This chapter is a bit short, just barely 2 Lit pages, so the teaser will be short as well at just under 1000 words. This chapter will also introduce a new character (not included in this snippet) whose bio I posted recently. You'll also get some info on our baddies. So, short chapter, lots of info. This should go live early next week but for now, enjoy the snippet!
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There's a Fine Line...
Chapter 6
Alicia
aimlessly wandered the spacious gallery of the Pierces’ home, paying little
attention to the elegant sculptures or the exquisite artwork that graced the
large room. Francisco had vouched for the slender elf and called his sires home
to discuss the spells the shaman wished to place around the estate at Blake’s
behest. The two men had spoken of trivialities, the kind of small talk one
indulges in at a cocktail party, while she had fumed in a barely civil silence
and fled the moment Elizabeth had arrived. For all his talk of the importance
of honesty, it seemed that Blake Simons held himself to a different standard
than he did others.
He’d
been attacked by six creatures – three from a totally different plane of
existence – but didn’t feel she deserved to know. If he didn’t think she
deserved to know when he wound up in a situation that could have meant injury
or even death, then what did she deserve? Was she nothing more to him than what
she’d originally feared: a quick and easy fuck? She snorted unhappily at the
thought. He hadn’t even tried to have sex with her when she’d spent the night
with him, so that was out.
Gripping
her hands tightly to avoid grabbing the nearest priceless treasure and throwing
it violently against the wall, Alicia stalked from the room, no longer trusting
her self-control. With a manic gleam to her pearly black eyes, she entered the
small gym on the ground floor and approached the punching bag hidden in the
corner. Even during those horrible months with Markus, she’d never felt so
angry and upset and betrayed. She was supposed to be his mate, not a plaything
he could use then discard and forget. Tears ran down her cheeks as she attacked
the heavy, cylindrical bag, uncaring of the bruises on her knuckles and unaware
that her avian cries of rage and pain echoed through the empty room. Jagged
tears were beginning to form in the thick leather when powerful hands clamped
firmly but gently around her wrists.
“You’ll
hurt yourself, Beautiful One.” Blake’s murmur as he pulled her back against his
chest seemed to dispel all of her aggressive anger and left her feeling numb.
She neither struggled nor responded to his touch, though the tears continued to
fall in silent streams. “I’m sorry I didn’t call, Alicia. Though I’ve tried to
convince myself that I was only trying to protect you, the truth is that there
is no excuse for my actions.” Still holding her wrists, he wrapped her in his
embrace and nuzzled tenderly into her hair.
“Were
you hurt?” Alicia’s voice was low and hoarse from weeping, and she was thankful
for the arms that held her. She was suddenly exhausted and doubted she could
stand without aid for, as angry as she had been at him, she couldn’t refrain
from asking.
“No,
beautiful. They never even got that close.” Daring to place a light kiss upon
her cheek, he tightened his hold when she sagged in relief. “There were six.
Two vampires not much older than Johannes were being led by a third who might
have passed his first century. They were still too human in their ways to be much
of a threat, even had I been unarmed. I’m rarely unarmed.”
“You
use weapons?” Still soft, her voice was slightly stronger and full of confused
curiosity. A quick glance told him that her tears had slowed to a mere trickle,
which lightened his heart considerably. Joyously, he chuckled softly at her
disbelief and gave her a brief squeeze.
“Yes,
my sweet. I prefer handguns in such situations, though I’ve trained in most
firearms from shotguns to sniper rifles and everything in between. I keep the
pistols out of sight unless they’re needed, and then they’re easily accessible.
The younglings had little opportunity to do more than annoy me because I’d
dirtied my suit.”
“You
said six…”
“The
other three were Mephits, small creatures commonly referred to as the
cockroaches of Hell. They’re easily manipulated by those with a stronger will,
but vicious when ordered to attack. They don’t just obey their masters, they
enjoy it. Their pitiful existence is only made bearable by transferring their
abuse onto others. They posed a problem simply
because of their tendency to shoot bursts of hellfire at their opponents.” She
shivered and his arms tightened around her. “Some singed hair and a ruined
shirt was all they managed before they were eliminated, Beautiful One.”
“They
were after me.”
“Not
directly.” Blake sighed, wishing he didn’t have to reveal the reasoning behind
the attack but unwilling to make another glaring error in judgment. He slid his
hands from her wrists to entwine their fingers, his thumb stroking her wrist
soothingly. “They were after me as a means of getting to you. The loss of a
mate is a thousand times worse than the loss of a loved one, Alicia. Many fall
into a despair so great they slowly waste away, while others can’t handle the
pain and either go rogue or commit suicide. It is our belief that Malphas’ plan
was to eliminate me in hopes you’d be more susceptible to his manipulations.”
“How
could he think I’d have anything to do with him if he was responsible for
taking you from me?”
“I
don’t think he planned on us figuring that part out so soon, Beautiful One, or
he has something more to use as leverage. What that may be, however, we don’t
know. Yet.” When the silence stretched, with only the sound of their breathing
to break it, Blake turned the precious human in his arms to face him and cupped
her cheek tenderly. “Talk to me, Alicia. Yell, scream, hit me…whatever it
takes, but tell me what you’re thinking right now.”
Wow short or not this is going to be good!
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