Table of Contents
PRAISE FOR AUTHORS OFPRIMAL
MICHELLE ROWEN
Rowen never disappoints!
Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author
Rowens characteristic wit, infused with a dark edge. A great read!
Kelley Armstrong, New York Times bestselling author
A high-octane thrill ride to a fresh, new, dark and sexy world.
Eve Silver, national bestselling author
AVA GRAY
Ava Gray is a must read!
Larissa Ione, New York Times bestselling author
Sexy, clever, and tightly plotted.
Lauren Dane, national bestselling author
Riveting romantic suspense... [The] chemistry sizzles.
Publishers Weekly
JORY STRONG
Never a dull moment within this blazing read.
Fallen Angel Reviews
The passion is going to blow your darn mind.
Dark Angel Reviews
Jory Strong will leave you hooked.
Romance Junkies
LORA LEIGH
Lora Leigh delivers on all counts.
Romance Reviews Today
Erotic, fast-paced, funny, and hard-hitting.
Fresh Fiction
The incredible Leigh pushes the traditional envelope.
Romantic Times
Bleeding Heart
MICHELLE ROWEN
AUTHORS NOTE
The events in Bleeding Heart take place a few days after those in Nightshade.
ONE
Shes the chick with the vamp-killing blood?
The loud voice pulled me out of a thick cloud of nightmares about pale-skinned monsters with sharp teeth and claws. I opened my eyes wide and stared up at the peeling white paint on the motel rooms ceiling.
Yeah, her names Jill, was the reply. Both voicesone familiar and one notcame from outside, and I could hear them clearly through the thin door.
So, what are you? Like, her protector or something?
Something like that.
Shit, man. Youre not forgetting youre half vampire, right? What if you get a taste of her? Will it kill you, too?
I dont drink blood, so Im not planning on finding out.
I slipped out of the lumpy bed and moved toward the window to the left of the door so I could peek outside. The view was the same as it had been for three daysa very unglamorous gray cement parking lot with a dying twenty-foot-tall palm tree blocking my view of the main street.
Declan Reyes stood with his back to the green door, his profile clearly visible to me. Hed lost his left eye a long time ago, and the damage was covered by a black eye patch. His face was scarred around that patch from old injuries, just like the rest of his body. Dhampyrs like Declanhalf human and half vampirehealed fast, but scarred from every flesh wound they received. They also didnt have the benefits of immortality like a vampire did. Thanks to his human side, Declan was every bit as mortal as I was.
He had his arms crossed over his chest, and he faced a darkhaired man only a couple inches short of his six-four. The man looked tough, like a bouncer or a bodyguard.
Or, more likely, a vampire hunter.
Declan had said he was going to contact one of his old pals here in Los Angeles to see if he could help us out. This must have been the pal in question. Nice of him to make house calls.
The idea of anyone else getting involved with my problems didnt set my mind at ease, but I was trying not to complain. Id recently become extremely guarded about my privacy. It was safer that way.
The mans lips parted to show straight white teeth as he grinned. Wait. I think I get it. Youre doing her, arent you?
Doing her? Declan replied dryly.
His smile widened. Got to say, Im surprised. Rumor had it that you were... uh, how do I put it?
What?
Neutered. Dont take it the wrong way, but thats what I heard. That serum you were on beforethe shit that kept your vamp side at bayI heard it fucked with your libido. Always wondered why you were never that interested in hitting the titty bars with me. I guess now I know, right?
Declan glared at him without speaking, and I gripped the window ledge, worried that there would be a fight between them. This was one of Declans friends? He sounded like a Grade-A asshole, enough to make my skin crawl.
I actually jumped when Declan laughed a second later. It was a humorless sound.
My sex life is none of your fucking business, Jackson.
Ill take that as an affirmative. Jackson was laughing, too. What about the permanent drug youre on now? Does that
It works the same as before. Actually, it feels even stronger than the other one. Im with Jill to keep her safe until we find a way to get the Nightshade formula out of her blood. Declans jaw tensed. Thats all.
So youre not fucking her.
Its none of your damn business either way. But no.
Jacksons shit-eating grin didnt waver. But you have. No wonder youre so into this chick. Memories of a great lay can fuel a guy for a long damn time. I bet shes hot. When can I meet her?
Shes sleeping.
I pushed open the door, leveling my gaze with the nosy hunter Id already decided to dislike. Im awake now. Hard to have an afternoon nap when theres so much testosterone flying around.
You heard all that? Jackson scanned the length of me. Id slept in jeans and a black tank top so I was already fully dressed.
I heard enough.
He glanced into the room, his gaze stopping at a plastic baby bottle and pile of disposable diapers. Did I wake the baby?
Theres no baby, I said, with a sharp look at Declan.
Jackson frowned. Just collecting kid paraphernalia in case one suddenly appears out of nowhere?
I was looking after a baby for someone, but Declan took her elsewhere yesterday and wont tell me where. I sounded as pissed as I felt. I had a hard time hiding my feelings, especially when it came to the things that were totally out of my control.
A vampirea vampire king, actuallynamed Matthias had asked me to protect his newborn daughter. It was his last request hed made just before hed died from drinking my blood.
He was gone. But the promise Id made remained.
The promise that Declan had taken out of my hands.
Jill... Declan looked at me out of the corner of his good eye.
Am I lying?
Its better this way.
Well have to agree to disagree on that.
I did agree that my current life was nowhere a baby should be, and Id be the first to acknowledge I wasnt born with strong maternal instincts, but it bothered me that hed made this choice alone and refused to tell me where she wasonly that she was safe and being cared for. Declan believed the baby was in danger and that any vampire who wanted to find her could mentally influence my weak human mind to learn where she was. She was a dhampyr like Declan. Because of that, her infant blood was worth its weight in diamonds to vampires who believed the rumors that it imbued true immortality when consumed.
