Kiss of Temptation: The Kavanaugh Foundation, Book 3 Read Free

faster than Colette and her two goons. He’d recognized Daniela’s magical signature from over a kilometer away.
    But what shocked him was his physical response to her. The second he touched her, something lurched in his chest. Then her scent hit him and his mouth began watering. His fangs elongated. Her lips had been just an appetizer. Now he craved her blood. Thankfully, he’d managed to enthrall her before she realized what he was.
    Mon Dieu , give me strength to avoid temptation.
    He clutched the simple wooden cross around his neck and tried to remember the prayers from his youth. It had taken him centuries to accept that God could show grace on an abomination like him, and he didn’t want to squander his redemption by sinking his teeth into the delicate curve of Daniela’s neck.
    She paused at the corner and studied the map on her phone. He laughed to himself. If the vampires didn’t take advantage of her distraction, a pickpocket would. Perhaps he should tell Morwen to train her witches as well as her hunters how to be aware of their surroundings.
    When he was still human, he would have said the Divine Hand of God interceded and led him to her. Now, he believed it was sheer luck. He’d heard rumors circulating in the vampire community that Marcellus was building an army to take down the Kavanaugh Foundation. The latest plot involved gathering magical artifacts to use against the Foundation’s hunters and witches.
    As soon as he’d heard the rumor, he’d raced down to Rome. Although he’d removed the Staff of Octavius from its hiding place in the catacombs decades ago, he’d wanted to see if anyone would dare go after it.
    Daniela had entered the mass grave with a fearless determination that would have put Lara Croft to shame. She seemed to have an inner compass guiding her, leading her within minutes to the same markers that had taken him weeks to find. Perhaps her ease in spotting them had to do with her witch’s blood. He wondered what her reaction would have been if she’d come to the end of the trail and realized that someone else had beaten her to the staff.
    She turned the corner and he followed. For a brief second, he questioned his actions. Why was he following her? He’d confirmed the rumor that both the vampires and Morwen were looking for the staff. He’d informed Morwen’s witch that it wasn’t there. He’d saved her life. All noble and rational behavior. But then he’d overstepped his bounds and kissed her.
    He hadn’t planned on it. At the time, he’d merely wanted to conceal her from the other vampires. The next thing he knew, his lips were on hers. He’d half-expected her to hit him with some sort of spell that would make him wish he had never been born. Instead, she’d kissed him back and awakened a desire that surpassed the purely physical and filled his mind with whispered thoughts he’d be better off not thinking.
    Luc had learned to suppress the bloodlust centuries ago, refusing to feed on humans unless absolutely necessary. Thanks to modern blood banks, he no longer needed to hunt rats in the sewers or deer in the woods. He could have expired pints of O-negative delivered right to his door. With the exception of being confined to the non-daylight hours, he almost felt human again. But the second his lips touched hers, he discovered it was all a farce.
    The jolt he’d experienced when he first touched her returned with a fury when he slipped his tongue into her luscious mouth. It was only after they parted that he realized it was his heart. It hadn’t beat since the day Marcellus drained the life from his body, but somehow, Daniela had revived the long-silent organ like a defibrillator.
    He placed his hand over his chest and felt nothing now. No thumps, no flutters. Just stillness and an ache that made him want to cry out in frustration. He could lie to himself and say he was following Daniela just to make sure she got to the new hotel safely, but the truth was he wanted to