paranormal vampire romance ebook

WARNING

Some of the books on this site contain material of a sexual nature or graphic violence and are only suitable for adults. By reading the excerpt below you release me as the author of any responsibility.

Excerpt

Standing in a recess of the brightly lit room, Nicholas let the delicate harmony of the string quartet wash over him and allowed himself a moments respite from the task at hand. The gentle sound filled his ears, caressing them with memories of the years that he’d lived and the countless times he’d done this. Balanced on the brink, he let the building crescendo touch his once beating heart and flood him with emotion before he shut it down.

Killed it.

Grey eyes opened up and peered out from behind his mask. They were cold and clinical as they watched the crowds below him, the groups of women and men all dressed alike, all prey for his predator, blood for the taking.

He loved this world.

It had vulnerability.

And he fed off it.

Slowly descending the steps of the mansion, his eyes roamed the people he passed, assessing each one and calculating just how much blood they would contain and just what kind of struggle they would put up. His task was made harder by the fact that he couldn’t see their faces. They were all hidden behind their masks as they enjoyed a night of freedom, a night where they could be anyone they wanted to be and do anything they wanted to do. All with no repercussions.

Halloween.

The Devil he loved Halloween.

People dressing up, pretending to be something they weren’t, hiding the real them.

A real masquerade.

Not a sham like this one—an old mansion full of people dressed in costumes that reminded him painfully of Venice, of happy times now passed, gone to ruin.

Reaching the bottom of the long marble staircase, he looked back over his shoulder. His eyes traced the graceful swan neck curve, ensuring that no one had gone un-inspected by him, no one had slipped the net.

Satisfied that he’d weighed up all of the people bustling in front of his eyes, he started to move through the crowd. He revelled in the way he could slip unnoticed amongst them, could get close enough to them to practically taste their scent without them even knowing he was there.

He licked his teeth and extended his senses, scanning the dance floor in an attempt to single out one that would make good prey, one that would make a fine hunt. Searching the laughing faces of the people as they danced to the slow rhythm of the band, he adjusted the black mask that covered the top half of his face and narrowed his eyes. There had to be someone in amongst the hundreds gathered for the dance, someone worthy of his attention.

It wasn’t that he was particularly hungry, having eaten a stray teenager so he could have his mask, it was simply that the signs all over town had piqued his interest. The possibility of playing the hunter in a room full of prey had proven to be too great a temptation to resist. He’d donned the mask and followed a group of men and women, slipping in with them when they’d entered the mansion.

Closing his eyes, he tensed his jaw and reached out with his senses. He could almost see its path as it weaved amongst the people, searching out his victim.

A low resounding thud caused his nerve endings to flicker with delight. It was followed by another hard beat that seemed to call to him, tugging at his very core until he couldn’t deny its siren song any longer.

Snapping his head up, he opened his eyes and fixed them straight on the owner of the heartbeat that had caught his attention.

He lost the ability to breathe—it was pushed out of his thoughts by the sight of her.

Stood on the balcony at the top of the twin staircases directly opposite him was the purest woman he’d ever seen. Dressed all in ivory, the delicate features of her face were hidden from him, shut away behind the pale mask that adorned the top half of her face. All he could see of her was the beautiful curve of her red lips and the gentle slope of her neck that was partly hidden behind her tousled honey coloured hair.

She turned away from him, her lips breaking with laughter when she talked animatedly to the brunette next to her. The blonde exuded grace and beauty but there was something else about her that he couldn’t put his finger on and it was that which drew him to her. He could feel it in every bone in his body, how different she was to the fools surrounding him, how she was above them all.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her and when she began to descend the stairs, he found himself moving towards her, drawn to her like she was speaking to him, luring him with silent promises directed straight at his heart.

He tilted his head to one side when the crowd parted to let her come to him. He narrowed his eyes on her clothing while she continued her descent to the dance floor. Her dress reminded him of the ones he’d seen women wearing in his time as a human. The tight bodice accentuated her delicious curves and her legs were hidden beneath a large bell shaped mass of skirts. He breathed in deeply when she passed him, trying to single out her scent in amongst the others but failing.

Lowering his head as his eyes followed her progress onto the dance floor, he couldn’t help feeling there was something about her. She called to him on a deeper level and tugged at his basic instincts. He had to have her. He felt like he couldn’t function when his eyes lost sight of her. His senses desperately reached out, trying to locate her.

When he spotted her again, he sucked his cheeks into a wide smile. She was dancing near the centre of the room and her friend was speaking to her. He watched the brunette disappear into the crowd, leaving the blonde angel alone. He frowned when he scanned the people around her. The eyes of all men seemed to linger on her and it stirred a fire in him. Slipping silently into the crowd, he hastily made his way towards her, his eyes not leaving her as he approached.

Breaking into the open area around her, he closed in, watching her hair bounce lightly as she danced with her back to him. He lowered his gaze when he stepped up behind her, his hands slowly coursing down her sides as he bit his lower lip. When his fingers closed around her waist, he dipped his head and breathed in deeply. There was something so enthralling about her and he felt as though he was a slave to her, unable to think for himself while she was near. He just wanted to spend the whole night breathing her in and holding her like this.

Anna gasped when hard fingers gripped her waist possessively, sending a chill sweeping up her spine. She turned in the man’s embrace, her insides trembling and her knees weakening when she looked up into a pair of pale grey eyes.

He blinked.

Her heart fluttered madly.

In all her short life, she’d never seen anything like him.

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