CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

K urt waited at the bar for the sexy female to finish. Oliver had updated him that Piper was safely back at the mansion, so he’d called Craig with an update.

It was clear the girl was Oliver’s mate. He’d seen enough of it recently to know the signs. Sure, he hadn’t gone completely insane like some of the alpha vamps, but Kurt suspected it was because Oli was holding himself back.

There was something going on. He had a feeling it was to do with Sage and Ari—which made sense given the family connection—but he wasn’t sure.

Right now, he was enjoying a little reprieve from all the vampire drama, watching the tight little ass of this petite blonde behind the bar. It hadn’t taken him long to spot she was a vampire. Then she’d recognized him. Kurt hated that side of being an SLC. They called themselves superfans, and there was a whole group on VampNet .

Brayden was ranked at number one. Because he was the fucking prince. Obviously. Craig was next, which he claimed was a technical error. Then Kurt.

Whatever.

He just wanted to catch the bad guys and protect the royal family. Okay, fine. He hadn’t been unhappy when the cheeky little blonde had recognized him and flashed her long lashes at him.

They’d flirted back and forth through the evening and then she’d disappeared. When he asked the manager, the guy said she was finishing her shift and usually left through the side door.

Kurt had nodded and finished his beer. The last thing he wanted to do was corner her or freak her out by going outside. He’d wait to see if she came to him.

And she did.

She had changed out of the short black skirt into a sexy-as-fuck pair of tight blue jeans and a black puffer jacket.

“You’re still here,” she said, tugging her handbag up on her shoulder and tilting her head.

Kurt liked her confident flirty nature, but he could tell she wasn’t the wild type. Right now, she wasn’t giving off the vibe that she was easy prey and for some reason, he was okay with that.

He kind of just wanted to talk to her more.

“You never told me your name.” He stood. He grinned as her neck arched to take in his six-foot-three height. He had at least eight inches on her. “I couldn’t leave without knowing it. Or getting your number.”

If his height didn’t intimidate her, the width of him would. And yes, he did mean that width.

“Madison,” she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear and he could see she was a little nervous. He didn’t want to scare her off, so he moved a step away and indicated to the door.

“Can I walk you home, Madison?”

She glanced at the door and then back at him. “My car is out back.”

“Then I’ll escort you to your car, milady.” He waved his arm out royally.

She blushed.

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

They walked through the bar and out the front door into the cool night air. Madison tugged her jacket around her, and Kurt had a sudden urge to give her his, which made zero sense. He definitely wasn’t the knight in shining armor kind of vampire.

“Are you on holiday? Do you even have holidays?” She glanced up at him.

He smirked and shook his head. “No. Well, not officially. I guess if I wanted one, I could.”

She stopped at her car. He leaned a hand against the metal as she backed against it and waited for him to kiss her. Kurt stared at her lips and when she swept her tongue across it, his cock hardened.

“You shouldn’t do that,” he said, his eyes darting back to hers. “Not unless you want me to act.”

“Do I look like I don’t want you to?” she asked, tilting her head.

He kicked her legs apart, gripping her hips so she didn’t slip while his thigh slipped in between, and he tugged her up against him. “No, you don’t.”

Madison gasped as they stood, sharing oxygen. “Then kiss me, dammit.”

“How old are you?”

“Fifty-five.” She blushed. “Now kiss me.”

A baby vampire.

He ran his thumb over her lips and felt her body tremble. Kurt wanted to devour this female. Take her back to his house and spend hours showing her the pleasure only an experienced powerful vampire could give her.

But something wasn’t right.

Her scent.

It was wrong.

He’d been trying to ignore it because his cock, his body, wanted to feel her.

“Madison,” he said thickly. “I need you to start talking. And fast. What are you?”

She gasped. “What? I’m a vampire.”

Her head retracted and her jacket moved. That’s when he saw it.

A mark. A bite mark.

A vampire bite.

“Are you mated?” he asked, taking a step back and releasing her. She shook her head. “Then who did that?”

It wasn’t just a bite mark. It was red and looked infected. Something that wasn’t possible. Vampires didn’t get infections.

“A guy I met in the bar.”

Shit.

“When?”

“A week ago.” Her hand went to her neck. It was bothering her.

“Are you unwell?”

She shook her head, then nodded. “I feel... strange.”

He cursed.

Call it instinct, but Kurt knew there was something wrong here. She needed his help, and he wasn’t going to let her loose in the world where a lot of strange shit was happening right now.

“Madison, I need you to come with me tonight. I will keep you safe and we’ll find out what is happening to you.”

He hoped.

Her eyes widened. “What? I can’t.”

“Consider this an order from the king.” He pulled out his phone and ordered a jet.

“I can’t leave Seattle,” she said. “I have rent to pay and...”

His eyes met hers. “And?”

She shook her head. “I just can’t.”

She had no choice and knew it. He’d played the royal card and wasn’t letting her walk.

“So, this guy who bit you?” Kurt asked. “Was he your boyfriend?”

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m a damn vampire,” she snapped.

Semantics.

“But he got close enough to bite you. Was it consensual or not?” He tried to tell himself he was asking for investigative purposes, but part of him wanted to snarl at the thought of a wild male vampire near her.

Madison shook her head. “Yes. I guess. I didn’t know he was a vamp. He cornered me by the bathrooms and kissed me. It was nice. He was cute, but then he suddenly lost control and next thing I knew, he bit me.”

Nice?

No one ever described his kisses as nice. She’d never forget him if he kissed her. It would be fucking mind-blowing, not nice . That was, if he ever got to kiss her.

Focus, Kurt.

“He just bit you. Inside the bar?”

Madison nodded.

It was rare for a vampire to have that little control. Biting happened for three reasons. To share blood if a vampire was harmed or dying. For sexual pleasure. Or when bonding with your mate. The latter secured the bond and apparently it was a much more intense experience.

“Then he just disappeared.”

“Teleported?”

“I don’t know. He was just gone. I was focused on the bite. It stung.”

Stung? A vampire bite was mildly painful for a human initially, but stinging was never used to describe it after that. Intensely arousing. Orgasmic. Delicious. Erotic. Never a sting.

“How long was it sore for?”

Madison looked at him for a long minute. “It’s still sore.”

Shit.

A shiver ran through his body and it was nothing to do with the strong attraction he had for the female.

“What did the male look like?”

He knew. He fucking knew what she was going to say before she said it. And as she began to describe him, Kurt silently cursed.

Callan.