Excerpt

My head was being held in a vise, and the vise tightened every second. The pressure pounded in my temples, intensifying with all the noise. Every sound amplified to ear-splitting decibels, and I ached like I'd been hit by a train, then knocked under a falling tree.

Then the tree caught on fire before being doused with acid.

In other words, ouch.

As soon as I peeled my eyes open, I tried not to freak out. I was home; I was in my room, and it was night. Those were the things I knew for sure. The rest… I had nothing. No idea how I got home from the parking garage. No idea why my head hurt or why my house was so dang noisy.

A flash of a memory went off in my mind. Fangs. I'd been bitten by something with fangs. What the hell was that about? It was the last thing I remembered.

Kendra's voice was loud, so damned loud. It was like I could hear her hair moving. Really? That wasn't even possible. Whatever the noise was, it couldn't have been her hair.

Then again, my bestie was a witch with real magical abilities. That wasn't supposed to be real either.

Yet here we were.

I opened my mouth to let her know I was awake and to ask her to quieten the crap down, but I couldn't speak. My throat was too dry and scratchy. The only sound that came out was a deep squeak. Like a cow being choked to death by a python. I couldn't even make myself sound human.

Sexy.

I turned my head to find a glass of beautiful crystal-clear water. It was there waiting for me, moisture running down the glass. Glorious condensation. Oh, thank frick. I only needed a sip, to wet my whistle.

I rose, grabbed the glass, and tipped it to my lips. Cool refreshment washed down my throat and the sandpaper eased enough so I could shout. "Hey." Not so much a shout as a croak, but okay.

As soon as I wheezed out the word, the water choked me as it came up and out, dribbling down the front of my nightgown. Dang. I must've drunk it too fast.

The door flung open revealing Kendra and Jaxon—my hot neighbor from across the street. They stopped just inside the door frame, in silhouette thanks to the hall light behind them, but there was no mistaking either one. Plus, I was new in Philly. I didn't know anyone besides these two, Cleo and her daughter. Of course, my brothers and whatever the hell bit me.

"Why are you here?" I croaked. It was all I could think clearly enough to ask. Now, I was parched again. So damned thirsty. I reached for the glass again.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kendra sat beside me on the bed.

Jax moved around to sit on the other side. "You've been asleep for a while."

After staring at Jax for a second too long, wondering again why he was in my bedroom, I looked from one of them to the other. They looked concerned. I still needed a drink. No way was I going to be able to talk until I got a damned drink.

Kendra laid her hand on my forehead and then glanced at Jax. They shared a look. "What?" I tried, but nothing came out. Again.

"Oh, tell me you remember," she gasped. "Holy shiznit, Hails. We were at the garage, do you remember?" She didn't wait for me to answer. "This woman, the skip? She attacked. Had you on the ground and my spell didn't work." Her voice tore through my skull, but I remembered. The images of what had happened flashed through my mind. Not that it mattered, because as Kendra spoke, she waved her arms. A lot.

The one closest to me... Oh, my. It looked like the juiciest, most flavorful turkey leg I'd ever seen before in forty years of Thanksgiving dinners. I ignored the ringing in my head, the pain from her volume, everything that wasn't her delectable, mouth-watering arm.

I followed it with my eyes, with my head, until I had the moves down, and predicted what she was going to do. I reached out for a bite. Just one. It was all I needed. A nibble.

She jerked back, and I recoiled in horror, wanting to smack myself. I should've grabbed it with my hands first. Duh.

"What the hell are you doing?" Her appalled face wasn't as intense as my hunger, and my tongue swiped across my lips.

Jax raised one hand. "It's normal, Kendra. She's fine."

"What's normal?" I whispered. My throat felt like dust. When the heck did we normalize that? Lusting for a taste of my best friend's arm? Wait. Why did I want to eat Kendra's arm?

A second after I had the thought, I didn't care. I wanted a bite. She was to talking. "...she bit you and we had to act fast." Her arm moved left. I faded with it. "Stop looking at me like I'm lunch." She hugged it closer to herself, but then the other arm looked just as good. "Jax?"

"Right." He sighed. "She isn't going to be worth much until she eats."

"Yeah. I'm starving." I didn't know if the words made it past my parched throat or if I imagined them, but the sentiment stood. I liked the way he thought. Food.

Before I could try to speak again, Luke burst into my room and pushed between them like a bright, delicious-smelling roast beef sandwich. The closer he came, the louder his heartbeat sounded, and the better he smelled.

Wait. Why was I imagining my brother as food? Better yet, why was I so damn hungry? What had bitten me?

My mind was too muddled to put it all together, even though all the clues pointed toward only one possibility.

Luke plopped down on the bed. "I have been trying to call you for days. Your voicemail box is full, FYI." He gave a sideways head bob, then I grabbed him without a second thought, pulled him close, and sank my teeth into his soft, warm flesh. Blood spilled between my lips. Effervescent. Delicious.

Better than any gourmet meal I'd ever eaten, more satisfying than the greasiest burger or the savoriest soup. This was nirvana. Heavenly. My own garden of Eden.

Then he jerked back—more accurately, Jax pulled him back. Luke slapped his hand over his artery. "You bit me?" He glared at me with wide eyes. "Bit me?"

I shrugged. He had roughly a gallon and a half of blood in his body. No way had I taken enough to matter.

Then, I froze. As a cloud of confusion lifted from my hazy, food-deprived brain, reality slammed into me. I'd bitten him. Drank his blood.

Horrified, I leaped from the bed and rushed into the bathroom. After slamming the door shut, I stared at myself in the mirror. Besides the bedhead, I looked great. Fantastic, really. My once imperfect skin was now flawless, even though it looked pale.

Then I opened my mouth, and my suspicions were confirmed.

I had fangs.

I poked at them with my index finger, wondering if they went away and only appeared when I was hungry. I frowned, turning to sag against the counter. So many questions swarmed my brain. Jax would have the answers.

I jumped out of my skin when someone pounded on the bathroom door. Then Luke screeched through the wood. "Hailey Marie Louise Whitfield."

I giggled and opened the door. "Uh-oh. It's a full-name assault." Then I stared at Luke, who stared back at me with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open. I darted a glance at Kendra and then at my brother. "What?"

"You bit me. You freaking bit me." He touched his neck with his fingers and showed them to me. "You drew blood."

I stared at the tips of his fingers coated in crimson. I swiped my tongue out, catching a small drop of leftover blood from the corner of my mouth. A second wave of Utopian happiness washed over me. Lightning quick, I wrapped my fingers around his wrist. "Come here."

He jerked his hand away from me and held it to his chest, his features a mask of horror. "Stay away from me," he whispered.

A pang of sadness washed over me. My actions weren't normal, but I couldn't help it. Luke had tasted so yummy. Okay, no. That was my brother. He was not food.

Brothers were friends. Not food.

I drifted closer to Jax. Surely, being a vampire himself, he'd stop me if I went crazy. At least, I hoped he would.

Luke was still being dramatic about the whole thing. He turned on Kendra and put his hands on his hips. "What the hell is wrong with Hailey? I want answers, and I want them now because I am freaking out, and bleeding."

"Breathe, Luke. Just breathe." Kendra led him away while Jax took my hand and pulled me toward the bed to sit down with him.

It took a second, but my mind cleared. Somewhat. Although I could still smell Kendra and Luke, I got nothing from Jax. Well, nothing but the desire to lick every inch of him, and that had nothing to do with eating...erm drinking. "Why can't I smell you?"

"Because you're a freaking vampire." Kendra shrieked the words at me, waving her hands.

"A what now?" Luke turned to her as she sat him down and handed him a cloth to put over his bite. "I'm gonna need a bigger story here."

Kendra nodded. "Yeah." She told him everything and bits of memory returned with each word until I had a whole picture.

Zara had turned me.

"She's a vampire? You'd think they'd put something like that on the bond sheet." I huffed out a breath. Then again, humans wouldn't know what Zara was because vamps and other paranormal creatures did whatever they could to live in secret, just like Kendra did.

"After you passed out, she took off. I screamed for help, and Jax appeared." She nodded to him.

"I'd been tracking Zara, too. I almost had her, but then…" He shrugged, and it didn't take a genius to know he thought we'd gotten in the way. "I got a call for help. I smelled the blood, saw the teeth marks, and I knew what she'd done."

"Holy crap." The situation probably warranted something a little stronger—something that started with an F at least—but I was all kinds of hopped up on Luke's blood. And Lukey's blood was good blood.

Jax waved his hand. "Yeah. Killing humans is a big no-no in the vamp world. So is turning them, for that matter. There's a council that governs the whole race. I didn't have any choice but to turn you." His apology was so heartfelt, it said this euphoria wasn't going to last and things were going to go south eventually. No one would apologize for this kind of rapture, the ecstasy, the bliss.

"We took you home and you've been asleep for the last three days." Kendra finished the story, but I stopped listening after three days.

"I have to go to work. Oh, man. I can't afford to lose that job, I just got it and I like her." I said every word in a single breath, and considering I was a vampire, I probably didn't even have to breathe anymore. Did I? I tried to hold my breath, but I was too upset.

Kendra moved closer until I couldn't help it any longer and licked my lips again. Then she took a step back. "I called and told her you'd been in a car accident."

Luke swiveled from looking at me to glaring at her. "You remembered the boss she worked for one day with, but not her beloved older brother?" he snarled out in a breath.

Kendra brushed him off. "I would've called, but I've been busy worrying about my best friend."

"Watching her sleep?" His volume climbed. "How busy could you be?"

Kendra puffed her chest. "Listen, bucko, I sat at her bedside. Held her hand. Chanted a mantra so good—"

"A mantra? You chanted a mantra?" He mimicked her lighter tone, cocked his hip on the chair, then raised a finger. "Let me tell you something, best friend. I am the first call. Always."

They argued back and forth. She reminded him I was in my forties and didn't need my brother. He said I was younger than him and would be until one of us died. I wanted to jump in with a walking-dead joke, but Jax shook his head when I opened my mouth.

It was like he could read my thoughts. That was something I wasn't ready to know about at the moment.

"Some things are better left alone." He nodded to Kendra and Luke, still bickering. "That's one of them." Then he stood and ushered them out of the room, shut the door behind them, locked it, and crossed to the empty side of my bed. He pulled back the blanket and slid in.

"Uh…" I scooted over to give him room on the bed. It was a good thing I had a king-size. At least I didn't run the risk of biting him. "What are you doing?"

"Your body is still adjusting to the changes, and you should rest. I have some things to explain, first." He gave me a soft, sweet, dreamy look. "You're going to need to feed often right now. Until you learn to control your impulses, I need to stay with you."

Stay with me? Yeah. Good plan, right there. How the hell was I going to focus with mister hottie vampire in my house. All. The. Time. "Okay." Maybe we could snuggle, too.

"There are rules, Hailey. Not many, but they are in place to keep the race from being detected by humans. One of those rules is we are not allowed to turn humans without the council's permission." He paused as if giving me time to absorb what he'd said.

"I take it you didn't have permission to turn me?"

He nodded. "I did not."

My gut twisted with worry. "Then why did you?" He didn't know me, so why risk punishment?

Jaxon rolled to his side and stared at me for a long while. "I have my reasons, so don't worry about the council. I'll deal with them."

I'd do as he asked and let him worry about that. "You said there are other rules?"

"Besides keeping the existence of vampires a secret, the others are more like guidelines. I am the master vampire for Philadelphia and surrounding areas. I set the rules for my territory. My biggest rule is to not bite unwilling humans. I own a club that is strictly for paranormal beings only. I have humans that work for me that vampires can feed on." I must have made a face because he paused and laughed. "It's not that bad. The humans are loyal and have full knowledge of us."

I thought about it for a few moments. That was a handy way to deal with the feeding issue. It was a relief that I wouldn't be going around biting random people. "What happens if one of the humans betrays your trust in them?"

"Their memories are erased, and they are encouraged to move out of town so there is no risk of their memories coming back." His tone was so matter-of-fact, but there was a note of something else in his words.

I narrowed my gaze. "If their memories return?"

He sighed and brushed a stray strand of hair from my cheek, leaving chill bumps in his wake. Good to know I could still get chill bumps. "I don't kill them unless I have no other choice."

I nodded and stared at the ceiling, then yawned. He'd kill a human when necessary. Would I?

Jax squeezed my hand. "As your sire, it is my job to train you. For now, you need to rest."

I smiled; not sure I could sleep anymore. After all, I had slept for three days. "Will you stay?" When he nodded, I blew out another breath.

He settled in against the pillow, and I turned to look at him. The full-on view was breathtaking. Wasn't every day I had a gorgeous vampire in my bed. Or anyone gorgeous, vampire or not.

I watched him for a few seconds. "Does this mean I can never go to the beach again?" Not that I was much of a sun worshipper, but I loved the sand and the ocean, and the smell of it all.

"You can, but you'll only get a few good minutes before you burst into flames, and maybe one more minute before you're a pile of ash. Or you could go at night." He could've just said no, but he had to go for the dramatic.

"And garlic?" I loved walking by Juliano's Eatery. They had the most aromatic dishes on their menu.

"Myth. Doesn't hurt us. Crosses are also a myth of epic proportion." He reached over to brush my bangs off my forehead, and if I still had circulation, my blood would've rushed to my heart. "You can see your reflection in a mirror."

The latter, I found out when I rushed to the bathroom after biting Luke. "Good. Bad hair days are okay every once in a while, but…a girl needs to see herself." I frowned. This was a lot to digest. "At least, I get the super speed, right?" Maybe I would finally run that marathon I'd always dreamed of.

"Maybe. Our kind isn't a class you can fit in a box. Some of us are strong, some can see in the dark, some are fast, and others hear well. A few of us are blessed enough to have all the…" He grinned. "Superpowers."

"How'd you get so lucky?" I wasn't jealous. More like intrigued. More so than I'd ever been.

He winked. "I'm going to help you get through this."

"As my maker?" And lover?

He smiled again. "And a friend." Ah, well.

I wanted to thank him, to be grateful, but I was a vampire who would never feel the sun on my face again. I was tired and hungry. For blood. There was a lot to unpack before I would be able to work my way around to gratitude for his saving my life.

"How old are you?" I asked. It didn't matter, really, but I was curious.

Jaxon sucked in a breath. "More than a century."

Oh geez. Talk about a May-December relationship. "I have a lot more stuff to learn, huh?"

"There's time." Even at hundred-plus years old, he wasn't a good enough liar to sneak a deception past a woman who'd already been lied to by a husband and a half. Of course, right now, I wasn't worried about the lies. I was worried that I had a gorgeous man beside me. In my bed.

All I wanted was to drink my brother's blood.