She shuddered, remembering the black goo that she had seen coming out of the renegade Jeremy had killed. She would not have that in her system.
So you remember it now, huh?
Adam’s question startled her. I do.
She remembered everything, as if the memory had never been taken away. How that renegade had rammed into her, how she had struggled to get up, and how Jeremy had been there, taking care of it. She remembered her disgust and horror, and how he had tried to calm her afterwards, chatting about little things while he drove her home. How he had insisted he see her there safely.
She got tears in her eyes. He’s been there for me from the beginning. And this was how she had repaid him.
She barely noticed how the men around the table had begun to chant. Only when the pressure of evil magic made it hard for her to breathe did she snap out of her self-pity. Her captor had joined the rest, dressed in the hooded robe too.
I guess that’s one way of protecting his expensive suit, Adam noted dryly, but Corynn was too scared to be amused anymore.
Can’t you do anything to counter their magic?
I’m trying, but I’m exactly as new at this as you are. You’ll have to distract them.
How?
I don’t bloody care. Sing.
Have you heard me sing? She couldn’t carry a tune if it killed her. Which it very well might do here.
Every day in the shower. It should do the trick.
Her lungs weren’t getting enough air and her throat was burning. She ignored them and her frantically beating heart and inhaled. Then she belted out the chorus of My Heart Will Go On as loudly as she could. It was the first song that popped to her mind, but she felt it was appropriate.
The men all startled and stepped back, briefly pausing their chanting. With their concentration went the magic that had held her immobile on the table. Adam seized the opportunity, and she didn’t resist when he took over.
Her fangs shot down, longer than when she fed. Her nails elongated to claws, her face distorted and her muscles gained extra strength. All this she observed from the back seat as Adam roared, shot up to crouch on the table, lunged at the nearest renegade and tore out his throat.
The door to the room burst open. Her rescuers arrived.
The number of warriors was overkill to take care of five – no, four – renegades; Cora had already killed one of them. Not even their black magic protected them from Jeremy’s wrath. He had killed two before the rest of their team had filed into the room and took care of the rest.
They weren’t off clear yet, however. Cora’s Rider was in charge. It was understandable and wise under the circumstances, but now she had to bring it to heel. He tried to reach her mind, but the second nature just snarled at him, too far gone in its bloodlust to listen to him.
“Come on, sweetheart. You can do it.” But he held his breath. She didn’t trust him to tell the truth about the sun. Why would she listen to him now?
He felt Alexander’s power rise, preparing to subdue her. He halted him without thinking. “No. If she’s strong enough to fight five renegades on her own, she’s strong enough to win her Rider.” He was amazed when his leader actually obeyed.
“Adam,” she said in a strained voice, fighting for dominance. “His name is Adam.”
Jeremy watched in worry and admiration how her fangs and claws retreated, and her face returned to its usual beauty. She kept her eyes closed for a moment. Then she rushed to a sink at the corner and promptly threw up. He followed her, and unable to do anything else to help her, gathered her hair and held it as she alternately retched and rinsed her mouth for a long time.
“Jesus, but that creature tasted awful,” she finally said, straightening up.
Jeremy started laughing. “You are an amazing woman, you know that.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her for all he was worth. She hugged him back, which was even better.
“I knew you’d come to rescue me.”
“You didn’t need me to rescue you. You had everything under control.”
She pulled back to smile at him. “I did, didn’t I?”
The sun rose and she collapsed in his arms.
Chapter Twenty-two
Waking up in Jeremy’s bed with no recollection of how she had got there was so commonplace that Corynn didn’t even try to remember where she had been when she fell asleep. She stretched languidly, working out the kinks in her muscles. She needed to go jogging today.
She took a moment to listen to her inner occupant, but Adam was quiet – so quiet she began to fear that he was gone. When had they become friends?
When I saved your sorry arse.
There you are.
I need to rest. Piss off.
Laughing quietly, she turned to Jeremy, but he wasn’t there. She shot to sit up, instantly worried.
He entered the room just then, saving her the anxious search. He was carrying a tray full of food. Breakfast, by the smell of it. He smiled brightly when he saw she was already up, and the way he ran his eyes over her naked body assuaged the worst of her fears.
“I brought you a little something to eat,” he said unnecessarily, placing the tray on the nightstand.
She eyed it, amazed. “A little something? There’s food enough for an army.”
He gave her a bashful look that warmed her heart. “You need extra energy after last night. You didn’t even have a chance to feed.”
Memory of the previous night rushed back. Strength left her limbs and she leaned against the headboard, unable to support her body. Jeremy sat next to her and took her hands.
“You’re all right. Nothing bad happened.”
She had tears in her eyes. “They almost made me one of them. Your enemy.”
He lifted her hands to his lips. “You could never be my enemy.”
She squeezed his hands. “You don’t understand. There was a moment where I felt becoming one of them would be worth the price.”
“I know. You miss the sun and thought you’d get it back.”
“You knew about it?”
He smiled. “I may have charmed a human or two to find out everything that happened.” He brushed her cheek and she leaned into his hand. “I wish I could give you the sun, but I can’t. No one can. Only time will bring it back.”
“I don’t care. It would be meaningless if I lost you to gain it.”
His smile was brighter than any sun could be. “I love you. You know that.”
“That’s the hunger talking. You said that’s what made you love me.”
“No. Hunger only serves to protect the woman when a vampire male falls in love. You made me love you. Your incredible strength and stubbornness.”
“I was kind of hoping that hunger wouldn’t allow you to leave me after what happened last night.”
He was taken aback. “I could never leave you. What I should do is apologise to you. If you hadn’t believed I only lie to you, you wouldn’t have followed Lisa.”
“I don’t think you only lie to me. In fact, I know you only have my best interest in your heart. Even before the hunger.”
“You do?”
“I got my memory back. I know what happened when we met.”
He looked worried. “And it doesn’t disgust you?”
“After what I did last night, I can’t exactly judge, can I?”
That made him laugh. “Man, you were brilliant. Here I thought I was coming to rescue you and you’d already rescued yourself.” She smiled too, pleased by his praise.
“So how did you find me?”
“We learned that Lisa had met the renegade at the club and started from there.” He got suddenly excited. “We found an entire network of tunnels that renegades have been using. Our men are going through them even now to map them and shield them with vampire magic.”
“Will it hold them?”
“For now. We have to redo the magic regularly.”
“So not that much bad that there wouldn’t be something good t
oo?”
“Exactly.” He pulled her into a hug and she let him comfort her.
“What about Lisa?” His hold tightened to be almost painful and she knew. “He killed her, didn’t he?”
“Yes. We found her body in the building you were held in.”
She tried to feel sad for her, but she was too numb. “Poor Lisa.”
He ran his thumb up and down her neck, the motion soothing. Little by little, she began to relax, the horrors of the previous night retreating to the background. She couldn’t be frightened when she was held by her strong vampire warrior who would do anything to protect her.
She pressed her nose against his throat, just to ground herself with his scent. He smelled of soap and shaving cream, the masculine scents familiar and good. And beneath them, the wonderful elixir that was his blood. Her mouth began to water at the mere thought of accessing it. Sensing it, he pressed her head closer to his throat.
“Drink.”
She didn’t hesitate. As the hot liquid filled her mouth, energising her, she grew aroused too. Her nipples that pressed against his chest began to bud, and warmth filled her to her core. She moaned and he answered instantly. He pulled her mouth off his throat to be able to remove his clothes. Then, with one swift tuck, he pulled her to lie under him. She spread her legs for him and he entered her without preamble, taking her deep. She was so aroused from feeding that her spine arched instantly and she came with blinding pleasure. He didn’t take long to finish either.
Afterwards, they lay side by side, and he fed her food from the tray he had put on her lap. The afterglow sustained her still, but a worry began to creep in.
“Do you think it could have worked?” she finally had to ask. “Could they have made a renegade of me?”
“We have no way of knowing. It didn’t work with the women with promise. But we still don’t know how they make the male renegades. Are they human men with promise, or new vampires?”
She thought about it, trying to remember what that man had told her. “It could be they’re vampires. That man said something about getting rid of the Rider in the process. How would he have known about it if he hadn’t been one himself?”
“That’s brilliant information. You’ll need to brief Gabe about everything he told you.” She nodded. “Talking about Riders … Adam?”
She laughed. “He chose the name himself.”
He smiled too. “I take it you’ve reached some kind of truce?”
“I think we have. Though I find it odd that he would choose to be a man.”
“That’s not so rare. You’re a strong woman and your Rider reflects that.”
“He didn’t have to be a man. Women can be strong too.”
He smiled, slowly, seductively. “Oh, they most certainly can.” He removed the tray. Then he leaned towards her, claiming her mouth. “I definitely have one of my own.”
She let all worries go. He had gone to great lengths to find her. He wouldn’t leave her anytime soon, with or without the hunger.
“Woman, you’re thinking too much.” Laughing, she kissed him. A moment later there was no room in her thoughts for anything but Jeremy, her warrior for eternity.
About the Author
Susanna Shore is a pen name. Susanna writes urban fantasy and paranormal romances because she finds it intriguing and satisfying to create new worlds. She also writes contemporary romances as Hannah Kane. When she is not writing, she is reading or – should her husband manage to drag her outdoors – taking long walks.
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Also in the Two-Natured London Series
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Jasper Grayson isn't very accustomed to vampire women, let alone a woman as unique as Philippa who is used to giving orders and being obeyed. His Hunger compells him to protect her, but how is he to protect someone who refuses to listen to very reasonable commands to stay safe? And how is he to gain her trust when he is keeping a secret from her?
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A Wolf of Her Own. Two-Natured London 3.
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“If you didn't lean so close you wouldn't have to smell it.”
“If you didn't drive like a maniac, I wouldn't have to lean so close.”
When wolves kill Gemma’s sheep, she knows exactly who to blame: wolf-shifters of the Greenwood clan whose estate borders hers. But the first wolf she runs into denies their involvement. And he has the audacity to call her a liar. If she didn’t have to control her vampire nature, she would show him.
Kieran’s brother had been shot as a sheep killer so when an enraged vampire accuses his clan of killing her sheep, he gets furious. Determined to prove her wrong, he sets out to find the killers. He has his clan to protect. But she won’t let him do it alone.
The death of Kieran’s brother a ghost between them, their cooperation isn’t easy. As the killings continue, this time angering humans too, they have to find a way to see past their hurt to protect the clan. But it may well be that the biggest monster is already among them. Gemma’s control of her second nature is precarious. What happens when the monster gets free?
www.crimsonhousebooks.com
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine<
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Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
About the Author
Also in the Two-Natured London Series
Her Warrior for Eternity Page 16
