LOVE BITTEN
VAMPIRE BLOOD ROYALS BOOK 1
SABRINA C ROSE
LOVE BITTEN
Copyright © 2019 by Sabrina C Rose.
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this publication only. Published in the United States of America by Sabrina C Rose.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For information visit: www.sabrinacrose.com
Book Cover design by Moore Book Designs
Editing by: Clockwork Cactus
First Edition: December 2019
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For my web serial fam!
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You da best!
-Sabrina
1
ERICA
WHY DID MARIE INSIST on driving like she was carting around Miss Daisy? Erica clenched her fists in her lap and stared at the speedometer from the passenger seat of her best friend’s car in annoyance. “Can this thing go any faster?”
“It’s a bag of bolts,” Marie said, motioning to her dashboard. “Any faster, and it’ll fall apart. Calm your tits, we’re almost there.”
Marie made a right turn toward the sleek high-rise commercial building on 5th Avenue that Erica’s soon-to-be ex-fiancé, Max, owned. Past ten o’clock, the streets down in the financial district were light on cars and people. The fewer people she saw, the angrier she’d gotten.
That bastard said he was working late. And if he wasn’t at the office, Erica was going to wring Max’s neck.
It was their anniversary for goodness’ sake.
And to think, she’d sat fretting over his well-being when he didn’t show up for dinner. She’d waited for two hours at a candle-lit table—thinking progressively worse thoughts. Maybe Max had gotten into an accident on his way home. Or worse—lay dead in the street someplace.
He should be so lucky.
Not five minutes after she called his brother Cav, worry pitted deep in her stomach, her phone beeped with a single message.
Working Late.
Working late? Max was so full of hot air, she wondered how he didn’t burst. He was the one who’d begged her to cook for him in the first place. He said it would be like old times. Back when she’d cook him dinner in nothing but an apron, red lacy panties, and a pair of matching thigh-high stiletto boots. Heck, she’d even cooked his favorite plate—rare as hell steak with mashed potatoes. Not a green bean in sight.
The worst part? He didn’t even bother to call her to let her know he wasn’t coming.
If he’d been working, then why didn’t he answer any of her hundred phone calls?
She knew why. Her shoulders slumped as her mind flitted to the string of messages she’d received from his ex-secretary two months ago, telling her that Max had been having an affair. With her. That, in fact, on all the nights he’d “worked late,” he’d had her spread-eagled across his desk. Erica’s breath quickened as the image of Max banging his secretary gained traction in her mind.
She’d confronted him, of course. Max told her not to believe a word of it. According to him, his ex-secretary was on a revenge plot because he fired her. It was a plausibility that took some convincing. Nothing in his secretary’s messages told her she was lying. And nothing Max said truly confirmed his innocence either. No matter how much she wanted to believe Max, a small nagging feeling left her unsettled—until Cav told her she’d tried it with his girlfriend too. Even though she never did get to speak to her about it, there was no reason for her to believe Cav wasn’t telling the truth. So, she’d forced it from her mind.
Now, Max was working late. Again. And the nagging feeling was back.
Gosh, she was such an idiot. Erica folded her arms over her chest.
“He’d better be at work,” Erica mumbled as her best friend, who sat virtually silent in the driver’s seat beside her, turned up the street adjacent to Max’s company’s high-rise. “I swear, he’d better not be cheating on me. To think, he made me feel like I was crazy for even asking. After two years, how could he do this to me? To us?”
“Maybe it’s a misunderstanding,” Marie said, tucking her dark, almost midnight black, hair behind her ear. Several stacked piercings gleamed in the flickering street lights as they drove past.
Erica used to have her ears pierced like that. Until Max made her get rid of them. He said they no longer fit with their new image. Over the past year, not much she wore, said, or did fit with their new image. So, she’d changed herself to meet his new expectations. She’d given up so much for Max.
“All we know right now is that he’s working late,” Marie continued.
“What if he isn’t?” Erica’s voice cracked, fear overshadowing her anger. “What if he’s… with someone?”
“Then, we’ll kill him. But we don’t know anything right now.”
Her friend’s deadly serious tone made her want to smile. Only, it never made it to her lips. “I know he won’t answer my calls.”
To illustrate her point, Erica pulled out her phone and called Max again. Still, it rang out. Anger bubbled inside of her. The coward wouldn’t even talk to her now. Well, that was too bad. She was going to be face to face with him soon. He wouldn’t be able to avoid her then.
Marie parked the car just around the corner from Max’s building. Before Erica could ask why they weren’t parked out front, her friend was already getting out of the car. Erica fumbled with her seat belt and scrambled after her. She should have been nervous, but too many glasses of wine at her non-existent anniversary dinner had forced out any good sense she had left. Every piece of her itched to get to Max’s despicable face.
When they turned the corner, Erica froze.
There, curbside, sat Max’s stupid gleaming black Mercedes. She deflated. It did prove he wasn’t lying. He was working late. Doubt colored her. Maybe her best friend since grade school was right; maybe it was a misunderstanding.
“He is working late. We should probably go back—” Erica took a step backward, but a pair of headlights flashed behind them as a white SUV came to a stop beside them.
A woman with cherry red lips rolled the car window down. “Hey, excuse me. Do you know where the Shift International Building is?”
Erica’s breath caught in her throat as she watched the girl with blonde hair like her own give them an expectant stare. Maybe it was a coincidence. There were tons of other companies that leased space from Max. She could’ve been there for someone else.
Erica stood immobile, unable to think of anything other than rationalizing why she was looking for Max’s building. Marie moved first.
“It’s right here.” Marie pointed at the high-rise.
“Oh good! See, I told you we wouldn’t get lost,” the girl said to her passenger and swung the sleek SUV around and parked neatly in front of Max’s car.
Erica watched in morbid fascination as the two glamazons spilled out onto the sidewalk. The blonde wore a faux fur coat that barely covered her, and neither did the cherry-red skirt she wore underneath it. Her red-headed friend was dressed for summer in the middle of autumn. Erica’s grandmother would say the girl was looking to catch a cold with what little
she was wearing.
“Look at you two all glammed up. Hot date?” Marie asked from beside her, her bartender training kicking in hard. She was all charm and easiness. Erica was thankful that at least one of them could remain friendly and press for the information they needed. She, on the other hand, was gaping like a fish.
“Yeah, I know the owner.” The blonde gave them a knowing wink, then turned to her friend. “I can’t wait for you to meet his brother Cav. Can you say hawt!”
Erica nearly choked.
“Let’s go, it’s freezing out here,” the passenger said to the blonde, tucking her arm under her friend’s.
“Don’t let us keep you. You two have fun!” Marie said brightly, but as soon as the girls walked up to the after-hours button and pressed it with a buzz, her face flattened into a scowl. “Can you believe that asshole?”
“It might not be him.” The denial revved tenfold, and Erica held her breath and prayed like hell they weren’t talking about Max. He had five brothers, two of which were partners in his commercial venture. They very well could be there for him. Even still, Erica’s fingers tightened into a fist as the two scantily clad women pressed the after-hours button a second time and waited for a response. Please, let it be Ryrden. Please, let it be Ryrden. Erica desperately prayed Max’s brother was on the other side of the intercom.
“Who?” The speaker crackled at first, the word slightly mangled.
“Heather and Mel. We’re here for Max.”
Erica’s nails dug into her palms so hard, they almost bled.
“You’re right on time ladies,” Max said from the intercom. “Come on up.”
Erica watched the girls get buzzed into the building. Anger coiled inside of her. Puffs of air left her in streams like a raging bull in a cartoon. She was going to burst a vein. Erica stalked toward the building. “That two-timing, rotten bastard.”
“Whoa there.” Marie tugged her back.
Erica screamed. “Let me go, you said we could kill him.”
“Or…” Marie splayed her arms out to Max’s shiny black Mercedes like Vanna White showing a new letter. “We can kill it instead.”
It was the best idea of the night.
“Let’s.” Erica nodded in agreement. She bounded over to the car and kicked it with the heel of her boot. Loser. She kicked it again.
“Hey!” Marie called, holding her hands out to calm her down. “You’re going to break your ankle if you keep it up. Come on.”
“You said we could kill his car,” Erica whined.
“Yeah, but not with our feet.” Marie smirked, leading her to where they’d parked around the corner. The back door let out a harsh screech that echoed across the vacant street. Marie’s lithe body bent in half as she dug around on the floor. When she finally emerged, she held up a crinkled yoga mat.
“We’re going to beat his car with a yoga mat?” Erica’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline, then crinkled as she frowned.
“Of course not,” Marie unwrapped the bunched-up mat on the pavement. A well-worn metal bat rolled out onto the sidewalk with a clink.
“Why do you keep a bat in your car?” Erica looked at her strange friend.
“You mean you don’t have one?” She sputtered. “We work late nights at a bar for crying out loud. It’s for protection.” Marie pulled a second bat out of her car.
“Two?” Erica asked with a questioning look.
“Two is batting practice. One is assault with a deadly weapon,” Marie said, tossing it to her.
“You’re my soul mate.” Erica gave her friend a wry smile before walking back to Max’s car.
As she looked at the shiny oil slick car under the street lights, her feet faltered and wouldn’t take another step, like the car had a forcefield repelling her from it. Her liquid courage seemed spent. Erica’s heart pounded in her ears as she looked at Max’s precious car.
“I-I don’t think I can do this,” Erica stammered, her palms sweaty against the handle of the bat.
“Oh yes you can. You want revenge.” Marie nudged her forward as she pointed her bat at the white SUV in front of Max’s car. “It’s your anniversary and this is who he’s spending it with. He doesn’t deserve you.”
Marie was right. She’d spent so much time pretending to care about Max’s stupid vanity projects like his brand-new Mercedes and his flashy new commercial building. All Erica ever wanted was him. But over the past year, Max had become less of the guy who brought her flowers just because and more of the jackass who was cheating on her with the two bimbos upstairs. Her courage came back in full force.
Max didn’t deserve her. Now, it was time for her to show him.
“Come on Marie, let’s give this jackass what he deserves.”
“Let’s do this.” Her friend raised the bat over her head.
Let’s. Erica stared at the car, pictured Max’s face—his chiseled jaw, dark captivating eyes, his perfect bone structure—and swung.
“I gave you everything!” The bat crashed down onto the hood with a thud, chipping his pretty little custom paint job. She felt light as air seeing the damage.
The car blipped, then the alarm went off. Its piercing wail threatened to split her ear drums. She didn’t care. Without a second thought, Erica swung the bat at the passenger side window. Flecks of glass shattered into pieces, falling into the car and onto the pavement.
She swung the bat again, hitting the windshield with a hard thunk. Cracks splayed all over it like spiderwebs. She swung again. It folded in and cracked, but it didn’t break. Marie took up the other side, and together they dropped the bats with all their might. This time, the window gave way.
Giddy, she giggled hysterically. Max was going to weep when he saw his precious baby. Right down to the very much dented, dumb as sin, red pinstripe he had detailed to outline the front hood. Only, when Erica looked for the telltale stripe, it wasn’t there.
Oh no.
“Marie stop,” Erica called to her friend who’d just shattered one of the headlights. “I don’t think this is—”
Her words were drowned out by a booming, “What the fuck are you doing!”
Dropping the bat, Erica spun toward the thundering voice. Two figures emerged from the building. Erica found herself face to face with a very beautiful, very intimidating, and very furious face. His emerald green eyes darkened as the bat nudged at her shoes, goading her to pick it back up. His face curled into a snarl as he took in the scene behind her.
It was as if everyone at the same moment realized what they’d just done. Erica took an involuntary step back, looking from the tall menacing man in front of her to the car they’d just destroyed.
“That’s my car!”
Marie gasped. “Oh god.”
“Frick!” Erica squeaked, her eyes wide with shock.
“Erica,” Marie called to her just as she locked eyes with the stranger’s vicious gaze. “Run!”
She tried, but her feet refused to move.
2
JULIUS
JULIUS’S FACE BURNED HOT as he took in the scene in front of him. He tried to breathe through it, but the beast inside of him rose higher to the surface with every inhale. His canine fangs elongated and sharpened. Two stupid humans were destroying his brand new, top of the line, custom designed car with pristine leather seats so soft that every baby butt in the alter realm would weep in shame.
He was going to kill them.
Calm, brother. Evan’s mutinous voice squeezed between his thoughts of breaking one girl in half before draining the other.
Stop reading my mind. Julius seethed.
Your fangs are down.
He forced them to recede as he closed the distance between them.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Julius roared. The sudden sound sent them both jolting up right.
A sharp gasp escaped one as she whipped around, dropping the bat in her hands with a clink at her feet. Her heart beat like a battering ram inside her chest. Its quick pace formed a
hypnotic beat that revved the beast inside of him. Her blood pumped up her neck and settled in her cheeks, making him wet his lips in hunger. He wondered what she tasted like. His fangs threatened to drop again.
Julius, you need to think of something else.
Get out of my head.
Focus on something else. You’re losing it.
Evan’s words flitted from his mind as his gaze reluctantly travelled from her throat to her face.
The universe blinked. Everything peeled away, then refocused solely on her. She. Was. Gorgeous.
Her face was so striking. Round, innocent cheeks, big doe eyes, and near perfect symmetry. He wanted to study her for an eternity. Her hazel eyes were wild with emotion. When they found his, a jolt of electricity shot straight to his groin.
Julius sucked in a slow breath as his gaze trailed down the length of her. Golden wavy hair fell down to the small of her back, while fuck-me curves and legs that belonged tightly wrapped around his waist called to him. One singular thought repeated in his mind: Claim her.
Come, let’s go back upstairs. Evan encouraged.
Back upstairs? He would not go back up there now. Not when the most delectable creature he’d ever laid eyes on was in front of him.
When the girl’s full lips trembled, an image of the brunette upstairs going down on Cav as they were leaving made him want the girl in front of him to wrap those pretty pink lips around him.
“Oh god.” Her companion’s voice thrust him back to reality, breaking his trance.
For a moment, he thought she’d read his filthy thoughts, but realized she was looking at his car—his very much desecrated car.
“That’s my car!” Julius roared, regaining himself.
“Frick,” the girl squeaked, her eyes wide with shock. Even her voice was beautiful.
“Erica,” her dark-haired friend called. “Run!”
Yes, Erica. Run so I can chase you, the beast inside of him mused. Julius agreed to let him claim her as soon as they caught up to them.
Stop! Evan’s voice hardened in his mind.
Love Bitten (Vampire Blood Royals Book 1) Page 1
