INTO THE FIRE
By Danielle James
For Greg, without his support I would never have gotten this book finished. Your encouragement and love keep me going and make me believe I can keep going. For Rachel, who is always there for me to bounce ideas off of (and to tell me when my ideas stink.) Without you guys I wouldn’t be where I am today, so thank you, and I love you. And, a very special thank you to Deb. You know who you are, thank you for finding me and helping me find this story.
He watched as she strode across the bookstore parking lot to her car. It was an old, beat up Chevy that had definitely seen better days. The wind picked up, wafting her scent across his nose. Mmm, berries and Easter Lilies mixed with just a hint of smoke. Camp fire smoke. That’s what she smelled like. It wasn’t her shampoo, he knew, because he had been in her pitiful excuse for an apartment when she wasn’t home. Gathering information about her…. Yeah that is exactly what he had been doing in her home… She wasn’t a smoker, so it wasn’t cigarettes. No, it was her scent. Hers alone. And he would know it anywhere; he could easily pick it out of a crowd. Lord knows he had smelled it enough to forever commit it to his memory. Hell, it was committed after the first time.
The wind tossed her hip-length raven hair away from her body and across her face. With a look of irritation, she shoved it behind a delicate ear as she fidgeted with her keys. The driver’s side lock always stuck. Why she hadn’t had it fixed was a mystery to him. Didn’t she know that there could be crazy people running around anywhere in the city at this time of night? Any man could overpower her while she struggled to get into her decrepit excuse for transportation. Just the thought of another man touching her was enough to make him growl deep in his chest.
She was his. He knew it.
But he couldn’t fault her. He had followed her enough since that first night to know that she worked hard for everything she had. As far as he knew, she had no family to speak of, and she rarely hung out with friends. She spent far too many hours working in this little book store, mostly double shifts, just to make ends meet.
Just thinking about the first time he saw her made his body unconsciously react. He had been out for a walk that night, minding his own business, when she strode out of Riley’s Bookstore. He was intrigued by her simple beauty, her round face with prominent cheekbones, the exceptional length of her raven hair, and the strange yellow of her eyes framed by thick black lashes. She was of average height and wonderfully curvy, not rail thin like so many women in this God-forsaken city thought they should be. She wasn’t beautiful by popular standards. No, not any Hollywood glamour and runway model characteristics. Nope. She was the kind of woman that he shouldn’t have even spared a second glance. But still, there was something simply stunning about her. Something that captivated his senses and wouldn’t let him leave her alone. Something about her inspired the panting, sweating, spying teenage reaction that seemed to be the only reaction when she was near.
His breathing had immediately picked up pace as did his heart. It had slammed against his ribcage so hard that he thought maybe it would break out completely. His palms had grown slick with sweat. His canines ached with the need to taste her. Just once. He hadn’t reacted to a woman like that in a very long time, if ever. He couldn’t remember a single incident where his instincts were so hard to control. He had always been confident and secure with himself around women.
But not her. He watched her get into her car, just as he had every night since, too damned chicken to say anything to her. Too afraid to approach her. Too scared to find out what his reaction to her might mean.
He followed her as she pulled out of the parking lot, running at inhuman speeds, staying just far enough behind so that she wouldn’t see him. Once in the parking lot of her home, he leaned against a tree and crossed his arms over his chest. God, he could spend all night just looking at her front door. He watched her park the car, get out, and grudgingly trudge up the stairs leading to her apartment. He could tell that she was bone weary and ready to drop, but he also knew that she wasn’t going to bed any time soon.
When she got to the balcony and in front of her door, she paused. She turned and surveyed the parking lot with a suspicious glint in her eyes. Had she seen him? Surely not. Human eyes were not strong enough to see him through the shadows and trees. But yet she seemed to look right at him. Her eyes appeared to hold his for a moment, and his chest filled with doubt. His pulse kicked up a notch and his heart pounded in his chest. Maybe she could see him. But just as surely as she saw him, she looked away, scanning the rest of the lot.
No, she hadn’t seen him. He shook his head. He really was a piece of work. What would his family say if they knew how he had been spending his nights? A real man would have just gone up to her and introduced himself. A real man would have taken her by now. At one time, he had thought himself to be a man. Now, he was not so sure. He had reduced himself to something no better than a common stalker.
She was his personal obsession.
Oh, he could tell himself all he wanted that he was just merely learning about her. That he only wanted to know more about her before he talked to her. Or perhaps he was protecting her from afar. But he knew it was a big fat lie. He was chicken, and that was that. Well, he couldn’t continue on like this. Sooner or later he was gonna have to face the music. But not this night, he thought as he watched the lights go out in her apartment.
ONE
What. The. Fuck.
Leigh Harmond was sick and tired. She was fed up with the man who watched her every night from a distance. He never approached her, not that she wanted him to, and he never said anything. Of course, she had let on that she hadn’t noticed him. It was safer that way.
“Two weeks,” she stated with her fists clenched tight to her hips as soon as Detective Corbin entered his office. “Two damned weeks. He’s been following me for two weeks. That’s fourteen days, half a month.”
Samuel Corbin, detective and special liaison with the local vampire Clan Leader studied the woman intently. She was average in every way, except for her anger. It poured off her in nearly palatable waves. Samuel could swear he saw steam rising from her neck she was so hot under the collar. Her strange yellow eyes were blazing, almost glowing, the pupils narrowed to a skinny vertical slit. It was a neat trick; most likely contact lenses. He lived in LA, after all. But still, he had to admire her irritation. Most women who came in to report a vampire stalker would be scared out of their minds. If she was irritated, angry, and well… damned furious. But if she were frightened in the least, it didn’t show.
“Miss Harmond,” Samuel said coolly, “I’m Detective Corbin. I am pleased to meet you.” He held out his hand for her. She took it, her own hand much smaller and softer, and gave it one firm shake. Then she released it and tossed that same hand into the air.
“Yeah, and I have a job to get to. I want him gone. I want him to stop following me. The sick bastard is haunting me. It’s driving me fucking crazy,” she ranted as she paced back and forth in front of his desk. Well. Leigh had intended to keep her cool and be nice to this man, but what was that saying about good intentions…?
“And you think I can stop him?” Samuel asked.
“I don’t know. But if you can’t, you can go to the Clan Leader and he can stop him.” She brushed her hair back with her hand. “Personally, I don’t give a flying rat’s ass who deals with him, so long as he gets gone.” The volume of this little woman’s voice was impressive.
Samuel felt the corners of his mouth twitching and resisted the urge to smile. Not that her situation was funny, not by any means. A stalker from any species was a serious matter, but especially a vampire. Samuel learned long ago to take
such things seriously. It could mean the difference between life and death for the victim. It was just that this little woman sported enough spark to light the fires of Hades if she so desired. “Miss Harmond,” he started.
“Leigh,” she corrected him.
“Fine, Leigh,” Samuel continued, “Please, have a seat and let’s talk about this. Tell me everything you know about this man.” He offered her a chair opposite his desk.
“He’s a vampire,” she said as she plopped down into the seat.
“How do you know?” Samuel asked.
She gave him a look that should have burned him where he stood. Should have scorched the top of his thinning hair all the way down to his loafer covered feet. “Because he’s there when I get off work, and then he follows me home. But he doesn’t use a car. So he must be running awfully fast,” she said. She drew in an exasperated breath. “I’m not ignorant. I’ve been around for a while now and I know a vampire when I see one.”
“And what does he do?”
“Nothing,” she admitted. “He just watches me. He follows me home and watches me go inside. Sometimes he stays outside for hours, and sometimes he leaves right after I go in. That’s part of why it drives me so insane. It would be different if he would try something, but he doesn’t. If he would attempt to approach me, I could stake his ass. It’s very disconcerting.”
Samuel choked back a laugh. This woman was on fire. “I don’t recommend attempting to stake his ass. That is a mistake that could prove fatal Miss Harmond.” Leigh rolled her eyes as Samuel continued, “Do you have any idea who he is?”
“Noo,” she rolled her eyes, “but I can describe him to you.”
“Let’s have it then,” Samuel suggested.
“He’s taller than me, short, dark hair, longer in the front. He’s thin, but not too thin. Got muscles. And he has brown eyes.” Leigh’s eyes focused on the ceiling while she talked, concentrating on her memory. Brown was a very bland description of his eyes. Molten gold. Liquid caramel. Warm whiskey. But not plain brown. She decided to keep it simple, though, no sense in letting the detective know just how much she had noticed if it weren’t necessary. “If you got some mug shots or something I could pick him out.”
“I do not keep photographs of vampires,” Samuel explained. “But I know someone who does. But I doubt you’ll have to look at them. I can get the Clan Leader to watch over you for a couple of days, and he will take care of this.”
“Promise?” she asked. The request sounded more like a demand than a plea. Samuel had the feeling most things were with this young woman. She brought an air of power with her, a forcefulness that demanded attention. He got the feeling that she was more than a simple bookstore employee. But if she was, he was at a loss for what. Her eyes were not the brilliant blue of werewolves, she was no vampire, and even though his logical mind knew there were more supernatural creatures out there, he wasn’t willing to wager a guess which category this fireball belonged to.
“Well, I promise that we will do everything we can.” He slid one of his cards across the desk to her. “If you see him again, call me. That’s my private cell number. I’ll have someone there right away.”
“Just one more thing,” Samuel said as she stood to leave. “Have you any ideas on why he would be following you? Has he tried to drink from you, or done anything to you at all?”
“How the hell should I know?” she snapped. “You know vamps have that mind control thing. For all I know he could be draining me dry in my sleep. Or God only knows what else.”
“Not all vampires can do that,” Samuel corrected her. “And trust me; you would know if he was draining you dry.” She just shrugged as if to say whatever.
“I just want him to go the fuck away,” she said before leaving his office. “I hope that we do not have to meet again. Goodbye Detective.” He watched her stroll out of the station and down the steps to her car. Well, hell. Looked like it was time to pay Angel Knight a visit.
Samuel had grown quite close with the vampire Clan Leader over the past few years. It had taken a conflict that involved both human and vampire authorities working together, but the end result was an ongoing friendship with the man and his family. Who knew that a vampire would challenge Angel for his position, kidnap his mate, and kill several human women all in the course of a few short weeks? The battle had been bloody, but the strong bonds and camaraderie that formed from it couldn’t be denied. Nor would Samuel want them to be. Hell, Angel was family now.
Samuel smiled as he pulled his cruiser in front of the iron gates surrounding the Knight Estate.
Leigh was furious. That damned vampire was really putting a cramp in her lifestyle. She worked hard to remain anonymous, and he was going to ruin it. She just knew it. She didn’t think he knew about her, not really. He probably caught a whiff of her scent and decided to check it out. He was probably just curious. She knew he would not be able to connect the dots. There was only two of her kind left in the world, and most people thought they were just myths anyway.
But still, if he got any closer to her, and sooner or later he would, he would know that there was something very different about Leigh Harmond. It would only be a short leap from there to exposing her for all her secrets.
Her secrets were something she wasn’t ready for anyone to know. Not now, not ever. She had moved every two years like clockwork, just to make sure that she didn’t get too close to anyone. Sometimes she was forced to move sooner if someone or something started to raise suspicions. It wasn’t a great life, but it served its purpose. No one could know her. No one could know what she was. It was safer that way, for her and for everyone else.
She drove her piece of shit car to the bookstore where she worked. She was already late, and hopefully her boss would understand. But if he didn’t, well, it wouldn’t be the first time she had to start over.
Leigh walked to the doors and entered without hesitation. She was surprised that Hank, her boss, had let the matter go with little question. She watched him leave her alone in the store, then let out a relieved breath. Since it was a week night, the store would be slow for the evening.
She found herself thinking about her vampire stalker. It was a shame, really, that she couldn’t afford any complications. He was cute. More than cute, actually. Her sharp eyes had seen enough of him to know that he was one helluva dish. She had imagined running her hands through that dark hair, wondered if it was as sleek and soft as it looked. He was tall, with broad, strong shoulders, a trim waist and long, long legs. He had eyes the color of melted caramel, or warm whiskey. Light brown just wouldn’t be an accurate description of those eyes. In fact, it would be insulting. And his face! It was the face of an angel! Most likely the one that was cast out of Heaven.
Just thinking about him made her insides turn to mush, and she didn’t even have a clue who he was. And thinking about all the things he could do with those long fingers or with his pouty bottom lip made her shiver in a very good way.
Yes, definitely a distraction.
Which is why she had gone to the detective. She had to stop this madness. She didn’t know what he wanted from her, if anything, but it had to stop before she did something she would come to regret.
Like invite him in.
What would it be like to kiss those delectable lips? Would he be gentle, or demanding? Would he notice that her body temperature ran hotter than most people’s? Would he notice how her scent changed with her mood? Of course he would. Everyone knew that vampires had a very perceptive set of senses. But the real question was would he care? Or would he still want her anyway?
She imagined running her hands all over that strong body. She imagined tasting his lips. She imagined that he would enjoy it when she sank her teeth into his shoulder, marking him as hers for all time….
Her cell phone rang, interrupting her fantasy.
She answered it in a hurry. “Yeah?”
“Leigh, it’s Samuel. Listen, I talked to Angel Knight, and he’s going t
o put one of his men on detail for you. He said to tell you not to worry if you don’t see anyone, because he will stay out of sight. But we will find out who is following you.”
“Thanks,” she said into the receiver. “Tell him that I really appreciate it.”
“Rest well tonight, Leigh,” Samuel said, “You’re safe.”
“Goodnight, Detective,” Leigh said before hanging up. She was happy that this was going to end. Wasn’t she? Then why did she all of the sudden feel so damned disappointed?
TWO
“Don’t worry, you’re safe,” Leigh sarcastically grumbled under her breath as she stomped her way to the front gates of the Knight Estate. “We will find him. Our man hasn’t seen anything out of the ordinary...” she huffed. “What a big fat crock of shit. I swear men are totally fucking useless. It’s just like it’s always been. If you want something done right, you should do it yourself.” Of course, if she tried to take care of her stalker problem herself, her secret would be out. Merrick would find her. It was a risk she couldn’t take.
She stopped at the guard to tell him her name and show ID. Then she had to wait for the man to get approval to let her in. They’d better let her in. Leigh was fuming. For the last week her stalker had not disappeared. In fact, he made no secret that he was following her. He had gone from standing in the shadows to leaning against her car. Samuel assured her that Angel Knight had put a man on her. So where the hell was he? And why couldn’t he see the man who was blatantly following her?
She wasn’t concerned that her long distance admirer was following her now, because it was still daylight. But it wouldn’t be for much longer. Leigh knew that just because vampires didn’t go out in the sun didn’t mean that they weren’t awake. It was late enough in the day that Mr. Angel Knight, California Vampire Clan Leader and Rock Star would be up. If he wasn’t, he sure the hell was going to get his celebrity ass up out of bed to listen to her.
INTO THE FIRE (Forbidden Love) Page 1
