by Amber Kell
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Note from the Publisher
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
About the Author
Also by Amber Kell
Awards
Reviews
Samhain's
Kiss
Blood, Moon and Sun
Book #2
Amber Kell
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Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Editor: Devin Govaere
Samhain's Kiss © 2011 Amber Kell
ISBN # 9781920501839
Attention Readers: This book uses US English.
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Note from the Publisher
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Dedication
This is for all of you who asked what happened after Blood Signs.
Chapter One
Lying in bed, Randall Stewart watched his lover, Sasha Baros, slide on a pair of sexy leather pants.
"Are you sure we have to go?" He winced at the whine in his voice even before Sasha flashed Randy a glare, his light blue eyes expressing his disapproval.
"I thought you'd enjoy receiving my collar on what is considered our most sacred day. There couldn't be a more perfect time for us to proclaim our bond."
"I-I do. I mean, I am. I mean, I do want to celebrate our bond," Randy said, stumbling over his answer. Never had he expected Sasha to see his reluctance to go to the ceremony as a reflection of Randy's feelings about being collared. How could he explain to this supremely confident man that being the focus of a room full of supernatural creatures made him extremely nervous? He doubted Sasha ever had a single attack of nerves in his long life.
Sasha climbed back onto the bed and crawled across the mattress until he crouched above Randy. Randy gave a moan as his cock hardened from Sasha's proximity. Damn thing practically performed on command these days.
"No matter what happens, I'm not letting you go." The rock hard confidence in Sasha's voice settled Randy's jangling nerves. "I don't care what any other vampire, human or werekin says. You are the one for me."
Randy melted beneath his lover's certainty. Deep down he knew he belonged to Sasha, even if some days he worried he wouldn't be able to keep the vampire satisfied through centuries of life. Hell, before meeting the dominating man, he'd barely been able to keep a guy interested in a second date.
A hard kiss from Sasha's hot, possessive mouth provided the further reassurance he needed.
"Don't be foolish, my sun. There is nothing to worry about. This is Samhain, the most sacred day for vampires. The only day of the year we can communicate with our dead to receive advice and prophecy." Sasha made it sound like a positive thing, but frankly the whole idea creeped Randy out.
He couldn't think of a single reason he wanted to talk to the dead, but one look at his lover's expression, and he knew he had to go. It would look bad if Sasha's pet didn't attend, especially since the vampire had announced the upcoming ceremony to give Randy his collar. As it was, Sasha choosing a mere human as his permanent mate had more than one vampire doubting the wisdom of their leader's choice.
"Having the opportunity to talk to ghosts doesn't really doesn't make me want to go," Randy confessed.
Sasha's pale eyes glowed with amusement. "Am I going to have to drag you to the ceremony naked?" He slid off the bed and flipped back the covers. "I don't have any objection to your nudity, however all the people I'll have to kill for seeing your naked body might bother you. As a future doctor, aren't you supposed to do your best to save lives?"
Randy shrugged. "It would give you more people to talk to on the other side. I'm just doing my part for the ceremony." He gave Sasha an innocent look through his lashes, knowing that particular expression excited his lover.
With a growl, the vampire crawled back up on the bed and pressed his larger frame onto Randy's. Sasha hadn't put on a shirt, and Randy gasped as their bare chests brushed together.
Bingo!
Sasha nipped at Randy's neck. He barely paid attention to his lover's words as the vampire nuzzled and nipped at his flesh.
"Oh, right there," he murmured.
Sasha chuckled against Randy's throat, sending shivers throughout Randy's body. A second later, a smacking kiss on his lips told Randy their interlude was over. Sasha slid off the bed again.
"You worry too much, my love. It's not as if you have to talk to the spirits yourself. You don't have that skill. It takes many years of training and an inherent ability for magic to speak to the dead. I've invited a well-known necromancer to act as the facilitator. She's the only one who will actually be able to talk to the dead. Now get your cute ass dressed in the outfit I bought you. "
Randy sighed and climbed off the bed to stand next to Sasha. His new outfit was one of the many reasons he didn't want to go. He couldn't seem to find the right words to convince Sasha that he wasn't the type to successfully pull off the leather pants look. Unlike the gorgeous vampire standing before him, he didn't exude sex appeal. He was just Randall Stewart, an awkward medical student lucky enough to have the sexiest man on the planet as his mate.
"That's not true, my love." Sasha leaned forward and placed a soft kiss behind Randy's ear, which immediately sent tingles up and down his spine. He made a soft sound as he me
lted against his vampire. Sasha wrapped his arms around Randy, easily supporting his weight. "I think you are the sexiest man on the planet."
Randy sighed. He craved Sasha like a drug. Every morning he forced himself to get out of bed and leave Sasha's side. Each time the act took more effort. If he didn't want to be a doctor so badly, he'd stay snuggled next to his vampire mate, forever.
"Tempting, but then we'd miss the ceremony," Sasha responded.
"That was kind of the point." Randy smiled.
Sasha smacked Randy's ass. "Get dressed."
He made sure Sasha saw his pout before he crammed his body into the tight leather pants and slid the zipper up with special care. The unforgiving fit didn't allow space for underwear.
Looking up, he caught Sasha licking his lips. "Forget about it," he warned. "I'm not getting out of these pants until after the ceremony, and even then it might take a shoe horn and two of your strongest guards."
Sasha laughed. The vampire smiled more these days, especially after Randy had permanently moved in with him. Even with Sasha's brother, Ustin, still on the loose, the vampire relaxed more now than when Randy first met him. Sasha claimed it was because he'd found his mate. Smooth talker.
The ruby flashed on Randy's finger as he slipped on his shirt and fiddled with the buttons. He paused to admire the ring. He'd tried to return it several times after finding out it had belonged to Sasha's father. However, his lover only took it back to have it resized before sliding it back onto Randy's finger.
He'd given up. He realized he couldn't out-stubborn a vampire. They had all the time in the world to argue. He yanked on his favorite boots. They were comfortable and turned Sasha on whenever he wore them. Something about giving him a badass edge.
"Come, pet, let's show everyone how beautiful you are."
Randy rolled his eyes as he followed his mate out of their rooms.
Yeah, he was the beautiful one. He shook his head at Sasha's blindness.
"I can hear your thoughts, my sun. Didn't I tell you how beautiful you were?"
"Yep. I'm a beauty." He resisted the urge to laugh. As long as Sasha found him attractive, that was the important thing.
"I am the envy of my clan," Sasha insisted. "No one has a lover as smart and as wonderful as mine."
"Not that you're biased or anything." Randy gave a snort of laughter. No one could persuade Sasha that Randy was less than perfect, even though several people had tried. He'd heard them in the club as they pretended he didn't exist and tried to sweet talk their way into his lover's bed. Although it annoyed Randy, he didn't feel threatened. If Sasha didn't want Randy anymore, he'd tell him, but he wouldn't do it by taking someone else to his bed.
As they stepped out into the hall, Randy's shoulders started to itch. "Do they have to follow me everywhere?"
"Who?" Sasha didn't even turn to acknowledge his sulky question.
"The fae you have stalking me. Just because they're invisible doesn't mean I can't feel them."
Sasha stopped and turned to stare at Randy. Randy shifted uncomfortably beneath his searching gaze.
"Have you always been able to sense your guards?"
Randy shook his head. "Only the past few weeks." Believing it was his connection with Sasha that heightened his senses, Randy hadn't bothered mentioning it before. Based on Sasha's expression, perhaps he'd been wrong.
"We didn't know you could feel us."
The fae materialized in the hallway and gave Randy the same searching gaze his mate had just gifted him with. The fae guards, Rael and Vallin, towered over Randy as their transparent wings glowed under the dim lights.
"I didn't used to be able to, but the last few weeks I can tell if you're around."
"We will revisit this development after the ceremony," Sasha said. He wrapped an arm around Randy, pulled him closer and away from the fae, only to have a white wolf trot up to them.
"Hey, Dustin, you coming to the ceremony?" Randy asked the shifter.
The wolf barked.
"Cute." Sasha glared at the wolf. "You know the only reason I'm letting you attend is because you are the protector of my sun." He turned to the fae. "You two might as well go home. You won't be needed. There are enough vampires to protect my lover without your help."
"As you wish." Vallin bowed before vanishing, as did Rael. Randy frowned at the empty space. His back still twitched madly. The fae hadn't left despite their agreement, but if they wanted to attend the Samhain spooky celebration, who was he to rat them out? Sasha had made an agreement with the Unseelie to watch over Randy, but the vampire couldn't really control them. The fae were a wild breed and always did as they wished. As long as they stayed within the guidelines of their contract, Sasha didn't complain.
Shaking his head at the two men so they knew he was aware of their presence, Randy followed Sasha out of the club and into the building next door. Apparently really big ceremonies now took place there. This was Randy's first time at the warehouse Sasha had renovated. His lover had wanted it to be a surprise. The construction crew had barely finished two days before the scheduled ceremony. They cut the timeline so close Randy thought Sasha was going to have kittens. Big saber-toothed ones that spit flames.
Sasha opened the door for Randy and Dustin to pass through, taking the lead again once they all entered. Randy's booted feet immediately sank into the soft wool rugs covering the floor. Dozens of elegant chairs, couches and tables littered the cavernous interior, and most of them contained a vampire or two. Some sat with their human pets by their chairs, others sat alone.
All the furniture looked antique, as did the elaborate chandeliers hanging from the rafters. Only the open beams above him and the sheer size of the space told Randy this had once been a warehouse. The entire building looked rich, elegant and over-the-top luxurious. It suited Sasha perfectly. Randy played with the ruby on his finger as he followed his mate across the floor.
Looking around, he noticed someone had pulled a group of chairs into a circle leaving an exposed piece of flooring in the middle. Within that circle was another one created with what looked like salt.
Why salt?
Sasha turned to Randy, wrapped his arm around Randy's waist, and pulled him closer. "We need to contain the spirits once we call them. With the salt circle, we can communicate with the dead without setting them free."
Randy nodded as if it was perfectly acceptable to want to talk to dead people. He preferred his dead to stay dead and gone, thank you very much. He stuck by his initial assessment of the ceremony—creepy.
Sasha greeted people as they passed, never letting go of Randy the entire time. Randy jumped when a brush of fur slid across his fingers, startling him for a moment. He'd forgotten the shifter had tagged along. With a relieved sigh, he sank his fingers into the wolf's thick coat. Being kidnapped together had made them close friends. Randy knew Dustin had only come to the ceremony to calm Randy's nerves and for support, not because the shifter really wanted or needed to attend.
Randy scanned the room quickly, careful to avoid meeting any vampire's eyes and risk offending someone. He didn't see Dustin's mate, Lewis. Since their abduction, the beta of Dustin's pack had made it his goal to stick close to the small wolf shifter. It made for some interesting encounters. Dustin wasn't particularly happy with the attention, or at least he pretended not to be. However, Randy had caught Dustin giving the larger shifter wistful glances when the other man wasn't looking. He still hadn't asked Dustin the details of their history. From the few encounters he'd witnessed between them, he could see Dustin couldn't or wouldn't get past it to pursue their relationship.
Sasha took his seat in the largest chair in the circle and pointed to the purple velvet-covered pillow by his side. That was one thing Randy still hadn't gotten used to yet. Vampires considered humans pets, and, as such, seated them on pillows on the floor. Although Randy knew Sasha considered him more of a partner than a possession, it would reflect poorly on Sasha to break tradition and have a human sit beside h
im in a chair.
Randy didn't mind too much, and he hated to make waves. Besides, they rarely attended formal events, and when they were alone, Randy sat on the furniture like anyone else. Randy settled on his knees beside Sasha's chair without comment. He let out a sigh when Sasha sank his fingers into his hair and stroked his head.
"Is everything prepared?" Sasha asked Tian, his right-hand man, as he approached. Dressed entirely in black with his silver hair pulled up and away from his face, the elegant vampire looked sterner than usual. Tian was one of the few vampires, besides Liam, Randy felt comfortable around. The others always looked at him as if wondering if he could become their next meal. Sasha's bragging about the divine flavor of Randy's blood didn't help his nervousness either. He missed Liam. The man's sense of humor would've helped settle Randy's nerves, but the vampire had gone out of town to visit friends and was celebrating Samhain with them.
Tian raised a brow. "The necromancer is already here." He beckoned to someone behind him. A figure in black separated from the shadows on the wall and approached. Randy hadn't seen her when they first entered the building, and from her appearance, he could see why.
Her entire outfit was as black as the night sky while her shadow-colored hair fell to her waist and emphasized her ghost-pale skin. The gaze she turned towards Randy made his stomach churn. Her eyes were entirely black with no whites at all. Spooky. So far, nothing had changed his expectations about this night. It had all the hallmarks of a horror story.
Sasha stood and slid a hand beneath Randy's arm to help him up also. After making sure Randy was steady on his feet, Sasha faced the necromancer.
