Free Bittersweet Blood by Nina Croft

again.”
    “Ella?”
    He grinned. “She’s a witch, and I mean that in the literal sense. Don’t worry—she’s no competition. Christian can’t stand her, won’t even see her.”
    Tara sniffed. “I wasn’t worried.”
    “No, of course you weren’t.”
    Tara decided to change the subject. “Do you know what was in that file? About my aunt?”
    “I did the research. It’s tough.”
    “I can’t believe all this—vampires, dead aunts. I keep thinking I’ll wake up and it will all be a bad dream.”
    “Christian will get to the bottom of it for you.”
    “Yes, but what will he find? All my childhood, I watched from the sidelines, never belonging, never joining in, and I thought that was going to change. All I ever wanted was to be normal.”
    “You might be surprised how your view of what’s normal changes. Besides, being normal isn’t all that great. Boring even.”
    “Sounds lovely. I can’t help wondering, if I could go back, would I just leave it well alone?”
    “Maybe you wouldn’t have had a choice. In the end, your past would have caught up with you.”
    “It doesn’t matter. Now it’s too late.” She gave a small smile. “I’m scared.”
    He patted her hand. “Christian will take care of you.”
    Why didn’t that make her feel better? Could it be the fact that Christian was a vampire? “And who’ll protect me from Christian?”
    “Do you want protection from Christian? If you were really scared, you wouldn’t be talking to me, you’d be running away as fast as you could.”
    The comment brought her up short. She could go away, start over somewhere new. She rejected the idea. “I’m not running away.”
    “Good. I have to go. When you’re ready to come in again, give me a call.”
    She nodded. “I will, soon.”
    He got up to go and Tara asked him one more question.
    “Are vampires evil?”
    “I saw some bad things when I lived on the street. I learned to recognize true evil and Christian is not that. On the other hand, I wouldn’t say he was entirely good either, but that would be boring.”
    …
    Two days later, Tara headed down in the elevator, deep underground beneath the CR building.
    She’d come to the conclusion that she had to return—Christian was her best bet at discovering her past. But it would be on a strict business basis. No kissing and absolutely no biting.
    She would have preferred to take the elevator up to a business meeting on the thirteenth floor. Instead, she was sinking fast. Christian was down there in his private quarters, somewhere south of the sub-basement. Graham had hustled her into the elevator before she could argue.
    Her knees wobbled and a queer little twist of something tightened her belly.
    Get a grip. Business only.
    Christian was there when the elevator doors slid open. He was fully dressed. No half-naked vampire for her tonight.
    At least, not yet.
    Then again, it was early.
    She didn’t know where that thought had come from, and she tried to put it from her mind.
    He was all in black again, the business suit gone, but he looked good. It suited his pale skin and dark silky hair, which he’d left loose on his shoulders.
    “Tara,” he murmured her name and reached out a hand. She took it in hers, feeling that same tingle as their skin touched. He lowered his face and inhaled deeply, turned her hand over, and kissed her wrist where her pulse thundered close to the surface. His tongue stroked her skin and she trembled, half expecting to feel the sharp bite of his fangs. Before she could pull free, he raised his eyes. They were beautiful, mesmerizing, and she realized she didn’t want to be free after all.
    She was in big trouble. One minute in his presence and all her good intentions vanished. He smiled a slow curl of his beautiful lips and dropped her hand.
    She breathed again.
    “Come.” He slipped a hand to her waist and guided her into his apartment.
    They were in a sitting room this time. The furniture was sparse but luxurious