Free Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers Book 1) by H. N. Sieverding Page A

Unless you want to grope
me during the song, cause I'd let you."
    She giggled, her face a deep shade of red. Her words were breathless.
"If you don't mind, I'll wait for you here."
    "Sure." He dropped her hands and walked up to the man currently
singing. Caleb tapped him on the shoulder and took the microphone from him.
    The
man gave it up easily, the DJ letting the instrumental continue to play even
though no one was singing. Caleb spoke to the DJ, both of them laughing as they
exchanged a few friendly words that didn’t seem related to what he was doing.
    Caleb
scaled one of the speakers and sat, his legs dangling over the front of it. His
black boots bounced against it as the music started, the laces untied and the
tongues hanging out the front. His baggy jeans were shoved in the front of
them, more by accident than on purpose.
    "This
is a song for Ashleigh." Caleb spoke into the microphone, most of the
people in the room turning to the sound of his voice. “My favorite fan.”
    Ashleigh
bit her lip nervously as she watched Caleb, who sent her a small smile before
he began. It was called “Blue Valentine,” a very different song than Caleb
would normally sing, and though it was a slower, he nailed every note
perfectly.
    With
her hands firmly clasped together in front of her lips, Ashleigh enjoyed every
word, but not as much as when Caleb would look her way while singing. Robert watched
her and smiled too, his hands held firmly behind his back.
    "Now,
we shall have our talk." When the song ended, Robert motioned for her to
follow him to the adjoining suite. “Miss Brown?”
    He
saw her nod her head and the great disappointment that crept into her face when
he pulled her away from Caleb.
    "Let’s
sit." Robert indicated toward the couch while he walked over to the bar. "I’ll
get you something to drink."
    "What
do you want to talk about?" Ashleigh watched him pull a few bottles from
the cooler.
    "How
you would make a grand vampire." He handed her a drink before sitting down
in the large, leather chair near the couch, not sitting next to Ashleigh, even
though there was room for him to do so.
    "You
want to make me a vampire?" The mouth of the bottle hung near her lips as
she paused before drinking it, not able to hide her fear.
    "Yes."
He took a drink from his glass then shook the ice around a few times, making soft
pinging noises.
    "How
do you do that?" Ashleigh wasn’t looking at him, but staring blankly at
the magazine on the coffee table.
    "We
are going through the process now." He cleared his throat and sat forward
in his chair, the diamonds on his rings shining under the perfect white
lighting of the room. "Have Spencer and the others informed you on the
ways of our kind?"
    "Not
really." Ashleigh looked over at him, her hands growing moist from the condensation
on her bottle. "All he said was that there are three classes of vampires—the
Elders, the hunters, and something he called a house vampire. He really didn’t
say much else."
    "Spencer
is a hunter." Robert stared into his glass. "They do the bidding of
the Elders, whom they refer to as Master. The house vampires, as he calls them,
are our followers. They drink blood, as we do, but do not possess the magic of
an Elder or a hunter."
    "Magic?"
She turned her head when she heard the door open, but she didn’t see anyone come
in.
    "Yes."
He glanced toward the door before motioning for her to look over at him. "Keep
your eyes on me, Miss Brown."
    Ashleigh
heard the sound of someone going through the cooler and glass bottles banging
together. "Okay."
    "Thank
you." He took a drink from his glass then gazed out the window. "You
will become an Elder. Hunters are loners, so there is no need for them to marry
or take a partner."
    "A
partner?" She tried to hide her sour expression, but it was peeking out
anyway, her eyes narrowing slightly on Robert as she took a drink.
    "You
refer to them as mates in your books. We call them wives, or partners,
depending on the gender