As a half-blood vampire, Stella has been fighting all her life to get out of this city, escape the torment of her pursuer and live a peaceful life on her own.

And she’ll do anything to achieve her goal, even if it means working for Cassius van Cleef, a pureblood.  

From the moment their eyes met, Stella has been unable to resist Cassius and his loving arms, but will he protect her, or is he just another dangerous predator?

—

I leaned into him, and I inhaled his masculine scent as it intermingled with mine. 

He reached up with his fingers and brought my chin up a little, just as his warm lips met mine for the first time. 

I opened my eyes when the kiss broke and saw Cassius’ lips wet from the moment we just shared. 

I felt a warm blush flowing up my cheeks and I turned away quickly.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” he said as he reached over and gently turned my back to him. “As I said before, you are so much more than you realize. Just be patient with me.”

Saved by the Vampire

Cassius offered the use of his car and chauffeur for the trip over to the cottage house. Florence gave the mansion a slightly forlorn look as we left it, but her eyes became wide with wonder again as we drove the short distance through the immaculate grounds to the cottage house. 


The house was small in comparison to the mansion, but it was very quaint in an old-fashioned kind of way. It looked charming and cozy, even from the outside, with a front yard and garden held in by a cast iron gate and a four-foot, dark tan, brick wall fence. The exterior brick facade of the house was a lighter tan with large windows that had a diamond-shaped grid pattern. 


Florence squealed with delight. “Oh, this is so perfect! I always wanted my own garden! Look at the butterflies!”


Florence stepped through the gate first and stood among the flowers. I stepped inside as well, and we both found ourselves in a small swarm of butterflies that we’d disturbed. 


Chapter 15: A Job But... Not Really...