A DANGEROUS BARGAIN (The Sentinel Demons) (19 page)

“The Winstons are adding to their family,” Drew remarked, his chair right beside Kristoff’s. “He’s a good kid.”

“You adore him. I know you actually shared your favorite truffles with him,” Kristoff answered, knowing Drew rarely shared when it came to his favorite foods.

Drew shrugged. “He’s a hard kid not to like. He’s been through a lot.”

Kristoff wasn’t fooled for a moment. Hunter and Drew practically worshipped Kat and were incredibly fond of her nephew, as was Zach. They had accepted them all into the Winston fold, including Nora and her husband, Dean, who were currently out getting the cake for the impromptu reception they were having.

Zach had wanted a huge wedding, but Kat had wanted a quiet celebration with just family, and Zach had given in to her wishes.

I just want you to be mine in every possible way.
Kristoff grinned as he remembered Zach’s blunt words when he had finally agreed to marry Kat in any manner she desired.

Tearing his eyes away from the happy couple, Kristoff looked at Drew. “Any luck on finding our anonymous author, or is he still eluding you?”

Drew frowned as he answered. “Yeah. Except I don’t think it’s a
he
-I think it’s a female.”

Kristoff tried to feign surprise, but he really…wasn’t. “Have you approached her yet?”

“No,” Drew answered irritably. “She’s wily. I think she actually knows we’re looking for her and disappears before I can catch up with her. But now that I’m fairly certain I have her identity pinned down, I’ll go after her tomorrow.”

Kristoff could tell that it really galled his Sentinel to be outwitted by a human female. “I’m sure you’ll take care of it.” Okay…it really wasn’t easy not to smile. Drew might be the most rational of the three brothers, but he was seriously annoyed by one human female, and knowing the woman who was irritating Drew, Kristoff knew it would only get worse.

His attention diverted by the return of Nora and Dean, Kristoff rose as Kat called them all over to the dining room table for a toast, with Drew following close behind.

As he accepted a glass of champagne, he watched Zach with Kat, the boy he once knew now a man, and he thanked the gods that he had found Zach in time to save him. He hadn’t known then exactly why he needed to save the ragged young man who had lived such a rough childhood. Now…he understood. Not only was Zach special because he was an exceptional recruiter, but his
radiant
harbored a skill that had been missing from the Sentinels’ arsenal of defense forever. Kat was one key to the lock they needed to open in order to rescue humans who were suffering in the demon realm, some of whom had been there for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the door had several locks, but they were one step closer to victory. And if the visions that Athena had been having recently were correct, the next lock would give shortly.

He looked from Zach to Drew, and finally to Hunter. In every way but blood, these men were his kin, closer to him than any other of his Sentinels, the three men he trusted to have his back when he needed them. Although the Sentinels hadn’t been created to form relationships and develop emotions, they had, and they were so much more than the emotionless warriors that the gods had originally created. He’d been through the evolution, and although it might have been easier to remain as he’d been in the beginning, that had been an empty existence.

“To love, happiness, and family,” Zach’s loud baritone rang out as they all raised their glasses.

Kristoff’s heart lifted as the happy couple embraced and touched their flutes together, and then reached out for everyone else. He made sure he tapped every single glass in the room, because he certainly could drink to that toast.

~
The End~

Look for Drew’s story, A Dangerous Hunger, coming in November 2013.

Please continue reading for an excerpt of

Ethan’s Mate Book One: The Vampire Coalition (available for FREE on most venues)

and

Mine For Tonight Book One: The Billionaire’s Obsession (available for FREE on most venues)

Please visit me at:

http://www.authorjsscott.com

http://www.facebook.com/authorjsscott
You can write to me at [email protected]
You can also tweet @AuthorJSScott

Ethan’s Mate Book One: The Vampire Coalition

Being a vampire was a lonely existence. Ethan Hale had walked the earth for the last five hundred years, surviving by stealth and by hiding his true nature, knowing that humans were not yet ready to accept and welcome the existence of vampires. The world had changed over the centuries. But not enough…

There were others of his kind, but vampires were solitary creatures, trusting no one, walking alone. While they might socialize occasionally, and his kind could call upon another of their brethren for help, they never stayed very long in the company of others. He had three brothers that he would give his own life for, however, in the end, they all dwelt alone.

The only hope of relief from his lonely existence was to find his soul-bonded mate. That life changing event had never occurred for Ethan and he had wandered for centuries without a soul.

Ethan and his three brothers fought the good fight, and popular vampire myths were often a topic of jokes among his brethren. Vampires were not “made,” they were born. Living, breathing, flesh and blood with extraordinary powers and, yes, a need for blood to survive. The only thing that they lacked was a soul. Their soul-bonded mate held that tightly inside of her own, keeping it safe and protecting it until the day that it would be transferred to her vampire in a mating ceremony as ancient as the vampire species.

Vampires were
not
the monsters of lore, however, there were times when self-policing was necessary, which meant that Ethan, his three brothers and several others of his brethren had to unite to defeat a
fallen
that had given in to bloodlust. Killing aimlessly was against the code of the vampire. If one of his kind became too frenzied while feeding, and killed, the lust for a blood kill would become permanent, making them beyond redemption. They would become a
fallen
, and immediate extermination of fallen vampires was the only hope of survival for his kind. Human detection would mean the destruction of his entire species. Although the vampires might laugh at the incorrect lore and the misunderstanding of true vampires, humans would see them as evil abominations that needed to be hunted and extinguished.

Vampires did not kill indiscriminately. They took blood when they needed it and left the human donor with no memory of the incident.

And their one true mate? That was no myth, that was real, but finding one’s mate could not be rushed, as Ethan and his brothers had discovered over the last several hundred years of waiting. All vampires were born male, their female counterpart a human with a genetic difference. The human female mate was born with her soul combined with that of her vampire mate, a genetic mutation that meant that she had to call her mate to her, before he lost his life force. Female mates did not live beyond their thirtieth year unless they became bonded with their vampire.

Ethan was among the oldest of his kind who had yet to find his mate. Had she already passed, failing to call him to her? Had he not heard her call? It had been so long for him that he had stopped waiting. A vampire lost his ability and desire to have sex after the age of one hundred and it had been over four hundred years for Ethan. He had stopped believing that she awaited him or that she was yet to be born. He had accepted it, but it didn’t stop the yearning and loneliness that were now a part of his existence.

His brothers, who were also unmated, had similar thoughts - it was those thoughts had driven them all to work for The Vampire Coalition. They were all past the age for mating and had to accept that, for them, a mate was no longer a possibility. Perhaps he and his brothers would not have mates, but they could preserve their species for those that could. Mated vampires were happy, contented, living a life that was complete and filled with joy. Ethan and his brothers wanted their breed to continue its existence on this earth. It was what they lived for, their cause, a ray of light and hope for ones who lived in darkness. If they had nothing else to live for, they could remain in that ray of light by preserving the future for others of their kind. If they didn’t have The Coalition and their goals, they knew it was possible to become the
hunted
instead of the
hunter
.

Chapter 1

Come to me. I need you.

Ethan Hale sat up in bed, his heart pumping, sweat dripping from his body so profusely that it saturated his bedding. He was panting as if he had just battled a dozen
fallen.

I’m dying. My life force is draining away. Come to me.

The voice was weak and soft in his mind, a faint whisper with a female softness that sent a shiver down his spine. He recognized the voice of his mate from pure instinct, a certainty that had nothing to do with logic.

Another seeks me, but he is not you. Please come to me… before it is too late.

“Who seeks you? And why? Help me find you.” He spoke aloud, although it was not necessary. He sought her in his mind, trying to reach her through the weak psychic connection. Something was…
wrong
. She sounded distant, depleted. It was still day…long before the sun would set and the connection was fragile.

Ethan tried to rise, but it wasn’t possible. Nothing could pull him from his day sleep except his mate, but he couldn’t function before twilight. He fought and struggled, frustration and anger driving him. He couldn’t rise. Damn it! He couldn’t rise! His body refused to cooperate and his mind was sluggish.

Nothing drove a vampire like the need of his mate. It was feral. Animalistic. Instinct. The need to protect his woman, to shelter her from all harm ripped through his useless body. Her pain and her need became his, and there was nothing worse than not being able to protect his mate. The instinct was there already and they had not even bonded.

I don’t know who seeks and stalks me, but it is not you. I feel the evil. I’m growing weak. You must come to me.

Ethan’s heart nearly exploded from his chest while he fought the seductive call of his day sleep. “Tell me how? Please.” His voice was desperate now as he clenched the wet sheets, trying to feel her essence. It was so elusive, barely there, but he had to reach it.

Please find me…

Her voice floated away lightly, fading to… nothingness. The connection was completely severed.

Ethan felt himself being dragged back into his day sleep. He resisted, tearing at the sheets, pounding the bed. But the day sleep was relentless, pulling him into a dark abyss.

“Nooooo!!” His cry was an anguished howl as the darkness consumed him.

*****

Brianna Cole woke with a frightened cry. Her eyes popped open and she had an immediate awareness of her surroundings
. I’m home. In my own bed.
Her heart pounding and her breath shallow, she sat up and looked around her bedroom.

“Nothing here,” she whispered to herself as she shivered and rubbed her arms to warm herself despite the warmth of her bedroom.

She was always cold these days. Since she had been suddenly struck down with a rare and mysterious form of leukemia six months ago, she was constantly chilled to the bone.

Brianna was just grateful to be in her own home. Although her family and friends had objected, she had obstinately stuck to her guns and remained in her own house where she felt at peace. She hadn’t been able to return to her job as a social worker, and more often than not, she was in the hospital getting a transfusion or some other experimental treatment. When she wasn’t being poked and examined like a lab specimen, she
needed
to be home. It was the only thing that kept her level and sane in a world that had been turned upside down by her illness.

End of Sample.
Ethan’s Mate
is available for FREE.

Please continue reading for a sample of Mine For Tonight Book One: The Billionaire’s Obsession

Chapter 1

Simon Hudson stood silently in the shadows of the opulent lobby, his hands in the pockets of his jeans and one shoulder propped against the frame of a large window that faced the street. His whole body was tense, his dark brown eyes scanning the sidewalk with the intense and total focus of a madman.

Where in the hell is she? It’s ten forty-five.

He knew Kara was working tonight. She had called in sick for the last two evenings, but was back to work at Helen’s Place, waiting tables on the swing shift. He had checked. His mother owned the bistro where Kara worked and was generally pretty forthcoming with information when Simon wanted it, but he was careful. If he wasn’t, his only parent would be hounding him to find out why he wanted information on Kara. His wonderful but inquisitive mom would be like a bloodhound after a scent if she thought that Simon’s interest was anything but casual. He would be nagged to death, his mother wanting to know exactly what his intentions were with Kara.