Vampire Most Wanted (26 page)

Neither of them argued the point. He was right.

Lucian rubbed his forehead grimly, and then straightened his shoulders. “You didn’t know the boy you raised as your son was a killer when you helped him. You didn’t even know he was rogue.”

“No,” Basha assured him even though he wasn’t asking.

“You also didn’t know feeding off the hoof wasn’t allowed anymore,” he added, and she blinked, startled by just how much he did know. But he was continuing, “While that doesn’t excuse your actions, it does mitigate them.”

Basha stilled as he considered her briefly.

“We can forgive the feeding off the hoof so long as you stick to bagged blood in future.”

“I will,” she promised.

“As for the other . . .” He paused, expression unhappy, and then said solemnly, “I know this will be hard since you’ve thought of him as your son all these years, but you’ll need to help us recapture Leonius to make up for it.”

Basha was silent for a moment, her emotions in chaos. She had thought of him as her son for so long, and as such her instinct was to protect, but after all she’d learned about him . . .

Marcus squeezed her shoulders, and Basha sighed and nodded in response.

“And you’ll also have to help catch this Abaddon character who has apparently scurried back to whatever hole the two of them are hiding in,” he added.

There was no hesitation this time, Basha nodded firmly. She’d be happy to put an end to that bastard.

“Good,” Lucian said quietly. “Then come on. I made the others wait outside until I knew what was what. I’m sure they’re peeing their pants worrying over whether you’re both okay or not.”

Basha sagged back against Marcus’s chest with relief when her uncle turned away. It was a relief she knew Marcus shared. She felt the tension slide out of his hard body as his arms slid around her.

“We’re going to be okay,” he assured her.

“Yes,” Basha agreed, and found a smile to offer him as he turned her into his arms.

“No more running,” he said with a smile. “We can make a home. We’ll have family, both yours and mine, and we can have children . . . if I’m still capable,” he added wryly.

“Why wouldn’t you be capable?” Basha asked with concern.

“Well, after what you did to me with the mop . . .” Marcus paused and caught her wrists on a laugh as she realized he was teasing her and tried to smack his chest. Using his hold on her wrists, he tugged her against his chest and kissed her quickly before saying, “I love you, Basha Argeneau.”

For once, she didn’t flinch at the name, and supposed it was knowing that her father had given it to her that made the difference. She’d tried so long to deny the past and what had happened to her as a child. Denying the name had been the only way she’d known how to separate that poor abused child from the woman she wanted to be. Now though, she realized that by denying the name, she denied her father too, and everything else that connected her to the family she so dearly wanted to be a part of. Besides, little Basha had done all right. She had survived, and grown stronger. She had nothing to be ashamed of.

“I love you too, Marcus Notte,” she murmured and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

“Come on you two, you’re busting my balls here. Get a move on.”

Divine turned sharply toward the door, just in time to see her uncle turn and walk away. “He didn’t—?”

“He did,” Marcus said dryly.

“But he doesn’t know—”

“He knows,” Marcus assured her. “He read our minds.”

“Oh, damn,” Basha groaned. “I’m so going to get teased about that for eternity.”

“Yeah,” he agreed with a grimace as he slipped his arm around her waist to steer her to the door. “We both are. I can hear it now, uniball, one-nut, half man . . .”

“No,” Basha said at once. “They’ll know it healed. You still have two balls.”

“That won’t matter,” he assured her with a crooked smile.

“I guess we’ll have to suffer it together,” she said apologetically.

“Together we can handle anything,” Marcus assured her, and risked her uncle’s wrath to stop and kiss her again.

Keep reading for a peek into
the Argeneau world . . .

from the very beginning!

All available from Avon Books

A Quick Bite

That hot guy tied to Lissianna Argeneau’s bed? He’s Gregory Hewitt, the doctor her mother hopes will help cure her phobia of blood . . . because that’s an especially annoying quirk for a vampire. But is Greg the answer to her troubles, or will he be just a good meal?

“Let’s get this off you,” she suggested as she worked at the bow around his neck.

He sighed as it was removed, relaxing on the bed a bit, and Lissianna decided to discard his tie as well.

“There, isn’t that better?” she asked, sliding the silk cloth from around his neck.

The man started to nod, then caught himself and scowled instead as she undid the top three buttons of his shirt. “It would be better still if you untied me.”

Lissianna smiled with amusement at the way he was struggling with himself, then tried to distract him by running her fingers lightly over the bit of chest she’d revealed. Much to her satisfaction, a shiver went through him as her long nails grazed gently across his naked skin. This education business was turning out to be easier than she’d feared.

“Untie me.” He was trying to be firm, but it was obvious his heart was no longer wholly behind the desire to be free.

Smiling knowingly, Lissianna scraped her fingers lightly down to run along the cloth just above his belt. The provocative action sent his stomach muscles galloping and his breath came out on a little hiss of air.

“What the hell,” he breathed. “There are worse things than being a sex slave.”

Love Bites

Etienne Argeneau’s three hundred years of bachelorhood comes to an end when, to save the woman who saved him, he turns her into an immortal. But all Rachel had really wanted was just to get off the night shift in the morgue. Now this man says she’s a vampire? At least the look in his bright silver eyes said they’d be spending a lot of time together.

“Why you won’t come to me?”

Rachel glanced back at the corpse. He wasn’t making much sense, but then who said hallucinations had to? She tried to reason with him. “Why would I come to you? You aren’t real. You aren’t even sitting up.”

“I’m not?”

“No, I just think you are. In reality, you’re still really lying there dead. I’m just imagining you sitting up and talking.”

“Hmm.” He grinned suddenly. It was a nice grin. “How do you know?”

“Because dead men don’t sit up and talk,” she explained patiently. “Please lie back down now. My head is starting to spin.”

“But what if I’m not dead?”

Single White Vampire

Editor Kate Leever was adamant that her newest vampire romance author Lucern Argeneau will attend a romance convention to meet his fans. Despite his reclusive nature, odd sleep schedule and avoidance of the sun, the handsome Luc was going to be recognized by the public. But soon Kate would learn that his novels were more biographies than bodice rippers, and it’d be her neck on the line.

In a pale blue business suit, Kate C. Leever resembled a cool glass of ice water. The image was pleasing on this unseasonably warm September evening.

The image shattered when the woman dragged her luggage up the porch steps, paused before him, offered him a bright cheerful smile that lifted her lips and sparkled in her eyes, then blurted, “Hi. I’m Kate Leever. I hope you got my letter. The mail was so slow, and you kept forgetting to send me your phone number, so I thought I’d come visit personally and talk to you about all the publicity possibilities that are opening up for us. I know you’re not really interested in partaking of any of them, but I feel sure once I explain the benefits you’ll reconsider.”

Lucern stared at her wide, smiling lips for one mesmerized moment; then he gave himself a shake. Reconsider? Was that what she wanted? Well, that was easy enough. He reconsidered. It was a quick task.

“No.” He closed the door.

Tall, Dark & Hungry

Terri had flown from England to help plan her cousin’s wedding, but paying for a New York hotel room was like giving blood! She had an alternative: the new in-laws were offering lodging. Of course, the Argeneaus were a certifiably odd family, but then there was Bastien, the tallest, darkest and hungriest of the bunch—and his effect on Terri was decidedly delicious.

It was then Bastien had realized he’d forgotten the blood. He could not believe that he had been so remiss. He was an idiot! And that idiocy was about to see him ruin the day. He could not continue to walk around in this heat with the sun killing him.

Perhaps it would help if he bought a big floppy hat and a long-sleeved shirt from one of the booths or something. Bastien grimaced. He might as well buy a clown nose and floppy shoes, too. This day wasn’t going at all as he’d hoped.

“Bastien?” Terri was suddenly at his side, concern on her face. “You look a bit . . . ill. Are you feeling all right?”

“Yes, I— It’s just the heat and sun,” he said finally. He wasn’t surprised he looked sick. They had been outside for two hours, and he was really starting to feel it.

“I think I could use a break,” he admitted, and sighed inwardly at the concern on her face. Now she’d think he was some pitifully weak guy who couldn’t handle a little walking.

“If you like.” She frowned. “You really aren’t feeling well, are you?”

“No, I just—“ He sighed. “I forgot about the sun. I have a bit of an allergy to it.”

A Bite to Remember

Once bitten, twice shy, and sexy PI Jackie Morrisey wasn’t going there again. Vincent Argeneau may be the hottest guy she’s ever met, living or dead, but she’s here to stop a killer from turning this vampire into dust, not to jump into bed with him. Okay, so Vincent does look rather tempting shirtless. He’s also charming, protective. Still, Jackie needs to be on her guard, lest this little fling be . . . a bite to remember.

Vincent pulled the front door open.

“Vincent Argeneau?” the woman asked.

When he nodded, she stuck out her hand. “I’m Jackie Morrisey and this is Tiny McGraw. I believe Bastien called you about us?”

Vincent stared at her hand but—rather than take it—pushed the door closed and lifted the phone back to his ear as he turned away. “Bastien, she’s
mortal
!”

“Did you just slam the door in Jackie’s face?” Bastien asked with amazement. “I heard the slam, Vincent. Don’t be so damned rude.”

“
Hello!
” he said impatiently. “She’s
mortal
. Bad enough she’s female, but I need someone who knows about our ‘special situation’ to deal with this problem. She—”

“Jackie
does
know,” Bastien said dryly. “Do you think I’d send you an uninitiated mortal? Have a little faith.” A sigh traveled down the phone line. “She has a bit of an attitude when it comes to our kind, but is the best in the business. Now open the door for the woman.”

“But she’s mortal and . . . a girl!”

Bite Me If You Can

One minute Leigh is walking home, and the next a vampire is sinking his teeth into her neck. Turns out it was a rogue vampire marked for termination, but it does Leigh little good because the damage’s already been done. She’s become one of them. Lucian Argeneau has been alive for over two thousand years, and little excites him anymore. Then Leigh drops into his life. Suddenly he finds himself imagining the sassy brunette in his nice big bed . . .

“Am I really a vampire?”

Lucian’s hands froze on the mop and he glanced at her with surprise. “You doubt it? You haven’t noticed anything different?”

Understanding struck him when Leigh looked away, and he said, “It’s tempting to deny it to yourself, but it won’t change anything. It just delays your coming to grips—and learning to live—with it.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Leigh acknowledged unhappily as he went back to mopping. He glimpsed her sitting up, straightening her shoulders, and raising her head, then she said, “Okay, so I’m a vampire.”

“Yes,” Lucian said solemnly, and added, “But we dislike that name.”

She shrugged, then asked with a little movement of her shoulders, “I gather this means I’ll now live forever and never age?”

Lucian rung out the mop again as he considered how to answer her question.

“Probably not forever,” he said finally, as he slapped the mop to the floor. “But so long as you aren’t decapitated or trapped in a fire, your life has been greatly prolonged and you won’t age, or get sick, or even get cavities.”

“Yeah?” she asked with interest. “No cavities?”

The Accidental Vampire

Ever since an accident turned her into a knockout vamp, Elvi Black knows there’s more to being undead than what she saw in
Dracula
. And Victor’s the perfect man for a novice neck-biter like Elvi. He’s willing to teach her everything he knows, but he’ll have to do it fast. Someone’s out to put a stake through her new vamp life, and only Victor can keep her safe—and satisfied—for all eternity.

“So you have to give them your blood,” Elvi said. “I must have missed that part of the movie.”

“What movie?” Victor asked.

“
Dracula
. I don’t remember seeing that.”

“What? You researched by watching the movie rather than reading the damned book?”

“I wanted to learn as fast as I could. Movies are faster than books.”

He rolled his eyes. “Definitely a child of your times.”

“God! Sometimes you’re such a . . . a . . .
man.”

“Good of you to notice.”

Several moments passed. Elvi’s tongue slipped out to glide along her lips. Victor’s gaze shifted there. She had the most incredible mouth. Full, red lips that begged to be caressed and kissed . . .

Vampires Are Forever

Vampires don’t exist . . . do they? Inez Urso is beginning to have her doubts. Her business associate Thomas Argeneau has some interesting vampire-like traits. Not to mention, he just tried to bite her neck . . . but maybe that was a sign of passion?

There was no way she was going anywhere with this man.

“Inez? You were here all day and perfectly safe. If I’d wanted to harm you, I could have done so first thing in the morning. Instead, I drew you a bath and ordered you breakfast—”

“And then you bit me.” Inez had luxuriated in that bubble bath, thinking what a wonderful, sweet man Thomas Argeneau was. She’d looked down at his sleeping face and pondered how wonderful it would be to have a handsome, thoughtful man for a mate.

She’d imagined him greeting her at the door with a kiss, the smells of scrumptious cooking drifted to her as he kissed her hello, his hands moving over her body, stripping away her clothes one at a time . . .

Right up until he woke up and bit her.