by Moore, E. M.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Blurb
Other Books by E. M. Moore
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
Ache For Her
Coveted by the Dark
Book Two
E. M. Moore
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by E. M. Moore. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact E. M. Moore at [email protected].
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition September 2018
ACHE FOR HER
Coveted by the Dark, Book Two
BLURB:
With a past this dark, only one thing could save him.
Simon prefers the vamp life. Feeding, pleasure, and living for his own immediate desires. But what he desires now more than anything is revenge against the man who took everything from him.
He watches.
He waits.
He executes his unshakable plan until the plan becomes the one thing grounding him…and it’s all because of her.
“I hated myself for even letting this happen. Letting me be the victim…and enjoying it.”
ACHE FOR HER is a dark paranormal romance with an irredeemable hero and a heroine that just might be his saving grace.
Other Books by E. M. Moore
Reverse Harem
Ravana Clan Vampire Series
Chosen By Darkness
Into the Darkness
Falling For Darkness
Surrender To Darkness
Order of the Akasha Series
Novella Starter — Stripped
Summoned By Magic
Tempted By Magic
Ravished By Magic
Indulged By Magic
Chronicles of Cas Series
Reawakened
Hidden
Power
Severed
Rogue
Paranormal Romance
The Adams’ Witch
Bound In Blood
Cursed In Love
Phoenix Series
Flight of the Phoenix
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Witchy Librarian Cozy Mystery Series
Wicked Witchcraft
One Wicked Sister
Wicked Cool
Wicked Wiccans
Chapter One
Simon
Take some time, Galen told me.
Fuck that.
Why? Just because I didn’t like seeing his perfect fucking life with Kayleigh?
I closed my eyes and breathed in deep. I had to get my anger under control or my plans weren’t going to happen as I wanted. I was taking time—a lot of time—to do something I should’ve done a long fucking time ago.
Weird how one thing that happened in your life would make you think of something completely different. Somehow, my mind had made the connection between Kayleigh and my mother. Or maybe it was just Kayleigh’s pre-vamp life that sparked an intense rage inside me. She had it all. A doting family, college. I grew up on the streets with nothing. Then, she comes into my house, my world, and takes away the one person who was always mine. Galen. My sire. My friend. My father figure. So, not only did she have the life I should’ve had growing up, she was now at the estate living the life I had.
Take some time.
The words still rattled around in my head. I should’ve just killed Kayleigh when I had the chance. Killed her before Galen fell for her. Fuck, I should’ve just done what I’d intended to do when I saw her walking back to her place that night. If I would’ve drunk her blood then, Galen would never have known.
Just like he sure as fuck wasn’t going to find out about my plans now. He always thought I was ignorant, and immature, and even I could admit this was a risk. But, this was what happened when he left me to my own devices.
I peered through the bushes to the opposite side of the street where the Spanish-style mansion rose up from a manicured lawn. Down the street, a teeter totter blew in the wind, one side hitting the dirt, then the other. It was a perfect little gated community for the presumably perfect little families inside.
Only, I knew the truth. Inside that house with the pristine lawn and the flowers that bloomed under the moon was one fucked up man. Greene. Jacob Greene. My mother called him Greenie. In her high stupor, she used to tell me she needed to go see ‘Greenie’ for some more. Always with his name over and over again. From what I could tell after watching the house for a few days, he was head of that drug ring now. Back when my mother was an addict, he was probably just the dealer. But with his grayed hair and wrinkles, he’d retired to an easier life, living off the pain of others.
I wondered if he’d remember my mother. If he’d even known what became of her, or if he ever actually thought about her at all. He certainly hadn’t given a fuck then. No one had showed up at the funeral Galen arranged for her, and he certainly hadn’t been there when she went into tremors with the needles sticking out of her arms. If he thought about her at all, it was probably that he missed the money she gave him or whatever else she used to pay him with.
I sat back on my haunches and stretched my hands out to the side. I needed another train of thought. That one always took me into murder-inducing territory. Too much of that would make me run over there, kick the door down, and just slash his throat.
That wasn’t going to happen though.
The fucker was going to suffer just like I had. Just like my mother. No more living high off the people he helped destroy. He needed to atone for everything he’d done. I was sure my mother wasn’t the only victim. Not for as many years as he’d been doing this. There was probably a list a mile long, and he’d feel every single one when I was done with him. Every. Single. One.
A black sedan pulled up in front of the house. The night went still as I watched. I leaned forward, my claws descending into the earth in front of me as my gaze zeroed in. I sniffed the air as the door opened. Not him.
Her.
My insides constricted. After I’d asked around to find out where Greenie was nowadays, I followed the trail here. His people had big mouths. Then again, they probably weren’t all that worried. This place was like a fortress. It might keep out humans, but if I wanted a way in, I’d find one. Especially since I didn’t care. I’d leave a trail of bodies behind me as long as I got my revenge. What I didn’t expect to find here was her.
She stood, her head popping above the car for a moment before she reached back in. She pulled a strap up onto her shoulder and then closed the door behind her as her grandfather’s guard waited by her side. She was the picture of perfection. Straight, dark hair of which the longest strands flirted with the roundness of her ass. She had on a pair of designer shades even though it was already dark out. And no, she wasn’t high. She smelled like the perfect mixture of floral scents. Those who did drugs smelled like rotten meat. I didn’t know if it had something to do with the drugs mixing with their bodies as a poison, but I could always tell when I was near someone who was high. It made me want
to gag.
Not her though. She was the exact opposite. She was in her early twenties, living off her grandfather’s money. And he doted on her too. She got everything she wanted. Didn’t work at all, didn’t go to school, but still living the life. Almost like a celebrity. She had guards, those who waited on her hand and foot, but she didn’t even have the talent to back it up.
If I didn’t want to sink my fangs into her so badly, I’d probably kill her. She was perfect. My only restraint was Galen’s voice in my head telling me I was too impulsive, too immature. I could’ve taken his granddaughter the moment I first saw her. Like how I felt when I first saw Kayleigh. I’d just taken her without a thought to the consequences. This girl would be different. I had plans for her, this girl who lived off drug money without a care in the world. It made me sick, so she’d have to pay too.
All of them were going to pay.
I bit down on my lip as I watched her turn toward the walk, the alert guard by her side. Tonight was the night I’d finally put my plan into motion. In an instant, I retracted my claws and was at the sidewalk next to her by the time she took her first step. The power of my approach made the air spin around us and she teetered on her heels. My hand shot out and righted her.
“Excuse me, are you okay?” I said in the deepest, most trusting voice I could muster. Her skin on mine made my own flare with heat. I tore my hand away at the contact.
She turned moments later, her hand immediately going to her chest as she started.
“What the—?” the guard said. He was about five seconds too slow. If I’d wanted, they both would’ve already been dead.
I was still tinkering with the idea until her gaze leveled on me. She looked me up and down, taking her time perusing me. It was no doubt she was beautiful, but how she attained that beauty made me hate her. Squelching every knee-jerk reaction I had to just break her neck right then and there took a lot of effort. I had a plan, I reminded myself. I was not going to go out half-cocked and fuck everything up. This was too important.
I smirked at her the moment her eyes caught mine. I was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, my hair gelled to perfection. Her gaze heated, the same stupid response of all humans, but what I didn’t expect was my own response. My heart beat once in my chest, slamming against my rib cage. My claws simultaneously tried to come out as my fangs itched to descend.
The guard pushed forward. “Sir, step back please.”
The girl laughed. “Oh, it’s okay, Ronnie.” She looked back, her face sultry as she held her hand out. “I’m Lilah.”
I swallowed, staring at her hand. The polite thing to do would be to reach out and shake it. It wasn’t usually my goal to be gentlemanly, but in order for my plan to work, it was. She had to trust me, but those weren’t the thoughts pouring through my head now. Her bright, flawless skin. Her perfect pouty lips. Her rich scent. But most of all, it was the pulse at her wrists as her hand was still suspended in the air toward me.
I calculated how long it would take to murder the guard and drag the girl back to the bushes to drain her. If I did that, I’d have to immediately run in and take out Greenie afterward.
No, I needed better revenge than that. There had to be suffering, like all the moments I suffered without my mother.
My impulsive nature wasn’t going to get the better of me this time. I was going to carry out the plan I’d perfected the past few nights while I lingered in my suite in downtown Philly. A place way too posh for the little boy who’d grown up with an addict. Not now though. Now I could have whatever I wanted.
I smiled and took Lilah’s hand. “Simon,” I told her, giving her my name. Sure, I could’ve used a fake name, but I wanted them to die knowing who I was. It would all come out eventually, and then Greenie would understand why I was taking his life. He’d understand why I was taking so much joy out of it too.
“Hi, Simon,” Lilah said, her perfect little smile still there.
Just like Kayleigh.
My stomach rolled. These dumb bitches who had everything made me sick. My teeth clenched, and I bit back a growl threatening to the surface.
The guard eyed me. “We need to get you inside now, Delilah.”
Her face faltered, annoyed by the guard trying to tell her what to do. I held my hands up in a perfect passive stance. I knew how to take girls. It was kind of my thing as Galen’s top Feeder scout. I went into places with one thing in mind: finding the trash that could be turned into jewels with a little polish. “I swear I’m not a weirdo,” I said, making sure to put the perfect amount of amusement in my voice. “I just moved in down the street.”
Lilah looked the way I pointed. “Oh, did you buy the Custer’s house?”
I shrugged. If there was anything I learned, it was never to fully commit to something I hadn’t researched ahead of time. Humans could smell bullshit more than they realized. An intuition or something. “I don’t know. Maybe,” I told her.
Her smile grew wider and a sense of accomplishment rang through me. I already had her on the string. It didn’t hurt that humans were always attracted to my kind. Maybe it was because we were all extremely good looking, but I was pretty sure it also had something to do with the fact that we always had a hint of danger to us. Stupid humans. Then again, people always trusted those who were good looking. If I cared to look, I was sure I could find some actual scientific evidence to back that theory up, but I didn’t need it. I had years of vamp experience to prove it. People were enamored with good looking people, even more so if they looked like they could be trouble.
“Well, welcome to the neighborhood,” she said, her brown eyes twinkling.
The guard’s lips thinned. He surveyed the area, looking from the house to Delilah again and again. He was actually doing his job well, but he would be no match for me. “Thanks,” I told her. “You lived here long?”
“My whole life,” she said. “I live here with my grandfather.”
I nodded. I already knew all this. I knew that her parents had died when she was younger and that her grandfather and his cohorts had raised her. Because of who he was, she was treated like a princess. She had a car, but she never drove it. She was carted around like the Queen of England. If she wanted to go shopping, her bodyguards took her. If she wanted anything, she could expect it the next day.
Revenge was almost mine. There was no way her grandfather was giving her up, and that was what I was banking on.
“I moved down here for work,” I told her. “Not sure how long I’ll be staying, I tend to move around a lot.”
Her smile faltered a little. I swear I could write the whole of this conversation before it even started. She was already enamored with me and we’d barely spoken to one another. It was the vamp gift. The perfect predators. We easily pulled in prey for the kill. Too easy sometimes.
Not this time though. I was going to drag it out.
“Well,” I said, giving her a smile. “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime?”
The guard, finally seeing an end to the conversation, took up his stance next to Delilah. He placed his hand on her elbow and I had to quell the surge of anger that threatened to flare.
“See you around,” she said.
I walked down the sidewalk as if I was taking a moonlit stroll. Once I hit the shadows, I put on my vamp speed and hid in the bushes opposite the house again.
Despite my greedy thoughts, everything was going to happen right on track. Take the girl. Ransom the grandfather. But not for money, for his life.
I smiled as I watched Delilah walk up the main walk to the house. Her head twisted around to try to see me, but I was already gone.
Game on.
Chapter Two
Delilah
Wow. What a hottie for a neighbor. I guessed I’d have to drag out my running gear and make sure I got outside more often. Damn, but he was dreamy.
I set my sunglasses down on the table in the foyer. Ronnie, Mr. Buzzkill, stood just inside the door. I’d have to talk t
o Gramps again about getting some extra space. The bodyguards were always up my ass. Though, sometimes I didn’t mind it. It depended on what we were doing.
A smile tugged at my lips as I walked into the living room. I found Gramps in there, lounging while watching an old Western movie. “Hi, Grandpa.” I leaned over and gave him a kiss. His unshaven face tickled my nose.
He started and turned as if he wasn’t expecting me to walk in on him. “Oh, Lilah. How was the movies?”
I cocked my head to the side. I swear the old man never listened to me. “I went out dancing tonight, Gramps. You know that.”
“Oh, right,” he said, already turned toward the TV again. He’d really started to lose his hair over the last couple of years. He had more of a dome now than any real hairstyle. “Glad you had fun,” he said.
I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek again and ventured upstairs. His age had taken a toll on him lately. He had a hard time hearing, listening, and preferred to stay to himself. I made sure to stop in and say hi at least several times a day, but he was always so distracted with one thing or the other. It made me nervous that someone I’d always believed to be so ageless might be having problems.
I dropped my purse just inside my room and then kicked the door shut. I had a huge room on the second floor. It was practically a suite. Grandpa had put it in for me after I finished high school. I had my own attached bath, makeup area, walk-in closet, the works. It was pretty much every woman’s dream, especially the fact that Grandpa made sure I had everything I wanted, which meant fully stocked closets and drawers of makeup I’d only used once.
I drifted toward the window and looked down, telling myself I wasn’t looking for the hottie next door. Looking both ways down the sidewalk, there was no one to be seen. I sighed, but a smile immediately pulled my lips apart. Nothing exciting ever happened at the house. Grandpa had this place locked up tight. In fact, Ronnie was probably down there right now filling him in about our handsome new neighbor. Gramps always wanted to know everything that was going on, and I wasn’t exaggerating—everything. His guards gave him a play-by-play of my activities every day. I didn’t really mind it. I’d grown up that way, so I didn’t really know any different. And besides, he was doing it for my own safety.
