Free The Guardian's Keeper (The Guardian Trilogy, Book 1) by T.R. Raven

vampires can’t bear children. They reproduce by turning others, but it doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy trying the human way.” Joyce winked and Claire blushed at the thought. “Go on now, why don’t you try these on and see what’s what. I’ve got some things of my own to put away.” She gave Claire’s hand a squeeze and left, shutting the door behind her.
    Claire grinned from ear to ear as she unpacked bag after bag of new clothes. Joyce had guessed her size perfectly, right down to the underwear and bras. She spent the next hour trying on her new things. Joyce had lovely taste, she liked it all and everything fit, but Claire couldn’t accept it all. It was just too much. She settled on a few pairs of jeans, a few lighter shirts, two sweaters and a beautiful sundress. It was turquoise and really brought out her eyes against her black hair. Joyce had even picked up some more shoes for her, so Claire chose one pair of strappy Italian leather heels to wear with the sundress. She slipped into her new jeans and a t-shirt and packed the rest of what she was keeping back into a bag to bring on her trip in the morning.
    Back downstairs Claire found Joyce busy in the k itchen again, prepping dinner.
    “ The clothes are fabulous, Joyce, I can’t thank you enough.”
    “ Think nothing of it. I have more money than I know how to spend, it’s good to have someone besides Nikoli to share it with. By the way, he ran out for a bit, had something to do. He asked me to tell you he’ll be back soon.”
    Claire was disappointed Nikoli had gone but wouldn’t let it show. “Please let me give you a hand with that Joyce,” she offered.
    “ Now Claire, you know how I feel about people in my kitchen. Tell you what though- I need some vegetables for the salad, could you go get some out of the garden for me please? That sure would be a help, I’ve got my hands full getting this chicken ready to fry. Just take the big basket on the counter and go grab anything that looks good out there.”
    “No problem.” Claire grabbed the basket and headed out the front door to go to the large vegetable garden on the side of the house. She stopped dead in her tracks. A Camaro sat parked in the driveway and as Claire watched a leggy blonde bombshell climbed out. She looked like she had stepped right out of a swimsuit calendar except she was clad in a leather mini skirt and leather bustier that highlighted her ample cleavage. Her clothing was so tight she might as well have been wearing a swimsuit. She sauntered up to Claire on the front steps.
    “ Hey, is Nicky in?” she asked, eyeing Claire up and down.
    “ No, I’m sorry, Nikoli,” Claire emphasized his name, “is out, I don’t know when he’ll be back,” she finished icily. Who was this white trash Barbie Doll? A member of the ‘we’re all hot for Nikoli’ fan club?
    “ So, are you like, his sister or something?” Trashy Barbie asked suspiciously.
    “I, uh….” A car horn honked, saving Claire. Nikoli’s truck pulled in next to Trashy Barbie’s car. He had barely turned off the engine before he flung open the door and nearly raced across the lawn and up the front steps next to Claire.
    “Hey baby,” he said casually, drawing her into his arms and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. “I missed you.”
    Claire felt her knees buckle underneath her and she couldn’t breather for a moment. If Nikoli hadn’t still had his arm around her waist she would’ve collapsed onto the ground in shock. He.kissed.her. On the lips. Every nerve in her body sang out with need and it felt like all the air in her lungs had left her. Nikoli grinned down at her, his strong arm holding her up.
    “Hi,” s he replied quietly, praying for her lungs to start working again and waiting for the tingling sensation she felt throughout her body to stop.
    “Hi Nicky!” Trashy Barbie cooed. “I just stopped by to see if you wanted to go out tonight. There’s a kegger going on down by the lake, you