“Shh,” I murmured, licking the blood from her lips as her pulse fluttered beneath my teeth. “You’ll never lose me again.”
Her heartbeat stuttered.
And as her soul slipped free, I caught it—a shimmering thread—and wove it into the brand on my own wrist.
Five marks.
Five lives.
At last, my bride was mine forever.
I cradled my son in the crook of my arm and stepped through the smouldering veil, back to Hell...where my bride, my Lucia, waited in her gilded chains.
The Vampire’s Delayed Feast
Chapter 1
Nicholas
Iwatched her all night.
The pub reeked of sweat and cheap beer, the kind of place I’d generally avoid. It was too loud, bright, and far too human. But I tolerated it because she was here.
Her scent hit me the moment I stepped inside the first pub. I could taste it in the air, ripe, fertile, and alive in a way that made my gums ache.
A breeder. Rare and delicious.
Ivy.
She was drunk, laughing too loudly with her gaggle of friends, their arms slung around each other like a shield. They’d been bar-hopping, drowning her sorrows after some pathetic breakup. I’d already taken care of the ex. A friend who owed me a favour tracked him down, drained him dry, and left his body stiff as leather in a ditch.
No loose ends.
Now, she was perfect. Vulnerable. On the rebound and ready.
I ordered a round of drinks for their table—something sweet, something substantial. I knew exactly what each of them had been drinking all night. I knew which ones would tap out first and which would cling to her like limpets. This was the fourth pub I’d followed them to, and patience had never been my virtue.
But waiting made the hunger sharper.
They stumbled to the dance floor, giggling and swaying. Ivy moved like she was trying to shake off her own skin, her red hair wild, her blue dress clinging to every curve. No bra. I could see the faintest shadow of her nipples when the light hit just right. She wasn’t one of those starved, sharp-hipped creatures modern men seemed to adore—no, she was lush. Soft in the ways that mattered.
My mouth watered.
Not for her blood. Not yet.
But for what would come after.
When her body was ripened with my seed and, another abomination was created.
I wiped the corner of my lips with a napkin, the faintest smear of saliva darkening the paper. Disgusting, this involuntary reaction. Like a dog scenting meat. But then, that’s what I was, wasn’t I? A beast in a tailored suit.
She threw her head back, laughing at something one of her friends said, the column of her throat exposed. I could see her pulse jumping there, a frantic little rabbit beneath her skin.
Soon, I promised myself.
But not tonight.
Tonight was just the beginning.
