything else.
She honed in on a berry bush and came to an abrupt halt. Her gaze fell on the blood-drenched strip of cloth stuffed between the dense branches. With a triumphant smile, she inserted a stick next to it.
“You’re very talented, Lydia.”
Her heart gave a nervous skip as her gaze shot to his. He was walking toward her, not from behind, but from the trail ahead. He stopped just a foot from her, sending her blood pulsing through her like an insistent throb. His energy was so potent, so beguiling, her muscles went soft. God help me. And the devil knew his effect on her…on every normal woman.
“The unit is lucky to have you aboard.”
Deeper, more velvety voice.
He’s a womanizer. You don’t like him. Her mouth felt dry and she licked her lips.
The action drew his attention to her mouth. The charcoal eyes flickered with stark desire and her breath caught. She swallowed the tightness in her throat as he raised his hand near her face. A dark current crackled around them.
