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  At the age of twenty-one—her eternal age—she’d transformed completely into an adult vampire. Drinking blood from her first human—which should have been a truly electrifying experience as her brothers said—had left her cold. The blood from the human had had adverse effects on her body. It had sent her into seizures, shaking and screaming for hours until finally the blood had left her system. In no time at all it had become apparent—shocking the hell out of the doctor and her parents—that Rose Valentine was the first official vegetarian vampire. The thought baffled her even now.

  She was a vampire who couldn’t drink human or animal blood. But if she went without blood, she weakened. To try to help the starvation she ate often, every two hours, and the little blood she did have needed to be taken with pure prune juice and to come from a vegan source. Another factor—she could drink the diluted blood from a glass but never directly from a human.

  How scary did that make her? If she decided to go on a rampage she’d have to corner the human and get them to leak their own blood into a glass before she could even sip it. Pitiful.

  She reached out to take a lemon only to encounter a hand—a warm, human male hand.

  Rose glanced to her right and into the most beautiful cerulean eyes she’d ever seen. She jerked her hand away as a blush spread through her cheeks. No one had ever paid any attention to her before, but the man smiled at her.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

  “Don’t be sorry. You’re a woman with good taste. The other lemons look a little shrivelled,” he said.

  The sound of his voice made her blush and her nipples responded. Warmth settled in the pit of her stomach and grew. Rose glanced around at the other paying customers and, seeing no threat present, she smiled back at him.

  “Now, two things are special about you. A girl who can pick decent fruit and who has the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen.”

  He was a charmer.

  A giggle erupted from her. “Does that line work?”

  “You hurt me.” The mystery man placed a hand over his heart, his light banter easing her worry. “See, I knew I’d charm you,” he teased.

  “You did and…thank you.” Rose handed him the lemon and moved her trolley away. If she didn’t hurry, her brothers would pitch a fit.

  “Hey, you don’t have to leave so early.”

  “Early? It’s dark and late.” She used the lateness of the night to her advantage even if in her world it was still early morning.

  “Well, maybe we can be trolley buddies?”

  Rose glanced at his trolley and smiled. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I just want to shop…” She trailed off, not wanting to upset him.

  “Hey, sorry if I offended you but I can’t seem to leave a gorgeous woman like you alone.”

  For once a man was interested in her, and all she had done was shoot him down.

  “Look, I’m sorry. I’m not use to this,” she admitted.

  “Are you for real? Not used to men talking to you? You are a beautiful woman.”

  Rose blushed at his comments and chuckled before heading towards the bread section.

  “You’re blushing. I wouldn’t have believed it. Women these days are brassier than men,” he said, following her.

  Rose chuckled and placed a wholemeal loaf and a few special selection breads into her cart.

  “I know we’ve only just met, but I don’t suppose you’d help a guy shop, would you?” he asked.

  Rose glanced at a few of the passing customers and thought about the years she’d spent on her own, always wanting someone to talk to.

  “Well, we don’t know each other,” she replied.

  “That’s right. Let us break the ice. Hi, I’m Lewis Park, a loser and all-round charmer. And you?”

  “Rose Valentine, night shopper and lame eater.”

  They shook hands. A bolt of electricity shot up her arm. She gasped and pulled back, looking into his eyes.

  “Electric shock. We must have been destined to meet,” he whispered, drawing closer.

  “I’ve never heard of that.” Her hand rested against his chest. He felt so hard and secure under her fingers.

  “No? Then you’ve never heard of the electric kiss?”

  Rose shook her head, entranced by his words.

  “All you need to do is kiss the person you’re connected to. Like this.”

  His lips pressed on hers. Rose gasped but didn’t move. Her eyes slid closed. His lips were firm, but she liked them on her. His tongue licked along her bottom lip.

  “Kiss me back,” he said before he plunged inside her mouth. Rose released his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  Never before had she been reckless in her life. She’d never been kissed before. A peck on the cheek from her family as a sign of love, but never kissed like this by someone she’d barely met. Rose moaned and relished the sensation as he enfolded her in his arms. She knew she should pull away, but the hungry and starved woman inside denied her the right response.

  “Get a room,” a passer-by muttered. Rose jumped back as if she’d been struck.

  Lewis glanced behind him before he turned back to her.

  “I’ve never done that before,” she admitted.

  “Been kissed in a supermarket?”

  Rose nodded. “And the rest.”

  Grabbing her trolley, she moved past him to try to find everything else she’d need. An unsettled feeling twisted in her stomach.

  As she’d thought, he followed her.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,” he said.

  Rose sighed and turned to him. They’d met all of five minutes ago and already she felt guilty. “No, you don’t have to be. Like I said, this is new to me,” she replied, gesturing all around her then at him.

  “I understand. I’m coming on a little strong.” He placed a hand on her arm. She got another shock from his touch.

  “Yes, you are.” She licked her lips, hating herself for complaining. She liked his flirting and being the object of desire for this man. Well, maybe not desire, but there was certainly some interest going on.

  “I tell you what—how about we make a date to go to the movies?”

  “What?”

  “You know—watch a film at the local cinema. Last time I checked, Beyer West had one. Would you be averse to going to watch a movie with me?”

  Go to the movies? Rose had never been asked that.

  “I’d love to go,” she said with enthusiasm.

  “That’s great.” Rose watched him smile. “So, just so we know, what would you like to watch?”

  “Anything.” She couldn’t stop smiling. A date, she had a date.

  “I bet you’ve seen it already but they’re replaying Titanic. If you wanted, we could go and watch that.”

  Titanic was her favourite film. A story about a love so strong it could fight the odds, except from a sinking ship.

  “I’d love to go.”

  “Great, so how about we meet at seven at the movie theatre?”

  “Sounds great.”

  The rest of the shopping was gathered with Lewis keeping her company. They talked about certain dishes they’d tried and how they both enjoyed Italian vegetarian cuisine.

  Rose paid for her stuff and together they walked out.

  “How about I walk you to your house, or, better yet with all those bags, why don’t I drive you?”

  Unease settled inside her. No man had ever taken her home and, with the threat of the wolves, anyone could be watching her.

  “Oh. I can see by the look on your face you don’t like that idea.”

  “No. I mean yes, but no.” Shut up, Rose, and start making sense. “What I mean is I have four big brothers and they care about me a lot. I don’t want you to get hurt or be frightened off by their presence.” One of the better excuses she’d managed to find.

  “I bet I can charm them.”

  I doubt it. They have an aversion to human men.

  “I bet you co
uld. I just don’t want to risk my date.”

  “Ah, this is more about getting the company for Titanic?”

  Nope, it’s more about keeping you alive. “Absolutely.” They arranged a time and place to meet.

  “All right then. I’ll put all my gentlemanly possibilities aside and say it has been wonderful to meet you, Miss Valentine, and I look forward to our date at the movies.”

  Rose laughed as he took a bow then moved across the parking lot. She glanced in the direction of home and her heart yearned to turn away and follow Lewis.

  Get a grip, Rose. He’s just a guy.

  She made it home swamped with bags of shopping. The abilities gained from being a vampire allowed her the luxury of carrying large bundles.

  The few kitchen staff who remained were still awake and she helped Cook to put the ingredients away. “You took a long time today, honey.”

  An instant blush infused her cheeks.

  “Now I could smell that a mile off. What has got the blood rushing to your cheeks? Did you meet a man?”

  Rose turned from putting the pepper in the fridge. “Please don’t tell my brothers. Especially Robert and William, they wouldn’t understand.”

  “Dearie, I think it’s about time you saw a man for yourself. All this trouble has gotten to people’s heads. There is still time to enjoy love. And you, honey, deserve love.” Cook squeezed Rose’s cheeks and laid a kiss on her head. “The humans have gone home or to bed. Would you like to cook yourself up a ricotta and basil ciabatta?”

  Rose smiled as the tears fell. Cook was the only person in this world who understood her pain. She was a vegetarian vampire with no one to turn to. Not to mention the horrid nightmares she’d been having of late.

  Cook gathered the ingredients and Rose immersed herself in kneading the bread dough. Lewis came to mind and left her with a smile and the promise of their date.

  * * * *

  Somewhere outside of Beyer West

  “So, how did it go?” James asked Lewis as he walked into the room.

  “We met and we’ve got a date to meet tomorrow.”

  “Good lad.” James patted the seat beside him. The woman who’d been attending to his hard cock stood and left the room.

  “I know this sounds strange but… Dad, I got the feeling like I didn’t want to hurt her.” Lewis couldn’t believe how nice it had been talking to her. She wasn’t anything like he’d expected. A Valentine with compassion, and he thought it was possible for her to love. He’d seen a soul inside her that few vampires possessed.

  “No. Get that look of your face. Rose is a diversion. I want answers and you’re going to get them for me.” James grabbed a fist full of Lewis’ shirt and pulled him closer. Lewis didn’t feel threatened and so he allowed James to show his strength. He expected James to be on the attack as he always was after having one of the mongrel women attend to his needs.

  Eventually, James let him go and Lewis sat back.

  “We didn’t talk about much. She introduced herself and we shopped. There’s some food back there. I’ve let the others take care of it. Rose talked about four overprotective brothers. That was it.”

  “Four brothers? The leader, who is Robert. Then the crazy bastard William. The quiet one, Adam, and the ferocious one, Jason. He’s their weakest link. Always has been and always will be.” James sipped his bottle of beer and Lewis watched him staring into the fire.

  “Why do we hate them so much?” Lewis wasn’t entirely sure what his father had planned, only that he intended to see every last Valentine dead at his hand. James already knew so much about them. Lewis didn’t know why his father needed him. The thought of hurting Rose left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “They’re the fucking scum who want us dead. Extinct. They think because they’re vampires they’re better than us!” James yelled.

  Lewis felt the hearts of the other wolves behind him, in their collective, sink. Whenever James started on about the Valentines, the heart of the pack didn’t follow his reasoning but because he was the alpha they did as they were told.

  He didn’t understand why James didn’t feel the loss of faith among his wolves. Lewis did—a sick feeling in the pit of his gut was dying to get out.

  “Why would they think they’re better than us, Dad?” Lewis only ever referred to James as ‘Dad’ when speaking aloud, otherwise in his mind he only thought of him by his given name. He tried to keep the focus of the conversation on him. When James lashed out, he tended to take it out on the lowest of the pack members.

  “I don’t think they’re better than us. The fucking vamps think they’re better than us but we know they’re not. They can’t walk in sunlight. They’re an abomination and we’ll be the ones to show the world what a true power really is.”

  James stormed away and Lewis let out a sigh of relief. He’ll spend the rest of the night passed out in his bed.

  Alone, Lewis allowed his mind to drift over the night’s events. She was more beautiful than he’d imagined. Rose Valentine. Her skin was delicate and soft. Her colouring pale, set off by full red lips.

  He desired her and getting to know her wouldn’t be a hardship. In fact, he considered it an immense pleasure. His fingers ran over his lips, still tingling from her soft, plump flesh yielding beneath him.

  Yes, he looked forward to getting to know the young vampire. Maybe—before their attack was done—he’d take her just once to know what it was like to have her body laid beneath his, naked. He shifted as a stirring in his groin began to ache.

  Tomorrow night couldn’t come fast enough.

  Chapter Four

  “Get out!” Poppy screamed the moment she opened her eyes. She stared at Adam first before moving her gaze to the others who were crowding her door.

  Katie left immediately, taking William with her.

  The others refused to move.

  “You heard her, get out!” Adam yelled at the others. He pulled her cloak from the bed and wrapped it around her.

  The door shut and Poppy happily covered her body from his view.

  “I’m sorry about my family,” he said.

  Poppy couldn’t look at him. She knew he would have seen one of the worst parts of her condition.

  Her blood would have soaked up into her body like it always did. The process hurt like hell, but at least she couldn’t die. Not unless she was killed by someone far more powerful than her who could rip her heart out. She pressed a hand to her chest and looked at the criss-cross above her breast. No blood, the wound was now pale.

  Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh of relief.

  “Do you want to tell me what happened?” he asked.

  With all my heart.

  But Poppy shook her head. She didn’t want to worry Adam any more than she already had. They needed to concentrate on finding the alpha wolf before her situation grew worse.

  They’d said one day she’d have to make a choice and it appeared that day was drawing near.

  “We need to find the original alpha—the alpha who is dead,” she told him, pulling away from his close embrace. Adam always found the time to touch or hold her. She feared his touch was becoming addictive to her.

  “Robert has told us we can’t. It’s too dangerous,” Adam said.

  “Look, I was sent here to deliver a message and help the witch. This is not my mission or my call. I’m here to help you and if we don’t deal with it soon, there will be another call for me to answer.” Poppy put her cloak on properly while turning her back to him.

  “Can’t you ignore the call?”

  “Can you ignore your thirst for blood?”

  “I see what you mean.”

  No, you don’t.

  “I’ve not got a lot of time left. We need to search for the alpha. Trying to find him could take days.” Poppy turned to him and her heart fell to her stomach.

  “Take the cloak off,” he asked, stepping closer.

  “What? I’ll do no such thing,” she said, even as her hands twitched
to open the cloak. She found the more time she spent with him, the more power he held over her. If he asked her to die for him, she would gladly do it. The strong emotion she’d kept locked away for so long was starting to emerge and Poppy didn’t know how much time she had left.

  “I said take the cloak off.” This time he ordered her. He stood close now. If he reached out, he’d be able to circle his arms around her.

  “Why?” Poppy was mesmerised by him.

  “I want you to.”

  Her fingers went to undo the sash and buttons, starting at her neck and working her way down. She licked her suddenly dry lips and unbuttoned each of the large black circles.

  Adam took the cloak from her as soon as she’d untied the last sash and threw it on the bed.

  His hands came down and very gently he pushed her hair back from her face. Her hand went up to cover one half of her face.

  Adam stopped her and pushed the hand away. “I want to look at you.”

  Feeling really stupid, Poppy stood while he looked his fill. She was conscious of the scars running down her face and neck. They were like a hot burn she couldn’t get rid of.

  He moved his palms down and began to unbutton her dress.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  The dress flowed around her and she couldn’t bring herself to stop. Once the dress was parted to the waist, she placed a hand above his to pause him.

  “No more,” she said. Being completely naked was out of the question. He nodded and opened the dress wider. Poppy watched him run a thumb over each scar. The one from her neck ran down across her other breast to finish in a jagged pull.

  “Each scar is a battle or two that you’ve fought.” He sounded fascinated by her.

  “We’re supposed to be thinking about the upcoming search,” she argued even as her heart melted where his finger followed the trace of the scar over her breast.

  “I’ll talk to Robert and we’ll go shortly after. This one looks so painful.” He was tracing the criss-cross board.