Question: What's a vampire to do when he's arrested by his sexy, straight police detective mate?
For Bryce Denahli the answer is simple. Stalk the man.
Lucas Ford can't get the vampire out of his head, and after weeks of fighting himself, he tracks the vamp down, causing things to come to a head. Unfortunately, Bryce's life is put in danger because of Lucas's actions.
Can Lucas reconcile the thoughts and feelings he now has towards a man in time to save the vampire's life?
Meanwhile bodies are piling up around the city due to rogue vampires who have started to move in.
Excerpt:
Lucas Ford stepped out of his apartment building and put the buds
in his ears. He pressed play on his iPhone and then set it securely in
the holder wrapped around his bicep. Luc didn't believe in going
anywhere without his phone. He never knew when he would need to call
someone or get called into work. Stretching heavily, he loosened his
muscles then set off in the early morning dark. Dawn was still at least a
half hour away, but morning should be in full swing by the time he made
it home.
Ignoring everything else around him, Luc concentrated on his body and how he moved. The music in his ears allowed him to escape everything and just take some time every morning to himself. Luc always felt better after his morning run. On the rare days that he had to skip his routine for one reason or another, he always felt disjointed and out of sorts.
He couldn't comprehend people who hated mornings. There was no better time of day if you asked him. Watching the sun rise over the trees in the park or coming up over the Swan River was a truly beautiful sight, and one Luc looked forward to seeing every day.
Luc was barely fifteen minutes into his morning run and had just entered Fraser's Kings Park when he was knocked off his feet from behind. He couldn't stop his momentum from taking him forward so didn't even try to keep from falling. Instead, he tucked his body and rolled when he hit the ground and was standing again all in a matter of seconds.
Back on his feet, he only had moments to see the man, or should he say vampire coming for him again. The sharp pointed fangs were a dead giveaway. There was no doubt in his mind this guy was rogue. The vamp's clothes looked like they could do with a wash; the same could be said about his body too. The guy's hair was lank and greasy looking, his eyes hollow and surrounded by deep bruises.
Luc barely had the chance to brace himself for impact once more before the vampire was on him. He grunted in pain as the vampire's fangs sank deeply into his arm as Luc brought it up to protect his neck. Luc didn't doubt that the damn vampire would have ripped his throat out had he been a touch slower in his reaction. As it was, the creature's nails, or claws to be more specific, were gouging lines in the skin all over his body.
The vampire seemed almost crazed, and Luc knew if he didn't get the damn thing off him soon, the creature would happily drain him dry. Luc didn't plan on dying today. He had work waiting for him on his desk at the precinct. His captain would be royally pissed off at him if Luc decided to die and the man was forced to find a replacement for him.
Thankful it was his left arm the vamp had attached itself to, Luc cocked back his right fist and let fly into the side of the vampire's head. Luc wasn't a small man; standing over six and a half feet, he weighed in at over a hundred kilos. He had put all the power he could behind his punch. The one thing he had completely forgotten though was the fact that the vampire was attached to his arm.
Luc felt his flesh tearing as the teeth that were imbedded in his arm were ripped out with the momentum of the vampire flying backwards at the force of Luc's hit. Luc cursed up a blue streak as he quickly ripped his shredded shirt off over his head and wrapped it tightly around his arm.
He looked up in time to see the vampire getting to his feet once again, Luc's blood smeared across his face. The man seemed to hesitate for a second and weigh his options. As if he was deciding if he would survive if he attacked Luc again.
Luc wasn't going to wait around all day for the man to make up his mind. He was bleeding profusely from far too many places on his body, and he needed to get to the hospital.
Standing tall, he gestured to the rogue vampire in the classic 'come on' signal. "I don't have all day. Let's finish this." Luc planted his feet in case the vamp rushed him again; he didn't want to end up on his ass. After several seconds, the vampire must have decided his chances of surviving, if he attacked again, were too slim and turned to flee.
Luc didn't let his guard down until the vampire was well out of his sight. As much as he wanted to chase the man down and arrest the fucker, he knew in his current condition, with no back up, that it wouldn't be possible. His entire body thrummed in pain, nowhere more so that his arm.
He looked down and noticed blood was starting to seep through the material of his shirt. Shit! That wasn't good. He also saw dozens of deep gouges covering his arms, chest, and by the feel of it, his back too.
Luc started the slow walk back the way he had come as he removed his phone from the holder on his arm. His headphones had been lost somewhere in the tussle, and Luc couldn't care enough about them to actually look. He dialled emergency and gave them his police badge number and location then what had happened to him. Luc was told to stay on the line and make his way to the entrance of the park if possible. He grunted his acknowledgment and slowly put one foot in front of the other. He was losing too much blood; he could feel himself getting dizzy and relayed the information to the operator.
Luc didn't hear her reply as the ground rushed up to meet him and his world went black.
Ignoring everything else around him, Luc concentrated on his body and how he moved. The music in his ears allowed him to escape everything and just take some time every morning to himself. Luc always felt better after his morning run. On the rare days that he had to skip his routine for one reason or another, he always felt disjointed and out of sorts.
He couldn't comprehend people who hated mornings. There was no better time of day if you asked him. Watching the sun rise over the trees in the park or coming up over the Swan River was a truly beautiful sight, and one Luc looked forward to seeing every day.
Luc was barely fifteen minutes into his morning run and had just entered Fraser's Kings Park when he was knocked off his feet from behind. He couldn't stop his momentum from taking him forward so didn't even try to keep from falling. Instead, he tucked his body and rolled when he hit the ground and was standing again all in a matter of seconds.
Back on his feet, he only had moments to see the man, or should he say vampire coming for him again. The sharp pointed fangs were a dead giveaway. There was no doubt in his mind this guy was rogue. The vamp's clothes looked like they could do with a wash; the same could be said about his body too. The guy's hair was lank and greasy looking, his eyes hollow and surrounded by deep bruises.
Luc barely had the chance to brace himself for impact once more before the vampire was on him. He grunted in pain as the vampire's fangs sank deeply into his arm as Luc brought it up to protect his neck. Luc didn't doubt that the damn vampire would have ripped his throat out had he been a touch slower in his reaction. As it was, the creature's nails, or claws to be more specific, were gouging lines in the skin all over his body.
The vampire seemed almost crazed, and Luc knew if he didn't get the damn thing off him soon, the creature would happily drain him dry. Luc didn't plan on dying today. He had work waiting for him on his desk at the precinct. His captain would be royally pissed off at him if Luc decided to die and the man was forced to find a replacement for him.
Thankful it was his left arm the vamp had attached itself to, Luc cocked back his right fist and let fly into the side of the vampire's head. Luc wasn't a small man; standing over six and a half feet, he weighed in at over a hundred kilos. He had put all the power he could behind his punch. The one thing he had completely forgotten though was the fact that the vampire was attached to his arm.
Luc felt his flesh tearing as the teeth that were imbedded in his arm were ripped out with the momentum of the vampire flying backwards at the force of Luc's hit. Luc cursed up a blue streak as he quickly ripped his shredded shirt off over his head and wrapped it tightly around his arm.
He looked up in time to see the vampire getting to his feet once again, Luc's blood smeared across his face. The man seemed to hesitate for a second and weigh his options. As if he was deciding if he would survive if he attacked Luc again.
Luc wasn't going to wait around all day for the man to make up his mind. He was bleeding profusely from far too many places on his body, and he needed to get to the hospital.
Standing tall, he gestured to the rogue vampire in the classic 'come on' signal. "I don't have all day. Let's finish this." Luc planted his feet in case the vamp rushed him again; he didn't want to end up on his ass. After several seconds, the vampire must have decided his chances of surviving, if he attacked again, were too slim and turned to flee.
Luc didn't let his guard down until the vampire was well out of his sight. As much as he wanted to chase the man down and arrest the fucker, he knew in his current condition, with no back up, that it wouldn't be possible. His entire body thrummed in pain, nowhere more so that his arm.
He looked down and noticed blood was starting to seep through the material of his shirt. Shit! That wasn't good. He also saw dozens of deep gouges covering his arms, chest, and by the feel of it, his back too.
Luc started the slow walk back the way he had come as he removed his phone from the holder on his arm. His headphones had been lost somewhere in the tussle, and Luc couldn't care enough about them to actually look. He dialled emergency and gave them his police badge number and location then what had happened to him. Luc was told to stay on the line and make his way to the entrance of the park if possible. He grunted his acknowledgment and slowly put one foot in front of the other. He was losing too much blood; he could feel himself getting dizzy and relayed the information to the operator.
Luc didn't hear her reply as the ground rushed up to meet him and his world went black.
