Her friendraised an eyebrow and smirked. “Harper Clarke, you wicked littlewitch.”
“I am, aren’tI?”
“So, why didyou run away?”
“It was the wayit happened.” She expelled a breath. “I know he’s a fledgling,young and inexperienced, but he lost control like an ancientvampire, Zar. We shared a kiss, the most incredible kiss, damn him,and then he got this crazed look in his eyes. He tried to bite me,and I freaked out.”
“So you freakedout, no big deal. I’m sure it was only a temporary blip becausehe’s a fledgling. His maker will put him straight.”
“His makerbetter had, because the way Damon behaved, he’s a danger to himselfand to others.” Anger bubbled inside. “If I ever see him again,which I hope I won’t, I’ll make sure I tell him what a moron heis.” Harper pondered for a moment. “In fact, I do want to see thecocky Damon Vertefeuille again—to give him a piece of my mind.” Sheballed her fists by her sides, her arms rigid. “Maybe I should goto his restaurant, tell him exactly what an arrogant jerk he is,right in front of his snooty-nosed customers and see how he likesbeing brought down a notch or two from hisI’m-a-vampire-and-I’m-awesome pedestal he’s put himself on. Andanother thing, if he thinks—” She paused for breath as Zarya burstinto a full-on belly laugh.
“I fail to seewhat’s so funny about a vampire who makes me so mad I want to turnhim into a weak little lamb and feed him to the werewolves. If Icould,” she added.
Now tearstrickled down her friend’s face. “Harper, calm down before youburst something. I get it, the vamp got under your skin. As I said,you’re totally smitten.”
Harper trembledas she glared at her friend. Zarya was right, but the mood she wasin, she wasn’t about to tell her friend her feelings towards theinfuriatingly sexy vamp had affected her more than she liked toadmit. “I don’t care. He’s out of my life. For good.”
“Whatever yousay, Harper. If you two have that much chemistry going on, Fatewill find a way.”
She harrumphed.“Maybe, maybe not. It doesn’t matter. I have a business to run,including the meeting next week with the website designer who’sgoing to help me get Magik Dates online, hopefully. I can’t bewasting my time thinking about some wet-behind-the-ears vamp, nomatter how hot and sexy and charming he thinks he is.”
ChapterFour
Damon shiftedthe gearstick into first and drove away from Harper’s flat atspeed.
He needed adrink.
No, what heneeded was blood, and he knew exactly where to get it.
He could havegone home, quenched his thirst on one of the blood bags he kept inhis fridge, but after what nearly happened with Harper, he neededthe warm stuff, straight from the vein.
Hurling his MGaround the streets of London, he sped towards Nerissa’s apartmentoverlooking the Thames.
Damon parkedhis car in the underground car park and took the direct lift to thepenthouse.
He pressed thebell and kept his finger on it, only now thinking she could beout.
Thankfully,Nerissa opened the door. “Oh, it’s you.” His maker didn’t look toopleased to see him. She wore a silky robe and held a half-emptybottle of vodka in her hand. “Take your finger off the damndoorbell, Damon. All that ringing is giving me a headache.”
He did. “Sorry.I shouldn’t have come. You’re busy.”
“I’m never toobusy for my gorgeously handsome fledgling,” she murmured, trailingher pink fingernails seductively down his lapel. “I’m in the middleof a little one-on-one, but I’m sure Melanie won’t mind if you joinus.” She arched her perfectly pencilled eyebrows and fondled hiscock right there in the hall.
Damon fendedher advances off the best he could without upsetting her. She mightbe an outrageous flirt, but beneath her femme fatale façade, shehad a kind nature, one of the reasons he’d asked her to turnhim.
“Are you okay,darling?” she asked. “You look a little harassed.”
“I thinkthere’s something wrong with me, Nerissa.”
She linked herarm in his, the heavy aroma of perfume and sex wafting around heras she led him into her spacious lounge. “There’s nothing wrongwith you, Damon,” she said, glancing at the front of his trousers.“Believe me, nothing wrong in that department at all.”
Despite histurmoil, he grinned. “I know, but I’m not here to discuss howwell-endowed I am.”
“What’s wrongthen?”
“I need blood,Nerissa, the warm stuff. Is this Melanie woman willing?”
“Yes, of courseshe’s willing, my humans always are, darling. You’ll learn thatsoon enough, but I thought we agreed you were only to drink fromblood bags?”
“I know, butsomething happened tonight. Something that scared the hell out ofme.”
Nerissaregarded him, then she unlinked her arm, fetched a glass and poureda generous measure of vodka from the bottle. “Here, you look likeyou could do with this first.”
Damon took thedrink and gulped it down in one go.
A half-nakedwoman, Melanie, presumably, appeared from the hall. “Are you comingback to bed, Nerissa?” She spotted him. “Oh, you didn’t tell me wewere expecting company. How exciting.” She smiled. “Hi, I’mMel.”
“Melanie,darling,” said Nerissa. “Would you mind giving Damon here a drop ortwo of your blood? He’s my fledgling and he’s rather upset.”
“Sure, anythingfor you, Nerissa.”
Melanie made abeeline for him, swept her long hair away from her neck and tiltedher head back. “Go ahead. I give you my consent to bite me,” shesaid, her voice all breathless and pathetic.
Clearly thisnaïve young woman was no stranger to a vampire’s needs—probablyhooked on those fantasy TV shows that glamorised all thingssupernatural, so he’d been told, when in reality, it was adangerous game. Silly, impressionable girl. He pitied her.
The bloodflowing through her veins resounded in his ears. Her pert breastsheaved up and down.
His fangselongated.
She brushed herfingertips from her jaw to her collar bone, biting her bottom lipseductively.
All Damon couldthink of was Harper as he grabbed the woman and sank his teeth intoher soft flesh, succumbing to the bloodlust.
A few dropsto take the craving away, then I’ll stop.
A few dropswere not enough. He gulped the hot, sticky blood, relishing in itsmetallic taste as it slid down his throat like amber nectar.
“Damon!” hismaker warned. She gripped his shoulder, but he shrugged it off.
Suddenly, itwasn’t Melanie’s
