Page 2 of Heir of Blood and Moonlight

I wasn’t like Lily. I didn’t have curves for days, or lustrous flaxen hair, or captivating sapphire eyes. Everything about my appearance was drab, from my mouse-brown hair to my washed-out skin and dull gray eyes. I remembered thinking I was pretty when I was a teen. Back then, my eyes had held the changing colors of the sea, my hair had shimmered auburn in the sunlight, and my pale skin had seemed alight with an inner glow. It was when I had still been in possession of a seemingly endless supply of Javier’s blood tincture—more than enough to take a daily dose, rather than stretching it to once a week as I was forced to do now that my supply had dwindled. Each time I extended time between doses, my inner light seemed to fade further, my impending death casting a larger shadow over my life.

“Hope you don’t mind me crashing the party,” Bastian said. And the way he gazed at me, with more than a spark of interest, made me wonder if I hadn’t faded quite so far into bland obscurity as I thought.

“Not at all,” I said, returning his smile and fanning myself. “Whew! It’s hot in here.” I looked at Mark, nodding a hello, then focused on Lily. “I was just heading out for some fresh air.”

Lily narrowed her eyes, clearly weighing my sincerity, but then her hands slipped off her hips and she shrugged. Her lips spread into her trademark contagious grin. “All you’ll find out there israin.” She linked her arm with mine and pulled me toward the bar. “Why don’t you boys go find us a table,” she told the guys, raising her voice to be heard over the din. “We’ll get the first round.”

I glanced over my shoulder, my eyes locking with Bastian’s unexpectedly fierce stare. His features softened almost immediately, but I hadn’t imagined the intensity that had been there only a moment ago.

A tug on my arm drew my attention back to Lily and the crowded bar. She shouldered her way through the thirsty patrons, dragging me behind her.

“What’ll it be?” a bearded bartender asked, scanning the people on either side of us before locking onto Lily. I couldn’t help but be impressed with how quickly she had snagged his attention. But then, it was hard not to notice bright, sunny Lily in any crowd.

Lily quickly ordered for our group—four Long Islands—and we each carried two as we carefully navigated the crowd. I wondered how rude it would be if I pawned my cocktail off on Mark or Bastian and went back to the bar to ask about their wine options. Life was too short to waste it on drinks I didn’t like. Especially my life.

“Do you see them?” Lily asked, standing on tiptoes and extending her neck in an attempt to look over the other club-goers. Flat-footed, I still had inches on her.

I scanned the crowded lounge area at the front of the club. Mark was easy enough to spot, standing head and shoulders above pretty much everyone else around, with his long, black braids wound into a thick knot at the base of his skull. Bastian, who was no shrimp, barely reached Mark’s chin beside him. They had snagged a section of the built-in counter that stretched along the length of the wall from the end of the bar to the windows.

“I see them,” I told Lily, nudging her arm with my elbow. When she looked at me, I pointed toward the guys with my chin. “Over there.”

“Thanks, tall friend,” Lily said, flashing me a dazzling smile before pushing her way through the crowd toward our waiting companions, navigating on trust alone. I followed two steps behind her.

Someone bumped my arm, and cool liquid splashed the front of my loose-fitting white blouse while ice cubes scattered on the sticky cement floor at my feet. I had worn white because it made my pasty complexion look a little less wan. Big mistake.

“Crap,” I muttered, glaring down at the mostly empty glass and the ugly brownish stain covering the front of my shirt. It looked like I had drunk too much and thrown up all over myself. Delightful. I huffed out a breath, gritted my teeth, and took a step to follow Lily.

A steady hand rested on my forearm. “I’m so sorry,” a man said, drawing my attention up to his face. “Let me replace your drink.”

The breath lodged in my throat. Holy shit, he was gorgeous. Drop-dead, panty-melting, steal-your-breath gorgeous.

The dark-haired stranger had chiseled features, with a strong nose, sensually curved lips, and black eyelashes that made his gray eyes stand out. He had an air of utter self-confidence that seemed pulled from another era, and there was something primal about him, a wicked magnetism that shushed my self-doubts and drew me in.

My irritation over the spilled drink evaporated in an instant, and acting with uncharacteristic boldness, I shifted closer to him. The corners of my mouth turned upward. “All right,” I said coyly. Okay, maybe I was aiming for coy, but it came out as more of a shout, as required by the blaring music.

The handsome stranger leaned in, lowering his head to remedy our notable height difference, and a lock of his sleek black hair fell forward across one eye. He tilted his head, bringing his face even closer to mine. “Let’s get you cleaned up first,” he said, his eyes remaining locked with mine.

Tingles cascaded over my skin, and I nodded, unable to look away, like his stare had ensnared me.

The captivating stranger took the glasses from my hands and did something with them—I didn’t know what because I couldn’t look away fromhim—then took hold of my hand and pulled me through the club back toward the stairs to the second floor.

I felt like I was dreaming as we climbed the steps.

As we entered the restroom.

As the stranger told the woman reapplying her lipstick to get out.

As he checked the stalls.

As he locked the bathroom door.

As he stalked toward me.

I stood beside the paper towel dispenser, my back to the wall. My brain felt fuzzy, and I shook my head. Something about this wasn’t right. I didn’t do this kind of thing. I didn’t abandon my friends or wander off with strange men, and I absolutely didnotlet strangers lock me in an enclosed space with them. I could practically hear Javier’s voice shouting in my head:RUN!

I sidestepped around the stranger, my hands held out in front of me to fend him off. And Icouldfend him off. Javier had ensured I knew how to take care of myself should the day ever come that he wasn’t around to look after me himself. It was a day that hadcome nearly two decades ago, leaving me on my own.

“Shhh,” the stranger said, his gray eyes glowing silver. Holy shit. He was an immortal. Not just that, but an undead vampire—the first I had seen since Javier disappeared. “I will not harmyou.” When he spoke, he was careful to conceal his elongated canines, but I knew they were there.

---