The Mate Challenge(11)

Back then, the owners were never home so she and Joey used to go over the fence all the time. Their house wasn’t far from the hill so it gave them something to do since they weren’t going to stay long enough to make friends. They hadn’t either. Once Emma left home for college, it was then she decided to go back to Blue Creek. She’d loved the peace and quiet of the town and chose to make it her new home.

She made it to the top of the hill without having to stop more than a few times. She’d slowed down on her hikes and was now paying the price. Most people thought that because she was a big girl, she did nothing but sit on her ass all day and teach. The truth was, she loved walking the outdoors, swimming and even did her Just Dance on her Wii when nobody was around. She didn’t need to spend hours in a gym to get a workout and a lot of people didn’t understand that. Except her friends. They all knew what it was like to be a plus sized woman since they were big girls too.

The old gate was hidden behind a bunch of bushes that faced the back part of the mansion. She knew that she was trespassing as she climbed over the gate only to fall and land on her ass with a thump.

There were no lights at that side of the mansion and she noticed a group of people had left minutes before, the noise lowering as they moved away.

Where should she go? She knew the master suite was located on the left side of the mansion in a section that was about the size of her house. With Aria being the main person in the mansion, she figured those would be her rooms.

She’d downloaded a floor plan of the mansion before she left her house and studied it a while. Glancing around in the growing darkness, she made sure she didn’t see any moving bodies before rushing to the side of the house. She was almost positive Aria would be on that side. Sweat gathered in her palms. She wiped them on the back of her pants and hurried to the sliding glass door that was slightly ajar, which belonged to the master suite.

She could only hope the woman wouldn’t freak over her showing up unannounced, but she’d seen the guard and she knew that it was going to be hard for her to get anyone to let her in, much less to speak to Aria unless she went in inconspicuously.

She stepped into the room without making any noise. Then, a flash of movement and she was dragged through the air, until her back hit a wall. Air rushed out of her lungs as she tried to catch her breath. She blinked and found herself staring into deep violet eyes.





FIVE





“Wow,” she gaped at the woman openly. “You have beautiful eyes.”

It was then she noticed she was being held up by the front of her shirt, feet dangling midair.

“Who are you?” Her captor asked, baring her teeth and showing off an impressive set of fangs. Now things made sense. Aria Valderi was a recluse because she was a vampire. The entire mansion had to be filled with them. Shit. She had not expected that. This might be her guard, but she had to try to speak to Aria. If the guard didn’t kill her first.

She hoped this woman would allow her to see Aria without sucking her dry. Fucking hell. She really should have given more thought to seeing Mason and letting him rock her world before the possibility of being killed by vamps.

Emma had been struck wordless one other time in her life and that was when she met Mason. This woman holding her up like she weighed next to nothing made her forget her own name.

Dark mocha skin, much like Emma’s own glittered in the soft light of the ceiling lamp. She didn't appear to be undead. The usual paleness that came with vampires wasn’t present. There was life in her eyes. She was clearly young. Mid-twenties at the most. With flawless features and full red lips. And that hair! Long raven curls bounced around her breasts. She was not what Emma expected to see as a vampire. Where was the willowy figure and pasty skin?

This vampire had curves. A lot of them. Like Emma and her friends, she was plus sized.

“I,—” she cleared her throat. “Wow you're really pretty.”

Violet eyes blinked back at Emma, confusion and interest clear in them. “I asked who you are.”

Right. “I'm Emma Ferro. I'm here to see Aria Valderi.”

The other woman put her down slowly. She released Emma’s shirt and took slow steps back. That’s when Emma got a good look at her outfit. She wore skintight black pants and a superb low cut neckline red top. “What are you doing here?”

“Cool shoes,” Emma said, staring at the spike heeled peep toes. “Are those Louboutin?”

The other woman’s brows rose. A flash of curiosity brightened her violet eyes. “Yes, how did you know?”

Emma grinned, wiping her hands on the side of her pants, and finally moving her thoughts away from having to cut the pretty woman’s head off. “My mother had a shoe fetish. It was the only thing that calmed her down whenever she was angry with my dad. He realized early on that his way to making anything up to her was with expensive shoes.”