Page 2 of A Vampire Bewitched
He grinned widely, proud of himself that he’d guessed correctly, but his smile just as quickly turned into a scowl.
Man, I need to get a fucking life.
Emma walked across the bedroom and into her bathroom. A few minutes passed, then the lights turned off one by one as she made her way downstairs annnd…out the front door.
Nik shoved away from the tree. Shit! He needed to hightail it out of there, he wasn’t ready to be seen. Besides, it was way too close to dawn. Still safe for him to be out…but just barely. Hereallyneeded to go.
But instead, he pulled his hood up to cover his light hair and silently moved to a more concealed vantage point behind the tree.
She strode across the porch to the top of the steps and stretched, grabbing her feet behind her—first one, then the other. Nik’s eyebrows lifted when she bent over to touch her toes, giving him a full view of her ass. A pose that brought an interested lift to other parts of him, as well. She shook out her arms and legs, put her ear buds in, and headed his way at an easy jog.
As she came closer and closer, Nikulas became as still as the trees around him. Standing in the pre-dawn shadows of a large maple, he watched, mesmerized, as the most stunning creature he’d ever seen passed within mere feet of him, completely unaware of his presence.
Holy shit.
His lungs began to ache as she passed, reminding him to breathe, and he sucked in a big gulp of air. Her luscious scent hit him from every direction. He wasn’t ready for it, but his body responded instantly. His gums burned and his fangs elongated. Saliva filled his mouth and his muscles hardened in preparation to hunt. To feed.
Emma.
He’d spent the past week watching her from afar through the windows of her house, but nothing had prepared him for the sight, and smell, of her up close and personal.
She moved with the easy grace born to a natural runner. Her…oh yeah…strawberry-blonde ponytail bounced in the breeze, and her flawless, alabaster skin was just starting to flush a bit from the wind and exertion. He watched her cute little backside—in those tight running pants—bounce by him and out to the end of her driveway, where she turned right and headed down the rural road.
He scrubbed a hand over his mouth as he watched her.
FUCK me.
The burning of the sun’s rays as it came up over the horizon rapidly cooled down his ardor, and Nik took off to head back to the tricked-out RV, about two miles from Emma’s house, where he and Aiden—Guardian of Nik, Hunter, best buddy, tech wizard, and all around badass vampire—were holed up.
They had found a clearing in a secluded area of the woods, not far from Emma’s house, to park their mobile unit. Not your average recreational vehicle, this one was completely pimped out. It had started out as a Fleetwood Pace Arrow, which was worked over to include things like steel shutters over the windows, technology out the ass, weapon caches, and a souped-up engine (thinkMeet The Fockers).
Luckily for him, vampires were blessed with supernatural speed. He laughed out loud as he raced the fiery rays of the sun, feeling high off the adrenaline flooding his system and the close call with Emma. Nik barreled through the RV door, minutes away from turning into a bonfire and grinning like an idiot.
Aiden swung his chair around from the security monitors and watched, unperturbed, as his friend frantically slapped at the smoking areas of exposed skin on his arms and face.
“One of these days, mate, you’re going to cut it too bloody close. And I’m the one who’ll be chasing your ashes all over these bloody woods come nightfall, trying to collect enough to have a decent funeral. I will give you a brilliant elegy, and finish it just in time for Luukas to throwmeinto the sun for not doing my job of protecting you.” Aiden squinted his eyes at his friend of over 300 years, “What’s with the grin?”
Nik pushed his blonde hair out of his face. “Today is the day, my friend…or night rather. I’ll call Emma at work and have her meet me after dark, somewhere public…that little bar down the road…and get her on our side.”
“Do you know how you’re going to manage that?” Aiden asked.
“You doubt my skills of persuasion, Aid? After all the years you’ve known me?” Nik scoffed. “Besides, how could she resist this handsome face?” He gave him his best roughish grin.
“You’re sure she’s the right girl? I would hate to kidnap the wrong one.”
Nik stared at him. He had to be joking.
“Alright, I’d hate to kidnap the wrong onethistime. And besides, those other times weren’t really kidnappings, they were just weekend dalliances of mutual consent…for the most part.”
Nik rolled his eyes and shook his head. This was a conversation for another day. Another day a long time from now. Like, never.
“It’s her. I’m sure of it. There’s no way she knows anything, though. She’s totally clueless. As far as I can see, Emma Moss doesn’t know who, or what, she is.
Aiden unfolded his six-foot one-inch frame from his chair and stretched his arms over his head. His shirt rode up, exposing a strip of flat, muscular stomach. “You really think she’s unaware she’s a witch? How can she not know?” He yanked his shirt down and pressed a button on the console that locked down the RV for the day. “How does she explain all of the unexplainable in her life? The premonitions? Things moving around on their own and such?”
Nik shook his head. “I’ve been watching her all week man, and I’m telling you, she’s completely clueless. She has no idea what she’s capable of.”
Aiden nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. “Well, that would explain why she hasn’t gone after her sister yet. I’ll ring up the guys and tell them to prepare.” Aiden turned back to grab his cell, “And then you and I need to get some rest, mate. I don’t know about you, but I’m bloody knackered. And we’ve a busy next few days ahead of us.”
