UnGuarded (40 page)

And just when I thought my body would burst
of euphoria, Cole took his wrist away and gently brushed his lips
across mine. “I love you.” His breath caressing me with a chill,
and my body trembling with need.

“I love you, too.” I rubbed a hand across my
mouth, and it came back smeared with red. “If I’d known how
delicious you were”—a sly smile tugging the corners of my lips—“I’d
never have waited this long to taste you.” Then I licked my hand,
the metallic taste sending waves of pleasure through my mouth.

He chuckled, then took me inside his arms.
“I’ve never been happier, Selene. We are going to have a great
after-afterlife together.”

I stopped licking my hand and giggled. Then
I pulled him tighter against me. “I completely agree.”

We held onto each other as though our lives
depended on it, then his lips crushed mine once more. As the kiss
deepened, a strong sense of happiness poured over me, and I knew
without a doubt that Cole was that one being in all the worlds that
was my soul mate. And I would fight to the death to be with him
always and preserve our perfect love.

************

About the author:

Ashley Robertson resides in sunny Orlando,
Florida and loves writing about anything and everything urban
fantasy. When she isn’t writing you’ll find her spending time with
family and friends, training in her home gym, traveling and
exploring new places, and drinking fine red wines and gourmet
coffees from her Nespresso machine.

For a sneak peek at Ashley Robertson’s
upcoming books, giveaways, and blog entries go to
www.AshleyRobertsonBooks.com

Want to read more by Ashley? Here is the
first (unedited) chapter of her upcoming urban fantasy/paranormal
thriller,
Crimson Rain
—Book #2 in
The Crimson Series
.
Content within this chapter is subject to change prior to final
publication.

By Ashley Robertson

1

The Deal

MY STOMACH CLENCHED as I sensed the vampire’s
approach. He was close. So close I could feel the thrum of his
power vibrating along my skin. The hairs on the back of my neck
rose, and I knew if I was going to use my power for defense, then I
needed to bring it forth now. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to
breathe as deeply as I could—which thankfully had gotten easier
with practice. I focused on the energy inside me, willing it to the
surface, and as I felt it swelling, building like an approaching
storm, I threw out my hand, gripping Stone’s shirtsleeve and urging
him to the floor. “Get down! He’s here!”

Stone raked me with a look that told me he
was not too pleased, but then fear swept over his face when he
realized just how little time we had.

That’s when the wooden door to the pub burst
open—bits of wood and dust raining down from the force. Even though
Stone should’ve cowered behind me—since his gift of reading blood
wasn’t something he could fight with—somehow he’d found some
bravery and boldly stood to my side. Though I appreciated it, I
didn’t like it, and desperately wished he had listened to me. But I
couldn’t think about that
and
call forth the fire within me
at the same time. So I pushed Stone to the back of my mind with the
silent promise of dealing with him later. Then I returned my
attention to the power building inside me. One last deep breath and
my heart shuddered to life inside my chest, making a rhythmic
pattern with my faux breathing. A tingling warmth spread from head
to toe, then settled on my awaiting hands. Seconds later, there was
a glowing orb of fire (about the size of a basketball) cupped
inside my palms. And just as the vampire appeared through the
settling fog, I called out, “Not another step, Tristan, or it will
be your last!”

“I think you should reconsider your threat,”
Tristan shot back with caution. “We are on the same side.”

That, I sincerely doubted, but I knew
killing a member of the Head Council would definitely put me on the
Most Wanted listed. Which I might already be on, since I’d helped
the human this vampire was here to claim escape.

“She’s not bluffing!” Stone said through a
snarl. I wanted to glare him into silence, but I refused to take my
eyes off of the vampire standing in the broken doorway, wearing a
black Armani-looking suit—now lightly covered with dust. It was a
custom for all the members of the Head Council to wear black suits,
but each of them would wear shoes and an undershirt of their own
choosing. I guess it was a way to express their individual
personalities. Yet this one seemed to express himself through his
spiked, platinum blond hair, not the basic black undershirt and
matching boots—which seemed so boring compared to what I’d seen a
few of the other Council members wearing. But this vampire was far
from boring. He was a tracker for the Council—one of the best
hunters on earth. And he was after my human boyfriend.

“You know why I’m here, Abigail,” Tristan
said in a scolding tone. “The human was here.”

I felt my gaze narrow as I carefully took a
step forward, the ball of flames growing hotter on my hands. “Yes,
he was. It’s my fault he wasn’t captured.”

“That’s not exactly true,” Stone said as he
moved up beside me.

I stole a few deep breaths, fighting the
urge to throw my fireball at him instead of the blond vampire in
the suit.

“Please explain!” Tristan ordered with
impatience. But as Stone attempted a reply, he was cut off. “Not
you! I want to hear this directly from Abigail!”

“Abby,” I corrected, feeling sweat forming
above my brows.

The vampire smirked, folding his arms in
front of his chest.

“I did not restrain him because I do not
believe he will be kept safe once in your hands,” I went on. “And
until I can prove his innocence in all of this, I feel it’s best
that he stay far away from
you
.”

A tinge of red formed a ring around
Tristan’s irises as he scowled. “That is not your decision. He must
pay for his involvement with those rogue vampires, including Bronx.
He cannot get away with helping them try to destroy our
stronghold.”

“I made an agreement with the other Council
members,” I reminded him. “Doesn’t that count for something? Your
word is nothing if your actions do not back up what you say!” My
voice was getting louder, my patience thinning. And the angrier I
got, the more difficult it became to control the fire in my
hands.

“Yes. We have a deal,” Tristan assured. “We
will not kill him or harm him—Just as we told you—But that does not
mean he won’t be punished some other way.”

“I don’t believe you,” I shot back through
gritted teeth.

Stone put his hand on my shoulder. “Abby,
what are you—”

In a flash of movement, the vampire closed
the distance between us and held Stone in a headlock from behind
with his fangs hovering over my friend’s neck. And since it wasn’t
to drink Stone’s blood—since Stone was also a vampire—then that
meant it was a threat to rip out my friend’s jugular. From there it
would be too easy to finish Stone by ripping off his head. And
that’s when my patience snapped. There were only two ways to kill a
vampire—burning to death or decapitation—and he was about to find
out first hand just how very dangerous I was. Sure, he could
threaten to kill my friend, but he’d be burned alive before Stone’s
head hit the ground. I placed all my focus on the orb of heat in my
hand, willing it to retract to half its size while intensifying
with heat, then I thrust it at Tristan’s face. In a blur of motion,
he ducked, throwing Stone to the floor, as the fireball grazed over
his head, singeing the soft tips of his hair. A snarl swept from
his throat as his fiery gaze locked onto mine. There was a brief
hesitation, burnt hair and musk filling my scents, then something
similar to curiosity flashed over his eyes and he was airborne,
charging straight for me. My body shuddered as heat blasted out of
every pore, radiating from me like invisible steam. The vampire
immediately jumped back, throwing his arms over his face, and
retreated back by the door from which he’d entered. Satisfied I’d
made my point, I pulled all the heat back inside me, then I rushed
over to Stone and helped him up. “You okay?” I asked.

He nodded by way of an answer, then ran his
hand through his brown hair—which was completely messed up now.

I felt my gaze narrow as I glanced across
the bar, by the door. “Do that again and I’ll kill you,” I warned
with vehemence as I helped Stone get up.

Tristan brushed some of the dust off his
pants. “Abigail, I’d rather not have to repeat that again.
Hopefully I’ve made my point by now,” his mouth curling into an
amusing grin. “I would not have harmed your friend, as I’m sure Mr.
Rayver here is already aware.” He glanced at my disheveled friend,
a smirk still pulling at his lips, then his gaze slid back to me.
“Your powers make you far greater than just any other Enforcer. You
are an equal with us. We should work side by side, you making the
sixth, and final member of the Council. But you must not argue with
our protocol. If rules are broken, there are, and will always be,
consequences. There are no exceptions to this. Ever. The rules of
our kind are ageless. It’s been that way for centuries and shall
remain that way indefinitely.”

Well that was news to me. I knew the Head
Council wanted my services but I’d thought they just wanted me to
be one of their many Enforcers. Enforcers were gifted vampires like
me. Well, kind of. A few months ago I’d been kidnapped by Bronx and
turned into a vampire, which awakened the sorceress’ bloodline
inside me, unbeknownst to me. But Bronx knew all about it, and he’d
planned to use my powers to defeat the Head Council. Only I’d
killed him before he got the chance. Later on, I’d learned about my
real mother being an all-powerful sorceress and she’d used her
magic to impregnate her vampire lover—my father. So I never really
was just another vampire. Or even an Enforcer. I was always more
than that. A whole new species altogether, a hybrid, and a hot
commodity among the vampire world—since there was no other like me.
Yet if the Head Council really wanted my partnership, then I just
gained a whole lot of leverage. My chest tightened with anxiety.
“If you want me to work with you, and of course the others, then I
will need you to be more flexible. Rules are always in place for
guidance, but we both know they are not in stone. Especially when I
believe innocence is a key component.”

“When there is proof of ones innocence, then
we have a trial,” Tristan explained. “But there is no proof of that
with this human.”

I thought about that for a moment. Sure, I
didn’t have “proof” per say, but I had Tyler’s word. And though
he’d lied to me about his alliance with Bronx, and the fact he’d
known about my father’s death all along, for some crazy reason I
believed him now. “Allow me the time to find the proof you require
and I will consider partnering with you.”

Tristan shot me a lasered glare. His face
softened but I had absolutely no idea what his thoughts were. Mind
reading wasn’t one of my gifts—yet. Since no one could predict what
other gifts I’d inherit.

“How can you possibly believe this human
didn’t help those rogue vampires?” he asked at last.

I shook my head, keeping my eyes on
Tristan’s. “He was involved. I’m not saying I can prove that
differently. He’s innocent of not knowing what Bronx’s intentions
were, what those rogue vampires’ intentions were.” I paused a
moment to suppress some of the heat inside me, though I didn’t
completely extinguish it, just in case things got hostile again.
“He thought he was helping them,” I went on with my explanation.
“He thought they were in trouble. He didn’t realize he was working
for the bad guys until…until it was too late.”

Stone snorted in disbelief, but kept his
mouth shut. Smart vampire.

Tristan’s eyes widened. “How can you
possibly believe that? He must have you brain washed!”

“That isn’t possible,” I told him.

“What are you speaking of?” confusion in
Tristan’s voice. “Bronx would have claimed you with his mind
control had you not killed him first.”

“No, it’s not possible to brainwash me,” I
explained. “And that is how I
was
able to kill Bronx.”
Saying that struck a pang inside my chest, I didn’t want to be a
murderer any more than I wanted to be a vampire, err hybrid. “I
have the ability of blocking powers.”

A wave of surprise flashed over the
Tristan’s face. “There is so much to learn about you, Abigail,” he
said.

“So do we have a deal?” I asked, taking a
couple steps toward him.

Tristan raised a brow. “How much time are
you asking for?”