The Angels of Paris Chronicles Books 1-3: Boxed Set Bonus Edition

by Anna Santos

  “It’s good for us he feels so attracted and protective of his mate,” William declared, his eyes deliberating as if he was thinking about something important. “It means their bond is strong, and we will have a new royal couple soon enough.”

  “I have no intention of letting her run away from me,” I said, giving a lopsided smile and watching him purse his lips. “What are you thinking?” I asked, sure he was elsewhere and was not paying attention to my words.

  “If only I could replicate the love effects in gargoyles without mates, maybe I could find a way to prevent us from turning to stone during the day.”

  “A love drug,” I said, finding his words amusing.

  “Yes, a love drug.”

  “Humans have invented that already,” Jean-Paul responded, joining the conversation. “It’s called Viagra!”

  Jean-Paul and I laughed while William stared at us as if we were fools. Maybe our jokes were too mundane for his super-brain. He should just relax and stop worrying about everything. He should find his mate soon, so he would stop being such a square guy. Then, he could do as many tests as he wanted on him and his mate and leave the rest of us alone.

  The sudden noises, outside the library, made us stop laughing. We rushed to the door, so we could understand what was going on.

  Outside, vampires were falling on the floor, shivering and bleeding from their mouths and eyes.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, baffled by the deadly scene.

  “They were poisoned. Vampires are experiencing the side effects of the drug Clarity,” Will said, calmly stepping outside the door and watching the bustling people and waiters.

  “How did they do this here, at my party, in my house?” Jean-Paul growled, stepping out and giving orders to his men to control the crowd.

  I should have done the same, but a terrible thought crossed my mind. Aria, where was she?

  “Aria, I need to find Aria!” I panicked, moving Will away from me and making my way through the ballroom to find my mate and get her out of here.

  Around me, vampires were accusing the werewolves, and the angels were trying to calm everybody down. But there was already some fighting and screaming.

  “The blood is poisoned. They tried to kill us,” were the words yelled by the vampires.

  William landed in front of me in his gargoyle form. “You need to control the vampires. Tell your men to take the sick vampires back to my place. I want to examine them.”

  “I need to get to Aria,” I protested. I couldn’t care less about the vampires. I needed to get my mate to safety first.

  “I’ll do that. You need to get back to Jean-Paul’s side and help him calm down the vampires. They trust you. You need to explain to them what is going on unless you want a war to break out here.”

  I growled, exasperated.

  Jacob appeared next to me.

  “Aria?” I asked him.

  “Safe with Camille. I told them to leave. They are heading for the limo,” he informed me.

  I relaxed. Being with Camille meant that she was safe, and knowing that they were leaving also reassured me. Camille was a shield. She wouldn’t let anything happen to my mate.

  Jacob asked, “What do you want us to do?”

  “Control the vampires. Take the sick ones to Will’s house. He will attend to them.”

  “And what do we tell the others?”

  “I will talk to them. Until then, search for the blood that was served and keep everybody away from it. We need to find out where the blood came from and who is behind this attack.”

  Jacob vanished into thin air, and I joined Jean-Paul who was trying to stop the vampires from attacking his men and family. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Camille at the entrance with Aria. Her shield was up, keeping the vampires away. I growled, annoyed by the nerve they had for trying to harm my mate. And then I noticed she had the birthday boy in her arms. Aria was being targeted because she was protecting the little pup from the vampires. I had to do something. Before I could get to them, they were all pulled back by Will, and Camille took Aria to the limo after giving the child back to his mother. With my mate safe, I could help Jean-Paul give an explanation to the vampires.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  PHILIPPE

  When I arrived outside, Aria and Camille were entering a limo. I couldn’t help but follow Aria. I needed to be near her. I needed to talk to her, look into her eyes, and understand why I was completely obsessed with her. I needed to know where she was living, so I could watch her every move.

  Rejection should lead to indifference. I shouldn’t care about that girl. But there I was, lurking in the shadows, bewitched by her image while entranced by her laughter and the sound of her voice. Something was different about her, and it wasn’t just the new hair color and her clothes. She was glowing and looking extremely attractive. It didn’t help that I had an obsession for red haired girls. It reminded me of Sophie, the only woman I had ever loved.

  I couldn’t get Aria out of my mind. Wearing no eyeglasses, having her hair a beautiful red color, dressed elegantly, and seeming extremely happy also helped make me realized that I was the biggest jerk to ever walk the earth. There was my mate, looking like the most beautiful creature, and I had made the stupid rushed decision of rejecting her. Boy, if I was feeling stupid before, I was feeling like the king of the stupidity now!

  I couldn’t shake the fact that Aria reminded me of Sophie. But how could two people be so different but, at the same time, be so alike? Aria’s eyes were brown, Sophie’s were green. Sophie had a really delicate face and tall figure. She was a redhead, but it was not as beautiful as Aria’s new bold red hair that made her look like a nymph. Aria was shorter than Sophie. Sophie was far more delicate and slim. My mouth watered just remembering how I would travel my fingers over Sophie’s neck, dipping my tongue in her cleavage and sending a million waves of pleasure to her face.

  I’d spent decades building walls to conceal the pain that Sophie’s death brought to me. It’s been a while since I’ve allowed myself to remember her. I have tried to rid myself of my human past. Except for her. She was the only memory I couldn’t erase, even if Sophie was long gone and buried. No one knew she had ever existed, other than me. There was no family to miss her. Sophie was only a ghost I had long ago left in the shadows as a bittersweet memory. I had promised to never love a woman again.

  I should stop thinking about my dead lover. On the other hand, Aria was alive, and she was more desirable than ever. Her skin was glowing when I looked at her as if some kind of energy was radiating off her body. She was different and it was not just in her appearance. She looked ethereal. Maybe she could fix me. Maybe she was the answer to my loneliness. I didn’t know, though. I had for a long time lost all hope about redemption or finding love again.

  I was having a hard time breathing and focusing on following the car. I was fast, and I could run faster than a car and wait in the corners to see where she was headed, but I had a million questions that assaulted my mind and tormented me. By the look of it, they weren’t heading to Paris. They were going somewhere I had no record of a location created as a base for the gargoyles. But there was their sickening scent all over the place. There were werewolves scouting the property and angels walking around the house. I could see them. I could smell them. There were heavy security measures around that house. It would be difficult to attack, but a solitary stealth entrance wouldn’t be that hard to conceal.

  It had been only a few days since Aria fell into the river. It had been three days that I had been trying to keep Cedric happy, pretending to be looking for Blood Houses and rogue vampires. The gargoyles had done a really good job in getting rid of some inconvenient partners who were failing to pay their respects to me. There was always some vampire punk with a few decades who thought he could overthrow me and rule my city. So, sending the gargoyles to their lairs was a pretty nice maneuver to keep my hands clean and send a strong message.

  If I were caught in t
hat property, it wouldn’t look good for me. They would shoot first and ask questions later. I had insisted on leaving alone and there was no backup to help me escape. I was being absurd if I was really planning to invade that house. It would be careless to risk my life for a chance to talk to her.

  Even with my survival instincts alerting me to the ignorance of my actions, I entered the property and made my concealed way to the house.

  It seemed that every single light was turned on in that place and everyone who lived there was awake. So, I had to be really careful and try to mask my scent so the werewolves wouldn’t catch it. Gargoyles and angels were all ears and eyes—they couldn’t smell a vampire even if he was in front of their nose. However, werewolves were like hunting dogs, and they would run in a wild chase if they realized a vampire was there.

  I followed my mate’s scent. It was sweet and pure like an addictive perfume. It was impossible to ignore the hunger that arose in me. My entire body was aroused by her. I could barely keep my fangs hidden and my thoughts clear enough to keep my appetite in check. I didn’t want to throw myself on her neck when I found her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  PHILIPPE

  I found her bedroom on the main floor. Her French doors were opened to the garden. I sighed at how careless that was. It was fortunate I found her and not some other bloodthirsty vampire. She needed to be more careful. Then, I realized she felt safe there due to the amount of guards outside. Too bad they neglected the fact that older vampires were faster, and a single predator could enter their home and do a lot of damage before he was discovered.

  They had given her a really beautiful room, suited for a princess. She was not there, though. But I could hear the water running in the bathroom. I took my time to touch the dresser and looked at her vanity table, noticing all the new products and perfumes. I also opened her closet. I narrowed my eyes at the amount of dresses and fancy clothes. She had boxes of jewelry inside the drawers and laced underwear that made my eyes turn black.

  Something was clear, Aria was being spoiled by someone who was giving her everything she never had and probably dreamed of having. I couldn’t help getting really jealous about it. She was mine! But she was selling herself to some other guy who could give her a better life and attend to her materialistic whims. She was nothing more than another gold-digger. That shouldn’t surprise me so much. All women were the same, really. Why would I think she could be different just because she looked like an innocent girl when I first saw her?

  Knowing she was selling herself for clothes and a good life revolted me. I was angered, even if I had no right to be. I was the one who set her free and failed to see her beauty. Someone saw it and was taking advantage of her. The idea of her sleeping with some other guy made me want to smash things and kill something.

  I had my back to the bed when she came into the room.

  “Cedric,” she called.

  I felt the air move around me when she made the movement to run to me. Then, she halted, probably realizing that I was not Cedric.

  The sole mention of that name made my teeth clench and my hands fist with anger. So, Cedric was the one who was banging my mate and giving her all those gifts. I could rip his head off!

  I slowly turned towards her. She was wearing nothing more than a bathrobe hugging her figure. She had shiny skin and water still dripped from her hair. The fact she looked and smelled so pleasant soothed my fury. Yet, Aria seemed paralyzed with fear. She hadn’t forgotten me by the look of horror in her eyes. I couldn’t let her scream. I sped to her and covered her mouth with my hand before she could call for help. But, while I was putting my arms around her figure and leaning my face against her hair, all anger stopped as my entire body reacted with explosions of pleasure just because we were touching.

  I quickly woke up from my lustful thoughts with Aria’s whimpers and her quivering body as she tried to escape my hold. I could feel the panic and the sheer terror she felt, and it hurt me that she would feel threatened by my touch.

  “Shhh. Hush, baby,” I cooed, turning her in my arms and making her stare at my face. I drowned in her scared eyes, with my hand over her tender lips. “Calm down, Aria. Don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  She didn’t believe me because she started to sob and closed her eyes fiercely, so I wouldn’t compel her. She was a clever girl, but that hadn’t crossed my mind. I wanted to have a serious conversation, and I didn’t want a puppet. I wanted her fully aware of my presence. Before I could say anything else, she lost the ability to stand on her feet. I had to grab her to prevent her from slipping right between my arms. That made me grasp her firmer and feel her closer. God, she smelled incredible! She was lucky I had a lot of control or she would have been bitten right then.

  “I promise you I’m not going to hurt you. Now promise me you aren’t going to scream.”

  Aria shook her head, and I sighed. She had the right to be scared of me. I had been cruel and insensitive.

  It was hard to focus when she felt so nice in my arms, molding perfectly to my body. Without realizing, I was dipping my nose to her hair and my fangs were craving a nibble on her soft flesh. I wasn’t lusting solely for her blood. I was lusting for her body, for her kisses, and my mouth tasting and kissing her skin. I even lusted for her small and perky breasts I could feel against my shirt.

  I had no idea how it happened, but I got overwhelmed by her scent. One moment I was covering her mouth with my hand and the next I was covering her neck with soft, tender kisses. They made her voice small moans of pleasure. She didn’t scream when my hand dropped to hold her back. She didn’t push me away when I took her earlobe in my mouth. It was not fear I was smelling anymore, it was arousal. It was need and lust that flashed in her eyes when I looked at her face to be sure she was not displeased by my touch. She had her eyes half closed with need and her body was surrendering to my touch. She panted when I surrounded her waist with my arms and trailed kisses on her cheeks.

  “Aria,” I called, feathering kisses on her rosy cheek. “I made a mistake. I know I did. I’m so sorry.”

  “Stop, please stop,” she pleaded, voice laced with a yearning that was betraying her words.

  “I want you back,” I said, completely crazy for admitting it.

  “You are a monster,” she accused me, her hands shoving my body from hers. It was a weak push as if she was only making me try harder and not really trying to get away.

  “Yes, I am. You deserve much better,” I confirmed sounding like an unselfish person but completely aware that I would say anything to convince her to take me back, even if it was a lie. I was a really good liar, and I would manipulate people to do what I wanted like a professional. Hell, I was a professional. The only problem here was that I was not lying. I wanted her back, and I was sorry.

  “I have better,” she declared, opening her eyes wide as if she was coming back to her senses and realizing what was going on. Then, she pushed me away harder, freeing herself from my arms. “Stay away,” she ordered, hugging herself.

  Her reaction hurt me, but I tried to respect her request. Even if I felt like I was being stabbed in the heart with a sharp knife. “Are you going to scream?”

  She shook her head. “How did you find me here? How did you get in?”

  “I’ve followed you here.”

  “From where?”

  “From the party. Didn’t you see me at the party?”

  She shook her head as she breathed slowly. I was entranced by her rosy cheeks and the way her lips were parted. I wanted to get close to her mouth and taste it.

  “Did someone hurt you at the party?” I asked, trying to make her feel less afraid.

  She shook her head again, and I moved closer, making her pull back. “You shouldn’t have tried to help the pup. You could have been killed. What were you thinking?”

  “They were going to hurt him. He was just a little baby.”

  “They would hurt you.”

  “So?” she asked w
ith narrowed eyes.

  The sound of my voice came out vulnerable. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  She fluttered her eyelashes. I moved my face closer to hers, capturing her eyes as she pursed her lips and gripped her hands to her bathrobe.

  Her voice was laced with suspicion. “Why did you follow me here?”

  “I…really don’t know,” I confessed, trying to be logical and stop acting like a boy in heat. She should know it was because of her that I was there. So, why ask that question? Was she playing with me? Did she want me to tell her once again how sorry I was and how I wanted her back? Well, that wasn’t going to happen. I had humiliated myself enough for one night, more like for a century.

  “You should leave,” she stated, with a hard stare and serious face.

  I smirked at her request. Was she really thinking I would go away that easily? I couldn’t stop myself from looking at her. I was fascinated by her wet hair and soft skin. There was just a thin robe concealing her and preventing me from having what I craved since I saw her that night. Her blood wasn’t my priority. No, I had other urges. And I think she understood it because she stepped back and with alarmed eyes.

  “I will scream if you try to…”

  It was almost cute that she would think she had any kind of chance to escape me. I had witnessed what my innocent kisses had done to her body. I was pretty sure our attraction was mutual. I wouldn’t need a lot of convincing to have her begging me to touch her and give her pleasure.

  “I really want you to leave,” she said in a trembling voice and with shining brown eyes.

  “And I really want to take off that robe, lay you on that bed, and…”

  “Shut up!” she ordered, red rushing to her cheeks as her hands balled at her sides. Apparently, she didn’t find my sexy smirk inviting. Maybe she was too shy to want to hear the sweet things I could do to her. “I’ll scream if you step any closer.” She stepped back.