Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
His doorbell rang, and he finally jerked his gaze from his computer screen to find that his office had grown dark. The sun had set, and he hadn’t even bothered to flip on a light. He quickly rubbed his eyes, bleary from too many hours lost to the monitor glare, and jumped from his seat. Sky had mentioned something about popping by to make sure Nolan ate real food if he didn’t hear from him during the day.
Had he missed one of Sky’s texts?
Those very words balanced on his lips as he opened the door, but they fell away. Someone else was on his doorstep.
Not Sky.
He didn’t know who this person was, and yet some shadowy part of his brain screamed that he knew this man. And that he needed to run.
His heart leaped into his throat, and he took an unsteady step back. His retreat made the man smile. There were no pointed fangs visible, but Nolan’s hindbrain screamed they were there, hidden away. This man was a vampire.
A powerful vampire.
“Wh-who are you? W-what do you want?” Nolan stammered, fighting not to take another step from the open door.
The vampire’s smile grew. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t properly remember our night together. I took more than I should have for a first time, but you were so delicious. I couldn’t help myself.”
Nolan’s hand shot to his neck and the bite mark hidden under his bulky hoodie. The bite mark that didn’t seem to heal.
The same bite mark he’d not told Sky about out of fear and embarrassment.
As soon as his fingers found the tender spot, fractured memories flashed in his mind of being pushed against a wall in a dark corner, pounding music, the swipe of a tongue across his flesh, and a flash of pain. He’d shoved on a hard chest, but the person didn’t budge. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the brief pain was followed by a rush of pleasure, and maybe…he’d stopped pushing quite so hard.
Maybe it wasn’t just fear and embarrassment that kept his mouth shut. Maybe it was a good dose of shame, too.
The vampire took a step forward, crossing the threshold easily, but that wasn’t supposed to happen. The wards!
“Wait! How?” Nolan demanded, pointing toward the doorjamb, where the wards were clearly shown.
“What? Those scribbles?” The vampire chuckled. “Those can’t keep me out. That little spell is to keep out predators. But I’m not a predator. You already belong to me.”
Nolan tried to keep backpedaling while his mind scrambled to find a way out of this mess, but he wasn’t looking where he was going. He tripped over something on the floor and nearly fell on his ass, but the vampire zipped forward faster than his brain could process, and he suddenly found himself cradled in strong arms.
Dear God, he is sexy…
No! He did not think that!
It didn’t matter if the man holding him was incredibly tall and strong. Or that he had almost hypnotic blue eyes framed by lush dark eyelashes. His dark-brown hair was cut short, but a few tendrils fell forward in front of his eyes as he tilted his head toward Nolan.
“Allow me to properly introduce myself this time. My name is Christoph Sandor, and I am the head of the Sandor Clan.”
Those last words broke Nolan from his momentary paralysis and had him planting both of his hands on the vampire’s chest. He pushed, but there was no breaking free of the man’s grip. Hell, he felt like a kitten pushing on a Saint Bernard.
“Shhh…Nolan. There’s no need for this panic. I don’t mind that you brought the Variks in on this matter with your brother. Or even that you sent him out of the city,” Christoph cooed, as if he were soothing a crying baby. “If someone threatened my family, I’d take similar steps. No, I’m here to take what belongs to me.” As he spoke, he slipped his fingers unerringly across Nolan’s throat to the partially healed holes. The second he brushed over it, a wave of pleasure washed through him, wrapping him up.
“No, wait,” Nolan choked out, grabbing Christoph’s wrist.
“I’m not in the mood for waiting, pet.” Christoph’s indulgent smile turned into a snarl. “And that’s what you are. My pet.”
“No! I didn’t agree to that.”
Christoph chuckled and the wave of pleasure shifted into a sharp, slashing pain that stole Nolan’s breath away. “It doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t agree to. Who listens to a dog about whether he wants to be a pet? The dog just learns to heel, or he gets broken.”
“No,” Nolan coughed out. “I—”
“And the first thing we’re going to do, my pet, is end all association with that nasty witch.”
That was the very last thing Nolan wanted.
They were having their date!
But he might need Sky’s help to get out of this new vampire-related mess first.