In blood they will find destiny and the eternal bond of passion…
Hot Vampire Seduction
By Lisa Renee Jones
Smashwords Edition
Copyright Lisa Renee Jones
Book 2: The Vampire Wardens
Erotic—hot, includes ménage
Also in the series:
Book 1: Hot Vampire Kiss – out now!
Book 3: Hot Vampire Touch – COMING VERY SOON!
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at
lisarenj
[email protected] All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
www.lisareneejones.com.
Cover by Croco Designs.
Romantic Times – Jones scorches the pages!
Booklist--Jones’ suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann.
Praise for Hot Vampire Kiss:
Wendy - My Book Addiction and More
HOT VAMPIRE KISS is book 1 on Lisa Renee Jones' new series, the Vampire Wardens. Fans of paranormal or vampires will adore this great new voice in the genre.
Kelly - Books - N - Kisses
If you are looking for a really good, fast, hot short read. I would encourage you to go grab a copy of Hot Vampire Kiss by Lisa Renee Jones.
Lady Raven Romance Novel Junkies
I was so excited that we got to meet Aiden and Troy, they are just a bundle of vampire hotness.
Larena, Red Roses for Authors
Praise for Hot Vampire seduction:
On Legend of Michael:
“Lisa Renee Jones has created a fascinating, exciting, and wonderfully romantic read in The Legend of Michael. Michael is to die for!”
—Pamela Palmer, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of RAPTURE UNTAMED, a Feral Warriors novel
“A thrill ride of non-stop action, intricate suspense and scorching love scenes!”
—Stephanie Tyler, New York Times bestselling author of HOLD ON TIGHT
“Sexy, edgy, pulse-pounding adventure. The Legend of Michael will keep you reading all night!”
—Susan Grant, New York Times bestselling author of THE LAST WARRIOR
“Grabs hold of you from page one and never lets go. Packed with action, suspense and sizzling sexuality, The Legend of Michael is a book not to be missed!”
—Rhyannon Byrd, National bestselling author of TOUCH OF SEDUCTION
“Hot enough to singe your fingers.”
—Cynthia Eden, National bestselling author of DEADLY FEAR
“Edgy, dark and creative. A raw new world filled with action, danger and plenty of sizzle.”
—Eve Silver, National bestselling author of SINS OF THE FLESH
“Utterly absorbing, deliciously edgy, and instantly addictive. If you haven’t added Jones to your must-read list, you need to.”
—Donna Grant, Bestselling author of DANGEROUS HIGHLANDER
“A breathlessly-paced ride through twisting secrets, fractured loyalties, and deadly espionage.”
—Sylvia Day, National bestselling author of THE STRANGER I MARRIED
This is the second book in a hot, erotic vampire series, but stands alone as its own story. Reading out of order will not hurt the enjoyment of the story.
Table of Contents
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
Coming November 2011
Sterlingisms
Explicit - hot! Ménage included – you have been warned.
The Wardens series begins with the three Brooks brothers, Evan (34), Aiden (32) and Taylor (28). They were early settlers of the town of Braunfels, Texas. When the town was haunted by a series of brutal animal attacks, that left a half-dozen townsmen murdered, the Brooks brothers took things into their own hands. Armed and ready for action, they set out into the wilderness, determined to find this animal and kill it. What they found was a female vampire who decided the brothers were scrumptious morsels, worth keeping around for a lifetime. She attacked the brothers and turned them to vampires.
No sooner did she turn them, though, than another vampire appeared and killed her. This vampire declared himself a “Warden” of the Vampire Council. Wardens uphold the rules of the Vampire race and report to the Council. Killing a human is punishable by death and their ‘Maker’ had broken that rule. The brothers were then taken to the Council, where they were taught how to survive without killing, how to mingle with humans as if one of them, and when to move on from a location so that they would not be suspected as vampires. Most importantly, they learned who their enemies were and how to defeat them.
In the end, the brothers were granted a financial dowry that had belonged to their Maker and given the choice of freedom, under Council rule, or an alternative—to become Wardens.
Now, the brothers travel together as Wardens, tracking outlaw vampires, killing them and protecting innocent humans. It is their eternal duty.
And now – I hope you enjoy – book 2 in the series, which stands alone – reading out of order will not be confusing. Onward to HOT VAMPIRE SEDUCTION!
Chapter One
Awareness rushed over Aiden Brooks a moment before he found himself the focus of the petite package of a gorgeous female’s glower that he recognized from her pictures. This was Kelly Riggs, the thirty-two year old, Austin, Texas Medical Examiner, whose office he stood in without invitation, or introduction.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, swiping at a strand of long, raven hair that fell from the clip holding it haphazardly on top of her head.
“Waiting on you, of course,” he replied nonchalantly, as if he had every right to be standing behind her desk, reading the file he’d been studying upon her arrival.
“While reading my private documents?” she challenged, rounding the desk to snatch the file, before fixing her rich honey colored eyes on him, little flecks of orange fire simmering in their depths. “I need to see identification or I’m calling security.”
He barely contained a smile that he was certain would get him hit, and that very certainty, intrigued him.
She intrigued him. Most humans, males included, instinctively kept a distance from him, wary of his long dark hair and the unnatural shade of his pitch black eyes. He didn’t wear the colored lenses many of his kind chose to wear to blend in with the rest of the population and not because he had some sick desire to scare humans. Because he wanted his enemies to know who and what he was, even before they sensed that he too, was a predator. But this woman didn’t sense that in him, or perhaps, she simply didn’t care.
Not only was the office small, the space limited, but he towered over what he estimated to be her five feet four inches by a good foot and still she challenged him.
“Names Aiden Brooks,” he said, intentionally ignoring her request for identification. “I’m inv
estigating the recent deaths of six University of Texas students. I understand they were all female and all had the same drug in their systems. But your notes also indicate an extreme anemic condition. I don’t see a reference to the wounds that caused that to happen.”
She made a frustrated sound. “You press people really are bold, aren’t you?” Ah. That explained her reaction. It wasn’t everyday a city had themselves a serial killer on the loose. The press had to be piranhas chasing the story. “I’m not with the press.”
“Then show me some ID so I know who I’m talking to and why.”
“I’m on the same team you are,” he assured her. “I’m chasing the bad guys and I’m especially good at catching monsters. And you definitely have a monster on your hands.” The blood thirsty kind of monster that her human law keepers didn’t have a chance of surviving, let alone, catching.
“ID,” she repeated, her demeanor all business.
Stubborn woman. Stubborn, sexy woman. He liked those things in a female. Too bad he didn’t have time to act on just how much. He closed the small distance between them. “Of course,” he said quietly, inhaling the sweet rose scent of her skin, his eyes capturing hers. She blinked up at him, her gaze steady, as defiant as ever, yet her pulse quickened at his nearness. That sweet scent thickened in his nostrils and told him that she wasn’t so unaffected by him, any more than he was by her. In fact, he didn’t remember the last time a female had affected him like this one, certainly not with such an instant jolt of…well, he wasn’t sure what. There was something about her, something that made him wish they had met when he didn’t have an agenda, or his duty, to attend.
Regretfully, he sent her a mental compulsion, knowing she’d hate him if she ever found out, but also knowing there were lives on the line and time was of the essence. “I’m going to need your help, Kelly.
I’m going to need you to tell me everything you know about these murders. I’ve shown you proper identification as an FBI agent, rather than a private hire. You’re confident that you need to give me this information willingly.”
She blinked once, twice, then, “Yes. Yes, of course.”
He let go of her mind, watching her shoulders relax, the tension of seeing him as an intruder fading from her delicate heart shaped face. She wet her lips, her pretty pink tongue, stroking them. Fire shot through him, his precious control that had kept him alive a hundred and thirty-two years now, sliding into the darkness of desire for a woman he barely knew. His cock thickened, his mind going places it had no business going. Aiden silently cursed, turning away from her and quickly putting the desk between them.
What the fuck was wrong with him? He didn’t get distracted by the taste of sin and satisfaction, certainly not the taste of blood – even that of a gorgeous woman. He was a Warden, the law of his kind that tracked down and killed those who turned humans into prey.
“You were right,” she said softly.
He turned to face her, “Right about what?”
“They were all drugged and they were all anemic. Actually it was more than anemic. Their bodies had 50% lower blood ratios than is normal and that’s not even the weirdest part. There were no open wounds and I don’t see how anyone loses that much blood without an open wound. It makes no logical sense that a drug would cause such a thing.”
Aiden was sure this was a case of Vampire attacks, but Vampires that were infected with bloodlust didn’t bother to seal the wounds. They just ripped the person’s neck out and moved on to the next victim.
Normally, that was. A vampire, or a group of vampires, who not only had bloodlust, but had somehow organized would be dangerous. That didn’t seem possible. Something didn’t add up. “What can you tell me about the drug?”
“There were only trace amounts of a substance in the women’s systems,” she said. “But it’s not anything I’ve ever seen before.” She hesitated, like she was uncomfortable with what she had to say.
He narrowed his gaze. “Tell me.”
She leaned an elbow on the table, her lab coat gaping open to show a slim cut black dress accenting delicate feminine curves. “You’ll think I’m crazy.”
“There isn’t much I think is crazy,” he assured her, resting his own elbow on the high lab table, and turning to face her. “Try me.”
“It’s not just that this substance is nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s not anything even remotely familiar, not documented as something known to man. Almost... alien in nature.” She shook her head and laughed nervously. “Maybe my lab equipment is acting up. Or maybe the trace amounts of the substance I’ve got to work with might be the issue. Please tell me you and your people have a lead on what this drug is and where to get it. More importantly, you have a plan to get it off the streets. The women were all at the same part of the downtown party scene when they died. Lock down the bars. Just shut them down until this is over. Clearly people aren’t smart enough to stay away by themselves.”
“That won’t do anything but create more panic.”
“We all need to be panicked,” she argued, rounding the desk, as if she felt the need to be closer, to make her case more urgent. “We have a serial killer on the loose. Something has to be done.” He studied her a moment, thinking of the research he’d done on her, of her reputation of dogmatically taking on cases until they were solved. She’d gone so far as to dive into what would be police work, risking any danger to herself for her personal involvement. He didn’t want her outside of this lab, in the sights of a hungry monster who’d make this her last investigation.
He grabbed one of her business cards and a pen, then scribbled his number on it, and took her hand in his.
It was small and soft, but he knew that while her body might be feminine and delicate, her spirit was not.
“Call me before you act on any lead you might discover,” he said softly, sending her a mental compulsion. “I’ll make sure it gets followed up on, for you.”
“Yes,” she said, blinking up at him, those gorgeous hazel eyes melting into his. “Yes, okay.” He released her mind and she blinked again, her gaze lowering to their joined hands, then lifting to his.
Electricity sparked between them, wicked hot, and unexpected when really, it shouldn’t have been. His attraction to this woman was red hot, instant and unwelcomed.
Aiden let go of her hand and took a step backwards, feeling the burn of the past in his undeniable connection he shared with this woman. A connection that reached far beyond his body humming with desire to strip her naked and have his way with her. No, the desire was a product of chemistry, of interest, of that intrigue he’d felt with her
He wasn’t a hard learner. He wasn’t a man to relive mistakes, repeating bad history. That’s exactly why he never, ever, allowed himself a personal connection to a human. He’d done it once thirty years before and Darla had ended up dead, just like his parents and younger sister. It was enough to watch out for his Warden brothers and now his eldest brother’s newly turned wife, Marissa, who’d all but died after a werewolf attack.
“I’ll get this monster, Kelly,” he vowed. “You have my word.” He didn’t wait for a reply. He turned and headed for the doorway, putting as much distance between himself and the temptation of Kelly as he could find.
Chapter Two
Two days after meeting Aiden Brooks, Kelly sat at her desk, her files open, her hand on the card he’d scribbled his name and number on. Again. She kept radiating to that card and she didn’t know why. She wasn’t one to get distracted by a man – well – not since college when she’d almost flunked a semester of school over the hot older boy in her biology class, and then found him in bed with her “best” friend.
Distraction and slipping grades had come next, followed by the wrath of her parents. The joy of being an only child was that you got all the love of your parents, but in turn, all the wrath as well.
A decade later, Kelly sometimes wondered if that experience had scarred her for life, because she sure hadn’t found a man to
distract her beyond a few dates when work always became more important. Until now, until Mr. Tall, Dark, and Dangerously Sexy had walked into her lab, and left her in a warm puddle of lust, she’d yet to shake.
She picked up the card, trying to figure out why this man, verses others, affected her so. Why she had him on her mind when she was at work at eight o’clock at night. Maybe, because he’d seemed as passionate about catching this ‘monster’ as he’d called the killer, as she was. Her mind, however, gladly supplied the image of a hard body and a strong face, as if that explained it all. It didn’t. It was his eyes, she thought -
those mysterious black eyes, so unlike any she’d ever seen. When he’d looked at her, she’d felt something stark and raw in him. Something dark and dangerous, but not frightening. He was too beautiful to be frightening, despite his massive size. She almost laughed at herself for such a silly thought. Wasn’t Jack the Ripper suppose to have been a gorgeous man? Or maybe that was Jeffrey Dahmer.
A sound in the lab, just outside her office, snapped her attention to the doorway. Her body tensing, nerves pricking with unease. The timing was really crummy, considering her serial killer thoughts, no doubt, and she told herself to calm down, but no such luck when her mind was racing with possibilities, all more monster ridden than not. She’d locked up hours ago, so there was no one but Jed, the aging, but effective, security guard who could be here and she’d known him for years. He’d call her, or knock, before entering.
“Hello?” she shouted, her hand sliding to her cell phone a moment before she realized she’d not only dialed Aiden’s number, but somehow had it memorized. She knew that was odd, but she didn’t care. Not right now. She was about to hit ‘send’ and call him when the newest member of the Austin Homicide division, Detective Derek Wright, appeared in her doorway.
“You really should lock up when you work late,” he said, leaning a broad shoulder on the frame and looking like Mr. American with his neatly trimmed blond hair and blue eyes, rather than someone she should fear. So why did the hot looking crime fighter make her uneasy and not just right now, but every single one of the half dozen times she’d met the man?