9781936653027BorntobeWildArsuaga (2 page)

Alex parked the ‘stang, paid the cover charge, and
crossed the threshold into another world, expecting a posh and impressive
establishment. Having been inside some nice vamp hangouts from South Beach to
New York, from Vegas to Los Angeles, she anticipated a romantic or even a beach
décor for the venue. The others were glamorous or Gothic, casual or hi-tech,
and to say this club was a real piece of work was an understatement. The
interior decorator needed to go back to school. The design depicted one of the
most outlandish red and black with purple surfer boy turned prostitute-themed
clubs ever seen on this earth. Her most vivid nightmare couldn’t conjure up
anything worse. Randy may have nailed the outside description but his
admiration for the place showed his taste to be in his ass. The designer
shouldn’t count this a career milestone either.
Politicians, musicians, and wealthy people come here? You’ve got to be
kidding?
Yuck!

Feeling overdressed with her silver sequined tank
top and black leather mini-skirt, she probably would have fit in better with
jeans and a T-shirt with flip-flops on her feet instead of the toe-pinching high
heels.

“Oh…my…god!”
She almost
started to laugh out loud. Glancing around the room for a seat, she noticed an
empty one at the bar and walked toward it.

She pulled out the metal and leather barstool and
sat down, leaning over the bar to catch the attention of the young man rinsing
out glasses. “Barkeep, what’s a girl gotta do to get a drink around here?” she asked
in her toughest sounding voice, not wanting any trouble the first night out in
a new locale. Unwelcome stares made her feel uneasy and regret her choice of
dress. Keeping any unsavory characters, in particular vamps, at bay by acting
tough became a priority.

“Yes, miss. What can I get for you tonight?” The
bartender was a young dude all right. He couldn’t be more than about
twenty-two, barely old enough to serve liquor.
Cute, damn
cute in his tight black jeans and wife beater shirt, tanned, streaky blonde
hair, and ice blue eyes.
A shame, because he really wasn’t her type, he
was too young. Being twenty-seven, she liked her men a bit older. Still, he
made the surfer bar more appealing. His smile flashed bright white. Blushing,
she squirmed in her seat. C
owabunga, My
Little Surfer Dude. Maybe I could make an exception to the rule.

“What’s your house special?” she asked, spying his
name tag, added, “Derek.”

“Are you sure you want to order that particular
drink, young lady?” A deeper voice with a distinct European accent came from
behind her.

Slowly turning her head, a
broad, well-muscled chest of a man loomed inches from her face. The black silk
shirt barely hid the rippled muscles of his toned abs. The cut of the shirt
molded to his body like it was painted on him. He smelled like a tropical
paradise, citrusy and a hint of coconuts.
Like home in Florida.
Yum!

She raised her head to see
the face to match the voice. There he
stood
¾
the
most beautiful specimen of
manliness to fill her eyes in a long time. No, maybe beautiful didn’t quite fit
the description, but no woman in her right mind would throw stones at him
either. His features were easy on the eyes. He must have thrown a vampire veil
up over his true visage.
Didn’t all vamps
hide their true looks? Dad said they did.

For now she’d settle for
staring at his dark eyes, a deep smoldering brown, which seemed to peer right
into her soul. His chiseled jaw, high cheekbones and magnificent head of wavy
brown hair, the kind of hair that begged for the attention of a woman’s hands,
made for an exotic figure of a man which said, “I’m going to fuck you fast and
hard, baby.”

Alex smiled and felt her
cheeks flush. This devilish good-looking guy standing before her could be so
far out of her league, whether a vamp or human. It wasn’t like Alex didn’t know
her own worth, after all she was young, fit–sort of, and kind of pretty, at
least boys back home called her “cute” or “pretty”. Also, smart enough to
recognize money, whether folded in her jeans pocket or striding in the door of
the vamp club. Alex’s entire wardrobe, from birth until this exact moment,
probably didn’t cost as much as the swanky clothes on this vamp’s back. Jeans
and T-shirts, with the occasional nice dress slacks or leather pants or
mini-skirt comprised her wardrobe. Women probably turned their heads and
drooled over him to get close to the gorgeous vamp when he entered a room, and
she was no exception.

Drool? Didn’t Randy say Gregori’s enforcer had women drool over him?

Definitely dressed like a
European and with a distinct accent that said he was not a Southern Virginia
Boy piqued female juices.
Sexy.
Not the so-called
Euro-Trash her friends talked about. Dressed in solid black, the stranger
exuded poise, grace and sex. The cut of his shirt and slacks, were impeccable.
Gaped open at his throat, the black silk dress shirt glided over his body in
sensuous folds. The slacks hugged trim hips and thick thighs like they were
custom made for him.

They must be customized,
Alex knew. No one could fill out clothes so perfectly without some nips and
tucks.

Maybe Chanel, or Prada, or
Gucci stayed beyond the reach of her budget, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t
recognize quality clothes
and
men.

Mesmerized, for a moment,
and blinking to regain her thoughts, it finally hit her.
Holy shit! Why are the drop dead gorgeous ones vamps? Good God
Almighty, Daddy
save
me. They are handsome because
they make us think they are. He probably has a wart on his nose, a scar across
his cheek, and a three inch dick. At least he smells good.
She sighed.

Tilting her head, she
coughed to prevent snickering at the mischievous thoughts running through her
mind. “And why not, you don’t think I can handle it?”

“I don’t think you’ll like
it. It’s an acquired taste,” the stranger said, a slight chuckle to his voice.

Turning to Derek, she said,
“I’ll have the house special.”

“Yes,
ma’am.”
The bartender snickered watching the stranger for approval to
proceed. As if there were an unspoken signal given between the two men, Derek
turned to fix the drink for her.

“I’m Alexandra Carlton. By
the way, my friends call me Alex.” She extended her hand.

“I think I will call you
Alexandra. Alex sounds like a man, and you are definitely not a man.” Grasping
her hand, he brought the palm to his lips, kissing it. The warmth of his lips
made her blood rush.

Shivers ran down her spine
watching his eyes run across her body, undressing her as he moved from face to
legs and back up. “I haven’t been called Alexandra in a long time. Even my
family calls me Alex.”

“They disrespect you as a
woman, Alexandra. My name is Stefan Marin, and what friends I do have, call me
Stefan.”

“Cute.
Vampire
humor?”

“Ah, you know what I am.
And you are a human female and I shall try not to hold your birth consequence
against you. Are you here for sex or a fix?”

Derek set the drink down in
front of Alex.
“Your house special.”

“Thanks,” she said to
Little Surfer Dude, and returned her attention to the new acquaintance. “So,
what is this exactly?” she asked Stefan, ignoring his previous comment and
question by changing the subject.
Was he
really trying to be funny with his human joke, or what? He is trying too hard.
Cute, though.

“What does it matter, you
can handle it right?” He goaded.

“Yeah, that’s right. Do you
sip or knock it back. Can you at least tell me which is best?”

“I prefer sipping it.
Although I’ve seen some brave souls take it down at once.”

“Shot it is.” Clasping the
glass, she took a deep breath and gulped the liquor down in one swallow. Within
seconds the coughing began from the burning sensation, followed by Alex uttering
a few expletives, begging for water.

Stefan laughed at her
uncontrollably. He motioned for Derek to bring a glass of water. After bolting
down the entire glass, she took a few moments to regain composure. When her
eyes stopped watering, Stefan winced from the impact of her punch in the arm.

“What the hell was that?”
she managed to get out.

“Cognac Paradis laced with
a small amount of blood. I told you it was an acquired taste, except you didn’t
listen. Are you always so stubborn?” He gave her an abbreviated grin.

“Blood,
vampire blood?”
Alex’s face contorted, sucking in her bottom lip to hold
back her disgust. “Ach, I think I’m going to be sick. Where’s the ladies room?”

In her opinion, those who
drank the blood of the undead were unstable people and the act itself a
repugnant practice. The fascination of vampire blood by junkie humans befuddled
her. The desire or compulsion turned out to be no different than any other
addiction—sex, drugs, alcohol. Vampires Anonymous and Vamp Anon groups formed
around the country years ago to help with the epidemic of addicts.
What
would they come up with next? Only in the United States!

Alex walked briskly to the
ladies’ room, glimpsing back at Stefan upon turning the corner. He stared,
watching her every move.
Damn him!
A
smile forced itself onto her face.
Damn
arrogant handsome vamp! Warts and scars and three inches!

Finding an empty stall, she
quickly fell to her knees, and could not stop from losing her stomach contents.
Thank goodness not much came up; otherwise, the mess would have been worse.
After a few minutes of embarrassing herself in the stall, she moved to the
sink, staring at herself in the mirror.
Shit,
this never happened on hunts with Dad and my bros.
She wetted a paper towel
and cleaned up.

“First, time sweetie?” The
well-dressed twenty-something blonde woman standing beside her asked, and
patted Alex on the shoulder. “Next time, mix it with sex and it will make it a
lot easier to take.” Walking out the door, the blonde mumbled, “Rookie.”

After washing her mouth
out, Alex straightened her skirt and smoothed her hair in place as best she
could, and then walked back to the bar. Stefan hadn’t moved from the bar where
she left him. Did he hang around for more amusement?
He’s a sadistic vamp on
top of everything else. You sure know how to attract them, Alex girl! And he’s
the one I have to talk to about the rogue. This is just great! Think warts and
three inches.

“Back for
more Alexandra?”
Stefan asked, grinning.

“Lacing drinks with vamp
blood and not telling people isn’t funny.” Glaring at Stefan for a second, she
shifted attention to Little Surfer Dude.
“How about a draft
and a whiskey shot this time, and nothing laced in it.”

“You didn’t answer my
earlier question,” Stefan said, this time with a raised eyebrow and an upturned
corner of his mouth.

“And the question was
what?”
Shit. He didn’t forget.

“Are you here for sex or a
fix?”

“Your draft and whiskey,”
Derek said.

“Thanks,” she said and
gulped the shot down.
Okay, now what?

Not sure how to answer him,
she decided to play down his question. Keeping the nature of the mission a
secret from him was paramount. Stefan couldn’t be helping the creep. Randy told
her Gregori didn’t like rogues, which meant Stefan didn’t like them either.
“I’m here on vacation and a friend told me about this place. I was curious,
that’s all.”

“Hmm.
Thrill-seeker.
Where are you from originally?”

“Florida.
Narcoossee, Florida, to be exact.
It’s a small town outside
of Orlando.” Sipping some of the beer, the bursting bubbles from the foam
tickled her nose.
God, I hate small talk.

“Why would you be
vacationing in Virginia Beach when some of the best beaches in the world are
right in your backyard?”

“I’ve been to most of them.
I’m searching for something, hmm, different.” Another sip of beer passed her
lips.
Jeez, that was lame.

“Like I
said,
a thrill-seeker.”

The live band came on stage
and started the next set. Alex glanced at her watch, it read eleven.

“Would you like to dance?”
he asked standing and extending his large, well-manicured hand.

“Sure.” The answer
surprised her and judging from the expression on his face, Stefan too. At the
club to work not socialize, she didn’t know what came over her. Being drawn in
by his vampire charm, the opportunity to ask for his help seemed to slip
further away.
Who cares right now?
Warts and scars, warts
and scars.

Placing a delicate,
elegant hand in his, he led her to the dance floor. Taking her into his arms,
he held her close. The band played a slow song, not the fast one the band
started the session with. Only after getting up from the bar did it become
apparent how tall Stefan was. He stood at least six foot three and her head fit
comfortably on his chest.
Soft and warm.
One of his
hands moved up and down her spine sending waves of electric sparks of arousal
throughout her body. As they swayed to the beat of the music, their bodies felt
right together. Her mind drifted as Stefan softly lulled her in his embrace
with the gentle melody of his heartbeat in her ear. The safety felt in the arms
of the attractive, virile, vampire and his arousal pushing against her belly
quelled any hunter training alarms in her body, but not head. His provocative
moves gained no traction on her.
Vampire! Think three inches, think three
inches, damn, it’s more than six, maybe seven, or…What the hell?
Alex
pulled back, comprehending where
they were and who this man was.