Free Blurred Expectations by Carrie Ann Ryan Page B

has to offer.
    When one of his own is staked, Vasilije must travel to New Orleans to exact his revenge. There he meets Sasa, a beautiful woman who arouses him like no other has for centuries. Vasilije’s need for vengeance is equaled only by his passion for her, but what he finds in his revenge is just the beginning...
    Chapter One
    I am everything you desire .
    I am everything you fear .
    I am lust and appetite .
    I am vampire .
    The beat of the music slammed into his body like crushing blows from an angry attacker, each note reverberating in his bones. He sat perfectly still and let the beat thrum through him as he picked up the seductive scent wafting across the crowded room, carried by a thick cloud of cigarette smoke. Undetected by all but him, its subtle sweetness teased his nose with a promise of what was to come.
    Scanning the room, he watched like a bird tracking its prey. All of humanity seemed to file past him. Desperate, drunk, and powerless, the crowd was a smorgasbord laid out especially for him.  With no effort at all, he could have any of them. The brunette dancing between two men, her movements telegraphing that her sex was needy for what they offered. If he chose, in seconds, they’d be gone and she’d be his for the taking. The tanned, muscular male eyeing him from three tables away, who he sensed preferred what hung between his legs to what the brunette offered. The barely legal blonde, whose wide green eyes betrayed just how much of life she hadn’t experienced despite the lies her body told.
    He could have any of them.
    Vasilije watched his victim at the bar. Every bat of an eyelash he felt. Every clank of the ice against the glass he heard as if he were there himself. The distance between them meant nothing.
    Through the tightly packed crowd, he saw the woman next to his target lean over, obscuring his view. He watched as she pressed her body next to the man’s, a not-so-subtle hint to her interest.
    The sweet scent remained, and Vasilije closed his eyes to enjoy it, not interested in the woman or her pathetic attempt to seduce his prey away.
    He had no idea the vampire waited patiently for his moment. Vasilije liked the idea that ignorance was bliss. For now. In a few short minutes, another bliss would take them both over, and he’d have what he’d eyed for days.
    The man made a move toward the door and every cell in Vasilije’s body came alive. Two steps and he was in the thick of the crowd, their bodies pressing up against his as he brushed by them. He weaved through the group like a dark secret whispered from one person to another.
    At the exit, he inhaled deeply, his sense of smell filtering out the putrid mixture of exhaust, perfume, and stale alcohol that hovered at the entrance to the street. Only his prey’s scent remained, imprinted on him.
    He was nearby.
    Closing his eyes, Vasilije let his other senses take over. The sound of the man’s shoes hitting the pavement echoed in his ears. The feel of his prey’s blood pumping through his body throbbed against Vasilije’s cool skin, matching his heartbeat.
    So healthy. So alive.
    He’d tracked him for days, his desire growing with each passing moment. It had taken little time for him to decide he would make him one of his kind. He stirred something inside that hadn’t been touched for years.
    Such a soul would be a perfect addition to his world.
    He moved away from the noise of the club into the streets of London as he gained ground on his target. Now in his view, the man moved much faster. Did he sense the danger that lurked nearby? But it was no use. He would surrender this night.
    Vasilije walked calmly, never losing sight of the man. He sensed his fear and took it into himself, relishing the sensation. How long had it been since he’d felt fear—true fear that stole one’s breath away and paralyzed the limbs?
    A quick left onto a darkened street and his prey broke into a full run, his fear morphing into pure terror that surged