Ash(7)

Holy gods of everything sexy, what have you created here?

If I was completely honest with myself, at one point in my life – around my mid-teens – I had found ash and vampires fascinating. I’d never been in Tessa’s league of obsession, but I’d acknowledged their beauty. Never since that night though … but this stranger was doing all sorts of things to my body and blood. Something about the way he wore a caged lethalness like a second coat, his movements so smooth and contained. He was scary – scariest male I’d ever seen, and yet he created a sense of calm and security inside me. And he was drop dead gorgeous.

“Are you okay?” His strong baritone voice cut through my hormones. A scuffle behind him drew my attention before I could answer. There were two black-clad ash behind him. They had the pair of original ash d-bags laid out on the ground, hands zip-tied behind their backs.

Unable to help myself, my eyes slid back to the lethal male. He was at least 6’2 and all muscle. His unruly chestnut hair hung in loose waves across his forehead. He wore black military fatigues, and everything about him screamed danger. It might have been the glint in his black eyes, or the way the silver seemed to be larger and more distinct than other ash, but he was definitely not a man to be fucked with.

I needed to pull myself together. I didn’t bother to answer his question. I started moving away from them, grabbing Tessa, who must have at some point passed out on the floor. The tequila was finally kicking in for her. As I sidled close by the hardass ash in the fatigues, the silver of his eyes started to swirl and his features hardened even further as he looked me up and down.

I put my hands up. “Don’t get any ideas. This blood is your buddy’s.”

What was with their eyes? Did the swirl of colors mean it was feeding time? I didn’t want to stay and find out.

The ash didn’t stop me, but his gaze never left my face. There was something hidden there in those black depths. Something calculating. He was assessing me and I was not okay with that.

“Ryder! We got another call,” one of the other ash said. The ash – Ryder – flicked his eyes away for a moment, his clenched hands loosening enough to reach up and hook onto the comm device on his belt.

I took the opportunity while I could. I needed to escape the presence of these dominating males. Reaching down, I practically yanked Tessa into my arms, barely even feeling her weight as I booked it out of the club. The entire time one word was running through my head – the scary-ass gorgeous ash’s name: Ryder. I sighed.

Perfect. Why couldn’t I meet a normal guy?





Chapter 3




It took me forever to get home, mainly because Tessa was a dead weight. I ended up catching a cab and putting it on her credit card. She might only be from a one parent family too, but unlike mine, hers had lots of old money. Tessa had a fat trust fund and she wouldn’t mind me charging the cab to her card.

After managing to finagle her shoes off, I dropped her onto her bed. And then, finally, I got to wash that creeper’s blood from my hands, and then remove my makeup before getting into bed myself. Stretching out, I tried my best not to think about all the strange shit that was happening to me lately. Including but not limited to the pull I’d felt to that ash tonight. Ryder. I had no explanation. Maybe, if I’d been a dude, I’d be worried that mom had done the down and dirty with a vampire. I certainly had some of the “poster” symptoms. But there was no such thing as a female ash, and my father had been a human soldier, killed in the line of duty.

Maybe I was just going through a hormone imbalance or some crap. I should probably get to the campus clinic and have my blood work run. Just to be safe.

I drifted off, and for the first part of the night slept like the dead. It must have been in the early hours that a vivid dream engulfed me.

The world was washed in blood. I swam in rivers of crimson, swept downstream as I struggled to quench the insatiable thirst inside of me. No matter how much I drank, it was never enough. I thrashed around, trying to free myself from the nightmare, but I couldn’t wake. Hands grabbed me and I was yanked from the river. The thick, tacky blood coated my body and I swear I could even taste the metallic tang on my tongue. The copper scent assaulted my nose. It was odd … but so good. I was carried, and the world started to cry, and it felt as if my soul were crying with it. I lifted my face to feel the drops, only to realize they were blood also. The world wasn’t crying, it was bleeding.

I startled awake, my chest rising as I gasped, trying to fill my heavy lungs with air. Dream. Holy shit, that dream had felt so real. And so goddamn creepy. A splash of wetness landed on my face, and almost in slow motion I raised my hand and touched my cheek. My heart rate slowed a little when I realized that it was really rain this time, not blood. A second drop landed, and within a blink of an eye I was up off the ground and on my feet. Rain?