Free Binded (The SHIELD Series) by H.B. Jenkins

Binded
    Chapter 1
    Carmen raised her arms up in the air, letting her body flow with the music. One long leg stretched out in front of her, she lifted her leg up to a ninety-degree angle and brought herself up on point before slowly oozing into a puddle on the ground as the music faded out.
    The audience exploded in applause as the curtain closed and she heard her corps de ballet come up behind her for their curtain call. Her torso heaving, she rose.
    Carmen loved every part of this role, the stripper who went through a metamorphosis on stage. And despite that fact that her costume was skimpy, slashed and revealing, the final song made her feel stunning, like an angel, an innocent child seeing the light.
    They threw flowers on stage, and teddy bears as she took her bows again and again. Finally, her arms full of flowers, she took a final bow and the curtain closed. Escorted through the mess of stage hands, she entered her dressing room with a grin on her face.
    The show was over, and it was time to go home, at last. Although the task in front of her was not a pleasant one, she was very much looking forward to home.
    “It’s that one, there, “Carmen pointed out the mansion as they drove up to it, not that anyone could miss it. It was the biggest one in town, let alone on the street, sprawling for what seemed like miles. And it would be her home for the next month, as it had been many times before, her home where her husband lived. And saying the word ‘husband’ was where the normality of the situation ended, not that she ever did.
    Carmen was a Shield, the opposite of a supernatural creature, a race created by nature to bring balance to a world of vampires, witches, werewolves and ghosts. With a  Shield present, no spells could be cast, no werewolf transformed, and no vampire could bite, at least not with a Shield of her power. She was the strongest Shield of the strongest of three bloodlines, able to make a vampire’s heart beat again simply by staying within 4 feet of him. Shields were the balance and natural enemy of vampires. But since Carmen had been plucked from foster care and patroned by a vampire hoping to have a Shield of his own, for they were powerful weapons when used correctly, she hadn’t wanted anything to do with her long lost family. She was a rebel Shield, and a ballerina with such skill that she actually had mainstream fame early in life.
    Early in life was where she met James, as well. 16 years old, dancing in Poland, she had no idea he was the King of Vampires, the oldest of the oldest family. She simply saw an attractive man that caught her eye. Little did she know that James’s secret addiction lay in feeling human; in feeling something real.  For James, his heart broken as a human, did not believe in love.  But he cared deeply for Carmen during their year in Poland, addicted to the way she made him feel. And so when the Polish immigration committee came knocking, demanding the minor have proper guardianship, he married her, allowing her to stay and dance under her own volition, until she could apply for proper citizenship and continue to dance as prima donna in their company.
    It wasn’t a marriage of love, merely convenience, the old fashion notion of marrying for benefit. There were no tearful nights, no love letters. When her contract was over, she thought she would never see him again. Until they both ended up in her hometown of Sunlake, the ‘’hell mouth” and origin of vampires.
    For 10 years, they shared torrid nights of passion, and a deep respect for each other, a deep caring, and friendship. But the marriage had only ever been meant as a means of survival, and now that she no longer needed it, she supposed she really should get around to dissolving it. Perhaps on this trip, she and James would find the time to download the papers and get it done. It wouldn’t change their feelings for each other, marriage or not, they would be close and often share a bed. Carmen was a sensual