QUINTUS

by Kym Grosso

  QUINTUS

  Immortals of New Orleans, Book 9

  Kym Grosso

  Copyright © 2018 Kym Grosso

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  MT Carvin Publishing

  West Chester, Pennsylvania

  Editor: Julie Roberts

  Cover Design: Clarise Tan, CT Cover Creations

  Photographer: Wander Pedro Aguiar, WANDER AGUIAR :: PHOTOGRAPHY

  Cover Model: Colton Benson

  Formatting: Jason Anderson, Polgarus Studio

  Proofreading: Rose Holub, Read by Rose

  DISCLAIMER

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, locations and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events, locales, or real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  NOTICE

  This is an adult erotic paranormal romance book with love scenes and mature situations. It is only intended for adult readers over the age of 18.

  Dedication

  I’d like to dedicate Quintus to two friends, who are both incredible strong women, people who make this world a better place, and whether they know it or not, helped me so I could write and finish Quintus. Jennifer Coll, I could not have survived my first year in California without you. You are an incredible person and caring friend, someone who has been with me through thick and thin over the years, always supporting me. I’m so proud of you and your creative, beautiful AveryRose lingerie designs. I was so excited to get my own “Kym” bra! I will never forget Paris, and our ghost hunting in New Orleans…both experiences influencing my book. Thank you so much for being there for me when I needed you the most, for being the very special person you are! You’ve made me laugh when I didn’t think I could laugh, encouraged me when I needed someone to tell me I could do it. I mean it when I say you are an amazing friend and I’m so very lucky to have you in my life. Love you!

  Karin Fox, you are a wonderful friend, mother and autism advocate. I’m in awe of your tireless efforts, helping children with autism and their families. Our path is not an easy one, but having the support of other parents has made all the difference in my life and my son’s. While we may have met through the autism community as fellow autism moms, you have become a great friend. I don’t think I could have gotten through this first year here without our friendship and phone calls. Thank you so much for your support. It has meant everything to me! I’m not going to stop trying to convince you to move to California! Haha.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  Romance by Kym Grosso

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  ~ My children, for encouraging me to write and supporting me in everything I do. I’m incredibly blessed to have you in my life. You are amazing, special people and I’m so proud of you both!

  ~ My readers, for waiting patiently while I wrote Quintus! I’m so thankful to have each and every one of you, supporting me and my books. I hope you love my sexy vampire as much as I do and look forward to writing more adventures in the series!

  ~ Julie Roberts, my friend and editor, who spent hours reading, editing and proofreading Quintus. As always, there are not enough words to thank you for all you do to help me. I’m terribly sorry about not giving you that log cabin, but I know someday soon I’ll be visiting you in one! Haha. You seriously are the best ever!!! I can’t wait for you to come visit me in California so we can do hot yoga and go to the beach!

  ~ Shannon Hunt, publicist and all-round assistant who gives me support! Thank you so much for everything you do to help me, your patience and friendship! I definitely think you need to reconsider going snorkeling with me to see the baby sharks. Haha. It’ll be fun…I promise!!!

  ~ My dedicated beta readers, Denise, Janet, Jerri, Karen, Kim, Lacy, Leah, Laurie, Maria, Rose, Shannon, Stephanie, and Rochelle, for beta reading. I really appreciate all the valuable feedback you provided. You guys rock!!!

  ~ CT Cover Creations, for designing Quintus’ sexy cover.

  ~ Wander Aguiar, for taking all the gorgeous cover and teaser images for Quintus’ novel. And Andrey Bahia, for helping arrange the shoot. You both are incredible people, and I’m so lucky to have you both as friends!

  ~ Colton Benson, cover model, for the amazing cover and teaser images. I’m so happy you’re my Quintus!

  ~ Polgarus Studio, Jason, for formatting Quintus. You do terrific work, presenting my books so they look their best digitally and in print.

  ~ Rose Holub, Read by Rose, for proofreading. You are awesome!

  ~ My reader group, for helping spread the word about the Immortals of New Orleans series. I appreciate your support more than you could know!

  Chapter One

  Quintus jerked at the restraint, and hissed as the silver burned his skin. Immobilized, he struggled to breathe. As he dragged his tongue across his dry, cracked lips the faint taste of blood piqued his senses.

  “Shh. You’re going to be all right.” The soft whispers of the feminine voice soothed him. Her nourishment was the only reason he was alive.

  He shivered as she brushed her palm over his forehead. The gentle touch calmed him but the beast inside demanded to be freed. A growl tore from his lips and he bared his fangs.

  “Settle now. The poison is almost out of you.”

  “I…” His raw throat seized and he coughed, recalling the events that had led to his near demise.

  Quintus had gone with Jake Louvière, the Alpha of Anzober Wolves, to kill Kasdeya, a demon vampire hybrid. Bitten and poisoned, he’d managed to save a human who’d become caught up in the melee. Materializing to New Orleans, it had been a miracle he’d been able to get her safely to a hospital. Desperate, he’d stumbled into an underground blood bar. In the underbelly of New Orleans, Quintus had found donors with no issue, but he’d been unable to feed. Vomiting blood for days, he’d succumbed to the poison, praying for mercy as he died in the blackness of the crypt.

  Quintus had thought it a nightmare but as his senses awakened, he knew otherwise to be true. The sweet trickle of blood nourished his body, the magical essence flaring his cells back to life. A siren in the distance wailed, and he blinked his burning eyes open, taking in the sight of his surroundings. Sunlight streaked through the cracks of the stone ceiling but didn’t filter through the muddied stained glass windows. He ran the pads of his fingers over the cold granite bed on which he lay and glanced to the loose bricks on the ground. A mausoleum. I’m still in the damned crypt.

  A shadow passed by him, her voice reminding him of her calming presence. He sniffed into the air, detecting only the scent of magick, but his instinct told him there was something more to her. A witch saved me? Throughout the years, he’d always relied on human blood, rarely indulging on other beings. The purity of his species had been strengthened by the underlying humanity genetically imprinted over thousands of years into human blood.

  “Hey, how do you feel? I’ve
got to get out of here soon,” she told him, breaking his spiraling thoughts.

  “Ah, bella, I don’t think you need to worry. Remove the silver and I’ll be on my way.”

  “No, if I let you go…”

  “If you let me go…what exactly do you think is going to happen here?” Quintus sensed the hesitation in her voice.

  “I’ll just leave the key here. When we’re done, I can call a friend for you. They can let you out.” She brushed her long brunette hair out of her face as she paced. “You’re weak. I’m sorry. I can’t chance it. If I let you go now you could drain me dry.”

  Quintus tugged at the silver and it sizzled against his flesh. “Holy fuck. Look, if you don’t get these chains off me, I very well may bite you. And I can’t promise you’ll like it.”

  As she turned to him, his gaze painted over his attractive captor. Honey-brown curls feathered around her face. Her wide blue doe eyes blinked over at him as she nervously bit her rosy pink lip. “I take that back. I promise you’re going to like it. I know I will.”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t,” she refused.

  Quintus glanced down, noting he’d been stripped of his clothing. “Is there any particular reason I’m naked?”

  “You’d thrown up on yourself. I had to check your injury,” she explained, averting her gaze.

  “And here I thought I was getting lucky,” he mused.

  “I…I’d never do that.” Her head snapped to look at him.

  “How about you let me go? I don’t even have my clothes on. What could I possibly do?”

  “I…I need a promise,” she said, her voice shaking.

  “A promise, huh? Negotiation.” A corner of his lip ticked upward. “This is progress.”

  “First I need to feed you more blood,” she said, changing the subject. “I think you’re ready.”

  Quintus’ skin tingled as she ran her palm over his forearm. Magick danced through her touch. Her soothing voice continued and he listened as if an orchestra were playing, his concentration honed on her words.

  “I’m sorry this happened to you. But it’s okay, you’re getting better.” Her voice grew stronger as she spoke. “It’s just when I first saw you…the wounds on your back were pretty intense. I’m guessing they were infused with black magick. What did this to you?”

  “Long story. Fucking vampire bitch.” He coughed, and a streak of pain stabbed through his abdomen. His thirst blossomed, his gut clenched in raw hunger. He tugged on the chains, the silver sizzling as it dug into his skin. “Get this off of me.”

  “I’m sorry. One more feeding. Please.” She ran her palm over his forehead, not flinching as his fangs dropped.

  “I swear on my life I won’t hurt you. I don’t know how the hell you found me. I don’t know what’s in your blood, but you did it.” Quintus hissed as another wave of agony tore through his body. He struggled to clarify his thoughts.

  “I’m sorry I can’t let you bite me, but I promise this is enough.”

  Quintus growled, calming for but a second as the female’s soft hand caressed his scruffy cheek. Her oddly familiar touch soothed his pain.

  “Here you go…I’m sorry. I know it’s better for you when you bite, but this is the best I can do.”

  The fresh scent of her blood registered seconds before the syringe touched his tongue. As his lips clamped around the hard plastic, draining the blood, his eyes locked on hers. She wore a sincere, concerned expression as she fed him. His beautiful savior cared.

  He blinked, startled as her eyes flashed to a light shade of purple, her hair blonde. Is she wearing glamour? Quintus resisted the urge to speak and tamped down his curiosity, concentrating on healing. As her glorious essence rejuvenated his being and her vitality threaded through him, strength fired through his limbs.

  Sated, he spat away the tube. His heart pounded, every cell in his body awakened. Quintus’ eyes flashed to the ceiling, his thoughts clear. He clenched his muscles, snapping the chains off as if they were made of tissue paper. Feral, he lunged for his enticing savior. She ran for the door, but he was too fast, caging her against a cold stone wall. With his legs straddling hers, his cheek brushed her silken locks.

  “Who are you?” he growled.

  “My name is Ga…Gabby,” she responded.

  Quintus sniffed along her neckline, the scent of jasmine wafting into his nostrils. Delicate but strong, her palms flattened onto his bare chest. “How did you do this? I want to know now.”

  “My blood…please, I should get out of here,” she told him.

  “You’re a witch?” Quintus dropped his fangs, and brushed his lips over her collarbone. Her pulse pounded in his ears. Healed with her potent blood, his body thrummed with power.

  “Yes,” she responded.

  His instincts warned him of deception, but something about her piqued his interest. His tongue darted onto her skin, tasting the lovely beauty. She smelled delicious, and he yearned to sink his teeth into her creamy flesh. Although he’d sought to scare her, he detected her arousal.

  “I don’t give you permission to bite me.” Defiance flashed in her eyes.

  “I didn’t bite you now, did I?” The firm peaks of her nipples brushed against his abdomen, and his cock stirred. “Hmm…your response, though…” Quintus closed his eyes briefly and breathed, regaining control.

  “Let me go,” she sighed as his lips brushed her ear. “They’re coming. The others. They’ve sensed you’ve awakened. If they find me here…please…I can’t stay.”

  “This isn’t the place. But whatever game you’re playing, little one, I’m not simply letting you go.”

  Footsteps and whispers echoed in the catacombs that connected the underground blood club to the crypt. His renewed energy was likely felt by every vampire in New Orleans. He could have cared less who found him, because he’d kill them if they so much as looked at him the wrong way.

  “We’re leaving,” he growled. Without discussing it, he made the decision to keep her. Her palatable fear of being discovered drove him to protect her. She might be a liar but she’d saved him nonetheless.

  “If you just let me go, I promise I won’t tell anyone,” she pleaded.

  “Ah, bella. That’s not how this works. You may have saved me, but it is I who call the shots.”

  “What?” she asked, her wide eyes on his.

  “Brace yourself. This will only take a minute,” he warned.

  Quintus heard the faint sound of her cry as he dematerialized them out of the church. He inwardly laughed, delighted at the surge of power that pounded throughout his veins. Whatever she was, he’d find out her secrets.

  “You’re okay,” he whispered as she shook in his arms. Quintus thought it odd she struggled with the transition, given that witches easily adjusted to materialization. With the flavor of her potent blood imprinted in his mind, he suspected she was a hybrid. She moaned, her fragile body clutched in his embrace. “Ah, bella. Your magick is strong. Why does a witch suffer like this?”

  “My magick…I gave you my blood,” she responded, her voice soft.

  “Witches transform. But you…you’re not witch?”

  “I am,” she protested. “My powers, they’re different.”

  “Hmm? Should I call a coven?”

  “No. No witches!” Her voice grew loud in protest. “No!”

  Quintus’ gut clenched with concern as her panic ran through him as if it were his own, and he wondered how her blood had affected him. Terror. Pain. All her emotions pulsed in his mind, her quickening breath soon evolving into pants as she gasped for air.

  “Easy now.” Quintus scooped her up into his arms and brought her to the bed. Aware he was nude, he considered covering to put her at ease, but as she continued to retch for breath, his only concern was for her safety. He lay back onto the bed bringing her with him, embracing her in his arms.

  “No witches,” she repeated.

  “No witches,” he told her, surprised at her fear.

  “
Promise me. Promise no witches.” She clutched at him. “They’ll…they’ll…”

  “It’s all right.” She attempted to push away from him, but he held tight and brushed his palm over her silken hair. Quintus closed his eyes, and attempted to send a calming energy to her. “What happened to you?”

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice trailing off.

  “Whoever did this to you? The pain. Let it go.” Quintus breathed away his anger. He saw flashes of her stolen innocence yet he couldn’t reach all her memories.

  “Please don’t let them have me.” Her voice drifted to silence as she closed her eyes.

  “You’re safe,” he assured his fragile savior. Quintus’ protective streak flared. Someone had hurt her badly.

  She breathed softly in slumber, and Quintus relaxed, staring up at the tin ceiling. Despite his promise to the contrary, he considered calling the high priestess of New Orleans. But he’d given his word, so for at least the night, he’d honor her wishes. No witches.

  Quintus ran his palm down her arm and gently inspected her skin. His lips tensed in a straight line at the sight of the needle marks. Having tasted her blood, he knew she hadn’t taken drugs. No, the telltale scars had been caused by bloodletting. Jesus fucking Christ, what in the hell had this witch gotten herself into? He recalled the plastic syringe she’d used to give him blood. Guilt rolled through him, aware she’d sacrificed herself to save him from death.

  What trouble are you in, bella? He sighed. When she woke, they’d have a long conversation. Something about the magical woman drew him, and he couldn’t deny a connection. He swallowed the emotion, surrendered to the healing calm that washed over him as he rested with the lovely witch in his arms.

  Chapter Two

  The familiar nightmare stormed in her mind. Only thirteen years old, she clutched at the muddy earth. Her mother screamed as the cloaked witches tied her to the wooden stake. Gabriella watched helplessly as they set fire to the kindling, burning the only parent she’d known. Cries of terror resounded in the darkness, the stench of burnt flesh forever etched in her memory.