Marked: a Vampire Romance Read Free Page B

sense him, his hunger adding spice to his psychic imprint. There were less than twenty feet between them.
    But the chapel was just across the street and there was no fence on this side of the park to separate it from the street. She could make it.
    She ran blindly, not looking for cars. A truck’s horn blasted and she felt the gust of wind as it drove by behind her. A white picket fence demarcated the chapel yard from city property. Gold vaulted over it, falling onto her back when she came down.
    She rolled onto her knees and sprang up. Adam had frozen on the other side of the fence.
    His eyes narrowed. “I thought you were interesting before, love. But this is truly surprising.” He bowed to her, his hands flourishing like a courtier. Then he held up her phone. “Until we meet again, Marigold Jones.”

Chapter Four
    Adam rolled her name around in his mind. Marigold Jones. He wouldn’t have known it if not for the email notification on her lock screen. He liked the name, and the woman.
    A huntress in his town. He should have known, but Adam had spent the last twelve years trying to live a simple life. He didn’t seek out danger or trouble, and only fought when monsters like ghouls and zombies threatened his neighbors. If there were such a thing as a vampire monk, the term might have fit, despite his well-earned reputation.
    He didn’t linger at the Highdale Chapel. A huntress never worked alone, and there had to be a phone inside. He wouldn’t wait for her friends to show up. But on the off chance that her friends were nearby and ready to follow him, Adam didn’t try heading back to his house outside of town. He would not risk his security during daylight.
    Besides, if he wanted to get any information off the phone, he’d need a computer. At home, he only had a tablet. So he headed back to the bookshop. Marigold had already seen him there and, while he doubted that she would hurt other humans to get to him, after tonight he couldn’t risk going back. It would be his final goodbye to his second home.
    The walk back was short and he let himself in through the front door. Though the lights were off, his superior vampire senses and the glow from the street lamp outside provided enough light for him to see by.
    When he stepped into the store, something felt off. The hairs on his arms stood on end and his mind screamed for caution. He wasn’t alone.
    He opened the door to the back office and flipped on the light, ready to fight or to flee depending on what he found. Instead, he was shocked still. A ghost from his past stood in the middle of the room, a newspaper clutched under his arm.
    He was short for a modern man, though when they’d met a hundred years ago, he’d been of average height, at 5’8” or so. His black hair was clipped short, and just as he’d loved to after the war, he wore red and black, the specter of violence evident in his clothing.
    Richard Okano, former friend and one of the most dangerous bastards in the world.
    Adam slid Marigold’s cell phone into his pocket. He didn’t trust Okano with it. The huntress was his to deal with, and he hadn’t settled on how he would handle the situation yet. But Okano only had one solution to dealing with his adversaries, and it had been true even when he was human.
    Kill them all. Violently. Back then, it had been great sport, but Adam was not the same man these days.
    And Richard didn’t know that Marigold was his enemy.
    Her blood coursed through Adam’s veins, humming a symphony. Could an enemy make him feel like that? He’d barely drunk half a sip, but it was like taking in pure liquid energy. One pint from her and he’d be sated for months. No, he didn’t want to kill her. But he wanted to drink deep. Almost forgotten desire surged within him.
    If he buried his cock deep into her, would he find the pleasure that he’d been robbed of for centuries? He ached to find out.
    But not right now. Adam locked down those thoughts. If Okano found out about