Bite Marks Read online

  James counseled her. “Come up with a good reason the Council needs you. Tell them why you’re indispensable. And then tell them you need George.”

  She nodded. “I need some more blood.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  Nothing had ever been as hard in her life as talking to the Council. George’s description of how the Council dressed and behaved hadn’t done them justice. They looked ridiculous, and she was so fucking hungry it was all she could do not to growl at them to shut the fuck up.

  “Are you suggesting George knew you wanted to be changed?” Ethan Bradley snarled, and the doily on his head banged around.

  “I am.”

  “Then why wouldn’t he have told us?”

  She waved her hand in the air. “I doubt he remembers it. He’d been more animal than man. A sensation I understand quite better now. I asked him to change me. Begged, in fact.”

  “That doesn’t negate the fact that he changed you without this Council’s permission. This keeps happening. We cannot allow it continue.”

  She raised her hand to stop him. “If I might, sir, I’m not sure he could have controlled himself. George is a new Vampire, a baby vamp is the term I keep hearing, and he awakened during the day. He was out of it. I think he reacted solely on his most basic instincts.”

  The room fell silent, and she knew she’d made some kind of impact. That was good. She and James had planned this down to the final detail. In between her chugging bottles of blood to stave off her insane cravings, she had practiced the script she was performing now.

  “The truth is I think this could be highly beneficial to all of us.”

  “Oh?” A Council member she’d never met before sat back in his seat. “How so?”

  “I’m a Werewolf hunter, or I used to be, but, let’s face it, if my getting shot down proves anything, then it's clear humans shouldn’t be fighting with paranormal creatures.” She wasn’t sure she believed what she was saying, but it stroked their egos and she needed to get them on her side. “But I’m a Vampire. I can fight werewolves, and I can do more than that.” She cleared her throat. “I can help hunt down the Vampires who aren’t following the rules. Rogue Vampires can become my thing.”

  She waited. They had to take it. They just had to. Or she would break through the wall, grab George, and go on the run because no way, no how, would they be burning her love alive.

  But, hell, she needed some more blood. Her mouth burned with thirst, but she stayed still. Time had never moved so slowly.

  ****

  “I can’t believe you did it.” Kaden hissed in her ear, and she wanted to shove him away. She liked the guy just fine, but she wanted George and Kaden’s kind presence just made her skin crawl. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be a forever thing and only temporary since she had not seen George in too long.

  “I knew she’d get it done.” James shrugged.

  “I’m glad you had such confidence in me.” She hadn’t been sure of herself at all. Particularly when they’d stayed silent for so long.

  “Where is George?” She looked at James. “I need to see him.”

  “Right.” He laughed. “I wouldn’t want you to show your fangs again. I’ll take you to George. But then you have to go back to your space and wait out your confinement.”

  She gritted her teeth. As a human, she’d been willing to put up with a lot of discomfort—running for years for the sake of her family—but, as a Vampire, her patience seemed nonexistent. Maybe it would come back.

  They rounded a corner, and James knocked on a door. Two guards flung open the door, and, after a conversation with James in hushed tones, the guards left.

  George came to the door, rubbing his eyes. “Is it time?”

  He spoke to James, not having seen her yet.

  She answered him before James could. “No. I saved your ass.”

  “Trudy.” He said her name like a prayer, and she shivered. She’d been awake for only a few hours, and yet she had missed him as if it had been days.

  “James can you give us a moment?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, you’re my responsibility for the next three weeks, at least until you’ve gone through the program here. But Kaden can leave.”

  James glared at the other man, and Kaden nodded before he turned tail and all but ran from the room. “I’ll stand over here and look out the window. Just don’t take off your clothes, okay? I think that would put too much of a period on the end of this day.”

  She would have to get used to terminology she’d not focused on before. Day meant night, for the rest of her existence. She hadn’t even thought about it during her time with George, but they’d been doing it automatically. Talking about their day but meaning night.

  George touched the side of her face, and she closed her eyes. “Can I assume the fact the guards left means I’m not burning at dawn?”

  She raised her lids to examine him. His skin looked raw and, in some places, discolored all together and peeling off his arms. “Looks as if you are already pretty roasted.”

  “Eh.” He shrugged. “You’d be surprised how quickly I got used to the pain. I’m told with enough time it’ll heal. I need more blood to get it started, but they’re stingy here and since they were killing me, why waste the blood?”

  “How did you get them to wait? Why didn’t they just off you right away?” She pressed her head into his chest, breathing deeply. His scent seemed so much more intense. Everything would be that way because she was a Vampire. Maybe if she thought it enough, she would come to accept it faster.

  Maybe.

  “I guess they’re romantics. I told them I wanted to say goodbye.”

  She lifted her head. “Who would have thought it?”

  “Not me.”

  “Trudy….” His voice trailed off, but she didn’t rush him. There was a lot to say. “I am sorry this happened to you, but I can’t lie. I’d do it again. I wasn’t in my right mind, but since I’m as close to it as I get, I have to say, I’d bite you again.”

  His hand trailed over her neck, and she reached up to feel what he traced. Two small bumps. The rest of her body had healed completely, but not her bite marks. She’d forever wear a hickey George gave her.

  The idea made her giggle, and, before long, she belly laughed, pressing her face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

  “My brother shot me, George. I screamed at you, fought with you, took up for him again and again, and then he raised his gun and shot me.”

  “I know. I don’t remember all the details of the whole thing. I can’t remember everything said, but Devin raising the gun and shooting you? That I’ve got nice and stored in my memory banks.”

  She didn’t try to stop the tears but let them flow. Her Vampire fangs stayed nice and lodged up in her gums. Apparently, only anger, not grief, triggered them.

  “And then I killed him, Trudy. I drained him of his blood. Do you remember that, too?”

  “I know why you’re bringing it up.” She sniffed and pulled back. “And, yes, I remember it.” She stepped back, letting her fangs descend. If someone had pointed a gun and fired at George, she would have ripped out his throat. “Let’s say, at the moment, I don’t have any conflicting feelings about it.”

  George ran his fingers across the edge of her fang.

  “Hot.”

  “Hey.” James called from the window. “No naked, remember?”

  Trudy stepped back. “I’ll see you in three weeks, George. And then there will be lots of naked. Lots of it.”

  She wouldn’t have picked this life, but now that she had it, there had to be perks, like lots of Vampire sex.

  “I might even let you bite me again.”

  A Thank you from Fated Desires

  Thank you so much for reading Bite Marks! We’re so happy that you had a chance to look at our new line, Paranormal by Mistake. We do hope if you liked this, that you would please leave a review from where you purchased this or o
n another platform. Not only does a review spread the word to other readers, they let us know if you’d like to see more stories like this from us.

  The Paranormal by Mistake Line is our paranormal line where our characters are accidentally turned into another creature. Between dates going wrong, people on the run, and things out of their control, these stories pull you right in and never let you go.

  If you’d like to know more about Fated Desires, check out our website or email us at [email protected].

  You can also find out more through our MAILING LIST.

  Also, join our Fated Desires Book Club to interact with our authors.

  About the Author

  As a teenager, Rebecca Royce would hide in her room to read her favorite romance novels when she was supposed to be doing her homework. She hopes, these days, that her parents think it was well worth it.

  Rebecca is the mother of three adorable boys and is fortunate to be married to her best friend. They’ve just moved to Texas where Rebecca is discovering a new love for barbecue!

  She's in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and tries to use all of these elements in her writing. She's been told she's a little bloodthirsty so she hopes that when you read her work you'll enjoy the action packed ride that always ends in romance. Rebecca loves to write series because she loves to see characters develop over time and it always makes her happy to see her favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.

  In Rebecca Royce's world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.

  www.RebeccaRoyce.com

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  Paranormal by Mistake:

  Bite Marks

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  Did you enjoy this selection? Why not try another romance from Fated Desires?

  Hoodoo Blue by Katalina Leon

  Fredi is a passionate witch with a scorching hot secret. Every time she has a sexual thought, green fire blasts from her fingertips. Gus is a gorgeous lycan who scares women away with his wild wolf-shifts. Not the best way to find relationships.

  Both have vowed not to date until they get themselves under control, but a witchy friend thinks differently. The pair get tricked into sharing a frosty pitcher of “Hoodoo Blue” and fall prey to a wayward love potion that has them blurting out every lustful thought. Worse, it won’t allow them to walk away from each other. They’re stuck together until dawn under the devilish effects of a time-released hoodoo that makes them do outrageous things. For everyone’s safety, Fredi is forced to take Gus home and tie him to her headboard and only some very witchy lovemaking can calm the storm.

  Fredi and Gus might find themselves on the set-up date from hell, but even a hilarious cascade of disasters can’t keep a plus-sized blonde witch with attitude, and a hunky lumberjack of a lycan from seeing the other would be the perfect mate.

  You can find more from Katalina’s Hoodoo Blue HERE.

  You can also find out more through our MAILING LIST.

  Also, join our Fated Desires Book Club to interact with our authors.

  Pinch of Me, Dash of You

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  Pinch of Me, Dash of You by Heather Thurmeier

  Kali can’t cook to save her life, but she can write. As a foodie reviewer for both a huge national paper and a successful blog, she’s well on her way to achieving her dreams. When she’s offered a cookbook deal, she thinks she’s finally made it…until her latest review comes out a little harsher than expected and the restaurateur threatens to expose all her secrets.

  Mac’s whole life is spent in the kitchen, running a New York City restaurant and a culinary school for underprivileged youth. When donations stop pouring in for Mac’s culinary school after a scathing review of his restaurant, he fears he may have to shut the doors if he can’t find a way to turn things around. Then he meets Kali, the reviewer who admits she has no culinary skills. Now he’s made her an offer she can’t refuse—he’ll teach her to cook over the summer and help her with recipes for the cookbook if she’ll agree to write an insider piece highlighting the strengths of his culinary school.

  But when things start heating up in Mac’s kitchen, keeping her hands on the food and off of Mac is proving harder than Kali expected.

  You can find more from Heather’s Pinch of Me, Dash of You HERE.

  You can also find out more through our MAILING LIST.

  Also, join our Fated Desires Book Club to interact with our authors.

  Ember’s Secret

  Did you enjoy this selection? Why not try another romance from Fated Desires?

  Ember’s Secret by Cate Peace

  Ember only wants two things out of life: to be reunited with her sisters, and to see people come back to her café. Catering to people she never sees again, she experiences a loneliness that can’t be filled. As one of the last Whanamaku—a descendant of the Maori bird-god Tane—she has to hold on to the secrets of her tribe. Family first.

  Gourmet TV personality Austin Garten, host of the popular show Back Road Eats, needs more in his life than Breadbasket America grilling. He’s tired of the safe routes, the easy and dependable foods that the Network loves to display. When his RV breaks down in Wyoming, and he learns about Kai, a Maori restaurant outside of Casper, his interest is piqued. Once he meets the proprietor, he realizes he’s wants more than just her food. He wants her.

  Ember isn’t too sure. The Solstice, the Maori New Year, is fast approaching, and with the heat in her kitchen ratcheting up, she knows she can’t keep her secret for long much longer. But will Austin be able to accept her? Or will her secret drive them apart?

  You can find more from Cate’s Ember’s Secret HERE.

  You can also find out more through our MAILING LIST.

  Also, join our Fated Desires Book Club to interact with our authors.

  Table of Contents

  Bite Marks

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  A Thank you from Fated Desires

  About the Author

  Also from this Author

  Hoodoo Blue

  Pinch of Me, Dash of You

  Ember’s Secret