Forever Valentine

  Brotherhood of Blood

  Forever Valentine

  by

  Bianca D’Arc

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Copyright © 2015 Bianca D’Arc

  2nd Edition – published by Hawk Publishing, LLC

  Copyright © 2007 Bianca D’Arc

  1st Edition – published by Samhain Publishing,Ltd.

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  A Valentine date gone wrong is the start of a romance for the ages.

  Ian has seen a lot in his time, but the lovely doctor he's been assigned to follow calls to him like no other woman. Jena has had a hard introduction to the world of vampires, and she knows Ian is watching to make sure she keeps their secret.

  Night after night, she feels his presence until finally, on Valentine's night, she invites him in for a drink after her date for the evening goes terribly wrong. But once she invites the vampire in, she might just be tempted to keep him...forever.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  This book was originally published for Valentine’s Day in 2007. It has been given a new cover, new ISBN number, new cover, and minor edits from the original version.

  If this is your first foray to The D’Arc Side…welcome! This novella is part of my Brotherhood of Blood series. That series is also related to Tales of the Were, and the sub-series that fit under that rather broad umbrella. A complete listing of my published work is located at the end of this book, or you can always check my website at www.biancadarc.com.

  I’d like to thank everyone who helped along the way, and repeat part of the dedication from the first edition, which is as true today as it was back then…

  To Mom and Dad. The two most amazing people in the universe. I couldn’t do any of this without you!

  St. Valentine’s Day has always been a kind of strange day for me filled with hopes and let-downs alike. I hope this story brings you all a little joy and an escape from the everyday, if just for a little while. Hopefully that will be my gift to you this year. Happy Valentine’s Day!

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books by Bianca D’Arc

  CHAPTER ONE

  Jena noted the vampire’s presence in the little bistro almost immediately. It was hard to miss a man as handsome as Ian Sinclair. They’d met at her friend Christy’s wedding. He was an old friend of the groom…a very old friend, considering the groom was a vampire with over two centuries under his belt.

  Jena had learned about the existence of vampires the night Sebastian, Christy’s new husband, had saved her life. Christy had been under Jena’s care in the hospital, and Sebastian had needed her complicity in order to save Christy’s life. Christy’s first husband, Jeff, had finally beaten her to death, but Sebastian and his magic blood saved her and not long thereafter, Christy was free of Jeff for good and happily married to Sebastian.

  As a doctor, Jena was fascinated by the idea of vampirism, though all of the vampires she now knew, refused to let her get close enough to try to figure out what made their blood so different. As a woman, Jena was intrigued by the vampire’s erotic power. Jena hadn’t let Sebastian turn Christy without first receiving some assurance that his bite wouldn’t hurt her more. No, Jena had demanded to be bitten first, so she would know for herself that Christy wouldn’t suffer.

  What she’d felt when Sebastian first licked her neck, then bit down and sucked hard, had been unbelievable. An intense orgasm had shuddered through her body, though she’d had all her clothes on. Worse, she and Sebastian were in a hospital room full of their friends, ancient and newly turned alike, who watched every spasm of her ecstasy with varying degrees of envy and amusement. Jena might have died of embarrassment, if she hadn’t felt so damn good. Just the bite of the vampire, paired with his ability to influence her mind and sexual responses, had her climaxing shamelessly. And she’d only just met the man!

  Jena had since learned that vampires fed not only on blood, but also on the psi energy that was strongest at the point of orgasm. Sex was sustenance to them, just as much as blood. They were erotic creatures in every sense of the word, and the males who were now mated to some of her closest friends were sexy in the extreme. They all seemed to exude some kind of animal magnetism that was incredibly hard to resist. It helped to remember that they were married to her best friends, and said friends now had sharp teeth of their own.

  Then there was Ian.

  An unmated, devastatingly handsome vampire with sad eyes that smoldered. Jena had spotted him across the reception hall at Christy’s lavish wedding and from that moment on, no other man seemed to exist in her world. He was tall, handsome as sin, and just looking at him made her body yearn with anticipation. Oh, he had the same sexual pull as the others, but like them, he had never focused it on her. If he had, she was very much afraid she would throw herself at him, strip naked in front of all the wedding guests and yank him down onto one of the catering tables to be roundly ravished.

  He was just that sexy.

  Sebastian had given her the best orgasm of her life—which she knew was pretty pathetic, considering they hadn’t even had sex. And he’d been rushed at the time, worrying about Christy, and a little ticked off at Jena standing in his way. He’d taken her blood quickly, with little finesse, but oh, how fantastic he had made her feel.

  If Sebastian was that good on the run, she wondered what Ian could do if he took his time.

  Ian Sinclair was every bit as alluring as Sebastian, and far older. What little she knew about his past came secondhand from Christy, and she’d be damned if she could understand why the man fascinated her so much. Christy told her little tidbits, such as how Ian had once been a knight. Those incredible muscles had been first built by wielding a sword, and he kept a stable of horses at one of his homes on the coast. He lived nearby, but Christy either didn’t know where or wasn’t telling. Jena had also heard he was employed as some kind of enforcer for the vampire organization that her other friend Kelly’s new husband Marc headed.

  Simply put, Ian was assigned to watch her. Watching and waiting, ready to end her life should she make any move to reveal the existence of vampires or disseminate her knowledge of their kind. He was like police, judge and executioner for his kind, keeping sacred the most important of their laws, that of secrecy. She had no doubt the man was a cold blooded killer, though the thought of him didn’t send shivers of fear down her spine. Nor revulsion. No, if she shivered it was with a very sexual kind of anticipation.

  Since Christy’s wedding, she hadn’t been able to get the man out of her mind. They had shared a dance and conversation that wasn’t quite as light or banal as it should have been between strangers.

  They had sta
rted out quite normally, talking about the bride and groom. It was Ian who turned the conversation to a more philosophical discussion about the miraculous existence of love in the world, even for a couple as unlikely as Christy and Sebastian—a battered woman and an English nobleman turned vampire over two centuries before.

  Ian’s firm belief that there was someone for everyone had touched Jena’s heart, as had the warmth in his dark eyes. After that one dance, she’d felt the heat of his gaze on her as the party progressed, and she found herself watching him as well. Not only was he a fine figure of a man, but his manners were impeccable, and he seemed to have genuine affection for his friends. When it came time to toast the bride and groom, Jena was touched by Ian’s eloquent, romantic, and tender salute to the new couple.

  He had wormed his way into her soft heart that night, and she hadn’t been able to oust him since. Of course, it was nearly impossible to forget the man, since he was watching her every time she turned around. She’d seen him observing her come and go from her small, suburban home almost every night.

  Yes, every night when she came home from work he was there, watching her, making his presence known but never speaking. His quiet appearances were probably meant to be menacing, but she found his surveillance oddly comforting. In fact, when she hadn’t seen him tonight, for a moment—just a moment—she’d panicked.

  But it was Saint Valentine’s Day and she had a date. Jena had put Ian’s absence from her mind with some difficulty and prepared for her evening out.

  She didn’t date much these days, spending most of her time at the hospital, but she didn’t want to be alone on this special night. So she had given in and finally said yes to one of her fellow doctors, Dick Schmidt, a cardiac specialist with a big ego and very expensive car to match. Normally Jena wouldn’t have given such a frivolous man the time of day, but Dick had been asking her out for weeks now, and his persistence had worn her down. Plus, what single woman really wanted to be alone on Valentine’s Day?

  She had agreed to dinner, and a few hours later, there she was, sitting in a trendy little bistro with a man she really didn’t like sitting across from her. And a drop dead gorgeous vampire eyeing her from across the room.

  They sat on the enclosed patio, with tinkling white lights and soft moonlight filtering in through the glass roof. It was chilly outside, but within the heated glass enclosure they had the illusion of sitting outside without the cold February air intruding.

  She tried to focus on Dick’s inane conversation but it was hard. For one thing, he kept trying to touch her. The man was like an octopus, though mostly respectful of the fact that they were in public. Still, he was forever reaching across the table and touching her arms, her hands, and anything else he could reach. It was repulsive.

  And then there was Ian. Sitting there, his eyes hot as sin. Watching her.

  It was comforting in a way, but at the same time, rather annoying. As a vampire, Ian was totally off limits, unless she wanted to be a blood donor. But she wanted more than that from a man.

  Deep in her heart, she really wanted it all—a home and family, a man to care for who would care for her in return. She was getting to the critical age where she needed to think of those things before she succumbed—like her ancestors before her—to the rare condition that caused her no end of worry about her future.

  So she tried to ignore Ian and concentrate on getting to know Dick Schmidt better. Perhaps he really was a nice guy under all the outward flash. He deserved a chance, and heck, he was the only guy who’d asked her out in months, so beggars couldn’t be choosers. Jena tried to smile at his jokes and put all thoughts of the vampire across the small, dimly lit room out of her mind.

  Of course it didn’t help that Ian had a direct view of their table. The way his flashing eyes followed her every move was somewhat unnerving, but when he raised his glass of deep red wine in silent toast to her, Jena found she couldn’t control the rush of blood to her cheeks. She tried to hide behind her water glass, but she knew the vampire’s keen vision had picked up her blush, even in the dim lighting of the restaurant.

  Ian didn’t know why he was torturing himself this way. He had watched the woman for months, and she showed no signs of betraying her friends or their secret. Her loyalty counted for much in his mind. From what he had observed, the female doctor had formed deep friendships with Christy, Kelly and Lissa, the three new vampire mates who had been recently claimed and turned. The women had become fast friends in college and those bonds would not be easily broken. Jena seemed okay with the notion that some of her best friends had been converted by their new mates.

  She was curious, of course, since she was a highly trained medical professional, but accepting that her friends and their new husbands were immortal. Ian admired the woman. She was strong, like the women of his clan had been back in the days of endless war with the English and then later in his travels through the Holy Land and along the Silk Road. But Jena was also soft and caring, with a gentle heart. He had observed her at the hospital when she was on the night shift—though he was careful to mask his presence in such a public place—and he’d seen both her skill and her compassion.

  He had also watched the pathetic excuse for a man who now sat across from her ask her out on this ludicrous date. Silently, he’d been hoping she would tell the weasel to take a hike, but to his consternation, she had agreed to dinner with the other doctor. It had been all Ian could do not to reveal his presence and pound the smaller man into the floor for even daring to think he had a chance with this special woman.

  Coming here tonight was immature, he knew, but Ian couldn’t help himself. He had to watch over her. He told himself he was just doing the duty he’d sworn to perform as an enforcer for his kind, but really, he was here for himself. Jena wasn’t going to tell weasel-boy about vampires, and even if she did, the mental munchkin sitting across from her wouldn’t believe it. He just didn’t have the imagination.

  But he did have audacity. In vast quantities. Ian saw him reach across the table to snag her hand at the same time his leg moved and his sock-covered foot brushed over her calf. Jena jumped, moving her chair back so she was mostly out of reach of his marauding footsie, but she couldn’t pull her hand away without causing a scene.

  “If that little twerp touches you one more time,” Ian thought loudly in their direction, “it’ll be the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre all over again.”

  “Really, Ian.” The feminine flavored thoughts landed gently in his mind, shocking him down to his Italian leather loafers. “Please try to behave yourself.”

  “You heard me?” It didn’t seem possible the little human doctor could have any psi ability—and certainly not this kind of strong, delicious-tasting telepathy. Ian could count on one hand the number of humans he’d met over the centuries who could communicate with him this way.

  “Obviously.” Her tone was dryly amused.

  “Fascinating.” The observation escaped through his astonishment. “Do you make a habit of listening to other people’s thoughts?”

  “Actually, no. I’ve only ever been able to pick up on really strong personalities and practically no one ever hears me when I talk back in their minds.”

  “‘Practically’ no one?”

  “Well, my mother can. And a few others.”

  “More and more intriguing.”

  Dick Schmidt interrupted their silent conversation by squeezing her hand.

  “What do you see in a guy like that? He’s on the make, plain and simple. And if you dare take Romeo home with you tonight, I may not be able to control myself.”

  “His name is Dick.”

  “How appropriate.”

  “You wouldn’t really hurt him, would you?”

  Ian paused. “I’d try not to, but honestly, Jena? I can’t be certain. I don’t like seeing you with him.”

  “But is it so wrong to want someone in my life, Ian? Compared to you, my life is so short. I want to find love, if I can.” Her tone was
so wistful, it lit the dark recesses where he’d buried his heart.

  “You won’t find love with the likes of him. And you still have many years to consider, and find the man who will treat you right.”

  “Not as many as you might think—or that I might wish for.”

  Ian would have asked what she meant by that cryptic comment, but Dick reclaimed her attention, shoving a small box across the table. Ian’s hackles rose.

  “For you, dollface.” Ian’s sharp hearing picked up the other man’s smarmy tone.

  Ian’s only consolation was that Jena didn’t seem all that thrilled at the prospect of receiving a gift from the other doctor. She opened the small package as if it were contagious, an expression of guarded curiosity on her beautiful face.

  When she lifted the lid and dropped the box back on the table, Ian almost rose and rushed to her side, but she was quick to recover her composure. She pasted a patently false smile on her face and thanked the man for the lovely thought, but demurred from accepting what Ian now saw was a chunky silver bracelet. Even from across the room, he could smell the metallic tang of fine silver, more pure even than sterling.

  Poison.

  Pure silver was the most painful way to kill a vampire. It reacted with the special agent in their blood and tissues, frying them from the inside out. Ian had seen one or two of his kind die that way in his many centuries and the agony of their deaths haunted him sill.

  “Give it back to him. I don’t want that poison anywhere near you.” Ian knew he was being unreasonable. She was human after all, silver wasn’t lethal to her. But all his protective instincts rose when he saw the otherwise pretty ornament.

  “Believe me, neither do I. Silver and I just don’t mix.”

  Jena slid the box back over to Dick using just the tip of one finger. She thanked him again for the sentiment, but explained her allergy to silver. She also said—much to Ian’s satisfaction—she couldn’t accept such a costly gift from a man she hardly knew.