Myriah Fire (39 page)

She could have screamed then, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to bring attention to herself, especially on her first day. And there was something in this one’s aura that made her think he wasn’t really there to harm her—after all, he had warned her off instead of immediately killing her.

So instead of screaming like a banshee, which she desperately wanted to do, she looked him over.

What she saw made her raise her dark eyebrows. He was tall, and his black hair fell in layered waves around a ruggedly good-looking face. His shadow beard added mystery to his chiseled features. His clothes were expensive and jet-black. Black leather jacket, black tee beneath it, and black jeans and silver-tipped black boots. Whoa—just who was this?

Vampire
—
that’s who
! All at once Nikki’s slayer sense kicked in and told her,
Stupid … he’s a vampire.

As though reading her mind he chuckled. “Aye, then—that established—all I am here for today is to indulge in a reasonable discussion.”

“
That established
—what established?” she returned warily. Had he read her mind? Different vamps had different ‘abilities’.

A short laugh escaped his lips, but then he grew serious all at once. “Let’s skip the game playing, Nikki, shall we?”

“I will if you will, English …”

“
Again
, game playing,” he chided.

“I’m not playing a game. How could I when I don’t know the rules?” She shrugged. “Besides, I don’t play with strangers. You know my name … I don’t know yours.”

“Rules, eh? I shall have to list some for you. Firstly, and most importantly, stay out of
my way
—meaning, don’t look for Deadly Moon. As to my name?” He inclined his head and brought up his dark eyes to her face. “My name is Damon Drummond.”

Nikki stiffened and shot him a warning look. “I have no quarrel with you, Damon Drummond. I don’t know how you know what you do, but I don’t follow other people’s rules—especially when the person listing the rules is a … vampire. Deadly Moon and I …
we
have a problem,
and I
mean to solve it.”

“You will have two problems if you keep trying to track her.”

Was he threatening her? It felt like he was threatening her, and yet, she didn’t really feel threatened. What then? Was he saying that he would be a problem for her if she didn’t stop tracking Deadly Moon? Why? And if that was so, well then, he seemed to think a great deal of himself, and something told Nikki that he probably had cause to do so.

He was not like any vamps she had ever encountered. She also wondered if Deadly Moon was his lover. She eyed him speculatively, but before she could retort he had her shoulders and brought her in close. A sizzling, spidery electricity tickled the air between them.

“I have never seen anything like you, Nikki Walker. From the top of your fiery head to your dainty and dangerous feet, you are unique. You look at me with eyes the deepest shade of blue I have ever encountered in all my four hundred years, and it would be a shame to see them permanently closed.”

“Are you threatening to do that—permanently close my eyes?” Nikki shook her head, “Then go ahead, have at me, because nothing is going to stop me. My brother’s eyes were even more blue than mine, and his were permanently closed before his time … I don’t mean to suffer the Alexe fate … at least not until I get my ounce of justice for him.” She held herself stiffly aloof. “So that brings us to
my rules
 … the first being, stay out of my way, Damon Drummond, and perhaps I will let
you
live.” It was bluster, she knew. This vamp could do her in with the blink of his eye.

He smirked at her and said, “You will get yourself killed if you throw words like that at some vamp you simply cannot take because he has age and experience, and there are some out there, slayer, that you cannot take.” He let her go and wagged a finger at her, “So you want to know if I am threatening you. Fine. Call it what you will, it is still a warning. If you pursue Deadly Moon, you will find yourself a target because your presence will become obvious in their world, and these are bad times in Dublin.”

“You don’t know me. You are not concerned for me, but for Deadly Moon, and so everything you say—
jaded
. I keep my own council.”

“Relieve yourself of the illusion that you are any threat to
her.
You are like a fly she can swat out of her way.”

“Then why are you here—warning me away?”

“I have my reasons.”

“You have wasted your time.”

“I see that …” He suddenly reached for her shoulders and pulled her into his arms. He bent to her face and whispered something that made her toes curl, not because she heard the words but because his low, husky, and sensuous voice rocked her hormones into place and made her body tingle.

She knew all at once that he was going to kiss her. He was actually going to kiss her, and she couldn’t stop herself from wanting that kiss. What the hell was wrong with her?

She should stomp on his foot—kick him in the groan, wallop him one across the face, and break the mood. She had the strength, the skill … and absolutely no inclination to do so.

His mouth was on hers, at first gently and deliciously. She had no will of her own as her lips betrayed her good sense and parted to invite his tongue to stay awhile. And that was exactly what she got—a kiss that drowned her in passion and filled her head with exploding rockets. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t pull away, and she didn’t want to.

Gone! Zap—he was gone faster than any vampire she had ever witnessed on the move.

She stood for a long moment, and the question reared its ugly head and demanded,
Were you under a vampire trance?
The answer was a big fat
no
. It would have been such an easy answer, and one that could have wiped the shame from her conscience, but it wouldn’t have been true.

Slayers couldn’t be mesmerized by vamps—slayers were immune to most vampire magic. The next question sent the blood to her cheeks.
You wanted the vampire Damon Drummond to kiss you—didn’t you, Nikki Walker?

About Claudy Conn

Claudy Conn, a native New Yorker, now lives with her husband, Bob; their wolf, Cherokee; and Cherokee’s son, Rocky Man, who weighs in presently at 190 pounds.

She loves horses and riding and raised her ten-year-old gelding Southern Pride from the moment he was born. She also loves gardening, swimming, skiing, hiking, and travel—and of course, reading, writing, but no, she says, no arithmetic!

To get her monthly news, her reviews for all her new paranormal romances, and excerpts, come on and visit her at her website:
http://www.claudyconn.com

To see pictures of Cherokee and her Shep./wolf son!, have a look at her facebook page:

 
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Claudy-Conn-Paranormal-Romance-Author/135826686471445

Claudy Conn’s other books

Risqué Regencies

Oh, Cherry Ripe

Cheryl Elton has been in London for three seasons and refuses to be courted. When her mother takes matters into her own hands, Cherry runs!

Rogues, Rakes & Jewels

What happens when an eligible marquis pretends to be a rake and a gambler, and the woman he is supposed to be courting disguises herself as a masked French card dealer? Find out in this spicy, risqué Regency romance.

Taffeta & Hotspur

Hotspur wants Taffeta—how far will he go to make her his? Taffeta has a secret—will it land her in trouble?

Legend Series

Spellbound—Legend

Maxie is a reluctant heroine who travels to Scotland to find and save herself. Julian is a Druid Priest in a modern age and he is full of guilt—Can Maxie turn to him? Or will she turn to Prince Breslyn,a royal Fae hunk offering her everything?

Shee Willow—Legend

Half-human, half-Fae, Willow Lang has never felt she truly fit in either world, but she’s doing her best to ignore her Fae nature. But when she finds herself in the middle of a conflict between the Seelie Fae and the evil Dark Fae, she must embrace her Fae powers in order to protect the Human world.

Trapped—Legend

Magical powers, a castle, and a charming prince sound like the ingredients for a fairy-tale life, but for BJ Mulroy, reality turns out to be a whole lot more complicated. The war between the Seelie and the Unseelie is heating up, BJ has been drawn into the fray … and there’s the matter of the seventeenth-century hunk in the painting.

Free Falling—Legend

They call her Z and she is a handful ready to explode. She has entered the war against Gais and the Dark Fae and means to take him on all by herself. She is driven. Aaibhe, Queen of the Seelie has other plans, and she sends in Prince Danté to execute and preserve her wishes. Z and the prince meet and hackles go up on both sides.
   

Catch & Hold—Legend

Half-human/half-Daoine Fae Radzia MacDaun—Z to her friends—finds herself in the Dark Realm, where she’ll have to fight Gaiscioch on his own turf. Danté, Prince of the Tuatha Dé and Z’s lover, is not about to let her face this danger alone, however, and the two of them are thrust on a ride that takes them to the edge of life as we know it…

Prince in the Mist (Novella)

Fact one: By tradition and treaty, Fae do not interfere with the human world—it is against the rules. Fact two: For a Royal Fae prince who suffers from the ennui of immortality, watching and interacting with humans—especially lovely, spirited human females—can be entertaining. Fact three: When entertainment changes to affection, and affection becomes love, rules will be broken.

Aaibhe—Shee Queen (Novelette)

This is a love story but it is fringed with envy, jealousy, and bitterness—oh and more. It is laced with the havoc those devastating emotions can bring. It is about the seeds of hate born of love, and what havoc that hate can wantonly roar over even the immortals. This is a story of Aaibhe, queen of the Seelie Fae because she deserves that it be told.

Prince Prelude—Legend

In this stand-alone tale and the backstory for the Legend series, we find ourselves in 1814. Gais and the Prince come head to head over a woman. We will see Lamia DuLaine when she first sees Julian Talbot, and we will meet the first Maxie Reigate. Come along and see their world unfold…

Shadow Series

ShadowLove—Stalkers

Shawna Rawley has no choice but to run when Pentim Rawley, one of the most evil vampires who has ever lived, discovers that she is his daughter. Chad MacFare has an offer for Shawna he thinks she can’t afford to refuse: he’ll protect her from Pentim and his minions. But Shawna doesn’t trust the sexy immortal. She knows he has his own agenda—he wants to kill her father, and he wants to set her up as bait…

ShadowHeart—Slayer

Damon Drummond and Nikki Walker are on opposite sides. He is a potent vampire--she is a skilled and powerful vampire slayer. Problem right there...but when they look at each other, sparks of all kinds fly. Too much stands between them: He will live forever, she will not, and yet...

ShadowLife—Hybrid

WB and his clan have moved in and section by section Dublin is going dark. The team needs help, and they turn to a shapeshifter, Roxie MacBran.