Chapter One 

“Wonderful. You’re making great progress, Britta.” Olivia, tucked comfortably in her leather chair, glanced at her watch. It was 5:50 AM—time to wrap things up. “Well, we’re done for this week.” She looked up and offered a small smile to the delicate, pale-skinned vampire. “Next time, we’ll discuss other methods on how to control those cravings. Try to brainstorm any ideas you can bring to the session.”

Britta tucked a strand of long, blonde hair behind her ear, her gaze running over Olivia’s face and throat in a quick sweep that made Olivia slightly nervous. The gesture reminded her that even a small, unassuming woman who had to weigh no more than a hundred pounds soaking wet could be a deadly predator.

“Okay,” Britta finally said with a crooked smile. Olivia saw that her fangs were tucked safely away. “See you next Friday.” She rose from the plush tan couch and left the office, the door quietly clicking shut behind her.

Olivia stood and stretched, rotating her neck in slow circles. Working with vampires always set her on edge, made her nervous. Though she knew her work was important—teaching vampires how to fit in with humans and suppress their vampiric cravings—she never fully relaxed in their presence. However, all her clients fully adhered to her requested guidelines of behavior during counseling sessions: no fangs, no threatening movements or gestures, and a concentrated effort to behave human while in Olivia’s office.

She closed up the office and headed home, the balmy night breezes caressing her skin. Before entering her car, she stifled a small yawn and stopped to stare at the soft cirrus clouds slowly crossing the almost full moon. Dawn would be coming soon, and her bed beckoned. It had taken a few months to adjust to working the night shift, a necessity for her line of work, but now, she couldn’t imagine life any other way.

Once home, she collapsed onto the couch, too tired to make it to bed, and slept hard, finally waking at 3:30 PM and stumbling over to the mail slot by her front door. She’d heard the mailman arrive earlier but hadn’t wanted to rouse herself, instead allowing herself the luxury of sleeping an extra hour.

She absently flipped through the pile of mail, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Cell phone bill. Electric bill. Yet another credit card offer.

Then, a plain white envelope caught her eye. Addressed to her in a flowing script, there was no return address. The postmark read El Dorado Springs, Colorado 80025. Funny, she didn’t know anyone in Colorado. In fact, all her friends and family lived on the east coast.

Confused, she flipped the envelope over to see if there was a name or address on the back. No such luck.

Carefully—something told her not to rip the contents—she opened the envelope. Inside was a card with a painting of a male vampire, eyes flashing and teeth exposed. One word in the bottom left corner was written—Hunger.

She stared at the image, unable to tear herself away. The vampire’s golden eyes glittered as he stared back at her, his white fangs sharp, deadly. She slid the card against her lower lip, an unexpected rush of desire swelling within her belly. The word hunger whispered within her head again and again, over and over, and her skin tingled, ached to be touched, fulfilled.

The rest of the mail dropped from her other hand and landed with a soft swish on the laminate flooring. She hardly noticed. Clutching the card in her shaking fingers, she walked up the stairs to her bedroom and perched on the edge of the bed. Who had sent her this? What did it mean?

Her phone rang, startling her out of her dazed fixation. She picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, you’re up. Wanna go out tonight?” Her friend Athena’s upbeat voice came through loud and clear on the phone. “You’re not working, so no lame excuses. I’ve heard of this great club we can go to, and the guys are supposed to be super hot.”

Grateful for the momentary distraction from the image of the vampire, she placed it facedown on her nightstand. “Thanks, but I shouldn’t...” She stopped herself, remembering the surge of energy that had overcome her. She ran the tips of her fingers across the back of the card, the dark purples almost warming beneath her light touch, and sucked in a deep breath. “Actually, I will go.”

Athena squealed. “Holy cow, really? That’s great. Okay, dress to kill. I’ll swing by at ten to pick you up.”

They hung up. Olivia closed her eyes and plopped back onto her bed, wondering what she’d gotten herself into. And even more, she wondered at the response the card had elicited from her.

* * * * *

Athena pulled her dark green Ford Focus up to the valet parking, threw it into park, then practically pushed Olivia out of the car. A young guy, no more than twenty-one or so, took the keys from Athena as she slid out of the car. With a raking glance over Olivia’s body, now clad in a short, black skirt and plunging, V-necked, sleeveless purple satin top, the valet winked and hopped into the driver’s side. Olivia snickered—the kid wasn’t shy, to say the least.

“Come on,” Athena said loudly over the rhythmic, thumping base pouring from the nondescript brick building. She tugged on Olivia’s bare arm. “Let’s go.”

The bouncer, a large, beefy guy whose muscles were about to burst out of his tight white T-shirt, waved them inside. Athena pulled Olivia up to the bar and ordered two buttery nipples.

After they did those shots, followed by several more of various sexual names, Olivia, beer in hand, got a chance to look around. A mirrored ball dangled over the dance floor and threw small colored dots of light across the walls, floor, and people as it slowly rotated. The room was packed with dancers who slid errant hands across each others’ bodies in the sexually charged atmosphere. Men and women were almost having foreplay with each other, even necking right there on the floor.

She was grateful for her scant clothing. The room was slightly warm, and the alcohol rapidly seeping into her system didn’t help matters at all. She took a sip of her Heineken.

“Stud alert,” Athena yelled in Olivia’s ear, nodding her head toward the tall, lean guy in the DJ booth at the other end of the room. He was clad in all black, his hair spiked on top. Right up Athena’s alley. She liked them tall and dark.

“He’s perfect for you,” Olivia said back. “Go get ’em, tiger.”

Athena slid away from the bar, throwing Olivia a wink. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Do some scoping for yourself, girlfriend.” Athena took off, sashaying her way across the dance floor.

A man in his fifties, wearing a white dress shirt and dark gray slacks, shuffled beside her, as if knocked off-balance, then rammed his elbow into Olivia’s side. She winced at the jarring pain, and tears sprang to her eyes.

From the looks of it, Athena was already hooking up with someone, whereas all Olivia had to show for the evening so far was a strong buzz and killer side pain. This evening wasn’t going as planned.

Maybe it was a mistake to come.

“Sorry,” the guy mumbled with half-closed, reddened eyes. He clutched his beer bottle and looked her over quickly, sparing a second, longer glance at her deep cleavage, then thrust out his free hand. “I’m Randy. Can I buy you a drink?”

She gave him a small smile, rubbing her aching side with her hand. “Thanks, but I have one,” she replied as politely as possible, holding up her beer.

“That’s okay. What’s your name?” The guy leaned in closer, his breath reeking of booze. “Are you here alone?”

She flinched in reaction to the overwhelming hot puffs on her face. Time to get away from here, fast. She turned her face away from his, biting her lower lip in desperation as her gaze raked across the floor. Looking for what, she didn’t know. Anything to stop this skuzzy guy from hitting on her.

The dance floor split in half as a tall man strode confidently down the middle. He came right toward her. Her breath caught in her throat as she slid her gaze up his strong, firm legs encased in black pants. A blood-red shirt opened at his neck, accentuating his pale skin, and a shock of black hair was cropped short on his head, the front slightly spiked.

But his gray eyes stopped Olivia, froze any thought that came to mind, as they boldly returned her stare. They were the color of a cold winter sky, though the look in them was anything but frosty as he held her gaze.

Her heart raced, beating hard against her chest. As her head swam, she realized she’d been holding her breath. She quickly exhaled then drew in a short burst of air.

The intoxicating man stopped less than a foot from her. His warm, earthy cologne hit her nostrils, and she closed her eyes for a quick second, breathing him in.

He turned to the drunken man then spoke in a low, relaxed tone. “Go.”

The guy didn’t say a word but walked away quietly, which Olivia saw out of the corner of her eye. She still couldn’t take her eyes off the gray-eyed man’s face.

He turned his attention back to her, a smile spreading across his mouth. “I’m Marcus,” he said, extending his hand. “The owner of this club. Sorry if he was bothering you.”

“Olivia.” She took his hand. “Thanks for sending him away.”

He thumbed the crease of her palm, sending spirals of warm, sexual tingles across her skin, down to her lower belly.

“Would you like to dance?” she blurted out. A flush spread across her cheeks at her unusual boldness, but something about Marcus made her want to be as close to him as possible.

He smiled again, tugging her close to him. His mouth hovered no more than a couple of inches from hers, his eyes hooded. “Love to.”

She dumped her bottle in the nearby trash can as he led her out onto the floor, and a grinding song pounded into the room. Alcohol coursed through her body in a warm sprawl, making her movements slower than usual. Marcus moved in close, then closer, his body brushing hers. Her nipples awoke beneath the thin fabric, perking at the sensation of his hard, warm chest against hers.

Sliding her hands along his shoulders, she found herself unable to stop the wanton grind against him. She rubbed the front of her pelvis along his upper thigh, reveling in his sharp intake of breath. She caressed his neck with her fingers, behind his ear, then down the firm muscles of his back.

The music throbbed in her, pulsed like the hunger that flushed her skin and parted her bare thighs in anticipation. Her panties grew wet, warm against her skin.

She wanted this man, wanted him with a need that startled her, even as she grew excited. She pushed her body tighter against him, his lean, muscled thigh wedged firmly between her legs.

He bent over and rubbed his lips along her shoulder, breathing deeply. His tongue lightly touched the dip behind her collarbone. “You taste so good,” he murmured.

A small flutter ran through her stomach, and her head felt light, almost dizzy. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so aroused. But she needed some fresh air, needed to strip off her clothes and feel this man on top of her, pushing into her, needed to run her hands across his skin.

She nudged her face beside his ear, letting the words in the back of her mind flow out of her mouth. “Let’s get out of here.”

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