Jeaniene Frost - Destined for an Early Grave

IF HE CATCHES ME, IM DEAD.

ID ARGUED, OF COURSE. BOTH MEN GAVE ME looks that

WAKING UP NOW

BARON CHARLES DEMORTIMER, WHO RENAMED himself Spade so hed never

THE PLANE TOUCHED DOWN JERKILY. IT didnt bother me, but

I WANDERED AROUND THE TOWN HOUSE, struck by its size.

BONES TOLD ME TO WEAR BOOTS. AT FIRST I thought

GREGORS EYES SEEMED TO BURN INTO MINE. Even though I

YEE-HAW!

CANDLERIDGE PARKS SIGN SAID THERE WERE a number of scenic

MY EYES OPENED, ADJUSTING TO THE BRIGHT light of the

IAN GLOWERED UP AT ME. IF IT WERENT SO

WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?

THE NEXT THREE WEEKS PASSED WITH AMAZING swiftness. Aside from

YOURE AWAKE.

HIS EYES WERE THE FIRST THING I BECAME aware of,

WE DIDNT RETURN TO THE HOUSE IN Bavaria. Granted, from

ANNETTE LET THE SHADE FALL BACK OVER THE window. Its

JUAN CAME TO PICK FABIAN UP. FROM JUANS friendly but

THERE ARE FIVE STEPS TO THE GRIEVING process, or so

TESTING THREE, TWO, ONEYOU READ ME, Geri?

CANNELLE DIDNT APPEAR TO HAVE AGED A day in the

WATER SWIRLED ALL AROUND ME. EVERYTHING was dark and foggy.

YOU CANT BE SERIOUS.

AFTER AN HOUR OF VIGOROUS SCRUBBING, I didnt have any

BONES EASED OFF ME IN A SINGLE LITHE motion, drawing

YOU WHORE!

THE STEADY DRUMBEAT ID HEARD BEFORE was coming from my

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?

IT WAS AFTER ID SHAKEN THE LAST PERSONS hand in

I WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT ONLY THREE people had

BARE CONCRETE WALLS MET MY VISION WHEN my eyes opened,

BONES STOOD IN FRONT OF ME, WEARING nothing but a

NO ONE TRIED TO STOP THE THREE MALE Guardians when

I F HE CATCHES ME , I M DEAD.

I ran as fast as I could, darting around trees, tangled roots, and rocks in the forest. The monster snarled as it chased me, the sound closer than before. I wasnt able to outrun it. The monster was picking up speed while I was getting tired.

The forest thinned ahead of me to reveal a blond vampire on a hill in the distance. I recognized him at once. Hope surged through me. If I could reach him, Id be okay. He loved me. Hed protect me from the monster. Yet I was still so far away.

Fog crept up the hill to surround the vampire, making him appear almost ghostly. I screamed his name as the monsters footsteps got even closer. Panicked, I lunged forward, narrowly avoiding the grasp of bony hands that would pull me down to the grave. With renewed effort, I sprinted toward the vampire. He urged me on, snarling warnings at the monster, which wouldnt stop chasing me.

Leave me alone, I screamed, as I was seized from behind in a merciless grip. No!

Kitten!

The shout didnt come from the vampire ahead of me; it came from the monster wrestling me to the ground. I jerked my head toward the vampire in the distance, but his features blurred into nothingness, and the fog covered him. Right before he disappeared, I heard his voice.

He is not your husband, Catherine.

A hard shake evaporated the last of the dream, and I woke to find Bones, my vampire lover, hovering over me.

What is it? Are you hurt?

An odd question, you would think, since it had only been a nightmare. But with the right power and magic, sometimes nightmares could be turned into weapons. A while back, Id almost been killed by one. This was different, however. No matter how vivid it felt, it had just been a dream.

Ill be fine if you quit shaking me.

Bones dropped his hands and let out a noise of relief. You didnt wake up, and you were thrashing on the bed. Brought back rotten memories.

Im okay. It was aweird dream.

There was something about the vampire in it that nagged me. Like I should know who he was. That made no sense, however, since he was just a figment of my imagination.

Odd that I couldnt catch any of your dream, Bones went on. Normally your dreams are like background music to me.

Bones was a Master vampire, more powerful than most vampires Id ever met. One of his gifts was the ability to read human minds. Even though I was half-human, half-vampire, there was enough humanity in me that Bones could hear my thoughts unless I worked to block him. Still, this was news to me.

You can hear my dreams ? God, you must never get any quiet. Id be shooting myself in the head if I were you.

Which wouldnt do much to him, actually. Only silver through the heart or decapitation was lethal to a vampire. Getting shot in the head might take care of my ills the permanent way, but it would just give Bones a nasty headache.

He settled himself back onto the pillows. Dont fret, luv. I said its like background music, so its rather soothing. As for quiet, out here on this water, its as quiet as Ive experienced without being half-shriveled in the process.

I lay back down, a shiver going through me at the mention of his near miss with death. Boness hair had turned white from how close hed come to dying, but now it was back to its usual, rich brown color.

Is that why were drifting on a boat out in the Atlantic? So you could have some peace and quiet?

I wanted some time alone with you, Kitten. Weve had so little of that lately.

An understatement. Even though Id quit my job leading the secret branch of Homeland Security that hunted rogue vampires and ghouls, life hadnt been dull. First wed had to deal with our losses from the war with another Master vampire last year. Several of Boness friendsand my best friend Denises husband, Randyhad been murdered. Then there had been months of hunting down the remaining perpetrators of that war, so they couldnt live to plot against us another day. Then training my replacement so that my uncle Don had someone else to play bait when his operatives went after the misbehaving members of undead society. Most vampires and ghouls didnt kill when they fed, but there were those who killed for fun. Or stupidity. My uncle made sure those vampires and ghouls were taken care ofand that ordinary citizens werent aware they existed.

So when Bones told me we were taking a boat trip, Id assumed there must be some search-and-destroy reason behind it. Going somewhere just for relaxation hadnt happened, well, ever in our relationship.

This is a weekend getaway? I couldnt keep the disbelief out of my voice.

He traced his finger on my lower lip. This is our vacation, Kitten.

I was still dumbfounded at the notion. What about my cat? Id set him up for enough food for a couple of days, but not for an extended trip.

No worries. Ive sent someone to our house to look after him. We can go anywhere in the world and take our time getting there. So tell me, where shall we go?

Paris.

I surprised myself saying it. Id never had a burning desire to visit there before, but for some reason, I did now. Maybe it was because Paris was supposed to be the city of lovers, although just looking at Bones was usually enough to get me in a romantic mood.

He must have caught my thought because he smiled, making his face more breathtaking, in my opinion. Against the backdrop of the navy sheets, his skin almost glowed with a silky alabaster paleness that was too perfect to be human. The sheets were tangled past his stomach, giving me an uninterrupted view of his lean, taut abdomen and hard, muscled chest. Dark brown eyes began to tinge with emerald, and fangs peeked under the curve of his mouth, letting me know I wasnt the only one feeling warmer all of a sudden.