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

by A. M. Griffin

  Ramsey chuckled and awakened something dormant within her bones. She watched from her peripheral vision as he stepped from the darkness. Her breath caught in her throat. He was magnificent dressed in all black. His button-down shirt and slacks seemed tailored just for him, fitting him in all the right places. She turned, drawn to him, and let her eyes roam over his body, taking him all in. He stalked toward her with a predatory gait, moving like a panther. Her heart skipped a beat the closer he came. When he stopped in front of her she finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

  “Long enough to watch you dance.”

  She tried to break the spell he had on her by turning to the rail. She leaned her elbows on it. “So long enough to see me making a fool of myself?”

  He settled next to her so that the sides of their bodies touched. Every fiber in her being felt his presence.

  “This is where I should probably say that your dancing is divine…” He waved his hand in the air. “Or some other lie.”

  She punched him in the arm. It hurt her more than it hurt him. “Hey! Yes, a lie would be nice.”

  He smiled, and the composure she’d been trying to maintain cracked. She hitched a breath. He dropped his smile.

  I’m staring at him like an idiot.

  She tried to look away to stop herself from melting into him or doing something equally as stupid. Before she could he reached for her, holding onto her arms. He stared down at her, and she got caught up in his eyes. Her stomach turned and twisted a million ways.

  “I guess what’s written in all the romance novels about you guys is right.”

  “What exactly?” he asked, his voice a deeper tenor.

  “That humans can’t resist the vampire allure.”

  One side of his mouth cranked up. “Do you think that’s what this is?”

  She nodded. “It has to be.”

  “I’m not working any kind of magic on you right now.”

  He had to be. Every cell in her body longed to be pressed against him, to feel his touch. Her mind muddled every time she looked at him. She couldn’t resist him if she tried. “Oh.” Brain. Stupid.

  “Can I kiss you?”

  She almost fainted. She did a stupid nod.

  He descended on her in slow motion. His lips parted, and he puckered.

  “There you are!”

  Dani startled and pulled back. Jamie walked toward them. The moment she noticed Ramsey—a man that she’d never met—standing close to Dani, Jamie instantly went into momma bear mode. She walked faster and glared at Ramsey. “Who’s your friend here?” While she said one thing the look Jamie shot her way said, “Do I need to call security?”

  Dani took a step away, putting enough space between her and Ramsey. She needed to think straight, and she couldn’t with Ramsey turning her knees to putty. “Jamie, this is Ramsey. Ramsey, this is my best friend, Jamie.”

  Jamie held out her hand, and her eyes roamed up and down Ramsey’s body, checking him out. Dani couldn’t be mad at her. Ramsey was well worth the obvious ogling.

  Ramsey shook her hand in return. “Very nice to meet you, Jamie.”

  “Oh!” Jamie giggled like a toddler. “Is that a French accent that I hear?”

  “Ravi de vous rencontrer.”

  Jamie giggled uncontrollably, then slapped Dani’s arm. “Girl, you did not tell me that he was French.”

  She had, but Jamie’s mind was probably mushy. Dani groaned out her embarrassment. “Where is Bride?” Jamie was one breath away from jumping Ramsey’s bones. She might as well get Bride’s swooning out of the way, too.

  Jamie watched Ramsey, not taking her eyes off him, and licked her lips. Dani bumped her with a hip.

  “Huh?”

  “Bride?”

  Jamie thumbed over her shoulder, still watching Ramsey as if he were dessert on the menu. “Dance floor.”

  If she wanted to burst her best friend’s bubble she would’ve reminded Jamie that she was a happily married woman with kids. But somehow, she didn’t think that Jamie would’ve heard anything that came out of her mouth.

  “You missed dinner,” Jamie said to Ramsey. Then she frowned. “Wait, how did you get on the boat?”

  Actually, Dani was curious about that, too. They hadn’t docked anywhere since the cruise had begun. She glanced at his clothes. Dry.

  Ramsey’s smile didn’t break. “I boarded with everyone else, but I had to take care of some last-minute business with the Captain. I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. I apologize for missing the opportunity to dine with you ladies.” He laid a hand on his chest. “Please forgive me.”

  Oh, he was good. His excuse sent Jamie into another fit of giggles, and Dani shook her head. She doubted that he’d boarded when everyone else did. The sun had still been out. The only way he could’ve done that was if everything that she’d learned about vampires from the movies and books was wrong, and she was not ready to throw a childhood’s worth of knowledge out the door.

  As the boat pulled into the dock it rocked and jerked. Ramsey steadied her against his body, and Dani didn’t want to be anywhere else.

  “Well, at least we were able to see you before we left,” Jamie said.

  When the boat stopped Dani thought Ramsey would let her go, but he didn’t. Jamie waggled her eyebrows until Dani stared daggers at her, forcing her best friend to stop embarrassing her.

  “I’m glad that I caught you all before you left,” Ramsey.

  Jamie sighed a little too loudly and did a poor job pretending to stretch. “Well, I’ll go get Bride. I’m beat. I know she is, too.”

  Dani raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she planned.

  “But Dani said that she wasn’t tired at all. I don’t know where you get your energy from, girl,” Jamie added.

  She. Wanted. To. Die.

  Heat crept up her face. “I—I don’t know what you’re talk—”

  Jamie stretched again and yawned. Loudly. “Yep, I sure am tired. Just going to go back to the room and go to sleep.”

  “Jamie,” Dani said slowly. What if Ramsey had other plans? She would look like a fool.

  Ramsey held onto her possessively. “I was actually going to invite you all back to my house for a nightcap.”

  People filed out around them. Jamie waved off Ramsey. “I’m sure Bride and I will be too tired. You’ve worn us out. Thank you for the treat today and with the cruise. This was the best time that I’ve had in a long time.”

  “Thank you,” Dani added under her breath. “We had a wonderful time.”

  “My pleasure,” Ramsey replied.

  “Well, I’ll go find Bride and head back to the room. You and Dani enjoy that … nightcap.” There was a twinkle in Jamie’s eyes.

  I am so going to kill her.

  Before Dani could object, Jamie gave her a knowing look then left, leaving Dani and Ramsey among the last people on the boat.

  “Your friend kind of threw you under the bus,” he said.

  Dani watched as Jamie made her way off the boat. “So you noticed that, too, huh?”

  Ramsey maneuvered her to face him. This time she was prepared for the way her body reacted to him. All goo-goo ga-ga.

  He raised her chin with his finger. “You don’t have to go anywhere with me if you don’t want to. I was only inviting your sister and friend so that you would feel comfortable. If you don’t want to come with me all you have to do is say the words.”

  She pulled her bottom lip in her mouth.

  “Do you want to go home with me?” he asked.

  She should really tell him no. It was stupid enough that she’d gone out with him yesterday. But at least they’d gone to a public place. She would be out of her freaking mind to agree to go to his vampire lair.

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Eight

  Why the hell am I on a date with a vampire?

  Dani was having déjà vu.

  Of stupidity.

  It was only a fifteen-minute drive from the dock t
o Ramsey’s house. They were in a black two-door sports car that sat entirely too low to the ground and had windows that she was sure were over the acceptable allowable tint limit. Even though the drive was short it felt like eternity. They made small talk as he zoomed through the city streets avoiding the main roads and traffic. Ramsey concentrated mainly on the road while she stared out the window. Every now and again she caught him stealing glances at her through the reflection.

  When the car slowed her interest piqued. Large houses dotted the neighborhood. Some were hidden behind trees and high fences. Ramsey pressed a button on the dash and made a right onto a driveway. Iron wrought gates opened slowly. As soon as he had enough room for the car to fit, Ramsey breezed through and pulled into a carriage house and shut off the engine.

  Dani stared ahead. Her heart beat erratically. What the hell am I doing here?

  “This is such a mistake. You could kill me if you wanted to.”

  “Dani. Look at me.”

  Her hands shook violently. “I actually agreed to go to a vampire’s house. Like, who does that?”

  He took her hands in his. “Sweetheart, I’m not going to hurt you.”

  She blinked a few times. His face came into her vision. “Was I talking out loud?”

  He rubbed his thumb across her palm. “You’re nervous. I can hear your heart. It’s practically exploding out of your chest.”

  She pulled her hands away and spread them over her chest. Her heart was not supposed to beat that fast or hard. “I’m thinking that it may have been a bad idea to come to a vampire’s house alone.”

  He gave her one of the sexiest looks she’d ever seen in her life. “We won’t be alone. Marcos, my assistant, doesn’t have a social life. He’ll be our third wheel.”

  Okay, so now she wouldn’t be alone with one man, she would be alone with two. Lovely.

  Ramsey leaned over and gave her the softest peck on the nose, then was out the door and opening hers in a blink of an eye.

  She took a calming breath then stepped from the car. “First things first. All the fast moving. Slow it down. My brain can’t process it.”

  He shut the car door slower than needed. “O-kaaay,” he said, elongating the word. He turned in slow motion and even slower waved for her to follow him. “Thiiiis waaaaaay.” It took him five seconds to raise his leg and about ten to set it back down.

  She actually had to wait for him to catch up with her every time she took a step. She rolled her eyes. “At this rate it’ll take us thirty minutes to get to the front door.” Wait. Why was she trying to speed up her death?

  “Iiii’ll beeee riiight thhhhere.”

  Unless he was planning to kill her in slow-motion, it probably wasn’t going to happen. Dani chuckled and bounded up the front stairs and waited for him to follow. Ramsey was about halfway up the sidewalk when the front door opened, catching her off guard. She recognized the elderly man immediately. He’d saved her from almost dying in the alley and had called the police.

  “What?” She scrunched her eyebrows together. “Wh-why are you here?”

  Marcos poked his head out the door to see Ramsey still making his way in slow-motion toward the house. He then stepped back inside and tsked. “Nice to see you are doing well, young miss. Are you responsible for the mess out there?”

  She turned to watch Ramsey. He’d only moved about an inch. He was a mess. A glorious one. “I told him not to move so fast.”

  Marcos opened the door wider. “Well, you might as well come inside. It’ll be about another twenty minutes before he makes it to the door.”

  She still didn’t know what was going on or how to take seeing her “savior” at Ramsey’s house. “What happened to ‘They only exist in the movies and in books, young miss’?”

  “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t have very well agreed with you. They would’ve put me in the hospital.”

  “Uh, like they did me?”

  He gave her an apologetic look. “But you needed to go. It was quite imperative.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  He stepped to the side. “Coming inside?”

  She eyed him carefully. “Are you a vampire, too?” Marcos didn’t have the same look as Ramsey did. Ramsey looked human, but there were little inconsistencies that screamed inhuman. Like, he didn’t breathe all the time, and when he did it was as though he was trying hard to remember how. His eyes tracked everything around him with a precision that she’d never seen before. And his muscles could’ve been sculpted from stone. While Marcos looked quite … soft and non-threatening.

  Marcos waved a hand down his body. “Fully human.”

  Satisfied with his answer, she stepped inside and folded her arms. “Okay, explain yourself. I thought I owed my life to you.”

  Marcos turned and waved for her to follow. “Let’s talk about it over a glass of wine. Red or white?”

  Dani thought about waiting for Ramsey so she could curse them both out at the same time, but one look and she knew she would have to wait on laying into him. Ramsey had only moved a foot since she’d left him.

  “White.”

  She followed Marcos through a house that could’ve been featured in one of the Better Homes and Gardens magazines that were spread across the waiting room table at her GYN office. She passed two rooms where white and pastel was the theme. There was an office with a big wood desk and full floor to ceiling book shelves. In a room to the left was a formal dining room with a large table with red and off-white place settings and ten chairs. A curio cabinet covered almost one entire wall. Instead of housing dishes it was filled with small figurines. She followed Marcos into the kitchen and walked into heaven. The aroma that filled the room was exotic. A pot boiled on the stove. Potatoes and onions were chopped up and in piles on the counter.

  There she was, about to let bygones be bygones just because food was involved. She shook her head. Not this time. “I can’t believe that I’m in a vampire’s lair with his evil human assistant.” She gasped. “I am so going to die tonight.”

  “Evil?” Marcos had the nerve to look aghast. “I’m hardly evil.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I was talking to myself.”

  He nodded. “My apologies for interrupting your conversation, young miss. But may I suggest that you text our address to your lady friends so that they know where you are?”

  That was a great idea. She pulled out her cell phone and typed in the address that Marco gave her and hit “send” to Jamie and Bride.

  “So I’m not going to die tonight?”

  “I should think not. Hiding bodies is so cumbersome, plus my back.” He stretched his lower back, and it cracked. “Isn’t strong anymore. I love Ramsey, but not enough to pull his victims to the backyard and bury them.”

  She tried not to smile. Marcos didn’t give her that evil sidekick vibe. She bet that he spent his time watching daytime television and cooking shows. “But he almost killed me before,” she pointed out.

  Marcos opened a cabinet and took out two wine glasses and went to a small refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of wine. “Where should I start?” he asked as he poured their glasses.

  “Start where you ‘found me in the alley’.” She glared at him.

  He handed her the glass. “I’ll start about ten minutes before when Ramsey called me in a panic because he’d almost killed an innocent.”

  He offered her a plate, and she declined, rubbing her stomach. “Start there.”

  She took a sip of her wine and listened to his recounting. Twenty minutes later and she wasn’t mad at Marcos or Ramsey anymore. She’d learned that Ramsey didn’t believe in taking blood from unsuspecting humans and never enough to kill anyone. By the time Marcos finished his story and she was on her second glass of wine, Ramsey finally made it to the kitchen followed by an orange tabby cat. When he took a step, the cat wound around his foot.

  She chuckled. “That must be Mewlissa.”

  “I caaan’t staannnd heeer.”

>   Marcos tsked and rolled his eyes. “Don’t listen to him. He loves Mewlissa but thinks that admitting it would knock his station as a feared vampire down a peg.”

  “Yoooou liiiiiie.” Ramsey set down another foot, and Mewlissa did a dance around it.

  “I have photographic evidence of you cuddling with her,” Marcos said.

  Ramsey was in the middle of lowering a foot, painfully slow. “Deestrooy iiit.”

  Dani swirled her wine in her glass. “You’re a mess. You can walk regular. I never told you to go slo-mo.”

  He paused mid-stride. “Are you sure?”

  She took another sip. “Very.”

  He was at her side in a heartbeat. She almost choked on her wine. “Jesus,” she bit out. “I said move at a regular speed. Not supersonic.”

  He rubbed his hand in a circle across her back. Her skin heated under his touch. “Sorry.”

  She looked up to see a smile on his face. He was so not sorry.

  “Did Marcos try to feed you?”

  She nodded. “But sadly, I had to decline.” She rubbed her belly. “I’m all filled up.”

  Marcos waved a serving spoon in the air. “Next time, young miss.”

  She gave him a grin, even though she was sure there wouldn’t be a next time. She had one more night in New Orleans and was flying back to Los Angeles tomorrow.

  “Guess what I have?” Ramsey asked playfully.

  “Um, what?”

  Ramsey nodded toward a box on the counter. “I picked up a chocolate cake from Drenda.”

  Her eyes glazed over, and she moaned. “Cake.” She hadn’t even gotten three bites out of the last slice before Bride and Jamie stole it from her and devoured it for themselves. She’d never tasted anything so heavenly divine before.

  “Be good and I’ll let you take it home,” he whispered in her ear.

  She instantly wetted. If she wasn’t careful she could see her dropping her panties in his kitchen, with Marcos watching. Get a grip.

  Danya cleared her throat. “Your house is nice,” she said, in a poor attempt at changing the subject.

  He smirked. “You say that like you expected something else.”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I was expecting something more vampire-y.”