Don’t listen to him, Merrick. I’m a Beloved, so according to C. J. Dante, I’m now immortal, too. That means his bullets can’t hurt me. Go ahead and grab him.
Er ...
My eyes widened. Why are you concerned about me? I can feel you are worried. Wait, what do you mean by thinking “irreparable brain damage”? I’m immortal now, aren’t I?
Considering the fact that you must have taken in some of my blood when you kissed my face, and thus have completed the steps to Joining, yes, you are a Beloved.
Is that why you tasted so spicy? Wow. Do you have your soul back?
No.
What? Why not?
I don’t know, and now is not the time to worry about it.
He had a point, although I felt oddly cheated. What are you going to do? I don’t want to go away with Carlo. I want to stay with you and make you say those romantic things over and over again until you can easily admit that you love me. You do love me, don’t you? Just a little bit?
He sighed in my mind. Would I risk sounding like I should be in one of Christian’s damned books if I didn’t?
I giggled at him, something Carlo evidently found objectionable.
“Up,” he snarled, jerking me up to my knees. He caught my hair in the process, yanking on it painfully while he tried to pull me upright. A little exclamation escaped me, and suddenly, my mind was filled with rage, a red, boiling rage, and just as suddenly, I was free.
I spun around to see Carlo against the wall where minutes before Merrick had been, only Carlo was a good two feet off the ground, and was being throttled. His face was blotchy and he struggled against the one hand that Merrick used to hold him.
“Wow, that is seriously impressive, Merrick. I can’t believe you can hold him up like that. But don’t you think you should, you know, let him have a bit of air? Otherwise he’ll die, and we won’t have the satisfaction of turning him over to the police.”
“We aren’t turning him over to the police,” he answered, but loosened his grip and allowed Carlo to slide down the wall to a gasping heap on the floor. “Both Nico and he will be going to see the Council.”
“What council?” I asked, moving over to tsk at the thin line of blood that had dribbled down Merrick’s throat. “Wait, back up a bit. I don’t understand why your Horseman guy is here. Was he trying to get Carlo?”
“No. He was working with him. What are you doing?”
“Dabbing at your neck.”
He had stopped me when I pulled a tissue from my cleavage and was fussing over his slight wound. “Why?”
“Because it’s what a Beloved does. We worry.”
A corner of his lips twitched. “Did you get that from Christian’s books, too?”
“No.” I leaned forward to kiss him. His mouth was as hot and sweet as I knew it would be, and just the taste of him was enough to make me want to strip off every bit of his clothing, and rub myself all over him.
I’m quite willing to let you do that, but I would suggest you wait until we are in a less public place before doing so.
Stop reading my smutty thoughts.
Why? You are enjoying them.
Yes, but you’ll think less of me if you know I want to lick you. All over. Hoo baby.
He laughed aloud. “I assure you that I enjoy your smutty thoughts as much as you do, and I would never think ill of you. Now if you’re done wiggling against my cock in a manner guaranteed to make me throw you on the nearest couch and do exactly what you’re thinking about doing to me, then I really should make some calls and have these two bastards taken into custody.”
I glanced over at Carlo’s now empty table and thought seriously about making love to Merrick.
“Tempest,” he said in a warning tone, but there was laughter and heat in his eyes.
“What? Your buddy is out, and I bet we could knock out Carlo easy enough.”
“Garg!” Carlo said from where he was prone on the floor, wheezing like an elderly bulldog.
You’re a bloodthirsty little thing, aren’t you?
Just in love, my darling vampire.
Dark One.
“If you want me to keep my hands off you, you’re going to have to distract me,” I said when he hauled the still unconscious form of Nico over to a corner, and swiftly used the man’s own tie to bind his wrists behind him. “Are you certain your buddy wasn’t trying to capture Carlo?”
“I doubt that he was.” Merrick’s voice was grim. He glanced up when Ciaran, with his arm around a stumbling and bleary-eyed Han, appeared in the door. “I think Nico sold us out to Victor.”
“So Carlo is Victor?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. He would have had many more men at his disposal if he led the organization. I think, judging by the fact that he was taking the laptop and records, that he was in charge of this arm of the Revelation.”
I felt a tiny bit of relief that my cousin hadn’t been ultimately responsible for the death of Merrick’s sister. “That means Victor is still to be found?”
“Yes,” Merrick answered. “Unless Nico can tell us where he is, and somehow, I doubt if he was given that information.”
Ciaran looked from Carlo on the floor, to me, then over to Nico. “Bloody hell. That would explain a lot.”
“Money,” Han said, letting Ciaran assist him to the chair behind the table. “Nico always wanted money. Never was happy with what he had. Always wanted more.”
“To the point of turning us over to the enemy?” Ciaran shook his head, winced, and put a hand up to the back of it.
Han made an aborted gesture toward the traitorous Horseman. “I agree that he’s a bit unbalanced, but if he was working with Victor, he has the blood of several dozen Dark Ones on his hands.”
Ciaran walked over to where Nico was slumped, and squatted next to him. “If he’s betrayed us, betrayed our own people, then he should die.”
“That’s not for us to decide,” Merrick said, a note of warning in his voice. “We’ll leave it to the Council to weigh the evidence and make a decision. I have no doubt they’ll find he’s guilty, though. He’s always preferred to go it alone, and never wanted us to come to search in Italy or France.”
Ciaran squinted down at the prone form. “Let me kill him just a little.”
“No,” Merrick said firmly.
“Just a few pokes with a knife. Or a sword. Han, you have a sword?”
“Not on me, no. My gun was taken away when someone bashed in the back of my brain. Ow. There’s a huge lump there. And speaking of being bashed ...”
“That was probably Nico, as well,” Merrick said, his jaw tight. “No one else could have taken us unaware. He knew we were coming here, and obviously got here before us, lying in wait to pick us off one at a time. Tempest says they had Ciaran ready to be handed over to one of their buyers.”
Ciaran grimaced, but sent a grateful look my way. “I’m delighted you interfered when you did. I will be forever in your debt.”
“Stop looking at her like that,” Merrick said, his lips thinning.
Oooh, are you jealous?
Not in the least. He simply needs to stop looking at you like he has the right to do so.
I laughed in his mind. You are beyond adorable.
“I guess that means we’re now the three Horsemen,” Han said, looking a lot less groggy. “We’ll have to recruit a new member.”
I raised my hand.
“Absolutely not,” Merrick said, glowering at me.
“Oh?” I lifted my chin and glared right back at him. “You wouldn’t be trying to tell me what I can and cannot do, would you?”
“No.” His jaw worked a couple of times. “It might seem like I am, but the simple fact is that you can’t be a Horseman. You’re not a Dark One.”
“I’m a Beloved!”
“But not a Dark One. I know full well you’d be able to fight even the worst threat to our people, but Horsemen must be Dark Ones. It is from that we draw our strength.”
“Hrmph,” I said, unconvinced.
I was about to point out that there was no valid reason for them not allowing me to join their group when Merrick, who had been keeping an eye on Nico, suddenly spun and leaped forward, calling out, “Tempest, move!”
I turned, and time seemed to do that slow-motion thing that you see in the movies. Carlo had crawled over to where his gun was, and was rising up on one knee, aiming it at Merrick and Han. I knew with every ounce of my being that he was going to shoot Merrick in the head, and that it wouldn’t be a wound he could recover from. Without being aware I was moving, I dove forward toward Merrick, intent on knocking him out of the way.
A ridiculously loud explosion hurt my ears, followed almost immediately by a searing, burning pain in my left arm.
Merrick flashed past me, slamming Carlo into the wall, clearly intent on bashing the ever-living life out of him. Han and Ciaran pulled him off before he could do more than knock Carlo out, but I felt the rage in Merrick, rage and anguish and, oddly, a sense of brilliant gratitude.
What is that? I asked, wondering at the lightness that filled him, driving out the dark stain of despair and pain that had filled him ever since I had first met him.
A soul, my goddess. You’ve given me back my soul. Instantly I was pressed up against Merrick, his arms hard around me. Are you hurt? You’re thinking hurt thoughts. Why are you thinking hurt thoughts? How bad is it? I refuse to let you die, do you hear me? You’re my Beloved now, and thus you cannot leave me, so stop thinking about pain and go back to thinking about molesting me with your tongue. Christos, I will never forgive myself if Carlo’s harmed you. I should have picked up that gun he dropped.
I’m OK. I think ... I pushed back from Merrick and looked down at myself. A patch of blood bloomed against my sleeve, and was growing at the same rate as the burning pain. “I think I’m about to strike number seventy-seven off my bucket list.”
“Being shot?” Merrick asked, tearing my sleeve off in order to examine the wound.
“No.” My voice seemed to come from quite a distance away. I weaved, unable to keep the black splotches that appeared in front of my eyes from spreading. I gave in to their promise of insensibility; the last thing I heard was my voice saying, “Seventy-seven is fainting.”
EPILOGUE
From: Ellis
Darling! We’re in Monaco, having used the money your dishy Merrick gave us to buy a theater club.
To: Ellis
Oh, good. He said he was going to give you guys the reward money that the vamps ponied up for the capture of Carlo.
From: Ellis
We hope to put on a musical version of Dracula. Don’t you think that would be awesome?
To: Ellis
I’m surprised it hasn’t already been done.
From: Ellis
I’m sure it has, but we’re doing it with actual vampires!
To: Ellis
Good point. You’re happy there? You’re not going back home?
From: Ellis
Happy as a clam in tomato sauce, darling. You? Did you work things out with your hunky bit of beefcake?
I looked up from my phone across the bedroom to where Merrick was having a videoconference with Han and Ciaran, and smiled.
What?
What what?
I feel you smiling at me. What have I done to make you do so?
I don’t know. Maybe just being magnificently arrogant. And stubborn. And reluctant to admit just how crazy about me you are.
Is this about the otter again? I told you that the swimming pool is not a suitable habitat for an otter, not that they are indigenous to this part of the world.
I laughed aloud. “All right, but if we get a house back in Oregon, I want to have an otter sanctuary. Kelso would love that.”
Do you really wish to return to Oregon?
Yes, but I’m willing to split our time between this house and one back home.
As it happens, Han seems to think there’s a facility in northern California we should investigate, he said, looking thoughtful. A home on the West Coast might be very beneficial.
I’ll start looking up what it takes to open an otter sanctuary. I leaned back against the headboard of his bed. Outside the French doors, the twinkling lights of the town below us glittered like diamonds set in onyx.
Life, I decided, my gaze going back to Merrick, was shaping up to be everything I hoped it would be.
It is now that you are in it, he said, sending me a look of sapphire heat that shone as brightly as the lights of the town.
I picked up a small notebook. “Item number one hundred fourteen, name an otter Aloysius. Number one hundred fifteen, lick every inch of Merrick.”
Abruptly, he closed the lid of his laptop and stalked toward me, pulling off his clothing piece by piece. “Number one hundred and sixteen, allow Merrick to indulge every fantasy he can think of, and, my darling Tempest, I have a very good imagination.”
I giggled, and tossed the notebook to the side as the vampire of my dreams fulfilled that promise.
And how!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For as long as she can remember, Katie MacAlister has loved reading. Growing up in a family where a weekly visit to the library was a given, Katie spent much of her time with her nose buried in a book.
Two years after she started writing novels, Katie sold her first romance, Noble Intentions. More than fifty books later, her novels have been translated into numerous languages, been recorded as audiobooks, received several awards, and have been regulars on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. Katie lives in the Pacific Northwest with two dogs and a cat, and can often be found lurking around online.
You are welcome to join Katie’s official discussion group on Facebook, as well as connect with her via Twitter, Goodreads, and Instagram. For more information, visit:
Official website
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OTHER BOOKS BY KATIE MACALISTER
Dark Ones Series
A GIRL’S GUIDE TO VAMPIRES
SEX AND THE SINGLE VAMPIRE
SEX, LIES, AND VAMPIRES
EVEN VAMPIRES GET THE BLUES
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD (novella)
THE LAST OF THE RED-HOT VAMPIRES
ZEN AND THE ART OF VAMPIRES
CROUCHING VAMPIRE, HIDDEN FANG
CUPID CATS (novella)
IN THE COMPANY OF VAMPIRES
CONFESSIONS OF A VAMPIRE’S GIRLFRIEND
MUCH ADO ABOUT VAMPIRES
A TALE OF TWO VAMPIRES
THE UNDEAD IN MY BED (novella)
THE VAMPIRE ALWAYS RISES
Aisling Grey Guardian Series
YOU SLAY ME
FIRE ME UP
LIGHT MY FIRE
HOLY SMOKES
DEATH’S EXCELLENT VACATION (short story)
Silver Dragon Series
PLAYING WITH FIRE
UP IN SMOKE
ME AND MY SHADOW
Light Dragon Series
LOVE IN THE TIME OF DRAGONS
THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF DRAGONS
SPARKS FLY
Dragon Fall Series
DRAGON FALL
DRAGON STORM
DRAGON SOUL
DRAGON UNBOUND
Time Thief Series
TIME THIEF
THE ART OF STEALING TIME
Matchmaker in Wonderland Series
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ALICE
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S ROMP
DARING IN A BLUE DRESS
PERILS OF PAULIE
Contemporary Single Titles
IMPROPER ENGLISH
BIRD OF PARADISE (novella)
MEN IN KILTS
THE CORSET DIARIES
A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT
BLOW ME DOWN
IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME
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Noble Historical Series
NOBLE INTENTIONS
NOBLE DESTINY
THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY
THE TRUTH ABOUT LEO
Suffragette Historical Series
SUFFRAGETTE IN THE CITY
Paranormal Single Titles
AIN’T MYTH BEHAVING
DEATH’S EXCELLENT VACATION (short story)
MY BIG FAT SUPERNATURAL HONEYMOON
(short story)
Mysteries / writing as Kate Marsh
GHOST OF A CHANCE
Steampunk Romance
STEAMED
Young Adult / Writing as Katie Maxwell
CONFESSIONS OF A VAMPIRE’S GIRLFRIEND
EYELINER OF THE GODS
Emily Series
THE YEAR MY LIFE WENT DOWN THE LOO
THEY WEAR WHAT UNDER THEIR KILTS
WHAT’S FRENCH FOR “EW”?
THE TAMING OF THE DRU
LIFE, LOVE AND THE PURSUIT OF HOTTIES
Katie MacAlister, The Vampire Always Rises (Dark Ones Book 11)
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