Lust & Monsters: Vampire Inheritance (ePub)

At eighteen, Raelynn Pierre has her life all figured out. When her eccentric grandfather sends for her to visit him, she takes the opportunity to meet the family she has never met.

But the journey takes her to a stranger on the train who needs her blood to heal... and steals her heart as well.

~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~

I reached for my notebook and stared at my hand in confusion.

There were red stains all over it. I turned my palms over, finding no cuts anywhere, then turned back to the man. Maybe he really was an undercover agent. I turned fearful eyes to the door, my breath held as I waited for men in black suits and guns to charge in. A minute passed. Then another. I was being ridiculous.

Maybe this man was really a woman and he- she was just on her period! My gaze caught the strong jaw and perfectly masculine features and I shook my head. Of course not. No woman could be this good looking. And I felt his body when he fainted on me earlier. He was definitely male.

He was injured. I should go get help.

Tentatively, my fingers reached for him again, my heart thumping against my chest so loudly that I was worried I would wake him up by the sound of it. I kneeled beside him and examined his black suit. It was wet earlier and I assumed it was just water.

I unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open. I gasped. The white tuxedo shirt underneath was stained with blood. I watched with a rather sick sense of fascination as the whites started making way for more red and then pulled myself together when I realized that was because he was still bleeding. He was going to die here and it was going to be my fault.

"I'm going to go get help," I said to the unconscious man, standing up with the intent to run to the train conductor so he could stop at the nearest station and get us help. His hands lurched forward suddenly, pulling me back.

"Don't." He warned darkly, his grip on my wrist so tight I was certain he was leaving bruises. His breathes came in slow, heavy pants as he clutched a hand to his stomach.

"You're injured. Maybe there's a doctor a board," I said, panic seizing my heart. I tried to pull free, but his grip only tightened more.

Even suffering as he was, he could still chuckle. "Doctors can't help me now."

I stared at him. Was he dying? Did he come here to die? "Tell me how to help," I said.

His eyes opened then, finding me instantly and I found myself rooted to the spot, unable to move, to even breathe. "You... want to help?" He grinned. It should be illegal for a man bleeding out to look so positively seductive.

"Yes," I said. "I want to help."

He stood up then and walked towards me. There was no hesitation as he unbuttoned the bloody shirt he was wearing and pulled it off his body.

My eyes widened at the sight of the gashing wound on his stomach. I wanted to look away, discomfort gripping my belly at the sight but my body had other ideas. I reached for the wound in his stomach and wondered if I could close it together if I pressed hard enough. His hand gripped my wrist, stopping me midway and he pressed our hands to my heart, feeling my rapid, panicked thumping beneath his fingertips.

"Are you afraid?" he asked.