back and run for the hills. But she hadn’t and avenging angels aside, things hadn’t turned out so bad. She was free of the demon and had been reunited with her father—who loved her. And best of all, she had her very own hunky vampire protector. About time she showed him how grateful she was.
“Bedtime,” she announced. “Tomorrow, I guess I’m going to have to start living up to this angel thing. But tonight, well, tonight I want to be a little bit bad. So, goodnight, everybody.”
“Even me?” Piers asked.
“Of course not you—who the hell else am I going to be bad with? Let’s go, Lamont.”
He stood up, wrapped his big hands around her waist, and tossed her over his shoulder. Then he headed for the door.
“Hey wait.” She punched him on the butt. “Back up.” He stepped back and she grabbed the half-full bottle of scotch from the table. “Okay, let’s go.”
She managed to keep hold of the bottle and not spill any as he tossed her on the bed. Scooting up, she leaned back against the pillows, and took a deep pull before handing the bottle to Piers. He came down and stretched out beside her.
She’d faced a badass demon and sure death today.
Now for something even scarier.
Turning so she could peek up into his eyes, she held his face between her palms and remembered his words as he’d left her that morning. She could do this. “I love you.”
Piers leaned across and kissed her lightly. “I sort of guessed when you appeared and saved me from a fate worse than death.”
“Was it that bad?”
“I’d only been with the bitch two hours and I was ready to rip my own head off. Two thousand years—what the hell was I thinking of?”
“Me. Thank you, but don’t do it again.”
She snuggled up, wrapping her arms around his middle and laying her head on his bare chest, breathing in the intoxicating scent of vampire.
“You know, I remember thinking at the start of all this that you make your bed and then you have to lie on it. And I have to say”—she wriggled against him—“this one is pretty damn comfortable.”
He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her again. “And if you’re really lucky—you make your bed, and then you get to share it with your very own angel.”
Acknowledgements
Once again to my fabulous editor at Entangled Publishing, Liz Pelletier, and her assistant Robin, for all their wonderful comments and edits. To all the great women at Passionate Critters for reading my stories and letting me know what they really think. And finally, to Rob, who puts up with me, and encourages me, and does a great job of hiding it when he’s totally fed up with me being in my imaginary worlds and filling the house with vampires and werewolves..
About the Author
Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia, which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of nine-to-five work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain.
Nina writes all types of romance, often mixed with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.
www.ninacroft.com
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