[Blood and Absinthe 02] • Bound by the Vampire

Celia Albright, an eighth-blood Fae and a spellcaster, is having a very bad day. She's being targeted by an unknown assassin, and with most of her friends out of the city fighting demons, she goes to the only other person in Boston who might be powerful enough to help her.

Evan Grant is a vampire who prides himself on his survival instincts. He's avoided the Fae ever since they killed his maker years ago, and he knows he'd be crazy to take a Faery girl under his protection--especially since it might be the Fae themselves who want Celia dead.

If he were smart, he'd send her away. But when he saves her life instead, Celia and Evan find themselves caught up in an adventure neither of them expected--and an attraction neither of them is prepared for.

Bound by the Vampire is a parnormal romance novella of 25,000 words, or about 85 pages. It's the second book in the Blood and Absinthe series.

The Blood and Absinthe series:

Book 1 - Taming the Vampire (a novella)

Book 2 - Bound by the Vampire (a novella)

Book 3 - Claiming the Vampire (a full-length novel)

Book 4 - Drawn to the Vampire (a full-length novel)

Book 5 - Caught by the Wolf (coming in 2014!)

EXCERPT

He cursed softly as he put his hand on the knob and turned it. If it was unlocked, he'd just stick his head in and make sure Celia was all right. If it didn't open--

But it did.

The door opened soundlessly, and he took one step inside.

The moonlight pouring through the windows illuminated the girl lying asleep on the bed. Her long red hair was lustrous and loose, just as he'd imagined, and she was wearing a white cotton camisole top and plaid pajama bottoms. Her arms were flung out to the sides and her legs were tangled in the sheets, as if she'd been tossing and turning. Evan tuned his senses to her and was relieved to find her heartbeat and breathing slow and even. She was perfectly well.

Which meant that he had no reason to stay.

But instead of taking a step backwards, he took one forwards.

And another.

Before he knew it he was in the middle of the room, and the effort to keep from going closer was making him shudder.

She looked like an angel. Her lips were parted slightly, and her softly rounded breasts rose and fell with her breathing. Her delicate scent hung in the air, making his body harden and his incisors ache.

He closed his eyes, wracked with a hunger more powerful than anything he'd ever felt.

Hunger for Celia.

It was more than bloodlust...it was a need so deep he knew he'd never be free of it again. It was a need that seemed to come from his very soul, if he could've laid claim to such a thing.

But she wasn't for him. He needed to get the hell out of here, and right now.

He opened his eyes and froze.

Celia had woken up, and she was looking straight at him.