When a Vamp Falls (War of Blood and Bonds Book 1)

by A. M. Griffin

  He laughed harder and tried to stifle it with a hand covering his mouth.

  “It could happen,” she grumbled. “There are a lot of weirdos out there.”

  He tried to rein in his laughter. “Yes, yes, there are. So, have you determined if I’m a weirdo yet?”

  “Dude, you drink blood.” She held her fork above her head. “You’re like up here on the weirdo scale.”

  He pouted. “Well, that sucks.”

  This time she chuckled. She set her fork down and shrugged. “But what’s crazy is that you aren’t the weirdest guy I know.”

  “He isn’t?”

  Dani stared up at a pale man with silver hair and a lean build. His presence was jarring. She could’ve sworn that he hadn’t been standing by their table a second before and now he was, this man dressed in a tailored suit.

  The man looked at Ramsey and frowned. “Because he’s definitely the weirdest guy I know.”

  Ramsey laid a hand on the table and thrummed lightly. He looked relaxed, but his body seemed coiled in tension, ready for battle. “Vallus, is there a particular reason why you’re here disturbing my … date?”

  Wait. They were on a real date? Her heart did that fluttering thing, and she went all giddy inside. Why was she happy that her attacker was taking her on a date? If that didn’t prove she was stupid nothing would.

  “I stopped by your house, and Marcos said that you were out with a woman. A human one.” Vallus turned to her and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Vallus.”

  She took it. His hand was cold and hard like steel, but she smiled at him. “Dani.”

  Ramsey thrummed his fingers louder. Vallus released her hand. “Just making nice,” he said to Ramsey.

  “Vallus,” Ramsey said in a voice that set the hairs on the back of her neck on end. “You have less than a minute to explain yourself before I make you regret showing up here.”

  “I was coming by for a visit. I was a little curious about your date. But I can come back when you’re in less of a…” He glanced at Dani. “Killing mood.”

  “I would suggest that, too.”

  Dani watched the exchange, her eyes darted from Vallus to Ramsey. If they had some kind of vampire battle she and everyone else in the restaurant would be caught in the middle.

  When Vallus didn’t reply she looked up and found an empty space where he’d been standing.

  “Whoa,” she exclaimed.

  Ramsey waved a dismissive hand at the empty space. “Never mind him. He’s prone to the theatrics at times.”

  “So does that happen often?” Dani asked. “Enemy vampires popping in on you?”

  Ramsey frowned. “Huh? Vallus is one of my closest friends.”

  Her jaw dropped. That’s how vampire friends reacted to each other?

  Drenda came over with a to-go box. “Dessert, honey?”

  Dani wanted to say yes, but the zipper on her jeans were about to pop. “No, thank you. I don’t think I have any more room in my stomach.”

  “Do you like chocolate cake?” Drenda asked.

  Dani’s mouth salivated. She nodded.

  Drenda gave her a wink. “Well, I’ll get you a slice to go. You can eat it later.” Drenda slapped Ramsey on the arm with the towel that had been in her apron pocket. “That’s for letting her fill up. You know I like for folks to enjoy my cake.”

  Ramsey feigned hurt and rubbed his arm. “I’ll remember next time.”

  The smile dropped from Dani’s face. Next time? How many women did he bring here?

  Probably tons. Just look at him.

  Her heart became ten times heavier. She concentrated on putting the rest of her food in the container and not spilling it all over the table. When she was done she put the container in the bag. Ramsey came around to pull out her chair.

  “We didn’t get the bill yet.” She stood and reached into her purse with her free hand. What she wasn’t going to be tonight was just another one of his many dates. She would pay for her own meal, thank you very much.

  He reached around her waist and placed a hand on hers. His touch electrified her. His body pressed against her ever so lightly.

  “I’ll take care of Drenda later.” His face was close to hers again, and she tingled. “Besides, this was a gift to you for last night. You weren’t paying anyway.”

  So not really a date, date. Just something to satisfy a guilt trip. Dani pursed her mouth closed and glanced away.

  Drenda came by with another small container that she put in Dani’s bag. “Happy eating, child,” she said while watching Ramsey with one eyebrow raised.

  Ramsey took a step away from Dani’s back and with that movement, took his heat with him. “I’ll see you later, Drenda.”

  Drenda gave him a stern nod, then glanced at Dani, and her face lit up again. “And I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Dani returned her smile. “You bet.”

  Ramsey led her outside by the elbow and hailed the first cab that came their way. On the way back to the hotel neither one of them talked. They sat on opposite ends of the back seat. When the cab pulled up in front of her hotel Dani scrambled out with a goodbye and thank you. Too many emotions warred within her body, and too many thoughts ran through her head.

  He was a friggin’ vampire. She’d seen the movies and read the books—tons of them. She was attracted to him because she was supposed to be. He was a predator, he’d admitted as such. He probably had four different women for each day of the week. This was not normal. No matter every which way she sliced it, flipped it or turned the situation over.

  She could not be interested in a vampire.

  She almost ran to her room and opened the door. Jamie and Bride both looked up at her at the same time. They were on opposite beds and in their pajamas.

  Jamie got off the bed first and made a beeline straight for Dani. “Mmm goodies. What do you have in the bag? It smells delicious.”

  “What took you so long? You said that you were going out to eat hours ago,” Bride said.

  Dani let Jamie liberate the leftovers from her then leaned her back against the door. “I went on a date with the vampire.”

  Jamie froze.

  Bride jumped off the bed. “That’s it. We’re taking you back to the hospital.”

  Chapter Seven

  Dani expected two things to happen when she woke up. One, for Jamie and Bride to fire more questions at her about the mystery man and two, a massive hangover. As they’d lit into her about safety the night before, she’d hit the mini bar because honestly, they’d been more than right. What in the world had made her jump into a cab with a complete stranger—who just so happened to be a vampire? She may’ve not been thinking right when she’d gone out with Ramsey, but her good sense had returned in time for her to backtrack on the vampire part. Bride getting dressed to take her to the hospital had something to do with that decision. “Ha, ha, ha. It was a joke! Ramsey is a regular French guy who I let take me to dinner. Where did I meet him? Um, the hotel lobby?”

  The lies had been horrible, but spending another night in the hospital would’ve been even worse.

  Luckily, she hadn’t woken up with a hangover or to a million and one questions. She woke to a phone call from the front desk informing her that her ride to breakfast was waiting. It had only taken her a second to remember the breakfast plans. Ramsey sending a car to take them was an added bonus.

  Dani jumped out of bed and hustled Jamie and Bride to get dressed. All the complaints that they’d given her last night about running off with a stranger were forgotten the moment they climbed into the sleek black limo.

  They started the day with breakfast at Drenda’s Place. Drenda, true to her word, had a table waiting for them. Dani ignored all the glares that were shot her way as she bypassed the block-long line of people waiting to get in. Ramsey had already done enough by providing them a ride and pulled some strings to get them a table in the packed restaurant, but when they tried to pay their bill and Drenda told her that
Ramsey was taking care of it, Bride and Jamie were no longer scolding Dani about her late-night disappearance act.

  After breakfast they filed into the limo again, expecting to head back to the hotel. That’s when she found out Ramsey had planned the day for them and not just a ride to breakfast. The next hours were spent at the Audubon Aquarium and Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. They had a private cemetery walking tour then went on an airboat swamp tour. By the time they pulled up to the hotel, Dani was riding on cloud nine. No one had ever planned something like that for her before. She’d gone to San Diego for a short vacation with her ex, and he’d scoffed at the idea of doing touristy stuff. But here, she’d done more in one day than she could’ve ever imagined, and she had Ramsey to thank for that.

  By the time they’d made it back to the hotel they were beat. Jamie hung on her arm, and Bride was content and all smiles as they entered the hotel lobby.

  “My feet. My poor feet,” Jamie whined.

  “So this day was absolutely the bomb,” Bride said, her smile stretched a mile long. “Are we ever going to meet this mysterious man of yours?”

  “Definitely not during the day,” Dani mumbled to herself.

  “Huh?” Jamie asked.

  “I didn’t get his cell phone number,” Dani said. She’d been thinking about that all day. How in the hell had they forgotten to exchange numbers? Maybe vampires didn’t need phones? Or maybe he was just being a nice guy who’d listened to her bemoaning about not doing any sightseeing and made it happen for her.

  Don’t read anything else into it, Dani. Vampires do not go for regular girls. Most likely I won’t even see Ramsey again. He probably has a vampire harem to tend to.

  Jamie punched her arm.

  “Ow!”

  A couple waiting to check in turned to look at them, their curiosity on high alert.

  “Nothing to see here!” Dani called out as she pinched Jamie’s arm, making her yelp. This time the front desk clerk looked up.

  “Stop it,” Bride hissed. “You guys are like kids.”

  Jamie and Dani giggled, punch drunk on exhaustion.

  “Miss Evans?” the clerk called out.

  “Yes?” both Dani and Bride answered in unison.

  The clerk, a younger woman with braids, glanced down at the envelope she held. “Um, Dani Evans?”

  Dani raised her hand. “That’s me.”

  The clerk held the envelope to her. “This was left for you earlier. I was going to slip it under your room door after I finished checking in these customers.”

  Bride and Jamie gave her quizzical looks. Dani shrugged. She didn’t know what it was. They watched her as she retrieved the envelope and met them at the elevator. Dani turned the envelope over in her hands. “For Miss Dani Evans” was written in block letters across the front.

  “Well? Open it,” Bride said.

  The elevator dinged, and they got in. The doors closed, and excitement hung in the air.

  “There’s no return name,” Dani whispered.

  “Unless you have multiple guys in New Orleans that’s from your Ramsey,” Jamie said. She was pressed against Dani’s side, looking at the envelope as curious as Dani was.

  My Ramsey?

  Heat rose up her chest to her neck and finally to her cheeks. Ramsey wasn’t hers. She wasn’t about to feed into that desire, but the thought made butterflies erupt in her stomach just the same.

  The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Dani let Jamie lead her to the room. She couldn’t take her eyes off the envelope. Maybe it was a note with his phone number or an invitation to dinner? She would’ve been happy with either of those options.

  Jamie opened the door and pushed her inside. Bride snatched the envelope from her hands. “Good lord, if you won’t open it, I will.”

  Dani could’ve snatched it back, but Bride was right. She probably would’ve stared at the thing for the next few hours, wondering what was inside.

  Bride waggled her eyebrows as she used a finger to rip it open. She peeked inside. “What do we have here?”

  Both Dani and Jamie waited on baited breaths.

  Bride pulled out … tickets. “Steamboat dinner cruise for 7 PM.”

  Dani let out a soft breath. “That’s so romantic. He’s taking me on a river boat dinner cruise.”

  Bride fanned the tickets out. “There are three tickets here.”

  Her shoulders slumped. It wasn’t that she didn’t want them to go, she did, but her heart had was set on seeing Ramsey again.

  “Maybe he’s going to dinner, too, and we’ll finally get to meet him?” Jaime said, trying to make her feel better.

  Dani tried to push her disappointment aside. “Yeah, maybe.” Ramsey wouldn’t meet them anywhere at seven in the dead of summer. It was still light outside.

  Bride pushed her toward the bathroom. “Shower and dress, and then I’ll do your make-up.”

  Dani stuck out her tongue. Make-up for her consisted of a light-colored lip gloss.

  Bride waved her on. “Just in case he shows up.”

  Arguing with Bride would get her nowhere. Dani didn’t have a choice but to let her sister make her face up, even though she knew it would be for nothing.

  After they showered and dressed they went outside to find the limo waiting for them again. From their hotel it was a quick trip to the loading dock. Dani kept her eyes open and scanned the waiting crowd for any hint of Ramsey. The act was futile since the sun was still out, but she’d hoped to spot him. She loved Bride and Jamie, but she’d had someone else on her mind as a dinner date.

  They were seated at a fancy table for four, and dinner was served on expensive dishes. Bride and Jamie gushed, and Dani couldn’t help but to get pulled out of her depression to join them in their giddiness. After dinner was served the band took over, signaling to the passengers that it was time to get up and dance. Dani let Bride drag her and Jamie to the floor where they danced in tune to the lively calliope music. Before long she was laughing and sweating, and the thought of Ramsey was just a small speck in the back of her mind.

  After what seemed like the tenth consecutive song that she’d danced to had ended, Dani could barely catch her breath. A light breeze flowed across the deck, but with all the bodies pressed against her she couldn’t find any relief. Sweat dripped down her face, neck, and chest.

  She leaned over to Jamie, wiping sweat from her face. “I need fresh air. I’m going to find a spot closer to the rail. I’m dying.”

  Jamie, clearly having the best time of her life, gave Dani a thumbs-up. Dani turned to tell Bride the same thing, but she was sandwiched between two guys and not paying attention to either Jamie or Dani. Dani’s mouth opened in an O.

  “Go get some air. Don’t worry about Bride. I’ve got an eye on her.” Jamie shooed Dani away.

  Dani shook her head. Bride had always been the outgoing and adventurous one.

  Dani made her way through the crowd of dancers. Everyone was elbow-to-elbow until she reached the outside of the dance floor. On the deck were limited seats where couples huddled together, some locked in lover’s embrace. She moved past them, giving them their privacy. What lovers didn’t need was a single woman hovering in their space, looking like she’d run a marathon and probably smelling like it, too.

  She moved to a semi-private spot and took in the night air. It wasn’t as hot as it’d been the night before, so the spaghetti strap sun dress she wore felt just right. She leaned on the railing and watched the horizon as the boat angled its way down the river. Lights dotted the shoreline, but everything else was pitch black. The music, laughter, and yells from the partygoers were the only sounds and seemed to fade into the background as she watched the night.

  Dani ran her fingers through her hair, trying to comb out the wet snags. Her bangs, a hot mess, were plastered to her forehead. The make-up that she’d put on, hoping to run into Ramsey, was most likely sweated away. The concealer had been on the paper towels that she’d used to wipe the sweat from her face.
She didn’t think that her mascara or lipstick had fared well either.

  She looked down at her floral dress. It was damp and plastered to her body. “Ugh.”

  She pulled at the fabric. That only proved disastrous, making the material loose in some areas and tighter in others. It was probably for the best that Ramsey hadn’t shown up.

  “I look like a wet cat,” she muttered.

  “I have a cat that’s been wet on occasion, and you, my dear, look more appealing than she does.”

  Dani jumped at the voice and looked at the shadow where it had come from. Her heart thrummed in anticipation. She strained to breathe.

  Ramsey.

  “You have a cat? I didn’t take you for a cat person.”

  “She’s not really mine. She’s just a stray that found her way into my house some years ago and liked it so much that she hasn’t left.”

  She could make his outline out in the shadows. Tall and looming.

  “She’s yours now. What did you name her?”

  “Mewlissa. My assistant got tired of me calling her ‘Cat’.”

  A giggle burst from her mouth. “Mewlissa? Hi-larious. Who the heck came up with that name?”

  A shoulder lifted. “She just looked like a Mewlissa to me.”

  A laugh burst past her lips, and she doubled over, letting the giggles out. “I can’t believe that you, a vampire, came up with that name. Too funny.”

  “I knew I should’ve lied and said that my assistant had named her.”

  She shook her head and tried to compose herself. “No, no. I’m glad you didn’t.”

  “But how will you fear me now, knowing that I have a cat named Mewlissa?” he grumbled.

  She pinched her fingers together. “I have to admit, it makes you seem a little less scary.”

  “I’m fine with just a little. Not more than that though. I still want everyone to quake in their boots when I walk by.”

  She stifled another giggle behind her hand. “Yup. Quaking in my boots over here.” She turned away and stared back out at the shoreline. “So, how long have you been there?”